Broken Sun - The Mandate of Anarchy (PG-13)

[Avenger Angel]

Jax the Lopunny
Centratel, Victakan

The Raichu simply tossed his pistol aside, not exactly pleased I had broken it. But something about this "game" was intriguing. He had shot the stuffing out of Mel, but what for? What exactly did he have to personally gain from assisting the Abyss?

Or was this another intention completely? And who was Necros anyway? Either way, I wasn't going to let that name escape me.

"I prefer the blade anyway," the Raichu told me. "But it's notoriously difficult to use on ones like Melanthios. Like cutting the reflection of the moon on the surface of the water. You can disrupt it, but you can never destroy it for good."

"That's good," I told him with a confident stare. "I never liked guns. Loud, flamboyant weapons of the cowardly, too sheepish to get close to the heat. It takes guts to look your enemy in the eye, and then drive one of these into their throat."

"I don't have anything against you, Seer," he told me, playfully dashing his tail about. "But interfere with my Master's game and I won't hesitate to end you. This is between me and him."

That depended on his motives. Frankly, I didn't feel like being dragged into this game, but him undermining my operation of getting the Abyss out of my face was asking for me to be involved. Mel was a useful creature I figured I would do well to rely on him again. He wasn't slow like the others, or stupid and incompetent. But I couldn't have Raichus with noisy pistols showing up to shoot whoever I needed in the back.

He kicked Mel with his foot, and I saw the Sableye, bleeding in a strange way only a ghost could bleed. There were glowing areas, where bits of him were flaking off.

"Still hanging in there," The Raichu smirked. "You were always cute that way Melanthios. The way you pathetically clung to your life no matter what happened."

But even in pain, Mel just looked at his archrival with a sneer. He realized he was outnumbered, and I wasn't one to fight in honor. If I wanted the Raichu as a bleeding carcass, I would ensure that the first opportunity. But something about this game had my interest seized. Mel's tie to it, and this Raichu showing up out of nowhere to try and stop it.

We decided to let him go. Personally, he was no threat to me, nor did I fear the fat, electric rat. I figured now was a fine time to get out of this cesspool. I had turned around, only to see Syrat, now struck with fear as a Bisharp held him hostage with a blade to his neck.

"Everyone listen up," He ordered, trying to intimidate me. "If you want this vial of blood in your hands, and the Pachirisu to live, you best listen. Let me follow you until the other two brothers are reported to be dead. The option should be quiet clear, you can keep the blood and your friend, or I keep the blood, and your friend, well let's just say he won't be around to know what happens."

Idiot. I didn't mind traveling with Mel, he was more my style. Tariq, I figured he was okay, although a little quirky here and there. But this schmuck, I wasn't going to stand for it. No jackass that has ever known me would even think of trying to leverage something over me.

"Go find your own party, tinhead." I spat at him. "I take orders from no one."

But that was moments before some other strange situation came about. A ring of blood suddenly surrounded Syrat and the Bisharp, moments before the room was plunged into darkness. As long as Syrat was smart, he wouldn't panic. But I wasn't so sure, it wouldn't be the first time he surprised me with idiocy.

"Drop the Wine Bottle and step away from the squirrel," an ominous voice told him, "or you shall see what power a True Seer has."

I wasn't sure what this was about, but suddenly a charge was released at the Bisharp, and Syrat attacked with a thunderbolt attack. In the midst of the assault and the dust flying around, I saw Syrat emerge, and quickly toss the bottle of blood to me. I quickly caught it, and stuffed it in my bag.

"Well now, <children>," Mel spoke, cackling from the humor. "If we're all finished with posturing, I suggest we move before the Abyssal decides to launch everything they have at this place."

It appeared a great portion of the Seers had finally gathered. I wasn't sure who the Mismagius was, but him smacking this pathetic excuse for a Bisharp in the face was friend enough for me.

"That... was freakin' scary!" Syrat told me, clinging onto me for dead life.

"Quit being such a baby and get off me," I told him, shaking him off. "We need to get the hell out of here."

Mel, I could take him along, though he looked like crap. Tariq, his wing seemed okay now, although he had been smart about this and kept quiet. I wasn't sure who the Mismagius was, but a first impression seemed pretty good. This Seer, seemed much more worth my time. But the Bisharp, screw him. He could curl up and die right here, and I wouldn't even stop to care.

I used my senses to search for Undax. The filthy Gengar was not as easy to track in the shadows, but eventually I found him. He had headed north toward Center Lake City, blending in the shadows of the living. Unlike Xac, he was more plucky, trying to incite disarray among the living in that city without being seen.

He went in and out of the walls, slowly corrupting souls, helping with the effort to make Center Lake City one of the Abyss's next targets for corruption and takeover

"We're heading north," I told the others, urging them to follow. "Undax is in Center Lake City, harassing the locals and trying to put vexes on them. And you, Bisharp, stay out of my tail if you know what's good for your dim-witted self. If you want someone to follow your incompetent orders, go dictate to a wall."

As I headed out of the warehouse with Syrat and the others, Mel approached me.

"Eeeuch," He told me, after removing the knife that had been lodged in Xac's eye socket. "I'm going to have to sterilize this. Next time, Jax, load me one of your <pretty kniiives>, kyehehehe..."

"Blood on a knife is a good thing, Mel," I told him, walking out of the warehouse. "It gives it character."

We then headed north, knowing Undax, while one of the three brothers like Xac, was going to be a different story. While Xac was a coward, Undax was a snitch, a rogue among the living, painting Center Lake City as a target for the Abyss. And unlike Xac, his minions of ghosts were actually competent. These wouldn't be easy kills.

A journey across the Victakan Plains. Between Undax and the heavily infested Sartaras, we were literally putting ourselves between a rock and a hard place. Syrat didn't know, but he would have seen this as suicide. Good thing he wasn't a Seer.

He would think I was mad for enjoying this challenge.

 

[Necros]

OOC: Apologies if I went overboard with the Undax bit, I couldn't resist. It is, however, plot related. *puts on a sombrero*

Melanthios Malachi the Sableye
Centratel, Victakan ---> Victakan Plains, Victakan

“Blood on a knife is a good thing, Mel. It gives it character.”

Melanthios whined and pouted, furiously wiping at the stained end of his amethyst shard.

“But I use it as <more> than just a kniiife~! Ah it’s useless! I’ll have to make a new one!”

He was of course, overreacting. Or maybe he was simply overacting. Either way he seemed to be in a relatively good mood, if a bit excitable. His physical form was still degrading a bit, but slower now, and it looked like he was making somewhat of a slow recovery. Certainly his character hadn’t suffered any damage, he was cackling and teasing and commenting on every little last thing as they began to journey out of Centratel. With a shrug, Melanthios popped the shard back into his mouth, his tongue exploring over the stained tip, nibbling on it a little.

“Mmm…y’know, Xac’s blood has actually given it more body! <Who’dve thought?>” he grinned innocently, his repressed cackle coming out through his nose, so it sounded more like a snorting laugh. As charmingly unrefined as ever.

The group was some distance away from Centratel and coming up towards the Victakan Plains when Melanthios suddenly stopped and looked back.

“<Hooooooold it!> Aren’t we forgetting someone? I distinctly remember travelling up with a Pikachu Seer at some point. Daniel? Davros? Oh no wait, that was that guy in the chair and bad skin condition…Diego! That was it! Kyehehehehehe!”

In truth, Melanthios was just a tiny bit worried over the fate of the other. He’d sensed him enter Centratel and in addition to that engage in a battle with a Fallen, but was a tad bit preoccupied owing to the whole he’d just been shot twice by a piece that wasn’t supposed to be there dilemma. He could still sense Diego, which meant the other had survived, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was uninjured. Hopefully the others would decide to investigate, or at least let him catch up if he was unharmed.

***​

Somewhere hidden just outside of Center Lake City

Undax frowned at the Fallen before him. It was one of the Indigo Seers counterparts, just sent from the Abyss. At first, Undax had been glad, as even his subordinates could tell this was a soul that was so corrupt, so utterly polluted with sin, that he could steamroller over the rest of Talandra in a wave of inexorable darkness.

Unfortunately, he didn’t particularly seem to want to. He was childish, moody, sullen, and quite often so depressed it took several tries just to get him to hear anything. When Undax finally managed to get the order through to the Sableye to sneak into Center Lake City and flood it with his corruptive influence, the Fallen soul just shook his head and started gabbing on about answering to his Master and his counterpart’s Master, before suddenly going wide eyed and quiet, as if he’d just said something he wasn’t supposed to.

Despite his immense value as a powerful force for the Abyss (and the fact that he probably could wipe the floor with the Gengar if he ever got over that crippling depression of his) the Sableye was starting to piss Undax off with how uncooperative he was being.

“I wILL aSk yOu aGAiN. WhAt iS thIS MAsTeR yOuR MoRtAl hAlF HaS?”

The Fallen stared at the ground, folding his purple claws in front of his body, ears drooping.

“YoU sERvE tHe AbYSs. No OnE eLsE. UnDeRSTanD?”

Still the Sableye did not respond, merely letting out a soft whine, kicking the ground a bit. Undax was utterly bewildered as to how something full of such corruption and dark powers could also be so like a little kid.

“UgGgGh. LoOk. I aM…” he glanced warily at some of his subordinates, who were faithfully keeping watch, but also no doubt listening in on the conversation too. “…sOrrY FoR YeLliNG,” he grumbled.

To their credit, not a single one of his minions let out the slightest chuckle. These ghosts were well trained.

“CoUlD yOu jUsT pLeAsE eXpLAIn tO mE tHe NaTuRE oF WhAt yOu WeRe TaLkInG ABouT? I wAnT tO uNdErSTanD wHaT wE mIgHT Be uP AgAInSt.”

The Fallen Sableye sighed softly and slowly looked up at the Gengar. His eyes were dull, unpolished, and brimming with tears. Clicking his tongue, Undax wiped at them with the back of his hand, shuddering a bit. He swore, if this little guy didn’t have enough power in him to plunge the whole of Talandra into darkness…

“…cAn’T. RuLe NuMBer ThirTeEn: UnELaVATeD pIeCeS cAnNot PaRtiCipATE iN dIsCuSSioN oVeR tHe GaMe oF tHe MaGi.”

Undax hissed. “WhAT dOeS tHat MeAn?!”

“y-y-YoU’rE jUSt a PiECe…I c-C-cAn’T eXpLAiN t-To YoU…” the Fallen murmured, sounding hurt, clenching his teeth a bit in frustration. The sky darkened a bit, and the wind picked up.

Undax quickly shushed the Sableye. The last thing he needed was for him to start causing a scene. The Fallen’s tantrum might wipe out Center Lake City, but he also would draw every Seer to them like moths to a flame, and as superior as he was to Xac, Undax knew he probably couldn’t take on all of the Indigo Seers and win.

“AlRiGht! SsHhH! It’S OkAy! I gEt iT! I wOn’T aSK!”

The Fallen sniffed and nodded, leaning against the Gengar a little and crying into his side. Oh FOr tHe LoVe Of XaIaKu… thought Undax, but he kept the small ghost next to him, letting him cry all he wanted.

***​

Snickering across the gameboard, Ledumos watched Necros finish placing the piece representing Melanthios’ Fallen next to the piece that represented Undax.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, Nec~. I can read you sooooo easily. Want me to tell you what you’re doing by putting those two together? Huh? Want me? I can, you know. It’s obvious,” he giggled.

Necros glanced at the Breloom, who was now dancing around the table in an exaggerated fashion.

“A test of love, Ledu. If you truly love me, then you’ll be able to counter it, as you say, by reading me so easily.”

“Huuuuuh? Counter it?~ Why ever would I want to do a thing like thaaat~?”

The two looked at each other. And then they laughed.

 

[R.I. Saraibre]

OOC: Sorry for the apparent quickness of travel...since I may not be able to post for two days or more I wanted to get this moving along... ><

Kimoa Seng
Edge of Syn City, Synamax


The boat in question was small, but that was something I admired about it. With the Samurott in the front, pulling with a rope, and the Blastoise in the back, the speed at which we were moving was incredible. I noticed the build, seeing that it was a very flat and smooth for surface traveling, and as Mir had informed me, it turned sideways when submerged in the water to ease the want to float to the top. The engineer who designed this had my respect, and soon I was able to see the thin line of the next land formation, which was a series of small islands before the infamous Syn City. The trip was a long one, but one severely shorter than I had expected. After all of this, I would need to give Sachi and her group a proper thanks and token of my gratitude.

“There it is!” Mir exclaimed, pointing. “That’s Syn city in that distance there!”

I didn’t say anything, knowing Mir would have to say his sad good-byes very soon. I meditated a moment, focusing my thoughts and indirectly made my way to knowing where other Seer’s may have been. Unlike the rest of them, I stayed as unknown to them as possible, as my entire clan gave themselves for my sake. The Abyss may assume I was dead, so I used that to my advantage, concealing my own abilities and my presence. I would not be anything but incredibly difficult to find. Opening my eyes I could see the large mountain coast that overlooked Syn City, causing it to me masked in a dark shadow. I stared at it, honing my mind on the city, knowing that the gem I was after would give off a particular feeling. Being a rate item had it’s ups and downs, one, it being easy to pin point, and two, voiding out fakes. On the other hand, they would be very hard to get at without the need of a great amount of stealth and skill.

“We’re going to pull under the docks and let you to your own devices.” Grun informed me. “Then we’ll be on our way.”

“You’ve both exceeded my needs.” I told them quietly. “I will repay the favor.”

“Do that thing called getting’ rid of those Abbissers…”

“Indeed Seng.” The Samurott nodded, looking back. “We are about to pull in, so I will depart with my friend with a silent farewell.”

“’I’m gonna miss you guys.” Mir repeated. “I’ll come visit when I learn how to swim.”

The other two Water Pokémon nodded, ducking down underneath the wooden platform, and stopping for just a moment as I grabbed onto the underside with my claws. Mir held onto my cloak with his small paws, and watched as they left us. I clambered on the underside of the dock until it was shallow enough for me to walk through. Turning myself around I took my cane in my claws, and poked my head out, looking to see if anyone of suspicious nature was there. To my luck, there wasn’t, and I proceeded on my way into the city, Mir taking a seat in my hood, and hiding under my head leaf.

Normally I would wear my hood, but in a place of many sounds, my leaves were my advantage in crowds, despite the fact I tried to stray from them. Mir ducked under every time another Pokémon passed, some of them giving me odd looks, trying to intimidate me with their armor covered in dents and scratches. I kept my cane at hand, following the feel of the black pearl amidst there being other magical items giving off their own energy. I walked quietly and kept to myself, as I could feel Mir getting jumpy inside my hood, though he did his best not to move. I moved my eyes a bit, feeling the sense of the gem getting stronger within my mind already, giving me hopes that the stories were true, and that I could see into Delath’s mind without him knowing of my presence. That would be a great advantage.

I turned around the corner, coming into the next street that was heavily crowded with vendors, and many Pokémon behind wooden stalls calling out various catchy phrases for passers-by to get their goods. I walked amongst the narrow path, having many Pokémon prod at me about wonderful offers in their store. I could sense the black pearl would be on this street, in fact, I knew it was, and it was close by. I looked around, knowing that the pearl was in one of these stalls, as a matter of which one, was another question. I felt Mir squirm in my hood, poking his head out under my leaf and leaning in close to my ear.

“We’re looking for a what?”

“A black pearl that the Grumpig love.” I whispered below earshot of anyone around us. “I’m hoping to use it to get into the minds of a certain one.”

“Try that Arbok over there…gem stones that rare are often kept in vials of special poison they have to prevent from thieving, and sometimes, they have them in a slowly paralyzing one that if you touch it after buying it, they’ll track you down afterwards, wait for you to fall, then steal it back and whatever you may be carrying.” Mir informed me.

“How dishonourable.” I commented, looking at the Arbok in question.

I walked over quietly, standing in front of the vendor, looking at the goods hanging from the roof of it, off the walls and just before my face. Mir ducked his head down and remained silent and still, and I could tell it was not to get in my way. The coils of the Arbok turned, as did his head eventually, giving me a leering gaze of interest. His one eye was squinted, as if sewn shut by the large scar across his face. The end of his tail moved over the counter towards me, but I remained unfaltering. I knew from looking at him he was some targeted black market merchant who may have had one or more assassin after him, or possibly stole from others, most likely avian as the scar looked as it was from a bird talon. His head leaned forward, giving me a closer inspection. He flickered his tongue, before speaking in a deep, almost hollow tone.

