With the onset of night, Tidemill's streets darkened and the Moon Caller's Traveller rose over the horizon. Even as the bustle of the city shifted into its nighttime rhythms, the Siglo Swellow teemed with the sound of movement and muffled chatter. In spite of the signs of activity, the upper deck and waters around were mostly barren of Pokémon, the focus of the hubbub instead taking up a hastily-vacated galley that had quickly filled with standing crew members. There, Team Traveller and their companions had gathered the sailors, who traded curious murmurs with one another as to what the nature of the meeting was. Although he knew full well what his teammates hoped to present, Crom carried an anxious air about him all the while, his mind turning from the packed galley back to his father at the stadium's medic hall.
"We won't be gone for that long, right?" he murmured.
"Natrix and Philips are covering for you right now," Kiran reassured. "I'm sure there will be time to stop by to see him again tonight."
The gathering quieted as the sound of buzzing wings approached, carrying Beatrix down a flight of steps followed by her trusty Hitmontop first mate, Vicente. The pair sized up their surroundings, before noticing Kiran and his charges and making their way over with expectant stares.
"You were awfully insistent earlier about this meeting," Beatrix said. "Did you find something out there?"
"We did," Guardia nodded. "We might have found a way to get your Protector back."
At once, the cargo hold flew into an uproar, with excited chatter among the gathered sailors. One after the other, they pressed for more details, wondering if the Cubone really had something, or was merely succumbing to wishful fantasy.
"What's this way?" Vicente demanded.
"Yeah, this is a huge city full of guards!" a Golduck exclaimed. "You mean to say you actually have a way of getting him out?"
"That's right. Today, we found out that an Admiral here in Giotto has been double-dealing with pirates," Elty began. "He's going to be attending the tournament tomorrow in the section of boxes where Pleo's been held for the entire tournament."
"We're going to be visiting some… fixers tonight to try and see if we can get any evidence against him for a trial dealing with a partner of his tomorrow," Nida added. "If we get it, we'll be able to get the guards to drag him into court."
An uneasy pause lingered in the air. Their mission was to retrieve their Protector and take him back to Tromba! As awful as it was to hear that such a trusted Pokémon here was compromised, just how did that relate to what they needed to do?
"… I'm not seeing how exactly that's helping us at all here," an Unfezant in the crowd said.
"It's helping us because we're currently working with a detective from the guards as assistants," Guardia explained. "When the guards come to bring Admiral Coil to court, we'll be coming along, and can hang around a little afterwards."
"The guards would thin out and have to shake up their routines quite a bit having to escort such an important Pokémon out, which would give us a chance to spring Pleo out," Elty continued. "It's just a matter of distracting the guards at his box with something like a Slumber Orb, and then getting him out of the stadium."
The Growlithe's answer was met with a dismissive scoff from a Dwebble, the Bug-Type's skepticism being audibly murmured through unimpressed hems and haws from some nearby shipmates.
"
Just a matter?" the Dwebble scoffed. "By that standard, living in the Wastes is
just a matter of getting food and shelter."
"I actually don't think it's as impossible as you'd think. The streets and canals here are a maze, and it's difficult even for me to keep track of Pokémon sometimes from the air," Kiran offered. "If the kids can make it out of the stadium, they'll have a lot more options for ways to slip off."
"Yeah, and if they can make it to the water, I could get them back to the harbor in a heartbeat!" Dimitri added. "I'm a swift swimmer, and I've already swum them through a tight spot once before!"
Kiran and Dimitri's reassurance drew some less skeptical murmurs from the gathered sailors. It would still be a heavy lift, but… yes, they had to admit that it would be technically feasible. Even Vicente and Beatrix seemed to be convinced, the pair quietly mulling over possibilities and options that would be available if Kiran and the others could make it back.
"… We'd need to keep the ship ready to go at a moment's notice," Vicente said. "But
if you can get back here in one piece, it shouldn't be anything we couldn't handle."
"It's settled then," Beatrix grunted. "Though it should go without saying that there will be very little margin for error in this operation. Is there anything that you need for help, Team Traveller?"
"Well, the ship obviously needs to be ready, and getting Pladur back aboard tonight would be important," Nida said. "But the biggest thing that we need would be some Pokémon to help us with those fixers."
"Pah! With
your track record, you'd be better off just walking up to their front door!"
At that moment, a short, furry presence began to move through the crowd, revealing the unamused form of a Sentret making his way to the front. Nida and her companions stared and blinked blankly for a moment, before rolling their eyes in annoyance.
"Urgh…" the Nidoran groaned. "Did you
have to pick Scout up at sea, Crom?"
"I mean he
did escape from a pirate den, Nida," the Druddigon whispered back. "And besides, Hariti
does still have kids that needed letters delivered to them..."
"Actually, maybe he's onto something there," Pat mused. "If you've met these 'fixers' once already, can't you just walk up and tell them you want to talk?"
The Unfezant's question drew a long silence, finally broken by an uncomfortable fidget from Nida as she folded her ears back.
"Er… we're not so sure that they'll say 'yes' back to us."
"We'll join you," Kiran offered. "Your situation sounds like exactly the sort where a helping wing would come in handy."
"Yeah, Kiran and I can both get up high," Ander added. "We can keep an eye out from above if needed."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Dimitri cried. "Let's get a move on!"
Team Traveller began to set off, Elty and Guardia being joined shortly afterwards by Kiran and Dimitri. Much to their surprise, even Ander seemed willing to come, and followed after, leaving Crom to shift uneasily in the crowd. The young Druddigon felt a pawing sensation at his legs, looking down to see none other than Nida looking up at him, giving a reassuring bat of her ears.
"Try to stay positive?" Nida said. "After all, we want to come back to Pleo at our best, don't we?"
The Druddigon paused before nodding his head back, forcing a smile over his maw. Although he was still plagued by uncertainty and vague doubts as to whether it was right to turn his attention from his father, the rabbit's reassurance lifted his spirits, giving him just enough confidence to follow along.
"R-Right!"
The pair darted after their teammates, ducking down the hallway and clambering up the flights of stairs to the deck. There, they watched as the others slipped off down the gangplank, and looked out at the cityscape framed by the stadium's tower and the Royal Citadel, hoping that Pleo could wait for them for just one more night.
"Hang in there, Pleo," Crom murmured. "We'll have you back before you know it."
Team Traveller met up with Cardino at the gates of the Visitor's District, prompting them to swing south and walk along the winding lanes and canals of Tidemill. The route took them away from the tall, multistory buildings they'd grown used to seeing for streets lined with unfamiliar, ramshackle wooden shacks that weren't present on the route Luca and his underlings took them through the day before. According to Cardino, they were passing through a fringe neighborhood of Tidemill Central known as
Novomarca that sat along the quickest route between the Visitor District and the seaside neighborhood where the Saéta Family's warehouse was. The buildings seemed to be jammed together and appeared a bit worse for wear, the lanes around them largely empty of the same bustle the neighborhoods around the arena had to them.
If anything, it felt like the Pokémon around had largely taken their business indoors, with the occasional stern face glaring from an entrance or window. Flickers of conversations would occasionally poke through the muted surroundings, the argument of some less-sober Pokémon emanating from a tavern, or worries about companions who had yet to show up from late in the day. A young voice asking why dinner was so small caught Nida's ears, stirring up uncomfortable memories of a year with a blighted harvest where the Nidoran remembered asking the same question again and again in much the same manner.
The buildings started to become less shabby as Team Traveller neared the seaside neighborhood which housed Saéta's warehouse, but the impression from their time in
Novomarca failed to ebb away on the Pokémon. For all its pomp and grandeur, Tidemill City evidently couldn't fully shield its own from the same troubles that Pokémon on less populated islands like Tromba struggled with. The thought brought Nida's mind back to Nerea's explanation that both the Empire and the Company were buckling under strain and breaking, and of tales she'd heard of Tromba's revolt before her birth. She remembered
Mamí recounting many a time of how the insult of Darzin's impunity finally stirred up the fire in the townsfolk's bellies to run him out after the injury of a bad harvest, giving Bluewhorl's Pokémon just enough courage and desperation to lash out. If a mere village of berry-growers and sailors could get so riled up, then no wonder why Nagant had moved heaven and earth to steal Pleo away! If there were ever enough Pokémon in Tidemill living in such conditions, then it was only logical the Empire would want to parade him before the city as soon as it had the young Protector in its clutches to take their mind off their circumstances…
"We're here," Cardino said. "Look alive."
The Pikachu's statement made the gathered Pokémon look up and spot the form of a row of warehouses at the end of a lane up ahead. The lot continued and followed after Cardino, only to follow the lane to a dead end.
"Huh? Where is the gate?" Elty asked.
Instead of the barred gate they'd remembered seeing, the Growlithe saw there was a wall of crude bricks that cut the lane off. Team Traveller and their companions blinked, and watched as Cardino pawed at the wall to feel it was solid, much as the gate had felt earlier.
"It seems like that Zoroark underling of theirs is protecting this place, even at night," the Electric-Type sighed. "If it's just an illusion, a weak attack would dispel it for a bit... but illusion or not, I don't think Saéta would take kindly to us breaking down this wall."
The Pikachu's response drew some frowns and uneasy shifts, Nida giving a worried paw at the ground as she stared ahead.
"But then how do we talk to the Don?"
"Would it be too much to try and ask for directions?" Ander offered.
The mantis' words were followed by the sound of an audible creak and low chattering coming down an alleyway to the left, which prompted the group to look over as a small door built into the wall swung open, letting out a Machoke and jet-furred Raticate that were in black scarves marked with a red lightning bolt. Cardino ran his paw along the brickwork of the wall and noticed that they seemed misaligned going towards the left, a sign that the wall and its entrance surely were more likely to be the real deal than the wall before them.
"… Maybe you're onto something there, Scyther," Cardino murmured. The Pikachu flared his ears, before beginning to pace over for the guarding pair, giving a friendly wave of his paw for attention.
"Hey," the detective greeted. "Looks like you two are kinda busy, but we were just wondering-"
"Hrmph. Don't go sticking your nose where it don't belong, Pikachu," the Machoke snapped.
"Huh? But we were just
here yesterday!" Guardia protested. "We even saw you right at the front gate!"
"Doesn't matter. All I see here are some warehouses for waste management, and I know
you aren't employees," the Raticate growled. "So scram before I push you into the canal!"
