Albia
Zane noticed Defender head off into the city somewhere. He debated if he should go after him, and ultimately concluded that it was best if he just let him be for now. The Golduck had been through a lot. The Swift stepped forward and formally introduced himself to the group.
"Sir, allow me to formally introduce myself. I'm Jirmonji Slynt. My title is The Swift. I've been a member of the Gold Tribe for six years along with my brother. He was a loyal member as well...before Gold City."
Apparently, the Swift claimed he 'deserted', most likely referring to Gold City. But if he did, then that meant everyone in the Gold Tribe who retreated that day did. Zane didn't buy that. The city had fallen by then, and Rey gave the order to retreat. It was necessary, for the few to live to fight another day, instead of pointlessly tossing away their lives.
Zane recalled reading about similar events in the Gold Tribe's past. About 100 years ago, when the sadistic organization known as the Order of Neoverse was invading Valkaria, then-leader "Kaiser" Kent Reed was also forced to retreat on multiple occasions before they finally were able to claim a victory. They had to lose first to begin winning. It was a similar situation with them. The Silver Tribe came and took city after city. Hundreds of his brothers and sisters perished in their defense, but the few who retreated were able to make this counterattack, and now the Gold Tribe had two crucial victories under their belt.
"Swift, you always were, and will always be a member of the Gold Tribe, and my brother. But do not worry about your so-called desertion. We will take back Gold City one day, for those we lost, and for those still standing. This I swear, to all of you."
It may not have meant much other than words, but this was the very first time that Zane actually said with assurance that they would succeed. Whether it would turn out to be true remained to be seen, but with another victory under their belt, Zane grew ever more confident. It could be done.
***
Zane spent the remainder of the day resting and recovering any wounds he had in the battle before. He spoke with the Generals about the Gold Tribe's intent on going into the Golden Catacombs in three days. Though they were puzzled by the request, they agreed, and the date had been set. Night came quickly, and Zane turned in early, knowing himself and the others needed, and probably wanted, a good rest. But unfortunately for Zane, he wouldn't have one.
Zane couldn't tell at which point in the night that it had started to occur, but eventually, Zane found himself in an intense and vivid dream. He was in a room, it was almost familiar to him, as if he had been there before. Many different Pokemon were in this room, though two in the middle, a bit further from everyone else, were the ones that caught Zane's eye. A Zangoose, and a Snorlax. Zane was certain the Zangoose was the same one he had seen in previous dreams, the Gold Tribe leader from 100 years ago, "Kaiser" Kent Reed.
"Give it to me straight, General. I've heard all kinds of rumors of possible attacks by the Order. Are they true? What are we dealing with?" Kent asked the Snorlax, apparently the General at the time. Zane had trouble remembering his name at the moment.
"Do you remember Albia?' The General asked Kent, which was responded in a nod.
"The force that will attack Eternity City is twice that size. They will be here by the end of the week."
Even in this dream, Zane felt his stomach churn. He couldn't even understand the size and scope, but even then, it felt as if he was about to participate in the battle himself, and knew the force he was facing. The Zangoose Kent went to go prepare form the battle, and just like that, the dream stopped.
Zane awoke. It was still dark out, with the break of dawn most likely not on the way for another hour or so, yet after such a vivid dream as this, he couldn't have any sleep. He strode off into the city, many Pokemon still asleep, so it was quite quiet. If one did not look at the damage that was in parts of the city, one could never tell that there was a great battle here just yesterday. In this peaceful setting, Zane tried to make sense of the dream. It seemed like more than a dream, though. It was so vivid. Zane had been experience these since a little after they had established Liberty Town. But this one in particular, as he woke up and reflected on it, he knew from his studies that this was something that had actually happened. It was like a memory. Though this particular event may not have been recorded in the history books, Zane could tell when and where it was. It was 100 years ago, in Eternity City, just on the eve of battle against the Order of Neoverse.
Zane continued thinking about the dream for the rest of the day. The others in the Gold Tribe did duties around Albia, helping in any way they could, while others continued to rest and recover from their injuries. Zane kept his distance from the others for the most part, though he did continue to notice Noctus lingering around. Zane thought for sure by now he would have left, but here he remained.
