Picking up some friends​

Charlie Vensworth & Snype​

Snype made his way through to city, passing by any sort of rubble in the way. The fight was mostly at the wall so the city itself was still somewhat intact. Just abandoned. Well, mostly. Apparently, there was at least one bug-brain who hadn't quite picked up on the memo that the city had erupted into a war yet; one of the Thieves Snype brought with him to the festival was still meandering around town somewhat aimlessly - inattentively enough that as the Scyther turned what would normally be a two-footed landing into a spectacular disaster right in front of the Sableye he failed to even register the ghost.

Snype halted his movement as soon as he noticed Charlie land right in front of him. Ironic since he had planned to bring him along anyways. "Ah there you are Charlie. I was just about to start looking for you. You alright? Quite a landing ya had there. Keheh" Snype said. The Scyther looked like he had one to many drinks... during a time like this? Snype had a bad feeling about this conversation.

Charlie didn't even take the time to extract his face from the ground before giving Snype a muffled "Yeah... I'm like... totally fine boss. No need ta worry. Getting up might be a little.... dizzy is all.. Ground's kinda comfy. You should try it some time...." Charlie adjusted himself on the ground into a position where he'd be comfortable should he fall asleep. Foreplanning is everything in these matters, after all.

Snype stepped forward and held out his hand to pick up Charlie and try to get him on his feet. It was kind of a feeble attempt though due to their size difference. He'd probably end up falling on top of Snype at this point. "Keh, yeah it looks comfy but I kinda need you off the ground to help me out with a pretty big task." Snype said, trying to pull him up with his little arms.

"Oh! Ya need my help, boss? Why didn't ya just say!" Charlie immediately buzzed into action - literally, shooting himself a couple of feet in the air on his wings, without even giving Snype a chance to let go of him. Snype ended up losing his grip of the Scyther as he flew up, causing him to fly up a few feet above the Scyther and flailing about a bit. "At your service boss... wait... where'd ya go? I thought you said it was important... now's no time for tricks, boss!" Snype ended up landing on top of the Scyther's head, wrapping his arms around his neck lightly so that he wouldn't end up splatting on the ground. "W-well give me a bit of warning before ya do that next time!"

"Before I do what... and where is your voice coming from?" Charlie looked left, right... remembered he was looking for Snype and checked down at his feet... he couldn't see the dastardly Sableye had made his way to! "Y-you're startin' ta creep me out boss! Cut it out!"

Snype shook his head and repositioned himself around his head so that he could be face to face with the Scyther. Nose to Nose practically. "I'm right here bug brain!" Snype said with a frustrated look. The fact that he was too close for comfort and hanging for his life seemed to get him like that.

"Oh! There ya are!" Apparently, by some kind of miracle, Snype's antics hadn't been enough to upset Charlie's balance in the air, still... he gently set himself down two feet on the ground - very gently, so there was almost no chance he could stumble over and yet he still nearly managed it. "So boss, for somethin' so damn important, yer taking yer sweet time telling me what it is....."

Snype shook his head and pressed his nose up against the Scyther's in an irritated fashion. "Yeah, being flung in the air does that to a ghost! Anyways, we gotta head over to Network Point 3. I'm gathering some people on this list. We're taking part of an expedition that might stop Darkrai from totally destroying everything.

The Scyther tilted his head at the Boss... "Darkrai's destroying everything?" Charlie looked all around him... for all he could see the city looked like the kind of Tribe-sponsored piss-hole it already was. "Looks fine ta me... you sure ya ain't goin' a little cray-cray? You know, loopy, doo-lally, 'round the bend-"

Snype poked the Scyther on the cheek hard. "I'm not losing it! Didn't you hear those explosions earlier? Especially by the gate? We're in a warzone right now and we need to stop it. This expedition might lead us toward the only way out of this mess. have you been taking one too many drinks back at the bar?" Snype said, still clinging onto the Scyther, who finally removed the Sableye from his neck and put him gently(-ish) on the ground. Charlie then proceeded to quietly and carefully count out on his claws. Then, he counted out with his claws against the ground, before pensively resting one claw on his chin as he mulled it over. "Yeah." finally came his response.

Snype crossed his arms. "Ahh great. Well at least ya enjoyed yourself at the party. Kehehe. I'm gonna need ya to focus though. We're gonna be grouped up with a couple different people from several organizations. Gold Tribe included. Not sure how ya feel about that. Your choice if you wanna tag along or retreat back to the forest." Snype explained.

"The Tribe? I'm drunk, not crazy, boss! Forget about it!" Charlie turned around to walk away in a huff, but only succeeded in stumbling over his own feet - once again he was going to be having a conversation with Snype from below the ghost's own height. It wasn't fair, he wouldn't be this drunk if he hadn't been trying to forget about talking to Josh... But thinking about his brother stirred something in him - maybe it was that honor he kept thinking he didn't have... but he had to ask, with a resigned sigh, he turned his head back towards Snype... "Hey boss... ya hear anything about any other Vensworth goin' on this journey?"

Snype observed his list. "...Yeah there's another one of you on here. Why do ya ask?" He wondered.

With a groan, Charlie clutched at his head. "Long story. Longer than I'd care to explain right now, but that's a guy... I gotta keep my eye on." All that echoed in Charlie's head were his own words when he'd finally got to meet his brother again - 'We're brothers for better or worse right?'. "Look... I'll go." Charlie sounded almost defeated already in that he was working with the Tribe again. "Just... you know I ain't got the best past with 'em... You gotta vouch for me so I don't get lynched, kay?"

"Keh. Well I wanted another thief to tag along with me and you're the first one that popped up in my head for some reason. Keheh. I'm sure I can fit ya on the list one way or another." Snype said with a mischievous snicker. "I don't got the best past with the Gold Tribe either. We're thieves and all. I'm just doing this because I don't want that monster out there destroying the thieves again. Besides, the last time the Gold Tribe had an expedition like this, the Silver Tribe happened. I'd like to make sure that doesn't happen again. Kehe." Snype said.

"Boss. I got no idea what in the hell a Silver Tribe is. Sounds... like the Gold Tribe cut down on their standards." Even given the situation, Charlie still found the time for a snigger. "Even more than already. But thanks. If they kill me, I'll haunt you by the way for not warnin' em off."

Snype snickered and put his foot on the Scyther's face lightly. "Keheh, well you aren't wrong there. And hey, try haunting me and I'll haunt ya right back. Kehe" Snype said, taking his foot off after lightly pressing it against him. "I'll see ya over at the Network then. I still got alot of names to hunt down."

As Snype walked away from Charlie, he couldn't help himself from leaving some kind of parting shot... but with his current wits being somewhat hampered that didn't go exactly to plan... "Hey, boss! Yer foot smells like ass!"
.
Snype smirked back at him. "keheh, oh yeah? Ya wanna compare the two? Kehehe" Snype joked, shaking his rear back at the Scyther to tease him back before heading off to complete his mission.

Obsidian and Scar: A ninja!​

"You know, it always makes me wonder how they fall for it always." Mused Alexandre as Obsidian groaned loudly. The Weavile was about done hearing about his tricks and he glanced on over to where that Medicham guy was. He elbowed Alex lightly as he smirked, "So what do you think will go down? Place bets?"

Alex sighed, "Well obviously the Medicham must win. Either he wins or we're stuck here."

"We'll be stuck here either way." Obsidian muttered. "There are probably thousands of people here loyal to Darkrai. I remember those stories Penance told me. You know how they locked up ev-" Obsidian paused his speech as he looked on and he quickly took off his back pack and threw it at Alex, "Hold this for me!" He shouted as he ran off toward the now changing battle. Scar was there and Obisidan came in from behind the Greninja, "Hey frog face!" He shouted out. He raised up his clawed hands as he narrowed his eyes, "Leave my friend alone."

"You know he'll probably kill you!" Alex called out from his living seat.

"Oh shut up Alex!" Obsidian snapped back.

Gabriel turned around, observing the Weavile behind him. Scar quickly opened his mouth and shouted at Obsidian. "Get out of here! Now!" He cried out loud, moving forward to try and get on the same side as where Obsidian was. "Go find Penance and get out!"

"You know me Scar... I'm not leaving you." Obsidian said as he kept his eyes trained on the frog. "My... well you know what? It wasn't going to be secret anyways. Name is Obsidian. Penace has trained me, not as a Seeker though. Listen... I don't know why you want to destroy all life here... or enslave it... or whatever. If you want to be a puppet for Darkrai, fine, but just because you think it's the right course of action doesn't mean you can force your opinion on everyone else. I think even if I ask you to leave you'll just keep doing what you're doing. It's like Penance says... people can't change." Obsidan smirked and stretched back a leg as he balanced himself, "So, shall you make the first move?"

"GET OUT OF HERE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Scar screamed at the Weavile. The Greninja made a subtle move with his hand, twitching his fingers just a slight bit. His face contorted to what was believed to be a smile, but it was unclear from underneath his scarf-tongue. The Greninja burst forward from his position, being upon the Weavile in a blur. He stuck a leg out to kick him, aiming right for the sensitive spot on his neck. "You should have listened to the old 'mon," He stated simply.

However, before Obsidian could be hit, the old Mienshao managed to wiggle his way to the front of his attack, pushing the Weavile out of the way and blocking his kick with his arm. The moment the Greninja's foot impacted the Mienshao's arm, a large snap was heard, and the force of the blow suddenly sent the Mienshao through the air, directly to where the Weavile stood.

Obsidian ended up falling with the Mienshao, though as they flew through the air he twisted his body so that as they landed on the ground he took the impact. "S-Scar!" He gasped as he got up from under him and shakily got onto his feet, "Alex! Scarf!"

"So now you remembered." He muttered as he threw out a small blue cloth that Obsidian grabbed. He stared on at the Greninja as he wrapped it tightly around his upper thigh and stood back up, "I... I can't let you do this." He said to the frog, "I might not beat you... but every second lets more escape." He held up his clawed hands again, "You and me. Scar... just stay down there. Please."

Scar grunted as he slowly rose himself, using his left arm to prop himself up. His right one was useless, he could feel it. It was broken, and just from one hit. He could tell the Greninja was more than he appeared the moment he collided with him in the Close Combat. Those punches the frog had thrown...Scar didn't think he had felt anybody toss him around that strong before, not since Rey did so thirty years ago. Just who the hell was he?

"Young one, don't go looking for death so boldly, not when you could do more with your life," He declared. The Greninja approached again. Any sign of him cooling off or slowing down was gone now.

Obsidian looked right at the frog, "I'm not looking for death Scar." He said as he smiled a bit, "Now stay down. I'm not dying today. Remember... Penance taught me." He made his way forward and took in a deep breath, his eyes flashed as his body shimmered In an instant two identical copies of the Weavile formed on either side of him. The three narrowed their eyes as he they held out their clawed hands, no words leaving their lips as they began to concentrate on the frog.

The Greninja walked forward, undeterred by the appearance of the clones. He suddenly struck the ground in front of him, three controlled, well-placed kicks to three parts of the ground. The kicks were so forceful that it caused the ground in front to fissure and large pieces of stone to rise up from the pressure. He broke apart these three large formations of rock with a sweeping kick, breaking them off the their roots on the ground and flinging them in the air as if they were small stones. He then leaped into the air after them, using his leg muscles to jump high enough so that he was right above them.

Gabriel then made three more precise kicks to each of the large pieces of stone, breaking them off into smaller pieces and sending these shards of stone down at the three copies, raining down a Rock Slide at them. As he did so, Scar could be heard muttering from behind, "He's gone!" Just as the rocks were launched.

Obsidian watched as the Greninja threw his stones, but this time he was ready. He pulled off his band and let it fall to the ground and held out a hand as green shield surrounded him just as the rocks splattered against the shield. As soon as the shield faded he kicked his scarf into the air with his foot and sliced through it, destroying the power it held. "Yeah he is." Obsidian said. He held out both claws as they glowed with a purple sinister hue.

From the many rocks that were flung at him, the Greninja appeared, using them as cover as he dived in and launched an Acrobatics assault from the sky. He managed to move around quickly, striking at each of the three clones with a punch, before leaping on another piece of rock that had yet to fall and doing the same to the others. As his last attack hit a clone he would find that he didn't hit air, nor did he hit flesh. Instead... he had hit a plushie? Right before his eyes, instead of a Weavile, was a cotton plushie that had a goofy face drawn on it. "Gotcha." Obsidian had managed to use the rock slide to his own advantage, getting pelted a bit sure, but still blending into it as he extended both claws. The claws themselves grew longer and appeared to be shadowy as both aimed to rake across the Greninja's back.

Gabriel quickly diverted to his side, unable to make a complete turn in time in order to block the strikes. Instead, he stepped on one of the rocks still within range and whirled himself around so that he faced the side. He then fired off a large Hydro Pump into that direction, causing his body to be thrust backwards and effectively avoiding the two claws. When he was in a safe enough distance, he turned his body again, this time aiming the typhoon of water at the 'mon.

Obsidian gritted his teeth as the wave came at him. He quickly held up his arms as he set his feet as best as he could, but the gush was too much he flew back and slammed against the ground, the water causing him to gasp and wheeze as he slowly began to get up, "I-I didn't think he would give... so much power." The Weavile narrowed his eyes as water dripped off of his fur, "I'm not... giving up."

Scar joined beside Obsidian, patting him on the shoulder with his good arm. "Obsidian...get out of here. The others will need you, Penance will need you, far more than they need me. Let me hold him off. I promise you, I won't fall here today," He reassured him with a smile.

Obsidan stared up at him and then he gave the Mienshao a tight hug, "K-Keep your promise." He stammered out as he let go and slowly back away, "O-Okay?" He turned about and began to run to Alex, "Let's get out of here!"

"Done with your exercise I take it?" Alexandre asked as he looked over at Scar, "He's going to be fine. Trust me."

Obsidian glanced on back and sighed, "Le..Let's just keep moving alright?"

"Admirable," Gabriel commented, crossing his arms. "But what makes you think you'll keep your promise?"

