[PKMN OPEN] Pokémon Odyssey: Search For Cresselia (IC)

Snype and the Thief Team- Isabella memory Part 1

"What do you mean Creed's gone?" Isabella asked more sternly this time. It was more rhetorical than anything, but she still had to ask. "How could this happen?" The group had met back up together in one of the brotherhood's safe houses after some of the members tracked them down following the incident in the Raegal Center. Needless to say, the attention caused by the collapse there had put a lot of 'mon on edge. "This isn't good. It means someone in the palace might know something. Which means we need to act quickly."

"A crazed looking Abomasnow and a group of Snover were involved. He completely resisted Sylvio's fire attacks too." Snype said. "On the bright side though, I have this." Snype said as he pulled out the scroll he had protected vigilantly. "This is going to be one of the keys to winning against Gabe."

Isabella caught sight of the scroll, including the insignia on it and grew wide-eyed. "This is it, isn't it?" She asked in somewhat disbelief. "So it really was there... maybe Creed didn't die for nothing then. This is a huge first step. If we present this to the nobility and high command in Tollen, their respect for the Gold Tribe and their allies will surely grow. It'll make them much more susceptible to other information presented."

"Well the question is how we're going to move this scroll all the way into the castle? That little incident in the Reagal center is bound to make things difficult if we were to do something like Sneak in again. " Snype said.

"After the incident in the Raegal Center, doing anything in Argime just got more difficult," Isabella replied. "Someone is looking for us now. The Abomasnow who attacked, I'm unsure who he is, but it appears he knows of our situation. So I recommend not presenting the scroll to the nobles until we have enough evidence to prove Gabriel's involvement too. That way, when we do have to go down that road, we can try to accomplish everything in one move. Which brings me to what we've been doing in the meantime while you were finding the scroll. With the help of your fellow thief Zai, we've gotten a hold of two potentially strong leads that might lead to Gabriel's downfall."

Isabella placed her hands behind her back and continued. "The first: the plague of the Reckoning. If we can tie Gabriel to the plague itself, we can prove his involvement. We have a few options to pursue there. The second: the death of the Crown Prince a while back. At first, everyone believes it to have been an accident. Now... the circumstance behind it has me questioning otherwise. Prince Allerei would have been a strong leader and led us through such a disaster. Queen Aleena is but a child and her ascension instead of her brother's could have provided the necessary power vacuum for Gabriel to ascend. These two places could be good to start. Which one you want to pursue first I'll leave up to you."

".... I know why the Abomasnow was like that." Obsidian said slowly, "It's... taken a while to process, but it makes sense." He looked about, "In Scar's recounts of events that he could remember one thing always struck out. In Auron's presence, Auron wouldn't really move. At times he wouldn't speak or even show any interest in conversation from Sentinels. The Sentinels themselves were so animated, but Auron acted like an old man without any energy. He had no emotions, no inflections on tone, nothing. I don't think this Abomasnow was a Sentinel... but something that Auron was. He showed no emotions in there, had these red eyes that even the Snover had. Like Snype said, even the flames didn't bother him. Almost like he couldn't feel them."

He shook his head, "If a puppet is burned the puppeteer doesn't scream and flap his hand about in pain, he just keeps on puppeteering. Even the Sentinels from Penance's accounts would react to pain and even put emotions into their words. That battle... we might have very well had a conversation with Darkrai himself." He fell silent as he thought a bit more, "Meaning... it is Darkrai who is looking for us now."

"If that's true, then things just got a bit more complicated," Isabella answered in somewhat dismay.

"Either way, our plans haven't changed," Roran chimed in. "Gabriel needs to go, and the best way to do that is to uncover more truths about him. I say we should start with the plague personally. If we figure out its origin for certain, and how to stop it, then we can not only link it to Gabriel, but also find out for sure if its the same one affecting Beatruce."

Snype stepped in. "Stretch mentioned the Abomasnow's description matched the head of House Durania... whatever that is. He was all red, eyes swollen, just a bit abnormal. Any kinda of links you can form with that? Might be worth looking into." Snype asked.

Isabella nodded in response. "Yes, I heard as much," She answered. "As you might know, we have an agreement with Lord Arron of House Durania. So he regularly informs us of certain incidents. Recently, a well-known associate of his, a mercenary with no ties directly to the House, but who worked with them for quite a while, had left their service. He said that Lord Arron was outbid. Which means whoever outbid Lord Arron now has control over the Abomasnow, if it is the same one. Which I believe it is."

"It's hard to imagine a mercenary as the same as Auron," Roran commented, looking at Obsidian. "It might not be the case."

"Regardless, finding out who he works for now could help the uncovering process, especially if it leads back to Gabriel," Isabella continued. "That could be another path to look into, but it's no certainty. In fact, none of them are. The plague, the Prince's death, the Abomasnow's employer. All are only leads. We cannot guarantee they'll lead to the answer you seek. But I urge you to try nonetheless."

Snype nodded. "I think anything is worth investigating at this point. We've found valuable information in stranger places in the past. We should at least see the Mercenary's track record to see who employed him." Snype would reply.

"Well, I can tell you with certainty he has been with the head of House Durania, Lord Arron until just recently," Isabella responded. "The only way I see to find out who he is currently employed to is to follow him around and spy on him. I'd recommend that be a job for one or two thieves at most, though, since bringing in too many could attract unwanted attention. In the meantime, maybe the rest can look into these other leads."

"Follow the guy who nearly tried to kill us ey? Keheh. Tensions are high tonight~" Snype said with a snicker. He was oddly cheerful despite the circumstances.

"It's not exactly the best lead," Isabella replied with a frown. "Actually it might be the toughest. As for the others, if you want to pursue the Prince's death angle, I suggest speaking with Alistair of the Royal Knights, who was one of the guards for the Prince when he died. He and I once were on friendly terms. I doubt he would still hold me in that regard, but we might be able to convince him to at least hear us out so that we can talk to him. Or, if you prefer, we can see if your diplomats would be willing to talk to them for us. As for the plague angle, I would actually ask you to... look through our memories personally to begin with. To see how the plague victims looked when they began to be affected, and to see how Gabriel cured them. Since we don't know as much about Darkrai, maybe something will stand out to you that didn't for us. As for the Abomasnow..."

Isabella motioned to one of the brotherhood members standing beside her in a hood. At her wave, he swiftly nodded his head and left through the open archway window. "Gastault will see if he can get a general trace or information on his whereabouts at the moment, and pass them along to you."

Snype sat and thought about the many different things he could attempt. Going through Isabella's dreams seemed to be one of the most interesting one though. Better knowledge of the past would certainly be beneficial and it'd overall be safer. "Hmm... viewing your dreams... I'm kind of interested in how that'd work out honestly. We'd get alot more accurate information on what could have happened. Kehe" Snype said.

"It's relatively straightforward," Isabella responded, gesturing to another brotherhood member behind her. It revealed his hood to show that she was an Espeon. "Using Rina here, you'll connect through our minds and watch the memories we show you. There are specifically three that I wish to display to you. One is our interaction with the plague itself, and the victims of both kinds, violent and dead. The second is Gabriel in action, curing 'mon who have been affected by the plague. The third is a meeting we had in the palace with the dignitaries of Tollen present, including Gabriel and the Queen. It was when he explained how he cured the plague. I am unsure at this point whether or not that one matters, but I figure it best to show you everything. After these memories, if there is something else you also wish to see, I can show you that as well. This we can actually begin anytime you'd like, in fact."

Snype crossed his arms and nodded. "Well we're all here. I'd say we'd best start with the most accesible means of information. I'm ready to start whenever you all are." Snype said.

Isabella nodded and gestured for the thieves to sit beside her. The Espeon Rina also gathered closeby her. "Everyone who wishes to be apart of this viewing of the memory, gather close to me," Rina stated. "We will tap into the memories of Eye now, but be mindful that because these are her memories, not every single detail can be entirely clear. I can, however, attempt to clear up or refresh certain details if needed. If anyone needs to stop at any point, or to rewind to replay a certain scene, say so and we will do so. But again, remember that every single possible detail may not be accessible," She explained.

Rina closed her eyes, bringing her psychic energy around those gathered before her, but particularly around Isabella as she began to access her memories. "Please push forth the memory into the front of your mind, Eye. Relax, breathe deep. Let us all flow through," She stated for her. Isabella closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. After, the darkness created from her closed eyes began to dissipate, and in its place, shadows began to form in a memory.

It was evening, or so it appeared. The sky was dark and cloudy, but an unpleasant smog had filled the air. It took a moment to get used to the light, but the memory displayed the streets of Argime. All across, the memory began to show as many different Pokemon littered the streets. There were hundreds, thousands, who had markings etched across their bodies and who seemed to be in deep suffering. Parents held their children, children who were alone cried for their parents. Everyone was stepping over everyone else as they tried to escape those afflicted, it seemed.

Meanwhile, Royal Knights and soldiers covered up their faces with a rag or sheet of some sort and tried to isolate areas that were afflicted and weren't. The entire area was complete madness. The vision of the memory, which appeared to be from Isabella's view, shifted toward one family who were now being isolated by the soldiers under her command. They appeared to have purple markings covering their bodies, in strange swirling symbols. They were covered across the arms and body, leading up even to the face in some cases and up to the eyes.

"Keep those afflicted in the isolated zone!" Isabella ordered from the memory. "I want a perimeter maintained between zones with the outbreak and zones without!"

"General, we don't have enough 'mon to maintain those zones!" A nearby soldier, a Venonat, exclaimed as he looked directly at the vision, or the General. Before Isabella could reply, a loud, screeching scream came from the side. Citizens of Argime began to run away rapidly from Isabella's right. They were being pursued. The 'mon that were after them looked just like other citizens of Argime, with similar clothing. They also seemed to have the same purple and black markings across their bodies as the afflicted. However, two major differences appeared to be there: the first was that the victims eyes were also a very dark purple shade. The second was that these 'mon were slaughtering everything that moved in front of them.

"Hold on a minute. What was that?" Snype interrupted. "Those Pokemon that were just slaughtering everybody... I know those markings. The sentinels has something like that thirty years ago. When Darkrai totally consumed them they'd hit what most call their "Chaos Form"..." Snype paused and thought about the connection for a moment.

"That was what happened to about 10 percent of all those afflicted by the plague," Isabella's voice called out through the memory. "They began to become ultra-violent, but in some cases also became much stronger than they were in the past. This became especially dangerous whenever the afflicted were Soldiers in the standing army or Royal Knights, because they became that much tougher to take down. If you're sure that this is Darkrai's ability, then this confirms that the plague is done by him!" She cried through the memory.

"Tsk. It was enough having a few sentinels in that form. If he ends up getting a whole country like that we're in trouble... Arceus Forbid it hits Karn..." Snype said with a shudder. "I'm more curious on how people were infected in the first place. Whether by simple contact between two Pokemon or if its just something floating in the air. Or it could be something more complex about that. Figuring that out would at least keep all of us safe from being infected... but anyways, lets move on." Snype said.

"I have a theory, but I want you to see it for yourself," Isabella replied, and continued to play the memory. The afflicted 'mon who were violent continued to slaughter the innocent bystanders, while the helpless who were plagued by the virus lay on the floor, dead or dying. Isabella and the surrounding troops took up arms and struck back along the afflicted, but couldn't hold them for long as they had trouble containing the perimeter for the affected and the violent ones. What was worse was that the dark clouds from the sky seemed to be going through the city, creaking a sort of fog that was beginning to make it harder to see.

"Retreat back!" the Isabella in the memory cried, as it observed the darker fog flow through the city. Before she turned around to retreat as well, she observe for what seemed like mere moments as one family that was being affected by the virus, but not yet violent go through the fog. Instantly, their bodies seemed to react inside of the darker clouds and fog, and the 'mon's eyes darkened, and they joined the screaming violent afflicted by the plague. Most seemed to die from contact, though the few that didn't became increasingly violent.

Snype interrupted again. "This all looks familiar too... The dark clouds and all... geez theres no doubt Darkrai is involved. Hard to believe it was cured by that blasted Greninja." Snype thought. He was beginning to debate though if the Greninja even cured the sickness... but he wanted to see more before giving off his own theories because even he didn't like what had just popped up in his head.

The scene continued as Isabella and the soldiers ran down the corridor, only to be chased by the afflicted 'mon. Isabella had actually planned this, as her hope was to get the plagued 'mon away from innocent civilians. Now that they had gathered enough around, they turned one more corner, and watched as the plagued ones followed. Then, they all dropped to the ground, and waiting there was a team of Royal Knights, who unleashed a stream of Flamethrower attacks across the victims in unison. With their combined force, them managed to subdue the lot, save for one who was burnt but still staggering force.

By the time the fog had begun to catch up, the plague one seemed to inhale the dark mist, and his dark purple eyes seemed to grow darker. At that moment he seemed to ignore his injuries and pressed forward for an attack. The combined might of Isabella's 'mon and the Royal Knights subdued it, but it was a bit tougher than the first time.

"This can't continue!" One of the Standing Army soldiers cried out. "Half the city is burning, with half the citizens dead or dying! At this rate, we're all going to die!"

"We have to isolate the city so that we can save all that we can!" Isabella shot back.

"Don't you get it, Isabella?" The same soldier asked. "None of it is going to help! The nobles are sitting in their comfortable palace all protected from the plague, citizens are about to string them up by the necks, while we will ALL die out here! Tollen is lost!"

"... maybe not just yet," One of the Royal Knights, an Arcanine, replied back. Instantly, the other soldiers looked towards him. He continued. "There was a Knight, Gabriel I think his name was... he said he might have a way to cure the plague."

The memory began to fade as the scene around began to grow dark. The first memory had begun to end, and Isabella opened her eyes to see the rest of the thieves gathered around her again. "That was the first memory I wanted to show."

Snype shook his head. "Ugh... not a pretty sight there. I could never imagine all of that chaos going on in one place. I almost wonder whats happening back in Gold City. Hopefully the other thieves are still evacuating everyone properly..." Snype said with a sigh. "On topic though...I want to see just how Gabe cured everyone. That seems like quite a feat for one Greninja to pull off. It'd help me confirm my own theory too." He said.

"Speaking of which, how long was Gabe with the Royal Knights? Or was this your first time hearing about him at that point? That Arcanine seemed to know him."

"Maybe now you understand why we didn't question him, nor any orders of his initially when he said he had a cure," Isabella commented. "We were faced with the literal extinction of our entire capital," She explained with a deep sigh. She shook her head, then shrugged as she proceeded to answer the question. "There are many Royal Knights, so I hadn't heard of Gabriel before this. Some vouched for him at some points and said he was a member for a few months. Others even went to years, but as I began to dig when I suspected him later, I was never able to find out with certainty how long he was a member."

Snype nodded. "I can't say I blame you for just going with it when he said there was a cure. Honestly, whether it was Darkrai's plan or Gabe's plan, its a clever strategy. Sheesh... wonder how that Arcanine even heard that Gabe had a cure of all things. Seems a bit random huh? Something about that last scene seriously bothers me." Snype said. He was doing a good job at keeping his cool, despite everything he just saw in front of him. Snype wasn't even giving off his trademark laugh.

"That Arcanine... that Arcanine is in the service of House Ellia, I believe," Isabella commented. "He may have just heard about the plan from Gabriel himself, as someone who had been passing it along," She suggested with a shrug. "Unless he is somehow involved. The Arcanine is a senior member of the Royal Knights and one of the tougher members of the company. And it might not be impossible that Gabriel had a few allies inside."

Snype turned to Isabella. "Well he certainly had plenty of allies in Gold City. Whats to say he doesn't have more working here in Tollen as well? I can't say any of that is one hundred percent true but its definitely something to look out for. There's plenty more room for backstabbing in this town with Gabe on the scene." Snype stated.

"I guess it's something to look out for," Isabella replied with a nod. "We could have one of ours keep tabs on him. But for now, are there any questions before we view the second memory?" Snype shook his head.

Isabella nodded her head again and closed her eyes. Rina once more focused on entering her mind, as well as connect her mind with the other thieves around. The image of the memory began to pour into everyone's head, going from dark to clearer by the second. Eventually, the image was full and the memory was established. It was seen from the view of Isabella once more, showing a 'mon who was sickly and weak. The sick 'mon, a Pichu, was struggling with pain and showed all the symptoms of the plague, including the markings. The 'mon didn't appear to be violent yet. There were plenty more around the area that were also weak and sickly.

Isabella in the memory was standing with a group of her soldiers, including an Escavalier who would be recognized as the future successor of Isabella, Marcus Tyren. In front of the sickly 'mon was a Royal Knight, a Greninja clad in the armor of emerald that the knights wore. It was Gabriel. While many unafflicted 'mon kept their distance from the sick and observed, Gabriel knelt right before the afflicted Pichu.

"There, there," Gabriel stated to the Pichu as he patted its head. "I know it hurts, but it will all be over soon," He explained. He placed his hands on the Pichu, with Isabella in the memory briefly catch something held in between the Greninja's hand. A small object of some sort. He placed the hand with the object on top of the Pichu, while he rummaged through a sack he held and took out a needle containing some sort of red fluid. He stuck the needle into the Pichu, but at the same time, the hand which possibly contained some sort of object shined for a brief minute. Instantly, the Pichu's symptoms of the markings began to dissipate the moment he injected the fluid.

"See? See?" Marcus Tyren began to speak beside Isabella. "He cured the plague-ridden! It was all true!" Others around began murmuring similar things in disbelief, most of the incredulous as to how he did it.

"I can't believe it," One soldier began to say in disbelief.

"A miracle! It's a miracle!" Another exclaimed. "We're saved!"

