The Great Butler
Hush, keep it down
“So that’s what we did, you. Fernando IV and I changed history, and for all the time since then, I’ve done my best to keep up the facade.”
With its tale at an end, Shaymin turned back to its audience, unsure of what sort of reactions to expect. Sheena was staring at it intently, clearly enraptured by its recollection of history. Matt had his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. Rosalita, meanwhile, was still shaking with her arms wrapped around herself.
“Everything I believed was a lie,” the princess repeated, her distress laid bare by her voice.
Having everything out in the open at long last gave Shaymin the strength to tackle the matter head-on. It floated over to Rosalita so it could address her directly.
“You are different, Rosalita,” it told her. Before continuing, it pawed at an itch in its right ear. “All your ancestors were very private, you. Even much of your own parents’ lives were out of the public eye. But you, you have always lived as one with the people. You know them and their lives on a personal level, you.” Shaymin jumped onto Rosalita’s lap. “My lies were meant to preserve peace, but they failed. I see that now. Together, we can fix it, you.”
Rosalita initially remained silent, overwhelmed by the reality of the situation. When she finally did speak, it was in a hushed, weary tone.
“You are demanding too much from me, Shaymin… how can anyone shoulder all this? You want me to undo what half a millenium’s worth of lies you and my ancestor did to our people. You expect me to reveal all this and still be able to lead them. And that comes after stopping my brother, who thinks Regigigas is nothing more than a simple protector because of those lies! I ask you again, how can you expect anyone to shoulder this responsibility?”
“I don’t expect anyone to do it,” Shaymin replied. “I expect you. Because when I looked into your heart, I saw a person with both the strength and grace needed. I resolved to never repeat my mistake with Fernando III, you. And you are the one who is capable of saving this land.”
“But still-”
Rosalita’s protestation got cut off when Sheena put a hand on the princess’s shoulder.
“You don’t have to do it alone,” the priestess reassured her, smiling. “Rely on us.”
“That’s right, Rosa!” Eleanor called from the front of the vehicle. Evidently, she had been listening the whole time. “You can count on us!”
“Well, it looks like I’ve inherited Sutter’s work after all,” Matt added. “I can’t turn my back on you now, Rosalita. Not after all that’s happened.”
“Everyone…” Rosalita’s despair was turning into an emotional sense of hope that things could turn out well. “There is no way for me to express the gratitude I have for your support.”
“That’s just fine by itself,” Matt said. “I do have one last thing I want cleared up, though. Shaymin, why did Fernando VI seek out my grandfather? Why was he looking for an overseer?”
Compared to what it had just confessed, Matt’s question was easy for Shaymin to answer. “Truth be told, this is not the first time an heir has discovered what happened, you. Fernando VI found inconsistencies in the genealogy of the House of Fernando. They were oversights we missed while planning the coverup. He did not go to his father with his concerns, though, he went to me. I panicked and told him the truth, you. I managed to convince him to help me keep it all quiet… it was not time for the truth to come out.”
“So that’s it…” Matt uttered, sinking back in his seat. “Fernando’s mad plans, the deaths of Sutter and the king and queen… it all comes back to the lie you and Fernando IV concocted.”
“You have done the people of La Ciudad Dorada a grave disservice with your lies, Shaymin,” Rosalita scolded it. “To say nothing of the harm you’ve done to outsiders like Professor Chiaki and his family.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” Shaymin’s great remorse genuinely surprised Matt, leaving him to stare at the mythical Pokémon. It wasn’t that he thought Shaymin expressing such emotions was impossible, he just hadn’t expected it. “It is time for the truth to be revealed to the people. I understand now, you. I want to fix what we did.”
Rosalita felt her heart torn in much the same way her ancestor Fernando IV’s had been. Naturally, she was upset. How could she not be, having found out just how much of what she believed was built on lies? She hadn’t just been misled herself, but the kingdom she so loved had been laboring under the same misinformation for centuries. But that she loved La Ciudad Dorada was exactly the point. She couldn’t allow her people to be fooled any longer, not when she’d experienced the consequences of all the lying firsthand with her brother.
“There is going to be a lot of hard work to be done, but…” Rosalita drew a deep breath. “I’m ready. I won’t be afraid anymore. No more lies. We will fight for peace and I will seize it with my own hands.”
-:-
Sighing in irritation, Cassy looked at her phone to check the time.
“Maybe I did it too soon,” she wordlessly mused. Matt’s warning had prompted her to alert the palace guards as soon as she hung up with him, but she’d been waiting in the garage with a half-dozen of the staff-wielding soldiers for so long that she was growing nervous. “If they don’t show up soon, I might end up in trouble…”
Cassy heard the clanking of the guards’ weapons behind her, further fueling her agitation. She grew tense as she reached toward Swellow’s Poké Ball, anticipating at any time to need to fight them.
Just then, however, a loud, metallic creaking echoed through the garage. It was the shutter at the chamber’s far end rising open. The guards braced themselves, readying both their staves and the clockwork Poké Balls attached to their armor for their mission.
Before the shutter was even all the way up, Eleanor drove the group into the garage. Their vehicle coasted to a stop and Rosalita jumped off, only to be promptly encircled by the guards. She was surprised to only see six. All the way back, after concocting her plan, she’d expected to face far more.
“Princess Rosalita, you are under arrest,” the captain of the guards declared, stepping forward. Behind him, the others crossed their staves, closing the space between them. “You are charged with the murder of King Fernando VII and Queen Sophia.”
“I am pleased to see your lack of hesitation, Captain Edrei, but I am innocent,” she countered. “The killer is my brother, not me.”
“If you think we will accept that with no evidence, you’re mistaken.” Edrei looked over his shoulder. “Detain h-”
“I have evidence,” Rosalita interrupted, giving the guards pause. She turned back to her own allies and said, “After all, Matt, you’ve been recording everything, haven’t you?”
Matt hadn’t even thought about it until Rosalita said so, but she was right. He had his laptop recording everything that had taken place - including Fernando’s confession. While he fetched the computer and searched for the relevant footage, though, Cassy saw the heavily bandaged left side of his head.
“What did he do to you?!” she shrieked, grabbing the sides of her face in horror. “He hurt you, didn’t he?!”
“Cassy, I appreciate the concern, but please, not now!” Matt’s protest didn’t soothe Cassy’s anger at all, but there was no time to address it. He’d found the portion of video he was looking for. After maxing out the laptop’s volume, he turned it toward the guards and said, “Watch and listen.”
With the tap of a key, the footage from the Golden City of Rosalita and Fernando’s confrontation began replaying.
"You killed Mother and Father! Professor Chiaki too! You're in no position to moralize to others when you've already gone too far!"
"That right there is why you are not worthy of the throne despite your power. I… I did kill them. I am weak, and I did what I was capable of. What you fail to grasp is that... nobody is more precious than what we must protect. We are insignificant in the bigger picture of things, and that is why the kingdom must be protected no matter the cost. My life has made that very clear to me."
Murmuring arose among the guards. The video shown to them certainly did depict what Rosalita claimed it did. Yet, with everything that was taking place, it was hard for them to accept it.
“H-How do we know that is not faked?” one of the female guards stammered. “You could have-”
“It’s real because I witnessed it, you!” Shaymin boomed, perching on the edge of the vehicle. While the guards all gasped at its presence, Eleanor and Sheena shared a glance between themselves, both mentally noting the unneeded flair in Shaymin’s entrance.
“Shaymin?!” The mythical Pokémon’s appearance was the last thing Edrei expected. “But then, if you are here, that means…”
“Captain,” one of the men in his service addressed him, “if what Rosalita claims is true, that means Minister Raul and his men…”
“So that’s how Fernando got the skyship running,” Rosalita interrupted in disgust. “Captain, summon Minister Raul to the palace’s defense center. The rest of you, come with me.”
