Greninja and Ziva hung back close to the doorway, where they could easily keep tabs on Yeltsin's bodyguards. Martin walked further into the throne room, making a beeline towards Yeltsin, who took a step back with each step Martin took.

"Come on, Martin. You don't want to do this. We're friends remember?" Yeltsin said with a shaky voice brimming in fear.

"Oh we are!?" Martin hissed, "Would a friend send a friend into a death trap? Would a friend hunt his friend down like a dog? And would a friend hit the fiancé of his friend!?" At this point Martin had reached the top step of the throne and was glaring down at Yeltsin as he squirmed in Sucra's throne.

Yeltsin hung his head, "No, I suppose a friend wouldn't do that. I'm sorry Martin." Martin took one step back from Yeltsin, shocked by his show of remorse.

A cruel victorious smile crept onto Yeltsin's face. "But then again, we weren't all that close." Yeltsin swung his arm out. A sharp narrow barb flew towards Martins face but passed by harmlessly.

"You missed." Martin said coldly.

"Did I?" Yeltsin replied coyly.

Martins felt time slow to a crawl. Turning his head to follow the projectiles path, he saw the  barb arc across the room and slice through a rope next to the shattered door frame.

The rope shot up the wall. Climbing until it reached the ceiling only to disappear at the top.  A whipping sound of ropes coming undone and a creak of swift spinning axles rattling in their frames, filled the room. But the makers of this noise could not be seen.

Martin snapped his head towards Yeltsin, "What is this?"

Yeltsin gave Martin a shark smile. "I knew you'd eventually come to rescue your precious fiancé. So I set up a little gift for you two. After all, what's a wedding without wedding bells?"

As soon as Yeltsin finished his sentence three large silver bells dropped from above. Tearing down the massive sheet of dark fabric that had been concealing them.

Martin rushed forward. His right arm drenched in venomous purple light and poised to strike Yeltsin. Only to meet the hard interior of one of the large bells as its frame fell upon him.

The three bells made a brief, but loud, metallic thud when they hit the floor. The collision caused the caste to tremble, and left a three meter radius of spiderweb cracks around each bell.

When the castle had settled, and the floor proved it wouldn't yield to the weight of the bells, only then did Yeltsin assume the throne. Cackling with vicious laughter as his old friend beat against the inside of his new home.

Martin threw everything he had at his metallic prison, but succeeded in little more than creating a racket and making Yeltsin howl even harder.

"Yes struggle to your hearts content." Yeltsin jeered. "That metal is made of an alloy strong enough to take anything you throw at it. You'll never be able to scratch it much less break it."

"That bell might be unbreakable but you're not!" Greninja roared, appearing in the air above the throne, his fists glowing with a sky blue light.

Yeltsin looked up at him with listless eyes devoid of any interest in his interference. With a tap of his foot Yeltsin's bodyguards leapt forward, intercepting Greninja and knocking him to the stone floor.

Greninja rolled across the stone a few feet before regaining his footing. On his feet again he saw that two of Yeltsin's guards had moved forward, using themselves as a barrier between him and Yeltsin.

Greninja grinned inwardly. As if they could stop him. Wearing an expressionless mask over his face, Greninja charged the two Pokémon. In turn the guards threw a barrage of attacks his way, an attempt to halt his advancement.

Greninja managed to slip by most of the attacks, his nimble body allowing him to change direction and speed with near perfect timing. But one attack managed to catch him by surprise, resulting in a burn to his left leg.

Greninja winced when he put pressure on the leg, but he kept advancing despite his pain. He was moving somewhat slower now and his opponents attacks were able to reach him better. Which forced him to draw a blade to repel anything that got too close for comfort.

He eventually worked his way to point blank range with his opponents, forcing them to change to close quarter tactics. A rather unfortunate situation for them. Greninja was a master of close quarter combat. Two kidney punches and an upper cut, followed by a side kick to the chest was all it took to dispose of both guards.

