//------------------------------// // 336. Mental Compound Fracture, Pt. 2. // Story: Baa-Ram-Ewe! // by Darkonshadows //------------------------------// -Pokémon Realm, Ransei Region, Cerebrum City, Lower Tier, Cotton- “Gyeh-heh-heh, I’m a smart one yes I am... can’t believe that I’m not already on the lamb~.” I started whistling to myself as I continued to set things up in advanced, everything was all part of the plan. Just gave Cerebrum City an engineering problem to fix and it was quite noticeable that nobody could possibly miss it. -Origin Space, Arceus- “Should we do something about that father?” Mew asked politely. “Nope.” I said lazily, though I have alerted the legendary Pokémon to repel the invaders from Moon Cell or at least try to keep them contained to Valora for the time being, I did tell them to at least try to not be lethal with the small trickle of Digimon also invading from the neighboring Yggdrasil.sys realm. Gazimon were certainly interesting, they reminded me of Sneasel somewhat. If there were any more breaches into the world, I would have all the breaches occur within the Ransei region. Don’t want to bother the mystery dungeon running Pokémon with this, so Palkia and Dialga can ensure that happens. “Really good popcorn, but is perfect popcorn really an impossible dream?” Bahamut muttered over his god sized bucket of popcorn. “It seems that way if you’re doing it without using godly powers.” I was doing it all the hard way with even growing my own corn, just creating it immediately out of nothing was boring and I liked the convoluted process of it all. -Cerebrum City, Upper Tier, on a nearby building outside the Psychic Prison Compound, Pom- We had a plan, from what was possibly the smartest turtle I’ll ever come to know… Snickers the Turtle Dove aside, chose the oddest person to bond with. The city was fairly quiet, mostly because of Gilgamesh at a guess, not that there was much to do here when martial law was apparently going on. All we had to do was enact the plan and not mess things up. “So is this really going to work Pom?” Dolly looked pensive for once and not as optimistic as she tends to be. “It’ll be fine Dolly, though we’ll have to see what they are doing in the compound before we can enact one of the plans we have.” There was the thing I thought was worrying, given it was Bentley who brought up the chance that those captured would be held in the mental realm and if that was the case, then we actively needed to recruit help from those who weren’t trapped in said realm for help. Basically whoever they haven’t been able to put to sleep or a Dark Type. “Ready to go?” Given our recent run in with Dark Types that live up to being ‘dark’ and set a trap up for us under dubious circumstances, it was a bit much to ask us to trust strangers to help us inside the compound if they are anything like those units of Yaksha Mandibuzz. There was a good thing and a bad thing about the current state of the prison compound, they had found the two Sigilyph and knocked out Wobbuffet in the storage area thus the increased security around the outside of the compound was going to be a moderate problem. The security within the compound however was much lower now and if we can get over the wall without being spotted, we had a clear shot to sneaking inside without raising too much of an alarm unless they specifically had a psychic detector. Getting out was going to be a large problem considering the number of Pokémon around the compound. We also couldn’t touch any psychic crystals lighting the area, not that trying to destroy them to darken things would help. The Sigilyph could target Shanty through the fog we had generated, then they could target us in the dark as well. “I, Favela, think we can do it.” How Favela was going to get over the wall was easy enough, Shanty climbed the wall between a patrol and Favela uses her vine to get up to Shanty near the top of the wall and would promptly fling herself over. Shanty would follow afterwards with the cane scythe to get her up and over the barbed wire at the top. Lit squeaked and waved a blue leg in something like a salute, he was ready. As for Dolly, Lit and me, we could easily just glide over the wall. “Okay, then let’s go.” I felt the comforting weight of Dolly on my back and Lit cuddling up to wool at the back of my head. I’m fairly glad that I knew Lit… as I certainly didn’t want an unknown bug type, spider or something unknown climbing around on my wool, especially not at the back of my head. -Five minutes later, Dolly- Pom slapped against the ground without a sound, her wool absorbing the impact, so the gliding didn’t go too well. We