“But we still do not know what’s really going on,” another guard protested.
“Follow me,” Rosalita replied, “and you will.”
-:-
Lingote Palace’s defense center was a dark, barely furnished room deep within the castle. All it had within it was a long table, a few chairs, and a pedestal surrounded by levers. What light existed in the spacious chamber filtered from lamps lining the walls.
When Rosalita arrived with Matt, Eleanor, Sheena, Cassy, Shaymin and the guards, Edrei and Raul were already there. She didn’t know how the pair had beaten them to their destination, but given everything else going on, she didn’t have much time to think about it.
“Princess,” Raul addressed her. He had his hands crossed behind his back, hiding his nervous state as best he could. When the captain ran into him and ordered him along to the defense chamber, he knew something significant was taking place.
“Defense Minister,” Rosalita coldly replied.
As Rosalita walked past him, Raul felt a chill run down his spine. He knew better than to ask why the guards were following her commands. “Clearly, if they aren’t detaining her, she made some sort of case to show her innocence,” he surmised.
Matt’s group and the guards stood back and watched as Rosalita approached the pedestal and began manipulating the levers and switches. Raul squinted at her in confusion as she worked. He knew the purpose of the systems she was activating, but that knowledge was exactly why her actions so perplexed him. Had things actually gotten so bad that what she was doing was necessary?
“Princess, if I may…” He could not stop himself from questioning her. There was a fear growing in his heart that he needed to try and defuse. “Why are you activating the defense system?”
“Witness the truth for yourself,” she answered, remaining focused like a laser on her efforts.
After Rosalita flipped a few more switches, that truth was finally revealed to those who didn’t already know. A giant projection screen overlooking the chamber flickered to life, and although its image was fouled by occasional bursts of static, what it showed was unmistakable.
It showed the royal family’s skyship sailing over the desert toward La Ciudad Dorada. The fleet of Pokémon under Fernando’s control were ahead of it, but they largely escaped notice thanks to the fact that Regigigas, enslaved by the armor, was marching alongside the ship.
When this sight met his eyes, Raul felt his body go so stiff that he almost thought he had died. It was worse than he’d feared. Rosalita’s actions had led him to think Regigigas was awake, but nothing else. The skyship flying alongside Regigigas and not being attacked could only mean one thing, and he knew it instantly.
“Yes, Minister Raul…” Rosalita glared at him from the corner of her eye. “My brother flew the skyship to the Golden City and subjugated Regigigas to his will using special armor. Who could have helped him do that, I wonder?”
“I did not know what he was planning, I swear!” Raul wasn’t lying, but the venom in Rosalita’s words rattled him.
“If you wish to keep your position, you best tell me everything you aided him with,” she warned the elderly man.
“There really is not that much to say.” When Rosalita put her hands on her hips and leered at him, Raul defensively put his hands up. “I swear it! Ask any of my subordinates! Fernando asked us to prepare the skyship so he could launch it, load some cargo onto it and install the control system for the military’s Pokémon!”
“That cargo must have been the armor he used to control Regigigas,” the princess deduced, turning away in thought. “How do you justify installing the military command system? You must have known he would use it.”
“He said those Pokémon with our control collars were stolen by poachers, and he was going to regain custody of them.”
“He lied to you,” Rosalita flatly said before sighing. “Fernando gave those Pokémon to the poachers himself. It was all so he could turn them into his slaves at the critical moment.”
“To think that the Count would do all of this…” Edrei mused, having listened to the entire conversation. “But why? What is his endgame? He said he wants to protect the kingdom, but how does this even come close to accomplishing that?”
“My brother wishes to force me to relinquish my claim to the throne,” Rosalita revealed to Raul and the guards, “and if that fails, he intends to depose me by force.” She pointed back toward the immense projection hanging over them and added, “He has completely lost his mind. You can see that for yourselves.”
“I’d call that an understatement,” Raul said, staring at the image of the oncoming Regigigas. “We were all manipulated so easily…”
“So that is your answer for why I am doing this.” Rosalita pivoted back to the pedestal, which was projecting a control panel similar to the ones used by the vehicles the group had traveled in. When she held her hands over it, a number of pillar-like objects illuminated over the panel.
This caught Eleanor’s attention, and she leaned in to get a closer look. “Rosa, what’s that thing you’re using?” she asked.
“La Ciudad Dorada’s defense mechanism,” the princess replied. She spread the palms of her hands over the projection, making it glow brighter in response. “Allow me to explain. As I told you all earlier, after the civil war we largely withdrew our population to La Ciudad Dorada’s current borders. We knew we had to protect ourselves, but the leaders of the time…” Rosalita paused, trying to mentally reconcile the lies she had been taught with the reality she now knew. “The leaders of the time, as a gesture of peace, did not want to take a typical approach to defense. They commissioned the greatest Arcane Scientists of the time to develop a new concept, and this device was the result. The city’s outer rim was mechanized, allowing us to rearrange the towers dotting it into a defensive wall we can easily put up or take down depending upon our needs.”
“Just when I think I’ve seen everything, you surprise me again, Rosa.” Eleanor’s demeanor soon darkened, and she asked, “Will it be enough to stop Regigigas?”
Rosalita frowned and lowered her head, allowing her hair to hide her eyes. “It will at least buy us some time…” she admitted.
-:-
After Cassy parted with her, Laura had initially stayed in Dorada Market. Her worry over the situation eventually won out over her desire to stay out of it, so she decided to go up the Sacred Hill and try to find out what was going on. Cassy was nowhere to be found when she arrived, but at the peak of the hill, she still found her answer when she saw Regigigas in the distance. As she observed the titan’s relentless march, one of her hands instinctively went to Swampert’s Poké Ball while she clasped her Key Stone with the other.
“This isn’t looking good, buddy,” she said to her Pokémon. “We might get forced out of retirement for this one…”
“Um… excuse me?”
Much like how she had practically snuck up on Cassy earlier, it was Laura’s turn to be surprised by someone approaching her. The short young man with messy green hair had been on the Sacred Hill before she arrived, but she never noticed him.
“Yikes, you really snuck up on me,” she said to him, laughing to play off her shock. “What’s up?”
“F-forgive me, but you’re Laura, right? The winner of the Hoenn League from five years ago?”
Laura sighed. She’d been found out for the second time that day.
“Oh, I apologize!” the boy rushed to say. “I know you turned away from the spotlight. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
“It’s alright, kid,” she assured him. “Nice to meet you.”
The boy took Laura’s hand and gave her a surprisingly vigorous handshake. “I’m Wally, from Petalburg City. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“I’m sure it is,” Laura replied, half-sarcastically. Her eyes wandered to the hand-carved wooden pendant he was wearing, which had a Key Stone like hers embedded in it. “It’s impressive you’ve got a Key Stone.”
“Yeah, it’s for my Gallade.” Evidently, talking about Pokémon helped Wally’s confidence, which Laura made a mental note of. “He’s my first and most trusted partner.”
“I hope you’ll let me meet him someday. So, what can I do for you, Wally? Are you looking for Alliance Battle partners too?”
“I traveled here to try one, but…” Wally shrunk back and pointed off to the horizon, at Regigigas. “I’m worried about what Regigigas is doing. When I saw you, I hoped you could do someth-”
Wally and Laura’s conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a siren piercing the air. Both of them jumped and their hands shot to their respective Poké Balls.
“You’re sharp,” Laura complimented her new friend.
“I can say the same to you,” he replied.
