Intermission 4: Cleaning Up

As the first rays of light struck the sleeping Goomy, it slowly began shaking – a yawn soon escaping from her mouth. She looked around, quickly finding a sleeping Ralts nearby. “Serene, it's morning!” she called out, rushing right up to her and gently shaking her shoulder.

“Hnng, wha-?” Serene mumbled, slowly lifting herself up – an icky feeling all across her shoulder. “Sarah? What are you doing up, it's early...”

“It's morning!” Sarah called out, startling the Ralts once more. She turned around and rushed out of the door, a big grin on her face.

“Sarah, wait!”

It wasn't long until she came across a Growlithe, stopping with a massive grin on her face. “Hi, I'm Sarah!” she called out.

The Growlithe jumped on the spot, spinning around to see the small Goomy in front of her. “Oh, uh... hi?”

Sarah then began to waddle along, grinning.

“Wait, Sarah? Isn't that the Goomy that nearly gave Marshy back the bog?”

Sarah's smile was gone straight away, as she stopped to turn around to the Growlithe. “You've heard about that?” she asked softly.

The Growlithe let out a small nod, her ears drooping. “A few members were sent to the medics after that...”

Sarah let out a small sigh, turning around to wander out. “Aw...”

As she busted outside there was a cart passing by. The Zebstrika pulling it let out a neigh as she wandered in front, nearly sending the two passengers flying.

“Woah!” the Sneasel on the back of the cart yelled out, gripping onto the edge. “Hey, I said to be careful!” He pulled himself back up, faded eyes looking nowhere in particular as he got himself comfortable.

“There was some tiny slime ball in the way,” his Alolan Vulpix friend sighed, shaking her head. “Nothing much the rider can do about that, Jett.”

The Sneasel, Jett, sighed, shaking his head. “Well Grace, how far are we from the... Fever Flats, was it?”

“Oh, I don't know, I'd say it's...” the Vulpix was smirking wide as she looked around. “five minutes ago.”

Jett turned to her voice, letting out a dry laugh in response. “If you're going to be that unreliable guiding me around town then I'm just going to take the cart back.”

Grace let out a small giggle, standing up. “Alright, alright, that's the only time, promise.”

Jett nodded, standing up at the sound of her shuffling about, walking stick in hand. “We'll get off here,” he said, climbing down.

Grace hopped down after him, letting out a sigh. “Definitely not the prettiest place.”

Jett wasted no time in feeling out for Grace, putting a hand on her back. “I was hoping the town itself wouldn't smell like swamp,” Jett grumbled.

They had barely began walking when the duo bumped into Serene, who tripped over. “Owh, sorry,” she called out, getting back to her feet. “Have either of you seen a Goomy?! She just wandered out and I lost sight of her!”

Grace lifted a paw, pointing past the carriage that they were just on moments ago. “One of those slime things passed by us just as we got here,” she explained.

“Oh, thank you!” the Ralts called out, picking up speed to catch up to Sarah.

Grace sighed, shaking her head. “Come along, there's an inn just nearby,” Grace explained, walking along with Jett and slowing down when she felt Jett's hand slipping away from her back.

Once she was at the inn, Grace stopped to look around the interior with a small whistle. “Nice place,” she said aloud, her tails wagging back and forth.

Jett gave a sigh of relief as he reached the entrance. “Oh thank god, that's a far better smell than the swamp.”

Grace nodded, slinking in. “Let's get set up, have to build my collection back up after the Guilds took it away...” she said, a hint of irritation at the end.

“This is not the place to talk about your hobby,” Jett said quickly. “Anyone could be listening.”

“Right, right...” Grace sighed, shaking her head as she made her way to the reception. “We’d like to get a room, darling,” she said cheerfully, placing some coins onto the bench. “One on the bottom floor, for my friend here.”

“We don’t have one available,” the desk Pokemon said, looking about.

Grace’s grin faded away, and she leaned in closer. “Can you get one available?”

The Pokemon thought aloud, judging the possibilities in their head. “I’ll see…” came their hesitant answer.

Grace nodded, her grin instantly coming back. “Wonderful, get to it~”

Unbeknownst to her, someone was listening in. A Growlithe, whose ears perked at the mention of something the Guilds confiscated. She lowered her head, trying to appear uninterested as she waited for them to sort out their business.

