Elilan opted to spend the last stretch of his journey to Nagrobek with Sorge on the deck of his ironclad. He watched as the buildings of Dulefield Town started coming into view over the horizon under the afternoon sun… along with the prison and his administrative complex looming off in the background.
Dulefield was still the backwater town that it had been when his tenure began, with the same stubborn Pokémon that lived in it. It never failed to surprise him how the villagers clung to that outdated and obsolete relic of a town, instead of moving to more dignified existences on the other Company islands. But even so—as they got closer, Elilan noticed something
was different that day:
All along Dulefield Town's harbor, the docks were unusually crowded with strange ships. There were far too many of them for them to be merchant vessels, and their hulls didn't look particularly well-equipped to carry ore. As they neared the town, he saw that most of the ships looked visibly damaged, like a schooner whose hull was visibly held together with ice plugs. Sorge blinked at the sight for a moment, before shaking his head with a low harrumph.
"Looks like Ketu wasn't kidding when he said that our personnel would be kept busy with the aftermath of Lyn's battle to capture Pleo."
"Well, I'd certainly
hope so when Lyn sailed off for it with a fleet of
five ships," Elilan scoffed. "If that Samurott couldn't even manage to come out victorious with such resources, even
Inler would've had to fire him on the spot."
Elilan rested an elbow on the railing and leaned his head against the back of his claw. He looked out at the ramshackle town on the coast as they sailed past it, before giving a frowning sigh.
"But the Board has made its choice, and there's nothing to be gained by challenging it right now… Frontally, anyways," the Zoroark said. "It's not as if we haven't worked around worse setbacks in the past. Besides, there's more immediate concerns we need to tend to."
The town drifted further and further to the right as the ironclad sailed along. Elilan and Sorge watched their surroundings go by as the ship rounded the island, until they were looking up the island's Administrative Complex and its attached prison at the top of a sheer cliff face. Their destination lay at the same cliff's bottom, just west of the buildings far above—the local garrison. It was a collection of buildings and docks built along a narrow strip of land wedged between the cliffs and the sea, anchored by a stone fortress three levels tall at the center. It was the nigh-impregnable final line of defense to the cliff it was built into and the tunnel passages up to the complex above, with narrow slit-like windows from which its defenders could throw covering attacks or fire cannon shots..
Elilan scanned the docks as his ironclad pulled in at the dock's central pier. All around them were ships in Company lavenders moored, barring one exception with blue sails, each bearing a black circle quartered by tilted cross. Off to the right of the sea fort, there was a grated channel that had been cut to let aquatic prisoners be taken to the pens in the sea caves at the base of the cliff. Although there weren't any prisoners to be seen at that moment, there were guards going about firmly at attention on land, in the water, and in the air above.
A sign this place was being watched over by orderly and loyal defenders. Just as things
should be.
The Zoroark's ears flicked at a loud clatter along the pier: a sign the gangplank was being lowered. Elilan felt a gentle nudge at his shoulder, before looking up at Sorge peering down at him.
"We should get going, Administrator," he said. "We've got a busy evening ahead of us."
And indeed they did. Elilan left his place at the railing and made his way for the gangplank alongside his Kommo-o subordinate. As they descended down to the docks, they saw there was already a party of guards present—evidently having received notice from the messenger he dispatched of their impending arrival. At their fore, there was a Trevenant with a Third-Rank scarf who kept his eye on them the entire time—Betulo, his Commander and right hand 'mon. He waited for them to reach the pier, before moving forward, nodding as his face took on a warm expression.
"Welcome back, Administrator," the Trevenant said. "And pleasure seeing you again, Sorge. It really
has been far too long since you were last here."
"Indeed it has. You know how it is in the field, under cover," the Kommo-o replied, idly waving a claw. "While it wasn't the worst job, babysitting the dozenth Pokémon through a Mystery Dungeon while making no progress on our
real mission got old after a while."
Sorge trailed off briefly, before looking at the ships docked at the garrison's piers. He let his attention linger on them briefly, before turning back to Betulo with a puzzled quirk of his brow.
"I take it that you've been busy with work in the prison lately?"
"Quite," Betulo replied. "We haven't had to process this many prisoners at once since the big raid seven years ago."
The Trevenant paused, as he turned his gaze to Elilan, his expression having suddenly taken a visibly serious turn.
"We did some initial processing to separate out the weak links and the Pokémon that Nyxem would have an immediate use for, but with how overcrowded the cellblocks are right now, we'll need to thin their ranks a bit more over the coming month," Betulo insisted. "I don't like the way those scum are spreading my guards thin and Torn Outpost always needs more bodies to keep it working."
Elilan blinked, before cocking a brow in reply.
"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting to hear that," the Zoroark said. "The Board's more or less approved everything I asked for to expand and better equip the local garrison for the last seven years. Why the sudden doubt in their ability to handle some more prisoners than normal?"
"Because the Director went and surprised me just yesterday with a summons for a third of the ships posted here to sail off and help shore up defenses on Vollezee," Betulo harrumphed, folding his arms. "I naturally did what I could to make sure we held onto as much of our own personnel as possible, but quality can only compensate so much for losing
that sort of headcount."
There was a brief clattering noise as Sorge tensed up slightly. At his side, Elilan's face visibly fell, but he gave no response beyond a low sigh before speaking again.
"… Why am I not surprised?" the Zoroark grumbled. "Even if Inler normally isn't the type to just go and bluntly sideline me, I-"
"Oh, I already heard and started to try and rectify that by bringing in additional Pokémon from our mercenaries to fill in for them. If we're going to make do with reduced headcount, they might as well be more loyal and dependable," Betulo interrupted. "The procurement paperwork to smooth things over with the Finance Department and get them shipped in from Vollezee is on your desk already. It's just waiting for your signature."
The Trevenant turned and raised a claw off at a barque off at the docks where a set of lavender sails were being hoisted. Down at the docks, some teal-colored sails were lying wadded up by the gangplank and being carried off by workers. Elilan and Sorge both paused at the sight, as they looked back at Betulo, who nodded with a satisfied grunt.
"That's why
that hunk of junk and the ones you saw in port at Dulefield Town on the way in are still floating," he explained. "They're not pretty, but they're functional. By the time the Finance Department signs off on the contract, they'll be repaired, cleaned, and ready for whoever our Canalhouse office sends over."
Elilan let his gaze linger on his Commander for a moment, as the Zoroark's mouth curled up into a small smile.
"You really
are a lifesaver sometimes, Betulo–"
"Grr! Unhand me!
Now!"
Sorge, Betulo, and the guards on the pier jolted up at attention and braced themselves. Elilan flattened his ears and turned around after them. From the growling and thumping, he already
knew who it was:
Sure enough, coming down the gangplank getting herded along by Junius and a small party of other guards, was Darzin, thrashing and flailing as uselessly as ever with his limbs chained behind him. Elilan, Betulo, and Sorge watched as the procession made its way up to them, the Dragonite glaring at them the entire time and snarling from under his muzzle.
It impressed exactly nobody present. Sorge didn't even bother to hide the way he rolled his eyes, while Elilan barely gave the Dragonite a passing look. For his part, Betulo glanced over, crossing his arms with a bemused chuckle.
"I see that nuisance on the Board's finally been taken care of," the Trevenant said. "I'll admit, I was expecting him to wind up slinking off into some sea trench after getting fired."
Elilan and the others turned their heads after hearing the sound of Darzin's seething, as they turned and saw the Dragonite thrashing and bucking under the grasp of the guards leading him along… or
attempting to, anyways. From the way he'd managed to shove an Abomasnow to the pier, it was already obvious that things were going to drag on without someone stepping in.
The Zoroark frowned, and started pacing over, flashing the claws on his left paw with a grumbling sigh.
"You really
are a slow learner, aren't you, Darzin?"
Dark magenta light gathered around Elilan's claw, before coalescing into an orb that he suddenly dug his claws into. It burst forward into a shockwave that struck Darzin's stomach. The Dragonite roared in pain from the Night Daze as his strength visibly flagged and dark spots began to fill his vision. The Dragon-Type toppled forward, prompting the guards around him to swiftly pin him against the ground.
The Zoroark took the last few paces forward, as Darzin struggled against his captors' grasp and glared up at him. Elilan paid it no mind, other than to narrow his eyes into a sharp scowl and bare his own fangs back.
"As I told you back on the ship, I
control you now," the Zoroark growled. "Clearly I need to get that message across to you in blunter terms."
Elilan looked over at Junius helping to wrangle Darzin, before motioning up at the Dragonite's wings with a dispassionate harrumph.
"Junius, have his wings perforated before he reaches the cellblocks. If he still hasn't learned his lesson after those wounds close,
remove them."
The Marowak nodded back as a malicious grin started to settle on his face. All of a sudden, Darzin's defiant demeanor changed, as his eyes visibly widened and his voice came out in a startled cry.
"Wait,
what-?!"
Junius and the other guards suddenly pressed the side of Darzin's head against the pier as a Persian stepped forward and cast a set of rings of light at his face. The Dragonite flailed and tried to get back up, only for his movements to grow more lethargic and his voice to start slurring. And almost as quickly as it began, Darzin's resistance was over, with the Dragonite lying sprawled out and dozing on the pier.
Junius and the others dragged the dragon up and carried on, Betulo watching as the party of guards left for the garrison complex. The Trevenant let his gaze linger after them for a moment with a darkened glare, before turning back to Elilan and giving an idle brush at his shoulder.
"As for our earlier conversation… I suppose this means the Board's gone through with making Lyn the new Administrator."
"Unfortunately, yes," Elilan replied. "Though let's take this inside, since we clearly both have a lot to catch up on."
Elilan turned and began to make his way down the docks, as Sorge followed after him. Betulo waited for Elilan to pass before he joined along at Sorge's side and turned his attention to the Kommo-o.
