Charlie and Obsidian: Fu**ing it all up, and they left the loot behind!
Obsidian deactivated his stone as he walked back in, opening his mouth but quickly closing it, "Uh... well not much out there." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck guiltily, "I tried talking and I guess they use a sort of different language here. I mean you can understand them but... eh, they name places differently than in Valkaria. I think it might be best if we go in groups just to watch each other's backs."
"So what yer tryin' ta say is ya got no tact? I thought ya were the one who knew where we were anyway." Charlie mocked Obsidian. "Maybe ya wanna go in groups, but some 'a us are better at stayin' unseen on our own, aside."
Obsidian squirmed a bit at the mock, "Look, I'm not good with words alright? I just... I guess I mostly stay back and just stay silent. Penance was the one who... sort of did everything."
"And ya good at that at least?" Charlie's eye narrowed, inquisitively. "'Cause if ya can't at least keep outta sight, you are gonna be havin' a hard time."
Obsidian gritted his teeth as his hands curled into fists, "I so CAN keep out of sight! I once went through an exercise where I stayed against a wall for four hours! None of the mon Penance sent in could see me cause I was so quiet and I got a good place to settle! I just... I'm not good with talking is all."
"Well, as long as ya got that little invisibility toy, I'm sure ya gonna be fine if yer skills match yer tales. Which is good, 'cause I got me an idea and I wanna get another pair 'a eyes on it every bit as fast as mine, 'cause if ya get seen ya gotta get outta there quick." Charlie responded, although he elected to wait on the Weavile's reply before he started his plan.
Obsidian nodded, "I can do that!" He said as his eyes lit up, "Yeah, I'm good with looking at details. So... uh... what did you exactly have in mind?"
Charlie raised a claw, pointing it straight at the palace that lay atop the hill. "Betcha anythin' that we can get info on anythin' goin' on in here in there. Feel like stakin' out a way in?"
Obsidian blinked and rubbed his arm nervously, "Uh... isn't that just a bit dangerous to do so early on? I mean, no offense I'm sure we could find ways in, but we just got here. Shouldn't we try and mark out a safe house or learn the layout of the city? Study some maps we could draw up?"
"Depends on one thing really. If ya get caught. Well, two. If ya get caught and if ya spill who yer workin' with. We ain't gonna be here long at all anyway - so we ain't really got the time ta do any 'a that stuff." Charlie folded his claws and nodded his head as he thought. "Aside that, we're here ta get what info we can for the guys who are allowed ta be here. All 'a that learnin' the place is fer if us Thieves come back after this is all done."
Obsidian nervously looked back at the building far away and gave a weak nod, "Right... okay, we can do that. I mean, it's going to be a small peek just to see how to get in is all. Nothing that serious and no talking for sure. Okay, I guess lead the way? I've never been up there myself so I'm unsure as to guards and anything else that could be up there."
"Heh, and yeh think I have? That's the point 'a stakin' it out. We'll get a better handle so when we come back later, we can pull it all off without a hitch." Charlie replied.
Obsidian nodded, "Alright. Well it shouldn't be that hard. I mean, it isn't like they think anyone is going to storm the palace right now, right?" He shrugged weakly, "So... you can lead the way and I'll follow."
"Heh. Yeh really need ta follow on ta somemon else don't ya? Don't ya worry. Unky Charlie's gonna keep ya safe." Charlie started walking in the direction he suspected would lead to the palace. "Follow on ta me an' don't talk ta anymon that don't ask ya somethin'. Ya seem ta wanna talk ta the locals, is all I'm thinkin' an' ya don't wanna be grabbin' their attention at all."
Obsidian sighed, "Well I saw Penance do it all the time, so I thought if I could do it then it might work a bit better. I mean, I'm not crazy like him. I know how to rationalize my thoughts but I figured it would go smooth as long as I made sense." He looked about, "I do remember Penance did speak of a shortcut to the palace sometimes. But I never got to see it. And it wasn't as if the king was glad to see him at all."
"Well, that's probably 'cause yer boss is nuts. I ain't too happy when I see the guy either." Charlie shrugged. As long as he could keep the Weavile talking they'd look a bit more natural. "Why are ya even followin' that nutcase anyway? No offense, I just can't see the guy
makin' a good call, ever."
