Chapter 28: Royal Clash

Marie bust her way through a door, looking upon a small guest room with a single bed, balcony, and desk. “Nope!” she hurriedly said as she slammed the door. Fennekin tried its best to keep up with her.

Ceailean had checked the room behind her, coming up with the same decision. Scorbunny buckled on his head as he ran. They both raced down the hallway in hopes of finding the best room they could for themselves.

“Please you two, slow down!” cried a housemaid, trying her best to keep up with them. This request was ignored. “My goodness…”

“Quite excitable aren’t they?” said Crisis. “I do not know where they come up with this kind of energy.”

“I suppose that they are just kids.” the housemaid responded.

“What does that have to do with it?”

The housemaid giggled, “Have you never been around kids before?”

“Only these two for approximately two weeks.”

“Hm, how interesting. You see I have a couple of my own. When they were that age, once they got all excited and competitive, you couldn’t calm ‘em down for anything.”

“Ah well,” Crisis bowed, “I do apologize on their behalf.”

The housemaid chuckled, “Oh don’t take it as a negative thing. It’s a part of their charm. Don’t hold it against them. If anything they remind me of the times of when I was that young. Don’t you agree?”

Crisis stared at the two, “Not… really.”

“Oh well, I’m sure you’ll understand one day.”

Crisis nodded. He then said, “You know you two could ask the housemaid where the best room is.”

Ceailean and Marie immediately stopped what they were doing. Marie rushed over to the housemaid saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” She hopped excited in front of her and asked, “Hey, do you know where the fanciest room is?”

“Well, that would be the Culdaver Cruises room. Usually reserved for the greatest of Vertants friends and family. But I’m sure he would gladly lend it to the three of you for the time being.”

“Where, where?!”

“It’s on the seventh floor. Look for the dark wooden door.”

“K, thanks!” Marie turned around to see that Ceailean was gone, immediately realizing what happened. She ran and shouted, “C! You cheater!”

Ceailean had just turned the corner of a hallway, Scorbunny holding onto his head for dear life. “Ha! Stupidhead!” He came across an elevator and rapidly pressed the button.

“C! Get back here!” shouted Marie, sprinting down the hall.

“Nah, cya!” said Ceailean, waving two fingers away from his head as the elevator doors closed. In a moment of calm, Ceailean enjoyed the elevator music as the floor number slowly counted up, paying no mind that Scorbunny was complaining and ruffling his hair.

The seventh floor came, and as the doors began to open he saw Marie run through the crack as she said, “Lazybones!”

“Took the stairs!” said Ceailean frustratedly. He pried at the doors in a vain effort to get them to open faster.

Marie was chuckling at the sight of leaving Ceailean behind. Then she gasped as she saw a dark double door down the hall that was much larger than the rest. “That must be it!”

“That room is mine Marie!” shouted Ceailean close behind.

Marie paid this no mind. She reached out with her hand and reached the door first. In her excitement, she almost closed the door. But Fennekin called out for her to wait. “Fennekin! Come on! Hurry!” She reached out as far as she could from the door. Fennekin jumped into her hands and Marie yanked it into the room, slamming the door in Ceailean’s face. He and Scorbunny hit the door flat, causing them to fall onto ground.

On the other side of the door, Marie was huffing air as she leaned back against it. Her bad leg gave out and made her slide down on the floor. “We did it Fennekin, we got it.” Fennekin sighed, wondering if all that running was necessary. Ceailean knocked calmly from the other side. “No C! I’m not letting you in!”

“Come on!”

“No!”

“Pwease!”

Marie chuckled slightly, “I said no!”

“I’ll gib you a cwacker.”

Marie cracked open the door, peering on Ceailean with only one eye. “You no has cwacker.”

“I’ll go get some.”

Marie squinted her eyes seemingly unconvinced. “K fine.” She moved over, letting Ceailean in.

As he walked in, Scorbunny walked in with him extremely dizzy. Fennekin asked if it was alright, Scorbunny nodded. It held up its paws seeking comfort. Fennekin agreed and walked out of Marie’s lap. As Scorbunny walked up, it fell on top of Fennekin, causing them both to tumble on the white acrylic floor.

Marie chuckled, “You two are just the cutest things around.” Fennekin blushed slightly and looked away, laying still letting Scorbunny use it like a pillow.

“Get a look at this place,” said Ceailean. He had his hands placed on his hips as he looked around. The room was expansive. Up ahead were two steps that led down to a curved couch that faced the biggest TV Ceailean had ever seen. Along the walls were cabinets of nick-knacks that were probably chosen to fill space. Past the couch were giant sliding glass doors. Though they were covered by white curtains, it was obvious that it connected to the terrace due to the silhouettes on the other side. To the left was a hallway and the right had another sliding glass door, this time with a wooden rim and glass that obscured the inside.

The housemaid and Crisis finally caught up. “So there you guys are. Has your excitement finally died down?” asked Crisis.

“I won!” said Marie, excitedly putting her hand up.

“No need to rub it in.” grumbled Ceailean.

“Why not share the room?” suggested the housemaid. “Vertant personally oversaw the design process and it has enough rooms to accommodate 10 people comfortably.”

“Might as well,” said Marie. “No point in hogging the whole thing to myself and split us apart.”

“I would have vetoed your decision anyway.” stated Crisis, “Shall we inspect the remainder of our accommodation?”

