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Tragic Decision: Chapter 8

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Evening fell by the time Axle finished all of his tasks that he had for the day. The riolu was standing hidden in the shade of trees looking out at the dark orange sky as it slowly faded to purple. He breathed in, breathed out, calming his nerves before the most important task he had to do tonight.

Before all light disappeared, Axle stepped out a bit to get a better view of the large plains in front of him. It was large, flat, and there wasn’t much there, so Axle could easily see the only point of interest for miles. At 10:00 from his position there was a small village hiding a big secret. Axle subconsciously reached his right paw for his newly acquired small white bag when he laid his eyes on the village.

Grovyle, I wonder if you felt the same way I do when you first looked at Treeshroud Forest, Axle thought while he examined the village. Knowing that you’re about to do is necessary but the world will be against you for it. You’re pretty lucky though. At least you had nothing to lose and knew you would disappear when you accomplished it anyways. Kinda wish I had that luxury. But I suppose you reap what you sow. And so long as Eon is able to live out her dream again…I don’t care what happens to me.

In any case, I still need to wait for a bit. No use thinking like a martyr now. If I can, I’d like to just get in there and get out without being caught. Xatu said he wouldn’t tell anybody so they wouldn’t be able to pin this on me. Maybe then, after my quest is done, I can go back to the guild again and explore with my friends. If only.

Anyways, I should get some rest first. Tonight’s going to be a long night.
So Axle jumped up into the tree right above him for cover and closed his eyes to rest for a while.

After an insurmountable time, while it was still dark, Axle woke up. After a couple of seconds of waking up, Axle jumped down off the branch he was sleeping on. Placing his X-Ray Specs over his eyes, Axle took a look around. He couldn’t see anything in between his position and the village, but what was going on inside the village was beyond his range.

“Hmm…I’m going to need to get closer before I can plan out a path,” Axle mumbled. “I’ll have to really play this by my senses. I don’t know the layout of the town, but I’m used to that. My X-Ray Specs should tell me where the item I’m looking for is and where everyone is, so I shouldn’t have too much trouble.”

So Axle quickly ran across the desolate plain until he reached the village’s entrance and saw the carved dirt roads in between the houses. Axle then hid behind one of the houses, making sure to avoid any and all windows, and looked into the village. Despite the blue tint and darkness, Axle could perfectly make out anything and everything within the village.

Good, it seems like there’s no one running around the streets, Axle thought when he looked around. Most Pokémon are in the houses. There are a few that seem to be awake though. Gonna need to avoid those houses if I want to avoid being seen. Wonder who the heck is awake at this time of night anyways?

Axle continued looking until he found his prize. Alright, got it, Axle thought. I think I’ve got a good idea of which path to take too. I should still be careful though. Stick to the shadows if I can. The X-Ray Specs only show so much and I might have missed something.

So Axle did so, running through the town with sifting through the shadows. Axle jumped to any dark shadow left by the moon in the sky to blend in. Axle would stop every once in a while in those shadows to make sure he was following the right path and wasn’t seen by anyone. And he continued doing this for a few more minutes until was within sight of his destination.

Crap, guards, Axle thought when he saw the home that housed the object he was looking for, and specifically the two rampardos who were blocking the entrance. Great, looks like this place actually bothered to have security. How did I miss them though?! Or did they just get here?

Axle groaned. It’s not like it matters either way. They’re there and that’s all that matters. So is this it? Is this the point where I end up as an outlaw?

Axle looked over at the two guards for a few seconds. …No. As much as I’d like to knock them out, I can’t have myself be on the run yet. I need to only knock them out as a last resort. For now, I should inspect for any way to get in without fighting them. Or maybe wait for them to change shift, since they can’t stay out there forever.

So Axle waited for a bit, inspecting with his X-Ray Specs while waiting to see if the guards will leave. He found no alternate entrances and the guards didn’t leave in all the time he was searching. Axle tapped his foot in annoyance, deciding on what he was going to do next.

Alright…this isn’t working, Axle thought. Dang it, what am I going to do…

“Hey Mr. Rampardos!” Axle heard a voice from somewhere say. He immediately jumped away from his position and ran in the direction of an alleyway between two buildings. From there he looked back in the direction he was at with his X-Ray Specs.

In front of the two rapardos were a sentrat and a zigzagoon that both looked to be quite young. The zigzagoon had a bow on their side, suggesting them to be female, while the sentrat had pretty much nothing about them that separated them from other sentrant. The rampardos were also looking down at the two instead of looking at the door.

Hmm…maybe I can use this, Axle thought. Gonna sneak in and see what those kids want.

Axle snuck closer, being sure to keep in the shadows and out of sight, and while he did he listened in to the conversation that was going on in front of him.

“Isn’t it long past your kids bed?” the rampardos on Axle’s left asked.

“But we saw something!” the zigzagoon said. “We saw something in the village! Something sneaking around!”