“What are you interested in…?”

I looked around, noticing a small vial under a cloth in the back corner. Behind it was another, and behind that, was a completely concealed bottle of some kind. I could feel the pearl there, I knew that had to be it. The Arbok noticed my gaze, and followed it a bit, before moving his tail around, back towards the bottle, however, he did not take it for me to examine.

“Odd for a Pokémon of your like to be interested in something of a Grumpig…” He hissed quietly, aware I didn’t want to arouse attention as much as he didn’t want fishy eyes looking at him for particular products. “This isn’t cheap…”

“I would assume so…” I responded, thinking something else was going through his head. “What do you want for it…”

He flicked his tongue out once again at me. “Depends on what you’re offering…”

“Something to make your own venom more potent than usual.” I whispered. “I’ve noticed that you seem keen on packaging these yourself…and as your scars have shown me, you also may have a lot of enemies…they steal your items, they die because of the preserving liquid…”

His eyes flashed a golden colour, as he flinched a bit. After a moment he regained composure as I showed him a serpent mud root. He looked at it, eying it, knowing where it had come from. It was a perfect specimen; I had harvested it myself from two weeks ago. He knew what it was, and seemed to want to lick his fangs in contentment. I kept staring at him, having a firm grip on the entire root as he drew his fixated glare away from it. He slowly brought the vial over, and I grabbed onto it with my other claw. He stood there, holding onto the items for a while, making sure that the either wasn’t going to take off with an uneven exchange. Slowly each of us relaxed, and I had the vial and the Arbok had the root.

“Thank you very much…”

I only turned and left, Mir watching the Arbok as I walked away. I proceeded towards the edge of the city again. As we came to the shore, I opened the bottle carefully, setting it on it’s side and letting the liquid inside pour into the sand. Mir watched the liquid an eerie translucent green colour seeping into the sand and staining the ground. Soon the bottle emptied, with nothing but the pearl inside. I let it fall into the lapping waves, being careful not to let it stray into the ocean. Mir kept a close eye on it, wondering no doubt what I was going to do. As I retrieved it, I slowly began to focus on the darkest minds, then slowly focusing on Delath.

It was extremely difficult, but so far the pearl seemed to be holding true to it’s tales. I could see something, in a fish eye perspective. There was a dark temple, one between the crags and sharp stones of a mountain top. I could see that Delath was moving down the stairs, when one of the Abyss approached him.

“SIIIiiiiiiRRR…ooNNNee OFFFfff yOOOuuuRR OOWnnn hASSSsss pEriSSSSSssshhhHHHHeeDD…”

It was a Seviper with a terrible accent. I heard a bit of a hearty, yet demonic laugh coming from somewhere, of which I could only assume was from Delath himself.

“oH DeAr…NeVeR WaS GOOd AT ThE lIVing thing.” He mused. “Go.”

The Seviper left in a rush, as Delath continued down the stairs, revealing the tower was indeed massive, and filled with an abundance of magical items, most likely traps crafted by himself. Delath never seemed like one for direct confrontation, and this was only proving my assumption.

“The forest will be rest…the forest will be rest.”

I could hear him chanting something as he looked from one smoking vase to the next, doing some sort of dance around them. Black magic seemed to be his game, and where he was, it was secluded, on a mountain with a nearby forest. Thinking of hoe fast I was able to contact this mind through the pearl, he must have been somewhere on this continent.

“Poison toxic burning waves, muddy swamp again again.”

I couldn’t focus anymore without the chanting getting stuck in my own head. I shook off the odd feeling, noticing the pearl a bit faded between my claws. It may have worked before, but I doubted I could get another use out of it without making my presence known. As far as I was aware, Delath was somewhere on this continent, somewhere beyond the forest and had some plan for poisoning the forest and possibly the surrounding water area. This meant, if he was able to do this, there was only so much time before he held himself up in a mountain tower, surrounded in a toxic moat with the only way of entering being the sky. That would leave us incredibly open and exposed.

“Hey, hey Seng!” Mir was pulling on my cloak. “You alright?”

“I’m…alright.” I said, shaking off my headache. “You have been helpful Mir, but where I must go next, death often follows in a shadow.”

“I’ma still coming with you. I may still be able to help!”

I wasn’t one to argue that point, as he had been rather useful. I however, wasn’t one to endanger a life, therefore wasn’t inclined to bring Mir along with me. However, if Mir was spirited enough, as he knew when he needed to stay out of sight, then I couldn’t really protest.

“Very well…we need to get moving.” I told him. “We need to head towards Vorgoia…”

 

[Flash Sport]

Power Station
Dysan, Kanat

A navy blue bird glided through the air above Dysan, not bothering to scour the fallen city below like his fellow Scourge. The excitement that encased the city at the news of an Indigo Seer having entered their midst had morphed into a feverish search when that idiot swanna's body was found with his head obliterated. Revenge for a fallen comrade was nonexistent amongst their kind. He was just one less Pokémon to be concerned with in the race to be the first to catch the Seer.

The white-chested crow alighted on a protrusive, twisted beam connected to what use to be Dysan's iconic power station; a cylindrical structure with a bourdon gauge-style timepiece at its peak and large coaxial cables extending from the main structure to smaller towers around it. A massive hole had been blasted into the structure; an announcement to their arrival. He hopped further into the dark forest of twisted metal and wood of the hollowed top floor. Upon hearing shuffling and seeing the outline of a shadowed form, the honchkrow progressed no further. Out of the darkness came a voice. "Appears my subordinates have become rather excited."

"'Excited' is a gross understatement," the honchkrow said. "One of the grunts informed me Second Commander Avarian identified a Seer spy in the skies of Dysan."

"Really?" came the mild response, sounding neither interested nor surprised. "He took care of the intruder, I'm sure?" The question sounded more like a statement needing to be confirmed, one that challenged him to deny it. Unfortunately, he had to contradict her words.

"Second Commander Avarian has been defeated," he informed her, pausing briefly to allow the news to sink in. "And the Seer is still at large."

A chuckle. "It was only a matter of time. I would love to see his face. Perhaps I should make a trip to the Abyss just to tease him."

The honchkrow made an indistinct clap with his beak, not really caring for his leader's jovial mood. If these Seers possessed powers that unsettled their superiors, then they were not to be taken lightly. "Word has it that Xac has been slain as well." He hoped that would bring her to attention as well.

"Really?" She sounded a little more intrigued, but not by much. "Now that is something."

"What are your orders concerning the Seer?"

The hidden silhouette lifted her head. "First Commander Voss you are an intelligent fighter. Do you really need me to outline a course of action for you?"

He bowed his head. "Apologies madam."

"I'm more interested in our little toys from earlier that keep popping up. Have they been found?"

"Not yet. We're still searching."

"We have numerous eyes roaming the city and they still haven't been found? Care to provide a theory?"

Voss' agitation was building, but he kept it suppressed. "They're in hiding…possibly underground."

"And you have you deployed diggers?" she matter-of-factly questioned.

"Yes, but some underground areas are fortified beyond their strength to penetrate. Those special areas are taking a bit longer to-."

"Call them back.”

Voss grew surprised. “Call them back?”

“Round up those who are capable of utilizing magnitude, earthquake, and fissure. Station them around the city; their location I leave for you to decide. Report back to me afterwards.”

“Yes madam.” With another bow, Voss spread his wings and took to the skies to issue the order of his superior.

-

Liechi the Whimsicott
Dysan, Kanat
Underground bunker

Montezu gave several rhythmic taps with his foot against the hardwood. Liechi scanned the dim abode, which they’d entered. Like most of the buildings, it had taken its fair share of damage. All sorts of knick-knacks were strewn across the floor, fragmented and broken. Gears, sprockets, and other small metallic pieces glinted in the little light available. Furniture had been overturned; some bore scorch marks while others were violently broken into pieces. A second set of rapping answered Montezu’s from beneath the floor. The sudowoodo stepped away, allowing a square piece of floor to crack cautiously. Liechi tried to see who held it open and expected a form to greet them when Montezu opened the trap door to its fullest extent, but saw nothing except a descending stairwell. She stepped closer at Montezu’s beckoning.

“The space is a little small, but it won’t be a problem for you. Follow the stairs to their end and wait for me. I’ll be right behind you once I lock the door.” Liechi nodded and entered the hidden passage, which quickly fell dark once Montezu shut the door. She placed a paw on the wall and continued onward until she felt the stairs give way to leveled ground. It must’ve been a small chamber she entered for she felt and heard Montezu struggling to fit himself. “I hate this contraption. Doc could’ve made it a little wider.”

“Doc?” Liechi questioned, giving a surprised gasp when the floor jerked free. They started descending again and by the sound of a creaking pulley and tightening rope, they were on a lift.

“Doctor Dyne.” He sounded like he was smiling.

“That name sounds familiar,” Liechi muttered.

“As well it should. I’ll be mean and leave you in suspense. You'll recognize him immediately once you meet him.” Liechi wanted to protest, but decided not to spend what little energy she had remaining in trying to pry insignificant information out him. Minutes passed and Liechi was starting to get a little claustrophobic. Either the lift was just that slow or the hollow column was extremely long. She didn’t know how long they were descending, but was glad when the contraption finally landed on a solid surface. The first thing Liechi noticed was the heat. Although the air was endurable, it was uncomfortably warm. To her left was a curving passageway lit by light bulbs attached to little, hissing holders that produced the needed energy.

Liechi slid beneath the protective railing of the lift and wandered over to one of the light sources. She examined it with child-like curiosity, intrigued by the interlocking and –play of the small gears at its base. Attached to the mechanism’s side was a pair of glass vials half filled with water. The little machine gave off a quiet whistle as it let off its pressure. “That’s really interesting.”

“Serious? I find it creepy myself,” the sudowoodo said, scrutinizing the gizmo. “I think candles would’ve done just fine.”

“Might as well considering the temperature in here.”

“It’s just this hallway. The bunker itself is way cooler. Come on.” He lifted her onto his head and she lightly clung to the horn before continuing. The passage was a winding one, which dipped at some points. It even held its own built in defense in the form of several portcullises. Liechi thought that was rather odd. Montezu jokingly told her not to ask as he felt the wall for the hidden switch. He found at the wall’s base and pushed it. Liechi heard sounds of muffled gears coming from the other side and the door slowly lifted away into the ceiling. They went through three more like it, the switch in a different place each time before they finally came to a wooden door. A simple turn of the knob was all that was required and in they went. The cool air rushed against her face; a welcomed relief.

“I’m back!” Montezu announced, latching the door behind him before walking down a short hall.

“Welcome back!” came the airy greeting. “You returned sooner than you usually do. Must be getting pretty dangerous out there.” The speaker turned out to be a Pokémon that resembled a pink and cream stuffed animal with floppy ears in the shape of wings. She had her back turned to them, busy cleaning off a table.

He laughed a little. “You could say that. I brought a guest who needs a little healin’.”

“Someone else survived?” the audino said in surprise, whipping around to face them. Sparkling blue eyes landed on the battered creature attached to the rock Pokémon’s head. She hurriedly discarded the towel and rushed over. “Oh no! Are you okay? You look terrible!”

“I’ve been better,” Liechi answered as Montezu gently placed her on the ground. She extended a paw and gave a smile. “My name’s Liechi.”

The audino accepted the gesture with an expression of uncertain recognition. “Salut is my name. It’s nice to meet you!” She gave Montezu a questioning look. “Would this be the same Liechi that Nelt speaks of?”

“The very one!” he exclaimed, absentmindedly clapping Liechi on the back. She shrieked in pain and doubled over. “Oh shi-! Sorry-I’m so sorry Liechi! I wasn’t thinkin’!”

She took deep breaths, trying to right herself. “It’s alright. I’m fine. Can Isee Nelt.”

“No you’re not fine!” Salut declared, rushing to Liechi’s side and helping her along. “You can see him later. We really need to do something about those wounds first. I don’t think they’re life threatening, but still…” Liechi merely nodded and allowed the audino to steer her wherever. Montezu insisted on tagging along, but Salut shooed him off. From the antechamber they moved and into a much more spacious corridor, one that could be considered a large room. The color palette was subdued with pale and dark hues. It was only given life by the many animated mechanisms attached to and lining the walls. The further they went, the larger and stranger the machines became.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a bunker that was built a long time ago when Talandra was stooped in one of its wars,” Salut explained. “There are more scattered throughout the city, but they're still small. This one use to be a lot smaller, but my dad expanded it once he discovered that it lied beneath his house. This use to be his personal work area.”

“Use to be?”

“When the Abyss attacked Pokémon were killed mercilessly and in the hundreds.” Liechi watched as the blue eyes darkened with sadness and became distance, recalling some terrible scene from the past. “I, my dad, and a few other Pokémon hid in here until the worst of it blew over. Afterwards, scouts were sent out to see if the Scourge had left and if there were any survivors. As you know, the Scourge stayed in the city. The few scouts we had were lost while other managed to make it back with an injured Pokémon or with injuries themselves. Since then, this has become a kind of shelter and base.”

“A base for what?” Liechi was a bit curious about that. “No offense, but the bunker sounds more like a makeshift hospital rather than some point of meeting for a resistance group.”

“Actually, at some point, it did gain that secondary function. I think even more so after your brother arrived.”

“That sounds like Nelt.”

“Dysan’s citizens are a proud group and to have their city, their possessions, their family, and their lives suddenly ripped from them is a huge blow.” They reached a door that bore a medical symbol. Salut opened it and motioned Liechi in. “They wanted retribution so they started making plans to rid the city of the demons. The resistance’s birth was quick and unplanned. It was just something that happened. Because it was being led by emotionally hurt Pokémon that desired immediate payback, plans often went awry and ended up doing more harm than good. More lives were lost. To make a long story short, your brother arrived and a lot changed. Everyone’s thinking much more clearly now and we just might have a shot at taking back the city.”

Liechi’s chest swelled with pride as she hopped onto a cot. “That’s my big brother for you. Leader extraordinaire!” Salut laughed as she busied herself with gathering the needed supplies in order to treat the whimsicott. “Is there anything in particular you call yourselves?”

Salut shrugged, closing a cabinet after grabbing the first aid kit. “Not really, but we like to consider ourselves to be peacekeepers.” She placed it on a table beside the bed. Flipping the latches loose, she opened the box and deftly removed the needed items. “We heard tales of the prophecy…about the Seers and all, but still we…we figured even destiny’s favored can use a hand. After all, this isn’t a fight for the few, it’s a fight for the many.” Her mouth stretched into the soft and comforting smile achievable only by nurses and mothers. Liechi returned the smile and nodded in agreement. “We hope there are others out there who feel the same.”

“I'm sure there are. You know…what you told me…it kinda reminds me of something my ancestors use to say.”

“What’s that?”

“‘If you let someone take it,’ it being anything precious to you, ‘then you never wanted it and didn’t deserve it. However, second-chances is a way of nature, a part of life. Having a precious thing taken is the result of laxity, but to not fight to get it back is an atrocity. Fighting to get back that precious thing is a true test of its value because anything of great value will always require hefty sacrifices to retrieve and honest sacrifice never is nor ever will be an easy thing to execute.’”

Salut giggled. “I guess that means we’d meet your ancestors’ approval.”

Liechi gave a small chuckle. “I guess so.”

"Your wounds are not as bad as I thought so I should be able to heal most of them with no problem." Liechi watched as Salut faced her palms outward towards her and closed her eyes in concentration. Sparkling energy developed in front of her hands before pulsing outward towards Liechi. While Salut started treating her wounds, Liechi stared somberly stared at the far wall, recalling that fateful day when she first encountered the Scourge. The squad sent with her didn’t think twice about jumping in to protect her from the Scourge that had traveled close to their land and she repaid their sacrifice how? By fleeing. By leaving them to be slaughtered. She didn’t deserve them…she didn’t deserve her friends…she didn’t deserve her family. She deserved nothing.

Salut noticed the serious expression. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…I’m fine. I’m fine.”

 

[Agent Tectonic]

OoC: Shaking the game board just a little bit more. Neo, I interpreted the Cohorts to use their powers for something like this. If I am wrong, let me know, and I'll change it accordingly but still have the same outcome. Oh, and no, I am not killing my character.

