THE ARRIVAL PART 3

Chapter Three:

The Missing Theory Part One

Holland sighed internally to keep himself from screaming. These people were the same ones that attacked him and caused him to lose one of his pokemon. Hopefully, they wouldn't notice him. He was too flabbergasted by it all to properly erect some mind tricks.

But if they did recognize, then he wouldn't mind a good fight.

He sighed, this time it was for real as the four who stood by the door, took a glance at him before switching it to the receptionist.

"What a pleasure it is for the Royal Knights to accept the request of partnership by the Ballad Of Feathers" The receptionist rejoiced, seeming to forget my existence.

"The pleasure is ours" Cardinal stated, moving forward.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not feeling any pleasure right now. That Bladedsnatch escaped into the town" A man in white and gold stepped forward, his scowl framing his lower face. "That big of a monster and not a single one in this town noticed?"

"Calm down Gilded" The one in red raised his hands to the man's chest. The man's scowl only deepened at that action.

"Please, if you all were competent adventurers then that thing would've been caught ages ago. None of you guys saw it enter here?"

The room was silent as the so-called adventurers stared at each other. The golden boy scoffed and clicked his tongue.

"That's what you get for assigning a C-tiered guild" The man commented and a spike in emotional waves instantly came. Whatever that guy said it sure got the quiet ones to speak up.

"We're so sorry, my partner here is still tired from all the tracking we had to do" The one in red tried to calm down the situation, but some of the people were already grimacing.

The golden boy rolled his eyes when another stepped forward. It was the one that came up to Holland and attacked him. She took to his side and jabbed him in his abdomen. The guy raised his eyebrows only to be met by the girl's blank stare.

"No need to w-worry…" The receptionist stuttered at the rise in atmosphere. "The Bladedsnatch has been one of the most infamous monsters in these parts. It's been here since the town was given to the Humphriggs."

Another one stood, her steely eyes looking back at the four. It was the other psychic from before.

"That monster is as elusive as a Cheshire. It's been here since the beginning. It shouldn't be underestimated." The woman's eyes turned dark for a split second. "Or else it could mean the end."

The entire room's temper began to simmer down as the rising heat turned cold. In the silence brought by the psychic's words, a chuckle broke through.

The boy in gold only stared unbothered by her words. His eyes pierced straight through her face. "Wanna bet on that?"

"That's it! You may be some Fancy Royal Knights, but no one messes with the Divinator." One bulky man stood up, his eyes focusing on the man. The man smirked, earning a furious growl from the giant.

"Okay, why don't we go upstairs to discuss more about the mission. The office head is waiting for us at this moment." The receptionist waved his hands at the staring men. Her face drenching in sweat.

"Whatever" The man only waved her off and strutted past her.

"I am terribly sorry for my friend. He was just tired…" The red one smiled weakly only for the others to stare back at him.

"Yeah tired alright…" The bulky one grumbled before returning to his seat.

As the tension dropped, the four knights disappeared one by one into the stairs. The adventurers were now looking silently at the cups in their hands, all in deep thought. The psychic from earlier was sitting at her table, through her eyes seemed distant.

Having seen enough, Holland stood up. The legs of his chair screeched causing the others to finally change their attention.

"Oh, I forgot about you," The bulky man said. "Weren't you also after that thing?"

Holland kept his calm face and nodded gently. "I was, but it seems they beat me to it. I'm sure they'll find that thing"

Without wasting more time, Holland walked through the room. A bearded man on the side seemed to want to tell him something, but he resisted. Holland was tempted to peer into his mind, but it would be risky if the psychic could sense him.

He exited the guild and entered the alley beside it. The ironically bright beige of the town was washed away by the darkness of the alley. Dust floated in the air and a faint hum of flies whispered through.

Runi needed to rest, so he'll just have the second best thing. Taking a PokeBall from his waist, he let it open and a flash of blue appeared. The blue was quickly replaced by a blast of purple at the pokemon that stood in its place.

He nodded at him and it disappeared, leaving behind a ghostly tendril wrapped around his arm. Holland leaned back into the wall and waited. For a few seconds there was nothing, until a whisper began to fill his head.

Soon the whispers turned into words and the emptiness in his head was now an unfocused image. Closing his eyes, the image swirled until it showed a wooden room lined with shelves filled with plaques and trophies. In the middle stood the four, their eyes all over the room.