"By the way, I've already told the teleporters to prepare for your arrival, Sorge. Just let them know whenever you're ready to head to Torn Outpost," the Trevenant said. "I'm sure Nyxem's looking forward to seeing you again."
"Actually, I need Sorge to stay for now, Betulo," Elilan cut in.
The Trevenant blinked briefly, shooting an askew glance as the Zoroark looked back with a knowing smirk.
"There's a few Pokémon under your care right now that I'd like for us to sit down with."
Salvini quietly gulped down water from a small clay cup and set it down against the table with a quiet
tak. She was back in the living room of that ratty little apartment in
Drieboog her uncle used to own, the same one she'd gotten reacquainted with since being reassigned to Vollezee. It was the most crowded it'd been in years right now thanks to Payak and Phyllis both being here with her. A part of her was kicking herself over not having just pooled her money with Osmund to get a proper door for the place, even if she hadn't expected the place to
need one until just a couple weeks ago.
Phyllis and Payak were sitting at the other end of the table, stealing impatient glances at the cut-up cloth strips in the doorway, before the Leafeon uneasily pawed at a cup on the table.
"What's taking Hertsog so long?" Phyllis murmured. "Did something happen?"
"Yeah, I thought you said that he asked for us to meet here at your place the moment we got off work," Payak said.
Salvini pawed at her arm as a squirming feeling came over her gut. Even if it wasn't
that uncommon for Hertsog to linger a bit after work, it wasn't like him to show up late for meetings that he
himself had called. Let alone by almost half an hour.
… Had something happened to him? Salvini hadn't
thought anyone had been listening in on them at the Academy, but if the past few days had taught her anything, it was that she didn't know Canalhouse City anywhere as well as she thought that she did.
The Grovyle quietly drummed her claws against the table, before getting up from her seat and turning for the doorway.
"I think one of us should go back to the Academy," she said. "Maybe it's nothing, but-"
The words died in her mouth as she heard hurried footsteps down the hallway. Salvini reflexively stiffened up and saw Payak and Phyllis do much, as the footsteps came closer before abruptly stopping in front of the doorway.
"Salvini, are you there?"
A familiar voice came from the threshold as the cloth over the doorway parted and there, poking his head in was none other than Hertsog. Salvini sighed in relief at the sight of the Mienshao, glad that those fears racing in her head hadn't come to pass.
"… We were starting to get worried," she said. "Come on in."
Hertsog slipped past the cloth over the doorway and made his way over to the others at the low-slung table. The entire time, the Mienshao's gait looked stiff and tense, as if he'd come over in a rush. Salvini and the others traded uneasy glances with each other, before the Grovyle shot Hertsog a worried look.
"Hertsog, is everything alright?" Salvini asked.
"I'm fine. Personally, at least," the Mienshao said. "I just had a bit of trouble finding the right building since they all look fairly similar on this block."
That… was good, at least? Though something about Hertsog's reaction wasn't adding up. Phyllis hesitated and swayed her tail warily, before giving him an askew glance.
"And…?
Something's obviously going on from the way you're acting right now, Hertsog," the Leafeon said. "What's going on?"
Hertsog quietly sucked in a breath and had a hesitance about him that gave Salvini a sinking feeling. The Mienshao hung his head, and shook it with a low murmur.
"I just wish that I had better news to give right now," he explained. "I found out where Pleo's friends are currently. They were captured in a battle at sea and sent to Nagrobek."
The Mienshao's words seemed to suck the air out of the room. There was a shared grimace among the other Pokémon at the table, before Phyllis finally broke the silence with a startled gasp.
"Wait, they
actually sent them to
Nagrobek of all places?!" the Leafeon asked.
"Hertsog, are you
sure that's where they are?" Payak pressed.
"That's what I was told, yes," the Mienshao insisted. "I went and asked some old acquaintances who were pulled for that sudden deployment earlier this week. I don't have any reason to believe that they're lying to me."
The gathering about the table fell deathly silent as Salvini and her teammates grimaced one after the other. Nagrobek was a forlorn island that was known for two things: being the site of the Company's tin mines… and of a brutal prison that even the pirates who were bold enough to attack
Mengir were afraid of. Had Lyn really sent a bunch of
kids to a place like that? Just how long could they possibly last there?
Hertsog clearly was worried about it himself from the troubled expression on his face. He averted his gaze, before the Mienshao continued on with a low sigh.
"As harsh as it is, I suppose this outcome makes a sort of sense. I take it everyone has heard by now of Commissioner Lyn's recent promotion to the Board?" he said. "The official story among our ranks is that Pleo was being held by pirates and that he fought off a large pirate fleet in order to 'rescue' him. I don't know why or how they got there, but whatever Lyn really believed about Pleo's friends, his subordinates would've likely just thrown them in with the others as an afterthought."
Salvini blanched and shrank back, as she saw her teammates reacting not all that differently from herself. She knew that they had wanted to help Pleo and his friends, but… just what on earth could they even do about
that?
She looked back at the Mienshao, where much to her curiosity, Hertsog's face had taken a serious turn and a determined glint had settled over his eyes.
"I know that this wasn't what we were hoping to hear, but at least for myself, it didn't really change anything about my plans," he continued. "I just wanted to make sure that was still the same for everyone else here. Were you all still planning to accompany me?"
"
Razbira se, che da!" Payak chittered. "We're not just leaving a bunch of kids to rot
there of all places!"
Phyllis and Salvini both nodded along with Payak, only for the Leafeon of the pair to hesitate briefly, before giving a puzzled tilt of her head at her Mienshao companion.
"I think that we all want to do something, Hertsog," Phyllis murmured. "But just what are we supposed to do about Lugia's friends being on
Nagrobek?"
"We reach out to the prison's warden and convince him that Pleo's friends aren't supposed to be there," Hertsog explained. "That Lyn's sentencing for them was wildly inappropriate for dealing with a bunch of youngsters and their guardians, and that they should be dealt with back on their home islands."
Salvini, Phyllis, and Payak traded dubious glances with one another. Yes, there was
some logic to Hertsog's plan, and maybe it'd work on
some Pokémon in the Company… but with the sorts of Pokémon that were posted to watch over the most-guarded prison in Company waters…?
"… I don't know how that one is going to go over with them," Salvini said, shaking her head. "Even if their home island wasn't
Tromba of all places, the prison on Nagrobek doesn't exactly have a reputation for being quick to let 'mons go…"
"Then we tell them that they're wanted for a whole list of charges back on Mengir that we'll tailor accordingly beforehand," Hertsog insisted. "As Captain of the Guards, it is part of
my duties to see that they're tried on Mengir for that, which would involve them being transferred over to stand trial."
Salvini blinked as she saw that Hertsog's own muzzle had curled and he'd quietly set his teeth on edge. He averted his gaze, giving an uneasy paw at his shoulder.
"I… admittedly am pessimistic about my chances of talking Administrator Zorn into letting them go
entirely," he admitted. "But since I'll be restored to my position as Mengir's Captain of the Guards, I'd certainly have leeway over shaping what their sentencing looked like in practical terms. And if they wound up 'escaping' on Mengir because I underestimated how determined they were to get away, well…"
Hertsog trailed off briefly as the others in the room stared at him wordlessly. After a moment, Payak's mouthparts began curling up into a knowing smile, as the Ariados let out a low chuckle.
"Oh, so
that's where Salvini's been getting all those terrible ideas from over the last month, huh?" Payak said.
Hertsog stiffened up and flusteredly twitched his whiskers. The moment passed almost as soon as it came, before the Mienshao shook his head back in reply.
"I don't know what you're talking about there, Payak. But if you three are serious about coming along, pack your things and get your share of the money we agreed on for buying passage and lodging on Nagrobek. Tonight."
"Wait, tonight?" Phyllis asked, blinking. "Hertsog, isn't that moving a bit fast?"
"It
is, but the next ship to Nagrobek sails off tomorrow morning," Hertsog explained. "Unless we somehow have the extra money to hire someone to swim us directly to the island, it'll likely be our only chance to make it to Nagrobek without being away from Mengir long enough to be reported as being absent without leave."
Hertsog folded his arms and turned his eyes to them, their red irises and his muzzle locked into a firm, serious expression.
"I know that I've been asking a lot from you all in these past couple days," he said. "But if there's anything about this that makes you uneasy—anything at all that would make you change your minds about coming along—please, tell me now."
Salvini studied the reactions of her teammates, when she noticed Payak looking away and seemingly wavering. The Ariados paused and lingered, before nodding back from across the table.
"I can make it," Payak said. "I'll have to take care of some stuff this evening, but I'll just make up the lost sleep on the ship."
He scuttled off past the cloth strips and into the hallway. Phyllis began to make her way after him, stopping and lingering by Hertsog as she passed. She studied the Mienshao's face for a moment, and fidgeted with her paws before finally speaking up.
"I still want to come myself. I… just hope we're doing the right thing here," the Leafeon murmured. "I don't know what I'd do if I got expelled from the Company…"
Phyllis turned and left herself, her footsteps pattering down the hall until it was just Salvini and Hertsog in the apartment. Salvini hesitated and let her gaze drift down to the floor, as the Mienshao sidled up to her with a worried frown.
"Salvini, is something wrong?"
The Grovyle faltered for a moment. She knew that she'd told Hertsog that she wanted to help him, and it wasn't as if she
didn't want to help Pleo's friends, but…"
"Will we really be able to make any difference for them?"
Salvini looked up at the Mienshao expectantly. She hoped that he'd be able to say something about how things would work out in the end, but his own face didn't look that different from her own. He seemed to weigh his words briefly, before shaking his head with a low sigh.
"I wish that I had an answer to that question, but I honestly don't know," Hertsog said. "Whatever happens, we have to try to make a difference. And I'm willing to go as far as the rest of you—no matter what happens."
A part of Salvini thought that the words weren't all that reassuring. Their own circumstances in the Company were already precarious at the moment, and it wasn't hard to imagine ways that them attempting to get Team Traveller out of that prison could end poorly.
