>CHAPTER 8
Ex-Convict Part 2
Several days had passed.
Alphonse had found himself slowly returning to health. But the mental scars had just begun to form.
Arcade, which had bustled with excitement in the days before, has now mostly returned to its normal day-to-day lull. A few wounded guards and adventurers filled the medical bunks at the local doctor's building, slightly bruised and scraped in the battle days before.
At the top of the residence in the medical bay was Team R.O.T. They had almost fully recovered but suffered the worst injuries out of any Pokemon. Crowds of adoring fans still eagerly awaited their return to full health, cursing the wicked thieves who would come to harm their idols.
"Don't worry, lads; life is filled with complicated situations," Bow assured the crowds of rabid fans.
"This has been one of those moments."
"We can all be too quick to pass judgment," exclaimed Ito.
"Agreed verily. We can get so caught up in the rhythm that we forget the lyrics," proclaimed Larson.
As usual, the fans continued to swoon and follow every word of their idols, quickly exchanging their metaphorical pitchforks for peace signs.
The clanging and banging of steel echoed throughout the town. A large group of Timburr and Gerdurr worked diligently at repairing the section of the wall damaged in the fight and worked to destroy the rest of the great tunnel and fill it in below. The chief provided a watchful eye over the project, briefly recessing to his quarters to perform his due diligence.
"Deadeye, have you finished transcribing that letter?"
The chief walked toward his son, who was barely able to contain his excitement.
"Yes, pops, I wrote it just like you said!" beamed Deadeye.
"Good job, boy; I'm proud of you."
The chief smiled back at his son.
A courier Pelipper picked up the letter moments later. Flying to parts unknown and dropping it off seemingly in the wilderness, she flew back to continue the rest of her mail route for the day.
Sensing the coast was clear, a lone Pangoro sauntered over to the paper, reading it with careful detail. It was Del, wearing a red headband that barely held onto his head as it flapped in the wind.
Del,
From the bottom of my heart, I'm sincerely sorry about what happened all those years ago to you at the now defunct Explorer's Guild. Had I known better, I would've supported you in your quest to provide unrelenting justice to the great Pokemon of this continent. Ephie, who you had sent as a representative for further peace talks, was very successful in helping our great townsfolk see your plights. Without her assistance, I fear many of the townsfolk, myself included, would still be blind to the mistreatment you all had experienced.
Since then, I have officially pardoned you and your friends from any further wrongdoing, out of apology, out of gratitude for assisting with the repair efforts, and out of respect for calling off your raid targeting our humble village. The guards and other defending forces were massively unharmed, something I cannot stress how much I appreciate enough, and I can tell you all acted with great restraint for as long as you could. I cannot blame you for being clouded with hate, and I fear I'd likely have done the same had I been in your situation.
While I unfortunately cannot welcome you officially into Arcade, you should now be fit to start a new life, should you choose to (and I hope you do), anywhere else in this fine region.
I realize this does not truly make up for the years of abuse you have suffered, but I hope it at least brings some ease to your troubled mind.
Sincerly,
P.B.
Del smiled, looking out at the blue sky. It had been quite some time since the sky looked this blue. He tucked the letter away into a small side pouch. He then slowly wandered back to his den.
Back at the den, Ephie worked to make sure everything was in tip-top shape, occasionally whipping Gattz back into action. Her heart fluttered, wondering if she was truly cut out for this sort of thing anymore. She knew she was not alone in that thought, for Del in recent days had expressed his concern as well. Del now saw himself as a code breaker and his fellow thieves as complicit in the action. They realized there was no honor in stealing something you never needed. Even if it was to settle a score or punish what he determined to be the wicked, for no one Pokemon could serve as judge, jury, or executioner. Many of these conclusions he came to with the help of Ephie and Lazlo, who served as great sources of consolation for the troubled ex-convicts since their failed heist.
Back at Arcade, Lazlo swilled his drink soundly. He had taken a brief recess to attend to other, unknown matters. But he had since returned from his errands, much to the delight of Lou, Mary, and the other townsfolk.
Unfortunately, unable to join the pleasantries, Alphonse sat in a cell. It was not as cold or depressing as he had expected. And if anything, the punishment was more internal than external. It has given Alphonse time to reflect on his actions and, even better, his lack of actions. Chad kept a merciful watch over the troubled Abra, occasionally stopping by to cheer him up.
