‘Hot, hot, hot’ that was the only thing a small Goomy was thinking. He, his family and the inhabitants of a small town were waiting for aid in evacuating after a long period of intense drought. The location of the settlement was in the most arid desert in the continent, if not of the world, making any attempt for living there nearly impossible; even for ground, rock and fire types.
The last decades were somehow a gift of the heavens, with a few rains to have the necessary conditions to establish and prosper. But now; without any water supply, the few crops dying in a matter of days and an incoming sand storm to wipe them out, it was clear they had to leave. The real problem was they didn’t have enough wagons or capable people to move it all, so they sent a messenger to the nearest guild establishment to pass it to the guild city, much far away for help.
They have been waiting for days, preparing all their belongings for the march, but the situation was approaching to a critical condition, with their supplies and hope depleting. To make it worse, the group sent to retrieve the last portion of fresh water to hold a few more days was missing. The mayor didn’t want to risk another group to find them or to collect the water, but the people was at the border of desperation. They had at least two days before they ran out of that precious resource.
“We can’t hold out any longer here” A Litleo commented with his small group of friends in their hideout. “Where is the guild? They supposed to be here a while ago”
“Maybe they forgot about us” An Archen said in a pessimistic tone. “We’re just a tiny town in the middle of nowhere”
“We can’t lose hope yet, guys” The Goomy said to lift the mood. “They’ll be here; I know they’ll not abandon us”
“Even if that’s true, without water we’re certainly doomed”
“Then we have to find it”
“Maybe you forgot the part that the elders don’t want anyone to get out from the town” The Litleo didn’t want to agree of what he was thinking. “Besides, we’re kids; we won’t stand by ourselves in the middle of that arid wasteland”
“You think anyone of our age could survive these conditions?” He inquired. “We had to grow faster to adapt”
“I’m not really sure about this” The Archen commented. “The farthest place we reached was the Horns of the Stars and even if it’s not a short distance, it’s not enough to where the water deposit is”
“Well guys, either you want to come with me or not, I’m going to do something”
“Your parents won’t let you” The Litleo warned him.
“That’s why I’m going in the night to have its cover and to stay away from the sun; so, are you with me or not?”
The Litleo and the Archen looked to each other for a few seconds before giving an answer.
“This crazy idea of yours better work or we’re all in trouble” The Archen said after turning his head around.
“We’re already in trouble and it’ll be more when we run out of water; but if we make it through, we can hold out much longer”
“Assuming the guild is coming this way” The Litleo commented.
“We better still believe that, it’s the only thing we can do after this; let’s pack what we need and reunite near the abandoned house when the moon rises”
After that little discussion, they dispersed and headed to their respective homes. Even if the heat was unbearable at that hour of the day, he was much better that other Goomies and respective evolutions. That was because he was part of a variant that can withstand that level of heat, resulting in his shiny colors and less mucus, given that his body needed less water to survive. The people called them, the water dragons of the desert, being more versatile than any of their counterparts in that arid environment. Also thanks for the biological adaptations they were faster to move, giving them an edge in combat.
Inside his house, being discrete as he could, he took what it was left of his portion of water, some dried fruit and a belt with pockets to carry all of it. He hid all behind his bed and tried to sleep. It wasn’t out of normal by now, given the circumstances they were facing and the few things they could do. But for at least an hour, he couldn’t sleep; not because of the heat, but his own thoughts.
In his early years he was amazed when he heard about the Savitaran guild. The action, the adventure, the experience were all things he wanted to see and live as one of its members; but that came with some difficulties. The first one is that he needed two more Pokémon at minimum to conform a team, due to the guild’s rules of admission; something really difficult to make in a place where no Pokémon was interested. Then pass some kind of test to being accepted and the subsequence training process. Even with those obstacles, knowing the guild’s history to hold most of its military past in terms of discipline and such, he couldn’t comply.
And now he was about to do something he expected a long time to happen: going into a mission to help people, although the situation was completely different. The survival of their home town was in stake and he would move without a real plan or any idea of what to do. Also, neither he nor his friends were actual fighters, just a few combat practices to self-defense in their experience; so in case of a battle, they wouldn’t have any chance.
He shook those doubts away and let himself sleep for the necessary hours until the day finishes. The Goomy of the night would have to deal with them.