The black-scarved Pokémon began to make their way over, tensing their bodies for an attacking ambush. With their numbers, Cardino and his companions dug their feet into the ground and braced themselves, only to notice the sight of a Swoobat in a black scarf settling on the roof eave, and of a Vikavolt and a Wigglytuff coming from behind. Sensing that things were getting out of control quickly, the group legged a hasty retreat, darting back down the lane and continuing for a rightward alley until they came to a panting stop underneath a high wall plastered with wanted posters for pirates and local ne'er-do-wells.
"Well
that went well," Dimitri sighed. "How are we supposed to get in without someone letting us through in the first place?"
Nida looked around when she noticed that overhead, a set of wooden shutters had been left open a crack. The Nidoran looked around for any sign of an approaching presence, and when she found none, peered up and flicked a spike up at the shutters. She watched her spike sail on, finding its mark and wedging into one of the shutters as it creaked inwards, prompting her to give an excited look to Cardino.
"Cardino. You said that a simple attack would've dispelled one of that Zoroark's illusions, right?" she asked. "Well, if you're right, those shutters look pretty real to me."
The group peered up at the shutters above them. It was far from an
ideal entrance, but at the very least it was
real. And if it hadn't been disguised on this end, odds were that Saeta's illusionist had missed the inside of it as well.
"We take the openings we can get," Cardino replied. "It'll be tricky, but I
think your taller friends can squeeze us through there if we get up on each others' shoulders..."
One-by-one, Dimitri, Crom, Ander, and Kiran clambered atop each other to form a crude tower, waiting for their teammates to clamber up and crack the shutters open to let themselves slip through into the darkened warehouse. Upon making their way through, Nida, Guardia, and Elty dropped down onto some wooden planks underfoot, watching as the rest of their teammates carefully followed them in by flying and climbing their way up.
"… Where are we?" Guardia asked. "And how do we get to the Don's office?"
Elty waited for its eyes to adjust to the lighting of the warehouse, where he noticed that the lot of them were standing on a pallet of crates. All around the building, crates had similarly been piled up on a stony floor, leaving a maze of narrow passageways. The Growlithe looked up, spying a slender network of catwalks that seemed to connect the different sides of the warehouse, which made the group wonder if the rigors of the night were why Savio's illusions were so much less elaborate than the last time they were here... or if he simply spared his effort when there weren't outsiders to be dealt with.
"The Don's office was at the edge of this warehouse one floor up," the Puppy Pokémon said. "I remember the sun was setting in the west out the window, so I
think that means it would've also been on the west side of the warehouse?"
Team Traveller and their companions looked out the shutter, noting the moon in the sky ahead. Given that the night was still young, that would surely mean that they were on the east of the warehouse. The group turned their heads back ahead of them, where they noticed at the end was a rickety wooden set of steps going up from the ground up to a dimly lit doorway.
"Ah, that's straight ahead!" Crom exclaimed. "Come on, let's go!"
The Druddigon motioned for his teammates to press on, dropping down to the stone floor and carefully making their way past the crates on the ground. For a Pokémon into 'waste management', a close gander at some opened crates revealed Saéta seemed to have a good deal of wares that would fetch a decent price at a shop, including the expected assortment of berries, orbs, and seeds. The group carried on, crossing a small intersection of crates where they saw a stack of wooden tubes that had been bound by ropes and metal loops…
Cannons? But merely
having one loaded with anything other than lines for a Lyle Gun was usually cause for getting a ship summarily sunk by a vessel in Company or Imperial colors! Surely Saéta couldn't have
that many Pokémon interested in buying Lyle Guns from him...
"And
that's how Pezzo sent up the wine for the winter party up in smoke last year," a buzzing voice said.
"Ugh. Seriously?" a high, airy voice scoffed. "How's that screw-up not been made to take a long walk off a short pier already?"
"Well hey, you can't say the 'mon doesn't know how to do a good party trick or two with his flames," the first voice said. "I heard the firedancing routine he did at the party to make up for it saved his neck."
Cardino and his companions froze up, hearing the voices and attending footsteps were coming closer and closer from up ahead. The Pikachu looked around in alarm, before he noticed a small gap between crates leading to a small pocket.
"Quick!" Cardino whispered. "Let's lie low in that pocket!"
One after the other, the gathered Pokémon ducked past the gap and into a small clearing surrounded by crates, peering through the small entrance to see a Vikavolt and Wigglytuff pass by. The pair carried on chattering, only for the Wigglytuff to pause uneasily, and pull her nose up to sniff the air.
"
Destacàr," she murmured. "I think someone's here."
The gathered Pokémon blanched and looked around frantically for a way out, only to see that they'd gone into a dead end. Nida backpedaled up into a crate when she heard the
tink of shifting glass inside. The Nidoran hastily propped herself up and discovered the crate to be filled with orbs, prompting her to slip her paw in and fish out one filled with white, rapidly-swirling clouds. Nida pulled the sphere back and threw it in a high arc, sending it sailing off toward the right behind the black-scarved Pokémon with an audible crash and the woosh of a sudden burst of wind.
"They're making a run for it!" the Wigglytuff shouted.
"Quick!" the Vikavolt barked. "We'll cut them off!"
The mobsters turned and ran after the sound of the shattering glass, prompting Team Traveller and their companions to hastily abandon their hiding place and make a mad dash leftward. The party made their way ahead, before reaching a sparser portion of the warehouse, panting quietly as they looked back and realized that as the guards found nothing around the orb they'd used as a distraction, they'd fall back on their other senses… including a sense of smell that was bound to give away where they'd passed through.
"We- We didn't happen to bring something to cover our scent, did we?" Crom stammered, glancing around uneasily. "If they notice our tracks, they'll follow us straight back to where we are!"
"I don't think we'll need it," Dimitri said. "
Smotri, up there."
The Kabutops pointed off at a crude ramp made of crates that stretched up to the ceiling, where just beyond it was a wooden grate. The lot looked around and noticed that the ceiling seemed to be flat, unlike its sloped roof from outside… which would logically indicate that on the other side of the grate would be none other than an attic.
"They can't smell what's not there," the crab insisted. "Come on."
The gathered Pokémon hastily made their way up the crates, pulling themselves up one after the other until the hatch was in sight. With a swift flick of his scythes, Ander cut open the grate's supports, letting it flop open and his teammates to begin clambering in… Cardino went in first, then Nida followed by Elty and Guardia... It soon came to be Crom's turn to climb up, the young Druddigon nearing the edge, only for the crate to suddenly lurch underfoot. The Dragon-Type yelped and leapt up, latching onto the ledge as the crate underfoot fell to the ground with a crash and the sound of shouts suddenly rang out from below.
"Hey! There's someone near the wall on the south side!" a buzzing voice exclaimed.
The cry threw the group into a panic, prompting Dimitri to hastily shove the rest of the young Druddigon up before scrabbling up himself. Kiran dived in afterwards, making it into the attic and quickly tugging the hatch shut. The group panted, peeking back down through the grate to see the Vikavolt and the Wigglytuff coming across the shattered crate from earlier and storming off in search of them further below… mercifully off away from their grate.
"Talk about your close shaves there…" Cardino sighed. "But where have we wound up this time?"
Nida looked back down through the grate and scanned her surroundings beneath her. The Nidoran tried to make sense of where they'd run off to, only to overhear the faint voice of Don Saéta from further ahead...
"Giusy? Just what is the meaning of this? I was in the middle of penning a correspondence."
The blue spike ball blinked, before carefully pacing forward, prompting the rest of the party to follow suit carefully. Nida stopped at a different grate, peering down to see a Salazzle standing at a low table opposite of none other than Manectric boss himself, seated behind a stack of papers, prompting a smile to spread over the Nidoran's face.
"I'd say we're exactly where we need to be," Nida said, before the gathered Pokémon hushed themselves, and leaned in to listen to the Pokémon below.
In the room below, Don Saéta continued to jot down some notes on a paper set down on the desk before him, giving a stern look across the desk at the Salazzle. The Manectric waited patiently, prompting the Poison-Type to clear her throat and carry on.
"We've got some of those street punks ready for interrogation, boss," Giusy said.
"Hrmph, about time," Saéta grunted. "I'd have expected you to have had more to show from those mooks by now."
"
Pardón," the Salazzle murmured. "It's just that we had a few unexpected turns, and weren't sure how to present them to you."
Saéta cocked his head, lifting a brow skeptically, before turning his attention back to his writing. Just what sort of unexpected turns could dragging a few punks off the street involve.
"I'm not sure if I follow."
"Get your paws
off of me you
domkop!"
The Don's head turned towards the doorway as the sounds of buzzing and shouts rang out, including a voice like his that made him perk up incredulously. Saéta gave a puzzled look back to Giusy, who shook her head and began to explain the disturbance beyond the door.
"We picked up your son and his friends working with that street gang from an alleyway near the arena," she said. "He's out in the hallway. We figured you'd want to press them yourself."
The Manectric's paw abruptly slipped, dragging his writing pad across his paper and leaving a long, black streak of charcoal over it. He looked down and shook his head with a disapproving grumble, setting his paper and charcoal aside as he rose up from his seat.
"... Send them in."
At Saéta's insistence, the Salazzle got up to open the door, letting in Carlo as he dragged along the bound forms of a Yanmega and a Marowak in his burly arms with Luca unceremoniously dragging in a fellow Manectric. The bound wolf in the group was pushed to the front by Luca, leaving him face-to-face with Don Saéta's glaring eyes as the stench of waste clung to his captives' bodies.
"Gih!"
Alvise instinctively scooted back away from his father's gaze, only to feel his brother's head press up against him from behind and shove him back towards his dad.
"Oh no you don't!" Luca growled. "You're not running away this time!"
His brother pushed forward again, shoving Alvise forward into a faceplant directly into the line of sight of his father's silent, stern gaze. The white-scarved Manectric weakly picked himself up, his blood running cold and his tail folding back timorously between his legs as he spoke up in a squeaking stammer.
"Er… h-hi dad…"
A tense silence hung in the air at Alvise's greeting, Nori and Valatos watching anxiously for any changes in Saéta's dispassionate demeanor. At last, the Don shook his head, breaking the silence with a sigh.
"
Bònjorno, Alvise…" the elder Manectric said. "It's been far too long."
Saéta walked over from behind the desk, pacing and circling deliberately around his three captives. Every so often, he would train a stern glare on one of the brigands, who would flinch away from the attention much to his unimpressed displeasure.
"Really now, you should be grateful the boys were feeling so hospitable... Most families wouldn't bother seeking out their children who abandoned their family business," Saéta chided. "Much less children who ran off with a bunch of sea rats."
