The Cloud District, situated just below the castle, this particular district was home of the rich and elite. Anypony who was anypony lived here and the houses in the area just screamed ‘Look at all my money’. One home in particular, with ‘Blueblood’ on the plate had a gate made of solid gold.
“Okay, so you two understand the plan?” Midnight asked. She no longer wore her Guard armour, instead wearing a cream silk scarf, a dark brown dress and a shimmering veil of her tail, bound by three delicate silver chains.
Seth walked behind her, still wearing his silver torc, but his fur had been groomed. Seth hadn’t liked it all that much, but Ethan seemed to enjoy it, even if he preferred to groom his own ears.
Speaking of the Lopunny, Ethan's ears were tied up in a purple silk ribbon, letting them fall behind his back and out of the way, and matching ones around his wrists. It gave him quite the feminine look, even for him. His fur usually took so long to get just perfect, so it had been nice to let someone else do it for once.
“Yeah, I know the plan,” Ethan answered, he looked up to Seth. “Just remember, no talking. I have seen them had Pokémon working for them before, but even those that did it willingly rarely had the speech enhancement. Makes them feel more in control I guess, when their pets can't talk back.”
“Yup,” Seth nodded. “And keep our eyes and ears open. I’ll scan the place with my xray vision. You, Ethan, are to put those fabulous ears to use.”
“And let me handle the talking,” Midnight said. “I know how to handle ponies like this and you’d be surprised at what they’ll tell if they think they’re getting away with something.”
“Don't worry, if anypony says something they did not mean to, I'll hear it.” Ethan brushed his chest fur a little, calming himself. There was a good possibility that there would be other Pokémon held as pets in there… they just had to remain calm and ignore it until they got what they wanted. Easier said than done.
They reached the house, it wasn’t too hard to find, what with all the fancy carriages parked outside. It was like a block party for the rich and famous. Midnight walked right up to the bouncer and flashed a smile.
“Name,” the ridiculously huge Earthy pony stallion rumbled.
“Moonlight Sonata of House Sonata,” she said with an airy tone. She did that Canterlot accent a little too well.
The bouncer looked over his list and his eyes widened. “O-Oh, Lady Sonata. P-Please, come right inside… but those two…”
“Are my pets and they will be accompanying me,” Midnight said sternly.
“Y-yes Lady Sonata,” the bouncer said as he let all three inside.
Inside, the party was well on its way. Ponies of all kinds, though the majority of them were unicorns, and nearly all of them dressed and pampered to the point where it was ridiculous, were mingling in the huge entrance room that greeted the three of them. There were even a few Pokémon that could be seen on the inside, but far fewer than they had initially thought. A Sawk in particular, could be seen carefully walking around the room, serving drinks to the guests while dressed in a white suit.
“Ah, Lady Sonata, a rare but pleasant surprise.” A dark unicorn with a white spot at the end of his muzzle came up to the group. His overuse of perfume nearly sent both Ethan and Seth, with their sensitive noses scurrying back outside. “I was not aware that you liked to tend to such gatherings as these. And I see that you have brought… company.”
“But of course,” Midnight said with a haughty sniff. Errghh, his perfume burned her nose. “Anypony who is anypony has a pet Pokémon these days. Would you agree?”
“Oh absolutely,” he agreed, giving Midnight an urge to punch his lights out then and there. “But I would not dare to bring mine with me, you know how the guards can be with these things.” He waved his hoof. “I could always get another one, but why take chances.”
“Well, the guards know better than to mess with me,” Midnight smiled sweetly. “Still, I suppose you raise a point.” She ran a hoof through Seth’s fur. “Mmm, so luxurious, I wish I had fur like this.”
“Mmh, me too.” He agreed, slowly walking around them, sizing them up. “It's so unfair, that something that's so beneath us should have such beautiful qualities.” He stopped behind then, and before Midnight had a chance to react, he slid his hoof down Ethan's back, to his tail and… “I may have to borrow these from you sometime, they are simply delicious.”
Then he found his hoof slapped away, as he started into the thestrals predatory eyes. “Touch my pets without permission again, and I’ll see to it all your future meals will be taken through a straw~ Are we clear love?” The tone of her voice probably lowered the temperature of the entire room a few degrees.
“H-hehe,” the stallion nervously laughed while rubbing his hoof. “A little possessive with your pets, not that I can blame you. B-but I'm sure that we can reach some sort of—” but Midnight's glare stopped him and told him that it was unwise to speak another word. “I-I'll talk with y-you later.” The stallion excused himself, and could not hurry fast enough with putting some distance between himself and Midnight.
A shiver went through Ethan's body, he made a mental note to thank Midnight once they were finished. His paws were clenched and his thigh muscles coiled and ready, had she waited another second, somepony may have left the house in a body cast.
“I am so sorry about that,’ Midnight whispered, nopony would have heard her, but the Pokémon could as clear as day. “I had no idea he pull shit like that. I promise it won’t happen again.”
“Its…” Ethan whispered back, he meant to say that it was fine, but could not bring himself to do so. “Let's just do this” He said in a hushed voice before tuning in to all the different sounds from around them. Immediately, all the different sounds just blended together into a complete mess, but as he focused more, he was able to discern the individual sounds and voices from each other. He was able to hear the ponies on the second floor, standing out on the balcony, even those in one of the private room who… he shifted his attention elsewhere and tried to hide his small blush, he would stay away from that room. There were ponies all over the house, and they talked about all kinds of things, hearing something that would be relevant to them would be a challenge.
