The Hall of the Rubyfolk. Supposedly a monument to the people of the Ruby Hills. All of them. Gareda scoffed as she observed the treasures on display, the idea still fresh in mind. Weapons, jewellery, gemstones, vast reserves of gold and silver, various pieces of craftsmanship from all over Eravate, all kept under the watchful eye of hundreds of guards.

‘Some monument this is. No one here except guards, and good luck finding anyone living nearby this disgusting palace.’

She spat beside her, much to the chagrin of a nearby guard. “Hey, what are you doing?! These grounds are delicate, have some respect!” he barked. Gareda let a low growl stir in her throat as she scowled at him. The torchlight shining on her fins made her features look sharper, and all the more predatory. Without a word, the guard backed down, his earlier bravado replaced by a meek hum.

‘Back in your place.’

With no further interruptions, Gareda made her way towards the main exhibit, which had just been robbed. She groaned at the thought. No reports of the Othersider’s whereabouts had come. The flute piece was similarly lost.

She’d have to pry it out of that fat lout of a Darmanitan herself.

Porov was being kept in the main treasure chamber, at the bottom of the steps where the Azure Flutepiece had been kept. She appeared in front of him from the shadows, looking down upon his still smiling face. Some of the guards had already tried to put a few dents into it. Yet Porov kept on smiling, brows still fiery and energetic as ever.

“Heh… come to do the deed yerself, haven’t ya?”

Gareda pressed the tip of a fin against the Darmanitan’s shoulder. “I see I need no introduction. You know better than to play games with me.”

“Define what ye mean with games, lady,” Porov chuckled. “We both know what ye’re gonna do. Ask questions ye ain’t ever gettin’ answers to, ‘cause no one has one. Beat the livin’ piss outta whoever yer interrogatin’. Then ye beat ‘im some more, ‘cause ye like it that way.”

Gareda scoffed at him, keeping her scowl trained on his eyes at the same time. “Funny. I could say the same about you. You pretend that you’re all jolly and good, here to be the knight in shining scales. But we all know the truth. We know your true intentions.”

Porov tried to smack the ground in defiant laughter; the rocky chains keeping his arms bound stopped the attempt dead in its tracks.

“Really? What’s my true intention then, hm?”

With a grunt, Gareda gestured for a guard to fetch the necklace Porov had been wearing. Someone had taken it off, Arceus knows why. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Porov would have more than enough to spit out about it. Instead, he got to laugh while it had to be brought back. Gareda became increasingly agitated. No amount of kicking that oaf of a Darmanitan got him to shut up. Not even the sight of his black necklace got him to stop.

“Remember this?”

“How could I? Wore it just a few seconds ago. Why don’t ye give it back?”

Gareda bared her teeth. “Your allegiance. It’s in this little gemstone. I know who your true master is.”

“‘S my good luck charm.” Porov licked his lips. “Quite frankly, I ain’t got a clue what ye mean. Alliance for life, ‘s all there is to know. And lemme tell ye what. I ain’t scared to die today, or any other day. I’m in the right hands. And so’s me boys… Blitzer, Georgie… that dear Othersider ye want so bad!”

“Grr!” Furious, Gareda raised her arm and slashed the Darmanitan across the forehead. A large cut opened up over his eyes, but that smile didn’t fade.

“Don’t you dare hide from me now. You know where he is! You know where you’re taking him! You know fulwell what you’re planning to do with him once he’s outlived his usefulness!” She held a talon against his throat. “There’s no Orthworming your way out of this one. You know fulwell what you’ve done. The crimes you’ve committed. The suffering you inflicted on this province and beyond…”

Porov chuckled again; it didn’t sound nearly as confident as last time, however. It wasn’t amusement motivating him now. Just pure defiance.

“Pfeh… ye ain’t got a clue what yer up against, lady. Georgie ain’t gonna listen to ye. When the time’s right… he’ll understand everythin’.” The Darminatin tilted his head up at the Garchomp. “He’s in our base, safe and sound. Ain’t anythin’ bad gonna touch him there.”