"Did you see that shine in his other hand for a moment?" Isabella asked Marcus Tyren. Marcus turned to the Roserade and cocked an eyebrow.

"Shine? There was no shine. You must have seen something wrong," The Escavalier was quick to dismiss. "He used the needle to inject them with something to cure them," He clarified.

"I don't... ah, I suppose it doesn't matter how it was done, right?" Isabella sighed as more of the sick began to go forward to Gabriel to receive their cure. Every time, he first touched them with his left hand, and then injected them with something from his right. But Isabella noticed each time he touched them first, as if it was apart of his process.

Or maybe she was just seeing things.

Snype crossed his arms. "You should have pressed him further about that... but then again, your whole country was being saved here. Not much choice if this was going to save everyone... gah that clever Greninja... What was that object anyways? I have a bad feeling about whatever he put into all these Pokemon." Snype said.

"I'm not sure what the object was," Isabella replied. "I've tried multiple times to view the memory myself, but I couldn't figure it out. Gabriel claims the needle is the way he cured Pokemon. I get the feeling it was not that but whatever object he held in his hand that did it."

"That object... that object I think I saw it before!" Obsidian piped up. "Penance told me about a memory he shared with Thomas from the battle with Gabriel in Gold City. Before when Penance was Paradox, Gabriel also used something small in his hands to take lock up Paradox, as if he took the chaos out of Penance, or sealed it up! Paradox is Darkrai's power, which mean that object is being used to lock up power of Darkrai!"

"Hmm, if that's true, then maybe what Gabriel is doing is not putting something inside of the 'mon, but possibly taking something out," Isabella commented. "See how it glows every time he uses it? This can almost prove Gabriel has something of Darkrai's power if the connection is true. This gives a valid link between Darkrai and Gabriel!"

Snype shook his head. "But what would that accomplish? They plague is already causing alot of chaos as is... Maybe he isn't taking it out but rather locking it up? Just like Obsidian said. Think about it. A whole nation under his control with the snap of his fingers. You disobey and your back to being sick again. Sounds like something Darkrai would do." Snype explained.

"... The scary thing is that I think you may be right," Isabella stated solemnly with a sigh. "But it also still doesn't change the fact that there is a legitimate connection between Darkrai's power and Gabriel. This could establish his involvement with him. This is part of the sign we've been looking for. But it also means we may be running out of time to figure it out."

"The minute Gabe is threatened, he might try to pull something related to Darkrai. Gah, that explains why he seemed so confident that time I met him. He seems totally sure that he'll win this whole battle with nothing but the flick of a finger." Snype replied. "Lets see that next memory. That might clear things up further."

Snype, Kaveri, Obsidian - Isabella Memory Part 2

"This means that when we do present all of the evidence to the nobles and if he is present, he may try to do something with that," Isabella commented with a worried expression on her face. "We may have to figure out a way to counteract it if necessary... but we'll get there when we get there. Let's view the final memory."

The same process was repeated and the group found themselves viewing what appeared to be a large, regal room with many tapestries, paintings, and other fine things. Those who were familiar with the setting would have recognized it as a room within the palace of Tollen. There, Isabella viewed a room with many other dignitaries, including Gabriel, the nobles in charge of House Ellia, Durania, and Jenoscent, and many others. Marcus Tyren was also present, as was the young Queen Aleena of Tollen, who sat upon the Throne of Rectitude. One glance at the Queen could make out that she seemed somewhat distressed, or possibly tired, as she was sweating a bit. The others also seemed a bit anxious, but her appearance was a bit more radical.

"Explain again how it was you came across this, if you would, Gabriel?" A Herdier wearing the symbol of House Durania asked the Greninja.

"Sure thing, my lord!" Gabriel replied with an enthusiasm not shared by the rest of the room. He dug into his sack and pulled out a needle. "This needle contains the blood of one of the lesser lords in this room who so graciously allowed me to examine him," He began to explain. "I devised that this plague was by design affecting our blood, and I proved it by being able to cure those afflicted by injecting them with the blood of those immune. Specifically, from the good nobles here in this room!"

"So you inject them with our blood and they are cured? Truly?" One of the lesser nobles asked.

"That's the idea, my lord!" Gabriel responded with a curt nod. "Your blood mixes with theirs and counteracts any of the poisonous affliction. It begins to break it down immediately."

"But can you tell us where it came from, or why we aren't afflicted?" A Slowking wearing the colors of House Ellia asked.

Gabriel shrugged in reply. "I can't really say for sure. Maybe it doesn't like nobles as much," He joked.

"But it wasn't just the nobility that wasn't unaffected," The Herdier noble commented. "It was everyone who spent enough time around the palace. Even servants and visitors seemed to be less affected. It was as if a veil was under those who were here directly in the palace, be it nobility or not."

"Curious," Gabriel replied back. He shrugged and stuck out his arms helplessly. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about that. I'm just here to try and help."

"And help he has!" Marcus Tyren the Escavalier exclaimed. "If not for him, our city would be on its knees. But 'mon are starting to get the cure and we're slowly pushing the plague out! We should reward him for such gallantry in these dark times," Marcus bowed to the Queen and spoke directly to her. "My Queen, Gabriel has saved this entire city. Has he not earned the right to ascend from his current rank to that of the vacant Royal Commander? We need a leader who could guide us through such a disaster with poise and dignity. I am certain he would be right for the job."

"General Isabella, please call off your second-in-command from her Highness, it is not his place to make such suggestions!" The Slowking noble exclaimed with anger.

"But he is right, isn't he?" Isabella asked in the memory. "You haven't seen the plague like I have, my lord. If not for Gabriel, we may not be standing here. Gabriel, I do have a question: is the needle the only means you use to counter-act the plague?"

Gabriel turned to Isabella and tilted his head. "Why, yes of course it is. What else would I use?" He asked her.

"Nothing, I was just... never mind."

The Queen coughed a few times and panted heavily, before she spoke softly. "I... I must agree. If not for the valiant actions of Gabriel, our city would be in ruin." She stated in a somewhat hushed voice.

"My Queen, I urge you not to do anything rash," The Herdier noble whispered to her.

"I... but..." She seemed at a loss for words, once more coughing. The lesser nobles around began to yell for Gabriel's praise and ascension. A few of the other nobles were not as thrilled. Marcus Tyren was among the more vocal of supporters for Gabriel. Eventually, she began to speak again. Marcus had to hush up the entire room so that they could hear her decree. "I... I hereby appoint Gabriel to the position of Royal Commander. Long may he serve us."

"Long may he serve!" The room repeated, including those that disliked the idea. Gabriel bowed politely to the room and approached the Queen. He then bowed directly in front of the Queen, briefly taking her hand in his palm and kissing her arm. For a moment, Isabella thought she saw another glint of something shining clutched between his hand, but she dismissed it.

"Thank you, your Highness!" Gabriel exclaimed. He stood up and addressed her as well as the rest of the room. "I promise that as long as I'm able, I'll do what's best for Tollen. And as long as you're living, I'll do what I can to make sure I carry out my position with the best of my ability! Now, let's cure this plague!"

The memory began to fade, and all became dark again. Isabella sighed deeply and shook her head. "Soon after, from pressure from the populace and certain dignitaries, Gabriel was allowed to sit upon the Throne and was given the title of 'Savior' for his service in curing the plague."

Snype caught notice of alot of the sneaky acts that Gabe pulled off there. "He was definitely holding something when he kissed her arm... tsk, they sure egged the Queen on about making Gabe the Royal Commander. I'm shocked that nobody in the room questioned where he got noble blood from! Comon that just screams suspicious!" Snype said, sounding pretty frustrated. "What if he was getting blood straight from the Queen herself? She looked pretty darn exhausted from something there. Someone like that could easily be bribed. I could think of a few ways to pull it off and if Gabe is the strategist we say he is, that could be a possibility. I can picture it now! Gabe could ask for her blood, but on the sidenote, she can't tell anybody about it. In return, he saves Tollen. Easy as that!" Snype said.

"It'd certainly complicate things, especially if the Queen's condition is somehow related to this," Isabella replied with a frown. "Either way, something tells me we won't have a lot of time to figure it out. From what your diplomatic team had said, Gabriel is planning on doing something that may involve her at the banquet, and that's happening tomorrow night. Which means we need to gather up all the evidence we can by then. That's all we have from the memories to show specifically."

Snype rubbed his head, trying to plot something up himself. "I don't like the sound of that... but its still a whole day for us to plan a counter attack if our theory is right. I don't want the whole town turning on us if I end up being right..." Snype paused for a moment. He wondered if the stuff he had planned wasn't true and Gabe's strategy was completely different? Snype was just as devious with his own planning. "Keh... kind of scary that I've been able to see through alot of these plans... if I'm not right then I guess I got a pretty devious mind myself. Maybe I oughta give my own head a look after we get through this whole mess." Snype said, crossing his arms and sighing.

"One day isn't much but... we'll have to do the best we can," Isabella stated. She then eyed Snype and responded to his other comment. "Sometimes, I believe we have to become nearly as devious or repulsive as that which we are trying to get rid of in order to get rid of it. A bit of evil for a greater good. That's what I'm doing when I helped form this Brotherhood. Maybe that's the process your mind is going through as well."

"Honestly now that I see it... there's no point." Obsidian said. He looked at the two speakers, "What? You two don't see it as well? There's no point in trying to stop it. Gabriel has probably had months upon months infecting and uninfecting everyone. Okay, let's look at it from the terms of the 'best case' scenario." The Weavile said as he performed air quotes, "Let's say we do everything right, let's say that we convince everyone Gabriel is evil and we manage to arrest him and get the stone. We have no idea how it works. For all we know once we take it away from him it activates. Honestly, we'll never figure out how it works under the confines of a few minutes as every single soul in Tollen perishes. Look, I know it's hard to accept... but Gabriel won."

Obsidian shook his head, "Penance always taught me this, you can't win every battle. What you can do is not waste your time on trying to get a victory when no victory is even possible in the first place. You give your enemy an advantage and you end up in a worse position. We have no idea how the rest of the world is fairing." He looked at Isabella with a frown, "I'm sorry, I truly am. But Gabe has the upper hand. Your entire country is lost. There's nothing more we can do. The best we can do at the moment is to leave. We have knowledge at least of what Gabriel does. We can head to Beatruce with this information and stop any potential Gabriels from happening there. Hell, we might even intercept someone with a similar stone there and we'll have TIME to figure it out then. Someone there is spreading the disease, so we'll have to go. We already wasted enough time here."

Obsidian shrugged, "The others aren't in the city, but even the defenders outside the city have probably been infected by Gabriel or at least touched by the stone at some point. Even if we manage to cure everyone here, they are probably all infected. What use is curing the city if in a few hours enemy forces charge in anyways? We have to rendezvous with Penance out of these walls and get back to the Fort. That's what I say."

"And what about the rest of us?" The Brotherhood Psychic Rina questioned the Weavile angrily. "Are we supposed to just sit by and watch as Gabriel destroys our country? No! No way! You can go ahead and be a coward if you want! We're going to stay and fight him to the end!"

"Rina, it's alright," Isabella calmed the Espeon with her hand. Rina pulled away and moved to the far side of the room. She began to pace back and forth. Isabella sighed and turned to Obsidian. "I understand your thinking, believe me I do. As a General you're taught sometimes to pick your battles and make the hard decisions. But think of it from our perspective. This is our home, and you're thinking of abandoning us when we might be close to uncovering something. What if this was your home? Would you truly abandon it in this state? And do you really think when the times comes to help Gold City, anyone in the country would be willing to help you for abandoning us?"

"And what if Gabriel kills the psychics? We spend a week trying to get out." Obsidian closed his eyes, "Valkaria's leader of the Gold Tribe is here, the leader of the Seekers and the second in command is here too, the leader of the thieves is here." He said as he pointed at Snype, "If worse comes to worse, then out there right now Dakrai is already preparing his minions to become leaders of our various sects. In the end, yes, Tollen is saved... but at what cost."

Obsidian shook his head, "Penance always said to prepare for the worst case scenario. It is how he lived and I see that he is right in some ways. We could save your country, but by the end every other country out there could be in a worse state and we would have lost valuable resources and allies. I am sorry, but I must go." He looked at Snype, "Surely you see the logic here, Snype?"

Snype crossed his arms. "Yeah I see your logic. But... if you really think there's no hope, would it really kill you to at least try?" Snype said sternly. "I don't care how hopeless it seems. It seemed hopeless the first time Darkrai attacked yet we still managed to recover, despite all of the casualties and death. This is exactly why I don't like Penance. He gives up so easily if you as much as throw a pebble at him the wrong way. I see you take that trait as well." Snype said with a glare.

"The entirety of the thieves was destroyed because of the Silver Tribe yet by some miracle I was able to bring them back... Logic isn't always going to be the answer here. Sometimes you need a miracle. And I think I have mine." Snype said as he stood up.

"We'd need something with Cresselia's power to get into if this plague is connected with Darkrai or not... Back when the Silver War ended, I recall Brynn was given a Bracelet with some of the Gold Crystals power. Though she isn't with us now and it must have been passed on to someone else. You know where I'm getting at Obsidian?" Snype asked.

Obsidian sighed, "First off, we'll need to get a message off. Which means we have to infiltrate the portal area. Second, we'll have to get him through the portal. Just those two criteria alone will no doubt cause some sort of news to float up to Gabriel. If you all do go that route, you have to think... smart. Getting him in now will be useless if it makes the other jobs harder. You're going to first off find out how that stone works and then try to see if the gold crystal's power really will work on it with a test. Getting Alex in here now... it'll be bad news. The one way to go would be to wait for the dinner itself to start. Gabriel probably won't start off with using the stone right? Maybe have an hour or two where people gather and mingle."

Obsidian crossed his arms, "During that time Gabe will be forced to attend the party and communication will be more lax. THAT'S when you get to the portal, dispose of the guards there, and then bring in Alex. Three days have passed and I'm not sure if he would still be at the Fort. With him being the guardian over the gold bracelet, for all we know, he might have been called back to Valkaria to help with stemming Darkrai's forces there. If we can... try to get a message out, but if you do it the wrong way then it tips Gabe off. Which means someone has to think of a sure fire way that won't cause any potential future roadblocks."

"I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't know how to make it work." Snype said. "The Ninjask network can definitely get the message out one way or another. To be more Specific, Able can. Yeah doing it immediately would cause alot of trouble assuming they notice suspicious portal activity being used. Hrm." Snype paused and sat down once more. He ended up finding himself in deep thought, trying to devise a plan.

"We've given messages through the portal before," Isabella reminded the group. "Our note to you was smuggled in, and if we make the proper distraction, we may be able to get another note through to your base too. If you do plan on doing something like this, I might suggest you consider doing it after you finish pursuing the final leads, because if something is suspected before, it might cause extra trouble. At the moment, our biggest advantage is that Gabriel doesn't know that you're here. I suggest we use that while we have it."

Snype nodded. "Right. In that case lets focus on getting the other pieces of evidence first. Then we'll worry about getting someone else through the portal."

Isabella nodded back and spoke. "Then the last two leads to pursue are tailing the Abomasnow that attacked you, and the death of the Crown Prince. While we were viewing memories, I had Gastault track down and locate the Abomasnow in the city. He should be back with information soon as to his location. One of you could track him and follow him to see where he goes. It could be done by more than one of you as well, but the more 'mon involved, the more chances of getting caught. As for the Prince's death, Alistair was one of the Crown Prince's personal guards during his life. He may also know something about his death. He is stationed inside the palace on most days. Talking to him could prove illuminating. But it may be tricky getting into the palace. Though from what I've heard, you've done it already once before. Those are the leads. I will let you decide how you want to pursue them, whether individually, together, or split them up and do them at the same time. While you do them however, I will have the Brotherhood pick up activity in other areas to provide diversions."

"Or we could go for a punch." Obsidian stated. "Gabriel is busy, correct? There has to be a schedule he follows with looking over the walls and what not. We take the time he's out to go snooping through his belongings too. For all we know, we might come upon some notes on what he does plan to do during... say the dinner?" He asked with a shrug, "If we can get in, who knows, we might even find the pearl he uses or find another one like it. Maybe even notes from others loyal to Darkrai."

"Well, his quarters are in the palace, so if someone decides to pursue the Prince lead, they could always make a stop at Gabriel's quarters as well..." Isabella pondered this as she put a hand to her chin. "The Royal Commander does sometimes go to the outskirts of the city to observe the defenses whenever he returns to town. He may do that today as well... that might be your chance."

"If he doesn't, we could make a distraction." Obsidian said, "Depends though. Maybe if he heads out make a small distraction based on where he is. Could buy us time to snoop through his belongings. And not only his... there is his commander friend as well. If we have four mon who head over there, we could split off into twos to see what we find in each room. For all we know, there could have split letters in half and hidden each half in their respective rooms. At the very least, one of their rooms might give us definitive proof as well."

"Keheh... always did wanna check out that Palace..." Snype said with a small smirk. "I could take a shot at infiltrating the palace while someone else focuses on the Abomasnow." Snype said.

"Yeah... I can't do that." Obsidian said. "I am the worst stealth guy on this team. Someone else will have to go do that stuff because if I'm in it, knowing my horrible luck, I'm going to get us caught red-handed."

"I could probably most definitely help create a distraction of some sort," Kaveri piped up, a twinkle in her eye. "How do you think he'd react if I hugged him and called him my hero?" she mused, then snickered. "Not that I'd actually do that." Unless she was given a reeeaaally good chance that was just too good pass up. She hadn't run into him back in Gold City at all, after all, so she doubted he'd know who she was. Probably. Hopefully? ...Ok, so maybe she just shouldn't do it, just in case.

