Crom's breaths came tense and shallow as he watched the approaching Marked near them from all directions. He began to backpedal when he felt warm scales brush against his tail, and looked over to see that he'd walked into Bunsen. His teammates had similarly closed ranks, with Ander hurriedly hiding Pleo behind him and Bunsen. Right. It was probably for the best if these Marked didn't think they'd brought a 'demon' to hurt them or something like that. Or at least not right away. Crom scooted to try and block off the remaining gap with Pleo, before he cast a glance over at Trizano and tucked his wings in tight with a nervous stammer.
"W-What do we do now?" the Druddigon gulped.
Trizano braced himself, carefully sizing up the encroaching guards much like a Pokémon might do to a line of small text on a paper. The Skarmory batted out his wings and braced himself with a determined scowl, before speaking up loud enough for the approaching Marked to hear him.
"We stand our ground," he insisted. "We didn't come this far just to be chased off by a bad first impression."
The three didn't seem to care for Trizano's gesture and continued to near them, only to abruptly stop at the sight of the five-tailed comet on Ander's head as the Kecleon from the group motioned for her peers to stop. The other guards paused briefly, and gave puzzled blinks as the Kecleon stared at Ander with a puzzled frown, before she turned and noticed Bunsen beside him, bound and visibly trying to avoid being seen.
"Wait a minute… you're that Charizard that came in last week," the Kecleon said. "This is a sanctuary for Pokémon that have seen the truth of this world. Why did you not call for help instead of leading Pokémon blinded to it here?"
Trizano and his teammates couldn't help but trade befuddled stares with each other. Sounded like Bunsen had been settling in quite fast. Even so, the Charizard seemed visibly uncomfortable, as he grimaced and squirmed in his bindings before stammering nervously in reply.
"I-I mean, I was muzzled and tied up and-"
"But we're not blind at all!" a voice squawked in protest. "We can see you just fine!"
Ander and his companions blanched at the outcry as the Kecleon and her fellow guards turned back towards the Scyther, just in time to spot a long-necked creature with silvery-white feathers poking his head out from behind. The three Marked collectively stiffened up as their eyes shrank to pins as Ander hurriedly stepped in front of the Lugia. A tense silence followed, as the Marked Scyther grimaced and glanced over his shoulder with a tense whisper.
"You
really should've kept quiet there, Pleo."
The Dugtrio was the first to snap out of his startled trance, recoiling and motioning off with his heads at Pleo with a stammering cry.
"Th-That bird with them's a demon!"
The other guards flinched and recoiled from Team Traveller's group. After flitting back a wingbeat, the Golbat among them flashed her fangs, and whirled over towards the Charizard of the group with an angry hiss.
"Treacherous
escíncid!" the Golbat snarled. "You'd bring a monster like that
here?! To bring doom on the place your
own family shelters in?!"
The color visibly drained out of Bunsen's face at the Golbat's words. He began to quiver and pulled his tail in tight against his body, as his voice came out in a spluttering whine.
"I-It's not what it looks like, I swear!" the Charizard insisted. "The guards from Starpeak Square caught me while I was gathering berries and they
forced me to bring them along! I-I was trying to shake them in the Mystery Dungeon, but-!"
Bunsen's protests were cut off by the Kecleon summarily shattering a Petrify Orb in front of his feet. At once a shower of sparks erupted, as Team Traveller's members froze in their steps, rigid and unmoving. Pleo struggled and tried to move his numb limbs as the Marked guards approached. They all seemed to still be on edge, with the Dugtrio nervously trying to reassure himself that "they're not so tough now".
No, no, no. This wasn't supposed to be happening! They were supposed to be
asking these Pokémon for help! Not getting beaten up by them like this! Pleo tried to break free again, only to find his legs and wings wouldn't respond to him. He and his teammates raised their voices, desperately trying to talk sense into the surrounding guards.
"Please, you're making a mistake!" the Lugia begged. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"L-Look, I know that this is all hard to believe, but he really is different from what the ancients told us to expect of him!" Ander insisted.
"A likely story!" the Golbat snapped. "That's why you came
straight to us, right?"
The Golbat and her peers kept a careful berth from Pleo as they sized up the rest of the party on the ground. The Dugtrio looked about, before turning to his peers with an uneasy stammer.
"Wh-What do we do with them now?" the Dugtrio asked. "That Petrify Orb won't hold the demon forever."
"I say we kill 'em while we can and push their bodies into the Distortion," the Golbat suggested. "It's not like anyone will ever find them afterwards."
Pleo sucked in a sharp breath as his friends frantically tried to protest and Bunsen began to whine and beg for mercy in the background again. Everything became an indistinct blur as Pleo's his mind went blank. These- These Pokémon were going to
kill his friends? The Lugia tried to thrash free, only for his eyes to tear up as his body still refused to budge.
"I'd
encourage you to not make decisions without thinking them through first,
Nosferalto."
Pleo heard a low, rough voice, followed by strong wingbeats coming in from the same passage they had come from earlier. The wingbeats grew louder and louder as the Pokémon making them drew near. Pleo suddenly saw a large figure with black feathers from the corner of his eyes, prompting the young Lugia to screw his eyes shut in fright.
Then, he felt a shoving prod and stumbled forward. Pleo blinked away his tears and after cracking open his eyes, he realized he could move his limbs again. The Lugia hurriedly bat his wings out as he whirled to face the guards who'd thrown the orb only to feel a light nip at his shoulder. He froze after seeing one of the side heads of a Marked Hydreigon holding him firm, and further up was its owner, who stared down at him, before turning back to the Golbat with a piercing glare.
Pleo let his beak flop open and blinked a moment in disbelief at the Hydreigon. Whatever doubts he had of the Dragon-Type's identity were dispelled when he heard her speak:
"M-Margi?"