Saéta's words drew audible gulps from his son's partners, the Marowak and Yanmega quickly having the color drain from their faces. The pair tripped up over each others' words in protest, each hoping to hastily steer the dangerous Pokémon's mind from any plans involving them.
"H-Hey!" Valatos buzzed. "You've got everything all wrong here!"
"Yeah! We've never had anything to do with you before in our lives!" Nori whined.
"A likely story," Saéta scoffed. "But since you need a refresher of your place around here, let's bring in some of your associates now."
The Manectric motioned to the door as a bound Vigoroth and Steenee were dragged in by an Escavalier and an Ambipom. For a long, awkward moment, Valatos and his companions stared at the group of strangers, before turning back to the elder Manectric.
"... Who the hell are these guys supposed to be?" Valatos demanded, only to be answered by an offended outburst from the Steenee.
"I could say the same to you!"
Some puzzled murmuring floated about the room as Saéta's underlings traded blank looks with one another. Just what was this bug going on about, not recognizing these two?
"Eh? But they have to be your associates!" Carlo exclaimed. "We've been seeing them nose around whenever you've been here!"
"We don't
do anything with street punks like those beyond fencing loot!" Alvise snapped. "You ought to know this already!"
"... You still haven't changed, have you?" Saéta sighed. "I'd have thought that this encounter would've gotten you to reconsider. Here on the turf that ought to be rightfully yours, and we find you scuttling around like an alley rat with nothing but those two bums for support reeking of garbage!"
"Th-That was Luca's fault! I smelled like myself before he jumped me!" the younger Manectric whined. Alvise's protests did little but prompt Saéta to look over to Luca who gave a dismissive shrug back, followed by an annoyed shake of the elder wolf's head. The Don scoffed unimpressedly, leaning into his child's face with a hardened glare.
"Seriously, get some smarts," Saéta scolded, as he returned to his seat behind the table. "Who in their right mind would trade away family and protection for sleeping in some musky hulk with rabble that'll leave you high and dry in the first botched raid?"
"The sort of 'mon who wants to
live a little!"
Alvise's outburst drew a dismissive scoff from his father from across the table. Saéta shot a disgusted scowl down at his rebellious child, walking up and looming over him.
"
Excuse me?" the father wolf demanded.
"Y-You heard me! I've
never been satisfied just staying cooped up in this stupid district with your 'business' even when I was an Electrike!" Alvise snapped. "When I'm with Valatos and Nori here, we always get to see something new!"
Nori and Valatos watched as Saéta's frown seemed to deepen before their very eyes, prompting the two of them to struggle against their bindings to try and poke at their Manectric teammate for attention.
"Uh... Alvise," Nori whispered. "I don't think we should be making the nice Pokémon even madder-"
"And what would
you care anyways?!" Alvise continued. "You always spent all your time training Luca to take over 'the business', so why can't I go do something else if I have to play second fiddle anyways?!"
The younger Manectric's outburst drew a low growl from his father, along with a reflexive crouch as if ready to spring upon him. The Don paused a moment to let his irritation subside, before continuing on in an audibly irked tone.
"Alvise, the business has a
structure and a reputation to maintain. We´re not a bunch of common thieves!" Saéta snapped. "By playing your part in it, you help to ensure that the whole stays together and that if needed, you can help keep it going if anything were to happen to your brother. Just what have your two 'friends' there done for you all this time?"
"... They've always been at my side for whatever we've gone through," Alvise answered.
"Hrmph, a likely story."
"I'm serious! I mean, yeah, they give me a hard time sometimes... and we've gotten captured before... and they kinda needed to be thrown from a ship the last time to stick with me," the younger wolf murmured. "But when push came to shove, they've
always been 'mons I could count on to watch my back! If the choice is between being able to live the life I want or being stuck here glued to Luca's shadow, then by all means, give me the dice to roll!"
With that, sparks began to dance on Saéta's pelt. From their bindings, Nori gave out a whimpering whine, as Valatos turned his attention to his Manectric teammate.
"That would've been really touching, Alvise," he gulped. "Except that I think your old 'mon's about to kill us."
The Don's sparks grew stronger and stronger, only to abruptly flicker and dissipate with a harmless crackle. Saéta eased his posture, shooting a disgusted scowl at the bound youngster before him.
"... Very well, then," he growled. "Have it your way, Alvise."
Alvise blinked uneasily, his father's words repeating over and over again. That… was it? Even in his youth, he'd been able to glean enough to know what happened to Pokémon who crossed his father in his line of work. So what gave here? No abrupt life-ending event? No maiming? Not even a beating?
"... Huh?" he asked. "You're just giving in like that?"
"Alvise, you're
my son. If risking your life chasing stupid thrills until the day you drown at sea is really what you want out of life, then I'll respect that," Saéta answered. "I'd hoped that perhaps I could help you see some sense, but it seems that there's nothing that I can do to jolt you back to reality right now."
The elder wolf shook his head bitterly, turning to look out the window at the scattered lights of the city's lanterns in the distance. Saéta raised his voice again, his words coming out with a thick air of disappointment.
"Maybe you'll come to see sense soon enough, to see what a fool you're being," he muttered. "For your own sake, don't wait until you're in the Spirit World in order to turn back."
The wolf continued looking out the window, before giving a shake of his pelt. His earlier somberness seemingly dissipated in favor of a sharp, impatient annoyance.
"... Now get out of my office," Saéta snapped. "The only 'mons that have any business being here are my business associates, not random tourists."
Alvise shifted uneasily as his tail began to droop. While for his own sake, his father's respite had been welcome, something about this victory felt hollow... He was convinced that he'd made the right choice abruptly running away from home all those years ago without saying goodbye to elude his goons... and that the freedom he found on the seas afterwards had been worth it...
Even so, he couldn't help but waver after seeing his father turn away from him entirely. Could he have done anything differently? Would it even have made a difference?
"... Dad…" he murmured. "I-"
Creeaaaak
The room abruptly quieted at the sound of a creak from above, prompting the gathered Pokémon to look about their surroundings. By chance, Carlo happened to look up, where the Swampert noticed a wooden plank in the ceiling sagging.
"Hey wait a minute," he said. "Was that part of the ceiling always-?"
The wooden plank abruptly snapped, sending it and a good chunk of the roof collapsing into the room with a crash. The room quickly filled with a plume of dust and confusion, the sound of yelps ringing out along with coughing from the particulates in the air.
"Agh! What was that?!" an Escavalier cried.
"I thought we just fixed those roof timbers!" an Ambipom spluttered.
The dust began to settle down, revealing the stunned forms of Cardino, his assistants, and a number of 'mons who hadn't been present yesterday. At once, Alvise growled, recognizing the intruders to be none other than the pests who'd humiliated them at the tournament!
"You again!" the Manectric cried.
"Grr... I didn't know they paid you detectives to go
trespassing, Cardino," Saéta seethed. In response, Cardino scooped up his hat and placed it back on his head before sheepishly answering back.
"Er... we got an invite at the backdoor?"
Don Saéta's face reddened with lividity at Cardino's shamelessness. The Manectric sparked, motioning to his underlings as a low growl filled his voice.
"... Boys," Saéta snarled. "Show these 'mons how we handle uninvited guests here."
At once, Carlo, Giusy, and Luca began to advance snarling, pushing the increasingly unnerved party from the ceiling backwards. After feeling his wings brush up against the timbered wall of Saéta's office, Ander buzzed with a start, raising his voice in anxious protest.
"N-Now hold on here!" the Scyther stammered. "We only came because we wanted to trade information!"
"Yeah!" Elty added. "We wanted your help dealing with a mutual enemy who will be in a restricted area at the stadium tomorrow!"
"Well, the only thing
you're getting is a good beating!" Valatos snarled. "You're gonna regret showing your face in front of
us agai-"
"But before then," Saéta insisted. "Show Alvise and his friends the door."
"Huh?!" Nori cried. "But we were just about to-!"
"Out.
Now."
The three opened their mouths in protest, only for the Escavalier, Ambipom and Swampert in the room to pick up the pirates and drag them out of Saéta's office, slamming the door behind them. The bound Vigoroth and Steenee blinked incredulously at the whole scene, before Saéta rose and began to surround his trapped interlopers with his underlings.
"Just what do
you think you're doing here, huh?" Luca sneered.
"We wanted to make an offer to the Don," Crom said. "But your doormons were being obstinate and wouldn't let us in."
"That's mighty presumptuous of you," Saéta growled. "
I'm the one who makes deals here, and the only deal I'm in the mood for right now is the one that gets you
out of my office spitting your teeth up into the canals."
"Even if we told you we have a way of taking down the Coordinator?" Nida pressed. "He was apparently keeping in touch with a pirate who got caught a couple days back. If we can find any proof they talked with each other, it'll catch him red-pawed!"
Saéta and his lackeys shot back scoffing frowns at the Nidoran's response, only for Luca to notice from the corner of his eye that the bound Vigoroth and Steenee were shifting uncomfortably at the term.
"'Coordinator'?" the Vigoroth asked. "How do you shlubs know about him?"
The sloth, realizing at once he had spoken too much bit his tongue. Unfortunately for the creature, the mobsters' attention had already settled on him, prompting the Vigoroth to audibly gulp.
"Come again, buddy?" Luca demanded.
"Yeah, it sounds like you've got something that you want to
tell us here," Giusy added.
"A-All I did was run a couple letters, I swear!" the Vigoroth insisted. "I had nothing else to do with his operation! All I've seen of the 'mon is a shadow!"
Kiran's eyes lit up at the Normal-Type's words. This 'mon was a courier! So if his
job was to run letters on behalf of the Coordinator, then maybe...
"Wait! That's it!" the Swellow exclaimed. "Do you have any letters with you right now?"
The Vigoroth blanched and visibly paled, shaking his head overvigorously back at the question.
"I… er… no?" the Normal-Type stammered. "It's not like I just go walking around the time with- Hey! What are you doing?"
Undaunted by the Vigoroth's protestations, Giusy helped herself to patting down the sloth, discovering a envelope hidden under his scarf. The Salazzle wrenched the envelope free, shooting a glare back at the pallid Pokémon.
"Hrmph. If you'd stuck to mail delivery, maybe you wouldn't be here," the lizard spat.
"This look familiar at all to you?" Luca asked.
Giusy passed the envelope over to Nida, who snatched it up and tore it open. The group fished out a letter inside and unfurled it, scanning their eyes along line after line of written runes… only to discover that the letter seemed to have a far less nefarious purpose.
