CARSON

I only have one shot at this, Carson Brightflame knew. He couldn't take it anymore, but at least he didn't have to see them be eaten anymore. Tomorrow, however, the last of the prisoners from Slateport would be executed. He didn't understand why he felt like he wanted to help the Slateport men, but then again, he hadn't understood why it was he had the desire to free Swampert like he had.

Just like Swampert, he had to free the last of the Slateport men. By all accounts he knew he should not try to help him. After all, hadn't his father ordered an attack on them just a few weeks past? No, that had been Mauville, he remembered, and Swampert and the Slateport men weren't from Mauville.

More than anything, however, he wanted to take any satisfaction he could away from Starfall. Starfall had killed his father and brother and stolen the lava-stone throne. Carson knew there wasn't much a ten year old hostage could do in this situation, but even the satisfaction of ridding Salamence of a meal of human flesh was pleasing to him. For tomorrow, Starfall would be angry.

The Wingull had come back to his tower cell and perched in the window high above where the first glimmers of moonlight began to seep through the bars. The Pokémon nodded and pecked its beak twice on the stone to signal the start of the plan. Carson had worked out this plan with the Wingull and Pyro, his Torchic.

"Are you ready, Pyro?" he asked. The little orange chick nodded its head determinedly. Carson smiled and observed his Spirit Pokémon's little wing. Even though he had plucked the blood-stained feathers out, they fuzz that should be yellow growing back in the bald spot came out red. Maybe I didn't pluck the feathers right. Maybe Pyro has an infection, he thought, though he didn't share these feelings with the Torchic.

Carson beckoned to the Wingull on the ledge and it flew into the tower room and picked up little Torchic and carried it outside. He knew where his Spirit Pokémon was headed: Carson's old room in the palace, and the secret tunnels inside the fireplace that led down to the prisons. He only hoped that they put the last prisoner in the same cell that Starfall had held Swampert in.

Starfall is going to be so mad when he finds out that the last prisoner is gone! The thought made him excited. And who would ever suspect little Carson, safely guarded day and night in a tower prison?

Carson went back to his bed and shut his eyes. He wasn't going to sleep, no. The little Prince had learnt a great many things in his dreams in the last few days. He had finally learned to listen when the stone giant called to him in his dreams. It didn't take him long anymore to make his way through the dark, sandy tunnels. And for the first time a few days ago, the stone giant had spoken to him.

The stone giant had taught the would-be should-be Prince how to see through the eyes of his Spirit Pokémon. He had woken that morning after he had learned to find that he had shrunk, and it had taken him a few moments to realize that he had become Pyro. He couldn't control where Pyro went, but he could see through his eyes. When he saw himself sleeping, he finally woke up.

He had practiced this skill with Pyro for the last couple of days to pass the time in his tower cell when his idea had come to him. Thankfully, the Wingull that came to visit most every day was willing to participate as well.

And so it was now that Carson shut his eyes and focused, reaching for Pyro. Pyro was far away now, so it was harder than it used to be, but eventually he opened his eyes and saw what the Torchic saw. He was in the tunnel again, going down... down... down. He turned his head to see Wingull hopping along next to him.

Not only could Carson see through the eyes of Pyro, but he could feel a heat from deep inside his heart. It made him excited to release the heat into a little ball of fire that lit up the tunnel that spiraled downward.

It wasn't long until he was walking under the courtyard. Every now and then he would turn his head (or, rather Pyro would turn his head) around to make sure Wingull was following. The sea-bird Pokémon didn't disappoint. What a nice Pokémon, Carson thought. I hope we can be friends.

Pyro always made sure to look at everything that moved or made a sound in the dark. Carson had told his Spirit Pokémon to specifically make sure that the Pokémon gave its Human an adequate view of the surroundings.

So far so good. In almost no time at all, they came to the big round room with the painting of the strange looking Blaziken pointing to two separate tunnels. Carson knew which tunnel to go down to find the prisons, and Pyro did too. He felt sorry for Wingull as the Torchic swiftly found the way it wanted to go, the sea-bird wouldn't have time to observe the magnificent painting.

