In a world full of floating islands, sky pirates, exiled magicians, and Pokémon, peace is difficult to maintain.
Shaymin, kind Pokémon who'd guided travelers once man learned how to fly, were hunted to extinction for their Gracideas: magical flowers...
Warning: This chapter contains graphic violence which can be found disturbing to sensitive readers. Viewer discretion is advised.
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The plan was simple: take out the guards, sneak down to the hull, lay down a giant pot of all the remaining Black Powder, attach a wire fashioned out of dry bark full of more Black Powder to the container, lead the wire to the top of the deck, and then light the trap. The explosion would be powerful enough to sink the Zoroark's Deceit. It was why they had the wire; it gave them time to evacuate before the detonation.
Still, Cyryl's faith in the plan wavered. Zie couldn't help but fret over the smaller complications of the plan when there were so many. What if the floorboards were wet? When testing the wire, they'd learned the bark had to be completely dry for the spark to travel. If the wire failed, someone would have to go down to the hull and light the capsule up close. It guaranteed death.
"That's why we're bringing towels," Omar had assured zir, doing his best to soothe zir fears. "You can stay on White Lightning with Lang if you're scared."
Cyryl had then lied, "No, I want to go aboard." No zie didn't. "I asked for an adventure, and this mission is definitely one. I won't back down now."
Zie dreaded the pirates far worse than any technical difficulty. These were the villains of legend zie'd been raised on, terrible crooks of a dangerous breed. They'd gut zir like a Basculin and throw zir empty carcass overboard without a second thought. Angeleyes had given zir a taste of the power they carried, and zie'd almost lost zir life being exposed to it.
Cyryl pulled at zir eyepatch and through one eye and one eye only, zie glanced around White Lightning. The small vessel zipped through the sky at a furious pace, slicing through clouds banks and dispersing the film in smoky billows. There were little traces of Raikou's storm remnants left in the night sky. The blood moon dangling above drenched the world in a ghastly, amber sheen.
Pidge fluttered to zir side and hooted softly, catching Cyryl's attention. He noticed zir tense nerves and pressed his head against zir chest as if trying to absorb zir stress. Zie sighed softly and adjusted the harness binding the Pidgeotto for air travel.
"I'd always dreamt of adventure," zie muttered to zir friend, "but I never realized the reality of it was a nightmare. Truth be told, Pidge, I doubt I'll want to join an adventure of this kind of caliber ever again."
"Otto."
"As frightened as we may be, we have to see this through to its end. The fate of the world depends on it." Zie chuckled to zirself, feeling absurd over the words zie spoke. "How many people can say that they've had such an effect on Caelum?"
Pidge blinked. "To."
Before zie could say something else, August approached them, saying, "Oi, kid. You ready fo' this?"
