Extra 2: Jailbreak
Author's note
Yet another extra chapter, this time going into a little more detail about Marcus' life back on Earth. If you'd remember chapter 10, when Marcus was telling Lyra and Bon Bon stories of Earth, he and Blitz mentioned something about breaking Aria out of jail. (Actually, they told Lyra and Bon Bon, I didn't write the story out, and Bon Bon asked the question regarding Aria.) So yeah, this is that story. Just giving a good example of Marcus' badassery. This chapter, once again, doesn't necessarily affect Marcus, his team, or anyone associated with them (i.e. Felix and his team) in Equestria. It's just a fun little bonus thing I wanted to do.
Also, once you read this chapter, you'll probably realize that Marcus and Blitz exaggerated something when they told this story to Lyra and Bon Bon. See if you can spot that something.
“Marcus, I really wish you wouldn't do this,” Blitz said to her trainer as he donned a stolen Pokemon Ranger hat, thus completing his disguise.
“What do you want me to do, Blitz?” Marcus replied. “I can't just let them euthanize Aria for something she didn't do. I mean, what right did that guy have to apprehend Aria just because she was shiny? She's not even from Hoenn.”
“But she has killed in the past,” Blitz replied. “You know that, right?”
“Once,” Marcus said. “She killed once, and she's made it clear she was remorseful for that. The Froslass she's mistaken for has at least a dozen victims, probably many more by the time someone finally finds her. I plan to track that other one down sometime soon, but I'm rescuing Aria tonight.” The trainer then turned to Tiny and Mangol, the latter of whom was currently disguised as a wanted criminal in Hoenn, Gene Phillips. “Are you two clear on the plan?”
“You can count on me,” Tiny said with a salute.
“All I really need to do is act captured,” Mangol replied with a shrug. “How hard could it be?”
“Alright,” Marcus said.
“Marcus, you know how dangerous this is,” Blitz pleaded with her mate. “Hoenn is on high alert for Pokephilia. We need to keep a low profile.”
“Yeah, because taking on all eight gyms here is keeping a low profile,” Marcus deadpanned. “I'm telling you, we'll be fine if this goes right.”
“And what if it doesn't?” Blitz asked. “I'm begging you, Marcus. Stay out of this. For me. For the rest of the team.” The Rapidash indicated Tiny and Mangol.
“Blitz, the team is exactly why I'm doing this,” Marcus said. “Aria is a part of our team. Our family. Don't you care about her?”
“Honestly? Do you want me answer that honestly?” Blitz asked. “Aria. Tried. To. Kill. You. And she could have done the same to me. How could you forgive her for that?”
“So you're saying you don't care about her?” Marcus asked.
“I'm saying I do care about you,” Blitz replied. “And I care about the fact that Aria is the most dangerous part of our team.”
“Aria is the most dangerous part?” Marcus asked, almost shouting. “Blitz, you're probably the most dangerous member of the team! Have you seen your head or tail lately? Plus there's the fact that you and I could get in serious trouble if our relationship is discovered. Do you have any idea what they'll do to you if they catch us and they can't convince you that I haven't brainwashed you into loving me? The exact same thing that they're going to do to Aria first thing in the morning!” Marcus turned away from Blitz. “I know you and Aria don't see eye to eye, but no matter what you say, I'm going to save her tonight. Oh, and I should probably apologize for one of the first things I said. The fires on you won't hurt anything thanks to me.”
Blitz might have been steamed before, but that last sentence made her downright furious. “You didn't just...” she started, but she was too angry to continue. “Grr... Marcus, how could you?!” Blitz was angry, but tears were starting to form as well. “Fine, if that's really what you think, I can't stop you from going through with this plan. But I'm not going to have any part of it. Just put me back in my Pokeball for this jailbreak. If anything happens to you, I'm not going to be responsible. It'll all be either your fault or Aria's. I'm too angry at you to decide right now.”
“Fine,” Marcus said, pulling out Blitz's Pokeball and turning around. He returned the Rapidash, and she glared at him all the while. Once she was finally inside the Pokeball, Marcus looked down at it. “Why, Blitz? Why do you keep this up?” The trainer then put Blitz's Pokeball back in his belt. “Aria is going to tear us apart one of these days... but she's still family.” He turned to Tiny and Mangol. “Tiny, that translator thing you gave me will last the rest of the night, right?”
“Yes indeed,” the Togetic replied.
“Okay, then I'm gonna need you to return for now,” Marcus said as he pulled out Tiny's Pokeball. “The fewer of us get put in harm's way tonight, the better.”
“Okay,” Tiny replied with a nod before Marcus returned him.
Marcus then turned to Mangol. “Alright Mangol... let's go save Aria.”
“I don't know this 'Mangol' you're referring to,” the Zoroark replied with a devious grin. “I believe my name is Gene.”
“That you are,” Marcus replied, catching on to the scenario Mangol was trying to put together. He then walked up to the Zoroark while pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “And you're coming with me, scum.”
“Hey, can we go easy on the insults for this?” Mangol asked as she let Marcus put the handcuffs on her.
“Sorry,” Marcus replied. “But I'm gonna give one or two if our cover gets close to being blown.”
“Alright,” Mangol replied with a nod.
About a mile's trek through the forest later, “Ranger” Marcus and the apprehended criminal “Gene Phillips” had made their way to the Pokemon Prison where Aria was being held. “It's showtime, Mangol,” Marcus whispered to his Zoroark.