Axle paused for a second when he heard that. No…but how! Axle thought. I was careful! How could they have possibly seen me!

“You mean like you two are sneaking around tonight?” the other rampardos said.

“Yeah, I know, its awesome right?” Sentrat asked, prompting all three of them to give him a look.

“Now would you two let us do our job?” the left ranpardos asked.

“Come on!” the zigzagoon said. “This might be big! There could be an outlaw hiding in the village!”

Both rampardos sighed. “You mean like the last time there was something ‘big’ in the village?” the rampardos on the right said.

“But this time it’s really really big!” the zigzagoon said. “I saw something white dash around the place!”

Wait, my bag! Axle thought as he looked at the obvious white bag contrasting against the dark shadows. Dang it! Of course! My bag stands out like a sore thumb! Why didn’t I think of that?!

“Alright you two, scamper on home,” the right rampardos said in a much harsher tone.

“Oh come on, we can’t be lying all the time,” Sentrat said. If Axle wasn’t in a precarious position, the riolu would have laughed at this.

“Alright, you two are going home, now,” the rampardos said.

The two rampardos than proceeded to grab the two kids and take them away. Axle watched as this happened, waiting within the shadows until the two guards were far enough away. Even afterwards he stood there for a few seconds with his mouth open.

…No, not going to question it, Axle finally thought, snapping him out of his trance. Just enjoy my luck and go. I don’t have time to worry about this.

So Axle quickly dashed into the building while the Rampardos were still gone. The inside of the building itself was small with no more Pokémon inside it. And the object Axle was looking for was sitting on a pedestal with no other protection.

Good, at least I was right about that, Axle thought. Considering everything else I was wrong about. And there it is. The object that I can use to find Ho-Oh. A Clear Wing.

Axle quickly snatched up the Clear Wing and put it into his bag. Without hesitation or any other distractions Axle quickly ran out of the building. When he got out he saw the Rampardos coming back, so Axle quickly ran around the building till he was on the other side.

Crap, that was way too close, Axle thought. I need to get out of here now! Just head the other direction!

So Axle, ignoring every form of stealth or carefulness, ran across the streets. With wild abandon and recklessness Axle ran as if his life depended on it. Therefore he reached the other end of town much quicker than he originally reached the building. When Axle saw that he tried dashing towards his destination.

He tried…until the riolu was hit with a hard tackle to his right side.

The force of the tackle knocked Axle onto his side and sent him sprawling across the ground. Axle faced worse, so he immediately got back on his feet, but what he ended up seeing when he got back up nearly knocked him back down. Standing right in front of him were the two kids from before, the zigzagoon and the sentrat.

“Ha! Take that outlaw! I knew you were here!” the sentrat said.

“Hey everybody, the outlaw is here!” the zigzagoon yelled.

Axle felt his heart fall at the zigzagoon’s yelling, but even worse, after that he heard loud footsteps coming from his right. When Axle looked he couldn’t see them yet, but he knew they were going to be there before he could leave with those two in front of them. The nervousness of the situation nearly made the riolu fall over where he stood and he couldn’t move a muscle at first.

N-no! Dang it! I’m…caught! No! I…I should have known this would happen.

It wasn’t long before the footsteps became louder and Axle was sure he would be seen so. The two kids also looked like they weren’t going to let Axle leave anytime soon. Axle knew he had to make a decision and make it fast.

I can’t stay here any longer! I…need to do something! I… Axle looked at the two kids. …There’s only one thing I can do. …Even if they find me, this should distract them long enough for me to escape. I’m…sorry Eon.

Axle closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. Failing that though he clenched his fists and his eyes, trying to avoid letting his tears fall down. Axle couldn’t open his eyes, so the best he could do was let his aura sense and instinct do what he needed to do for him.

“I’m…sorry for this. But I need to pass!”

~

When Eon awoke next it was during an uproar of the guild. She could hear a lot of noise coming from the floor right above her, but wasn’t able to hear exactly what was going on above her. The eevee looked around the room she was in as best as she could in her current state to try and find anyone who could explain to her what was going on. All she managed to find though was a shaymin in its land form standing over her teammate Shaymin.

“Uhh…hey?” Eon asked in the shaymin’s direction. “Excuse me?”

The shaymin looked up and towards Eon. “Oh…hey,” the shaymin said to Eon in a more feminine voice than Shaymin has. “You must be Rai…sorry, Shaymin’s teammate, right?”

“Yeah, I am,” Eon said.

“I’m a doctor from Shaymin village,” the shaymin said. “My name is Iris. I suppose I’ll should tell you this, since you’re probably worried about him. Like most Pokémon, we faint when we take heavy damage, only if it’s really bad we Shaymin go into a coma-like state in order to recover. We can sometimes go for months in that state. But you don’t need to worry about him. I know for the fact he’s alive and when he finally recovers he should wake up from it, as good as new.”