It was then that he smelled something different. When he looked through Pyro's eyes, he not only gained the Pokémon's sight, but all his senses as well. This was not the smell of man-prisoners... There was a Pokémon smell in the prison tunnels. Swampert? He thought. No. Torchic chased the smell and took a different route through the tunnels than was planned. It stopped at a dead end, and found an indentation in the wall. The smell was strong now. Pyro turned to Wingull and spoke in the Pokémon speech, but Carson could understand what they were saying.

"There's a switch here somewhere," Pyro said to the Wingull still following him. "A stone that moves when you touch it. There was one in the other tunnel, too."

Wingull cocked its head. "I'll look higher up," Carson understood it to say. Three seconds later there were pecking sounds as Wingull tried a few of the stones, and then a soft grinding of stone and the sea-bird landed back down next to the Torchic. "It was a human's eye-level."

Carson turned back to where there once was a wall there was now a door, and the smell of family hit him in the face...

Combusken? Carson's heart leapt in his throat. Sure enough, his Spirit-brother was seen. Bound to the wall, and skinny was the yellow-feathered Pokémon, but a fire burned in its eyes. It tried to spit a warning fire at the strangers in its cell, but nothing came out. It's hungry. Its fire is out.

When Pyro and Wingull stepped through the door, the little fire-chick Pokémon let out a little flame to illuminate the dark cell. The look on Brandon's Spirit Pokémon's face was incredulous, and it tried to squirm to bust free of its bond.

"Calm down," he felt Pyro say in the Pokémon speech. "We're here to bust you out of here." It was short work for Pyro to roast the chains that bound Combusken to the wall. Soon, with a mighty clang the taller fire Pokémon broke free of the wall with what strength it had left.

"How did you..." Combusken whispered. Pyro interrupted his brother's Spirit Pokémon.

"There's no time! Just follow!"

They ran back through the tunnels, and shut the door behind them. If Combusken is alive, then that means that Brandon is still somewhere around here, he knew. Carson forgot all about the final Slateport prisoner. All his focus was on finding and freeing his brother, he knew. Bringer of freedom, the stone giant had called him...

Pyro ran through the tunnels with the other two Pokémon in tow to the place where they had kept Swampert. The same staircase led up to a solid ceiling when they arrived. Pyro turned to Combusken again.

"Carson bumped his head and the ceiling opened," it said. "You need to use your arms to feel for a loose stone." Combusken nodded and climbed the stone stairs. It had to crouch down to not bump its head on the ceiling. Please be in the same place... Please be here, there may not be enough time, Carson was anxious. When would they realize that Combusken was gone?

The familiar sound of grinding stone was heard, as well as a sound that seemed to be... crying? Strangely, there were two people in the cell.

"W-what's that?" said one voice, a scared voice.

A jingling of chains was heard, and a cracked, dry voice. "It looks like they've come for you early, fish-boy. Salamence must want a midnight snack." Brandon! Carson screamed inside his own head. His brother sounded thirsty and hoarse, but there was no mistaking his familiar voice.

Torchic ran into the cell and let out a little fire of light that illuminated the cell. He saw Brandon's eyes get wide, and the other man in the cell happened to be one of the Slateport prisoners. The last prisoner, he knew.

"Hector!" the Wingull said softly in the Pokémon speech. The prisoner cracked a smile. The sea-bird Pokémon flew over to land on his shoulder.

The slow stream of fire ran out. Pyro took another deep breath, and blew another stream. Combusken had walked into the cell now, and began to strike at the chains with a loud clang, clang, clang! He's too loud, Carson knew. Pyro must have sensed his Spirit Human's energy too, and he ran and helped to melt down the chains. Soon, they were weak enough for Brandon to break through.

The Slateport prisoner was laughing as they descended back into the tunnel. "Quiet, fool!" he heard Brandon say. "We already made enough noise as it is!" With that, the grinding of stone was heard, and the tunnel was once again pitch dark.

Carson slipped back out of Pyro's mind, and found himself in his tower room again. "I have to go," he whispered to himself. His plan was originally to just have Torchic free the last prisoner if he could find him, and fly back to the tower cell. Now that Brandon was alive though... "Hope," Carson said, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He threw his pillow under his blanket, and wrapped it around the pillow.

