Lord of the Pelippers

By Linoone

Ross stood at the entrance of the mail room, incredulously looking back and forth at the letter he just received and at the Linoone courier who, on his way out, handed it to him.

“This must be a mistake. An invitation to showcase my artwork at the esteemed Capim Town Museum of Fine Arts? They have museums here?”

Linoone propped himself up on his hind legs and leaned in over Ross’s shoulder to take a closer look at the letter's elegantly scripted address. He pointed to the recipient's name. “It's addressed to ‘Sleepwalking Smeargle of the Clover Guild‘, that’s you, right? Unless there’s another sleepwalking painter around here, there’s no mistake. Congratulations!” Linoone said, with a warm smile.

Still in disbelief, the Smeargle did not share the courier’s enthusiasm. “But... I’m not an artist, the only thing I’ve ever drawn are doodles.”

“Maybe they see some potential in you or maybe they’re looking for avant-garde modern art!“ Linoone proposed.

Ross turned his head back down to look at the letter he received and remained transfixed on it without saying anything for an uncomfortable amount of time before speaking again.

“Thanks… Uhh... so you’re like a mail dog?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. The best mail dog in the whole continent, in fact!“ Linoone happily exclaimed, before suddenly switching to a hushed tone.

“But you can call me by my secret name : Solid Linoone.”

Ross was unsure why the raccoon-looking courrier had a secret name but if there’s one thing he got used to in this world, it’s not understanding how anything works and accepting it.

“Ok.” The Smeargle stoically replied.

“Well, that was my last delivery! I gotta go,“ said Linoone, lowering himself onto all fours, “but before I leave, wanna hear a cool idea?“

“What is it?” asked Ross

“It would be really funny if you could draw some crude soyjaks and convince the museum guys it’s abstract art. Just imagine how hilarious it would be if they hung this with a majestic frame among other works of art? “

Ross, in his permanently tired state, didn’t have the energy to properly process the courier’s suggestion. He stared at Linoone, wondering if this was some bizarre jest, or if he was seriously asking him to draw “soyjacks.”

“I don’t know, food for thought!” Linoone added, as he walked towards the stairs, looking back at Ross, excusing himself when he almost bumped into an oshawott.

Linoone offered a salute to both Pokémons before he disappeared up stairs to the guild’s third floor. Gus, the oshawott, turned towards Ross, shaking his head in disapproval of the courier’s suggestion.

“Don’t. Don’t do that.”

CLOVER GUILD PRESENTS

A HIDEO LINOONE STORY

GRASS CONTINENT, CAPIM TOWN, LLIAM’S OFFICE

Scene

Solid Linoone closed the large double doors behind him as he entered the Guildmaster’s office. It was evening, so the room was dimly lit, save for the soft fire light of some suspended lanterns that Lliam recently ignited. The silhouette of a Meowstic was seated behind a large desk with stacks of documents scattered all over it. Linoone’s figure, slightly illuminated by the lanterns' flames, stood upright in front of Lliam in the middle of the room with his front paws behind his back, similar to a soldier in resting position.

“Ah, Solid Linoone. Right on time~”

“I wouldn't keep you waiting, Colonel.”

“Your dedication is appreciated. “ Said Lliam, clearing his throat, shifting to a serious tone. “I wanted to meet with you today, but the reason is unassociated with the usual affairs of our Guild.”

Linoone’s eyes narrowed, curious about the special reason Lliam summoned him.

“I received intel that concerns your employer, Delibird Deliveries.” Continued Lliam

“My employer?”

“I’m afraid it’s troubling news.” elaborated Lliam, his own eyes looking away from his spy, staring instead at the flame of his reading lantern. “Word has reached my ears that a big mouthed investor bragged about an important business deal he was looking to make tonight. Although that is not a problem in itself, what caught my attention is that this business deal is supposedly an investment to Pelipper Mail. ”

Linoone’s tail swished irritably as the guildmaster mentioned his ex-employer.

“And here’s where it gets big…” Lliam said, his intense gaze shifting to meet Linoone’s. “If what he said is true, they are supposedly developing the so-called ‘next-generation of special couriers’.”

“Next-generation special couriers? “

“Yes. The specifics elude me, but the investor will journey tonight to a remote facility north of Capim Town. The location isn’t marked on any official map, it’s a black site, if you will.

“Black site?”

“...Yes. It would seem the Pelipper company intended to keep their project a secret, but they made a poor choice of business partner. The fool bragged all night long at The Blue Claw Inn, even detailing how to get to the facility. “

“Facility?”

Lliam snapped at Linoone. “ Why do you keep repeating everything I say?”

“Sorry Colonel, just trying to understand this situation.” Linoone said, trying to keep his serious act, yet a very faint corner smile could be discerned from his expression.