Ceailean had already walked off to the glass sliding door on the right. “Way ahead of you.” He opened it to see a huge bathroom. The bathtub was the size of a convenience store pool and had a hot tub right next to it, both had smoothly running water pouring over their edges.

Marie had walked in as well. “Whoa, not even my bathroom is this big.”

“Why are we allowed to stay here again?” asked Ceailean.

“Tuviere.”

“Oh yeah…”

“Let us not dawdle on the toiletries. I’m sure our own rooms would be much more appealing to all of us.” suggested Crisis.

“Rooms-” said both Ceailean and Marie. They both turned around and started to run.

“Oh here we go again…” mumbled Crisis. He smoothly shifted out of the way of the two as they ran to the left hallway.

There were too many doors that were indiscernible from each other, so the two picked which ones they thought looked best. Ceailean opened his door and found a broom closet, much to his disappointment. He turned around just as Marie opened her door. Without much thought he admired the interior until Marie yelled, “Dibs!”

“Dib-, aw dang it!” complained Ceailean, stamping his foot.

“I opened the door anyway,” snarked Marie, “As if it was going to be yours if you called dibs first.”

“You’re the rich girl anyway, why don’t you just let me have it? I’m sure yours looks so much better than this one.” suggested Ceailean sarcastically.

Marie stuck her tongue out, “Not a chance.”

“Do not be ungrateful Ceailean.” said Crisis, walking up to them. “These rooms are a much better improvement compared to camping.”

“Yeah but,” Ceailean gestured all around Marie’s new room, “It could be better.”

Crisis sighed, “I care not for the quality of my accommodation. You best choose the one you want, Ceailean. If it means so much to you.”

“Alright. Let’s go see what we got.”

Crisis and Ceailean exited the room, Ceailean sticking his tongue out at Marie who returned the favor. The housemaid was about to follow but Marie stopped her. “Hey, could I talk to you alone for a moment.”

“Of course Miss Marie.”

“Close the door on your way in please.” The housemaid hesitated for a moment, but still did as she was asked.

“What is it you wish to speak to me about Miss Marie?”

“Um. To what extent has Vertant told you to ‘accommodate’ us?”

“I’m sorry, I’m confused.”

“On his way out of the palace he said I could ask for anything, so could I ask for some things?”

“I’ll try to procure items for you that are within reason and within my ability.”

“Okay. Could please get me a bag for my journey?”

The housemaid blinked curiously. “Did something happen to your previous bag?”

“No. I am all that I came here with.” Marie gestured to herself.

“Oh. How curious. Why might you be travelling in such a state?”

Marie scratched her head, “It’s… complicated. I’d rather not get into it.”

“Well if you would pardon me for asking, is it perhaps because you had left your home in a rush? Perhaps you had run away?”

Marie stepped back shocked, “How did-” She caught herself but knew it was too late. “Like I said, it’s complicated.” she said, a little irritated.

The housemaid bowed, “I apologize for prying. Your secret is safe with me, I assure you.”

“H-How did you figure it out anyway?”

“I have been in this kind of business for nearly 30 years. Every once and a while I’ll see or hear of a prince and perhaps an accompanying princess running away to start their own lives separated from their families or to just stay away for a while. I only guessed your situation since you’re in a similar state to those that had just recently ran away.”

“Lucky guess.”

“I will not pry further. Is there anything else you would like me to retrieve?”

“You’ll help me?”

“I’m a very understanding person. Some people only need a little time.”

“Well, in addition to the bag. Could you please get me ultra balls, luxury balls, full restores, pokemon food, enough clothes to last at least a week, a portable charger, and a tent?” asked Marie, standing on her tippy toes.

“Will that be all, no food or the like?”

“Crisis usually handles the cooking.”

“I meant for here. It’s almost lunch time, you know.”

“Oh, do you guys have a menu?”

“I’ll bring you all the selection list right away.”

“Thanks, then I think that should be everything.”

“Very good, I’ll be sure to get the items you requested as soon as possible.”

“Thank you.”

The housemaid opened the door and said one last thing, “And Miss Marie, I hope whatever is happening at home works out for all of you in the end.” She then left the room, closing the door behind her.

Marie sighed. Being left alone with her thoughts, minus the mumbling outside in the terrace, made her think about Snom. Where is it, is it alright? Was running away worth it? She shook her head and plopped down upon the pillows of her king size bed. Then there was a knock on the door.

“Come in!” The door opened and Ceailean let himself in. He had no shirt on, instead sporting a towel around his neck. Fennekin squeezed past his legs and jumped on the bed with Marie.

“Hey, I was gonna dip in the bath for a while. Maybe even hang out with Scorbunny and Noibat in there.” said Ceailean, “I was gonna take my time so I’m wondering if you wanted to go first?”

Marie buried her face in the pillow. “No, go ahead. I think I might want to nap after everything that happened today.”

“Really? It’s almost lunch time.”

“I know. Wake me up when the housemaid comes back. Also turn off the light and close my door please.”

“Alright then.” Ceailean did as he was asked. Marie heard a faint ‘les go’ as Ceailean walked down the hall.

Marie turned her head towards Fennekin, who was eyeing her concernedly. “You’re worried too?” Fennekin nodded. “Come here.” Marie offered her embrace. Fennekin circled around a few times before snuggling up under Marie’s arm. “I have to tell you something.” Fennekin’s ears subtly perked up.

