[PKMN FULL] The Age of Heroes [IC]

[Trev]

Loria / Mistwatch Keep

Loria immediately noticed something odd - Alysanne appeared to be above the rubble of the explosion that had occurred moments ago. Although most would ignore this minor detail, it seemed out-of-place right after a major explosion that sent debri flying in every direction. She decided to dismiss it, as Faolan himself wasn't buried under it as well - maybe it was just a nature conundrum that she would never try to understand?

"Oh Faolan, you're so respectable. Your words have done me no harm, so you needn't bother with apologies. For now, our concern lies with the man who possibly awaits at the top of this tower." Loria turned her head towards the top, a hopeful thought flying out that Januario was actually up there, and she wasn't risking the downfall of the Brotherhood for her own selfish deeds. However, the appearance of Sigmund and Alysanne led her to believe that he must be up there - they wouldn't attack them without reason, unless they were simply that attached to Mistwatch Keep. "I assume that you wish to speak to him first, so I shall let you do so. However, you mustn't let him escape, for I will not be done with him on mere words."

Without further articulation, Loria floated into Mistwatch Keep, looking around the lobby once she was inside. Faolan had followed her inside, also taking in the inner structure of the tower. A large, circular staircase led up to the top, as far as she could see. Whether or not it was littered with traps and henchmen remained to be seen. "It seems that this is our way up. I will put my faith in you that you will not tire as you climb these. I will lead us to the top, as I do not want you to exert yourself in case a trap be sprung."

Loria began the ascend up the stairs, making sure Faolan fell in suit behind her. As their travel up the staircase began, Loria started to talk. "I suppose you are interested in why I want to speak to Januario. This is not something I've told the others yet, so I guess you can consider yourself special that you're the first of the group to know. When my village was not a smoldering pile of ash, I used to rule there. I was considered a queen, and I still am as a matter of fact. I just lack a kingdom to rule. Nonetheless, Januario came to me with a proposal: in exchange for the funds of my village, he would secure the Ice Plate and ensure the safety of my village should the plate have any ill effects upon removal from its hiding place."

Loria continued up the staircase, running her hand along the railing. "Until recently, approximately two days ago, I assumed that this Ice Plate he spoke of was merely a rumor and a trick to attempt to get funds from my village. I know now that this is not the case, although I partially do not regret my decision because of the power these plates contain, and what he could do with them. During my rule, Januario approached me with this proposal, which I promptly declined. He was infuriated with me, insulting my intelligence and claiming that I would cooperate in the near future. The next day, my village was attacked."

Her grip tightened as she continued moving upwards. "It did not take a scientist to figure that Januario had initiated the attack. He sent any Fire-type mercenary he could muster from his forces to destroy my village and capture me. It was... retched. My family, my friends, those I trusted and loved; all were killed. I was the only survivor of this raid. Through my knowledge of the village layout and general survival skills, I was able to escape before I was captured. The warriors gave chase, laying waste to most of the forest nearby as they searched high and low to find me. Of course, as in chess, the Queen is superior to all Pawns, so I outwitted my assailants and managed to put considerable difference between them and me. And thus began my life of solitude."

As she ended her story, she noticed that she and Faolan had both arrived at the slanted door that lead to the roof of the keep. She could detect the Psychic energy that not only protected the door, but also the roof itself. "This is our stop." She held up her hand, draining the Psychic energy from the door into herself before expelling it in a powerful blast that shattered the door from its hinges. She moved aside to allow Faolan to step forward. "After you. Do not worry of being attacked; should anything happen that you can't defend yourself from, I will protect you."

 

[Ray Maverick]

The Trade Prince

The door to the roof was blown off its hinges by a powerful force. The little Pikachu almost choked on the cookie he was eating. He sat on his feather bed, turning to face the invaders with a mild smile of amusement that showed his teeth. "Oh? I'd swear, just now, somebody knocked on the door..."

It was the Mienshao, Faolan the Wicked, and no one else than Loria. Faolan was already taking steps toward him with an emotionless expression, so Januario felt obliged to remind them who he was. "Now hold on, Faolan, I'm on your side. I even ordered the Company to retreat! You've nothing to fear from me... I mean, of course you've nothing to fear, I'm just a stumpy Pikachu!" he chortled, but then got serious. "You take two more steps and you're a dead man."

Faolan stopped put, glancing around the roof of Mistwatch Keep, as if in search for traps. His eyes were fixed on a spot to the left of the Trade Prince for a few seconds. He remained a few feet away from the Trade Prince, without moving, his gaze now fixed on him. "I am not here to kill you," Faolan said, "if that was what you thought, I assure you I can do it from here."

The Trade Prince laughed. "That's rich. I'm sure your lady friend over there will be happy to kill me..." he sighed, "I thought she was above revenge. Turns out I was wrong!"

"Frankly, I do not care what business she has with you or through what means you will resolve it. I seek information... regarding the legend of the Midnight Sun."

The Pikachu rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking up at the starry sky. "And why should I tell you anything? Oh, scratch that, I think I'll let you on with something. The Master of that dojo in Cyala you were in? Master Zhao, I believe?"

Faolan's face revealed surprise for just a second. "How are you aware of--"

"It makes no matter. Master Zhao has left Altica in pursuit of the Midnight Sun. That's all you needed to know... hm? Hey, if you want a ship to take you there, all you have to do is pay me in cold hard cash. I'd love to see Master Zhao having some competition..." he started laughing again.

Tsulong

"What are you doing, lads?" Tsulong shouted to them. Some of the heroes had gathered around Reginard, who appeared to have fallen. If he's sick, it means he won't be able to travel with us for long, he reflected sadly. "C'mon, we'll have to give chase to them," he nodded towards the retreating Cyalans. The Brotherhood was hot on their tail, chasing them up north.

Tsulong charged after them in extremespeed, stirring like a crazed Houndoom between the trees that slowly became lesser as he exited the forest. He stood on the edge of a hill that was facing to the Westfall Camp; it was the same hill he stood on to launch his fire. The Cyalans, many of them, at least two hundred, were crossing the bridge to their camp, but the Brotherhood had ceased following. Tsulong, seeing this, ran to the outskirts of the forest to meet with Lord Zeke who was watching the Cyalans retreat with content faces.

"Why did you stop?" he asked them. The Zangoose looked at him. His face and belly was bloodied, but it didn't seem to be his blood.

"That's as far as our forest goes," Lord Zeke said, "the enemies have retreated, and we don't exit the hearth of the trees."

The Arcanine smirked his face in, a bit picked off. "I'm going in, to finish what I started," he stated, bursting on a free run down the hill, to the bridge and after the Cyalans. The wooden drawbridge of the camp was being raised at that moment, but with a blast of fire, he cast it aside, burning. Instead of walking on a bridge, he leaped above the rambling river, landing inside the camp, right behind his enemies. After a great roar to grab their attention, he unleashed the roaring, giant stream of fire the Exemplars were known to use.
​

 

[Trev]

Loria / Mistwatch Keep

Loria waited until Faolan was finished with his business involving something about the Midnight Sun. She knew some details about the legend, but in full she couldn't describe it. Nonetheless, she stepped forward past Faolan, to where Januario had a good look of her. If everything went her way, it'd be the last thing he would ever see.

"Januario. It's so wonderful to see you again. This time, I do hope that this confrontation will end in a much more agreeable manner, such as me crushing your skull into pieces." She spoke, completely serious and dark-mannered.

"I'm afraid that can't happen. The people of Altica would miss me so!" the Pikachu said, oddly cheerful. He didn't seem to be afraid of Loria at all; in fact, he seemed to be welcoming her.

"The only people who will miss you are the wretched swines of Crimson Company. And believe me, I think they'll get along just fine without you around." She cracked her fingers. "If there's anything this world would do better without, it's you."

Faolan glanced to her, having a troubled expression, as if he was trying to come to a difficult decision. "You do not mean to kill him... do you?" he whispered, already knowing the answer. "He has proven useful to us."