Unsatisfied with the fight, Greninja looked to the throne eager to beat down more baddies. But his thirst for combat would not be quenched there. Amid his battle Yeltsin and his two remaining guards had escaped. Greninja sighed his discontent and looked to Ziva who had been preoccupied with freeing Shula and the other prisoners.

Greninja hurried over and helped Ziva cut through the tough material tied around the Pokémon's arms and legs. Ziva had already freed two of the prisoners and had moved on to Shula.

"Your sister sends her regards." Ziva said as she hacked through the last bind holding Shula.

"I can see she sent her best." Shula smiled as she rubbed her freshly liberated wrists. She then turned serious. "But our work isn't over. Yeltsin has to be stopped and there are still Pokémon we have to rescue." She looked at the silver bell containing Martin. "My fiancé included."

"I'll handle Yeltsin." Greninja said with a grunt as he freed the last Pokémon. "As soon as I find him. Any idea where I should start?"

"Well first he's going to have to get out of the castle. But he'll be smart about it. He's likely not to walk out the front gates in fear of running into any of your allies. The back and side routes are out for the same reason. So I'd bet he's going to try too escape through the castles labyrinth."

"You have a labyrinth?" Ziva asked, a suspicious brow raised.

"It's a complex network of underground tunnels connecting the castle with various locations around the city. So yeah we have a labyrinth."

"Alright. How do we get to this labyrinth." Ziva replied sassily.

Shula ignored the sass and used her thumb to point towards the throne. "See those portraits back there."

They looked and saw a row of fifteen portraits lined against the wall behind the throne. Each frame was roughly six feet tall by three and a half feet wide. They were undoubtedly paintings of the Helian Royal families of old.

"All of those are doorways to hidden passageways and tunnels all around the castle. They're pretty nifty if you want to get somewhere quickly."

A murmur of shock and surprise rose from the Pokémon Shula had been imprisoned with. They all seemed quite anxious about the existence of these passageways. One of the Pokémon spoke up. "General does the queen have knowledge of these passageways as well?"

"Of course. It's a secret that's been passed down through the Royal family for generations. She and I even dug out one of the tunnels; ahh that takes me back."

The Pokémon seemed even more anxious now. "General... th-the queen she didn't use-"

"If you are asking if my dear sister used a family legacy to spy on any of you, I can safely tell you that she never used them for such purposes."

The Pokémon seemed to relax a bit after hearing that.

"But I would like to say, it's rather rude not to offer your commander a glass or two of Aunt Dews' when you manage to score a WHOLE CASK. Wouldn't you agree, Captain?"

The Pokémon who had spoken up before (apparently the Captain) grew pale in the face. "O-of course General. It would be a pleasure to share with you. Right men?" The other Pokémon nodded along in agreement, and fear of what other things Shula had caught them doing.

Greninja wasn't interested in the activities of Shula's delinquent soldiers and returned the conversation to the problem at hand. "Which portrait do I take to reach the Labyrinth?"

"Fifth from the left. Great-great-great-great-great Grandma Debra's portrait. Poke her eye to open the door."

"Which eye do I poke?" He asked, unfazed with having to poke great-grandmamy Debra in her eyes.

Shula looked at him disappointedly. "Well if one doesn't work try the other."

"Oh..." Greninja began to walk towards the portraits only to have a thought enter his mind, "Hey, if Saru didn't use the passageways for spying. What did she use them for?"

"Mostly to avoid the various ambassadors and diplomats from Arkose. Her kids would also use them when we'd play. It was nearly impossible to find them all when they did." She smiled a bit when she thought of the children, only to frown a second later. "The children are they...?"

Greninja nodded, "I've got friends working to get them, they'll be fine."

Shula regained her smile. "Good. I'm going to work on getting Martin free. You go after Yeltsin and we'll catch up in a bit."

Greninja nodded and began heading towards the portraits again. Shula turned to Ziva with a request but was silenced by Ziva shout at Greninja . "Hey! I'm here too you know! And if you're going after Yeltsin then I am too!"

"Sorry Ziva, but you can't come with me this time."

"Oh! And why not!?"

"I thought you'd have realized by now..."

"Realize what?" Ziva's anger began to waver.