still made it over the fence without drawing attention. As did Favel and quickly followed by Shanty and we were now in the compounds courtyard. I’m fairly surprised this place didn’t have cameras… kind of reminds me of the time I rescued my slightly dim digging bro Diesel from being in the pound with Da Vinci, she did an awesome job with that spray can of hers in keeping our exit open. At least we now know it was related to Cruella somewhat, given the cat was Hunters… eh… we’ll go with ‘limited time companion’ in some respect before the cat ditched. If I were any other animal, I wouldn’t want to be around a De Ville for too long either. That Splatter woman with the paint was a bit more terrifying, Cruella was normal… ish… considering her age apparently didn’t stop her from coming at the Dalmatian family more than a good number of times. What with all the Bark Brigade stories on the subject as told by Spot the chicken. Looking about the yard, Pom motioned us forward as Favela and Shanty came over to us, we made our way for one of the compounds doors, we just had to get inside and start looking around. With a sniff I could smell several familiar scents, I did smell Ocellus somewhat… that smell was unmistakable to anyone with a strong nose. So right place, so which part of the compound were we entering, I didn’t like the fact that we were out in the open and the building material here seems strangely advanced compared to everywhere else in the city being simpler. Having grown up around technology unlike some people, I could tell something was up with this place as Pom looked at the complex locking mechanism on the door. “If we be needing a key I can…” Shanty started to say before Pom’s hoof encased in wool and stretched forward a bit, she slapped her hoof into the hole of the lock and with a swift twist of her hoof the door unlocked. “Or we could be doing that.” “Being a fluffmancer has some perks, yes.” Pom quietly opened the door a crack and looked inside into a entryway, I would know as I crawled up under her to poke my head in. “Dolly, Lit, do a little scouting ahead for us.” “On it.” I squeezed through the doorway as Shanty and Favela watched the surroundings, Lit was riding on me. I moved forward quietly on my paws into an open room with three ways out after passing through an area that looked like it could be locked off from the outside in case of an escape attempt. Not seeing anyone I sent a clear to come in to Pom mentally as I sniffed at the air and tried to track any of our friends. Smelled Ocellus again, didn’t smell the others for some reason… maybe carrying things in that mind energy stuff prevented scents from getting out. “It’s a bit too quiet outside, I’m a little bit worried we might be sneaking into a trap… thankfully Bentley planned for the occasion in case we are.” Pom muttered as she approached with Shanty and Favela, she too sniffed the air. “Oh great, Ocellus’s scent is here… but it’s everywhere. How are we supposed to track or find her if it’s going in all directions?” I sometimes wondered why Ocellus couldn’t do the whole body snatcher thing like in that one movie, but then I quickly remember that she couldn’t perfectly copy all of the abilities or memories of whatever she turns into. Like how Ocellus couldn’t become a fluffmancer because that’s a unique trait that Pom had, but Ocellus could still functionally make and manipulate wool. It just wouldn’t be the same as doing the actual fluffy stuff Pom could or anywhere nearly as fast. “Where it is the freshest of course.” However that was hard to tell here… we were in a reception area like a vets office. If you didn’t think one hundred and one Dalmatians, without a biped or animalistic to help, could set up vet visitation drop offs… then you didn’t know my family very well. Mother Delilah couldn’t exactly get or sneak out dog safe stuff at the hospital she works at, animal control tended to miss a lot of the stuff we have pulled off over the last two or so years. “A little help then?” Pom stated as she looked at the reception desk, no one was watching it and made her way over as I began sniffing the three ways out of here. These open spaces really were nerve wracking, considering all the line of sight or smell stuff going on with the mental monsters all around up in this city. -Shanty- We be watching the way we came, the entrance didn’t seem to have anyone coming in after us and the fact that the entrance area was mostly empty did not mean it was being safe. I be having two canteens full of water that eased my nerves a fair bit. The city be feeling ancient, but this place… it be feeling far too new. As in, made as soon as we