“I’ve kept it a secret from you for a while and I think you have the right to know. You remember my freakout with Scorbunny back in Lumiose right?” Fennekin vocally confirmed. Marie held it a little tighter. “That was because Ceailean’s mom, Miss Crimis, called asking for me… because I had run away from home.” Fennekin was surprised, but kept its composure.

“But I couldn’t do that alone. Remember the story I told C at the bottom of Lumiose tower. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn't for Snom giving it’s all. But now…” Tears began to well up in Marie’s eyes. “But now Snom is missing. And I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again.” Fennekin turned around and looked at Marie endearingly. It gave her a comforting lick on the cheek. Marie put her hand on that cheek, “Fennekin…” She thought for a moment. “Wait, if I hadn’t run away with Snom, me and C wouldn’t have met Scorbunny or Noibat. We wouldn’t have been there to help at Tuviere. And… most of all… I wouldn’t have met you.” Marie scratched behind Fennekin’s ears, causing it to close its eyes and smile.

“We helped save you, Scorbunny, and all your friends from Tuviere. And I have Snom to thank for that. This has to be the right path. So much good happened, I can’t let my personal issues cloud that.” Marie cusped both of Fennekin’s cheeks and looked directly into its eyes. “Still, I’m not going to give up. We have to find Snom. I hope you’ll help me all the way.” Fennekin nodded.

Marie chuckled slightly, giving Fennekin more pets. “Thank you. Now, I think I want to nap for a while. Better to have a fresh mind in order to find Snom.” Fennekin curled up against Marie’s side, opting to join her. Marie stroked it’s head until they both drifted off to sleep.

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() As the crowd continued to socialize in the terrace, Solga made his way down from the bottom rim of the overhead tower using Sewaddles string. He landed softly and inconspicuously, making sure to put away his mask and brown haired wig to make himself less recognizable. Sewaddle crawled onto his shoulder as he began counting the windows along the terrace wall, only to sigh when the biggest window covered in white curtains was the most obvious one.

“The guards still aren’t here.” mumbled Solga, “Let’s hurry this up and maybe we can pull this off without drawing any attention.” Sewaddle nodded and kept a look out. Solga casually made his way across the terrace. He took a drink off a table, downed it, then gave it to an unsuspecting guest, who was rightly confused. Standing in front of the Culdaver Cruises, he evaluated his options.

“Crowd’s too thick to just break in. Those three are also still inside. And I don’t know where the crown is exactly. I’ll need to find another way in.”

Unbeknownst to Solga, someone was gazing upon him. He decided to make his way out of the terrace. Before he could go past the tower doors, someone stopped him.

“You! Stop!”

Solga was surprised, but he kept his cool and swiveled around on his heel with his hands up. “Yes, how may I help you?”

It was a girl. Possibly the same age as him with red hair and an appalling hairstyle. Her stance and clothing made it seem like she was trying way too hard to be prim and proper. She pointed her folded purple fan at him and asked, “Just what is your name, Mr. Man?”

“It’s uh, Solga.”

“Hm, Solga. Sol like the sun or the legendary Pokémon Solgaleo?”

“You would know more than me.”

“Really? I must be so smart!” said the girl dancing around at her own compliment.

“Yeah look, I’m a bit busy right now and I don’t have time to mingle. Good day to you.” Solga turned around to try and get away.

“If that’s the case, then let me get straight to the point. My name is Princess Allie! And you are the cutest looking boy I’ve seen in a long time! So it is my decree that I shall make you my husband at this very moment!” Allie had said this as loud as she could in order to gain the attention of the crowd. All of them were gathering round and gossiping about the Princess.

Solga was shocked and blushed slightly. “What?! I’m not ready for that kind of commitment! Plus, I’m only 17.”

“Well would you look at that, just so happens that I’m 17 too! We’re already getting to know each other so well.”

Solga was getting annoyed. “Look, I don’t care who you are! I don’t have time for this!” The crowd gasped at the statement.

Allie did poorly to hide her own annoyance. “As if I was asking! Guards, take him!” Two burly men in black suits each grabbed Solga by the arms.

“What?! Hey-!”

“Be careful not to hurt him. I’d like my new husband to be in one piece. Now, let us head off to my personal quarters for some private alone time!” She started laughing as the guards dragged Solga away.

“Oh come on!” Sewaddle got ready to attack but Solga stopped it, “Not right now Sewaddle. Go with it for now, that way we don’t cause a bigger scene.” Sewaddle nodded and rode along his shoulders, tensely watching the guards. Solga gave one last look at the Culdaver Cruises before he was dragged into the tower halls.

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() The day went on. The sun was now setting on the horizon. Big white lights lit up the terrace and several windows along the palace's stone exterior glowed yellow. Marie had begun to stir. As she groggily opened her eyes, she noticed she was spread out disproportionate to the bed. Sitting up, she noticed Fennekin had moved away from her to the other side of the bed, with a pillow on top of its head somehow. Off to the side, the items she had requested were placed neatly upon the dresser. She then got up and peeked at the sunset through the window.

“Aw, man.” she mumbled, “There goes my sleep schedule.”

Making her way out, she took the pillow off of Fennekins head and placed it underneath, smiling warmly. The hallway lights made her squint as she went to the living room.

Ceailean looked from the couch in the middle of eating a chip. “Marie?”

Marie rubbed her eyes, “What are you doing?”

“Just trying to get into anime with Noibat.”

Marie looked and saw Ceailean on the couch with a whole family sized chip bag with Scorbunny over his shoulder trying to reach for one. Noibat sat in front of the TV like a hypnotized toddler. Crisis rested his head on his fist with his eyes closed.

