//------------------------------// // Twenty Seventh Move // Story: A New World - A New Game // by V-Oblivion //------------------------------// Twenty Seventh Move Back to LP Las Pegasus Downtown The day had a bright and clear sky which graced all of the surface with the gift of Celestia’s sunlight while the lives of the Ponies and Pokemon in the city filled the air with cheer, joy and enthusiasm. In other words, the mercenaries couldn’t have a worse day to be outside while suffering from a hangover. “Why is the sun so bright!?” “There is so much noise!” “Can we turn back?” Where the complains most of the Checkmates made as they looked for the pizzeria Vincent and co. had been talking about. Needless to say, not all of them were too eager to go. “It's not that bad,” commented Weiss as he took a deep breath. “It's good to have a change of air.” “Say the one who was turning green,” replied Daring, who kept her long brimmed hat close to her face. “Okay, I find the odor of mates to be utterly disgusting,” admitted the once-human. “Is it that bad for me to run away from it?” “Lucky you who can run away of your pain,” said Simon as he used his own claws to block the sunlight. “How come you end up this bad?” asked Gold, who seemed to be over his own hangover at this point. “I mean, aren’t you a Steel-type like them?” He pointed at Weiss and Char. “He is mostly metallic on his claws and bones and a little on his skin,” commented Valerie from slightly above them. “Unlike Bisharp, Scizor and Metagross who are all fully metallic.” “So das means…?” inquired Roa. “It means we can still get hammered, albeit not as easily as regular folks,” said Simon with a boasting tone, only for him to regret it right after as his own words echoed on his brain like church bells. “All you guys need is some food to restart your systems,” said Weiss as they arrived the pizzeria. “So lets hurry and eat so we can get over this.” The food was well-received by the team’s livers. Not to mention they all had to prise the owner, a Griffin named Frederic, for the wonderful pizza he give them, not to mention the slight discount they were given mentioning Vincent. Once their meal was done, and their heads didn’t throb on their skulls, the group proceeded to properly plan what to do next. “We are out of clues, that Unicorn guy got away from us on the temple, and we are still ignorant of what this villain of yours wants to do… I say we are pretty much right back where we started,” Xavier calmly pointed out. He only had a few slices and thus didn't have a proper meal for his size. “That is an understatement…” replied Daring even a bit more tired as the owner had tried to hit on her a couple of times. “In all honesty, he does have a good approach,” pointed Rouge out as, even when not as direct as with Daring, she had received a few compliments as well. “He could have been a total mule…” added Valery, only to turn to the next table. “No offence.” “None taken,” calmly said a mule while enjoying his pizza. “But I am sure he could have used some piropos,” finished Pancha. “The point is!” changed Daring the topic, “that we need to decide where to go now. Any suggestions?” “I guess we could go and ask around about this Ray guy,” proposed Edge who also ate little, but unlike Xavier, she had a more filled stomach thanks to the free fruit snacks which came with the food. “This kind of city must have a den for characters such as him after all.” “But we can’t all go,” noticed Weiss as he looked at his numerous group. He couldn’t help but think about how many have he had found, but he still felt worried for those still out there. With a short sigh, he returned to his line of thought. “I think you should take Greninja and Gold with you,” he proposed to Daring. “I can really make use of Froggy here,” she amicably said to the silent ninja who seemed surprised about the nickname, albeit it lasted only a millisecond. “But why would I need Mr. Duckface here?” “HEY!” “He IS a spy of sorts, I presume he can help you identify where and who to ask for this kind of info.” He then proceeded to give a read to the newspaper he had taken from the Nurems and added. “And some cannon fodder is always okay.” “Come on!” “May Ich go as well,” inquired Roa as she finished licking the sauce from her last slice with joy. “I am sure I can be of some help for Fraülein Do and Her ninja as well.” Gold simply remained quiet and depressed in his corner of the restaurant while eating the remaining crusts. “It seems we are all set then," Weiss said pleased. “Wait!” interrupted Daring. “What about you bunch? not that I like to jinx it, but every time I leave you all alone I get an unpleasant surprise.” “Don’t worry, we have Xavier to keep us all linked, if something were to happen we will contact you right away,” said Weiss with the same calm demeanor, a demeanor which did nothing to calm Daring. “We have been warned about this city’s police so I guess we should play ‘by the rules’ for now,” added Char from his end. “Not to mention that we don’t want to give little Vince a bad reputation by making him have to help us out of some sort of mess.” “Our biggest compliment and respect to someone is to stay the hell away from them,” said Simon with his shout of a voice. With regret, Daring finally agreed. “Fine… but don’t do anything dangerous and stupid without telling me, understood!?” As she said this, the disguised explorer picked up her things and left the Pizzeria with other three Pokemon in tow. A few moments latter, Weiss quickly stood up and paid their bill, which had a couple of zeroes, and hurried everyone to leave. “Get set you all, we are going on an adventure!” he proclaimed. “So you noticed it as well,” said Char with a grin, as he too had been reading the same newspaper. “It was hard to miss actually,” admitted Weiss as the group left the place. “Wait, where are we going?” asked Sylveon with confusion while the rest of the mercenaries shared an enthusiastic grin. “We have a friend to catch up with,” explained Char while Weiss shown