Before long, none of the townsfolk could blame the ex-convicts any longer, especially Alphonse, and they quickly came to forgive them all. Most things that had gone missing were easy to replace, and if someone else needed them more and was truly struggling, well, then maybe it wasn't all that bad to submit to "forced" charity.
On a crisp afternoon, during the aftermath, Alphonse's snooze was interrupted by a sudden guest appearance. Lazlo and Deadeye arrived at the cell.
"Hey there, kid," Lazlo called out.
"Still sulkin' in here, I see."
"If anything, it's given me time to come to terms with the events over the past few days," Alphonse admitted.
"Y'know, you never had to come here in the first place," Lazlo informed.
"You were the least guilty of that lot, and you showed a lot of restraint during the fights I heard."
"I know. But I still felt it was necessary." Alphonse claimed.
Lazlo didn't argue any further.
Deadeye spoke next.
"How's things been, Alphonse?"
"Better, for the most part. I never would've expected Chad of all people to help console me."
Lazlo smiled.
"Y'know, before he became warden, he mainly worked in therapy."
Alphonse chuckled slightly.
Deadeye spoke back up.
"Anyway, Lou cooked you another meal, and Mary prepared one of her famous Cheri Berry cocktails. I'll set it down in the usual spot, and you can grab it whenever you're ready."
Alphonse smiled.
"Thanks, Deadeye."
Deadeye gleefully hovered away.
"I can't believe everyone is calling me that now," he charmed to himself.
Alphonse graciously began eating. After one sip of the cocktail, however, he made a sour face.
"I have no idea how you can drink this stuff all the time, Lazlo," Alphonse exclaimed.
Lazlo chortled.
"Eh, s'all good. Consider yerself lucky ya don't got the gene."
The two friends shared a laugh. Then a hush fell through the room.
"...I never officially thanked you for tellin' the rest of your story, Al."
"Don't mention it. It actually helped me a lot to get it off my chest," Alphonse replied.
"Now, I won't go sellin' the book t' anyone. It stays between you 'n me, as friends," Lazlo admitted.
Alphonse happily obliged, flashing a gracious smile back at Lazlo.
"Besides, I got ya something else," Lazlo slyly said. Alphonse flashed a puzzled look.
Lazlo presented him with a black cloak that almost appeared as if it had never been worn.
"My cloak! How did you-"
"Ya must've dropped it that night," Lazlo started to say. He stopped himself from bringing up any further troubling memories.
"'nyway, town tailor fixed it up as good as new for ya. Hope ya don't mind."
Alphonse flashed a great grin.
"Thanks Lazlo."
"Don't mention it, kid." Lazlo grinned back.
An air of admiration filled the room.
"So, once you decide you're gettin' out of here, where do you think you'll go?" Lazlo inquired.
"To be honest, I haven't really thought that far ahead," Alphonse admitted.
He was still looking over his newly repaired cloak. He noticed there was something bundled alongside it. It appeared to be a bandana, also dark black in nature.
"What's this?" Alphonse asked Lazlo.
"Just a little somethin' extra," Lazlo replied merrily.
"Now unfortunately, we couldn't get everything stitched back up, so it's a bit shorter than usual, as you probably saw. So we took the remaining scrap fabric and made it inta' this."
Alphonse smiled from ear to ear.
"Thanks, Laz. This is really... nice."
Lazlo matched an equally impressive smile right back at Alphonse.
Suddenly, Chad burst into the cell room.
"Alphonse! You've got a delivery!"
Alphonse switched to a confused look. A delivery? Who would be giving him a package? Better yet, who else knew where he was?
Alphonse graciously took the package from Chad.
"Thanks, bud," Alphonse replied.
Chad panted happily.
"Any time, Al!" He then darted back into the hall.
Alphonse unwrapped the parcel. It was another tablet. Alphonse suddenly felt his heart sink, and a strange sensation overtook him.
"You okay, kid?" Lazlo looked over with concern at the change in Alphonse's expression.
"Mm? Oh, yeah. I just didn't expect this, that's all."
Alphonse began feeling out the tablet. Another message in braille. Alphonse moved his fingers along the tablet, carefully reading the message.