arrived in this world kind of new. I not be having a dogs nose for things, but I do be having a good sense of smell as well… enough so that I can be tell when water is good enough to be drinking and how much rot fruit or other food might have as to be safe to eat. I just don’t be using it for other things as much like right now. I be trying to find the fresh scent compared to the older scents, Ocellus has been through here several times at least. What has she been up to? “Huh, we have several different areas of the compound for specific types of prisoners.” Pom was looking over something at the desk and I moved over to her. “One area to specifically hold Dark Types, one area to hold people who are vulnerable to being put into a deep sleep that will be trapped within the local mental realm and finally those who are immune to being trapped in the mental realm but aren’t Dark Types. Basically Dodo would be in that direction Shanty.” “Then isn’t that last section where we need to be going?” I could be feeling Dodo in a particular direction still, he felt okay, but he was fairly sad… and eating the walls. Apparently they were tasty and full of metals Dodo appreciated, plus he be working on freeing himself, not that any of the guards were patrolling around where he was to be really paying him any mind. “Dodo doesn’t be having many guards around him, he be seeing maybe a few Wobble Wardens. Also he might be chewing his way out.” “Tell Dodo to keep it up then, but we need to go after the Dark Types first. They’ll cause all kinds of problems for the Psychic Types if we can set them loose. She’s obviously free and running around here somewhere if we can smell her and not the others so we can let her find us.” Pom apparently be having a map of the place now and we be going over it, why was this being in reception? Maps are very valuable things and this was just being here? “Apparently, the Dark Types are under the maximum security… everything and the kitchen sink. Those trapped asleep in the mental realm are barely guarded since they can’t really do much to escape and for those who are immune to mental realm tend to be watched a quarter as much or even less than the Dark Types are.” “I be betting a lot of Pokémon be stuck in the mental realm prison then.” There is likely not being nearly as many immune to being trapped in the mental realm as we might be liking. “If we can break the maximum confinement area, then taking the others should be more of a cakewalk if the Dark Types back us up. Waking up the Pokémon that are trapped within a mental realm is going to be a problem.” It seems like Favela be coming around with Pom, given she was less fearful of her right now. “Even if most of our friends were in that area of the prison, we wouldn’t be able to help them even if we could reach them easily without a fight.” “Which is why we’re targeting the Dark Types side of the prison first, maybe they can…” Pom be trailing off and her ears be twitching and both she and Dolly looked in a given direction. “We got an incoming patrol, not Sigilyph at least…. sounds like… one being, small weight, walking on two legs?” The sound of tapping feet walked in from the direction of the right, from what the map showed the guard or otherwise was coming from the cell block with Pokémon or others that couldn’t be forcefully put in the mental realm. “Very astute and quite an acute sense of hearing, I thought I detected trouble entering my compound. I am a Meowstic, evolved form of Espurr. I was a gray furred feline before my fur turned mostly blue and I have gained increased power in the biological psychic amplifications under my ears. I am the warden of this facility and I won’t be needing help from those imbeciles outside that let you get this far.” The white haired feline with the blue fur and ears that be clamped down adjusted his glasses as he looked at us. “You are not nearly enough for the likes of me.” “I’ve…” I started to say before he be quite rudely cutting me off. “‘Been hearing that before’, yes you have and that is what you were going to say, but I am specifically a Psychic Type that has a fairly prominent detection range and some skill in dealing with Dark Types. Though I may be weak to Dark Type attacks, I believe in being faster on the draw.” He doesn’t be. “‘Looking so tough’, of course I don’t and I do read minds, I am after all a small Pokémon of the psychic powered variety. Like the Morpeko you brought with you, size does not indicate skill or capability, but in some cases brute force can override quite a lot. If you wish to get by me to rescue your friends, then the four of you need to act quickly. Times a