him the newspaper, a page from the advertising section to be precise. “... Oh,” said Sylveon. “Should we tell miss Do about this?” Valerie added while Surskit read the page over her wing. “Relax, everything will go alright,” said Weiss with a slightly arrogant tone. “Besides, we aren’t doing anything dangerous.” “So this is just something stupid then?” inquired the young Bug-type as she joined two and two together. “She said ‘and’!” Weiss quickly pointed out with the same tone. “Loophole!” “I have a bad feeling about this…” was all Valerie said as she give the paper another look. On it said: Gran Equestria Traveling Wrestling Tournament! Come and show what you have and win great prizes. At the same time and a few blocks away, a certain yellow mare made an astounding conclusion on her own as well. “DOES THAT MEAN I AM NOT RESPECTED HERE!?” she shouted. It only took a few minutes for the mercenaries to find the place they were looking for, the Grand Metro Trotting Mayer Hotel, more accurately its grand auditorium, reserved for prime events such as euphoric concerts, refined symphonies or, in this case, a series of thrilling matches. As tonight's main event was none other that the famous “Missing Tooth’s Traveling Tour,” a starting point for anyone wanting to make a name out of their bucking or lose a few teeth in the process. As expected of said event, the line of participants was rather large. About two times the Hotel’s perimeter. At the mere sight of the amount of Equsslings, and some Pokemon, waiting for their turn under the blinding sun, the group stop to look at their determination and resolution. “They do know we have a thirty or more degree heat, right?” inquired Surskit atop Valerie’s head. “And still they don’t give up on their dream to have a good fight, definitely my kind of bunch!” Proclaimed Simon with a smile. “But still, how are you going to manage to get into the tournament and finish before our train departs?” Inquire now Valerie herself. “I may not be as smart as mister Xavier, but even I know that is pretty impossible with this many competitors.” “Tournament?” asked the mentioned mercs in unison and confusion. “Aren’t you here to gain a quick buck then?” asked Sylveon a bit lost. “Bits,” correct Surskit. “That.” “Din’t you saw the foto?” asked Pancha in the same confusion. The trio took out the newspaper again and gave it a second look, yet they learned nothing new besides what they had read before. “Oh, that is right,” said Char as he noticed what the others couldn't possibly have known. “You guys aren’t one of us, but with us.” With that said, the Red Comet pointed at a picture beside the challenging propaganda, where a dinosaur-like Pokemon stood roaring next to a text saying “Pokemon’s challenges are welcome!” However, this kind act didn’t shed any new light on the current confusion. With a sigh, Char continued explaining. “This gentleman here is a friend of ours,” he said. One could ‘hear’ the gears turning in the Gym Pokemon as they finally understood what they were truly after. “Oh!” they all said. “Exactly,” said Char with a smile. “But how are you sure he is one of your friends?” asked Valerie as she gave the page another look. “No offence, but this picture isn’t that clear. He could be any other Pokemon.” “Your concern is well placed,” commented Xavier without looking away from the crowd, or rather the building they were surrounding. “But fear not, I can sense it clearly, one of our comrades is in there.” “Oh right, you guys have that trick,” said Sylveon, only to find something else to ask right after. “But wait; how do you exactly do that again?” “Is quite simple really,” said Edge. “All Xavier has to do is…” continued Rouge, but she stopped once a certain Bisharp returned from the crowd. “So you wern’t able to get in?” “Actually, all I had to do was say I was a friend of his and ask if we could go and see him… they said ok,” replied Weiss calmly, albeit a bit disappointed as he didn’t have to sneak around this time. “Neat!” proclaimed Simon as they began walking after their leader. “So you all friends of the champ’?” asked an Earth Pony guard as he guided the Pokemon around the expensive looking hotel. “Yup,” answered Rouge kindly. “We are like family.” “We are blood!” Pancha with a chirp. The Pony chuckled as he continued. “Welp, I am sure he will be glad to met’ ya all again after this whole transdimensional mumble jumble.” And then, the group reached their destinated suit. The Pony simply gave a “We’ here,” and then knocked at the door. “Hey champ!” the Pony proclaimed as he and the rest entered. “I have a surprise for you!” “Not now Stomp…” replied a tired sounding yet ‘vibrating’ voice. “I am meditating…” What would anyone expect to see from a friend who had been lost for some time? To be worried? Sad or even depressed? That would be normal. Yet Checkmate was anything BUT normal. As the group walked in, they noticed a few things, first how large and fancy the room was. Big enough for Edge to spread her wings wide without a problem, this was the Royal suit after all. Then they noticed the large amount of pampering things on it, from a fountain of chocolate fondue to a small collection of robes of many colors and fabrics, there was even a whole team of masseurs properly working as well. Which bring us to the final thing they noticed and what they were after. Right on the middle of the room lied a large creature receiving numerous stomps by the many massagers at his disposal, the roughness needed to relax his muscles being the reason behind his odd sounding voice of a moment ago. “Yeah, I can see you are very into introspection now,” said Simon with a mocking tone. As soon as he said this, half the massager team was knocked up as a large dinosaur like creature with yellow plating for skin and two axes for cheeks looked at him, his face showing disbelief at first, yet as soon as the evidence before him proved him wrong, he dashed towards the group and gave the small ones a general and big hug. Save of course Valery, her husband, Surskit and Weiss. The later, however, seemed to be expecting to be part of the group hug, as his empty open arms suggested. “I've missing you guys so much!” said the Haxorus as he finally let his friends back on the ground. “And we sure missed you big guy!” said Pancha, still hugging one of her lost friends. “It's good to see you in good shape Chopper,” said Char calmly as he fixed a few parts of his shell, as it had been moved by the monumental show of affection of a second ago. Not that he minded though. “Is sure good to see you too sir,” the mentioned Chopper said with a respectful tone. “Is that so?” asked Edge with sarcasm as she looked around the room and joked. “I am sure you were so lonely without us.” “A-a lot of things happened, okay?!” the young Dragon-type quickly ‘explained.’ “Is not like I am forgetting of you all or anything…” “Really?” asked Simon with a serious tone which made Chopper lose a few shades of tone. “And you decided to wait for us to appear while surrounded of all this luxury, I am sure you suffered a lot…” In an instant, the Dragon-type was crouching before the Subterrene Pokemon in an apologizing manner. “I am sorry of having fall victim of these soulless pampering master!” he exclaimed. “You fool!” Replied Simon with a shout of his own. “There is nothing wrong with enjoying life while it lasts!” said the Excadrill as he laid down between the massagist team, who were currently working on him. “But you really went and enjoyed this without your honorable master, how shameful of you!” he proclaimed again while munching a bunch of grapes. “I am so sorry master!” Chopper apologized again at the verge of tears while Simon enjoyed the pampering. “M-master?” asked Sylveon with curiosity. “Chopper is Simon’s apprentice,” calmly explained Xavier as he also took as much food as he could. “I can somehow see the likeness,” Said Sylveon with a chuckle as he saw the Dragon-type’s manly tears. “There is no greater honor than to be trained by the strongest Pokemon in the world!” proclaimed Chopper in addition to some remaining tears in his eyes. “But still…” he said as he turned to see at the newcomers and asked. “Who are they?” Of course, Weiss had been included. Before the Haxorus could say something else, a dagger flew and stab him between the eyes, the Dragon-type, however, didn’t seem to feel a thing as the tick scales keep the edge at bay. “RECOGNISE ME NOW!?” asked the Bisharp. Chopper stood still for a moment before finally linking the voice and the dagger together. “... No way!” he exclaimed as he picked the Bisharp up as if were a rag doll. “Is this you boss? You make it here?” “What the hell do you mean by that!?” asked back Weiss as he ‘gently’ took his dagger back. “And of course it's me, who else would I be? And could you please put me down!?” “Excuse my surprise boss,” apologized Chopper as he inspected his leader like a toy, “but I still can’t believe you of all humans made it here.” An interesting thing about most Dragon-types is their uncanny resistances, either by their sturdy scales or their draconic auras, they are immune to almost anything. Save perhaps some delicate spots, like their eyes, as Valerie, Surskit and Sylveon quickly noticed once Weiss punched his comrade right on one. With an annoyed ‘Ouch!’ from both sides, the once-human landed as delicately as a 150 pound creature could. After a quick dust off, Weiss smiled and looked at his friend rubbing his eye. “It's good to see you are okay Chop,” he admitted with a friendly voice. “Yeah, you could say I was lucky though,” said Chopper as he blinked a few times. “I arrived at some small town in this world. Needless to say I wasn’t well received there.” “Tell me about it,” added Edge as she, and most of the team, was currently taking advantage of the small buffet. “I must admit it’s hard to believe that when we found you in a room like this,” said Char who preferred to assault the minibar. “It was pretty rough at first, trust me on that,” continued Chopper as he made himself comfortable on his minotaur-sized couch. “I had to fend for myself a couple of times. Even with a small frame like mine, I am not exactly hard to miss among all these ponies.” “Small?” asked Surskit in disbelieve. “Now that you mention it…” cut in Valerie as well as she gave Chopper a cautious look, the Haxorus took the chance to make a dashing pose while at it. “You seem a bit smaller than those of your kind.” “That is because I am,” cheerfully replied Chopper. “But what I lack in height, I make for in awesomeness!” And again, the mercenary group shared a loud laugh. “Forgive us for the late introductions,” said Rouge as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “We usually don’t worry about these kind of stuff, Valerie, Surskit, Sylveon, this here is one of our stronger and stranger comrades: Chopper of King.” The mentioned Dragon-type gave a sheepish smile as a greeting. “Chopper,” Rouge continued. “These here are Valerie, Gym Leader from Laverre City, her husband Sylveon and Surskit, also a Gym Pokemon from Kalos.” “I am Viola’s partner!” cheerfully said the small Bug-type. “An honor to make your acquaintance Ladies, Sir,” Chopper politely replied, and then proceeded, “and yeah, my days were filled with fights and escapes. Not much different from our time back home so I didn't mind.” “But then how did you end…” asked Pancha while pointing at the room. “Aqui?” “You must thank coach Missing Tooth for that. I sure am,” answered Chopper. “One day, while running around, I came to save this old Pony from some street thugs looking for a quick Bit. I made a quick job out of some of them, no surprise there, the surprise was said old Pony who did the same just fine. He looked at me with squinted eyes and said: ‘You ain’t bad son. Want to join my crew?’ I said ‘yes,’ and the rest is history.” “I am going to presume this Missing Tooth is somepony important then,” said Char as he gave the room another look. “As far I know, he is a legendary trainer in this world, roaming the land and looking for the next big champion. And let me tell you, he is good on his job. I mean, he didn’t show me nothing new on the punching department but good Arceus! does he knows how to manage people. First thing he did was look for some Unicorn to cast a translation spell on me.” “I ain’t going to go and make publicity for some mute bastard,” added a beery voice as a white, old Earth Pony walked in. The stallion wore a grey hoodie and a black skullcap, a pair of boxing gloves donning his rusty flank as he give a skinted look to all the Pokemon in the room. “So, these are your friends then?” “Yes sir,” Chopper replied politely yet happily. “They sure look the part,” said Tooth with little conviction. “Sep for those two…” He pointed at Char and Simon. “It would be pointless to have them in the ring, fights would end too quickly.” “I like this guy,” admitted Simon while Char simply chuckled. “I thank you for taking care of my dumb pupil until now,” the Excadrill added while offering one of his claws. “Just helping somepony to make a name for himself,” calmly said Tooth as he took the gigantic claw with his hoof without a trace of hesitation. “He seems tough and well seasoned,” said Weiss on his end, “definitely a nice guy.” Xavier made a ‘hum’ noise beside him and then added, “if so, then why didn’t he included me on his last statement?” “Because you clearly look like a bookworm type!” said Tooth right away. After a moment of silence, the tactician said “I prefer the term well read.” And a third laugh filled the room. “Well, it's good to see you in good shape and all Chop, but I have to ask: what will you do now?” asked Weiss calmly, albeit a bit afraid on the inside. “Will you prefer to stay with mister Tooth?” The Axe Jaw Pokemon gave his leader a confused look and then replied, “what are you talking about boss? Of course I will be going with you.” Weiss on his end didn’t knew if he should be relieved or confused. “What about your fame here?” he asked, not fully believing he was asking if one of his crew wanted to stay. “Aren't you happy here.” “This is a comfortable life,” admitted Chopper, “but I am not an indoors Pokemon.” The Dragon-type then cracked his knuckles and added. “I am here to kick butt and chew berries, and right now I am all out of berries.” “You sure? Because these here looks like citrus,” cut in Pancha while picking some fruits from a basket. Weiss, and everyone, smiled at the scene, but then turned to the old Pony. “Is this okay with you? Because we have to leave today.” “Kid, I know when I have an opponent I can’t fight before me,” replied Tooth with little care, “and right now, I am in a room filled with them, if he says he wants to go with you, I am nopony to say no.” “You are the best coach someone could ever ask for!” Chopper said as more manly tears come from his eyes. “Quit your tearing, it freaks me out,” admitted the Pony with a matching tone. “Besides, this whole tour was for you to find your family after all, and it worked out just nicely. However…” At this point, the Pony walked towards the window and open it slightly, showing the large amount of participants waiting outside. “I want to let you go kid, I truly do,” said the old manager with a tired tone as he turned back to the Pokemon. “But I’m afraid I can’t let you without giving this city the show it payed for.” “Okay… that is confuso.” Said Pancha with a matching tone. “So are you letting him go or not?” “I will let him go, but I would like to ask for a little favor in return,” said Tooth. “As long as I can help sir, I am all ears,” solemnly and exited said Chopper. “Would you go and fight all of those challengers?” said the coach as if was nothing. As a comprehensive individual and respected Gym Leader, Valerie couldn’t see any fairness in the deal as she made herself clear, “that seems a bit too extreme don’t you-” “Okay,” was Chopper’s immediate reply. “Fine, I will arrange things right away!” cheerfully added Tooth, much to the responsible Fairy’s disbelieve. “But… that… huh?” she sputtered politely. “How is that even fair!?” asked Sylveon beside her. “I know right, it's really unbelievable,” continued Chopper with the same serious tone, “those poor guys will have their dreams crushed just like that.” “After what we have seen these guys do, I am not surprised anymore,” added Surskit with a tired tone. “The ones who can properly give you a fight, or last long enough, will have my patronage,” explained Tooth with the same beery tone of before. “I don’t see the problem of this.” “I, for once, see a problem,” Xavier cut in, “we know the outcome of this challenge already, but I am afraid we have time against us.” “So you are saying that…?” Weiss then asked. “That if we wait here for this to end, we will lose the train,” explained Char. “Oh, that is bad.” “Indeed,” said Xavier. “We seem to be at an impasse then,” cursed Tooth. “How are we supposed to find a proper solution?” “I may have an idea,” Simon suggested. Around thirty minutes later, the doors of the grand hotel opened for the event to commence. As the challengers walked into the lobby, they were received by a gentle pair of aides, Valerie and Rouge, who greeted them with some encouraging words. “Greetings, and welcome to the Missing Tooth’s Super Mega Cluster Buck Tournament Extravaganza of Awesomeness!” they both said Pancha’s new slogan. “Please take a number, it will tell you which door to take, may luck be with you!” Done as told, each participant took a small number out of a toll and went to another waiting line were their opponent will be waiting. The first ones to make it inside the auditorium soon find out the gallery to be already full as thousands of Ponies, Minotaurs, Griffins and even Pokemon cheered as they waited for the fights to begin. And a good number of fights is what they will definitely have. Instead of a single ring for them to fight the legendary Pokemon champ, they had five different rings to hop into. Each one with a different fighter. “This is my final fight, so might as well give my