“Got it,” she replied with a nod.
The two weren't ten yards away from the entrance before one of the gate guards came up to them. “Hold it!” the guard shouted at them. “Who are you two?”
“The name's Conner Lyre,” Marcus replied, having decided to use his deceased brother's name as a part of his disguise. (Mangol wasn't too happy about that given Conner was her original trainer, but she agreed nonetheless.) “Top Pokemon Ranger. I was doing a sweep of the forest and I happened upon a wanted criminal here in Hoenn. Does the name Gene Phillips ring any bells?”
The guard looked shocked as he stared at “Gene.” “What... how...?” he tried to say. “But I thought he wasn't even in Hoenn anymore.”
“Looks like you got the wrong intel,” Marcus replied. “Dunno why he's here, but the point is that I caught him.”
“Well, congrats on that, Ranger Lyre,” the guard said. “But I'm afraid this is a detention center specifically for Pokemon. Unless you're here to drop off his Pokemon, we can't hold him here.”
“I'm aware of that,” Marcus replied. “But I'm afraid my Pokemon who uses Fly, my Togetic, is injured right now. Is it alright if I just dump him here while Togetic gets medical attention?”
“Well...” the guard said while scratching his chin. “I mean, I guess we could keep him in an interrogation room if healing up your Togetic only takes a few minutes.”
“That should be enough,” Marcus said with a nod.
“But I can't help but ask, what did you do about his Pokemon?” the guard inquired.
Marcus did everything in his power to refrain from kicking himself for saying what he was about to say. “When I caught him, all six of his Pokemon were more than happy to run away and leave him behind. Especially... especially the Gardevoir.” Marcus tried not to gag at what he just said, but the guard caught onto that.
“Are you ok, Ranger?” he asked.
“I'm... I'm fine,” Marcus replied, sticking to the gagging. “It's just that... I caught him... 'in the act' if you know what I mean.”
“Oh Arceus,” the guard said, looking appalled. “I'm sorry you had to see that. But thank you for getting this scum off the streets nonetheless.” The guard gave “Gene” a poke in the arm with his baton. Mangol simply glared at the guard. “Though we should still try to find his Pokemon and rehabilitate them. I'm sure they've been through some pretty horrible stuff.”
It took every ounce of energy in Marcus' body to keep himself from punching this guard in the jaw right then and there. “They should still be in the forest somewhere,” he replied. “A search could be in order, but later. I've gotta get this... monster out of here as soon as possible.”
“Yes, please do that,” the guard said. He then led Marcus and Mangol to the gate and unlocked it, leading inside the outer wall. On the other side of the gate, two more guards walked up to the trio. “Take Gene Phillips to the interrogation room,” the first guard said to the other two. “He's gonna be held there until Ranger Conner Lyre here can get his Togetic medical attention and they get Gene out of here.”
“Gene Phillips, huh?” one of the other guards, this one fairly large and buff, asked. “It's because of people like you that I fear for my Kirlia.” He then gave Mangol a shove. The Zoroark would have retaliated, but Marcus stepped in the second he saw the look on Mangol's face.
“Hey, go easy on him,” Marcus said. “The Ranger Union will have harsh enough punishments in store for him. He doesn't need to get roughed up.”
“Oh fine,” the buff guard said. He then glared at Mangol before he and the third guard carried the disguised Zoroark into the building.
Mangol gave one last fleeting glance behind her towards Marcus. I hope you planned for this, she pleaded with her eyes. It was at this moment that Marcus realized how poorly planned out this jailbreak might have been.
“Now then,” the gate guard said to Marcus, “shall I escort you to the medical wing, Ranger Lyre?”
“No thank you,” Marcus said politely. “I can find it on my own. You should probably keep your position here. You know... maybe keep watch for Gene's Pokemon. You never know what kind of promotion you could get if you rescued a Pokemon from the clutches of a Pokephile, after all.”
“You mean...?” the guard asked, his eyes alight with eagerness.
“I might even put in a good word for you,” Marcus said with a sinister smile. “But of course, you have to be the one to find his Pokemon first. You can't do that escorting me to the medical wing, can you?”
“Uh, no sir,” the guard said, quickly saluting. “Uh... good day. Er, evening? Night?”
“As you were, good sir,” Marcus said, returning the salute. The guard gave a quick nod before running out the door and returning to his position. Marcus then chuckled to himself as he turned and walked towards the main building. “Controlling a man with his desires... I've learned more from Blitz than I realized.” Marcus then frowned as he entered the building. “Blitz... no. You made your opinions clear. You aren't going to help save Aria, so what use do I have for you here?”
All the while, however, Marcus couldn't help but feel... sorry. Sorry that he told Blitz off the way he did. He knew the fact that Blitz's flames would never burn as hot as they should since he was her mate was something they never talked about and therefore a line that was to never be crossed... even Aria never mentioned it.
“No,” Marcus thought to himself as he walked through the halls. “I shouldn't be thinking about that right now. I need to focus on saving Aria.”
As Marcus rounded a corner, he encountered another generic guard. “Oh, hello there Ranger Lyre,” the guard said with a salute. “I was informed you would be in this building.”
“As you were, guard,” Marcus said as he tried to walk by. “I'm not here for anything important.”