Pleo's words lingered in the air, but beyond a passing glance, the Hydreigon didn't acknowledge him. Her attention remained fixed on the other guards, who she addressed with a set of sharp scowls.
"Do recall that when our ancestors slew the demons of old, they never imagined the consequences that would follow. Even if this demon is still young and weak, how can we be so sure we know what would happen afterwards if he died?" the Hydreigon demanded. "Or that
nobody would find out about us disposing of them? Do you really think that Starpeak Square would just let things go unanswered if they learned we harmed a creature that they see as a
god?"
The Golbat sharply grimaced in reply as the Kecleon and Dugtrio traded looks with each other before the latter quietly admitted "I think she's got a point". The Marked Hydriegon frowned at the pair, before looking back off towards the passage where a tense-looking Sandaconda and Orthworm remained firmly at its entrance.
"Free the others from their petrification and we'll question them in a dignified manner," she ordered. "They can't do much against us right now even if they wanted to. Keep another Petrify Orb handy if you don't trust them to comply."
The Marked Kecleon and Dugtrio faltered, before grudgingly making their way over as they and the other guards went about to give light shoves to free Crom and his companions. Crom tried to shake feeling back into his arms after the Orthworm shoved him free with his tendrils, and looked over to see the Hydreigon still firmly holding onto Pleo.
"Hrmph, you're certainly a long ways from the last time we met."
Crom and Ander's eyes widened after the Marked Hydriegon spoke again and they got a better view of her. They didn't know how on earth she'd gotten here, but they could recognize her as clear as day from when they first met on Boisocéan…
"
Margi?!" Crom cried. "What are
you doing here?!"
The Hydreigon let Pleo go before turning her heads over to the young Druddigon. There was a moment of disbelieving silence between them before a sharp frown crossed Margi's face.
"I said that I was seeking shelter with my child the last time we met," she replied. "This is the place we fled to after we parted ways on Boisocéan."
Margi trailed off afterwards, and looked away with a low mutter, glancing at Pleo from the corner of her eyes.
"I just never would've imagined that
you would come here, too…" she said. "Especially with
him."
The other Marked traded looks with one another, before giving bewildered stares at their Hydreigon counterpart. The Kecleon among them cocked a brow in disbelief, trading glances between Margi and the 'demon' at her side.
"'The last time we met'?" the Kecleon asked. "Margi, you actually
know this lot?"
"Most of them. The Skarmory is new to me," Margi explained. "And I did indeed encounter the demon with them. I saw firsthand how the Company tried to capture him in order to use him as a weapon."
Pleo stiffened up as Margi called him a 'demon'. Uncomfortable memories of her saying that as she snarled and encroached on him with her fangs bared on Boisocéan filtered through his mind. From the way they left last time, he'd hoped she wouldn't look at him that way anymore…
Although… Margi didn't seem to
mean calling him a 'demon' from the way she was visibly unbothered and just beating her wings in place beside him. Or at least not in the same way she had last time. Pleo snapped to attention after feeling a nudge at his wing, when he noticed Margi was motioning off ahead.
"You and your friends should sit down for a while, Pleo," she said. "You're… not
necessarily in trouble, but the best thing you can do right now is to show these Pokémon that you don't mean any harm."
Pleo hesitated briefly, before following along with Margi towards his friends and settling on the ground. The others followed suit as the guards sized them up, before their attention fell on Bunsen at the edge of the group with a set of piercing glares.
"And you just
knew about this whole 'using a demon as a weapon' plan the whole time and said nothing about it?" the Golbat growled.
"I-I just found out about it barely a week ago!" Bunsen protested, pulling his head in towards his chest with a low whine. "Th-That's why I deserted the Company in the first place! I don't want to have anything to do with a disaster in the making like that!"
Margi narrowed her eyes back at Bunsen, and muttered something under her breath about a "likely story", before turning her attention back to Team Traveller's members.
"I suppose that now things have calmed down a bit, I ought to ask you a few questions of my own," she said. "Why are
you here?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Margi focused onto the Marked Scyther in the five's midst, narrowing her eyes into a piercing scowl.
"And why would
you bring Pleo here when you
knew full well how he'd be received?"
Ander hemmed and hawed briefly with a nervous tap of his scythes, noticing that the other guards were starting to train displeased stares at him.
"I… uh… w-well, you see…"
After a few faltering attempts at beginning to explain himself, Trizano shook his head and interrupted the Scyther, batting out a wing to draw his audience's attention.
"We were aware of the risks," the Skarmory said. "But we didn't have many options to choose from."
"And just what's
that supposed to mean?" the Golbat demanded.
"Starpeak Square was overrun by pirates this morning," Crom explained. "Their ships are still anchored in the harbor right as we speak!"
"We came here because we wanted your help to chase them off!" Pleo insisted. "Those pirates will just bully those Pokémon around if we don't do something!"
The other Marked in the chamber traded blinks and stares with one another. The Golbat let out a dismissive scoff before rolling her eyes.
"Oh no! Anyway…"
"Yeah, if there's nothing else going on right now, just make them use their Escape Orb if they've got one," the Dugtrio added. "The further away that demon is from us, the better."
Pleo's beak flopped open in startled shock. These Pokémon had just heard that the town right outside on their same island was being raided by
pirates. And here they were just completely unfazed by it!
"H-Huh?! Why are you just okay with this?!" the Lugia cried.
"Because that town and its Pokémon have tormented us since the days their 'King Adler' chased our ancestors into this place and left them to die," the Golbat spat. "Why
should we care about whatever happens to them? Especially enough to let a demon like you into our sanctuary where for all we know, you're just waiting for a chance to kill us all in our sleep."
"He wouldn't
do that."
The Golbat turned and was met by Margi glaring daggers into her. The Poison-type flinched and visibly shrank back, the Hydreigon letting her scowl linger over the Golbat for a moment before turning to the rest of her peers.