Snype chuckled. "Be his number one fangirl then? Keheh. Hey that'd be a pretty clever distraction I'd say! What's he gonna do? Punch you? That'd sure hurt his name as the Savior! Kehehe. A bit of controversy is always good to ruin someones name! Insist your his girlfriend or something crazy!" Snype said.

"What? You..." Isabella stared in disbelief at the first Kaveri, and then Snype and continued. "You can't be serious, right? Gabriel's highly dangerous! There's no telling what he could do if you tried something like that!"

Snype snickered. "In public? What would he do in front of several people without ruining his name as their supposed savior? Keheh. Just a bit of good ol humiliation and it'd be a fun distraction while I get to do my own thing in the palace! Who'd hurt an innocent gal like Kav here?"

"He might even like it," Kaveri said, starting to warm to the idea even more now. "Having someone declare how amazing he is right in the middle of the street could be a pretty big boost to his reputation, eh?"

"Not that it would need a boost, I imagine," Isabella murmured. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try but... what if he recognizes you?"

Kaveri shook her head. "He's never seen me, so he shouldn't. I didn't even run into him in Gold City when it was still a party."

"Hmm..." The Roserade pondered to think. "I suppose this could work then. Be cautious though. There's no telling what he can do."

"Kehe, yeah! He might kiss your hand or something! Blech!" Snype joked once more with another laugh.

"No... if Snype is right he could infect Kaveri with the stone and if he is more right, and we don't act fast enough, then she could be killed along with everyone else in Tollen." Obsidian said gravely.

"Considering what Gabe did to the Queen, Obsidian isn't too far off from the truth there. The job is still fairly dangerous." Snype added.

"The risk is yours to make," Isabella stated to Kaveri. "There are certainly other ways of distracting Gabriel for the leads, but I will leave this decision up to you."

Penance, Abel, Cal and Raz - Outside Brookerridge, Tollen

When the Tailow scout had reported back to Fort Trantrea, Commander Darrell immediately began preparations for the entire army to depart the area and head toward Brookerridge. It took a few hours for everyone to rest and recuperate - besides Raz, who insisted that he was simply closing his eyes of his own volition and that rest was for the weak - and a few more to gather the necessary supplies for the road. Darrell also made contingency plans to ensure the area would not be entirely defenseless should Morrians begin attacking again. After such a large war party, it was unlikely that they would come up with anything soon. In fact, Darrell hoped he'd have his forces back within the area before then. If they don't, however, it might be likely that the fortress and some of the surrounding area might eventually be temporarily lost because of this decision. The nearby towns would also be defenseless, though there are a few squads of Hellguards already protecting them, and Darrell had sent a few more just in case.

By the time they were on the road already, it was late into the evening, which was perfect because it made travelling that much easier. They ran into a few Morrians along the road, but they were easily neutralized by the superior force of the Hellguards. Because of the size of the force and the general layout of the forest, several stops had to be made, including one for sleeping rotations. Eventually, as light began to appear in the sky again, they finally reached the outskirts of Brookerridge.

It had taken much longer than Commander Darrell anticipated to make the journey. He expected an overnight affair, but the terrain had slowed them down even more than he expected. However, now that they were here, they had to get to work. He looked over to his right, where the associates of Valkaria, as well as a few of his closer soldiers were traveling.

"Now that we're here, it's important to get in contact with Penance and the others," Commander Darrell explained. "I'd rather not march the entire force down to Brookerridge until I know the full grasp of the situation. So Lieutenant Trace, take Jerut, the Valkarians and the Beatrucian to meet with Penance. Inform me from there what we plan to do."

He then looked back at the Tailow scout. "Go take a scouting party and encircle the area. Let me know about any activity going on, including in town or around us. If the Psychic message is accurate, Morrian and Pentosarr forces may be here soon."

Trace and the Tailow both nodded. The Tailow began going between the ranks to pick out scouts to go with him, while Trace addressed Raz, Cal, and Abel. "Let's go meet up with your Madman and Alexis then," He began as he pushed forward into the trees. "Likely they set up shop somewhere close to the location to wait for us, so that's where they'd be."

"Lead onwards, minion flower man!" Raz exclaimed.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that, short stuff," Trace replied with a shake of his head. "But then again after everything I've heard from Penance these last few days, it's nice to hear something that makes some sense."

"If you knew anything about sense, you insolent prick, you'd hold your f*cking tongue! Honestly, 'short stuff', all this psychic power - doesn't mean a bloody thing, can't blow someone up every two seconds..." The Dreadmage pounded his staff into the dirt as he walked, mumbling to himself. "Don't even know why you're talking, you're just a, plant, or something... shut up. Idiot. I want to go to Karn. Duel some pricks. That should be good. Can't complain if it's national culture. Dark wizard's playground, might as well be. Probably within my rights to have killed someone here already. I'm practically a f*cking saint..."

"Well people who don't mock others for their appearances are usually less likely to get taunted for their own." Cal muttered to himself from next to Raz. "Especially diminutive doombringers."

"If reports are accurate, you might get a chance to blow somethin' up real soon," Trace responded as he proceeded forward with the other members of the forest team to locate the rest of the scouting team. Trace looked around for signs that they would be here. The Hellguards have an intricate way of laying out tracks that only they would understand as a means to communicate on where they've been and where they're going. These tracking systems are usually updated every month to avoid suspicion from enemies, but during war that could change as often as one week.

The Vileplume looked at a set of markings on the ground, which seemed jumbled and confusing to Abel, but which apparently made some sense to Trace. He then turned and proceeded to a higher clearing above the town of Brookerridge. There, a Kadabra was waving them over. Abel also noticed the rest of the scouting group with them, including Alexis and Penance. And of course, Penance was up to some sort of antics. Currently the Golduck was balancing several large boulders with a psychic as he peered at one part of the ground below him. "Yes, very much yes. So much yes is in the air." He murmured. "What to do about the census though?"

"Having fun?" Trace asked the scouts. Immediately the Mienfoo Lieutenant shot a glare at Trace.

"Don't leave me with this duck that long ever again," He hissed. "We may have a problem though. I'm just waiting on our scout to report back to make sure."

Trace tilted his head. "Is it going to change things?"

"No, well, maybe," The scout said. "The Psychics and the Network Machine along with the Royal Knights are still in the cave. But those two armies that they mentioned in the message? Yeah, those might actually be coming. Flint is out there right now scouting to see."

Soon after the Mienfoo said so, the Tailow began to fly back from over a treeline. He seemed distressed, similarly to how he was when he announced the news to Commander Darrell about the other attack two days earlier.

"Well?" The Mienfoo scout asked of Flint. The Tailow held up a wing and caught his breath a few more times before he responded. "They're coming," He huffed. "Both armies...huff...More Pentosarrs than Morrians... but the crazies are there too. Two thousand strong from Pentos. Maybe another seven hundred with the Morrians."

Trace cursed under his breath. "Will we have enough time to evacuate Brookerridge?" He asked the Tailow. Flint shook his head.

"Not a chance," He huffed again with a frown. "They're gonna be... here soon, in force."

"Which means its time to make a decision," Trace said with a deep sigh. "We're probably going to fight 'em with our own army we brought, but we might need all the help we can get." Trace glanced to the forest team. Raz was clapping his hands with glee. "You guys can still go take out the Network Point, and go through. We can then destroy it from this end so that the army won't be able to follow. Or you can go through and leave it open, so that there's a possibility of traveling back and forth. But there's no guarantee how we will do on this end, so we're not sure if we'll be able to hold and push them back, or if they'll overtake us and make it to the Network Point."

Trace paused for a moment to allow the forest team to reflect on this. Raz looked crestfallen. Trace then continued. "Or, you could always stay behind for a while and help us fight the armies. We could use the help and you were a huge help for us before. Then if we kill them all you can head in after, and we can keep the connection open to cover your tracks. You could also stay and help out for a while, and if it gets too hairy, try to get in and get help in the middle of the fight. Basically, there's a lot of ways you can go about this. What will you do?"

"F*CKING HELL!" Razathiel cried out, "Something involving killing, for Giratina's sake! I'll be f*cking damned if you go all boo-hoo soppy heroic sacrifice on me, of all people. I'd sooner wrench my eyes out with a spoon, or apologise for something." The miniature mage hopped up onto his staff and pointed his hand at Lieutenant Trace. "Knight person plant man! I hereby demand that you allow me to help you! Follow my wishes or fear my f*cking unholy wrath!"

"I'm of the same mind as Razathiel, although less for the sake of murder and mayhem." Cal added, stepping forward.

Raz huffed. "Lame."

"Even if none of us wanted to help you just because it would be right - and I certainly do - we can't let all the work we've already done be for nothing. Everymon we save is another potential ally in the fight against Darkrai, and I'm sure our other teams are already making headway further into Tollen. Even as a matter of pure practicality if we just let you all buy us time with your lives now it would give all those bastards that much better of a foothold to push towards the capital and ruin everything. We can't let this go on."

Abel, who had remained mostly silent throughout the decision, decided to chime in. "Whatever the Emerald Sentinel decides is fine with me," He stated in his usual monotone voice.

"Oh! Don't let them drink the vinegar!" Peannce said with a wide smile, "Once I crack we're going to tumble okay? You all took tumbling classes, right?" He asked as he tilted his head. Just as he spoke a very noticeable crack appeared in the rock under Trace's feet. "Oooooh, we may tumble a biiiit early. Remember, stay up and at them and snap them." He said with a firm nod, "Land on your rears and try to land where it's safe. Of course if you land on a knight props to you!"

Trace eyed each of them and let a small smile grip his face before he turned away from the group and continued to speak. "Alright, thanks for helpin'," He murmured. A sniff of his nose could be heard.

The Mienfoo Lieutenant eyed Trace and chuckled. "Hey Trace, are ya... crying?"

"No! I just got some smoke in my mouth, ya bastard!" He shot back at the Mienfoo. He turned back around after wiping away his face and spoke back to the group again. "Well, before that army does get here, we might as well secure the Network Point first, which is what I'm guessing Penance is sayin'," Trace stated as he pointed to the Golduck. "Arceus help me, I might actually be understandin' him. Better have it secure and those Royal Knights taken out than they returning through the Network and lettin' anyone know. We ought to be careful about this."

"Tumbling..." Penance reminded in a sing song voice, "Try not to move too much, not enough layers to keep us balanced. Get those orders out! In fact... they should get near the entrance while we go it en mass!"

"Right, I'll go inform Darrell what we're doin' and get the army in position," Trace responded. He began to walk back to where the encampment for the army was. "You guys head over to the Network Point and take out the Royal Guards. We'll be ready behind you. Go!" He exclaimed, and took off.

"So." Cal began, turning towards the rest of his team with a smirk. "I know splitting up with such a small group is usually dumb, but since I'm the only one of us who can fly I was thinking we could employ a little 'thunder and lightning' strategy."

"Does that involve killing lots of enemies quickly and brutally?" Raz asked.

"It certainly does, but lightning is only one part of a destructive storm." Cal answered, waggling one of his claws. "I was thinking Raz, I'm not saddle-shaped like a Lapras, but you at least could easily fit on my back. You and I will be the lightning, crashing in to scatter the royal guards and cause as much mayhem as possible right before Abel and Penance show up to take advantage of the confusion. If there's one thing Penance can do, it's take advantage of confusion."

The Dreadmage's eye twitched. "If that invitation was any kind of comment on my size, I may just roast you alive with that lightning of yours... aside from that, it's a fairly sound strategy!"

"Well if by comment you mean telling you how useful your size is, you betcha!" Cal's grin widened, glad of an opportunity to twist the Ralts' size to an advantage.

Razathiel glared at the Dragonite with his staff raised. "You... you- gah..." After a moment of thought, he gave up, voting to cross his arms and pout instead.

"A decent strategy but will it work?" Abel questioned as they made their way closer to the cave. "Royal Knights are the toughest warriors in Tollen, in theory. They could be on par with Gold Tribe members."

"Royal Knights are mortal 'mon, and if they are mortal, then they will die. I'll make sure of that. Just so long as Green Thunder there doesn't provoke my ungodly wrath, blasting a few of them into oblivion is hardly outside the realms of possibility."

"HELLO!!!" Penance snapped as he pointed down at the rock they were up on. "I said tumble and dive!" By this point many, many, many more cracks were forming along the rock proper, "And mon say I'm dense. Ten... nine..." As he counted down more and more cracks began to appear under their feet as it seemed that a nice round hole had been cut into the rock.

"What are you doing?" Abel questioned the Golduck. He observed the cracks on the ground and shot a glare back at Penance. "Have you thought this through?"

The Dreadmage grimaced. "Time to fly, Green Thunder."

"Well if GREENIE hadn't stepped on here we would be have been leaving in twenty! Oh, fivefourthreetwoone WE'RE TUMBLING!" The duck shrieked out with a grin. As they feel it seemed that Penance HAD thought it though. He did have a good look on where the network point was after all. He had seen where the soldiers were too. As they fell the duck flicked out a finger as the rock chunks that feel with them flew out to slam into those that wore the armor of their enemies. As the duck hit the ground he rolled and quickly got back on his feet. "Woo! AT THEM AT THEM!" He cried out with glee. "FLY GREENIE FLY!"

Once he felt solid ground abandon his feet Cal wasted no time catching air under his wings and grabbing Raz, doing a quick spin as he broke free of the falling debris and setting Raz on his back. "It's showtime dreadmage!" Light radiated off of the dragon for a few seconds when he released a burst of Draco Meteors to rain down on the surprised guards alongside the boulders.

The combination of rock chunks and Draco Meteors burst through the cavern where the Royal Knights guarded the Network Psychics. Most of them felt some impact from the attacks, with a few being overwhelmed by the rocks and Cal's attack. However, a few did not fall as easily. A Rhyperior, Scyther, Arbok, and Quilava all recovered well enough and prepared to face down their foes. "Get a message through the Network!" The Rhyperior Royal Knight roared, and the Quilava quickly scrambled toward the Psychics.

Abel tried to stop him but the Scyther got in his way and attempted to strike him with an Air Cutter, Abel ducked to the side and countered with a set of barrages from a Close Combat. The Scyther had a type advantage, and even so blocked half of the punches Abel sent out. These were tough opponents.

"Nah.... not really." Penance said as he took a step to his right and flicked his finger down. The large boulders that were stacked near the edge of the hold suddenly flew down. A blue aura covered them as one by one they settled before Penance and the duck pointed out. The boulders slammed down and began to roll right at the Quilava, as well as the other mon. "Yeah, no dice for a strike." The duck quacked out with laughter.

The Quilava began to use it's smaller form to navigate around the boulders, dodging left and right. However, there were a lot more than he anticipated and he ended up getting hit by a larger one he couldn't avoid. The Quilava Royal Knight was pushed and rolled to the edge of the cavern, but got up soon after and launched a Flamethrower at the Golduck.

The Scyther before Abel snarled, but as it geared up to strike a bolt of lightning flew from the sky. The bug's wings jittered at the Thunderbolt, and it stood dazed and slightly smoking. The scent of smouldering bug in the air was accompanied by a high-pitched cackling from the back of a green Dragonite above.

"Ha! Take that, you prick! Thunder and Lightning isn't just a name - it's a way of life! Death, rather. Callimer, bring me about - let's obliterate some more of these poor sods."

"You got it, big Braviary this is rubber Ducklett we are enacting a one-eighty maneuver!" Cal tilted his wings and made a rapid curve back around towards the Royal guards.

"Lightning bolt!" Razathiel cried as he launched another electrical attack into the fray. "Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Heh, you see: that last one wasn't a lightning bolt. Sure fooled that prick. And now he's dead."

As the flames were about to hit him the duck suddenly... disappeared.

"You know, you should aim earlier." Penance said nonchalantly as he stood right next to the Quilava, "Honestly you do smell though." With that a Water Pulse shot out right at the Quilava, "You know, a shower wouldn't do you that bad." The Quilava simply hissed and tried to blow more flames at Penance. The duck quickly leaped to the side and spread his arms as a Water Bomb appeared in between them. "Oh come now, don't add fire to the fuel!"

"Good move Raz! Now, how good are you at levitating?"

"Not a good move. An evil move. Stop and think for a moment, will you?" The Dreadmage huffed. "I can levitate just fine - what are you planning?"

"This is a bit too passive for my tastes, now that the initial shock and awe is over, I think it's time for the thunder. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be screwing you over. By the way, sometimes good just means 'efficient' you knob" The dragon smirked. "Thought you deserved some warning, might wanna show off that levitation now!" With that Cal lifted Raz off of his back as carefully as he could given the circumstances and very lightly tossed him a bit into the air so he wouldn't get in the way or go down with him.

As soon as they were separated Cal's body took on a white glow and he angled down towards the ground before launching at a nearly untrackable speed towards the Rhypherior. He crashed into his target hard enough to crack some of the solid granite underneath them and set the cave rumbling true to his role in the thunder and lightning strategy, and green and gray went tumbling in a sprawling mass of limbs and boulder-shattering punches.

Razathiel crossed his arms as he began to fall, giving a quick 'ta-ta' to Callimer as he left. After a few moments of peeking down, he let out a psychic blast below him with little care other than to balance his descent. Hearing an explosion and a cry of 'My leg!' from below, the dark wizard smirked with satisfaction. He hadn't even aimed that. Now falling at a steady pace face-down, Raz picked out his targets. A Clawitzer and a Luxray stood back near the network point, firing from afar. They'd do.