crowd a good show!” proclaimed Chopper only to receive a daffing cheer in response. “It's good to see him this enthusiastic,” said Char to himself as he waited on his own ring. “Like master, like student,” added Weiss as he looked at his equally boasting comrade on his own end, which received a similar boost from the crowd. “However…” Then both looked at the small and exited red bird on the last ring smiling side to side of her face, waiting for the poor little lambs to willingly walk into her slaughter house. “She does realise we have to hold back… right?” asked the once-human. “She will do fine,” assured Char. “Mostly, probably… I hope so.” As the preparations were done, explanations given and excitement exalted, the Checkmates smiled at the rare opportunity they had before them: to fight for fun. “Best reunion party ever!” was Chopper words before the games began. And then, the bell rang. Daring’s group Las Pegasus’ Downtown “So that is how your group’s honor system works then?” asked Daring to Greninja, who simply nodded, “you know, for a silent guy you sure tell a lot.” The Ninja Pokemon give a small shrug in response. The group had paid a quick visit to Rich in his pawnshop and found out little information regarding the ruins they just visited, the info which lead them there and the item they recovered from it, even though the owner did give them an interesting offer for the Wand he wasn’t able to give them any new information. He was, however, able to put them on the right path to the city’s most dangerous zone, a place bound to know about the most dark and wretched plans and plots going on all over Equestria and beyond. The area known as Sierra Cuesta community, better known as the Foal Ghetto. Eighty two buildings and five line streets. They had just reached the recommended street and they already felt to be on the right course. “Evil eyes prying on us from every direction, a sense of dread filling the air all around us, street rats trying to steal from me right under my muzzle,” said Daring as she slapped a mouse off her saddle bags. “Yup, this is the place!” “I greed,” added Gold with a slightly disgusted tone. “This looks like the kind of place one can get their hands on some juicy information. Albeit it may not be worth this filth” “All the shops have the same unwelcoming presence,” Roa pointed out and asked. “How are wir going to find the right place to get some intel?” “It's actually easier that one thinks,” replied Gold as he looked around the sinister looking establishments like bars, brothels, XXX shops, love hotels and alike, all of which exude a violent aura. “All one has to do is…” the spy smiled as he set course at one of the establishments, “look for the one getting the less attention.” And then he stop before a small bakery, a died out salmon color adorning its walls while a small variety of bread goods were shown on the street counter. A simple sign displayed the name with little exuberance, unlike the other more shiny establishments. “Pantheon’s Bakery,” Roa read aloud. “Because I always wanted to be a baker?” “Interesting tag line,” commented Daring as she, and her companions, walked into the shop. The smell of sugar and flour hit their noses rather softly, as expected of a regular shop. As the crystal door closed behind them, a small chiming bell give notice of their arrival. “Coming!” Said a very masculine singsong voice with a slight Medimarerranean accent. From the ovens come a big and muscular Earth Pony stallion with a deep brown coat and a cooking hat resting over his head which covered his eyes, yet his red piercing gaze was still clearly visible, almost as if it were glowing. “Welcome to Pantheon’s Bakery, where you have the honor of eating my breads! How can I help you?” “We are just passing by,” said Do as the others waited beside her, save for Roa who was currently looking at the bread on display. “But I must say, you have a fine establishment here, despite its rather grim name.” The stallion simply made a dismissive wave with his hoof and replayed. “About it meaning graveyard right?” he asked. “A general misconception, it stands for ‘Temple of all Gods.’ Sounds better than a simple place for rest, doesn't it?” he asked again with a short laugh. “Indeed it does,” admitted Daring. “Mister…?” “Spear Thrower.” “Mister Thrower,” continued Daring. “You seem like a nice and honest Pony, how come you have such a nice establishment in a place like this?” Despite its regular appearance, the bakery held nothing that one could relate with the other establishments, like alcohol, pornography or secret doors of any kind. It was a well established and well earned bakery. “An easy job this one isn’t missy,” admitted the now named baker. “I had my amount of encounters with the so called ‘owners’ of these streets, demanding for protection and alike. But a good placed 'twak' on their heads takes care of it. The price for this place was cheap because of them though. I guess I should be thankful for that.” “So you have been able to get yourself clean of this sort of place by pure force of will, outstanding,” added Gold with a surprised tone. “I wasn’t captain of the Royal Guard and loyal servant to the princess for nothing,” he said with matching pride. “That position requires a strong heart and body to perform, that and baking. Something the goons of these streets surely don’t know.” “I asume you know your way around here then?” Gold asked again. “Have to,” admitted Thrower. “Otherwise I would find myself stabbed on the back in a wrong turn, not to mention I have to guide my suppliers in this death trap of a place.” The Duck Pokemon smiled. “Then would you mind giving some instructions to us, poor outsiders?” The baker give the group a long look, then added. “Look, I know when someone is looking for trouble. And you are definitely not here for bread, save perhaps the missy in the back,” he pointed at Roa, who was currently ogling at a Panettone. The group turned to stare at their ‘enforcer’ which simply give a sheepish smile in return. “It looks very good…” Roa admitted. “So why don’t you kids tell me what are you all after and I may give you a hoof,” finished Thrower as he pulled a large rolling pin close to him. “I guess keeping the act would be useless at this point,” admitted Gold. “We are looking for a hired thug, we sort of have a score to settle with him.” “He’s calls himself the Shining Demon,” added Do, much for the baker’s confusion. “A rather pretentious name huh?” Daring chuckled and joked, “you should meet my current ‘associates.’ His name is Lux Ray.” “Ah!” Thrower said, now recognising the name, “an extravagant foal. But quite good with the tips.” “Was, you actually know him?” asked Roa with surprice. “Yeah, even the worst scumbags on Equus like my bread!” Thrower explained. “Not to mention this shop is considered neutral. No ganks allowed, or else you answer to the spear!” “Then I presume you can’t tell us where he is then?” inquired Gold, assuming that the baker wasn’t the kind to rant their customers. “I’m afraid not,” corroborated Thrower. “It would be bad for business you know?” The group seemed disappointed at this, however Thrower wasn’t done yet. “But, I can point you towards someone who may be good at selling out those kind of Ponies.” “That is not bad for his business?” asked Gold with doubt. “Poor bastard uses any kind of publicity to get his name known. You all going to ask about a cold blooded merc will be a blessing on his eyes.” “I guess we will take that then…” replied Daring, only to take the piece of bread Roa had been eating with her eyes until now. “And this.” With the sound of a cashier closing and a happy stallion saying, “thank you, please come back soon!” the group left the bakery just as another strong yet graceful looking, brown coated mare with a smiling sun for a cutie mark made her way into the shop. Much to the owner’s delight. The group followed the instructions and with little effort, found the place they were looking for within the dark streets and alleys of that hostile place; an even darker alley. Rubish filled the place and unknown critters filled the thrash, giving the place a disgusting array of slithering sounds all over the cramped alley. “This seems promising alright,” said daring as she chewed the bit she had taken from Roa’s bread while also looked at the directions Thrower had given them. A rude doodled map with a note of ‘It has a green rooftop’ marking their destination. “How the buck does he knows the color of the roof from here?” the mare asked while looking at the tall and menacing grey walls. “He is one of your kind,” added Gold. “You tell me.” “Maybe er jumps very high?” suggested Roa. “Yeah sure…” Joked Daring as she walked into the alley. “And our contact is a rodent of unusual size.” “Those things are real I tell you!” shout a red coated, blue maned, Pony bump, as he spring out a trash can. “REAL!” And as suddenly as he appeared, he went back inside. “Lets just get the info we need and leave, please,” Daring plead after a moment of silence. They found an old and rusty place with a matching door, it seemed pointless with the amount of holes it had. Knocking carefully on it, and hoping it didn’t fall down, Daring called for whoever was inside. Nothing happened. “You guys sure we are in the right place?” asked Gold. “It says 'the most rusty looking door,'” replied Daring as she watched at the note. “According to Thrower’s note…” Suddenly the door was open, or rather taken down, by somepony who greet them immediately. “Why didn’t you say so to begin with?” exclaimed a green coated Pony with a black mane and a notepad for a Cutie Mark. “I was about to buck your brains out!” he proclaimed, only to have a water blade pressed against his neck. “You were saying?” asked Daring, not seeming to mind. “T-that any friend of Thrower is a friend of mine,” meekly said the green Pony as the blade was slowly removed. “What can I help you with?” “We are looking for someone named Lux Ray, calls himself-” “The Shining Demon, yes,” interrupted the Pony while fixing his door, sort of. “He just happens to be hired. Are you looking for him as contractors or as foes?” Daring didn’t answer, but she continued, “we want to know who contracted him and why.” The green Pony gave them a long and squinted stare and then replied. “Foes it is then,” he chuckled. “What can you offer?” Daring hopped she didn’t have to reach this point, not that she hadn’t bribed information out of somepony before, but right now she wasn’t exactly in her best financial situation, especially after last night. “How much can 1000 golden pictures of Celestia can get?” she asked with a tired tone. “A nice amount of NOT ENOUGH!” replied the Pony, finishing to fix his door. “Now if you'll excuse me I am a busy stallion, have an average day!” and slammed the door close. “That could have gone worse,” said Gold from his end. “We have no information at all, what part of this could be worse?”inquired Daring with annoyance, only to be tapped on the shoulder by Greninja. “WHAT!?” With the right gestures and signs, the Ninja Pokemon made his companions aware of a little fact, there were only three of them at the moment. “Where is Roa?” Daring asked. Then some noises come from within the green Pony’s building. “What the hell are you doing here… wait, what is that? HOLY CRAP HOW DID YOU DO THAT!? No! Stay back, stay back!" “I think she decided to persuade our little informant,” ventured Gold while the screams and noises from inside became more and more hysteric and frantic. Finally, the door was again taken down by the green Pony, dashing out of his building and pulling onto the trash on the street while trying to gain as much distance as possible from the terror who had driven him near insane. “T-t-t-take that t-t-thing away of me!” proclaimed the Pony while pointing inside his dwelling, a grim spectacle of burned meat, scorched ground and carbonized bones filled the place. Then from within it, came out the cause of the green Pony’s near heart attack experience. A fluffy and big, white