"At least tell us what they're doing to her. You can't leave us in the dark like this, please!" Infia cried as she slapped her paws against the door.
"Will you stop that? All you're doing is distracting the scientists," one of the agents shouted her. "Reminder that you guys are all under contempt right now. Sit down and be quiet or we'll be forced to pass premature judgement!"
"But she's innocent! They could be hurting her when she's done nothing wrong," Infia cried and slammed the door even harder.
"Infia, please! What's gotten into you?" Sophitia pulled her back with her feelers. The Minun sniffled and shuddered, but accepted the grip and gave up there.
They were back in the underground base in Pokétopia, but there was clear evidence of the Spirle attack that Silver mentioned. Most of the machinery was damaged, glass was smashed, walls were marked with burns, and the staff were injured. A horrible battle had definitely taken place here, and despite having nothing to do with it, Lute couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt from looking at it all.
It was cold and quiet, aside from the sniffles and shuffles of him and his group. Running water could be heard somewhere in the distance, and the smell implied that it was sewage or something. They had to bear it however, guarded by agents as they awaited the results of whatever they were doing to Esther in the test room. The instant the handle for that room opened, Infia shot to her feet and pressed her paws together. Athens the Meowstic emerged from the room and signalled them to come over without a word.
The test room appeared to be mostly unharmed. Silver, Marina, and a few other agents were present, though the latter were hard at work on the computers lining the room. Esther was slipping her shirt back on, and was watched closely by the same Hitmonlee as before.
"Esther!" Infia cried. The Pikachu was snatched the moment she spoke, and she gave the Hitmonlee a brutal stare.
"This is a considerable situation if I ever knew one. I actually cannot believe things went on this long without us noticing," Athens began. He tucked his arms behind his back. "We've isolated the problem. It's absurd, but no matter what way you put it, it gave Spirle the knowledge to act as they have."
"Well then, what is it? Don't mess about," Sophitia said.
"Esther has some sort of camera implanted in her head," Athens revealed. Everyone's eyes widened. "Amazingly, it isn't the slightest bit detrimental to her health. However, it is intricate enough to broadcast everything she sees and hears to a location Spirle have been using as a base until now."
"Well then what're we waiting for? Let's trace it and take down Spirle!" Sophitia said.
"Too late. We sent out agents to the location the moment we discovered it, but by the time we got there, they were long gone, all of their important data and records taken with them." Athens scratched his chin. "The point is, everything your group has said and done until now, Spirle have seen it. They took record and planned today's attack almost flawlessly."
"But how? How could they do something like that to Esther? That's just impossible!" Infia gasped.
"No... no it's not," Lute said. He gulped aloud. "Spirle kidnapped her that one time. And then they handed her back to us without much of a fight. That was when we first met Tetra."
"You catch on quickly, thankfully. Whilst we initially thought the act to be a petty little ransom game, it turns out that they predicted they might get useful information out of whatever agent came to rescue her. Or more specifically, you, Lute," Athens stated. The Eevee was shaking. "Don't worry, we're not accusing you anymore. With the absurdity of this scenario, even our veteran teams would have fallen for it. I assume they only picked you because they knew you were a new agent, a young one who might overlook details."
"Thank goodness, anyway. With the base gone, they aren't gonna sneak any new info from us," Sophitia said.
"We can't take any chances, though. We've begun preparations for your punishment, as well as what to do about Esther's condition," Athens continued.
"You are still going to punish us?" Phoenix questioned.
"At the end of the day, your team is responsible for a mass damage to the entirety of the Agents of King's Shield. And don't forget, I saw you with Kuri. You are fully aware that he is a high priority for capture, yet you were aiding him," Silver replied. "Add in the continuous disobeying of Lassic's orders to stay away from the temples and the Aseria legend, and well, your group's been asking for a punishment for a while."
"You are one rotten group, you know that?" Naivie popped out. "You're seriously gonna lock these guys up for stuff that you just admitted is barely even their fault? That's a real dick move, and trust me, I know about being a dick!"
"Esther's operation comes first," Athens said.
"Operation?" Phoenix said. Athens nodded.
"She was operated on to place that camera in her head in first place, so we'll have to reverse the procedure to remove it. Although," he said, tilting his head.