"I have every intention of ending his miserable life right here. For what he's done to me, there is no suitable punishment besides death." She answered coldy, not taking her eyes from the Pikachu. "Whether or not he has helped you in the past, he is the one responsible for the destruction of my entire life. I will not allow him to live another day so long as I am on this earth."

Januario laughed, throwing a cookie in his mouth casually. The nerve of him was disturbing even to Faolan. "Want some tissues?"

She immediately charged a Shadow Ball, holding it high above her head. "Yes I would - so I can wipe your blood from the walls!" With no hesitation, she fired it right towards him with bloodlust in her eyes, ready to watch him explode across the roof.

The shadowy blob of dark energy crushed on his bed, exploding, but he was nowhere to be found - in fact, he had vanished just a second before the impact. Multiple images of the Pikachu started circling around the two heroes with speed. Januario was laughing shrilly, "can you find me? OH! Look who's here!"

Two dark green cages formed around Faolan and Loria, made of psychic energy that bound them to the ground. Behind them, a shadow covered the moonlight.

"Payback," an overcharged, distorted voice said. It was Sigmund that floated above them both. His eyes were glowing dark green with power in the dark.

"You bastard, how dare you interefere with my plans! I will kill you again if I must!"

"Never did you manage to kill me once," Sigmund replied with his teeth gritted. It was impossible to tell if he was angry or not. "I made a mistake... I've learned to cover my mistakes."

"Good one, Sig," Januario said, clapping his hands. All of his images were clapping their hands excitedly... it was a disgusting view. "Don't kill them. They'll learn from their mistakes too, I suppose... It'd be such a pity to dispose us of heroes as useful as these two. Now... I've got places to be. Au revoir."

Loria couldn't access her Psychic energy within Sigmund's trap, so she genuinely was stuck where she was. "You coward! How dare you walk off like that! Don't doubt for a second that I won't track you down! I will end your life faster than it started!"

The images of the Pikachu left the Keep through the roof's door, seemingly not hearing what Loria was saying. Sigmund had left with him, before throwing Loria a death stare, as if saying, he won't forget... the cages remained around them, the energy wasn't leaving; Sigmund seemed to be able to focus his psychic far away from the spot.

"Ooh, if I wasn't locked in here, I would destroy this entire tower with them in it!" Loria shouted. However, her anger quickly dissipated as she realized... she was kind of stuck. "Uh, Faolan, dear, do you have any idea how we shall escape this?"

 

[Greiger]

Reginard Asphos
​

His mind slowly calmed down. He could feel the stings from before dying off and finally he was ready to act once more. He rose back on his feet just in time to see the army fleeing them. So much for that ruckus, but then he looked around him. They were missing some heroes, and then it hit him. The brotherhood wasn't stepping out of the forest... but the heroes were. He facepalmed at the stupidity of heading into enemy territory without properly scoping it out first.

Luckily he could sense Tsulong's presence further away. "That Arcanine will get killed..." He muttered to himself. He didn't even need to touch the other heroes as he ported them all away to where he could feel Tsulong. He sighed and shook his head, "Just do whatever I suppose. No precautions necessary then."

 

[Garet]

Roscoe
Duskwoo-- wait, Westfall Camp.
~~~~~

"What hapened to him?" Jackson asked.

"Not sure," Roscoe answered, just before Reginard sat up and reassured them that he was fine. The Sceptile just shook his head and said to Jackson, "Go on ahead, I'll keep an eye on 'im." They didn't both need to be there, since the Cyalans were retreating.

A couple minutes or so later, Reginard stood up and teleported the heroes into Westfall Camp. Roscoe felt lightheaded for a moment before shaking his head and looking around. The Cyalans were much closer again, with Tsulong unleashing more fire upon them. "I think I understand ye," Roscoe agreed in reply to Reginard's comment about no precautions. "Would be a good time t' stick together."

Standing a few yards behind the Arcanine, Roscoe spotted several Cyalans that were coming around from among the tents on one side, hurrying to flank Tsulong. "Oh, no, ya don't," Roscoe muttered, dashing forward to Tsulong's side. The group of Cyalans hesitated before a Grimer spewed Sludge out of its mouth. Assuming that Tsulong was still behind him, Roscoe took the hit as the seeds on his back began glowing. The flankers took advantage of his pause by beginning to rush forward with their attacks, but the sight of a SolarBeam being fired scattered them. Not that it was a powerful one, given the night sky.

 

[Sir Bastian]

Vincent 'Vince' The Wanderer & Guardian - Westfall

Guardian and the Wanderer stood in the middle of the camp, watching the mercenaries bustle through the camp, chased by fire. Some of them shot their own ranged attacks back at Tsulong, who had broke through the gate; the other heroes had arrived to the aid of the Exemplar of Fire. The bunch of Pokemon were stepping back to their way, away from the fire, trampling over tents that were on their way. Ser Mantarys was somewhere in there, bellowing like a crazed animal. The way Tsulong and the other heroes were pushing the mercenaries, Guardian and the Wanderer would crush them from behind.

"You fought bravely so far, Wanderer. But charging an army takes more than guts, this one believes... it takes madness. Are you ready?" The Golurk was looking down at the Dewott, as if smiling.

Vincent stared at the scattered, oncoming mercenaries that were fleeing from the forest and Tsulong, reaching down to unhook the shells from their straps, tossing them into the air and catching them again. He pushed one foot forwards, raising the shells in preparation to attack.

He glanced back up at Guardian, his lips tugging into a bit of a smile behind the scarf as he looked back at the mercenaries. "Madness is in the eye of the beholder, like alot of things are. This isn't about being brave, this is about necessity."

"We do what we must," Guardian agreed with a little nod. Then, he leaped away towards the mercenaries, landing with a small quake. He was using his hands like hammers of fire and lightning, punching through them and cutting a spike through their ranks, towards Ser Mantarys.

Following right besides Guardian, Vincent used his shells to slice through the ranks of the mercenaries, caught completely off-guard, panicking due to the heroes attacking them from both sides now. He spun, jumped and dashed, criss-crossing between the Pokémon and delivering both light and grave wounds, using mainly his shells, but a couple of kicks as well. His ears twitched as he heard Mantarys' telltale roar somewhere in the giant crowd while leaping up and delivering a swift, mid-air roundhouse kick to a Lickitung, sending it to the ground. "Directly forwards and to the right!" he called out to Guardian.

"I hear you," Guardian's robotic voice boomed. He smashed a Vileplume with both hands, then leaped off the ground to set off a small earthquake that made everyone around him trip as he landed. The way to Mantarys was clear.

The Krookodile charged at Guardian recklessly, shouting, "you again! Bloody buggers, you're everywhere!" They clashed, Guardian in an Ice Punch and Mantarys in an Assurance. The two attacks had such power that they negated each other. In the next second, they clashed again with the same attacks, but this time Mantarys changed course a split second before impact, then launched himself on the Golurk, bashing his shoulder with a dark surge of Foul Play. The giant shook and kneeled as Mantarys turned to Vincent. "You're next on the chopping block," he spat.

Vincent grasped his shells tightly, preparing to launch himself at the Krookodile. Defeating Mantarys on his own was out of the question, but he could easily hold him off on his own, until Tsulong and the others arrived. Having fought Mantarys several times before hadn't just netted him alot of wounds, but it had also made Vincent wary of his tricks.

The Dewott didn't reply as he, instead of charging like the had done the other times, simply cocked his head, giving Mantarys a challenging smirk, holding his shells at the ready for the clearly angered Krookodile to run amok towards him.
​

 

[siiadams]

Jackson, the Dark Brawler - Westfall Camp

Jackson was a little disoriented from the teleportation that the Alakazam used to get them to Westfall, where the other heroes were. As his brain finally caught up with reality, he saw Roscoe run off to defend Tsulong from a group of marauders. He simply turned to the one that teleported them and said simply, "Looks like its just us now. Lets find the leader and finish this group for good!"

He looked around and saw the Golurk smashing around, as well as a Dewott near a large and nasty-looking Krookodile. There was a small group of soldiers slowly approaching the duo from behind, an evil look in their eyes. Jackson simply rushed forward, electricity crackling around his fist. The group saw him coming, but nothing he could do now. He smashed his Thunder Punch into a Furret while ducking and dodging weapons being used on him. He saw a Vulpix preparing a Flamethrower attack, which Jackson barely avoided by using Detect. He soon countered with a Sky Uppercut, launching the fire pokemon across the campground. A Slash attack brought his attention to a Bisharp who was leading the group. Behind him was a Sandslash, which came up with another Slash, catching Jackson in the chest.

Jackson retaliated with a Fire Punch flurry on Bisharp, causing burns across their face. He was hit with a Night Slash before the steel-type was KOed with another Thunder Punch. Resting his attention now on Sandslash, the soldier kept throeing sand In Jackson's face, blinding him temporarily. While blinded, Sandslash dug deep into the ground and disappeared. By the time Jackson could see, he was alone. He quickly used Detect, just in case. Good thing, too...Sandslash burst out of the ground behind him, but he saw it coming. He intercepted the soldier with another Sky Uppercut, knocking him out.


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[Garet]

Roscoe
Westfall Camp
~~~~~