rabbit. “You are joking right?” inquired Daring, more to Roa-bunny than to the Pony. “I-this-Just look at the bones!” the Pony proclaimed again. “Okay, okay, we will help, but you may want to give us something in return,” Daring began. The Pony didn’t need a second to consider his situation, “he said he was going to work with Tlaloque, some old dude from Ahuizotl, mentioned something about using ‘that old temple in somewhere’ now please take it away of me!” “Not that I am well informed about this world yet but: there are a lot of temples in it.” Gold pointed out, however Daring threw the bag with bits to the other Pony’s hooves while picking Roa-bunny up. “That will do. Thank for the help.” She said while passing by the green Pony. “Herzlichen dank!” Said the bunny as well with a happy yet devilish tone. The group left the alley with a calm step while the poor green pony slammed his door up for a third time. Not wanting to get any unwanted attention like this ever again. “Nice one Roa!” Daring prised once away the alley. “Bitte,” replied Roa slightly excited. “It wasn’t much of a challenge, but it was a good exercise.” Her bunny illusion vanishing from Daring hooves as the real one appeared beside her. “I was missing using my illusions for some fright.” “I am sure he got a heck of one,” joked Daring. “Excuse me for butting in but how are we supposed to find a temple in a world filled to the brim with them?” exclaimed Gold in once again, “because correct me if I am wrong but: you said once there are hundreds of them!” “Simple,” replied Daring as if she was saying that Luna will rise the Moon on the night. “There is a place called Somewhere’ in Equss, which is famous for having one Unsolvable Maze.” “Just like that?” “Just like that.” “Then what is the catch?” asked Gold again. “There is no way this can go so easily.” Daring let out a sigh and give back a slightly embarrassed expression. “There are many old documents mentioning not a temple in somewhere, but THE Temple of Somewhere is another story, some mention the maze like layout, others say that it holds a treasure like no other, and there is the believe it may have a gateway to another plane of existence. However…” “However?” asked Roa with curiosity. “There is not a single report indicating where the hay it's supposed to be,” Daring finished. “Sounds like a perfect place to hide,” acknowledged Gold. “But what good does it do us to know the place they are hiding when we don’t know where that place is?” “I have tried a couple of times with no gain,” admitted Do. “But I did get to know this professor once who seemed to know more about ‘Somewhere’ than anypony else I have meet. Or rather anyzebra else in his case.” “What do you mean by that?” Gold asked. “That we need to leave the continent,” Daring finished. Somewhere else “You have been surprisingly quiet since you got back,” said Ray while munching on his apple fries. “Is meeting that witch so special to you?” However, there was no response as the immortal continued its learning, the Magnemite brought from Thrist floating around the pillars. “If she is so important then why don't you make her your underling?” Ray proposed on his own end, which was another pillar displaying another portion of human history: warfare. “It would be nice to have somepony to boss around for a change.” “She and I have different goals. And you are eons away of standing against her,” finally replied Tlaloque. “But I must admit you have your own gifts. Like right now; you managed to see over the Fate Lines with little problem, all it took you was seeing me using them just once.” “Since someone has a security spell telling me to leave every second, I have to find a way to distract myself with,” he explained. Tlaloque turned away from its pillars and gazed on the mercenary. “I can’t believe that of all Unicorns in the world, you were blessed with the art of Spellthief,” it said condescendingly and then continued with its watch. “It's not such a rare deal as you think,” replied Ray while filling his mouth with more fries. “The new Princess seems to be able to copy spells on sight too.” “And her title alone represents how much of a ‘deal,’ as you say, it is,” continued the immortal. “You could achieve so much if you just find the right motivation for it.” “And end like mister shadow lord of the Crystal Empire?” countered Ray. “no thanks, I like the underling life. Besides, you can’t say I don’t make my share of studying.” he added with a sadistic smile while carefully looking at a green clothed human wrestling a familiar looking, red clawed, Pokemon. The Magnemite floated beside Tlaloque as he too looked at Ray with caution, wondering what would be of him. “Worry not,” said the clothed one to the Magnet Pokemon, “we don’t plan to hurt you. But we do have plans for you. So I recommend you to stay put until then.” The Magnemite didn’t try to reply back, it was obvious for him that those two creatures were way out of his league. Not to mention that, in a way, the clothed being had just saved him from a far worse fate in the claws of that black witch. For now, all he could do was to do the same as his new captors: to wait and see. Frederic’s Pizzeria was bursting with cheers and laughter as its more recent patrons filled the place with a noisy celebration. “For the best training I've been through in a long time!” said Simon as he held a beer mug high on the air and then depleted its contents in a swift gulp. “Not to mention the return of my protege to the group!” “Master, your welcoming words are the best thing I could have as a returning gift!” admitted the Haxorus with tears. “Did you guys see how I took care of those who tried to double tag me?” added Pancha with a chirping tone. “I sure saw how far you launched them dear,” added Rouge. “As well I saw how you never remembered the part about holding back.” “It's a bit disappointing to see most of the normal fighters of this realm are rather average nn combat knowledge,” thought Char out loud with his regular calm attitude. “I