"The soldiers we freed, don't you find it odd that they didn't try to capture Yeltsin or help me fight?"

"That is a bit odd." Ziva looked at the Captain, "Why didn't you do anything? I know at least one of you was free before Yeltsin escaped."

"We couldn't do anything. Yeltsin had captured us when we were out on a supply run, and tortured us for nearly ten straight hours before the General showed up. If it weren't for her I'm certain Yeltsin would have just tortured us to death." The Captain looked at his hands, electric burns could be seen running from his fingers to his wrists. "We were- are in no shape to put up any kind of fight."

"That's why they need you to escort them out of here." Greninja said, "They can't get out on their own and they need your illusions to make it out safely."

Ziva sighed defeated, "Fine. I'll do it." She and the soldiers began to walk back through the doors Martin broke, when she stopped and looked at Greninja. "Make sure you come back."

He nodded and watched them disappear into Ziva's illusion. He then looked at Shula as she sat outside Martin's bell, tapping away at it methodically. Greninja shook his head at her actions and went to the portrait of super great grandma Debra. He tried the left eye and heard Shula snicker behind him when nothing happened. Mumbling spitefully, he poked the other eye and watched as the portrait slid down and into the floor.

Behind it was a chute that lead down into pitch black nothingness. "Your super great grandma Debra had a unique taste in secret passageways." He said as he leaned over the edge.

"I'll say," Shula said as she turned to look at him, "I don't know why anyone would put a snake pit at the bottom of an escape chute."

"Wait what?" Greninja asked too late. He had already jumped and was falling down into the darkness. He couldn't see anything as he fell and the dread of falling into a pit of snakes consumed his mind. So much so that he thought one of the snakes had made its way behind him when he felt something smooth and cold touch his back.

Greninja freaked and turned to punch the snake with an Areal Ace. He never finished the attack. The light from his fist had illuminated the darkness and revealed to him that the chute had a gradual slope to it, that changed his free fall into a super slide.

He slid against the wall for another few feet before he suddenly dropped. Arms and legs flailing wildly, he landed in a pit of hundreds of coiling writhing snakes. He punched kicked and slashed at the serpents, but nothing he did  could phase them. It's no wonder parents give their kids stuffed animals to watch over them, they're made of tough fibers.

Flustered and vowing never to speak of what happened, Greninja exited the "pit of snakes"; he removed some stuffing from his head and began a brisk jog down the passageway. He jogged until the smooth stone floors turned to a simple dirt path.

Nearing the end of the passageway Greninja spotted a sign glowing dully against the wall. The words were written in some sort of glow ink that had faded with age, leaving only a handful of words legible. From what was still visible, Greninja figured this sign was a message from Debra asking her ancestors to replace the "snakes" every few years. Greninja didn't stay long and upped his pace, running the rest of the passage until he reached a circular room with seven doorways.

Above each doorway was a different symbol: A pen and quill. Sword. An open book. Pickaxe. A flask. A Staircase. And above the doorway Greninja entered through was a hand of cards. Aside from the symbols there was also a spire of polished obsidian in the heart of the room. It stood no taller than a dinner table and the top appeared to curve inwardly.

Greninja approach the obsidian and noticed silver writing etched into the stone. He knelt down and read the first line: "Three of Seven: Joker, Trickster, Master of Misdirection. Debra the Devious." Greninja glanced back at Debra's tunnel. "You sure like your jokes." He mumbled, thinking of the fake snakes.

He read a bit more of what he assumed was Debra's honor plaque. Apparently she'd protected Helia island against a number of foes with her tricks and pranks, and was credited with winning at least ten wars. Curiosity grew in Greninja after reading Debra's plaque and he decided to read one more before continuing his pursuit of Yeltsin. Deciding quickly he read the bio across from the Staircase doorway.

"Six of Seven: Planner, Creator, Artist. Edbros the Engineer. No task too small nor too great. Edbros worked on countless projects, building day and night without rest or praise.... He is credited with constructs such as: The Angles Peak, Sandria's Labyrinth, The Misgiven, Idmos's Isolation..."