wasting. It’s my time, that all of you specifically, are wasting here so please do hurry up and attack me so we can get on with things or do you want to play twenty questions?” Wait… ah… I not be thinking anything about it then, could be going for a drink of rum right about now. “Can I know one thing, why would you be working for Gilgamesh personally?” Asked Pom quickly. “Why indeed, given I know what he plans to do, how he plans to go about doing it and more, I must say… he’s probably quite mad. He is still the king of this region though. While the previous king was rather beloved, he’s not around anymore and I find it is rather pragmatic to be working for him. Gilgamesh is still a legendary level threat and hard to say no to when he can be so convincing.” Adjusting his glasses, Meowstic slowly be sliding his gaze over all of us. “Exploding bomb seeds, a thrown bone, flying slash buck and hmmm… you’re ability to react to any situation is quite curious, but not impossible to predict as you’ll move as the others act. I can see why Gilgamesh has designated you as one of the heroes he wants to come after him as much as the old regime assassin known Kenshin of the Ralts line in particular, you work well with others and are talented combatant white wooly one. Though I’m quite curious about some of the things I’ve heard of you. You’ll be the last one to attack me given you’re a kind person, like Kenshin and his rebels, where Gilgamesh has approved of the use of the more vicious among us psychic types as his foot soldiers. The Hypno in particular are brutes… but their leader seemed too psychologically scarred to fight anymore, I believe that would be your doing hmmm? All of that aside, none of you will last five minutes against me.” The blue bipedal cat eyes were lazy looking, but I be holding myself back from attacking. It is being a gut feeling or a hunch, but I also looked to Pom who didn’t seem to paying attention to him, but the area around him. “If we defeat you, what happens to the Pokémon trapped in the mental realm?” Pom’s question brought a smile to Meowstics face. “They’ll still be stuck in there, the mental realm is self-sustaining and doesn’t require my input. It’ll hold long enough for the guards outside the compound to deal with you, not to mention the guards inside the compound if you could deal with me, which would be a fairly large problem for you now wouldn’t it?” The glasses wearing guy just put his arms behind his back and continued to stare us down. “Also I appreciate you being upset about the idea of having to hit a guy with glasses, but don’t hold back on my account. You do need to defeat me or I will capture all of you if you choose not to attack me first, you are infiltrating the prison with the entirely premeditated idea that you will break all the Pokémon out of said prison. As the warden, I do find this to be… an unpleasant idea.” Pom suddenly exhaled and in a blink her hoof stopped an inch from the small bipedal cats face, his eyes were slightly wide and his ears were now straight up revealing eye like markings within them. “Hm… you almost caught me off guard there, bravo to you for coming so close.” Meowstic said with a lazy lilt and didn’t even be blinking at the fact that he be taking Pom’s hoof to the face. Pom immediately slammed into the ceiling and was pressured there against the tiles, where she was splayed out flat and gritting her teeth while being under an immense pressure of this guy’s energy. I could be hearing her bones creak. While he be doing that I be darting forward and launching a flying slash buck for Meowstic, he be catching me in his power and I fired off a Riptide which made him dodge to his right as he be slamming me into the right wall. The Riptide be splashing harmlessly against the floor I be feeling my bones creak and my flesh be squished inward now too. “Didn’t expect the water blast to come with that attack, anymore wonderful surprises?” Meowstic said lazily with a broad grin as Dolly came at him on her skateboard, she launched at him and the skateboard became wrapped in energy and Dolly hopped off of it to try and bring her bone down on him. Dolly growled a bit when the bone became wrapped in energy and was equally held in place. She let go of that and tried to fire off an aero, but was silenced by some energy wrapping around her muzzle and she was force onto the ground on her back with crushing force, making her yelp and start to slowly turn blue as Meowstic held her throat. “Why yes, my mother was indeed quite rotund spotted canid of interesting thoughts… my how inventive a mind you have there. I seriously doubt you can accomplish that in