"Although?" Sophitia said slowly.
"I can't quite picture how this might go. Our scientists and doctors are saying that they definitely won't be able to remove it without serious damage to Esther in general," Athens explained. He cleared his throat. "I'll be blunt. Esther is going to lose her sight and hearing."
Everyone's mouths hit the floor, and Esther gasped. The Hitmonlee let her go however, to which she growled and closed her fists. "Is this some kinda joke? You guys are gonna make me deaf and blind?"
"For the sake of Aseria's future safety, we have to remove that camera. We're being respectful in letting you know before we do this," Silver said.
"This is some kind of sick joke. Do you seriously expect us to be okay with this?" Phoenix raised his voice.
"This is her whole life we're talking about here. The rest of her life will be ruined!" Lute said.
"You don't have a choice in this matter. They could redirect the camera source at any time. As long as it's there, what happened today is liable to happen again," Silver warned.
"Are you listening to yourself right now?" Phoenix said, livid. "We are supposed to just sit here and let you take away this young girl's life just because of what Spirle did to her? Would you do the same thing to yourself?"
Silver audibly took in a breath, and she shifted back a bit. Her face barely changed though, something she was obnoxiously good at. "I would. For the sake of Aseria—"
"I call Taurosshit! This is what I hate about you adults, you always come up with these dumbass excuses to be the world's biggest dickweeds!" Esther shouted. "Like, you can't think of anything else? Just ruin my career, my relationship, my whole fricking life just because you screwed up? After treating my like your slave since I was a kid?"
"It's not like we're doing this because we want to, you know," Marina finally spoke up.
"Then figure out something else!" Esther screeched.
"Our backs are kind of against the wall here. We have to act fast, and this is the safest way for everyone," Marina said.
"Mum, not you, too." Lute shook his head.
One look at him and she turned away. There was a depressing conflict in her eyes. "Like I said, it's not like I'm doing this because I want to."
"The whole lot of you have been very immature about this. The things you've done and the position you are currently in, you actually deserve execution," Silver threatened. "So when we tell you that we're being honourable in letting you live, we mean it. It's these consequences, or death. If you understand that, then stand down."
Lute and the group did stand down from there, but not without livid gazes and furious growls. He felt something awful growing in the pits of his stomach, a horrible brew that concocted hellish ideas in his mind.
This all happened because he gave in to everyone. Because he decided to come back and give life another chance, here he was, reminded that he was only ever here to serve those that created him. And now, he knew that this didn't even apply to him alone. They were prepared to take everything away from him and everyone he cared about, and all for something that they weren't mature enough to take responsibility for.
Silver turned her back to address Esther, and that felt like the perfect opportunity. All he had to do was summon up his most powerful attack and stab her in the back, and then he'd be home free. He would be satisfied giving her what she deserved.
He resisted, though. Even though she was saying something and prolonging the one moment her guard was down, he simply couldn't bring himself to make a move.
A shrill crackle of bolts went off, making his heart jump out of his chest. A strong burst of yellow electricity had done the stabbing for him, an attack that manifested as an arrow of electricity that seemed to pierce right through Silver's belly.
"Esther, now! Over here!" Infia shouted, on all fours.
"What... the—" Silver said on a shaky breath, in disbelief at the electric spear that poked through her stomach. Esther herself seemed to be shocked, but the moment she heard Infia's order, she rushed over.
The next moment went by without Lute registering what had just happened, or what was happening. The Minun proceeded to glow with an unstable amount of electricity, where her whole body disappeared into a blinding glow of bolts that matched her shape.
It all exploded into a storm of lightning that rained down on everything in the room, which threw everyone into a panic. Lute danced on the spot to try and avoid damage, but it turned out that all of the electricity that could hit him was being absorbed by Esther. The storm stopped just as suddenly as the lights went out. The instant they did, Infia slapped Lute's head to throw him into focus.
"Let's go let's go!" she said.
He shook himself and blinked. He'd barely adapted to the awful darkness that overcame the room. The agents were standing up, and he and his group were loitering. His desperation made him run for it. He tackled through the nearest door and sprinted back through the underground base.
"What're we doing?" Esther gasped.
"Gettin' outta here, don't question it!" Sophitia said, surprised to be behind Infia.