Scar sighed deeply, once more getting into a fighting stance, eyes weary but determined as ever. "Try me."

Joshua was now in a complete state of panic and unease. Sylvio had run off and gotten lost in thw crowd, and now the walls had apparently been breached as well. It was at time like these that Joshua really hated being so small. He didn't know what to do... well, that wasn't entirely true. He was Gold Tribe; his duty was to protect the citizens, and he had resolved to help evacuate them through the network points.

Somehow along the way, he had gotten lost. Too many people were running about the streets, making concentration impossible. He wanted to shout for everyone to remain calm, but considering he himself was decidedly not, it would have been for naught.

Still, against all his worries and doubts, he pressed onward. Joshua quickly shuffled through the crowds, dodging the onslaught of feet stampeding in every direction as he made his way to the closest Network Point. When he got there, his heart sank.

The citizens had all run the opposite way, leaving the streets empty, for once. The Swadloon moved closer to observe the wreckage. "What in Arceus name happ-"

As he scouted out Network Point 3, or rather, what remained of Network Point 3, something blue caught his eye. A Golduck lay face-first on the ground, drooling all over his arm as he snored rather loudly. He shifted a bit in his sleep onto his other side as the pool of drool kept coming out.

"You're still alive?!" Joshua exclaimed in shock. Silence answered him, though he could see that the Golduck was breathing as judged by rising and lowering of his chest. Joshua quickly scurried to the napping water-type, shaking him thoroughly in an attempt to wake him. "This is no time to be napping, citizen! We have to get out of here, right now!"

As he shook the Golduck a cry shouted out from behind Joshua, "Hey! Hold it right there!" Behind him was a Weavile who held up his bladed hands and stared right at the bug type, "Let Penance go!"

"Relax Obsidian, he's of the Tribe." A Gardevoir next to the Weavile casually observed. This Gardevoir had a top hat, a cloak, a cane, and had a small smile on his face, "He doesn't seem that dangerous after all." He observed. The Weavile twitched a bit, but still kept his hands up.

"Not dangerous?" Joshua asked with an indignant tone. "I'll have you know th- wait, did you just say Penance? As in, the Penance?!" Joshua nearly had a heart attack right then and there, immediately jumping away from the Golduck's unconscious body. He had heard stories of "The Madman" during his training for the Gold Tribe, enough to have a certain fear of the crazed 'mon. "A-and who are you two? What happened here to the Network Point?"

Obsidian quickly dashed over to place himself in front of Penance as he held up his claws, "How the hell should I know!?" He snapped, "Whoever you are... just stay back!" He hissed angrily. The Gardevoir came over and looked down at Penance, "Heh, still alive but out of it."

"'Scuse me, Joshua 'Watchman' Vensworth of the Gold Tribe?" A Ninjask asked the Swadloon as it floated in beside him. "Guardia and General Riken's asked you to meet them at the new Network Point 3, in the Display Building. You're goin' on a mission."

Joshua gave a confused glance towards the Ninjask, but before he could even pose a question to the bug, it flew away. "They moved the Network Point? Oh geez..." He turned to the other two, the Weavile and Gardevoir still looking over Penance's limp form. Well, he may have not known these people, but it was his job to make sure everybody was evacuated safely. He did his best to put on a brave face before speaking up. "Well, you heard the Ninjask. We need to get out of here!"

Obsidian grunted as he hauled Penance over his shoulder and stared at Joshua for a moment, looking right at his face before he burst into laughter, "Oh... oh that's rich!" He chucked. "I've seen that look before! You think he's going to rise up and slash off your face? Please... we have better things to do." He muttered. "Right, I'm already heading off. Laters Watchman!" Obsidian began to jog on by with the Gardevoir following patiently behind him.

"Now you listen here!" Joshua shouted after them, but they were gone. Headed off to the Network Point with an unconscious Penance in tow. He sighed to himself, readjusting his coat and taking one last look at the place. No more unconscious civilians, at least. Now he just had to get to the display building. He had no idea what sort of 'mission' he'd been asked to go on, but he wouldn't be able to find out until he made it to the Network Point.

Sylvio pointed his wand in the sky, the tip producing a flare that was shot upwards and burst into a firework. He sat down on edge of the roof and waited. The horizon of the plains before him was filled with Darkrai's army; the walls were under attack, and he was out there somewhere. Sylvio wondered what it would be like, to fight a legendary Pokemon such as Darkrai. Defeating him would be quite a feat. The Delphox tugged lightly on his pointy, silver beard, smirking. The dancing fire in the city was reflected upon his face.

Soon, his ride arrived. Griff the Braviary landed harshly on the roof tiles, shattering some beneath his strong feet; he walked over to where Sylvio was sitting and let the Delphox stroke his feathers. "Well done." He reached for his pouch and gave the Braviary a treat: a Bunnelby leg, leftovers from the inn he was staying into. Griff swallowed it whole without chewing; Sylvio hopped onto the bird's back and scratched his sides with the claws of his feet so he would ascend. The Braviary took flight and Sylvio hugged his feathery neck to stir him around.

The city below them was a mess, herds of confused and terrified citizens who were partying a few hours ago trying to find a way out. Some did not know some of the Network Points were destroyed, and headed towards there anyways, but Sylvio knew better. His eye caught a ninjask moving fast above the crowds. "There, catch him," he ordered Griff, who dove forward, tearing through the air like a rocket. The Ninjask wasn't going as fast as he could - he appeared to be looking for something - so Griff easily managed to catch up.

"Pardon me," Sylvio shouted to catch the bug's attention. "What is happening?"

"Few Network Points got destroyed, I got this list of people-- wait... who are you?"

"Sylvio Arcansus," Sylvio replied curtly.

The Ninjask looked at his list. "You're not on the list."

"Ah!" Sylvio exclaimed, somewhat dramatically. "But allow me to help out anyway."

"Oh," the Ninjask let out, "alrighty then, I got nothing against that. Meet these peeps over at Point 3.5. See ya." The Ninjask quickly flew away.

Sylvio nodded and stirred Griff's head to where he believed was the Network Point 3.5. "Griff," Sylvio said, "you do know where the point is, eh?" Griff nodded and soared.

A few minutes later, Sylvio dismounted in the street that led to the Point, deciding to walk the rest of the way.

Guardia meanwhile was on her way back to Network Point 3.5. She didn't manage to find any of the others, but hoped they would be on their way back after hearing word from the Ninjask. That is, assuming they were around to hear it. She swiftly shook her head, abolishing those thoughts. Along the road, she spotted a familiar Delphox, one she had seen and conversed with earlier in the day. "Still here, Sylvio? I would have thought you would be gone by now."

"Gone? I think not," Sylvio replied, his mouth instantly slipping into a formal smile, although a veil of worry covered his face. "My student appears to be still in the city, but that is not my only reason for staying. I attempted to capture that troublemaker who disabled your Network Points, but alas, I was at a double disadvantage and he escaped. How fares the battle?"

Guardia nodded at his explanation, then sighed. "Let's just say it could be better," She replied, not wishing to go into too much detail on it. She didn't want to worry the 'mon, even if he wasn't a regular citizen. As far as the conflict went, it definitely wasn't looking good. "As we are now, the most we can do is delay. Which is why...I'm heading to get help."

Sylvio nodded firmly at her words without looking at her. "A reasonable decision, if I have to say anything for it. Is there anywhere in particular where you may get this kind of help?"

"Not here, that's for sure," Guardia replied, looking around at the destruction of the city. "Not in Valkaria. We don't have...we don't have enough. We need to go beyond now."

"Mhmheheh," Sylvio let out, although he looked a bit unsettled, "I figured as much. I wish to lend my aid, if you would have me."

Guardia eyed the Delphox curiously, recalling the conversation the two had earlier. "You're from Karn, right?"

"One could say that," Sylvio allowed, smiling formally.

She looked around. Had she not been in a rush given the current situation, she would have thought more carefully about who to bring along. However, at this point, she could use everyone she can get, and this 'mon could definitely be useful over there. "Follow me to the Network Point, then." She said suddenly, and proceeded forward.

"As you wish," Sylvio replied smiling, joining his hands and bowing slightly to her back; he went after her.

"Urrrrgghh" A pile of rubble with an antenna sticking out of it groaned and grumbled, starting to shake. A big green head burst from the debris, followed by the remaining mass of emerald scales. I think I may have worked too hard on becoming a tough guy, I've made such a big deal out of running towards danger so others don't have too that now I suck at running away from it when there's no other option... Wait! I can't sit here lost in - I wonder if she landed anywhere near me? Cal thumped his own head to make sure he was back to his senses and leaped into the air. When he crashed back down he flapped his wings as hard as he could at the moment he hit the ground. The shaking of the earth and the large gust of wind worked in concert to send all the rubble nearby scattering so he could clearly see what was around.

The rubble wasn't all that was sent flying. A flash of sleek blue fur was briefly seen along with a set of flailing paws, before it once again disappeared beneath the rubble as the debris settled back to the ground. It wasn't long before a stone shifted, though, and Kaveri exploded out from the wreckage, a bit bruised from her fall and spluttering indignantly. "You couldn't think of a better way to look, really?" she huffed.

Cal stared blankly at Kaveri for a few moments before his expression changed to one of pure joy and he sprinted at her and lifted her into a hug, shaking her a bit as he squeezed. "You're okay! I was so worried you might have been too close to the explosion, or too much junk fell on you! Or-or-" He froze for a second, then dropped Kaveri and backed up. "Uhh... sorry about the whole search method...and squeezing you like that I just - there was no time, we need to find Guardia and figure out where we stand."

Kaveri took a wheezy breath as Cal released her from his tight embrace, taking a moment to catch her breath. A big dragon squeezing you in a hug can take a lot outta you, you know! "Isn't it supposed to be the older sibling worrying about their younger sibling?" she chortled, casting him a brief grin before shrugging and turning to scan their surroundings in search of the Gold Tribe leader. "Eh, whatever. Yer right, we should fi- Oh, hello there." She had turned around to come almost face-to-face with a hovering Ninjask. Since she'd seen Snype use a Ninjask to pass a message on earlier, she guessed this one was part of the thieves' network as well.

"Kaveri 'Jetstream' Vian and Callimer 'Emerald Sentinel' Vian of the Gold Tribe, yes?" The Ninjask asked, glancing between the two then continuing after Kaveri nodded in confirmation. "You're both needed at Network Point three, at its new location in the Display Building."

"New location?" Kaveri cocked a brow questioningly. "Something must've happened if they've moved to a new location..." The Ninjask seemed prepared to explain the whole thing, but Kaveri waved him off. "Nah, no time, we'll figure out what happened later." Then she looked back over to Cal, her twin tails twitching eagerly behind her as if she sensed they were about to go off and do something exciting. Even if it did mean leaving the breached wall with that much less protection. But, orders were orders! "I guess that tells us where we stand, eh?"

Watching the Ninjask fly off Cal couldn't help wondering why there wasn't a system in place for the Gold Tribe like those Ninjask. They couldn't waste anymore time staying still though so he patted Kaveri's shoulder and said, "Seems so, guess we better hurry then huh?" before flying towards the Display Building at full speed. He knew Kaveri would catch up to him in no time since he wasn't even using Extremespeed so he started talking as if she was already there. "Thank goodness, with how badly things went at the wall even with the majority of our manpower and elites there I was so worried...I was so worried there'd be nowhere left to go, no means of escape for the citizens."

Kaveri had been running through the streets at first, but with the panicked crowds that filled them, she hadn't been able to keep up with Cal; so now, she ran along the buildings, keeping pace with her brother fairly easily. "Like the SEC would let that happen! They're made for times of turmoil like these, ya know. Even if there's only one Network Point left, they'll get everyone out!" She said, ever the optimist, always looking for the best outcome. Whether she or anyone else actually believed that outcome to be possible, she always looked to it and hoped.

"Yeah, I've got faith in our allies..." He looked down at the ground for a second, making sure to keep his flying stable through the change in weight distribution. "It's still so hard to believe, I know it's been such a big part of our lives this whole time anyways but... Darkrai... He's really back, and now we're gonna be a part of the effort to stop him."

"I'm glad it's happening now," Kaveri said firmly. "Better now than in another 30 years when there's no one around who remembers him. And to be honest...," she continued, clenching her fists as a grin spread across her muzzle and her eyes lit with fiery determination, "I always hoped I'd be able to play a part in the fight against Darkrai. And now that he's here again... we gotta make sure not to let Wildfire down, yeh?"

Cal nodded. "It's definitely reassuring to not be the only ones who took it all seriously, and even better to still have some around who were there before and know first-hand what it is we're dealing with." He matched his sister smirk-for-smirk and his eyes took on the same excited cast Kaveri's did. "We'll make sure everything she fought for ends up even better than she ever expected, Darkrai's going down, however long it takes."

Kaveri nodded her agreement, falling silent afterwards. They were nearly to the Network Point now, and the crowds in the streets below were only getting thicker as some Pokemon tried to shove their way through the line, causing confusion in the masses as some other Pokemon hurried up and down the street, seemingly trying to keep some semblance of order.

It was amongst these crowds that Kaveri spotted a familiar Zangoose with a not-so-familiar Delphox. She waved to Cal to get his attention, pointing down to where she'd spotted Guardia before dropping down from the building she had been running atop to move alongside the leader of the Gold Tribe and the Delphox. "Yo," she greeted briefly, blinking at the two.

A quick twist sent the Dragonite gliding down to land next to Guardia and the Delphox moments after Kaveri did, shaking the ground slightly under his weight. He'd seen that Delphox around before a few times, and made sure to ask around about him since he didn't seem like a normal citizen. "Greetings, Sylvio, I think it is? Nice to meet you. We're reporting in Guardia, sounds like it's time to leave right?"

Hanso entered the backroom of the Display Building, shooting past the thieves stationed there and proceeded into the main room where the Psychics were positioned around the Network machine. This was the last point left in the city, the others being destroyed by someone allied with Darkrai. Things weren't going at all how Hanso envisioned, and he did his best to plan for the worst. But then again, he hadn't expected to get back into the actual fighting himself at his age, so even now the way the world works could surprise him. He was at the eastern wall, but returned after heard about Riken's plan and the state of the main gate. The eastern wall wasn't in as bad of shape, but it was getting worse by the hour.