“Interesting,” Seth murmured to him as he stood next to the rabbit. “The basement has a lot of magical wards on it. The shimmering effect is similar to the castle Vaults. So, I’m guessing sound suppression and anti-teleportation. I’ll need to get closer to see inside.”
“Sound suppression.” Ethan repeated in a low voice, he hated to think what they would need that for. “How close?” He whispered back, getting somewhere could be slightly difficult with how much they stood out.
“It’s a basement, below us, around twenty meters to the left,” Seth said. “We’d have to find a way down there though.”
“I see a door over there,” Midnight said and subtly pointed with a wing. She glanced up and blinked. “Who’s the griffon?”
Following her gaze, the two Pokémon spied a fanciful griffon descending the large staircase into the ballroom. He carried himself rather gracefully, but at the same time, he had a certain aura of power around him. He glanced over the ballroom and both Seth and Ethan felt a small shiver go through them as his glance passed them.
“I… I think he was out on the balcony a few moments ago, though I could not hear what he was talking about out there, too much background noise.” He whispered back. Though he noticed something else when the Griffin came into the room, hushed whispers from several of the other ponies around them. “They are afraid of him.” He carefully nodded to a few groups of ponies to indicating who he was talking about.
“Interesting, he must be the big fish,” Midnight smirked and walked closer to him. Once some of the other ponies moved away, she flashed the griffon a smile.
“Well hello there,” she said. “I take it you’re a lovely host for this evening?”
The griffon had his eyes on her immediately, his gaze piercing through her. But his eyes softened after the shortest moment, leaving Midnight to wonder if she had seen it at all. “Oh this? It is but a little get together for friends, is all.” He said with a wave of his claw. “Though, I do not believe that I have made your acquaintance miss?”
“Moonlight Sonata,” the thestral bowed her head. “My mother is Moon Song, the actress?”
“Yes, she is quite talented. And I recognize her beauty in you.” The griffon nodded. “I am afraid that I must leave you quite soon though miss Sonata, such a busy evening. But if you need anything do not hesitate to seek me out, just ask for Alexander.” He gave her a small bow just as she had done before excusing himself.
“Actually, there is one thing,” Midnight said, deciding to take a risk. “Someone of your station… perhaps might know. Where I might obtain some… ‘rare’ articles?” She gestured her wing to Seth and Ethan. “I’m quite jealous of their fur you know. Perhaps you know a way to… rectify that?”
Alexander looked back to Midnight before turning. “You are quite bold for a young lady,” he commented. “That's such a rare trait to see in ponies these days.” He looked at Seth and Ethan, scanning over them rather quickly. “I may know of someone who can assist you with your problem, I just have some quick business to take care of beforehand. Just ask one of the servants to show you to my office and I believe we may be able to work something out.” And with that he walked into the crowd, disappearing from sight.
Midnight smirked, that was rather easy. She turned and looked at Pokémon. “Okay guys, I think I just got us a meeting with the big cheese. Think you can be patient a little longer?”
Ethan nodded after letting out a small sigh. “Let’s hope he can get us somewhere.” He whispered, but quickly shut up as a nearby pony glanced in their direction. It did not last long though and she shrugged and continued on, thinking nothing more of it. “Can't wait to get out of here.”
“You and me both,’ Midnight muttered. “I hate places like this normally, and these ponies and making my fur stand on end.”
“Easy does it,’ Seth replied. “We have Pokémon to save and criminals to bring to justice. Just hang in there.”
The group did not tarry for long, and a servant led the group across the floor towards the very same door that Midnight had pointed out earlier. The door led into a short hallway, though they were headed for the door at the end.
“Master Alexander will be with you shortly.” The pony servant informed the group before closing the door behind them leaving them in alone in the office. A single desk stood at the opposite end of the room, though it was completely clean, no paperwork or anything cluttered it, only a single ink and quill. Two bookshelves mirrored each other on each side next to the desk, both of them filled to the brim with books of all kinds.
Midnight snorted, keeping up the Upper Class attitude as she strode into the room. “Wait in the corner there,” she said to Ethan and Seth. “But keep your guard up in case the birdbrain tries anything.”
“Don't want him to get the drop on us.” Ethan nodded and did as Midnight had told them, joining Seth in said corner. “Kinda big for a single office.” Ethan could not help but comment as he looked around.
“No kidding, but he’s rich, likely compensation for being short in… other areas,” Seth smirked. Midnight’s ear flicked and she stifled a giggle of her own.
The minutes stretched out, making the group feel more than a little unnerved. But Alexander eventually arrived… followed by a huge Machamp who took up a spot next to the exit closing the door behind them.
“Sorry for the wait.” The griffon apologized, he walked past Midnight and sat down behind his desk. “So much to do on an evening such as this.”
“I can imagine,” Midnight smiled. “And quite the pet you have there. Very interesting.”
“Oh don't mind Bok here.” Alexander motioned to the Machamp who stood as still as a statue. “Rather, could you remind me again what exactly it was that you wanted of me?” He asked, leaning forward a little, resting his claws on the desk.
“Oh it’s rather simple,” Midnight smiled back. “I consider myself a fashionable mare, and yet these… lesser creatures have such beautiful coats. I’d heard on the grapevine that you could… help with that. Of course, such a reward would come with… a lot of bits.”
“Quite the reasonable request, they really have quite the unique coats these creatures.” Alexander eyed Seth and Ethan where they stood in the corner. “You really have two wonderful specimens, quite large this one too.” He commented, gesturing at Seth. “How did you manage to obtain them?”