"He can make good calls, I've seen them. It's just... it's a complicated relationship. He's... sort of my father, but not really." Obsidian gave a weak shrug, "He's crazy, but crazy in a good way. The kind where, once you get to know him, he's actually good company." Obisidan glanced at the various shops they passed, "So, are you following Snype then? I heard how he was a Sentinel and almost killed off all of Valkaria. I wouldn't put my faith in someone like that."
"Heh, ya hear these things, but if ya weren't around ta see 'em... If ya gotta know, I found out about that.... yesterday an' would ya know, Boss told me himself." Charlie smiled when he thought about it. "Ya think he'd 'a told me about it if he thought it'd be colourin' my thoughts on the guy? I mean, ya can throw yer lot in with the wrong guys if ya let yerself get pushed around by somemon else's claw an' if yeh remember, Thieves were invited ta Gold City 'cause they played their part in takin'
down Darkrai. Since I heard about that... I only been lookin' better on Snype. Guy took a bad turn an' he got away from it."
Obsidian giggled, "Hehe, you have the wrong story friend. Penance told me that Snype killed off tons of thieves and basically the thieves had to hunker down while the Gold Tribe and Affiliates did all the work. Snype was there... but he was the only one, so
a thief did something, but not the thieves themselves. You know Penance fired up this one attack and even let Guardia fire it off at Darkrai."
"Even if... that's history by now. Ya told me everythin' I already know, boss turned around, helped save the world an' all that cool stuff. 'Sides, you look at now an' we got a real tight operation runnin'. Well, ya wouldn't know really. But we got somethin' big." Charlie shrugged. "That somethin's a big part 'a me an' Boss is only makin' it better. Ya look at now, he's a pretty stand-up guy for a crook."
Obsidian shrugged, "I just know what Penance has told me. It takes a while to get used to what he says, but when you've lived with him for... uh... I guess more than twenty years now you get used to it." He sighed, "So, do you have folks back home?"
"Long story." Charlie said dismissively.
Obsidian frowned, "Uh... well I hope they're doing okay at least. Well... do you have brothers and sisters then?"
"Kinda." Charlie stuck to his short answers, hoping against hope that Obsidian wouldn't continue to press the question.
Obsidian thought for a moment, "So... you have trouble with family, probably don't talk to them that much... which is why you cling to your boss so much. He's a substitute family for you and that's why you joined the thieves, to get your mind off of your family and find some means to stay busy and try not to see them again. Right?"
"Heh. You a psychologist or some sh*t? Boss ain't no family to me. He's my boss. Maybe I'd even call the guy a friend an' the thieves are the guys that took me in when I had problems with the Tribe. Ya can try readin' in all ya want, but yer wrong." Charlie snapped back.
Obsidian stared at him, "You don't label him father, because that title is too hard for you to understand. You don't want to name him your father... cause your old father did something. You don't want to connect Snype to that..." He nodded a bit, "How words are used usually tells me a lot about a person, and since you had problems with the tribe... wait... Gold Tribe..." His eyes widened, "Did you do something that caused your family to give you up? If you had problems with the Gold Tribe... then you could have broken a law and if your father gave you up then that would no doubt be traumatizing, especially if you were very young when it happened."
"You're real smart. You guessed the Thief broke the law. Congrats." Charlie dully clapped the flats of his claws together, creating an alien form of the infamous sarcastic clap. "An' ya care ta tell me what's makin' ya so interested in my past now?"
Obsidian shrugged, "I... I guess I don't have much to talk about... and well, you still have a father who's alive in that case. My father died when I was young. I never got to know him that well and sometimes I wished I did. Everyone has a father but me."
"Well, if it helps ya, my father could be dead fer all I know. Livin' in Gold City'll do that for ya." Charlie responded.
"But... wouldn't you want to try and talk to him?" Obsidian asked, "I would pay my soul to the devil if I could talk to my dad one day... oh, we're here." The two had been talking for so long that Obsidian hadn't even realized that they were heading up the hill that led to the castle, "I guess we really shaved off time huh?"
"Good thing we did. Any more talk in this vein'd have drove me crazy." Charlie snorted. "So, you got an idea what we wanna look out fer?"