He awoke when the moonlight appeared in his window. ‘It’s time to go’ he thought. Using his antennas as arms, he grabbed his stuff and put the belt around him. Then, in complete silence, he climbed it up and, drinking a bit of water and concentrating a little, he generated a small amount of goo to stick to the wall and descend to the ground. He was dry again the moment he was down and moved to the abandoned house, evading a few guards along the way.
Once he arrived, he called his friends if they were there. Since there was no answer, he waited a few minutes, but his impatience was growing every passing second. If anyone spotted him before their leave, their doom was assured. When he was about to leave, not wanting to waste more time, the Litleo and the Archen arrived.
“Damn you guys, where are you been?” He asked.
“My exit was too complicated to get here in time” The Litleo complained.
“And I had to make sure that my sister was stable” The Archen said. “That blasted illness is too much for her”
“And I was about to leave, you were taking so long”
“Yeah right, you against whatever beasts are out there” The Litleo commented with sarcasm. “Maybe you’re still dreaming of your place in that guild, but we have a life”
“You’re not our leader” The Archen added. “We only going with you because it’s our only chance to give relief for our people, not because of you”
It was not the first time they said that to him when he exceeded with his attitude. “*Sigh* okay, let’s go”
After leaving the town where there were no eyes on them, the Archen took out a map from his bag and extended on the ground. From what the adults were talking, the last water reservoir was approximately ten kilometers from the Horns of the stars, in a hill with the only water well to access.
“This damned trip will take forever” The Litleo complained.
“The same thing you said when we had to clean your mess” The Archen pointed with a poker face.
“We have only this night to do this, so I guess we have a good amount of hours” The Goomy said.
“I hope you’re right” He put the map back into the map. “We should move”
The walk to the Horns of the Stars was at least one hour after doing it for a few times. The path was straight forward and barely affected by the current weather, although a few fissures started to appear after constant heat waves. The sight was kind of depressing with what it was left of vegetation.
“So much for this place” The Litleo commented.
“And just thinking a few years ago was a bit of green here” The Archen added. “I don’t think anyone will ever live here again”
“Do you know where are we supposed to reestablish?” The Goomy asked.
“Nope; from what I’ve heard, first we have to reach the city of Ganfher to have somewhere to rest”
“Hmm, still far away”
“Two whole days in fact” The Litleo said. “*Sigh* I just want to get out from this dust land”
“So we’re just going to forget our lives here that easily?”
“What else can we do? There’s nothing here for us”
“Have you lost your mind? You can’t be so hopeless; this is our home!”
“Sorry to bring you down, but he says the truth” The Archen said. “We lived in an illusion and now that illusion is gone; we cannot hook ourselves for the past as well as you stop living in your dreams; this is the real world”
“And the real world is cruel” The Litleo added.
After that there were no more words. The Goomy didn’t want to accept defeat or give up that easily, but in a way they were telling real facts; there was nothing else to do and they had to adapt to the new changes. ‘When I join the guild, I’ll make sure these things won’t happen and I’ll keep hope up, because it’s the last thing we can lose and the only thing that can lead us to the right path’ he thought.
In all the way, they saw in the distance a big cloud that covered the horizon and getting bigger. ‘That thing is getting close; we have to hurry or all of us will be buried alive’.
Minutes later, they reached the Horns of the Stars. The ‘horns’ were actually an aggrupation of natural rock columns of different sizes and stalagmites dispersed in a small area. These ones have the particularity of reflect the light of only the stars in the night, even if it was cloudy. The reasons of why are still unknown. The only explanation is that they fell from the sky a really long time ago, according to the myth that surrounds the place.
They sat near one of them to rest a little. The Archen took out the map and extended to the ground again, orientating it to match it with the horns and the road. They had to move to the northwest of their current location, where the terrain started to get rough. There was little discussion of what to do, since they expended their words on the way. When they recovered, they continued forward. They took three hours to get to the hill where the water well was supposed to be, or that’s what they thought. On arrival, they saw that the area surrounding it was damaged.
“There was a fight here” The Archen commented.
“So that means the group was ambushed” The Litleo said. “Even the well was destroyed”
“Yeah, but why?” The Goomy asked.
Checking the surroundings, they saw the same scenery and when they looked closer the well, they noticed dried blood in some parts.