"He came to my neighborhood in Seahive Square before I fled," she explained. "He had plenty of opportunities to lay it to waste, yet he did no such thing."
Margi turned towards Pleo and stared wordlessly for a moment, before shaking her central head with a low sigh.
"… I know what the Scripture of Truth says about his kind, but he came here
seeking help. From what I've seen of him, I don't think it's just a ruse," she said. "He at least doesn't
intend to harm us. So long as that's true, we should hear out what he has to say."
The guards traded wary murmurs Hydreigon's argument, as the Golbat muttered under her breath with a low grumble.
"Are you
trying to doom us all, Margi?" she demanded. "Just how is letting a world-ender into our haven a good idea?"
"Do you mean to imply that violently agitating him would be
less likely to end the world?" Margi shot back.
There was a moment of silent hesitation among the guards, before the Sandaconda that first arrived with Margi shook his head with a low grunt.
"Maybe, but that would be something for the Elders to decide, not us," the snake insisted.
The Dugtrio's eyes shrank to pins, as he shook his heads vigorously and whirled to the Sandaconda in stammering protest.
"B-But we can't just let these Pokémon walk freely through town!" the Dugtrio exclaimed. "What if they really
do turn against us?!"
"Then bring us there as your prisoners."
For a moment, there was a blinking silence afterwards as everyone, both from among the Marked, and from Team Traveller's party turned and stared puzzledly at Trizano. The Skarmory stepped forward and turned his attention towards Margi.
"My home's not exactly a stranger itself to needing to hide from a hostile world," Trizano said. "Bring us in with whatever guards and restraints you find necessary and give us a chance to plead our case before these 'Elders' of yours. We're willing to take the gamble."
Pleo briefly hesitated, looking between the guards and his companions. He didn't know how he felt about being a
prisoner again, but they
needed help to free Starpeak Square and the rest of their friends. And if it would really convince these Pokémon…
"… I'll go too if you'll give us a chance to try and convince you," Pleo added. "Just… don't be mean to my friends. They've never done anything to hurt anyone."
The Marked guards turned to each other and huddled with quiet murmurs, the Kecleon being among the first to break away as she neared Team Traveller.
"We accept your terms, Skarmory," the Kecleon said. "Just don't complain to us if this gets uncomfortable for you."
The Kecleon made her way over to Trizano with a small group, the Skarmory pinning his wings back as the guards took his badge and tied them up. Pleo watched and squirmed as the other Marked went about repeating the same process on his teammates. Pleo was the last Pokémon the Marked made their way to over when they abruptly paused. There was a moment of quiet hesitation when the Kecleon glanced over at Margi and quietly sucked in a breath before motioning over at Pleo.
"Margi,
you stick with the demon," the Kecleon insisted. "If anything goes wrong, you've got the best chance of any of us at dealing with him."
Margi flew over to Pleo and nudged at him with a low grunt. For a moment, Pleo looked up with a worried stare, as Margi tried to crack a reassuring smile.
"The others need you to hold your wings against your body," she explained. "Don't worry, it will just be for a little while."
Pleo hesitated, before holding his wings against his body as Margi stayed in front of him and the other Marked grudgingly neared him. The Lugia fidgeted as he felt rough ropes encircle his wings, and trembling hands working them into knots. As soon as they were done, the Kecleon and her fellows were all too eager to leave him.
Pleo looked over at Margi as she stared back and craned her central head in towards him with a low whisper.
"I sure hope you and your friends know what you're doing, Pleo…"
The Lugia looked over towards his teammates as the guards separated them and marched them off, bound up in small groups for the fog one-by-one. Pleo gulped and looked back up at the Marked Hydreigon as the other guards around him prepared to do much the same, if at a safer distance. He hung his head briefly, letting his eyes drift towards the ground with an uneasy murmur.
"I… hope so too."
Pleo wasn't sure what he was expecting from the stable zone that Starbreak Square was in, but it definitely wasn't a cave tunnel like this. They'd exited out into a shaft made of gray stone, with the only indication that it wasn't a feral's den being a set of glowmoss lanterns which were set up along a path for illumination…
"D-Does he really just need to stand there menacingly like that?"
… and of course the giant, sturdy-looking gate just beyond them. The structure had an upper level with stone-hewn windows that sealed off the tunnel ahead, and was staffed by other Marked standing guard. Some, like a Sawsbuck, visibly cringed and shrank away at Pleo's sight from behind a set of wooden grates that were set up one after the other. Others, like a yellow Florges, managed to keep their composure, and stood on edge and ready to attack. The guards on the upper level seemed to be in similar straits, with a couple visibly holding Wands and Seeds at the ready. Pleo traded glances back at his teammates, wondering what they were supposed to do next, when Margi flew up to the grates with an annoyed sigh.
"You didn't mean to make us wait in the fog this whole time, did you?" she harrumphed.
"I-In the actual dungeon would've been better, really," the Sawsbuck insisted. "Safer for everyone else here."
The guards alongside Pleo and his companions shot back unamused scowls. The Sandaconda at the front narrowed his eyes and flicked his tongue back at his Sawsbuck counterpart.
"Look, if anything went wrong, at least this way we'll have more 'monpower to deal with him," the Sandaconda harrumphed.
Pleo fidgeted uncomfortably against the ropes over his wings. He supposed things could be going
worse, but were they
supposed to just be waiting here for this long? Crom, Ander, and Trizano looked visibly uncomfortable from their bindings themselves, and Bunsen in particular seemed to be taking things hard. From the way the Marked Charizard kept squirming and glancing nervously over at him, Pleo got the suspicion that it had been a deliberate choice by their captors.
"C-Can't I at least get these bindings off and go home now?" Bunsen protested. "I-I didn't
want any part of this in the first pla-!"