“Anyway…” Said the Meowstic, closing his eyes to reflect on the matter “ You’ll probably want to study the place. Not for the Guild’s sake, but for Delibird Deliveries’, I know how important your work is to you.” Lliam waited a moment, peeking with one eye, anticipating another interrogation. “It would be in your best interest to investigate whether or not the Pelipper Mail Company really has the ability to develop said ‘next generation special couriers’, and stop them if they do.”

“Stop them!?” Linoone asked. “I-I mean, stop them how? I can’t just go against an entire secret facility, I’m a spy, not Doomguy. '' His tone was more similar to his real personality than the video game character he impersonates.

“I said it would be in your best interest, not that you need to stop them. You are working for yourself this time, not for me. If you do decide to infiltrate this hidden facility, don’t expect any official support from the Clover Guild.”
“So, this is a black op?” asked Linoone, his Solid persona back.

“I suppose you can call it a black op.” Said Lliam, entertaining the thought. “Now, the investor, a Purugly, is supposedly going to visit the facility tonight to meet with the boss of the Pelipper company, ‘Mr.Goldbird’ ".

Linoone’s ears perked when he heard the name. He remembered the C.E.O’s name being mentioned a couple of times when he was working for Pelipper Mail, but he never actually got to see the boss of the company face to face. Goldbird was apparently a very busy entrepreneur, most of the time conducting business on another continent.

“I suggest being careful around this individual. He’s a ruthless businessmon rumored to have deep connections with a lot of powerful organizations spanning the seven continents.” Lliam took out a map from a drawer and wrote instructions on it as he kept talking.
“If you depart soon, you might be able to catch Purugly making the deal, gathering crucial information. I’ll let you know the details of its location.”

What a thrill, with darkness and silence through the night, Linoone traversed the wilderness beyond Capim Town far from any dirt road, following the directions given to him by the Guild Master while the quietness of the forest gave him much needed peace to reflect on his current mission as he traveled.

This wasn’t like the usual spying job he occasionally received from Lliam. Typically, the most daring tasks he’s ever gotten was to trail someone or to temper mail, but this time, the mission was much bigger, and potentially dangerous. He couldn’t deny feeling excited by the prospect of doing a high stakes job but deep inside, Linoone was nervous, afraid, even. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism, or perhaps he did it for his own entertainment, but like any spying mission he took, no matter how he felt, Linoone never gave up his Solid Snake play. As far as he was aware, he was a legendary Linoone soldier and he needed to act like one.

A low, distant rumble echoed from the sky, breaking Linoone out of his stream of thoughts. The first raindrop landed on Linoone’s nose, and as he looked up, he felt another one drop right on his eye, reflexively shutting it. Moments later, a torrential downpour began to cascade from the sky accompanied by another rumble of thunder. In a matter of seconds, his fur was completely drenched. Linoone stood there for a while, mildly annoyed by the inconvenience, before he continued his journey, softly singing a song dear to his heart, meant only for his own ears.

“Someday you go through the rain…”

The further he traveled under the rain, the more laborious Linoone’s steps became when his path took an upwards slant, as the facility was supposedly hidden inside a valley. Soon enough, his efforts were rewarded when he reached the hill’s peak and gazed below at the same as thunder rumbled in the sky.

Contrary to Linoone’s anticipation: instead of a bunker-fortress entrenched inside a mountain, laid nestled in the valley below an ancient manor of majestic size, several times bigger than the Clover Guild’s home. The edifice was constructed entirely from stone but its very old age was showing: its walls and roof tinged with patches of moss and lichen everywhere, all drenched from the heavy rain. It had towers on each of its four corners, and another in the middle, somewhat giving it the appearance of a castle, and on its front, were massive wooden doors serving as the manor’s main entrance.

“So this is it… Shadow Moses.” muttered Linoone, mesmerized by the sinister ambiance shadowing the manor. It was possibly a consequence of the torrential rain and thunder, but to him, it kind of looked like Dracula's castle, at least in essence. Looking closer, he discerned moving figures, most likely guards patrolling around the manor. “Damn it. I knew it wouldn’t be easy.”

The amateur spy sneaked around the domain while he stayed low to the ground, the sound of heavy rainfall muffling the noise of his footsteps. He was keeping his eyes on the castle-house, trying to find a point of entry. The manor had many windows and secondary entrances, but most of them were either too high to reach, or had the soft ember glow of a torch illuminating it, which meant the room was probably occupied by someone. Navigating the eastern side of the domain, he caught sight of a small, secluded balcony with no lights. Linoone sneakily approached the wall of the balcony, overgrown with ivy, and looked left, then right to see if there were any guards before getting up on his hind legs and gripping the plant with his front paws. He tugged at it a few times to test its strength before lifting himself up and resting his back legs into the vines.

