I groaned, getting to my feet, but I had managed to snag the artifact back. My side ached and I felt a little trickle of blood run down my cheek. I glanced behind me, seeing that Arcanine had disappeared into the hedges along with the enemy Pokemon. Turning my gaze back to the black clad opponent, I twirled my knife, settling it in my hand, blade facing behind me.
"Tell me who you are," I commanded. "Why do you need the artifact?"
"Oh come on Zeno," the vaguely feminine robotic voice gave a light chuckle. "We've met before haven't we."
She unclasped the helmet and I took a step back, my eyes widening. "You!? But- there's no way-!?"
"Yes," she said, giving a smile. "Now, Zeno, I think it's time you gave that back to me."
I held the artifact away from her with my left hand, raising my knife with my right. "Not gonna happen. Not in a million years."
Her eyes narrowed. "Then you'll have to be removed from the equation all together."
She dashed forwards, knife swinging. I gave a yell and charged, my knife swishing through the air, and an explosion rang out through the night air.
...
Earlier.
"Ugh," I fingered my tight collar. "This is so not enjoyable."
Princess Allie clung to my arm. "Oh, but you're so handsome husband dear."
She chuckled and I felt a pang of irritation. "We're not married!"
"Oh, dear," she chuckled again. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to remedy that tomorrow."
I sighed. There was no reasoning with this woman. We were in the Ball Room, couples in fancy dresses and suits milling about. Tables had been set up with fancy foods and wines. Around the room, glass cases had been propped up, including what I had been told was the artifact. It was obviously the main attraction of tonight. It looked to be a broken bit of antlers, with a faded blue point coming off the side.
"Isn't it gorgeous," Princess Allie breathed, catching me staring at it. "I think it would look beautiful hanging above my bed."
"Isn't it a priceless artifact from the legends of Kalos?" I asked, already having given up trying to get her off my arm. "Wouldn't you rather preserve it in a museum or something?"
She giggled. "How silly. Whatever the Parfums buy, the Parfums keep."
"I think you meant to say want," I thought, but didn't voice that opinion out loud. Instead, I asked a question. "Those statues I've been seeing. What's their purpose?"
"Hmm?" Allie followed my gaze, which rested on the huge statue of Bisharp, on one end of the room. From what I had seen, there were scattered statues of Pawniards around the whole palace.
"Oh, those," she smiled. "300 years ago, there was a war between regions. However, most of the conflict was between us and Galar. Bisharp was one of the most famous generals in that war, leading an army of Pawniards into battle."
"I think I get it," I nodded slowly. "This place is kinda like a museum already."
I looked around. "So what are we supposed to be doing anyway? Everyone is just talking around and looking."
Allie smiled, which was almost chilling. "Well, I'd say if we started dancing, others might as well."
Before I could protest, she had me in dancing position, my arm around her waist. She led the way, taking the stage. I heard slow violin music start up somewhere. I could feel the gaze of everyone in the room settle on us and I figured I'd better take the lead now. With no other option then forwards, I slowly spun us in a circle, taking Allie with me. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. After a minute of having to endure this, others started dancing as well in time with the music.
I don't know what triggered it. Maybe it was the music, or maybe the dancing, or both, but a memory surfaced from the depths of my mind. Close to a year ago, I had danced with someone else. We just had a small victory and were celebrating. I don't remember what had caused us to start, but we were dancing around the living room of that cabin. Amber eyes staring at me. Willow.
My hands fell away from Princess Allie and I clutched the side of my head with my right hand. Maybe I had conquered my past back in Alola, but sometimes the memories were still painful to revisit. I didn't know what Allie was thinking as she stared at me, but she soon grabbed my hand.
"Come with me," she said with a smile.
With nobody watching us, she led me out of the ball room and upstairs. Down the long hall from earlier, she led me to the place where I had seen the mirrors. Opposite of those, there was a terrace, facing the huge hedge maze. I could see statues, the most prominent ones of the white and black dragons. Above all that, there was the starry night sky. The moon wasn't in sight, but the view was still breathtaking.
"Isn't it beautiful," Princess Allie sighed, going up to the railing. "I just love coming here at night to stargaze."
I nodded but didn't say anything. I came up to the railing and stared at the stars, but something was tugging at my brain. Something bothered me, but I couldn't identify what.
Suddenly, Allie sucked in a breath. "What!? Did the gardeners seriously mess us the hedges! I don't believe this!"