Greninja stopped reading and looked at the doorway with the Staircase symbol. "So, this is the mouth of the Labyrinth." He thought. There he would find Yeltsin. There he would avenge those who's blood had been spilt by Yeltsin's greed. His heart and mind set on this task Greninja made to go into the Labyrinth. He managed to make it one step before he heard a blood curdling scream rush down the tunnel next to him.

Greninja sighed, "They're going to kill me for this." He mumbled as he ran down the doorway with the Open book symbol. He didn't have to run far before he came across the owner of the scream. A three young Pokémon were cornered by two older tough looking Pokémon. One of the young ones was unconscious from a head wound; the other two were protecting their bloodied friend as best they could. But with tears clouding their eyes they could barely protect themselves.

The two older Pokémon knew their opponents had already lost and prepared their death blows. The youths watched in rueful anticipation as their enemies unleashed their attacks. As four blue spinning disks redirected the attacks; and as their enemies faces showed their confusion as to why they weren't dead yet.  Before they could process this Greninja punched them, knocking them down the tunnel and the sense of urgency back into the younger Pokémon.

With the three of them working together they took down the two Pokémon within a few seconds. Enemies out of the way Greninja checked up on the three young Pokémon. The bloodied one was out but breathing, so Greninja focused his attention on the two that could talk to him.

"What were you three doing down here?" He asked in a not so gentle tone.

"We've been down here since Yeltsin stole the throne." The older one answered. She was a grass type Pokémon known as a Bayleef. A Pokémon well known for their yellow brontosaurus like physic, their characteristic bud necklace and scythe shaped leaf horn.

"Alright, then what are you doing here?Shouldn't you be hiding out in the sanctuary with the other Pokémon."

The other Pokémon, a blue and white dragon serpent known as a Dratini, coiled into herself . "We were there, but we left when Lector and Jackson arrived with the nice lady. While we were leaving, we overheard them talking about another rescue mission to save Aunt Shula and all six of us decided to go help."

Greninja put his face in his hand. "They would have been a better help if they'd left with Rosemary." He thought.

"Alright let's get you three- wait did you say there are six of you guys!?" Greninja asked his blood freezing over.

"Yeah we thought if we moved in smaller groups it would be harder for Yeltsin's men to find us."

"And you're all Saru's kids, aren't you."

"Yes?" The Bayleef said as if it were an odd thing not to assume she was related to a dragon and a fire monkey.

Greninja cursed his luck, "Alright here's the plan. We're going to find your siblings, get your butts off the island, and then I'm going to come back to have a fist to face with Yeltsin. Good, good. Let's go."

Greninja picked up the bloodied sibling and carried her in his arms. Together the four Pokémon navigated their way through the various routes snaking around the sanctuary. As they searched for the missing siblings Greninja learned the names of his three young companions. The Bayleef called herself Tes despite her full name being Teresa. The Dratini was named Rayatheria and understandably went by Raya. They also said that the sister Greninja was carrying was a Pokémon called Larvesta, a fire/bug type Pokémon that are known by their five "sun" spikes coming out of their fluffy white bodies. They called her Carina, apparently she'd been named after a constellation.

As they continued their efforts to locate the missing siblings a shock wave shook the castle. Greninja frowned as the shaking subsided, wondering if this was Martin's and Shula's doing. He burried the thought for the time being and continued walking. They kept walking until they reached a found themselves at a set of black mahogany doors. Tes said they were the Sanctuary gates and how it was odd they were closed. She approached the doors and knocked four times on the left door, then she knocked three times on the right door. And finally knocked three times on both doors simultaneously.

The mahogany swung open at the end of the final knock. Behind the doors was an underground oasis. Grass lined the floors, flowers clung to the walls and various fruits and berries were entangled in the vines. Bright yellow light shone from the ceiling in the center of the room and a gurgling fountain with a moat stood directly beneath the light. A group of three Pokémon lay on the grass in the far back of the room. Judging from the way they were laying they were all injured and had fled here for safety.