Obsidian nodded, "I would say first we stick to any shade. We need to check out two main things. First off, entrances. Anything from doors to windows to even other stuff like chimneys. Second we have to look out for guards and see what their patrol route is. How many guards are there? Where are they positioned? Are there specific times when a guard's shift ends or begins? That information could help us quite a bit."
"Good, you were startin' ta make me think ya were some kinda newbie. An' one favour, make sure we ain't gotta
talk our way outta a problem would ya? Runnin's fine an' all." Charlie noted, only partially poking at Obsidian. "Ya didn't waste too much charge in yer stone did ya?"
Obsidian shrugged, "I have another. It's in my other pocket so no worries there." He gripped his stone in his other pocket, "No tress around, mostly rose bushes... we don't have any cover so let's stay close." Obsidian flicked his stone on as his body faded away and he began to creep forward as he kept an eye out for any patrolling guards, "Let's do this quickly." He whispered softly to Charlie.
"If there ain't no cover, we get in there and find some. These things ain't gonna last forever." Charlie added somewhat harshly, before he flicked on his own stone and moved on. He didn't intend on Obsidian getting spotted and blabbing who was in Tollen.
As Charlie moved forward Obsidian kept pace with him and whispered over, "We find a shadowed wall and get to it. Activate the stones in bursts so as to not waste the charge. See that shadowy corner off to the right? Get to it." Obsidian dashed off after that, keeping his eyes peeled but moving fast as the grass kept his footsteps silent. There were knights around, but Obsidian thought himself silent enough. If he could barely hear his own footsteps then he was doing well.
Heh. Maybe yeh ain't needin' ta be looked over so close. Charlie thought. Instinctively, as he stepped out, he hesitated - walking out right in front of the guys he was trying to hide from seemed like suicide. Could he really put all his faith in the stone? Too late to ask now, he had to run - not the most natural thing in the world for folk of his species, but Charlie's frequent need for silence led him to rely on his wings less - he was the best runner of any Scyther he knew and he didn't even make a sound.
Obsidian quickly placed his back against the wall as he slowed his breathing, not wanting to make any too loud noises. Now that he was up against the wall and in a dark area he wasn't sure if he could turn off his stone. They were still outside, and maybe if it was night he could turn it off safely, but there were so many gua-wait... was that Guardia? The Weavile had to narrow his eyes as he looked out across the courtyard at the escort moving across and... it was. He recognized that Croagunk too. He had been at the network point. Okay, so they had safely gotten through, that was good. "What now?" He whispered to Charlie as he saw the escort disappear past some buildings.
Charlie invisibly cringed. "Thought it'd be longer 'fore they were comin' in.." He stayed silent for a couple more seconds. "We gotta get somewhere we can get these turned off, then we can plot our next steps while we ain't wastin' the juice."
Obsidian nodded, "Yeah, I just gave the all clear to the psychics... I suppose they wanted to get in as quickly as possible." He whispered back, "Let's move along the wall. Check out behind corners and we'll find some doors. If we can find an open window that would be best if we ever have to enter. Lead the way."
"I'm callin' straight up." Charlie whispered back, referring to a window above them. "They only want security ta keep us out, once we're in it'll be lighter. Think ya can get yer claws in that an' climb it?"
Obsidian nodded, "That I can. Also, when in keep a lookout for any Garchomps or Charmeleons... our two seekers we have are those species. I'm not sure where they are, but if they somehow managed to get into the palace as staff then just keep an eye out. Not sure what aliases they'll be using but I can recognize them if I see them." Obsidian placed a hand onto a brick and jumped up a bit, letting the claws on his hands and feet dig into the substance, "Heading up." He whispered down as he moved up to that window.
Charlie split his attention, tracing Obsidian's claw marks in the wall, whilst constantly turning his head around to check the area for any close-by guards that could spot them as they appeared. As soon as they reached high enough to give the Scyther himself room to climb, he jammed his claw into the wall and got to it himself, without a word until he would get to the window, constantly checking over his shoulder for the guards' proximity.