I followed her gaze to one of the hedges, where part of it had been trimmed off. No, or was it sliced? As the Princess started ranting, my mind raced forwards. It looked more like the top part of the hedge had been sliced off cleanly at an angle, more like a knife had done it. My eyes drifted to the still broken window. Could both had been done by the same culprit. But that wouldn't make sense. If they were trying to conceal their presence, they wouldn't have left such obvious clues as to why they were here.
I stumbled backwards, Princess Allie not even noticing I had done so. My eyes were wide now. They weren't trying to conceal their presence. They wanted people to know they were here. Then that would mean...
My gaze drifted back to the hallway. They wouldn't care about making a show of stealing the artifact. I took off at a run and I heard Allie call my name, but I ignored her, quickly finding my way to the stairs. On my way down, I heard screams and a loud crash. I burst my way into the ballroom to see guests either running for exits or on the ground, staring at the woman in all black, her head covered by a helmet. A Zoroark stood next to her, snarling at everyone. The woman went up to the case the artifact was being held in and broke it, reaching for the antler.
However, before she could reach it, a Riolu snatched it as he jumped by, skidding on the ground when he landed. I grinned. The cavalry had arrived. I saw Alex and Robert running forwards, Ninetales, Arcanine, Snorlax, Froakie, Litleo, and Chespin standing with them. Riolu ran back to them and they all faced the woman.
"Interesting," she said, tilting her head slightly. "I didn't expect to see you all here tonight."
She snapped her fingers and Zoroark got on all fours, snarling. I knew my entrance wouldn't help things much, so I stuck to the shadows. I had a feeling this woman was more powerful than she looked, so I needed to find a way to get the drop on her.
I saw Arcanine run forwards, only for the Zoroark to nimbly dodge to one side, raking her claws along his side. As soon as Arcanine regained his composure, Zoroark had transformed into Arcanine. Both snarled at each other and rammed into one another. Amidst the battle, I saw the woman in black disappear. I rushed forwards, sliding beneath the raging Arcanines as I heard Riolu yelp. I shot to my feet just as I saw Alex get pushed aside, a knife glinting in the air.
Dashing forwards, I whipped my knife out of my sleeve, catching the other one mid-strike. I pressed against it hard, but she had strength on her side as well.
"Zeno!?" I heard Alex's shocked voice, but I didn't have time to acknowledge her.
"Tell me who you are!" I pressed harder against her, trying to get the upper hand. She had the artifact close to her heart and I knew I would need to be smart about this.
"Tell me Zeno," she said. "What do you know of Parfum Palace?"
"Not much," I grunted, sensing Froakie sneaking up behind her, sticking to the shadows. "But I know it's rich in history. Why is this relevant?"
We were still in the standstill, neither willing to stand down.
I could almost feel her smile. "Let me tell you something. This palace holds a secret. A hidden history, buried for centuries. I'll be around, waiting for when you discover what that history contains. You'll know where to find me."
Black smoke suddenly began pouring from vents on the side of her suit, filling the room in seconds. I cough, jumping backwards. In just ten seconds, the smoke had cleared, both her and Zoroark gone.
I lowered my knife and smiled back at Alex and Robert. "Yo."
Froakie leaped onto my shoulder, hugging my head while Riolu softly punched my leg. Arcanine padded up and licked the side of my face.
Alex had her hands on her hips, smiling, shaking her head. "How often do you find yourself in these situations?"
"More than I care to admit," I said, then I heard a shriek behind me. "Nevertheless, she's the first to get me into this type of situation."
No sooner had I said that, Princess Allie slammed into me, hugging my side. "Are you okay!? Are you hurt!? Are you- huh!?"
Alex yanked her off me, glowering down on her. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
Allie stood up straighter. "Making sure my fiancee isn't hurt instead of talking needlessly."
Alex's face darkened. "What did you just say? He ain't your fiancee."
"Oh," she put a hand to her mouth, smirking. "What, are you two currently engaged or something?"
Alex's face reddened and I was sure mine looked like hers. "No- I- uh," Alex spluttered, waving her hands. "We're- we're friends! Just friends!"
I tried to not let that get to me. I mean, we never were an official couple back in Alola, but we weren't just friends.
"Then again," I thought. "I did leave her for six months without contacting her. I'll need to find a time to apologize to her later."
"Oh ho ho," Allie laughed, clinging onto my arm now. "Then I see no issue here. Darling Zeno and I shall be wedded tomorrow without delay. Of course this whole mishap will not ruin that wonderful moment, so worry not my soon-to-be husband."
"Zeno," Alex slowly turned towards me. "Aren't you going to stand up for yourself?"