"Wait… a
letter for Thalez?" the Nidoran said. "There must be some sort of trick to this thing."
"Maybe it's encoded just like the diary...?" Crom suggested.
"… Looks like it's just some fan mail to me," Luca scoffed. "What are you going on about a 'code' here?"
"Yeah, wasn't the coded journal you showed us a bunch of nonsense when you tried to read it out loud?" Dimitri asked. "The writing forms actually readable sentences here."
A set of uncomfortable blinks went around the gathered Pokémon's faces. Sure enough, the letter read perfectly fine, even if its topic seemed peculiarly innocent… Why, it was hard to see how rearranging the runes here would do anything other than to turn the note into a jumbled mess!
But even if the letter wasn't coded that way, surely there had to be
some sort of trick to it…
"Right…" Cardino mulled. "Maybe it's written in a sort of ink that can't be seen normally?"
"
I don't see anything out of the ordinary for it," Ander buzzed. "And I've been told that my vision allows me to see things that your kind would normally miss."
Ander's mention prompted Saéta to mull a moment over the letter only to furrow his brow in annoyance, drawing some uneasy murmurs and coughs from the group. Frustrated with their breakthrough having evaporated before them, Elty slammed a paw onto the fan letter and gave a disgusted scowl.
"Pah! Some lead this turned out to be!" he harrumphed. The Growlithe snorted out a couple stray embers, which fell onto the paper, and much to his alarm set it alight. The Puppy Pokémon yanked his foot back with a yelp, as the eyes of all the present Pokémon widened in shock at the sudden eruption of flame.
"Agh! The letter!" Nida exclaimed.
"Quick!" Cardino cried. "Put it out!"
Guardia ran over and beat the letter over and over with her club, leaving behind a charred sheet on the floor. At once, Saéta's pelt began to course with electricity, the wolf lowering his head towards the stocky mutt with a furious snarl.
"What is your
problem Growlithe?!" the Don shouted.
"H-Hey! How was I supposed to know it'd do that?!" Elty stammered. "Paper doesn't just suddenly burst into flame from a little ember like that normally!"
The Growlithe flinched, only to pause and crack an eye open uneasily and see Saéta staring blankly. The other Pokémon in the room sported similarly dumbfounded expressions, as Guardia's attention turned over to the charred letter on the floor.
"… That's right," the Cubone murmured. "It
doesn't."
The bone lizard bent down and examined the paper, noticing that a small patch of it appeared unburnt, but of a curious yellow color. Guardia picked up the paper and carefully peeled away the burnt part, revealing a full sheet of yellowed paper underneath, with runes starting to become visible as more and more of the charred layer was peeled away.
"Eh?! That 'mon hid a letter within a letter!" Giusy exclaimed.
"You can
do that?" Luca asked.
"… I've heard of stories of 'mons doing this sort of stuff with treasure maps, but never letters," Saéta murmured to himself. "Who wrote this thing? And what exactly is the writer trying to hide?"
Cardino and Nida crowded around, dutifully helping to peel away the burned layer until the body of the hidden yellow paper was fully exposed. Cardino scooped it up, noticing a stamp at the bottom right with a design bearing a cluster of five leaves roughly laid out as a star before looking up and beginning to read aloud.
The paper was a note requesting an alliance with one 'Captain Tarquin' of the Strongjaw Gang in Orleigh, promising power and wealth if he would be willing to trade some favors as a member of Orleigh's ruling council. The letter carried on, flattering its intended recipient and making it clear that the author was in need of a new partner in light of his prior one pushing his luck and falling afoul of his superiors, until terminating in a squarish burn mark for a signature...
"Signed,
Admiral Coil?" the Pikachu finished, which drew a surprised squeak from Nida.
"Ah! So he really
is the Coordinator!"
Cardino stared blankly at the paper, pawing over and over again at the leafy sigil in the corner, only to shake his head out of stunned disbelief.
"I didn't want to believe it, but it looks that way, pal," Cardino murmured. "That seal on the letter is definitely his."
"It would make sense… Every tougher crew will be gunning for Sibich's spot on the Council once they hear about his capture, and the Councilmembers will all want to sway whoever winds up taking his place," Elty murmured. "The Pokémon in Orleigh are almost certainly wondering if something's up with him by now, so if
I wanted a new partnership, I'd certainly make it before half of Rosequartz gets bogged down in turf wars over sorting out a new hierarchy."
"So, Don Saéta," Guardia pressed. "Are we still wasting your time here?"
The Manectric glared back, visibly mulling over the youngsters' words. After a moment's consideration, the Electric-Type shook his head, his demeanor easing into a more relaxed if still stern expression.
"… I think it's worth letting your little episode with my ceiling earlier slide. Though you'll need more than just a little piece of paper to plead your case," Saéta said. "Going after Admiral Coil's like going after the queen herself. If you swing at him and miss, you won't be alive to get another chance."
Team Traveller and their companions blanched and gulped at Saéta's explanation. With stakes like those, it would be wise to heed the Don's advice and err to the side of caution… but what were they still missing, then?
"Uh… what else would we need then?" Crom asked.
"The same thing that took out my old rival in the business, Scarpatti," Saéta explained. "You get someone with inner knowledge to squeal and finger the 'mon."
"Wait, but didn't Scarpatti kick the bucket after a deal went wrong?" Giusy corrected. "Aren't you thinking of-"
"
My point still stands, thank you very much!" Saéta snapped. "And as for 'mons with inner knowledge, I think that we've got a couple right here."
The Manectric moved his paw down the other end of the room, all eyes following it over towards the form of the bound Vigoroth and Steenee. The pair fidgeted uneasily a moment, before the Steenee worked up the courage to ask about their newfound attention.
"… Why are you looking at us like that?" the Grass-Type pressed.
"Because, Steenee, I'm making you and your partner an offer you can't refuse," the elder Manectric answered. "You're going to help these nice Pokémon by ratting on the 'mon who's been giving you these letters before being left to slink off under whatever pier you two crawled out from."
The two went wide-eyed with a panic, reacting to Saéta's demand much as if he'd told them they were to choke down hot coals. The pair began stammering, only for the Vigoroth to splutter back a vehement refusal.
"I- I'm not doing that! You're crazy!" the sloth exclaimed. "You don't know what happens to the 'mons that cross the Coordinator like that!"
"… I thought you might be hesitant," Saéta growled. "So allow me to make a counteroffer."
The Manectric whistled, prompting Carlo and an Ambipom to enter the room carrying along a pair of barrels, followed closely by the forms of an Escavalier and Drampa. The Swampert and Ambipom struggled under the containers' weight and set them in front of the Steenee and Vigoroth, a quick glance revealing the reason why to be that the bottoms of the barrels were filled with stones. The two Pokémon peered blankly at the barrels, only to feel themselves get lifted up, and dangled into the opened casks.
"H-Hey wait, what are you doing?!" the Steenee cried.
"Giving you my counter-offer of having you deliver a message back to your associates for me about their dirty dealings on
my turf," Saéta said. "Namely by taking a long walk off a short pier inside those barrels and having a nice, long nap with the fishes."
"… Boss, we
are doing this away from my place, right?" Carlo asked. "I don't want to be sleeping next to a pair of drowned rats tonight."
The Vigoroth and Steenee's eyes widened with panic, the two thrashing wildly as they were forced into the barrels. The Ambipom came over and clamped lids over the tops, before beginning the process of lifting up the Steenee's barrel when Carlo and the Ambipom were suddenly cut off by the sound of a Vigoroth's yelp.
"A-Aah!" the Normal-Type screamed. "Okay! Okay! I'll talk!"
Saéta growled and motioned with his paws at the underlings to stop, prompting the Ambipom to set the Steenee's barrel back down onto the floor. The Don then turned his head over his shoulder to Team Traveller and their companions, still wide-eyed and stunned from the shakedown with the barrels.
"So… how exactly do you want this squealing to get done?" Saéta asked.
Team Traveller and their companions shrank back, visibly flustered and unsettled by what Saéta was expecting them to say back. Perhaps… it was best to try and low-ball their demands, for their own sakes of not getting sucked into his… 'business'.
"Uh… we needed a witness at the courthouse tomorrow?" Nida answered.
"So be it," Saéta answered, before giving a crackle of static and turning his head to his underlings.
"Get them out of those barrels and take them to our… accommodations for their like to pass the night," the wolf barked. "We'll need them at least
somewhat presentable if they're giving a public testimony."
The Swampert and Ambipom grunted back affirmations, undoing the bolts on the barrels and unceremoniously dumping the Steenee and Vigoroth out onto the floor. The two hit the ground visibly pallid and shivering, before being picked up and marched out of the room by the Escavalier and the Drampa. Carlo and his monkey colleague stopped by to collect the barrels, the Swampert peering into the Vigoroth's barrel only to give a disgusted groan and slide the lid over it before leaving.
With the room now mostly vacated, Saéta turned to his gathered associates and gave a nod, prompting Giusy to walk over to a nearby chest and fetch a bottle of wine that was set onto the table, along with cups made from blown glass wrapped with rubber holders. The Don waited as the Salazzle pulled the cork out, pouring wine carefully into the glasses as Saéta slipped his paw into a holder, raising a half-filled glass in front of the present Pokémon.
"Let us have a toast," the Manectric said. "To a fruitful and productive relationship, and the death of the Coordinator."
The Don's words hung in the air, Team Traveller and their companions trading uneasy looks with each other before vigorously shaking their heads back. The wolf raised a brow, prompting the gathered Pokémon to hem and haw and offer up one excuse after another to refuse Saéta's hospitality.
"Er… that's alright," Cardino insisted. "I've already drunk quite a bit tonight."
"I'm too young for wine," Nida added.
"
Nie dzięki, I… uh… have a really bad stomachache right now," Elty said. "Can't be drinking much of anything at the moment."
Saéta blinked nonplussed for a few moments, before opting to shrug the matter off and sip from his glass before setting it aside on the table with a roll of his eyes.
"Suit yourself, then," the Manectric harrumphed. "I'll see if I can arrange something celebratory through the mail later."
"We'll appreciate the gesture, I'm sure," Cardino replied. "Though we should get going. We've got a big day tomorrow, and a lot of things to plan out for it."
"I understand. And good luck with your case," Saéta grunted. "We may have opposing interests most of the time, but I can assure you that I'll be pulling for you in this case."
Saéta's statement made Guardia pull her helmet tight against her head, prompting the Cubone to turn to her teammates with an uneasy whisper.