A roar drew Roscoe's attention after throwing a Palpitoad he'd just Drained into another Cyalan. Ahead and to the left. The Sceptile slashed more Cyalans with his Leaf Blades as he darted around several who couldn't catch him. The same Grimer slid into his path and shot more Sludge; Roscoe sliced through it with one Blade and stabbed the Grimer with a Night Slash, moving on without pause.

Before he could go further, Roscoe halted as a Flamethrower struck the ground before him. Have I mentioned how I hate fire? He looked up in time to see a Rapidash unleash more flames, and rolled to one side as his back-seeds began gathering light at a gradual rate. Detecting the Rapidash coming at him in a Flame Charge, Roscoe stepped to one side and used his tail to trip the Cyalan. A Night Slash to the neck finished her.

As his neck-seed began repairing the damage from the flames, Roscoe took his bearings and spotted the Krookodile several yards away, with few Cyalans in between. The Sceptile prepared both Leaf Blades and opened his mouth, firing the underpowered SolarBeam at Mantarys, following up with slashes aimed for the torso.

 

[Ray Maverick]

Loria, Vincent, Faolan & Mantarys
​

Mantarys caught the light of the Solarbeam with the edge of his sight and jerked to the right to avoid it. He was about to begin his ruthless destruction of Vince's bone structure, when a freezing Ice Beam came raining from the sky and struck the ground in front of him, stopping the villain in his tracks. Looking overhead, he noticed... was that a ghost?

"Not today Mantarys!"

Indeed, it was Loria and Faolan, who had escaped their Psychic prison and come to the aid of the heroes nearby. Both of them landed on opposite sides of Vince, quickly taking up a fighting stance. "Well, I guess a cordial introduction isn't necessary. I suppose you're Mantarys, the wicked villain?"

The Krookodile's black eyes flicked from Faolan to Loria, a gurgling snarling rising from his throat. "Heroes," he hissed, "you should've been elsewhere..." He started laughing, then charged forward in a reckless frenzy, liquid dark energy already engulfing his hand in an Assurance that would hit all of them. Faolan had already leaped away fluidly.

As Mantarys charged, Vincent threw himself forwards, diving between the massive Pokémon's legs, barely avoiding the wildly swinging tail as he pulled off into a roll and leapt back onto his feet, swiftly jumping backwards to avoid any kind of wild swinging he knew Mantarys was prone to.

Loria quickly rolled out of the way as Mantarys stormed past her in what she would call an idiotic frenzy. "Didn't your mother ever teach you that it was impolite to hit girls?" She inhaled deeply and blew out a blistering Blizzard in Mantarys direction.

The center of the icy hailstorm found Mantarys full on the chest, making him flinch. He gritted his massive jaws and fought back the wind, slowly pacing towards Loria... until he launched himself off the ground in a surprise attack, using Foul Play on her; of course, Loria is not easily decieved, and immediately rolled again as he crashed down on her, only being scratched slightly by the claw on his foot. "Some help would be wonderful!" She then released another Ice Beam on Mantarys in an attempt to force him back.

Mantarys swung around, dodging the Ice Bream. Faolan had launched an Aura Sphere at Mantarys while Vincent had decided to make use of the Krookodile's attention being focused squarely on Loria. He dashed forward and ducked under the thick, flailing tail before leaping up, raising the shells in front of him, which he then sliced downwards, across Mantarys' back in an X-shape, kicking off of the Krookodile's back to push him out of his reach once again. "Hey, Mantarys! How about you deal with me? It's generally a bad idea to have your back turned to your enemy."

Mantarys let out a feral, monstrous scream; underneath him, a massive wave of darkness shot out to all directions. He was getting desperate, perhaps the heroes had gotten the better of him... but no, he thought to himself, grinning, his black eyes flaring with power. The Dark Pulse hit his soldiers as well, like an earthquake of darkness. Faolan stood his ground, letting the Dark Pulse wash over him. It didn't have as little effect as he'd hoped... in fact, it brought him on his knees, but he was quickly up.

Loria swiftly floated upwards as the dark wave pulsed underneath her, scraping the bottom of her dress-leg-things roughly. "Yeesh, you're a violent one. Have you considered anger management options?"

Wincing in pain, Vincent had raised his arms in front of him, standing his ground against the pulse of darkness blasting out from Mantarys from all sides. Once the darkness had died down, Vincent shuddered, shaking off the pain from the attack and let out a huff through his nose and the scarf wrapped over his mouth and nose, keeping his shells at the ready as his eyes were locked onto Mantarys, ready for whatever the frenzied captain was prepared to do next.

Meanwhile, Guardian was trying to ward off the soldiers of the Crimson Company who came too close to the fight. Mantarys noticed he wasn't fazed by his Dark Pulse and snarled like a crazed beast at him, setting off a powerful earthquake that shook and shattered the earth beneath them. Faolan had to leap off the ground to avoid the ground wave that left a fissure underneath him; he knew that the Krookodile had to take a moment to recover after using powerful attacks so frequently. Landing in front of him, he launched a Drain Punch onto his chest, then hit him again, this time leaping backwards to avoid his retaliation.

Mantarys had been left breathless, eyes shining darkly. The first rays of the sun were starting to appear on the horizon, behind the mountains... though it was hard to see, with the cloud of dust the earthquake had left. Nothing was moving around him; the mercenaries were all dead or dying. "You shouldn't have come here," he grunted under his breath, his jaws still gritted tightly. There was something strange about him, bits of dark energy were coming off of his body slowly, as if it was steaming from power. Faolan begun to notice the darkening sky, which was strange because it was dawn. Looking up, he saw dark clouds forming in the sky, clouds so black that they could've only been...

"Murkrows," the Mienshao muttered. Whole flocks of Murkrows, flying away from Duskwood, screeching frantically as if they had gone insane. Behind the shadow of Mantarys in the dust, he saw the big shadow of Tsulong and other shadows moving towards the Crimson Captain. Suddenly, the wind whipped up, forcing him to bring his hand to his forehead. A flock of Murkrows flew overhead, engulfing Mantarys, who did not fight them. The flaps of their wings brought the dust away, so all was clear now. Mantarys's eyes were flaring dark with power and emotion, saliva dripping from his jaws, and a vein bulging on his forehead. Faolan could feel his rage, his anguish and frenzy...

Faolan tried sensing Mantarys's aura. It was a crimson red mixed with a hue of black, as if he was on fire. I have never seen anything quite like this, Faolan thought. He would have tried attacking, but an overwhelming sense of danger had taken over him. Everything had fallen to cold silence under the shadow of the Murkrows, as if the air had been sucked out. That was no normal wind. A cold, menacing presence was carried in that wind, Faolan could feel it in his bones.

Then, a whisper echoed inside his mind, sending chills to his entire body.

Power... so... much... power...

It wasn't Mantarys's voice. It was someone else... Faolan looked at the other heroes, to see if they had heard it too. They had. It was getting darker as the damned birds on the sky covered the sun entirely... Mantarys opened his jaws to the sky, spread his arms and let out a deafening screech. He fell to one knee breathless, steaming with power, and looked around him, at the heroes, one by one. He was grinning eagerly with a maniacal shine in his eyes.