In front of them sat a man in dark blue robes. His bearded face looked as if it had seen many things. The circular glasses that hung on his nose glimmered at the flex of muscles when he smiled. His eyes looked over at the four as he began pulling out papers.

"As you may have already known, the Bladedsnatch made its home around the town. Its appearances were slim, sometimes it would only be seen twice in five years." The man then showed them papers filled with numbers. "But a couple of months ago, its sightings rose dramatically. Now it can be seen roaming around every night."

"Then why didn't you just catch it?" The golden one asked.

"We tried, but that thing's like a ghost. Everytime we caught up to it, it'd just disappear like it never existed." The man's eyes lowered as he looked at various pictures of the beast.

"Could you define 'disappear'?" A girl from the back spoke up. She was wearing a bronze breastplate and hip padding and a light pink dress with sleeves running underneath it. On the back of her head was a pink bow that clipped her hair back into a ponytail.

"It would vanish. It turned into a corner and a second later it was gone" The man was exhausted. His eyes looked worn at the pictures he had been staring at.

"Interesting…" This time, the one that attacked me spoke. She was wearing pale blue armor with two pairs of scarfs cascading down her back. "Do you think it can teleport?"

"Well not exactly Bluebell" Bow girl replied, pondering on the thought.

"Then what do you think Orchid?" Gold said, surprisingly.

"Teleportation requires a strong magical source. If it were able to, then I would've felt traces of it in the area."

"So it can't teleport." Bluebell concluded only for Orchid to thin her lips.

"Yes, but still it's strange. I keep feeling something's off…" Orchid clutched at her wrist as her eyes squinted. The rest of the group shared a glance before returning to the old man.

"If that's the case, then we'll have to catch it in the act." Cardinal stepped forward grabbing a piece of paper from the man's desk. "You said this is where it su commonly seen?"

"Yes, it has been sighted at either, the clocktower, Brailton's bridge, the river lowl, and Humphriggs manor" The man stated pointing to every location on the paper.

"Now that you said it, what are the Humphriggs doing about all this?" Bluebell asked while examining the paper in Cardinal's hands.

"The Humphriggs have been trying to catch that monster." The man pointed towards a solitary plaque hanging by the window. "They've even called some mercenaries from the Phantom Point to attack, but it was all in vain. Now, they're hoping for you to finally help us."

"Where are they now?" Cardinal asked.

"They left yesterday. They wanted to wait for you but they had to travel early for the Emperor's ball"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that…"

"How could you forget something like that!?" Gilded jabbed him in the shoulder only for Cardinal to dodge. The boys sent each other a smirk.

"Ok, that's enough, let's just get this over with. It's already past noon." Bluebell stopped through their staring contest, walking towards the old man.

"Yes, but before you go there is one last thing I want to tell you." Suddenly the room tensed as everyone looked at the old man.

"After the bladedsnatch's sightings, kids have been reported missing every week. We might think these two are related."

The four sunk into deep thought at the man's words. It was only when Orchid spoke that their attention was brought back to reality.

"So it's not just at Westburrow and Tundra Hills." The old man looked at her, his eyes widening. "A monster believed to be resident of the town appearing every night followed by the disappearances of children."

"I thought that this was just gonna be a normal monster hunt" Cardinal rubbed his nose at Orchid's words.

"If that's the case then we should get going." The others nodded at Bluebell before she looked back at the old man.

"How many have been missing?"

"41…" everyone shunk at those words, and the tense atmosphere turned into a darker shade. For a brief second there was silence until everyone took their leave.

The sight of the old man's office turned blurry until Holland was met with the alley that he had entered. The ghostly tendril unwrapped around his arms. The shadow merged from the walls, bowing to Holland when it materialized. Holland returned the gesture.

"Looks like we have a mystery on our hands."

The shadow nodded. Holland grimaced as he recalled the pokemon back. This would've never happened if he wasn't too arrogant, now one of his pokemon might be in danger. And it isn't just any pokemon either…

"Let's do this…" Holland muttered as he remembered all the areas the monsters had been. He'll get his pokemon back, no matter what.

…

The sun had finally set and the darkness blanketed over Humphrigg Hollow. The Ballad Of Feathers were stationed at every street in the town. Meanwhile, the knights from the academy were waiting at the areas the beast was sighted.

Cardinal at Humphrigg's manor, Guilded at Brailton's bridge, Bluebell at the clocktower, and Orchid at the river lowl.