But at the same time, they'd be facing it as friends. Together.
The Grovyle's features eased, as a small smile worked its way over her face.
"That's good enough for me, I suppose," she replied. "I'll hold you to it."
Hess' breaths came out in ragged pants as his heart raced in his chest. He'd barely been able to follow where he'd been going since getting dragged out of his cell in the midst of his panic, and the journey since then had gone by in a disorienting blur of dimly lit hallways. Before he knew it, the Blaziken and the other guards shoving him along had brought him to yet another metal door. They opened it, revealing a small, windowless chamber lit up by torches with a couple wooden benches that looked like obviously recent additions from their construction. As he marched in, he saw its walls were made of stonework and sections that were obviously much older and made of pitted concrete, along with a metal grate that led off to some space that was too dim to make out.
Hess tried to buck his captors and run, only for the Blaziken to drive a punch deep into his gut. He hollered in pain and stumbled forward wheezing for air as the metal door closed behind him. That accursed chiming hum rang out just in front of him, where sure enough, there was Nyxem, floating towards him with that creepy perpetually upbeat demeanor of his.
"There's no need to be so nervous, Hess," the Porygon-Z chimed. "I have something of yours that you'd likely appreciate."
Nyxem's eyes suddenly came aglow with a bluish hue as he floated a gray, spherical stone with a helical swirl just in front of him. Hess' eyes widened as he saw the stone and its pattern, and realized that it was none other than…
"Ah! My lucky charm!"
The Aggron threw a claw forward and tried to grab at it, only for Nyxem to suddenly jerk it out of reach. The guards with him summarily wrenched Hess' arms back behind him, duly ignoring the Steel-Type's protests as Nyxem floated up.
"Ah-ah-ah… I didn't bring this back just for you to do as you pleased with it," the Porygon-Z said. "Though I
must know… how
did you ever get this in the first place?"
Hess squirmed in place and bit back his tongue, only to waver after the guards trained sharp scowls at him.
"I-I got it back when I was younger," the Aggron stammered. "The 'mon who sold it to me said that as long as I have it, it would bring me good luck and I'll always be able to get back to whatever place I call home."
"… Someone just
happened to sell you a corresponding Mega Stone?" Nyxem questioned. "Who exactly sold it to you? What sort of Pokémon were they?"
"Uh… I-I don't remember?" Hess stammered. "It was just some travelling merchant and it happened years ago…"
There was a moment's silence between the two as Nyxem studied Hess carefully, before the Porygon-Z let out a low hum.
"Curious. You don't
seem to be lying," he said. "But I suppose this is something we can pry into later. There
was a practical reason why I let you have your 'lucky charm' back beyond your personal superstitions. Since it can do so,
so much more."
Faint footsteps approached as the Porygon-Z swiveled his head, and idly fidgeted his arms in place..
"Though I believe that the most efficient way of explaining will be through a live demonstration."
Hess turned his head back and looked towards the approaching presence, and saw a Smeargle carrying a small metal case. The dog popped open a latch on the case, revealing a band made of golden-colored metal inside that was resting on soft padding. Nyxem floated Hess' lucky charm over to the Smeargle, who pressed it down into a circular notch with a faint
click. After the Smeargle finished, he brought the band over towards Hess' right claw, before roughly hiking it up the Aggron's arm until it started chafing against his scales. Hess squirmed and tried to grab at the band to loosen it, when there was a clattering noise from up ahead. The grate suddenly started retracting up past the ceiling, as he guards with Hess suddenly pushed him forward.
They herded him along and the moment they passed the threshold, they sharply shoved him forward. He stumbled forward into some sort of large chamber with crude, wooden chandeliers holding torches hanging from the ceiling above. The space all around was flat and hemmed in by walls, with the one on the right having that same sigil with the five falling stars he saw when first coming to Torn Outpost. Off on the left, there was what looked like a pitted and scarred ramp going along the left side. It ascended at an angle much like a ramp, almost like seats set up along a battlefield. High up off towards the top of the ramp, there was a Sigilyph and Archeops posted in front of a small enclosure that overlooked the entire chamber. It seemed to be made of concrete and rusted metal with rectangular gaps that looked almost like they used to be windows of some sort.
"Wh-What the…?" Hess gulped. "What
is this place-?"
"Looks like your test today's going to be easy, Heracross," a ghostly voice sneered. "With a type advantage like this, you ought to be able to put this 'mon down quick."
The Aggron looked over towards where the voices were coming from. Off at a similar-looking entrance at the other end of the chamber, there was a Heracross being led along by a party of guards headed by an Aegislash. The beetle's body was flecked in scars and his expression was sullen and unyielding, but he didn't do anything to challenge his captors beyond leveling a piercing glare back at the Aegislash.
"Hrmph, how about you weasels put your own carapaces on the line for once? See how quick I can take down 'mons
then."
The Heracross punched his claws together, as it slowly dawned on Hess that beyond a brief moment glowering at the guards, the Bug-Type's attention was trained squarely on
him. He backed away uneasily, before turning to Nyxem with an uneasy stammer.
"Wh-What's he talking about?"
"He's referring to the combat experiment of course. You and Samson will be fighting each other today," Nyxem explained. "He used to be an Imperial spy who wanted to see what went on below Nagrobek's prison. In the end, he got what he wanted… just not the way he was expecting."
Hess' eyes widened as soon as the Porygon-Z finished speaking. He spluttered out of surprise, before gathering his bearings together enough to cry out in protest.
"Th-This is insane! Wh-What do you expect
me to do against a Fighting-Type?!" the Aggron exclaimed. "And you can't just force us to fight like this! I don't even
know this 'mon!"
Nyxem let out a weirdly self-satisfied chime in response and tilted his head up. Hess froze, as much to his alarm, the strange Porygon's face suddenly took on an eerie look that made Hess' scales crawl.
"We'll see about that. Samson said much the same before his first experiment."
There was a flash of light, as Nyxem blipped away. He teleported up into the viewing enclosure that looked out over the entire chamber as the guards on both ends started filing out and the metal grates over the entrances slammed shut. Nyxem settled in and noted a waiting Kadabra in the room, prompting the Porygon-Z to raise an arm with a low chime.
"Ada, kindly fetch the instruments for today's experiment," he instructed. "I'm going to begin the Frism recording and I'd like to start our test suite as soon as possible."
The Kadabra nodded and headed off for a set of shelves in the background as Nyxem tugged a box out from beneath the counter with an unseen force. He set it on top, before telekinetically prying the lid open. Cold mist came from it, as he reached for an icy object that vaguely resembled a jar inside it. He gave a firm tap at the side of the vessel as a faint ping lingered in the air. He briefly looked down and saw Hess squeaking and nervously raising his claws for a stop on the battlefield as the Heracross approached, before the Porygon-Z floated the icy vessel up to his beak.
"Project Alkahest, Personal Log Timestamp 23520337385. A new batch of prisoners came in two days ago, and we received quite the lucky break from it," Nyxem said. "Not only did one of those so-called Immortals arrive in the shipment, but there was even an Aggron who came with what appears to be an Aggronite. Today's experiment will be focusing on the latter and his potential to Mega Evolve."
The Kadabra came back pushing a wheeled cart holding a large metal chest that had been hooked up to an empty canister, along with a pair of bracelets fashioned from gold-colored metal that rested on its top. Each bracelet had a black band and green hexagons on their surface—the needed tools for today's experiment.
The Kadabra slipped one of the bracelets over her wrist, before Nyxem floated the other over to himself and put it over his right arm. Nyxem held out his other arm out as his eyes came awash with a blue glow, and focused on the lid to the metal box. It came undone with a
click and quiet hiss, before he propped it open to reveal dull, multicolored stones with white helical streaks on their surface. He glanced at them briefly, before turning back to his Frism.
"The last batch of Awakening Emeras that we processed show no sign of degradation after being transported across the Distortion," he continued. "The intermittent error affecting the Infinity Energy transfer which spoiled the last batch appears to be resolved. There should be no blockers for today's test suite."
Nyxem floated up one of the stones from the chest, before sliding it into the groove on his band until it seated with a faint
click. He waited for the Kadabra to do the same, before continuing to speak into the Frism.
"It's been some time since there was a
second subject for my experiments who had all the components needed to Mega Evolve," the Porygon-Z said. "We still need to determine whether or not this Aggronite is real and what capabilities it will unlock, but it could help speed up the process of refining the Synchro Looplet."
He turned his gaze back out through the windows as the Sigilyph and Archeops moved into place—just in case their Protects were needed—and looked out over the battlefield. On one end, there was Samson, flexing his claws. On the other, there was Hess, who was up at the grate that he'd come from and tried to yank it free before frantically pounding on it.
"Commencing experiment."
Nyxem brought his free arm down on the jewel set in the Looplet and pressed down. A jagged ray of white light suddenly shot out and arced down towards the battlefield, with a second coming from the Kadabra at his side. The lights continued on until they connected with the Looplets on the Aggron and Heracross' limbs below.
The reaction was immediate: Hess and Samson's eyes widened as they both fell to the ground, writhing and bellowing out in pain as the Looplets suddenly came aglow and white light began to spread and envelop up their bodies into a pair of spheres. They lingered for just a moment, before dispelling as bellowing roars and buzzes filled the air.
The results from Samson's end were as expected: the Heracross' carapace had turned a darker shade of blue with red fringes, while his singular horn had shortened and grown more tapered, and it'd been joined by a second, longer one that sprouted from the top of his head. It was
Hess' end of the battlefield that was more remarkable, as the Aggron's body was now covered in natural, steely plates that would shame all but the very best armor provided to operatives within the Company.
Nyxem let out a sharp hum, before floating the Frism closer and speaking into it excitedly.
"The stone recovered with the new test subject is indeed an Aggronite. As suspected, his Mega Evolution was successful. Subject seems to have grown in size, and metal plating now covers almost all of his body surface."