As the sirens continued blaring, the mechanisms built beneath the edges of La Ciudad Dorada stirred to life. A great shaking radiated through the ground, and the towers beyond the city limits slowly began to move. The Doradan citizens were already emptying out of their homes; they had been told by their leaders to evacuate to the Sacred Hill if the sirens ever sounded, but the complete and utter surprise that such a day actually came left them in an initial state of confusion.
Meanwhile, up on the Sacred Hill, Laura and Wally stood side-by-side as the scene of escalating chaos played out before them.
“I was hoping you would be able to do something, Miss Champion,” Wally finally finished.
“Just call me Laura. And don’t worry, I’ve got your back, Wally. I’ll watch out for you.”
-:-
After placing Regigigas under his control, Fernando retreated to the skyship’s bridge for the trip back home. He had little to do, as the ship’s autopilot did all the work for him. That left him with time to ponder what he was doing and what would come next.
“Rosalita, I do not know why you can’t see that my actions are right.” It pained Fernando to go against his beloved sister, but to him, she was the one making the mistake. “You are the stronger of us, but you use that strength to stand against protecting our home… how could you?”
The count clenched his teeth behind an angry scowl. At that point, his eyes wandered to a projection of La Ciudad Dorada as he flew toward it. He shot up straight in the pilot’s chair when he saw the walls closing around the city. It was a sight that made a terrible realization sink into his mind.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the transmitter for the skyship’s radio.
-:-
Rosalita carefully worked the controls for the towers with Shaymin floating at her side and Matt, Eleanor, Sheena, Cassy, Raul and the guards watching. Her concentration and determination helped her effortlessly glide her hands over the shimmering hologram, every motion moving the city’s shields closer to completion.
The relative silence in the room was broken by an unexpected signal. A new window popped up over the giant projection, bearing the words ‘incoming transmission.’
“Incoming transmission?” Rosalita said in surprise. “From where?”
“It’s the skyship…” Raul stepped forth and ominously informed her. “Your brother.”
The fact that her brother was reaching out to her melted some of the hardened exterior Rosalita had put on since her arrival at Lingote Palace. “How do I answer it?” she asked Raul.
“Just pick up the radio on the side of the control panel and press the button. That will establish the link, and you press it again when you wish to speak.”
“Much obliged.” Rosalita promptly followed the elderly man’s instruction, plucking the transmitter from its holder and pressing the button on its side. Fernando appeared in the projection, and when she saw his face, she gasped.
She had been expecting intense fury from him, but she was greeted instead by the image of her brother seemingly fighting back tears.
“How could you, Rosalita?” he asked her, his voice weak. “I see you putting up the walls around the city… I was prepared for you to despise me. But you see me as a threat to our home? How could you ever do that when you know all I’ve ever desired is to protect it?”
Rosalita found herself rattled by her brother’s state. “I hate what you are doing, but I could never hate you... you know that.” The princess averted her eyes, unable to keep looking at him. “Fernando, you have to stop this. There is no other option. You are making yourself the exact threat you want to protect our home from!”
“And you should know that my actions and I are one. If I were to stop, I may as well cease to exist.” Rosalita sharply inhaled in horror when Fernando said this, but he ignored her reaction. “If you despise my purpose, you despise me.”
“Please, Fernando, listen to me,” Rosalita pleaded. She knew she was running out of ways to try reasoning with him. “There’s something you do not know. I just learned it myself.”
“What is it?” Fernando asked her.
“Everything we were taught about the civil war was a lie.” Next to Rosalita, Shaymin lowered its head in shame. Revealing the truth to the princess had been hard enough, but it had never thought about just how difficult telling Fernando would be. Unable to bring itself to speak, it allowed Rosalita to continue. “You have to listen to me! Regigigas is not what you think it is. You are going down a path leading to nothing but ruin, Fernando. Please…”
“So you are telling me Father and Mother lied to us…” the count said bitterly.
“No, that’s not it!” Rosalita cried out. “Father and Mother did not know either!”
“But Shaymin surely did.” When Fernando voiced his realization, his words cut through both his sister and the mythical Pokémon like a knife. “Shaymin lives forever. It’s been here since the birth of La Ciudad Dorada… and lying to generations of our family all the while.”
“Fernando, listen to me! Please!” With no other options left, Rosalita hoped against hope that she would somehow be able to get through to him. “You won’t come back from this!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Fernando coldly replied. “Shaymin and our ancestors have not acted in the best interests of our home. I am… I am the only one who can right this wrong. If you will stand against me even knowing that, then there is nothing more to be said. Farewell.”
Rosalita opened her mouth to plead further, but Fernando disconnected the transmission and vanished from the projection before any words could come out. She hung her head, and for several tense, uncomfortable moments, nearly everyone else in the room was sure she was about to start weeping. That mistaken impression left them all stunned when she pivoted on her heel and approached Edrei with a raging inferno burning in her eyes.
“This will have to do for now,” she told the captain as she took his staff. She then turned to Matt, Eleanor, Sheena and Cassy, ordering them, “Kneel before me.”
Eleanor and Sheena, understanding what was taking place, immediately dropped to one knee. It didn’t register in Matt’s mind right away, so when Cassy realized what Rosalita was doing, she jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
“You’re supposed to kneel when the queen tells you to,” she whispered.
“Oh… oh,” he said, the reality of the situation dawning on him.
Matt and Cassy acceded to Rosalita’s command, and Rosalita raised the staff over the four tourists. Before she could go any further, though, Raul stopped her by gently gripping her arm.
“Princess,” he said, “You’ve not been formally coronated yet. I understand why you’re doing this, but you don’t have the authority.”
“Who does have the authority right now?” Rosalita answered back. “Father and Mother are not here. Fernando has gone mad. I am the only one with any rightful claim at all to do this.”
Raul hesitated, but before long, he realized the truth in Rosalita’s words and released her from his grip. “I suppose that is true,” he admitted, before bowing in deference to her and adding, “Please forgive my insolence.”
“You are forgiven. Now…” Turning her attention back to her allies, Rosalita touched each of their shoulders with the staff, and as she did so she recited, “Matt Chiaki. Cassy Natsuka. Eleanor Laplace. Sheena Carnet. In the service of La Ciudad Dorada, and of the royal blood that flows through me, I hereby name you my knights. Take this oath and serve in the name of peace. Gratia cantantes aeternum.”
Sheena and Eleanor were the first to repeat the oath, much like they had been the first to kneel. Likewise, Cassy had to push Matt, who was too stunned by what was taking place, to do so before taking it herself. Despite the disorganization, Rosalita was satisfied with the makeshift ceremony and returned the captain’s staff to its owner.
“Raul,” she addressed her advisor, “summon the other members of the court and inform them of what is facing our realm.”
“Right away, my lady,” Raul replied before scurrying out of the room.
“Now, Captain…” Edrei stood firmly at attention when Rosalita spoke to him. “Accompany me to the armory. For now, the rest of you, go outside and fortify the palace with your Pokémon.” Turning to Matt, Eleanor, Sheena and Cassy, she added, “My knights, I wish for you to go with them and wait for me.”
-:-
If Laura and Wally had stayed on the Sacred Hill just a while longer, they would have gotten to see an impressive array of Pokémon. Once the guards made it to the scorched garden in front of Lingote Palace, they deployed all of the clockwork Poké Balls in their possession. Matt, Cassy, Eleanor and Sheena stood and watched as the castle’s defenders were summoned forth.