your current position. You’re not as durable as the others, frankly it’s a wonder you’ve survived this long in a city of Psychics and I’m not nearly stupid enough to try and touch the bond between you and the wooly one. I know how injured Gilgamesh became when he did that.” He be glancing at Favela who is giving him an equally lazy look. “So you are a failure as a hero when you possibly tried to stop and couldn’t be standing up to Gilgamesh, which is why you are here working for him. You were not being strong enough to protect this kingdom from the guy that usurped the position of the throne and now you are nothing more than one of his lowly lackeys for all of your supposed power.” As Favela said this she be stalking forward with a Swagger, because she would be using that move to throw our opponent off. “You can take all four of us down, but you must know Gilgamesh won’t need you after he gets what he wants.” “Yes, well, nice attempt at using Swagger on me, but I intend to survive Gilgamesh when he does have no more use for me.” Meowstic said lazily, but I be noticing a twitch in one of his ears and the strength of the energy holding me to wall flickered a bit, before he be regaining his focus to keep putting pressure on me. Making me grunt as he tried to crush me against the wall. “So you’re a coward who likes to play at being strong when it’s convenient for you. I don’t believe you are strong as you think you are.” After Favela be calling him out on it, there was a flash of pain through my body as Meowstic be looking quite irritated. He eventually be getting his nerves together… barely. Favela be really getting to him and I notice Dolly and Pom were struggling as much as I was to break free and attack Meowstic. He was struggling to hold all of us at once. “ “If you know what Gilgamesh can do, then why don’t you gather people who will help you stop him?” Favela fired off several seed bombs at Meowstic, he tried to redirect them into us, only for them to explode prematurely before they could hurt us. “Does you’re lost pride matter so much, that you think if you can’t beat him alone then what chance do multiple Pokémon or outsiders be having against him?” Favela lashed out with two Vine Whips only to have them deflected off a wall of psychic energy. “Whether or not my pride is damaged and I did fight Gilgamesh to my loss as you are only baselessly assuming, I’m still the warden of this prison and you’re currently trespassing.” Meowstic be slamming Favela into the wall opposite of me. However she be distracting him long enough that we be winning this. “Now if you’ll be quiet and nice prisoners, I will put you to sleep and at least endeavor to make sure your dreams will be pleasant before you all perish and… AGHHHHH?!” A flare of lightning energy coursed through Meowstic and it look to be causing him quite an immense amounts of pain and he almost be losing his grip on us. I remember when Meowstic be saying the four of us, none of us be correcting him or thinking of correcting him. So he be missing the fact that there were five of us. Lit is be getting really quite good at stealth, he is being quite terrifying at it at times. “Wa-Wha… no…” Meowstic finally be feeling the little yellow fuzzy blob that be grappling onto his back while hanging loosely by a silk string that be coming all the way from the ceiling. He flopped forward onto his face, he tried to sit up and was lifting an ear before he is being electrocuted harshly a second time. He tried to struggle and shake off Lit, but it was already being too late for him. “AGGGhhhhhh…” We almost be let loose and he tried to keep his power on us, his right ear be flicking up and he be taking a third painful shocking from Lit. Lit continued to fry him until his fur was smoking and blackening under the force of his lightning energy. “D-d-darn… it… accursed… Bug Types…. ugh…” Meowstic flopped onto his face and was out cold having been burnt black by Lit, a second later I be dropping to the floor, along with Pom and Favela. Dolly be gasping for air and sitting up while clutching at her throat with her paws with a terrified wide eyed look. “I think he’s had enough Lit, guy smells like Ozone now. Okay, we need to detain him as he’s now our hostage…” Pom be okay with taking a hostage? Well yeah, that be sounding fair, since he was going to be doing the same to us. It just be a little odd, if needed. “This is just like Bentley predicted it would, haughty powerful warden and all, so freeing the Dark Types is definitely our focus here… how’s Dodo escape attempt going?” It be going pretty well, but he not really be trying to escape, he is just being hungry and