Gareda pressed her talon into his skin. “Anything else? Or did you sell it with the your soul?”

Porov groaned as the bonds around his arms tightened. “Ye know… ye’ll see the light eventually. Soon enough…”

With one final blow, Gareda smacked the Darminatin on the side of his head with a talon. He was knocked out in the blink of an eye, the air rushing out his throat in one big hack. Once all was said and done, Gareda spat on him, then scraped his necklace off the floor.

“Take this back. We need to study what’s in there.” She glared at the Darmanitan spread out over the floor, unmoving. “And take this sorry bag to where he belongs. I wash my talons with scum like him.”

Gareda kicked Porov in the chest, then made her way back out. He had more to tell, and she knew that. But some people don’t crack so easily. She’d have to spend extra time with him deep underground. Given his nature, though, that might not be a punishment. But that was a dilemma for another time.

She tracked Luffy down to the outskirts of the Hall. She kept guard over the secret passage the Othersider had used. Vli was still scouring the nearby countryside for any sign of him, or any of the black scarved Pokemon watching over him. The Ruby Hills weren’t going to make the Toucannon’s task any easier. Gareda shook her head, then called Luffy’s name out.

Luffy limped over the moment she heard the Garchomp’s voice, her injuries still fresh. Medics and berries helped to an extent, but full restoration was the body’s duty. Gareda closed the distance between the two when she was close enough, helping Luffy come to a stop without falling or hurting herself.

“Easy there. You still haven’t healed up all the way.”

“I-I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” Luffy whispered, lips puckering a bit. “I know I might’ve made you worry, but I wouldn’t have agreed to come here if I didn’t feel healthy enough.”

Gareda shook her head. ‘You would have agreed even if I told you no,’ she thought, though she wouldn’t say that out loud in a million years. “Just be careful, alright? The Alliance never played around, and…” she paused to swallow. “If they did worse on you, then I wouldn’t have forgiven myself. Egh, not that extreme, but I care about you.”

Luffy gently nodded, a smile forming on her face. “That… thank you Gareda. I needed to hear that.”

“You’re welcome,” Gareda said, then finally let the Magmar go. ‘Am I seriously letting her off the hook that easily?’ “Right. What is the situation here? Have you found any stragglers in that passage? Anything oelse?”

The Magmar shook her head. “Nope,” she said with a swing of her tail. “Believe me, we all tried, went down the shaft a few times, but no. Didn’t leave anything either.” She looked over her shoulder back at the moat. An Ivysaur who looked greener behind the ears than any ordinary Ivysaur was being tended to by two other Soldiers. By the looks of it, he had twisted his ankle. “I wonder how they got through there at all. It was a harsh way down… actually, come to think of it now, how did they even know it existed in the first place?”

Gareda growled. “Simple. Did you see how many of the Hall’s guards had joined in with them? They must have been tipped off in advance.” She lashed both talons out beside her with swift cutting motions. “The operation was tight lipped. Incredibly tight lipped. Not even the non-treasonous guards knew anything about this…”

Luffy sighed. “I don’t get it. Weren’t we supposed to be here first?”

“Yes,” Gareda growled. “And we were. But this was far more coordinated than anything else we’ve seen so far. They had help. They knew we’d be here. Knew they could get out. The end result? We’re down one piece… she won’t be pleased.”

“Patrina?” Luffy asked. Gareda scoffed.

“Didn’t need to ask. You know how she is. Heads are going to roll because of this.”

“R-roll?!” Luffy’s voice filled with fear. “That’s not-”

“Won’t be any of our heads, don’t worry about it,” Gareda said. “When push comes to shove, do you know where we were? In the Agate Province, that’s where. The mad dog himself gets to climb his way out of this mess. Me? Plenty of ways to save my own hide. Nothing to be afraid of.” ‘I wish.’