That was a dangerous tone. I turned to Robert desperately. "Help me out here man."
He just grinned, waving me off. "Yeah, no. I ain't walking into that minefield bud."
I groaned and tried to get back to the matter at hand. "Okay, look, we can come back to this later. At the moment, Allie."
I turned to look at her where she was still clinging to my arm. "How much of this palace's history do you know?"
"Why?" she asked.
"Because," I said, starting to feel my arm to go numb. "It'll help us get the artifact back."
"Oh, then," she straightened, finally letting go of my arm. "I know quite a bit actually. What do you want to know?"
I hesitated, then said, "Anything about this palace's "dark" history."
Her face fell a little. "Sorry, but I can't speak about that."
"Why not?" Robert asked.
Allie glared at him. "That section of history is forbidden to be spoken to outsiders."
"But," I started, then realized what I was going to have to do. "Listen, consider the history my... my wedding gift."
I immediately regretted saying those words as her face lit up and Alex went red. She began spluttering, but Princess Allie drowned her out with a shriek of delight.
"Alright then," she said, back to clinging me. "Though I'll warn you. It's not a pretty history."
She sat down, so I sat down as well, Alex and Robert following suit. All our Pokemon gathered beside us and Allie began to speak.
"It all started around 300 years ago," she said. "Back when the king who built this palace was still ruling..."
The war had ended and the king had settled down in his palace, away from the rest of the world. He was getting old, old enough to the point where he no longer felt safe. Surely, he had thought, one of his many sons would try to take his position as king one day. He didn't want to give up his power. He felt as if winning the war should give him the right to rule! But his health was fading and his age climbed higher still. He knew he had to find a different method. One of the ideas he searched led him to be visited by a rather large fellow, by the name of AZ. He warned the king not to continue down this road, but the king ignored him. Finally, after years of searching, the king managed to capture the beast of Kalos legends. Beast X, the embodiment of Life itself. He had it experimented on here at Parfum Palace and even killed it, but it only revived itself. This only made the King want its power for himself even more. His road to eternal life never came to fruition though as he died only a year later after capturing it, but his sons continued on his cruel work until years later, the kindest of his sons, managed to release the creature. However, even with Beast X gone, it didn't erase the atrocities committed here, so the son grew a large hedge garden here, one in the shape of a Pyroar, one a Chandelure, and one a Solrock. It is said the son was given a prophecy that day. That the last hedge maze would one day be modeled into a fourth Pokemon, one that would represent the coming of Chaos. So he left that one alone and to this day it remains untouched, overgrown, waiting for one of the lineage of the Parfums to finish it.
"That was twisted," Alex remarked, but Allie ignored her.
The Princess looked at me. "One of the reasons we bought the artifact was because the Parfums had a connection to the legendary beast. It's said it holds the power to revive the dead if used correctly."
I mulled the tale over. "I don't know how this tale is supposed to be relevant, so I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you want me to marry into a family that does that. But, I think I know where we can get the artifact back."
"Where?" Alex asked.
Robert raised a hand. "The hedge maze, right?"
I nodded. "Seems logical to me."
I stood. "I'm guessing you all want to come."
Alex and Robert nodded, while all the Pokemon stepped closer, ready to fight. I nodded and turned to Princess Allie. "Sit this out . You're not cut out for fighting."
She nodded. "Don't worry, just leave the wedding arrangements to me."
Sighing mentally, I motioned for everyone to follow me and we left the Ball Room. I led the way down a hall to a pair of big wooden doors. Pushing them open, we stepped onto a small bridge connecting to the garden. Huge hedges stood in a maze like way.
"So, which one are we looking for?" Robert asked.
I shrugged. "We might have to split up."
Alex nodded. "I'll take the right one."
"I can take the left," Robert said.
"And I get the back," I nodded. "Alright, let's go."
I ran ahead on the cobblestone path, Arcanine and Riolu running behind me with Froakie on my shoulder. It was eerily quiet tonight as I skidded to a halt. There were two different hedges on either side of me. My instincts were telling me to go left, so I did. I walked into the maze and found that it was overgrown on the inside.
I drew my knife. This was the one. I led the way, eyes narrowed, darting around corners. Then I happened upon a small clearing, where I found the woman in black alongside her Zoroark.
"Took you long enough," she said.
"Yeah well," I got into a fighting position. "I had to listen to a story. Do tell me though, why is it relevant?"
"Isn't it obvious," she said plainly. "It's the exact reason I was sent here to retrieve this."
She held up the artifact and I held out my left hand. "Give it back. Don't make me take it by force."