He eyes scanned across the room, relying more on his grey one as his other one was currently covered in blood from a cut he received. He managed to spot Anna in the room, directing traffic and making sure everything was going smoothly. He walked over to her, favoring his left leg on his cane with each step. "Anna, how's it going?" He asked the Mareep.

"Everything is going rather-- M-Mr. Sharp-Eye!" Anna hadn't been expecting Hanso to show up so suddenly at the new Network Point. She had been so focused on what she was doing she didn't even recognize his voice when he spoke to her. There had been so much chaos and confusion Anna hadn't even had the time to wonder if her boss had made it through all of the fighting. He was alive still, thank the gods, but now she wondered how long that would last. For him or for any of them. Anna cleared her throat. "Everything is going smoothly. Much better than I would have expected, actually," she admitted. She had been on edge this whole time. Every moment seemed like the best time for an enemy to come crashing through the glass roof. "I haven't been updated one what's going on outside of these walls. Is this a sign that the battle is going well outside?"

"...It could be going better," Hanso replied in a grim tone. Two Network points were down, one destroyed by the weapons that were supposed to guard it. Hanso made a note about removing Hyper Beam Cannons from Network Points later. They were helpful, but highly destructive, and now he sees kind of pointless in defending against smaller infiltration parties. He focused back on her. "But I'm impressed at your work here. That was quick thinking moving the Network here. You probably ended up saving it."

"It wasn't without a few tries, sir," Anna answered, recalling her first attempt at moving the Network Point. "And I hope so. Though I owe it more to the men and women guarding it right now than my personal efforts." She couldn't take all of the credit for what was happening at this Network Point. Without the Gold Tribe members or even the thieves the Display Building would have been overrun ages ago, she was sure. "Will you be staying here, sir?"

"Well regardless, it was good work," He crossed his arms, looking around the room at the other Pokemon who began to gather, presumably for the mission he heard about from General Riken. "Yeah, I'll stay here. Help organize the forces and hold back the armies. With any luck, we should be able to hold them off..." Hanso brought his gaze to a window overlooking the city. "At least long enough for you to find some help. You'll be representing all of SEC on it, Anna. You'll be representing us, but you'll also be my eyes and ears," Hanso took out a card from a sack he was carrying around. The card had a large number '9' on it with a few of Annabelle's information. "Here, I'm putting you at level 9," He said, handing the card over to her. "That's one below the my son the CEO, so you should be able to command any SEC forces in the other nations."

Anna was absolutely stunned by her sudden promotion. From a seven to a nine!? And so quickly! It wasn't easy for her to rise up the latter as she had now. The promotion made her nervous. "Th-Thank you, sir!" Anna tucked the card into her wool near her bow tie. She could feel the weight of the responsibility it carried on her. "How would you like me to correspond with you sir?" There were a plethora of ways she could do it, some slower than others but Anna assumed the least obvious choice was the best.

Hanso nodded, approaching the Mareep and tapping her on the forehead. "We're going to link minds, and communicate Psychically. Normally, that would just be enough within Valkaria for me. But since you're going way beyond, I don't think we'll be able to keep the link because of the distance," He explained, removing his finger from her forehead and pointing to the Psychics who made up the Network. "So instead we'll use the Network. Whenever you want to report in or ask anything, or talk, just find any of the Network Points throughout the world, use their abilities and find me. The Network machine should be able to track us both down and project me to you in a hologram-like form. Even if something happens with the Network here, as long as one of us have it, we'll be able to talk."

"I'll relay anything to you as quickly as I can." With the expansion of the Network Point system there weren't too many places without them nowadays and if negotiations were still running smoothly, more would come during the mission she was about to partake in. "Hopefully we will both stay safe during out missions."

"...me too," He began, sighing deeply. "Remember what we say."

"Yes, sir!" Anna nodded in response, the motto giving her a sense of duty and new confidence. Near the Network Point Annabelle's new group was forming together. By the looks of it they should be leaving soon. "I think it's time for me to take my leave, sir."

Hanso nodded. "Good luck," He said to her as she turned around and headed toward the group.

Lyn "Guardia" Reed - Network Point Three

"Sentinel, Jetstream!" Guardia beamed, thankful her allies across the wall were alright. "Good to see you both in one piece," She stated with a smirk. Upon hearing Cal's question, the Zangoose bowed her head slightly and nodded solemnly. "Yeah..it's time to go. I'll explain inside, come on," Together they proceeded inside the Display Building. Through the front doors, 'mon lined up for what seemed like miles to exit the city. The Network Psychics were working furiously to get them out as swiftly as possible, while SEC scientists, Alpha Alliance soldiers and Gold Tribe members tried to maintain lines and order.

Looking across the room at the others present, she was content to see most of the 'mon from the list seemed to be present, along with a few others that would apparently see them off. She noticed Ripper there and approached him, figuring she would converse a bit with him before General Riken would arrive.. "Ripper, how goes it?"

"Guardia," The Houndoom replied with a growl, showing his frustration with the situation at hand. "I've got some news from around the city that we got from Snype's Ninjask and our brothers...if you'd like to hear." Guardia nodded slowly and her ears perked up. "So far, the damage is worst at the main gates, where you were at. They stopped the siege momentarily to probably wait for the smoke and dust to clear, and instead are working to surround us entirely. We're trying to push them back but…" Ripper growled again, gritting his teeth. "Two of the tribe have fallen so far. Brawler from the main gate, and Warhawk from the east gate."

Guardia responded to the names by a small twitch of her eye. At this point, she didn't want to show weakness or too much emotion in front of so many of the others, but she knew both of those 'mon. In fact, the Gold Tribe being what it was now, she knew practically every member quite well. They were warriors, and would kill many. The Gold Tribe today lost only two. Yet everyone one that fell was a friend, someone she had personally accepted into the tribe. Before it was all said and done, many more might have to die. "What about Scar?" She asked Ripper.

Before Ripper could answer, the Beatrucian Gold Tribe member Abel spoke up from beside Guardia. "I saw him last, holding off the Greninja Gabriel," He said to the Zangoose. Guardia turned to Abel and cocked an eyebrow.

"Gabriel...I've been hearing about that blasted Greninja everywhere. Just who the hell is he?"

"I'm...not sure. I don't think anyone is completely. He's following Darkrai apparently on his own whim. And he's strong. Took down two of the Network Points himself." Ripper stated back.

Guardia shook her head. "By himself…" The doors to the back of the Display Building opened, with General Riken proceeding through. "Well, looks like it's time," Guardia declared. She looked around, seeing everyone that had gathered and felt content with the group she had chosen. Riken approached beside her, placing his large hand on her shoulder.

"I'll make the arrangements with the Psychics to teleport you all out. Best you tell them instead of me."

Guardia nodded, and looked on to address the gathered 'mon. They were a mixed bunch, not just Gold Tribe. "Right. You're all here because many of you would have been selected to accompany me on my mission tomorrow. Unfortunately, because of Darkrai, we're going to have to advance our schedule to today. Right now."

"What? You're leaving? Right in the middle of the battle?" Ripper asked, confused, and a bit angry.

"We have no choice, brother," Guardia replied sternly. "If we don't leave now, there's no telling if we'll be able to leave ever again."

"But if you leave now, what becomes of the rest of us?" Ripper demanded. "What becomes of the citizens?"

"We will hold back Darkrai's armies," General Riken declared, speaking up after arranging the location transfer with the Psychics. "We'll get the rest of the citizens out, and hold the city, delay the armies."

"Delay? Delay for what?"

"For us to find help," Guardia replied. She looked around the room at the many faces staring back at her. "The mission we're going on has two objectives: the first, find Cresselia. We know that she is out there, somewhere. It's been a long time since 'mon have seen sight of her, but we have to believe she still exists. The old timers back in the day defeated him with her help, and we will do the same." She turned around, looking through the open window at the main gates, where smoke was still visible. "But Darkrai's armies aren't just Ancients now. They're actual Pokemon too. Real, tangible Pokemon that are fighting willingly for him. Even if we destroy Darkrai, that doesn't guarantee a victory. We need help from the other nations. We need to convince them to help us."

She turned back around and addressed the group again. "I'm not gonna lie to you. I know some of you would rather stay here, especially the Gold Tribe, to help the fight with your brothers and sisters. If I'm being honest, I'd rather stay too. But the fact of the matter is, if we stay, we'll die. Maybe we'll hold for a while. Damned if we hadn't before. But we can't hold on forever. We can't do this alone. I'm asked you all here to come with me, but this mission is volunteer-based. If you don't want to come, you don't have to. If you do come, know we're going all the way. We're going to find help, or die trying."

"We'll head north to Fort Ferrol. We scouted ahead and it seems that it hasn't been hit by Darkrai's forces, so for now we'll be safe there. From there, we'll decide where to seek help first."

"I'll be sending Annabelle here to represent SEC," Hanso Sharp-Eye added in, walking beside Riken. "I'm also linking my mind with each Network across the lands, so if you ever want to talk back over here, we'll be able to communicate." Guardia nodded, offering the Gallade a smile.

"I'd like to come as well, if I may," Thomas Blake chirped up. Guardia looked at him with a somewhat surprised expression. Before she could ask why, he spoke again. "I've made a few mistakes recently, and I hope to atone for them. Besides, the movement, the exposure, there's pockets of it in other places too. If I could help in any way, even if its in this small way to inform everyone, I want to."

Guardia stared for a few seconds blankly at the Hypno, before nodding in agreement.

"Alright, this is it," General Riken declared. He motioned for everyone to gather around the Psychics. "Come around this vicinity. Do it," He ordered to the lead Psychic around the Network Machine. The Kadabra nodded, closing his eyes.

"Contacting the Psychic network in Fort Ferrol," He said. The other psychics all silently sat in their circle, apparently deep in concentration. The machine in the middle of the psychics flickered with a blue light. It shone on and off for a few moments, before permanently flicking on. "Network established," The Kadabra said. "Sending you to Fort Ferrol now."

General Riken stepped back, and watched the group dematerialize. "Good luck."

Before Guardia left, she caught sight of the window inside of the Display Room which had a full view of the smoke that rose from the main gates, the many screams and worried Pokemon gathered around trying to leave from the city, the brave 'mon who continued to defend it, and the vast armies of Darkrai outside the walls. She saw the tower of the Gold Tribe in the middle of the city, standing strong and proud, but was surrounded by three different points of smoke coming from the three destroyed Network Points. She saw the remnants of fire that had outbroke in the city. It took the entire thirty years of discipline she developed as leader of the Gold Tribe not to say 'screw it all' and rejoin her brothers and sisters in the defense of the city. This was the second time in her life she left Gold City to the anguish of war.

---

Fort Ferrol. It was established as the first presence of the Alpha Alliance outside of Valkaria's borders after scouting parties have been sent to spread tales of Darkrai. The area directly above it doesn't actually belong to any country, instead being home to a collection of isolated villages. However the area has been hit with bandit activity many times in the past, and starvation due to their isolated nature in the wastes weren't entirely uncommon. This resulted with them welcoming the presence of the Pokemon of Valkaria. The area became known as the Valkaria Protectorate, a series of villages which are mostly autonomous but fall under the Alpha Alliance's protection. Fort Ferrol is a combined village and fortress, being home to a population of no more than a hundred or so Pokemon. However, it serves as a base for the Gold Tribe, SEC, and the Seekers, all having a presence there. The fort acts as a connection point with the rest of the Valkarian Protectore's villages and Valkaria itself. It's location nearby a lake and mountains also makes it strategically difficult for enemies to find or siege.

However, the current situation of Fort Ferrol was nothing like it was the last times Guardia passed through here. There was an air of gloom and desperation. Most of the villagers were hiding in their homes or no longer present, while many of the defenders were notably absent. Guardia knew that there were usually about twenty Gold Tribe members here to protect this and the nearby village, but she suspected when they heard about the attack on Gold City, most were sent down through the Network to help. Guardia counted only three there presently. One was a Seaking, titled 'Reign', who was swimming around the water of the village, apparently on patrol. Another, a Fearow who went by 'Whirlwind', was perched up at the top of a lookout outpost, her eyes wandering across the vast wilderness of the nearby forests and mountains. She momentarily gazed at the group as they teleported through the Network in curiousity. The third was approaching the group, a Dusknoir veteran Gold Tribe member named Marcus, but who went by Wraith.

"Guardia," Wraith acknowledged the Gold Tribe leader with a nod of his head, floating over to her and the others. "Brothers, sisters," He added to the other Gold Tribe members present. "I hadn't heard you were coming. What are you doing here? How goes the fight in Gold City? Did you come for the rest of us? No, that wouldn't have made sense, you would have just sent a single 'mon to collect us then. Is Gold City fallen? Did we lose already, and these are the survivors? Unlikely either, you would never knowingly ru-"

"Wraith, Wraith!" Guardia interjected, trying to stop the Dusknoir. He had a habit of rambling on for a while, asking many questions and often answering them himself before giving anyone a chance to talk. "Remember that mission I was planning tomorrow?" She asked, watching the Dusknoir nod slowly. "Well the situation in Gold City sped that along. We're going to stay here and rest and then decide where to go from here."

"Ah, very well. I assume the situation isn't too good then, if you were to leave. We will of course provide you food and lodgings and anything else you will need. I am curious about the rest of your group. I see a lot of non-Gold Tribe members too, many faces I do not recognize, although there are a fe-"

"Wraith," Guardia interrupted again, holding up a hand to her head and clutching it while she held up another in front of Wraith to get him to stop. "It's been a long day."

"...Right. Well, you're standing in front of the SEC HQ here." He said, pointing to the largest hut right beside them. "Gold Tribe quarters are up to the left of the village, in the larger hut on the second level, while Seeker's base is to the far right. The dining hut is still open, though I fear most shops are probably closed, some of them maybe permanently due to half of the village taking off. If you need anything else, let me know."