eating the metal off the walls there. “Fairly well…” I said with a nervous smile. “He’s free, but he’s still eating the walls isn’t he? Does he have the same insatiable hunger you do Shanty?” Seeing the flinch just affirmed it for Pom, she sighed at me and rubbed her forehead with her left hoof. “Look, just remind Dodo that he needs to get moving once he’s done. Lit, tie up Meowstic. Also… I don’t think I need to say this, but just in case, please don’t eat him Lit.” Lit squeaked and saluted us as he be wrapping the Meowstic tightly with a little too much enthusiasm, he be focusing a lot on its tying down his ears. Dolly barked several times and had a wagging tail as she pointed down one of the compounds pathways and Pom pulled out the map of the compound she got from the reception desk. “Meowstic still wasn’t wrong, he dealt with us for five minutes, how unfortunate for him. Okay, so we know which way Ocellus went now, we’ll have to figure out how to help her after we’re done freeing up the Dark Types.” Since that was being a major part of our plan Pom, even if you be having reservations about it. “There are still likely more guards inside, we need to break through to the Dark Types if we’re to get out of here. Who’s staying with Lit to watch Meowstic and who’s going with me to attack the Dark Type cell block?” “Look we know Lit is predatory and an ambush and swarm specialist as far as Pokémon go… okay, yeah, quite fair.” It didn’t be taking long for Favela to agree with Pom there. “We need someone to watch him so he doesn’t wander off or starts nibbling at Meowstic because he tried to choke the life out of Dolly.” Dolly barked as she picked up her bone and skated over to Lit and hefted Meowstic up and started to drag him behind the reception desk. “Dolly and Lit will watch him, Dolly will be our early warning if any guards come in from outside to check within the compound building. Shanty, Favela, let’s move!” Pom motioned to us with her right hoof and we started forward and be going down the left turn towards the Dark Type cell block. “Bentley’s Operation: It Is Dark Out is a go!” I quickly be following after Pom with Favela at my side, this is being an exciting prison break already. How much of Bentley’s plan would we be carrying out exactly? From what I know, Bentley’s plans tend to go mostly right if given enough information to work with, hopefully we be giving him plenty for this to be working. -Pom- “Trouble up ahead…. and it’s quite familiar to us.” I came to a stop and saw the guards that looked familiar watching the outer door of the Dark Type prison area. It was even understandable why they were the guards here. “Think we can take these Golducks on?” An entire units worth of Golducks noticed us and were already forming up. They were Water Types with psychic abilities, we’ve had some problems with Golducks before so we at least know what they are capable of and these guys thankfully weren’t armed with spears and or weapons. Most psychic types tend to rely on their mental prowess in combat, but they could levitate weapons around if they wanted to. Saw enough of those from Gilgamesh. “I believe we can be doing it.” It wasn’t a second later that Shanty was dodging a beam of energy and deflecting another upwards with a quick slash of her weapon. I focused while moving forward and leapt between the walls, ceiling and floor as I quickly approached them, all while attempting to draw most of their attention on me in the hopes of focusing their attacks away from Favela. Said Bush goat was started setting up for a Seed Bomb barrage. Shanty was adding to the distraction as she followed me in and took up as much attention off of Favela as she deflected or dispersed the energy attacks with precise cutting arcs as we closed in. Launching from the right wall to the floor, and shifting my wool to have less friction, I slid under a volley of psychic attacks as seeds shot overhead and buffeted the Golducks with very effective explosions. I came up from my slide with my right hind leg raising up and bucking a Golduck up under their chin causing them to stumble, I twisted to the left and rose up with a right hoof hook to stagger another psychic duck as Shanty slashed at the two on the left. I swung out a straight with my left hoof causing a third Golduck to backpedal out of the way. This is when I moved to the right side as Favela’s seed bombs blasted into the Golducks between me and Shanty taking down four of them in short order. I quickly clotheslined one of the remaining ones with a lariat with my left leg and then promptly slammed the back of their head into the floor like Arizona doing a Rope-A-Dope