Zix Dragontamer
Peacekeepers HQ: Minacen

My walk to and through Minacen was excruciatingly painful. The Dugtrio must have made it to Cyan Bay and back to track me since I had to fend off another squad. The details are pointless-- just another five bodies sinking and dissolving back to the Abyss; however, the results are easily shown. A rather nasty black eye, a broken left shoulder, and my side wound reopened and carved deeper: damn Rhyperior and Gatrodon in particular. I can confidently say that was the scariest fight I've ever been in. Armor thicker than any I've seen, and skin that regenerated quicker than I could blink. In the end, I had to resort to nearly killing myself through my fire for both of them. I patched everything up as best I could, but My bandage over my side was already dripping blood again, and my left arm hung limp.

As much as I wanted to visit a hospital, I made my way to the headquarters for the Peacekeepers. My entrance to the city went pleasant enough, yet the entire city seemed too. . . out of place. I couldn't quite put it, but it seemed like Minacen was haunted, like the entire city. So I made my way to the HQ to find out why the entire city was on edge. My recap over, I now stand in the waiting room, passing time to see the leader of the group. I didn't wait long as a Arcanine strode through grand bronze doors and signaled me in.

Inside was a war room and standing over a map were two Pokémon: a Serperior and the Arcanine that escorted me in. The latter was the first to speak, “General, this is Zix Dragontamer. He's braved the wilds outside our walls and has come to offer his skills and leadership to our corps.”

As most Serperiors that I have met in my travels, they always had a sense of royalty endowed to them. So it came as no surprise that the tone of voice that both the Arcanine and I got was a bit matter-of-fact with traces amounts of impatience and arrogance, “Yes, Lieutenant Blitz, I know. Mr. Zix is well known across most of Talandra. If not, then some are not as involved in news as they should be.” This general then finally turned toward me after finishing studying his map. “And quite frankly, I don't care who you are. I do not pick favorites nor does your history concern me. You are asking to enlist in my army. You will be treated as every other recruit and will take the position as one. Now go, Blitz will show you to your quarters.”

The canine hesitated slightly before turning to me and told me to follow him. I did no such thing.

“General, you may hold the highest rank here; however, you do not get the right to order me around. If you are so invested in recent news as you portray yourself to be, then you will know that I am not some common 'mon who has seen his fair share of battles and hardships. I do not come to you as a humble blacksmith or a wanted criminal but as the prestigious Indigo Seer. If your knowledge is as vast as you say, you will know not to consider me some underling to order around.”

The rage the snake possessed radiated off him which caused Blitz to visibly quiver at his post at the door. It mattered not to me; I spoke truly. I would not allow this pompous leaf lover to treat me as he does others.

“You dare speak to me as such. I ought to run you out of this city or throw you into the jail for such talk.”

“And you'd dare speak insult a Seer. You know that I could crisp you to ashes if I so choose to whether you were a grass type or not. However, I have put those days long behind me. I did not risk traveling off road to arrive at Minacen on the brink of death to be greeted by a pompous, foolish general. I did not make an outrageous demand, and my offer still holds. The world is on the brink of disaster, and you'd choose to spend your possibly few months left to live arguing with a Seer of comes to you offering training and services. We all know this isn't the Veteran Alliance where we can offer infinite wisdom in the ways of war. Now, General, with that in mind, will you accept me as a ranking official to assist you in training your troops for battle?”

I easily hit the nerve I needed. I didn't like forcing intimidation,yet I knew he would respond better to being challenged. His ire was growing ever still even after I finished my speech, but he must have saw the truth behind my words. In an instant he was back to regal self, though even Blitz behind me knew it was a facade, and spoke, “So be it Zix,” he uttered my name with such distaste. “We shall see how you hold yourself. If I am not pleased with how you go about your business, then I will remove you of your rank of captain and switch you to prisoner. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir. Now, regarding business, do you keep accurate records of every attack and defense your army as conducted?”

“Of course, though I would like to know why you are asking this?”

“Even though as a Seer, I can detect the movements of all Pokémon whether they be living or abyssal, it alerts the mind that someone is probing. I could theoretically detect where Abyss troops are stationed around the city, but I would rather know how they move and strike through battle records.”

“We do not keep such specifics in those records; however, I see the wisdom behind it. You are free to review them in our library which Blitz will show you. I will have someone bring our repor.--”

“No, I will be taken to them. I wouldn't want to have the thought of someone withholding information from me cross my mind now would I?”

“So be it. Blitz?”

“Yes, General.”

“Take our captain here where he needs to go. I'm also assigning you to be his guard. If he is a Seer, which there is no doubt that he wouldn't be, the Abyss will be actively looking for him to capture or assassinate him. See to it this doesn't happen if the situation arises. And to you Zix, you better not have brought more trouble to this city. The Peacekeepers have run this city since hell broke open; I do not want to see it burn down because of your presence.”

“Of course.” I wouldn't allow myself to call him by his title. He didn't earn my respect to do so. I turned about and motioned for Blitz to escort me to the battle records. Once away form the war room I turned my head to regard the Arcanine. His physique was rather strong; however, it was noticeably clear that he was not battle hardened. I assumed he was rather new to the corps because of this.

“As he always been that way?”

“Rude, no. Arrogant, yes. He recently failed in a mission to retake Packtha, but only he and a small squadron came back alive. He didn't show any scars of battle, but many think some piece of him died during that battle as he hasn't been the same since.”

My mind was already racing. Among my Seer abilities, I knew of the various types of creatures out there; though I can say that I knew many of them firsthand. A theory was forming in my head about everything that had taken place recently here in Minacen. I prayed that it wouldn't be true, but the signs could not be ignored. The city too on edge and the general's change since this apparently recent battle. Only the reports would give me the answers; that is, if someone wasn't already hiding what I now was after.”

“And you. How long have you been in the Peacekeepers?”

“Not long. I only serve as his house pet as I am one of few 'mon who can “tolerate” him I'm worried about you though. You look like crap and should seek medical help.”

“I'm fine. I'd rather catch myself up on how you guys have been running your missions first. If I start feeling out of sorts though; I'll contact a doctor, ok?”

“So be it. Ah here we are. Every mission, operation, and everything in between.”

We walked through a set of oak doors and was in a library like room. I hadn't been paying attention much to the surroundings as Blitz escorted me; a note that I quickly reprimanded inwardly to never do that again. I made my way to a desk, placed my travel bag next to it and made my way to the shelves of reports of every recorded battle, before and during this war. I quickly went through the dates listed until I came across the most recent dates. I skimmed each one until I found the particular battle I wanted. Lieutenant General Gradius's and General Frasier's Siege of Packtha.

I skimmed through it until I found an interesting set of events. The siege was going as planned and was on the verge of success until a heave of earth rose inside the city where discolored beings rose out of it and attacked the remaining army. The report continued to state that this renewed the vigor of the Scourge within the city and, combined with their new allies, overtook the PK. Further along the report described Gradius in a confrontation with one of these shadow Pokémon where he easily killed the creature, but still got slashed across the top of his head but did not die or bleed out. In fact he didn't bleed at all and the scribe, whoever it was, assumed that he thought he saw the attack hit but instead miss. It even stated that Gradius said the same thing. The report ended there, but it did mention that it was unfortunate that Frasier had died and that Gradius would assume command of the PK.

That bit only confirmed how the Serperior became the leader as the report gave me the answer I needed; the answered I feared to be true.

“Blitz! You need to look at this. Read this section right here.”

I waited patiently for the canine to finish. He gave me a quizzical look, “Alright. What's here?”

“What do you know about the various creatures within the Abyss?”

“Only what is seen most often. Just evil Pokémon rising from hell under leadership to enslave us in their realm. Only way to do that is either killing us first or delighting in torture before sealing our fates. There is also rumors of prophets who corrupted a piece of paper that dictated fate which is how this war started, but those are unconfirmed rumors.”

“Those rumors are actually true. I can tell you that much as the visions I received when this war broke out explained just that. However, that is not the entire story. This war is exactly as you described, but many question why Utopia hasn't fought back. The reason is that they can't. . . yet. Somehow, they have erected a barrier that only allows their army to enter how world. It is somewhere within Sartaras inside their cathedral. Us Seers are meant to destroy the building all the while killing the three dark prophets and use their blood to destroy the Parchment of Fate to stop the prophesy from happening. As you can see, there is a lot that needs to be done and more that not even us Seers know yet, but we can't do it alone.

Now, regarding the exact reason why I wanted you to read this is this. There are other creatures the Abyss have in their army. As you read, these discolored, or shadow, Pokémon are one of these creatures. I have fought one before and thus no of their power. They do not cause outward harm but are capable of corrupting souls of anyone they touch. From this document, it seems that one such creature has done so to Gradius. I fear that while he is in power over this army, he will start to dismantle it before anyone else notices the truth. So now, I ask you this. Has there been any recent missions or tasks he's assigned that have been out of character. A suicide mission or a seemingly mundane request that he deems important?”

Blitz's face turned a rather nasty shade of white as I poured out my thoughts to him. At first, I thought that it was too much for him to handle; however, I saw in his eyes a connection to one of my questions. I waited until he found his voice again, and I almost wished I hadn't even came to Minacen.

“He recently employed a group of Excadrills in begin working on an escape route out of Minacen should the city fall. Many of the officers questioned the motives because Frasier had already work out a secret passage on the eastern wall should the need arise to escape, but he refused to listen to such words. You don't think he would. . .”

“Unfortunately, I do think he would. You know, you were right. Gradius didn't really return from Packtha. Where is this passage and where does it run?'

The western part of the city. We were told that it would start there and work its way north underneath the sea and head towards the mountains. The team just came back yesterday and said there were finished.”

Didn't anyone lay eyes on this team?”

“No, Gradius only said that he hire them late the previous evening.”

It was my turn to turn a shade of white. That explained my meeting with Gradius; why he was suddenly willing to comply with my demand. He figured I couldn't turn the events against him in time. “Damn it. How is it that nobody questioned him. Don't answer that. I know why. That leaves us with a small window of action. How long ago did the team say there were done?”

“Just earlier this morning.”

“Damn it again. Alright, if that is the case, we have maybe half a day to act. Maybe less. You start going around the rest of the corps and tell them to start the evacuation. We won't be able to handle the assault the Abyss is going to send against us especially since they will be within the walls of the city. I'll handle Gradius.”
“Wait. Where are we going to go, and how will you overtake him in your current condition?”

“We will have to move quickly to Scarwell. I've heard that they have been able to repel against the Abyss rather well and are taking in refugees. We need to brave the threat of rounding around Packtha and Yantacan to get there; however, that is our only option.”

I completely dodged the other question knowing full well that Blitz had a point. Gradius may have become corrupted into serving the Abyss, but it rested on my shoulders only to stop him. Bltiz waited for me to answer his second question, but I only told him to get moving while we still had time. Reluctantly, he ran out of the doors as rapidly as he could to sound the alarm to evacuate. I on the other retraced my steps back to Gradius's war room. Clairvoyance was my best way to find him as I hadn't payed attention to how I got to the record room. I found him still in his war room, leaning over his map and smiling to no one.

“Haha, little Seer. I can feel your presence. Come. Let's see if you can back your threat in the state you are in. I will relish the thought that it was I who killed the first Seer before this war ends. You shouldn't fight the inevitable. You can't win, so join them and at least hope for a merciful ending.”

I ended the connection as worked my way to him. His foolishness would cost him. Whatever ideas that Cohort did to him was irreversible. I also was cautious though even amongst my ideas of hid idiocy. He may have been corrupted, but that didn't mean he was unsound to fight. I couldn't rely on my flames to best him as I had exhausted myself out in the mountains. I also knew he would use my left arm against me, and it was now that I regretted not seeing a doctor. Too late. I reached the bronze doors in sound time, opened them, and found Gradius waiting in a full suit of snake armor. Juuuust great. I pulled out my double sword, slipped it over my right paw, and got into the best fighting stance I could. Odds were, I could delay him long enough to get the city out of reach of his mad scheme before he could alert the Abyss. I wasn't going to count myself as one of the 'mon leaving this city today.

 

[Tasslehoff]

Kraxel the Bisharp
Centratel, Victakan

Surprised what the Mismagius had done and the shock the squirrel did to me, I was completely motionless for a few seconds. After the scene had ended as quickly as it had begun, Mel walked past me up to Xac and grabbed his very beautiful dagger, wiping it clean; he said to me to enjoy how the game goes and to just relax, it’s easier that way. He walked past me again and out of the warehouse and then Jax walked up to me threatening me not to follow him. A though occurred to me, for now, he was probably right and I should leave him alone, let him cool off from this encounter.

“What were you thinking Kraxel? You don’t just take a companion from a seer as a hostage, not the smartest idea,” the voice started to pour in, after everyone had left the room.

“Haha, it won’t be the first time encounters like this had happened. We both know I’m not the best with friends, and besides, they will forget and forgive in time, they know in the end, the assistance of every seer is going to be valuable, for now though, probably best I leave them alone. That Mel guy is quite unnerving, never seen someone enjoy chaotic games such as he.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jax is our only real danger, everyone else seemed to have forgiven and forget except him and Syrat. In the terms of Mel though, enjoy the game while it goes and keep it interesting, don’t be stupid though,” the voice berated me.

“You’re right,” I came to in hatred and disbelief. “Where is Delath? He will be my next priority for now.”

“He has retreated to Synamax, which is a long voyage from here Kraxel.”

“We will make haste to Scarwell, I hear it has a great port AND I am not as infamous on Azmarax as I am here.”

“Kraxel, it has also come to my attention another seer is searching for him, I do not know where he is but he is somewhere on Synamax and he is also looking for Delath. My advice, don’t threaten him in anyway, he could be a valuable asset!”

“Haha, he is lucky he is a seer because you are right, he is only an asset,” I snickered.

The quickest way I suppose from here to Azmarax is to swim to the desert across this channel, a long swim, and restless, but it is the quickest and safest way there. I got to the border of where the land and the ocean met, and started my hard and long swim.

 

[Slipomatic]

OOC: Just tell me if I did something wrong. But I thought I would throw a twist with Emerald Coast.

Horizon the Victini
Sylath, harbor, Synamax

Horizon was out of breath by the time he reached the harbor. He vowed to start exercising a bit more after this if all it took was a short run to make him gasp for breath. He looked around franticly to locate the lapras group that was going to take refugees from Emerald Coast and quickly made his way over to them. One of the lapras noticed him approaching and greeted him. He panted out a greeting before asking to see the leader of the group. The lapras nodded before getting the attention of an older lapras and he swam closer to where Horizon was standing. The lapras looked down at him before asking in a deep voice, “You needed to speak with me young one?”

Horizon grimaced at being called a young one, but overlooked it and said hurriedly, “I needed to tell you that you will need to avoid going near Kivian City at any cost. I have a feeling that my fallen is in Kivian City and he could very well jeopardize your group. I recommend going between Kivian City and Yantacan to avoid facing off against any Abyss.”

Lapras grumbled slightly and said, “By doing what you’re suggesting we would add an extra five hours into our journey, both to and back from the Emerald Coast. It’s just unreasonable.”

Horizon shook his head and tried to counter it by saying, “Under normal circumstances it would be unreasonable. But my fallen is nothing to scoff at, even though you would have type advantage against him. He was the reason why the messenger from Emerald Coast barely made it here alive.”

Lapras fell silent for a moment before sighing and saying, “Very well, we will take your suggested route, but it will limit the amount of refugees we can carry since we have to carry a bit more food supply to compensate for the longer travel distance.”

Horizon nodded and added, “I have one more request though. Could you deliver a message to the leaders of Emerald Coast and tell them to make preparations to possibly evacuate everyone in the city. I have a very horrible feeling that Emerald Coast may be no more.”

Lapras narrowed his eyes at him and asked, “And by what means do you know that Emerald Coast will fall?”

Horizon stuttered a bit at the accusation before quietly saying, “Because I am an Indigo Seer, although I’m ashamed to even call myself a Seer as I’m way too weak to be of much help.”

Lapras narrowed his eyes even more and said, “If you are what you claim to be, you need to prove that you are what you are. I’ve heard from rumors over the seas that all Seers have the ability to spy in on locations if they focus hard enough.”

Horizon’s face fell at the mention of this and said quietly, “I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that with me. It works in a rather different way. It takes in the form of my paintings as it will come often to me while I’m sleeping and when I usually wake up, I feel drained and there is a completed painting of what I dreamt of. Very rarely will I see things while I’m awake.”

Lapras was now frowning and was about to tell him that he wouldn’t take the message to him when he saw that Horizon had frozen up and had a glassy look on his face.