---

Elsewhere in town was Sarah, wandering about town without aim, her body shrinking somewhat at all the Pokemon keeping their distance, not just because of the swamp infection she cause but also because she’s been running around haphazardly. “I miss the rain...” As she wandered around town she kept catching Pokemon backing away from her, a nervous look on their faces.

As one backed right away from her, she couldn't take it, rushing towards the stranger. “You don't think I'm mean, do you?!” she called out, her form shaking.

The Sylveon backed up from the ball of slime, looking down to Sarah. “Out of my way,” she grumbled, turning around Sarah.

“I'm not weird, am I?! I just wanted to have fun!”

The Sylveon kept walking, quickly getting lost into the crowd. Sarah followed along for a few seconds, before she turned to another passerby, getting slime on the Minum’s foot. “I'm a good little slime! It wasn't my fault, was it?!”

The Minum took a step back, looking down to his foot in disgust. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but don’t get slime all over my foot.”

“Do I need to go?!” Sarah called out, circling around the Minum obsessively.

“Just go back home,” the Minum huffed, walking around and leaving Sarah behind.

Sarah stayed right there in the street, tears welling up in her eyes. “I… Okay, fine!”

---

“Finally, that was harder than it needed to be.” Grace let out a sigh of relief, turning over to her friend. “We've got a room on the ground floor, at the back.” She then began walking along with Jett, making sure his hand stayed on her back.

Jett was less focused on where they were going, his ear perked at the sound of footsteps behind himself. “Is someone following us?” he asked aloud.

Grace whipped her head around to the sight of a Growlithe following right behind them, frozen on the spot. “There is someone following us,” Grace said with an exasperated sigh. “Who are you?”

The Growlithe backed up, not wanting to make a scene over what could be nothing. “Ignius,” she said softly, ears folding back.

“Well, Ignius,” Grace huffed, turning back around. “I don't want to catch you spying on us again, is that clear?” She waited for a few seconds, before clearing her throat. “I can't hear you, sweetie~”

“Gotcha,” the Growlithe mumbled out, slowly and awkwardly backing out of the hallway.

Grace let out a sigh, continuing on to the room, watching Jett to make sure he doesn't bump into the door, before closing it behind herself. She then let out a chuckle, shaking her head slowly. “Some people.”

Ignius had snuck back to their room, listening in on their conversation through the door. So she waited for any sign that’d confirm her suspicions.

---

Sarah was still in the middle of the street, looking down to the ground sadly. “Sarah!” She lifted her head up, looking around. “Sarah, there you are!” Serene came running up to the Goomy, picking her up in a hug. “Don't you ever run away on me like that again, you hear?”

“Nobody likes me,” Sarah said softly, letting out a sniffle.

Serene was silent at first, thinking hard as the Goomy's slime slowly soaked her. Then she cleared her throat, holding Sarah a little higher. “Everyone is just... busy. Since everyone is all caught up with the marshy monsters, remember them?”

Sarah began shaking again, taking a deep breath. “I caused them! It's my fault nobody likes me!” she cried out, dropping out of Serene's grasp onto the floor.

Serene gently pat Sarah on the head, mentally punching herself for bringing up the Marshoids. “Hey, how about we go back to the inn? We can talk about this there, okay?”

Sarah sniffled, going between Serene's legs, back along the street. “Okay...”

---

Jett was laying down on the bed, his eyes closed as he listened to Grace talk on. “So they expect me to just help out in the desert? After all that? Bah!” Grace flopped down onto her bed with a huff, ears drooped.

“Well they can’t accept witches in their ranks, and they had to make sure you’re not a witch,” Jett said plainly, not bothering to open his eyes. “Especially since you had such a large collection.”

“It's outrageous, I wasn't hurting anyone to get those potions, and I wasn't going to use them to hurt anyone!”

“If I didn’t know you already, I would’ve been suspicious,” Jett added. “You don’t seem to understand just how many you had.”

Grace let out a sigh, turning to the door. “I'm going to get some fresh air. Or at least as fresh as you can get in a swamp like this...” She opened it up and strolled right out.

She was met to a blast of fire to the face, yelping as she tumbled back along the hallway. “Grace?!” Jett called out, flipping up off the bed.