"Thanks," Guardia said to the Dusknoir, who began to float off. Guardia turned around and addressed the rest of the group. "Well…" She began to say, but found no words to explain the current situation they faced. "Let's have a meeting to discuss what we'll do tomorrow. I figure everyone here could use a rest." With those words, Abel nodded and headed off to the Gold Tribe hut.

Wraith seemed to remember something and turn around, floating back to Guardia. He spoke in a lowered voice.

"Oh, also, ma'am, if I may say. Both Reign and Whirlwind have been on patrol for the past 8 hours now without break on their own. I know you are all likely tired, but if anyone would at some point take over, I think they would appreciate it. Seeing you here now, there's no way they would ask to be taken off of patrol. Probably too proud."

Guardia looked at the Fearow and the Seaking floating around. In a way, he felt she could sympathize with them. For many Gold Tribe, being on patrol was worse than being in a battle, especially a battle to protect their home. She could only imagine what it must have been like to stay behind while the rest went off to help the city. A long time with often no one but yourself to sit and think was frightening, especially if you didn't know what was happening and you were left with your imagination to play it all out.

"I understand, I'll take over for Whirlwind," She announced. "Don't think I'll be doing much sleeping tonight anyways…" Guardia sighed, and looked around at the others who came with her through the Network, before proceeding up to relieve Whirlwind.

Snype managed to return just on time for the group to be teleported away from the city and continue their investigation. The other thieves were bound to hear of this back in the forest. He instructed the Ninjask network to remain in the city and assist the Gold Tribe in keeping their communication links strong. His access to the network would be more limited outside of the network but of anything happened, they would be able to notify Snype if necessary. At least staying here would give him some time to plan something out away from all of that chaos. He wasn't too comfortable leaving his thieves there. Of course, they were free to retreat on their own terms at any times. They had no obligation to follow orders from the Gold Tribe, considering the history between them. With the situation as it was though, he didn't think they would retreat so easily. The thieves have been preparing for this type of scenario after all.

They needed to get help with Gold City, and on top of that, the group had to find Crescellia. The only problem was Snype had no clue where to begin looking. It's not every day a legendary Pokemon swoops down to greet you and help your cause... usually.

Raz had been dawdling to some effect ever since he'd got bored with his makeshift Wailord rolling pin. Well, technically he wouldn't have been able to break past the protective psychic barriers even if had wanted to continue, but being bored was his failsafe excuse - and a good and frequently used one, at that. He was dawdling, of course, to make sure he wasn't helping too much with the effort against Darkrai, though in retrospect, he wasn't sure it was necessary. Guardia seemed oddly more comfortable - or at least not as incredibly murderous - in Raz's presence than the Dreadmage had expected. Maybe it was the fact he was a tiny Ralts, or maybe it was that she spent so much time around the Madman that everyone else seemed like far less of a threat. It was a shame, he supposed, that he could probably have afforded to fight after all. Maybe a few lives could have been spared. Not that he cared about that, though, of course; he was evil, after all. Regardless, the main thing was that he was here, never mind how the situation played out that led to it. Here with the Gold Tribe, the Madman, and... bloody hell, this was an odd group if he had ever seen one. He stood for a moment observing, his luminous red eyes beaming out at the 'mon surrounding him in a piercingly discerning gaze. One particular individual seemed to stand out a fair bit to him: firstly, because Raz recognised him, and secondly, because he appeared to be smashed out of his mind.

The Scyther, however, rudely barged past Raz, giving only a quick "Out of my way, kid." as he seemed to have a beeline towards another person entirely. The Dreadmage didn't even spare the drunk a word, psychically returning the barge and flinging him off into the water.

"The f-?" Charlie didn't get time at all to react as he was flung into the water - which is, needless to say, not a bug's natural environment, even if he was sober. After the initial shock of hitting the water, Charlie flailed his claws around, as if they would even have a hope of finding purchase against the water, but to no avail... almost immediately, he sank with all the grace and poise of a beached Magikarp.

Raz put a hand to his chin and turned around momentarily. "Oh, yes. Murder not allowed. I'd forgotten." He dragged the drenched bug out of the water with his Psychic grasp, then draped him across the woodwork with just a little less than motherly care. "A shame." He turned again, waddling away from the incident like one might walk out of a lovely shop that didn't stock what you'd come for, but was nice nonetheless. He tended to get that way after harming someone he disliked.

"Hey!" Guardia yelled at the small hooded Ralts walking away. She had turned around earlier when she heard some sort of commotion going on, and watched the entire scene unfold right before she had reached the outpost with Whirlwind on top of it. "Razorspheal!" She yelled again, walking right beside the 'mon the Psychic had just dropped onto the wooden docks. Her eyes were glued onto the small Psychic.

Raz stopped and turned, looking back at the Zangoose. "Oh, Guardia! Did you see that? It looked as if I was about to kill him, but then I didn't. I thought it was quite nice of me; goodness, you must be proud you can provoke such restraint in one as evil as I. You know, me. Razathiel. That person who has that name, the one that people tend to get right with about an ounce of effort."

Obsidian groaned as he got off the ground, managing to jump right for the group as they teleported. It was a lucky break on his part... or not. It seemed that there were some clashes here, but he took a few glances about, "A fort huh?" He looked over at Raz, quickly recognizing him, and the Scyther that gasped on the ground he recalled from the city as well. Another face in the crowd... was Guardia. He pulled Penance off of the ground and slung him over a shoulder as he made his way over and set the duck down. "So... Guardia can I have a word when you're done here?"

Guardia held her hand up to Obsidian to wait, not taking her eyes off the Ralts. "Listen up. I brought you here because you said you wanted to help against Darkrai, and you have knowledge and abilities to back it up."

"Yes, I have those. What's your point?" Raz snapped.

"We're all allies here," She continued, pointing to Charlie on the floor without looking at him. "You pull any sh*t like this again, I'll break you in half myself. Clear?"

"Yes, we are allies, that is why he is here and not the water. I don't understand. Is this not a good thing?" He gestured to the dripping Scyther with his arms, as though gesturing to a fantastically wrapped basket of muffins.

Guardia stared at the Ralts, unsure if he was being sarcastic, or if he really didn't think he did anything wrong and that was simply how he grew up. Either way, she knew she couldn't let him go under the assumption he didn't do anything wrong. She walked up to the Ralts, raised her fist and punched Raz right across his jaw.

Razathiel twisted and flew back, scrambling to his feet and readying his staff. Worked up in the confusion that he wasn't being praised for such an obvious act of mercy - Raz generally didn't do mercy - it took the Ralts a little while to register that he'd just been punched in the face. Just like that, his plans were foiled? It took him a little longer, but eventually, he glanced up at Guardia - who was still in the same place and, apparently, not trying to kill him - and raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Whu- is that it?"

"Here, trying to kill our allies is almost as bad as killing them. Maybe not in your mind, but as long as you're traveling with us, don't do it," She stated sternly. She relaxed her stance and eased up her fists. "I'm sure you'll be able to do a lot worse against Darkrai's forces, trust me."

Behind Guardia, there came a small, but devious chuckle. "Ya know, it's nice ta see, after all these years, the prime b*tch of the Gold Tribe ain't cooled down any..." Charlie's voice came in the tone as if he was speaking to an old friend. "So how's the Tribe been copin' without me around then, eh?"

"You punched me." Raz murmured, still quite unsure as to the logic of his situation.

Guardia turned around toward the downed Pokemon for the first time, her ears perking up from the sound of his voice. She knew it, and she was surprised to hear it, thinking she would never hear it again in her life. When she saw him, her eyes widened. "You..." Guardia began.

"Yup, me. I gotta name, though." Charlie shrugged. "But I guess that you'll work for now. So... I'm tryin' ta catch up here! Head still firmly up yer ass?"

Guardia barged forward at the Scyther without another word, raising her fist once more, but this time striking with a bit more passion and force. This was definitely personal. "I shoulda let Razzmatazz drown you!"

Raz blinked, then shrugged. "I mean, I still can, if you've changed your mind."

Obsidian dropped Penance as he held up his hands, "Aw crap! Guardia can we please not kill anyone else!?" He asked as he ran over, "Look I get it, this guy did something. Just walk away." Although Obsidian was against this, he wasn't so against it that he would actually step in front of Guardia or actually try to pull her away. In her enraged state... well, he didn't want to risk it.

Charlie rocked with the punch, needing maybe a whole second to shake out the cobwebs and come back to his senses. "Oh, you know nothin' mate. I didn't just do somethin', I kept the wool over the eyes 'a this dumb broad and her tribe for a whole damn year!

"No, I'll take care of him," Guardia stated to Raz, before pointing to Obsidian. "Obsidian, you stay out of this. This has nothing to do with you!" She stepped over to Charlie again, angrier than she had been in a while. There was few things she took as hard as betrayal on that level in the Gold Tribe. With coming from the war in Gold City, she was just about ready to wreck the Scyther just to let off some steam. She brought her right hand to the left side of her body and swiped the Scyther again across his other cheek with the back of her hand as hard as she could.

Charlie again rocked with the slap across his face. "Eheh. Ya know, this is no way ta greet an old friend..." He slowly brought himself to his feet, bringing with him the stench of the alcohol that stopped him thinking this was a bad idea. "But if ya wanna play rough, girl... I'm game for that too!" Seemingly having forgot he was dripping wet, when the Scyther's wings kicked into action, he fortunately went absolutely nowhere, just standing in place, buzzing his wings.

Snype pinched between his eyes, looking rather irritated from all of the commotion. "Did we escape Gold City to have a petty argument or to find Cresselia? Charlie, if this is the only reason you wanted to come along then I suggest you make your way back to the forest, or start getting along." Snype said with a stern expression before turning over to Guardia. "I don't know what's up between you two, but I'd prefer you both step back and take a breather. I'd say it's pretty bad when a thief is trying to keep the Gold Tribe leader from losing it."

"I'll say." Raz huffed. "She punched me for showing restraint. Do I get to kill this bug, or not?"

"You bet your ass you don't! Try it again, now I'm ready for ya, ya little creep!" Charlie snapped at Raz, then let out a sigh. "You know I got my reasons, 'kay boss? Don't mean I ain't gonna butt heads in a while... guess I just leave her ta cool off."

"Wait, you're telling me he's with you now?!" Guardia snapped at Snype.

"Yeah. So he's my responsibility. If he gets out of line then I'll keep him in check if it keeps you two from fighting each other."

"So... is that a 'yes' on the killing?" Raz asked hopefully.

"Ugh, why am I not surprised?!" She screamed, before heading off to the outpost. She looked back at Snype once more, pointing at him in an intimidating manner. "You better watch him."

"... So, yes? I'm going to do it, you know. Fire would work. Bugs burn and alcohol burns, I guess the two would be pretty good."

"Now get this, shortstuff. You. Ain't comin'. Nowhere near me. Try it, I'll lop your f*cking head off!" The Scyther raised a claw at Raz to punctuate his point.

"Well, yes, I'm a ranged mage. Honestly, keep up, it's like you don't even know how fights work."

"Stop it, or I'll start smacking both of you around. We're all stressed after that attack. If your gonna take your anger out on anything, then don't take it out on your own allies. For our sake anyway." Snype said. It was times like this that he really wished there was a Punching bag or a training dummy he could practice on.

Obsidian just sighed and placed Penance back over his shoulder and ran after Guardia, "Hey wait up!"

Raz paused for a fairly long time. "... So, that's a no, then...?" Snype simply facepalmed and gave an irritated groan.

"You know what? F*ck it. I came here with one reason in my head and I ain't lettin' some pint-sized twerp get in my way!" Charlie waved his claw dismissively as he walked away - making damn sure it was the other way to Guardia's exit. "Peace."

The Dreadmage turned to the King of Thieves. "I'm going to assume that was directed at you so I don't have to kill him for that."

"Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that." Snype said as he took a look at the area around him.

Razathiel glanced over at the leaving 'mon, lifting his hood to scratch his head. "For the leader of the Gold Tribe, Guardia doesn't seem to have all that much restraint. And that's coming from me. Bloody hypocrite." He drew his hood back and twirled his staff in hand before grasping it in its regular position, giving it a light tap on the wood below him. "Now I want a f*cking ice-cream."

Snype chuckled at Raz for a bit. "Kehe, hey you can use Magic right? Maybe you'll learn how to conjure one up during our expedition eh? Ice Cream magic... kehe. I'd be pretty darn jealous of that. Whatcha think?" Snype said, trying to lift his own spirits by returning to his usual cheery self.

The Ralts turned back to the Sableye and cocked an eyebrow, ignoring his suggestion of ice cream magic. In terms of conversation, at least - he actually felt it quite a delicious idea. "You're the King of Thieves." He stated.

"Kehe, yup, that'd be me. I perfer the name Snype, but I'm fine with either. Kehe" Snype simply responded.

"Interesting." Raz nodded. "Razathiel, the Dreadmage. Or the Eye of Dread, the Dark Psyker - at any rate, I am powerful, and I am evil." He turned to walk in the direction of whatever buildings lay nearby, but shortly turned back. "Also, teach that bloody bug a lesson, if I'm not allowed to kill him." He turned back again, and then again to Snype. "Also, don't try to steal anything from me." He finally turned back towards the buildings, but suddenly stopped again. "Also, do you know where I can find some chocolate ice-cream?"

"Keh, well I just got here, but if ya don't kill Charlie, then I'll be sure to let ya know if I find some, o' Eye of Dread. Kehe." Snype said, kinda playing along with the whole dreadmage stuff. For some reason, Snype found it kinda charming.

"Yes, well, be sure that you do, minion."

Mutual Acquaintances : Obsidian and Guardia​

Obsidian huffed as he followed after the departing Zangoose, "Hey! Guardia! Come on slow down! It ain't easy carrying him ya know! I'm not built for this!"

Guardia turned over her shoulder to see Obsidian following after her. "I'm not in the mood for it right now, Obsidian. Maybe you should go tend to him instead."