“Oh, but I insist on assisting you in any way possible,” the guard said, following Marcus. As he looked up, Marcus noticed that this guard was far younger than the guard at the gate. More eager to go somewhere in life, make a mark for himself.
“Actually, there is something you can do,” Marcus said, stopping and looking up at the young guard, who began grinning eagerly. “Do you know what I'm here for?”
“No sir,” the guard replied with a shake of his head. “All I've been told is that there's a Top Ranger in here and that we all need to be at the top of our game.”
“Good,” Marcus said. “I'm here as part of an inspection. I need to make sure your prisons are adequate for detaining the various Pokemon that are held here.”
“I... believe we're up to code,” the guard said in an unsure tone.
“Well then, you wouldn't mind me taking a look, would you?” Marcus asked. “I think we'll start with... where would you keep a Froslass, for instance?”
“In the Ghost-type wing,” the guard replied. “We actually got a particularly dangerous Froslass earlier today.”
“So I've heard...” Marcus said while looking down and gritting his teeth. He then looked back up at the guard. “You wouldn't mind taking me to where she's being held so that I can ensure that you've made the necessary accommodations to make sure she can't, I don't know, freeze her way out of her cell, would you?”
“Not at all, Ranger Lyre,” the guard said. “I'll lead you to where we have her held right now if you want.”
“That would be much appreciated... sir,” Marcus said with a smile. He was starting to get the idea that, to these guards, being addressed as “sir” by a high-ranked official (namely a Pokemon Ranger) was quite an honor, mostly because it looked like the guard was doing his level best to keep himself from squealing like a little girl when Marcus said that.
“Y-yes, right this way please,” the guard said. He then quickly led Marcus to where Aria was being held.
”Looks like this is going smoother than I had planned,” Marcus thought to himself as he followed the guard.
”This really isn't going very smoothly,” Mangol thought to herself as the guards threw her into the interrogation room on the other side of the building from where Marcus was. The force with which she hit her face on the ground (since she was still handcuffed and unable to break her fall) was almost enough to break her illusion. Fortunately, she'd recently been honing her illusion skills specifically so that she'd be able to maintain them if something were to break her concentration.
Good to know that practice was paying off.
“Okay, Mister Phillips,” the buff guard said as he picked Mangol up and set her in a chair on the opposite side of a table in the center of the room, the two guards sitting across from her. “Ranger Lyre's gonna be back to pick you up any minute now, but until then, you're gonna stay here and behave yourself.”
“And you two are gonna babysit me?” Mangol asked. “You seriously don't have anything better to do?”
“Well... no,” the other guard, this one particularly scrawny, replied. “We usually just-”
“Shut up,” the buff guard said while slapping the scrawny one on the back of the head. “You know we're not supposed to talk to the prisoners.”
“But I'm not a prisoner here,” Mangol replied. “I mean, this is a prison designed for Pokemon, isn't it? Though I'm not a Pokemon.” ”As far as you dolts know,” she added in her head.
“Yeah? Well...” the scrawny guard started. “Well, you're here as long as Ranger Lyre is here, you were arrested by him, you're his responsibility, so therefore, you're a prisoner here until Ranger Lyre takes you to the Ranger Union... or wherever.”
Mangol saw that the scrawny guard seemed a little bit confused. As for the buff one... well he seemed downright brainless. If she was going to be stuck here until Marcus gave the signal, Mangol might as well have a little fun with these two. “Hey, how many Dittos and Zoroarks do you guys get around here?” she asked.
“I'm not talking to you, scum,” the buff guard replied with a huff.
“Well, we either talk or sit here and stare at each other silently for half an hour,” Mangol said with a shrug.
“Hell no,” the buff guard said. “I ain't staring at you for that long. I can't even look at your face. People like you make me sick, Gene Phillips.”
”Okay, time for the fun to really begin,” Mangol thought to herself. “But what if I'm giving you two a puzzle to solve with this conversation?”
“A puzzle?” the scrawny guard asked.
“Yes, a puzzle,” Mangol replied with a devious smile. “Suppose, for a brief moment, that someone at this base isn't who they say they are. Maybe that person is a Ditto or a Zoroark you recently apprehended and is now planning an escape. Or worse... a sabotage.”
“What would you know about Dittos?” the buff guard asked. “We have them under maximum security. There's no way one of them could be impersonating a guard.”
“Hey, are you completely disregarding the possibility of a Zoroark impersonating a guard too?” the scrawny guard asked.
“Pfft. A Zoroark could never get around this place undetected.” Mangol had to stifle laughter at this comment. Fortunately, the guards didn't catch this.
“But Dittos are the worst at disguises. They can't even hide their face.”
”Do take all the time you need, Marcus,” Mangol thought to herself as she relaxed and prepared to enjoy the show that was about to ensue.
On the other side of the building, the young guard had led Marcus to the wing where the Ghost-types were held. “If you need me to, I can show you where the Froslass is,” the guard said.
“No thank you,” Marcus said. “I'll go look for her on my own.”
“Are you sure?” the guard asked. “Because it would be my pleasure to-”
“No, thank you,” Marcus repeated. “Rather, shouldn't you stay out here and keep watch in case any of the craftier criminals in there try to manage an escape?”
“Oh! I mean, of course,” the guard said. “I, uh... great suggestion, Ranger Lyre.”
”Your ass-kissing is noted and will be mentioned when I talk to Hastings about your promotion,” Marcus considered saying. He kept his mouth shut, however, and replied with simply a nod before he walked into the room.