A pair of guards, a Mightyena and a Growlithe seemed to be chatting below Obsidian and Charlie's current location. They were making their rounds around the palace, but seemed to be too involved in their conversation to look up and see the two mon making their way up the walls. "That's not the point, if he was good enough to get in, he would have gotten in," The Mightyena explained. The Growlithe growled angrily.
"Savior damn it, he's better than you, he should have gotten in!" He said angrily. "And did you hear that kid Popous got in?! What kinda crap is that?! It's ever since that damn Queen Ale-"
Before the Growlithe could say another word, the Mightyena approached up to the Growlithe, tackling him to the ground and placing a paw on his neck. "Don't ever insult our Queen, boy, or your next words will be your last. Understood?" He demanded. The Growlithe struggled to break from of the Mightyena's grasp, then barely managed out a nod. The Mightyena let him go, and the Growlithe coughed a few times and rose back to his feet.
"I know it's upsetting, but get over it. The savior knows best." The two continued their patrols, with the Growlithe looking down at his feet as he walked, defeat in his eyes.
Obsidian had started to sweat as he heard the two guards down below, but he didn't want to be caught at this point. He found himself moving far slower as he gently would dig his claws into the stone to prevent any loud scrapes from sounding out. He would pause as he ascended to peer down at the two canines. Thankfully the two walked off after a while and Obsidian began to ascend at his usual pace. He didn't care who this Popous was, but it seemed to be just gossip among the guards.
As he got to the window he carefully pulled himself and peered inside. No one was walking about thankfully so he pulled himself up and through the window, gently landing on his feet and he whispered over, "Coast is clear." He pulled away and gave a few more quick glances, this time seeing a guard heading down the hallway and no doubt about to enter another corridor. He pressed his back against the wall and clicked his stone to shut off. He had to save that energy while he could, though if that guard looked about to make a turn and head back this way that stone was turning on once more.
Charlie listened carefully to the guards' banter, picking out what he could to get investigating. Two things came to note: The guards were, for lack of any better term, f*cking vicious when it came to the Queen - but perhaps more importantly and less obviously was this 'Popous' - could he be some kind of enemy to this Queen they were so protective over? For now, Charlie pushed the thoughts to the back of his head, they weren't gonna help them get in for now. "Load 'a stuff changes now we know who's here." He didn't even bother with any kind of lead-in or pleasantry whilst time was of this essence. "If we got all the goldies here, we can't even get seen an' get away with it later 'cause we ain't one 'a them. But at the same time, they got all the focus 'a most 'a the guards. We probably got a lot more free rein than we would elsewise... Ya remember who they're meetin'? 'Cause it might be worth stickin' around ta see what they gotta say after all they think all the pryin' ears are gone..."
Obsidian shrugged, "I'm not sure who they are meeting, but I did see where they headed off to. Not sure of the exact building since they disappeared behind some of the other buildings there, but if we finish up quickly here we can head down and snoop around if you want. For now... let's see. There has to be a place where records are kept right? Stuff like stating where guards are sent, who goes in and out of the palace, stuff like that. If we can find out, at the least, when important meetings are held then we can arrange a time when we infiltrate and see if we can hear any good bits. What do you think?"
"Sure, just get movin'" Charlie replied. "We stick still fer too long an' we're sittin' Golduck." He took to his feet, keeping his eyes well peeled, both for the guard they'd seen a second earlier and anymon else that might take objection to their presence. "So yer aware that lookin' fer them kinda records, we gotta be goin' right where all them guards are gatherin'? I got 'nother plan too, look fer the biggest an' fanciest buildin' in this place, that's gonna be where the bigwig runnin' this show is livin'. Say they gotta diary or somethin', sayin' who they're talkin' to an' when?"
Obsidian blinked in surprise, "That... actually makes quite a lot of sense. She is a queen after all. Good thinking!" He said with a nod, "We head to the queen's chamber and see if she has diaries, maybe documents or other things. We'll have to be cautious of guards there of course, but if we get in we'll find a treasure trove of knowledge. Since you're experienced lead the way. I'll watch our backs."
Another knight began making his way across the corridor toward the direction of the two of them. He was being followed by another Pokemon, a Herdier, who wore an emerald cloak with an insignia of a Dragalge on his back. There were two more knights following behind him, a Blaziken and a Lopunny, both clad in emerald armor.