“I knew it, you're a witch!” Ignius yelled out, fire in her mouth as she took a step towards Grace.

Jett then slammed right into Ignius's gut, gripping on around her to quickly get a sense of his opponent.

Small, fluffy, quadruped, and... hot to the touch. Ignius recovered quickly, taking in a breath before blasting fire out dead-on to the blind Sneasel, knocking him back into the room. “This is between the witch and me!” she yelled out, turning back to Grace.

Grace was already back onto her feet, backing up slowly. “Y-you've got the wrong idea, miss. I'm not a witch!”

“Says you and your potion collection!” Ignius called out, firing out another burst of fire at Grace.

Grace ducked underneath the flames, taking a step forward as she blasted out a burst of glitter, almost like that of the moon, hitting Ignius square in the chest.

Ignius barely flinched, charging forward to slam into Grace. Then she got struck from behind, Jett landing down onto her, a perfect Aerial Ace. “Get off!” Ignius yelled out, slamming herself into the wall.

Jett was knocked off, grumbling as he stood up. “Run, Grace!” he yelled out, before swinging as quickly as he could with an ice-cold claw. He missed Ignius completely, crashing into the opposite wall.

Grace backed up, biting her lower lip before turning to run, snow on her body melting into small droplets of water, which were dripping off of her.

Jett was then blasted by another burst of fire, knocked down onto the ground. He dug a claw into the floor as he tried to lift himself up, before collapsing.

“Stay down!” Ignius yelled at the Sneasel struggling to even remain conscious. She turned over to the end of the hallway, small drops of water where Grace once was.

“Witch!” she yelled out, running out to the main entrance, looking around for the small Vulpix. It only lasted a few minutes before she ran outside, eyes locking on Grace as the Vulpix was running off along the streets. “Get back here, witch!”

As soon as Grace heard the Growlithe's words, she skidded off to the side and ducked behind a building. She then made a left turn after the next house, ears folded as she could hear Ignius catching up.

She was distracted for just a moment too long, tripping over and landing head-first into the ground.

She let out a hefty cough from the lingering dust cloud. She was panicked as she looked around, thinking of where she came from – where that Growlithe's coming from. A bright blast of light answered her, the Vulpix yelping as she leapt out of the way. “Leave me alone!” she cried out, picking up the pace.

She looked around everywhere as she ran – in search of something to dig into, to hide in. She found it from a small hole in the house. She looked back to see Ignius still running after her. She turned around and ran around the house, taking deep breaths.

She took another turn, and stopped just short of the next turn, leaning over to see if Ignius was following. After just a few seconds she forced herself to keep moving – despite how out of breath she was. She turned back to where she was, desperately digging into the hole under the house, before awkwardly crawling underneath it, curling up into a ball.

She was shaking as she saw the feet of the Growlithe going around the house in search of her, holding herself back from making even the tiniest noise. As she kept quiet - her breathing hidden behind the frequent stomps and growls of the Growlithe - she could get a moment to think.

She didn’t deserve this, she wasn’t hurting anyone, just making little potions for her own amusement. She was a Mystic for god’s sake!

“Where are you?!”

Grace lowered her head timidly, watching the Growlithe finally pass by. She held onto her breath for a good few seconds after the psycho was out of sight. She finally let her breath go, able to look back on what just happened.

She was attacked because she’s made potions, that’s not fair - she’s not a witch in hiding, just making potions. She even had a pretty good collection, one that she’ll have to rebuild since the Guild took them away.

Or…

Was that a problem? Did she make too many potions before? She made a small gulp before crawling out, looking back and forth to make sure the Growlithe was gone before crawling all the way out. Maybe this will happen more often if anyone else found out how big a stash she’s got? But Jett seems pretty serious about attacking witches, he’d make an attempt if she was getting too far. Unless, he is indeed a fraud. Grace let out a sigh, trudging back to the inn she was just at - she knew she’d have to be more discreet now.

---

Sarah had a grin on her face as she made her way back to the inn, Serene by her side. She stopped upon seeing a growling Growlithe at the front.

“What do you you mean?! I chased a witch out!” Ignius snapped, taking a step closer to the inn.

“Pokemon at the scene were reporting that the supposed witch wasn't attacking you,” the inn owner explained.