Linoone stood there awkwardly gripped at the vegetation before realizing he shouldn’t be trying to climb this like a human. Not only was the vegetation slippery because of the heavy rain, trying to climb a wall with sheer gripping force would prove near impossible on four legs. He remembered how he saw raccoons back home climbing trees, and also, in this world, how a persian who stole his mail climbed up Capim Town’s buildings… “That’s it, I need to use my claws!” He let go of the ivy and walked a dozen miles away from the wall before turning around to face it. He positioned himself like a sprinter with his rear lifted up, before bolting towards the wall. When Linoone dug his claws into the ivy, he didn’t slow down one bit, it was as if he kept running at his usual speed, except vertically. He reached the balcony in the span of a second.

The spy carefully opened the door, just wide enough for him to slip inside and quickly close it back. He found himself in a spacious study room. Its walls were occupied by tall bookshelves, and on one side there was an ornate desk. He could also see light from the entrance of the room, leaking under the door, which he assumed came from the corridor of the manor. Linoone noticed a few unscrolled parchments sitting on the desk. He moved stealthily towards it, hoping to find information regarding the so-called ‘next-generation special couriers’ project that the Pelipper Mail Company was developing.

It was too dark to properly read, but Linoone could tell each character gleamed slightly under the little light that could reach the desk, indicating that the documents were recently written. At the bottom of each document, were signatures he did not recognize, and on one of them was an vacant line ending with a little “x” reserved for an extra signature. “Are those… contracts?” Linoone thought, trying to make out what the subject of agreement was, when suddenly, he heard muffled voices coming from a distant room in the manor. Linoone froze, unsure if he should be concerned, before the voices became louder and louder, and he heard footsteps approaching. Alarmed, he looked all over the room for somewhere to hide, but there was nothing; No curtains. No closets. Not even any boxes. As he grew more panicked, a voice was now close enough for him to understand its words.

“He expected WHAT!?!” Said a strong voice that emanated authority.

A less confident voice replied. “S-sir, Lord Purugly is accustomed to closing contracts over meals. B-but he only requested for, and I quote, ‘Minccino. Doesn’t matter how.’"

All of a sudden, the door to the study slammed open as Linoone made the last second decision to hide under the desk. As light from the corridor entered, so did the two pokémon that were discussing. Two shadows casted themselves into the room and Linoone could recognize that one seemed to belong to a small bird pokémon while the other one belonged to a bigger land pokémon with a long tail. He curled himself to become as small as possible, hoping they didn’t have any intentions to use the desk.

“This isn’t his usual fancy business venture. This project means much more than a simple investment deal. Tell him to fuck off with his snooty standards and meet me in the manor’s undercroft, if he truly wants the deal.”

“Lord Purugly might feel offended, sir-ACK.”

The bird pokémon gasped for air as he was suddenly grabbed by the neck.

The larger pokémon chuckled under his breath “Hmhmhm... You are a funny little birdie. As if I would care, if I offended some small-time merchant with a fancy title. ”

Out of the blue, the bird got violently tossed against the balcony’s entrance, collapsing onto the floor. From his position, Linoone could see it was a Wingull; he appeared miserable. With tears in his eyes, he looked like he was about to cry as he slowly lifted himself off the ground.

The confident voice spoke again “Go tell that ugly cat the meeting takes place in the manor’s undercroft, where our project is being researched. There will be no fancy dinner. ”

Following his orders, the poor wingull messenger opened the balcony’s door and flew away, disappearing into the rain.

Linoone could hear the faint sizzle of burning tobacco, before he saw some ashes drop on the floor. The remaining Pokémon exhaled, before approaching the desk with heavy steps, making the floor shake slightly under him. Linoone’s heart raced when he felt the scrolls right above him rustle as the stranger manipulated the papers. At the worst of times, an air current from the open balcony doors came through and made one of the documents fly off and float slowly to the ground, right next to Linoone’s face. A chill ran down his long spine, freezing him in shock. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat, waiting for the inevitable. But to his luck, he heard the unknown pokémon curse under his breath before turning his attention to the balcony’s door to close it. Linoone took the opportunity to blow the document away from him, towards the middle of the room. After closing the balcony, the mysterious Pokémon turned his attention towards the fallen document that was now distanced enough for him to be facing away from the desk as he retrieved it. With all the papers in hand, the imposing figure finally left the room, leaving the amateur spy alone once more. Linoone let out a long relieved sigh as he took a moment to gather himself, adrenaline still coursing through him from the close call.

“The manor’s undercroft, huh? Looks like this is my next stop.” He thought.

He pulled himself out from beneath the desk to peek at the half-opened door to the corridor. There was no one in sight, the manor was silent.