_________________________

Horizon was looking down at Emerald Coast. It looked like everything was calm but there was a tension in the air as the citizens looked out of the town with worry. Then a loud explosion near the left of Horizon caused many pokemon to panic as the city was bombarded with attacks. The vision shifted to the lapras group being very worn out from fighting whatever it was that had attacked them over the seas. The leader of the group was nowhere to be seen and most of the lapras were mourning the loss of their companions.
_____________________________

As abruptly the vision came, it left, leaving him gasping for air and looking around his surroundings franticly. When he realized he was back at the harbor, he sighed and looked back at Lapras who seemed to be waiting for an answer from him. He sighed and said, “I retract my previous statement about going between Kivian City and Yantacan. I saw it in a vision of your group arriving at the city with it being under attacked and several lapras injured or even dead. You must go quickly. I fear that you don’t have much time to warn Emerald Coast about the imminent attack from Bayoutown. Hurry!”

Lapras nodded gravely before calling out to his group and hurriedly explaining what they had to do. Horizon gently clutched his head as it throbbed a bit painfully from the vision he had received. He really needed to do some training. If he couldn’t control his visions, what was to stop an enemy from kidnapping him and using him against everyone. He sighed and slowly walked back towards his home. There was a very good reason why he couldn’t really train. There wasn’t really a training facility for pokemon to train at. This town loved trading more than fighting so it was very rare to have pokemon living in the city that wanted to fight. He didn’t know who the leader of the makeshift defense patrollers was, but he needed to talk to him or her about getting some training.

 

[Avenger Angel]

OOC: Your post is fine, Septic, no worries. Nice job.

Jax the Lopunny
Centratel, Victakan

I could sense Mel was delving into something. Something about a Pikachu... named Diego. When I delved more into the situation myself, something hit me. A rather interesting realization.

He was fighting his Fallen...

And I could imagine how grim that could be for the victim. On the brink of total corruption, fighting the one thing that resembled everything about how vile and truly repulsive you were. All the hidden lies, crimes, sins, and murderous thoughts... all harbored into one being. Sense had told me it was suicide to fight your own Fallen. Fighting someone else's Fallen was easier, mainly because the sins they resembled didn't have any personal connection. But in this case, "easier" only meant slightly shy of impossible. They were still powerful and lethal. Sense also told me Delath was in Synamax, while Undax was in Center Lake. The Parchment of Fates however... they were still a mystery that would need more time delving into.

A massive thunderclap had me suddenly look up in curious interest to see Diego's Fallen suddenly flee, and I could sense by his direction that he was off to alert Undax about Xac's death. It all came down to whether they would react with fight or flight.

"I don't know how fast that bastard is, but I need half of you to hunt down Delath while the rest of us find Undax and put his head on a stick," I told the others, figuring I might as well command this little outfit to get it moving sooner. "The sooner they fight out Xac is death, the worse this is going to get."

The Fallen would be able to alert one of them, but not both. I figured we would need more members to fight Undax, since he was going to fortify his position once Diego's Fallen alerted him. This time, stealth wasn't going to work. We were definitely heading into a fight with not only one of the three brothers, but with a Fallen as well, along with whoever else was around them.

"Mel, Diego, Syrat, and I will be heading off to get to Center Lake to get to Undax," I told the rest of the crew. "The rest of you find Delath and tear his head off. I don't care how you do it, just kill him, get his blood, and we'll meet back here. If we pull this off, then we'll see what we can do about getting the Parchment."

I then figured I would start the moment to head north. I didn't like Kraxel, and I figured he'd only slow me down with his ranting and whatnot. Kawahira and Tariq might be able to tolerate that more than I ever could. And if he didn't still get it, they were probably the most likely to just stick a knife in his back and let the whole thing go. The guy was more trouble than he was worth.

"Let's go," I told the other three, figuring the four of us might actually get along. "That Fallen of Diego's will reach Undax before we do, but I'm hoping we'll at least be able to stop him before he warns Delath and the others have to deal with it. With that said, we don't have a shred of time to waste. We move now."

"Gawd, you're hellbent, Jax," Syrat muttered, not in the mood for walking. "But that's nothing new for you."

In truth, hunting down the remaining two brothers was the swiftest way to approach this. The Abyss was spreading quickly in the meantime, and we didn't have a whole lot of time to linger around. Center Lake City was going to be a tough undertaking for the Abyss. We couldn't let Undax take over the city, and then try and find a way to take him out in the middle of an Abyss-infested metropolis.

I then headed toward into the Victakan Plains, taking the others with me. It would still be quite a trip, but it could have been worse...

 

[Necros]

Melanthios Malachi the Sableye
Centratel, Victakan ---> Victakan Plains, Victakan

Melanthios just nodded in agreement to Jax’s plan, smirking a bit. After all, it was handy to have a ghost when fighting a ghost. Chances were that Undax hadn’t been playing these sorts of games as long as he had, so his tricks and tactics would be fairly basic. A good way for the Sableye to measure just how far he had come from the early days. He was also a bit relieved personally that the group was being split up, as having multiple Pokémon attack on multiple fronts was clearly a better strategy to getting the game concluded favorably and quickly. If they simply kept attacking one thing at a time, the Abyss would simply keep strengthening their defenses to the point where it would be next to impossible to strike. Also, if they stuck together, it would be a simple matter to finish them all off with one concentrated attack of power.

He turned his thoughts towards Center Lake City, trying to scope out the possible threats that could lie between them and their goal. As far as he could make out, there didn’t seem to be anything too serious in their way. Just some scourge, Undax’s personal guard, Undax himself and-

Melanthios frowned, making sure he was indeed sensing what he was sensing. Already, that piece had been brought out? What were they playing at? It might’ve been a threat if Melanthios had been travelling alone, but with Diego, Jax and Syrat backing him up, he was almost certain he could dispatch with his Fallen before it realized just how overwhelmingly destructive it was. The Sableye knew his heart well, no matter how much he tried to conceal it, and he also knew the darkness and sin that revolved around the ultimately sad existence of it. That’s how he knew that his Fallen, however formidable, was someone to be pitied and treated with care. If he were just confronted, he would wipe out the opposing force without hesitation or effort. He had to be understood, plied with virtues of mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. Then they could end his existence painlessly. Or, and Melanthios rather preferred this option, they’d just convince him to leave them alone. The idea of extinguishing that part of him, however twisted or dark or bitter, to embrace a divine virtue…that was as good as dying to a creature like Melanthios.

“Oho…I see now. Is that how you’re playing it?” he murmured under his breath. He didn’t expect an answer. He doubted whoever was playing against his Master would even show themselves to him. But he wanted to let them know he could read their tactics just the same.

The logic went something like this. Melanthios’ Fallen was insanely powerful and a potential huge obstacle in trying to defeat Undax. In order to kill Undax, they would have to get through his Fallen somehow. However, Melanthios couldn’t under any circumstances allow his Fallen to be destroyed. His Fallen, however, would probably have no qualms in trying to get rid of him or anyone who tried to harm Undax. Indeed, he probably wouldn’t leave Melanthios alone from the moment they laid eyes on each other. He’d been plaguing the ghost Pokémon his whole life before this game, after all. If Melanthios didn’t go after Undax and the others encountered his Fallen without his help, they would most likely be utterly defeated, or worse still manage to get a lucky shot in and destroy him. Therefore, whoever had been playing against his Master had pretty much guaranteed that Melanthios had to face his Fallen in order to win. There was no way around it, no hope that he might remain in the Abyss until the last moment. The time was now.

Glancing over at Jax and the others, he considered the pros and cons of mentioning this new development. While it was certainly good to put them on their guard, it might make them rethink taking him with them to Center Lake City, and of course, they’d start asking questions regardless. And the fewer questions that were asked, the better.

But what was the fun in that?! He was Melanthios Malachi, the up and coming Magus of Misfortune! Screw being prudent, blazing right ahead and fickly changing his approach was in his very nature!

“I <hate> to put a damper on our recent success, but I just thought it <might> interest you to know that Undax has a bit of…extra protection.”

He waited until that got the attention of at least Jax, since he seemed to be taking it upon himself to lead, before continuing.

“Specifically a rather annoying meddler has decided it would be a <good> idea if a certain Fallen were placed with a certain Brother of Despair. By which I mean my Fallen is currently <buddy buddy> with Undax. Kyehehehehe….”

Melanthios smirked, acting utterly calm about the situation, regarding the faces of his companions and idly twirling his tongue around his amethyst shard. He waited for any reactions, then continued.

“I won’t bore you with the <details>, so just take my word for it that this little guy is probably powerful enough to obliterate all of us if he was so inclined. He is a <child>, though, so we can probably use that to our advantage.”

He sighed softly, twirling his shard, ignoring any query as to how he would possibly know this, before suddenly glaring at everyone, his diamond eyes blazing.

“Do. Not. Attempt. To. Destroy. Him. If any of you tries, you will know what it means to have my full and <undivided> attention focused on you, okay~?”

His tone turned a bit lighter towards that last word, but his face twisted into such a hideous, wide eyed grin that it would undoubtedly make anyone think twice before assuming the Sableye was bluffing.

“<Besides>,” he shrugged casually. “All you’d do is incense him and turn him against you. And the full power of the ugly creature that I am is something <truly> terrifying, even to those who don’t know me.”

He cackled, as if enjoying a private joke with himself, but his eyes were hard and fixed on his companions. This was one point on which he would not back down and had to make sure they understood absolutely.

“On that note…<let’s get going!>”

***​

Ledumos facepalmed.

This was an even more impressive action for a Breloom than most owing to his lack of actual arms to reach his face with.

“Don’t feel too bad about him, Ledu~. You’re the only one who knows me so well, after all,” Necros said with a smile that was anything but consoling.

***​

Somewhere hidden just outside of Center Lake City

“…aNd tHeN hE nIbBLed a HoLE iN tHe CoCOoN, pUsHed HiS wAy OuT, aNd tHeN hE wAs A bEaUTiFuL ButTeRfReE.”

The Fallen Sableye giggled happily as Undax finished the story, hugging the diseased Gengar’s side, even rubbing his face with a soft coo against it, still wiping a few tears from those dull gemstone eyes.

Undax was understandably feeling a bit confused. Certainly he could rationalize why he was doing something as banal as reading a lighthearted children’s story to a Fallen, corrupted soul. He had to keep the Sableye in a good mood, get him to be willing to use his power against the city and turn it into an Abyssal capital on par with Sartaras. It was easy. He was just taking advantage of him. Using his naivety. There was nothing more to it than that.

However, that didn’t explain why the Gengar was having these incredibly alien and quiet frankly painful sensations stretching out through his insides. They were brief and able to be ignored, but ever since he’d been devoting his attention to the Fallen Sableye, something felt wrong. He felt like he was missing something, something vital and irreplaceable. In short, he felt diseased…but not in a good way.

“CaN yOu…mAyBe REaD mE aNoTHer oNe?” asked the Fallen Sableye in a voice that made the Gengar’s skin crawl and what little left he had of a heart melt at the same time.

“SuRE. I sHaLL rEAd aS mAnY As yOu LiKe. BuT FiRst…cOuLd yOu dO sOmEtHInG fOR mE?”

The smaller ghost Abyssal nodded eagerly. This was a good sign. Undax grinned.

“iN CeNTeR LaKe CiTy, tHeRe ArE a LoT oF ChiLDrEn aND fAmILIes wItH bOoKs jUSt LiKe thAt! YoU sHoULd vIsiT tHeM… gEt thEir StOrIEs… wAtCh tHeM sLEeP…”

Undax snickered foully under his breath. A simple Sableye like him could easily breach Center Lake City’s defenses undetected. And then if he spent time around all the civilians and their families, his natural corruptive influence would be enough to sow many seeds of Abyssal influence.

“…bUt I WaNnA sTaY wiTh YoU…”

The Gengar made a noise of discomfort, rubbing at his chest a little. What the heck was causing that?

“ALriGhT… hOw aBouT wE bOtH gO iN tOgeTher?”

It was a bit more risky, but ultimately wiser, after all, this way he could keep an eye on the Fallen to make sure he didn’t screw anything up. Of course, that’s how Undax reasoned it in his head. It wasn’t like he was worried about the Sableye or anything. Or worse still, cared about him.

That would just be stupid.

***​

Ledumos gave Necros a look.

“What?”

“You do realize ‘The Very Hungry Caterpie’ doesn’t come out for at least another eighty years in this world, right?”

The Raichu took a sip from a small goblet he’d been drinking from. “You know, for a Magus, you sure are picky about the details sometimes.”

 

[Flash Sport]

Liechi the Whimsicott
Dysan, Kanat
Underground bunker

"Monty, I want to see my brother!" Liechi demanded, standing akimbo beside the sudowoodo's plate of food. Her forehead wrinkled in a frown as she kept her orange eyes glued to the fidgeting rock Pokémon. Aside from the occasional tingling from where bruises should have bee, most of her earlier injuries had disappeared thanks to Salut. Her healing pulse did wonders, but the audio required that she take a few hours of rest before actively moving around. Despite her impatience at wanting to see her brother, Liechi obliged since it was the least she could do to repay the healer for her swift recovery. That was hours ago and now was the time for her to see Nelt.

"Don't you need to be restin'?" Montezu mumbled, rubbing a rounded finger against his forehead in annoyance, keeping his face directed towards his plate. "You got your *** handed to you only a short while again so you need to just chill. You'll see Nelt later."

"Stop telling me that! I want to see him now!" she insisted, thrusting a paw towards the tabletop to punctuate her sentence. Other rebel Pokemon were in the mess hall along with them, pinning their eyes on their meal, but kept their ears tuned to the unfolding drama. She knew she behaved like a child, but dammit all, she wanted to see her brother. Her own irritation was getting fueled by the evasive comments every time she asked about her brother. Salut and Montezu always said later, she would see Nelt later. What did they define as later? If the worst had happened then they should just speak up instead of beating around the bush and make her worry. "If Nelt's dead then-"

"Nelt's not dead!" Montezu snapped, glaring at Liechi like she had spoken something blasphemous. If there was one thing Montezu didn't like it was lying, be it from his mouth or someone else's. The whimsicott refused to budge under his heated gaze, which returned to the half eaten plate of food. Liechi waited and watched Montezu's facial expression as he continued ruminating on the piece of knowledge kept from her. She needed to know what made him so hesitant about her seeing Nelt. When she saw his resolve in the thinning of his mouth, Liechi kicked up a powerful gust, which smashed the plate against the wall. Heads shot up at the sound like newborn deerling in a thunderstorm while others hunched lower towards their plate. The remaining bits of food that were on the plate either stuck to the wall or was fanned out on the floor from the impact site. Montezu stared at the shattered dish in solemn annoyance.

Liechi breathed hard and fast, her face hot with growing anger, but the action seemed to have done nothing in the way of getting Montezu to change his mind. What was it going to take? "If I can't see him then at least tell me why! Can you at least tell me that much?" The sudowoodo slightly bowed his head towards the table and drooped his shoulders in an apologetic display. "Monty?"

"He doesn't want to see you Liechi," he finally muttered, reluctance flowing through every word.

The female's mouth briefly dropped open in disbelief, but she snapped it shut and glowered at a Pokémon who was supposed to be her friend. "That's not funny Monty," she said lowly.

"You think I would joke about something like that?" he sharply retorted, narrowing his eyes. "We've all been friends for a long time—you, me, and Nelt—so you should know me better than that." Liechi watched as Montezu rose and stepped from between the picnic table and its bench. "Since you can't take a hint and make it easier on yourself and everyone else, then I'll just spit it out." His face was dark and grave, his posture rigid, but sagging. "Nelt said he doesn't want to see you nor does he want you to stick around. He wants you to head back home as soon as things settle down enough."

"NO!" she blared, unconsciously unleashing a bluster of wind that struck other tables, stripping them of ware and food. The Pokémon shielded themselves against the angry wind before darting for the exit. "I came-I came all this way for him because everyone else found it easier to declare him dead, but I knew better. I knew he was alive and I came for him. I went through hell getting into the city and I'm not about to leave without a solid explanation!"