"Go ahead," he screamed at them, spitting saliva, "fight me! Push me! PUSH ME! WASTE YOUR TIME!"

As he said that, something behind them lit up the sky, in the forest. Faolan turned to see many fiery explosions taking place somewhere deeper in the forest. Multiple bursts of hellish flames were launched into the sky, each to fall in a different location. Mantarys started laughing, as if mocking them, as the trees of Duskwood went up in flames. The red light was dancing on everyone's faces, when suddenly, the wind whipped up again. An invisible hand was waved over them, dousing them with darkness and cold.

Then it came again, the dark, hissing whisper that almost sounded unreal.

Heroes... come to witness Duskwood... burn... time ticks... Tick, tock... hahahaha... the evil in the laughter made Faolan's hackles rise.

 

[Greiger]

Reginard Asphos and some other Characters​

Reginard took in another deep breath as the others already went out ahead and began clearing a sort of path through the camp. There were many soldiers surrounding them still, so Reginard's first priority was to make sure they could even the odds a bit more. He reached out to grab a Magmar with his mind and flung him back to hit into a Bayleef. To say that the Bayleef was midly surprised was a dramatic understatement. As he turned away from the panicked screams he turned his attention to the river. He levitated out a ball of water and sidestepped as a Charmeleon attempted to bite him. He threw the ball over and drenched the Charmeleon's tail. The fire type let out a death scream as he thrashed on the ground before finally laying silently, the tip of his tail letting out just a bit of smoke.

The Alakazam made a quick port over to a tent and gave it a psychic push. In fact as he came upon the various living quarters and important sites in the camp he just gave them all psychic pushes to make sure their usefullness would cease.

He reached out with his mind, frowning as he felt the others all close to a pokemon he coudln't identify. If he couldn't identify it.... then it had to be a dark type... which meant... ah, yes, him. Well he couldn't do much against a Krookodile, so he would leave that up to the others. They had him outnumbered anyway, so it would be a quick match and then they could leave this bloody forest.

As he raised a hand to cause a bit more chaos he saw a strange shape up in the sky. Reginard slowly lowered his hand a bit, frowning as the cloud got closer and closer. He could see... Mukrows.

Power... so... much... power...

Reginard's eyes widened as he heard the voice. Odd.... it sounded so... familar.

Heroes... come to witness Duskwood... burn... time ticks... Tick, tock... hahahaha...

Suddenly a very harsh pain hit his mind hard, casuing him to drop his staff and spoon and grip his head in agony. This time it was far worse... almost as if someone was splittling his head open and proceeding to stick all manner of pins into his brain. The pain lasted a while longer before he finally fell unto the ground unconscious.



The dark was so thick, it was impenetrable. It smelled like an animal had died in there. A voice was whispering up ahead, saying the same thing, over and over again... his title.

"Chronicler of Tales..." the hissing whisper echoed in his mind, sighing in a strange manner, "Chronicler of Tales... Chronicler of Tales..."

A massive shadow was standing in front of him. For a split second, the frantic screams of Murkrows pierced his mind like a spike. The Murkrows... they were all around him. Their red eyes blinked at the same time, leaving him into the dark for a mere moment before they opened again. The whisper changed tune.

"Give me back... what is rightfully mine."

"W-What?" He croaked out. His mind screamed in agony that worked to destroy any focus that he had on the figure. "P-Please... stop..." He cried out, on the verge of begging to cause this agony to stop.

"Stop?" the chilly whisper resonated, then a loud laughter broke, the same, dead laughter as before... The Murkrows screamed again, painfully ringing his ears. "This is only the beginning. The disc, Reginard. Where is the disc?"

He clutched his head even more and looked up through teary eyes to see one eye from this dark figure. An eye that he first thought was green, but as he blinked his eyes he saw that it was now purple that quickly changed to red, and as the pain kept ringing in his ears and the darkness crept in around him he could have sworn the eye was green once more. The hooded shadow in front of him took a deep, ragged breath, as if sucking the life out of him.

Suddenly... the pain stopped. Reginard's eyes shot open and he quickly glanced around. He was on the ground and alone. He could hear the sound of battle taking place close by, so he quickly got back up, a bit surprised that he could move so quickly considering the pain in his head but moments ago. He closed his eyes as he let out a few shaky breaths, then he quickly felt for the others. What he felt wasn't good. It was power... too much power! If that power was unleashed, they'd all be as good as dead. He felt their coordinates and in an instant teleported to them, before grabbing a hold of all the heroes. He once more ported away and to the Forest's Heart, though he fell to a knee as he did so.

"You idiots! Did you not realize how close to death you were!?" He snapped angrily. He huffed and coughed a bit, "You can't take that thing on. We need to move. Now. I don't care if we get the plate or not. If we stay here for too long we're all dead!"

"Blimey," Tsulong shouted out. The Forest's Heart was a hellish maze of flames. They were watching from afar, the Giant Tree and all the lesser trees around it engulfed in flames. The area was filled in black clouds that were either smoke or Murkrows, flying about like vultures. Screams of the dying were coming from further on in the valley. Then...

"Where is the barrier?" Faolan shouted, turning to Reginard, grabbing his shoulders and looking deeply in his eyes. "Where is the barrier?" he asked again, shaking the Alakazam.

Reginard turned his attention upon the barrier, and frowned, "It's... it's shrunk!" He shook his head, "No... impossible! We set it up! It... it couldn't have..." He broke free of the Mienshao's grasp, "Something... something must have interrupted it..."

"There," Tsulong gasped. The dark clouds had parted, and the heroes could now see where the psychic barrier was: at the base of the Giant Tree. "What in the seven hells is going on in there?"

There, inside the barrier, a tall, hooded figure was standing at the border, staring directly at them. It had a single eye that was changing colors, green, purple, red, green...

 

[Garet]

Vallckran the Warlord
~~~~~

As gradual as the efforts of the Cyalans in Westfall Camp had been, it was still more or less a frontal assault, a single front and obvious move that was only effective until the opposing forces regrouped and countered. One thing they might have considered if it'd crossed their minds was that Westfall Camp was not the only front. The mountains were not inaccessible, after all, and the Brotherhood didn't seem to look that far outside the forest. Thus, the Warlord had time to take the long way around and move into position unnoticed.

Vallckran looked out over the mist-ridden trees of Duskwood and grinned. Assuming the Brotherhood had its attention focused on the Cyalans at Westfall, they would be in for a devastating surprise. Yet, never depend on assumptions. It was possible some spy or sentry had managed to see them coming, after all, so they would not throw caution to the wind.

Turning his back on the view, Vallckran stepped forward to the edge of the rock outcropping that the Garchomp stood upon and raised a wing for attention. In the valley below him, an army a thousand strong immediately stood to attention. "Long has the Brotherhood been a thorn in Cyala's side!" Vallckran's rough voice echoed as he shouted. "Too long! At last, it is our turn to strike back! To sweep the cowards from their hole! To annihilate them, by Aion's will!"

The soldiers answered with a thunderous roar, certain that they would succeed. Without speaking further, Vallckran descended from his outcropping to lead his army down the mountain slope, in formation of course. Bloodthirsty crowd...useful, and easily directed. His words had been more for rousing the soldiers than for public image. Vallckran did not feel the need to show off; his success did that for him.

There had been reports that about two thousand members of the Crimson Company in Westfall Camp had been poisoned. Alliances aside, Vallckran appreciated the Brotherhood's tactics. They didn't have the advantage of numbers, so they used anything else they could to weaken their enemy, no matter how low it was. The problem there was that the Brotherhood and Cyala were enemies; Vallckran would not show them mercy merely for using tactics.

As it often happened, once the plan was set in motion, a wild variable appeared. The army halted at Vallckran's command as explosions erupted in parts of Duskwood. To my knowledge, those were not planned. His eyes narrowed as he waited a few moments more, then resumed the march down the slope and into Duskwood. Nothing had yet changed, except now he had an idea where to start. A thousand soldiers was not enough to sweep the forest in one go, after all.

It was foolish to hope for it without seeing first, but the Garchomp found himself thinking his job was already half-done. For they found the Forest's Heart on fire. At the head of his troops, Vallckran had a full view of the burning trees around him, and of one side of the Giant Tree itself. His attention was drawn to the base, where a barrier stood. Inside the edge was a familiar figure. Vallckran snorted. Of course the Stranger would butt in.

A flock of Murkrows flew from the barrier at the base of the Giant Tree to Vallckran's army, flying low over them, bringing the cold sighs that seemed to travel with the wind. "..." the sighs became a whisper... "Vallckran Vor'lero... dispose of them." It was the Stranger, surely, but his voice was imbued and distorted with power. Inside the barrier, his slender hand was pointing at the remaining groups of the Brotherhood. The Cyalans outnumbered them at least one to two.

Vallckran ground his teeth as the order came. Something about the Stranger was off, though, more than in the usual way. The sense of power emanating in the Stranger's voice was new. I'll deal with that later, though. As if the Stranger had never spoken, Vallckran roared to his soldiers, "Dispose of the Brotherhood! No prisoners!" The order would have come from him anyway, despite the Stranger's presence. Leave one cockroach alive, and eventually they would come back in force.

The mercenaries roared back at the Warlord, charging down into the grassy valley of the Forest's Heart, the Stranger's Murkrows following them from above. The members of the Brotherhood had taken notice of the Cyalans and had stopped trying to put out the fires. They took up their chant again, the area ringing with their song as they approached the center of the Forest's Heart, in front of the Giant Tree; that's where they would collide with the mercenaries.