Linoone silently walked the manor’s corridors, looking for stairs to descend into. It turned out to be harder than expected, the palatial home was huge and asymmetric with its hallways going in arbitrary directions. Since he first woke up in the world, Linoone never did any dungeon exploration, despite this world being full of treasure. But as he got lost through the labyrinth of corridors looking for stairs and avoiding any potential encounter, he couldn’t help but think this was probably how his friends at the Clover Guild felt while exploring dungeons. Every corridor looked the same to him, his main reference points being the many old paintings lining the walls of the hallways, which were portraits of Pokémon surely long gone by now. Their species varied, but Pelipper and Wingulls comprised the majority. A similar trait they had was that they were well dressed, with clothes fitting their species exactly, dyed with rare colors. In this world, it was no secret that this kind of garment was a sign of wealth; The shape of Pokémon species varies so much, having clothes that fit a species’ exact proportions meant that they were specially commissioned to a tailor. To Linoone’s best guess it seemed like this old manor was the family estate of the founders of the Pelipper Mail Company. However, judging by the dust covering every painting and the spider webs at every corner, it looked like it had been abandoned for decades.

As he progressed, Linoone stumbled upon a winding staircase leading deep down to multiple floors. He descended to the lowest level, where there was a vaulted rocky passageway with stone pilasters protruding from the walls. Glancing down the hall, Linoone’s heart skipped a beat when he spotted two Pelippers guarding the doors at the end of the tunnel, reflexively, he quickly hid behind one of the pilasters. He was worried they might have caught him, but the guards weren’t speaking or doing any kind of noise. He carefully peeked his head out to take a closer look, and to his surprise, both birds had their heads down, hunched over themselves, completely still. Curious, Linoone came out of hiding to investigate. As he approached them, a horrific scene presented itself to him : both Pelippers were completely covered in frost, their frigid bodies emanating cold even from a distance. Linoone was utterly confused at the sight. He remembered the wingull’s mistreatment by his superior when he was hiding under the study room’s desk, but he couldn’t believe they would go as far as to freeze their own guards.

Linoone hesitantly drew the doors open to find himself in the manor’s undercroft. To his surprise, it was a much bigger room than he expected, spanning three times the size of the Clover Guild’s storage room. It had a very high ceiling made up of stone arches forming a lattice pattern that were supported by large pillars evenly spaced throughout. A sense of dread haunted him when he noticed the frozen bodies of several Wingulls scattered around the floor, who suffered the same fate as the two previous guards standing outside the door. He remained vigilant as he walked alone through the eerily silent basement. At the farthest corner of the undercroft were various workbenches encumbered with tools and blueprints. As he approached what looked like a makeshift laboratory, Linoone noticed a black board with strange schematics drawn on it. On top of those schematics was the project’s title written in big letters : “NEXT GENERATION SPECIAL COURIER”.

This was it. Linoone scanned the laboratory, wondering where he should start his investigation, when a large dusty blanket covering a vaguely humanoid shape caught his eye; It was standing on an elevated platform in the middle of the lab. Linoone walked around it in a circle, wondering what could this blanket possibly hide, but there were no labels or any hint as to what it was. Many thoughts raced through Linoone’s mind : “Was this the project they were working on?” “Is it dangerous?” “What if it’s all an elaborate trap?”. He gripped one side of the blanket, hesitant to actually pull it away. He looked left and right, like a child about to steal a cookie, but the only guard close by —or perhaps researcher— was laying frozen at his seat. Determined to know what laid under the covers, Linoone pulled the blanket away in one swift motion, revealing the metallic object underneath.

As the blanket fell to the ground, Linoone was shocked by the reveal: a robotic looking replica of a delibird stood right in front of him. Instead of being covered by feathers, its body was entirely metallic and its eyes were made up of low resolution pixelated screens. It was evidently shut off and unresponsive to Linoone standing right in front of it. It took him a moment to realize, but he remembered what Pokémon this was : an Iron Bundle, the futuristic reproduction of the Delibird.

“So, this is the Metal Gear…” he whispered to himself, as he took a few steps back in amazement to fully grasp what stood in front of him.
“At home we prefer to call them lil’ helpers, hun” Unexpectedly replied a familiar voice, right behind him. Linoone yelped in surprise before turning around to find Debby, in a relaxed position, her arms crossed, admiring the Iron Bundle in front of them.

“Debby!?” Linoone exclaimed, “who -wha- why- how are you here!?”

Debby simply pointed towards a chimney on the other side of the basement before explaining. “ I invited m’self in. Heard word on the wind that the Pelippers were up to no good, so I figured I oughta take a look. “

Linoone forcibly blinked a few times just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, yet there she was, his boss, standing right in front of him, smiling, like she always belonged here. Perhaps it was the stress of the mission, or maybe it was to make sure she was real, Linoone couldn’t help but lunge forward and wrap his arms around her in a tight hug. ”I’m so glad to see you here, Debby!”