“Guys, I think we should head back” The Archen said afraid. “Whatever happened to them, it can happen to us as well”
“Agree” The Litleo said. “We cannot collect the water and we did what we could, let’s head back now”
“Wait” The Goomy said when he saw a line. “They were dragged from here; if we can follow it, we can find the missing group”
“Forget it! If they were no match to whatever beaten them, what are our chances!?”
“We can’t just leave them…”
“We have to! We’re no fighters!”
“Guys, calm down” The Archen put himself in the middle of them. “We can attract attention if you’re speaking this loud”
Unluckily for them, ground Pokémon appeared from the ground. It was a group of Sandshrews and Sandslashes; five of them in total. The small group made a defensive circle. No one could talk, but they felt that they were the responsible of the attack.
“Well, well, well” A Sandslash spoke in a threatening tone. “I wondered when they would send another group here”
“They must be really desperate” A Sandshrew said. “I see only kids here”
“I think so; so… what are you doing out here all alone without your… parents? Heh, heh, heh; I’m sure they’re worried sick”
None of the trio talked.
“I guess they’re deaf” Another Sandslash said.
“Well, that’s too bad; but their mouths are a problem here” The leader approached to them. “You came here for the water, is that right? If that’s the case, we have some news for you: our entire gang took it all and your people are with us as captives; and you won’t tell anyone, so you better be nice and come with us or we’ll throw you all to the well”
The rest of the gang started to approach to them to grab them and bring them by force to their encampment. But before they could put a claw on them, something really fast took down one of the Sandshrews. When they noticed one of them was knocked out in one hit, a Sandslash fell in the same way. With fear spreading among them, they left the kids and regroup to face the unknown enemy, but the night wasn’t very helpful.
“What’s going on?” The Litleo whispered afraid.
“Don’t know, but don’t move” The Goomy ordered.
The next seconds were full of tension as both groups were watching their surroundings. If the gang couldn’t fight the enemy and being beaten that fast, the children had even less chance to escape from their predicament. Then one of the Sandshrews was lifted in the air and hit by a Fire blast. The other one was out of action by a Sky attack an instant later. The leader was now scared as a Rattata. He started to shout and attack to make the attackers expose.
Without noticing, a shadowy figure approached to the Sandslash charging some kind of sphere. When he looked in the direction of the bright, the sphere was launched at him, making the last knock out to the gang. The children stood still and in complete silence, expecting the worst to happen. In seconds, six figures appeared from all sides, surrounding them. For some reason, they didn’t strike at them.
“Are you from Lonack Town?” One of the shadows asked.
None of them answered like the first time.
“I told you, they came from there all the way” Other shadow said.
“For so young Pokémon, it’s quite impressive” A third shadow commented.
The Goomy knew that what he was going to say could be their doom, but his curiosity was bigger than the danger. “W-who are you?
His friends looked at him with anger, thinking that he made a terrible mistake.
One of the shadows, who actually were wearing a black hoodie, took it off from the head, revealing that it was a Riolu. “I’m Alex, Team Shadow foxes”
Another one took it off as well and ignited a light. “I’m Bassey, Team Electroignius rock” And the rest revealed their faces.
The face of the Goomy showed happiness and relief. “Y-you’re from the guild?”
“Yep, all of us; it seemed you were about to be goners”
“W-we b-believed that, t-too” The Litleo said.
“Now that you’re more calmed down, I want to know why you left the town” A Murkrow said.
“D-did you see us leave?” The Archen asked in disbelief.
“Yes, although you weren’t the main reason”
“You mean the guild is coming this way?” The Goomy asked.
“That’s correct” A Magmar answered. “They’re mobilizing the teams in this region, but we had problems with those damn bureaucrats to organize the caravan”
“So they sent us ahead to check the current situation of the town” Alex added.
“Oh”
“So what are you guys are out here in the middle of the night?”
They spent the next couple of minutes telling what was going on the last days and the reason of why they headed to the water well and what the gang said.
“That means they’re still in the area” A Rhyperior said.
“Jack and I’ll scout ahead” The Murkrow said. “If they’re right with the tracks, we can bust the captives out and get the water”
“Be careful out there, Zack”
In an instant they disappeared from their sights.
“What about us?” The Goomy asked.
“Head back home, you’re done enough” The Rhyperior said.
“Really?” The Litleo and the Archen asked relieved.