Obsidian's eyes went wide as he saw the two and quickly dashed to the side of the hall to hug the wall as his eyes glanced around for a door. There didn't seem to be one, so instead he gathered some strength in his legs and leaped up, quickly clinging to the wall as he used his arm strength to push himself up so he could hook on. He kept still as much as he could while taking soft breaths. Charlie took a very similar course of action, springing straight into the air on the power of his wings, hitting the ceiling hard enough to ram his head painfully into it despite his best efforts to stop, but with claws very firmly lodged in - swinging up his legs and digging those claws in as that he would no longer have to rely on his noisy wings to keep him suspended.
The three knights and the Herder passed by the corridor, turning to the far side. However, the Herdier stopped for one brief moment, causing the other knights to also pause. "Is everything alright, my lord?" The Blakizen knight asked the Herdier. The Herdier proceeded to sniff the air a few times.
The Blaziken asked again. "... Are you alright, sire?"
The Herdier sniffed once more, then his mouth curled up in a smile. "I'm famished. Take me to my house," He ordered. The other knights nodded their heads and proceeded forward again.
"At once, my lord." The group of knights proceeded with the Herdier down the corridor and out of sight. The coast was clear again for now.
Obsidian waited before he let go and dropped to the ground, "He knew.... he knew....." He murmured to himself as he shook a bit.
"Yeah, ya keep an eye on ya back, bet ya nothin' they're comin' back fer us." Charlie responded, before he unlatched his claws and hit the deck, rubbing his head. "Come on, haul ass, this place is hot." Once again, Charlie got started, seeking out something suitably grand for a queen.
Obsidian followed on as one hand went down into his pant's pocket to grip his stone in his hand. "We find what we need and get the hell out. We can do this."
As the two proceeded further, by fortune avoiding any further encounters for now, they came along to some very, very pretty doorways - one on the left, one on the right. They certainly seemed to be the kind of thing they were looking for, but there was another route in play - the corridor terminated in a staircase leading in both vertical directions. Charlie snorted. "Good ol' guessin' game. Seems fun ta me. Tell me, Frosty, think you can handle a look on yer own? I gotta plan." Charlie cast his mind back to the guards he'd seen before, out in the courtyard, the Growlithe in particular. He might need to have that image in his head for what he had planned.
Obsidian gave a weak nod, "Plan is this. I'll check these rooms. If I can't find anything I'll head upstairs. If I reach the top floor at any time I'll wait in some safe spot. I'll see what I can dig up and with my pack at the very least we can gather some stuff. Be safe Charlie." He gave a weak nod and approached the left door and began to ease it open slowly.
"Don't worry, any guards start lookin' a bit too close fer comfort, I'll be gettin' 'em off yer back. No way I'm lettin' ya
talk ta any of 'em." Charlie gave Obsidian back a stronger nod as he stayed out of sight. waiting for his illusion to take effect, to become the Growlithe he'd noticed before.
As Obsidian would open the left door, he would notice a room filled with scrolls and books of some sort. The room seemed to be a study of some sort, with books across bookcases and the ground. There were a few in particular that were open on a finely crafted desk in the far end of the room, with a quill and ink nearby the open books.
Obsidian glanced in and then turned about to tap Charlie, "A treasure trove in there!" He whispered, "Books and scrolls, looks even recently! I'll grab some and put them in my pack. If anyone comes... er, let me know somehow. Loud talking or whatever." He gave another look inside to check even the ceiling to see if anyone was up there before he stepped in and rushed to the desk, peering over the documents quickly to make sure he wasn't picking up random fictional books.
"Don't take any of 'em with ya!" Charlie snapped back in a whisper, sticking his suddenly-canid head through the door. "Ya take 'em, they notice they're gone, just look!"
Obsidian blinked, "Oh... right..." He murmured more to himself as he quickly read.
Many of the books seemed to be historical records of some sort from way back, detailing battles of the past. The open book directly in front of Obsidian detailed the line of the Generals of the standing army. The last page detailed the names and tenures of the last four Generals.