“I honestly do not see the appeal of this ‘Anime’.” said Crisis. “One all powerful character decides to create great conflict as if seeking it intentionally, creates a problem for everyone involved. And for what, something as cliché as taking over the world?”

“You practically described the basic premise of most storytelling media,” said Ceailean.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Hmph.”

“And look at you Marie, your hair is all messed up.”

Marie subconsciously rubbed her hands through her hair. “Yeah, it's a bit hard when you don't have a beanie to hide it. That reminds me, what have you guys found out that can get us closer to finding Snom?”

Ceailean sighed, “Not much.”

“I’ve employed Decidueye to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity around Camphrier. I have of yet to hear back from it.” explained Crisis.

“And when Vertant came back he said that he’ll help us after the delegation.”

Marie sighed, “But Solga could get so far in that amount of time. We would have just wasted our time coming here.”

“I wouldn’t conclude on that yet,” said Crisis. “If what I believe to be true and based on the news reports, Solga is trying to take the crown. So he wouldn’t leave town just yet.”

“Does that mean he’ll try to take it tonight?”

“It would be stupid.” said Ceailean, “Too many guards while in the middle of a big party? It would be unlikely he could even get close without alerting anyone.”

“Guards? I didn’t see any when we came here.”

“That would be because he only employs them at night.” explained Crisis. “Citing that they are ‘too expensive’, so he saves money by only hiring them for night guarding.”

“Not the kind of lavish spending I would believe someone of his status would do.”

“I question the validity of these guards as well. Their patrol tactics are outdated and they wear bright colored uniforms. Vertant practically hired old war reenactors.”

“Well, we’re not just gonna sit here and wait are we? Let’s go look around Camphrier for Snom.”

Crisis stood up, “A waste of effort. Without a proper Pokémon that can track them, you’ll only end up exhausted, deteriorating your mental state for when it really counts.”

Marie got an idea, “What about Fennekin? Maybe it could track my scent to find Snom!”

Crisis rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment. “I’m no tracking expert, but I would think that your Fennekin could fit the bill in that regard. Worth a shot.”

Marie pumped her arms, “Really! Alright! Let’s go right now! We have to find Snom!”

Ceailean started to put on his jacket. “Is Fennekin even awake?”

“I’m sure it won’t mind,” Marie ran her hands through her hair in a quick attempt to tidy it up. “Let’s hurry!”

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() In a secluded area of the palace, there was a lone storage closet. Inside was dark and musty, filled with the smell of wood, dust, and old boxes. Solga wiped his face with a towel in front of a mirror he could barely see.

“Why are you doing this?!” shouted Princess Allie. Solga faced her. She was tied up all around with string, her hair and clothes in disarray. “I thought you loved me!”

“We all lose ourselves in the heat of passion.” said Solga, pulling on his gloves. “It’s time I focus on what I really came here for.”

“J-Just you wait until my father hears about this!”

Solga tightened his white tie, “I’m sure that if he cared about you even the slightest, I’m sure he wouldn’t raised such a spoiled brat.”

“How dare you! Do you even-!” Solga quickly turned around and had Sewaddle plaster her mouth with sticky string.

“Yeah, I don’t care.” He walked up to the muffled Princess and crouched down in front of her face. “You are the craziest psycho bitch I ever had to meet. You think you can just have anything and will do anything to get it. Arrogant, oblivious, and dense! It’s a miracle that society hasn’t rejected you for what you are!” Princess Allie was majorly offended and tried to argue as loud as she could, shifting around in her confines.

Then Solga grabbed onto her chin with two fingers, “And it’s probably for those reasons that you remind me so much of myself back then.” Allie stopped and stared into Solga’s eyes. “But to have the status to get whatever you want with almost no struggle? Hmph, I can only imagine. That’s why I can’t say that the last four hours have all been horrible.” Solga drew close and kissed Allie on the forehead. She blushed profusely as Solga walked to the door. “But now's the time I bid you adieu. Maybe one day we’ll see each other again, Princess.”

Solga left the room. As the light from the hallway wiped off of Allie’s face, she couldn’t help but sigh dreamily.

Outside, Solga walked past Allie’s guards, both plastered to the wall in sticky string. “Now, where were we?” Sewaddle looked at him disapprovingly from his arm. “What? Don’t act like you haven’t ignored red flags before.” Sewaddle sighed and rode along. As Solga passed through the hallways, occasionally he would run into guards marching in pairs. If they asked questions, he would say he was Princess Allie’s new groom and any attempt to disturb him would result in their eviction from the premises. They quickly let him pass.

Back at the terrace, it was now night time. Guests were still as lively as before though. Solga looked around and couldn’t think of anything to infiltrate for the crown. He began to walk around and eavesdrop on conversations. Then one came up that sounded interesting.

“Can you believe this! I was on my way to the restroom when these three rapscallions dared to bump into me, spilling my drink all over my custom Cinccino fur suit.”

“Such high disregard those three have! What might have they been doing to even cause such a thing?”

“They said something about heading back into town to use a Fennekin to track a scent. Honestly I have never heard of such a thing! I hope they fail in a hilarious manner!”

“I wouldn’t talk. We both know you don't know anything about Pokémon.”

“Hm, so they’re not here. Perfect.” Solga said to himself. He looked around again and noticed newly placed tiki torches. After checking his surroundings, he took a torch, a handful of napkins, and went behind a white tent away from people. “Tis I, the one shall unleash the gift of fire.” said Solga in an attempt to sound cool for himself. He set the tent ablaze, while also lighting the napkins in his hand.