Hess and Samson locked eyes with each other, as feral snarls mixed with furious buzzes rang through the air. Samson was the first off the line, as the Heracross flew forward with a series of open-palmed thrusts that landed one after the other on Hess:
One blow hit his shoulder, another his belly, another his chest… Nyxem watched in rapt attention as each blow did little more than make the Aggron stagger back slightly. A final blow to Hess' throat and then his face sent him stumbling with an uneasy gait, only for him to suddenly straighten up. He turned back with a livid glare, opening his mouth with a roaring bellow.
"GRAAAAAAH!"
In a swift motion, the Aggron spun around, his tail taking on a metallic sheen as he drove it into the transformed Heracross' underbelly. Samson tumbled across the arena floor, before coming to a crouching stop. Nyxem looked back towards Hess, where much to his surprise, the Aggron was charging forward without any signs of fatigue about him.
The Porygon-Z looked on in blinking astonishment, before continuing on with his log.
"Subject appears to be barely fazed from Samson's Arm Thrusts even after five blows. His present defenses are nothing short of remarkable," Nyxem said. "He must be a pure Steel-Type right now, even if that doesn't fully explain his present resilience. Further testing is clearly needed."
Nyxem turned his head back towards the arena at the sound of a loud buzz. There, Samson had flown up into the air, while Hess watched his foe from further below. The Heracross suddenly dropped down as the Aggron swiped his claws upwards, sending rocks shooting upwards out of the ground. Samson smashed one of the rocks aside with his arm, while another caught him in his chest. The Bug-Type briefly wavered, only to even out and plant his feet as he hit the ground.
Sharp tremors shook the entire chamber forcefully enough to send dust falling from above. Nyxem looked on as Hess lost his footing and reeled backwards, his snarls coming mixed with winded pants as he watched intently.
"Subject's
offensive abilities are similarly much improved, but ineffectively wielded from his use of Rock Slide. Unclear yet whether this is an inhibition from his Mega Evolved state as seen with past subjects freshly entering this state, or just the limitations of this particular individual."
Samson suddenly lunged ahead, throwing himself forward with a flurry of punches that landed one after the other with pained bellows. Nyxem turned his attention towards his Frism, only to stop as he noticed light coming from Hess' end of the battlefield.
There, all along his left claw, there was fire starting to wreath it.
"
RAAAAAAAAGH!"
He threw it forward with an uppercut that slammed into Samson's face with a sickening
crack. There was a loud scream, as the Heracross shot back, tumbling back along the ground until he came to a stop facedown in the dirt.
He didn't get up, and a few moments later, there was a gold flash as the light on the Heracross' body faded and he reverted back to his original scarred self. A piercing roar split the air as off at Hess' end of the battlefield, the Aggron had thrown his head back and stomped the ground triumphantly. From his place overlooking the battlefield, Nyxem looked on in awe, and spoke up into his Frism again.
"Disregard prior remarks of subject's limitations. Subject clearly has mastered more battling techniques than I initially assumed. Mega Aggron has exceeded all my initial expectations, and I can already tell that future experiments with him will be most enlightening."
Hess started scanning wildly about his surroundings, as the Aggron's attention had turned towards the Heracross on the ground. Up in the observation room, Nyxem looked on before glancing down at the Looplet adorning his left arm.
"Combat test case completed. Now, to test the warding functionality."
Nyxem focused as in a flash of light, he blipped away with his Frism from the observation box and down into the arena pit below. There was a sharp bellow and the ground shook as Hess came charging in towards the fallen Heracross, his horns lowered for a piercing ram as Nyxem moved himself in between the Bug-Type's body.
Hess' gait abruptly stopped as he stared ahead vacantly, the growls from his throat taking on a puzzled-sounding tone. He just stood there for a moment, before sniffing at the air and turning away, letting out low snarls as he kept groping and searching about for another foe to vanquish.
All as expected. Nyxem let out a humming chime, before floating the Frism closer to himself and speaking into it.
"Test successful. End of log."
The Porygon-Z floated the Frism down to the ground, before gathering a white, frigid ray in front of his right arm and casting it down at the icy receptacle. It hit the Frism's opening, caking it over in ice. Nyxem turned his attention to his arm's Looplet afterwards, focusing and prying the stone seated in it with an unseen force.
It cracked and shattered, falling to the ground in pieces as light suddenly swept over Hess' body. His form started shrinking and rearranging back into his body's normal shape, before the light dulled and then faded away entirely. The Aggron staggered woozily about on his feet, before slumping over, panting dazedly as Nyxem floated down and raised his arms with a chiming cheer.
"Well done! Well done! I must say that the results of your first experiment were nothing short of phenomenal."
Hess shambled back up onto his feet, bringing a claw up to his head as he struggled to keep his footing and saw Nyxem staring at him intently.
"Wh-What just happened?"
Hess turned and saw Samson laying splayed out on the battlefield, yellow hemolymph oozing from a split on his carapace as the Aegislash and a couple other guards carried him off. The Aggron looked on for a moment, and in spite of the complete void of memories in his mind since pounding against the grate, things slowly began to piece together for him.
"I… I… did that?"
"Yes," Nyxem replied. "Quite an impressive display, really."
The Porygon-Z's eyes came aglow again as with a flick of his arm, he pulled the Looplet with Hess' Aggronite free of the Steel-Type's arm and back over to his side. The Aggron gasped and pawed at his arm, as Nyxem floated forward, batting his arms together with a cheery clap.
"Congratulations. You are the most promising test subject I've had since that Garchomp," Nyxem said. "I can already tell that I'll be able to do great things with you."
Hess' dumbfounded shock faltered as he grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. He stomped forward, flashing a claw with a sharp growl that lingered in the air.
"Give me my lucky charm back!" the Aggron snapped. "And I don't know what you did to me, but I-!"
A weak jolt of electricity suddenly went over his limbs, before a sharp, burning blow struck him from the back of the head and sent him pitching forward. The next thing Hess knew, he was lying on his belly on the arena floor, and a Jolteon and a Blaziken were pinning him down. The Jolteon stood on the back of his neck as the Blaziken wrenched his arms back to bind them together. The Aggron panted briefly, and let out a low, defeated whine as Nyxem floated up and looked down towards him.
"Have done quite enough for me today," the Porygon-Z insisted. "Unfortunately we'll have to wait with any further experiments. I'm waiting for an old colleague of mine to arrive, and we won't be progressing any further until then."
Hess panted and widened his eyes as Nyxem brought his head down, and an eerie smirk settled over his face.
"I'll be looking forward to doing more experiments with you soon."
Hess let out a startled cry as the Blaziken jerked him up, before he and the Jolteon started herding him off the field. The whole time, Nyxem looked on, giving an idle glance after the Aggron as his stammering cries of protest faded, and then down at the gray, swirled stone his mind was holding aloft in the air.
"This has already been a most promising start."
Rosequartz Town hadn't changed all
that much in the few weeks that Elty had last seen it. Sure there were some signs of fighting here and there, and the main square looked like a shell had blown up in it, but between the same scruffy stone-walled and slate-roofed buildings and the equally scruffy Pokémon that went about between them, it was very much how he remembered it.
Or at least it would've been if it weren't for all the Pokémon who stopped and stared at the Imperials and the towering serpent with him. Yes, Elty supposed that it
was a bit different for Imps and a Protector of all Pokémon to just
openly go around Rosequartz Town like this.
He tried to ignore the others' reactions and just kept going forward, checking his surroundings just in case that deal Nagant had struck up was a bit less ironclad than she'd assumed. There were the obvious pirates drinking in front of a tavern, with a Stoutland among them grumbling about 'the town going to the dogs'. Up ahead, there was a pair of Timburr lugging along a wooden cannon in broad daylight, and a little further down, there was a Braviary and a Morpeko that glowered in Nagant's direction from the stoop of a complex of buildings flying red banners. The Braviary shot a withering glare as Elty and the others passed, before turning aside with a sullen scoff.
"
Tá sé seo áiféiseach," the Braviary growled. "We busted our tails with that raid earlier and now we've got to go and raid
Nagrobek of all places without getting to keep anything?"
"That sounds like a 'you' problem for getting caught," the Morpeko retorted. "I got a bag of loot from Gestirn that's been treating me plenty well ever since leaving."
… Maybe it was for the best to hurry on from the way that the Braviary's face contorted at the Morpeko's reply. Elty picked up the pace as some sort of heated argument broke out further behind.
"Yeesh, talk about a rough neighborhood," Cabot murmured.
Berecien glanced over his shoulder and let his gaze linger for a moment. His eyes narrowed, before turning back with a disgusted snort.
"
Why are we tolerating this again from Pokémon that are supposed to be working with us?" the Ponyta demanded.
"Because you literally have no choice right now and the alternative is trying to take over a dug-in island while hopelessly undermonned?" Alice replied with a shrug.
Berecien pinned his ears and gave a sharp huff in reply. From the side, Elty cocked a brow, tilting his head at the Ponyta.
"Isn't your captain's crew literally half mercenaries and former pirates anyways?" Elty asked. "Why on earth are you so bothered by this when this is just another day for you?"
"Look, there are
standards within the Royal Navy!" Berecien snapped, stomping a hoof. "We don't just openly discuss looting like a bunch of common scoundrels!"
"Tch, speak for yourself," Niilo cut in. "
My contract says that as part of my service I get to keep whatever I take off of 'mons I defea-"
There was a sharp hiss as the Sandslash's eyes suddenly widened and he jumped back from an incoming Water Pulse. A quick glance forward revealed Nagant had whirled about on her tail and was training her gaze at the Ground-Type with a withering glare, only to turn to Berecien with a frown that prompted
him to similarly stiffen up.
"That's enough,
all of you," the Clawitzer hissed. "I already have
enough headaches with everything going on, and I don't need you all bickering like children on top of everything."