Marina was the first to get up, so she smashed a few buttons on the walls and tried to operate the nearest computer. None of it functioned, so she cursed under her breath and then looked to the doorway. "The power's out. We have to stop them by force."
"Lady Silver," Athens gasped.
He shivered at the sight of her. She was still frozen to spot, but as they both stared, the electric spear fizzled into nothing. Silver appeared to be left unharmed, and rubbed her belly in total confusion. There was no damage, and she wasn't paralysed anymore.
"Use your telepathy or something. Issue the order to catch them!" Silver snapped at him. "They're going to try and leave the city. Don't let them escape!"
Back with Lute and company, they had already begun to get assaulted by the agents. As they rushed through the dark halls and offices, attacks were thrown their way and some of the bigger agents jumped out to confront them. A combined Thunderbolt and Flamethrower took care of an Aggron, while Sophitia's surprise Moonblast took down an Ambipom.
"This way!" Phoenix took the lead. He directed them away from the lifts that normally led to the Pokétopia Arcade, where he jumped up high to knock open an air vent. "Up here! With the power out, the lifts won't work."
"Looks like a tight fit," Sophitia groaned at the vent.
"Is now the time to complain?" Phoenix held a paw out. One look back, and a crowd of Pokémon was already scrambling over the desks to reach them.
"Yeah yeah, I get it," Sophitia said. She briefly charged a Moonblast and threw it in their direction, and then hopped up to crawl through.
It was a tight fit even for the smaller members of the group, and the stench of sewage water was at its strongest in here. Lute crinkled his nose in disgust, but kept his sense of urgency until he heard the grate on the other end of the vent get busted open. There was a dim light at the end of the tunnel.
"Ah, what—" he coughed as he fell from a surprising height. He splashed right into a shallow river of green water, and spat and thrashed about to get out of it.
"Ugh, it stinks! And it's all over my clothes and everything," Esther said, holding her tutu up. "I would've preferred stairs or something."
"What kind of air vent leads into a sewer?" Infia cried, doing the same. "Can they find us here?"
"It was an alternate path that leads into the city sewers. But they can find us here. We need to get out of the city if we are to rest," Phoenix informed. He took off with a sprint. "Be quick! Or they will mobilise a trap."
"What was all that, anyway? Why did you do that?" Sophitia said as she hopped on top of the water. "You've been acting crazy ever since they took Esther away for that examination."
"I didn't want them to hurt you. I-I get it, really, I do. If Spirle can see and hear everything we say and do, that puts Pokémon like Gen in danger." Infia panted between words. She was trying to keep up in a way that kept her as clean as possible, but gave in and ran on all fours, even though she fell pretty deep into the water. "But I can't let them take away your sight and hearing. That's all you have. You'll never be able to dance or sing, or do anything. You won't be normal anymore!"
"Infia," Esther said, surprised to hear her tone. "I really appreciate it. But by doing this, aren't we all like, public enemy number one, now? You guys are gonna get in a hell of a lotta trouble for this. It's not worth it, you shoulda let me take the heat! We could've worked somethin' out."
"So, I think we're all in agreement on escaping this King's Shield dribble as we go about the Aseria legend, right?" Sophitia proposed. The two electric types were surprised.
"She adapts fast," Lute commented. "What she means is, you losing your life isn't worth it for the rest of our safety. Besides, the real danger here right now is Spirle going after Gen. Kuri must be furious with us."
"Oh shoot, I forgot about him," Sophitia gasped. "We're in little position to go to Angard right now, though. They took all our stuff, so you don't have your weapon, do you?"
"No. But I can fight fine without it, honestly," Esther said.
Come to think of it, they didn't take my necklace. Lute realised as he tugged at it.
"This sewer will take us out by the gondola station that leads to the northern continent. Unfortunately, even I do not know anything about that place, though. It is off limits to me," Phoenix said.
"Off limits even to you? What could be there that they don't want everyone to see?" Lute said. "Naivie, don't you know anything? Any info at all could help us right now."
Naivie appeared beside them. "In my time, it was an island called Reis. It was supposed to be looked after by a legendary Pokémon, but they were really lazy and stuff. Usually let a lot of waste pile up on the island. But no matter what, they kept the underwater paths clean. Only the strong and the devout could get to the temple by walking underwater."