Ignius let out a grumble, shaking her head. “Maybe so, but she was still a witch! I had to take her out!”

“Which is why there was a Sneasel unconscious in the hallways? One who claimed you attacked first?”

“Well...” Ignius sighed, shaking her head. “He was helping the witch. Just let me in.”

The inn owner shook their head. “If this Vulpix is proven to be a witch we'll let it slide, but until then you are banned.” They didn't give Ignius a chance to respond as the door slammed in front of her.

“Traitors!” Ignius spat out, growling once more. She turned to stomp off, before coming across Sarah and Serene. “Get out of my way.”

“Hi, my name's Sarah! Who're you?!” Sarah yelled out, sliding towards the Growlithe curiously. “And what's a witch?!”

The Growlithe looked down to Sarah in mild confusion, tilting her head. “Ignius...”

“Sarah,” Serene said softly, picking the slime ball up. “Witches are very scary Pokemon who do awful things, like the one who made all those slime creatures.”

Sarah looked down to the ground, giving a rather loud sigh.

Ignius let out a grumble, turning around the two. “I lost sight of a witch, a Vulpix,” she explained as she began walking off. “One of those cold ones.”

Sarah dropped from Serene's grasp, stopping right in front of Ignius. “I can help you!” she called out, grinning.

“Really?” Ignius asked aloud, looking down to the slime. “That... would be most appreciated, thank you.” She then began walking, making sure Sarah was following along.

Sarah indeed was, before Serene quickly ran in the way. “Sarah, you can't just go along with random strangers hunting witches! That's dangerous!”

“But I wanna help!” Sarah yelled out, slipping between Serene's legs. “Besides, you're not a stranger!”

Serene let out a sigh, putting her hand on her forehead.

“She'll be in good hands.” Ignius stopped to look at Serene, waiting for her response. “Besides, I don't want her rushing into danger, I can take the witch myself.”

Serene let out a strained sigh, turning around to follow after the two. “We won't fight this witch, we'll only find her.”

Ignius nodded, walking ahead. “Fine by me.”

It was an awkward walk, the two of them in silence while Sarah zoomed about every which way.

“So...” Serene was the first to break the silence. “Why are you after this witch anyways?”

“They're a threat,” Ignius answered bluntly, her focus shifting all about, after the Vulpix.

“No I mean- why are you after the witch?”

Ignius let out a small sigh, shifting her body weight side-to-side. “Well... I've gotta do something. Marshy's gotten this strong from us not doing anything about him for so long, I can't make the same mistake...”

Serene tilted her head curiously, taking a step closer. “Who's Marshy?”

Ignius glanced over to Serene, squinting at her. “You know those Marshoids? Small Goomy-like things?”

Serene nodded, thinking back to when they had to run away from some.

“Marshy's been creating them, along with this sickness in the waters.”

Serene let out a gasp, putting a hand on her mouth. “Where are you getting clean water from?”

Ignius sighed, stopping. “We've been getting it from other towns, but it's spreading further, and other towns are starting to either rely on help themselves or are holding off on their water in preparation.”

“Oh...” Serene's face paled as she looked around. “What can we do?”

“Help the Guilds fight Marshy, as long as that tyrant's kicking, everyone's in trouble,” Ignius explained. “They may be wasting time in their preparations, but I'm glad they're helping our community.”

“We're part of the Guilds!” Sarah called out excitedly, spinning around to face Ignius. “Wait...” her eyes slowly opened up upon some sort of realisation, the Goomy staring into space cheerfully.

Ignius leaned towards the Goomy, tilting her head in confusion. “Are you-”

“I need to help the communithy!” Sarah yelled out, the Growlithe jumping back in fright. “I'll help everyone until they all forget about the bad things I did! Then I can be in the rain again!” She didn't wait for Serene nor Ignius, and just began rushing off instead.

“Sarah, wait!” Serene yelled out, tripping as the Goomy had suddenly sprinted off. “I'm sorry Ignius, I can't leave her behind!” Serene called out, already running off after the Goomy.

Ignius was caught off-guard by their sudden speed, the two of them gone before she could even catch up. “Gee, thanks… Can’t even pronounce ‘community’ correctly...”