Berecien and Niilo fell silent, and beyond shooting frowns at each other, they said nothing as Nagant turned and continued leading them forward. All the while, the smell of salt water in the air grew stronger as Elty looked and saw that at the end of the street was the familiar sight of the sea and ships' sails and masts poking over the surrounding rooftops. He blinked, as he turned over to Nagant with a puzzled frown.
"Wait, the docks? Why are we going over here?" Elty asked. "I thought we weren't ready to set sail yet."
"We
aren't. We're meeting someone to help prepare us for that. That pirate captain that the Council looped in to fill their vacancy apparently participated in the last pirate raid on Nagrobek and played a leading role in gathering intelligence for it," Nagant explained. "Given that we'll have to do much the same ourselves, I thought it would be wise to touch base with him and see what we're getting into."
Right, Dirk had mentioned that there was some old captain that Nagant should be reaching out to, with a name that sounded weirdly familiar. At the same time, this 'mon somehow was involved in
spying on the place beforehand? And lived to tell the tale afterwards?
That was certainly something he'd never heard of from others on Orleigh that he knew had been there at that raid.
Elty turned his head after they exited the street and started walking along the docks, studying the ships in port as they continued forward. He passed along a couple piers and saw that the Crimson Corsairs' red-sailed ships were a ways further down the docks. As he started walking by the red-colored ships, he noticed that the Strongjaw Gang's orange-sailed ones were
behind them and almost on the entire other end of the harbor.
So, this Pokémon wasn't from either of their crews… but then who-?
"Oi, Cillian, put your back into things! I've been on the sidelines for six years and can still run up and down a gangplank faster than that!"
Elty looked up ahead where there at the next pier down, he saw a Feraligatr by a barquentine with blue sails. The Water-Type was calling up to a Beartic lugging a set of ropes up a gangplank going up to the deck, his arms folded and his face curled up into a small smirk. Elty blinked incredulously at the sight as it dawned on him that this was the same trinket-seller who'd showed them that map for getting around Pioppo. He really was once
Council material?
Partway over, the pirates along the ship abruptly stopped and turned over wide-eyed as their attention all drifted over to Kline, including the Beartic, who stumbled and fell off the gangplank with a loud yelp and splash. Laurens turned around himself as his own eyes visibly widened, his attention drifting up as Kline slithered up to him.
"Ah yes, you must be Laurens. Or I suppose
Captain Laurens now."
Kline brought his head down towards the Feraligatr, who visibly stiffened up as the Zygarde's face met his. Laurens stared wordlessly in dumbstruck awe, as from the side, Elty's own face looked not all that much different as he traded looks between the two…
If for somewhat different reasons.
"
You're the one filling the vacant spot on the Council?" Elty asked.
"I
did say that I used to be a captain in my own right, Growlithe," the Feraligatr explained. "I don't know who talked Dirk into agreeing to this, but he and Tarquin tasked me to take over the Torrent Tsars' last ship along with whatever else I can scrape together and raise a crew, so I've been calling in some old favors to fill the gaps."
He looked back to the pirates around the ship, reaching down to pull up the Beartic from the water with a low grunt.
"Tell everyone to take five, Cillian," he said. "I need a bit of time to talk with these Imps."
The Beartic saluted, still dripping, before scampering off and calling out back up to the deck. Laurens shuffled off down the pier, motioning for Elty and the others to follow. They began making their way down the docks together, as the Feraligatr tilted his head and peered down at the Growlithe with a puzzled frown.
"Though what are
you doing back here?" Laurens asked "And where's the rest of your friends? Especially that long-necked Wingull who was with you?"
Elty froze as his ears and tails drooped, averting his gaze with a deflated whine. The Feraligatr cocked a brow, as Nagant hopped in between them with a serious frown.
"They've met much the same fates as the pirates who failed to come back to Orleigh."
Laurens' eyes widened at the response. The Feraligatr faltered afterwards, setting his teeth on edge with a low murmur.
"Then, they're-"
"A matter that's best discussed in greater depth another time. In private," Nagant harrumphed. "We have a window of five days at most in order to have our best chances at successfully raiding Nagrobek. So for the sake of Lugia's friends and any of your companions you had to leave behind there seven years ago, I
need to know what you did while planning out the previous raid on Nagrobek."
Laurens paused for a moment, the grimace on his face fading as a noticeable frown came over his maw as they reached the end of the pier.
"I don't know why you're asking me when that raid
failed, but I had 'mons infiltrate the ranks of the local guards and map out the town and its facilities," the Feraligatr said. "We spent a lot of time scouting out the prison in particular, since that's the main stronghold of the island."
He stopped and folded his arms, as he turned his snout down to meet the Clawitzer with a gaze that looked almost as if it could pierce through her shell.
"
You lot had told us that Beatrice the Swift was there along with her crew," Laurens huffed. "We thought that if we could throw the prison into chaos, that she and the others inside would give us a fighting chance to overrun those square-necks."
Yes, Elty remembered hearing the story from Pyry that Beatrice had been sent to Nagrobek after a big raid on Canalhouse City. Word around town these days was that she was never there in the first place, but Pyry had been convinced that she'd died in prison.
There was a confused look among the Imperials, and most of Team Zephyr's for that matter. Alice seemed to catch on to where things were going as her fur visibly bristled in discomfort.
"We were
mistaken back then," Laurens growled. "Both about Beatrice being there, and about trusting anything you Imps said."
Cabot and the others traded worried glances with one another, all while Kline subtly studied Nagant's reaction. The whole time, the Clawitzer remained unmoved beyond meeting Laurens' gaze with a steely, unyielding expression.
"… I didn't have any involvement in whatever happened back then, Feraligatr. I had a posting in the border waters towards the south at the time," Nagant explained. "I can't speak for whoever relayed that intelligence to you, but at the time your raid happened, that
was what my colleagues and I thought happened to Beatrice. Given that I'll be physically present for that raid, I have no reason to lie to you about the present state of affairs on Nagrobek."
The two stared at each for a moment, before Nagant lowered her gaze with a quiet murmur.
"I'll admit that it's not particularly easy for me to have sympathy for a Pokémon like you, but I can understand how much it hurts to watch friends and comrades suddenly being ripped away," she said. "Though I'm still confused about how on earth this all happened. Even without Beatrice, shouldn't there have been a chance of the breakout succeeding? What went wrong?"
Laurens' scowl faltered as his gaze softened and turned wistful. He averted his eyes, rubbing at his right arm with a low, deflated murmur.
"The prison held and the breakout didn't succeed," the Feraligatr replied. "I don't know what exactly happened inside, but back out in Dulefield Town, we were ambushed by Company reinforcements coming in. It kept us from being able to cut and run with what loot we had back then, forcing every 'mon to fend for themselves."
"… If nothing else, we at least won't have to worry about reinforcements this time," Nagant said. "Or at least for now. I can't guarantee that will be the case if we can't get this raid started within five days."
She hesitated and twitched her barbels briefly, before carrying on with an insistent chitter.
"Our
plan is to have a team of Pokémon go ahead of us and scout before we come ashore," Nagant continued. "I just need to know what they should be aware of before they set off."
"It's not that easy, Clawitzer."
Laurens studied Nagant, trading glances between her and the Zygarde further behind her, before training a skeptical frown down at her.
"Do you have anyone
inside the actual prison already?"
"Er… not anyone that we have a way of getting in touch with?" Elty said.
"Technically I
do have someone, but as a prisoner he is in no position to act as an inside 'mon," Kline corrected.
"Then I don't know what exactly you hope to accomplish. The prison's
literally attached to the island's garrison and functions as the central hub for its defenses," Laurens said. "The guards posted there were better trained than most sailors I've run into either in Company or Imperial waters. Without someone on the inside to tell you what they're up to, they'll pick you apart."
The Feraligatr trailed off for a moment, shaking his head and folding his arms.
"It took me a lot longer than
five days to get my 'mons in last time. It's been seven years since I last saw that gods-forsaken rock and I have no idea how it's changed at all beyond some loose stories that I've heard."
Nagant fell silent as the others traded uneasy glances with each other. After weighing his thoughts for a moment, Elty made his way forward and hesitantly spoke up.
"… What if there was another group we could ask for help?" the Growlithe asked. "Did you try working with the local ferals last time?"
There was a blinking pause, as both Laurens and the others around Elty stared at him. The Feraligatr broke the silence, as he tilted his head with a curious rumble from his throat.
"… Well, no. But how would that help?" he asked. "I mean, it's not as if I
don't know how to talk to a 'mon that lives like that. But ferals normally don't care about whatever civilized Pokémon are getting up to if it doesn't involve their own territories. Trust me, I've been on both ends of that conversation."
'
Both ends of that conversation'? … Right, Laurens had mentioned once being a feral himself. Even if Elty never would've pegged him as having been one when he first saw him hawking his charms a couple of weeks ago. Though he supposed he wouldn't have pegged Laurens as a
captain either from an initial glance if Rasp hadn't told him otherwise.
That was the part that made him uneasy about this whole idea. What if Laurens had seen something about the ferals back then that convinced him not to even try?
… No, if there was anyone who knew about what the ferals who lived on Nagrobek were like, especially back during this raid, it was him. And he could think of
some things that Pokémon like his mother could've done to help if she would've been convinced…
"Well, the ferals on Nagrobek know the lay of the land the best," Elty offered. "So maybe they would know ways of sneaking up on the prison and other facilities. And they might be willing to help fight, too…"
Elty trailed off briefly as his ears and tail drooped. Unwanted memories of running through the stripped forest as mom stayed behind fighting came to mind. He briefly tensed up and shook his head to try and dispel them, but it didn't do anything about the way his head and shoulders suddenly felt so much heavier…
"When I lived on that island, Elilan's guards would snatch us from the wilds for whatever excuse they could come up with, and then throw us into that prison," he explained. "Whatever Pokémon are still around, I'm sure that they'd want to get rid of him too."