Obsidian shook his head, "Look, he's going to be out for a while. I can see that right now. What's more important is that you at least get that anger you just built up out. Yeah you punched him, but I still see that need in you. But more importantly..." His voice lowered a bit, "What do we do? I mean... I mean I've always heard the stories. Penance always told me but, it's different. I mean, it's one thing to read about it and be told about it, but to have that just happen there? Out of all places? What now? Honestly, what do we do?"

Guardia turned around fully now, eyeing the Weavile and there looking around at the other Pokemon, some of which were still fairly close. She motioned with her hand for him to follow her. She then climbed up the ladder beside the outpost, thinking on what she had just done. She didn't regret the way she handled the situation with the Ralts. He wasn't, and still probably isn't right in the mind. She knew she had to snap him out of the way he was thinking, or at least make him understand that she wouldn't let him do that kind of thing on this mission. The way she handled the Charlie situation...that could have gone better. She hadn't snapped and struck at someone out of anger in a long time. But then again, she hadn't been so angry at someone to this extent for a long time either. What Charlie did to the Gold Tribe, she wouldn't ever tolerate anyone betraying the Gold Tribe like that. Even if it didn't show the best face to the others, it sure felt good to let out.

She reached the top of the post, seeing the Gold Tribe member Whirlwind sitting perched up on top, her eyes scanning across the scenery earnestly. When she saw Guardia's face poke up onto the roof, she let out a small gasp and smiled. "Guardia! Great to see you!"

"Likewise, sister. I'm here to relieve you. I'll be taking the next watch here."

"What? But...I'm alright. You don't have to do it, you must have been through so much as it is," Whirlwind began to protest. Guardia held up a hand.

"It's OK, Whirlwind, get some rest," He said to the Fearow. Whirlwind looked on beyond the village toward the direction of Gold City. It wasn't in her sights from this distance, but Guardia had the feeling that's where she was looking.

"A-alright. Thank you, Guardia," She said finally, taking off to the direction of the Gold Tribe hut. Guardia climbed to the top of the roof of the outpost, and sat on it, looking out into the vast area in front of her, the darkness of night having long crept in and covered the place in shadow. She motioned for Obsidian to sit beside her and the Weavile made his way over, setting Penance down as he looked out silently.

"What Penance has told you, the stories I mean, I'm guessing he's tried to be as realistic and lifelike as he could be," She began, staring off for a moment longer, before glimpsing at Penance's sleeping body beside them. "But nothing can prepare you for the real deal, no matter how much you try to. I learned that my first time around thirty years ago. But this time...it's different even than that one. I can lie to you and say I have all the answers, but that wouldn't be true, so I won't do it. To answer your question, we've got to do the only thing we can do," She moved her gaze from Penance to Obsidian. "Get help from the other nations, and find Cresselia."

Obsidian sighed, "I guess it's like trying to prepare for an earthquake and even though you know what's supposed to happen... you still end up screaming when it happens. You recoil when you see dead bodies." He hung his head, "I... I guess I've more prepared than most you know? Penance has gone out of his way to teach me, and yet here I am shaking with fear." He let out some sarcastic laughter, "I just had to do one thing, I just had to keep my cool and I cracked."

"It's a lot harder than it looks. Thirty years ago, if it hadn't been for my father, I probably would have too. It's not a crime to be scared. Every 'mon is. I was then, I am now," Guardia explained. "It's how you deal with that fear that's important."

Obsidian let out a shaky breath, "Back then, Penance said the only way to follow Darkrai would be to have corruption, to be forced to." He shook his head, "But... all that army back there in the city. I didn't see any corrupted. and those people in the city? They were so strong. That Gabriel... is that how all of them are now? Is it where we step out and only two of them are needed to kill all of us?" He put his head into his clawed hands, "I'm trying really hard ot be positive... but I... I'm so scared. What if we go into a building and everyone immediately starts attacking us cause they all follow Darkrai?"

He raised his hand and looked wearily at Guardia, "What if we just so much as close our eyes and suddenly we're stabbed in the night? No way to tell who is friend and foe?"

Guardia began to think on what Obsidian said. In truth, she hadn't considered it herself to that extent. With willing followers joining the corrupted, there was no telling who was a friend and who was a foe. "I did see ancients among the forces, but you're right, a lot of them looked like they fought willingly. It's going to be hard, but we'll have to be careful who we trust. Mostly everyone in this group I've known for a long time. I can't say I trust all of them completely, but for more, I can say I don't think they'd betray us to Darkrai." She had a few in mind among the group who were newcomers that she may have to watch a bit more, but generally speaking most of the group seemed to be on the level. "We have to rely on each other. Even if its a scary thought to do. We'll keep our eyes open, but some of us have known each other for a while."

Obsidian slowly nodded his head, "You know... you're stable." He cast a glance back at Penance, "We really need that. We have so many seekers that... that I'm not sure how many can be trusted. We all sing the song of Darkrai, but if so many rallied to his cause... what if we helped to spread harm? There are so many areas we are and we open up to anyone. It would be so easy just to get someone in and spread tales of lies. I mean... that Sceptile guy. You knew him, yet he still got in."

"Grett you mean? Yeah, that was a surprise," She commented, moving her eyes into the cool water, where she managed to see Reign swimming by on his patrol. "But then again, he did only become General a month ago. If it turned out to be General Riken who was in league with Darkrai, I think I would have been a lot more, well..." She trailed off, but turned back to Obsidian again. "I'm going to need you. I never liked it that you followed him," She stated, pointing at the unconscious Penance. "But since you're with him, you might be the only person that can control him. I'll need Penance on this, I know I will. But I need him to be as calm as possible."

Obsidian sighed, "I know that I'll have to work on that. He's... he prepared for so long." He chuckled softly, "You know... I don't remember much about my childhood. I can't remember names and faces well... but I remember that one time I was brought to the border outside of Karn. I remember that time when that... incident happened. I remember you were there. And... and when he just... exploded." He shook his head a bit, "Imagine him waking up and realizing that with all his planning he never really took into account how persuasive Darkrai could be. That he planned a majority of his plans with the belief that he would be fighting corrupted?" He sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck, "He likes to be in control. He likes to think that he has thought up of everything... but that isn't the case always. The moment he wakes up I think there's going to be some madness going on."

Guardia could somewhat sympathize with the Madman here. She too had a lot of plans regarding Darkrai, if he was to return. She certainly didn't expect a few things to go the way they did, particularly the non-corrupted Pokemon. Now, everything seemed to go to hell, and if Penance was going to go crazy when he woke up, that would only add more fuel to the fire. "We have to stop it if it comes to that. I know it's a tall task, but he needs to get a grip, same as the rest of us. That includes me too. What we're doing here...we've got a lot of people relying on us back home."

Obsidian slowly nodded, "Yeah. I know that." He looked back out, "So, I guess that's it huh?" He stood up and went over to the duck and slung him back over a shoulder, "I'll watch over him. I guess if anyone tries to murder us my screams will be enough." He let out a weak chuckle, "Uh... stay safe Guardia." Obsidian made his way back down the ladder as he headed for the Seeker's hut.

"You too, Obsidian," She replied, returning her gaze to the vast dark around Fort Ferrol. It was going to be a long night.

Joshua remained silent after arriving in Ferrol. What was he supposed to say? The situation quickly exploded; Guardia lost her temper, they had a homicidal Ralts in their group, and somehow, his brother had ended up in the group as well. The Swadloon simply stood motionless, wrapping himself tightly in his cloak, hoping that he would not be seen. He didn't even know why he was on this mission. Hand picked, too, from what he could gather. He sighed, as Guardia and Charlie each went their respective ways. Abel had left too, much earlier, and now there was nothing but awkward silence. There were others still in the group; some he recognized, others, not as much.

With a deep sigh Callimer tried to think of what to do to be productive. Only thing that came to mind was checking on supplies and such but he had to address one little thing like that. He strode over to Snype and started talking right away. He figured someone his size stepping up to someone as attentive and vertically-challenged as Snype would be noticed just fine. "I'm glad you said something there. I stayed quiet because I trust Guardia's judgement and I've never seen her like that before. She's never lost it like that since I joined the tribe; your Scyther friend must have done something low enough that I'd want to clock him myself, if I knew what had happened and there weren't better things to worry about."

Snype turned around to the Dragonite. He remembered that Kaveri was with him earlier. "Keh, yeah well guess its a good thing I'm pretty on edge about her judgement then eh? Kehe. I knew he had some bad history with the Gold Tribe but I wasn't told that it was that personal. Keheh. Well I guess its my problem now eh? Suppose its better then having those two duke it out right here. You're Cal right? I remember your sister mentioning you a couple times." Snype said.

"Yep, that'd be me, the protective little brother she can't stop reminding he was born second, even though I completely eclipse her anytime I stand too close." Cal answered with a chuckle. "And you'd be Snype, the king of thieves, and a lot more famous - or should I say infamous - than I. You know she tried to tease me about you, act like you two were on a real date and get me all riled up. That was why I had to bring up the fake threat earlier, if you were curious about it."

"It's only personal because he makes it personal," Joshua interrupted, ignoring the two and their introductions to each other. Their conversation regarding the Scyther earlier had caught his attention. "Charlie's just stubborn, is all."

Snype snickered at Cal's explanation on the whole threat. He still wanted to keep that little gag going if Cal was really gullible enough to believe it at first. "Keheh, well hey, she isn't totally lieing. We did go out to eat. Pretty fun day I gotta say... you know, before the attack." Snype said with a snicker. He turned over to Joshua to respond to him. "I take you know him then? Yeah, Charlie insisted that he come along after I mentioned you were coming. Sorry if that's a problem. I figured having a second thief along with me would have been handy. I'll try to make sure his personal grudges don't get in the way." Snype said.

Joshua nodded in response to the Sableye. He was bewildered as to why Charlie would have specifically requested to come along, just because of himself. "It shouldn't be a problem. Just... well, he's really independent, if you couldn't tell. As long as he respects you, you should be able to keep him under control."

"Yeah he'll pretty much do what I say. But its natural for a thief to be independent. Guess that's why he fits in so well with our little group. If ya can't grow up to be who ya want, then you just forge your own path. That's how alot of us start out. Kehe" Snype said.

To the left of the group, a bar door opened somewhat forcefully.

"Only vanilla! F*cking plebs. Not even a bloody sprinkle!" Razathiel, the Dreadmage, the source of the voice, slammed the door shut behind him.

Cal listened to Snype and Joshua, well aware that there were some big details between both of them and the Scyther that were clearly lost on him. When the uppity Raltz burst back into their presence he could suppress a chuckle at his entrance. "Well I'm sorry a small village made mostly of wood can't accommodate your clearly-decadent taste oh wise and powerful dread-fairy." He couldn't resist making use of the nickname he'd overheard someone-or-other mention earlier during all the commotion. "We can't all be magic."

"Might be a good time to learn that Ice Cream magic I mentioned eh? Kehe. Ya know, to turn it into chocolate or something!" Snype joked with a big ol grin.

Raz deadpanned. "Yes, I'm sure that would be an excellent idea. I planned to learn it soon, comes right after fireballs and lightning bolts on my learning schedule."

"Well I'd love to see it." Cal answered with an earnest smile. "I'm sure it'll be quite impressive whenever you pull it off."

Joshua just stood motionless. He had nothing to add anymore, and the idle chatter was quickly losing his interest. He needed rest, especially after everything that had transpired that day. "Well then, gentlemon. I'll be taking my leave, I suppose..." He looked at each of them in turn, before shuffling off towards the Gold Tribe hut to, hopefully, get a moment's peace and recharge.

"He's taking his leaf?" Raz murmured, before shaking his head. "Eugh, horrible joke. Wait, horrible is bad - bad is evil! Aha, victory...!"

"Pretty sure he'd have to take his leaf. Otherwise we'd be looking at a naked Swadloon right about now. Kehe." Snype joked back.

"Not to be a complete bother or anything," The eerie voice of the Dusknoir Gold Tribe member Wraith was heard. "I realize you all accompanied Guardia here from Gold City, and must be quite...anxious or something of that nature, but can you all keep it down? The villagers are a bit...antsy with all these new faces here standing outside conversing in the middle of the night."

"Evil people don't get anxious," Raz said. "We get murderous. If you could direct me to the nearest chocolate ice-cream, though, it may serve to stifle my undying wrath."

"Chocolate ice...what? At this hour? The shopkeepers that are still in the city will open up in the morning, I suggest you check them out then." Wraith replied, somewhat annoyingly. "Who are you? You're not Gold Tribe, that much is certain, or I would have recognized you. Are you with the SEC? No, that wouldn't be true either, or else you would have been aware of the situation, or would have checked in with the HQ here. That, and you don't have a card or identification of some sort. Perhaps you're with the Alpha Alliance army? I suppose it would make sense for Guardia to bring along some from-"

"-Look, you... just... be quiet. Sorry, did I say that quietly? I meant of course to say that IF YOU DON'T SHUT THAT INFERNAL MOUTH-HOLE OF YOURS THIS INSTANT, I'LL SEND YOUR SEVERED HEAD FLYING INTO THE NEXT PLANE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SEVERELY IRRITATING YOU ARE? YVELTAL ALMIGHTY. LISTEN HERE." Raz took a moment to compose himself. "I am Razathiel, the Dreadmage! I bear no association to these piddly little organisations you so HELPFULLY listed, because I hold enough power in MY OWN HANDS. Now, either direct me to the nearest chocolate ice cream, OR LEAVE MY F*CKING SIGHT. Giratina's wings..."

Snype just stood silent as the little guy suddenly threw a tantrum. Well so much for making a first impression. The kid really loses it when he doesn't get his ice cream! Snype held back his laughter for now.

Lights flickered across the village as some villagers stuck their heads out of the window to observe the screaming Ralts. The Dusknoir floated silently in front of the Ralts, rather stunned by what he had just heard. He was so stunned that he was moved to silence, which is a very rare thing for the Gold Tribe member. He pointed to the other side of town, at a fairly sizable hut close to the Seekers main hut. "...shouldn't be open for another few hours though."