"
No."
Bunsen stiffened up and fell silent after the Golbat in their party glared at him with a low growl, prompting Pleo to let his eyes drift towards the stony cave floor. He could understand
Bunsen being afraid of him since he'd blown him over the horizon once, but being treated like some sort of dangerous monster by all these other Pokémon when he'd never done anything to them was starting to wear him down. Maybe it was just best to give them what they wanted and leave.
… No. The rest of his friends and Starpeak Square, were counting on them to find strong Pokémon to help fight off the pirates who'd taken over. Starbreak Square was supposed to have no shortage of them, so even if it made him uncomfortable, he'd just need to bear things for a little longer with Crom and the others.
Pleo lifted his head after hearing wingbeats. There, at the gate, a Murkrow approached. The Murkrow visibly stiffened up after seeing Pleo, and hurriedly shuffled off to the side towards Margi with a flustered caw.
"The High Elder said to bring him in, just…"
The Marked Murkrow trailed off and looked back at the young Lugia. After a noticeable pause, the Murkrow breathed in sharply, before turning back to Margi worriedly.
"Be careful. You never know what a demon like him might try to do."
A set of creaks and groans rang out as the grates were winched up, before one by one the guards started leading them forward. Pleo shifted uncomfortably against his bindings as Bunsen was the first to be brought in, when Margi gently nudged at his shoulder and guided him forward.
"Come along," she said. "Just stay quiet while we're going through."
Pleo wasn't sure what to make of the request, but set off anyways, noticing that the other guards were getting in his way and making it hard to see what was going on. They passed through a tunnel in the gate, when out on the other side, they came out into a chamber of some sort which reminded him of the more cave-like Mystery Dungeons they'd gone through.
Except there was an entire village built in it. There were lanterns hung on strings near the roof, with balconies of some sort that ran along the chamber's walls. Here and there, he'd spot tunnels that would go off into parts unknown, a few entrances that seemed to have wooden awnings built over them. Off towards the middle of the chamber, there was some sort of spring or well in the center with figures moving about it.
And of course, there were other Pokémon going around in the chamber from the glimpses he could see. A
lot of other Pokémon.
"
Maman!"
A Deino bounded up excitedly all of a sudden, rearing up onto his hindlegs as he nuddled against Margi's chest. Pleo's eyes lit up. That was
Daraen! The same 'mon he played with on Boisocéan Island! The young Lugia reflexively cracked his beak open to greet him, only to catch himself after a glance back at the guards flanking him reminded him that they were still on pins and needles.
… Right. He'd probably cause a scene if the others in the square noticed him. Even if it bothered him, it was probably best to just keep quiet for now. In spite of it all, it was nice to see that Daraen was the same cheerful Pokémon he remembered from Boisocéan. The Deino let out a small giggle as his mother nuzzled him, prompting Daraen to turn his head up to her and wag his tail excitedly.
"You're back early today!"
Margi glanced around at her surroundings briefly, before forcing an awkward smile back at her child. Her demeanor was stiff and on-edge, as if she was in a hurry to wrap up her conversation quickly.
"Yes, well… something came up in the Dungeon that brought me back a bit sooner than expec-"
"EEEEEEEK!"
Pleo and his companions whirled their heads at the sound of a piercing shriek. There, just ahead in the middle of the square was a panicked Cufant stumbling back and pointing him out with a quaking trunk. The commotion attracted the attention of the other Marked nearby, who turned and similarly froze at his sight.
And then came the screams.
"DEMON! DEMON!"
That would probably explain why Margi wanted to wrap up the conversation quickly. At once, the square erupted into chaos as Pokémon of all shapes and sizes took off fleeing for the various tunnels and entrances in the square, much as if a cannon had just been fired. Even Daraen seemed to get swept up in things as he froze for a moment at the commotion, before diving for the safety of his mother's grasp.
"Ow!"
Or he tried, at least. The Deino's path took him square into Pleo and knocked him down with a squawk. Daraen hastily picked himself up and panted tensely when he caught himself, and realized that he was hearing and smelling someone much more familiar than he assumed.
"Huh?!
P-Pleo?!"
Daraen darted up in front of Pleo. He gave a poke with a forelimb at Pleo's breast and after feeling his feathers, he tilted his head, and gave an excited wag of his tail.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you had to fly away from home after those mean Company Pokémon came after you!"
Pleo ruffled his feathers, and looked down with a sheepish smile. For some reason, he had the strangest urge to paw at the back of his head, even if it was a bit hard to manage with his bindings.
"It's… a long story."
"The short version of it is that we caught up with each other and got into a bit of trouble since then."
Daraen stiffened up in surprise at the sound of Ander's voice. Even with his blindness, the Deino's senses were sharp enough to turn his attention off towards the Marked Scyther in the group. The Dragon-Type let out a surprised cry, as his jaw dropped in astonishment.
"Whuh?! Ander?!" Daraen exclaimed. "
You're here too?! And so's that Druddigon that was with you…"
From beside Ander, Crom raised his head and gave a small smile over to Daraen. Pleo blinked for a moment, when he reminded himself of the stories the others told him on journeys between islands. Crom
had mentioned that he and the others had come across Margi and Daraen on Boisocéan. From the way his eyes lit up, he must've had fond memories of their encounter.
"That's right, it's 'Crom'!" the Druddigon said.
And Daraen must've had good memories himself from the way he was wagging his tail. Pleo guessed that Daraen couldn't see that they were all tied up since he'd hadn't said anything about it. But even so, from the way he was stopping and trailing off, he must've noticed something was amiss about their presence.
"Wait, but where's everyone else?"
Crom fell quiet and turned his head aside, letting his eyes fall towards the ground with a glum murmur.
"They're kinda in a bit of trouble right now," he explained. "That's… why we came here in the first place."