Alphonse's shock quickly turned to despair. He ran his fingers several more times along the tablet, making sure he transcribed everything right.
"Lazlo, I'm sorry to go so suddenly, but I need to inspect this."
Lazlo nodded back at Alphonse. In the days before, Lazlo would've been more concerned at his friend's sudden excitement and desire to run off. But now that Alphonse's heart was back in the right place and his mind was thinking more clearly, he knew that Alphonse was acting properly.
"Of course, kid. Just be careful," Lazlo said with a wink, unlocking the cell door. Alphonse gave a gracious hug to the old Pokemon before running out of the jailhouse, towards parts unknown.
"Shucks..." Lazlo blushed.
About two hours later, Alphonse found himself back in the heart of the deep woods, which he had traveled through before. Like many other things, it no longer felt unknown to him. A short moment later, he saw a figure emerge from the brush.
"Al!" the figure whispered.
"Is that you?"
"It's me, Gattz. What's going on?"
Gattz emerged from the shubbery, spitting out a leaf and shaking off several twigs.
"And why did you have me come out here?" Alphonse inquired.
Gattz shook himself off one last time.
"Well, the hideout has fallen to ruin. Not literally, of course, but nobody's keen on doing it anymore."
Gattz pointed an accusatory finger at Alphonse.
"Now how am I supposed to get my gadgets!?" he exclaimed.
After his little outburst, he recoiled back, regaining himself.
"Right. So, as I'm sure you DON'T know, the jig is up. Ephie has been talkin' about going to a big village somewhere; Del might take up adventurin' again; and I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself."
Alphonse looked unamused. "But that's not why you called me out here."
"Correct. It's Bethel."
Alphonse's face flushed, and his skin went pale. Bethel. He hadn't spoken to her since the night of the heist, and the note they left was anything but positive.
"What about her?" Alphonse shot back.
"Well, she's been running off a lot lately. She's constantly been saying how she's got to prove her strength, and right her wrongs. Del hasn't been happy about her running of at all, but he has been unsuccessful in stopping her. This time, she's been gone for almost a whole day. The last we heard, she was going to the dungeon again."
Alphonse felt himself gripped with concern.
"The dungeon? And she hasn't come back?"
"That's right! Del and Ephie went to look, but they haven't come back yet either!" Gattz moaned.
"How long ago did they leave?!" Alphonse exclaimed, a panic beginning to form in his voice.
"Oh, about three or four hours now..." Gattz began to trail off.
Alphonse arched up. He sprang into action, grabbing both of Gattz's appendages.
"Lead me there, now! We have to find them all!"
Gattz nodded, not letting go of Alphonse, as the two began to sprint across the forest floor, headed towards the unknown.
Ample time later, the two arrived at the dungeon entrance again. Alphonse swallowed and sternly turned to Gattz.
"This time, you're coming in with me," Alphonse reciprocated to Gattz. Gattz nodded in agreement. With that, Alphonse began to head into the dungeon.
"Oh, and Al?" Gattz called over.
"Yes, Gattz?" Alphonse blinked.
"You'll find I'm a pretty formidable fighter myself." Gattz smirked.
As the two wandered through the dungeon, they encountered more and more feral Pokemon blocking their path. Gattz didn't lie after all, he was quite an adept fighter. He didn't have the raw psychic power that Alphonse did, but he made up for it with his wits and techniques. Several floors later, the dungeon showed no signs of letting up. Thankfully, Gattz did prove once again to be quite useful in a pinch and seemed to know every trap location in the dungeon by heart.
"Without Gattz, it would've been a much more dire road to travel," Alphonse figured.
The two reached the clearing that Alphonse, Del, and Bethel had once stood at in record time. After a short search, Gattz called out to Alphonse.
"What is it, Gattz? Another trap?"
"Not exactly. Did you notice this last time?" Gattz pointed toward a small groove on the floor.
Upon closer inspection, it was a switch.
Alphonse studied it carefully.
"Nope, I can't say I did."
Gattz let out a triumphant laugh.
"Ah, what would you do without me?" he inquired, giving the switch a quick tap. Before Alphonse knew it, a hidden path had opened before his eyes.
"Unfortunately, this is where we part, Al. But I wish you the best of luck in whatever lies ahead," Gattz exclaimed.
"You'll likely find Del and Ephie down there. Don't tell them I brought you here," he warned.