"Although you two are extremely entertaining," inserted a gruff voice from the entryway. Liechi and Montezu looked towards the door, meeting the sharp, cool gaze of a dark blue dragon. "I'll have to require that you either shut up or take your hysterics elsewhere. We hear enough battle cries when we surface. Allow us to have the elusive bit of peace available down here. Can you handle that?" His spindly arms, which ended in a single white claw, were crossed before his red chest. Liechi gave a soft apology while Montezu nodded stiffly. Gaius, the rebels' leader. Liechi had met him earlier during Salut's tour of the bunker. He was just returning from scouting then. The dragon glanced between the two and arrived at some sort of decision they would soon hear about. "In order to put this ridiculous issue to rest, I'll have to ask the Liechi to come with me."

Liechi gave Montezu a fleeting look of uncertainty, but his face had steeled even more as he glared daggers at the gabite. Montezu might have guessed what was floating through the leader's head, but there was nothing he could do about it. They were in his territory after all and his rules were law. Waiting for only a moment to give Montezu one last look, Liechi hopped to the floor and headed over to the gabite. He unfolded his arms and marched out into the corridor, the nosy crowd parting to allow him through. Liechi hurried down the cleared path after him, having to skip in order to keep up.

"Where are we going?" she asked, not entirely happy with another distraction.

Without looking at her, Gaius replied, "To see your brother." Liechi tripped, but regained her footing. "That's what you wanted to do right? If I overheard correctly, that was the reason you made the suicidal trip into this fallen city."

"Yes, I want to see him," she said. "I guess I'll give you thanks for not being evasive on the matter."

"Don't think I did this for you," Gaius amended. "I don't like having ridiculous arguments going on in here. There's enough fighting outside to last us a lifetime and there’s certainly more to come. We can do without in here." Before long another door came into sight. It looked like many of the others around the bunker; a plain wooden rectangle. "And I'm doing it for him. He saved us in more ways than one. It may have been his request to have you stay away, but I cannot oblige. You are not only an Indigo Seer, but his sister. You should be able to do something." Liechi's heart started racing at the uncertainty that lied beyond growing door and wanted to ask what he was alluding to. In some ways, she wondered if news of his death would have been easier. As they neared the room, the door swung open. Salut stepped out, dark towels underarm. The bright face Liechi gotten use to seeing had dimmed with sadness. Easily picking up on their steps, she glumly looked at them. She tried to give Liechi a smile, but it failed miserably. "How is he?"

Salut slowly shook her head and dropped her gaze to nothing in particular. "The same yet worse. I don't really know what to say about his condition. It's really, really odd and unsettling. I just don't know what to do."

"Just keep doing what you know how to. That's all that can be asked of you." Salut gave a small smile. “That’s what he said.” She gave the gabite a nod and Liechi an encouraging look before heading off. Only while the audino was walking away did Liechi notice the entire tail end of the cloth was white.

"So you're finally here. Hop to it and go see him." Gaius simply walked away afterwards. Liechi faced the door and gulped. With a deep breath she went up to the obstruction, finding it cracked. Placing a paw between it and the wall, she opened it and stepped in.

 

[DVB]

Diego The Pikachu
Centraltel, Victaken

"I don't know how fast that bastard is, but I need half of you to hunt down Delath while the rest of us find Undax and put his head on a stick," Jax told the others, figuring I might as well command this little outfit to get it moving sooner. "The sooner they fight out Xac is death, the worse this is going to get."

"Mel, Diego, Syrat, and I will be heading off to get to Center Lake to get to Undax," I told the rest of the crew. "The rest of you find Delath and tear his head off. I don't care how you do it, just kill him, get his blood, and we'll meet back here. If we pull this off, then we'll see what we can do about getting the Parchment."

I then figured I would start the moment to head north. I didn't like Kraxel, and I figured he'd only slow me down with his ranting and whatnot. Kawahira and Tariq might be able to tolerate that more than I ever could. And if he didn't still get it, they were probably the most likely to just stick a knife in his back and let the whole thing go. The guy was more trouble than he was worth.

"Let's go," I told the other three, figuring the four of us might actually get along. "That Fallen of Diego's will reach Undax before we do, but I'm hoping we'll at least be able to stop him before he warns Delath and the others have to deal with it. With that said, we don't have a shred of time to waste. We move now."

"Gawd, you're hellbent, Jax," Syrat muttered, not in the mood for walking. "But that's nothing new for you."

Diego looked there before he began laughing. It was a strange laugh. One mixed with genuine humor and dark humor. "My Fallen is a powerful anomaly," Diego said to the group as they began heading toward the Valley. He then got more serious and looked at the sky while with the group.

"DX was with me since my youth. Ever since I was ostracized and taunted, my anger and darkness would show. But I was afraid. Afraid that because of the drive I had, I could end up hurting someone very quickly. So I restrained my thoughts. I driven every dark thought, every selfish impulse, every evil desire into the deepest parts of my mind until an... event caused that pit to become an alternate personality, or maybe the manifestation of my darkness.

When I was realized a Seer and this began, he tried to usurp me, so I forced him out. However, with a Fallen body waiting for him, he became his own being. He holds little to no regard to the Abyss. He kills any of the Scourge or Cohorts or Fallen in his way. I imagine he was here to try and kill the Hypno and now plans to try and slay Undax, hoping for a good fight," Diego explained.

"He isn't our ally though. He wants to be the prime driving force of the world and beyond. To break through the divine and take over the world and make all in it his possession," Diego elaborated. "The day will come when we must face off. He seems to not care of the result, but simply seems to be like a force, unbound, following the tainted and corrupted path of my own," he said.

DX was headed to the Lake City. His idea was simple. Mimic the strongest Ghost attack he can get, sneak attack Undax and destroy the fool. Of course, he had a flask in hand for the blood. Once that porker is also out of the way, he will track the prophecies and then lead Diego and the others to the arena where his fate will be decided.

 

[strategiser24]

OOC: Sorry, I've been having headaches and been feeling sick. I'm just going to catch up now.

More OOC: If I end up going too far in thispost, let me know.

Tariq the Archeops
Centraltel, Victaken

Tariq had helped in other ways instead of a direct assault. Figuring reinforcements would surely come, Tariq flew up with his healed wing and saw a large group coming from the east, but a well-executed landslide left many dead and forced the survivors to find another way. By the time he had returned, a drama was unfoldng between a strange Bisharp and Syrat. Thankfully, Tariq didn't lose his wing again to this one, as he turned out to be another Seer. Though he seemed even more reckless and hasty than Jax, they shared a common goal...I suppose.

Once the scene concluded, Tariq saw the vial of blood, they had worked so hard for, in their hands now. Rejoicing, now that one problem was solved, he took notice to the blood stained knife in the Sableye's hand, named Mel, since he was able to hear his and Jax's conversation. He must be dead then, Tariq thought to himself, listening in on most of the conversation. ...Something doesn't add up...,Tariq thought to himself, thinking back to what Igriod told him, Why hasn't Xac done something yet?

"Mel, Diego, Syrat, and I will be heading off to get to Center Lake to get to Undax," Jax told everyone, "The rest of you find Delath and tear his head off. I don't care how you do it, just kill him, get his blood, and we'll meet back here. If we pull this off, then we'll see what we can do about getting the Parchment."

Tariq acquiesced, looking back at the warehouse constantly. The four went north, leaving Kraxel, him, and Kawahira to find Delath. Tariq focused for a moment, and felt he was in Synamax, quite a distance, but not terribly far. However, breaking out of the vision suddenly, he saw the group of four heading north, out of his normal sight, no doubt in a hurry to catch Diego's Fallen, but his face lit up when he could see Xac's blood vial, in their supplies, light up suddenly and a purple mist rise from it and disappear quickly. I knew it! Tariq said to himself again, Igriod wasn't lying! The records were true!

Tariq looked back towards the coast to see Kraxel getting ready to swim back across the strait; he could've have just asked Tariq to fly them there. "Kraxel, wait! You need to hear this!" Tariq said, dashing over to the eager Bisharp, "You, Jax, and everyone else don't seem to understand why killing Xac WASN't the best idea."

Tariq looked at Kraxel, no doubt he thought that he was going to tell him more of his scholarly 'nonsense' that didn't do anyone any good; of course killing Xac would've been Igriod's first action, but him, Tariq, and the other Irfan remember much of what others don't. "Let me explain," Tariq said, trying to gan his attention, "Most everyone thinks that the brothers of despair are a Hypno, Gengar, and a Grumpig named Xac, Undax, and Delath...but their names are the only thing that stays the same about them!.

Tariq took out the charcoal-paper rubbing he still possessed; he'd known what it meant the whole time, he just needed to return to the monastery in order for everyone to know their knowledge of the Abyss was right. "Listen, I saw the vision of the others heading north; Xac's vial started glowing and emitted a mist; that's because Xac is still alive!" Tariq explained, "The Irfan remember what others have forgotten: The brothers of despair aren't ordinary beings of the Abyss. When they 'die,' all they do is release their spirit from their body and look for a new one. In other words, Xac may have been twenty other Pokemon befre we killed him: All the brothers are like this...This is why killing them wasn't the best option!"

Tariq took a minute to let Kraxel think for a minute. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he was even listening. "All we need is their blood, killing them does more harm than good; he'll find another host, take over their will, and they'll become tha same brother again," Tariq continued, trying to keep Kraxel's attention, "Before you ask, no, I don't know how to really kill them. That is why the Abyss wasn't destroyed ages ago, that's why we simply stopped them from entering the world, much like they're likely stopping Utopia from entering the world right now...Xac is bound to take over one of those four when they least expect, probobly when they confront Undax...His blood will still be what we need after he is reborn, but whoever he takes over, be it them or someone conmpletely different, is likely going to be sent to the Abyss to make room for him...the Creator only knows what will happen to them."

Tariq paused again to let Kraxel think, hopefully, he was willing to listen to reason. "Look, if you want my opinion, I'm concerned about those four; they're likely to kill Undax as well, and Xac is bound to do something nasty when they find out he's not dead," Tariq continued, "...But killing Delath is also important; we can cripple him, take his blood and leave him weak, that would stop him from posessing someone else when we least expect it. We dont know how long he'll be in Synamax, and I do know some...friends...who may be willing to help; I'm split on this and could use your thoughts: What do you think?"

Tariq continued to look a Kraxel, hoping he would at least give some input; if he didn't respond, Tariq was going to make the decision for him.

 

[Shen Sorein]

WARNING! Graphic scenes follow.

Salvista the Zangoose
Oasis, Synamax

King Boshtet stood stock-still after Sal’s revelation. “Me…?” he murmured. “Look, I know I’m king of a rather powerful nation, and can fight well, but…come on now, I can’t be one of your Destined companions...”

Sal’s claw lowered back to his side. “Indeed you are, my liege. I had a vision where I saw you talking to us as you are now, with your son in the same spot he is in now, followed by a vision of the stars in the sky,” the Zangoose explained matter-of-factly. “I had the same vision about myself and Zayir, which was extremely clear to us. It is undeniable that you are the third Star along our road to fight off the Abyss.”

The large Blastoise collapsed back into his chair, which was startling; nothing had ever drained the huge Blastoise like this news. In fact, his son was immediately at his side, patting his arm in a comforting son-to-father fashion. The King held the bridge of his nose with one paw softly and let out a huge sigh. “This is rather heavy…” he remarked. “The world is ending, and I am somehow supposed to help stop it?” He then raised his head. “You do realize that bringing together over a hundred people under this premise would give you an army to fight with.”

Zayir nodded. “That’s the idea. We’re sure that all of the Fated Stars have unique traits they are born with, or cultivate over time, that allow them to be of the greatest help to fight the predestined failure of the mortals and the heavens to all the powers of Hell. You’re a great tactician and a great leader. Sal will need your help bringing together and leading the Fated Stars to victory against our enemies.”

Boshtet nodded slowly. “Yes, I can see your point…I still do not believe that I am born under one of those Fated Stars, but that is no reason not to help you.” He lowered his paw with a fierce expression on his face, then stood up. “We must recall my military to come and defend Oasis at once. Whether or not I go with you on this journey, young Salvista, this city and its people are my greatest treasures.”

Salvista shook his head. “It’s not quite that simple, King Boshtet,” he said softly. “Your army is the only thing holding the Abyssal forces at Vorgoia. The moment they start making their way back here, they’ll be followed and dogged every step of the way, making their battle doubly hard, and might even result in Oasis being beset upon sooner than it currently will. I’m afraid that it’s best to make a quiet expedition out of the city without arousing suspicion, either from your subjects or from the Abyss. Especially the latter; if we reveal to them that there are Indigo Seers too early, it could be catastrophic all its own. If they already do know, well…we just have to hope they won’t know what this particular Seer is doing, because there would hardly be any escape. We have to be discreet at first, but I know the larger the group we travel with is, the less we’ll be able to hide. We have to live with that truth when the time comes.”

That was certainly a lot for the Blastoise to take in, judging by the furrowed brow and his expression. “I see…Very well, I suppose I have no choice.” He stood up again and looked to the Wartortle at his side. “Lorek, can you rule in my stead?”

His son nodded. “I will use everything you have been teaching me since I was old enough to walk, father. You can cou-“

A sudden explosion of force rocked the palace violently and loudly, deafening nearly everyone present while the entire room was thrown off their feet. There were shouts and groans at the shock of the situation, and Sal was one of the first back on their feet, looking around to see if the source was in the throne room.

Without warning, the doors to the throne room – extremely heavy slabs of gold and marble – were thrown wide, causing them to smash into the walls hard, cracking them harshly. In the doorway was three Pokémon, all bleeding copiously, as well as bearing what looked like some kind of sickness all over their body, black lesions and darkened patches covering many visible parts of their bodies. All three collapsed, but the one in front, a Lucario, struggled to speak. “M-my…liege…w-war…ning…Oa…sis…under attack…”

[Author’s Note: Recommended Listening]

The shock in the room was palpable; not a sound was heard, the news deafening them far more than the explosive force had. It only lasted a moment, though, as the obvious sounds of horror and pain from an attack echoed into the palace, screams, battle cries, and the clangs of swords and pangs of gunshots bringing a new feeling into the room – dread.

Without waiting a moment, the King stood. “Palace guard, on your feet!” he roared. “It’s time to prove why you were chosen for your posts, we must defend Oasis and its people no matter what!”

“Your Majesty!” Sal shouted, reaching behind his back to unclasp his staff from its hold and whipping it around to wield it fiercely in both paws. “Do not let those three enter the room! Do you see those markings? They’ve been tainted by the Abyss!”

Even as the Zangoose spoke, they slowly rose to their feet, though their heads and arms remained limp. Soft groans drifted from them occasionally as the black markings started spreading over their bodies visibly, and a feeling of darkness and evil permeated from them, able to be felt from even the least spiritually aware being in the throne room. The three messengers…were a lost cause.

A Charizard nearest the trio immediately brandished his axe and swung it down on the Lucario’s head, cleaving it wide open and allowing a stream of blackened blood to deluge his front and the floor. However, the Hypno behind the now lifeless Lucario lunged forward and grasped the Charizard’s throat with a snarl, his eyes opening and glowing red. Claws sprouted from fingers that never had claws before, tearing a hole in the Charizard’s windpipe as the fur and flesh started dripping off of his ribs slowly.

The room erupted into anarchy and chaos as the guards in the throne room quickly strode towards the door to take care of the assailants as well as to prevent any more from getting so close. King Boshtet himself whipped his arm over to the side of his throne and grasped the handle of his gigantic Warhammer that always was by his side. He rubbed the huge silver block on the end. “It seems the time has come to draw blood for your King once again, Varhuth,” he commented, speaking to his Warhammer obviously. "I don't know how they got here so quickly, or started overwhelming us with no warning, but all that matters in the end is that we survive to end this terror."

The Blastoise turned to Sal and Zayir again. “We can take the passage behind the Oasis monument, behind out thrones,” he says, jerking his head back softly in the monument’s direction; on the wall behind him was a huge stone mural, depicting what looked like a gigantic battle as far as the eye could see, at least in regards to the picture presented. Sal knew that this mural was a reminder of the bloody wars that shaped and unified Oasis many generations in the past. Even as the two companions gazed on, Lorek stepped behind his throne and gave a hard punch to a spot that Sal couldn’t see. There was a resounding snap, and on the center of the bottom of the monument, a doorway-shaped slab fell back into the wall, slamming down and sending a plume of dust up, revealing a secret passageway that would have been impossible to find before.

Two palace guards that were not hit by the explosion, a Raichu and an Absol, ran up as the mural opened, their eyes wide; they were obviously not a part of the throne room guard, having come through a door on the eastern side of the room. “Your Majesty! Are you making use of-“

“Yes,” he said preemptively. “We have no choice, we must try and get around the attacking forces, either to draw them away or cause some kind of diversion to save as many people as possible. You will take point in the tunnel, as we follow.”