Slam. These guys weren’t nearly as tough as the ones from Fontaine’s Dutiful Ducks Battallion. Shanty leapt up and slammed the shaft of her weapon into the throat of the last one standing with both hooves and while they were choking from the blow, Shanty hooked their right webbed leg out from under them and then spun her weapon to slap the butt of her staff across the their face. I knocked out the dazed Golduck with a quick stomp to the skull with my right hoof and then immediately checked to make sure they were breathing okay. “Okay, let’s keep going.” These Dark Types were heavily guarded right, then why did it seem like they weren’t so far? We passed through a door and took a winding hallway into the cell block where the Dark Types were kept… and came to an immediate halt at the doorway. Okay, so they were very well guarded. We stopped at the sides of the doorway into the Dark Type prison complex where we saw numerous Jynx, Wobbuffet, Woobats, what looked like the evolution of Woobats and even a Sigilyph or two patrolling the cell block and keeping a countless amount of Dark Types in their cells. At least fifteen units worth of Pokémon were here, if not a solid hundred crammed into this prison section. They definitely did not take Dark Types lightly. The cells themselves were crossed bars on doors and it didn’t look like the Psychics wanted them to ever get free, given said doors were made with thick metal. Quetal should be in there somewhere. The three of us had slow sweat drops forming on the sides of our heads, thankfully none of the Wobble Wardens were close enough to pin us down with Shadow Tag or the Woobats had yet to sniff us out, but this was a ridiculous number of Pokémon just for the three of us. “Do we continue plan A or go with contingency B?” I muttered as they hadn’t noticed us yet, but they had to have heard some of the ruckus we caused with. It was only a matter of time before someone came to check on the Golduck unit we just took down with Favela being the hero of that small fight. Plan A was we continued to free as many Dark Types as we could before we were stopped, basically cause a prison riot and try to get help from them. Contingency B was to try to quietly go back and try to figure out a way to get more help from a different prison block. This was a bit too much for us… especially after the warden almost crunched my bones on his own. If his guards were even half as competent as he was, then we had to worry about how to do this moving forward. “Hey, at least let me be trying to sneak around and free a few.” Shanty stated with very little sense of fear. “Well… okay, just be careful and hurry. We don’t know when the guards are going to start coming to check the entrance, if you get into trouble we’ll cause a commotion.” After I finished whispering this to Shanty, Favela and I stayed posted at the doorway as Shanty quietly slipped into the cell block. The water goat climbed up to the ceiling using the wall by the door and was soon moving along the ceiling looking for an opportunity of some kind to get at one of the cells. Dolly gave me the ‘all-clear’ when I checked in with her, so the entrance hasn’t been checked yet by any of the guards outside the compound and there were already plenty in here from what we were seeing. Lit seemed to have gotten a little vindictive in the way he had cocooned up Meowstic from what Dolly was seeing. -Top Tier, Cotton- It was a bright, shiny, day this high up in the sky and I was following the Ponyta Prowlers around to keep an eye on them. The top of Cerebrum was covered in grass, trees and a small lake or two that usually spilled water off the side when it rained. No buildings whatsoever, which was a little odd, but it’s where the portal to the Castle of Illusion was and gaining access to that was not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Given the Ponyta Prowlers saw a veritable horde of Psychic Types guarding the gateway to it. One would have a better time accessing the portal from ground that leads up to Cerebrum and vice versa. “Gyeh-heh-heh~! Hoo-wee things are about to come to a head around here, if the rebels haven’t started lighting things up inside the city already.” I grinned and flew off to see what the rebels were currently doing. Team Harmony is probably working the prison compound to rescue their own and then I’ll eventually have a chance to access the Castle of Illusion. The Mandibuzz were dealt with, so I have to make some other movements and swiftly. To slow either the Rebels or Team Harmony down, the Ponyta Prowlers can wait if Lumber Spry acts the way I think she’s going to with the knowledge I gave her.