Raz's left eye twitched. "Did I say that I wanted ice cream in 'another few hours'?"

"The other thing you can do is wake the shopkeeper up at this hour, which I don't exactly recommend. Since I have sworn to keep the peace, in Valkaria and from without, I will have to prevent that from happening. I have, after all, taken an oath, an oath of the Gold Tribe. Would you like to hear it? I'll just go ahead and say the oath for you." The Dusknoir cleared his throat, preparing to say the entire oath of the Gold Tribe. "I sha-"

Raz cleared his throat, eye still twitching, before calling to those behind him. "Snype, Dragonite man. I'm not supposed to kill anyone. And this moron is making it rather difficult."

"Wraithwraithwraith that's enough, I think he gets it, he'll have to go without his chocolate for a little while. Isn't that right?" Before Raz had a chance to grow indignant at the statement Cal leaned in and whispered to him. "What do you want more, some chocolate instead of vanilla, or to not have to listen to him and an army of mon like him, but whinier?"

The Dreadmage was about to protest, but stopped. "I- egh. You drive a hard bargain, but you make a good point..." He put a hand on his chin. "Are you sure there's no way I can have both? Yes, both would be good. No, it wouldn't be good, it would be evil. I'm evil, you see."

"Very well then, I shall take my leave," Wraith replied. "Perhaps you would all like to join me in the Gold Tribe hut? I can tell you a story to ease the tension. No doubt you're all quite on edge after the recent happenings in Gold City."

The eye of the Eye of Dread twitched once more. "I would honestly rather spend an eternity in the searing flames of Entei's fury than even so much as listen to the first line of whatever merit-less rubbish you would see fit to shove down our throats."

Snype sighed. "Alright alright. Hey, I'll come along and listen to your story. I think we should let these two have chat with eachother in the meantime. Should be less commotion that way right?" Snype offered. He had to break two arguments in one day. The Sableye was becoming quite the hero today.

Cal almost snorted in annoyance when Snype offered to listen to Wraith so Raz would quiet down. Yeah, more like leave me with the crazy one while you go relax with a lullaby to speed your journey to dreamland... "Really t-that's not necessary, I'm sure, Raz was it? I'm sure Raz has his own plans for keeping himself occupied, simply talking to someone is probably beneath him."

"Razathiel, but yes, Raz is the short version. And yes, I can find ways to keep myself occupied. That tends to happen when you're evil."

"You know..." Cal barely managed to keep his smile from becoming a smirk at the thought that graced him. "I'm sure the hut will already be packed with brothers and sisters and refugees wanting to hear Wraith's wonderful stories, it might be a little cramped and you wouldn't want to deny them right? And I gotta go see what's up with Kaveri, why don't you stay with Rathaziel, Snype, and you can keep each other company?" No sooner had he rattled out his excuse than he was already bustling off to find his sister and get some peace and quiet for the first time that day.

Snype didn't even have a chance to object. At least Snype could somewhat tolerate Raz but now he had to keep him entertained. "...Keheh. Well hey, I don't have anything better to do tonight. Hey, if ya promise not to start any more trouble, I'll go buy you some chocolate Ice Cream the minute they're available. Whatcha say?" Snype said to Raz.

The Dreadmage's eyebrow raised slowly, but decisively. "I am perfectly capable of purchasing my own confectioneries."

"Yeah but how is buying your own food evil? Shouldn't that be up to the minion? Kehe" Snype retorted and somewhat implying that was his role now.

Raz's face twisted into a smirk. "You make a valid point. A very valid point. Very well, minion; there is not-trouble afoot." He raised his staff and left abruptly, then stopped. "Wait... killing people counts as trouble, doesn't it?"

"Yeah pretty sure it would. So don't do that! Kehe."

"I don't know how you people live like this..."

"Aw ya get used to it. It's not so bad keeping people alive. You'd be surprised how entertaining it is to watch them be idiots! Sometimes its more evil to let them go about that way. Keheh. Trust me." Snype replied.

"Aha. Yes, for then they can suffer and-! Wait, I feel this is just a sly ploy to get me to not kill people. Ah, screw it. It's convenient, so I'll let it work for now."

Snype nodded and turned to Wraith. "So uh... stories right? I'll catch up with you later. I'm gonna see if anybody else I know is hanging around here."

Joshua wandered towards the Gold Tribe hut in Ferrol. Once inside, it seemed largely vacant, save for a scant few 'mon scattered here and there. As the night was beginning to wind down, it appeared more people were retiring to their beds rather than staying and filling themselves with food. The Swadloon found assorted fruit set out for people to take, grabbing a few berries for himself and finding a vacant seat. Considering they were likely to head out first thing tomorrow morning, this one opportunity to relax was something Joshua was keen to take advantage of.

Abel was in the corner of the room, munching on a few berries himself. He had heard commotion of some sort occurring on the outside, but he didn't bother to go find out what it was about. If he had to guess, it was the group arguing or letting off steam from the events of Gold City. He couldn't sympathize. To practically every 'mon here but himself, Valkaria was their home. It may have been a selfish thought, but seeing Gold City in flames only made him want to return sooner to Beatruce, and ensure his own home was secure.

Abel spotted the Swadloon he had encountered earlier in the day in the same room as he, and raised an eyebrow at him. "You're here," He stated, in a somewhat surprised manner.

Joshua jumped slightly at Abel's comment. He looked at the Medicham, recognizing him as the one who was badgering him at the festival earlier. He quickly averted his gaze, intimidated by Abel's stern gaze. "I'm here..." Joshua stated quietly. He began to nervously poke at the berries he picked.

"Why's that?" Abel asked rather bluntly. He leaned on the back of his chair and crossed his arms, waiting for a response. "I understand you're Gold Tribe, yes? But I'm curious what it is that made Guardia choose you to accompany her on this mission."

"Oh, I... uh..." Joshua stammered. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why Guardia had requested for his presence specifically as she did. He didn't think himself as better than anybody else, nor could he think of any significant talents that he possessed. At the same time, however, the last thing Joshua wanted was for this Abel character to have another reason to find him incompetent. That much was made clear during their first meeting in Gold City. He puffed himself up just so, trying his best to sound confident. "She picked me because she believed me capable of assisting her."

"Ah," Abel replied, not entirely convinced on the Swadloon's answer. He let out a small sigh. "I suppose I'll see for myself how capable you are fairly soon. At least until we reach Beatruce."

"I suppose so..." Joshua said, feeling relieved that Abel bought his answer, at least partially. He wasn't sure what he had done to attract the Medicham's ire. Joshua knew himself to not be the most physically imposing pokemon around. That much was true, considering he was still a tiny Swadloon and had yet to evolve. And yet, at the same time, he was in the Gold Tribe, wasn't he? He had his emblem, his title; everything said he was deserving of it, even if this Abel didn't believe it. Sure, Joshua may not have been as tough as an Aggron, or as smart as an Alakazam, but he had something... right?

"So... Beatruce?" Joshua asked, hoping to ease the tension with a change in subject. "I suppose that's where you're from, right? I haven't seen you before in Valkaria, and I've been there most of my life."

"Unless you can tell me another place that has a Gold Tribe base, then the answer's pretty obvious," Abel replied coldly. He looked over the Swadloon, before taking in another deep sigh and calming himself. Maybe the battle had taken more out of him than he realized. Even if it weren't his own people, seeing destruction on that scale was unsettling. "Yes, I'm from there. Second-in-Command of the Beatrucian Gold Tribe. I've only been to Valkaria a handful of times, but I have met Guardia and Scar numerous times. We've been on a few missions together. The rest, well I'll learn of you as we go."

Joshua looked up, finally meeting Abel's discerning gaze with his own. Second-in-command... it would make sense, then, that the 'mon would be a shrewd examiner of character. He tentatively took a bite from one of his berries, unsure of how to respond. Part of him wanted to leave and retire for the night, but abandoning the Medicham mid-conversation would be disrespectful. "Well, all I know is Guardia picked me for a reason, and I intend to live up to her expectations and complete this mission." That answer was good, he felt. Hell, he almost convinced himself of it's truth.

Abel stared for a while into the Swadloon's eyes, his latest words out of his mouth inciting a bit of curiosity from the Medicham. He continued to stare silently at the 'mon, as if to try to decipher his entire being with only his eyes. He tried to pick his way through the sockets and into the brain. A few moments later, Abel snorted, got up and dropped the remains of his berries on a plate in the center of the main table. He then proceeded toward the upper levels of the hut, to catch some sleep. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow," he said plainly, and without another word, he headed up the ladder to the next level.

Joshua was slightly startled as Abel's abrupt exit... and also somewhat relieved. The way the Medicham was staring at him earlier made Joshua anxious. It was almost as if Abel was actively looking for reasons to resent him. Regardless, he was gone, and Joshua finally let out an exasperated breath. "Thank goodness..." he thought to himself. "Come to think of it though... I should probably retire for the night, myself."

Joshua neatly put aside his plate, hopping off the seat and heading towards the upper levels. If Abel was right about anything, tomorrow was indeed going to be taxing. Everyone was on edge after the day's events. It was a miracle they were able to keep their composure under such dire circumstances. After climbing to the higher levels, Joshua found an empty cot for himself. He settled himself into a comfortable position, wrapping his cloak tightly around himself for warmth, slowly drifting off into sleep.

Rest for the weary​

Obsidian sighed as he walked to the Seeker's hut, weariness already causing him to rub at his eyes. At the same time he knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep thanks to the current affairs that were spiraling out of their control. As he made his way past a rickety wooden fence he suddenly paused in his walk and glanced back at it. Normally he wouldn't have paused for a fence, but the funny thing was that there was only one section of the fence up and it looked odd to his eyes. He slowly made his way toward it and as he got closer the fence was suddenly pushed at him.

He didn't really cry so much as quickly throw Penance off and ready his arms, but by that point the fence had toppled over to reveal that it was only a cardboard cut out. Not only that but a set of familiar faces were behind it. Surge and hoods were giggling up a storm as Alex smirked at him, "Illusions still fool you Sid?" He asked with a smirk.

The Weavile narrowed his eyes as he angrily marched back over to Penance and picked him up, "You weren't with us when we ported." He muttered, "I thought you had been left behind."

Alex's grin just grew, "Heh, you forget already my position? I have high clearance with the SEC. After you went off to go find Penance I decided to make my way over to the last network point. Of course, being affiliated with Hanso and all, I was able to easily get ahead in line. Surge and hoods were already waiting there and we got a access pass to the safest place, and the safest place would be among those that my father trusts. And my father trust Guardia a lot."

"Hehehe, we really boiled your sausages huh?" Surge giggled out.

Obsidian rubbed at his forehead, "Yeah you did. Look, I really need some sleep soon. I'm barely functioning as is. Can we cut the rest of the c**p out and just get to the hut?"

Alex gasped, "You don't enjoy the night life Obsidian? How can you call yourself a Weavile?"

"Flaafy clothing!" Surge accused.

The Weavile didn't bother to retort as he made his way to the hut, hoods coming up to walk beside him, "So, how bad is he?"

"Not very, he'll just be sleeping for some time." Obsidian said, "But given the recent… betrayals we'll need to keep an eye out. He's vulnerable and I doubt anyone will let such an easy target just go like that."

The hooded on nodded, "I see. So should we trust anyone else?"

Obsidian hung his head, "I… I just don't know."

The four soon arrived at the hut and Obsidian carefully pushed open the door. Inside were only a few slumbering mon while others were up and busy playing cards. A silence overcame the room as Obsidian silently padded past the tables and back into the more private rooms. These rooms were reserved for those who desperately needed rest such as for medical reasons. He laid Penance down and patted his shoulder softly, "Sometimes… I have to be the parent." He said softly as he grabbed a blanket and placed it over the water type. He stepped out as Surge walked right on past him and into the room.

Obsidian could tell see a difference amid the various pokemon there. Those who were older were the ones who were actually sleeping. Those who were young however were the ones still awake and many of them had troubled expression on their faces. "Stay calm everyone." Obsidian said, "Please, take a rest and just remain calm. Right now, I'm far too weary to sleep. Any questions can be answered in the morning, but right now." He went over to a cot and laid down in it, "Just carry on however you all wish."

The Weavile glanced about and saw that Alex had pulled yet another disappearing act on him. No doubt the Gardevoir had gone to rest with either the Gold Tribe or the SEC. He didn't care which, in fact he found himself caring less and less. Despite his initial fears of a traitor being among them the comfortable nature of the cot began to lure him to dreamland until finally he only knew darkness.

Immediately after arriving and listening to Wraith prattle on, Kaveri had disappeared in search of food. Sure, it had only been a few hours since her last meal, but all that zipping about had made her pretty hungry! And she wasn't about to go to bed without at least getting a snack first! At least the food hadn't been hard to find. She went first to the Gold Tribe hut, and there found an assortment of berries and other snacky foods. The Floatzel collected a selection of the foods in her arms, then hurried back out of the hut towards where she'd left Cal... Only Cal wasn't there anymore. Geez, she'd told him to wait for her! ...Hadn't she? ...Oh, hmm, maybe she hadn't... Ah well. Game of the night: Dragon Hunting!

After a short while of walking around, she still hadn't found her younger brother anywhere; she did find a certain purple shorty, though. Grinning widely, she called out to him as she jogged over. "Heya, Snype! You're here too, eh? Don't suppose you've seen Cal around, hmm? Yeh know, the big green Dragonite I was with earlier."

Snype looked back to Kaveri with a small grin on his face. "Kehe, heya! Actually I was just chatting with him. He was about to go looking for you funny enough. Ya just missed him." Snype said, crossing his arms and giving off a snicker. "He was actually chatting with me earlier. He doesn't seem too convinced of our little prank! Kehe. We might have to fix that." Snype said.