"As are
you at the moment," the Kecleon among the guards scoffed. "Need I remind you that the only reason why you're here in town
at all was because you gave yourselves up as prisoners?"
Pleo and his companions bit their tongues after the Kecleon's reminder. Right. It probably
would be a bit much to convince Pokémon who genuinely believed Pleo was some sort of world-ending demon to let them go about freely. The Golbat from the group turned and stared at Pleo, before screwing her eyes shut with a grumbling sigh.
"I can already tell we're never going to hear the end of this one from the Elders…"
Team Traveller looked back out to the square after hearing low whimpers coming from it, which had been deserted aside a few stragglers who'd been unable to flee. Some like a family of Maushold attempted to hide themselves behind obstructions like an overturned basket, while others like a Squirtle who had tipped over onto her back and retreated into her shell braced for the end. Trizano set his beak on edge and lowered his head with a low murmur.
"I sure hope that won't be a recurring trend here."
"As do I, Skarmory."
Trizano and the others looked up as they saw a Marked Typhlosion making her way across the emptied square. The Typhlosion stopped briefly to right the Squirtle and let her hastily scamper away before she continued walking up. Unlike the other Marked, the Fire-Type was unflinching the entire time, shooting glaring daggers over that made the guards at their sides visibly blanch, and made even Margi stiffen up and grow uncomfortable.
The Typhlosion approached, going directly up to Pleo as she looked down at the young Lugia with a hostile scowl whose meaning was unmistakable:
She didn't want them here.
Pleo squirmed against his bindings and backpedaled slightly, the guards behind him dutifully minding their distance as the young Protector gulped and looked back up at the Typhlosion.
"Uh… wh-who are you?"
"I'm Nina," the Marked Typhlosion replied. "High Elder of Starbreak Square."
The Typhlosion looked about the emptied square for a moment, and after a long pause, she pinned her ears back and turned back to Pleo with a grumbling sigh.
"And I can already see that we have much to discuss."
Salvini raised a cup from the counter and brought it up to her mouth with a shaky breath. It was the same bar her and her friends had used as a hangout since coming to Vollezee, and she was drinking the same jenever that was always available, but everything in the past couple days had seemed like the world had turned upside down.
They had known that they were taking a risk letting Pleo go the other day, but they hadn't expected that it would lead to
this. The Vault from the Academy being raided, the military harbor and lagoon thrown into a mess from a ship fighting its way past the sea walls…
And of course, the chunks of the city that had been damaged during the whole episode, with rumors swirling about that it had been the doings of a serpent-like Protector. The entire city had been on edge since then, with pockets of unrest breaking out almost as quickly as they could be dispersed. Worse still, the nights since then had been short on sleep with worry that someone up the chain of command would put two and two together.
She drank the jenever from her cup before pinching her brow. Travellers above, she needed that drink. So did her friends from the oppressive aura all around the counter. Both Hertsog and Payak had been light on conversation tonight, while Phyllis was visibly stressed and working through yet another cup of jenever—quickly enough to make their Mienshao teammate turn to her with a worried stare.
"Slow down there, Phyllis. Jenever's a stronger drink than the rakia back home," Hertsog reminded, reaching a paw for the Leafeon. "I know it's been a stressful day, but you should take a moment to calm yourse-"
Tak!
Salvini flinched at the sound of a clay cup harshly slamming against the wood of the bar, hard enough that she was surprised it hadn't broken from the impact. A glance down it revealed Phyllis whirling about in her seat and leveling a forepaw accusingly at the Mienshao.
"How do you expect me to just stay calm, Hertsog?!" the Leafeon demanded. "A demon just tore up chunks of the city the other day!"
Hertsog just sat there wordlessly as an uneasy silence filled the air. Just what was there even to
say at the moment? Everyone had seen the handiwork of that… 'demon' almost right after Kiran and the others left the Vault. Only a fool would think that they weren't related somehow.
Salvini bit her lip. She knew that she'd come to the conclusion that it wasn't right to let Pleo be taken away back on Mengir, but… how were her teammates supposed to trust her after this? Especially with the way that Payak was glowering and looking away.
"That bird had something to do with this, didn't he?" the Ariados muttered. "Did we really do the right thing by not intervening with Kiran when we cou-?"
The Bug-Type was cut off with an audible shush, along with a sharp scowl as Hertsog shook his head.
"You shouldn't discuss work matters off-hours, Payak," the Mienshao grunted as he raised his cup back to his mouth. "Loose lips sink ships."
… Right, including
their ship. So on top of everything else, they couldn't even air out their thoughts openly right now. Salvini wasn't sure how she felt about that. Perhaps everything would make a bit more sense after the shock of those events faded and there'd be some time to try and get to the bottom of what had happened for Team Traveller's escape to turn into…
that. But for all she knew, things were just going to quietly fester beneath the surface the entire time.
The Grovyle turned for her own drink with a low murmur, when the clinking of glass from behind the counter turned her head up. It was the Gothorita barkeep, tucking away odds and ends on the shelves in a visible hurry, as she turned back to Salvini and her companions.
"If you four have any additional orders, get 'em in quick. I'm closing up in fifteen minutes."
Salvini blinked and raised a brow at the Psychic-Type's remarks, a quick glance revealing Hertsog setting his cup back on the counter as Payak and Phyllis shot back puzzled glances themselves. Since when did this place ever close at
this hour?
"While it's still light out?" Salvini asked. "Why would you shutter your bar so early?"
"There's a curfew after dusk, remember?" the Gothorita explained, shaking her head. "If I stay open for you much longer, I'll be sleeping behind the counter tonight."