~~~~~
Roscoe the Leech

Roscoe stood frozen after the teleport, eyes wide at the sight of the Forest's Heart burning. Burning. "It's not supposed t' be burning," he said numbly. "Who..."

That was when Tsulong pointed out the figure inside the edge of the barrier. Almost on the heels of that was the appearance of soldiers, another impossible sight in Roscoe's mind. From the front of the army came the roar: "Dispose of the Brotherhood! No prisoners!"

"We have to help them, now!" Roscoe snapped, running full pelt toward the Giant Tree without waiting for a response. Thoughts of the Grass Plate and the heroes' mission had fled his mind; he was acting in the interest of Duskwood.

 

[Greiger]

Reginard and Roscoe​

Reginard gritted his teeth as he watched the heart burning up. Just as they got out of the frying pan they get close up to the fire. At least he had ported them some distance away, but there were so many already inside the heart... how? They must have had psychics that interrupted the barrier somehow, or used some other force to get in! He could already see Roscoe moving and quickly ported so that he appeared right in front of the distraught Sceptile and used his psychic to keep him in place, "Hold it Roscoe! You will not gain anything from running in there! You'll burn up with the rest of them don't you see!? We lost! They outmanuevered us and we lost! Deal with it!"

"Let, me, go!" Roscoe growled as he struggled against Reginard's Psychic. His head wouldn't accept the reality of the situation. "I will not slink off like a coward again!" Fire, so much fire... The Sceptile's arm began glowing green as his yellow eyes glared at Reginard. "Let me go, or I'll make you," he hissed.

Reginard closed his eyes tightly, "I'm sorry Roscoe." He opened his eyes as he sent a psychic strike right at the Sceptile's mind, something that would make him black out at least for an hour. It was needed... and although he knew Roscoe would be looking to probably kill him sometime in the near future, it was something he was used to. Everyone here already looked upon him strangely, so why not have another look strangely at him if it meant that specific soul could be saved?

The second word was tell-tale. "NO!!" Roscoe shouted, firing his Giga Drain at Reginard a moment before the psychic strike hit his mind. His body fell limp as he blacked out, which cut off the Drain before it became full-power.

Reginard grunted as the drain hit him, which when added to the drain he had experienced from his earlier hallucination as well as the mass teleport was enough to bring him to his knees, but his job was done. He huffed a bit and sat on down, "I'm getting too old for this." He muttered, "We need to move out. They'll find us soon enough. Someone grab Roscoe. He'll be aggressive when he wakes up... but it's for the best. If any of us go down there we'll be surrounded and killed easily." He sighed, "I just need to rest."

 

[Sir Bastian]

Vincent 'Vince' The Wanderer – Forest's Heart

In an instant, the heroes had been teleported away from the increasingly worrying sight of Mantarys and the unbelievable power emitting from him, that even Vince was able to somewhat sense. Roscoe ran down towards the tree, but Reginard stopped him, the two of them having a very brief scuffle before Reginard managed to knock out Roscoe, which also brought Reginard to his knees. The heroes were tired and injured, and majority of the forest was ablaze, with reinforcements to the king's men having arrived.

While all this was happening, Vincent, whom usually had such a good grasp of the situation around him, could only stare at the massive tree with the faint, psychic barrier surrounding it, the red hue of the flames lighting up the sky. His eyes were wide and for several minutes, his eyes were wide, and all that filled his mind were the roar of the flames and the faint sounds of battle, keeping him frozen in place.

He eventually managed to shake his head, bringing a hand to it as he stared out over everything. So many thoughts and questions filled his mind, so many things he was uncertain of. And he hated being uncertain about things. Mantarys was definitely not as powerful as he seemed, he –had- to have borrowed those powers elsewhere. How was The Stranger within the barrier? Who was the voice that had spoken during their fight with Mantarys? The Stranger? What about the grass plate? Grandmother Cybella was probably still in there. What of The Brotherhood? All of these thoughts filled Vince's mind, and he wanted to act in a lot of different ways at once. He wanted to run down there and make sure Cybella got out safely. He wanted to beat back the attackers. He wanted to put out the flames of the forest… and he wanted to do the sensible thing and run away. Not because he was scared, but because Reginard was right. Odds were not in their favor any longer.

The Dewott found himself at a loss. He didn't have a connection to Duskwood like Roscoe or the Brotherhood had, but he knew what it was like to lose a home. He felt completely powerless, like those many years ago. Everything except for running away was just… too much for him alone. Even with the help of the heroes, everything but running seemed impossible. Finally, he made his decision, turning to the other heroes.

"I'm going to go find Zeke. The ones of you too injured to fight, or the ones that find my reasoning stupid, hurry out of here. I'm going to find the Brotherhood and help them as much as I can."
​

 

[Ray Maverick]

Faolan
​

Embers were flying about in the valley of the Forest's Heart, as the tall trees surrounding it were burning, ferocious flames shot up the sky. The trees flared up, sometimes falling over each other to spread the fire and destruction further. Faolan's eyes reflected the sight in front of him. He watched the fire, seeing it spread around fast and burn wildly. Soon, there would be no forest, only ash, and the Brotherhood's tale would only be told through their blood and ashes. Clouds of black smoke, ash and Murkrows covered the sky, preventing the sun from reaching the valley. It looked like it was still night. If there is hell, we've all just teleported right into it, Faolan thought to himself, hearing the distant screams and cries of the warring Pokemon down the valley; he heard the sharp sound of Reginard's psychic against Roscoe, who dropped on the grass. He laid there, unconscious.

"We need to move out," Reginard was saying, "they'll find us soon enough. Someone grab Roscoe. He'll be aggressive when he wakes up... but it's for the best. If any of us go down there we'll be surrounded and killed easily."

Faolan nodded silently in agreement with the Alakazam, pacing over to Roscoe to try to pick him up and carry him to safety... before he kneeled, though, the Mienshao's eyes locked onto the battle before him. The members of the Brotherhood and the Cyalans clashed in the fiery fields, the former in a new, melodic, strangely soothing song, the latter in a wordless, bloodthirsty battle cry. This battle is lost, Faolan thought decisively... if the Cyalans do not overcome them, the fires will. There is no going back in this. If we stay here any longer, we will either burn or be forced to fight to death.