"… Is that really what we should be hearing from him right now?" she murmured.
"Er… thanks. And good luck with… whatever it is you do that's not completely illegal," Cardino cheered.
"Much obliged, and good night."
Luca and Giusy stepped up and led the group of unexpected guests out of Saéta's office, bringing them through the warehouse, and much to their surprise, through a series of gates that led back onto the street. When the gates slammed behind them, the group collectively exhaled a sigh of relief. Until the morning at least, they'd have reprieve from this whole ordeal and they'd be able to rest and plan in more comfortable surroundings.
The following morning, the sun began its ascent in the skies over Giotto with a brilliant golden hue, scattering its rays from east to west as they pursued the Sun Chaser's Traveller across the sky along with the last vestiges of the night. Within the confines of the Saéta Family's compound the warehouse was busier than normal with black-scarved Pokémon moving about, including a Swampert, Salazzle, Ambipom, and Escavalier who made their way over to a row of storage rooms fitted with bars. The four made their way by, passing one room after another before stopping by a room with the forms of a dozing Vigoroth and Steenee sprawled out on the ground. There, the Swampert fished out a crude key from a small bag and walked up, glaring at the makeshift cell's occupants, before batting out a fist to loudly pound against the bars.
"Hey, stoolies! Get up! It's time to make yourselves useful!" Carlo barked.
The Swampert waited, only for the Vigoroth and Steenee inside to do little more than snort and shift uneasily in their sleep. The Vigoroth blinked his eyes a moment, before turning over and dozing back off, swiping a claw off at an unseen presence.
"Nrgh, no…" the sloth groaned. "Five more minutes…"
The four mons traded frowning looks with one another, Giusy murmuring under her breath if it wasn't too late to just drown the two wastes of air after all. The Escavalier rolled his eyes, before turning back to his Swampert teammate.
"Open the door," Bug-Type said. "
I'll handle this."
Carlo slipped the key into a padlock that had been slipped over the door and undid it, allowing the Escavalier into the cell. The Cavalry Pokémon crept along, hovering over the Vigoroth as he readied a lance and promptly brought it down on the Vigoroth's side with a stiff jab. As soon as the spike made contact, the sloth's eyes shot open, the Normal-Type squealing out of startled surprise at the sudden jolt.
"Eyaaah!" the Vigoroth yelped. "Let go! Let go!"
The Escavalier let go, leaving the Vigoroth to pant on the ground and his Steenee partner to crack her eyes open, looking up with an audible gulp to see the four black-scarved Pokémon glowering over her. Giusy spat a glob of poison onto the ground, evidently impatient with the pair's lack of progress.
"We
had an agreement, and the trial you need to sing at is in an hour," the Salazzle growled. "So get up and start making yourselves presentable!"
The pair hastily drug themselves to their feet and timorously made some attempts at dusting themselves off with obviously forced vigor. As the pair made a show of their grooming, the Ambipom's attention turned to the cell just over to the left, where it had been left vacant beyond a few stray brown scales and strands of blue hair.
"Hey wait a minute, wasn't the boss' other kid supposed to be in that cell there?" the monkey asked.
"Gah! They must've broken out overnight!" the Escavalier exclaimed. "Quick, tell the boys upstairs that-"
"They've been let go and are someone else's problem."
The four mobsters turned and saw Luca making his way down into the row of barred rooms with a stern expression. The group traded incredulous stares with one another, before turning back to the Manectric. The prisoners in the other cell… had just been left to walk away?
"Eh? Luca, what are you talking about?" Carlo demanded.
"Yeah, we don't just 'let 'mons go' when they cross the business like that!" the Escavalier exclaimed.
"And if it was just a matter between that lizard and that bug, we
wouldn't have let them go," Luca countered. "But then that furbrain had to come along and make things a
family matter."
The Ambipom blinked, giving an awkward pause at Luca's explanation. Wouldn't a family matter with a close betrayal involved just get Don Saéta
more riled up? So what gave here?
"… Not sure if I'm following, Luca," the Normal-Type murmured. "What would that have anything to do with it?"
Before the monkey could react, the Ambipom was answered with a sparking swat of Luca's paw at his shoulder, leaving him to recoil from the shock and paw uneasily at his shoulder as the wolf fumed and shook his head.
"
Because, dad has a soft spot for his family," Luca scolded. "Even though that schlub we dragged in was an embarrassing failure of a sea rat, he's still his family."
"That… makes some sense, I guess," the Ambipom replied. "So that's how you also feel, huh?"
The Manectric visibly paused at the question, his eyes darting away even as his muzzle remained firm and unmoving. After a moment of silence, Luca answered with a dismissive scoff, before turning away.
"... I'm just glad that idiot's out of our fur, that's all," he insisted. "If Alvise doesn't want to help the business, it's better for him to stay out of the way until he gets some sense."
Luca began to set off, leaving the four mobsters to gossip with one another. He clearly went through a lot of trouble to admit it, but it seemed that Luca was
happy with how things turned out…
"Ah, so he
does care about him," Giusy murmured.
"Yeah, I never thought he'd have picked up his old man's sense of sentimentalism," Carlo said.
The mobsters were interrupted by a bolt of electricity striking the ground near their feet, prompting the lot to yelp and look up at a glaring Manectric, his irked demeanor carrying a hint of overperformance.
"Are you going to start marching those mooks along or what?" Luca barked. "We've got a trial to make!"
The four underlings hastily squeaked back affirmations, dragging off their prisoners as Luca set off through the box-cluttered warehouse. The Manectric carried along, stepping out into the sunlit street outside where he followed the canal towards the sea before sitting and staring off at the sails of the ships in port.
"It's all on you, bro. You've got your own life to run into the ground, and we've got our own problems to take care of," he grunted. "That Cardino rat better deliver if he knows what's good for him."
The wolf stared a moment, looking back down the lane to see his four associates already making their way off with the Vigoroth and Steenee, prompting him to shake his head and give one last look at the harbor.
"... Whatever you wind up doing out there, just try not to be too much of a disappointment."
About an hour later, the courtroom that Nida, Elty, and Guardia had grown increasingly familiar with over the past two days began to fill in with Pokémon. The motley faces that composed the audience grew in number as Nico and Rita made their way to their desk, with Cardino coming by today as a visibly deflated Akin slithered over to his. From their spot on the courtroom floor, Nida and her companions looked up, spotting Crom, Kiran, Ander, and Dimitri keenly watching them from the audience. It was a big day, and even if Nico, Rita, and Cardino didn't know the full story, they seemed to be able to sense the tension in the air as well.
"So… are you ready for this, Nico?"
"I feel as if it's me who should be asking that, Cardino," the Fletchinder answered. "You're
sure your assistants have found evidence important enough to force the Coordinator in here?"
"I don't see how any audience, living or dead, would be able to rightfully say it's not important enough," Guardia insisted.
"We have his handwriting, a signature, and a witness!" Nida added. "It's hard to get clearer than that!"
The Nidoran trailed off as the call for an 'all rise' went around, prompting the Pokémon in the courtroom to stand up. Nico and Rita peered over at the judge's podium, where the Slowking judge was returning to his podium and took his seat before raising his gavel.
"Then here goes nothing…" the Fletchinder murmured.
WHAP!
The judge brought down the gavel and looked around the courtroom, just in time to watch the doors of the courtroom open and see the glaring form of a Cofagrigus be led into the courtroom for the defendant's docket. The Slowking shook his head, before raising his voice to speak up to the gathered Pokémon.
"The court is now in session for the trial of Captain Sibich of the Shadow Brigade," the judge declared, his words followed closely by the Serperior prosecutor and Fletchinder attorney's statements.
"The Prosecution is ready, Your Honor."
"The Defense is ready, Your Honor."
"Prosecutor Akin," the Slowking ordered. "Please give the court your opening statement."
The judge's prompting drew a defensive coil from the serpent prosecutor, prompting him to hiss in annoyance. Akin flicked his tongue moodily, before turning back to the judge, his eyes all but screaming his desire to do anything but in some way revisit his blistering loss from the day before.
"Your honor, is this
really necessary?" the Serperior insisted. "We
saw how the defendant is obviously guilty, so there's no reason for the Defense to subject me to this blatant humiliation!"
"
Your opening statement, Prosecutor Akin?"
Akin slunk down against the ground, giving a glare and an irritated hiss across the courtroom towards Nico.
"You're doing this just to show off, aren't you?"
The Serperior was cut off by an irked clearing of the judge's throat, prompting him to look over and see the Slowking was scowling impatiently at him. With wounded pride, the Grass-Type sighed, before shaking his head and opting to cut to the chase with what would hopefully be an open-and-shut opening statement.
"Anyhow, Your Honor. The defendant, Captain Sibich of the Shadow Brigade, pirate scourge of Orleigh, was captured in a failed raid on Polderfield Town just three days ago," the prosecutor explained. "After his capture, it was found through Detective Cardino's investigation that the Cofagrigus had been attempting to shift blame towards lower-ranked underlings to allow him and higher-ranked subordinates to evade charges for heinous activities such as egg theft."
The Serperior's words prompted murmurings among the crowd, some observers insisting that they knew that Captain Sibich was directly involved in the odious acts of his crew all along, while others wondered just what sentence the judge would hand down. Akin waited for the chatter to ebb a moment, before clearing his throat and continuing on.
"The Defense specifically proved that the defendant is guilty of numerous counts of egg trafficking, and provided decisive evidence against him while exonerating his last client," the serpent continued. "The Prosecution sees no reason to doubt the facts of this case or even to bother with further witnesses, Your Honor."
"Thank you, Prosecutor Akin," the judge replied, before casting his glance over to the other side of the room.
"Well then, do you have any objections to raise here, Defense?" the Slowking asked. "After yesterday's thing came out, my caseload has… grown fairly dramatically with retrials, so I'd like to not spend too much time on this particular trial if we don't have to."
Much to the Psychic-Type's surprise, from the Defense's corner of the courtroom, Nico answered back with a shake of his head. The Slowking blinked incredulously, before the bird began to speak to explain himself.
"My apologies for your troubles, Your Honor," the Fletchinder answered. "But I am afraid I must raise an objection here."
Nico beat his wings against his desk with a loud pound, drawing the attention of the whole courtroom before raising a wingtip back at the judge with a determined gaze.
"But Captain Sibich is not the core culprit of the egg trafficking scheme we uncovered!" the attorney declared. "He's reached an agreement to cooperate by testifying against his former associate, the Coordinator!