For several moments, nothing happened. Then Solga ran out from behind the tent shouting, “Fire! Fire! Someone help me!” Everyone turned to see Solga chasing them with his hand on fire and Sewaddle also trying to alert everybody.. The tents were going up in flames and everyone was rushing out of the terrace. Solga chased everyone out of the terrace and smirked once he realized that everyone was gone. “Ha! Inconsiderate douche bags.”

He put the fire out on his hand and faced the glass door to the Culdaver Cruises. “I think I’ll try this thing I saw on the internet, Sewaddle. Cover your eyes.” Sewaddle buried its face into Solga’s hair as he walked into the glass door, impacting the glass with forehead and his knee at the same time, shattering it instantly as he walked through.

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() “Whoa, thas a long way back.” said Ceailean as they looked down the dark road back to Camphrier.

“Maybe we could get one of the butlers to drive us back?” asked Marie.

Crisis turned around. “Watch out!” Fennekin jumped away as he yanked Ceailean and Marie off their feet and pulled them aside right as a car sped past them.

Marie shook her fist at the car, “Look where you’re going, dingus!” Crisis held them back for a little while longer as more cars passed.

Ceailean looked back at the entrance of the palace and noticed several people pouring out in a hurry. “What happened?”

Crisis looked up. “That might have something to do with it.” Ceailean, Marie, and Fennekin looked up and saw that there was orange glare surrounding the walls that housed the terrace.

“Is there a fire?” asked Marie.

Crisis set the two of them down, “Only one way to find out. Let’s check it out.” The group ran back inside.

In the lobby, there were still people running outside. Vertant noticed the group and slid down the railing of the stairs asking, “What the heck is happening?”

“That’s what we came here to find out.” answered Crisis.

“It could be our little friend. I forgot to put the crown away back in the throne room, it’s still exposed.”

“Actually no, I took it for safekeeping.”

“Really? Where is it?”

“Back in the Culdaver Cruises.” Crisis said slowly.

Vertant exhaled disappointingly, “The crown should be first priority. Let's hurry and try to catch this guy.” As soon as he finished, Marie bolted off on her own.

“Quite motivated aren’t we?” asked Crisis.

“Snom has been her Pokémon for a long time.” explained Ceailean, “If there’s even a possibility that Solga is here, she’ll go for it.”

“Very well, let’s follow her lead.” Everyone ran for the terrace.

“Fennekin! Catch up with Marie! We’ll be close behind!” shouted Ceailean. Fennekin nodded and sprinted ahead.

Marie arrived at the terrace, now blazing with fire. She noticed the glass door to their room was broken, prompting her to investigate.

Just as she was stepping over the broken glass, Fennekin showed up at the tower door. It called for her, but she didn't listen. Wondering what could be wrong, Fennekin followed her, making sure to not step on the glass.

At first, the Cruises didn’t look like it had been messed with at all. Minus the increasing temperature from the fire outside. But upon further investigation, the two noticed that Marie’s room had been trashed. Bed de-sheeted, cabinets tossed, Marie’s items flung every which way. Ceailean’s and Crisis’s rooms weren’t spared this messy demise.

“Marie!” called out Ceailean in the distance. Marie ran to meet up with the rest of the group.

“All our rooms are trashed.” explained Marie.

“Crisis did pick the one furthest down the hall.” said Ceailean, “Could you confirm the location of the crown?”

“On it.” said Crisis, running towards his room.

“I need to call the fire department.” said Vertant urgently. “I trust that you three can handle this?”

“Count on us, your majesty!” said Ceailean with a thumbs up. Vertant nodded and went back through the tower doors.

“So tacky.” teased Marie.

“Some of us need to have some sort of humor.”

Crisis returned, “Crown’s gone.”

“Dang it! What do we do now?” asked Marie.

“Um, how’s this? You and Ceailean sweep this floor and everything below. He didn’t seem to be on a high budget so I’m fairly certain he won’t be able to fly out of here by going up. You two try your best to find him and lead him to the lobby, where I’ll be waiting to intercept.”

“Got it. How bout you Marie?” asked Ceailean.

“Some words I didn’t understand but just lead him to the lobby is all I need to know! Come on Fennekin, let’s bring this guy down!” Marie ran out of the front door f the cruises.

“Marie!” called out Ceailean.

“What’s the matter?” asked Crisis, “Do you not trust her?”

“It’s just… She’s never been in a situation like this before. I don’t know how she’ll act.”

“Even the best of us have to put faith in our teammates. Come on, let us do our parts.” encouraged Crisis, putting his hand on Ceailean’s left shoulder, causing him to wince. Nonetheless, he nodded and they separated to cover their respective areas.

“Where the heck are these so-called ‘guards’.” speculated Ceailean as he walked down the hall. His question was immediately answered once he turned the corner. A pair of guards were strung up upon the wall. “The heck happened to you guys?”

“A rapscallion crossed paths with us in a rush. He would not listen to our demands and made quick work of us as you can see.” explained one of the guards in a strained voice.

“If you make haste, I believe that he is still ‘round the corner!” said the other.

Ceailean looked down the hall to get a passing glance of white coat-tails. “Hey stop!” He sprint off after him.

Solga was now within Ceailean’s full view. “So much for the stealth option.” said Solga, “Let’s make a mess!” Solga swung Sewaddle around, having it string up furniture, curtains, paintings, and whatnot to get in the way of Ceailean.