The Dreadmage twisted in the air, firing a psychic blast above him to rapidly quicken his descent. As he neared the ground, he let loose another blast in the same direction, then twisted again and readied himself for impact. The two 'mon had no time to notice the small mage hurtling towards them from the skies before it was already too late to avoid - explosive energy culminated beneath the Ralts and on top of the two Knights, creating a shockwave that showed them no mercy, and spread even to send others in the vicinity hurtling from their positions. With his destructive display of how to break one's fall complete, Raz daintily landed in the crater he'd created and readied his staff, grinning like the madman he was.

As soon as the Quilava moved to attack again, Penance stood rooted on his spot. He just smirked as the flames washed over him, more than thankful that his water typing helped to soothe some of the burns. "Bathrobes are always needed!" Penance declared with a wide smile as he reached out to his left and up the Arbok that had been trying to bite Abel. The snake hissed out in confusion as he was not only thrown at his Quilava companion, but also forcibly wrapped about the royal knight. Both soldiers squirmed wildly as they were finally released from the psychic grip, only to see that the Arbok had been wrapped in such a manner that the Quilava couldn't so much as move. "All baths need bathrobes! Or is it all bathrobes need string?" Penance frowned to himself, "Uh... I think the saying will come back. Hopefully it will, maybe? I don't know!" He burst into loud laughter, "Oh!" He turned to the psychics, "Can I get an express message out please? One for group discount if you may."

The Psychics in front of Penance blinked in surprise as Callimer, Abel and Raz took down the remaining Royal Knights. The half-dozen Network Psychics look on in shock until one of them, a Meowstic, stepped forward. "You... you came! Thank you!" He said in appreciation. His expression quickly changed, however as he continued to speak. "But this isn't the end! The armies are coming! They'll be attacking Brookerridge soon, but that will only be a distraction to conceal their true purpose: send an army through the Network Point to Argime!"

"How are they going to do that?" Abel questioned as he stepped forward to the Psychics, having dispatched his Royal Knight.

"These caverns," The Meowstic began to reply as he gestured behind him. "They picked this location because of the miles of tunnels that go on beyond this one entrance. There are multiple other ones that come out miles outside of town. There could be armies pouring through these tunnels and heading to this Network Point without Brookerridge ever learning about it!"

Abel placed a hand on his chin then turned toward Cal and the other members of the forest team. "Then I suggest we either fortify this spot, or move the Network Point inside of Brookerridge so that we can properly defend it. Your call."

"First... we have a volunteer!" The duck said as he sauntered over to the Quilava and kneeled next to him, "You did want to send a message, so let's see what's in that mind of yours." He put a hand against his head with a wink, "Don't worry, I won't try to mess things up.... that much."

The Quilava began to squirm in protest, but was in no position to prevent the Golduck from entering his mind, and scanning through all of his memories. Many of them included Gabriel, as well as another 'mon, a Escavalier who wore armor of brown and emerald. He was with Gabriel in many of these memories. The most prominent of these memories involved this particular situation.

The scene unfolded in a mist of grey smoke. It was the beginning of a dusk in Argime. The Quivala was called forward to attend a meeting in the palace, along with a dozen other Royal Knights. They walked together through the palace, being escorted by another, older Royal Knight, a Chesnaught, who seemed somewhat displeased by their presence to begin with. They headed up the stairs twice and down the hall. They then turned the hallway to the left, where four doors were present. Above the doors were symbols. Two symbols were similar, that of a brown circle. The third door on the left had above it a biege square. The last door, which they went through, was an emerald diamond, the symbol for the Royal Commander of the Knights.

They entered a rather large room, where a familiar Greninja also resided. Gabriel stood looking outward to the city below with his hands behind his back. As the door swung open, he turned and clasped his hands together. "Great! You're here. That will be all, Alistair, you may return to your post!" He ordered the older Chesnaught. The Chesnaught looked at the Greninja curiously, then nodded respectfully and closed the door behind him. The Greninja returned his attention to the dozen Royal Knights who entered the room.

"Alright, so here's the plan!" Gabriel began to speak. "Tonight, you'll take half of the Psychics in the Network Point in Argime, and march them out of the front gates. Keep low, keep quiet. Don't go by any uncleared neighborhoods on your way out. Franz knows the route, don'tcha Franz?" Gabriel asked the Rhyperior beside the Quilava.

"Yes, Commander," The Rhyperior said respectfully.

"Great! You'll march them out into the woods and toward the marker I mentioned," Gabriel continued. "Stay tight, take your time, and when you get there, hole up and wait for the armies to drop by. They'll be coming probably a week later, once the action begins in Valkaria. Then... everybody goes active all over the world!"

The Arbok Royal Knight who was present shifted for a moment, and cleared his throat. "Errm, Commander, permission to speak?"

Gabriel tilted his head and nodded. "Sure thing, what's up?" He asked casually.

"Well, I'm just wondering, why this position? Why not simply give the Network Point to the Pentosarrs or the Morrians, or the Bandit Clans?" He asked curiously. The Quilava and a few of the other Royal Knights looked amongst themselves and whispered as well. Apparently some of them had similar thoughts.

Gabriel seemed to smile, though it was nearly impossible to tell through his scarf-tongue. He walked closer to the Arbok, which caused some of the Royal Knights to shift uncomfortably. "Are you doubting my judgment?" Gabriel asked calmly, but there was a dark, sinister undertone beneath it.

"N-n-no, Commander! Not at all!" The Arbok was quick to respond, with sweat beginning to pour across his body. "I... I was j-ju-" He was suddenly interrupted by a hand coming from Gabriel along his shoulder. Though it seemed to be meant to reassure him, it only made the Arbok more anxious.

"Relax, I'm only joking!" Gabriel stated jovially. He patted the Arbok once more and turned away as he walked toward the window. "The logical answer someone could give you in response is simple tactics," Gabriel began to explain with a shrug as he looked out the window and continued. "The Morrians, Pentosarrs and Bandit Clans all swore allegiance to Darkrai, but there are only a handful of these machines around in the world. We have a few now in our possession from Tollen, and one could say they'd like to keep them within our territory and reach. That, and look who we're bargaining with. The Morrians are a mere step above wild 'mon. The Bandit Clans could easily pawn the machine off after they're done with it. The Pentosarrs are as likely to destroy the machines themselves as a 'foreign tool' than use it."

Gabriel turned from the window and looked across the paintings in the room, admiring them as he continued. "The careful answer someone could provide is accounting for damage control. SEC has not misplaced any Network Points except the ones in Tollen, which they have assumed to be destroyed. If they find them all the way in Morria, Pentos, or the South, who knows what they could assume? It could put alliances and allegiances in the forefront of many minds, including my status as Royal Commander, that's for sure!"

Gabriel raised a finger and turned to the Arbok. "The lethargic answer someone could give you is that it's more than a week trip to any of those territories from here, and the chance of me guaranteeing that you don't get spotted outweighs the possible advantages of their convenience! One can only clear the road so much before eyes catch a group of 'mon carrying a strange machine and a group of Psychics with them."

Gabriel seemed to smile once more, and looked across the group of Royal Knights in front of him. "My answer, however, is simple. Doing that... would be way too easy! No fun at all! Don't you want to see how well the Morrians fight? Or the Pentosarrs? Shouldn't we see how they fair against the best and brightest of Tollen first? And see just how much chaos they can cause on the way?"

The Arbok straightened up and nodded affirmatively. "Yes, Commander!"

"Glad you understand!" Gabriel exclaimed excitedly. He clasped his hands together once more and looked across the group of Royal Knights. "This is important stuff you're doing. Remember that! This is the beginning of the New World. You all willingly swore your allegiance to Darkrai, and he has promised you and those you care about a place in this New World for your services! But first... we have to reach the goal! Are you ready to help take us there?"

"Yes, Commander!" The Royal Knights exclaimed together.

"Great!" Gabriel pipped happily. "Oh, and when the armies come through, kill the Network Psychics, alright?"

"Yes, Commander!" The Royal Knights exclaimed again. The memory began to fade.

As the memory displayed to everyone began to fade, Abel took this opportunity to ponder the situation. It was now obvious to them about Gabriel's position and influence in Argime. What's more, it appeared as if his intentions are not as simple as conquering Tollen, or even destroying it. There was something else happening here. But another thought popped into Abel's mind, one he decided to share out loud.

"Why kill the psychics after the armies go through the Network?" He pondered aloud. "Having Psychics that could operate effectively in the Network is a valuable asset... why kill them?"

Snype- Into the Palace Part 1

Snype would make his way through several detours in the upper area of Tollen, approaching closer to the Royal Palace. Of course, ever since the last incident, security was beefed up. Nothing too big to scare off Snype though. This is the kind of thing he lived for. He just needed to find some way to actually sneak in. He wanted to avoid using any SEC devices if he could help it. Sure he could disguise himself but he really did not want to risk being spotted using that sort of thing. Besides, he liked his life force where it was!

Gabes room was at the third level of the building. Placing his hood over his head, Snype observed the area, checking for any holes in their security, thanks to his superior eyesight.

Royal Knights were patrolling around the palace at a tougher rate than earlier when Charlie and Obsidian broke into the palace. There were two knights that traveled around the enormous palace side by side. Each pair guarded one wall, so it would be difficult to approach any without being spotted by another pair. However, on one side of the wall, both of the pairs approached one point at the same time, and turned away at one point as well, meaning that for a small amount of time, it would be possible to scale the part of the wall that was blind and get into the palace before being spotted.

Snype was quick to seize the opportunity. He could simply crawl along past them if he wanted to make this difficult for himself, but he had other ways to infiltrate high security buildings. Moving to a hiding spot and watching the two pairs of guards, he kept himself in place to get the timing just right... He watched both pairs of guards turn away. Before they would start to turn away, Snype concentrated on the wall in front of him and used Shadow Sneak, sending a small shadow forward right past the guards. Once they turned away, Snype would vanish, appearing right at the guards blind spot. He didn't hesitate as he scaled the wall, and made his way into the palace. That took care of the tricky part. Now he just had to figure out where Gabes room was... and then figure out how he was going to get out of this place.

As Snype scaled the wall, he found himself within the second level of the palace, which housed much of the arts and cultural treasures of Tollen. According to Isabella's instruction, Gabriel's room was still one floor above this one. There were two sets of staircases on this floor: one to the left, which was the side stairs and a bit more further away down the hall, and the main staircase which would take the Sableye much closer to Gabriel's room, but may run the risk of running into more Knights.

Snype figured he should follow Isabella's instructions. She knew this place way better then he did, but he still had to be cautious. He expected Gabes room would be well guarded. For all he knew, somebody could be guarding the inside of the room too! That would be trouble...

Up the staircase twice, or in this case, once, then the hallway on the left. He needed to figure a safe way through and just going up the main stairs was asking for trouble. So he decided to take the side stairs, carefully peeking around corners to make sure it was safe.

The hallway seemed relatively clear from Snype's position to the stairs, but nearby, the faint sound of talking could be heard from the door right beside the stairs. The sound was loud enough to be heard if Snype decided to put his ear to the door and listen, or he could simply decide to take the stairway up to the third level.

Snype was always a curious little bastard. Why not do a bit of eavesdropping? He was focused enough to bail before any trouble walked by... Snype slowly approached the door and listened in, hopeing to get some new information.

"-telling ya only what I heard, Sam!" A high-pitched voice uttered on the other side of the doorway. "Come nighttime tomorrow, Gabriel's going to be the new King of Tollen, and the diplomats from Valkaria will be executed."

"How does that even make sense?" A second voice questioned.

"I overheard Gabriel talkin' to General Tyren," The first voice answered back. "Gabriel said that everything was 'going smoothly'. Even if Tyren didn't like the idea of keeping the diplomats here, Gabriel said it works perfectly because now he'll be killing two Pidgeys with one stone!"

The voices would continue to speak more, but coming from the direction of the stairs, Snype would be able to hear the faint sound of footsteps coming from one level below. It sounded like it was still some distance away, so it may be possible to listen in more, but that may also run the risk of getting caught.

Snype already didn't like the sound of this... Gabe was definitely up to something, but he could hear footsteps from the floor down below. The two voices were talking about Guardia's group but what did they mean by killing two birds with one stone? Snype would have to look into it later. He wanted to keep his advantage of animosity solid. Gabe didn't know Snype was here. For now, Snype kept moving through the hall.

The footsteps grew louder, but Snype would have enough time to make it through to the next level before they reached his. On the third level, however, the hallway seemed to be murmuring with activity, as a noble apparently appeared to be escorted by a group of Royal Knights down the hall.

One problem after another... this would be the last stretch but also the most difficult. Snype would have to avoid being noticed by those guards... nearby was a statue. fitting enough place to hide behind and he was tiny enough to pull it off! So he crept over there as quickly as he could.

"I find this completely unacceptable!" The noble that was being escorted by the Royal Knights exclaimed unhappily. It was a plump Wigglytuff in a shining emerald robe. "I have my usual escorts, why am I not to use them now?" She asked one of the Royal Knights.

"My apologies, my lady," One of the Royal Knights, an Arcanine, responded gruffly. Snype be able to recognize it as the same Arcanine that was in Isabella's memories. "'Your usual guard were ordered by the Royal Commander on an assignment. I shall be your main guard from now until the banquet tomorrow evening."

"Unacceptable! I have a seat very close beside the Queen herself!" The noble yelled. "To have a 'mon such as yourself standing beside me looking intimidating would cause the Queen to avert her gaze from me! And this is my chance to earn her favor!"

"My apologies, my lady," The Arcanine simply replied again. The noble continued to rant on down the hallway and out of sight. The hallway toward the left was now clear.

Snype wondered about what he just witnessed. That Arcanine was definately familiar... more then likely in cahoots with Gabe. He was worried about why he was so intent on guarding that Wigglytuff but there was nothing Snype could do about it on his own. He didn't like the look of it though. Snype made a mental note to investigate further in the future. For now, he moved down to the hallway on the left.

The hallway housed four doors, two on the right and two on the left. Above the doors were symbols. Two symbols were similar, that of a brown circle. The third door on the left had above it a biege square. The last door was that of an emerald diamond. That one was the official quarters of the Royal Commander.

Snype approached the door... but not close enough to really investigate. He was expecting a trap or a guard right behind Gabe's or the other doors... to take an extra precaution, he used Detect to enhance his senses tenfold and see if he could hear anything inside... or at the very least, spot anybody sneaking around.

There was no immediate detection of anything within the Royal Commander's door, but there was an odd presence that seemed to emanate from there. However, Snype's detect did seem to pick up life signals on the other side of the door across from the Royal Commander's door. Soft murmuring could be heard on the other side of it. Beyond that, the other rooms appeared to be empty.

Snype felt uneasy about the presence within Gabe's room... there were definately other folks behind the other doors however... Before continuing into his room though, he listened in on the noises coming from the other door. He was well prepared to bail into one of the rooms if anybody approached.

"-get lazy, he'll fire me!" One voice said behind the room.

"Make sure to get all the spots! If anything is out of place, they will fire both of us for this!" Another voice replied back.

"I'm already dead, look at the mark I made!" The first voice said again.

"Just move along, most likely he won't notice. Come on, we have to finish this room, then clean up the others. We have to get through the Royal Commanders in ten minutes! He might come back by then! We'll be out of here in five!"

Snype was almost tempted to laugh. Cleanup? Looks like they were in a pretty big rush... but did they say ten minutes? Looks like Snype didn't have alot of time to investigate the room. Arceus forbid the janitors find him! Snype made his move, using shadow sneak to fade his form into the shadows and slipped underneath Gabes door.

As the shadow formed underneath and came forward into the room of the Royal Commander, it would be found to be empty. There were many different objects inside, however. On the desk were a few large books and scrolls, two of which appeared to be open and recently looked through, by the looks of things. Also inside the room was a fireplace, which to the trained eye be seen that it was recently used, with bits of burnt paper across the wood. One partially burnt up paper was also seen beside the fireplace, though it seemed to have missed its mark partially when it was to be thrown in. The desk also had two drawers on the bottom, both of which seemed to be locked.

Snype checked out the burnt up piece of paper first. If it was thrown into a fireplace, surely it was something Gabe didn't want... he quickly read over the paper. Surprisingly, the paper did not have any words on it. Instead, it had a series of numbers that went into some sort of pattern:

6 0 1 17 8 4 11,


19 17 0 2 10 4 3 3 14 22 13 18 14 20 17 2 4 14 5 19 7 4 12 4 18 18 0 6 4 5 17 14 12 24 14 20 17 13 4 19 22 14 17 10. 18 12 0 11 11 2 14 19 19 0 6 4 13 14 17 19 7 8 13 10 0 17 13. 0 1 0 13 3 14 13 4 3, 18 8 6 13 18 14 5 11 8 5 4 6 14 8 13 6 19 14 22 0 17 3 0 13 0 19 4 11 11 8 0. 13 14 19 12 24 19 4 17 17 8 19 14 17 24, 13 14 19 12 24 15 17 14 1 11 4 12. 24 14 20 18 7 14 20 11 3 13'19 22 14 17 17 24. 17 0 13 3 14 12 12 4 18 18 0 6 4 12 4 13 19 8 14 13 8 13 6 7 4 17 8 18 13'19 1 8 6 3 4 0 11. 2 14 20 11 3 1 4 0 13 0 19 4 11 11 8 0 13. 11 4 6 4 13 3 0 17 24 22 14 17 18 7 8 15 15 4 17 18. 4 23 19 17 4 12 4, 1 20 19 7 0 17 12 11 4 18 18. 6 17 14 22 0 15 0 8 17. 7 0 8 11 3 0 17 10 17 0 8.