Valerian wasn’t agreeing with that. “We can’t leave yet”
“Again with that? I told you, we’re not fighters” The Litleo shouted.
“Please, excuse our friend” The Archen apologized. “He’s not thinking straight”
“Or too straight to listen to the reasons of others” Alex said and approached the Goomy. He knelt and looked him to the eyes. “What’s your name?”
“I’m… I’m Valerian, sir”
“Why is so important to you to do this task of yours?”
“Because… because they’re our people and the water is vital for our survival”
“And do you think your friends should leave?”
“If they want to, I’ll have to handle myself; but I don’t think they have to”
“Why?”
“I… I guess it’ll take time to get back to the town; time we don’t have and if the group is splitted, your partners couldn’t handle by themselves for too long”
“I think they can easily, but that’s the answer; we don’t have time to separate”
“Sir, with all respect…”The Archen started.
“You’re not fighters, we heard that from your Litleo friend here; but you can help in other ways, like freeing the prisoners”
“Are you sure Alex? It’s not like they can do it in an instant” The Magmar commented.
“No, but they’re not like the normal children” He stood up and looked at her. “And we need all the amount of help we can get, Liana”
“In that we agree” The Rhyperior nodded. “We can follow the tracks to pick the pace”
“Valerian made clear that he is coming with us, but what about you two? Do you still want to return to the town?”
“W-well, we…” The Litleo wasn’t sure what answer to give.
“Guys, it’s only this time I’m asking you for help” Valerian said. “Not just for me or my guild’s dream; it’s because we owe our town for a chance to live”
“I don’t know” The Archen admitted. “What if…”
“Discussing what would happen is different to see it for yourself” Bassey said. “And if the worst happens, you’ll have two teams ready to cover you up”
“Now we can make a difference” Valerian tried to encourage his friends. “So, are we ending this mission?”
They looked to each other.
“I guess we don’t have much of a choice, do we?” The Archen said.
“You still have it” Bassey pointed. “In or out of this”
“*Sigh* fine, we’re in”
“And how we’re supposed to help?” The Litleo asked.
“You’ll know when the time comes; for now, let’s get moving” Liana said
The Rhyperior offered the children to being carried on the way to the encampment, which they accepted instantly. Valerian asked what about the beaten gang since they cannot leave them in the opening. Bassey answered that Zack already had that covered and a few more teams were on their way to help them.
Minutes later, Zack and Jack returned to the group. From what they’ve told, they found the encampment near the base of another hill not too far away from their position, inside of a cave. They couldn’t determine how big it was or how many Pokémon were in, but they suspected it wouldn’t be easy to enter.
“From all your expertise, that infiltration shouldn’t be a problem” Liana commented.
“Not if somehow they were aware that the group sent by them didn’t return” Zack explained.
“They may be expecting some unwanted visitors” Jack added. “That’s why we didn´t push forward”
“Now that could be a problem” Bassey said. “They can use the hostages as shields or worse if we make a mistake”
“We have to check it out” Alex said. “How strong they are”
“Are we going to fight?” Valerian asked.
“Not if we’re outnumbered; but if we’re fast, we can take them all out in one strike” Jack said.
“Then let’s move out” Bassey ordered.
They took ten minutes to reach their destination. The saw that the area was scattered with some rocks, useful to approach unnoticed to the entrance. The real problem was the guards blocking the way. They were armed and well protected.
“I guess you forgot to mention that the renegades were well prepared” The Rhyperior whispered.
“I think I said we couldn’t get in, Tadeo” Zack responded. “This is the reason”
“I suspect they bribed the gang to drag anyone who comes closer to the water well” Liana commented.
“But why? Why would they do that?” Valerian asked.
“That’s something I’ll gladly ask when we capture them” Zack said.
“We have to split in two groups” Alex suggested. “One will drag the attention from the guards and anyone whose inside while the other infiltrate in the confusion and rescue the hostages”
“If that’s the case I can get in undetected, and the kids will come with me”
“Wait, what!?” The Litleo asked terrified.
“What we have to do?” Valerian asked.
“I’ll grab you all with Psychic and move you when the chaos starts; once we’re in, we have to locate the hostages, bypassing the remaining guards and free them to knock out the remaining ones”
“Are you sure they can pull it off?” Bassey asked.
“I don’t know; you guys can pull it off?”