There was a moment of collective silence afterwards, as Salvini let her eyes drift down at the bar's countertop. Gods, everything had turned into such a mess. All she wanted was to keep those kids out of trouble, but after everything that'd happened since they ran into Team Traveller again and how it was now putting Hertsog and the others at risk…
Was Hertsog mad at her about the way things had turned out? She knew that he respected Kiran for helping him fix up Fensedge Village's shrine to Xerneas before they left Mengir, but… she couldn't imagine he expected something like
this to happen from looking the other way for his sake.
All of it made her wonder… had this really all been worth it?
The Grovyle raised her head after hearing shuffling from Hertsog's end of the bar. She turned just in time to catch him picking up his cup again, and raising it in front of the barkeep.
"I suppose we'll take a final round of drinks, in that case. Though don't worry, Gothorita," the Mienshao insisted. "It's been a long day and we understand if it's been getting to you too. If we run past curfew, we'll walk you back home. Our pleasure."
Salvini looked on as Hertsog shot a reassuring smile back at the Gothorita. The one and the same smile that he'd give to townsfolk in Fensedge Village to try and reassure them that he understood their frustrations whenever taxes were raised or when he had to stop outsiders who joined the guards that tried to bully or extort them.
Even here, so far away from home, he was looking out for others as a guard.
She eased up a bit at the sight. Whatever was going on in the Mienshao's head right now, she was sure that Hertsog would deal with it as he'd always done. Calmly and eager to find solutions rather than going and pointing fingers accusingly. She turned her attention back to her cup as the barkeep made the rounds, and refilled everyone's drinks.
With a fresh helping of jenever in hers, Salvini was content to just push her worries from her mind. Or at least she would've been, until she heard the sound of the bar's entrance door creaking open in the background.
"Oh, glad to see you're still open."
Salvini turned for the door along with her teammates just as a Sylveon in a Second-Rank scarf came sauntering in. The Fairy-Type casually walked over to the bar, stopping at a seat beside Salvini as she hopped up and called out to the barkeep behind the counter.
"I'll take a cup of water," Zelle said. "I'm still on the job right now."
Everyone blinked at the Sylveon as she settled in. Was she a coworker of theirs from the Academy? The barkeep hesitated briefly from the sudden silence that had come over the counter before going off to fetch a pitcher. Salvini traded glances with her teammates, before opting to turn back to her drink. All the while, Hertsog hesitated with his own cup as he shot an aside glance at the newly-arrived Second-Rank and raised his brow.
"… On the job? And yet you're visiting a bar?"
Zelle didn't answer right away as she waited for the Gothorita barkeep to bring over her cup of water. She picked it up with a feeler, before raising it to her mouth and glancing back at the Mienshao.
"What can I say? My work takes me to all kinds of places," the Sylveon replied. "The name's 'Zelle'. I'm from the Intelligence Division and here to investigate a case of treason against the Company."
Salvini spat up her drink onto the counter after the Fairy-Type stopped speaking, coughing and hacking as stray drops of jenever got into her sinuses. She gasped for air and noticed that her teammates were collectively blanching at the Sylveon, the three staring wordlessly until a sharp bark snapped them back to attention.
"
Again, Grovyle?!"
Salvini turned her head as the Gothorita stomped up with a damp rag. The Psychic-Type shook her head with a frustrated grumble, placing it on the remnants of Salvini's drink on the counter as she shot a dirty glare across the bar.
"Order liquor you can actually hold next time!" the barkeep hissed.
Salvini grimaced, partly from embarrassment as the barkeep got to work cleaning up her mess, and partly because the Sylveon
had to have found the way she reacted suspicious. Salvini steeled herself as she turned back towards Zelle, who had a strangely self-satisfied expression on her face.
"Oh, there's no need for any of
you to worry. None of you four are the Pokémon I'm investigating," the Sylveon reassured. "Though it
is someone that you might know. That's why I came here: I wanted to ask for your help."
Salvini and her companions traded stares with one another. Had they run into this 'mon sometime while they were on duty after coming to Vollezee? Phyllis was particularly puzzled by the remark, as the Leafeon motioned towards herself with a disbelieving blink.
"Wait…
our help?"
"No, no, not yours, Leafeon," Zelle explained. "Your Grovyle friend's."
Salvini watched as Zelle raised and pointed a feeler at her. At once, the Grovyle felt a pit in her stomach and tried to fight back a small tremor over her body and keep her mouth from flopping open out of fright.
This 'mon
knew, didn't she? About Kiran, and Pleo, and… w-well
everything. But if she did, why had she come alone? And why was she beating around the bush like this instead of having the lot of them detained right here and now?
Whatever the reason, the Sylveon kept up her amiable appearance the entire time, as she leaned in with a knowing smile.
"Why don't we go someplace more private to talk?" Zelle asked. "That table at the end of the bar should suffice."
Salvini froze at Zelle's offer, assuming it
was an offer to begin with. Between the Sylveon's rank and her stated reason for coming here, Salvini doubted that she would accept 'no' for an answer… or her attempting to claim that something had come up and that she had to leave early.
The Grovyle stiffly got up from her seat. She noted her teammates staring worriedly at her, and gave a weak smile back before she turned back to Zelle.
"I… suppose it couldn't hurt," she said. "It'll take the barkeep a bit to replace my drink anyways."
Zelle nonchalantly slipped off her seat and started to guide Salvini off for a table towards the back corner, following closely behind the Grass-Type with every step. All the while, Salvini started to feel lightheaded and had to struggle not to scream. She cast a brief, uncomfortable glance back at her teammates as she walked off, wondering if she should speak up and call for their help.
But it was too late. Before she knew it, Salvini was at the table with Zelle, with the Sylveon hopping up onto a seat and waiting expectantly for her. The Grovyle faltered, before sucking in a sharp breath and sitting down at the opposite end. She raised her eyes and looked back across the table, struggling to fight back a nervous stammer.
"Wh-What can I help you with?" the Grovyle asked.