"Oh right, the underwater thing!" Sophitia came to a halt. "Great. King's Shield against us, no supplies, and no chance of heading home. And now our only way forward forces us to drown? What're we actually supposed to do?"
"We can deal with that one later. This way leads us outside the gondola station," Phoenix said. He was stood by a ladder.
"But wait, this is serious! If we can't get to the temple, then all of this is for nothing," Sophitia said.
"Regardless, we cannot stay here. Everyone, be on your guard," Phoenix ordered as he hopped up the ladder.
He waited until everyone was hung on below him before he peeked his head out through a manhole. He couldn't spot or hear anything unusual, so he pushed the manhole aside and looked around properly. A few public eyes were on him, but for the most part, this area of the city appeared totally unaffected. Trams still ran, a gondola soared overhead, and groups of Pokémon filled the streets in crowded lines. It was dark out, but the city lights stopped any kind of night time feel.
"Quickly now," Phoenix instructed. He hopped out to help everyone up. Infia had to fall on all fours to catch her breath. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm... fine. Running like that... just tires me," she huffed and clutched her chest. She forced herself to stand, but droplets fell from her head. "I can get through this. I have to."
"Please don't kill yourself over this," Esther said.
"Don't worry about me!" Infia raised her voice.
Before they could argue, Phoenix grunted in alarm. He tensed up and stretched his feet apart. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a Swellow perched high up on one of the skyscrapers beside them. A few blocks away, a Heracross was waiting as well, and both Pokémon had binoculars and attacks held and ready. He gritted his fangs at them, and then locked his sight on their destination.
"They're trying not to cause a panic, so we're being watched. This way, quickly." He sprinted away again. Infia let out a moan of a breath, to which Sophitia tried to lift her up to carry her. The Minun declined however, and was first to follow Phoenix.
"Are we really being watched? I can't see anyone," Lute said as he tripped up a few steps. This gondola station was a little different to the ones he knew, being far smaller and completely devoid of the public. He realised that Phoenix had torn through a metal barrier to get in, but only after he ran past and glanced back to look at it. "Wait a minute—"
"Above us!" Phoenix shouted. All eyes glanced upward, and then their cries rang out as they all dove away from a Galvantula that detached from the ceiling.
"So the callout was true. There are runaways from the agents," Galvantula said, and shook her many legs. As she did so, electricity crackled from their tips, and the group were thrown back into a panic.
"Esther!" Phoenix shouted. She gasped and dove in his way, barely in position to soak up the volts released by the Galvantula's attack. The spider Pokémon stopped after a while, surprised to see them unharmed.
"You have Lightning Rod?" she cried. Esther responded with a growl and then a Quick Attack, bashing right into the Galvantula's face.
"Lute, Infia, get that gondola running, now! We will keep this one busy. If you take too long, we will get ambushed," Phoenix shouted.
Phoenix dismissed them to charge after Galvantula. The potential type advantage didn't scare her at all. She brushed off Esther's attack and crawled over the walls to dodge Phoenix's Scratch attack, and then attempted to slather him in sticky web. Sophitia drew her sword and tried to cut into it, but still found herself tangled by it.
"R-right," Lute gasped, heavily distracted by the battle.
A quick glance around and he found the gondola carriage, but it was eerily dark and covered in rust. There were only two of them parked side by side, and both had their paint wearing off and aged police tape over the doors. The one on the right side of the platform wasn't completely shut, and a quick check proved his paws could fit between the doors.
"Phoenix told us to do this, but I don't actually know how to work a gondola," Lute admitted as he jammed his paws in between the doors. Infia soon joined him, and the duo growled in their effort to force them open. She didn't answer him as she concentrated hard. There was a little budge right away, but it still took a full breaths worth of effort before they were open, and the two fell forward inside. Dust and dirt exploded around their fall.
"Argh, it's so old." Lute coughed and brushed the air with a paw.
The whole carriage was like this, covered from top to bottom in dust and dirt from lack of use. Unlike the gondolas he had used up until now, this one was a little different. It had a control panel that looked like the computer screens in the King's Shield base. It was lined with buttons, levers, and dials instead of a screen. He had to climb up to reach it, and dusted it all off to read any of the text on there.
"Can you figure it out?" Infia asked.