“Lead the way, your majesty,” Zayir said with a grin, while popping his knuckles on each claw; he was looking forward to a fight on the other side.

Lorek then turned to his father. “What should I do?” he asked. “I’m not as proficient a fighter as you…”

Before Boshtet could answer, another explosion rocked the palace…though this time from inside the palace itself. Several bodies flew through the open doorway into the throne room, some stirring after a minute, others charred or ripped to pieces violently. Boshtet immediately ushered Lorek towards the mural, as well as Sal and Zayir. “We must go now!”

“I dOn’t tHInK so…yOUr MAJESTY!”

Through the doorway walked a large number of decayed, infected-looking Pokémon, obviously having fallen to the taint of the Abyss. At the forefront of the marching army, however, was a rather nasty, dark Grumpig, his eyes practically on fire with the intensity of his gaze. Sal did not recognize him, but even by simply looking over his shoulder, he got a sense of dread merely being this close to that Grumpig; whoever he was, his role in the Abyss was powerful indeed. The pearls on his body, while just as dark as normal, were literally oozing darkness down his disgusting body. He had a wild, confident smirk on his face. Beyond that, Sal could see no more, and pulled his gaze away to focus on running through the opening in the mural after Lorek, with Zayir trailing behind.

“King Boshtet, hurry, let’s get out of here!” The Charmeleon shouted over his shoulder.

It was obvious, however, that the king was having an issue of indecision, but it only took a few seconds for him to make up his mind. “You five, get out of here!” And before another word could be said, he slammed his fist down on the top of his throne so hard, the stone actually cracked and shattered from the force of the blow.

[Author’s Note: Recommended Listening]

“NO, FATHER!” Lorek screamed, but it was too late; the trigger had been activated, and the mural shook a moment before suddenly smashing apart and crashing down , burying the only access to the tunnel anyone could have. Lorek slammed his whole body against the rubble covering the opening twice, screaming at the top of his lungs, before starting to pound the rubble with his arms and fists as hard as he could. “NO! NO, YOU CAN’T JUST DO THIS!”

“Prince Lorek!” the Raichu roared, the shock of a guard doing such a thing making the Prince freeze mid-blow. “Calm down, and follow us. I am sorry, but the King has made it possible for us to escape. We cannot simply stay here and die, his sacrifice will have been in vain.”

The Wartortle gasped for air as he stood there, wide-eyed, before the collapsed entrance. His fists were bloody from the force of his blows, but he hardly felt pain; the shock of everything happening so very quickly deadened nearly everything for Lorek. After a moment, he finally swallowed and nodded. “…A-alright…” he mumbled, turning around slowly. “Let’s…get out of here…”

The five of them looked between one another silently, before they all started running as hard as they could through the tunnel, the Raichu taking point as ordered; he held his small partisan lance in one paw behind his back while he ran. The Wartortle kept running without complaint, though his face was lined heavily with shock and the beginnings of grief, of which Sal knew only too well.

The Zangoose’s face was set in a neutral, yet serious expression, though as he ran, in his mind’s eye he was getting a very clear Vision of what was transpiring in the throne room…

~*****~

The Blastoise turned to face the growing crowd of Abyssal forces, his gigantic warhammer held aloft in a single strong paw. His face was set in a death glare, obviously prepared to die for his son, and for the hope of the entire world based on Sal’s visions; that Zangoose was one of many that would save the world, and here he would do his small part to help save it too.

“VeRY brave OF you, King,” the Grumpig said in his horrendous voice, the shifting tones and patterns speaking volumes of the madness of the Abyss. “It’S A…shame They won’T Live Long, nO matter tHE SacrIFiCE…”

“Here me, spawn of Hell,” he growled. “No one is getting past me. They will live, and you will all die. You first, Grumpig.”

The Grumpig frowned at that. “HoW rUde…IT’s rESpectFuL to cALl onE’S aSsaSSin bY TheiR name…mINe IS DELATH. You sHouLD FEEl hONorEd, i raRELy gO to a kILL in PeRSon. But OasIS iS a hINDRanCe I canNOt aLloW.”

“A hindrance?” Boshtet said. “You must have a plan that the sacred Oasis waters are preventing. What foul magic are you conjuring, demon?…Bah, no matter,” he said without waiting for an answer. He held Varhuth aloft above his head. “I’ll kill you all and prevent your takeover myself!”

The Blastoise then took a step and brought the huge hammer crashing down on the ground, sending out a shockwave that caused most of the group before him to stumble, giving him the opportunity to rush into the group, swinging Varhuth wildly to send entire groups of his enemies flying into the walls and pillars.

*~~~~~*

Sal’s vision became muddled, no matter how much he concentrated on it, so he sighed and picked up his running speed to match Zayir’s. The five of them didn’t stop once, no matter how tired they became, because stopping would bring their enemies that much closer, no matter which end of the tunnel they would be pursued from. Even Prince Lorek didn’t speak once, he just kept running as hard and fast as he could to try and make it out alive.

It was several minutes before they could see light out on the other side, but with Lorek’s groan and collapse, the other four stopped and immediately gathered around Lorek to help pick the Wartortle’s body up off the ground. The Absol bore his Prince on his back in a careful position, and without another moment’s wait, they dashed for the exit.

*~~~~~*

King Boshtet lasted far longer alone than most of his warriors had done in groups and companies, but he could take no more. Varhuth dropped to the ground with a resounding clang as he collapsed onto his knees, a moan of pain and suffering leaving his muzzle. All around him, Abyssal creatures held weapons, both natural and crafted, in his direction, threatening to take away that swiftly-approaching last breath.

Despite the commotion of the battle, Delath didn’t actually strike Boshtet once; direct confrontation was not in his nature, and thus he did not allow himself to get within striking range of Boshtet’s warhammer, the Grumpig opting instead to throw minion after minion in his direction to wound and bring him down little by little. Only now, with his opponent kneeling in his death throes, did Delath approach him. An evil grin split his face, making him seem all the more maddened.

Boshtet could no longer speak – he did not have the energy for that. However, he drew a deep breath as Delath approached…and then spat on his face. Delath, obviously less than pleased, took one more step forward and shoved his claws forward, the harsh digits actually plunging into Boshtet’s chest through his shell, causing him to grunt in utter physical shock. The Grumpig’s grin widened, before he yanked his claws back…clasping Boshtet’s still-beating heart. He allowed the Blastoise to gaze at it for the remaining seconds he had to live before crushing it hard, blood splattering the Blastoise as he collapsed onto his front on the ground.

Throwing the remains of the crushed heart onto the corpse, Delath turned and strode away. “MaKE Sure YoU infect alL of The WATer,” he instructed, “I Will nOT aLlow SUCh mORtaL THINgS tO WaYLay My plaNs…”

Without another word, an infected Alakazam approached the Grumpig, clasping one hand on his shoulder…and the two Teleported away, more than likely to wherever the Grumpig’s fortress was.

*~~~~~*

Sal shuddered as he cut himself off from the vision by pure will alone, having regretted returning to the vision. The five of them were hiding out behind a formation of rocks that made a sort of makeshift cave for them to hide out in. All around them, similar rock formations jutted out of the ground, as if a huge plateau once stood there, only to be shattered by some inexplicable force that caused it to collapse, creating the jagged landscape it was in the present day. It was quite late at night, even the moon had started drifting down towards the horizon by that point. No fire was lit, for the light and smoke could attract the enemy to their location.

“What is it…?” Zayir asked, noticing his friend shuddering. Sal responded by shaking his head and burying his face against his legs, arms wrapped around them a bit.

“What did you see…?” Lorek asked softly, though his gaze showed that he would not accept a refusal to answer.

Sal looked up at the Wartortle for a moment, before his eyes dropped down. “Your father’s dead…I’m sorry…”

OOC: I hope you don't mind this, Saraibre; needed something dramatic and cool, and you having Delath start some kind of plan kinda fit with the need to attack Oasis in such force as this.

If this causes any problems, I can easily exchange Delath for another, a servant of Delath possibly, IF this causes any problems with the characterization others have had of his character, or where he would be and when.

 

[Avenger Angel]

Jax the Lopunny
Victakan Plains, Victakan

Mel had been brooding about something as we made our way out of the cesspool of Centratel and headed into the barren, forlorn plains of Victakan. The Abyss had blighted the land, creating a patchy mess of sickly, black blotches over land that was nearly wasted way into desert. Meanwhile, the trees were bare, twisted, and gnarled, far more dead than alive. On top of it, a thick mess of fog laid over the area, and if it hadn't been for my divination powers, I would have been bloody lost in this mess.

"I hate to put a damper on our recent success, but I just thought it might interest you to know that Undax has a bit of... extra protection."

I felt something about that as we walked across the deranged plains. Undax was drawing the Fallen toward him, and something further was amiss in Center Lake. Meanwhile, the living were running out of places to evacuate to. I cursed under my breath. Why the hell didn't they just fight rather than flee?

"Fallen, I bet..." I told Mel, figuring it was probably that.

"Fallen?" Syrat asked, looking curious. "Ugh, I bet you know of something that's even worse than what we've seen already, huh?"

"Precisely," I told the little squirrel. "They're not the kind of enemies you want to screw up with. They represent all your sins. Everyone has one. Even you."

"Specifically a rather annoying meddler has decided it would be a good idea if a certain Fallen were placed with a certain Brother of Despair," Mel informed the rest of us. "By which I mean my Fallen is currently buddy buddy with Undax. Kyehehehehe..."

I had only caught a slight glimpse of a Fallen, and that was Diego's. From what I saw, they were hideous, soul-deranging abominations that were the dark mirror of the living. From what I could sense, every Pokémon had a Fallen, a being that represented their sins and evil. Frankly, I was hoping not to run into mine.

"I won't bare you with the details, so just take my word for it that this little guy is probably powerful enough to obliterate all of us if he was so inclined. He is a child, though, so we can probably use that to our advantage."

"Maybe we could sneak up on him like the last guy!" Syrat suggested.

Mel sighed, not liking the sound of that. His diamond eyes were blazing, warning everyone of what he was thinking.

"Do. Not. Attempt. To. Destroy. Him," Mel warned everyone. "If any of you tries, you will know what it means to have my full and undivided attention focused on you, okay~?"

"Sheesh, okay, dad," Syrat complained. "Don't be such a sour puss, we'll leave the little bastard alone then."

"Besides..." Mel continued. "All you’d do is incense him and turn him against you. And the full power of the ugly creature that I am is something truly terrifying, even to those who don’t know me."

So we had two Fallen to worry about. Diego's and Mel's. I figured the Abyss would pull a stunt like this, using our own Fallen to try and sidetrack us.

"DX was with me since my youth..." Diego the Pikachu told us as we moved across the plagued lands. "Ever since I was ostracized and taunted, my anger and darkness would show. But I was afraid. Afraid that because of the drive I had, I could end up hurting someone very quickly. So I restrained my thoughts. I driven every dark thought, every selfish impulse, every evil desire into the deepest parts of my mind until an... event caused that pit to become an alternate personality, or maybe the manifestation of my darkness."

"Your Fallen has been living with you!?" Syrat asked, looking surprised at that. "Great. This just keeps getting better and better..."

"When I was realized a Seer and this began," Diego continued, ignoring Syrat, "he tried to usurp me, so I forced him out. However, with a Fallen body waiting for him, he became his own being. He holds little to no regard to the Abyss. He kills any of the Scourge or Cohorts or Fallen in his way. I imagine he was here to try and kill the Hypno and now plans to try and slay Undax, hoping for a good fight."

"Wait, he's trying to help us kill Undax!?" Syrat asked, finding that totally absurd.

Kill Undax, yes, for whatever motives this "DX" had. But help us, no. From what I could sense, DX had his own dark intentions, but I couldn't delve deep under to understand them. Nothing about the motive I found made sense, like a broken riddle scattered in the labyrinth of his shadows. Fallen were not easy to read with divination, as I had discovered. It was a soup of evil and shadows, with nothing making sense and nothing to be found.

"He isn't our ally though," Diego corrected Syrat. "He wants to be the prime driving force of the world and beyond. To break through the divine and take over the world and make all in it his possession. The day will come when we must face off. He seems to not care of the result, but simply seems to be like a force, unbound, following the tainted and corrupted path of my own."

"Wha... he plans on fighting the Abyss with just himself?" Syrat asked, nearly laughing. "Wow, your Fallen is a complete moron!"

"Think again," I told Syrat. "He's trying to use us, a catalyst to accomplish his own objectives. He's not a Fallen that believes he's a one man army. He's an opportunist, and will be there right at the climax to try and make someone else's success as his own, regardless of who that someone else is, whether it's the Abyss... or us."

"Psh," Syrat replied in disgust, sucking his teeth, "What a little bastard."

That was nothing new. That was the way it has always been with the Abyss. Dark, unpredictable motives. A vengeance against Utopia, and bad blood against the masses. The living were caught in between a vendetta, collateral.

As we continued through the blighted plains, I saw Center Lake City up ahead, now obscure with a gray fog that was beginning to turn a sickly salmon color, which I knew would become red in time the more the Abyss plagued this place. Center Lake was contested, and I had a feeling a good share of the Pokémon had fled, hoping to find refuge someplace else. In the meantime, I could sense Undax's presence in that city. He was taunting, defiling, and haunting the few people that were left, as well as the few city defenders that were trying to hold the city. The Abyss was playing cat and mouse with them, and I knew this kind of sadism would only last for so long until they brought the axe down.

"It appears we're not too late," I told the others, picking up the pace a bit. "Center Lake looks grim, but the Abyss hasn't defiled and corrupted it yet. But they have already begun the process, however."

We drew closer and closer, preparing ourselves for a new breed of horrors...

 

[rotrum]

Kawahira the Mismagius
Centratel, Victaken

As he appeared, Kawahira left. Although he attempted to get something in, the idea of teaming up with Kraxel was something he refused to go along with. While Tariq decided to go with Kraxel, Kawahira took one last look around him, at the demonic city that was once Centratel, before his body seemed to fade away into the air, slowly turning invisible before sinking wordlessly into the ground. He lacked power, at the moment, severely handicapped by the large amount of energy he had exert on his already weakened body. He lacked the ability to safely travel at good speeds, intead he had decided that he had to deal with a lower speed, and he wouldn't try to travel over the ocean for too long. All in all, he wasn't going to make it to Delath all that quickly. He sighed.

But of course, even in his uselessness, he had to leave as dramatically as he appeared, and so the weather patterns seemed to change, the clouds disappearing, until the only thing left was a massive pentagram. This stayed up for a minute, showing across a decently sized area, before fading away into the reality of the skies.

A safe distance in the ocean between Vora and Meranfal, much later on, Kawahira would stop and decide on a route. He'd need to make a stop somewhere on Kanat, and he highly doubted that he'd make it all the way to Synamax soon enough to kill Delath. And if he did, by then that wretched pig would be fortified to outlast a war. He sighed, he'd probably need to rely on other seers to do that. A map appeared before his eyes, created of illusions.

Several Indigo dots lit up on the map. The map was extremely vague, with just shapes of the four continents on it, and dots that were rather large and unrevealing to position. He ignored the half of the map he was on, already having a pretty good idea of who was there, and looked on the other side. Hn. There was a Seer in Dysan. Dysan was overrun already. Lovely.

So...Was he making his pit stop in Dysan, to meet a fellow seer, possibly fighting for her life, or in the, momentarily, safer Emerald Coast where he could rest up for a day and then set off again. He sighed. He'd figure it out when he got closer. He stopped for a minute, before waving the map away. In a moment, a chess board appeared before him. Maps were nice, but Chess boards were more organized and more fun. They also were more accureate about location (To the nearest square, atleast.) The Indigo Seers were White Pieces, with the abyss being Black. The nice part was that once he knew what a piece represented, it was replaced by a small statue of what it realy looked like. He was currently focusing on his area and westward, so he mainly saw himself at the edge, scattered black pieces, and a nice concentratred of black pieces around a White Knight where Dysan probably was. He thought for a second, turning the board around to check on the other group's progress, seeing the Sableye Piece, Lopunny Piece, The Raichu Piece, etc by Center Lake City, some with the Gengar Piece, the Second Raichu Piece and...a second Sableye piece nearby. Curious, he didn't know of a second Sableye, especially not one of the Abyss.