Aurotek, William, 423-438 Age of Narron
Ellia, Janice, 438-460 Age of Narron
Saena, Isabella, 460-488 Age of Narron
Tyren, Marcus, 488- Age of Narron
"Well... the standing army..." He murmured. He glanced over the last two names once again before nodding and quickly heading back out, "Well we know who one of the generals are." He said to Charlie, "And he recently got into that position this year. Seems everything in Tollen changed within a year. I'm not going to check the other door. Let's head up stairs. Lead the way."
"Alright... keep outta sight, I might be comin' back down, with company. I'll howl ya if the coast is clear up there." With that, the Growlithe-Charlie turned to the stairs, running up them with the best panicked expression on his face he could manage - hearing footfall on the stairs above him. Time to put on a show. "Is there anyone there? I need help!" he yelled up the stairs.
As the footsteps came down Obsidian quickly got off of the stairs and rushed off to the library room as he opened the door as quietly as he could and slipped inside, closing it. There were many bookcases here thankfully so he hid deep near the back, keeping his voice quiet as he hid under a desk, pulling a chair in front of him as well.
The footstep grew louder as a Sceptile stormed down the stairs toward the sound of the yelling. "What's wrong?" He asked in a concerned manner.
"I think I saw a mon snooping around! Maybe that-" Charlie quickly thought up the name he'd heard before. "-Popous kid again! If he's around I think he got away from me!"
The Sceptile cocked an eyebrow. "Popous? Isn't that the kid that didn't make it into the Royal Knights? What the hell is he doing here?"
That was bad. The wrong form of 'getting in'. Charlie had to think fast, but he'd already hesitated in his answer "I-I don't know! Just - I swear I saw him and we don't want anymon with a grudge running around here!" He replied, intentionally allowing his voice to go very meek.
"Well, damn it, lead the way!" The Sceptile ordered. "I don't want the Royal Commander finding out about this!"
The body-fake Growlithe eyes lit up. "I'm not sure where he got to, but I'll show you - I think I saw him down the bottom of the stairs down here! I thought he went up, but I only saw you so he can't have gone that way and that leaves lots of other ways he could have gone, in here, in here, down the stairs, down the corridor... there's too many ways for me to look on my own!" Charlie's eyes darted around, checking for Obsidian as they came back to the bottom of the stairs. "I-I'll check in here!" he shouted, diving into the library - catching a quick glimpse of Obsidian and swearing under his breath.
Obsidian in turn gave a weak shrug as he put a claw to his lips.
"Damn it, I'll check the bottom stairs!" The Sceptile stated. "This isn't good, Durania was just here, and now I hear Ellia's sending someone too! If they see this sh*t, we're...
you're screwed!" The Sceptile disappeared down the stairs.
Charlie let out a small, worried yelp, concealing the smile on his face behind his turned back. "I-I'll find him! Y-you can count on me..." He waited on the last bit of the sentence until he was almost certain the Sceptile was mostly out of earshot. "S-Sir! Sir!", at the same while, turning to Obsidian with a massive grin strewn across his face. "Coast's clear." He whispered, as he slowly faded back into his buggy self.
The Weavile sighed and got out from underneath and stretched his back, "That was close!" He gasped, "Think we should push our luck? I mean that guard came down... but you know... if he's running around he might recruit other guards to help. If they check this area and the ones down below... then that could keep them occupied!"
"Get goin' then. I'll be up right behind you." After his first taste of the illusion, he had already staked his preference in hiding the old-fashioned way, in the tried-and-true form of staying out of sight. "Just gimme a sec when I get up there. That thing is knackering."
Obsidian nodded, "That's what I've heard about it. It saps you until you fall unconscious. Be careful with it." He peeked out of the door and seeing the coast was clear he quickly made his way to the stairs, pausing a bit and began to slowly head on up, this time quickly turning on his shadow stone as he ran up to the next floor and quickly glanced about as Charlie slowly followed him up, keeping his eyes turned backwards in case they'd been followed.
The stairs led up to another room, but also continued on further up. The next room seemed to be at the edge of a large hallway of some sort, where there was much more open areas save for a few columns. At the end of the large room, one door was visible, along with two knights who were guarding it intently. It was also viable to continue up further along the staircase.
Obsidian quickly hid behind a column as he deactivated his stone and looked over at Charlie with a questioning look. What were they to do now? Try to head into the room or run up the stairs? If that room was the royal bedroom however...