He was surprised, though, to see the ranks of the Brotherhood didn't break in the collision as he had anticipated. Instead, they maintained perfect order, like troops trained especially for this kind of battle. Rogues, thieves and renegades, fighting in such unity and spirit, was something Faolan was seeing for the first time in his life. The grass beneath the two colliding forces was painted red the instant of the collision. The Brotherhood kept up its new song, but it was quite vague... the words weren't audible in the distance and through the roar of the flames and the Cyalans. It sounded magical, rad, somehow... a special song for a special time, the ending of the Brotherhood and Duskwood, Faolan thought it was. The battle odds were still in favor of the Cyalans. It looked like there was no escaping death.

Vincent the Wanderer turned to them, "I'm going to go find Zeke. The ones of you too injured to fight, or the ones that find my reasoning stupid, hurry out of here. I'm going to find the Brotherhood and help them as much as I can."

"No," Faolan roared, watching Vincent intently and taking a step towards him, before regretting it. He noticed Tsulong was going after Vincent, but not to stop him.

The Arcanine briefly glanced behind him at the rest of the heroes. "The Brotherhood is known for their hive nature. Look at them... they're coordinated, disciplined. They have no honor, so why stay and die? They must have a battle plan. If they didn't, they'd be running for their lives. There's still hope." With that, he launched his body forward in an Extremespeed after the Dewott. Guardian had taken steps towards the fight as well.

"This one is sorry for them, Chronicler of Tales," the Golurk said deeply, "this one will do his best to prevent their deaths and carry them to safety..."

Faolan felt his body tremble in anger. He didn't want to admit he was feeling helpless now, watching others proceed to battle, abandoning their quest for the Plates to protect the Brotherhood. He stood in the grass, listening to the vibrant song that echoed through the valley, one cry, the cry of the brave.

Jerking to Roscoe, Faolan noticed two other Pokemon were lowered above him, studying him, as if. It was Howland and Panic, both Pokemon of the Brotherhood. Howland had put his hand on Roscoe's chest, while Panic was chewing on his own hand, having a strange expression that resembled fear - one could not be entirely sure when looking at the fat face of a Swalot.

"Poor fella," Panic cried, trembling whole. "Oh, Arceus, what're we gonna do? Oh, oh!"

"Calm yourself," Howland told him. "I know what must be done. The Flute, bring it out."

"How can you be so calm at times like this?" Faolan snapped at the Sceptile, who turned his dark, brooding gaze upon him.

"At times like this," Howland said slowly, "where would be the good in panicking?" He turned to the heroes. "There was no forest here, a hundred years ago or so. Only plains. Once the Plate was brought, the forest you've seen just spawned and grew to this day. It's therefore connected to the Plate. It burns, the Plate burns. Its power diminishes from the destruction here. If it's not... reversed, it'll wither and rot! I can't imagine what'll happen after that."

"Look around you! It's burning, we couldn't stop the wildfire if we brought an army of water-types," Faolan snapped again. The fire of the forest had spread significantly, and now the sound of the burning trees was almost louder than the magical song the Brotherhood was keeping up.

Howland nodded, as if remembering, "the Flute," he repeated. He grabbed and pulled the Swalot's nose rather forcefully, making him open his wide mouth. He put his hand down the Swalot's throat, who didn't protest.

Faolan was staring at Howland searching the insides of the Swalot, incredulous. "The song you hear the Brotherhood singing is no normal song," Howland begun explaining, working his hand down Panic's throat, "it's part of an incantation. Panic here has the key to complete it, somewhere in his bowels..." At that moment, the Sceptile widened his eyes, as if grasping something, then pulled his stickied hand out of the Swalot. He was holding a whitish green flute, all covered in the saliva and a viscous substance of the insides of Panic.

"That thing weren't agreein' with me some fierce," Panic said, cross eyed, burping and rubbing his belly.

"If we are to reverse what's happening," Howland continued with a strange, cunning flash on his eyes, as he cleaned the flute in and out with his flexible claws, "we'll need to use this 'ere Time Flute. There's only two beings who can mess with time, and one of them is entitled to protecting the very Plate we're trying to save. We're gonna summon the Paragon of the Forest."

 

[Greiger]

Reginard Asphos​

Reginard could only shake his head as the Dewott ran off, and with the bloody Arcanine following him to boot! Who knew, maybe the two had a death wish this entire time and they felt the good old need to go and roll around in some fire but he was he staying right here. He was going to get Roscoe out of here and thankfully Faolan had enough common sense to side with him in this decision! If they went as well he would just have to think that everyone was eager to die or so stupid that they thought that they even had a chance to win! Still, he would make sure to gather his energy just so he could come and get Guardian, he was at least going only to protect the others, so he couldn't fault him for that.

Suddenly the atmosphere was interrupted as that Sceptile from before and a Swalot appeared. Both were yammering on about how they could protect the forest, and thankfully Faolan was actually injecting sense into the argument. Yes, it was hard to accept that your home was being destroyed but at the same time there existed such things as stupidity. What was an annoying situation became almost a comedic one as the Sceptile reached into the Swalot's guts and pulled out a flute.

Reginard's eyes widened as he saw it. He had heard tales… even seen artist's interpretations as to what the thing looked like, but he had never been so close to the time flute before. Many claimed it to be just a myth and nothing more, but Reginard had heard it in various stories, so much so that he knew it could not be simple myth.

As the grass type announced what he was about to do Reginard quickly reached out with his mind to pull the flute away from him and stood up shakily. "No! No you will not!" His eyes narrowed, "Do you not have any conceivable thought as to how time works!? It is not something you can simply rewind and expect everything to turn out okay! Time is always constant! What is happening at this very moment happens, no matter what! If we go by time theory here then it means that you already used the flute! It means Celebi had already been summoned and it, or us, went back into the past to stop this, but it didn't work! As you can see even if we go back this still happens! Time is constant! Our going back in time has already happened by this point! We didn't see our past selves anywhere and we failed to see Celebi anywhere! Not only that, but this blaze is still here!

It means that whatever we did in the past failed! It means the fire still spread around, it means that this forest still was going to die! It's fate!" Reginard gripped his head, "Good Arceus! There is desperation, and there is this! Given the circumstances you'll be stuck in a loop! You'll constantly be at this moment, calling for Celebi to go back in time, which won't work given the evidence before you! The loop will not end! We've probably had this conversation twenty times by now because this conversation will always be fated to happen because nothing comes to interrupt it and nothing will! It'll always be a set point in time! You'll constantly go back in time over and over and over again! Unless our past selves are somewhere here ready in mere seconds to enact a miracle then it means this place is done! The grass plate is gone!" He shouted out the last part of his speech and gasped a bit.

Angrily he threw the flute down at the Sceptile's feet, "If you wish to subjugate yourselves to a loop, so be it! Time continues on out here. Faolan, grab Roscoe. I have had enough of this… idiocy."

He turned away from the two, "Just… if you know what's good for yourselves, don't touch your past selves, could very well wipe you from existence."

Faolan shook his head, watching Howland and the Time Flute thoughtfully. "I will be staying here. We are not quite aware of how time works... so we might as well give the Time Flute a shot."

Reginard paused and glanced back. He closed his eyes tightly and let out a loud sigh, "FINE! I'll stay too. I have heard the myths surrounding this though Faolan, nothing can be gained from this. Celebi can only travel though time, she is the time guardian first and foremost. She can do nothing but transport those that are destined to be in different times." He sat back on down, "Might as well as get comfortable before the end comes."

 

[Trev]

Loria / Duskwood

Is... this real?

As the tragic events occurred around her, Loria was frozen to her spot and unable to think. There were few situations that caused her to lose her sense of calm, and this was one. She was never good around fire even on smaller scales, and this catastrophic blaze was even to strike fear deep into her heart. Everything was a blur, her vision clouding and swinging as her brain worked to drive the fear from itself. Words from those nearby sounded, but she wasn't able to understand them past the fear.

... we can't win! ...
... the whole forest is on fire!
... the barrier shrunk! ...
... going to help the Brotherhood ...
... the paragon of time ...
... stuck in an endless loop! ...

Loria couldn't budge - she felt as if every part of her body was stiffened into place, as if she had suddenly become a statue. The last time she had felt this, the fear of death, had been... the village...