---

Grace was looking around every step she took as she slowly made her way back to the inn. Once she was there she wasted no time, slinking right through the crowd to the hallway. She let out a small sigh upon seeing no Jett in the hallway. “Jett? Where are you?” She made her way into their room, letting out a relieved sigh to see Jett on the bed.. “I'm back,” she sighed, flopping down onto the floor.

Jett lifted his head upon hearing Grace, his breathing slow and heavy.. “Welcome back,” he said, crawling off of the bed. “That Growlithe was banned from entering the inn, but considering she tried to kill you right away she might be back,” he warned, slowly climbing off the bed with a grunt. “We should go before- Hrrng!” he groaned loudly as he almost toppled over, breathing heavily

Grace made her way to Jett, gently nudging into him. “Lay down, you need a rest after what happened.” She sat down in front of him, watching the Sneasel. “We can head out tonight, when she'll most likely come back,” Grace suggested.

Jett made no attempt to hide his grumble, dropping back down onto the bed. “Fine...” He stretched his limbs out, letting himself stay still in the bed.

Grace then climbed into the opposite bed, letting out a yawn. She wasn't surprised that she was this tired already, after she was just running for her life. She lifted her head, turning over to Jett. “I'm not a witch, am I...?”

“Of course not.” Jett's answer came with certainty, as if anything else would be ridiculous. “Witches go around destroying the livelyhoods of many, even the very land itself, just for the pursuit of power. You aren’t like that, you’re just discovering something new, and I know you won’t take it that far.”

Grace lowered her head back down, her last sight before sleep took her being Jett resting in the other bed..

---

Sarah stopped at the sight of a large group of Pokemon at a road, the path forward blocked off by lots of rubble. “Hi I'm Sarah! Who're you?!” Sarah called out to a Pawniard, grinning.

The Pawniard snapped around at the sudden noise, before quickly composing himself and giving a small bow. “Hello Sarah, my name is Eisenhelm,” he stated with a strict bow, before turning back to the boulders and stabbing into them.

“What're you doing?!” Sarah called out, getting closer.

Eisenhelm pulled his arm back out, the cracked boulder breaking apart, then he began sweeping up the pieces and moving them off to the side. “Clearing the road, this was an important route to get through, and hopefully we can restore it.”

“Can I help?!” Sarah called out cheerfully, getting closer. “I wanna help out the town!”

Eisenhelm nodded, pointing to one of the rounder boulders. “The Guilds would love the extra help, just pick up what you can and move it across here, it's not perfect but it will clear up the road – others will take these out of town once we've made a path.”

“Yes, metal dude!” Sarah yelled out, rushing right towards the boulders, going underneath and attempting to push them. She must've chosen the largest boulder there, her small size doing nothing to move it out of the way. “The Guilds are great, making all of those great posters! Wonder what they were for!”

After a few seconds she gave up on that boulder, moving over to one of the smaller ones. She still couldn't lift it, but as she pushed herself against the boulder, she was getting it to roll about. She slowly pushed the boulder past the others, into the pile off to the side. Eisenhelm had stabbed into the larger boulders, ripping them apart into smaller pieces for other members to move around – including Sarah, who was merrily moving other boulders about.

It was then Serene came in, huffing and puffing heavily. “Have you...” she almost fell over from exhaustion, looking up. “Have you seen a Goomy pass by?” She asked, lifting her head back up for a better look. It was then she saw Sarah pushing a rock along, giving out a sheepish chuckle. “Need some help, Sarah?”

“I got it!” The Goomy yelled out merrily, pushing the boulder into the pile.

With a giggle, Serene then lifted up a rock on the top of the pile, using her Psychic to move it across to the growing pile just off in the grass. The two continued to help out throughout the day, the path cleared soon enough.

---

Jett let out a grumble as he felt a paw on his shoulder, shaking him back and forth. After a few seconds he swatted it away, grumbling before rolling onto his side. “Ow.” Big mistake.

“Careful,” Grace said as she pulled the blanket back slightly. “It's sundown, we should get going.”

“Fine, fine...” Jett grumbled as he slowly sat up with a tired yawn. He slowly crawled out of bed, feeling for his cane.

Grace wordlessly put it to his hands, before turning to her side. “I'm right here,” she said softly.