"Understood. Thanks, Gattz," Alphonse said, shaking Gattz's large hand.
With a quick farewell, Alphonse once again headed off into the unknown.
The surroundings of the dungeon began to warp and wild out around him.
"This was nothing like the floors before," Alphonse thought.
A choking purple haze filled the air, making it hard to see and even harder to breathe. But Alphonse pressed onward.
There had been a good amount of poison-type Pokemon beforehand in the earlier section of the dungeon, but every feral Pokemon Alphonse had ran into now was poison adjacent. He would come to face with several families of Sevipers, who all attempted to impale him with their venomous fangs. Alphonse had learned a bit about movement and positioning from Lazlo, and was able to consistently dodge every heavily telegraphed attack that threatened him. He would also come across multiple Muk and Swallot. They proved even easier to avoid, but did prove to be a bit more troublesome as they occasionally overwhelmed him in number. Taking a few bad hits, Alphonse kept a level head throughout the fights, making sure he ate an occasional Oran Berry that he had scrounged from the dungeon floor. Surprisingly, they tasted pretty good, which felt weird to say about random wild berries that were unwashed and had been in contact with moldy mycelium floor below. Between bites, he would blast away several hordes of the sludge-like Pokemon, vaporizing them back into the evil dust and clay they had formed from.
A horde of Zubat and Golbat proved to be quite troublesome, as they were also very adept in dodging attacks, almost more adept than Alphonse was. But Alphonse was once again able to keep a level head, instead choosing to use random throwable weaponry, kick about dust, and scratch and struggle with his body that had rapidly became more and more used to combat again. Conversing his energy on smaller, weaker Pokemon and saving his better attacks for the bigger, more threatening targets, he made sure he didn't exhaust himself too early, for if he grew too tired, he would be unable to proceed. And if he were unable to proceed, he would never be able to find his friends.
The grimness of the situation definitely wore on Alphonse, but it also kept him grounded. He was able to respect the dire mission at hand. It felt abnormal, but he couldn't deny he loved it, despite the circumstances. Years of fighting on the Dark Continent proved to have paid off after all, he just had to shake off the mold and remember his strength after all.
His greatest opponent so far would prove to be a Toxicroak. Substantially bigger than the other feral Pokemon, it towered over the young Abra, appearing very threatening even without considering the size difference.
The Toxicroak had noticed Alphonse first, and sent several of it's minions, made up of three Croagunks, barreling towards him. The first Croagunk made the mistake of focusing too much on raw strength, and in turn was easy to dodge. The second Croagunk was much faster, but weaker. It was able to get a few scratches on Alphonse before he sent it back into the ground below with a rondo of colorful and deadly psychic blasts. One down, three to go. Alphonse continued to dodge the attacks of the lumbering first Croagunk, instead focusing his attention on the third Croagunk. It was providing a supporting role, taunting Al and attempting to weaken his defenses, while at the same time riling up it's partners to attack with even more lethal force. Direct combat was not it's strong suit, and as the first Croagunk left its partner undefended with it's wild and reckless attacks, Alphonse was quickly able to come face to face with the supportive Croagunk. Wielding what appeared to be a blade of psychic energy in both his hands, he slashed the Croagunk down the middle, and then delivered a second, even more brutal horizontal slash. The third Croagunk was barely able to survive even the first hit, causing the second to end its meddling indefinitiely. With no further distractions, Alphonse charged into the final Croagunk, the one that had focused more on strength than dexterity. Focusing his claws on his temples, he send forth a wave of malice, rupturing the Croagunk's feral brain and causing it to stop mid charge, and disintegrate.
Alphonse began to admire his prowess, but felt a slash hit him across the back. He tumbled back, remembering he was not safe yet. The Toxicroak, angered by the loss of it's minions, was rapidly clawing and slashing at Alphonse, getting several good hits in. The Toxicroak managed to dodge several projectile beams and blasts, and would prove quickly to be a much more adept opponent. Alphonse decided it was time for the gloves to come off. He teleported away to safety, and opened up his bag, filled with the various treasures he had come across earlier. He found just what needed - an X-Eye Seed. Knowing the Toxicroak would likely see it coming a mile away, he had to get creative with his method, and fast. The Toxicroak began to rapidly close the gap between the two, readying it's fangs with venom and devilish fury. Alphonse grabbed a Thorn out of his bag, closed it securely, and slung it back over his shoulder. He whipped the Black Thorn with great velocity, intending to pierce the Toxicroak right through the middle. But the Toxicroak saw it coming, and flipped up into the air to dodge it. With immediate success, it landed on it's feet, back now towards Alphonse. It rapidly turned around, appearing to laugh wickedly at Alphonse's miss, it's mouth wide open as poison spit flew out from the corners of its maw.