The numerous Bronzong that appeared didn’t surprise them. After all, they’d already seen one, not to mention the way the guards’ armor was based off the bronze bell Pokémon. The Bronzong were dwarfed, however, by the four towering Golurk called out behind them. Several colorful, single-eyed Sigilyph appeared and hovered over the shoulders of the Golurk, while numerous Escavalier and Bisharp positioned themselves between the earthy automatons and readied their weapons for battle.
“I’ve never seen some of these Pokémon in person before,” Matt marveled to his friends. “Golurk? Sigilyph? I’ve read about them, but this is the first time I’m seeing them in the flesh. I only wish it was under better circumstances…”
“It’s unfortunate, but I must agree…” Sheena said, casting her gaze over the scene of chaos unfolding before them. The towers were in place to form the wall, but Regigigas and the skyship could still be seen steadily, relentlessly advancing. The citizens and tourists were evacuating the town down below, gathering in Dorada Market around the Sacred Hill.
“What a disgrace,” Eleanor bitterly added, clenching her fist in front of her face. “I just wanted a nice vacation, and it’s ruined. Everything’s ruined.”
“I don’t think you should be concerned about your vacation right now,” Cassy said to the engineer. “Be more worried about getting out of this in one piece.”
“That is not going to happen. I won’t let it.”
Matt and the others turned around to see Rosalita passing between her guards and their Pokémon. Shaymin was floating at her side, and Edrei followed closely behind her. Much to their surprise, she’d traded her salvaged clothes for a full suit of armor.
“Wow, Rosa,” Eleanor complimented, looking her over. “Nice.”
“Thank you, Eleanor,” the princess replied before addressing the entire group. “As I said, I will let no harm come to you. Fernando IV fought against his own father in order to protect the kingdom and his subjects. I understand now that I must follow in his footsteps, to protect everyone and everything I hold dear. But I cannot do it alone, and that is why I have inducted you four into my service.”
“I think I speak for us all when I say we are ready.”
Sheena didn’t notice Matt close his fist and turn away when she made her declaration. Rosalita did, however, and immediately turned her attention to him.
“Matt, are you alright?” she asked, some of her gentle demeanor returning.
“I-I’m scared, I won’t lie.” He gestured to his bandage-covered face and torso. “Look what already happened to me. But… at the same time…” Matt reached into his bag and retrieved a small object he kept hidden in his closed hand, then repeated, “At the same time, this would have been my responsibility even if Fernando never set out on this crusade. It’s fitting, really… in the end I’ve inherited Sutter’s work after all.”
Matt finally opened his hand, revealing the object to be a golden pin. It depicted a space shuttle, framed by a majestic pair of wings on its sides and a delta symbol beneath it. He affixed the insignia to his coat and then continued speaking.
“This is what my grandfather would have wanted,” he said, trying to steel his nerves. “Helping you defeat Fernando and save your home… that’s the closure I came here to find.”
“I am happy to have you on board,” Rosalita affirmed with a smile. “Now, listen, all of you. This is my plan. I am going to go face Fernando directly, and Matt, I want you and Eleanor to come with me.”
“Wait, you want me?” Caught thoroughly by surprise, Eleanor pointed questioningly at herself. “What can I do?”
“It is something only you can do, Eleanor,” Rosalita assured her, placing a hand on Eleanor’s shoulder. “Minister Raul mentioned earlier that the control system for the collars on Fernando’s Pokémon was installed in the skyship. We must assume that the armor he’s manipulating Regigigas with is operated through the same mechanism. That is where you come in. We will board the ship with the aid of Reyes and Sally, and then while Matt and I distract Fernando, you enter the bridge, break into the control system and shut it down. With your skills, I know I can place my faith in you.”
Stunned, and very well aware of the magnitude of the situation, Eleanor simply replied with, “I’ve got it.”
“What about Cassy and I?” Sheena asked the princess. Cassy simply stood next to her and watched in silence.
“You two have a very important role as well.” Before continuing, Rosalita took four of her Doradan Poké Balls off her armor and opened them, calling forth her Leavanny, Bibarel, Luxray and Shiftry. “Sheena, I am entrusting you and Cassy with helping to protect my people. Everyone within these walls, be they a resident or a visitor, is my responsibility. I am loaning you my Pokémon with this request: go down the Sacred Hill and assist in protecting the evacuees from Fernando’s invasion.”
“That is doable,” Cassy said. She released Swellow from his ball, then put her hand on her chin and mused, “I think I may know someone who can help us here.”
“If you do, please seek their aid,” Rosalita urged Matt’s classmate. “The more people we have fighting against Fernando’s army, the better.”
“Then you may as well accept my assistance, too,” Eleanor volunteered. She plucked all three of her own Poké Balls from her skirt and opened them, releasing Persian, Litwick and Rotom in flashes of light. “Persian can fight, but please keep Litwick and Rotom safe,” she asked Rosalita.
“That is a request I can fulfill,” the princess answered. Turning back to her guards, she directed them, “Take Litwick and Rotom into the palace and shield them from harm.”
Eleanor hugged her Pokémon, but they hesitated to part from her. “It’s fine, you guys. It really is. Please keep yourselves safe.”
While Litwick and Rotom reluctantly separated from their trainer and passed through the line of guards, Rosalita was approached by the guards’ leader.
“My lady, I must ask you one more time if you are certain about doing this.”
“There is nothing I have ever been more certain of in my life, Captain,” she replied.
“Then I pledge to assist you by serving at your side as well. Pidgeot, come forward!”
Edrei opened a pouch attached to his waist, fetching a clockwork Poké Ball of his own. Inside the sphere was a Pidgeot, who spread her wings and shrilled when she materialized. Her trainer wasn’t done after calling on her, though. He pointed his left hand toward the dark sky and turned his palm toward himself, revealing that he had a Key Stone set in the back of his gauntlet.
“Pidgeot, Mega Evolve!”
Light shot out of the Key Stone when Edrei touched it, arcing through the air and joining with the light given off by the Mega Stone attached to a band on her leg. As she was wrapped in the glow, her crest lengthened, turning yellow and red in the process. Her wings, meanwhile, grew even more majestic, with their tips taking on a blue shade. She grew by nearly three full feet overall by the time she broke out of her gleaming cocoon.
“A Mega Pidgeot…” Sheena said in awe.
“We will be better off having the aid of you and Pidgeot, Captain. I thank you.” Rosalita made her way to the forefront of the gathering and turned to address all of her allies. “I thank all of you for your support. This is going to be a difficult day, one of the most difficult this kingdom has faced in centuries. But I do not feel fear, not anymore. We will fight against the darkness encroaching on our realm and we will drive it back! We will destroy it!” The princess balled her hand up into a fist to contain the adrenaline flowing through her body. “And I will reach into that darkness and pull my brother out of it! I promise you, the sun will shine on La Ciudad Dorada again, and together, we will reach that glorious peace!”
The army of guards broke into a cheer thanks to their soon-to-be queen’s impromptu speech. Rosalita looked them over one last time before turning and throwing the clockwork ball containing Reyes. As soon as her Staraptor appeared, she dashed towards him and leaped onto his back, then nodded to Matt. Matt understood what the signal meant, and wasted no time in releasing Sally from her Poké Ball. He climbed onto her back and extended his hand to Eleanor, helping her up.
“To reach a peace we can all feel gratitude for…” Rosalita cried, “...to battle!”
With that, Reyes and Sally lifted off the Sacred Hill, Shaymin and Pidgeot alongside them. Sheena, Cassy and the guards watched as they flew away from Lingote Palace and toward Fernando. To his army. To the skyship. And of course, to the enslaved titan, Regigigas.
Every beat of Sally and Reyes’s wings brought them and their human allies closer to their shared destiny. And, for the second time in La Ciudad Dorada’s history, the wind beneath their wings brought civil war to the isolated city.