"Hardly! I don't know the first thing about handling a gondola. It's just obvious that this controls it," he replied, hesitant to touch anything. Then he remembered the one thing that all gondolas had that lit them up and let them move: the Klefki. He glanced up at the ceiling, and could just about make out the empty key slot. "Infia, up there. If we can jolt that up, we could turn it on."
She walked over and looked up at it. She rubbed her cheeks to bring up some sparks, then rubbed her paws to turn it into a Thundershock, and then launched it at the key slot.
"What're you doing?" he gasped.
"I dunno. I thought it might work. Can't we just force it somehow?" she said.
"Not without getting something in there. A Klefki normally activates it, remember?" he said.
She frowned and moved over to the control panel he was stood on top of. Whatever she saw there, she used Thundershock again. It soon began to send volts all along the panel, shocking Lute and forcing him off.
"I don't think that's doing anything," he cried. She kept going until electricity began to spread throughout the whole carriage. "Infia!"
Just when he was about to tackle her, a light bulb came on and the sound of an engine started. The floor vibrated lightly and the controls lit up with blinking LEDs of various colours, most of which were red. Infia kept shocking it all until she wore herself out, and fell onto one paw.
"How did you... Infia, did you know this would happen?" He gawked. He didn't realise how worn out she was however, and had to help her up. She still had to take a minute or so to catch her breath.
"You... need to... read more... comics," she panted. He didn't understand what she meant, but nodded anyway and rushed back out onto the platform.
"Hey guys, it's up and running!" he shouted.
Their battle had gotten fiercer than he expected. The Galvantula proved herself a worthy agent even though her electric attacks were useless against Esther. She crawled over the room so fast that she was blurry, jumping from wall to wall with her many legs bared and pointed with energy. She latched herself to Sophitia's shield and slashed it before the Sylveon could escape, and then she was off again to avoid Phoenix's Flamethrower.
"They're ready, go!" Esther shouted, first to run away. Sophitia cringed from damage and was last to rush after them. She had her feelers wrapped around a bruise on her side.
"No you don't! You're not getting out of the city, traitors!" Galvantula shouted.
"Traitors? For trying to stop them from cutting my eyes and ears off?" Esther she as she threw an Electro Ball before jumping on the carriage.
Phoenix and Infia strained to pull the doors shut, while Lute was back on the controls. He pushed the biggest lever with all his might. Thankfully he was right on the money and the gondola began to take off at a steady speed.
"We did it? We did it, we're actually moving!" Lute gasped and laughed with excitement. He jumped at the sound of a loud thump, and freaked out when he turned around. Galvantula wasn't done yet, and had latched herself to the side of the carriage with an electrified web.
"Holy moly! You don't go down easy, do you?" Sophitia cried.
Everyone held their attacks at the ready even though they expected the Galvantula to be blown off when the gondola ascended and sped up. However, she remained latched on tight with all of her feet. Her front two crackled with energy, and then smashed the back window to let her slip inside. But in her haste, she didn't make a hole big enough and was only able to get her head and a few of her legs safely through. Her six eyes glowed and twitched with irritation.
"Now, now, now, just shoot it!" Sophitia cried and released a Moonblast.
Even that attack didn't knock Galvantula away, but the Swift, Electro Ball, and Flamethrower attacks that came afterward caused her to growl and struggle. Phoenix kept his attack going until the Galvantula started crying out, where she finally let go and was sent sailing into the air. All that was left was the chilling sound of a slipstream against the damaged window, but it still took the group a while to calm down.
"Is it finally over?" Esther whined. She fell straight back. "She's not gonna crawl back on a spider web, is she? I've done that plot on a horror show before. It's not nice to deal with."
"It's... I think we're good. Now we're just praying we're on the right gondola." Sophitia huffed. Lute beamed up.
"Wait, can we be going in the wrong direction? There were only two gondolas," he cried.
"Calm down. This station only has two, for two trips. One for returns and one for arrivals," Phoenix said as he settled down. "I do not know how long this will take. We should rest while we can."
"You've been kinda fiery about this, too. You and Infia. You two really like Esther, don't you?" Sophitia said. Infia didn't reply, while Phoenix kept his eyes shut for a moment.