Iris chuckled. “Besides, we shaymin are a bit more resilient than that.”

“Well thanks for telling me, but that’s not what I’m worried about right now,” Eon said. “But thanks for telling me. It’s good to know Shaymin’s still alive. Anyways.”

“Do you know what’s happening upstairs?”

“Hmm…” Iris looked up. “…I can’t tell exactly what’s happening, but it sounds like it has something to do with outlaw. Strange. Doesn’t this guild deal with outlaws on a regular basis anyways? Wonder what they did to get the guild like this?”

“I don’t know,” Eon mumbled. “But…something feels wrong. I can’t put my paw on it but something feels very wrong.”

Eventually Chimecho, Audino, and Alakazam came into the infirmary. Eon immediately looked in their direction and would have asked the three what was going on if Iris didn’t reach them first. Eon waited patiently for them to stop their talk and they eventually turned their attention to her.

“What happened?” Eon asked. “What’s going on up there? What outlaw and what did they do?”

Chimecho looked downcast. “It’s…nothing you need to worry about now,” Chimecho tried saying but everyone who heard her could tell she was lying.

“Keeping up this façade is fruitless,” Alakazam said. “She’ll learn eventually. Better to learn the truth now rather than later.”

“Wha-?”

“We recently got word of an outlaw that stole an item from a nearby village,” Alakazam said. “What’s interesting is the description we got of the outlaw. A riolu wearing X-Ray Specs. Funny, I’ve heard riolu were rare in this region, but one with X-Ray Specs too?”

“Would you stop teasing her?” Audino scolded. “This is her friend we’re talking about here!”

“Axle? A thief?” Eon asked. “No! That’s not possible! Axle would never become a thief!”

“Then how would you explain the riolu holding the glasses?” Alakazam asked. “Feel free to try; I’m sure this will be interesting.”

“I’m…sorry Eon, but we’re positive it’s Axle,” Chimecho said. “The description we got of him matches him perfectly. Plus…we think we know why he’s doing this.”

“Axle always felt like he needed to do something to help,” Audino said. “He was getting restless. We could all tell that. But to do something like this…?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Alakazam said. “The riolu will tell us as soon as we capture him. We learned quickly after the act and a party will be sent out soon to find and capture him. He has no chance.”

“A-Axle…” Eon mumbled, looking to the floor with sorrow.

Chimecho floated up to Eon. “We’re…sorry Eon.”

Eon shook her head. “Hey Chimecho, can you take a step back?”

“Uhh…sure Eon?” Chimecho said uncertainly as she took a step back.

As soon as Chimecho did Eon’s limbs trembled. Eon winced but her limbs kept shaking. Eventually Eon started lifting herself up off the ground, getting on her four paws for the first time in a while.

“Wait Eon!” Chimecho yelled. “You shouldn’t be getting up yet. Especially if it hurts you this much!”

Yet Eon ignored her and continued getting up. Eventually she made it, her face scrunched up in pain yet she was still standing proud. After a couple of seconds she even managed to get the pained look of her face.

“I-I’ll be fine,” Eon said. “I’m going after Axle!”

“Eon!” Chimecho yelled.

“But you just got up after being down for days!” Audino said to try and talk her out of it. “Even if you were fully healed, which you’re not, there’s no way you could possibly reach Axle before he escapes in time! And it’s raining outside!”

“W-watch me!” Eon grunted. “I…need to be the one to see Axle!” She scrunched up her face in pain before jumping out of the room in a single bound.

“Well, this is interesting,” Alakazam said emotionlessly. “I wonder if she realizes that she’s putting herself in terminal risk by straining herself like this.”

“Are you really taking some sort of sick joy out of this?!” Audino chastised.

Alakazam crossed his arms. “Hardly. I get no enjoyment from watching this happen. However they made their decisions so they’ll reap the consequences.”
Prologue: fav.me/d8w0ozz
Previous: fav.me/d9elmr0
Next: fav.me/d9n08fl

Axle, for the love of all that is good and holy in the world, can you stop thinking so much?! I kid you not, I spent the last 10, maybe 15 minutes, working on italics. I swear, tedium doesn't even begin to describe what just happened.

Granted, the reason for all the thoughts is because I wanted a sort of comedic relief for one last chapter. How do I do that? By having everything go wrong for Axle. Just a little 'fun' before...well...you know. Basically, the next chapter takes place after the prologue. This is going to be fun, isn't it? 

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is (C) Nintendo, Game Freak, and Spike Chunsoft.
© 2015 - 2024 Soniclink137
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FerrumFlos1st's avatar
It seems that, in the past chapters to now, I'm only the one who comments as a friend. Again, sorry for the 2-weeks late response.

A sentret and a zigzagoon were all trying to be vigilante 'heroes' of the day. Tsk tsk. Never bring children do a grownups of guard duty. :no:
Especially when they'll end up saying, "I used to be an explorer like you..." stuff.