It was all or nothing now. Carson got up and knocked on the wooden door to the cell. One of Starfall's guards cracked the door so slightly. Here goes everything... Carson never knew where the courage came from.

He began to rub his eyes and he sniffled. "I... I need something from my room," he told the guard.

"I'm under orders to keep you in here until King Starfall calls for you, boy," he spat.

"I... I need my Baltoy doll that my mother made for me when I was young," he fake-sobbed. "It's so hard for me to sleep at night without it. I just... I feel like I might cry all night long if I don't have it." Carson let out a loud whimpering sound. He never knew he could execute this so flawlessly.

"Now, now, there's no need for that," said the guard. It was the same guard twenty-four hours a day. Doubtless he would get tired of all the crying, but the guard didn't call young Carson's bluff. He looked up and down the hall outside. "I can take ya to get it if you're quick about it. Make my life easier not havin' ta hear ya screamin' all through the night..." He peered inside the room and looked around. "Where's your little fire-bird?"

"Pyro's asleep," Carson said as he pointed to a little round heap on his bed covered by the blankets. The guard squinted his eyes for a second before he nodded and beckoned to Carson. You're a very bad guard, he thought. It took all of Carson Brightflame's will not to smile. Just a couple months ago, he was proud to be ten, and a man. He had never been so happy to still be a little boy as he was in this moment.

The guard quickly escorted him across the castle grounds to the tower where his old bedroom was. The guard wanted to be swift but not suspicious. Luckily, most of the castle was still asleep. The whole experience seemed like a blur as he climbed the steps up to the tower room. He was constantly slipping in and out of his Spirit Pokémon's mind. They're waiting for me in the room with the painted Blaziken, Carson saw.

He slipped back out and found himself at the door to his room, and he had just reached out to open the door. For a split second, he thought about how he could shake the guard. Carson knew there was no way he could fit inside the tunnel to chase him...

All thoughts of escape ended when he heard footsteps before he could open the door to his old bedroom. A light from down the hall approached and soon Carson saw a torchlight illuminating five more guards and one of Starfall's captains approached from the other side of the hall. Carson froze with fear.

"Didn't you hear?" said the Captain of the guards angrily. "Back to your post! The King's prisoner and the older Brightflame boy have escaped! We're upping the security... Wait a second." The captain brought his torch around where he could see the guard's face who had escorted Carson. "You're the one who's supposed to guard the little one!"

Carson didn't know what took hold of him then. "Here!" he said. The captain of the guard brought the torch down to find Carson hiding behind the guard's legs. "I didn't want to go! I told King Starfall I'm a good boy!" he looked up at the guard. He was a stupid guard anyway. "He made me do it! He said he was going to take me away!"

"Why you no good..." The captain of the guards was angry. "Take the boy back to his cell. Take this traitor to Starfall, immediately."

The guard gave Carson a flabbergasted look. All he could do was scream inaudible stammering as two of the captain's men took him away. The captain proceeded to march the would-be Prince back to his tower prison.

Carson Brightflame slipped in Pyro's mind again, and he urged the Torchic to tell the others to run, to escape into the sewers where Swampert had taken to. He watched through Pyro's eyes with sadness as his older brother, Combusken, and the prisoner, Hector ran down the other tunnel that the painted Blaziken pointed to.

When he finally came back into his own mind, he was in front of the tower prison door. He looked up at the captain, he was still angry. "I'm a good boy, right? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Carson asked. He was shaking, and not acting anymore.

The captain nodded. "Yes, you're a good boy," he grumbled. "That traitor tried to take you from the King, and now he must answer for his crimes of betrayal and plotting to take you away."

When Carson finally got back inside his room. Torchic was waiting for him on his bed, and Wingull pecked, pecked, pecked at the bars on the high window before flying off.

I wanted you to run too, Carson said in his mind.

I'm never going to leave you, Pyro's eyes seemed to answer. Carson cried true tears when he ran to embrace his warm fuzzy Spirit Pokémon.

"At least we helped Brandon," Carson said. Torchic nodded and fluttered its little fuzzy wings, one feathered in yellow, one spotted with strange red fuzz.