“Oh, a Lady is entitled to her secrets,” Midnight said and bat her eyes at him as her voice lowered into a husky tone. “Let’s just say I had a lot of fun… training them~”
“I don't doubt it.” Alexander laughed. “But you see, almost all trade of these things go through me, and the ones that don't, I know about.” He reached down into the desk and pulled out a small black book. “Now, there have been a lot of requests for the likes of that one.” He pointed at Ethan. “But no sales of a… Luxray,” he said as he found the correct page. “And I certainly would remember one as big as that one. It would be bad for my reputation if someone else out there was trying to cut in on my business, so I need to know how you got them. I’m sure that you understand.” He finished with a smile.
“Oh, these two, I’ve had them since Day one,” Midnight said with a wave of her hoof. “I awoke to find them in my yard, looking rather confused. Naturally, I called the guard, but once they were deemed… acceptable and harmless by their supposed ‘God’ I offered to… look after them. Such a large house can get quite lonely you know.”
Alexander studied Midnight for a few long seconds before nodding. “Fair enough, I apologize for the intrusive question, but one can never be too careful with one's reputation. Bok!” He called out to the Machamp who immediately moved towards him. “Now the thing you are asking for is quite hard to come across, so it naturally will cost a great deal depending on what kind of coat you want.” He handed the Machamp a box before sending it over to Midnight. “But the quality is more than worth it, I assure you. Feel free to see for yourself, we got these in just a little while ago, finer fur you will not find in these lands.” As he finished the Machamp opened the box and pulled out an object to show to Midnight.
A Vulpix tail.
Midnight’s eye gave an imperceptible twitch. “What is this?” she asked, looking at it.”I’ve not seen anything quite like it.”
“Oh it's the tail of a… Vulpix.” He said, once again looking through his little book. “Quite a wonderful creature, six of these beautiful tails it had. We were looking into if they would grow back, but we ran into some… I’m sorry, but is your pet quite alright?” He pointed over to the corner where Ethan was visibly shaking and his face slowly contorting into a look of pure anger.
“Ethan,” Seth whispered quietly. “Calm. Down. You’ll blow the plan.”
“I’m not quite sure,” Midnight replied. “He’s never been to a large social event before. It could be nerves is all.” She looked at him with a small frown. “And he’d better calm down if he know’s what’s good for him.”
Calm down, yes by all means he should calm down. So much time had gone into this, the last few days had been for this moment, for this plan alone. They were so close, victory was in sight. But they had hurt his friend, they had hurt her so bad. And now he flaunted a piece of her body like it was some accessory. Oh, things would come to an end that night, one way or another.
“Screw this,” a quiet mutter came from Ethan before he exploded into motion, sprinting towards Alexander. “I'll kill you, you feathered bastard!” He shouted from the top of his lungs, orange streaks formed around him and purple energy appeared in between the gaps.
“Bok!” Alexander shouted out in alarm as the Lopunny sprang into action, and the towering Machamp advances on its nearest target, Midnight.
The thestral blinked, that big muscled guy moved way faster than she cared to admit.
Too bad he was so slow compared to her~
With a flick of her wings, she vaulted over the hands that reached out to grab her. “Too bad, so sa—” She was cut off as the second set of arms gripped her around the barrel, oh that was just plain unfair! “Gah! Lemme go you—”
Bok was about to squish the little pony he’d grabbed.
Then a bolt of lightning arced from Seth… and struck the nearest conductive surface. Bok’s belt buckle.
The raging mountain of muscle roared in pain and annoyance as the lightning arced through him. And with a twist of his body he flung Midnight straight towards the attacker.
While she was in mid flight, Alexander whipped out a small crossbow, much smaller than normal and fired of a set of darts towards the impending purple comet. The first few struck the energy surrounding Ethan, flicking off harmlessly but one found its target in his shoulder while another ricochet off towards Seth. But it was too little too late.
The room shook as the Giga Impact smashed through the desk and into the wall behind it. Sending a shower of dust into the air.
“Uhh, nice catch,” Midnight said dizzily as Seth caught her after she was flung by the Machamp. The Luxray sighed, flicking a dart that got tangled in his fur.
“Well, that escalated quickly,” he muttered.
If the bolt of electricity has slowed down Bok then it did not show. But as the dust settled over them Bok changed his targets, his master having been attacked he ran through the dust and the splintered remains of the wooden desk. He found his target lodged in a crater in the wall, groaning from the after effects of the attack. Roaring in anger once again Bok wrapped a huge hand around Ethan's leg and hoisted him up.
‘Move, please move!’ Ethan shouted to himself as the towering Machamp pulled one of his other fists back and launched it straight into him with all its power. Ethan flew out of his grasp and straight into Seth and Midnight at the other end of the room.
“You know,” Seth grunted. “If you people wanted a hug, there’s a time and place for it.” Still, the threat was that Machamp. “Midnight, you got the overgrown chicken?”
“Mhm,” she replied, taking a knife out of her dress.
“Excellent.” the feline purred and then charged at Bok at full speed, his body suddenly blazing with electrical power as his Wild Charge attack slammed both him and the Fighting-type Pokémon out of the window and into the garden beyond.
“You have a very poor sense of business I have to say.” Alexander commented as he stood up from the rubble and dusted himself off, barely a scratch on him. He had dodged out of the way at the last moment. “We could have earned each other a lot of bits you know.” As if it was part of a normal conversation he flicked his hand crossbow again and a small shower of darts flew towards Midnight. “But now I have to make you disappear.”