END of CHAPTER 7
With its tale at an end, Shaymin turned back to its audience, unsure of what sort of reactions to expect. Sheena was staring at it intently, clearly enraptured by its recollection of history. Matt had his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought. Rosalita, meanwhile, was still shaking with her arms wrapped around herself.
“Everything I believed was a lie,” the princess repeated, her distress laid bare by her voice.
Having everything out in the open at long last gave Shaymin the strength to tackle the matter head-on. It floated over to Rosalita so it could address her directly.
“You are different, Rosalita,” it told her. Before continuing, it pawed at an itch in its right ear. “All your ancestors were very private, you. Even much of your own parents’ lives were out of the public eye. But you, you have always lived as one with the people. You know them and their lives on a personal level, you.” Shaymin jumped onto Rosalita’s lap. “My lies were meant to preserve peace, but they failed. I see that now. Together, we can fix it, you.”
Rosalita initially remained silent, overwhelmed by the reality of the situation. When she finally did speak, it was in a hushed, weary tone.
“You are demanding too much from me, Shaymin… how can anyone shoulder all this? You want me to undo what half a millenium’s worth of lies you and my ancestor did to our people. You expect me to reveal all this and still be able to lead them. And that comes after stopping my brother, who thinks Regigigas is nothing more than a simple protector because of those lies! I ask you again, how can you expect anyone to shoulder this responsibility?”
“I don’t expect anyone to do it,” Shaymin replied. “I expect you. Because when I looked into your heart, I saw a person with both the strength and grace needed. I resolved to never repeat my mistake with Fernando III, you. And you are the one who is capable of saving this land.”
“But still-”
Rosalita’s protestation got cut off when Sheena put a hand on the princess’s shoulder.
“You don’t have to do it alone,” the priestess reassured her, smiling. “Rely on us.”
“That’s right, Rosa!” Eleanor called from the front of the vehicle. Evidently, she had been listening the whole time. “You can count on us!”
“Well, it looks like I’ve inherited Sutter’s work after all,” Matt added. “I can’t turn my back on you now, Rosalita. Not after all that’s happened.”
“Everyone…” Rosalita’s despair was turning into an emotional sense of hope that things could turn out well. “There is no way for me to express the gratitude I have for your support.”
“That’s just fine by itself,” Matt said. “I do have one last thing I want cleared up, though. Shaymin, why did Fernando VI seek out my grandfather? Why was he looking for an overseer?”
Compared to what it had just confessed, Matt’s question was easy for Shaymin to answer. “Truth be told, this is not the first time an heir has discovered what happened, you. Fernando VI found inconsistencies in the genealogy of the House of Fernando. They were oversights we missed while planning the coverup. He did not go to his father with his concerns, though, he went to me. I panicked and told him the truth, you. I managed to convince him to help me keep it all quiet… it was not time for the truth to come out.”
“So that’s it…” Matt uttered, sinking back in his seat. “Fernando’s mad plans, the deaths of Sutter and the king and queen… it all comes back to the lie you and Fernando IV concocted.”
“You have done the people of La Ciudad Dorada a grave disservice with your lies, Shaymin,” Rosalita scolded it. “To say nothing of the harm you’ve done to outsiders like Professor Chiaki and his family.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” Shaymin’s great remorse genuinely surprised Matt, leaving him to stare at the mythical Pokémon. It wasn’t that he thought Shaymin expressing such emotions was impossible, he just hadn’t expected it. “It is time for the truth to be revealed to the people. I understand now, you. I want to fix what we did.”
Rosalita felt her heart torn in much the same way her ancestor Fernando IV’s had been. Naturally, she was upset. How could she not be, having found out just how much of what she believed was built on lies? She hadn’t just been misled herself, but the kingdom she so loved had been laboring under the same misinformation for centuries. But that she loved La Ciudad Dorada was exactly the point. She couldn’t allow her people to be fooled any longer, not when she’d experienced the consequences of all the lying firsthand with her brother.
“There is going to be a lot of hard work to be done, but…” Rosalita drew a deep breath. “I’m ready. I won’t be afraid anymore. No more lies. We will fight for peace and I will seize it with my own hands.”
-:-
Sighing in irritation, Cassy looked at her phone to check the time.
“Maybe I did it too soon,” she wordlessly mused. Matt’s warning had prompted her to alert the palace guards as soon as she hung up with him, but she’d been waiting in the garage with a half-dozen of the staff-wielding soldiers for so long that she was growing nervous. “If they don’t show up soon, I might end up in trouble…”
Cassy heard the clanking of the guards’ weapons behind her, further fueling her agitation. She grew tense as she reached toward Swellow’s Poké Ball, anticipating at any time to need to fight them.
Just then, however, a loud, metallic creaking echoed through the garage. It was the shutter at the chamber’s far end rising open. The guards braced themselves, readying both their staves and the clockwork Poké Balls attached to their armor for their mission.
Before the shutter was even all the way up, Eleanor drove the group into the garage. Their vehicle coasted to a stop and Rosalita jumped off, only to be promptly encircled by the guards. She was surprised to only see six. All the way back, after concocting her plan, she’d expected to face far more.
“Princess Rosalita, you are under arrest,” the captain of the guards declared, stepping forward. Behind him, the others crossed their staves, closing the space between them. “You are charged with the murder of King Fernando VII and Queen Sophia.”
“I am pleased to see your lack of hesitation, Captain Edrei, but I am innocent,” she countered. “The killer is my brother, not me.”
“If you think we will accept that with no evidence, you’re mistaken.” Edrei looked over his shoulder. “Detain h-”
“I have evidence,” Rosalita interrupted, giving the guards pause. She turned back to her own allies and said, “After all, Matt, you’ve been recording everything, haven’t you?”
Matt hadn’t even thought about it until Rosalita said so, but she was right. He had his laptop recording everything that had taken place - including Fernando’s confession. While he fetched the computer and searched for the relevant footage, though, Cassy saw the heavily bandaged left side of his head.
“What did he do to you?!” she shrieked, grabbing the sides of her face in horror. “He hurt you, didn’t he?!”
“Cassy, I appreciate the concern, but please, not now!” Matt’s protest didn’t soothe Cassy’s anger at all, but there was no time to address it. He’d found the portion of video he was looking for. After maxing out the laptop’s volume, he turned it toward the guards and said, “Watch and listen.”
With the tap of a key, the footage from the Golden City of Rosalita and Fernando’s confrontation began replaying.
"You killed Mother and Father! Professor Chiaki too! You're in no position to moralize to others when you've already gone too far!"
"That right there is why you are not worthy of the throne despite your power. I… I did kill them. I am weak, and I did what I was capable of. What you fail to grasp is that... nobody is more precious than what we must protect. We are insignificant in the bigger picture of things, and that is why the kingdom must be protected no matter the cost. My life has made that very clear to me."
Murmuring arose among the guards. The video shown to them certainly did depict what Rosalita claimed it did. Yet, with everything that was taking place, it was hard for them to accept it.
“H-How do we know that is not faked?” one of the female guards stammered. “You could have-”
“It’s real because I witnessed it, you!” Shaymin boomed, perching on the edge of the vehicle. While the guards all gasped at its presence, Eleanor and Sheena shared a glance between themselves, both mentally noting the unneeded flair in Shaymin’s entrance.
“Shaymin?!” The mythical Pokémon’s appearance was the last thing Edrei expected. “But then, if you are here, that means…”
“Captain,” one of the men in his service addressed him, “if what Rosalita claims is true, that means Minister Raul and his men…”
“So that’s how Fernando got the skyship running,” Rosalita interrupted in disgust. “Captain, summon Minister Raul to the palace’s defense center. The rest of you, come with me.”