When Marcus entered, he noticed that the place was entirely just a hallway with barely identifiable doors lining the walls that led to the cells. Apparently these cells were made of some kind of special material that Ghost-types couldn't phase through or affect in any way. “I'd suggest closing that door,” Marcus said to the guard, who was apparently too scared to enter the room. “You never know what tricks a Ghost could have up its sleeve.” With a chuckle, Marcus added “Two or three of them probably could have escaped in the time it took for me to say that to you, in fact.”
“But those walls are made of-” the guard started.
“And we're up to five,” Marcus interrupted. With a quick nod of acknowledgment, the guard quickly shut and locked the door. “Good. Looks like I'm alone in here with all these Ghost-types.” Marcus looked around at the cells. None of them even had a kind of window on the door. To make matters worse, each and every door looked exactly the same. “I wonder if these are soundproof...” To test his theory, Marcus whistled a tune that he knew Aria would recognize in a heartbeat.
Somewhere else in that very same location, Aria sat alone in a room. She was quiet, which was a first for her. Usually if she was sad about something (or feeling any emotion at all), she would sing her feelings. Not this time, however. She knew what fate was in store for her come the next morning, and she never imagined she'd ever sing her swan song. As such, she never came up with one.
“It's not fair...” the Froslass said to herself with tears in her eyes as she looked down at the floor, which was made of some special kind of metal that she couldn't affect at all with her ethereal abilities. “It's just not fair... I'm not even from Hoenn, and for that guy to mistake me for a killer... Wait, I've killed once. Does that make me a killer? Not in comparison to that other one. She's likely killed dozens. I wouldn't—couldn't—in my life ever even-”
Aria silenced herself when a familiar tune hit her ears. It was faint, but she recognized it instantly. A tune from a land far away. Far, far away. So far away, Pokemon didn't even exist there. And it was being whistled... poorly. Aria knew only one person in this world who could botch such a simple tune so easily.
“Marcus!” Aria shouted as she floated towards the door to her cell. “Marcus! I'm in here!”
”Aria?” Marcus's voice called from the other side. ”I'm coming, Aria!”
Aria couldn't believe her ears. She was sure she was going to be killed in less than 12 hours, and now her salvation had arrived. She was so happy, she began singing. The very same song that Marcus tried to whistle just now. This worked to her advantage since Marcus probably wouldn't have found her again had it not been for that consistent indicator of where she was.
Soon, under her singing, Aria could faintly hear hurried footsteps approaching. They came to a halt just on the other side of the door, followed by a muffled CRASH from the other side of the door. “Marcus?” Aria called, worried about what that crash was. “Did you just try to knock the door down with just your own body weight?”
”Uh... no,” Marcus replied from the other side. Aria simply rolled her eyes and smiled, thinking about how typical something like that was for Marcus.
“Okay, how am I going to do this?” Marcus said to himself as he looked at the door, which seemed to be locked with a key that he didn't have. “Aria, can you freeze something on that side of the door? One of the door hinges maybe?”
”I've already tried that,” Aria replied from the other side of the door. ”This cell is 100 percent Frosslass-proofed.”
“Damn...” Marcus said to himself. “Welp, there's always plan B.” He then reached down into his belt and pulled out Tiny's Pokeball. “Praying and hoping. Tiny, I choose you!” Marcus then tossed the Pokeball into the air, releasing Tiny.
“Yay!” Tiny called as he flapped his arms, legs, and wings around with an adorable smile on his face. However, that smile quickly faded when he saw where he was. “Don't tell me, it falls to me to rescue Aria?”
“That it does,” Marcus replied with a nod. “I need you to make a key.”
“You realize the only move I have that could possibly do that is Metronome, right?” Tiny asked, a slightly worried look on his face.
“Then use Metronome on that door,” Marcus replied. He then shouted at Aria “Aria! Did you hear that?”
”I'm pressed against the far wall right now,” Aria called back. ”Whatever you've got, fire away!”
“Alright,” Tiny called. He then took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing. Metronome!” The Togetic raised his tiny hand and wiggled it around while closing his eyes. ”Please no Flare Blitz. Please no Double Edge. Please no Wood Hammer. Please don't give me anything with recoil,” he thought to himself. Right as he finished that thought, his finger flashed once before his whole body began glowing. “Oh crap! I'M USING EXPLOSION! TAKE COVER!” Marcus instantly ran as far down the hall as he could, Aria huddled in the corner of her cell, bracing herself, and Tiny hugged the door while closing his eyes. ”This better work!” the Togetic thought to himself immediately before a massive explosion went off with him at the center. An explosion powerful enough to both blast a hole in the door just barely large enough for Aria to float through, but also powerful enough to shake the entire prison.
Once the smoke from the blast cleared, Marcus got up from where he had fallen and taken cover before running over to Aria's cell. “Tiny! Aria!” he shouted. When he got within view, he saw a hole in the door and Tiny laying on the ground with swirls replacing his eyes. “Oh my Arceus, Tiny!” Marcus ran over and knelt down over the Togetic. “Tiny, speak to me!”
“I... can't...” Tiny replied absently, barely moving. “I... can't see... my health bar...”