-23 0 13 3 4 17

Snype raised a row. "What in the world...?" Snype said, trying to make heads and tails out of the picture. He already had a good idea on how to decipher it... the numbers each represented letters. Match the number with the correct letter and you get a message. Snype didn't have time to decipher it now though as he still needed to investigate. So he placed it in his bag. Gabe wouldn't notice it dissapear anyways. It was trash right?

Snype moved over to the desk to check out the opened up books and scrolls..

The two opened books were of different varieties. On the front cover of the one on the right contained the word which boldly read, "Royal Commander Executive Orders and Logbook". It appeared to be a public display of all orders he had given that were publicly carried out. The entries dated back some time, but most recently on the page were these two:

Lady Teresa's guards are needed for a special assignment in the southern sect of Argime. Transfer of Resof to her personal guard. Request sent from the Royal Commander.

Official request from Fizen, Popous to join the Royal Knights of Tollen. Popous has been a prime example of excellence within the standing army. Immediate superior officer insists on approval. Royal Commander reevaluates and deduces that Knights are overdrafted. Fizen, Popous official released from service within army into civilian life.

The first was dated for today. The second for two days ago. If Snype scrolled further back in the book, there appeared to be more writing.

Popous? Possibly someone else in with Gabe's plot... Snype figured he may as well take a peek at the extra writing but he had to put the book back in place so it didn't look like it was touched.

Further back in the book was a series of logbook dates. They corresponded to visits Gabriel was documented to have made out of Argime:

Logbook, update. Royal Commander visits fronts today of Tollen and conversed with Commander Darrell. Borders held strong. No additional troops to the front required. Pass on Border Soldiers to other purposes.

Logbook, update. Royal Commander visits fronts Brookerridge and the surrounding towns today on inspection. Reports indicate towns in prime condition and borders are holding stronger than they have been in over two decades. No additional troops to the front required.

There were dozens more of these same scribbles throughout the book, including one dated the same day as the invasion of Gold City:

Logbook, update. Royal Commander visits fronts to discuss security within Irtol Forest. Bandit clan activities reportedly decreased since Gabriel has taken charge. No additional troops to the front required.

This book could make for very good proof to take down Gabe... but then again, he couldn't exactly prove what happened in Gold City... ripping a page out of the book would guarantee that the Royal Knights would suspect an intruder in the Royal Palace. It was times like this that Snype wished he had a camera or something.

Snype would worry about it later. He still had that locked drawer to check out. Well, if he was going to lockpick this thing, then there wasn't much point in being too subtle. Snype however decided to multitask a bit. He grabbed the other book as well. He'd would attempt reading through it while he used his little claw to pick through the lock of the top shelf.

While his claws worked on the top shelf, he also read the passage, which appeared to be from a story or history of some sort:

Once, they were Pokemon, but the call of a higher power weighed heavily unto them. They became more than what they were, another step in the protection of the worlds. For it is with life that has bred more life, and death that brings about the new life. As long as the former shall exist, so too shall the latter. Life is a cycle. So too are the lives of those who protect it. Once they were Pokemon, then they became more.

The lock would click open, as Snype skimmed through the book. It didn't seem to be relevant to what was going on currently... but the whole note of Pokemon becoming more might have matched with the infection going on. The book was named "Guadians"...why was Gabe reading this? Either way, Snype checked out what was in the top shelf, while working his way through the second one.

The top desk contained what appeared to be a vile of some sort. Inside the vile was a liquid of dark purple color. It seemed mysterious, ominous even. There was some sort of presence behind it though.

Snype looked at the vial... already he knew this thing had to be important if it was locked up. He was kind of afraid to even go near it but this could be related to the infection! Snype reached his free hand out to take the vial.

The moment Snype touched the vial, he felt a sudden jolt of energy enter inside of him. The effect was familiar, but also one that he would likely not want to ever re-experience. His mind went completely dark for a second, and the feeling of pressure and darkness began to seep into his mind. The last and only other time he felt this way was when he faced off against Darkrai thirty years ago. What was familiar then seeped into his memories now. For a moment, Snype's vision was impaired, and the room around him seemed to momentarily alter until all he saw was darkness, and two bright blue eyes in front of him, watching him.

And then, a voice called out, one he recognized from thirty years ago. "Just relax...let it happen. Soon, it will all be over, and then there will be nothing to fear. Nothing but the end."

Snype shivered in fear as soon as his hand made contact... the images in his head, the dark visions he was getting.. it was all familiar! Back when he faced Darkrai... when he was allied with Darkrai. "Stay back..." He said, almost in a trance. Memories rushed back to him, his entire time with the Silver Tribe, those moments where he like he lost his sanity, and even now, all that was on his mind was taking the darkest method of solving his troubles... He shook in fear, grasping the vial until eventually he'd break free, giving off a gasp and falling onto his back. The Sableye panted wildly,practically terrified! This thing would take some extra precautions to take away... Snype swiftly reached into his bag and pulled out two pieces of cloth. usually what he used to wipe fingerprints... or claw prints at least. He slowly moved his covered up hands closer to the vial, seeing if the effects would start up again...

Covered around the cloth, it didn't seem like the unpleasantness began when Snype touched the vial. However, there was still an uneasy feeling from holding the vial in his hand. Suddenly, he would hear one of the doors to the other room on the opposite side in the hallway open, which meant the cleaners were likely done there, and would be going to Gabriel's room next!

Snype had to be quick! Snype placed the vial into his bag, wrapped up in the cloth. Gabe would know for sure what was going on... may as well go all out! Using what little time he had, Snype stored the "Guardians" book inside his bag. He was about ready to rip out a few pages from the Royal Commanders log but... screw it! Take the whole damn thing! Gabe just put it away somewhere as far as the cleaners knew! With the vial gone, Gabe was going to figure something is up anyways! May as well go all out at this point! He closed the shelves and repositioned everything as close to their original placement as possibles.

Snype searched around for an exit, quickly noticing an arched window and crawling right out... He didn't have much time... once Gabe came back, the guards would be all over the place. Who knows how he'd react after having something so important looking stolen?

Snype - Into the Palace Part 2

Snype made his was outside the window, now holding his back against the edge. It was a looonnngg way down, but he was pretty darn high up for anyone to notice him...if he got caught now they'd start having air sentries or something! Snype scooted along the walls of the palace, checking for any ways to get back inside. Windows, vents, anything that could work! His next task was to find a Pokemon by the name of Alistar. He was an ally within the Palace but where would he be? Alistar was a Royal Knight... he could be anywhere! Well first things first, Snype had to get back inside somehow... he'd be spotted out in the open like this eventually and his time was running short.

There was another window adjacent to Gabriel's which he climbed out of. It belonged to the room right beside the Royal Commander's. There was also a path downward onto an open balcony area one level below, but there was no telling where that would lead, other than a prominent room, with who knows lying inside.

Snype looked around at the nearby windows... the balcony below seemed like a tempting option as it would take him. He didnt want to stir up too much more trouble in the third floor so Snype would carefully start to crawl to the balcony below him. Either way he was going have to go through somebodies room to get back in the palace, and the other three rooms on the third floor were likely still occupied.

As he made his way onto the balcony of the second floor, the door below inside of the room appeared to still be open. A quick peak inside would seem like there was nobody currently around, but there was the faint sound of running water somewhere closeby. Inside of the room were three doors one on each side of the room, but there was no telling from the angle which one led where.

The coast was clear... Snype climbed down to the balcony floor, and peeked into the room. The sound of running water made him a little nervous so he'd have to be more careful. Someone could be using a sink or something along those lines. The three doors in the room were very inconveniently placed... he couldn't exactly tell which one led out to the main hall and even then, just waltzing out the door without previous notice would get him caught!

Snype looked around the room to get a feel of his surroundings to start off.

It seemed like a residential room of some sort, possibly for a noble who resided inside of the palace. The placement of the room appeared to make it seem that the further door, or the door on the right were the ones which led out of the room, while the third was possibly to a closet or a bath of some sort. Fancy clothing lay scattered across the ground, as if the owner had little time to make up his own room, or perhaps was naturally untidy.

What a mess... nothing important in this room, but Snype had to get out so he made his way to the doors on the right, putting his ear up against it to hear if anybody was outside. If there were guards or if more cleaners were coming this way then this would be way more complicated.

There appeared to be some sort of murmuring on the other side of the door, though it was unclear who or what was on the other side. A thump was then heard from the far left door, as if someone was about to enter, or open it.

Crap! This wasn't good... folks on the other side of the door, and the other one was about to open! Snype didn't have much time to think, so he used Shadow Sneak and faded into his shadow, slipping into the third room. He stayed in his shadow form however. He had no idea what was even on the other side! He was close enough to the door to hear the other side, if he could anyways.

A loud yell erupted from the side Snype had entered, as a Mr. Mime was apparently showering behind the door he entered. He only caught sight of Snype's shadow, which caused him to yelp out because he believed some demonic spirit was after him while he showered.

Snype stayed put, trying to do his best to act like the shadow was just something on the other side. On the other hand, he caught sight of the Mr. Mime who was in the shower. The sight was something that would forever be burned in his mind. He was just a shadow! Or the shadow of whoever was on the other side! The yelling had to bring in some kinda attention! Snype prayed for a distraction.

Now bursting through the door was an Elekid servant. "Mister Rupert? Mister Rupert! What's wrong?" The Elekid asked the Mr. Mime, who had taken refuge within the curtains of the shower and was babbling pure nonsense. While the Elekid tried to console the blabbering Mr Mime, there was a chance to leave the rooms.

"Demon!" The Mr. Mime yelled from the showers.

Snype's shadow quickly moved out of the room, trying to blend with any other shadows within the room... He needed a chance to slip outside unnoticed. For now, he observed what was happening from his hiding spot, trying to maintain his composure. In the background, the shouting could still be heard from the Mr. Mime, who was convinced there was an evil spirit haunting his bathroom.

"It could just be a Ghost Pokemon playing a prank, sir!" The Elekid servant suggested.

"I don't care, bring the Royal Guards! I will stay covered in the shower until you return!" The Mr Mime said anxiously. The Elekid bowed and ran off, heading through the spa door and through the main door out of the room and into the hallway.

As much as Snype was tempted to make an escape and pretend this never happened, Mister Rupert could be very useful perhaps... mostly in finding Alistar. This was gonna be good... or totally horrible. unable to believe he was doing it, Snype made his way back to the bathroom... this time however, he appeared on the blindside of the door and closed it. It would look like something else was doing mysterious things in the room~

Slowly the shadow would creep back through the door. "Mister Rupeerrttt...Do as I say, and I shall spare you a terrible fate..."

The Mr. Mime erupted in a combination of stuttering, yelling, and crying as he saw the large shadow roam over him. He held up his hands toward the mysterious specter and pleaded for his life. "Please! Please, I'll do anything you want, just don't kill me!"

The shadow would give off a snicker, trying not to make direct eye contact. "Call off your Royal Guards. Your a Psychic. I'm sure you can manage that. Tell them you just had a long nightmare last night. " The "demon" threatened.

"I... b-b-" The Mr. Mime began to stammer, and soon after he yelled, Royal Knights began to pound on his door.

"Sire, is everything alright?" One of them asked. Rupert looked at the menacing shadow and croaked out a reply.

"Uh... y-yes! I was just... nightmare! Go!" Rupert squeaked. "I am fine now!"

"Are you sure, sir?" The Royal Knight question from the other side of the door.

"Y-y-y-yes! Go! I will be fine!" He replied to them while he shivered. The Royal Knights began to depart, which caused the Mr Mime to sink into the bath. "Ok, I-I've done w-w-what you asked... please let me go!"

The shadow kept still. Snype was at least relieved he decided to sink into the bathtub... "Getting ahead of yourself Rupert...I request a few things of you. Do this, and you shall be spare a... humiliating fate."

"W-what do you want?" Rupert asked anxiously. "I am simply the royal announcer. I am not a very high noble! But I will give whatever you want! Please!"

"I request the presence of one of your Royal Knights... Alistair. And ONLY Alistair. You must not draw attention to me, or tell anyone of our meeting or else I shall return to haunt you for the days to come. Convince him to meet with you in this Spa Room and remain there to watch over. When you do, return to your bath for further instructions." Snype said.

"You simply had a nightmare, and would like extra protection to feel a little more safe until you feel better... this is what has happened today. Understood?" He'd add.

"Y-yes, understood!" Rupert exclaimed as he began to wrap himself in a towel and exit the shower. "I will have my assistant bring him over h-here right away!" He said and left the spa room in order to do just that.

Snype closed his eyes as Rupert stepped out. Even around demons you should have some decency! Snype gasped for air as he returned to his physical form for a moment before fading into his shadowy form once more to wait for Ruperts return.

When the Mr. Mime did return, he seemed white a sheet, as he apparently still was not fully recovered from the traumatic incident. However, he did as instructed and hopped back into the shower. "A-Alistair is on his way, he should be here momentarily. Is t-there anything else?"

The Shadow stayed still shaking slightly. "First off, have some decency. A demon should not have to witness a mortal in such an exposed manner! " He stated.

"Y-yes, of c-c-course!" Rupert stammered as he wrapped his towel tighter across his body.

"Now stay in this shower until I instruct you to leave. Do not leave your bathtub or else." Snype said as he faded past the door, looking around as he waited for Alistar to arrive. Rupert nodded silently in response.

It was a few minutes later before the soft knocking came from the main room Snype waited in. "You requested for me, Rupert?" Questioned someone on the other side of the door. His voice sounded sincere but aged, as if he is still politely regal after all these years, but that time has still had its chance to wear him down.

Snype hid himself in the spa room, but he wasn't looking to scare Alistair. Finally he had the chance to be serious about things. The Sableye emerged from his shadow, appearing behind him and leaning against the door. He was swift to lock it just incase. "Alistair. Correct? " Snype stated. "One of the most important witnesses of the Crown Prince's death... kehehe... what a mysterious event, so little detail revealed when so much information is being hidden away in this very palace! None of you have any idea what this city just got itself involved in." Snype stated, playing it very calm and cool. He activated Detect. Just incase.

The Chesnaught Alistair took a few steps forward cautiously toward the Sableye, with his fists clenched in case their altercation was to get violent. He was weary of the Ghost's every movement, but he also was patient. "You are not the first to ask me about that event. The last one who did was executed," Alistair replied solemnly. "Who are you to know what is going on?"

Snype winced a little bit. "I know more then anyone in this palace. Before I tell you, I want you to be one hundred percent honest. How faithful are you to the Royal Commander, Gabriel? Do you trust him with your life, or is there an inkling of doubt in your mind?" Snype asked. "Just what has he told you and the rest of the Royal Guards really?"

The Chestnaught paused in his steps and cocked an eyebrow. "You are also not the first 'mon to bring up the Royal Commander. But if you think me for a traitor or a mutineer, think again... not every order given is one those below will agree to, but hierarchy must be respected. It is tradition." He shook his head. "Though some of what he does has been unsettling, I won't doubt him unless someone gives me a reason to."

Snype reached into his bag. "That someone will have to be me then. I was in Gabe's Room and I found plenty of things in there...he's not exactly good at hiding stuff, especially if he lets cleaners go inside." Snype said, pulling out a dark vial, wrapped in a cloth.

"I found this inside his room. Don't touch it. I can't tell what will happen if you make contact with powerful dark energy such as this... " Snype said, looking up at the Chesnaught with a confident smirk. "However the offer is open if you still don't believe me... place your hand close to it.. that'll be enough for you to understand." Snype said. He was prepared to pull away if it was too much.

Alistair opened his eyes wide and stared at the vial with disbelief. He was silent for over ten seconds and said nothing, until he finally looked Snype in the eye and spoke barely above a whisper. "Where did you get that?"

"Gabe's drawers! Keheh. It was only in a locked shelf. Like I said, he is horrible at being subtle. Much like how he acts in person. Still don't believe me? Well, I have another piece of proof..." Snype carefully placed the vial back in his bag, before pulling out the nearly burnt up paper from his bag, as well as the Royal Commanders log book. "This message is encrypted. Gabe meant to burn it up in his fireplace but he missed. You see, the numbers match letters... translated, it says this.

gabriel, tracked down source of the message from your network.small cottage north in karn.abandoned,signs of life going toward anatellia.not my territory,not my problem.you shouldn't worry.random message mentioning her isn't big deal.could be anatellian.legendary worshippers.extreme,but harmless.

grow a pair.hail darkrai. -xander

He's communicating with an outside source. On top of that, I have his Royal Commander log, which by the way I will be keeping so don't get any ideas. It conflicts with an important event in Gold City and perhaps many other things in Tollen." Snype said sternly.

"You want me to put it bluntly? Gabe is lying to your face. His whole Savior act is a ruse for a bigger purpose." He said.

Alistair looked over the coded message as it was passed to him. He examined it himself to confirm that the message did indeed translated to what Snype stated out loud. He had a doubting suspicion building inside of him for many months now with all of Gabriel's strange behaviors, but what this confirmed was not only was he harming Tollen, but he seemed to be in league with Darkrai too. He was a competent 'mon, and a practical one. When the truth was in front of him, then he would see it. After some silence, he finally spoke up.

"I suspected that there was more going on than met the eye," He began to say as he shook his head. "I did not think that it was this bad... I take it you are working with Eye then, are you not?"

Snype nodded. "Correct. Not only that, I'm also involved with your visitors here in the Palace. Keheh. Bet they have no idea I'm even in here." Snype said with a smirk. "Now thats all out of the way, I should introduce myself properly. Snype. King of Thieves. Its a secret to everyone. Kehe. " Snype said, holding out his hand.