"Esther is an important friend. That is the way I see it. Besides, I do not recall ever being relieved of being her bodyguard," he stated.
"Aww, you two. I love you two, you know that?" Esther squeezed herself. She started to moan a little, and after a moment, tears started to appear in her eyes. The others looked at her in concern. "S-sorry. I shouldn't be crying. Now's not the time to start."
"Are you okay?" Lute said.
"Su-seriously. Why? Do you guys realise what you've done? You're really sticking it out for me right now, you know." Esther wiped her eyes.
"It's because you've done a lot for us, too. You would do the same for me too, wouldn't you?" Infia asked.
"Well yeah... but damn, this is crazy, y'know? We're talking like, those guys are gonna hunt you down like they do Kuri, now. We're breaking the law and we're fighting our own allies and... just for me? And all I really did for it was push you around and stuff," Esther remarked. The tears wouldn't stop coming.
"I was really mad about it at first, but it's all fate, isn't it? If it wasn't for you finding Naivie and being just like the rest of us, we wouldn't be where we are," Lute said. She went straight faced. "We're not giving up on anyone, not when we're this close to the goal post. Even Kuri came looking out for us. We're not going to lose either of you."
"No no, you're right. You could be at home, eating good food right now, all set and planning to travel properly if you just listened to the agents." Esther looked away.
"But then that wouldn't be very heroic now, would it? Letting a friend get hurt when she doesn't deserve to. It doesn't matter who it is, if they're wrong, they have to answer to it," Lute said. She started shaking again.
"Ugh, stop it! You're not supposed to be saying stuff like that! You're supposed to still be being a big dick... You're not supposed to like me at all anymore." Esther started tearing up.
"We'll get through this together, alright? So you stop that. We're headed towards the last temple, so if we can figure out how to get in there, we'll put Aseria in a point where they can't stop us," Sophitia explained.
"Guys," Esther whimpered. She turned into Infia, who was smiling up at her. "You guys... sorry... I dunno what the heck to say. Just, you're real friends, y'know? I've never had real friends before. So I guess... I... I can really count on you guys, huh?"
"It felt like you already knew that. We're all the heroes, so I kinda assumed," Sophitia said, surprised. After blinking a few more times, Esther cuddled Infia and nuzzled herself into the Minun's chest.
"I didn't. I truly didn't feel it at all. But I guess you're right, this is why you're all heroes, too. Because I really can count on you," she wailed.
Lute and the others smiled at the two girls, even Phoenix. He still didn't consider himself to have made it up to her, but looking at them now, maybe he didn't need to. Just like the way Sophitia came out with new fairy attacks every now and then, Esther and Infia came out with new moves and actions, too. They were growing together in a way that he knew he couldn't provide or keep up with, and all he had to do was be there for them when they needed him.
He turned away and looked out the window at the dull, night scenery. Nothing but dark ocean below, blurry fog in the distance, and stale clouds above. When put into this perspective, doing what he felt he was best at didn't seem like such a bad idea. In fact, he liked the idea. The idea of being counted on by fellow Pokémon who cared about him to this extreme, he was happy to go to the very same extreme for them. His attention was brought back when he heard a low, loud rumble, and Infia broke away from the hug with a face redder than a tamato berry. Esther started giggling at her.
"S-sorry... I'm starving," Infia shuddered and slumped.
"Me too, now that you mention it. We didn't really get to eat anything since that big dinner at Obire. I was getting so tense I didn't even notice." Sophitia scratched her face with a feeler. "We'll have to bear it for a little while, though. Let's hope there's something on Reis Island."
Guess my powers are still working. I don't feel hungry at all, Lute thought to himself and turned away again. The rusted controls on the gondola weren't too much trouble, either. I wish this V Pocket thing would make up its mind.
...
About half an hour later, Pokétopia had become a distant blur of show lights and sparkles, while their destination became clear enough to have details made out. Everyone had fallen quiet and rested however they could. They leaned on one another while Phoenix gazed out the window the whole time. The crack in the back window made things cold and with an annoying howl of wind the whole time, but it didn't stop them from being able to sleep.
Reis island wasn't nearly what they expected, though. The land was broken up with giant cracks all over the island. The sea ran deep between all those cracks, comparable to an archipelago if not for how close the lands were. There weren't any landmarks to be seen – no forests, towns, not even beaches. It looked like a place of totally uninhabitable, mountain wilderness.