This time, it was Debby’s turn to be surprised : “Hoot!! I’m glad to see you too Kaz!” she said, her last words squeezed out of her.

“Lliam told me about this Pelipper project, so I had to investigate. Seems like you know something about it?” Linoone asked as he released his boss.

Debby turned to face her mechanized replica. “Oh that I know. Where I come from, they help take care of all the nitty gritty of maintaining my father’s big ol’ workshop. But they can do a whole lot more too… Anyhoot, this ain’t supposed to be here.”

“But, how did they even get this thing here if it’s from the north?”

“I don’t know how they got it, hun, but not only is it stolen property, it’s also an infringement on my father’s intellectual property. '' She said, as her eyes gazed over the laboratory’s notes and schematics.

“You know, It’s not because you’re a Delibird or anything, but the way you talk about your father’s workshop ‘back home in the north’ with his ‘little helpers’ it almost sounds like your dad is Santa.” Jokingly replied Linoone, chuckling at the idea.

“Yes, he’s Santa Claus!” she responded in a cheerful tone.

It took Linoone a second of puzzlement before he interpreted her reply as a jest “Oh, hahaha! Yeah, that would be-”

“And that’s why my full name is Debby Claus.” She added.

Linoone stopped laughing to take a good look at her expression, his eyes squinted. To any outside observer, Debby’s carefree smile looked completely unreadable, but the courier knew his boss for quite some time and learned to decipher some intricacies of her body language. Linoone’s conclusion was undoubtedly clear.

She was dead serious.

Before he could say anything, Debby pulled out a stack of presents from her tail bag and handed them to Linoone : “We ain’t got much time, Kaz. We need to blow this place up to stop their operation”

Linoone awkwardly held the wobbling pile of a dozen presents “How do you even carry so many explosives in your-”

To his surprise, she pulled out yet another stack of presents of similar size “I take one half of the basement and y’all take the other half. Place the bombs against every pillar. When they’ll explode, it oughta make the entire manor collapse. If y’all put your ears against the present, you can hear 'em sizzle. This’ because I set ‘em to detonate in Fifteen minutes. ”

“Fifteen minutes!? That is way too little time, Debby!”

“Hoot! I’ve seen you deliver more mail faster than that, Kaz!” she said while she flew over to the other side of the undercroft with her bombs.

Not wasting a single minute, Linoone grabbed a present from his stack with his mouth and ran towards the nearest pillar to place the bomb under it. He repeated the process, running back and forth to his stack. Working simultaneously on their respective sides, they placed the timed explosives one by one under the columns. There were about a dozen large pillars on each half of the undercroft, yet, after only a couple of minutes, Both couriers managed to place every present under their respective columns while they worked at the same rhythm. As Linoone was catching his breath, leaning against a pillar, he saw Debby pull the Iron Bundle with a rope towards the middle of the basement. She spoke in between grunts from hauling the heavy Pokémon “We’ll ---oof need to carry this-” She stopped in her tracks when she saw the doors of the undercroft slowly opening…

Two Pokémons emerged, entering the manor’s large basement. Debby was completely exposed, but she let go of the rope to face the impromptu visitors, while Linoone quickly hid behind a pillar, yet he allowed himself to peek his head out, his corner of the undercroft was poorly illuminated and hid his form well. What he saw shocked him; it was the Purugly investor, alongside what looked like a Linoone, but with darker fur. A Galarian Linoone! The Purugly was clearly the investor he heard about, as he wore items signaling his wealth, such as boots, a fancy coat and a large cavalier hat, all evidently custom made for his own species. But the Galarian Linoone was lost on him. Was he some sort of bodyguard? He stood upright with a cigar in his mouth and only wore a white and blue tie. In Solid Linoone’s head, there was only one possible nickname for this one: Liquid Linoone. There was a moment of tense stillness, no one talked, no one moved. The only thing breaking the silence, was the sizzling of the Galarian Linoone’s cigar as he took a drag before being the first to finally speak, his voice resonating throughout the expanse of the undercroft.

Scene

“Well well well. If it isn’t Madame Claus.”

Linoone immediately recognized the speaker’s deep voice. It was the same one he heard while hidden under the study room’s desk!

Debby replied in a cheerful tone, yet her words were eerily menacing: “Don’t mind lil ol’ me, I’m just taking back stolen property! Y’all wouldn’t want to end up on the naughty list like those Wingulls now, would ya?”

Ignoring the Delibird, Purugly interjected “Mr.Goldbird, I’m afraid your project has been compromised. With all due respect, I must rescind our contractual engagement. It is quite a disappointment, but I must say, I am not surprised.” said the cat, his voice carrying a pretentious, aristocratic tone.