She snapped her fingers and Zoroark lunged. Arcanine burst forwards, slamming into the Dark type. Riolu and Froakie ran to help as the woman darted forwards and I barely had time to dodge. I felt the tip of her knife slice across my cheek and a knee jabbed into my gut.
I groaned, getting to my feet, but I had managed to snag the artifact back. My side ached and I felt a little trickle of blood run down my cheek. I glanced behind me, seeing that Arcanine had disappeared into the hedges along with the enemy Pokemon. Turning my gaze back to the black clad opponent, I twirled my knife, settling it in my hand, blade facing behind me.
"Tell me who you are," I commanded. "Why do you need the artifact?"
"Oh come on Zeno," the vaguely feminine robotic voice gave a light chuckle. "We've met before haven't we."
She unclasped the helmet and I took a step back, my eyes widening. "You!? But- there's no way-!?"
"Yes," Kamake said, giving a smile as her wild blue hair danced slowly in the soft wind. "Now, Zeno, I think it's time you gave that back to me."
I held the artifact away from her with my left hand, raising my knife with my right. "Not gonna happen. Not in a million years."
Her eyes narrowed. "Then you'll have to be removed from the equation all together."
She dashed forwards, knife swinging. I gave a yell and charged, my knife swishing through the air, and an explosion rang out through the night air.
I saw fire out of the corner of my eye as I slid on the ground, slicing at Kamake's legs, but she nimbly dodged, her expression calculating. She threw the knife before I fully got up, but Riolu came out of nowhere, snatching the knife in his paw. He threw it up in the air and jumped with it, kicking the hilt, sending it flying back at her, blade first. She stepped to one side and caught the hilt. Flames were all around us now, but I ignored the heat.
"As for your other question," Kamake said. "I need that for my new boss' purposes. You know how it goes Zeno."
"Yeah," I said, eyes narrowed. "But why clue me in on all of this? Why give me the chance to get it back?"
She gave a cold smile. "Because, my boss wants to see what you're really made of. She wants to see if you can take her down, just like you did with Cassandra and the Shadow."
"Plus," she took a step forwards. "I find some sort of joy in crossing swords with you."
I heard a snarl and I was knocked from behind by Zoroark. I tried to hold onto the artifact, but Zoroark snatched it from me and gave it to Kamake.
"Goodbye Zeno," she said, latching her helmet back on and turned towards the wall of flames, walking straight into them. "Let's see if you can take us down this time, Hero Born of Darkness."
The flames swallowed her and Zoroark up and I slammed my fist on the ground. Arcanine padded up beside me, glaring at where the two went. They were gone.
I groaned as I got to my feet. "Froakie, start using Bubble on the fire. Arcanine, see if you can absorb any of it."
They got to work and soon, the fire was gone, leaving behind a charred hedge maze. Alex and Robert came up to me as soon as they were able.
"What happened?" Alex asked.
I glanced at where Kamake and Zoroark had disappeared. "Kamake got the artifact."
"Wait, who!?" Robert exclaimed, eyes wide in shock, Alex sporting the same look.
I nodded. "She's back. I don't know for what purpose, but she has a new boss."
"Well then," Alex put her hands on her hips. "We should get back on the road. We'll likely encounter her again."
"And when we do," Robert pounded his fists together. "We stop them."
I nodded. "Since we don't have any leads on them, that's the only thing we can do. But what about Princess Allie?"
"What about her?" Alex stepped in closer, her face dark.
"Look," I said, putting my hands up. "It'll be quite rude to just run off without telling her we're okay and all."
Alex grabbed me by my arm and began pulling me to the wall of hedges that surrounded the vast backyard. "We're slipping out of here. Arcanine, blast a hole in the wall."
He did and I groaned. "Fine then. But if the royal guard or something comes after us, it's you're fault."
"Man," Robert looked gleeful as we stepped through the hole we made in the hedge wall. "We're kidnapping the groom the night before the wedding. This is so exciting."
"Shut up!" Alex and I snapped in unison.
...
A shadow watched from the darkness as Zeno and his friends left. Already having gathered the information he needed, he slipped away. Slowly, but surely, the rise of Chaos was coming.
"Life," he thought. "Death, Order, and Chaos. It has started. Just like she had said it would."
Kamake's back! Hah! Bet you all didn't see that one coming. Anyway, I had to get some tests done on me recently, but so far, no Celiac Disease. Final test results should come soon, but I doubt I have Celiac. I've been tested for it before, twice, so I think I'm safe. Well, till next time. Toodles