Laurens hesitated for a moment, before giving Elty a sympathetic look and stooping down to pet the top of his head. From the side, Berecien stepped forward as he cast a dubious frown at the two former ferals.
"Not that I don't blame you all for having a grudge against those square-necks, but ferals aren't exactly united under one authority," the Ponyta said. "If what you said is accurate, then we can't even take it for granted that Elilan isn't already playing different groups of ferals against each other. Where on earth would we even
start if we tried to get them to help us?"
"You'd be best off trying to approach the ones in the Mystery Dungeon first."
Berecien turned back and saw Calidus meeting his eyes. The Ponyta blinked in surprise as there was a lingering quiet, which was finally broken by Niilo after he turned to face the Talonflame with a puzzled frown.
"Wait, why would we want to do that again?" the Sandslash asked.
"Pokémon of dungeon stock
do tend to work together in ways that ferals outside often don't. They
have to with the sort of environment they live in," Calidus explained. "If things are as bad for ferals on Nagrobek as Elty's saying, it'd be the most likely place where they'd hole up. You can't track down a nest or a den as easily when its place shifts around during the day."
Laurens' face turned pensive, as crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. The Feraligatr visibly weighed his thoughts in his head, before he mused aloud to himself.
"I'll admit that it's
something, but it's still not a replacement for knowing what's going on inside the prison and Nagrobek's defenses. I can tell you from experience that looking from the outside in will only go so far," Laurens said. "Neither the local ferals nor whatever team you send in are likely to get a proper read of things in just five days."
"What about the villagers in Dulefield Town?" Berecien asked. "It's not as if things can be kept a secret from them on their own island, so what if we tried to find out more about how the defenses are set up from them?"
Laurens looked over towards Berecien, as his face took an exasperated turn and grew impressively long even for a Pokémon with a large snout like him.
"I'd say that you were being
very optimistic there, Ponyta," the Feraligatr retorted. "Last I checked, Imps aren't exactly popular in Company waters, let alone Imps
collaborating with pirates. Just how are you going to find someone who both knows what's going on
and willing to talk to you?"
"I might have an idea, actually…"
Everyone turned in surprise as Kline slithered up to the front of the group. Berecien seemed taken aback for a moment, as the Zygarde turned his eyes down towards the others.
"I know
a Pokémon in Dulefield Town through a close friend of mine who might be able to help. It's admittedly been a long time since either of us met him, but at the very least we won't have to start from scratch," Kline offered. "Also, there is one crucial difference between that last raid of yours and the one we're planning now…"
The Zygarde fanned his tendrils out, turning his head up with a determined huff.
"
I wasn't there to fight alongside you back then," he said. "Surely having a
Protector at your side would give us a fighting chance to take over Nagrobek, wouldn't you say?"
Laurens blinked wordlessly and stared at the Zygarde for a moment, as a small smile began to work its way over his face. He closed his eyes, shaking his head with a small chuckle.
"… Maybe it's just me being a superstitious old sea dog for believing in a Protector I'd never even heard of before today, but I'll admit, it's not a bad argument," the Feraligatr said. "I
suppose your plan could work, but…"
Laurens trailed off for a moment, turning his attention back to Nagant with a wary frown.
"Just who are you going to send to scout things out?" he asked. "Since your snake buddy here wasn't exactly subtle when he came into town earlier."
"I am, of course," Elty cut in. "Nagrobek's my home island, so of course I'm goi-"
A sharp hiss cut him off mid-sentence, as Nagant whirled about on her tail. She slightly shifted her firing claw, her mouthparts curling into a visible frown
"That is a matter that
I will decide, Growlithe," Nagant said. "This isn't some Rescue Team mission of yours where you can just be teleported out or rescued if something goes wrong."
Elty pinned his ears and huffed back. He dug his paws in, before shaking his head and raising his voice in protest.
"
Wiem o tym! But I want to help get my friends out of prison! Why else do you think I'm not back on Gestirn with the rest of Beatrix's crew?!" the Growlithe exclaimed. "And you
need me to help! Unless you have another 'mon on your crew who grew up as a feral on Nagrobek,
I'm the only one who's familiar with how things work in that Mystery Dungeon!"
Nagant remained unmoved as her frown grew visibly sharper. Before she could interject, she felt a nudge at her shoulder and glanced over to see Berecien nosing at her with a wary expression.
"… He
does have a point, Captain," the Ponyta insisted. "I was going to volunteer myself to go with whatever group you sent out since my speech won't stand out locally. Besides, I wanted a chance to see the home that my parents had to leave behind."
Nagant didn't say anything back for a moment. The Ponyta waited expectantly, only for the Clawitzer to keep her expression firm, when a shadow fell over her. She pivoted on her tail, looking up to see Kline peering down at her.
"You
are short on time right now, Nagant. Given that your scouts will only have a few days to work with, it would be beneficial if at least some of the Pokémon you send were already familiar with the island," he said. "Besides, this clearly matters a lot to Eltenios and Berecien on a personal level. Are you really going to find others on your crew who would be
more motivated than them for this mission?"
Nagant twitched her barbels briefly, before turning back to Elty and Berecien with a grudging sigh.
"… We'll talk more about this later, but I'll keep your requests in mind." she said, before shifting her attention to Laurens. "While I don't normally pay much mind to the sentiments of
pirates, I'll give you and your peers a chance to voice concerns with the strategies I and my superior are considering beforehand."
"I'll hold you to that," the Feraligatr grunted, nodding his head. "Best of luck to you and your sailors."
Nagant turned and began to hop off as one by one, Berecien and his companions, and then Team Zephyr followed after her. Elty lingered behind briefly as Laurens walked back towards his ship and barked out to his sailors to get back to work. It was well-timed on his part from the looks of it given there were a few Pokémon coming up from the docks with supplies and repair materials and headed in the ship's direction. There was a Golisopod in a teal scarf bringing along a bucket of pitch, a Machoke lugging along a stack of wooden planks, a Ribombee leading along a Flygon carrying a bundle of sailcloth…
He blinked and turned his head back after the last two.
"Wait a minute…"
That was Flygon was
Rasp! The innkeeper who ran the place they'd stayed in the
last time he and Team Traveller were here on the island! And Bech from the Secret Bazaar was there, too!
The Growlithe paced ahead after the Flygon and his father, and as the two turned to leave, he barked out after them for attention.
"Rasp? Bech?"
The Ribombee flitted in place before turning around, his Flygon child following after more slowly. Their eyes met his and there was a flash of recognition, along with a tension in Rasp's body that made Elty freeze in realization.
Right, Nida had mentioned that when she, Guardia and Pleo were getting chased around Rosequartz Town, that Pleo had trashed the main square… And he'd badly hurt Rasp and Bech in the process.
He hadn't personally been there to see it since he was with the Iron Fleet when everything happened. But the two
looked like they were doing better now, so…
"What are
you doing here?" Elty asked.
The two didn't say anything at first, but just from their postures, Elty already could tell that something was wrong. Rasp's face visibly fell and his tail flicked back and forth agitatedly. In the air off to his side, Bech shot an aside glance at his son, before flying down with a small smile.
"Oh, it's you again. It's been a while, kid," the Ribombee said. "Laurens called in a favor and asked us to help get his ships sailworthy. Though what are
you doing here?"
"Oh, you know, going along with this raid to try and save my friends and stuff," Elty explained, waving a forepaw. "But who'd have thought we'd wind up working with each other like this again?"
Elty wagged his tail and forced a smile over his face as he looked back up at the two. He faltered almost immediately after noticing Rasp's face falling into a withering glare and him flaring his wings. Bech visibly hesitated in the air as he went and flew up beside the Flygon, giving a hushed "Come on, Rasp…" that caught his ears.
The Flygon's expression visibly refused to budge, and when Elty's eyes drifted leftward, he noticed a faint scar running along the Flygon's wing.
Rasp pulled his wings back in, before craning his head down towards his father with an audible harrumph.
"
Tar anois, a Dhaid. We need to get going," he insisted. "Those sails aren't going to hoist themselves."
The Flygon turned away and started making his way down the pier as Bech lingered in place for a moment. The Ribombee wavered, and looked back at Elty uneasily.
"Don't mind Rasp, he's just been through a lot lately," he said. "I'm sure that he'll be in a better mood eventually."
… Yeah, probably sometime after he left.
There was a sharp
woosh as Rasp jumped up and took wing, as Bech turned and flew off after him. From his place on the pier, Elty watched, opening his mouth to call out, only for the words to hang in his throat:
Just what could he even tell them right now?
His ears and tail fell, and he let his head hang as his eyes drifted down towards the wood under his paws.
"Hey, what's the holdup?"
He briefly looked behind and saw that Alice had split off from the rest of the group to come back for him. The Sneasel looked at him for a moment, before her gaze drifted up at the sky where Rasp and Bech were flying off. She watched them for a moment, before turning back to Elty with a curious raise of her brow.
"… Those old friends of yours or something?" Alice asked.
Elty didn't raise his gaze from the pier. He turned away from the Flygon and Ribombee vanishing off in the distance, and shook his head with a deflated murmur.
"I wish," he said. "Come on, let's just get out of here."
Alice hesitated briefly, before turning and continuing on for the path back to the Council's manor. Elty trudged along beside her, his ears and tail drooping the entire time.
Nida stepped past the threshold of an open set of double doors and squinted her eyes against the almost blinding light. Three days in, and it was still surprising how being in darkened tunnels for so long would make normal sunlight so hard to adjust back to.
She made her way down a set of broad steps, first glancing back at the exit to the prison wing behind her, and then off towards her surroundings ahead:
It was the same bleak, featureless space she remembered being brought out to in the days before: tall brick walls with guards patrolling their tops left, right, and center, with a ground covered in pavestones. The only hint of nature that was there at all was the increasingly westerly sun of a late afternoon sky overhead… and the other Pokémon here inside the courtyard with her.