Charlie had taken his own cover behind a column opposite the Weavile, not taking more than the occasional peek - but over such clear ground, getting the guards out of the way could be... difficult to say the least. He whispered across the corridor to Obsidian. "Ya think... ya think ya can take out one 'a these guys without makin' a sound? Or killin' 'em? If we can get 'em both at once, leave this kid ta take the blame fer takin' them out..." Since Charlie had already put some vengeant kid in the knights' mind, he was certain that he'd take the rap if they did have to take the guards down. Aside, they didn't seem too keen to let problems go to their boss... Charlie wouldn't tell if they wouldn't...
Obsidian nodded as he reached into his pack and pulled out his strings, slipping them into his pocket and slipped his pack back on. He held up his unused shadow stone and pointed at Charlie, before nodding to the guards, "I take right, you take left." He whispered as he activated his and began to steadily make his way toward them.
"I'll take 'em off their balance first." Charlie burst from his pillar, flying into the air right in front of the two knights - he'd done this before, the sheer audacity of this kind of attack was usually all the surprise value necessary - especially when coupled with the weaponized offbeat of his wings - he arose whipping up a sure storm!
Obsidian himself sprang forth, the wind helping him as he clung to one guard and without hesitation wrapped his string around his neck, pulling one the ends as any cries for help would never sound. For the other guard all he would see was his friend flailing about with something invisible taking a toll on him. Charlie, meanwhile, dived forward, leading into a quick strike at the Abomasnow still standing with the blunt edge of his claw aimed squarely at his target's neck. Using the speed and weight of his flying charge, the quick attack carried some significant power behind it - Charlie aiming to force the Abomasnow against the wall next to that ever-so fancy door - the blunt edge of his claw forced into the Abomasnow's neck until he stopped struggling.
At that same time Obsidian tightened his grip around the Hitmonchan's neck until finally the fighter fell. He pulled his string away as the fighter's lungs began to work once more, "Right, we have about oh... an hour or so before he wakes up." He looked at the door, "After you." He said as he deactivated his shadow stone.
Through the door appeared to be another hallway. This time, the room was lined with various paintings of other Pokemon. The mon appeared to be quite regal, dressed in the clothing of nobility, perhaps even more than that. The hallway continued forward to a door on either side, as well as one directly in front of them.
Upon seeing the coast was clear Obsidian was quick to drag the two unconscious guards inside as he closed the door behind them. "Alright, we do this quick." He told Charlie, "We only have about... an hour max before they wake up. If they are well trained... then about twenty minutes. Depends, but still choose a side quickly. I have a feeling we'll get some good things here."
"Gee, thanks for the tips. Ain't like I didn't know we gotta be quick..." Charlie said indignantly, peering against the door on the left and opening it just a crack to peek through, slowly and carefully enough not to alert anymon on the inside. The room was empty, save for a rather fancy-looking bed and a few clothes and books. The room was also filled with many fine silks and jewelry.
"So, what's in there?" Obsidian whispered. "Please don't tell me more guards."
"Looks like the room 'a somemon fancy. No poor bugger needin' ta be hurt in here though." Charlie pondered for a brief second. "Let's go have a look the other side. We ain't got forever so we gotta pick the fanciest one." The Scyther repeated the same process on the other side, checking for anything threatening as much as clues for where they should prioritise looking.
The other room was much the same. Fine silks and jewelry was across it, as well as a grand bedroom and a wardrobe. The only difference was that there was also a Mr. Mime standing right in the middle of the room, staring silently at the crack at the doorway. "Yes, who is it?" The Mr. Mime asked as the doorway creaked open a tad. The mon had a very pompous and posh voice. "Frederick is that you?"
Obsidian paled, "W-Who is it Charlie?" He whispered softly, "We need to take him out too. Uh... you go in first?" He managed to peer around Charlie's body and his eyes widened, "Let me handle this one. He can't do sh*t against me." The Weavile readied another string as he took in a deep breath and wasted no time. The mon already knew they were here, so it was going to have to be quick work to silence him. Obsidian pushed open the doorway and ran straight in, jumping up high and intending to come down upon the mon proper, or at least behind him.