Solid Linoone was stumped by what Purugly called Liquid Linoone. “Mr.Goldbird?“ he repeated to himself, remembering the name Lliam told him. His thoughts were racing at the revelation : The C.E.O of the Pelipper Mail Company… IS A LINOONE!?

Liquid Linoone, unbothered by his associate’s condescending remark, replied confidently “You don’t have too, Purugly, in fact, this is the perfect occasion to demonstrate the effectiveness of our Next Generation Special Couriers prototype.”

Unsure by what the businessmon meant, Debby looked back at the iron bundle, who’s system was still deactivated “I’m sorry to break it to y’all, but the lil’ helpers only respond to my father’s command.”

“Not this one…” whispered Goldbird loudly enough for all to hear. He took one last long drag of his cigar, before flickering what remained of it out of his way, towards a pillar. From Solid Linoone’s point of view, the cigar landed dangerously close to one of the presents, making him remember they were on a timer.

Goldbird continued. “This one… answers only to the Sovereign of the Pelipper Mail Company.” A wide smile spread across the Galarian Pokémon’s face

“Awaken, my dearest slave!”

As he spoke those words, the Iron Bundle powered on, its head standing straight and staring right ahead while its eyes lit up and emitted a soft blue light. It emitted a digitized “Hoot!” Before doing a military salute, as if to indicate its awakening.

It was rare for Linoone to see Debby surprised at something, but there she was, incredulously looking at the robotic courier as if she was witnessing something from beyond this world. Yet, something else disturbed her even more, she looked back at the Galarian Pokémon, her eyes narrowed.

“This is a lil’ helper, it’s not a slave.”

Goldbird softly chuckled before responding. “Oh, but you’re completely wrong! Didn’t you just call them stolen “property”? I am no different than your father after all, we both need slaves for our ambitions.” His eyes then looked to the side, towards Purugly, as if his next words were meant for him to hear “If I’m able to mass produce these so-called little helpers, I will have an army of slaves in my control. Be it couriers, artisans or defense personnel, I could dominate any industry, with zero labor cost. ”

Solid Linoone had intrusive thoughts about making an unprompted “janny” joke, but with the clock ticking for the explosives, there was little time left for that sort of thing. As they talked, he slowly crawled from pillar to pillar while making sure he stayed in the shadow, getting closer to his partner.

Debby seemed uninterested in pursuing the conversation: “Hoot! If that’s y’all’s pitch to get on the naughty list, I’m happy to say you're in!” She said, as she reached into her tail bag.

Suddenly, the Iron bundle’s eyes turned red as it spoke in a distorted synthesized speech “SELF-DEFENSE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED”. It violently lifted Debby by her underarms, pinning her back against its metallic body with her wings spread out, unable to move. Her legs flailed in the air as she struggled against the mechanical Pokémon’s grip. “What are y'all doing, helper? Let go!”

Linoone’s eyes widened in shock at what was unfolding, his muscles tensed, ready to dash towards the treacherous Iron Bundle. With Debby in danger and the bombs about to go off, he had no choice, he needed to act.

Goldbird smirked as he walked towards the Delibird “Now, I wonder, how would you feel if my wonderful slave here made you suffer the same fate you inflicted on my employees? ”. Purugly was following behind Goldbird, yet at a shier pace, seemingly disturbed by the ordeal.

“H-Hey Goldbird, I think that’s enough for today, your project looks adequate, you’ve convinced me.” said Purugly, his aristocratic tone gone.

The Galarian Linoone remained silent, completely ignoring his associate as he gazed deeply into Debby’s eyes, his pupils quivering with cruel intentions.

BGM : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WokJwcDQW1U

Out of the blue, Linoone came flying straight against the robotic Pokémon with Extreme Speed, tackling it from the side. The strong Iron Bundle barely tilted, but it was enough force to make it extend its arm-wings to regain balance, letting go of Debby. She immediately grabbed her tail bag and shot out a powerful Aurora Beam right at the Iron Bundle’s face. The beam was so intense, the whole undercroft was brightly illuminated in flashing colors, making everyone shield their eyes. A couple of seconds later, when the beam finally died off, spots of colors were dancing in Linoone’s vision, leaving him momentarily disoriented. When he came back to his senses, he was surprised to see the Iron bundle was still standing, almost completely unharmed, but its electronic eyes were malfunctioning, flashing rapidly in random colors. Both businessmons were disoriented and Debby couldn’t be seen anywhere, when suddenly he felt a weight on his back and something gripping both of his ears. He was about to wrestle himself free, when he heard her voice. “Let’s get out of here, Kaz!”.