“Thank you for at least trying,” Marcus said to the barely conscious Togetic as he pulled out Tiny's Pokeball and returned him. “I'll get you to a Pokemon Center as fast as I can after this is done and over with.” Marcus then got up and turned his attention to Aria's cell. The hole created by Tiny's Explosion was too small for Marcus to fit through, (what the hell were these cells made of, anyway?), so the trainer could do nothing but look inside for Aria. “Aria! Aria, are you okay?” He waited, scanning what he could see from top to bottom for one second. Two seconds. Three...
“BOO!” Aria shouted as she suddenly appeared right in front of Marcus' face, causing the trainer to shout and fall backwards. Aria then giggled while flying out through the hole. “Heh, I knew you'd fall for that.”
“Aria, you little...” Marcus said as he got up. He then ran over and hugged Aria, who hugged him back. “I'm so glad you're ok.”
“All thanks to you, Marcus,” Aria replied, doing her best to fight back tears. “I was starting to think you weren't coming for me.”
“Of course I was gonna come for you,” Marcus replied. “You're a member of the family, and-”
“Ranger Lyre?” the young guard from before called. “Are you okay? I thought I heard a-” The guard stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Marcus on the ground, hugging the shiny Froslass who was set to be euthanized the next morning, while a massive hole was blown through the door to that Froslass' cell.
“Um...” Marcus said as he looked up at the guard. “This isn't what it looks like.”
The guard was silent for a moment before turning around and running out of the room, more than likely to alert the rest of the guards. “I think this is a good time to run,” Aria suggested.
“Yeah, probably,” Marcus replied as he got up. “Come on. If we run into any guards, freeze their feet.”
“You got it,” Aria replied. Marcus then ran off, the Froslass floating close behind.
“That sounds exactly like something a Zoroark would say!” the scrawny guard who was tasked with guarding “Gene” shouted as his buff companion.
“Like hell it is, Mr. Ditto,” the buff guard replied. “And if you really aren't a Ditto, you wouldn't mind if I tickled you, would you?”
“What?! Why the hell would you even suggest such a thing?”
“'Cause Dittos can't stay transformed if they laugh.”
“And you had to jump to tickling me instead of telling a joke?”
Mangol was thoroughly enjoying the argument these two guards were having. And the best part: they were either too caught up in their argument or just plain too stupid to register that she had dropped the hint that she was a Zoroark. ”Hmm... maybe I should stop this before it turns into a tickle fight, though...” she thought to herself. ”A tickle fight between two human men is something I really don't wanna see.”
Fortunately, Arceus seemed to smile down upon Mangol at that moment. The walkie-talkies in their belts suddenly became active. “All units,” the voice on the other side of the walkie-talkies called, “there is a jailbreak in progress. I repeat, a jailbreak in progress. Suspect is a Pokemon Ranger impersonator accompanied by a shiny Froslass on death row for multiple murders.”
“Woah! A jailbreak?” the scrawny guard shouted. He then turned to his companion. “We can settle whether or not you're a Zoroark later. We should go do something.”
“Oh hey, speaking of Zoroarks,” Mangol said. “Your buddy there isn't the Zoroark in the room.”
“So it was you!” the buff guard shouted at the scrawny guard.
“Nope,” Mangol said with a smile. “You're wrong too. Come on, you've got one more guess between the two of you. I know you can figure this one out.”
The two guards were silent for the longest time as they thought about what Mangol was saying. “Is the Zoroark... invisible and hiding in the corner?” the buff guard asked.
Mangol face palmed and groaned. “I am legitimately astounded by how stupid you two are,” she said. “Let me just tell you the answer.” Mangol then slipped off her handcuffs, which had been rigged so that she could escape at any time from the beginning, before she leapt into the air and did a frontflip, removing her illusion and landing as the Zoroark she truly was. “Surprised?” she asked with a smirk, even though the guards wouldn't have understood her anymore.
“Wah!” the buff guard shouted as he leapt backwards. “A real Zoroark!”
“Now it's showtime,” Mangol said to herself as she readied her claws before charging at the two guards. “NIGHT SLASH!”
In the blink of an eye, Mangol delivered several slashes before landing on the ground behind the guards in a resting position. A second later, their pants fell to the ground, having been shredded by the Zoroark's claws. As well as having lost their pants, the two guards were too stunned by what had just happened to move.
“And the best part...” Mangol said to herself. She gave her claw a flick before two sets of keys that she swiped from the guards appeared hanging off of each claw. “A little slight of claw never hurt the situation.” Mangol then got up, used the keys to unlock the door, ran out of the interrogation room, and locked the door behind her before either guard realized what was going on. By the time they came back to reality, they found they were locked in that room with Mangol taunting them from the other side. “You two have been fun, but I have a job to do,” she said, despite knowing they wouldn't understand her. With a quick salute, she dropped the keys and ran down the hall to try to rendezvous with Marcus.
Meanwhile, Marcus and Aria had made their way through the building and were about to exit into the courtyard. “We're home free, Aria,” Marcus said as the two approached the door. “Just past this courtyard is the exit. From there, it'll be- oh son of a Mightyena!” The second Marcus opened the door and the two stepped into the courtyard, they found themselves surrounded on all sides by guards, some of them accompanied by various Pokemon.
“What was that you were saying about being home free?” Aria asked with a mildly terrified expression as she floated closer to her trainer while looking around at the guards.
“Conner Lyre,” one of the guards called using a megaphone while several spotlights shone on Marcus and Aria, “your attempt at breaking this criminal out has failed. You are surrounded on all sides. Return the Froslass to its Pokeball, set her on the ground, and step away.”