She tapped the pendant on her chest and a blue liquid spilled out almost like liquid metal…
Well, not almost like,it was. The transformative Night Guard armour. She’d have to thank Luna for letting her borrow one. The darts pinged harmlessly off of the new metal coating she wore as a fanged smile crossed her muzzle.
“Sorry birdbrain,” she chuckled. “But you’re under arrest for… waaay too many things I feel like naming right now. So, we can do the the boring way, or the fun way. What’s it gonna be?”
“Playing with a lunar guard does sound like fun.” The griffon drew a pair of axes from under his vest and spun them in his claws. “But playing sounds so wrong, I prefer the term winning.” He flung one of his axes right towards Midnight. It soared through the air, only to change trajectory slightly mid flight flying right past Midnight who had been ready to knock it aside, and towards Ethan who was still clutching his chest from the earlier blow.
Midnight flicked her wing as a wire lashed out, grabbing Ethan’s leg and yanking him to one side as the axe embedded itself in the floor where he previously lay.
“Quit whining at get up!” the bat growled. “This entire thing has gone to shit because of you.” With a loud screech, she lunged at Alex, her hoofguards drawing their retractable blades.
She flew straight for the griffon, and passed right through him and tumbled to the floor instead. A small gem lay on the floor where Alexander had just been. The illusion flickered for a few moments, before disappearing completely. Where one of the bookcases had just been, an opening in the wall now lead down to a stairway.
“Stele totul la naiba,” Midnight swore under her breath. That throw at Ethan was just something to avert her attention while he made his escape.
“Bastard ran away.” Ethan pulled himself up and yanked the dart out of his shoulder, strangely enough it did not seem to do anything. “We need to go after-” as he stretched to his full length a spike of pain ran through him. “Mother f….” He stumbled in his steps and held his side. But the pain only served to fuel his ongoing rage and he pushed himself back up, adrenalin surging through his system. “He just had to dodge… I'll skin that flying fuck alive when I catch him,” he cursed while heading for the open stairway.
Then something stabbed his leg as he looked down, Midnight pulling a needle out of his leg.
“General antitoxin,” she explained. “For whatever it was he did. Now come on, we have a griffon to catch and arrest.”
“Okay,” Seth winced from the recoil of his attack and from the fall from the third floor. “Look, Bok was it? Mind explaining why you work for someone who’s killing our own kind to make coats?” With any luck, he wouldn’t have to fight the likely more experienced Pokémon.
The Machamp had started to slowly walk towards Seth but stopped in his tracks. He opened his mouth for a moment before closing it again. He started making weird grunting noises while making gestures with his arms. He pointed to himself before pointing to the side while putting two arms ahead like he was lifting or being given something. He looked expectantly at Seth waiting for an answer.
“You… cannot speak?” Seth blinked.
A look of sorrow flashed over Bok's face. He gripped his head with all his fours arms and shook his head, while stomping with one of his legs in frustration. He glanced up to the broken window for a spell before determination settled in once again. A roar pulled from the bottom of his lungs shook the nearby area as Bok charged at Seth. And as the Machamp was roaring with his mouth wide open Seth noticed something, or rather, he noticed that something was missing. Bok had no tongue.
“My god… what did they do to you,” he whispered as he leapt to one side, barely avoiding the attack. “Hey! You need to stop! If.. if they did that, why listen to them? Come with me, I can at least try and help you. Pony magic is pretty incredible, maybe… there’s a way to fix you!”
Bok continued to wail while shaking his head. He lifted one of his hands and slapped it against his chest while looking at Seth. He pointed back to the building they had crashed out of and banged his chest once again. When Seth did not immediately get it he roared in frustration and tore up chunks of the earth with his large hands and chucked them at the Luxray.
“Hey! I’m sorry, okay!” Seth yelped as he dove to the side again. “If you knew sign language I could at least read that,” Seth’s eyes widened. “Read… that’s it!” he pointed at a stick. “Write in the dirt with that.”
Bok looked very conflicted as he picked up the stick. He looked at Seth like he was searching him before shaking his head.
Stick in hand Bok did not begin to write, but draw. His big hands and arms were not well suited for the task, but he managed and soon the figures on the ground began to take form. It was three figures, one much larger than the other two who stood besides him.
He then drew a four legged creature with wings next to the two small ones and then a cage around them. He pointed to the two small drawings then hit himself on the chest with his palm again.
“They have...friends? Family of yours?” Seth hazarded a guess. “In order to make you work for them?”
The Machamp started nodding rapidly at that. Then his enthusiasm dropped and he started drawing again.
He drew a new figure, this one was supposed to be Seth. Bok drew a cross over the figure with wings and then drew a cross over the two small figures in the cage. He glanced up at Seth and let out a sigh. He then drew a cross over Seth, followed by a heart around the two small figures.
The stick broke as he clenched his fists and rose to his full height again.
“Your kids maybe?” Seth asked, really hoping he was getting close. He had a bad guy to stop, not sit around playing charades. A game he was always terrible at mind you.
Bok nodded again at that. He pointed to Seth, then made a gesture that was impossible to misunderstand, he drew his thumb across his throat. After that he whisked out the cage around the drawing of his kids.
But the time of charades was over, and Bok gave off a large grunt before settling his four arms into offensive positions.