didn’t have much to do nn this tournament. “Not all of us had the luck of facing one of their top tiers,” said back Edge with a slightly dry tone. “I mean, you could have died… and I was stuck as babysiter, not to mention I could have participated in the tournament too! I could hade make some sweet maneuvers to impress these Ponies.” “It wouldn’t have been fair for those too small to properly face you,” Weiss pointed out. “Nor did we have to make all this fuzz about it, we all were there and saw everything.” The team nodded in agreement. “But you have to admit we kicked so much flank boss!” added Pancha. “We sure did, didn’t we?” admitted Weiss with more laughter coming right after. Needless to say that the whole event ended as a glorious spectacle for Missing Tooth, he was able to find a couple of successors for Chopper. Albeit he needed to wait for their injuries to heal to properly start training. Despite this minor setback, it was a good parting of ways for the old Pony and the young Pokemon. “You think we will cross paths with the coach one day?” wonder Chopper once the food had made the talk more pleasant. “So far, this world has proven to be rather small,” replied Simon with a knowing tone. “I don’t doubt you two will cross paths eventually.” “Speaking of small world,” cut Weiss in. “I would like to have another, but more proper, cheer for our returning comrade.” At this words, the whole team went silent, much to the delight of the few other customers in the pizzeria. “Chopper, to your willing return to the group.” And so the whole group raised their respective brewages to the air with an unanimous ‘cheer!’ and then proceeded to swiftly empty them. Then the noise returned, as well as the displeased faces of the Ponies. “Today has been a good day so far,” said Xavier. “We got to become more acquaintanced with the Nurems, we found another of our comrades, you managed to pull that trick you have been working on.” “Almost,” admitted Weiss as he patted his forearm. “It was good to have so many challengers for my training, but I am still unable to pull out a proper Psychic Cutter.” “But that thing you ended with isn’t that bad either,” pointed Simon across the table. “Is a neat move on its own, although not that strong.” “Or legal,” added Rouge. “I am sure a move like yours would be banned as soon as it's discovered.” “For which is a good thing we aren’t precisely know for following the rules,” joked Weiss. The group continued to laugh for some minutes, until the mare they were waiting for came back. “Sorry, took longer than expected, we had to go all the way to other side of the city and why is there a yellow dinosaur in the table?” “Darn it,” cursed Chopper as he pulled a bag of gold and called the owner to pay the bill, his end of the bet. Daring, and co, was understandably confused by this. “We tell him about you,”explained Rouge, “and tell him that by now you wouldn't be faced by him.” “You are like family at this point,” continued Pancha. “He would have won if he had surprised you a little.” “Okay,” replied Daring. “But that doesn't explain one thing.” “And what is it dear?” “What is a freaking, yellow dinosaur doing at the table!?” The group gave Daring and Chopper a proper and more calm introduction to one another as they walked over the mail center, to deliver a couple of letters, one for the Griffin Empire, containing a small sumary of their adventures so far, the communication book Weiss had bought and a letter for Shredder, informing her about the missing child she was looking for, as well as a little petition about their honoraries. Another letter was made and distributed to every mail post on Equss. Inspired by their comrade Titania, Weiss made a similar message directing every Checkmate member towards the Griffin Empire if they weren’t lucky enough to find them. With that done, they went to the train station and were currently waiting for their train to depart as well for any of the Nurems to pass by and give them a good bye. In the meanwhile, the explorer had give the mercenaries a quick explanation about their next direction. “So to Zebrica now huh?” asked Weiss. “Sounds interesting.” “Actually, we first need to get to the Hoofrican continent, then we can go to the Zebra kingdom,” explained Daring. “Sounds adventurous enough,” pointed Char out. “And from what you've told us about it, is similar to the places back home were we used to thrive with.” “No international conflicts!” demanded Daring behind her fake hat. “Getting into the Princess’ room was enough danage for my career.” “Fine, we will not influence other countries to battle each other for profit,” said Weiss not too convinced. “But I don’t promise anything if we got asked for it!” The mare simply give him a glare in return. ‘These guys are such a head ache,’ she thought. It didn’t last long though, as she had her own little problem at the moment. ‘How much money do we still have?’ she wondered. ‘It's not like they expect me to take care of them and their expenses for the rest of this adventure despite being a properly experienced explorer who just wasted what few bits she had left on some random informant…’ Clearly, she wasn’t on her best moment to criticize somemon. Weiss on his end wasn’t doing any better. ‘We almost lost all last night, and what was left went to Chopper’s welcome party,’ the leader thought. ‘Do you think we need to go and make some quick money before leaving?’ Suggested Xavier on the mind link. ‘Nah, we don’t have the time anyway,’ Weiss replied. ‘Not to mention we have an experienced explorer in our side, I am sure she can take care of things for a few more days right?’ After a moment of silence, the tactician said something else. ‘We really need our pay.’ ‘Agreed.’ Both lines of thoughts were cut short as a new mind began to talk with them. Vincent gave them a good bye on his own way. As the group joined the talk, both Daring and Weiss decided to leave their monetary problems to the side for now, as they both thought. ‘What is the worst that could happen?’