Aria looked at her trainer with pleading eyes. “Please tell me you have a plan,” she whispered. “I'm legitimately scared right now.”
“I'm scared to, Aria,” Marcus replied. “I honestly thought this would turn out better.” He then pulled out Aria's Pokeball, causing the Snow Land Pokemon to gasp. “Trust me, Aria. Even backed into this corner with no way out, I'd never let anything happen to you.”
“Marcus...” Aria said, but she couldn't say anything else. “I hope you know what you're doing.”
Marcus returned Aria to her Pokeball before replying, “I really hope so too.”
“Now place her on the ground and step away,” the megaphone guard called to Marcus.
Marcus looked down at Aria's Pokeball before looking back up at all the guards around him with a determined expression. He then did something that he legitimately thought he'd regret within seconds. He placed Aria's Pokeball back in his belt. “I'm not leaving here until I speak my mind,” he said in a serious tone. “And you all are going to let me speak my mind. After that, I'll surrender Aria.”
“To be clear, Aria is your Froslass, correct?” the megaphone guard inquired.
“Yes,” Marcus replied with a nod.
“Very well. Say what you will, but know that you and your Froslass will be arrested afterwards.”
”Well, getting arrested in a few minutes is better than getting arrested on the spot,” Marcus thought to himself. “I'm not going to testify Aria's innocence here. This isn't a courtroom, after all. And honestly, Aria isn't innocent. She has murdered in the past. That much, you've been right about. However, there are several facts that you overtly neglected when apprehending her. First, she isn't the Froslass you've mistaken her for. True, both Froslasses are shiny, but there are several striking differences. First and foremost is the fact that Aria is from the Sinnoh region, and the Froslass you're looking for—I'll just call her Lassie to save time—is from Hoenn. Second, Lassie has more than a dozen murders under her belt. Aria has killed only once in her life, and she has proved very remorseful about her actions. She even visited her victim's grave and vocalized her remorse. And what has Lassie done? Stayed on that mountain or in that cave or wherever she is and continued to kill while you all took the easy way out and decided to bully another Froslass just because she matched the physical description in order to settle the case quickly, that way you could all get on with your lives and sweep the issue with Lassie under the rug. But that would only be a temporary fix. Lassie would kill again, someone would recognize who it was that did the killing, and then all the blame would fall to the Hoenn Police Department for euthanizing an innocent Pokemon as well as allowing a criminal to go free. When you think about it, I'm actually saving you all this trouble by breaking Aria out of jail. How's that for a Wake-Up Slap?”
When Marcus finished his monologue, several murmurs began being exchanged amongst the guards, and some of the Pokemon were giving nods of acknowledgment and agreement. “You make a compelling argument, Mr. Lyre,” the megaphone guard called. “However, this fails to change two facts. First, you have no substantial evidence that Aria is not Lassie and is as innocent as you say she is. Second, you are the one who's guilty of impersonating a Pokemon Ranger, illegally infiltrating a detention facility, causing collateral damage using your Pokemon, and breaking one or more criminal Pokemon out.”
It was at this moment that Marcus realized that there was no way he could talk his way out of that one. “Perhaps I can't prove Aria's innocence,” he admitted. “And perhaps I have caused a little more damage than I intended to. But what would any of you do in my position? Wouldn't any of you do anything in order to save your Pokemon from a horrible fate, especially if you knew they didn't deserve that fate?”
“Once again, you have a point, Mr. Lyre,” the megaphone guard said. “But that does nothing to change how guilty you are and how guilty your Froslass potentially is. If it's any consolation, we will lift her death sentence until more substantial evidence can be gathered, but both you and her are still under arrest for the charges I mentioned prior.” At this moment, several of the guards closed in on Marcus.
”Well, I told you I'd save your life, Aria,” Marcus thought to himself with a weak smile. ”We might not be getting out of here, but at least we're alive.”
Right as the guards were about two yards from Marcus, one of the Pokeballs in his belt exploded, and Blitz leapt out between Marcus and the guards, ready to defend her mate. “All of you stay back,” she growled, despite the fact that the guards only heard “Rapidash Rapidash.”
“Blitz?” Marcus asked. “What are you doing? I thought you weren't going to be responsible for whatever happened to me. And how did you know I needed help in the first place?”
“Marcus, you're my mate,” Blitz said. “No matter what, even if you're risking your life for something stupi—I mean, risking your life for a member of our family, I have to be there by your side. I just forgot that for a little while. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I said earlier tonight.”
“We both said things we need to apologize for,” Marcus replied with a smile. “I'm just glad to see that you came around as well as I did.”
“Recall the Rapidash,” the megaphone guard ordered. “If you don't, I will not hesitate to add 'resisting arrest' to your list of charges.”
“Don't worry, Marcus,” Blitz said while readying herself for battle. “I won't let them near you.”
“Hold up a second, Blitz,” Marcus said. “You actually gave me an idea that won't involve any of these guys getting hurt.”
“Aww,” Blitz complained. “I can't just cook that one guy's Carnivine?”
“No, Blitz,” Marcus replied. “No one's getting cooked tonight. Just follow my lead.” Marcus then turned back to the guards. “There's one more thing I wanna say before you arrest me.”
“The deal was you plead your Froslass' case before surrendering her and yourself,” the megaphone guard replied.