"The King of Thieves?" Alistair repeated to confirm. "From Valkaria? What in Arceus' name are you doing over here? Are you with the diplomats from Valkaria by any chance?"

"Correct. You can say I'm handling the more underhanded operations... you may as well call me "King of Detectives" at this point. Keheh." Try to lower you voice. Doubt he can hear under the shower, but that spooked out Mr. Mime is hanging in the shower until I tell him to leave. Thinks I'm some kinda demon. Poor guy. Keheh." Snype said.

Alistair took one look toward the direction of the shower, then nodded his head. "Then I suppose we should be quick. If Gabriel is doing something to undermine Tollen in any way, then I must stop him. What do you need?"

Snype crossed his arms. "Information, simply. Thanks to some very handy folks, I was able to witness past events of Tollen. Memories, if you will with many conflicting images. But I'm getting off track. First things first. I want details on the Crown Prince's death. You know the most detail about it from what I hear and since we're in private, I can't exactly be executed for this eh? Keheh" Snype said with a smirk.

"I had heard from Isabella before she was executed that there may have been a connection between the two," Alistair responded and sighed deeply. "I had no reasons to believe her now. If you came here empty-handed and told me who you were with that story, I doubt I would have believed you either. But you came... " Alistair paused and pointed to the vial in Snype's hand. "With that, and it is not my first time seeing it. The last time I saw it was surrounding the circumstance of the Crown Prince's death."

Alistair stroked his beard with his left hand and began to explain. "Many months ago, the Prince was walking through the forests of Tollen. It was quite within the borders, far from the most dangerous zones of the forest. But even if trouble would follow him, he was a capable warrior. However, what we did not expect was an ambush by Berserkers. Berserkers, if you didn't know, are a group of Pokemon from a country north of here, called Morria. The 'mon who reside there are known as the Morrians, and the leaders of each pack within them are Berserkers. They are strong, powerful individually. But when they command and lead, wild 'mon can have some semblance of strategy."

Alistair placed his hands behind his back and continued to explain to Snype. "The Berserkers were too many, and they chopped down most of the Prince's escort, and severely wounded the Prince that day. There were only two survivors that day: myself, and the now General of the Standing Army, Marcus Tyren. Before the prince passed, Marcus told me that he had an antidote to stay the Prince's wounds until he could get assistance from healers in the capital. He delivered a strange-colored liquid to the Prince, who took it. Immediately, I assumed that the liquid would help him. Instead, it seemed to almost make him worse. He died of his injuries and from severe clotting of his blood. I suspected that the liquid given could have been a part of it, but I was never able to prove anything."

Alistair sighed and again rubbed on hand along his chin. "If the liquid was found within Gabriel's quarters, then it proves two things: the first is that Marcus Tyren is tied with Gabriel. It makes sense because Gabriel's choice for taking over as General following Isabella's execution was General Tyren. Furthermore, the two have been making a lot of decisions jointly. Their relationship is close. The second... is that it may be possible Gabriel intended to use this liquid on someone else... which means you may have saved another's life. That is the circumstance of the Prince's death."

Snype nodded. "I didn't have time to check everything in Gabes room. Who knows if he has more of these hiding in there. He had another locked drawer I was unable to access. But either way, this is very decisive proof. I suspect that Gabe has other allys as well. While I was breaking in, one of the nobles, a Wigglytuff, was being escorted by a Royal Guard... an Arcanine. Do you know anything about this? She didn't seem to happy about being taken away..." Snype asked.

"Wigglytuff?" Alistair repeated and pondered. "It could be Lady Teresa. She's a lesser noble who had done a great job catering to House Ellia a week ago, which has allowed them the privilege of a seat among the table which the Queen shall sit tomorrow night. I'm afraid beyond that, I do not know what it could mean. She is not too significant in terms of political or military power. As for the Arcanine... it could be one of my fellow Royal Knights. Resof. He has a rather... colorful past, but he was recruited to the Royal Knights a few months ago and has earned Gabriel's favor as a talented fighter, if albeit a bit harsh."

"He could be allied with Gabe then. He was one of the Pokemon who even knew Gabe had a cure to the plague surrounding Tollen. He was very enthusiastic about it as well. On top of that, Nobels have their own escorts. Why a Royal Knight? He said he would guard her until the Banquet. Her usual escorts were assigned to something else." Snype scratched his chin. "Any Royal Guards assigned to escort specific nobles could very well be allies with Gabe... I think he intended to use this vial on them one way or another." Snype paused a moment, deep in thought, before he got an idea. "How long do we have until Gabe returns? More importantly, do you have access to his room?"

"I don't see how the Lady Teresa fits in here," Alistair said with a shake of his head. "But perhaps this has nothing to do with the Lady at all... maybe he positioned him there for another purpose, for someone else... I do not like what this could mean..." As he continued to ponder and Snype asked the rest of his questions, Alistair shook his head. "Not enough time. I am afraid Gabriel will be returning back to his room quite soon after his checks. If you hadn't gotten everything you wanted from there, it's unlikely you'll get another chance."

"I have a distraction sent out for him. I might have a few spare minutes... but not enough to check Gabes room again. He'll flip when he finds out his vial is gone. I don't know what will happen afterwards or if he'll be clever enough to figure out it was me... I mean, who else but the king himself could break in there? Keheh..well, I guess a certain Weavile and Scyther could but that's lets talk about something other then the bad security in the palace... no offense. Kehe" Snype said with a snicker.

"Something big is going to take place at the Banquet. There we will reveal Gabe as a fraud... he'll more then likely have a countermeasure for this. I overheard two Pokemon talking about Gabe "Killing two pidgeys with one stone" And "Becoming the King of Tollen" and executing the diplomats.. Snype explained.

Alistair once more stroked his beard as he pondered what Snype said. "The King of Tollen? Not possible... unless..." He stared into Snype jeweled eyes. "Unless he were to sit on the Throne of Rectitude, which he does, and the Queen does not name an heir, which she hasn't. In which case... if the Queen were to die... he would be next in line!" He stated a bit louder than he intended. His eyes darted to the shower where Rupert had been the entire time, ensuring he had not heard him.

"...And he intends on blaming Guardia and the rest on an "Assassination". Perhaps the nobles are being guarded so that they witness the event in the right spot so they have no means of questioning anything... Gabe takes advantage of the blindspots to pull off a fake assassination... and he planned on using this Vial to do it. Without it... well... I may have just saved the Queen's life. But I can't predict what will happen next. Blast it I should have made a fake vial. If those cleaners didn't show up I would have had time..." Snype said, clenching his fist.

"Yes, that could be it... or perhaps he was positioned there to administer the vial to the Queen herself?" Alistair pondered out loud. "In his position behind Lady Teresa, he would be right beside the Queen as well! Conveniently able to do much from that spot... tell me, the diplomats have been meeting with Nobles, correct?"

"Several of them. Including Gabe himself... ah!" Snype came to a sudden realization. "...Gabe could have more of these vials! He just might kill off the other nobles! Gabe could pin it on the Gold Tribe, have them executed, and then replace said nobles with his own comrades! Tollen would be his to rule!" Snype said angrily. "Its so perfect... the Royal Guards escorting the nobles will likely be the killers then."

The Chesnaught opened his eyes wide at the realization. "Oh, Arceus," He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply. "The Arcanine, Resof. Before he served Lady Teresa, he was with the House of Ellia... the very House that gave the diplomats shelter into Argime. Your theory may very well be right! If he is working with Gabriel, and there are more of these vials, who's to say they haven't already been set for the banquet? And if connections are made between him originally escorting the diplomats and the vials, they could pin the entire thing on your allies. Do you realize what that would do? Tollen would go to war with Valkaria!"

Snype pointed to the Chesnaught. "I don't plan on letting that happen. I happen to like it when the only feud they have is with us thieves! Keheh. Less bloodshed that way. We can't let that happen! This vial aand note is useful enough proof to prove Gabe as a fake. And you can help us when we make our big reveal. Infact, perhaps you can help scout the Banquet as well... who knows? Perhaps they'll poison the drinks with this vial.. mix it in food specificly made for the Nobles. If I'm sneaking around during that day theres no way I'd get close enough to mess that kind of thing up... Civilians could be in danger as well..." Snype was in deep thought for a moment.

"If he plans on replacing everyone in the Palace, who knows if your even safe. Gabe may have plans to kill you off somehow. That can't happen. The minute somebody dies, its over for Tollen and Valkaria." Snype stated.

"Then it's best we make sure no one dies," Alistair concluded with a nod. "I will do my part and scout whatever I can. I will also keep an eye out for anything that I can. Your best chance to expose Gabriel will still be at the Banquet, with everyone's eyes on you. Which means until then, if you can find out anything else to strengthen your case against him, I suggest you use the time you have to do it." He looked out toward the door he originally came from and whispered again to Snype.

"I have been gone too long. I must return back to my post before others get suspicious. Be careful who to talk to here. Trust is not something to easily gain." He explained as he turned to leave.

"You too. Watch your back you could be very important to solving this case." Snype said as Alistair left. Snype gave off a sigh. This was alot to take in... Gabes plans could change up if he knows his Vial was stolen... maybe he won't care if there is indeed, more of them. Snype looked over to the shower door. Snype would fade into his shadow and without much warning, moved under the door. It appeared that Rupert had been inside the shower cowering the entire time. He murmured occasionally and mumbled to himself, mentioning something about a 'demon'. He didn't look like he was in any position to have been listening to the conversation.

Poor guy... Snype didn't wanna spook the guy THAT much... it'd be even worse if he was going to be targeted by Gabe. He just screamed "Easy Target". "Rupert, I am finished... I see you are still cowering and doing nothing. Typical..." The "demon" said.

As soon as Snype began talking again, Rupert lowered his head further and went into the fetal position. "P-please just l-leave me be, I have done what you asked!"

"Is this really what it takes? Afraid of a simple shadow? What if a bigger threat were to pop up? If someone had a knife to your throat... threatened to poison you and all of your friends... would you just cower like this?" Snype said.

"P-please! I am only the steward of the Queen and the Royal Announcer! I have no fighting skills or technical ability! M-my worth is virtually nonexistent! Trouble m-me no more, I beg of you!"

Snype sneered. "Fighting or technical ability is not necessary to take on challenges. Wit is a powerful tool as well. Everyone has a special ability. Perhaps the ability to see what others can't. Such as when someone is lying in front of your face." Snype said. So he was the steward... that means he served food. Could be useful...

"A steward correct? You bring the Queen food... check on those within the palace... more importantly, it could be your job to make sure this food isn't... "tampered". Its a very important role. You could be the one to save the Queens life one day." Snype stated.

"I... I suppose I am able to do t-that," Rupert mumbled out. "I h-have n-never thought of it t-that way..."

"This could happen any day. A certain someone could go into food, drinks, anything. imagine that in something as big as the upcoming Banquet? With how close you are to the Queen, you alone could have the ability to fight off a small threat. Nobody would expect you... you could save several lives. Imagine that?"

"I... I s-suppose so... what sort of 'demon' are you?" Rupert asked with a tad bit more confidence.

Snype gave a small smile within his shadow. "I'm not sure myself...heh. Perhaps the kind who checks on the order of Tollen... tommorow will be an important day. You as the Queens own steward, must make sure nothing happens, checking food, tables, bushes, everything. But you need to be confident in your own skill. First, you must get out of that position and stare into the face of fear itself. Tell yourself you matter." Snype said.

There was only the silent reply of the bathwater being soaked down. That is, until the water was suddenly shut off and Rupert stood up. "I... I matter!"

Snype blushed slightly as he stood up, but he was onto something here! He had to keep going! This could be an important ally! "Look at me and tell me you matter. No demon will scare you anymore. Nobody will take your home. You matter." Snype said.

Rupert stood proudly, drawing the curtain back to look at the shadow of Snype. His knees quivered for a moment, but he boldly shouted. "I matter!"

Snype was digging a grave for his mental state, but this was working! "Say it to my face! You can save Tollen! You matter!" Snype said.

"I MATTER!" Rupert yelled loudly.

"That's it! Now get out there, and be the best damn steward you can be! Tomorrow's the big day!" "The Demon" demanded.

"Y-yes, of course!" Rupert said confidently as he stepped out of the shower and headed out of the room. His towel fell down for a while as he was running off, causing Snype to catch a full view of what lay beneath.

Snype nearly faded from his shadowy form at the sight! "Ah! Good Arceus!" He shouted.

"Hmm?" Rupert almost looked back to wonder at what the spirit was reacting, but quickly changed into his attire and left the room once more.

He waited for Rupert to get prepared and exit the room, giving Snype plenty of space to finally leave. Snype learned a huge deal of information in the palace... perhaps a bit too much...

Snype, Stretch, Roran, Rett, and Joseph - The Break-In Job

Snype was able to escape the palace with little trouble. A bit one too many close calls there but the life of a thief was never easy. What was important is that he had crucial pieces of evidence and a new ally... possibly two if his little plan worked out correctly. All that was left was to head back to the Brotherhood and return with the news.

Along the road, a sudden string of webs was shot right where Snype was about to step. As Snype would trace back the webs to its origin, he'd see the culprit behind it being none other than Stretch, the Spinarak thief from before. He motioned with one of his stick legs to follow him into the alley where he was waiting. "Psst! Psst!" He cried as he tried to be subtle about it, though his calls were a bit louder than they ought to be.

Snype looked down at the webs on his feet, following them over to where Stretch was leading him over to. "Heya Stretch. Just got back from the job. Keheh. But whats up? You need something?" Snype asked.

"Shh!" Stretch hissed loudly as he placed one stick leg to his mouth. The hissing itself actually drew more attention than Snype's talking, causing a few 'mon passing by to look at the Spinarak for a moment. "Do you wanna draw attention to us?!" He squeaked. "The Brotherhood are makin' one heck of a distraction. It's insane! I'll let them tell you themselves when they get back. They're still carrying on right now for Zai and his tailing, so no one's back yet. Roran wanted me to come fetch ya to see if you wanted to do some side work while you waited!"

Snype scratched his chin a moment. "Hmmm... side work? Sure I'd get bored if I sat around doing nothing out here. Whatcha got?"

"We're gonna break into two places and get some niceness!" Stretch replied as he rubbed two of his feet together trying to look malicious. "I'll let Roran fill you in on the details. He's waiting in the Pit. Let's go there!"

Snype nodded and began to make his way over to the Pit. This was one of the first locations Snype had actually wandered into within Tollen. If Snype didn't end up saving that civilian, who knows where he and the rest of his thieves would have ended up? Nonetheless, this side work could be a fun way to pass the time. That is, unless it had some other purpose as well.

"Look what we got here, boys!" Max the bartender said as Snype and Stretch entered the familiar sight of the Pit. It was filled to the brim with a rowdy crowd, just like the first time he entered. "Aden and Stretch! What are ya guys doin' here, makin' trouble?" He asked with a loud, rowdy laugh.

Snype smiled as he walked up to the bar, taking a seat. "Nice to see you too! I came to say hi to Roran. Heard he wanted to have a nice ol chat with me! Know where he might be?" Snype asked.

The Machoke grinned and nodded his head. "Yeah, he's got a table out in the bar of the bar. Joseph's with him too." He replied and pointed to the far end of the room. "Let me get you a drink on the house before you go, Aden!" Max exclaimed as he began to stir him up a drink. Using his superior strength, he crushed berries and alcohol together into a fruity, but potent beverage that he poured into a mug right in front of Snype.

Snype grabbed the mug and held it up. "Thanks! I can always rely on ya for a good drink. I'll go see what Roran wants." Snype said as he scooted off of his seat and headed over to Rorans table. The short Sableye would squeeze through a couple of Pokemon to get there.

"Hey you two, whats up?" Snype asked casually.

"Ah, there you are," Roran replied as he saw Stretch and Snype walked over to their table. "I hope everything went well in the palace. But we'll discuss that with the Brotherhood. For now, I've got a job that might interest you. What say you get back to your roots and do some old fashioned thievin'?"

Snype smirked and leaned in closer to whisper. "Heh, your talkin to a guy who broke into the big man's room without being spotted. I think can handle some thievin'." Snype said with a confident smirk.

"Well then you're gonna love this one," Roran said with a smirk. "So there's this noble family here in Argime called the Tornatas. Most nobles have a love-hate relationship as far as Gabriel goes. The House of Tornata is one of Gabriel's biggest supporters. I'm even thinking they might have ties beyond Argime and into the Darkrai territory. They're practically askin' for a good robbin, don'tcha agree?"

Snype nodded. "Oh yeah... sound like a job I can work with! So whatcha want me to do? Snag valuables? Info? Chances are they'll catch wind of another part roaming around Tollen after my little intrusion in the Palace. If Gabe figures out what I took anyways." Snype said.

"We don't have to worry about that just yet," Roran replied with the same smirk on his face. "He's still going to be preoccupied with the distractions and getting everything sorted. My guess is that he won't be sending anyone after us until all distraction parties are back and we do both jobs. But back to this job... the head of the House is currently on the other side of town. He's left his eldest son in charge of security in the mansion. To put it mildly, he's a complete idiot who has no idea what he's doin'. They may have one or two Royal Knights as guards, but nothin' too special. What I wanna do is rob them blind, and mess up anything else in their house we can't carry. Send 'em a message. You work for Darkrai, you lose!"

Roran smirked confidently and leaned in further to Snype. "And who knows? You might even find some other piece of info that might be useful while you're there! As far as how to do it, I think the King of Thievin' can come up with his own special way of gettin' this done, don't you? Joseph and Stretch'll come with ya. As well as one more..." Roran motioned with his paw for another 'mon to drop by. He walked up the table behind Snype and placed a paw on his shoulder. It was Rett, the 'mon Snype first met that took him to the Pit.