“But we still do not know what’s really going on,” another guard protested.
“Follow me,” Rosalita replied, “and you will.”
-:-
Lingote Palace’s defense center was a dark, barely furnished room deep within the castle. All it had within it was a long table, a few chairs, and a pedestal surrounded by levers. What light existed in the spacious chamber filtered from lamps lining the walls.
When Rosalita arrived with Matt, Eleanor, Sheena, Cassy, Shaymin and the guards, Edrei and Raul were already there. She didn’t know how the pair had beaten them to their destination, but given everything else going on, she didn’t have much time to think about it.
“Princess,” Raul addressed her. He had his hands crossed behind his back, hiding his nervous state as best he could. When the captain ran into him and ordered him along to the defense chamber, he knew something significant was taking place.
“Defense Minister,” Rosalita coldly replied.
As Rosalita walked past him, Raul felt a chill run down his spine. He knew better than to ask why the guards were following her commands. “Clearly, if they aren’t detaining her, she made some sort of case to show her innocence,” he surmised.
Matt’s group and the guards stood back and watched as Rosalita approached the pedestal and began manipulating the levers and switches. Raul squinted at her in confusion as she worked. He knew the purpose of the systems she was activating, but that knowledge was exactly why her actions so perplexed him. Had things actually gotten so bad that what she was doing was necessary?
“Princess, if I may…” He could not stop himself from questioning her. There was a fear growing in his heart that he needed to try and defuse. “Why are you activating the defense system?”
“Witness the truth for yourself,” she answered, remaining focused like a laser on her efforts.
After Rosalita flipped a few more switches, that truth was finally revealed to those who didn’t already know. A giant projection screen overlooking the chamber flickered to life, and although its image was fouled by occasional bursts of static, what it showed was unmistakable.
It showed the royal family’s skyship sailing over the desert toward La Ciudad Dorada. The fleet of Pokémon under Fernando’s control were ahead of it, but they largely escaped notice thanks to the fact that Regigigas, enslaved by the armor, was marching alongside the ship.
When this sight met his eyes, Raul felt his body go so stiff that he almost thought he had died. It was worse than he’d feared. Rosalita’s actions had led him to think Regigigas was awake, but nothing else. The skyship flying alongside Regigigas and not being attacked could only mean one thing, and he knew it instantly.
“Yes, Minister Raul…” Rosalita glared at him from the corner of her eye. “My brother flew the skyship to the Golden City and subjugated Regigigas to his will using special armor. Who could have helped him do that, I wonder?”
“I did not know what he was planning, I swear!” Raul wasn’t lying, but the venom in Rosalita’s words rattled him.
“If you wish to keep your position, you best tell me everything you aided him with,” she warned the elderly man.
“There really is not that much to say.” When Rosalita put her hands on her hips and leered at him, Raul defensively put his hands up. “I swear it! Ask any of my subordinates! Fernando asked us to prepare the skyship so he could launch it, load some cargo onto it and install the control system for the military’s Pokémon!”
“That cargo must have been the armor he used to control Regigigas,” the princess deduced, turning away in thought. “How do you justify installing the military command system? You must have known he would use it.”
“He said those Pokémon with our control collars were stolen by poachers, and he was going to regain custody of them.”
“He lied to you,” Rosalita flatly said before sighing. “Fernando gave those Pokémon to the poachers himself. It was all so he could turn them into his slaves at the critical moment.”
“To think that the Count would do all of this…” Edrei mused, having listened to the entire conversation. “But why? What is his endgame? He said he wants to protect the kingdom, but how does this even come close to accomplishing that?”
“My brother wishes to force me to relinquish my claim to the throne,” Rosalita revealed to Raul and the guards, “and if that fails, he intends to depose me by force.” She pointed back toward the immense projection hanging over them and added, “He has completely lost his mind. You can see that for yourselves.”
“I’d call that an understatement,” Raul said, staring at the image of the oncoming Regigigas. “We were all manipulated so easily…”
“So that is your answer for why I am doing this.” Rosalita pivoted back to the pedestal, which was projecting a control panel similar to the ones used by the vehicles the group had traveled in. When she held her hands over it, a number of pillar-like objects illuminated over the panel.
This caught Eleanor’s attention, and she leaned in to get a closer look. “Rosa, what’s that thing you’re using?” she asked.
“La Ciudad Dorada’s defense mechanism,” the princess replied. She spread the palms of her hands over the projection, making it glow brighter in response. “Allow me to explain. As I told you all earlier, after the civil war we largely withdrew our population to La Ciudad Dorada’s current borders. We knew we had to protect ourselves, but the leaders of the time…” Rosalita paused, trying to mentally reconcile the lies she had been taught with the reality she now knew. “The leaders of the time, as a gesture of peace, did not want to take a typical approach to defense. They commissioned the greatest Arcane Scientists of the time to develop a new concept, and this device was the result. The city’s outer rim was mechanized, allowing us to rearrange the towers dotting it into a defensive wall we can easily put up or take down depending upon our needs.”
“Just when I think I’ve seen everything, you surprise me again, Rosa.” Eleanor’s demeanor soon darkened, and she asked, “Will it be enough to stop Regigigas?”
Rosalita frowned and lowered her head, allowing her hair to hide her eyes. “It will at least buy us some time…” she admitted.
-:-
After Cassy parted with her, Laura had initially stayed in Dorada Market. Her worry over the situation eventually won out over her desire to stay out of it, so she decided to go up the Sacred Hill and try to find out what was going on. Cassy was nowhere to be found when she arrived, but at the peak of the hill, she still found her answer when she saw Regigigas in the distance. As she observed the titan’s relentless march, one of her hands instinctively went to Swampert’s Poké Ball while she clasped her Key Stone with the other.
“This isn’t looking good, buddy,” she said to her Pokémon. “We might get forced out of retirement for this one…”
“Um… excuse me?”
Much like how she had practically snuck up on Cassy earlier, it was Laura’s turn to be surprised by someone approaching her. The short young man with messy green hair had been on the Sacred Hill before she arrived, but she never noticed him.
“Yikes, you really snuck up on me,” she said to him, laughing to play off her shock. “What’s up?”
“F-forgive me, but you’re Laura, right? The winner of the Hoenn League from five years ago?”
Laura sighed. She’d been found out for the second time that day.
“Oh, I apologize!” the boy rushed to say. “I know you turned away from the spotlight. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
“It’s alright, kid,” she assured him. “Nice to meet you.”
The boy took Laura’s hand and gave her a surprisingly vigorous handshake. “I’m Wally, from Petalburg City. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“I’m sure it is,” Laura replied, half-sarcastically. Her eyes wandered to the hand-carved wooden pendant he was wearing, which had a Key Stone like hers embedded in it. “It’s impressive you’ve got a Key Stone.”
“Yeah, it’s for my Gallade.” Evidently, talking about Pokémon helped Wally’s confidence, which Laura made a mental note of. “He’s my first and most trusted partner.”
“I hope you’ll let me meet him someday. So, what can I do for you, Wally? Are you looking for Alliance Battle partners too?”
“I traveled here to try one, but…” Wally shrunk back and pointed off to the horizon, at Regigigas. “I’m worried about what Regigigas is doing. When I saw you, I hoped you could do someth-”
Wally and Laura’s conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a siren piercing the air. Both of them jumped and their hands shot to their respective Poké Balls.
“You’re sharp,” Laura complimented her new friend.
“I can say the same to you,” he replied.