"I say, what is it you're doing? Wha-" At that moment Obsidian managed to land behind him as he wrapped his strings around the throat... but he wasn't pulling yet. "Alright, you can either cooperate and answer some questions of ours, or I'll tighten this and you might not wake up. Which is it going to be?" He asked.
"Unhand me! Guards! Guards!" He began to try to yell. Obsidian just smirked and gave just a bit of pressure against the throat, "They aren't waking up anytime soon." He stated, the threat outlining his voice quite clearly, "Now, we have some questions and you have to answer. ASAP."
"G-ahwah! Guards!" The Mr. Mime tried to yell again. "Protect the- gawh!"
Obsidian let the string pull back juuuust a bit, "What are you trying to protect? Better question, where's the good loot around here?"
Charlie gave a hard, disapproving glare at Obsidian. The Weavile had acted before Charlie could do anything to stop him - by the time he could, Obsidian had been seen and their hand had become forced. Worse still, he was playing up the Thieves' involvement - Snype would certainly have one to tear out of Charlie if he head about that. He had to get this finished as quickly as possible, the sooner this mon was out, the less chance he'd remember things like faces and every dumb word that came out of that Weavile's mouth - in fact, he thought he'd make the process little more surefire - as much as he hated the cruelty of holding the mon like this, a swift slap across the face would both loosen the Mr. Mime's lips and haze his memory all in one.
From behind the two, the last door at the end creaked open. A soft voice was heard. "Rupert? Rupert are you alright? I thought I heard something," The voice said, as footsteps could be seen coming toward the room. The voice suddenly gasped out loud. "Oh no!" She exclaimed, noticing the unconscious guards. "Elewyn! Elewyn! Help us!"
Bursting from the door at the end was a female Ampharos clad in green armor. "What is it, my Queen?! What's wro- Oh no," The Ampharos noticed the two knocked out guards.
F*ck! This is gettin' way outta hand now! Charlie swung his claw around, giving the Mr. Mime an even heftier hit around the face, before he turned to Obsidian and hissed at him under his breath "Get that stone on and get hidden! This job's a scrub now, we get outta here an' don't get yer sorry ass found!" The Scyther quickly heeded his own advice, flicking on the invisibility device, praying to Arceus it had enough charge to pull him out of the Ariados web he was now in.
Obsidian gripped his stone and turned it on, disappearing quickly.
A few other footprints could be heard, and the door swung open on both side. The Ampharos and two other knights walked in, while two others observed the other room. "Someone got to Rupert as well," The Ampharos said. She turned to the door, looking at a relatively young Floette dressed in a beautiful emerald gown, with embroideries and jewels decorating the entire dress. She also had a large, flowing robe over the gown, with decorations of the traditional colors of Tollen. "My Queen, I must insist you be taken to a secure location."
"Rupert! Is he OK?" She asked from the doorway. The Ampharos moved her forward and gently urged her out of the room.
"He'll be fine, your Highness. Please, leave this matter to me," She asked the Floette, who took one more look at the Mr. Mime, then obliged. As she left, the two other Knights with the Ampharos scoured the room in search of any possible assailants.
"What do you think this was, Deputy Commander?" One of the Knights, a Skarmory, asked.
"I'm not certain," The Ampharos replied, searching the room once more.
"It could have been the Brotherhood. It wouldn't have been the first time they've tried something as brazen as this," The other Knight, and Azumarill with an eyepatch suggested.
"Possibly but... I don't see anything missing. They're known to sometimes not take the most obvious of items but in this case... well it's too soon to tell one way or another. We'll get to the bottom of this."
The group of Knights began making their way out of the room and the area.
"Too close... too f*cking close..." Charlie muttered. "We've gotta scram, an' now! Window, over there, you're gonna climb, I'm gonna jump an' we're haulin' ass back into the city." He shook his head as he picked up speed for a running dive, bursting out of the gap in the wall and plummeting to the ground - only at the last second slowing just enough that he wouldn't be injured.
After he landed, Charlie enveloped himself in his own thoughts as he waited for Obsidian.
Boss is gonna have my head on a damn platter fer this... an' we didn't even pick up info worth the trouble 'a breakin' in... They were going to have to go back with almost-empty claws.