"Hey there, Aden!" Rett exclaimed excitedly. "Or should I say... Snype? Roran filled me in on everything about you and... and Gabriel. I still can't believe it all. And to think, you're the Arceus-damn King of Thieves!"

"Shh!" Stretch squeaked and looked around them. "You want the whole bar to know?!"

Snype chuckled, trying his best not to do that trademark laugh within the bar. That was the most distinct feature of him. "Heh, been awhile Rett. Guess you've been doing alright huh? Well hey if you still don't believe everything about Gabe I plan on exposing everything tomorrow. It'll be a good show I tell ya." Snype said

"Sooo... humiliation, making some case, all that good stuff eh? I'm sure I can figure something out. Anyone else within the palace I should be careful about? Relatives or anything like that? Can't be any more difficult then the palace. Did I mention Tollen has a real bad habit of awful security?" Snype said, deciding to randomly add that last bit in there.

"Of course it does," Roran replied with a sigh, and rubbed his nose with his paw. Gabriel purposefully denied many of the savvy or strong Royal Knights, and the best remaining ones no longer guard the palace, but the borders, so that no one is allowed to leave the city," He explained. He then shook his head and got back on track. "This is Rett's initiation into my operations. If all goes well, he'll be in just like Joseph and Stretch. As far as anything else to know, just be careful of those Royal Knights. Everything else should be fine. The mansion is on the second hill of Argime, They'll show you the way. Anything else you need to know?"

Snype shook his head. "Oughta be simple enough. I'll figure out the rest when I get there." He simply replied.

Roran nodded and looked over Rett, Stretch, Snype and Joseph. "Alright then. Good luck, don't die."

Snype, Stretch, Roran, Rett, and Joseph - The Break-In Job Part 2

Snype and his crew would make their way up to Argime and allowed Joseph, Stretch, and Rett to lead the way since Snype had never really explored this part of town before. How hard could breaking into a mansion like this be? All that needed to be done was break stuff, and carry away what they could! Easy!

The mansion itself was a large building made of the same alabaster coating that was seen all around Argime. Joseph barked softly and spoke up. "There it is. Ain't quite as big as the ones next to the palace, huh?"

"They're not one of the main noble Houses," Stretch explained.

"Yeah, but they probably still have a lot of rich 'mon stuff!" Rett said with a soft chuckle. He looked over to Snype. "So, what should we do? Front door looks like its guarded by a single Royal Knight. Weepinbell. We can go through him. I see some open archways too. Maybe we can do something with that?"

Snype frowned. Sheesh was this it? Hardly a challange to break through... though he was informed of this beforehand that the guy guarding this place had no idea what he was doing. "Hrm...we wanna rob them blind right? Lets try to stick with that plan. Look for a blindspot and break through there. That's how I got into the Palace anyways." Snype advised.

"Well, looks like the guy is only paying attention to the front," Joseph chimed in. "We can probably try the back, doesn't look like anyone is guarding there. I don't think I can climb though. Not much for climbing."

"I can climb!" Stretch squeaked somewhat loudly. Joseph instantly put a paw to the Spinarak's mouth.

"Shhh!" Joseph hissed and snarled. "Wanna maybe try not alerted all the 'mon in there we're comin?"

"Err.. right, yeah, sorry," Stretch mumbled.

Snype grinned a the two mon. "Heh, yeah I say we check out the back entrance... I'd say we climb too but I want to stick together with the group. So lets try to make this work out." Snype said as he shifted over to get a view of the back entrance.

The view to the back entrance seemed more clear. "Man, this guy is dense!" Rett said with a shake of his head. "What does he think if he puts one 'mon in the front that no one would try the back? What a loser!"

"Your call, boss man," Stretch said as he looked between Snype and the cleared back entrance, where no one guarded.

Snype scratched his chin. Something about this seemed way to easy... Snype was a bit uneasy at the same time. "...Lets approach the back, but don't take the door. Check the archways. We may be dealing with an idiot but who knows? He could have help. Back doors could be left unguarded to hide an even bigger trap so watch where you step." Snype said.

"Archways, uh..." Joseph began as he trailed off. "Rett and I probably won't be able to get up there without a boost or somethin'."

"Maybe I could string them up?" Stretch suggested. "My webs are pretty tough to break."

Snype nodded. "Was just about to ask you about that. Keheh. You help them up. I'll go scout out the back entrance." Snype said as he began to make his move, climbing the archways. He wanted to make sure nothing was lying in wait behind the unguarded entrance.

The path seemed clear as far as the eye could see. While Snype scouted out the level, finding nothing but valuable trinkets, paintings, and sculptures, Stretch climbed up behind him and began to tug on his webs to pull the pair of Houndours up. The sweat was pouring from his face as he tried his best to pull them up. Along the way up, he accidently caused them to bump heads because of their close proximity.

"Ah! Watch it!" Joseph hissed up at Stretch.

"You try lifting ten times your body weight, you ass!" Stretch squeaked angrily.

"Shh! You want them to hear us!?" Rett hissed back.

After a bit more tugging, Stretch managed to pull the two of them up and fell back, panting heavily. "I wish I were bigger," Stretch mumbled on the ground.

Snype patted Stretch. "Hey give it some time. You'll be a pretty fierce fella eventually." He said before checking the window again. "...seriously? No more guards... no traps.. nobody is this bad... there's at least an attempt to keep people out!" Snype said, perhaps worrying a bit more then he should be.

"Whatever. Lets just go in. Watch yourself just incase."

The three nodded and proceeded forward. Almost immediately after they took their first steps, a loud snore was suddenly heard from the far side of the room. It seemed to come from behind the door there. The three stopped in their placed and looked over to Snype for direction.

Snype held up his hand and told the three to keep still. Snype took a few steps forward, to take a peek at just what kind of Pokemon was sleeping over there. It appeared to be a large, quite obese Munchlax. He had an emerald cape on of fine quality. Stretch leaned in to look at the large 'mon and shook his head. "I think that's the noble's son. He's supposedly really lazy and quite stupid." He said in a whisper.

The Sableye sighed. "Yeah thats the Snorlax family in a nutshell... though maybe not stupid... I really hope these folks have some good info on them. Lets see if we can find their rooms." Snype said.

Stretch nodded and was about to go beside Snype, but the Munchlax noble suddenly stirred and rolled over on his side. Stretch, who was standing relatively close beside the Munchlax, was suddenly under its entire weight. Rett quickly went over to try to pull him out before he was over him, but it was no use. Instead, Rett quickly put his paw over the little spider's mouth as it screamed to not wake up the Munchlax.

"Ah... crap," Joseph said from behind Snype.

"Darnit Stretch..." Snype said as he tried to help get Stretch out. "This guy is snoozing like a log. Unless he gets hungry he won't get up. Help me pick him up. These guys are heavier than they look." Snype whispered.

"Right," Joseph said as he began to tug under the fat layers of the Munchlax and remove Stretch from his grasp.

"Hurry!" Stretch cried in a hushed voice. The Munchlax seemed completely oblivious to what was going on. On the far side of the room, the soft thumping of footsteps could be heard.

Snype gritted his teeth. Footsteps? Snype was not going to be caught here! "Put some muscle into it!" Snype whispered. As the Munchlax was being moved around, Snype reached his hand to Stretch to try and help him out. Stretch grabbed hold of Snype's hand, and with the proper exertion from Rett and Joseph, they were able to successfully pull him out. Quickly, the trio hid to avoid whoever would walk in. Snype would follow suit as well, though he'd hide in a totally different spot then the trio. There didn't seem to be much however so he went for the most logical option! Snype crouch down into a pose, and kept himself completely still. He made himself a statue. A bit bold, but he wanted to see just how easy this could be... He would be a statue of the King of Thieves! He had fans who made that stuff... right?

In walked a Buneary, dressed more like a servant than a Royal Knight. "My lord?" The Buneary asked, and received no reply but more snoring. "I thought I heard something," The Buneary spoke, but again received no reply. After staring at the Munchlax for a few seconds longer, she shrugged and left the room, closing it behind her.

Stretch left his hiding spot behind the door and exhaled in relief. "Close one!" He said with a whisper.

Rett and Joseph also exited their hiding spots and examined Snype, who acted like a statue. Rett grinned and tried to contain a laugh, while Joseph shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe that worked."

"Keheh, I don't even think she looked at me. At least we have someone else to look out for... maybe. So... where were we? Right... checking out the rooms... they gotta have some important stuff up there right?" Snype replied.

Joseph nodded in agreement, taking in the first room that they were in. There were loads of expensive tapestries and paintings lying around. "I could start with this room. Looks like they have a lot of fine things here," He stated with a nod.

"OK, but don't wake the fat guy!" Stretch whispered to Joseph, who nodded back. Stretch then looked over the rest of the room. There were two doors out, one from which the servant Buneary went through, and another unopened. He looked toward Snype for direction and wondered where he and Rett should go.

Snype checked out both of the doors. "Hmmm... think that servant is heading to one of their rooms to clean up or something? Could be worth checking out. Keheh." Snype said.

Rett shrugged. "Could be, should we check?"

Snype nodded. "Hey this has been a pretty boring break in anyways. May as well throw in a bit of challenge! Besides, there's gotta be something important there." Snype said.

Rett nodded, and together with Stretch they turned the corner and slowly opened up the door, which led into a longer hallway with four other doors in it. One of them, the first one on the right quickly closed, and Rett briefly caught sight of the servant walking into there, which meant the other three were likely unoccupied. At least, he hoped. "Should we split up?" Rett whispered. "One 'mon per door? Anything valuable we take?"

Snype nodded. "Sound good. I'll check out the first room. You two can check out the others. I take that servent will be going to each of these so be ready to hide if ya need to." Snype explained.

Rett and Stretch nodded to Snype and each sneaked into their chosen rooms. As Snype would approach his room, he would notice the door was locked.

This was all sorts of Deja Vu for Snype. Using his old tactics, Snype used Shadow Sneak to slip right under the door with little issue. On the other side seemed to be a residential room of some sort, possibly belonging to the Munchlax noble. There was a large, grandiose bed, expensive-looking paintings of Snorlaxes and the Munchlax, a gold bust of the Munchlax, and multiple large chests across the fine, decorated room.

Cursed small size... Snype wasn't going to be able to carry all this out in his little bag! But he was told to cause some trouble... however making noise with that servent nearby wouldn't be a very smart thing to do. So he decided to investigate the large chests to start off. Each chest was locked tight by a large lock on the front, but a talented thief may be able to get in. Surely Snype would HAVE to get some serious help on this! Feeling even more deja vu, Snype stuck his claw into the lock and quickly began to pick it.

The standard lock was no match for a master thief, and the lock cracked open. As he would peer inside, the chest contained all manner of valuable gems and fine silk, all of emerald color. It appeared quite expensive. Now THIS was loot Snype could carry! Snype reached in and snagged whatever he could and store it into his bag. Despite the size, it was able to hold a large amount of what he found! "Keheh, this is too easy. Starting to wish I had one of those magic door things like that Raz fellow." Snype said to himself.

On one of the emerald linens near the very bottom was a small note attached to it:

Thanks for your services!

-Gabriel

The linen appeared to be some sort of emerald cloak. The cloak had a symbol on the back of it, some sort of spiral formation with another symbol in the center of some sort.

Snype investigated both the symbol and the note. Figures that Gabe provided all of this stuff... looks like Snype would just have to take it all back! After all, Gabe gave Snype such a nice compliment on that note! The least he could do was show some appreciation. He gave the symbol on the cloak a good look. It didn't seem familiar to Snype, but appeared to have a spiral formation forming into the center, with another symbol, possibly of some Pokemon head, in the center. He supposed someone back at the brotherhood would know if it was relevant. For now, Snype stored the cloth into his bag, moving on to lockpick the next chest.

The second chest opened up almost as easily as the first, though there weren't any fine jewels or cloths inside. Instead, there was a bunch of papers, which looked like letters. Now this was looking interesting... Snype grabbed onto one of the letters and began to read over.

Dearest Elewyn,

I watch you from afar... oh you can never understand how I could possibly feel! I've hidden myself from you whenever I see you... in your traditional Royal Knight garb! You seem to elegant and powerful. I wish you were mine, I wish you were mine! But you can never know how I feel! I feel embarrassment would kill me!

-Pieter

The letters appeared to be love letters! And they were all written to the same woman, a 'mon named Elewyn. Snype was developing devilish ideas on how to take advantage of these... could make for good blackmail if he ever needed it! Snype stored one of the letters in his bag just incase. He checked the other letter to see if there were any other interesting details.

Dearest Elewyn,

You looked at me yesterday! I was in court and you were there as one of the guardian, the sentries of the castle. I couldn't believe it! Well, at least I think you were looking at me, you smiled and waved toward my direction, though that could have been to your fellow comrade Royal Knight who was standing behind me. I waved back anyways, despite looking the fool. One day, Elewyn. One day!

-Pieter

More love letters... nothing to important. It would be a shame if this "Elewyn" was targeted by Gabe. Perhaps he could use the information for tomorrow incase he were spotted. Another ally could always be helpful. For now though, he stuck with the task at hand.

"...Aw what the heck. One more letter. Kehe" Snype said as he randomly reached into the pile. Couldn't possibly be more embarrassing then the last two right?

Dearest Elewyn,

It pains my heart to see you walking through the dark. I promised Gabriel that I would not reveal anything, but to see you stumbling has my insides in a knot! I feel ashamed, Elewyn! Ashamed for my role in the assassination attempt of the Queen! It was I who left the doors unlocked and unguarded in her chambers, thanks to my influence in the courts. It was I who helped frame the noble Isabella as the one who tried to assassinate the Queen! I wish so many times to tell you about this, about Gabriel and Darkrai and everything, but I cannot! The price of eternity is too great! And I secretly fear what would become of me should I betray them now. Fear not! For I will protect you from harm, should it come to that!

-Pieter

This got all sorts of interesting now... this had to be the most valuable thing in this room. More clear evidence! The assassination attempt, connections to Gabe and Darkrai, everything! This letter was more definitive proof than the two items he found in Gabes room! How could they deny this? It was perfect! Snype stored this into his bag immediately. All that was left was the final chest.

The final chest seemed harder to unlock than the others. It also appeared bulkier and heavier. Simultaneously while the chest was being unlocked, Snype could hear the door to the room also being unlocked! Of course he had to be interrupted before going to possibly the most guarded chest in the room! Snype looked around the room. He shut the chest full of the letters and decided to dive right into the chest fool of gems and valuables. Closing the chest on the way in. The most he could do was peek through the lock.

The door unlocked and in came the Buneary servant from before. She began making her way across the room and tidying up the place, fixing anything that was misplaced, and sorting through some old clothes on the bed. Eventually, another 'mon entered the room. His thunderous steps made it obvious it was the Munchlax. The Munchlax yawned loudly, causing the servant to yelp, before she turned around and bowed.

"Good morning, sire," She greeted politely.

"Mmmm... Hi. I will be taking a short nap in here, now," The Munchlax stated. It could be seen that the Munchlax appeared to be almost sweating, as if he were quite warm.

"Ah... did you not just have a nap on the couch, sire?" The servant asked.

"W-what?! No! I was just resting my eyes! And who are you to question me?! Leave now!" The Munchlax roared.

"Y-yes sire!" The Buneary exclaimed and hopped out of the room, and closed the door behind him. The Munchlax exhaled deeply, and walked over to the archy in the room. He leaned over it and whispered. "I'm alone now."

A second later, a Hitmonlee climbed through the open archway, which caused the Munchlax to step a few paces back. The Hitmonlee wore the garb of a Royal Knight. He seemed quite intimidating, case and point by the Munchlax's nervousness.

"You secured your place beside the Queen in the banquet?" The Hitmonlee demanded. The Munchlax swallowed and nodded. "I will be your Royal Knight escort for that evening. The position is only temporary."

"Uh... yes, of course," The Munchlax agreed. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "Uhm... might I ask why?"

The Hitmonlee was already in the process of leaving, clearly he seemed busy and did not want to stay longer than he had to. "Commander Gabriel's orders. A backup plan just in case things don't go as planned."

"Ah... but... what will happen to me? I mean, if I assume you shall do what I think... what becomes of me?" The Munchlax asked nervously. The Hitmonlee leaned into the Munchlax, who stepped back again. During his step backward, he accidently stumbled and fell onto the floor, which caused the entire room to shake.

The Hitmonlee glared into the eyes of the Munchlax, before he relaxed his glare and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't fret, Pieter. You'll live a long and fat life, just as was promised." Without another word, the Hitmonlee left the room through the archway, and the Munchlax quickly stood up, exhaled with relief, composed himself, and exited the room.

Not good... theres no way that Munchlax was going to stay alive after tommorow if things didn't go according to plan. As Snype thought, Gabe had a backup plan. That Backup was something Snype would have to find out. Those Royal Knights still had no idea Snype was here... he was concerned how the others were doing though. That servent would likely be going to the other rooms by now.

Snype was debating making contact with the Munchlax. He seemed frail and easy to convince. On top of that, he could blackmail him into doing what the Brotherhood wanted, as well as giving more information. But first, he had to check that last treasure chest... Snype made his way over and continued to pick the lock.

This time, the lock was picked successfully. The chest sprung open and inside appeared to be more fanciful gems and silks. There was also a crest from the current noble house, which seemed quite valuable as well.