Ceailean tried his best to pass all the obstacles, but he tripped on a fallen cabinet. He thought fast and took out a pokeball. “Noibat! Don’t let him get away!” Noibat was released from it’s pokeball and it immediately exploded into dragon rush.

“Not so sleepy head now huh?” said Solga as he stood by a window. “Too bad, ‘cause I just got a blanket for it!” He threw a curtain out that covered his entire body, having Noibat crash through the window, ripping the curtain from its rings down to the shrubbery below.

“Noibat!” cried out Ceailean.

“He was good fun. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Solga ran off down the stairs. He swung down only two levels and waited outside the door. He pressed his ear on the door hearing footsteps pass by. Solga started to laugh before a voice shouted out.

“Fennekin, ember!” Solga jumped back just before a cloud of embers exploded right where he stood. Marie stood before him, arms crossed and looking serious. “Just what have you done with Snom you jerk!”

“Mighty words for-”

“Shut it! Where is Snom!?”

“Not much a talker-”

“Snom! Where is it?!”

“By Arceus, you’re no fun!”

“You kidnapped my friend! I don’t have time for fun!”

“You’re little ‘friend’ was quite the handful. Blew us up quite a few times until I silenced it.”

Marie broke for a moment, “Silenced…?”

“I’ll leave it to you to figure out what that means. But I really must be going,” Solga pulled out Vertant’s crown and spun it around on his finger, “The future is in the palm of my hands.”

“N-No! Fennekin, use ember on him!” Fennekin shot another ember. Solga dodged it nonchalantly.

“Look, it’s pointless to battle right now.”

“Why, cause you’re scared?”

“‘Cause I tricked this naïve child so easily today, you shoulda seen her face.”

Marie’s blood was boiling. “Where… is… Snom!”

Solga sighed, “Why should I tell you?”

“If you don’t, I’ll have Fennekin blast you to bits ‘til I get an answer!”

“Quite bold aren’t we?”

“I’ve handled way worse compared to you!”

“Really? Very interesting.” Solga threw Sewaddle in front of him to confront Fennekin. “I would personally like to see if you live up to your word.”

“You’re doubting me?”

Solga cracked his knuckles, “I think someone needs to kick you down a peg. If I were you, I would call your friends to come save you.”

“I-I don’t need them!” Marie clenched her fists.

Solga frowned and mumbled, “That’ll be your first mistake.” He shot his hand forward, “String shot!” Sewaddle shot a big strand of string.

“Fennekin howl!” Fennekin howled loudly, blowing away the curtains and the string.

Solga grunted unamusingly. He picked at his nails and said, “Now silver wind!” Sewaddle blew a strong wind of silver dust.

“Intercept with an ember!” Fennekin shot an ember, colliding with Sewaddles attack and sending silvery embers swirling around the hall.

“They’re blind! Now use toxic!” Sewaddle launched a bright purple sludge at Fennekin.

Marie thought fast, “Use the curtain to block it!” Fennekin bit the nearby curtain and flung it in front of itself. The purple sludge punched the curtain hard, being only an inch from Fennekin’s face. The sludge then began to eat away the fabric, signified with purple fumes and burning sounds.

“Suppose that talk doesn’t come from nowhere.” taunted Solga.

Marie threw caution to the wind. “Yeah, I was there to take care of the goons at Tuviere!”

Solga looked genuinely surprised. “My my, what an audience I’ve managed to draw. But what of it? I’ll take you down and make you look like a fool all the same.”

“Shut it! Shut it! Shut it!” shouted Marie as she stamped her feet. Fennekin looked at her, concerned. “Fennekin, use howl again!” Fennekin let rip another howl, blowing back the curtains further and also toppling some objects atop the desks.

“Yeah, a real representation of who you are. Use string shot!”

As Sewaddle shot more string, Marie instructed, “Fennekin! Use scratch to get through it and get Sewaddle!” Fennekin’s claws extended out and it swiped at the attack, cutting the whole thing into pieces.

Solga was surprised. “What the-!” He didn’t have much time to react as Fennekin rushed Sewaddle. It swiped Sewaddle into the wall, bouncing it behind Solga. “You pest! Sewaddle, go and use flail!” Sewaddle flipped up and rushed Fennekin.

“Get away from it!” Fennekin jumped up on whatever it could to avoid Sewaddle, moving from cabinets to curtain railings. It could only move up in the narrow hallway however and the gap was closing fast. “Now use howl!” Fennekin, with the roof to it’s back, turned around and howled in Sewaddles face, making it lose all momentum. “Now scratch it down!” Sewaddle didn’t even see the attack coming. It got hit to the ground so hard that shreds of carpet flew into the air.

“You’re good.” mumbled Solga, “Let’s see if I can pull this off again. Sewaddle!” Sewaddle looked back to see Solga twirling the crown on his finger. “We’re leaving. We got what we came here for.” Sewaddle nodded and somersaulted onto Solga’s arm.

“What? Things getting too dicey for you?” taunted Marie.

“Be that as it may, I’m on a tight schedule. I haven’t the time to be playing with you. Ciao!” Sewaddle shot a string on the roof, allowing Solga to swing away. \

Marie and Fennekin chased after him. “Hey! Get back here! We’re not done!”

Solga smirked as he crashed straight through a window five stories high. He did a flip before Sewaddle shot another string onto the palace wall, letting him swing back through a first floor window.

