Lapis and Crepe were able to get through the base and to the Siblings quickly. They never found Garret, but they assumed Ice found them until Crepe grabbed Lapis's arm after the other three escaped.

"I'm sensing danger." Lapis paused before looking around. He then gulped.

"Ice. Come on."

~

Ice gulped as he carefully neared the door that the other Lilywillows were locked in, eyeing the Whismur that was guarding it. He didn't want to startle it. He was able to grab the door handle without waking it. Carefully, he opened the door, managing to keep quiet before he peeked inside. Vivian paused before he motioned them to follow silently. He was able to get the 5 members out almost without alerting the Whismur. Almost being it woke up just as they ran away. A high pitched sound filled the air as Ice grabbed his ears. Still he pulled the family away, knowing that the sound hurt them as well. Shouts filled the air as Ice's vision blurred from the loudness.

"STOP THEM!"

"Ice?"

His ears hurt as he rounded a corner, nearly colliding with some grunts. He pulled the group back before an Exploud sent a super sonic attack at them. Of course, they had time to grab their ears. He didn't. He blanked out as an echo filled his head. He knew this was a bad idea. Another sound whispered in the air as he hugged the group close before the sonic waves disappeared and a hand rested on his shoulder, calming him down. His eyes traveled up as Lapis brought him into a hug, covering his ears so that he could relax. Crepe got to the family after he let them go, checked on them before he said something to Lapis. Ice couldn't hear a word, but they really didn't force him as he was picked up. Crepe led the way through the rest of the grunts while Lapis let him rest.

~

Admiral silenced the base upon seeing Ice's condition. She kept a knife at Joel's throat, which was the one who was about to argue with her about silencing a base. No one said a word as Lapis gave her a look and got the ranger to the infirmary, where Admiral disappeared to. Wendy helped Crepe guide the family to the infirmary so that they could get checked. Wendy also blocked the door to give Admiral some space with the ranger. The Travel Operator finally went over with a sigh.

"So?"

"He got the worst of it. We were fine, but then I sensed something was wrong." Lapis nodded at Crepe's words.

"I made the decision to go check on him. We got there in enough time to get him out of an Exploud attack. His ears were damaged before we got there." She gulped before nodding.

"I thank you both for at least getting him out of there in time." She sent a glance at the resting ranger before turning back to the two. "What about the siblings?" Lapis gulped.

"We only fought three of the four. We never saw Garret. Ice was already facing problems, so no one found the chance to look for him." She hummed.

"Or he was hiding because he just leaked information. He might be in danger." She gulped. "Right. Lapis, stay with him. Don't let anyone bother him until his hearing is restored." Lapis nodded before going over to the resting ranger. The other three went out before Star spoke.

"All good?" Admiral sighed before Wendy spoke.

"As good as it gets. But if anyone goes and disturbs that ranger's recovery, this whole base will be put in a graveyard." Panic spread as Admiral hummed softly at the threat. Soft conversations followed before the trio, Base leaders and other two rangers grouped in the middle. Aria paused.

"This was all from Garret's intel?" Wendy nodded.

"Garret told Ice that Gordon had been slowly building up an army of LilyWillows. In comparison to the plan from before, this was being puppeted behind them. Garret was the child that showed that it was possible." Sage frowned before Elita spoke.

"Aren't... LilyWillows best known for their magical intelligence?" Crepe nodded.

"They are the only ones of the 6 factions that are the easiest to control." Star blinked as he continued. "LilyWillows are fragile when being around loud noises. They prefer to be in isolation from society to be away from the noise. Loudness makes it impossible for them to think." He hummed. "Which is why Ice went down as easily as he did. They had several pokemon with loud noises ready to force the family to submit to getting recaptured. And with him being a LilyWillow as well, their plan worked on him too." Admiral was cleaning the knife in her hand, but he was unfazed by it. "Still. If he wasn't at the base, there's a chance they could still attack him." Wendy nodded.

"Right. We have to move quickly."