"There are Pokémon on the island!" Phoenix suddenly shouted. "Agents! How did they get there before us?"
"Wait, are you serious?" Sophitia gasped.
"I can see it. There are groups waiting in ambush," Phoenix gasped.
"They must have used a Deposit Box," Lute said. He blinked, dumbfounded. "This is going to be tough."
Sophitia wasn't having that, however. She shook her head in a daze, keeping her eyes on the island. She Glanced up at the ceiling, then the distant sea below, and hatched her plan in a flash. It was going to be risky, but it was far less so than attempting to fight an ambush of King's Shield agents.
"Er, is it too soon to joke and say you're sure you don't wanna just give me up?" Esther said. She noticed Sophitia forming her sword, and leaned away. "Whoa calm it, we're not there for another ten minutes or something, right?"
"Doesn't matter. We're not fighting an unwinnable battle!" Sophitia cried.
She whipped her sword hard against the ceiling. Everyone cringed as sparks flew and the light went out. The whole gondola shook with her force. She ignored their squeaks and slashed at the ceiling again and again, each time cleaving deeper and deeper into the aged metal. Eventually she cut right through and tore the wire that held up the carriage, sending the whole gondola tumbling toward the sea.
"Sophitia!" Lute roared while the others screamed.
No one was prepared for what she had done. They tripped and bashed against the sides of the carriage as it flipped downward. It smashed into the sea with a deafening crash and sunk right down. Not that that gave them a chance to get a hold of the situation.
The windows cracked and chipped on impact, while seawater shot in through the already broken window. There was a moment long enough for everyone to gather together towards the roof, but even then, they were all scrambling together to keep their heads out of the water, Infia being the unlucky one that had her head pushed down the most. Soon enough and the whole gondola was drowned, and panic ensued as the door would not open.
Surrounded by chilly water, the dark middle of the sea, and the muffled sounds of a slow, bubbling current, Lute's instincts shot up to crisis in an instant. He held his breath like everyone else, but if they felt anything like he did now, they had a dangerously short time left. His heart raced and his face scrunched as he resisted the urge to breathe even though water forced its way up his nose, trying to get him to snort or curse. He heaved and moaned, and then forced his eyes open to find a real solution.
The doors weren't opening, Esther and Infia's desperate attempts to pull it open proved that. So he aimed for the cracked window, and brought up his psychic attack instead. His little explosion of force broke all the windows at once, in turn sending everyone slowly flipping through the water. It didn't matter, though.
Now that they were out, he scrambled over to Sophitia to hug her front, and then kicked himself towards the surface. He could barely see it, and it looked to be further away than he expected it to be, really testing his limits. But he held on, even as his face scrunched again, chest heaved, and body tightened in its need for air. Sophitia's scrambling legs only told of how bad she was, but he tried not to think about that.
They breached the surface before they realised, where they coughed and gasped for dear life. Phoenix and Esther were next, and had done the same, hugging each other in their efforts to swim up. The whole group splashed about wildly.
"Infia? Where's Infia?" Lute cried, only to have her pop up a moment later. She looked miserable and worn out, and kept splashing as she barely stayed afloat. Lute swam over to help her.
"You're okay, you're okay," he said repeatedly until she stopped thrashing and clutched him. He could barely keep them both afloat however, and how deep the sea was didn't help.
"Sophitia, what the hell were you thinking? What're we gonna do?" Esther screamed.
"It is okay, I can swim. Take care of yourself," Phoenix said as he detached from her.
"Okay, how? Actually, no. Never mind, don't answer that. But how are we supposed to get outta this?" Esther cried.
"It was either this or trying to fight an ambush. I picked my poison!" Sophitia said.
"You could've at least warned us before going through with it! I almost drowned," Esther argued.
"Girls, stop it, this isn't the time for this. Look," Lute said. He turned to face Reis Island. It was a death-defying swim away still, but it was the closest land they could reach. "It's our only choice. Don't complain, save your energy and let's go."
"Wait a minute, we're not washing out to sea," Infia said.
"We can't. If there's no wind, there's no current. Not even in the sea," Lute said as he kicked himself off. Everyone followed, despite the daunting distance.