“So, you want help in rescuing them?” Seth asked. “Okay then, I don’t suppose you know where they…” He groaned and looked at the mansion. “They’re in the basement, aren’t they?”
Bok gripped his head and nodded before shaking it. He looked at Seth with a pair of kind eyes, like he was saying sorry. Then his face hardened and without warning he launched a Dynamic Punch straight at Seth. The Luxray went to avoid the attack again, luckily it’s not an accurate attack to begin with, but the side effect of Confusion status could be a pain.
Seth put pieces together in his head, and applied some ideas of how this sort of situation usually played out. The bad guys here bought Bok’s loyalty with holding his kids for ransom. If Bok failed, something would likely happen to his kids. Maybe if something happened to that griffon as well.
Still, he knew Midnight was still inside and his backup plan was on the way. So all that was left to do was…
“Well, sorry Bok. I gotta beat you here. Don’t worry, I’ll get your kids…” Seth tapped his torc, and the stone set within. It wasn’t his Keystone, but rather… something new he’d been dabbling in.
And with a brilliant flash of light and an ear shattering crack of thunder, everything exploded.
Ethan and Midnight was making haste descending the stairs that led down from Alexander's office. Midnight had wanted to speed after the griffon to catch up to him. But instead kept pace with Ethan incase the stairs had been trapped or an ambush waited.
Ethan had not said anything else since they had started descending, but his mind was clearing up a little now, and he felt like he had to say something.”Thanks for the antitoxin. And sorry for… messing this up.”
“You will be if one of these Pokémon get hurt,” Midnight replied sharply. “This… this is why I didn’t want you coming along. You’re too emotional, too close to the case. Not to mention paranoid, suspicious and weak in a fight.” She snorted as she opened her mouth and made a rapid clicking sound, her ears twitching as her echolocation returned, showing no signs of a trap so far. “But Seth said otherwise… so here we are.”
“You are right.” Ethan accepted the harsh words. “I promised my friend that I would see this through… but when he pulled up those tails, her tails.” He shook his head as some of the rage from earlier started bubbling again. “I just lost it. But if Seth was right with his x-ray sight, then the room down here is a dead end, why would he escape down there?”
“Because he likely has some kind of insurance down here,” Midnight scowled. “Whatever, I’m not pulling my punches next time. Also…” She fished something out of her bad and held it up to him. It was a glittering stone the size of a large marble, set inside a gold pendant. “Here, hang on to this. Might come in handy in a bind.”
“T-this… this is a Lopunnite.” He said in awe. A slightly tingle went through his fingers as he accepted the pendant. “Where did you even get something like this?”
“Seth has quite the collection apparently,” she replied. “Says you can keep it too. He doesn’t have a Lopunny, so the gem’s worthless to him now…” She held up a wing and paused. “Now are you ready, he’s backed into a corner, and that’ll make him dangerous. Griffons are hunters by nature, their claws and beaks are very sharp and very dangerous.”
Ethan nodded. “I won't jump in like an idiot this time. You take the lead and I'll do whatever i can to help you out. I am bad in a fight, but even I know a trick or two.” His ears twitched as he noticed something. He was no longer hearing the sound of claws hitting the stone stairs. “I think he has reached the basement… I can't hear him anymore.”
Midnight’s ears flicked and she confirmed that. “Alright, then guard up and balls out. Let’s take this asshole down.”
Once they got to the bottom of the stairs, a metal door awaited them with two bright torches burning on the walls next to it. Ethan clutched the amulet with the mega stone a little tighter. They carefully approached the door, and Ethan put his ear to it, but he got nothing. “It’s sound proofed, I can’t hear a thing.” He whispered.
“Well then,” Midnight said as she tapped the eye-shaped stone on her chest. “Requip!” The armour shifted, the small blades on her hooves vanishing and melting into the armour, before it extended along her wings, forming a three foot long blade on each.
“Hot damn I love this armour, Nights get all the best toys,” she mused as her wings lashed out. There was the sickening squeal of metal-on-metal, before the door gave a deep shudder and fell into several pieces.
The room inside was huge, and lit up by torches and more than a dozen candlelights. Around the room all kinds of boxes and crates were stacked. But more so than anything, the room contained books, papers, ledgers and all kinds of paperwork. In the far end, the two of them spotted the griffon Alexander, standing in front of a small stack of iron cages. Most of them were empty, but the ones closest to him were not.
The first one was like no Pokémon that Ethan knew of. It was a bird with bright red feathers, its wings and head ending in a golden shimmering color. Midnight recognized the creature immediately though, a Phoenix. Next to it was a Larvitar, its green skin somewhat matted, and it cried out immediately once the door fell and it spotted them. And behind that a Wooper, though it seemed to be unconscious.
“Quiet!” Alexander shouted and smacked a torch against the cage, silencing the Larvitar. “You certainly don't waste any time. One of you are missing though, it seems like Bok were good for something at least.” He blinked as he laid eyes on Ethan. “Useless thing,” he muttered while throwing his little hand crossbow to the floor. “I wish I could say that it's a pleasure to see you miss Midnight, but I'm afraid that we both know that would be a lie.”