As the sirens continued blaring, the mechanisms built beneath the edges of La Ciudad Dorada stirred to life. A great shaking radiated through the ground, and the towers beyond the city limits slowly began to move. The Doradan citizens were already emptying out of their homes; they had been told by their leaders to evacuate to the Sacred Hill if the sirens ever sounded, but the complete and utter surprise that such a day actually came left them in an initial state of confusion.
Meanwhile, up on the Sacred Hill, Laura and Wally stood side-by-side as the scene of escalating chaos played out before them.
“I was hoping you would be able to do something, Miss Champion,” Wally finally finished.
“Just call me Laura. And don’t worry, I’ve got your back, Wally. I’ll watch out for you.”
-:-
After placing Regigigas under his control, Fernando retreated to the skyship’s bridge for the trip back home. He had little to do, as the ship’s autopilot did all the work for him. That left him with time to ponder what he was doing and what would come next.
“Rosalita, I do not know why you can’t see that my actions are right.” It pained Fernando to go against his beloved sister, but to him, she was the one making the mistake. “You are the stronger of us, but you use that strength to stand against protecting our home… how could you?”
The count clenched his teeth behind an angry scowl. At that point, his eyes wandered to a projection of La Ciudad Dorada as he flew toward it. He shot up straight in the pilot’s chair when he saw the walls closing around the city. It was a sight that made a terrible realization sink into his mind.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the transmitter for the skyship’s radio.
-:-
Rosalita carefully worked the controls for the towers with Shaymin floating at her side and Matt, Eleanor, Sheena, Cassy, Raul and the guards watching. Her concentration and determination helped her effortlessly glide her hands over the shimmering hologram, every motion moving the city’s shields closer to completion.
The relative silence in the room was broken by an unexpected signal. A new window popped up over the giant projection, bearing the words ‘incoming transmission.’
“Incoming transmission?” Rosalita said in surprise. “From where?”
“It’s the skyship…” Raul stepped forth and ominously informed her. “Your brother.”
The fact that her brother was reaching out to her melted some of the hardened exterior Rosalita had put on since her arrival at Lingote Palace. “How do I answer it?” she asked Raul.
“Just pick up the radio on the side of the control panel and press the button. That will establish the link, and you press it again when you wish to speak.”
“Much obliged.” Rosalita promptly followed the elderly man’s instruction, plucking the transmitter from its holder and pressing the button on its side. Fernando appeared in the projection, and when she saw his face, she gasped.
She had been expecting intense fury from him, but she was greeted instead by the image of her brother seemingly fighting back tears.
“How could you, Rosalita?” he asked her, his voice weak. “I see you putting up the walls around the city… I was prepared for you to despise me. But you see me as a threat to our home? How could you ever do that when you know all I’ve ever desired is to protect it?”
Rosalita found herself rattled by her brother’s state. “I hate what you are doing, but I could never hate you... you know that.” The princess averted her eyes, unable to keep looking at him. “Fernando, you have to stop this. There is no other option. You are making yourself the exact threat you want to protect our home from!”
“And you should know that my actions and I are one. If I were to stop, I may as well cease to exist.” Rosalita sharply inhaled in horror when Fernando said this, but he ignored her reaction. “If you despise my purpose, you despise me.”
“Please, Fernando, listen to me,” Rosalita pleaded. She knew she was running out of ways to try reasoning with him. “There’s something you do not know. I just learned it myself.”
“What is it?” Fernando asked her.
“Everything we were taught about the civil war was a lie.” Next to Rosalita, Shaymin lowered its head in shame. Revealing the truth to the princess had been hard enough, but it had never thought about just how difficult telling Fernando would be. Unable to bring itself to speak, it allowed Rosalita to continue. “You have to listen to me! Regigigas is not what you think it is. You are going down a path leading to nothing but ruin, Fernando. Please…”
“So you are telling me Father and Mother lied to us…” the count said bitterly.
“No, that’s not it!” Rosalita cried out. “Father and Mother did not know either!”
“But Shaymin surely did.” When Fernando voiced his realization, his words cut through both his sister and the mythical Pokémon like a knife. “Shaymin lives forever. It’s been here since the birth of La Ciudad Dorada… and lying to generations of our family all the while.”
“Fernando, listen to me! Please!” With no other options left, Rosalita hoped against hope that she would somehow be able to get through to him. “You won’t come back from this!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Fernando coldly replied. “Shaymin and our ancestors have not acted in the best interests of our home. I am… I am the only one who can right this wrong. If you will stand against me even knowing that, then there is nothing more to be said. Farewell.”
Rosalita opened her mouth to plead further, but Fernando disconnected the transmission and vanished from the projection before any words could come out. She hung her head, and for several tense, uncomfortable moments, nearly everyone else in the room was sure she was about to start weeping. That mistaken impression left them all stunned when she pivoted on her heel and approached Edrei with a raging inferno burning in her eyes.
“This will have to do for now,” she told the captain as she took his staff. She then turned to Matt, Eleanor, Sheena and Cassy, ordering them, “Kneel before me.”
Eleanor and Sheena, understanding what was taking place, immediately dropped to one knee. It didn’t register in Matt’s mind right away, so when Cassy realized what Rosalita was doing, she jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
“You’re supposed to kneel when the queen tells you to,” she whispered.
“Oh… oh,” he said, the reality of the situation dawning on him.
Matt and Cassy acceded to Rosalita’s command, and Rosalita raised the staff over the four tourists. Before she could go any further, though, Raul stopped her by gently gripping her arm.
“Princess,” he said, “You’ve not been formally coronated yet. I understand why you’re doing this, but you don’t have the authority.”
“Who does have the authority right now?” Rosalita answered back. “Father and Mother are not here. Fernando has gone mad. I am the only one with any rightful claim at all to do this.”
Raul hesitated, but before long, he realized the truth in Rosalita’s words and released her from his grip. “I suppose that is true,” he admitted, before bowing in deference to her and adding, “Please forgive my insolence.”
“You are forgiven. Now…” Turning her attention back to her allies, Rosalita touched each of their shoulders with the staff, and as she did so she recited, “Matt Chiaki. Cassy Natsuka. Eleanor Laplace. Sheena Carnet. In the service of La Ciudad Dorada, and of the royal blood that flows through me, I hereby name you my knights. Take this oath and serve in the name of peace. Gratia cantantes aeternum.”
Sheena and Eleanor were the first to repeat the oath, much like they had been the first to kneel. Likewise, Cassy had to push Matt, who was too stunned by what was taking place, to do so before taking it herself. Despite the disorganization, Rosalita was satisfied with the makeshift ceremony and returned the captain’s staff to its owner.
“Raul,” she addressed her advisor, “summon the other members of the court and inform them of what is facing our realm.”
“Right away, my lady,” Raul replied before scurrying out of the room.
“Now, Captain…” Edrei stood firmly at attention when Rosalita spoke to him. “Accompany me to the armory. For now, the rest of you, go outside and fortify the palace with your Pokémon.” Turning to Matt, Eleanor, Sheena and Cassy, she added, “My knights, I wish for you to go with them and wait for me.”
-:-
If Laura and Wally had stayed on the Sacred Hill just a while longer, they would have gotten to see an impressive array of Pokémon. Once the guards made it to the scorched garden in front of Lingote Palace, they deployed all of the clockwork Poké Balls in their possession. Matt, Cassy, Eleanor and Sheena stood and watched as the castle’s defenders were summoned forth.
The numerous Bronzong that appeared didn’t surprise them. After all, they’d already seen one, not to mention the way the guards’ armor was based off the bronze bell Pokémon. The Bronzong were dwarfed, however, by the four towering Golurk called out behind them. Several colorful, single-eyed Sigilyph appeared and hovered over the shoulders of the Golurk, while numerous Escavalier and Bisharp positioned themselves between the earthy automatons and readied their weapons for battle.