Tes and Reya ran to the injured Pokémon, shouting their siblings names as they ran. Only one of their siblings responded, a black and orange canine with a bone helmet and rib guard. He was of the Houndour species and known by his siblings as Deak.

Greninja managed to calm Deak's siblings down enough to learn what had happened to him. "We were cornered." he said, "and took a nasty beating but managed to come out on top. Shane couldn't walk on his own after and Barry could barely keep his eyes open. So we headed back here."

Greninja placed Carina on the grass and went to check up on her siblings. He started with Shane. He was a Pokémon called Monferno (the pre-evolution of Infernape), and aside from his height and lack of flaming hair, he looked a lot like Saru. His legs were badly scraped up and Greninja saw a number of scratches on the kids torso too.

The other child, Barry, was also pretty roughed up. He was a dragon type called Bagon, a short bipedal blue Pokémon with a helmet made of extremely tough cartilage on their heads. Greninja was a rather surprised to discover that there were a few cracks in Barry's helmet. He frowned at their injuries knowing he couldn't do much in the way of healing.

"Tes I'm going to need you to carry Deak." Greninja said as he began to pick up the injured siblings. Tes obeyed quickly, using Vine Whip to tie her brother to her back.

"Gah. You're heavy." Tes complained once Deak was strapped down.

"Yeah well your buds are poking me." Deak replied.

"Your bones are scratching my vines."

"Stop complaining I'm the injured one here!"

"Well maybe you shouldn't have gotten taken down so easily!" She shot back.

Deak had some retort prepared but Greninja intervened before things got out of hand. "That's enough! I don't want to hear anymore out of either of you. You're both just going to have to suck it up and deal with each other."

They wouldn't meet his eyes but neither said anything more. Greninja signed, "How do parents put up with this?" He thought.

He resumed gathering the injured kids, stringing Shane over his shoulder and holding Carina and Barry in his arms. He then turned to the only child who could both talk and wasn't giving him the silent treatment.

"Raya can you lead us out of here?"

She nodded and began slithering forward, Greninja and Tes following close behind. They kept a rather quick pace, stopping only a few times to avoid Yeltsin's men. Raya seemed to have a pretty good idea where to go and soon the dirt floor became stone. They stopped when they reached a metal wall at the end of the tunnel. Raya pressed against a tile on the floor and the metal began to move, letting in a blast of hot air.

The group was stunned by the unexpected heat but the children seemed to recognize it. They urged Greninja to move quicker, saying that they had to go find them. Greninja followed them uncertainly, fearing that they were getting themselves into even deeper trouble.

The children ran ahead of him hopeful grins plastered to their face as they raced towards an intense heat. Eventually they stopped in front of a doorway and when Greninja looked inside he saw something shocking.

It looked like Martin but was surrounded by a vortex of green and red flames. Where his bouquet hands had been were now proper hands with fingers and thumbs. His cape had grown longer and changed to have golden epaulets. His arms and chest had changed in color, as had parts of his legs. And he now had a kilt made of sharp leaves around his waist. But the strangest part was the glowing green and red symbol on his chest; it consisted of two V's stuck together by a horizontal line, and connected to the top of the smaller V was a square bowl with a squiggly line above it.

Greninja also noticed that across the floor were at least forty Pokémon, all unconscious. One of the metal bells seemed to also be on the ground though it was hard to tell given how melted it was. Martin had seen them the moment they had walked in, but he didn't look happy about seeing them.

"What are you still doing here." He said in a voice that sounded like a mix of his and Shula's voices. "Get to the boat and get out of here."

"But-." Tes began. But Martin/Shula shot her a look that kept her from saying anything else.

"Leave. Now. I'm going to take down Yeltsin, even if I have to take the castle down with him." Martin/Shula said before running deeper into the castle.

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Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. I've had a lot of stuff going on and it was ridiculous how much difficulty I had making the picture at the top. (P.S. that's the only picture in this story that I made, but I'm probably going to do more). I hope you guys enjoyed it and weren't too weirded out by the fusion I created, because you're likely to see more of it in the future 😅.

Anyways thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.