“Yeah, you really aren’t my type,” Midnight shrugged. “I even used my real name and you didn’t recognise me? I’m hurt. Ah well, you’re not leaving here conscious. So… prepare yourself.” She licked her lips and Ethan caught the dangerous look in her eye, secretly glad she wasn’t after him right now. “I like to play rough~”
“Of course I recognized you, but I had hoped that you had come to accept our ways. After all, we have several guards who have made purchases through me.” Alexander revealed. “But enough about that, I would advise you to stay where you are.” Alexander said as he sweeped his torch in an arc in front of himself. From the outside they had not seen it, but now that they were inside, both Midnight and Ethan could see the oil that covered parts of the floor. It went from where Alexander was standing, to every large bookshelf, to all the wooden crates and lastly, to the metal cages behind him. “We wouldn't want anyone to make a mistake and drop something. So let's just all stay nice and calm about this so no one gets hurt.” Ethan silently cursed, it was the same trick he had used earlier the very same day when he had been backed into a corner.
“So, you’d rather burn yourself alive than get arrested?” Midnight said, lowering her swords. “Coward. I thought griffons had honour?”
“Oh you wound me, dear Midnight. But no, I have no plans of burning, this little hostage and all of this information though, that's another thing. I reckon that you are not only hear for me, no you want to bring all of this down. But without all of this,” he gestured to all the books and paperwork. “Well, that's not happening. I would rather leave a victor, but if I am going down, well, then I am taking as much as I possibly can down with me.” He said in a grim tone.
“How fast can you get over to him?” Ethan whispered in a low tone to Midnight.
“Blink and you’ll miss it,” she replied. “The Pokémon I can see, they’re all Fire-resistant. But I need some of those books for the arrest to stick and take down the rest of his operation.”
“They are resistant, but they will still be hurt if the fire lasts long enough.” Ethan replied, mulling their situation over. “If I can distract him… or fool him, can you get those cages behind him open like you sliced up that door?” Ethan whispered. “Also, got anymore of that antitoxin?”
He felt something in his ear fur, a small weight there like a box. “In there,” she said and suddenly smiled. “I have a plan. You ready to get crazy?”
“Always.” Ethan smiled right back.
“Good, see that sparkly bird in the cage? I need you to free it as quick as you can okay?”
“Okay, I think I can manage that.” Ethan swallowed and nodded.
“Good boy,” She looked up at Alex and smiled. “So good of you to wait honey. Ready for a beating now?”
“I had hoped to stall you a little longer, but I suppose that this is inevitable. So, the books or the pets, who will you save?” Alexander started laughing as he opened his claw, and let the torch fall.
And Midnight was in front of him, delivering a blow to his face. She’d not lied. Ethan blinked and he failed to see her close the gap. Bloody Arceus she was fast, but not fast enough. The torch hit the ground and with a loud ‘whoosh’, the fire started to spread.
Ethan was no snail either, with the training he got from Zoey he used a quick attack to get over to the cages in a flash. He had a problem stopping but crashing into the cage of the phoenix helped that. “Okay, okay, need to get you out.” The lock was nothing he could pick or force open, and there were no keys in sight either. Midnight was holding the griffon off, but the fire was almost upon them.
“Hope this works.” Ethan muttered at his stupid idea. He jumped back before leaping at the cage with his right leg raised high into the air. Pain was the world he knew as the Jump Kick connected with the iron cage, and though it made a loud snapping sound, and some of the bars now had cracks in them, it still held.
“Ahaha, how does it feel to know that this basement will be your grave!” Alexander shouted as he squared off against Midnight. He had wanted and tried to run, but she had held him off.
Midnight’s gaze flicked to Ethan, he wasn’t strong enough to open the cage…
She smirked and took something out of her mane, a glittering white stone.
“We may be different, but we fight for a common cause.”
“So let our new bond be our guide.”
“Mega Evolution!”
Light spilled from the stone she held, linking with the tendrils that started pouring from Ethan’s.
The light spread over Ethan, covering his entire body, filling with warmth and energy. However, he had no time for second thoughts, the fire had already reached the Larvitar, and it was just moments away from them too.
He meant to throw a punch as a last ditch effort, but instead of his arm, his ear shot forward and smashed through the bars of the cage with ease. It was his ear, but it looked so different, he himself, felt different.
The fur around his legs, upper torso and fingers had blackened. The large eyebrows combined into one butterfly shaped crest. The fur around his wrist and ankles had hardened and become more round. Lastly his the fluff on his ears had pulled itself together, now only two small fluffy bands remained on each ear.
The Phoenix waste no time and flew through the newly made opening with a speed that rivaled Midnight. With a loud cry, it’s body started to glow as it drew the flames into itself, like water being siphoned down a drain. It peeled up and off of the ground, the magical bird absorbing the flames until none remained.
“Well look at that, at least one bird here is useful,” Midnight smirked to Alexander. “Now, you gonna give up? Or shall I pluck every last feather from your body?”
“What?” The griffon leader stared in disbelief at the newly mega evolved Ethan and the phoenix he had freed. “No, no this can't be… I… that bird.” He looked between Midnight and Ethan, he was surrounded. “I… I know when I'm beaten, there is no need for any more violence.” He told Midnight while slowly backing away from her, dropping his weapons in the process. “I just need to do one thing before I go with you,” he turned on the spot, brandishing his claws. “And that is to kill this Celestia damned pest!” He leaped straight at Ethan, claws first and a look of utter fury on his face.
Ethan jumped away to the side, avoiding the attack. He felt so much faster, stronger, it was absolutely amazing. Before Alexander could recover from his failed attack, a foot smashed into his side, sending the griffin sliding across the basement floor.
“Midnight, can you free the Larvitar and the Wooper?” Ethan asked while slowly walking towards the downed Alexander.
Midnight was looking him up and down, smirking slightly. “Mm, I can do that… nice leggings by the way. Those thighs are delicious~” And with an airy giggle, she flew over to free the other Pokémon.