But that was just what Alphonse was counting on. With a wide open target, he tossed the X-Eye seed into the Croagunks mouth. The Croagunk was taken aback, and instinctively swallowed, not knowing what it had just ingested. It began to charge again at Alphonse, but completely veered off course, slamming into a wall. With its back now exposed, Alphonse readied his psychic powers again, and let loose a surge of slashes into the back of the Croagunk. The Croagunk hollered in pain, still screaming as it faded into nothingness.
Alphonse, letting out a triumphant sigh, waited around for several seconds as he tended to his wounds, and then made off further into the depths below.
Still fighting tooth and nail, he noticed several signs of struggle as he moved forward. Choosing to follow the signs, he gradually came across less and less feral dungeon Pokemon. As he trudged through the murky poison, gasping for air, he noticed more and more signs of struggle. The surroundings appeared damaged and beaten, and there were several craters and holes in the walls. Alphonse could only assume Del had been here recently. Holding his head up high, he moved forward, the poison choking him out heavier and heavier with every step down the descent.
After some time, he came across a side path. Following the path, thankfully, the air gradually untoxified itself and became more fresh and clean. The warped wood and bizarre plants had also turned more natural-looking. As he followed down the side path, he suddenly heard someone call out to him.
"Who... who's there?" A pained voice cried.
Alphonse recognized the voice almost instantly. He called out the voice's name.
"Ephie!"
Ephie coughed and spat, clearly afflicted with the poison from earlier.
"Al?!" she cried.
"Is that really you?"
"It's me, Ephie! What's going on? Are you alright?" Alphonse replied.
Ephie began to cough again. Her form was weak, and she lay sprawled on the dungeon floor below.
"Easy now," he assured.
"I've got you, take it easy now. There's no enemies nearby."
"Al... the poison..." she coughed.
"And we... weren't ready... for..."
Ephie began to black out.
"Don't worry, just conserve your strength. I'll get you out of here."
Alphonse quickly rummaged around his bag, pulling out a pristine Escape Orb. Giving it a gentle rub and supplying Ephie with it, he saluted her as she vanished, hoping the best for her.
"Gattz, please take care of her." Alphonse found himself thinking aloud.
He had briefly observed Ephie's wounds. They were not entirely the signs of poison, for they were primarily the result of several hard-fought battles, all in rapid succession. But the scariest part was the ferocity of the wounds. Normal-dungeon Pokemon didn't fight that dirty.
Shaken by the grim realization, Alphonse decided he had no choice but to keep moving forward.
As he descended to the next floor, he saw more signs of struggle and even less feral Pokemon. However, the poison had returned threefold. Alphonse was barely able to blink now, as his eyes watered and his tastebuds soured. The poison was caked very heavily throughout this place. It was evident to him now that the switch was doing more good than harm, keeping out any adventurers foolish enough to venture further. Floor after floor, Alphonse felt his consciousness slip further away. He began to hallucinate various colors and sounds, and his body violently shook with tremors of varying intensity. He could hardly bring himself to eat anything in his bag, even as his stomach screamed out for sustenance.
The hallucinations became more potent and vile as he was exposed to more and more of the poison. He began to hear several voices, all sounding like his. They mocked him, spat at him, and told him various false-truths, all in attempt to break him further.
"You're weak."
"Weakling, foolish weakling."
"You'll never be strong. You can never stand up for yourself."
"This is all your fault."
"This is what you deserve."
"Close your eyes, and let go."
"No, no... no!" Alphonse yelled aloud.
"I've gotten this far... I have to keep going... I can't... give up..."
"You can give up."
"You don't need to do this."
"You have nothing left to prove."
"Your fate has been decided."
"Don't fight it anymore."
"Let go."
"I... I have to go on... I have to live..." Alphonse hacked.
"Where are you going?"