He's the true culprit, and a Pokémon who's been swaying the underworld here in Tidemill outside of public suspicion from within the ranks of the guards!"
"That Cofagrigus accused
Admiral Coil of being in league with him in front of the entire court yesterday!" Akin scoffed. "Surely you're not putting
stock into the desperate ramblings of a condemned 'mon, are you?"
"I am, and I will demonstrate that contrary to your impressions, Captain Sibich was telling the truth yesterday," Nico declared. "Admiral Coil is the Coordinator who trafficked eggs to him!"
At once, the Fletchinder's exclamation drew a loud and angry outcry from the audience. The air in the courtroom grew thick with jeers and boos, as livid glares settled on the Pokémon around the Defense's corner of the courtroom.
"This story again?!" a long necked Exeggutor cried.
"How could that defense lawyer drag Admiral Coil's name through the mud like this?!" an Elgyem snapped.
"Yeah, just because he won his last case, he suddenly thinks he can save anyone?!" a Glaceon shouted.
In the face of the overwhelming torrent of hostility, Nico couldn't help but shrink back and pull his wings in tight. For his part, Akin seemed particularly unimpressed with the Fletchinder's grandstanding, prompting him to give a dismissive scoff back at his counterpart.
"Hrmph. I see your win yesterday's been going to your head, attorney," the Serperior snapped. "You can't
honestly believe your client's accusations, can you?"
Back at the Defense's corner, Nico and his companions traded apprehensive glances around the room. Even with the evidence they'd uncovered, this premise of Admiral Coil really being the Coordinator was clearly something that the audience, and judging from his glaring scowl, the judge would have to be eased into...
"… I think that we've riled up the room pretty badly," Rita murmured.
"Gee, you
think?" Elty snorted. "Get your partner to throw out some evidence already!"
From his place before the judge, Nico blanched, hastily trying to find a way to dispel the initial shock surrounding his accusations. The Fletchinder beat his wings out, stammering out an insistence to the watching audience.
"N-Now hold on a second here! I didn't exactly find this easy to believe myself!" Nico exclaimed. "I wouldn't make these accusations if I wasn't completely sure about them, Your Honor."
"Eh?" Cardino asked. "But I thought your
specialty was bluffing-"
Before the Pikachu could finish his statement, Nico hastily threw a wing over the detective's mouth. After an awkward chuckle, the Fletchinder ruffled his feathers, before turning his attention back to the judge behind the podium.
"The point is, Your Honor, I've
seen concrete evidence pointing towards Admiral Coil being the culprit," Nico insisted. "Just look at this!"
The Fletchinder attorney fished out a yellow paper riddled with runes that smelled of smoke, the very same Team Traveller had returned with from Saéta's place the night before. Nico took the letter and began to pass it around, sending it first by Akin's desk. There, the Serperior browsed the paper, before flushing pale from shock and uneasily passing it onto the judge, who similarly had the color drain from his face.
"This- This is a letter soliciting a partnership with a wanted pirate! There must be some sort of deeper story here!" the Slowking exclaimed. "Perhaps it's a forgery? I've heard that the competition for the Prime Minister spot was fierce between Walpole and Coil. How can we know this wasn't planted to damage him?"
"Because, the Defense has two witnesses to back up its claim," Nico retorted.
A stunned silence filled the courtroom, uneasy murmurs floating about the audience. From his corner of the courtroom, Akin visibly grimaced at the mention of a witness. Since when did a chronic bluffer like that Fletchinder suddenly walk into court catching
him off-guard at the start?
"I-It does?" Akin gulped.
"That's right," Nico retorted. "The Defense calls its witnesses to the stand!"
The Fletchinder pointed off at the door to the courtroom where the Glalie and Persian bailiffs led in a Steenee and Vigoroth. The Pokémon made their way forward, as the pair clambered behind the witness podium and shifted uneasily, the Vigoroth clearing his throat uneasily.
"Er… uh… hi?" the sloth stammered. "I just wanted to say that I've got nothing to do-"
The Normal-Type's gaze turned up towards the audience, where the Vigoroth grew acutely aware of a Manectric in a black scarf glaring down at him. Luca motioned with a paw across his neck, prompting the Pokémon to audibly gulp.
"… Other than come clean," the sloth said. "Yeah, I ran letters for this 'Coordinator' 'mon, and that one you've got in your paws is one of his."
The Vigoroth's claim at once set the audience back on edge, drawing loud protests and jeers. From his place at the head of the courtroom, the judge maintained a skeptical glance, seemingly torn between the evidence he saw and the outlandish nature of the claims.
"I… still don't know if I can swallow this claim, Defense," the judge said.
"Yeah, you probably just pulled some random thug off the streets to play along with some gambit of yours!" Akin snapped.
"Well then, I suppose that we ought to cross-examine the witness, shouldn't we?" Nico answered.
The Fletchinder turned his attention back to the Vigoroth and Steenee, listening intently as the two laid forward a claim of serving as a messenger on behalf of the Coordinator. As the pair's story carried on, Nico would pause and pepper the Vigoroth and his Steenee compatriot with questions, about where the letters were obtained, about times and places of meeting, of how long he'd been operating. All the while, a disturbingly coherent picture of the Coordinator started to emerge. Of a figure who had influence among the guards, and seemingly the power to affect anything he pleased in Giotto and in the waters of the Empire. A pallor settled across the audience and the judge, as the premise of Coil being this Coordinator shifted from seeming outrageously outlandish into something that felt disturbingly probable.
"… We need to bring the Admiral in here for an explanation," the Slowking said. "Detective Cardino!"
"Yes, your honor."
"Please go along with the bailiffs to summon Admiral Coil to court," the judge ordered. "Bring reinforcements along. Even if he's innocent as I still hope, the 'mon can be a bit confrontational at times."
"As you wish," Cardino replied. "Come on, kids, let's go."
At the Pikachu's prompting, Nida, Elty, and Guardia followed after the Detective, their companions in the audience quietly slipping out of the courtroom as well. The lot made their way through the doors, a thick tension surrounding them all the while as they set off for what was sure to be a fateful confrontation with Admiral Coil.
About half an hour later, the hallways of the
Vecioferàle Arena echoed with the sounds of stomping footsteps on the move. Their owners were a small handful of guards in indigo scarves, having been pulled off of duty from the courthouse, following after a Pikachu sharing their garb, along with a Nidoran, a Cubone, and a Growlithe keeping pace. All the while, the three youngsters seemed to fidget with unease, their glances shifting back to the detective Pikachu every now and then as they wondered if they were overlooking anything in their attempt to bring Admiral Coil to court.
"So… how's this work anyways, Pikachu?" Guardia asked. "Isn't Coil supposed to be a very powerful Pokémon?"
"Well, it's a legal summons. So it shouldn't matter if he's strong or not, he has to come," the Pikachu answered.
"And if he doesn't?" Elty pressed.
An uneasy silence lingered in the air, before Cardino folded his ears back, evidently having found it to not be a very pleasant scenario. Even so, the the Pikachu opted to guard his thoughts close to his chest, shaking his head back at his assistants.
"… We'll cross that bridge if we have to, pal," he sighed.
The party made their way down a hallway lined with doorways with guards in cerulean armor posted at the front, carefully examining some signage hung up outside each entrance. Cardino came to a stop at one bearing 'Admiral of Her Majesty's Navy', prompting him to step through into a chamber with cushions and low tables set aside to entertain guests with curtains opened to a private box where Admiral Coil floated and bobbed above the floor enthralled by the sight of a Gengar, Spiritomb, and Chandelure locked with an opposing Rhyperior, Machamp, and Klinklang in pitched combat. The Pikachu began to pace forward, only to at once draw the ire of an agitated Aegislash and Torterra clad in segments of cloth armor who stepped forward with low growls.
"Oi! This is a restricted area!" the Torterra snapped. "State your purpose here, Pikachu!"
"I'm here for a court summons for Admiral Coil," the detective replied.
The pair's outburst drew the attention of a Malamar and Heracross in the back of the room, along with Admiral Coil from out in the box's stands. The Magnezone motioned for the guards beyond the entrance to the stands to pause, floating out into the reception room and peering down at the Pikachu before him.
"Is there an issue here, Officer?" Coil asked. "I was just in the middle of watching a match."
"You have a summons to testify in an ongoing case against an egg trafficker," Cardino answered.
Coil paused and bobbed unimpressedly, evidently having thought nothing of the answer. The Magnezone give a nonchalant spin of his magnets before he started to turn back for the ongoing match in the arena, waving off the detective's questioning.
"Hrmph. It's nothing that can't wait until the end of the day," Coil scoffed. "Tell them to throw the scum back into a cell to rot until then."
"This is fairly urgent," Cardino said. "
You're being accused of having involvement with the trafficker's activities and the judge wanted to hear your alibi."
An arc of static suddenly danced on the Magnezone's steely body, prompting Nida, Elty, and Guardia to reflexively shrink back. The admiral turned around slowly, his eyes now sporting a piercing scowl, leveled firmly at the intruding detective.
"Is this supposed to be some sort of
joke?" Coil hissed, drawing a similarly hostile reception from the posted guards.
"Yeah! Admiral Coil would never be up to stuff like that!" the Heracross exclaimed.
"Take a hike if you're going to waste his time!" the Aegislash spat.
"That's for the courts to decide, and I can assure you, I'm not wasting his time," Cardino retorted.
The Pikachu fished around in a satchel about his waist, pulling out a piece of rolled-up paper. The mouse unfurled it, revealing it to be a paper densely packed with runes, with the judge's signature featured prominently at the bottom next to a waxen seal.
"You
would have something better to tell the judge than that you ignored a summons just to watch a few fights, wouldn't you?" the detective pressed.
Coil sized up the paper, shifting and bobbing out of visible aggravation as he realized its contents were for a subpoena. The Magnezone let some sparks dance on his body, giving a crackling huff back to the diminutive detective before him.
"Hrmph. If you really want to inconvenience the guards here by throwing together a security detail, then so be it," Coil harrumphed. "You can rest assured that
you won't be hearing the last of it, Pikachu."
"Fine by me," Cardino replied. "My job's just to help dig up clues to the truth, not to be convenient to other people."
"Let's just get this over with," the admiral snapped.
The Magnezone floated off and left the box as six guards followed after him. Team Traveller poked their heads out the door as the admiral set off, watching as one after the other, guards from the other rooms left and followed along in ones and twos at the beckoning of Coil's new entourage. The three watched as the number of guards thinned in the hallway and Cardino set off, before Nida raised its voice after them.