Alexander was gasping for air when Ethan kneeled down besides him. “One of your officers is named Shady… where is he?”
The griffon turned to look at him, his pained look turning into a smile. “C-come on now, even I have some... integrity.” The way he was breathing and clutching his chest, it seemed that he had cracked some ribs with that earlier kick. So Ethan put one of his legs exactly there, and pushed down. To his credit, Alexander did not scream, but he started coughing and sputtering with a grimace.
“Where can I find him?” Ethan repeated.
“O-Oh… come on now. I already lost, why would I give you—” a fluffy fist slammed into his beak, shutting him up.
“I said,” Ethan pulled his arm back, “Where. Is. He?” With each punctuation another punch was delivered. “WHERE IS HE?!” Blood splattering around them as the pummeling continued, seeping out of the griffons now cracked beak. “WHERE?!”
He drew his fist back again, only for it to stop as Midnight grabbed his arm. “Hey! He’s done okay! He can’t answer if you kill him. We got the bad guy, so let us Guards do our jobs now okay?”
The glare Ethan gave Midnight was not the the same that had belonged to the Lopunny she knew. She tensed up as, for a second, she thought he might attack her too. But his whole body relaxed as he looked away and down at the bloodied griffon. “Yeah… okay.” He said, letting Midnight drag him up and off Alexander.
With a flash of light, the power of Mega evolution faded, returning the Lopunny to normal. As he did, the door burst open as Seth entered the room.
“Wow, way to save the day Boss,” Midnight chuckled as she cuffed the griffon. “That big guy give you a lot of trouble.”
“In more ways than one,” Seth muttered as he looked around. “Is everyone okay? No injuries?”
“Only him I think,” Ethan said, nodding to the passed out griffon. “But give those two a checkup as well, the burns should not have harmed them, but you never know.” The Wooper and Larvitar in question was clinging to Midnight, hiding behind her legs. The Larvitar peeked out and have Seth a small wave.
“Hi,” she greeted him in a weak voice.
“Hello, little one,” he smiled down at her. He crouched down to look her in the eye and look less intimidating. “Have you seen anyone else here? The family of a Machamp named Bok?”
The Larvitar thought about it for a moment then started nodding rapidly. She ran over to one of the main desks and started pulling out the drawers, throwing the ones she did not need away. After a little while, she help up a glimmering diamond like it was a trophy and gave it to Seth.
“He used this,.” she said, and when Seth looked the gemstone over, he noticed a small symbol that was carved on its side. “He used it here!” The larvitar waved them over to a spot where Seth noticed the same symbol carved into the floor.
“Interesting,” Seth’s eyes sparkled. He could see something under the floor, but it seemed to possess similar enhancements to the Royal Vault. “Hmm, some kind of proximity device? Or maybe I need magic?” He stepped forward and experimented, placing the gem against the symbol on the floor.
With a sharp crack, a small square of the floor began to sink down before being pulled into the side, revealing a small box shaped room. A small Machop slept in the middle, only barely having enough room to stretch and a collar strapped around its neck.
As the light of the room shone down, he awoke and blinked rapidly to adjust to the sudden light. “H-hello?” He asked shielding his eyes with his hand.
“Found ya,” Seth smiled as he stepped down into the room. “It’s okay, I’m a good guy. Gonna bring you back to your family okay?”
“D-Dad? Where is dad?” He asked looking around.
“He’s outside, don’t worry,” Seth said as he looked at the collar. Hmm, bit too thick to break but… He looked at the chain and with a flash, snapped it with an Iron Tail attack. “Can you walk?”
“Yea!” The little Machop happily stated, but when he tried to walk he immediately stumbled and grabbed onto Seth. “Um… can you help me?”
“Sure thing,” the cat smiled, picking him up by the scruff of his neck and putting him on his back. “Sorry it took me so long to find out about this. Now, let’s get you back to your dad okay?”
“Okay! I missed him.” The Machop smiled.
“We should all leave this place, we can come back and search through these books later.” Ethan said looking back at the room, the fire had reached some of the folders, but most of them were perfectly intact.
“So,” Seth asked as he climbed up and out of the hole. Midnight was dragging the griffon away for questioning and medical care, so that left the feline alone with the lagomorph. Oh, and the half dozen other Pokémon present. “Did you get what you wanted?”
“Not everything,” Ethan replied he was looking through the papers that the Larvitar had scattered around when she looked for the gem. “With this, The Weavers is no more, or it will be ending very soon. But there is still somepony I need to find.”
“Well, if you need help then I’ll conduct an investigation here in Canterlot,” Seth said. “That said, I still need to rehome these little ones, and then there’s the family that just turned up…” he’d run off so quickly to help with this, he hadn't even talked with his mother or sister yet.
“Afraid that your mother will give you a hard time?” He smirked. “Thank you for offering to help but I doubt he is in Canterlot anymore, I appreciate it though.” Ethan said as he picked up a interesting folder. “And I don't think you will have any trouble with those, I could offer them a temporary home, but it may be better if they find something permanent here.”
“Don’t worry, it’s my job and my pleasure to help little ones like them out,” Seth smiled. “I have this guy’s dad outside already.” After a moment, he had the Wooper and Larvitar on his back to. “Okay, let’s head off. Enough sadness for one night, I wanna see smiles okay?”
“Yeah!” A unanimous cry came from his back.