This was apparently the place in this prison where prisoners were supposed to have "recreation"… or what passed for it, since Nida couldn't see anything that remotely resembled a game, beyond the occasional battle that didn't look particularly like playful sparring. More typically, Pokémon would gather off into small groups that huddled together, while others would go off on their own and wander about aimlessly. Wherever she looked, both sorts of Pokémon would usually look closer to being "sullen" or "exhausted" than like they were doing anything they were actually enjoying.
She scanned her eyes as she went about, where there, off in the left corner at the far end of the yard, she could see Kiran, Pladur, Albert, and Pyry all gathered and talking together. The Swellow from the group noticed her and hailed her by raising a wing, as she shuffled forward to meet them. As Nida walked up, she noticed that they all looked tired and covered with dust and soot, just as she surely was herself after a long day's work at the smelters.
She also noticed that there was still a noticeable tension about them. Kiran raised his head and looked around for a moment, before checking the top of the wall. After seeing that they weren't being watched, he shuffled aside to let Nida join their circle. Pladur was the first to speak, as he turned his tusked head with a hushed murmur.
"
Cómo salió todo, Nida?" the Fraxure asked. "Did you manage to sneak anything out?"
"I did, actually," the Nidorina replied. "I stole an Oran Berry during my last shift that was small enough to hide in my scarf. I don't
think anybody noticed me when I took it…"
After briefly scanning their surroundings for herself, Nida pawed at the knot of her scarf and pulled out the Oran Berry she'd kept hidden under it… if it could be called that from how small and underripe it was. The berry didn't seem to inspire much confidence in her teammates, as Albert briefly eyed it, before shaking his head with a low sigh.
"That's… not a very big Oran Berry," the Nuzleaf murmured. "Though are you sure it's going to stay good long enough for when we try to get out of here?"
Nida quietly lowered her ears and averted her gaze. She hadn't thought about that. She'd gotten herself so worked up over getting that berry, but just from what she could already see from the others, she got the feeling that they weren't expecting to get out of here before it went bad.
Perhaps she should've known better. Since even that hidden entrance she'd spotted while working at the smelters wasn't something they were sure they could use to escape. Still, between the five of them, surely someone else had to have
some ideas of what they could do…?
"I was assuming that it would," the Nidorina murmured. "Did any of you find any potential leads out of here?"
The others traded mostly blank looks with each other, which Nida supposed was as good a sign as any that they hadn't. The one exception was Albert, who paused for a moment, before speaking up to the others.
"One of the guards pulled back a panel on one of the walls in our cellblock and I saw there was a keyhole behind it. It might not be much, but if there's tunnels that the guards use to get around, maybe we could use that to our advantage," the Nuzleaf offered. "I don't know if we'd be able to get through it on our own, but if we managed to rally some help-"
"… Then it's not worth bothering with."
Pyry shuffled away and hung his head. Nida blinked as Kiran and the others shot askew glances at the Gabite, the Swellow warily raising his brow.
"Huh?" Kiran asked. "Why not?"
"Because Elilan will just make an Illusion if the guards realize there's trouble happening. That's what happened during the riot that Pekka and I escaped in."
Pyry shook his head, his mood and gait both seeming to sink lower and lower in front of their eyes.
"It was a very strong one, since we almost got lost right at the very edge of a hole in the wall," the Gabite explained. "All this time, we've never run into anyone else who made it out of the prison walls beside us. Maybe there's some sort of way we could sneak out if it's just a few of us, but once those Illusions go up, I just don't think there's a way for us to get out of here."
Everyone fell silent as Nida quietly tensed up and grimaced. If Elilan could really do that, then just finding a way out wasn't enough. It'd mean that to have any hope of escaping, they'd also have to somehow get out before Elilan found out about their absence, which Nida wasn't sure would be
possible unless he just wasn't around… and he'd almost certainly normally
would be here since this was the island he was supposed to run as an Administrator.
Then… would
any of this actually work? Or had they just been grasping at straws this entire time?
… Were they really just going to be trapped here forever? Nida had tried telling herself that it'd only been a couple days so far. That they'd already gotten out of impossible-looking situations in the past, but the more she found out about this place, the harder it was to see any way out.
She looked up past the top of the walls and off at the skies above, as clouds drifted in the distance along a southern wind, towards where Pleo was somewhere far away and across the sea.
A part of her hoped that he was doing better than them. However, after being all alone for three days and with the way that Lyn had treated him the
last time he caught him… was he really better off? At least when the Imperials caught him, he had others to talk to. It wasn't as if that Samurott would let anyone close to him, and gods knew what he and the Board were planning for him.
Travellers above, could it be that he'd
actually be doing
worse than them? Nida
assumed that Lyn wouldn't be making Pleo do hard labor, but was he lonely right now? Was he scared?
She just wished that she knew…
"Listen up you miserable wastes of flesh!"
Nida and the others turned their heads at the sound of a sharp shout and a tremor coming from the entrance of the prison yard that jolted through the ground. There, coming down those same steps she'd descended earlier, was Junius. The Marowak pulled his bone back from the ground, sauntering up along with a party of lavender-scarved guards. It was hard to miss the reactions of the other prisoners as he passed, some shooting hateful glares, while others shrank away at his approach. The Marowak seemed to enjoy both sets of reactions, as he went about and sneered about the prison yard.
"We've got a newcomer today: someone I'm sure that some of you are just
dying to meet."
"Nrgh!"
Junius leveled his club off towards the steps, where there was a Dragonite getting shoved along by guards. He winced in pain with every jostle, as Nida saw that his wings had had holes oozing blood torn into them. She cringed at the sight, as the thought crossed her mind that he somehow looked familiar.
She noticed a number of other prisoners turning their heads in surprise as the Dragonite was marched forward up to Junius, when Nida stiffened up as she suddenly realized
why this Dragonite looked so familiar to her…
"This is Darzin. Yes,
that Darzin," Junius said. "The now
-former Company Administrator of Tromba."
Nida pinned her ears back as she saw a dark mood start to settle among the other prisoners. Growls started coming from all around, as various prisoners started getting up and a few began making tentative steps towards Darzin. Between them and the malicious sneers on the guards, she could already tell that it wasn't a sign of anything good. Her teammates seemed to think much the same, as they traded worried looks with each other.
The only one in the entire courtyard who didn't seem to really react to it was Darzin himself, who glowered and growled from beneath his bindings. Junius gave a brief glance at the growing crowd of prisoners about them, before shooting a self-satisfied smirk out at them as he gestured at Darzin with his club.
"Looks like you all have some catching up to do," the Marowak remarked. "We'll let you have a moment to give this fat embarrassment the old 'Nagrobek welcome'."
A Pawmot undid Darzin's chains as the guards beside him shoved him forward towards the other prisoners. The Dragonite fought to stay on his feet for a moment as the guards started heading off. Darzin whirled around, dragonfire starting to wreath his claws as he began to go after them.
"
You."
It dissipated as Darzin paused and turned his head back towards the prisoners gathering around him. There was a Mamoswine making his way forward with a small group. He pawed at the ground with a foreleg, and a look that reminded Nida as one her
mami would have when she was mad enough to send a 'mon to the Medics' Hut… which almost all the other prisoners and around him shared.
Darzin briefly glanced about the others, before answering with a glare of his own.
"What do you want, Mamoswine?"
"I've spent six years in this godsforsaken hole because of you square-necks," the Mamoswine growled. "I might never get out this place alive, but I'll be content with taking your
hide as-"
Darzin cut the Mamoswine off with a Fire Punch to the face, sending him stumbling back. The Ice-Type fought to keep his footing, as Darzin crouched and suddenly lunged ahead, blue dragonfire wreathing his entire body which Nida recognized as being the same Dragon Rush that she'd seen Pleo use. The Dragonite struck the Mamoswine with a sharp
thud, his momentum throwing the Ice-Type off his feet and to a groaning stop on his side. Flashes of alarm went about the other Pokémon in the group, as a few uneasily shifted back, while Darzin bared his fangs with a sharp growl.
"Do you really think you miserable worms are just going to kick me around?!" the Dragonite spat. "I got to where I was by
my strength, and I'll
gladly remind you of-"
An Ambipom charged ahead and buffeted Darzin mid-sentence with a pair of slams with his tails. The Dragonite briefly lost his footing, before roaring and driving a set of claws trailing dragonfire deep into the Ambipom's gut. A pained scream followed, as the monkey limply pitched to the ground. A Whirlipede slammed into Darzin from the right, only to be met with much the same fate, when a cloud of orange powder suddenly overtook him.
"Ah!"
The Dragonite's limbs visibly locked up and grew sluggish, a quick glance back revealing a Masquerain hurriedly darting away, stray orange powder still lingering about her. A Ludicolo then spat up a Hydro Pump from behind that sent Darzin pitching forward with a sharp cry, prompting a Drapion to rush in with a slash trailing darkened contrails.
The other prisoners' hesitation melted away after that, as one after the other, they descended upon the Dragonite. They rained down blow after blow upon him as Darzin's cries came out increasingly pained and frantic.
Nida looked on in blank shock as they just kept going, while the guards, beyond a disinterested look here and there, did nothing to intervene as Darzin wildly thrashed and swiped his claws. There were fresh cuts and bruises all over Darzin's hide. His earlier defiance was completely gone, as the Dragonite curled up to try and shield himself from the mob attacking him. Nida's breath caught in her throat as she noticed an Excadrill approaching, bringing his claws together and lining them up with the wounded dragon's underbelly.
"Time to make you scream, you filthy square-"
The Excadrill abruptly stopped as a whirling bone smashed into him, sending him slumping over Darzin and collapsing into a heap on his other side. A stream of burning sand drove off the Drapion just afterwards, and a Thunder Punch from the Pawmot among the prison guards sent the Ludicolo hurriedly limping off before the gathered prisoners scattered. A series of sharp taps against stone turned everyone's attention back to the steps leading into the courtyard, where there was Junius, strolling downwards with a piercing glare.