"Oh really...?" Kaveri mused, glancing about the streets speculatively. When she didn't spot Callimer anywhere, she turned back to Snype, smirking. "Well, we could always just head off on another 'date' to convince him further," she said, her tone lowered juuuuust in case Cal happened to be within earshot somewhere out of her line of sight. "Look, I even brought the snacks!" This said, she popped a berry into her mouth.

Snype smirked at that and grabbed one of the berries and threw one into his mouth as well. "Keheh, well it's late at night, I'm sure another 'date' could be convincing enough. Kehe. If he sees us hanging out then I'm sure he'll start believing us." Snype said quietly. "Besides, may as well make the most with the temporary peace we have here. We need to be ready for tomorrow after all. So may as well have a bit of fun!" He added.

"Have fun while there's still fun to be had, eh? I like that idea!" Kaveri snickered. "And where shall our 'date' take us tonight? I chose last time, I do believe it's your turn now."

Snype looked around the village. He wasn't too familiar with it unfortunately, but there was bound to be a nice 'romantic' spot for the two to hang out at! "Hmmm... kehe...there's a boat docked down there. I'm sure Cal would spot us if we decided to take a ride out in the lake. Kehe." Snype said with a smirk.

"I don't usually ride in boats, being a water-type and all," Kaveri mused, then a devious grin spread across her muzzle and she winked at Snype. "But then, that just makes it all the more convincing! After all, why would a water-type that loves water ride in a boat unless they really wanted to be with the other person in the boat?"

Snype gave a devious grin as well. "Keheh, of course! Well lets get right too it then. I'm sure nobody will mind us borrowing the boat. Nobody's guarding it or anything. Kehe" Snype said as he made his way to one of the small piers.

Kaveri hopped into one of the small rowboats, the boat rocking in the water from the force of her landing and nearly tilting her over the edge. She quickly managed to balance herself and sit down, however, tapping a finger on the side of the boat. "Don't jump into boats. Got it."

Snype flinched a little when Kaveri jumped into the boat! Seems like she wasn't too familiar with their weight. "Kehe, careful! We don't wanna lose our ride for this 'romatic' evening you know. Kehe" Snype said as he sat in the other side of the boat with her. It was a small boat, but just enough for two Pokemon at least. Snype grabbed one of the paddles and started to move the boat out to the lake.

As the boat glided out onto the lake, Kaveri popped another one of the berries into her mouth, munching on it as she offered one to Snype. "We've got the food, so may as well eat it, eh?"

Snype nodded and took another berry. "Kehe, we've thought of everything! Someone's bound to see us out here. May as well make it look romantic eh? Kehe." Snype said quietly as he threw a berry in his mouth.

As she munched on another berry, Kaveri tilted her head to the side and rested it on a paw. "Well, there's no fun in it for us if we just sit here boredly and wait the entire time. Let's talk! How'd yeh end up as the King of Thieves? ...Well, besides being a spectacular thief, as I've seen for myself."

Snype rubbed his head a bit. "Ah... oh boy that story...keheh. Its a pretty long one so get ready for this. Kehe." Snype said as he took a long pause to gather his thoughts. "Well, I pretty much was the replacement for the last King of Thieves. He ended up getting murdered by the Silver Tribe in the past and nearly destroyed the thieves. Me and a few others were the only ones that survived that scuffle so we had to rebuild from scratch once the war was over. I became the next King because I stepped up to take his place and happened to have the skill to handle something like that." Snype said.

Kaveri let out a low whistle of admiration. "That must've taken a lot've work, getting the thieves back together again... Out of curiosity, how did the last King of Thieves die? I mean, sure, he was killed by the Silver Tribe, but isn't the forest supposed to be practically impenetrable?"

Snype fell quiet for a moment. This was always a tough one answer without making Snype seem like a bad person. "Yeah. Anyone who wanders in there just gets lost for as long as the forest wants you to be. You'd need another thief to have a shot at making it through." Snype explained, before crossing his legs and tapping his knees anxiously with his finger. "And the thief that happened to lead them there was me. I... don't really remember what was going through my head at the time. At the time, I was a scout for the Silver Tribe when we were both working together to stop the Gold Tribe. I was able to keep in secret and help prepare an ambush to take out alot of the Gold Tribe's troops. After the thieves were finished with the Silver Tribe, I figured it'd be a matter of time before the Silver Tribe came back and destroyed the thieves. So I helped them in to save myself. That or maybe I was just a crazed maniac who wanted to reject the thieves traditions. The details are fuzzy." Snype explained, giving off a sigh. "Its hard to explain the whole story without looking like the villain. I stole the crown in a sense. There's no looking around that fact. But I suppose it made things better in the end, despite how I regret my past choices."

Kaveri had listened silently all the way through Snype's story, and she remained silent for a few moments after he had finished, her head tilted to the side. "I think I remember Wildfire mentioning something about an ambush...," she finally said, breaking the silence. "Apparently, one of her brother's of the Gold Tribe was killed in that fight." Then she shrugged. "But that can't really be held against you. At least, not the you today. Besides," she continued, a smirk replacing her thoughtful look, "did you know Wildfire used to be a thief herself? Not one of the thieves, but she told me she grew up stealing. Yet she ended up joining the Gold Tribe and even rebuilding H.A.S.! So, you don't really needa worry about me thinking you're some evil nasty villain now just cause of someone you used to be years ago." Then she grinned. "Not saying you're some amazingly perfect 'mon, you are the King of Thieves after all."

Snype smiled. "Heh, guess that explains your attempt at stealing from me earlier. Kehe. With the right training, I bet you would make a pretty good thief yourself. You have the speed so that's a good start already. But we've had this conversation and I know what your answer would be. Kehe." Snype said, giving off a relieved sigh afterwards. "Thanks though. Alot of the thieves back at the forest were really uneasy about me becoming the new king, consider I...you know, betrayed them. But I've since patched things up. But I'm glad you don't see me as a bad guy. It means alot. Kehe. I think working with you guys is alot more fun then it was with the Silver Tribe." Snype said, giving her paw a small pat. He still remembered the whole reason they went out here and this would at least look convincing! "Still, hard to believe how different I was back then. I wonder where I'd be if I were still the crazed maniac that I used to be?" Snype wondered aloud.

"We don't need another Madman, thanks," Kaveri chuckled. "One is more than enough!"

Snype chuckled. "Heh, yeah. You got a good point there. That guy is a real pain to be around. But I suppose I do owe him my life. If I hadn't fought with him during that final battle I wouldn't be sitting here talking with you. Fate is a mysterious thing you know?"

Kaveri nodded. "Just like I'd probably be living a life as a normal citizen right now if it hadn't been for the Silver War," she said, a look of mortification on her face. "Can you imagine that, me, living the life of a housewife!"

"Ha! I don't think you'd last long under that life! That'd mean you wouldn't have met me! And what fun would that be? Kehehe. We probably wouldn't be having our 'romantic date' then!" Snype said with a playful laugh.

Kaveri laughed along with him, the ringing sound probably waking more than a few of the villagers within hearing range. "So, you told me your life story. Anything you wanna ask?"

Snype thought for a moment on that, looking around at a few Pokemon peeking out their windows to see what the commotion was. He turned back to Kaveri and leaned a bit closer "Hmm... actually, I was wondering if you had any ideas on how we could make this 'date' look more convincing while we're out here? Keheh. Seems we may have some spectators..." Snype said with a snicker.

At the suggestion, Kaveri wiggled her brows mischievously. "Oh, but of course!" With that, she sprawled herself out on the floor of the boat and pulled Snype down next to her. The sides of the boats now hid them from view for the most part, leaving any watching to think whatever the heck they wanted to think.

Snype gave a surprised look as he was pulled down to the floor the boat, looking over to Kaveri as they stayed out of sight. "Keheh, ohhh~ clever. Ya know for a moment there I thought you were going to actually kiss me or something!" Snype said quietly, with a small snicker. He let the boat rock a little to add to the effect.

Kaveri resisted the urge to let out another bark of laughter, instead satisfying herself with a few quiet snickers before they were cut off by a yawn. "Hmm, may as well get some shut-eye while we're out here. Unless you were planning on going back to one of the huts? I'm not sure how much comfort the King of Thieves requires when he sleeps," she teased.

Snype smirked and yawned a little himself. "Keheh, I'm not against being a cuddle buddy. Adds more to the joke. I'm about ready to pass out anyways so I hope your comfy. Kehe" Snype said, poking her lightly. Snype thought for a moment and started to rub his head a bit to ruffle up his fur. He started to do the same with Kaveri's head. "Kehe, there. Incase we're seen out here. We'll let them use their imagination." Snype said, throwing a wink and rocking the boat a bit more.

Kaveri let out another small snort of laughter, but it was obvious she was already drifting off. Before she fell asleep, though, she opened an eye and glanced over at Snype. "I'll be checking my inventory when I wake up, so don't even think of taking anything," she chuckled sleepily.

"Keheh, don't worry. I don't plan on stealing anything...we're just cuddling right?" Snype said with a snicker as he got himself comfy beside Kaveri. Sure was one heck of a night... all for one prank! He hoped the expedition would give Snype more moments like these to just relax and have fun. Snype could dream at least.

Warren glared as he met each of their gazes. His voice lowered to a venomous level. "Bloody bastards." Much to his anger, he saw Riken out of the corner of his eyes, watching his fellow general be forced to retreat. He roared out, "RIKEN, IF I MAKE IT BACK, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS!" With that, he disappeared through the portal.


Warren came out on the other side of the portal at Fort Ferrol, a place long forgotten from his memory. Damn. I haven't been back here in forever. He groaned in frustration, as he realized that none of his men would be here. Damn it, Riken! He let out a grunt of fury. He looked around the meager fort and noted its defenses. Only a few Goldies and some natural barriers, other than us...We might be okay, should Darkrai attack us. His anger only increased when he realized that he was without fellow Alpha Alliance men. Surely Riken wouldn't be so short-sigh-...Oh wait. He made me leave our men leaderless. Damn you, Riken.

As much as he wanted to go to the local bar and drink, he knew he would need rest. And after surviving an explosion that would decimate a Steelix, he needed some time to relax. He was approached by a Dusknoir of the Gold Tribe, who directed him to a hut on the lakeside. Warren thanked him and continued forward. Bloody Goldie...If we had stayed we could've won. He entered the hut and sat on a provided cot. When I wake up, I'm going to have some complaints to file. With that, he laid down and began to have wonderful dreams of eviscerating Darkrai and his minions.

Deep and Considered Thought - Charlie Vensworth​

"F*ckin' Tribe, f*ckin' Guardia, f*ckin' f*ck the f*ckin' lot of 'em f*cks." Charlie lay semi-peacefully on his back – a mean feat that he could be on his back in his current state without breaking a wing – although a few pokémon would surely later object that his chosen resting place was the bridge leading in and out of Ferrol. Still, until somemon came and moved him, he'd lay here and stare at the stars. Maybe they'd tell him why he was still pursuing the idea of coming back home.

After all, to come back to Valkaria was going to be no mean feat. As he was, he was banished from Valkaria – he'd only arrived this time since he could bank on being Snype's guest if he was caught and clearly Guardia was still in no mood to let him back, not to mention that even if he could convince them somehow he could be allowed back into Valkaria that his little brother had already made his opinion of him pretty clear back at the festival...

So now you can go back to whatever hole you crawled out of to get here! Or do you honestly expect me to think you still care?

Charlie sighed as his brother's words echoed around his head... Clearly, he wasn't going to be rebuilding bridges here. So what made him decide he'd throw himself headlong into the Tribe again, that organisation behind the four years of structured hell pretending to be a good, nice guy? "Eh. f*ck it. I don't even care no more, just get this sh*t over with and crawl back to the forest." Resting his head on his claws the Scyther once again stared skyward. After everything in Gold City today... he felt completely drained. He barely even noticed as his eyes slowly closed and he drifted away to sleep...

Thomas, Sylvio, Annabelle, Cal, and Razathiel - Inn, Fort Ferrol

While the others were getting into entanglements and slowly heading off to sleep or eat, Thomas Blake went toward the medical hut, where he decided to check on the situation. Most of the 'mon fleeing Gold City had most likely departed to the other cities in Valkaria. However, there were a few apparently that found their way here. Inside, Thomas saw the various 'mon along beds and cots while Chansey and Blissey doctors were tending to their wounds. Some of them could be saved, others could only get a bit of comfort before passing on. He wished he could do something to assist, but he had no medical expertise. Feeling useless, Thomas sulked out of the medical hut and down to the dock level. Even though he would probably not be able to sleep, he figured he could try at the inn. The inn was inside one of the larger huts in Ferrol, almost the same size as the SEC hut, which was the largest. Thomas proceeded inside.

Inside the inn, there was a table next to an artifact on the wall, a large leather shield with tusks set across it. The table was occupied by one Sylvio Arcansus who had his legs crossed, two mugs of ale floating next to his head along with a pen, a book and a pendulum. Beside him was resting his pet, a rather brawny Braviary licking on the bones Sylvio threw him from his plate. The waitress, a young Simisear, had her arms on her waist and was tapping her foot on the floor, staring daggers at the Braviary, who profanely ignored her. "Sir, I already asked you to take your pet outside."

Sylvio tilted his head towards her, mock-shocked. "Quiet now girl, you do not want him to hear you say 'pet'. He is as sentient as you are, and he stays here beside me. Please," he waved her dismissively, disturbance showing on his face as he turned his attention to his plate, until he noticed who had just entered. "Thomas!" he said, "come, sit. How come you are here?"

Thomas looked up from the floorboards at the sound of his name. He didn't entirely know the Delphox who had spoken to him, but he recalled seeing his face at Network Point Three before they had left. "I'm not sure where else to be at the moment," The Hypno replied, making his way toward the table. "But you seem to have me at a disadvantage, as I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

The Braviary had now fixed his eyes on the Hypno. Sylvio nodded understandingly. "Sylvio Arcansus, at your service," he said with a tricky, wild grin. "Join our company," he waved him over cheerfully.

Thomas hesitated for a moment. He was surprised he would be treated as anything other than hostile along the journey after everything he had put the Alpha Alliance through, but this came as a pleasant, unexpected surprise. "You're most gracious," Thomas complimented, joining Syvlio at his table. "What a day it's been," He sighed deeply.