“We can” Valerian said and looked to his friends. “You said we’re not fighters; well, then we have to be something else; we have to adapt”
“Okay, okay; you don’t have to repeat it to me” The Litleo said.
“I guess we can be some help in that way” The Archen commented.
“Then let the act commence” Tadeo ordered.
Zack and the children hid near the entrance as silently as possible while the rest took positions in the surroundings. Jack started the distraction maneuver, by slashing the rocks as fast as possible. The sounds dragged two of the guards: a Gallade and a Midnight Lycanroc; a small portion.
When they were exploring the rocks to determine the origin of the sound, the Gallade was thrown away by the impact of something. The Lycanroc turned around, but whatever it was has already disappeared, but there were marks on the ground and the sound of a fighting somewhere. In that instant, the ground shook below his feet.
“Looking for someone?” Tadeo asked.
The moment the Lycanroc turned around; he received a good punch in the face. If the Rhypereior exceeded with his force, the impact could have break his skull as the worst possibility; but if there was something Tadeo was good was in use the correct amount of power to take down his opponents. Jack appeared seconds later, reporting that the Gallade was out of action after putting a fight.
The guards were starting to worry that their comrades were gone for so long. The appearance of them, after being tossed away from the rocks knocked out and the sounds resurging, gave them more motives to mobilize the majority of their forces to deal with the threat. One of them, a Combusken, head back and called for reinforcements. Then together, they started to explore the area.
“It worked” The Archen said amazed.
“That was the first phase, kid” Zack said. “Now we’re moving for the second phase”
“Do you think they can handle on their own?” Valerian asked.
“I’m more worried about the renegades than them” He joked. “Better we free your people now, or they’ll finish the party without us”
Using Psychic, Zack lifted the children and moved with them while they were infiltrating the cave. So far, they didn’t find any hostiles on their way. They were impressed of how big was the cavity; it seemed that it didn’t have an end and from the looks of it, it can house the entire town without problems. After a couple of hundreds of meters, they spotted a group of tents with a few lights.
“Do you think they could be here?” The Litleo asked.
“One way to find out” Zack pointed. “We have to get in and check for the hostages, but be careful; there could be a few guards patrolling”
“If we evaded our own guards in our way out from the town, then we can do the same with these ones” Valerian assured.
“Then it’s time to make a ‘prison break’”
As Zack suspected, there were still guards in the encampment. They had to move in silence as they were traveling through the tents, searching the hostages. The children demonstrated their sneak capacity, moving through them as if they were floating. With their size and experience, they could travel faster and have less chances of being spotted than others. Even so, the progress was slow until the point they couldn’t move from where they were.
“There is where they’re holding our people” Valerian whispered as he pointed to a smaller attached cave.
“It must be” Zack nodded. “And they realized we’re coming for them”
“There’re so many” The Litleo commented. The number of Pokémon triplicated their group.
“Hmm, there’s a way you three can get in unnoticed”
“How?” The Archen asked.
Zack pointed the roof and draw a line to the entrance. “I can do the same thing as we did to move in; you have to free your people on your own”
“Tell us what to do, we handle the rest” Valerian offered.
“Listen carefully…”
They had to fall back some tents to start. Zack used Psychic again and as fast as he could, he lifted the children to the roof of the cave. Before that, Valerian found a bottle of water and drank it all. Once up, he generated some goo to stick to the roof and grabbed his friends. He alone didn’t have the necessary strength to hold them with him, but Zack was helping him. They moved all the way to the entrance, but in a few occasions, a small rock block fell, causing the guards to look up. They covered using the hoodies the teams gave to them and waited for at least two minutes until they were sure no one spotted them, even if they were covered by the darkness.
“This is crazy!” The Litleo whispered. “We can’t do this”
“We’ve already crossed the point of no return” Valerian said. “The only path we have is forward”
“I have to agree with him” The Archen pointed. “We come this far, more than any of our age could; now we have to do this”
“*Sigh* That’s why I don’t want to be a member of the guild”
They managed to avoid the guards and entered from the roof to the small cave. Once inside, Zack released the grip, making the trio fall to the floor. Wasting no time, he used Psychic to create a distraction that allow the children to pass unnoticed. The twelve Pokémon focused their attacks on the flying Murkrow as he created a massive mess and fought back.
“Ayyy! Remind me to never to that again” The Litleo said in pain.