“Now!” shouted Crisis. Solga was still airborne when Scorbunny jumped across the chandeliers and kicked Sewaddle off of his arm. It crashed through the railing of the second floor that overlooked the lobby.

Solga rolled and sprang up, “Great, now I have one more pain in my ass.”

Crisis stood between him and the door along with Gurdurr, Farfetched, and Scorbunny. “In the name of Team Harmonious! You will not get away again!” he proclaimed.

“That ain't fair,” Solga gestured to the three Pokémon, “Why don’t you battle with one that way it would be an honorable battle?”

“Says the thief. Honor was thrown out the window as soon as you decided to steal.”

“Well that’s too bad. If you’re going to play that way, I’ll play along. Sewaddle, silver wind!” Out from the dust, silvery wind swept Scorbunny away. “Keep in mind that Sewaddle is the main threat, not me.” taunted Solga.

Crisis got angry. “Gurdurr, brutal swing! Farfetched, leaf blade!” Both Pokémon launched themselves at Sewaddle.

Solga crossed his arms and smirked. “You know what to do,” he said with confidence. Sewaddle nodded and zipped away with its string. The two Pokémon swung with so much force that they destroyed the floor where Sewaddle was. “Silver wind!” Sewaddle shot down upon the Pokémon, destroying even more of the floor.

“Scorbunny! Use bounce!” Scorbunny then jumped super fast, tackling Sewaddle towards the ceiling.

“Use silver wind to soften the blow!” Sewaddle blew silver wind into the ceiling, causing an air burst that blew them both back. Sewaddle landed on the chandelier and Scorbunny grinded against a rail.

Then, the double door out of the lobby was kicked open. “Fennekin, ember!” Sewaddle zipped away just in time before an ember blasted apart the chandelier. “Don’t stop til you hit it!” The lobby became a shooting gallery as Fennekin shot ember after ember at the evasive Sewaddle. Wood and glass were being blasted everywhere, prompting Crisis to take cover behind some pillars. Sewaddle then strung up on an unstable platform, causing it to break and fall with Sewaddle going down with it. As it crashed on the floor, Fennekin didn’t hesitate and shot the biggest ember it could.

“Keep that attack back with silver wind!” Sewaddle had just enough time to meet the attack halfway, causing the two Pokémon to have a beam struggle.

“Come on Fennekin! Show ‘em what for! He’ll regret ever taking Snom!” encouraged Marie. Fennekin pushed harder, sending the struggle towards Sewaddle. It’s strength wasn’t going to hold and Solga was growing concerned, pondering whether or not to jump in and save it.

But then, something changed. Sewaddle felt strength building up inside itself. It all came forth as silver wind practically doubled in power, easily pushing back all the way to Fennekin.

Before Marie could react, the attack landed, blowing her back through the doors. “Fennekin!” she cried. As the smoke cleared, she saw Fennekin on the floor. “Fennekin, can you still battle?” It opened its eyes and struggled to stand. Eventually, its determination was strong enough for it to recover. “Thank Arceus. Fennekin, this is it! Let’s take him down, once and for all!” Crisis smiled at her teamwork with Fennekin.

Solga smirked. “Oh man, you don’t know what you’re in for.”

“Now, use scratch!” Fennekin drew its claws and rushed Sewaddle. Solga gave no instruction, only watching. Fennekin landed it’s attack, sending Sewaddle spinning across the floor.

Solga got serious. “Better, but still not enough.” he mumbled, “If that’s the case, then we’ll use speed. Sewaddle use flail!” Sewaddle rushed forward, catching Fennekin off guard with its newfound speed. It sent Fennekin sliding back.

“You okay?” asked Marie. Fennekin nodded. “Good, then meet it head on with scratch!”

“Bash against it with flail!” The two Pokémon came to a head. Sewaddle was dodging Fennekin’s long powerful swipes and taking advantage of openings from missed attacks.

“This isn’t working Marie!” shouted Crisis, “We all have to contribute towards our goal! Scorbunny, get in there and use blaze kick!” Scorbunny jumped up off the railing and went in for a blazing ax kick.

“Back it up!” shouted Solga. Sewaddle jumped back before Scorbunny could land the hit, but Scorbunny was able to match its speed. “It’s fast. Keep up with flail!”

“Don’t let it rest! Blaze kick!” shouted Crisis. The two Pokémon jumped around the entire lobby in an effort to hit each other. Fennekin and Marie could barely keep up with them since they were so small. Then Scorbunny finally got its hit, searing Sewaddle with its fiery kick in mid-air.

“Now’s your chance!” shouted Solga. Sewaddle endured the stunning attack and whipped Scorbunny straight across the lobby with a huge flail into the stone brick wall. The impact was so great that it sent cracks throughout the entire wall and embedded Scorbunny within them.

“Scorbunny!” shouted Crisis, “Are you alright?” Scorbunny writhed around within the cracks, eventually gasping and catching the breath that was knocked out of it. “Good, then let’s move on with caution.” But Scorbunny did not move. It couldn’t move. It was stuck with the cracks of the walls. No matter how much it struggled, only little pebbles would fall.

“Crisis!” called Marie, “Where’s Ceailean? We can put it back in its pokeball!”

“Noibat crashed through a window bundled up in curtain fabric. Ceailean has gone into the gardens to search for it and left Scorbunny with me.” explained Crisis.