Meanwhile, Holland stood lonely in the middle of the town square, waiting. His mind is waiting for the perfect moment.

The townspeople were left in the dark as they didn't want to elicit panic and caused the monster to leave. Right now, everyone was on their merry way, eating, drinking, playing. Holland remembered those moment's in his childhood. He wondered if he could experience them again.

Holland shook that thought away. Once he got his pokemon, he's outta here. He'll come back.

The night was getting colder. And the clock tower rang with every hour that passed. The knights were getting restless, thinking that it knew they were waiting. Soon, the moment came. The clocktower finally struck midnight. Unlike the others, this chime echoed across the town, and an eerie silence followed after.

Most of the people were now in their homes, the one's outside were either closing up their shops or just drunk and sleeping on the ground.

Holland and the others waited patiently, and for what seemed like eternity a slight rumble echoed across the water. It was subtle, only Holland and Orchid managed to catch its vibration. Without wasting any time, Holland spread his psychic energy and covered the entire river. From there, he could see the monster, but something caused his heart to drop.

The PokeBall was gone.

Too caught up in his thoughts, Holland failed to hold down the monster. With a roar it jumped through the river and landed itself in front of Orchid. Some of the Ballad's warriors managed to come forward to form a protective line.

"Requesting back up, the Bladedsnatch has made its appearance. I repeat, the Bladedsnatch has made its appearance."

Orchid spoke to a medal attached to her chest.

The monster growled. It stood its ground over the dozens of warriors surrounding it. The spikes on its back glistened under the moonlight. Its hauntingly blue eyes staring wistfully at the warriors.

The warriors formed a line around it, ready to strike at a moment's notice. The monster stood unbothered, its spikes twitching at every move it made. The two parties stared at each other, the warriors standing still waiting for the beast's attack.

Seconds later, the beasts roared and all the warriors were sent flying straight to the wall. A heavy force pressed against them. Orchid managed to hold her ground, forming a pink ribbon like construct that dug through the pavement.

As the warriors desperately tried to free themselves, Orchid raised her hands. A pink glow danced around her arms like a falling comet. With a wave, the pink glow hardened into a ring framing her body. Tightening the ribbon she raised her arms forward into the center of the ring. With a flick of her wrist, two spheres of pink energy materialized inside the ring and sped towards the beast.

The collision caused a small shockwave forming a dust cloud around the area. The spheres allowed the force pressing against them to falter giving enough time to free themselves. Orchid released the ribbons and twirled them around. The generated wind sent the dust cloud away, revealing the monster dizzy from the attack.

Without waiting, Orchid rushed forward. The ribbons around her shot to a nearby roof and wrapped itself around it. With a pull, Orchid was sent flying up high and over the still dizzy beast.

Right above it, Orchid pushed her hands up, and two more spheres shot forward. The impact caused the monster to be buried into the ground. Seeing the opportunity, the Ballad's warriors attacked. Each one sent energy filled blades and punches to the monster.

As the barrage of attacks went by, Orchid noticed something off. The monster wasn't moving, it was tanking the hits. Before she could wander deeper, the monster released bladed spikes around its body. The ballad dodged it while only getting a small cut.

Orchid was too busy wondering to dodge in time. A spike cut through her shoulder, creating a small wound. Waving it off, she moved forward. Sending another ribbon, she flew around the monster, releasing sphere after sphere of pink energy. Landing on a roof, she was about to move when a sudden pain engulfed her body.

Looking at the cut the spikes gave her, the muscles around it started to contort. Her legs got heavy and any movement was a struggle.

"What's happening…" Orchid muttered as she noticed others around her started collapsing to the ground. She turned her head to the monster, seeing it about to release another barrage of spikes.

She stood up only to stumble back. Moving her body felt like lifting a boulder. Sweat started to drop from her forehead. She sat back to the ground. The monster roared again and Orchid raised her hand. Just in time, a shield of pink energy formed around her.

Back at the square, Holland watched the fight with curiosity. Orchid and the others were struggling. Holland felt something was off the moment that monster showed itself. Orchid was forced to sit on the ground, erecting barriers to protect herself.

The other knights and warriors were running towards them, still a couple of minutes away. Holland took the opportunity to envelop the monster in psychic energy. As the energy danced around it, Holland scanned the monster for the slight difference.

The energy wrapped around its body. From its feet it reached all the way to the spikes. Holland stopped, the spikes were coated in something he was all too familiar with.