"Alright, you scum have had your fun, show's over," the Marowak barked. "Anyone who's still going at it in the next five seconds gets a free trip to the Pit.
Tonight."
The prisoners faltered briefly, before grudgingly slinking off one by one, a few laggards staying to help their wounded fellows limp off or else to glare and snarl hushed invective at the still curled-up Dragonite. The moment after the crowd cleared, Junius sauntered up, Darzin wearily raising his head with hoarse, shaken pants. The Marowak raised his bone and thrust it forward with a sharp jab at a cut along Darzin's flank, making the dragon recoil with a sharp cry as a malicious smile came over Junius' face.
"Looks like you're really popular here, Darzin," he sneered. "In case you were too dense to figure it out, but things don't
work the same way they did when you were wearing Company lavenders. Keep making enemies like that, and you'll be lucky to last the week."
Junius gave a parting swat at the dragon's rump with his bone. Darzin flinched, before stumbling up onto his feet and limping off awkwardly, his wings and antennae now visibly drooping. Nida watched the Dragonite lumber along leftward, a few prisoners stopping to cry out particularly harsh insults as he made his way to the edge of the yard by the wall. He sat down in front of the bricks and just stayed there, staring.
Nida pinned her ears back and averted her gaze. This was the hated tyrant of Tromba who'd just been humbled in front of everyone present, and yet, unlike those stories
Mami would tell her about her fateful battle defeating Darzin and sending him fleeing with his tail between his legs, this felt… wrong somehow. A quick glance over her companions revealed similarly uncomfortable expressions, as Kiran stared at Darzin for a moment, before he shook his feathers with an uneasy mutter.
"I suppose this hasn't been the first fight that I've seen in this yard since coming here, but that certainly got uglier than I expected," the Swellow said.
"What on earth even
happened?" Pladur asked. "I know that Darzin was supposed to have fallen afoul with the Board, but winding up
here of all places as a common prisoner?"
The others traded uneasy murmurs as Kiran wondered aloud if the Company had found out that Darzin tried to work with Nagant. The whole time, Nida looked on with a strange but familiar discomfort. She couldn't place where that uneasy feeling was coming from or why it felt so familiar, when it suddenly dawned on her:
She'd felt like this after Lyn had captured them all, when she saw Hess' utterly defeated and crushed expression. She never got the chance to speak to him afterwards, and considering what became of him, she likely never would.
But Darzin was
here right now. Even if a part of her still wasn't sure if approaching him was really a good idea, could she take it for granted she'd be able to talk with him later…?.
Nida began to make her way towards Darzin, when a surprised squawk came from behind her. She felt scales and feathers holding her back, as Kiran and Pladur both quickly caught up with her, the Swellow looking at her with a startled stare.
"Nida,
qué estás haciendo?" Kiran demanded.
"I want to go and talk to him," Nida replied. "It just doesn't feel right to leave Darzin like that."
Pladur stared at her for a moment as the corners of his mouth drooped, before he gave a dubious shake of his head in reply.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Nida," the Fraxure said. "You
saw how the others reacted to him. If they think that we're together, then-"
"Pladur, it'll be fine."
The dragon's words trailed off in his mouth as Nida cut him off. She glanced back at him, meeting his eyes, steady and unyielding.
"It'll just be a moment. If there's any trouble, I'll come right back."
Neither of the two looked convinced, but after a brief hesitation, they let her go. Nida warily began to walk towards the prison wall that Darzin was sitting against. The Dragonite looked visibly winded and his antennae were drooping. As she neared, she thought she saw moisture beading up in the corners of his eyes, before her gaze turned to the red-flecked holes standing out against the teals of his wing membranes.
Nida winced at the sight. She knew that Kiran had had his flight feathers cut, but she didn't remember seeing other winged prisoners dealt with like
this over the past couple days. She briefly considered turning back, but before she could, Darzin twitched his antennae and turned his head up at her approach
Almost immediately, he forced back the defeated expression on his face. He stood up and flared his tattered wings, flashing his fangs and claws with a wobbly gait.
"Hrmph, so you're here to try your luck fighting me, too," Darzin growled. "If you seriously think you stand a chance against me alone, you have another thing coming!"
Nida looked on wordlessly as her face curled into a frown. She shook out her barbs, before narrowing her eyes with an unamused harrumph.
"You're
really making things tempting, just saying," the Nidorina replied. "But no, I came here because I was worried about you."
Nida briefly checked her surroundings, before bringing her paw up to the knot of her scarf. She pulled out the Oran Berry stashed away from it and held it out toward the Dragonite.
"We already have enough enemies in this place as it is," she said. "Quick, take the berry before the guards see it. You're not going to last long going into work tomorrow without anything to tend to those wounds."
Darzin stared at her with a slow, wary blink. After a few moments, that earlier suspicion returned, as his face visibly fell with a sullen huff.
"Are you
mocking me right now?" the Dragonite demanded.
"I could've done that
just fine without walking all the way over to you," Nida retorted. "Look, do you want the berry or not? Since if you don't, I'm fine holding onto it myself."
Darzin gave Nida a blank look for a moment, before warily snatching the Oran Berry and popping it into his mouth. He chewed it a couple times, before swallowing the berry with a quiet gulp. He pawed at an arm, casting his gaze down and meeting her eyes with a skeptical frown.
"… Why are you doing this after everything I've done to you and your island?"
"Because even if you're a mean-spirited cheat, nobody deserves to be left beaten down and all alone like that," Nida said. "Much less after going through something like what they did to your wings."
Darzin remained silent and looked away. Nida wasn't fully sure what to say after that given that she was expecting the Dragonite to say
something back, but perhaps this was a sign that she needed to take the lead with keeping the conversation going.
"How did you even get here?"
"… It was that Kommo-o and that Sylveon that were chasing after you," Darzin muttered, shaking his head. "After you left, they revealed that I'd been going after Lugia and framed me as being a spy for the Empire."
The Dragonite turned his head up and stared off into the sky. First vacantly, as an increasingly bitter twinge came over his face.
"Elilan must've known all along," he huffed. "He talked the Board into sending me here so that he could toy with me."
Nida blinked in surprise. There was clearly quite a story behind whatever had happened between Darzin, Elilan, and the rest of the Board. At the same time, she wasn't really sure what she could do to help his mood at the moment. She averted her gaze, giving an awkward shuffle of her forepaws.
"Yeah, I… know the two Pokémon you're talking about," she murmured. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Nida hesitated. A part of her wasn't comfortable just turning away and leaving Darzin behind after everything that had happened to him. At this rate, it wasn't hard to imagine that that horrid Marowak might be right and that Darzin really
wouldn't last the week with the way the prisoners ganged up on him.
… At the same time, Darzin wasn't exactly a friend of theirs. For all she knew, he'd turn on him the day after when his wounds were a bit more healed. And Pladur likely wasn't wrong that getting close to him would likely draw the prisoners' ire onto
them, too…
She just didn't know what to do.
"H-Hey! Let go of me!"
Nida's ears flicked as she briefly saw Darzin straighten up and look past her. She whirled around, where there in the corner was a large group of guards pulling Kiran and Pladur away. Her eyes widened as she saw the guards shoving back Pyry and Albert. The Nidorina raised her barbs in a panic and she started hurrying after her teammates and their captors.
"Ah! Kiran! Pladur! What's-?!"
"Not so fast."
Nida felt something hard catch her under her chest and nearly tripped, before she looked down and saw a long bone held out in front of her. As she followed it back to its owner, she saw that dreaded, dark-scaled Marowak was there. Nida tensed up as Junius pulled his bone back and idly spun it around, before planting it upright against the ground.
"It's your lucky day, Nidorina," he said. "You and your friends are getting transferred."
Nida looked over at Kiran and Pladur as they were marched over to the steps leading out of the prison yard. Much to her surprise, Crom and the rest of her teammates were already gathered at the top of the steps. The other prisoners in the yard were staring at them, with a few murmuring dark-sounding remarks like 'poor bastards' that reached her ears. She looked back at Junius and dug her feet into the ground as her heart quickened in her chest.
"What do you mean, 'transferred'?"
"It
means, you're being moved to a different part of the prison," the Marowak answered. "You can either come along quietly or I'll drag out of here. Your choice."
The Marowak tightened his grip on his bone and idly batted it against his free hand as Nida subconsciously shuffled back. There was no way that anything good would come of going along with this. But she'd seen this Pokémon smack around
Hess on his own, and with all of her friends already in the guards' clutches, just what could she do?
She hesitated for a moment, before Junius stepped forward and she felt his thumb claw dig under her pelt. The Marowak grabbed onto her shoulder, before marching her along towards the others. She tried to wrench herself free, but after the first few steps, she stopped fighting things, until she'd been marched over to her friends at the top of the stairs. She cast a glance over towards Crom, as the young Druddigon was standing up stiff and wide-eyed.
Tak! Tak!
Junius tapped his bone against the ground for attention. He turned his gaze out over Team Traveller and the gathered guards, before motioning ahead at the entrance to the prison with a sharp harrumph.
"Come on, we're running late as it is."
Nida uneasily shuffled forward with her friends. The whole time, her head spun and heart raced as they began making their way up the stairs and back into the prison and questions she couldn't answer kept repeating over and over again in her mind:
What was happening? Why were she and her teammates being singled out?
And what were these Pokémon going to do to them?
Author's Notes:
-
Razbira se, che da! (Разбира се, че да!) - Bulgarian: "Of course (it is)!" / "Of course, absolutely!" (BGN/PCGN 2013 Romanization)
-
Tá sé seo áiféiseach - Irish: "This is ridiculous"
-
Wiem o tym! - Polish: "I know that!"
-
Tar anois, a Dhaid - Irish: "Come on, dad", lit. "Come now, dad"
-
(¿)Cómo salió todo? - Spanish: "How’d everything go/turn out?"
-
(¿)Qué estás haciendo? - Spanish: "What are you doing (right now)?"