"Hey, Cardino?" she asked. "We… kinda need to make a bit of a detour here before heading back."
The Pikachu looked back over his shoulder, shooting a visibly unimpressed frown back at his charges. They couldn't seriously need to attend another match in the ring
now of all times, could they?
"
What is it this time?" Cardino demanded. "We finally got Nico what he needed to try and blow the case open!"
"Uh… well… it's just that we left behind some stuff we took out of the team bag yesterday," Elty explained. "And we wanted to see if it turned up at the lost and found."
Cardino folded his ears back and pinched his brow with a paw. After a moment to shake his head, he reasoned that his assistants
had been through a lot as part of their work… Perhaps it was time to be a little easy on them.
"Alright, I think that Nico should be able to handle everything if you're running late anyways since all the evidence is back at the courtroom," Cardino replied. "Good luck?"
"Yeah," Guardia answered. "
Ganbatte."
The Detective Pikachu hastily scampered off after the rest of the body of guards accompanying Coil, their footsteps fading and being subsumed with the roar of the spectators in the background. Nida, Guardia, and Elty walked off in the other direction, looking around when they reached a quiet spot between rooms where Nida shook her head and gave a determined scowl.
"We've been keeping Crom and Kiran waiting long enough," the Nidoran muttered. "Come on, let's find them."
The three carried on, passing a stairwell leading up to the level above. There, waiting for them in the shaded corner behind it was none other than Crom and Kiran, the two keenly eying their surroundings as Nida, Elty, and Guardia neared.
"Any luck, you two?" Nida asked.
"We think we've found where they're keeping Pleo," Kiran chirped back.
"Yeah, and a bunch of the guards just left for some reason!" Crom exclaimed.
"That's from our end," Elty said. "And Ander and Dimitri are waiting for us at…?"
"The canal that brushes up against the back of the stadium," the Swellow finished, pointing a wing off at a small waterway bounding the plaza that carried on behind the complex's disused lighthouse. "If we want to make our move, the time is now while the extra guards haven't been able to be replaced."
Kiran's exhortation made the three shift uneasily, prompting them to gaze out at the plaza below. They could see a group of indigo-scarved Pokémon moving out around a saucer-shaped creature whose metal reflected light off its curvature. The three peered down towards Cardino, wondering if there could've been a way to free Pleo without exploiting his trust in such a fashion…
It was too late to turn back now. This was the only opportunity that they'd have to get Pleo back, possibly for good. All that was left to do was to bide their time… and then finally take the plunge.
"Let's give it a little bit until we know Cardino and the others are gone," Nida said. "We've only got one chance at this, so let's not rush into it."
"Right," Crom answered. "Let's keep an eye open."
The four walked up to the ledge of the stadium's level to get a better view, looking out into the plaza around the stadium. The group waited, watching as Admiral Coil and his entourage melted into the hubbub of the city, prompting Kiran and the four younger Pokémon to check for approaching guards and cast cautious glances down the hallway they'd need to navigate to reach Pleo. Their breaths came tense and guarded, the five steeling themselves for a mission that quite literally placed the weight of the world on their shoulders.
At the time Team Traveller waited for Coil's entourage to be far enough from the stadium, Valatos, Alvise, and Nori were trudging their way back to the docks where the Mistral Marauder waited. This time, the three didn't bother making an attempt to stick to the alleys of the city, the purpose of having to do so now left moot, and their states of mind far from being in a position to care about discreetness.
"Ugh, we
finally made it back," Valatos sighed.
"What's the big deal of making a bunch of illusions to confuse us on the way out, huh?" Nori growled. "We would've gone away sooner if they'd just shown us the door!"
"
Now do you see why I said that coming here was a bad idea?" Alvise huffed. "Let's just go up the ship and get things over with."
The three shambled up the caravel's gangplank, flopping down tiredly on the planks, where a visibly fuming Vileplume, Charmeleon, and Sealeo were waiting for them on deck.
"
There you are!" the Vileplume exclaimed. "Just where do you think you've been?"
"Yeah, we thought that you fell into a canal or something!" the Charmeleon added.
The outburst quickly drew the attention of the rest of the Iron Fleet, who began to sidle over to the gangplank to see what was going on with their freshly-returned crewmates. Among them was the Aggron captain, his face clearly sporting a disappointed grimace at the three's return.
"Oh. You're back, along with your lizard friend…" Hess murmured. "That's… wonderful."
"Eh?!" a Voltorb exclaimed. "But you were saying that if they didn't show up by noon, that we were better off sailing off to- OW!"
The Electric-Type was promptly swatted by Hess' tail, sending the hapless Pokémon pinballing clear off the deck and into the harbor water. Some of the sea escorts swiftly went over to retrieve the downed Voltorb, leaving Hess behind to clear his throat and attempt to change the topic.
"So since you were gone all night, did you actually
find anything while you were out?" the Aggron demanded. "Your teammates told me that you didn't find any leads for getting that bird after you lost us the tournament."
The three blanched, trading gulping looks at each other. It had been true that they hadn't found any leads to the Protector beyond 'winning the tournament'… But couldn't their supposed teammates at least
attempt to make a cover story for them?
"Er…" Valatos buzzed. "You see, uh…"
"We had some trouble with some local criminals who bogged us down overnight," Alvise said. "They thought we were involved with some street punks they had a turf dispute with."
The ship rocked as a loud stomp hit the wood of the deck. The nearby sailors hastily braced themselves and looked over to their Aggron captain who opened his maw with a bellowing roar.
"What sort of lead is
that?!" Hess shouted. The irate Aggron made Alvise and Valatos backpedal uneasily, their Marowak teammate, whether in a fit of pique or bravado, stood his ground, raising his club defensively as he glared back.
"Oi! We spent the night locked up in a cell!" Nori snapped back. "Give us a break!"
As quickly as Hess saw the Marowak's frustrated challenge, his nerves got the best of him, prompting him to shrink back. The newly-meek Aggron's eyes darted about uneasily, as he stumbled over his words trying to muster a response.
"I- I mean, when you put it that way…" Hess stammered, before muttering under his breath. "Gah… why couldn't he have
stayed locked up?"
"Besides, it wasn't a total bust!" Nori insisted. "We found out that those Team Traveller twerps and their buddies are trying to work with those 'mons that jumped us to settle a score with some 'mutual enemy' that would be at the stadium!"
The revelation drew some puzzled murmurs among the gathered sailors. Even Hess seemed to be taken aback, his earlier unease ebbing away in favor of an incredulous scowl.
"Wait,
what? Didn't you just
lose to them yesterday?" the Aggron demanded. "Why would they want to risk getting in trouble when they're still in the running?"
"Beats me," Valatos grumbled. "But they came there saying that the 'mon they had a score to settle with was in a restricted area of the arena and they needed help pulling it off."
Hess blinked, before falling silent. A dawning realization crept up on him that regardless of whether or not there was a score to settle, there was only one Pokémon in the entire stadium that would motivate those hicks to go through all that trouble. The captain gritted his teeth and balled his claws up, his change in demeanor quickly being noticed by the Pokémon around him.
"… Captain?" Alvise murmured. "You suddenly went quiet."
"… We need to get into that stadium," Hess said.
"Huh? Why?" Valatos asked. "I don't see the-"
"Why did those 'mons enter the tournament in the first place?!" the Aggron roared. "To get that bird! They wouldn't be taking a risk like that unless it somehow helped them get him back!"
The pirate captain's declaration drew murmurs and startled outcries from the sailors gathered around him. Could those Trombans really be plotting to try to just cut the knot and outright
steal the Protector away from the tournament?
"What are we supposed to do now, then?" a Sealeo despaired. "We can't just sit here and let them walk off with our target!"
"We're
not," Hess scoffed. "
I'm going in with a team, and we're gonna beat them to the punch and steal the Protector
first!"
The Aggron's exclamation drew an outcry from the gathered Pokémon, with even Rodion seeming taken aback by his plan. Voices went up one after the other in protest, including that of an incredulous Ledian.
"I think he's finally lost it," Kichiro muttered. "Just how do you expect us to pull
that off?!"
"I think you'd do well to think this one through a bit, Hess," Rodion insisted. " Even if our crew isn't known here, this isn't exactly friendly territory. That Clawitzer and her
kholui are bound to be around. If they spot you, they'll surely try to take you down, so how do you propose getting around that?"
"We'll stick to the canals on the way over to the stadium," the Aggron replied. "It's harder to see things there in between the water and all the 'mons there. If that shrimp and her cronies had been swarming the stadium, we'd have been caught days ago by now."
Hess noticed that his crew still seemed less-than-convinced, prompting him to shake his head and lower his voice a bit. His armored head sometimes was slow to pick up on his crew's mood… but even here, it was plain as day why they weren't enthusiastic about their odds. Then… perhaps the best thing to be done would be to remind everybody what was at stake.
"... I know that these are long odds, but this is likely our only chance at pulling this off," he murmured. "So are we going to go for it? Or slink off and say that we had a chance to bring a Protector to Orleigh but turned tail at the last moment?"
The metal-hided lizard heard his underlings' wariness begin to melt away as one after the other, cautious affirmations began to swirl around their number. Satisfied that he'd shifted the mood enough, Hess batted his tail against the deck, turning his attention to the crew around. With a sense of determined purpose, the pirate captain began to speak, counting off with his claws as he cast glances off at the canals in the distance.
"Alright, I'm gonna need ten swimmers, ten fliers, and fifteen 'mons who aren't afraid of getting a little wet!" Hess barked. "If we pull this off, you'll get double shares of our next batch of loot!"
The mention of double shares of loot served to be enough to sway most of the numbers Hess needed, Kichiro and a few more stubborn holdouts being accounted for after being promised first dibs over any spirits swiped from Tidemill on the way out. The volunteers began to make their way to the bow of the ship, Hess stopping by a chest at the bridge to rifle through some supplies when he saw the sight of Rodion approaching.
"Not this time, Rodion," Hess said, raising a claw in a stopping gesture. "You stay with the ship."
The Floatzel first mate raised a brow in reply. He had a fairly good hunch as to
what would account for Hess' newfound reluctance to take him along, and began to raise his voice in protest.
"Hess ,if this is about what happened back with that Clawitzer, that was simply a run of bad lu-"
"That's
not the point. If this goes south, there's no negotiating our way out of this one, which means playing whatever we can as safe as possible." Hess explained. "And to do that, I need you to get the Mistral Marauder ready in case we need to get out of here in a hurry."