"What are you fighting for?"
"For what purpose?"
"For what reason?"
"There is no reason."
"There is no purpose."
As Alphonse felt his consciousness fading rapidly, he noticed a saving grace. The floor began to dip steadily, revealing what he assumed was the final passageway leading to the last section of the forest. Still being badgered by the torrent of malicious voices in his head, he pushed onward, and slowly walked down the final path.
Just after making it down the incline, he collapsed on the floor. The poison had quadrupled in potency.
A voice from above called out to him. He at first figured it was another hallucination, but it kept pressing and pressing at him.
With as little energy as he could summon left, he heard the voice clearly.
"You look like you need this," the voice called to him.
Alphonse reached out into the blank space ahead of him, feeling a cloth scarf radiating with energy. He quickly fastened it around his neck. Slowly but surely, his hallucinations stopped, and his senses faded back to normal.
Unfortunately, the sight ahead of him was anything but welcoming. There stood three menacing Pokemon looming over him. But upon closer inspection, there was a fourth with them, slung haphazardly over the middle Pokemon's shoulder.
His senses having fully returned, he observed his rescuers.
An Annihilape, an Azumarill, and finally, a Vigiroth, with a Litten slung over his shoulder.
Alphonse shot back up. He noticed the three were wearing similar scarves, except for the Litten. The name resounded in his head.
"Bethel."
"BETHEL!" Alphonse cried out. But Bethel did not respond.
"Stupid brat wandered in here without a Pecha Scarf. What kind of novice adventurer does something as stupid as that?" howled the Annihilape.
Kane.
"Better yet, none of these morons brought any de-poisoning materials. How pathetic! cackled the Azumarill.
Skyla.
And finally, front and center, in all his glory, stood the Vigiroth.
Dunas.
"What have you done to her!?" Alphonse cried out, already assuming the position to fight.
Dunas cackled.
"To be fair, the poison did most of the work. But I'd be lying if I said we didn't enjoy kicking this brat's body around for a good thirty minutes."
Alphonse felt immense pressure rise up inside him. His anger began to swell.
"We took care of that obnoxious Ephie character too! What a bargain!"
Skyla's malicious cackling reverberated throughout the chamber.
"Ripping her Pecha Scarf from her collapsed body, what a thrill! It'll be sure to fetch a pretty Poke on the black market!"
Kane looked disappointed. "No sight of that punk Del though. Man, I really wanted to settle the score with him, too. Didn't think he would be so much of a coward as to not show up! Ahahaha!"
Alphonse choked. He could contain his anger no longer.
"Why? Why are you doing all of this? What did they do to deserve this!? I refuse to believe any Pokemon could be deserving of such treatment!"
The three cackled wickedly.
Kane was the first to answer.
"It's the survival of the fittest in this world!"
Skyla followed suit.
"Naive boy, do you truly expect things to be so black and white?"
Dunas finished.
"You'll turn around and leave if you know what's good for you. We had a score to settle here, and we've done exactly that."
Alphonse was seething further with rage.
"Score? A score? Is that all that matters to you? You're hurting Pokemon!"
"Don't be ridiculous," laughed Dunas.
"If you don't think they would've done the exact same thing to us, you've got to be the biggest idiot on this side of the continent!"
Alphonse hesitated.
"This little Litten you so foundly know as Bethel, she's been trying to find us for days. She claims to have turned a new leaf, and that we would be forgiven and accepted back into the old crew if we could just talk things out.
Dunas's grin flipped into a frown.
"What a joke! As if that wasn't the exact same scenario Del did to us before he turned his back on us!"
"I'll never forget the day it happened. The day Del decided we were too unruly to roll with his crew anymore. We all were on the usual dungeon expedition. That ridiculous Reuniclus, Gattz, found that the dungeon goes even deeper than any of us thought. So the six of us all went on a journey even further into the depths."
"The poison was so bad, we would've hardly been able to move. Luckily, we had come prepared with anti-poison gear. But Del thought it was too dangerous for us to keep going, especially for that weak little brat, Beth. He claimed there was no treasure down here worth risking for."
"We didn't like that plan, not one bit. But Del decided enough was enough. That was the final straw, it seemed." Skyla hissed.
"An argument ensued, and after that, he split off from us, leaving us in the dust. And of course, his lackeys and that bratty Litten followed suit." Kane howled.