Kawahira shrugged it off, his powers were probably a bit inaccurate due to tiredness. He sighed, fading away and floating over the ocean, wondering what move he should make next. He knew one thing for sure, he was not ready to fold, just because he was dealt bad cards to start with.

 

[Tasslehoff]

Kraxel the Bisharp
On the foothills of the Mastrak Mountains into Scarwell, Azmarax

Tariq came up to me starting to shout nonsense about Xac to me, I wasn’t entirely sure what he was talking about at first, but then he had started to explain it, talking about how the spirit of one of the brothers could posses someone, even in death and how we should have only wounded him and not kill, and how all the other brothers were like him.

“Listen, if you want to warn Jax and them, be my guest, I have no love for them, all they are to me are tools in this war and my over all plans. I have no other use from them, if you care about them, than warn them, or you can follow me, or both, I do not really care. I am on my way towards Scarwell in Azmarax, if you choose to come, I will wait there for three days, starting from the time I hit land, if you are not there by then, I will take a voyage to Symarax without you, it makes no difference to me. I will however contact you when I hit Azmarax so you know when to start counting the days.”

(Hours later after swimming the channel.)

“FINALLY LAND!” I shouted as I dragged my fatigued body onto the desert plains.

“Tariq, I have reached land, start counting your days now.”

If only I had a map of the landscape here, it would be so much easier to find Scarwell. I trudged my way through the barren landscape for miles going more or less south west. With nothing but the frequent sand storms, I pulled my black cowl with a red anarchy symbol up to keep the sand from getting in my mouth.

I came towards a medium size oasis after hours of walking, and sat quietly in the shade of some cactus and drinking the cool refreshing water. I decided to take a short nap for the desert had taxed my body heavily; I wasn’t use to the hot, dry desert climate and I felt as if I was going to die.

Being a mass murder and assassin, I felt the presence of someone, or something, creeping up on me while I was sleeping. Pretending to still be asleep, I waited for my assassin to get close enough, opening my eyes however, I saw the shadowing outline of a true soldier of the Abyss. Now fully wide awake, a jumped completely prepared to fight, I was not about to be damned permanently by the Abyss’s minions, nor did I have the intention on becoming one.

Like any good fighter, I attempted to figure out any weakness I could dispute that would help me defeat these minions, I had never fought one of the Chorots of Chaos before and I wasn’t about to let my first encounter end with me corrupted. Words came to me that my old master had taught me, a good swordsman is 90% smart and 10% skill, skill can only get you so far and doing so, you must find your opponents weakness and use it against them.

“HHHeeellLLlo SeeeEEer, weeEEEee hAAAvveeEEE SSSpeeNNNt dAAys TraCCkinG YooUUUU.” One of the two soldiers hissed towards me.

“DeLLLaaatTThhh wAs NoootttTTt toooOO happy LeeavvIIInggGG SaaRRRttTaraSSSS becAAuussSSee of YYoouUU.” The other said.

“Haha, you must be his lieutenants that he had sent after me.”

“CCoooRReeecCCt! DoooOO not THiinKK you CaaaNNN WiiiIIIn, WeeeEEE are in THeeeEE middLLLe of noWWhhhere, Nooo ONnnee here TO savEEEE yOOuuuuu!”

“Well then, let’s quit talking and get on with the show,” I shouted.

I decided to play the defensive on this for awhile, no need to rush, we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon and so there was no excuse for getting myself killed. One of the Chorots, an Armaldo rushed at my swinging with bladed fingers aiming to “kill” casually dodging the failing charge, I side stepped it and through out one of my blades at its feet, tripping the creature. While I was distracted, the other one, a Gallade, came at me with more methodic strikes, just like the Armaldo though, I casually blocked his feeble attacks. I noticed one flaw so far in each of these particular Chorots, the Armaldo was over confident and would charge, and the Gallade wasn’t skilled enough with his swords.

When the Armaldo came to strike again, I waited for the exact right moment when his charge would prove death, I barrel rolled to the side and in the momentum, stuck out my arm to cut his feet. After regaining my fighting posture, I turned just in time to see a crooked blade coming down on me. I shot my arm up in time to parry the attack and wit my other hand I did a spinning slice onto the Gallade’s same arm, serving the appendage from his body.

The Armaldo, as I had already suspected, was preparing another rushing attack, completely aware of this, I waited without an ounce of sign of a flinch, hands drawn out, I met the Armaldo head on. I did an uppercut with my bladed hands to knock his lethal arms out of the way and I went for his neck with my axed-head. Going through the shadow neck, I completely severed its head from the body and it disintegrated into nothingness instantaneously.

Turning around to look at his shocked companion, I walked up to it with a devilish walk, walking towards it slowly, enjoying every moment, having it realize that it wouldn’t come out alive now that it only had one arm.

“NooNNNeEE of UUsss hasssss EvvverRR beeeEEEnnnn DeeeFFFFeeeAAAttttEEddd yEttt!”

“You obviously never met a seer before,” I spoke towards the being with a smile, “we are the strongest opponents you will ever meet, now face me like a man, no tricks, just head on combat.”

Doing as I had wished, the Cohort, charged me and I charged him, with no other thoughts in my mind, the Gallade and I did a dance of death, with neither of us showing fatigue, we fought hard. The Gallade though had started to get to confident, too cocky in believing the Abyss was unbeatable, he started to do power attacks on me, attacks that rendered you useless in certain areas; now toying with him and letting this bravado of his play out, I waited for him to make a lethal mistake.

The moment came, he came down on me with a downward slice, I strafed to the side and jabbed him through what would have been ribs, then spinning all the way around him, I let my blades lick into his shadowy being and then finishing it with slashes to the head. The creature was dead before it even realized it, and it was already disintegrating before I had fully killed it.

Fatigued from the fight of an actual powerful being that was beyond this plane of existence, I sat down next to the oasis and drank from the deserts heavenly waters. After regaining my strength, I set out towards Scarwell, my original plan, again.

After hours of walking, I made it to the gates of Scarwell.

“Who approaches Scarwell, the last bastion of Azmarax?!” the guard shouted towards me.

“A seer, one you shouldn’t f*** with,” I casually said as I casually walked by him, paying no heeds towards the soldier.

“Of course seer, your kind is always welcomed here!” the reply came.

“I know we are,” I replied in a loud and maniacal tone.

 

[Agent Tectonic]

Zix Dragontamer
Minacen → Scarwell

Damn the guy was quick. Shortly after I entered and got into a fighting stance, no words were spoken as Gradius lunged forward. With a grunt of pain, I was forced to dodge to my left side and bump into the door frame. A lance of pain shot up and down my arm as the force knocked me around the door and into the room. No sooner had I recovered from my impromptu dash that the green snake was already lunging at me again. I pivoted away from the lunge this time and brought my sword streaking across two connections of his armor as his body knocked against the table in the back. I must have found a slight hole in it as a trickle of blood escaped it which while it didn't show any signs of actually hurting him, he did become more patient in his attacks.

In fact, he began retreating to the further end of the room, all the while coiling himself up as if preparing to strike again. I didn't immediately push to the offense in anticipation of a counter attack. It wasn't until the snake had nearly coiled himself up and revealed his thoughts that I began to realize my error. I cursed to myself for another failure in understanding his tactics; it was a ruse to make me think that he was anticipating my counterattack when in reality, he was merely enhancing his body's strengths. I still stayed calm; after all, I still had one advantage he didn't have: foresight. I called my mind down and opened up. I started sensing his next moves before he even thought them. When he readied himself to lunge again, I shifted away from it. His next move was a direct body slam at me. I stepped away from him and moved closer to the wall: another mistake that I soon learned.

While I had tried to perfect my foresight capabilities in recent times, I was no master at it and was only able to truly learn by experience. This should have been my last experience. As soon as I stepped closer to the wall, Gradius's tail lashed out at me and tripped me to the ground. Now, I was caught flat-footed, and he had regained his balance. Another slam of his tail on my left shoulder negated any desire for me to move as the excruciating pain threatened to leave me unconscious. That would have been more merciful than staying awake. I soon felt a mockingly gentle movement over my abdomen as his vines and a tail snaked around me and lifted me off the ground.

“You look so tired Zix. Let me help you up,” taunted the Serperior. I was completely immobilized as my limbs were bound to my side as he kept snaking his body around me in his wrap, not to mention the flat of my blade pressing dangerously into my flesh. “Maybe you should go to sleep forever you meddling insect,” he snarled as he contracted his entire body. I felt the air rush out of my lungs as I struggled to breath and not faint from being suffocated and the sound of what was left of my left arm's bones shattering. He turned me so that I was facing him directly, a haunting sight as his face was a lit with twisted pleasure and his fangs gleaming.

Many things went through my head as I could do nothing but stare into his eyes. I heard the sound of my heart beating faster than it should, the memory of my family; both my parents and my mate and children, the running of distant mons evacuating out of the building. All of this and other small details of sounds and sights. The slight crack on the wooden lamp about five inches from the base, the slight stain of sweat on a small peace of paper hanging off the desk in the back. I tried to turn my eyes away from the Serperior to view other things around the room than that terrible fate that awaited before me, but I was forced to avert my eyes no where as a slight gleam of yellow tainted his eyes: the workings of a glare. So, I couldn't do anything but slip into a trance. I felt many others around the area: almost all of them leaving.

I saw almost because I couldn't help but smile at one particular being. “What are you smirking about? You that at peace of facing your death little Seer?”

I laughed, well tried to laugh. I could still breathe a bit but too limited to actually breathe and talk at the same time, so I waited until the heavy footfalls of fell upon both our ears. His grip over me didn't lessen but his attention was diverted to an intruder who burst through the doors: Blitz. Needless to say, I was relieved that he would give me the chance to live another day. Actually, there wasn't really a struggle. Gradius couldn't move quick enough to releasing me and face Blitz squarely, but he payed for it. One long stream of fire burst from the Arcanine's maw and melted away the metal-- much to the snake's immediate pain, and cooked the snake alive. I felt the coil around me finally lax as I crumpled to the floor in renewed agonizing pain. My blade was still on my glove, but the entire bottom end of it was broke from the pressure of being squished, but I didn't get time to care about that. Stars were dancing before my eyes as the beast picked me gently in his jaws and bounded out of the headquarters. Not much after that I can say I remember, but I do recall hearing noises beneath the ground once we had left the city. It brought a calming smile as I relished, however short, in the glory that my quick thinking saved an entire city's life.

A black wave rolled over me after that, and I was no longer conscious of the world around me.

---- hours later ----

I felt groggy when I regained consciousness on top of that:

“Ugh, my head is pounding. I keep feeling it drum against my temples.”

“Actually, Zix, that is the Abyss army underneath us. We felt them coming half an hour ago and have stopped moving in fear they could hear us. Now, shh.”

I was having slight memory problems as my head tried piecing together what transpired before I blacked out. I remember fighting Gradius, losing, and an Arcanine saving me. What was his name? I sat there hammering that question until a flash of recollection surface. This mainly happened when I tried adjusting my left limp which greeted me with a small throb. I slowly raised myself off the ground only to be gently pressed back down by a massive paw. I finally saw a head rise over my field of vision, Blitz, as he shook his head to not move. I silently nodded and held myself there after his paw moved off my body. The noises slowly faded from hearing, and once they could no longer be heard, Blitz nodded that I could move again.

I again, tried getting up slowly, relieved that both of my arms could be used for support. I stumbled a bit when I got myself upright, but I maintained. I checked myself over, for whatever reason, I felt a bit different. A sense of relief filled me as nothing looked out of place. My cuts and bruises were healed, my arm, while sore, was able to freely move without much trouble. I felt whole again. My stomach made itself heard as it rumbled, reminding me that I hadn't really had much to eaten in a while. Blitz smiled, obviously hearing it too and motioned for me to follow him as we navigated across the camp. Questions burned my conscious as I wanted to know what had transpired in recent hours: how far were we away from Minacen, how many actually evacuated, had we been attacked or spotted, how many able warriors were there? I kept my peace, though, until after I ate. Blitz showed me the stores and left me to eat my fill; I knew these were the rations to get us to Scarwell, so I only took a small bit to hold me over.

I ate in silence, and when I was done was when Blitz informed me of miraculous news:

“Before you start pressing me about what happened between then and now, I have something for you. I don't have it on me, Shield does, but we found some interesting information in both Gradius's office and war room that you may find useful. In the evacuation, I chanced passing his personal quarters and got curious. I entered and rummaged through his belongings and find a journal that he had been writing. It included his plans to allow the Abyss to enter the city without a fight, but he also mentioned that he, through some unknown source, may have found your Parchments of Fate. It didn't say much, so I began thinking maybe he was keeping that information close, so I found Shield, told him to evacuate Minacen while I found you. He didn't argue about it as he must have picked up on my urgency. Anyways, I found you about to get devoured by the general, intervened, and saved your life. I didn't immediately leave though. I sought any information that may have been stored in their regarding the Parchments, and after minutes of searching, finally found what I was looking for. I couldn't take you and his other journal at the same time, so I memorized what I could and left with you. By then, most of the city was filing out of the gates heading north to swing around sea as you requested. You were healed as best as we could and now what you have waited for me to tell you.

As it turns out, Gradius's betrayal ran deeper than we expected. His Siege had actually killed him, and what was left of him was his Abyssal form to take his place. I guess in that small time, he and some of his squad, including the scribe, were replaced with mimics of their former selves while Gradius was still himself but converted. For posing as the leader as long as he could, he would let the Abyss straight into the city without much bloodshed on their part and slaughter all of us in short time. In return for completing the underground passage, he was given knowledge of where the Papers were at: Minacen. Our archeologists actually had found them in some ruins in the wastelands before the invasion and had moved them to Minacen. Nobody realized that was what they were but were still put on display in the museum we had. This was why the Abyss strongly wanted to take us over: to insure that no Seer could find them before they did. They may still be there if we were to return and claim them, but it will most likely be moved to King Baxis's castle. Oh, and he wants to speak with you after we're through which is now. I've told you everything that we found, so now we just need to get to Scarwell alive.”

I had sat silently with very little emotion to read. It was a lot to digest, but it all made sense. I gave Blitz a quick nod of thank you, got up, and headed for the king's tent. I didn't know where it was in the camp, but some alone time would be a blessing. I needed it. Thoughts roiled around my head, but of all of them, one struck me as a necessity: I needed to tell the other Seers where to find the Parchments of Fate. I went to a quiet, open place to sit, opened my mind up to the world, and tracked down every Seer out there. I hadn't done this before, but I was surprised at how easy it was. I found them all in short time, established a connection in each of their minds and transmitted my thoughts:

This is Zix Dragontamer, a fellow Seer. Recently, I had visited the city of Minacen which now belongs to the Abyss. Everyone, however, was evacuated in time before any bloodshed came to be as the city was unprepared to fend them off due to a traitor within the Peacekeepers. However, on top with the evacuation, the traitor was dealt with and information regarding the whereabouts of the Parchments of Fate have bee revealed. It turns out that they were held in Minacen's museum long before the crisis started but nobody knew that was what they were. Now the armies of the Abyss hold them in their possession, and the only way to reclaim them is through besieging Minacen in the future. Right now, the citizens and myself are fleeing to Scarwell to regroup, recruit and train. Once the blood is collected, head there to discuss on how to reconquer Minacen. See you soon.

I terminated the connection, got up and proceeded to find where the king was at. Hope he wasn't angry at me.

 

[Necros]

OOC: Apologies for the shortness, don't want to cut out too many other rpers by adding a lot myself. Plus I've been busy.

Melanthios Malachi the Sableye
Victakan Plains, Victakan

Melanthios stared in the direction of Center Lake City and frowned. While he objectively had no problem with DX helping them out in collecting the blood, he was deeply worried that the Pikachu Fallen might come in contact with his own. There was no telling what would happen if they clashed. DX had the ruthlessness and determination, while Melanthios’ Fallen had the power. And he had no doubt they would clash. His Fallen’s role was to impede their progress. DX was opposing that. Was his Master using DX to help him, or was this part of a larger tactic by the Magus playing against him?

Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that his Fallen ran the risk of being destroyed. While that would certainly give Melanthios a huge advantage on this game board, in the long run, he would rather avoid the hassle of having to undo the damage of losing that part of himself. If only his Fallen weren’t so close to Undax, he could just ignore the consequences of DX’s actions and leave this world to its fate once the Seers accomplished their mission and his ascension was complete.