As night came, Zane lay awake, wondering if he would have another dream like that. But wrapped up in these thoughts, he didn't noticed that he had fallen asleep. Again in the midst of the night, visions passed through his mind. The setting was in a battle, so vivid and intense that Zane felt as thought he could feel the flames and attacks that came from Pokemon nearby. Zane noticed to his left as two Gold Tribe members, the Zangoose Kaiser, and another Pokemon, an Empoleon. The two engaged with another Pokemon, a large Garchomp. Zane didn't have to guess who the Pokemon was. He had seen his picture, his distinct sadistic smile in countless history books. It was Galleon the Garchomp, the most feared General in the Order of Neoverse. At least, that was the official story...the Gold Tribe discovered later that there was much more to it.
The two seemed to be holding off the Garchomp, but only barely. Zane saw the Kaiser block an incoming Hyper Beam from the Garchomp by forming the Reed famous Thunder wall, where a bolt of Thunder shot down in between the user and an attack, acting as a defense. Zane had seen the attack done countless times by Rey and his daughter, Guardia. It was the family's famous trademark ability, one that had begun even long before Kaiser. Two continued to engage, the Empoleon Gold Tribe member managing to hit Galleon directly on the chest with an ice beam, propelling him back a distance, enough for the two to catch their breath. Galleon was nowhere to be seen, and the pair of Gold Tribe members began to engage with Order of Neoverse Pokemon instead. But Zane noticed something in the corner of his eye, Galleon walking off from the current battle to the direction of the Capital Building in the center of Eternity City. Zane attempted to signal someone about it, before remembering that this was a dream, and nothing he could say about it. If this truly was something that happened in history and not just a dream, then nobody did stop Galleon that day, and whatever reason he had gone to that location, he had most likely succeeded...
Again, Zane had awoken. The sky was bright, though, so he must have slept for quite some time. Activity around Albia was increased, with many Pokemon beginning in the rebuilding, while many also were still recovering from the battle. As Zane walked through the city, he continued to think about the dreams, as if they were a sequence of events. It almost felt like they were telling him something. Something important. But Zane had to continue the story. Night came all too quickly for the Bisharp lost in his own thoughts.
A battle entangled in cavern of all places, yet inside these caverns was city all on its own. The site below Cape City was familiar to Zane. Here, he saw as armies clashed with one another, but an even more impressive fight occurred between a Roserade, one Zane saw in his dreams maybe a week ago, the one who spoke of the Gold Tribe as tools, a Luxray, also of the Gold Tribe, and General Galleon. This was the supposed battle where 'General Galleon' had fallen, and was believed to be killed. As the Roserade and Luxray struck him down, he fell to the infinite caverns below, his screams filling the air. The two rejoiced for brief moments before having to return to the fighting. Zane felt something wrong with his body, unable to control it, as he was suddenly thrust down the same way Galleon had just fallen. Zane struggled to move, but nothing happened. He tried to scream, but no voice came out of his mouth. And then, Zane felt himself on solid ground, touching down softly and without any injury. Zane spotted Galleon casually walking across the bottom of the caverns, clearly a set destination in mind for him. Zane followed him through every corridor, every path, until they came upon a clearing. A bright room, unlike any of the others in the dark caves. The source of the brightness came from an object in the center of the room. Zane couldn't tell from this distance what it was, but even as he got closer, the intense light caused him to be unable to make it out.
Galleon walked towards the object, every step he took made Zane feel like he was doing something terrible. Yet Zane, in this state, could do nothing to stop it. Eventually, Galleon grabbed hold of the object, and held it up. Zane tried to get closer, and see what it was, yet some sort of invisible force seemed to keep him a certain distance away. Galleon turned his body, covering Zane's view from that angle. He tried to get around, just to get a glimpse, one glimpse at what he was holding. He just wanted to see it. See what all of this was about. Just a single...
Zane awoke once more, this time sweating and panting. He stayed in his tent, thinking about the entire situation over and over in his mind. He didn't want to go out at all. He couldn't understand why. It just seemed like all of this could leave his mind at any moment if he chose to leave. He waited in there, as the hours passed. At one point, the light of the sun shone in his eyes, and he mistook it for the gleam of the object from his dream. Zane shot up and went out his tent to see the sun instead. Zane covered his eyes with his hands, and retreated back into his tent. He sat on the floor, and simply wish for time to go by faster now. This sequence of...dreams, or whatever they were, they were telling him something, and Zane had to figure out what it was. He had to finish the story.