"Goo" Holland's eyes darken as he released Runi.

Floating off the ground the two rushed to the lower part of the river lowl. Forming a barrier around them, the two dove through the water. With a splash, they disappeared from sight.

…

Bluebell was the first to arrive, followed by two elite members of the Ballad.

"Cover the fallen, I'll handle the monster." The two nodded at her words and they set off.

Bluebell rushed to the beast that kept on releasing a barrage of spikes. Bluebell remembered the warning Orchid told them about these spikes. Like the wind, she effortlessly slid past the spikes. Making her way to the monster's face, she held her hand over her hip. From there she took out a silver rapier. Its handle was an aqua blue, with a hazy glow to it.

The beast roared and Bluebell jumped forward. More spikes shot towards her, but she dodged it in the nick of time. Arriving above its head, Bluebell's rapier shone a pale blue as it descended. The impact caused a gust of wind to pick up.

Bluebell released her scarf. Using the wind, the scarfs around her expanded allowing her to glide around the monster. The beast watched as Bluebell traveled around him. It roared and released more spikes.

Bluebell twisted her hips and two spikes missed her by an inch. Landing on a window sill she jumped off. The rapier around her glowed a bright blue and with a swipe, four arcs of highly pressurized wind flew to the steeled beast.

Upon contact, the metallic skin was sliced open to reveal a mesh of rocks and minerals underneath. The beast turned towards her and opened its mouth. Unable to dodge, Bluebell braced herself, when a flash of light blinded her.

Landing on the ground, Bluebell looked at the cause of the flash. Right atop the beast's head stood Gilded, his ax laid above his shoulders. With a grin he raised his ax and sliced it down between the beast's eyes.

Before the beast could retaliate, a flash of red cut through the beast's jaw. In front of her stood Cardinal, his sword burning with a fiery red.

"Are we late?" Bluebell looked blankly at Cardinal's wide grin. She rolled her eyes and stabbed his calf with her rapier. "Ok, no need to be mean."

"Let's just get this over with…" Bluebell stepped forward and readied herself. The two nodded to each other and attacked.

On the other hand, Orchid was still struggling to move. She used her ribbons to carry herself to a far away tower. As she laid there working on her healing spells, a flash of light caught her eyes. On the quiet side of town, flashes of light shone through the houses. Orchid looked around, all of the warriors were concentrating on the monster. Suddenly, Orchid's eyes widened. She grabbed the medal attached to her chest

"Everyone, that monster's a distraction!"

…

Back to Holland, he had just emerged from the river. He was now in the sewers underneath the town. The fight above caused the ceiling to shake and rumble.

Beside him, Runi floated with a glow lighting the way into the dark cavern. The sewers were covered with stone, stretching in one straight line. The further he went, the darker the place became.

As he went deeper, the two sensed a dead end. The entire sewer was blocked by some kind of wall. Moving closer, Runi and Holland could feel something. This place had a hint of psychic energy.

Raising his hands, the wall sensed the psychic waves emanating from him and with a slight rumble, it opened wide. The two stood there for a few seconds, before continuing.

Holland was shocked as the wall opened. From the outside it was faint, but now it was stronger. It reminded him of the two meowstics that joined together to defeat him during Olympia's gym challenge. It was strong, but it was definitely coming from more than one source.

The water began to clear as he got deeper. It was no longer putrid brown filled with feces and urine. It was now a clear blue, with small hints of brown in the mix.

Holland's foot stepped on a puddle in the ground. Scanning the area he could see the walls were still wet. It was as if something sprayed the entire wall. Looking closer at the wall, Holland realized something.

"It's spring water…" he muttered "and straight from the source." Holland grinned and returned Runi.

From his waist, he traveled his hands over the many pokeballs he had, arriving on the ninth one in his belt. The moment he touched it, a surge of nostalgia rushed through him. The PokeBall was worned through all the times he had battled with her.

Unfortunately, she never wanted the life of battle. She chose a calming life with his parents over the life of fame in the league. Now, with her PokeBall in his hands, Holland was sent back to the past. A much simpler time.

Holding back his hands, he threw the PokeBall. "Come on old friend, I need your help."

The room was filled with a bright flash as the air was filled with iridescent powder. The flash then dimmed to reveal a pair of vibrant violet wings. The bug type hummed at its release. It flew across the area, releasing glowing powder to light the entire room.

"Let's go Vivillon, I need you to find that spring."