“Ow! Well, at least we’re in” The Archen said and everyone stood up.
“We better act fast” Valerian suggested. “I don’t think mister Zack can handle by himself that number of enemies”
“Who’s there?” Someone asked.
The trio turned around to see some kind of cells. “Is that…” The Litleo started.
“They’re must be” Valerian nodded. “Mister Gregor, is that you?”
“Valerian? What the hell are you doing here!?”
“Getting all of you out here” The Archen said.
“Ben!? You’re here, too!?” Another one asked.
“You’re forgetting me” The Litleo said.
“Rick!?Are you fricking kidding me!? How did you pass all of the guards!? That’s impossible!” A third one asked.
“We had help from guild members” Ben explained. “That’s how we got in”
“And now we’re breaking you free” Valerian said as they approached to the cells.
There were six in total, containing a Tyranitar, a Kabuptos, a Gliscor, a Garchomp, a Mudsdale and a Camerupt. After searching as fast as they could, they didn’t find the keys.
“Where are the keys?” Ben asked.
“One of the guards has them” The Gliscor answered. “He was outside”
“Are you looking for this?” Someone asked from the entrance.
Turning around they saw a Lucario with a belt and the keys.
“You thought it was that easily to infiltrate into the cell area and free them without problems?”
‘Damn, fight against an aura user is going to be painful’ Valerian thought.
“What we should do?” Ben whispered as fast as he could.
“The only one who can do some damage is Rick; but to distract him so we can grab the keys”
“Distract him how?” Rick asked. “This guy can see where we’re going”
“Attack his aura sensors while I block his eyes and Ben makes him tripping, in that moment we’ll take the keys”
“Easy said than done”
“You said we cannot fight anyone; well, then we have to defeat him with the children way”
“You know he’ll play with us, right?”
“Yeah, but our game”
There were some obstacles they could use to slow the Lucario’s advance. The possibilities of winning against someone of their kind in their conditions were null, but if they could catch him off guard, the adults could turn the tide of the fight. The only clue they had is that a Lucario could spot his opponents by the mere use of aura but few objects and Pokémon had the capacity to hide from it. So, instead of attacking him, he would have to follow them in a chase.
The trio dispersed in different directions while the Lucario had to pick one to follow. Valerian was his first target. This time, the little Goomy was bouncing like crazy and faster than the Lucario expected. Even so, he made up for by using Extreme speed. Valerian had fractions of second to use Protect and bounce in another direction.
In that moment, while Valerian was on the air, Ben stomped the ground, using Bulldoze. The attack affected the Lucario more that he expected.
“H-how Bulldoze did so much damage?” He asked to himself. “It’s only a Rock type move”
“It’s a ground type, brain bird” Rick commented. “You supposed to know that”
“Sorry for being sleepy in those classes” He said with sarcasm.
The Lucario turned around to chase Ben with an aura bone in his paws. To slow him down, he threw all the objects in his path to block the way. With that distraction, Rick could sneak in and launched Ember. Now it was the Litleo the Lucario was following. The enemy didn’t lose time and attacked with Aura spheres. Rick took cover behind all the scattered objects, rocks and crates to block them while he was running.
After minutes of tiring the Lucario physically and mentally, Valerian turned around, took a big pitcher with water, and drank a small part of it while the rest was spilled on the floor. Then, concentrating, he used Muddy water and, moving with it, he hit the Lucario. He stuck to his eyes as hard as he could while his friends were taking position. Rick jumped to the enemy and using Fire fang, he bit the Lucario in the aura sensors, causing a flinch with the pain he was inflicting. Lastly, Ben used Wing attack to the legs and made him fall.
“Now is our chance!” Valerian shouted.
As fast they could, they took the keys, breaking the belt and heading to the cells.
“Come on! He’s standing up!” Rick shouted.
“Ben, you’re up” Valerian said.
“Oh gods”
Ben tested all the keys and when the first cell lock was opened, he threw the key he used and headed to the next one doing the same thing. In the fourth cell, the Lucario launched another Aura sphere. By pure instinct, Ben used Quick guard and blocked the attack. They began to fall back as the enemy was approaching, keeping his range attacks. They were cornered at the end of the cell area.