"I wanted to talk a bit about your recent history," Zelle explained. "During my investigation, I couldn't help but notice that you had some disciplinary actions recently added to your record."
The Sylveon went through the satchel hugging her shoulders with one of her feelers and pulled out a paper file that she slid out onto the table. Salvini blinked and looked down, freezing up as she saw the runes on the label. Her name, her byname, along with a rune followed by a series of numbers that had been assigned to her after first joining the Company. The Grovyle stiffened up, shooting a wary glance back across the table.
"… I thought that you said that your investigation
wasn't about me," Salvini said.
"It's not," Zelle replied. "It's about the
other Pokémon mentioned in the incident report from your file."
The Sylveon pulled the cover of the file open, leafing through a few loose pages before turning it around to face Salvini. The Grovyle hesitated briefly before reading the runes on the page. The first thing that caught her attention was a line with a date. It was the date of the night Pleo had escaped from Mengir, with Commander Briggs' signature at the bottom and a mass of densely-packed runes in between. Salvini pawed at the page, only to have her eyes dart back towards Zelle as the Sylveon began to speak again.
"The report's a bit long, so I'll save you the time and tell you a summary of it. It says that towards the end of your assignment on Mengir Island, there was an incident in which a number of wanted pirates escaped and Darzin was injured thanks to your incompetence," Zelle said. "From the specific language used in the report, it seemed almost as if whoever wrote it up was implying that you betrayed the Company and attacked an Administrator, but got off easy due to a lack of evidence."
Salvini followed the runes along with her eyes under the light of a nearby lantern. Sure enough, the message more or less said exactly what the Sylveon had said, just with more legalese involved. Because
of course Briggs would go out of his way to try and screw her over on the way out. The Grovyle felt a flash of hot anger come over her and jolted up from her seat and looked across the table with a bitter glare.
"
That's-!"
"Complete nonsense, I know."
Salvini paused at the Sylveon's response. This 'mon from the Intelligence Division… was taking
her side?
"Huh?"
Zelle clamped the file shut with her feelers and fell silent, her blue eyes studying the Grovyle briefly before she spoke up.
"I doubt you were informed by your prior superiors, but one of those pirates that night happened to be a Protector," the Sylveon explained. "I'm aware that it probably sounds a bit fantastical, but I've seen the evidence behind those events, and it speaks for itself."
Zelle raised her cup to her mouth and took a quiet sip. Her eyes met Salvini's briefly, before the Fairy-Type set the cup down and continued on with a serious frown.
"Our current theory is that Darzin came barging in and attempted to seize the Protector for himself and then bungled things when you encountered him in the act," she said. "From there, you and your companions were thrown under the ship in the cover up to avoid embarrassing the Board."
Salvini blinked wordlessly in reply. Was- Was she
actually hearing a Second-Rank
say these things? Zelle flicked her ears briefly, as she brought her feelers together before her chest with a small smirk.
"It sounds crazy, I know. But that
is more or less what happened… right?"
Salvini let her mouth hang open briefly, before she sank back into her seat and brushed at her forehead with a sigh of relief. Gods, after how much of a saga everything had been since Mengir, she didn't think something like this would ever happen. Someone up the chain had
actually noticed the way that she'd been thrown under the ship? And cared enough to try and do something about it?
"Th-That's the first time someone above my rank other than Hertsog's believed me…" Salvini murmured.
Salvini hesitated briefly after she noticed that Zelle was sizing her up. The Grass-Type opened her mouth to try and explain herself further when Zelle pre-empted her with a puzzled tilt of her head.
"So you
were set up, huh?"
"O-Of course!" the Grovyle insisted. "I… just… was a bit surprised to hear someone believe me for once…"
Zelle nonchalantly took the file back into her feelers and stuffed it back into the satchel sitting on the seat beside her. She turned back, giving an amiable smile as she absent-mindedly brushed a feeler against the wood of the table.
"There's been a few other incidents since yours that make us suspect that Darzin has become a spy for the Empire, including the events that happened the other day at the Academy," Zelle said. "That's why the Intelligence Division has opened an investigation into him."
Salvini had to fight to keep herself from double-taking upon hearing the Sylveon's explanation. She knew that Darzin had more or less been shunted aside as an Administrator and that he supposedly nursed quite a bit of bitterness over it, but somehow it never occurred to her that he would turn to colluding with the enemy over it. The Grovyle snapped out of her train of thought after hearing Zelle move in her seat, looking up to see the Sylveon pointing square at her with an outstretched feeler.
"That's where you come in. I'd like you to help me with our case against Darzin. All we'd need is your testimony in front of the Board," the Fairy-Type explained. "In return, I can help you and your friends' records get cleared. There'd be compensation for your troubles of course, including for the pay your Mienshao friend lost from the loss of his position until a suitable surrogate role can be arranged for him. You four could even go back to Mengir if you wanted to."
Salvini's eyes lit up as she couldn't help but let a grin spread over her face. Going back to Mengir? With her old job and her name cleared? She had to be dreaming!
Salvini caught herself and her smile faded. She
wasn't dreaming, the wood of her seat brushing against her scales reminded her of that. Was there some sort of catch to this offer? Everything the Sylveon had told her almost sounded
too good to be true.
She paused for a moment before stealing a glance at her teammates. Mengir was Hertsog and the others' home island, and while they'd put on a brave face since coming here, was it
really fair to deny them a way back because of a few nagging doubts? The Grovyle shook her head, before pawing at her scarf and forcing a smile over her face.
"I'd be happy to help," the Grass-Type insisted. "You don't have any idea how much this would mean to us all."
"I'm glad to hear," Zelle chuckled. "All that we still need to do is for us to go over what to bring up in your testimony."