Night came, but Zane couldn't bring himself to sleep for the longest time. He simply lay in bed, tossing and turning, trying to make himself go to sleep. Eventually, sleep came without him realizing, and soon after, another dream began to materialize. This time, Zane recognized the site immediately. He was in Eternity City again. A group of Pokemon, Gold Tribe symbols on their bodies went into the Capital Building. There, they were to face the Emperor of the Order of Neoverse, a final battle to determine the fate of the Alpha Alliance. The history books told of the identity of the Emperor, but none knew at the time. As Zane went through the building with the others, he saw him,
Emperor Galleon, who masqueraded as one of his own Generals. He saw the shock on the faces of the others as they realized this as well. The Luxray, who fought Galleon in the caverns, voiced his disbelief.
"Ah...yes...I remember you. You were quite powerful before. You and Alex. Quite a tag team. But, I was just toying with you, like I toy with all of my meat. In truth, I allowed you to beat me, and therefore, harm me. Of course I had to make it look real. I was after something else. First, there was that time in this city, when we first fought. I allowed myself to be propelled by your ice attack, Tidechanger, and in turn, acquire this." He said, holding up...something. Zane couldn't see what it was because of the incredible light it was producing at him specifically. None of the others in the room were affected by, or probably even aware of the light's presence. Galleon continued.
Then in Cape, after I "fell" down the caverns, I was able to take this." He held up another object, similar to the first, and to Zane, similar in the bright light it produce, except the color was a bit different, this second one being a bit brighter to Zane. "What they do together, well, that's none of your concern, gentlemen and ladies. What is your concern is-"
But before Galleon could go on, the fight had begun. Zane watched, feeling powerless as his brothers and sisters of the past fought against the beast. Even though this was supposedly an event that had already happened, Zane still felt uncomfortable not being able to do anything in a battle. Countless Gold Tribe members fell before the Emperor's might, including the Empoleon who battled him in an earlier dream. But eventually, the Emperor had fallen after much fighting. The surviving Gold Tribe members tiredly savored their victory. They gave their congratulations to each other, and began to slowly leave the building as time passed. But Zane noticed on the ashes of the Emperor the two objects still there. No one had picked them up. Zane tried to motioned to some of the Gold Tribe members who passed through the door.
Wait! He yelled at them, but none responded.
You have to get those objects! That's what he was after! Wait! WAIT! The Gold Tribe left the building, with none grabbing them. There Zane stood alone in the Capital Building, none in there but the ashes of the Emperor and the object on the floor beside them. Slowly, Zane could feel himself fading away from the scene, as if the dream was ending. But that couldn't be it, could it? Whatever happened to those object? What were they? Why was Galleon after them? As Zane faded away from the scene, one of the two objects stopped shining as much, and Zane could see, for brief seconds, the outline of what it was, though it was becoming far too blurry to make it out. It was silver in color. But something was odd about it. It was as if this wasn't the first time he had seen it. No, he was certain he had seen it somewhere before. Not in these dreams...in the real world. He knew he had seen it, but where...?
Zane awoke once more. Sweat poured from his face. This was the third day, the day that they had agreed to go to the Golden Catacombs. Zane had told his brothers three days ago that those who wished to go with him voluntarily would meet with him in front of the Albian city gates. But he had not spoken to his brothers or sisters for the passed three days, much less interacted with them at all. He wondered if they even still remembered, or believed that they were still going on with the plan. For Zane, now more than ever, he knew he had to go. This feeling of being called to those Catacombs was the same one he felt when he was experiencing these intense visions. He was going, and he knew he needed his brothers and sisters with him.
Zane arrived at the gates of Albia. It was all still a mystery to him, but for the first time in a while, he felt he was finally going to get some answers. Whatever lay in the Golden Catacombs could very well be the most important discovery of this war. It could very well be the thing that ties all this together. The war, the betrayal, everything. The Secret of the Silver Tribe.