"Blast it!" Loria huffed as she ducked behind a wall of a building at had been mostly destroyed and buried underneath the snow drifts, merely catching the glimpse of a Charizard standing on the top. In front of her, a building was slowly burning to the ground, the wood splintering and chipping in the demonic flames. All around her, the village she loved was burning to the ground in the blistering winds, and there wasn't a thing she could do.

Loria could feel the heat wrapping around her as the forest continued to burn. The Forest's Heart, it was no longer safe. The barrier had fallen significantly in size, and the large tree and everything nearby were also aflame. There were also many warriors inside, fighting like there was no tomorrow; perhaps there wasn't. The grass beneath them was being stained with the blood of the fallen warriors. Their songs, the battle cries, everything slowly faded into despaired screams and cries for help...

"No, please! Don't kill me!"

Loria flinched as she heard the screams of a dying townsfolk, and then the pleading of another. It was two girls, one presumably older than the other one by at least 10 or so years. She heard the girl struggling as whatever, whomever, got hold of her. "Where is your queen? Where is Loria?"

"I-I don't know, I swear I don't know! Please let me live!" Loria immediately jumped backwards into the mound of snow, fading into it to create a camoflauge, as a Glaceon was flung forward onto the ground, sending snow flying everywhere. From behind the mound Loria was hiding in came a Blaziken, his wrists flared angrily as he grabbed the poor girl by her scruff and held her up. She coughed, spitting out small amounts of blood that dotted the white snow. "P-Please... don't k-kill me."

"Tell me where she is!" The Blaziken demanded, tightening his grip on her scruff. "If you do, maybe I'll let you walk out of here with a leg. Maybe."

"I-I have no idea where Loria is..." The Glaceon coughed again. Was... that Tara? No, it wasn't Tara. Tara had a chip in her left ear; this Glaceon didn't.

The Blaziken roared and slammed the Glaceon into the ground. He raised his leg and stomped firmly onto the dogs chest, crushing her abdomen into pieces. Loria shook in fear as she heard the cracking of the Glaceon's ribs and the guttural scream from the girl. "Useless... Guess I'll just have to tear through all of them now..."

Loria slowly felt her sense returning - this was no time for a relapse into the past. She could see Reginard and Faolan, next to a different Sceptile and a Swalot. Ignoring the aching fear of getting that close to the flames, she floated over, coming it to hear the last tidbit of their conversation.

"You wish to time travel?" Loria couldn't believe that this was what they were resorting to. "No... Celebi will not be useful in this situation and she will merely be in dangerous around this atrocious blaze; and as Reginard said, it will never change what will happen. It will merely delay the inevitable, which is the destruction of this forest. Howland, I know you wish to save this place, but there is nothing we can do now. Nature will heal in time; if we don't leave now, however, we will never heal."

The situation looked entirely too bleak to consider saving it. "Howland, do not do this. Even a hero knows when he's lost. There is no hope for Duskwood now. The only thing we can do is flee."

Loria hated to admit it, but there was nothing she nor anyone could do now.

The forest was doomed.

The battle was lost.

The Cyalans had won.

 

[Ray Maverick]

Howland​

Howland covered his forehead with his hand, patiently listening to Reginard talk about time, or rather, his version of how time worked. Loria joined in. Of course they would be cautious, Howland thought solemnly. He tried to compose himself when the ghost suggested they ran. Tightening his claws around the Time Flute and gritting his teeth, he uttered, "only cowards run."

"We're a lot o' things, but no cowards. Or fools fer that matter! Time travelin'!" Panic shouted, an overly dramatic expression on his face, "who spoke of time travelin'? The only time travelin' is gonna be done by Celebi here, who knows what's she's doing... right Howlie?"

Howland shook his head, "you all act as if you know it all. Celebi isn't just a time traveler. She's the guardian of the forest... 'sides, I got no choice. I have to do this, this is our last chance of saving Duskwood." He raised the flute, bringing it to his mouth, drew breath and blew.

 

[Sir Bastian]

Vincent 'Vince' The Wanderer & Tsulong – Forest's Heart

Tsulong raced down the hill along with Vincent, glancing around the valley to look at the quickly spreading wildfire. He couldn't help but wonder, who had the power to set fire on these trees? The wetness of the forest would be enough to repel fire... yet the trees burned faster, as if they were normal trees. Not even Tsulong could start this kind of wildfire. Just who set Duskwood on fire?

The Crimson Company's troops filled half of the valley, attempting to surround the groups of the surviving members of the Brotherhood. Looking at the Cyalans, Tsulong estimated them to be over a thousand Pokemon, about twice as many as the Brotherhood. Damn, he cursed under his breath.

Even though they were closer now, the song of the Brotherhood still wasn't making any sense. It was most likely sung in another language, perhaps the language of the Fenju.

"How did we not see this coming?" Tsulong asked. "An army, one thousand strong... I knew something was wrong when they said Westfall was only occupied by four thousand," he shouted at Vincent.

"We saw a threat and responded to it. Frankly, the amount of Pokémon we've managed to fend off has been a miracle in and of itself, so I'm not complaining. Besides, the Brotherhood are tough." Vincent called back to Tsulong, his eyes darting across the battlefield, which was quickly nearing due to the two running at high speeds, Vincent scanning the battling forces for any trace of Joseph or Zeke, though without much luck in the giant mass of fighters.

"We have to find Zeke or Joseph, Tsulong! If anyone has a plan, it's either of those two!"

"Agreed," Tsulong muttered, his eyes brushing the members of the Brotherhood, then falling onto the Cyalans who attempted to surround them.

The Arcanine was engulfed in his own flames and shot himself forward and onto them, exploding in flames that burned hot while Vincent dashed up along-side him to cover his flank, delivering slices of his shells and a couple of kicks to deal with the closest of the Cyalans, though he was forced to use an Ice Beam and a Water Pulse here and there to keep his comrade safe. Tsulong used his flamethrower to blast through a wave of them who tried to fight back, but the ranged attacks of the two heroes overwhelmed them. For a moment the path cleared...

Tsulong caught a glimpse of the Zangoose with the eyepatch. The next second, he saw him pouncing on a Ledyba and ripping it in half, roaring as he did so. "Lord Zeke," Tsulong roared, then turned his head to the Cyalans, releasing another stream of thick, roaring flames that razed everything. That cleared the path again, for a few seconds...

Vincent lept back, away from the close-combat and the flames now brushing over their enemies, which caused them to go into a panic from... well, being on fire. The Cyalans were now moving in the fray again, though, and the path to Lord Zeke was closing... ExtremeSpeed, both heroes thought at the same time. Looking back up at Tsulong, Vincent knew he had gotten the exact same idea; the Dewott bent his knees and lept up, managing to catch a tuft of Tsulong's fur in his hand, the other clutching tightly onto one of his shells as the Arcanine launched his body forward like a bullet, using the technique. They crossed through the warring parties in a split second, stopping right in front of Lord Zeke; the speed of the momentum threw Vincent off of Tsulong, sending him flying through the air. He managed to nimbly twist around and as he hit the ground, he landed on both feet, though a little shakily at first due to the impact and the high speed they were travelling at.

"Lord Zeke," Tsulong called out loudly, his voice toppling the noise of the battle and the coordinated song of the Brotherhood, "we're here to help!"

If the Zangoose was surprised to see them, he didn't show it. He instead leaped off to avoid a BubbleBeam from a Swanna and pounced on her, slashing her neck. "It's good seeing you here," he shouted as the heroes joined him into the fight. Spending no time idling while the others were fighting, Vincent grasped both of his shells and got to work on keeping the enemies at bay while shouting over the outcries of the Pokémon around them. "Lord Zeke, does the Brotherhood have a plan of some kind? The Cyalans outnumber us two to one!"

"Listen to the song, boys, or you don't know the language? Hah!" He slashed viciously at the enemy, dodging their blows with incredible agility for someone his age. "You call yourselves heroes, but you don't even know the language of your ancestors, seems to me."

Tsulong thought that they needed to set their priorities straight. If they could find the Grass Plate, maybe they could help the Brotherhood. "Where's the Grass Plate?" he roared, swirling around to use his tail as a weapon.