"Indeed, my friend," the Delphox agreed, "war must come as such a surprise, when you have been treated to thirty years of peace."

The front door of the inn swung open to make way for a large, faintly sparkling green figure ducking it's head slightly as it made it's way inside. Cal had patrolled Ferrol for a short while, but it didn't take long for him to learn the fatigue from all the fighting earlier was indeed catching up with him, so he left the duty to one of his brothers who'd been guarding Network Point 3.5 and wasn't as tired. He stretched once he was inside, only to be startled by the sound of something sliding and he barely managed to catch an ornate glass one of his wings knocked off of a shelf. I really should have stretched before going indoors...but the atmosphere of an inn makes me think of relaxing a lot more than patrolling does.

"It's not so much the nature of war itself as much as who we fight that surprise me," Thomas answered Sylvio. He looked over to see the giant green Dragonite enter the inn. Scanning over him, he saw a Gold Tribe emblem and immediately sulked his head, even more ashamed than he had been before. He had treated the Gold Tribe even worse than any of the others, referring to them as liars and an unnecessary commodity in the Alpha Alliance. How could he have been so foolish?

Sylvio uncrossed his legs and leaned on his elbows, joining his hands in front of him and eyeing Thomas above them with a sly grin. "Do you feel guilty?" he asked in an amused tone.

Cal looked at one of the inn's tables with annoyance for a few seconds before making sure to get the bartender's attention. "Barkeep, got any bigger seats?." The bartender hooked a thumb behind him to a few stacks of chairs in varying sizes, any inn worth it's stuff had to have different sizes of seats for the larger...or smaller 'mon out there. Cal grabbed one of the chairs, slid it under a table and took a seat, sighing at the feeling of finally being able to lean back and take a load off.

"To put it mildly," Thomas replied in a voice barely above a whisper. He sunk his head further, almost placing it upon the table to avoid any contact with the Gold Tribe Dragonite at the other table. "All I ever wanted to do was help Pokemon, and now it seems..." Thomas sighed again, and spoke up to the bartender. "Can I get something strong to drink, please?" He asked.

"The drink is on me," Sylvio assured him, then slipped comfortably back in his chair. "Do you realize what you have been doing, mister? I will be blunt, your career in politics is over. You brought your own ruin. Perhaps you should have been moderate regarding your passion about your beliefs. Had you been more mindful, when you were proven wrong, you would gracefully bow, admit your fault and call everyone your friends. But now... do they really wish for such a wrong-headed person's help?" As the young Simisear waitress approached with Thomas's drink, it flew from her hands and she yelped. The mug floated close to Sylvio's hand and he grabbed it, offering it to Thomas, grinning. "This always helps."

A twitch of antennae signaled the green goliath overhearing the pieces of revealing dialogue between his two neighbors. "So, that's the jerk from the exposure." He muttered to himself a bit louder than he intended. Sylvio grinned mischievously at the Dragonite, upon hearing his remark.

Thomas heard the Dragonite's comment toward him. He thought about ignoring it and continuing his conversation with Syvlio, but he decided it would be best to own up to his mistakes. That would be taking the high ground. Nonetheless, he waited a few more moments to speak up. Thomas turned his seat around and glanced at the large Dragonite. "Yes, that is me, Thomas Blake, at your service." He declared, trying to be as upbeat as he could, given the situation.

Cal leaned back a bit further in his chair and hung his head, not turning to look at Thomas when he answered. "Well I hope you learned your lesson." Was his only reply.

"I..." Thomas trailed off, not sure how to approach the statement. He was so used to arguing each point made against him, that he expected another one to ensure on the spot, this time directed at how stupid he had been, and how wrong he was. He was fully prepared for it, but not for something this lax. "I suppose I have, yes."

"Good." Cal added curtly. "Then I suppose now we can move forward and you can help us instead of verbally stonewalling us with conjecture and fear-mongering. Maybe someone so dedicated to 'digging up secrets' can be of help in finding Cresselia. If you help make sure the sacrifices of those who helped you escape your own fate weren't in vain and keep others from having to do the same, then I suppose there's nothing else to say." He sipped his drink and continued to stare at his own table, letting his mind wander to how light the alcohol level in his mug was. "Stupid 'alcohol-content to body-mass-ratio' crap, I could really use a buzz about now."

Annabelle entered the inn, thinking it was high time she got a room whether she'd sleep now or not. The first place she went when they arrived in Ferrol was the SEC building, first to introduce herself to the other members of the SEC, inform Hanso of their safe arrival, and then to see if there was a way for her to get supplies from her own experiments. Surprisingly enough it wouldn't be too hard, but she couldn't expect a Delibird to fly down with what she needed. It'd be okay, for now.

Being inside the inn gave Annabelle the comfort that comes around when one knows a really good nap was about to happen soon. Guilt muddled her relaxed feeling, however. Unlike the Gold Tribe members, she hadn't fought what would have been an endless battle if they hadn't got out. Sure, she moved the Network Point, but that didn't use up nearly the energy fighting would. Going to sleep before a few hours felt undeserved and she'd honor that by working on something after she was finished getting the room. She wasn't surprised to see the other members of the group they'd come with to be inside, though she hadn't expected Thomas Blake specifically to show up. In the chaos of the battle it hadn't occurred to her that he was the then leader of The Valkarian Exposure. They had vehemently denounced the existence of Darkrai and while Anna was part of the generation that wouldn't remember his wrath she had been on the fence about the VE's messages. Obviously their claims hadn't been accurate.

"Mr. Blake!" Anna called out to the former politician. "How are you feeling?"

Thomas looked up to see the familiar Mareep from SEC. "Annabelle!" He called back to her. "I'm much better seeing a familiar face. I'm glad to see that you're unharmed," He added with a smile. Suddenly, his look became a bit more puzzled. "But, what exactly are you doing here? Are you apart of this mission representing SEC?"

"Yes actually," Anna replied with a smile. "And provide any help I can, of course. I'm guessing you're here for similar reasons, Mr. Blake. After your help today I'm glad you came!"

"Oh?" Sylvio let out, eyeing the young Mareep sideways and arching his eyebrow to show interest. "Representing the SEC, are you? Ana... belle, did I hear it correctly? You must be very proud, to be chosen to represent your most formidable faction."

As the group talked, the soft tones of a grand piano began to float through the inn - which would be odd to the discerning eye, as there wasn't a piano in the place to begin with. There it was, over in the corner. Where it wasn't a few seconds ago.

"Yes, Annabelle and my new position is certainly an honor." The music that floated into the inn was relaxing. Though the tone as concerningly familiar. Now she just wanted to know what it was. She'd have to ignore it for now. "And how about you? You don't seem to be apart of the Gold Tribe and I certainly haven't had the pleasure of properly meeting you yet."

"Gold Tribe?" Sylvio gave a cheerful, loud laugh, crowned by his tricky smile. His Braviary raised his head to look at him, suddenly interested in something. "They wish," the Delphox said jokingly, "but no, neither of us had the pleasure of knowing each other yet! Come then, Ana... belle, have a seat." His floating wand pointed at an empty cushion next to the low table.

"I am Sylvio Arcansus," he said, bowing his head slightly in a nod. He petted Griff's head. "And this is Griff." The bird threw the Mareep a not-so-friendly look, which Sylvio noticed, and he leaned in to whisper, "no Griff, friends are not food... Pardon him," he apologized to the Mareep with laughter in his greyish red eyes.

Anna glanced at Griff warily before taking the seat Sylvio offered. "Thank you and... I don't mind." Though that was a little more than a fib. Being near Griff was definitely making her nervous. The way Sylvio said her name made Anna wonder if it would have been best to introduce herself as simply as Anna. It was his accent after all but... "Where are you from? I think I've heard an accent like yours before, but I've never been to the country."

"Ahh," Sylvio said, smiling with a finger on his chin. He seemed delighted by Annabelle's question. "Your interest flatters me. You see, I was born in Beatruce, but I was raised in Karn. Two such opposing nations have... differences, accent including. My own is a mix of those. I am not really proud of it..." he said, although not humbly at all.

Cal had listened long enough, he stood up from his chair, then stared at the floor in embarrassment when his tail knocked the chair over. After a moment he shrugged and picked up the chair before speaking. "I don't really feel like so close to this conversation is any place for a member of the Gold Tribe, and I'm not a big fan of eavesdropping. It would probably be best if I leave. Enjoy your song Razathiel!" He called out the last bit in the direction the melodious piano music could be heard from.

"Just a warning in case I intrude, Sylvio. Next time I see you I'll be sure to approach you, I think speaking with you could be quite interesting, and educational." He flashed a smile at the wizard and flicked his claws away from his forehead in a lazy salute at the rest of the table before stepping towards the inn's entrance.

The Ralts at the piano twitched, but didn't otherwise move for a bit. He hadn't really wanted to do much else before sleeping, but with people being aware of him, he felt the need to be a little more evil. With any luck, he'd be ignored, but if not, then a restless night may well await him.

Thomas Blake was pleasantly surprised that Annabelle was taking to him quite well. Her reactions were quite different from the others. He was pretty sure she was aware of his position in the Valkarian Exposure too, there was no way a SEC employee wasn't. Yet here she was, treating him on the merits of what she had seen rather than what she had heard. As his eyes trailed over to the interesting Ralts on the piano, Thomas watched him while simultaneously thinking on what Sylvio had said. Seeing the Dragonite of the Gold Tribe leave, he felt a bit more at ease to speak up again. "A man of Karn and Beatruce? That's quite interesting...and perhaps useful for this journey, I suspect," He said, then commented to the Ralts on the piano. "That's quite good playing, sir!" He called out.

Razathiel abruptly stopped at the sound of the 'new' voice - he recognised it, and he was pretty sure he knew exactly who it was. Turning around and glancing at the Hypno he'd heard speak only confirmed his suspicions. Well, there it was. Now he had absolutely no excuse to not be evil. He'd probably end up with a restless night for it, but oh, by all the evil deities in the universe, would it be worth it. The Dreadmage psychically flipped up his hood and let out a sharp bark of laughter.

"Oh, HA, it's this guy. Dearie, dearie me. Nice beard, you prick!"

"I...I'm sorry do I know you?" Thomas asked as politely as he could. The bartender had brought his drink, which he proceeded to chug down as quickly as he could. This was going to be a long night.

"Oh, I'm sure you should know me, but I don't think your mind is quite capable of retaining information so easily, so I'll tell you again. I am Razathiel, The Dreadmage. And you're a bit of a f*cking idiot."

Thomas put down his mug, already almost empty and let out a deep sigh. "Well, you're not wrong. And you haven't said anything that I haven't already been telling myself," He brought the mug to his mouth again and finished the contents of his drink, before motioning around his empty mug at the barkeep. "Would it be possible for me to have another before I take off?"

Hmm, that was unexpected, Raz frowned. He doesn't even have the courtesy to argue back, the bastard. That's no fun at all! He looked the Hypno up and down. "I should hope not. It's not as if your senses need any more dulling."

"You're a part of our group," Annabelle interjected, her eyes on the Ralts, "if we're going to be travelling together for the presumed weeks--maybe even months--it'd be good to keep your jeers to yourself. Making divides when we have to be a team isn't very helpful, is it?" Anna hoped the clearly unhappy Ralts wouldn't turn his wrath on her. Her goal was only to make Raz quit his rude comments towards Thomas who was clearly bothered by them. She could understand why he wouldn't be liked, but... Surely they could be silent about it.

Razathiel turned to the Mareep with a raised eyebrow and a slight mischievous glint in his glowing red eyes. Well. Seems my argument opening has just been filled. "I don't need to be helpful! I'm evil! And whether this bumbling Hypno - or you, for that matter - will be of any help to me has yet to be decided!" The Dreadmage crossed his arms, his staff resting in the crook.

"If you're evil then why are you here with us instead of fighting for Darkrai?" Anna eyed Razathiel after her question. With all of the commotion back at the city about undercover agents of Darkrai and Pokemon attacking Network Points she quickly became suspicious of those around her who she didn't already know to be allies. She assumed the 'mon who she came with on this mission to be allies, but now Anna felt suspicious again.

"Phhh-HAH!" Raz almost giggled. "Oh, honestly, just because I'm evil, doesn't mean I'm allied with every evil 'mon on the planet! Quite the contrary, actually, I consider Darkrai a rival of mine, of sorts. At any rate, I'm quite happy to kill the bastard! Yes, I see that look in your eyes, I'm the least of your worries. Frankly, I couldn't go about my business with Darkrai wreaking havoc on the world and all, so it doesn't make any sense for me to ally with him. Evils don't mix. Now, I make no attempt to hide my intentions, you'd do far better worrying about those who do, and leaving your silly little kindergarten questions with some poor Gold Tribe sap."

"So the reason you're here, if I understand correctly..." Thomas began, watching the barkeep bring his drink to him. He nodded to the tender in thanks and began to drink the contents of the mug as quickly as he could. "...ah, nice. Anyway, the reason you're here is to eliminate the competition, or something of that nature? Do I have that correct? I apologize if that is wrong, I wouldn't want to presume."

Raz frowned. "Yes, that is more-or-less a mashup of what I just said. Stop drinking that stuff; perhaps it'll help you to formulate your thoughts better."

Thomas looked down at the mug, and sighed again. "Perhaps you're right. Alcohol does tend to drown the sorrows, however. And in times like these, I suspect there will be a lot of drowning," Thomas raised his mug again, motioning it to each of the 'mon at the table with him, and at Razathiel too. "To new comrades. May we have luck on the journey ahead," He declared, before downing the contents, and placing the empty mug on the table. "Well, Sylvio, Razathiel, it was a pleasure to meet you both. Annabelle, it was great to see you again," He said as he shakily rose from his seat. "I look forward to...working with you. For now, I think I'll go rest."

"Well, at any rate, you at least know how to pronounce my name correctly." Raz murmured with only the slightest hint of a smirk.