"We were lost, scared, and hungry. The one who decided to protect us had decided we weren't worth his time anymore. At first, it hurt, of course. But reality quickly sank in. Only the strong survive, and the weak expire. And lucky for us, we're plenty strong."
Alphonse growled.
"So just because you got wronged, you think it's okay to flex your muscles and ruin lives like this?"
The three returned to their dastardly hollering and hooting.
"Of course! And what about you?" Dunas said, pointing an accusatory finger towards Alphonse. He then flung Bethel at Alphonse. Alphonse carefully caught her in his arms.
"You were part of that little gang. How'd the plan go to take over Arcade, hm?"
Alphonse felt his heart sink.
"Del and them spoke so fondly about dreams of revenge. You could say they inspired us!" Skyla added.
"Del will act like he's turned a new leaf, but he's done this song and dance before, multiple times!" Kane laughed.
Dunas took a more grim tone.
"Let us serve as a lesson to you. If you really are insistent on running around with this one, the one who lives in Del's shadow, you'll heed our warnings. We're done fighting for today; don't give us another reason to smash you down."
Alphonse could barely contain himself at this point. But he knew he had to withhold his rage; there was no winning at the moment. He had to retreat. Especially for Bethel's sake.
Dunas threw an Escape Orb up into the air, as it began to shine brightly.
"One step ahead, one step ahead!" the two companions of Dunas cackled.
"History will repeat itself. And we will be there when it happens, reaping the spoils."
The three began to glow with a white light. Dunas offered parting words as the two continued their raspy laughter.
"Farewell for now, Alphonse, but be sharp! The next time one of you slips up, we will be there to capitalize on it! Hahaha!"
And within a blink, they were gone.
Alphonse stood powerless once again. There was nothing else he could do except get Bethel back to safety. Still holding her securely, he began to wonder how he would ever get the two of them back to safety. But he heard a roar behind him.
Half expecting another dungeon Pokemon, he braced for another fight. But it turned out to be none other than a wounded Del.
"Grr... damnit... I'm too late!!" Del roared.
"I thought I smelled those punks, but they've already left, haven't they!?"
Alphonse began to speak, his eyes now locked with Del's.
"Del... I'm sorry... I got here too late... and I couldn't stop their escape..."
"It's not your fault at all, Al. I was too slow, again..."
A deep concern came alongside the Pangoro's voice. His voice dropped as he noticed Bethel cradled in Alphonse arms.
"Beth... no..."
"Del, do you have any healing supplies at all!? Or a Reviver Seed!?" Alphonse yelped.
"Damn... no... not anymore.... Grrr... Grahhh!!!!" Del began to roar, shaking the room with his anger.
Alphonse panicked.
"I found Ephie, I used my last Escape Orb on her. She was in a pretty bad state too... did those code breakers get to her as well?"
Del roared again, smashing about with frustration.
"I should've kept up with them... first Ephie, now Bethel... DAMNIT!"
Hardly relived from his anger, he slammed his bag on the ground, tearing it open. He threw several miscellaneous items aside, revealing one last pristine Escape Orb.
"Al, listen to me carefully.
Take this, and take Bethel out of this nightmare. Don't waste any more time here. She's in your hands now." Del roared.
"But, Del, what about you!? You're wounded as well!" Alphonse cried out.
"Don't worry about me. If I make it out, I make it out. I won't fail you all again," Del growled.
"Del!!!" Alphonse roared.
But Del would hear no further objections. He gripped the Escape Orb aggresively, causing it to glow white hot. At the last second, he tossed it over to Alphonse and Bethel.
"Alphonse... if I don't make it back ...promise me you'll always take care of her." Del growled, his voice ripe with desperation.
"Del... I promise..." Alphonse grimly replied. There wasn't a hint of doubt in his voice.
"Thank you, Al... I'm sorry..." Del roared once more.
"DEL!!!!!!!!!!" Alphonse screamed.
In an instant, Alphonse found himself back in Arcade, still holding Bethel in his arms. The inner mechanizations of an Escape Orb were truly unknown to him. He thought he would've been spit back out to the entrance of the dungeon, but he was thankful to be in much more friendly territory. Immediately, he ran to the village's hospital, still cradling Bethel's motionless body in his arms.