Jett reached out for her voice, finding his hand land on the top of Grace's head. He slowly trailed it back until his hand was on her back, before slowly climbing out of bed. “You lead the way.”

Grace nodded, slowly walking forward before going at a normal pace. “So something we could do to pass the time,” Grace began as she led her way out of the inn, nervously glancing about outside. “Is to do one of the Guild tasks, visiting some old temple...” She was practically shaking as she took a step outside, looking to Jett.

“Guess it's better than nothing,” Jett sighed, walking alongside her. “What do we need to do?”

“We make our way in, there's some ghost or something that demands a fight, then we either take something or give something,” Grace explained. “I'm sure we could just pretend to fight and trick the ghost.”

“And if not?”

Grace shrugged, looking back to Jett. “Then I guess it'd be a failure.”

Jett sighed, shaking his head slowly. “I hope so, I wouldn't want to fight you.”

Grace giggled, looking back to Jett and giving a smile. “Thanks, Jett.”

---

Finally the path was cleared, with bigger stronger Pokemon coming in to carry off the rocks out of town. Sarah was spinning all around happily, zipping back and forth across the road. She was picking up small pieces of rubble, which got dragged out of her when she passed over the grass, but she didn't even notice that happening. “Yay! We did it!”

Serene let out a small giggle, patting Sarah on the head. “We sure did, Sarah.” She then felt something cold gently tapping her shoulder, the Ralts shivering as she turned around.

It was Eisenhelm, something slung over his shoulder. “Thank you for your help with the Guilds. Their rewards include a deed to a home in the Fever Flats for everyone who participated,” he explained, carefully holding out some paperwork.

Serene shook her head, taking a step back. “I appreciate the thought, but I don't need it, and I have my own home back in Tabi-”

“I'll take it!” Sarah zipped between the two of them, the deed now resting on top of her head. “Serene, I have a home!” she called out merrily, looking up at the scrolled up paper. “I can stay here and make as much rain as I want!”

Eisenhelm shook his head, turning off to the distance. “I'm afraid you'll have to refrain until after Gilgamarsh has been taken care of,” he said softly as he looked into the distance.

Sarah let out a huff, leaving Eisenhelm and rushing up to Sarah. “Let's get Gillsamarch!” she called out. “Then I can make rain again!”

Serene took the deed off of Sarah's head, giving a sigh. “I'll hold onto this for safekeeping,” she said softly, before petting Sarah again. “Are you sure you want to take on this Marshy fellow?”

“If he's why I can't make rain, then yes!” Sarah called out, looking into the sky.

Serene sighed, standing back up. “Then when the time comes, I'll be with you...”

Sarah cheered out happily, turning about to celebrate. She then caught Grace and Jett walking in the distance, tilting her head curiously. “Serene! Look! A shiny!”

“Ooh, where?!” Serene called out, her eyes practically shining in excitement. Her excitement vanished when she saw the Alolan passing by, looking down to Sarah. “That's not a shiny, it's just one of those snowy...” Serene paused, something clicking in her head as she looked back up to the fox. “Vulpixes...” Then it hit her. That's who Ignius was looking for!

“You know that Growlithe we talked to earlier?” Serene asked, looking down to Sarah. “We should find her again.”

--

There they were, at the entrance of the grand temple. They could both feel the static hanging in the air, their fur fluffed up uncomfortably. “We should turn back...” Jett whispered with unease.

“Don't worry, it'll be fine,” Grace reassured, leading Jett in to the temple. “Just keep close to me and you'll be safe.”

Jett nodded, his grip on Grace's fur tightening as he followed her lead, keeping close. Grace kept to the middle of the path, far from the electrified streams on both sides of the pathway.

It wasn't long before they reached a long entranceway, pillars on either side of the room, with a massive stash behind them. Grace abruptly stopped, looking at the large assortment of stuff scattered about.

Jett nearly tripped over, his cane being the only thing stopping him. “What was that for?” he huffed, standing up straight.

It was then the room began sparkling fiercely, thunderbolts striking about the entranceway, soon forming into the vague shape of a Pokemon. Who it was Grace couldn't identify, but they must be the source of the thunder, as it was moving in front of her.