“I’ve never seen some of these Pokémon in person before,” Matt marveled to his friends. “Golurk? Sigilyph? I’ve read about them, but this is the first time I’m seeing them in the flesh. I only wish it was under better circumstances…”
“It’s unfortunate, but I must agree…” Sheena said, casting her gaze over the scene of chaos unfolding before them. The towers were in place to form the wall, but Regigigas and the skyship could still be seen steadily, relentlessly advancing. The citizens and tourists were evacuating the town down below, gathering in Dorada Market around the Sacred Hill.
“What a disgrace,” Eleanor bitterly added, clenching her fist in front of her face. “I just wanted a nice vacation, and it’s ruined. Everything’s ruined.”
“I don’t think you should be concerned about your vacation right now,” Cassy said to the engineer. “Be more worried about getting out of this in one piece.”
“That is not going to happen. I won’t let it.”
Matt and the others turned around to see Rosalita passing between her guards and their Pokémon. Shaymin was floating at her side, and Edrei followed closely behind her. Much to their surprise, she’d traded her salvaged clothes for a full suit of armor.
“Wow, Rosa,” Eleanor complimented, looking her over. “Nice.”
“Thank you, Eleanor,” the princess replied before addressing the entire group. “As I said, I will let no harm come to you. Fernando IV fought against his own father in order to protect the kingdom and his subjects. I understand now that I must follow in his footsteps, to protect everyone and everything I hold dear. But I cannot do it alone, and that is why I have inducted you four into my service.”
“I think I speak for us all when I say we are ready.”
Sheena didn’t notice Matt close his fist and turn away when she made her declaration. Rosalita did, however, and immediately turned her attention to him.
“Matt, are you alright?” she asked, some of her gentle demeanor returning.
“I-I’m scared, I won’t lie.” He gestured to his bandage-covered face and torso. “Look what already happened to me. But… at the same time…” Matt reached into his bag and retrieved a small object he kept hidden in his closed hand, then repeated, “At the same time, this would have been my responsibility even if Fernando never set out on this crusade. It’s fitting, really… in the end I’ve inherited Sutter’s work after all.”
Matt finally opened his hand, revealing the object to be a golden pin. It depicted a space shuttle, framed by a majestic pair of wings on its sides and a delta symbol beneath it. He affixed the insignia to his coat and then continued speaking.
“This is what my grandfather would have wanted,” he said, trying to steel his nerves. “Helping you defeat Fernando and save your home… that’s the closure I came here to find.”
“I am happy to have you on board,” Rosalita affirmed with a smile. “Now, listen, all of you. This is my plan. I am going to go face Fernando directly, and Matt, I want you and Eleanor to come with me.”
“Wait, you want me?” Caught thoroughly by surprise, Eleanor pointed questioningly at herself. “What can I do?”
“It is something only you can do, Eleanor,” Rosalita assured her, placing a hand on Eleanor’s shoulder. “Minister Raul mentioned earlier that the control system for the collars on Fernando’s Pokémon was installed in the skyship. We must assume that the armor he’s manipulating Regigigas with is operated through the same mechanism. That is where you come in. We will board the ship with the aid of Reyes and Sally, and then while Matt and I distract Fernando, you enter the bridge, break into the control system and shut it down. With your skills, I know I can place my faith in you.”
Stunned, and very well aware of the magnitude of the situation, Eleanor simply replied with, “I’ve got it.”
“What about Cassy and I?” Sheena asked the princess. Cassy simply stood next to her and watched in silence.
“You two have a very important role as well.” Before continuing, Rosalita took four of her Doradan Poké Balls off her armor and opened them, calling forth her Leavanny, Bibarel, Luxray and Shiftry. “Sheena, I am entrusting you and Cassy with helping to protect my people. Everyone within these walls, be they a resident or a visitor, is my responsibility. I am loaning you my Pokémon with this request: go down the Sacred Hill and assist in protecting the evacuees from Fernando’s invasion.”
“That is doable,” Cassy said. She released Swellow from his ball, then put her hand on her chin and mused, “I think I may know someone who can help us here.”
“If you do, please seek their aid,” Rosalita urged Matt’s classmate. “The more people we have fighting against Fernando’s army, the better.”
“Then you may as well accept my assistance, too,” Eleanor volunteered. She plucked all three of her own Poké Balls from her skirt and opened them, releasing Persian, Litwick and Rotom in flashes of light. “Persian can fight, but please keep Litwick and Rotom safe,” she asked Rosalita.
“That is a request I can fulfill,” the princess answered. Turning back to her guards, she directed them, “Take Litwick and Rotom into the palace and shield them from harm.”
Eleanor hugged her Pokémon, but they hesitated to part from her. “It’s fine, you guys. It really is. Please keep yourselves safe.”
While Litwick and Rotom reluctantly separated from their trainer and passed through the line of guards, Rosalita was approached by the guards’ leader.
“My lady, I must ask you one more time if you are certain about doing this.”
“There is nothing I have ever been more certain of in my life, Captain,” she replied.
“Then I pledge to assist you by serving at your side as well. Pidgeot, come forward!”
Edrei opened a pouch attached to his waist, fetching a clockwork Poké Ball of his own. Inside the sphere was a Pidgeot, who spread her wings and shrilled when she materialized. Her trainer wasn’t done after calling on her, though. He pointed his left hand toward the dark sky and turned his palm toward himself, revealing that he had a Key Stone set in the back of his gauntlet.
“Pidgeot, Mega Evolve!”
Light shot out of the Key Stone when Edrei touched it, arcing through the air and joining with the light given off by the Mega Stone attached to a band on her leg. As she was wrapped in the glow, her crest lengthened, turning yellow and red in the process. Her wings, meanwhile, grew even more majestic, with their tips taking on a blue shade. She grew by nearly three full feet overall by the time she broke out of her gleaming cocoon.
“A Mega Pidgeot…” Sheena said in awe.
“We will be better off having the aid of you and Pidgeot, Captain. I thank you.” Rosalita made her way to the forefront of the gathering and turned to address all of her allies. “I thank all of you for your support. This is going to be a difficult day, one of the most difficult this kingdom has faced in centuries. But I do not feel fear, not anymore. We will fight against the darkness encroaching on our realm and we will drive it back! We will destroy it!” The princess balled her hand up into a fist to contain the adrenaline flowing through her body. “And I will reach into that darkness and pull my brother out of it! I promise you, the sun will shine on La Ciudad Dorada again, and together, we will reach that glorious peace!”
The army of guards broke into a cheer thanks to their soon-to-be queen’s impromptu speech. Rosalita looked them over one last time before turning and throwing the clockwork ball containing Reyes. As soon as her Staraptor appeared, she dashed towards him and leaped onto his back, then nodded to Matt. Matt understood what the signal meant, and wasted no time in releasing Sally from her Poké Ball. He climbed onto her back and extended his hand to Eleanor, helping her up.
“To reach a peace we can all feel gratitude for…” Rosalita cried, “...to battle!”
With that, Reyes and Sally lifted off the Sacred Hill, Shaymin and Pidgeot alongside them. Sheena, Cassy and the guards watched as they flew away from Lingote Palace and toward Fernando. To his army. To the skyship. And of course, to the enslaved titan, Regigigas.
Every beat of Sally and Reyes’s wings brought them and their human allies closer to their shared destiny. And, for the second time in La Ciudad Dorada’s history, the wind beneath their wings brought civil war to the isolated city.
END of CHAPTER 7