“Darn it. Sorry Scorbunny, we’ll get you down as soon as we can!” Scorbunny wasn’t content with staying where it was, still struggling to get out.

“No more wasting time! Farfetched, brick break!” Farfetch'ds leek glowed orange and it charged.

“Bein’ a bit Toxic, aren’t we?” asked Solga. Sewaddle immediately shot a toxic sludge at Farfetched, knocking it back. It landed in the rubble with purple bubbles forming above its head.

“Damn it all.” mumbled Crisis, returning Farfetched to its pokeball. “Gurdurr, I am at my limit with this person! Use slam on Solga!”

“What the-!” Solga had to dodge away from the attack. “Just gonna sidewind me like that?!”

“Gurdurr knows how to be as gentle as me!”

Gurdurr swung again, nearly getting Solga. Sewaddle tried to move in to help but an ember was shot in its path.

“Don’t forget about us!” remind Marie. Sewaddle hunkered down, slowly moving in a circle with Fennekin in an intense standoff. “Now! Scratch!” Fennekin lunged forward. Sewaddle then shot a silver wind along the ground in a sweeping fashion, making it launch Fennekin up in the air. It then followed up with a string shot, encapsulating most of Fennekin's body in a cocoon. “Fennekin no!”

Scorbunny saw what was going on. Knowing Gurdurr was too distracted to help, Scorbunny summoned all of its strength and finally dislodged itself from the wall. Sewaddle barely had enough time to react as a fiery foot seared its way through the air, just missing. Sewaddle held onto the string that held Fennekin as it dodged around, getting higher and higher. One attack got Sewaddle up in the air. Scorbunny took this opportunity to bounce straight at Sewaddle. It just managed to contort itself in a way to dodge. But Scorbunny wasn’t done, as it landed on the roof to use another bounce. In a desperate attempt, Sewaddle used flail to use Scorbunny as another platform to gain even more height. Scorbunny was flung to the floor and Sewaddle hung safely from a dangling chandelier. Marie ran over to try and free Fennekin from its cocoon.

Solga noticed Sewaddles location. “Sewaddle! Stay there! I’m coming to get you!” Just after he said that, Gurdurr tried to sweep him off his feet. He dodged and jumped up on a pillar, proceeding to climb it to the second floor. Gurdurr then bashed the pillar away with its steel beam, sending wooden splinters everywhere. The second floor was now unstable and beginning to collapse. Solga moved fast and reached the second floor, upon which he saw a vase. A devious idea came to his mind.

Gurdurr was ready to jump after Solga when he popped out and said, “Hey, got something for you! Catch!” He threw a vase down straight at Gurdurr. On pure instinct, it smashed it out of the air, which caused a ton of stun spore to fly everywhere. Gurdurr was afflicted with paralysis and it fell limp on the floor, hardly able to support itself even with its beam.

Solga ran from the collapsing floor towards Sewaddle. Just before he hit the wall, he jumped from the railing under Sewaddles chandelier. “Jump Sewaddle!” Sewaddle jumped down, reeling Fennekin away from Marie's hands.

“What’re you doing?!” Marie cried out desperately.

Solga grabbed onto Sewaddle and its string and tugged with all his might. “EEH-Yeah-Hah!” Fennekin shot straight up into the ceiling head first, crumbling the intricate design and loosening the chandeliers hold.

“Fennekin!” Marie cried on the verge of tears. Scorbunny moved fast and used blaze kick to cut away the string a mere foot away from Sewaddles face. Fennekin fell limp, crashing straight onto the chandelier. As it fell through, the chandelier's grip finally snapped away and fell along with Fennekin. Marie didn’t care however. She was going to catch Fennekin and save it. When Marie caught it, she immediately turned around and fell to the floor while shielding Fennekin. But the chandelier didn’t hit her. She looked to see Scorbunny, straining and lifting with all of its might. It was then confused when the chandelier started lifting itself. Letting go of it, it noticed Gurdurr had come in for the assist. Gurdurr tossed it aside and inspected Marie for injuries.

“Marie!” shouted Crisis as he ran over. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Marie remained face down to the ground.

Scorbunny was fuming now. It turned to see Solga looking at it from the creaked open palace entrance. He waved goodbye with a smirk and shut the door behind him. Scorbunny alerted everyone that it was going to pursue.

“Right! Gurdurr, stay here and care for Marie. I’m going on the pursuit!” Gurdurr nodded and Crisis along with Scorbunny burst out of the palace. They saw Solga mid-swing in the air heading back towards Camphrier. “He can’t get away from us! There’s nothing but open grasslands past here. He won’t be able to move fast.” Crisis was immediately proven wrong when Solga abruptly landed at the palace outer walls next to a black car. “You gotta be kidding me.”

Solga got in the passenger side of the car and it immediately sped off. Crisis took note of this. As it sped away, the guards had assembled in a disorganized line across the wall and began shooting at the car with their muskets to no avail. Scorbunny swung its paw down in frustration as it watched Solga get away.

“Hey.” said a somber voice behind Crisis. He saw that it was Vertant. “Sorry I wasn’t here to help.”

“Why do you feel the need to apologize? It was clearly the inadequacy on my part for not realizing how a crowded environment would contribute to a heist. And also my inability to handle the crook myself.”

“I’m just saying I wish I was here to help. Fire department’s eight minutes out. They probably won’t catch him, they could drive off anywhere.”

“So what’s the plan now? What could happen now that he has the crown?”

“Anything from figuring out how it works faster than I could or he could do something very dangerous…”