Linoone immediately dashed towards the entrance as fast as he could, flinging the doors open by running right through them while the Galarian Linoone recovered just in time to notice their escape. As he was going up the winding staircase with Debby on his back, they heard Goldbird pursuing them lower down the stairs, letting out a deep, sinister laugh that echoed throughout the Manor. Linoone ran out of the winding staircases at the third floor in a completely arbitrary decision as he had no idea where he was in this labyrinth of a castle. He found himself in another corridor where he ran as fast as he could in a straight line, hoping Debby wouldn’t fall off his back. He looked back momentarily, and to his horror, Goldbird was behind, still pursuing them. “Watch out!” yelled Debby, when he looked back upfront, they were fast approaching a wall as the corridor made a sharp right turn. Linoone tried his best to make the sharp turn, but he was going too fast and slammed his left side against the wall of the manor, slowing him down momentarily before he rushed out of the corner just in time for Goldbird himself to crash into the same wall. “Kaz! The bombs are going off in less than a minute!” Hooted Debby. Linoone couldn’t be more distressed, he sprinted down the corridor hoping the next turn would reveal an exit, but this one terminated in a “T” intersection, branching off both right and left, and directly ahead was a large window. Trusting his instinct, Linoone took a gamble and decided to turn left, braking early enough so he didn’t go through the window.

Suddenly, Right as he was making his turn, the floor in front of him exploded in a thousand pieces as the Iron Bundle bursted through from under. “TERMINATE”. It said in a glitchy electronic voice while its eyes were still malfunctioning, making the murderous robot even more intimidating than it already was. “WHAT THE HELL” screamed Linoone, terrified as he looked behind to take the other route of the intersection, but to his dismay, it was a dead end with a lone painting of a Pelipper adorning the wall. The Iron Bundle aimed its mechanical tail bag at them as it was glowing with energy, ready to burst. Completely overwhelmed, Linoone winced and shut his eyes tight, bracing for the inevitable. The Hyper Beam erupted with a deafening roar, raw energy reverberated all round him while the ground trembled. Linoone held his breath, hoping his death would be quick…Yet, to his surprise, as powerful gusts of wind went by, he was unharmed. He peeked an eye open to Debby standing right in front of him, unleashing a Hyper Beam of her own to counter their assailant. “KAAAZ” she yelled over the deafening noise of the two beams colliding against each other “RUUUN!”. As he was about to act, he heard “Got you!” before he felt a violent impact on his left side. It was the Galarian Linoone, brutally slamming his body full speed against him like a train. The impact was such that it made both of them crash through the large window.

Glass shattered around their entwined forms, as they flew outside in the torrential rain, their momentum making their bodies twirl in the air. The world spun around Linoone’s vision, he saw a mixture of stormy sky, black fur and the ground approaching. it felt like time was slowing down as it happened, his senses hyper-aware, he felt the coldness of the rain, the fresh smell of the humid forest, the sharp claws of the Galarian Linoone digging at his back, the fresh cuts on his face from the shattered glass, the wind roaring past him while he plummeted. Then it happened; A heavy thud echoed through the domain as both bodies hit the ground.

Linoone laid flat on his back when he opened his eyes and he saw the sinister, darkened sky, before he shifted his eyes back to see the world upside down with Goldbird slowly lifting himself, standing on his hind legs. Linoone momentarily lost consciousness to then wake up again right as Goldbird appeared over him, and as poetry would have it, a thunder illuminated the sky at the same moment. Both Linoones were visibly injured, both were panting heavily, both were completely drenched from the downpour, but only one was standing. Goldbird was disheveled and visibly injured, yet, he was smiling down at Linoone as he adjusted his tie.

Several of the employees guarding the manor outside rushed towards their boss worried about his injuries, but Goldbird repeatedly denied their assistance “Stay out of it! Don’t touch me! I’m perfectly fine. This is business as usual”. Not a single Pokémon dared going against his orders, they stood several meters away as their Boss turned his attention back to the courier.

“I didn’t know Delibird Delivery had a preference for the weaker kind of Linoone.”

The normal type wasn’t listening, his bones hurting too much to be attentive. The only thing he could manage to do was slowly turn around on his belly. Goldbird kept speaking, this time in a mocking tone.

“Sorry. Are you hurt?”

Linoone managed to lift himself up on his four legs for a second before the ruthless Pokémon gave a powerful kick on his ribs, instantly driving the breath out of his lungs and making his body double over from the impact. A desperate, choked gasp escaped him as he tried to breathe.

Goldbird didn’t speak for a moment, choosing instead to admire Linoone contorting himself in pain. His gaze was filled with twisted pleasure, each desperate gasp fueling his sadistic enjoyment, as his thoughts raced through the many more ways he could hurt his victim.

Suddenly, the front doors of the manor bursted open with Purugly running out. “PRESENTS!” he screamed.

It caught the attention of everyone, who turned towards the panicked cat, confused.