Luffy clutched onto Gareda’s arm, her tail dropping onto the ground as she leaned into the dragon’s shoulder. “I… I understand, but… what about the Ruby Province? I’m from here, and we can’t…”

“...Leave Cerben to his fate?” Gareda shrugged. “Mad dog’s got only Patrina to answer to now. If it wasn’t for that damned flute, there wouldn’t have been a problem to begin with. We did a perfectly fine job clearing the roads of the Dungeon problem. As much as we could in a few weeks, anyway. They are gone. For the time being.” She took a deep breath through her nose. “And of course, the Alliance… we helped the Mad Dog stumble upon his problem. Not our fault he doesn’t want to take action.. But we did what we could. Don’t ever forget that.”

“No, not that,” Luffy said, vigorously shaking her head. “What I mean is, the Ruby Province! Cerben, I agree with you on him. My respect for him has dropped after the treatment he’s given us. Doubts everything we say, doubts what everyone is capable of. It’s…” she paused to swallow, then took a deep breath afterwards. “Something’s gotten into him and I can’t put a claw on what. He’s lost his touch.”

Gareda grumbled, scraping her foot across the floor. She let go of Luffy, and wandered over to the edge of the moat. “Touch, no touch, doesn’t matter. He can't get results, and that’s his problem at the end of the day. But the Ruby Province?” She scoffed. “We’ve picked up the slack. Helped whip the Crest here into shape. Outside of Cerben who can barely tell his damn tail apart from anything else, everyone I have met here is competent. They’ll pick up the slack.”

Her sensors vibrated. It was only Luffy coming in from behind, nothing more. She sighed as her eyes went skyward. No sign of Vli yet. What little knowledge he would bring with him would surely be outdated by the time he returned.

“We’ve got other problems to worry about.”

The flames on Luffy’s head flickered as a gust of wind rolled down the hills, stirring the gardens to life. “Such as?”

“One piece of the Flute left,” Gareda said. “We need to get into contact with Dritch, and fast. We haven’t got much time… though, knowing her, we might as well flip a coin into the air whether she’d accept us coming along or not.”

Luffy tilted her head. “Why? After two pieces stolen, wouldn’t it be best to not take chances?”

Gareda shrugged. “You’d think. Dritch is an arrogant, arrogant Pokemon. She is someone who is fully confident in every last decision she makes, and has no interest in anyone else’s suggestions. Least of all when it comes to doing her job” The Garchomp shook her head. ‘It’s a miracle she didn’t throw Patrina off the throne herself with that attitude. Not strong enough for that one, I guess. Same problem I have. Blegh.’

The Magmar crossed her arms, then puffed out some smoke. “You would be ridiculed if you pulled a stunt like that here.”

“Common sense. Hmpfh.” Gareda stretched her back. “Some Pokemon consider themselves too good for it. Nevertheless, after we hear from Queen Patrina, we’re going to contact her. Not taking any chances with this.” ‘Or with Patrina.’

Luffy let out a sigh. “To Whitiara, in other words. Great… isn’t the winter fast approaching over there? It’s already pretty cold out here.”

“Sure is,” Gareda said. Luffy flinched.

“You… Garchomp don’t handle cold very well, don’t they? You-”

Gareda scoffed over her shoulder at the Magmar. “By the time I’m done there, doctors will have to reconsider how Garchomp are put together.”

Luffy chuckled. “Oh, Gareda…” She swallowed. “Hey… by the way, do you think there’s some time to… have lunch before we go out to Whitiara.”

She got a shrug in response. “Sure we could, duck face. Knowing Dritch, it’s going to take a while.” ‘And I could use a break.’

Gareda threw the offer right into Luffy’s face, careless as to how she’d receive it. The Magmar was elated, of course. Every sense in Gareda’s body could pick up on it; even her smell got a little nicer. Tension crept up in the Garchomp’s body throughout the day. She had her own thoughts on the matter. Thoughts she was remarkably shy about.

Best to keep quiet and enjoy the situation for what it was.