“Jett, it's time,” Grace said, taking a step away. “Just like we agreed.” What followed was the most pathetic display ever seen, as Grace was making fake growling noises, gently nibbling Jett on the arm. Jett in turn was gently tapping her head with the cane. Grace periodically looked over to the spirit, hoping it'd let them pass.

A thunderclap startled both of them, the spirit shaking its head, before pointing at them. “It's not buying it,” Grace sighed as she spat out a hair. “Guess we'll have to-”

“Shh!” Jett interrupted her quickly, his ear perking up as he slowly spun around. “I hear footsteps...”

Grace kept quiet, her ears perking up as she too heard the faint sound of footsteps. She turned to the source, her eyes widening at the sight of Ignius. “She's here!”

Ignius wasted no time in firing off a blast of fire at Grace, before running up.

Grace leapt to the side, pushing Jett down onto the floor as well. “What do you want?!” she hissed out, getting to her feet.

“I'll die before I let another witch get their way!” Ignius yelled out, tackling Grace and pinning her to the floor. “You should've left when you had the chance.” She took a breath in, fire forming in her mouth.

Then she was struck aside, the fire blasting off to the side. Jett had used his Feint Attack to close in on Ignius, and was now holding on. Fluffy, canid, and very warm. He won't have a chance with his icy moves. Jett pushed himself away, quickly flinging up a protective bubble before Ignius could react.

And the fire was parted by the shields. Ignius growled as she put a paw on Grace's chest. “Why are you defending this witch?!”

“She's not a witch you idiot!” Jett yelled out, jumping back in to swipe at Ignius. He got his hit in, but was blasted back by Ignius's fire. He slid across the floor, grumbling. “Leave her alone. Now.”

Ignius shook her head, turning down to Grace, fire forming in her mouth. Grace closed her eyes and let out a sharp tune, the Growlithe blasting fire right over her.

She was cut off once again as Jett crashed into her, flicking his claws. “Come on!” He then used Protect once again, his barrier blocking any attacks.

Ignius didn't attack though. “Arwoo!” She was howling, her adrenaline pumped up as she prepare another attack.

Grace took the moment to begin singing, grinning.

“What are you looking a-a-arwoo!” Ignius quickly realised why. She was trapped in an Encore!

Jett crashed into her, knocking her off of Grace.

The Vulpix quickly got back onto her feet, letting out a high-pitched howl again. Ignius tried to stall out as the two wailed on her, but they quickly overwhelmed her, the Growlithe tumbling over to her side, knocked out.

Jett was panting heavily, dropping down to his knees. “Augh... Are you alright?” he asked, one hand on the ground.

Grace gently lifted Jett up, letting out a sigh. “Yeah, I am. Thanks...” She looked back up to the entranceway, the spirit nodding before fading away, the electricity dying in an instant. She turned to Ignius laying down onto the floor, kneeling in front of the Growlithe. “Don’t bother me or my friend again, or you will regret it.” She didn’t even stop to check if Ignius was conscious, walking back to Jett.

“I don’t hear that soft crackling, is that good?” Jett asked, feeling Grace’s fluffy fur and following her once again.

“Yeah, it’s down,” Grace hummed cheerfully. “Let’s see what they have to offer.”

The two walked in, looking around at all of the junk. “Most of it looks too busted down to use,” she said aloud, grumbling. Then she found a small kite, a steel thread through the middle of it. “Hm…”

“Is it good?” Jett asked aloud, kneeling down near Grace.

“Won’t be for you,” Grace admitted, picking up the small kite. “But it will be for me.” She turned to the entrance, and began walking out. Then she stopped, looking back to where the kite was resting moments ago. Maybe she should put it back…

She then looked back to Ignius, glaring at the Growlithe. She deserved this, nearly being called for this dog’s accusations before having to take her down with her friend’s help. She needed something for herself. “Grace?”

She snapped back to reality, looking to Jett abruptely, who was still holding onto her, waiting for her to lead the way.  “Right, right. I got a kite, might be useful if someone like Ignius attacks again.”

Jett nodded as he followed along, the electrical energy firing back up behind them, just barely leaving enough space for Ignius to leave once she wakes up. The temple darkened, the spirit reappearing to watch them leave. It’s focus was squarely on the two Ice-Types as they left. Then, just as it faded in, it faded back out.