Lord Zeke let out a disturbing cackling laughter that brought a smirk on Tsulong's face.

"So that you can take it and leave? Tough luck, mateys. Even if I knew where it was, I wouldn't tell you."

It was as if lightning struck Tsulong. He was almost killed at that moment by a mercenary, but he retaliated viciously. "The Plate," Tsulong gasped, "you don't know where it is?!"

"No, but I know when it appears. When the Paragon of the Forest arrives."

That moment, a long, deep whirr erupted above their heads, a blinding golden light that shook every Pokemon in radius. It was an explosion of this light, the golden light Tsulong and the heroes were seeing coming off behind the Giant Tree. The awesome power that was fired from the sky in pulses, waves of golden light, brought them all to their knees. Time had stopped for them, or so it seemed... but the fires ceased.

​

 

[Ray Maverick]

A shadow

There was a cave, safe inside the Stranger's protective barrier at the base of the Giant Tree. Or rather, this shield was the creation of the heroes. The concept that the Stranger had gotten inside it, without shattering it, and then modifying it to protect him further, resembled those miracles the Trueborn babbled about in the most fake of their tales. Something had gone very wrong, though, something that clicked inside him. The change was obvious, almost visible, in the air about him. The Murkrows in the walls of the cavern, blinking their red, perfectly round eyes, the shadows that crept along with his lonely figure... There was a creature, flailing in the pond, wordless. It was massive, but helpless. After the Stranger was done watching the battle that was raging in the Forest's Heart he walked further into the cave, to come eye to eye with it. A Torterra, grown unnaturally big, was a sign that the Grass Plate was near. Yet it wasn't. There was ancient sorcery in this place, that bond it with another being...

A long, distorted sigh echoed in the cavern. "I know... I know... it is near." It was set in motion. He could understand the song of the Brotherhood. They were going to summon the Paragon of the Forest... soon. The Stranger raised his hand, revealing two vibrant, black claws underneath the worn out sleeve of his old cloak, bringing it to the same level as his green eye.

"Two minutes." Another long drawn sigh, the slithering whisper continuing, "The Plate is out of my reach, but its power... not." He commenced a circular motion with his claws, curving them every time the circle was complete. The movement was slow at first, but it picked up pace. He was able to cast powerful elemental spells from a distance, but it took time and preparation... it seemed...

The whisper sounded vengeful, dreadful this time. "You conceal it from me..." His claws snapped, producing a constant hum as if a bell was rung.

Fire was spilled to circle around him, lighting the cavern, making the shadows tremble uncontrollably. Fire... That was only the beginning.

The water of the pond was full of bubbles, suddenly, the earth beneath shaking... erupting in a fiery geyser that shot up to engulf the Torterra wholly. The temperature was high as lava. She moaned loudly, but she wasn't heard through the constant roar of the fire. The Stranger's eye was now burning red, reflecting the fire in front of him. "Nothing... from something." The water was vaporized, screaming to fill the cavern with steam. The Murkrows on the walls silent as the grave, the cloaked figure drew another breath in the steam and let out a sigh that almost sounded like a humorless laugh. Flexing the claws which he used, his look was amazed. His red eye quickly returned to the usual sparkling green.

There was no Cybella anymore and her pond was empty of water. Yet, there was no Plate to be seen. There was magic in this place which he couldn't solve... the Paragon of the Forest had thought ahead of him, when she hid the Plate. Now he had thought ahead of her. "She returns in times of peace, and the Plate returns with her. In times of war, the Flute is required..."

.... which the Brotherhood so conveniently found. So, the Stranger had let Panic find the Time Flute. It was like a hook that dove through time, to find Celebi and force her to return to the present. Thus, breaking the protective spell in the cavern, in front of the Stranger. The two minutes had passed. Exactly as he had anticipated, a blinding pulse of light came right through his barrier, leaving it untouched. The forest was saved, Celebi was returning. It wasn't a trick of time; rather than a healing spell that was cast on the entire forest, carried with the hum of the Time Flute. Somewhere out there, in the battlefield, Celebi would be hurrying towards his barrier, knowing she had been tricked...

And he was standing in front of the Grass Plate, the artifact of immense power, floating mid air above the ashes in the bottom of the hole in the ground that was once a pond. As the last defense mechanism, the Paragon of the Forest had made sure that the Plate appeared underneath the heavy, meddlesome Torterra... Ingenious, truly. But now nothing was standing between him and the Plate.

It wasn't perfectly dark green, as it used to be. It had stains of black on it, which were quickly being healed, absorbed, as if. The forest was healing, and the Plate was healing alongside it... the Stranger lifted his arm to it, his cloak billowing behind him...
​

 

[Garet]

Roscoe, Howland, and Panic
Duskwood - The Forest's Heart
~~~~~

Fire everywhere. No matter which way he turned, there was fire. The Giant Tree and the rest of the Forest's Heart burned; when he turned away, Mistwatch Keep seemed unnaturally close, also on fire. Standing before the keep was a hulking Krookodile with a standing shadow that burned brightly. "Go ahead," he screamed at them, spitting saliva, "fight me! Push me! PUSH ME! WASTE YOUR TIME!"

The Sceptile skittered back as the Krookodile reached for him. In an instant, he was back beside the Giant Tree, with a murder of Murkrows trapping him and a line of Brotherhood within the cave. Standing before him was a Zangoose with a hole in his torso and a missing eye. "You abandoned us...you led intruders here...you left the forest in danger...you don't deserve to live..." He screamed as the Murkrows vanished into flames and began pelting him.

Then a burst of power seemed to surge within him. "I'm not running again. Not again!" Dispelling the fiery Murkrows, he jumped up, up...

~~~~~

Up into consciousness, which should not have been possible so soon. Roscoe shot to his hands and feet, arms already glowing green as his eyes took a moment to focus. He felt almost good as new. "What's goin' on?" Roscoe snapped, rising to his full height and looking for the Giant Tree. He didn't yet pay attention to anyone nearby.

"Eh...It's great an' all, but how's the fire goin' out?"

The fires were disappearing in front of his eyes, as if they were being put out by a massive wave of water. In the center of the valley of the Forest's Heart, there was a sphere of blinding light that hummed, ringing like a bell. Occassionaly, it let out pulses of the same light that traveled all around the forest. The fallen trees were raised, the branches growing visibly fast, while the ashes were returning on them, to become the leaves they once were. It was as if the black smoke had all been sucked out, and the Murkrows were no longer covering the sky.

There was now nothing to block the sun from reaching the Forest's Heart. The grass and the river became golden, bathed in the intense sunlight. The two warring parties in the hill had ceased fighting, now looking upwards at the source of light.

Feeling direct sunlight on the floor of the Forest's Heart was a first. Roscoe closed his eyes and breathed deeply, flexing his claws as the sunlight warmed his back. He felt revitalized, as if he'd had a full day of rest and food, even a bit hyper. Opening his eyes, the Sceptile glanced at each of the Pokemon nearby. "Really, how's it--"

His eyes fell upon the flute in Howland's claws. "Is that what...reversed, all this?" Roscoe asked, looking around again. The reversal and the sphere of light, it was still sudden enough that his mind didn't wrap around the concept yet. "And would ya happen t' know what that light there is?"

"It's the Paragon of the Forest!" Panic said, breathless, "we're saved!"

"Not yet," Howland said, helping Roscoe up to his feet. "The barrier!" They all looked at the barrier. Every Murkrow that was previously flying about in the forest was now storming the barrier. Not attacking it... protecting it. That's where the heart of the evil was.

Howland was taking a good look on the Forest's Heart. He unsheathed his scythehook and spat out his chewing stick. "We ain't done with the Cyalans yet. C'mon, we need to prevail over the mercenaries, before we think of Plates."

"Dang right!" Roscoe hissed. "No mercy for 'em! They're overdue for a checkout! An' no one's stopping me this time!" He said the last with a glare at Reginard before the Sceptile dashed off, on all fours to run faster. His back-seeds were already drawing in the intense sunlight, and as a group of Cyalans drew near, Roscoe fired a SolarBeam into their midst before falling upon them with Leaf Blades.