“Okay, little pests; I thought scaring you off would be enough, but you had to be brave and bold to cross me” The lucario made appear two aura bones. “Now you’ll get the hell”
Valerian looked back and the Tyranitar, the Kabuptos and the Gliscor were taking position. ‘I guess Rick did enough damage to not sense them’ he thought. “Is that what you think?”
“Poor last words you have to choose”
The Tyranitar grabbed him from the neck and made the Lucario look to him while his enemy was desperate to breathe. “The sentiment is mutual, scum” Then he used Dynamic punch with the Lucario still on his hand and smashed him to a wall. The force of the impact made him faint.
“Wow, I thought you weren’t a fighter, mister Gregor” Rick said.
“My stories contains some of truth, Rick” Gregor commented. “Now, let’s free the others”
“Two teams from the guilds are engaging those guys, but they need help” Valerian explained.
“Then we join them in the fight” The Kabuptos said. “We were waiting an opportunity like this to strike back”
After freeing the remaining three, they exited the small cave and taking advantage of the distraction Zack was generating, they divided their forces and defeated them with all their strength. The kids remained behind and watched the action. Ben and Rick were shocked while Valerian was excited. All the stories about the Savitaran guild were true. ‘This is what I want to be and do’ he thought.
An hour later, all the renegades in the main cave and the exterior were beaten with the help of the locals. While they were tiding them, more guild teams arrived at the location Zack told to them before their attack. They also took the collected water and loaded in a part of the wagons they brought and began the march to the town.
“I have to guess you disobeyed orders after our disappearance” Gregor deduced seeing the three of them.
“It was not our fault, Valerian insisted that we do something” Rick said, trying to get rid of the guilt.
“Even so, you followed him; you know that you put yourselves in a dangerous situation”
“But if we didn’t come; we wouldn’t have find you and free you” Valerian explained.
“I have to agree with him” Alex said as he was hopping up to the wagon the kids were using. “It was too dangerous for them, sure; but thanks to them, we discovered the renegades’ location, acted when they were vulnerable and helped us to reach the cell cave where you were locked in”
“You said it was dangerous, but we were already in big trouble without the water; we could have perished faster” Valerian looked eye to eye to Gregor with determination. “I prefer to be punished for a month or a year for my actions than dead the rest of my life”
“You spoke with good reasons and you’re taking responsibility because of what you did…” Gregor kept quiet for a moment. “The dessert made you grow faster to say it with that clarity”
“Maybe”
“I have a question for you, Alex, right?”
“Sep” Alex said.
“Where are we supposed to relocate our people?”
“That’s something the guild and the authorities want to discuss with the mayor when you get to Ganfher; our priority is getting all of you out for now”
“Hmm, I hope we can find a more suitable place”
“Everything okay here?” Bassey asked when he got closer.
“Sep, nothing out of normal” Alex answered. “Only that big cloud coming in our direction”
“You tell me”
“Can I ask you something?” Valerian asked nervous.
“Go ahead”
“Can I… can I join the guild?”
That took Gregor by surprise, but Ben and Rick were aware a long time ago, so they only looked what would happen.
“That depends; you have the necessary teammates to make one?” Bassey asked.
“Well… no” Valerian answered. He knew that Ben and Rick would never join the guild.
“Then you have one of two problems” Alex said.
“What is the second?”
“Your people needs you now; your place is here”
“But…”
“I can understand why you want to join” Bassey said. “But the order in your age is: family, friends, homeland and finally the guild; this is the place you have to be for now”
“And you need training” Alex added. “Determination alone can get you to a certain limit; you’ll need more tools and experience to reach further, even more”
“Don’t try to rush to get to the guild; there is plenty of time for that, but you have to start to think who’ll be your teammates, the test you’ll have to pass and the implications of your decisions in the future; like the one you took to save your town”
“That’s a lot of things to track” Valerian admitted.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to be clear in everything; just have the general idea and like you said: adapt”
“I’ll try…”
‘Hmph, this kid really sounds like his grandfather’ Gregor thought. ‘I guess I can make him tougher, his spirit is strong enough to take the challenge’.
They were a few kilometers away when the sun made its appearance. Once they reached the town, the kids were too tired to do anything else after all that action and fell asleep. Their parents were too worried when they found out that they were missing the whole night. After Gregor’s explanation with the help of Alex and Bassey, they were more calmed but also upset for the kids actions. They surely receive punishment, but not strong enough because of what they achieved and done.