It was a bit of a tight spot he was being forced into. Regardless of the outcome, Melanthios was almost certain he wouldn’t be able to come out of this upcoming battle unscathed. Whoever was playing against his Master was clever. First using that Raichu piece and then this…it wouldn’t do to underestimate them. He’d been checked once and it looked like their face off against Undax would result in another check at least. But it was early days, and unless Melanthios’ opponent achieved a perfect checkmate, the Sableye would not give one inch from his goal. He’d ascend, thank his opponent for making the game so interesting, and then promptly rub the defeat in their face over and over again.

He cackled softly at the lovely thought.

***

Center Lake City, Victakan

Undax smirked as he watched the Sableye cheerfully and openly spread corruption throughout the city. Any resistance the living still had was utterly laughable, the Fallen soul just batted aside the few Pokémon still fighting for their home and the few mechanims still functioning enough to even move. It was a matter of minutes before the entire city was completely overrun with their influence. Indeed, Undax could have ended it now, if it weren’t for the fact that every so often Melanthios’ Fallen would suddenly have a change of mood, bursting out into tears or running up to him and clinging to his side, shivering.

The diseased Gengar was mildly relieved that during these episodes, the Fallen was not completely defenseless. Indeed, he seemed to be utterly unable to be harmed by any of the fighters that tried to rally and push back towards Undax, their attacks veering wildly off target or else encountering resistance halfway there and getting blown back. Still, he chastised the little one for it. Purely because of tactical reasons. He didn’t care one bit about the Sableye’s wellbeing. He was only a soldier, a weapon, a tool. He was nothing more than that. He couldn’t be anything more than that.

“C-c-C-C-cOuLD yOu…M-maYBe r-ReaD mE aNoTheR sToRy…?” The Fallen was tugging on Undax’s side, sniffling.

Undax sighed. Despite the odd pains the other caused whenever he got like this, the Gengar couldn’t deny there was some small, incredibly buried part of him that liked it when this happened. It must be because it was one of the only times he appeared stronger than the Fallen. That must have been it. No other reason. Absolutely no other reason.

“I’m NoT sURe iF iT wOuLD bE sAfe, wHAt wiTH tHe ResIStANce sTiLL aRoUNd An-“

Undax broke off when the Fallen Sableye scowled, his eyes blazing. There were about ten or so surviving/uncorrupted Pokémon left. Without even turning to face them, Melanthios’ Fallen snapped his fingers and a pillar of pure dark energy descended from the heavens, a bright crackling column of purple and black electricity that could be seen from miles. It slammed into a section of the city, obliterating the remaining resistance and creating a rather huge, blackened crater in the process, foul gasses and smoke rising in a billowing cloud from the debris.

“ThERE. nO MoRE tHREaT. nOW rEAd,” he hissed darkly.

Even though Undax had gotten just what he wanted, he couldn’t help but let out a kind of whine. It was hard to say whether it was from fear or wounded pride or something else. Nevertheless, the Gengar quickly found one of the surviving children’s books and sat with the Fallen Sableye, beginning to read.

“iN a GreAT GrEEn rOoM…tHEre wAs a TelEpHoNE…aNd a REd BalLoOn…aNd A pICtuRE oF…a MiLKtANk jUMping OvER tHe MoOn…”

***

Ledumos just stared at Necros.

“Really? ‘Goodnight Moon’, Nec~?”

“What? I’m told it’s a classic,” he shrugged, inspecting a bit of dust that had gotten on one of his footpaws.

“It doesn’t come out for at least another fifty years!”

“Well how am I supposed to know that? I never read them.”

Ledumos giggled.

“No, I guess you wouldn’t have. They’re not your style. Come to think of it, having any sort of childhood at all is against your style. Is that why you’re actually so interested in stopping Melanthios? You can tell me, you know. I won’t be too jealous, I promise~”

Necros didn’t answer. He just reached forward to move another piece on the game board, his eyes as devoid of emotion as ever.

 

[strategiser24]

Tariq the Archeops
Centraltel, Victaken

Tariq roosted on the shore as he tried to make up his mind; Xac was bound to take Jax, Melanthos, Syrat, and Diego by surprise, but Delath could go anywhere in the time he spends searching for them. Kraxel may or may not be able to handle Delath, and the others may or may not be able to handle the surprise...Getiing sidetracked, he could feel the presence of another Seer, one he hadn't felt before. Then, from this strange feeling, came a voice that spoke to him...or someone like him at least...


This is Zix Dragontamer, a fellow Seer. Recently, I had visited the city of Minacen which now belongs to the Abyss. Everyone, however, was evacuated in time before any bloodshed came to be as the city was unprepared to fend them off due to a traitor within the Peacekeepers. However, on top with the evacuation, the traitor was dealt with and information regarding the whereabouts of the Parchments of Fate have bee revealed. It turns out that they were held in Minacen's museum long before the crisis started but nobody knew that was what they were. Now the armies of the Abyss hold them in their possession, and the only way to reclaim them is through besieging Minacen in the future. Right now, the citizens and myself are fleeing to Scarwell to regroup, recruit and train. Once the blood is collected, head there to discuss on how to reconquer Minacen. See you soon.

Tariq thought for a moment, so Minacen wasn't able to hold out either it seemed. Minacen: the Irfan had a library there; did they escape or are the members trapped there? Tariq asked himself.


Tariq, I have reached land, start counting your days now. Kraxel's voice relayed, he'd almost forgotten about him already.

Getting up, from resting on the ground, Tariq prepared to take flight across the channel when he heard what sounded like a hawk in the sky. Tariq looked up to find Amria, the Fearow who'd helped Igriod find him earlier, flying over him; she descended onto the shore, sending sand into the air, soiling her cloak. "I thought there was two more of you, where're your new friends?" Amria asked, shaking the sand off.

"We''re still together, along with around four others, we split up after we killed Xac...even though I wish we didn't...what're you doing here?" Tariq explained, puzzled as to why she'd look for him all the way to Centraltel.

"Marxis wants me to relay a message: Minacen's been-" she began to say.

"I know...don't ask how," Tariq interrupted, eager to catch up with Kraxel, "Is that it?"

"...Well...there's also some information about some place in Victaken they want you o know," Amria continued, "Most of the members in Minacen are either dead or missing, but some of them escaped; those that did, managed to salvage a legend about a place in 'the far north,' and that it may have a connection to whatever you Seers can do,"

"What do you mean?" Tariq asked, upset, "We've lost Minacen and all they have is a legend about someplace that might be rubble by now?!?"

"Relax, there's plenty of other things they escaped with that make more sense, but Marxis thinkins that this one is the most important to you," Amria replied, trying to keep things calm in case the Abyss was nearby, "She seems to think that they're referring to an ancient temple that's, likely, been claimed by the elements and the snow,...but she thinks its more than just that, since its also said to only be accessible with the essence of 'two,' and from some of the references to Seers in the legend, she thinks that only you AND another Seer have the 'essence' to get inside...of course, any two Seers would likely work, but we're not sure how many people know this, especially since the 'far north' is a harsh, remote place,"

Tariq explained what had happened in the last few hours, in exchange for what she was telling him; Marxis would likely want to know what he and the others had done. "Well, I can't say that's the first time we've been called paranoid," Amria said, "This time, I think we've proven we're not, with the Abyss and now with the 'dead' Xac accompanying your four friends...I'll take this information back to Houan, you should probobly catch up with the Bisharp, he's bound to be halfway to Scarwell by now...Oh, and try not to do things wrong again..."

Amria took to the sky and made four the southeast, heading back to Houan Peak. Tariq stretched his wings and flew to the sky, soaring over the channel to Azmarax. Making it to Scaarwell in half the time, he spotted Kraxel at the gates, conversing with a guard. Tariq landed nearby; telling the guard that he was a Seer as well, the guard allowed him in, letting him catch up with Kraxel quickly. "I suppose I couldn't let you fight Delath on your own, I'm with you," Tariq told him, "There's a seer in town that we may be able to catch up with...and, there's something...else...that we may want to do at some point: I'll explain later,"

Tariq kept his hood down and his eyes open, he couldn't be sure who was listening in, and what they would do with whatever they eavesdropped.

 

[Flash Sport]

OOC: Sorry if I missed anything significant. I only skimmed the previous posts. If something needs to be changed let me know...


Liechi the Whimsicott
Dysan, Kanat
Underground bunker

Liechi sat in a small alcove above a decrepit table, nibbling at the tip of her paw and peering with a vague harshness at the floor. Picking up on the sound of a soft apology, her orange eyes shifted to the left. Near the door of the meeting room stood Salut and her brother, the former removing the split, sling, and cast from Nelt’s arm. The whimsicott watched intently, her innards clenching at the sight of broken spikes on his arm. Some were completely destroyed down to the base while others formed jagged stumps. She watched her brother test his arm, gingerly at first, before becoming confident with his swings until the wrong motion sent a jolt of pain through the wounded limb that made him wince, though he hid it well. Salut was telling him something, most likely in regards to his arm from the way she pointed to it, but Liechi perk her ears to listen. She was too busy despairing over the many scars that littered his body, particularly the raw appearance of that battered arm with deep gashes and burns. Her brother, her oldest sibling who always appeared so strong and untouchable now appeared to be an old veteran, even more so when he turned to leave Salut. Over his left eye was a patch. It hid a nasty blast scar, one of the worst she had ever seen. She didn’t need to hear the words from him or get a report from a healer to know he would never use that eye again. He did tell her who gave it to him.

Their reunion was an odd one. The tension she felt was palpable as soon as she entered the room, but it was not the first thing she noticed. The first thing she noticed upon stepping in the room was the faint stench of decay. Her stomach roiled slightly, but the smell had little to do with it. It was the idea of what the smell was usually associated with that unnerved her. For the briefest moment did she think Gaius and the others had lied to her or had set her up because there was no way the mutilated cacturne that was seated on the cot could be her brother. His skin was too dark, too scarred, and his eyes too dull and leering. He had the same predatory glint as those demons running ramped on the surface. From his hunched posture and the stiffness, Liechi thought he would attack her. A hasty exit could have been done if needed, but she quickly scolded herself with such thinking. She didn’t make the trip all the way from Lakeville to Dysan just to run away from her brother whom she thought to be one of the Scourges. If it weren’t for her seer ability, she wouldn’t have thought it possible for her brother to change into one of those vile beings, but there was a chance…a definite chance. She had yet to run into the one of the creatures capable of transforming a normal Pokémon into a Scourge. Unfortunately, Nelt got that chance.

After she managed to get over her uneasiness and fear, Liechi had greeted her brother with her typical jovial attitude. At first, he didn’t return the same elatedness, opting to reprimand and speak sharply at her. Part of her was taken aback at his hostility. The other part of her merely nodded in confirmation at what she hoped to not be the case. Standing firm, Liechi managed to argue back until he finally came to his senses. She could tell he was “back to normal” by the weary and cautious eyes. He apologized for his words and said that all the while he was not happy that she came to Dysan of her own accord, particularly since she was an Indigo Seer, he was happy that she made it alright. Both of them were testing the waters with mild mannered jokes and tales of the old days until both reached a silent agreement that everything was okay. From that point, Nelt delved into his memories and told Liechi all of what happened on the squad’s way to and inside Dysan. The scouting was going well at first until they happened upon a band of rebels engaged in heated battle with many Scourges. The rebels were cornered and facing certain death until Nelt led the charge that changed the flow of battle and ultimately allowed much of the rebel band to live, though it cost Nelt two of his members. It was those rebels that led them to the base and their leader, Gaius.

From what he told her, Liechi found that Nelt could have returned to Lakeville sooner, but by his own volition, chose to stay and assist the rebels in taking back Dysan. The two leaders ended up exchanging tactics and discussing ideas. Pokémon were deployed much more sparingly and smartly, making the rebels’ recon much more effective. With a few added tips from Nelt, confrontations were lessened and in the event they did end up in combat, battles were fought intelligently. They fled when they knew a fight would end in defeat. Many of the rebels did not like the idea of fleeing or tricking the opponent just so they could run away. They’d rather go down in a blaze of glory and hurt the cause instead of preserving their lives to be of benefit later. It took some stern convincing from Nelt to get Gaius to understand his point. Reluctance managed to win out. Nelt, Gaius, and their members were doing well for themselves, well enough to bring out the one that would terribly maim Nelt, destroy his squad, and nearly decimated the rebels. It was that same plan they were about to put into motion once more.

Gaius stood on the platform, arms folded, as he waited for the room of Pokémon to get settled. Liechi’s eyes followed her brother who, along with Montezu, took to standing on Gaius’ left while two other rebels occupied the space to Gaius’ right. More Pokémon filed in and once all the participants had arrived, Salut closed the door.

“Either your brother has some serious sacks on him or that last confrontation has driven him insane,” came a voice out of thin air. Liechi didn’t bother with sparing the speaker a glance once he materialized at the table below her. He leaned against the wall, propped his tiny yellow feet on the table, and crossed his green legs. “Only the foolish ones or the ones bent on self-destruction will enter into a war zone in that sort of condition.”

“My brother is neither,” Liechi flatly replied, irritated by the criticism.

Unfazed, the kecleon asked, “Objective assessment or naïve partiality?”

“Both,” she answered, suppressing the uneasiness that plagued her ever since Nelt’s insistence on joining the upcoming battle. Gaius had suggested he stay put, which Liechi also agreed with. Although he managed to maintain a dignified and cool persona, Nelt was uncharacteristically vehement on the matter, giving Gaius a hard look in the eye that the dragon seemed to understand. Liechi understood it too, though the look had morphed into one of reassurance when Nelt turned her way. She didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Alright, listen up!” Gaius called out over the assemblage, which quieted immediately and turned to attention. Even the insouciant kecleon below her gave the dragon his utmost attention, despite his lax appearance. “As you all know, the last time we carried out this plan, we vastly underestimated the overseer of this Scourge horde and paid dearly for it.”

“What plan is he talking about?” Liechi whispered.

“The one that nearly brought an end to the hope of taking back Dysan and made your brother into what he is now,” the kecleon started, his eyes never straying from the platform as Gaius continued. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Dysan has five power stations; four small ones that all connect to the large one that sits in the city's center. The plan was to cause all five power stations to explode.”

She wasn’t sure of the about the size of the smaller stations, but the largest power station she remembered from a photo in a book. It was large enough to be considered an engineering marvel. Liechi slowly began making calculations in her head. “The sheer size of it… The amount of pressure that would be needed to cause it to rupture…that’d be enough to destroy a quarter of Dysan.”

“Don’t forget to factor in the smaller ones,” he idly added. “I’m pretty sure those things can pack a punch too.”

Liechi stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand their willingness to destroy their own home. “B-But why?”

He merely shrugged his shoulders. “We Dysanians are proud. We’d rather obliterate our buildings than hand it over to the Scourge. It's the only thing that we have that has the highest possibility of crippling their numbers. Besides, Dysan use to be nothing but wilderness. We can always rebuild it into a bigger and better city.” Liechi shook her head, but spoke no more. She tuned back into Gaius’ speech as he went over the new implementations integrated into the old plan. As it turned out, rebel Pokémon were dispatched one or two at a time to each of the stations two weeks ahead of time in preparation. Once he was sure everyone had a thorough understanding of what was to happen, Gaius began breaking the Pokémon up into teams. Nelt and Montzeu had their own squads at the former’s request. Needless to say the sudowoodo was miffed, but did not protest. Liechi couldn’t quell the increasing levels of uneasiness caused by her brother’s odd behavior, but was momentarily taken away from her assessment by Gaius’ voice.

“Rycero, Liechi, and Trinket will be handling the infiltration of the main power station.” Liechi gave a look of surprise while the kecleon appeared unfazed. Great…she’d be in a team with him. “We’ll need you to subdue the surrounding guards in order to pave the way for the main team to get through to the boilers. The quicker you can get that done the better. With your gift that should be no problem.” Liechi gave a nervous laugh as he returned to dividing the rest of the rebels. Like being a seer made her invincible. What good was it if she was a coward? What good was it if she couldn’t help her brother? For a moment, she felt herself trembling. Was she that afraid? Glancing around to see if anyone noticed her increasingly violent shakes revealed that it wasn’t just her shaking. The room, most likely the entire bunker, was quaking. Pokémon scrambled beneath the tables while others erected a barrier. Liechi squeezed back into her small alcove, bracing against the walls. Each quake was followed by another and another with varying intensities. Cracks shot up the walls, across the floors and ceilings like lightning. Debris rained from above, but the tremors showed no sign of lessening.