“THE UNDERCROFT IS FILLED WITH BOM-”. Yelled Purugly who couldn’t finish his sentence, falling face first as the ground shook violently. A deep rumble that resembled a dozen thunders resonated from beneath the manor. There was a very brief moment of silence, where everyone held their breath before the huge monument started rumbling ominously. Goldbird watched in horror as the manor quivered more and more, its growling becoming louder and louder. Everyone around Linoone started fleeing, alarmed about the manor’s imminent collapse. Still injured from his fall, Goldbird was only able to limp a few feet away before heavy pieces of masonry started falling around him. “Someone get me the hell out of here!” He yelled angrily. A Pelipper responding to his call came by and frantically searched his bag for an item as more and more stone rained from the sky, until he finally found what he was looking for and threw some sort of gem onto the ground. A cylinder of light enveloped both Goldbird and the Pelipper for a second, before they disappeared.

The walls of the manor started to bow outwards, as its main towers collapsed in a deafening roar reverberating through the entire domain. Masonry started to accumulate around Linoone, who could only slowly crawl as Pelippers and Wingulls flew away to safety past him. All except one. Linoone saw webbed feet landing right in front of his nose, before he looked up to see a Wingull looking right back at him. An aura of compassion emanated from his gaze as he gently lowered his beak, which was holding a berry he let go in front of the injured courier. As he looked into his eyes, Linoone’s face lit up as he realized it was the same Wingull he saw back in the study room. Then out of nowhere, an Ice Beam passed right over the Wingull’s head, scaring the bird who took off into the skies. Linoone turned towards the direction the beam came from to see Debby rushing towards him. The moment he saw her, he forgot all pain, all fatigue, and with renewed vigor, he lifted himself up, wobbling on his legs before yelling out “Debby!” His voice cracked with a mix of anguish and relief.

“Kaz! Did the bastard hurt ya?” asked the Delibird when she reached her partner.

She aimed her tail bag again to the sky, towards the fleeing Wingull but at the last moment, Linoone pushed her bag away as it shot another beam, barely missing the bird.

“No! Debby, Look!” said Linoone, as he showed her the fruit he received. It was an Oran Berry. “This is what he gave me.”

“One of the good ones?” The Delibird asked, lowering her tail bag.

“One of the good ones.” Linoone confirmed, before eating the berry, revigorating him enough to hurry away from the accumulating rubble with Debby’s help.

As they escaped, more of the manor’s structure surrendered to gravity, until eventually, one last resounding crash sealed its fate. Dust rose to the sky as the last of its walls crumbled into the pile of stone it had become.

The duo had entered the forest before they stopped to admire the ruins of the old domain as the sun slowly started to rise. Linoone took this opportunity to ask a crucial question.

“What happened to the uhh… Terminator?”

“Ya mean the lil’ helper? I couldn’t save the poor rascal.” Sadly replied Debby, disappointed towards herself.

Heartbroken to see the usually jovial bird in a sorrowful mood, Linoone gently put a paw on her head to lightly caress her. As he did, she lowered her ear tufts in response. He noticed she always did this when he stroked her, and although she never explicitly told him she enjoyed it, he ended up taking her physical reaction as a sign of appreciation.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Said Linoone, searching for the right words to comfort his closest partner.

Without saying a word, Debby dug into her tail bag, unexpectedly pulling out the Iron Bundle’s severed head. Her mood shifted back to her cheery self as she proudly presented it to the courier.

“At least I kept m’self a lil’ keepsake!”

Linoone’s eyes widened at the sudden morbid display. “O-oh you decapitated it? W-wow, that’s great!” he said, disturbed yet happy to see her beak warmly smile again.

“We oughta use this as decoration back at DD’s.” She proposed, as she turned the head to face herself, appreciating its look.

“That’s actually not a bad idea! We just need to clean it up, remove the wires protruding out and it would work wonders to catch the eyes of potential clients!” Replied Linoone.

As they walked back to Capim Town, Debby noticed her partner limping on one of his legs. “Y'all best not come 'round to work today and tomorrow, hun. They're paid days off; y'all oughta rest up.”

“What? Debby, there’s no way! We have so much mail to deliver today and you didn’t even sleep!”

“Don’t worry ‘bout lil ol me!“ She nonchalantly replied. To her credit, she somehow didn’t even look tired at all, even after this exhausting operation, while Linoone had trouble walking faster than he currently is.

“Debby, you're insane! At least let me do desk work!”

“Delilah is hootin’ good at her job, Kaz. Y’all go rest, I insist.”

For a while, both Pokémon didn’t say anything as they walked through the forest slowly getting illuminated by the rising sunlight, until Linoone, forming a faint corner smile, broke the silence.

“So… The lil helpers back in your home… They do it for free?”