“The deal was that I speak my mind,” Marcus shot back. “And I haven't finished doing that.” Without waiting for a reply, Marcus continued. “Aria represents just one example of a very, very flawed justice system that's in place here. Not just in Hoenn, but all around the world. Another example... do any of you recall Gene Phillips? The Hoenn-born trainer who tried to marry his Gardevoir last year?”
“But you're the one who brought him in earlier,” the megaphone guard replied.
“Seriously?” Marcus deadpanned. “After me impersonating a Ranger and breaking Aria out of jail, did it not once occur to you that the Gene I brought in wasn't the real Gene? A Zoroark, maybe?” Marcus paused for a moment and let that sink in. “But that's beside the point. The Ranger Union busted his wedding in Unova. And for what? Because he was a human who tried to marry a Pokemon? Is that all the reasoning that can be given? Is that all the reasoning behind Pokephilia laws in general? Granted, there are those who are... less than honest in their pursuits in that respect, but why should they ruin the happiness of those who are truly in love with their Pokemon and their Pokemon love them back in that exact way? To say that all Pokephilia is taking advantage of Pokemon implies that Pokemon have less intelligence than a human does. What does that make them? Animals. That's what you're implying Pokemon are with these laws. Nothing but mindless beasts who have no intelligence or free will to be spoken of. Sad. If you'd actually pay attention, you'd be able to tell that Gardevoir are actually highly intelligent. And beyond just Psychic-types, almost all Pokemon have a similar degree of intelligence. But what your people and your flawed laws imply... how do you think it makes those Pokemon feel? These laws are degrading. They mock Pokemon.” Marcus then walked up right next to Blitz. “My own Rapidash, Blitz. She's got quite a lot of intelligence if you could understand her. Hell, she can even upstage me sometimes. But that's not the best part. The best part is that it's because of her that I can speak so confidently about how degrading Pokephilia laws are. In fact, here's an example of that.” Marcus then leaned in and kissed Blitz, who seemed startled at first, but quickly leaned in to return the kiss.
The reactions from the surrounding guards were various though immediate. Some of them gasped, some of them shouted angrily, some of them gagged, a couple whistled (probably without realizing it), and at least one threw up, but none of them were silent. Those were the human guards. As for the Pokemon, most of them watched the scene unflinchingly. Sure, a couple of them saw this as a bit weird, but they could smell that Blitz and Marcus were together the second she broke out of her Pokeball. Some of the Pokemon smiled, happy for the two, and one Growlithe applauded while his trainer was distracted with throwing up.
“That's it, arrest that pervert,” the megaphone guard ordered. A few of the guards who didn't react too heavily closed in on Marcus and Blitz, who were still making out and seemingly unaware of what was going on around them.
”Come on, Mangol,” Marcus thought to himself. ”I can't buy you any more time.”
Once more, Arceus seemed to smile upon Marcus at that moment, because before the guards could get in close enough to taze the two, there was a loud growl before Mangol appeared between the two and the guards. “Sorry I took so long,” Mangol said to Marcus. However, the trainer didn't seem to pay attention to what she said as he was still making out with Blitz. “Hello? Earth to Marcus and Blitz. We're kinda surrounded by guards here.” The Zoroark groaned and faceclawed. “Must I do everything myself?” She then pulled an illusion over herself, Marcus, and Blitz, causing all three of them to vanish from the sight of the guards. “Alright, we've got cover. Let's get out of here already!” The two still didn't respond. With a shake of her head, Mangol walked around behind Blitz before giving her a jab to the flank with her claw.
“WAH!” Blitz shouted as she suddenly reared up and started galloping out of panic. Mangol was holding onto Blitz and had grabbed Marcus so he wouldn't get left behind. The Zoroark hoisted her trainer onto Blitz's back before jumping up there herself. “Was that really necessary?” Blitz growled at Mangol as she galloped towards the gate before jumping over it in graceful fashion, landing on the other side and continuing to gallop without missing a beat.
“I tried calling to you two,” Mangol replied. “But you two were too 'busy' to answer, apparently.”
“What Blitz means to say is 'Thank you, Mangol',” Marcus clarified as they galloped into the woods and far away from the prison.
Later on, when the trio had gotten far enough away from the prison, Marcus had changed back into his regular clothes and set the Ranger uniform in a pile in front of him. “Alright Blitz, Flamethrower,” he said. With a nod, Blitz breathed a stream of fire onto the clothes, setting them ablaze into what could make for a nice campfire. “Well... that turned out okay.” Marcus then turned to Blitz. “Blitz... now that we have a chance to breathe, I wanna apologize for what I said before. It wasn't right for me to explode at you like that, and no matter how angry I ever get, nothing could ever justify me reminding you of... that.”
“Marcus, I'm the one who needs to apologize,” Blitz replied. “If I hadn't acted like such a bitch to you, neither of us wouldn't have gotten angry enough to the point where things were said that shouldn't have been. You were right. Aria's a part of the family, and I shouldn't have been so indifferent about her being on death row. I just... need to learn to get along with her.”
(At Lyra and Bon Bon's house, Marcus added “For the record, they haven't completely made up yet.”)
“Thank you, Blitz,” Marcus said. “I'm glad to know you'll at least make an effort to make peace with Aria.”
Right at this moment, one of Marcus' Pokeballs exploded open and Aria jumped out. “I heard my name,” Aria said with what was probably a coy smile. “Is someone talking about me?”