“That sounds like a good idea indeed.” Ethan smiled too. “Some joy and celebration is well needed now.”
“Right, so a feast then,” Seth beamed. “I don’t about you guys, but I’m starving!”
A choir of hungry stomachs echoed in the basement. “I don't think you will find any complaints to that here… man, Mega Evolution makes you hungry.”
“Oh, she actually pulled it off?” Seth blinked as they exited the room. Even now, several dozen guards were landing in the yard, some even having some of the nobles from before in cuffs. “Well congrats. Feel free to keep that Lopunnite as well. I’ve no use for it.”
“Really? Well, thank you.” Ethan tossed the Lopunnite up and caught it again. “Might come in handy sometime.” He packed the Mega Stone away into his ear. “So many nobles… I'm guessing this will mean a lot of work for you in the near future?”
“No,” Seth shook his head. “This is a pony problem now. I’m only here if Pokémon are involved. I’ll help said Pokémon, but pony problems are left to the qualified guards. I’m more of a… consultant.” Seth sighed and shook his head again. He wanted to do more, but to call himself a real Guard would be a disservice those those that trained and worked hard to become one. “It’s fine. Things seemed to have turned out for the best.”
“At long last… Be wary with these little ones though. After what they have been through, they might need some special help, or just someone to talk too.” He reached out to the little band of Pokémon who was sitting on Seth, but they moved away and clung closer to Seth. He pulled back and looked at his paws, they were still red with the blood from earlier.
“A shower might be in order before dinner,” Seth noted as he spied Bok. “Hey, little guy,” he said to the Machop. “Who do you suppose that is?”
“Daddy!” The Machop cried with joy and jumped down from Seth, stumbling more than a few times as he ran over to his father.
Bok could not say anything but wrapped all his four arms around his son and held him tight, a few tears dripping down his face.
“I missed you so much… thank you for helping me find my daddy!” The Machop called back to Seth, who also got a wave from Bok who had the biggest smile in the word. The Luxray grinned back, waving with a free paw.
“Now that is worth every effort,” he said quietly. “That’s why I do what I do. To see that smile.”
“I know what you mean, it really warms your soul.” Ethan agreed, watching as Bok slowly carried his son away.
“Right, let’s head back to my place,” Seth said and looked at the Wooper and Larvitar. “You two can stay with me until we find some family for you okay?”
“Really?” The Wooper asked. “Can we eat when we get there?”
“Sure,” Seth chuckled. “You haven’t eaten til you’ve had a Fritter Feast.” He turned his head and looked at Ethan. “Come on, you can clean up and eat with us. Meals are better eaten together.”
“That would be lovely, but I have some other things I still need to take care off.” Ethan gave Seth a small smile. “Was a pleasure meeting you Seth, you have a really good family.”
“As do you,” the cat nodded back. “Tell Chii to keep practicing, eh? I hope to see her at the next Contest.”
“I’ll be sure to do that. You say hello everyone else for me, and if you are ever in Neighagra Falls then feel free to drop in. We would love to have some visitors.”
“It’s a promi—” He got cut off as a Sylveon popped up out of nowhere in front of him.
“Sethy!” Rika scolded him. “Where have you been? Everyone’s worried and… ohh, little cuties!” she squealed and hugged the two Pokémon on his back. After releasing them, she zipped over to Ethan. “And what about you, Ethan-bun, you holding up okay?”
“I'm fine, just a little messy.” Ethan said as he held up his hands. “Sorry to drag your Seth away from you for so long, that's my fault. He has been really helpful though.”
“I figured as much,” Rika shrugged as she placed a small, wrapped box on his head. It was warm to the touch and the most divine scents wafted from it. “A little gift from mine and Sethy’s beloved pony waifu,” she giggled, before taking a more serious expression as she lowered her voice. “Also… don’t let this consume you okay? You have family to come back to. Jenny still needs your help, mkay?” And like that, her smile returned as she bounced away to where Seth was standing.
Ethan stood there speechless for a moment. “H-how do you…?” He asked, but seeing her warm smile he decided to stop it. “I'll be careful, thanks.” He waved to Rika. “You take care of Seth, he is a real catch.” He added with a wink.
“Well duh~” Rika giggled. “You think I’d be carrying his egg if he wasn’t?”
“Wait… WHAT!?” Seth exclaimed. Loudly.
“Whoopsie, guess the Skitty’s outta the bag now,” the Sylveon beamed and bounced away.
“Congratulations, I guess.” Ethan laughed. “Don't worry, you will do fine as a father.”
“Unbelievable,” Seth groaned and shook his head. “Well, I did kind of expect it. Anyway, will you be okay from here, Ethan?”
“You know who I used to be, I hid away from cops and Rangers for years… I will be fine no matter what happens.” Ethan gave Seth one last smile before turning and walking away. “Later!” He added with a wave.
Seth waved his own farewell, waiting until the Lopunny was out of sight. Midnight promised to keep a distant eye on him, until he left Canterlot in case Alexander had friends. But for now…
“Okay, let’s go home,” Seth said to his passengers. “I have food to eat and a mischievous Sylveon to scold.”
Ethan waited until he was sure he was completely alone before he pulled out a binder from his ear fur. It was one of the ones he had spotted on the floor in the basement earlier. The cover had no writing, just the sigil that The Weavers often used.
What had caught his attention was the content of the binder. It had contained names, lots of them with information and locations under each one. But there was just one page that he truly cared about.
Shady Morningstar
“I’m coming for you Shady, you got nowhere to hide now.”