Salvini faltered at the Fairy-Type's response. 'Go over what to bring up in her testimony'? Aside from the fact that she
couldn't tell the whole truth as a witness, weren't things straightforward enough that Zelle should already know what to expect?
"Wouldn't I just tell the Board what I remembered happening?" Salvini asked. "That I caught Darzin breaking into the room I was tasked to watch and tried to stop, only to take a Fire Punch to the head for the trouble and get used as a scapegoat afterwards?"
"You
should mention that, yes," Zelle said. "But there's also a few extra details that you should mention in your testimony."
Salvini fell quiet, before giving a wary tilt of her head in reply.
"What… other things?"
"Oh, that you ran into Darzin earlier that day and saw him stash a pouch full of Imperial Bezants into his bag. Or how you've seen him talk to a suspicious Clawitzer, whose description just happens to match up with an Imperial Captain the Board already knows about," the Sylveon mused. "You know, minor details like those."
Salvini blinked at the Sylveon in confusion, before letting her face fall into a quiet frown.
"… But I didn't
see any of that."
"I'm well aware. But that's just an inconvenience that we'll need to work around," Zelle said. "Darzin's status on the Board may be… precarious, to say the least. But what happened to you on Mengir isn't sufficient grounds to prove his ties to the Empire."
Salvini tensed up. She wasn't sure where Zelle was going with this, but she could already tell she wasn't going to like it. The Sylveon seemed to pick up on her unease, as she smiled and gave a small wave of her feeler in reassurance.
"As I mentioned earlier, some other things happened that made my superiors suspect Darzin, but it takes a lot of time to gather enough evidence for those sorts of accusations. Time that we don't have, and time that Darzin is using to undermine the Company from its highest echelons," Zelle insisted. "By just adding a few details to your account and a little tweak here or there, we can get around those obstacles and nip this problem in the bud before it's too late."
Salvini's eyes shrank to pins as she hurriedly scanned her surroundings to make sure no one was listening in on them, before whirling around with her mouth still hanging open. Travellers above, this 'mon said that she wanted to
help her, not to make her incriminate herself
further!
"Y-You're asking me to commit perjury in front of the Board!"
"What I'm
asking you to do is to speed up the process of us gathering evidence," Zelle harrumphed. "We both know Darzin is guilty already, but the Board just needs a little extra push to see that. Does it really matter how we get there when the Company's best interests are on the line?"
Salvini looked away briefly. Words did not begin to
describe how dangerous of an idea this all was. This wasn't just selectively bringing up bits and pieces of the truth and saying Darzin's Fire Punch to her head made her memory of events a bit hazy, this was going out on a limb and making false statements in front of the most important Pokémon in the Company!
The Grovyle narrowed her eyes and turned back with a sharp scowl. No. She'd taken enough risks lately, and she sure wasn't going to do it on behalf of a 'mon she'd met just five minutes ago.
"… You should've asked another 'mon for the job. If I got
caught perjuring myself like that, I'd be lucky to merely be blacklisted from further employment with the Company afterwards," Salvini huffed. "The stories I'd heard about perjury cases at that level involved harsh penal sentences, and those weren't in front of the
entire Board."
"So? You sure didn't have any issues perjuring yourself in front Administrator Zorn before you left Mengir."
Salvini's eyes widened and her jaw slackened as she felt the color drain out of her face. She grimaced, and tried to back away as Zelle leaned in towards her, with a smug sneer settling over her face.
"Yeah, I found out
quite a bit about what you were up to on Mengir before you left," she sneered. "Though you don't need to worry about what happened out there. That's water under the bridge.
But, if my friends and I have trouble tying Darzin to what happened at the Academy earlier today, we'll have to start looking for other potential traitors in our midst."
Salvini felt a lump grow in her throat as Zelle bared her fangs under her smile.
"Since if Darzin
wasn't involved with the events at the Academy, the
next most logical place to search would be the Pokémon that were around it earlier that day," the Sylveon continued. "Especially the first responders to the scene, which would include you and your friends."
Salvini's breath tightened as she felt herself pin up against the wall. Her friends were
right there in the room with her, and yet if she
said anything or called for help, this Sylveon would just ruin them all.
Somehow, even back in that boarded-up room in the Medic's Hut back on Mengir facing down Darzin himself, she hadn't felt
this trapped. What was she even supposed to say back to Zelle?
"I-I-"
"Would have nothing to fear then in that case, right?" Zelle asked. "After all, the reaction that you all had when I mentioned I was investigating a case of treason was
totally how a group of 'mons with nothing to hide would have, right?"
Salvini gulped, letting her eyes drift towards the table's wood as the lightheaded feeling from earlier started to come back. She heard a tap, and looked up to see Zelle pulling a paw back from rapping against the table and staring expectantly at her.
"Or, you know. You could just do as you're told and there'd be nothing to worry about."
Salvini didn't like this. Not one bit. This Second-Rank was effectively extorting her, and she didn't even have a guarantee that the 'mon would
keep any of those earlier promises. At the same time, both of them knew that she couldn't just walk away from this table…
The Grovyle raised her eyes off at the bar and glanced over Hertsog, Payak, and Phyllis as they tried to make smalltalk, the Mienshao occasionally casting glances out the corner of his eye.
It was then that Salvini realized that she didn't have much of a choice. For her
friends' sake, she couldn't afford to turn the Sylveon down. She'd have to find some way of riding things out, and try and think of
something to do if the Fairy-Type tried to throw her under the ship later.
Salvini noticed the Gothorita barkeeper was putting things away while her teammates headed behind the counter to help her. If nothing else, it was a chance to get the Sylveon out of her scales for now. She grudgingly looked back at the Second-Rank watching her across the table before raising her voice in a low murmur.
"I… I know that we're a bit tight on time right now since the bar's about to close, but what
exactly is it that you need me to say?"
(Continued in next post)