“Not at all,” Blitz replied while shaking her head.
“Oh...” Aria said. “Eh, I'll let that lie slide for now.” The Froslass then flew over and hugged Marcus. “Marcus, I can't tell you enough how grateful I am for what you did for me. I literally owe you my afterlife.”
“You're welcome, Aria,” Marcus replied, returning the hug. He caught a sharp glare coming from Blitz, but he shot a similar glare back. “You said you were going to make peace with her,” he mouthed. “First step is to let this happen.” Blitz simply rolled her eyes before Marcus went back to Aria. “I would have done the same for anyone else on the team.”
“Well, now that all's said and done, I'm glad I was the first you did something like this for,” Aria replied with a sincere smile. “Thank you, Marcus.”
“Again, you're welcome,” Marcus said with a laugh. “But enough from me. Blitz has something she wants to say to you, too.”
Blitz frantically made a “No! Cut!” gesture with her hoof when Marcus said this, but it was too late, and Aria turned around to face Blitz. “You do, huh?” Aria asked, floating over to Blitz with a cocky look in her eye. “What is it you wanna tell me?”
Blitz looked down and avoided making eye contact with Aria before saying ”I'm sorry.”
“What was that?” Aria asked with a smirk. “I didn't quite catch that.”
”I said I'm sorry,” Blitz repeated.
“What? You're 'starry'?” Aria asked teasingly. “Why in the world would you be starry right now?”
“I said I'm sorry!” Blitz shouted. “Okay? There, I said it.”
Aria thoroughly enjoyed this humility coming from Blitz. “How come you're sorry?” the Froslass asked. “Did you say something I didn't hear but should have?”
“I... I didn't want to help Marcus save you,” Blitz said while looking down, pushed on by Marcus glaring at her. “I would have... I would've left you there.”
“Really?” Aria asked with a nod. “Well... I can forgive you for that. It was Marcus who made the final decision, after all.” With an evil expression, Aria leaned in and whispered “It's too bad he didn't listen to you. I'd probably be better of dead at this point for the sake of your own health.”
“Wha-? Marcus, did you hear that?” Blitz shouted.
“Aria, take that threat back right now,” Marcus said sternly. “You're both at fault for something here, so neither of you are in position to say anything mean to each other.”
“Fine,” Aria said while rolling her eyes. “I promise I won't do anything horrible to Blitz because she would have left me for dead.” Marcus glared at her for another moment before she added “And I sincerely forgive her now that she's apologized and no harm fell upon me. Happy?”
“Not entirely,” Marcus said before looking over to Blitz. “You're turn, sweetie.”
Blitz grumbled, but spoke up. “And I forgive you for saying what you said to me and promise to make an effort to get along with you better after tonight.”
“Thank you,” Aria replied with a forced tone.
“There, was that so hard?” Marcus asked. “Now let's all get some shuteye. It's been a long night.”
“With pleasure,” Aria said as Marcus returned the Froslass to her Pokeball. “And as for you, Blitz...”
“Not tonight, Marcus,” Blitz replied. “I'm still a bit angry at you. You're not getting any flank for at least a week.”
Marcus just chuckled at this. “Knowing you, Blitz, I could challenge you to hold true to your own punishment,” he said. “Though we should probably be a little more careful for a while anyway. We did kinda kiss in the middle of a prison with a couple dozen officers of the law watching us. Odds are they're gonna be looking for a fake Pokemon Ranger sleeping with a Rapidash.”
“Fair enough,” Blitz said. She then leaned in and gave Marcus a quick kiss. “I'll see you in the morning then, honey.”
“You to, Blitz,” Marcus replied with a smile. He then returned Blitz to her Pokeball before setting up a sleeping back and curling into it to try get the rest of the night's worth of sleep. “Hold on a second,” he suddenly said while sitting up in his sleeping bag. “Blitz never told me how she knew I needed her help.”
”Why, that was me of course,” a soothing female voice replied from inside of Marcus' head.
“What?” Marcus asked. “Who are you?”
The voice giggled as Marcus suddenly grew incredibly drowsy. ”Oh, you'll meet me eventually. But for now, off to dream land, young one. Maybe you'll see me there.”
With that, Marcus fell back in his sleeping bag, sound asleep, never truly learning whose voice that was.
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
809 users online
979,428 hits today, 2,439,861 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
A really action-packed chapter. I like it! Please more^^
Could one of the Ranger who whistled possible be Abby?
5685188 Eh... probably not.
The "Abby being there" thing, I mean. I might do more chapters like this in the future, however.
It's... it's Phillips. Gene Phillips.
5685344 The Ranger's doesn't seem to care^^
5685375
Hehehe, alright
5685344 FUCK! I AM SHAMED FOR ETERNITY!
5685414 Or just until you can fix the problem^^
You just need a magical, golden hammer and when you hit your PC you must scream:
fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/220/6/7/fix_it_felix_jr__by_death_driver_5000-d5adtoy.png
5685432 I fixed it, but used a different hammer.
Panic mode Guile's Theme succeeds again.
5685344 I have fixed my error. I hope you can forgive me for what I did. *bows*
5685450 Oh think nothing of it, I've made a point of NOT saying Gene's last name, so it's understandable
5685856 Thank you.
good job keep it up see you next chapter
5993391 What do you mean by that first comment? Are you asking if Marcus and Blitz are from a separate story?