Rodion blinked uneasily and looked around the Mistral Marauder. During the past few days in port, the crew had really let things go. The deck looked more like a saloon than a sail-ready ship, the ropes around the moorings were still tightly tied up, and the sails were still folded up. As loath as he was to admit it, the ship wasn't prepared for a speedy exit, and it was hard to imagine the remaining crew being able to remedy the matter without someone directing them.
"… That's fair enough," the Floatzel replied. "Just make sure you're not taking stupid risks on
your side of things."
"I'm not planning on it," Hess insisted, before turning back to his amassed underlings.
"Alright, let's do this!" the Aggron shouted. "Stick to small groups and watch out for your teammates! You're the first and only lifeline they've got for getting back if they go down!"
Hess ran and dove off the side of his ship, hitting the water and coming back up to the surface with a series of powerful strokes in the water. One by one, other Pokémon began to set off after him in the canals, in the air, or on the surrounding pathways, rushing off for the
Vecioferàle Arena for what was perhaps the Iron Fleet's boldest mission yet.
Back at the
Vecioferàle Arena, Kiran and his pupils crept up along a corner on the fourth tier of the arena, drawing shallow breaths as they heard murmuring from around the bend. One by one, the five poked their heads around, seeing a doorway separated by a thick curtain of indigo cloth with a Hitmonlee and a Lunatone in cerulean armor waiting in front. The Swellow stared ahead a moment, carefully sizing up the Pokémon at the entrance. Every move, every moment would determine the fate of their scheme to secure Pleo's freedom, with failure potentially resulting in the harshest of fates for the lot who were captured. With those thoughts in mind, Kiran ruffled his feathers uneasily, turning back to the younger Pokémon with him.
"Well, this is it. Are you
sure that you don't want to trust this to other Pokémon?" the Flying-Type asked. "Once we make our first move, there's no turning back."
"There was no turning back from the night we snuck aboard Lyn's ship," Nida answered.
"Or when I left home to gather lore about your Protector," Guardia added.
"We're ready, Kiran," Elty grunted. "You've got a whole town counting on us back home, and I'm not about to turn tail this time."
The Growlithe rooted through the tattered bag on his Nidoran teammate's shoulder, pulling out a glassy orb that swirled with peach mist under its surface. One by one, the five passed the Slumber Orb around to each other, brushing limbs against it until it wound up being passed to Crom. The young Druddigon took the orb, tightening his claws firmly around it, before looking back down at the guarded entrance.
"Here goes nothing…"
Crom beat his wings for stability, pulling his arm back for a throw. In the process, the sound of the Dragon-Type's movements drew the guards' attention, setting the pair on edge at once as their attention instantly shot towards the corner where Team Traveller rested.
"Hey!" the Hitmonlee cried. "Who goes there-!"
Before the Fighting-Type could finish, he saw the form of a dragon zip out, flinging a spherical blur at the ground ahead. The guards hastily weaved out of the way, only for the sound of shattering glass to sound out, followed by a sudden explosion of peach smoke that filled the hallway.
"Agh! We've got intruders!" the Hitmonlee yelped.
"Nrgh… call for help…" the Lunatone said tiredly. "Right after this nap."
The Rock-Type slumped over onto the ground, her Hitmonlee counterpart following suit after a vain attempt to retreat into the stadium box. A faint breeze blew in from the windows, blowing the orb's dissipating mist away, revealing that both guards were soundly dozing. Team Traveller crept forward uneasily, Crom stopping to poke at the Hitmonlee with a claw cautiously, only to notice as they neared the entrance that the sleeping breaths of the Hitmonlee and the Lunatone were intermixed with the sound of loud snoring from beyond the indigo curtain, sign enough that for now at least, they'd face less resistance.
"Huh, I wouldn't have thought that one of Lyn's dirty tricks would wind up working for
us for a change…" Crom murmured.
"Hey! What's going on out there?!" a whinnying voice cried.
At the sound of the cry from inside, the five stiffened up. At once, Kiran made his way over to the curtain, motioning for his pupils to follow.
"Come on," Kiran cried. "Let's move in!"
The Swellow batted out a wing and threw the curtain in the doorway in front of them aside. With the indigo curtain out of the way, the five saw a chamber laid out with low tables and cushions with the arena pit visible up ahead, running forward as they looked wildly about their surroundings for their Protector. The group passed the slumbering forms of an armored Vanilluxe and a blue Florges passed out on the floor, along with a loudly snoring Gumshoos in Imperial plates when the sound of running footsteps reached their ears. The five braced themselves, watching a Ponyta, Cranidos, and Sandslash in Imperial indigoes pop in from the stands, and much to their astonishment, along with none other than Pleo. The young Lugia for his part seemed every bit as dumbfounded to see his companions, jumping back in surprise.
"H-Huh?!" Pleo squawked. "Nida?! Crom?!"
"
You again?!" Berecien hissed. "What do you think you're all doing here?!"
"I heard that there was a little bit of confusion and that one of my pupils was stuck here," Kiran answered. "My students and I are here to take him
back."
"Well you've got another thing coming, bird!" Niilo growled. The Sandslash lunged forward, raking his claws which slashed Kiran with a pained squawk. Out of reflex, the Swellow flew up, retaliating with a slicing gust at the Sandslash below and sending him tumbling back, clearing a path towards Pleo.
"Now! Make your moves!" Kiran cried.
Nida, Crom, Elty, and Guardia rushed forward as Kiran continued to harry Niilo, Cabot and Berecien hastily darting ahead to intercept. The Ponyta charged ahead, aiming to strike the Nidoran in the group with a flaming tackle, only for a yip to reach his ears.
"Not so fast, Imp!"
Berecien felt a pain shoot through his haunches, prompting him to rear up with a pained whinny as he looked back to see Elty latched onto his hindquarters. His Cranidos partner looked around in startled confusion, before making a beeline for Crom. Cabot lowered his head for a headbutt, only to jump back as a bone narrowly missed him from the front. He quickly whirled to see Guardia retrieving her bone from an arcing throw, prompting him to hastily change course and plow into her, knocking her off her feet and sending her tumbling back onto the ground to a growling stop.
"Ngah… Nidoran!
Crimgan! Hurry it up!"
The path now cleared of any other defenders, Nida and Crom ran up to Pleo, the pair hastily latching onto his wings and tugging him along. All the while, the young Protector followed along uneasily, spluttering out of confusion at the sudden tumult.
"Wh-What are you doing here?" the Lugia squawked.
"Getting you out of here!" Crom cried. "Come on!"
The three ran along, just in time to come across Guardia regaining her bearings and swing her club out. Her bone carried on, its heavy knob slamming into Cabot's throat as the Cranidos wheezed out of pain.
The Cranidos tottered back, coming to a stop against a pillar. The dinosaur slouched over, throwing his claws out against the ground as he struggled in a daze to find his footing. A sharp yelp rang out, revealing Elty sailing back through the air, a pair of fresh hoofprints stamped on the pelt of his flank.
"Grah!"
The Growlithe hastily righted himself, instinctively breathing back a gout of embers at his tormentor. The Ember swept up the Ponyta, though much to Elty's dismay, it simply got absorbed into the horse’s hide—the telltale sign of Flash Fire.
"Is that really the best you can do, you mangy mutt-?"
The sound of a startled cry prompted Elty to turn back and suddenly dive away. Berecien looked up, wondering what had so spooked the tubby pirate, only to go wide-eyed as he saw Niilo's spiked back sail for him. The Sandslash struck him, sending the pair tumbling back into a wall with a pair of pained yelps. From his vantage point up ahead, Kiran looked around the room, seeing that their foes had been stunned and the exit was clear. They had been blessed by fortune so far in battle, and now was the time to make the most of the luck they'd had.
"We need to get going!" the Flying-Type exclaimed. "
Now!"
The Swellow flew off, prompting his teammates to run after him. From his place at the back of the group, Pleo began to follow suit, only for a startled cry to reach his ears from behind.
"Pleo, w-wait! Where are you going?!"
The young Protector looked back and saw Cabot getting up, his eyes wide and his face visibly filled with confusion and despair. Pleo hesitated a moment, his mind drifting towards the snatches of happiness the Cranidos had helped to give him since Nagant captured him. Was… was he doing the right thing?
The Lugia's mind turned back to his teammates, to the Pokémon back home in Tromba, how sad Nida told him everyone in Tromba had been after Lyn took him away. No, there would be time to be a Protector for Cabot and Pokémon like him… but not like this, and not right now.
"I'm sorry, Cabot," Pleo said. "But these are my friends! They need me more right now than your Empire does."
"H-Huh?! B-But-!"
"Please don't be sad," he insisted. "We'll meet again, I'm sure of it."
With that, Pleo turned and ran. The young Lugia beat his wings, his flight feathers still not healed enough to let him get off ground, but enough to help drive him forward. The seabird darted forward, the sound of Cabot's voice crying out from behind following him.
"Hey! Stop!"
Team Traveller looked back and saw Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo running after them readying themselves for battle. The sight prompted Nida to fish through the team's satchel and take out a scaled, orange seed, before hurling it up at the capstone of the arched entrance. A deafening blast and flash of heat rang out, followed by the sound of crumbling stone, and the sight of Berecien, Cabot, and Niilo skidding to a stop as a pile of masonry fell down before them. Team Traveller ran forward, sidestepping around the still-dozing Hitmonlee and Lunatone as they looked back panting amidst the smoky haze to see that the entranceway had been blocked by a small mound of upended and scorched stone blocks, with the sounds of shouts coming from the other end. Satisfied with the blockade, Kiran shook his head, turning and motioning down the hallway.
"Come on, this way! The other guards had to have heard all of that!"
Pleo watched as his friends took off running, the young Protector running after them down the hallways under the light of the midday sun. Amidst all his worries, he'd finally been able to return to his friends… but for how long, and what dangers awaited them during their desperate flight out of this faraway city?
Author's Notes:
-
Novomarca - Venetian: "New Market"
-
Destacàr - Venetian: "Stop" (interjection)
-
Smotri (Смотри) - Russian: "Look" (second-person imperative) (BGN/PCGN Romanization)
-
Pardón - Venetian: "Sorry" (formal)
-
Bònjorno - Venetian: "Hello"
-
Ganbatte (頑張って) - Japanese: "Good luck". lit. "do your best/give it your best" (Hepburn Romanization)
-
kholui (холуи) - Russian: "lackeys", "grovellers" (BGN/PCGN Romanization)