Well that wasn't what Snype expected... but hey! Seems good nonetheless! Snype snagged the crest and stored it into his bag as well. It was starting to get pretty darn heavy so he'd have to watch what he stored... with all of that said and done, Snype made his way out of the room... this blackmail was more then enough to make that Munchlax reconsider working with Darkrai. Snype used Shadow Sneak to once more peek out the door and observe the hallway around him. Going currently down the hallway was Rett carrying a large bag of trinkets over his shoulder. He was sneaking down the way they came from, possibly on his way out of the mansion.

Snype emerged from his shadow. "Hey Rett. Did you see which way that Munchlax went? I just found a really good lead in that room. Know how the others are doing?" Snype asked.

Rett almost jumped after seeing Snype emerge in the room, but kept his composure without overreacting. "Oh, hey Snype," He whispered. "Stretch and Joseph cleared out their stashes and headed out the same way. They're really fast! No wonder they're the best thieves around. I think I saw the Munchlax head downstairs. He was about to go out with his Royal Knight escort, or something."

"Blast... look, Rett, that Munchlax is important to taking down Gabe. That Royal Knight might kill off the Munchlax tomorrow... or tonight. Gabe has a backup plan incase things go south. Pieter was responsible for the assassination attempt. I'll explain later but I gotta get track down that Munchlax somehow." Snype explained.

"Wha... huh?" Rett titled his head and cocked an eyebrow. "I thought we were here to just steal stuff. I dunno what to do!" He whispered loudly.

"Well change of plans. Look, you guys take the loot and get moving. I gotta follow that Royal Knight. I think I can get these folks on our side somehow..." Snype said, quickly making his way out of the room. Snype decided to go out the same way he came in. Before he did though, he looked around the Archway to see if he could spot the Hitmonlee or Munchlax.

Snype - The Tail

The Munchlax was indeed coming out of the front doors, with the Royal Knight Weepinbell that guarded the front doors beside him. The Munchlax began to walk across the street as the Weepinbell followed closely behind.

The Hitmonlee didn't seem to be around... figures. He did say he would be the escort for the Banquet. Snype wasn't sure of the Weepinbell's affiliation with Gabe but it didn't change Snype's task. He had to trail this Munchlax. So much for guarding his home.

Snype crawled down from the archway and moved closer. Argime seemed alot more lush then the lower districts of Tollen. Made it easy for Snype to sneak around and follow the Munchlax and possibly eavesdrop.

"Sire, it's not wise to leave the house, there's no one to guard it while we're away," The Weepinbell stated to the Munchlax. "Your father would be furious if he found out."

"Silence! I need my air! Return to the mansion and watch it then!" The Munchlax roared. "I will go dine out tonight."

"But-"

"I say go! No one will harm me in the upper city here!" The Munchlax yelled, before he stormed off. The Weepinbell stared at the Munchlax for a bit longer, then headed back toward the house.

This was too easy... but he couldn't just tackle the Munchlax out in public. Too many eyes watching, not to mention Royal Knight activity. Snype predicted that he wanted to be alone to search for Elewyn. That could be his chance to start talking with him. For now, Snype kept following, eavesdropping and searching for any opportunity he could get.

When the Weepinbell was out of sight, the Munchlax reached into his cloak and pulled out some sort of paper, which apparently was a schedule of some sort. "Let's see now... today you are going to be..." The Munchlax trailed his fat fingers across the paper and looked for the information he wanted. "... oh! Guarding the Queen again. Rats..." He slumped over and began walked down the aisle. "Perhaps she will leave outside at some point..." The Munchlax turned the corner and headed down a less populated street. He then pipped up.

"Wait, maybe I can... yes!" The Munchlax exclaimed, and began thundering down the street with more vigor. He made his way across the main streets which headed to the direction of the palace, and stopped beside a rather old, but still coated in alabaster tower. It seemed abandoned, as if no one had lived there for some time. The Munchlax looked to his side, left and right. No other Pokemon were around, so he took out what appeared to be a lockpick, and began picking the lock.

What was this kid up to? That tower looked abandoned... was he keeping some kind of secret in there? It gave Snype time to plot out how he was going to approach Pieter at least. Maybe he was trying to avoid duty? No... he would miss out on seeing his girlfriend! Snype followed the munchlax down the street, hiding in a nearby alley to watch Pieter's next move.

The Munchlax struggled with the lockpick, but a few more go-arounds, and he was finally successful. He opened the door and quickly stepped through, and closed the door behind him and locking it.

Tsk... these doors were getting too easy to get through. Unless the door touched the ground completely, Snype could use Shadow Sneak to easily slip right through. Doing his usual method, Snype faded into the shadows, waited just a few moments so he wouldn't be directly under the Munchlax's feet, and went through the door. He kept himself in his shadowy form to watch what Pieter could possibly be doing here. Pieter was heading up a winding staircase, which apparently went up all the way to the top of the tower. Snype likewise, followed him, returning to his physical form and trailing behind. Just what in Tollen was up here?

By the time he had climbed the tower all the way to the top, the Munchlax was completely out of breath. He was panting heavily, but he smiled with delight and approached the object he came here for, a large telescope that pointed directly at the palace. From this height and with a lack of windows and many open archways, it was easy to see much. Pieter approached the telescope and began to set it up.

Snype raised a brow as he watched the Munchlax set up his Telescope. What a creeper! He could only take a wild guess at who he was looking for...Snype waited for the Munchlax to set up his Telescope. Maybe he could use it as more blackmail!

He finished setting up the telescope, and now Pieter began to peep through and scan the palace. He grinned and stopped it at one spot and peered through. "Ah, there you are..."

Snype figured it was time to make his approach. Slowly coming out of his hiding spot, he stepped closer rather slowly. He wanted to give the Munchlax a bit of time to enjoy himself anyways.

"Ah, my sweet," The Munchlax was heard saying as he continued to peer through the telescope. Snype approached closer, standing beside the Munchlax. He seemed so focused on... whatever he was looking at. "Mind if I take a look? Whatcha checking out in there?" Snype asked casually.

The Munchlax screamed loudly and dashed to the side of the room. "Ah! You! Who... how... What... Who are you?!"

Snype smirked at the Munchlax. "Keheh, I can't go spilling the beans until I make my terms and conditions clear! Don't you move." Snype demanded. He looked over to the telescope and took a peek in there to see just what he was up to. On the other side of the telescope was an Ampharos in a Royal Knight garb, patrolling just outside of the Queen's quarters. Her uniform was a tad different than the other Royal Knights, sporting a cloak, armor plating on her shoulders, and an insignia on her breastplate, the sign of the Deputy Commander.

"Hm... she is quite beautiful huh? You're sweet Elewyn... and you're up here watching her through the safety of this tower? I wonder what other things you've seen her do!" Snype said in a somewhat teasing tone as he stepped forward.

Pieter crawled further back, now lodged in the corner of the room on top of the tower. "I... this is all a misunderstanding, I assure you... my intentions... I am simply watching over her to make sure she doesn't get hurt! Yes! She is my friend!"

"Oh please. I know you think of her as far more then a friend, Pieter. One doesn't go to lengths like this for just "a friend"... nor creep on them like this." Snype said with a smirk. "I wish you were mine, I wish you were mine! But you can never know how I feel! I feel embarrassment would kill me! Heheh... I think that's what it sounded like correct?"

"How did you... have you been spying on me?!" Pieter demanded. "Just who do you think you are and what have you been doing?!"

"Just a mon concerned with the well being of Tollen. Do you realize what you've done? Assisting with the Assassination of the Queen... who would have thought a little guy like you could pull it off? Not only with having the Queen killed, but Isabella as well... and all you want to do is sleep it off. Psh. No wonder Gabe likes you." Snype sneered.

Pieter opened his eyes wide. "H-how did you... you've gone through my letters! W-who are you? What do you know of this?"

"Take a guess. Keheheheh... I know more about this then you could ever imagine." Snype said, leaning forward to the Munchlax. "And I have proof that Gabe is lying right to your face. What does he need you for when he conquers Tollen?" Snype stated.

"I... I have no idea who you are and I have no idea what you're talking about!" The Munchlax yelled back to Snype.

The Sableye frowned. "Ok. You wanna know what I know? I'll fill you in. You, Pieter, regret being a part of the Assassination attempt on the queen. Not only that, due to your position you were able to succesfully frame Isabella, and lead to her execution. You are secretly working behind the scenes with Gabe to assist him in taking over Tollen, and if I'm right, kill off the other nobles so that Gabe can replace his own men and control Tollen. Several of his men are under the guise of Royal Knights each with the job of escorting nobles to the Banquet, where Gabe plans on killing them, and blaming the visitors of Valkaria in order to spark a war. That's just the kind of chaos Darkrai needs, which by the way, you also mentioned in your letter. Keheh." Snype said, pausing a moment so the Munchlax could take it all in.

"You've been secured a place near the Queen. No doubt you intend on assassinating her as well to pin more blame on Valkaria. A backup plan incase things go south... Keheh. You will be escorted by a Hitmonlee, which I'm guessing is in league with Gabe. I'm right. Aren't I?" Snype said, pointing to Pieter.

The Munchlax was completely speechless, but said nothing in reaction right away. He held his mouth open wide, but tried his best to be casual and cross his arms together. "I will say nothing to you."

"Brave one aren't ya?" Snype said stepped forward. "Heheh... it would be a shame if your girlfriend knew of your true intentions for Tollen. Gabe intends to replace all official figures with his own men. That includes the Royal Knights." Snype stated.

The Munchlax opened his eyes wide again. "Wait, please no! Do not say anything to her! It would kill me!"

"Gabe will kill you either way if you do nothing!" Snype yelled. "You want to know how he'll kill everyone in Tollen? How he and Darkrai will take over?" Snype reached into his bag, pulling out the Dark Vial he had found within the palace. "Just a sip of this vial is enough to make a Pokemon ill... quite similar to the plague that hit Tollen months ago hm? Just holding it sends dark thoughts into my head..." Snype said, glaring at the vial before putting it away.

Pieter stared at the vial, but did not speak right away. "Where... where did you get that?"

"A present from Gabe! Well... just found it in his room. Kehehe. Wasn't difficult for the King of Thieves honestly. Keheh" Snype said, finally revealing just who he was.

"The... the King of Thieves?" The Munchlax repeated in disbelief. "From Valkaria?"

"The same but that's not important..." Snype stepped forward again. "You're going to tell me just what's happeneing tommorow at the Banquet. What does Gabe intend to do? What's this backup plan? Tell me, or I'll sneak back in that Palace, just to tell you're girlfriend that she has a "secret admirer!" Kehehe... or a peeper. Whatever works." Snype said

Pieter's eyes began to water and he shook his head violently. "I can't do it! They'll do worse to me than you would if I'm found out!"

Snype scratched his chin. "Hmm... in that case I have a better idea." Snype said with a smirk. "What if I offered you protection? A chance to get away from Gabe and this whole mess until things are settled down? With your information and my evidence, We can take Gabe and his men down. I know a place they'll never find you in."

"You... you cannot protect me... not from him..." Pieter muttered and stared at the wooden floors of the tower. Snype figured that the Munchlax was referring to Darkrai.

"Please. I've seen Darkrai with my own eyes and took him on face to face. If there's anyone who can protect you, its me and my crew." Snype said. "Who do you care about more? Yourself? Or the fate of Tollen? When Gabe and Darkrai take over... do you honestly think they'll let Elewyn live? She'll be replaced by someone else. A pokemon more obedient to Darkrai. Is that what you want?" Snype said.

"I... you faced Darkrai?" Pieter asked incredulously.

"With the help of some very powerful allies. We were able to stop him a long time ago. And we can do it again. I'm asking you to assist us tomorrow. Not only to save Tollen and you're loved ones, but the rest of the world as well." Snype explained.

The Munchlax was silent as he contemplated Snype's words. After about another half minute of silence, he shook his head and exhaled loudly. "You are mostly right, but you have one detail wrong," The Munchlax began to explain. "Only one dies tomorrow, according to Gabriel's plan. The Queen of Tollen. He was going to use the vial, have someone deliver it to her, and end her life. He's replacing Royal Knights with those loyal to him so that they would ensure the delivery, and that no one could stop it, being that they would be right beside the Queen. He has not told me this, but the backup plan involves the Royal Knights most likely targeting the Queen directly. Each of the Royal Knights serve a different noble house of Argime. They have ties to each one, and when the Queen falls, the Houses will stand divided among each other on who was responsible. In all likelihood, turmoil will break out, and being that the banquet is open to the public, a revolt will likely happen between the people and the nobility over the beloved Queen's death."

The Munchlax stopped and wiped the tears from his eyes. "The one detail you misread is that Gabriel isn't looking to control the situation. He wants Tollen to burn. That's what he said. Bring chaos, not order, he said. And while the nobles and people are fighting among themselves, that's when... the real threat comes."

Snype was silent for a moment. Just the Queen? He only planned on having the town get out of control?"But... that's it? I've stopped him already then! Unless he has more vials then he's finished! He'll have to go to step one all over again! Seriously! A war with Valkaria would be even more chaotic and kill off all of his threats! I-" Snype paused a moment. "Dear Arceus what am I saying?"

"That is still coming, unfortunately," Pieter, whimpered. "But not yet. Gabriel knows what you're doing here. The diplomats. He knew you would be coming. In fact, he was hoping for it, from what he told me. You're trying to get help to fight the armies in Valkaria, right? Gabriel hoped you'd use your influence in other countries to ask for aid. Right now, the battle is likely going south in Gold City. Alone, they can't stop the armies Darkrai has sent. They'll be wiped out eventually, it's only a matter of time. But if you fight united with other countries, you stand a chance. And if you do bring others to help, that's when he pulls out his trump card."

The Munchlax stood up and continued to speak. He was a bit less fearful, though he was still anxiously sweating. "Something is going to happen in Tollen soon. I don't know what, but beyond the revolt between the nobles and the citizenry, something else is coming. It'll be here soon to plunge the country further into chaos. But that isn't permanent. Gabriel will eventually use his leverage as the new King of Tollen to stabilize the situation by giving all in Tollen a target to place their rage upon: Valkaria. It'll be discovered that the true culprits behind the Queen's assassination, and this event that will happen soon will be Valkaria. And a united Tollen will bring its wrath upon the Alpha Alliance! Then when it seems you have some advantage in Gold City, more darkness will come. I... am sorry."

Snype crossed his arms and looked down at his feet. "...so I was right somewhat. My plan is just more direct... and way quicker. Heh... well, it dosn't change too much. If we keep the Queen alive, Gabe can't become the king. And his plan boils down to nothing. And I have his Vial. He can't deliver a thing to the Queen without it. Keheheh... do you know if Gabe knows that I'm around? If his room was so easy to break into, I doubt he was expecting the King of Thieves. He's been making contact with outside parties as well. Xander, I believe his name was called. You wouldn't happen to know about that would you?" Snype said. Just to be on the safe side, Snype used Detect.

The Munchlax shook his head. "It doesn't sound familiar. But it could be another Agent of Darkrai. That's what they call themselves. There are three here in Tollen."

"Gabe, Tyren... and perhaps that Arcanine that was escorting the nobles in the palace... that's my guess. Does Gabe know I'm here? Or any of the other knights?" Snype asked.

"I can't be sure, but I think that the only people Gabriel assumed was here was the diplomats you sent," Pieter responded. "I don't know who the three Agents are, all I know is that there are three. Although if you're referring to the Royal Knight Arcanine, I doubt it's him. He works under them as a warrior, not a fellow Agent, I believe."

"Well that certainly makes things less complicated... heh." Snype said, giving off a sigh. "Doesn't change the state of things though." He'd add before taking another look at the Telescope to see if anything was going on down in the palace. "We should probably get moving soon. They'll start getting suspicious if you aren't near the Queen. And I have no idea what Gabe will do when he finds out what I stole. Anything you need to take care of?" Snype asked.

"Uh... no," The Munchlax responded anxiously. "May I go now? I told you everything I know. I... I would like to go sleep in my bed now. I need a rest."

Snype looked back at the Munchlax. "If they find out that you told me everything, then it'll be your deathbed. If you tell Gabe that you met me, then my plans are going down the crapper." Snype said, leaning forward to the Munchlax. "I think you would be safer coming along with me. You'll have a comfortable bed and our protection. I swear it." Snype said.

The Munchlax stepped back and shook his head. "If I'm not in my bed or in court tomorrow as usual, Gabriel will suspect something is wrong! I must... I must act natural or else he will suspect. I know he will! Please, just let me go! I won't say anything! If I do, I'll be worse than dead!"

"When he finds out that Vial is gone, he'll suspect something is wrong anyways." Snype said. He stopped and decided to think about the different things that could happen. He could allow the Munchlax to return to his home... or bring him back to the Brotherhood as a prisoner. The second option wouldn't really make Snype's case look any more convincing however and it just gave more of a chance to look like a hero.

"If I let you go back to you're bed, I want you to promise your cooperation. You can't tell Gabe a single thing. Or any of the Royal Knights that I'm here no matter what. I'll also need your help to prevent the Queen from being assassinated tomorrow. We'll be watching you. Spill the beans... and I'll tell Elewyn everything. But if we do get though with this..." Snype said, his face turning slowly into a smile.

"...I'll help you get together with her. Kehe. Honestly judging by the letters, I'd say she digs you! If Gabe pressures ya, just remember your doing this for her. Alright?" Snype said.

"Yes, of course!" The Munchlax replied. "I will... I will do this for her!" He stated and proceeded to leave. "I promise I won't say anything. I mean, what could I possibly say anyways?" He asked rhetorically, before beginning the path down the stairs.

"The worst you can say is you met the king of thieves. Our biggest advantage is that Gabe has no idea that I'm here. Keep quiet about that, and we'll be fine. Just be prepared. I don't know what he'll do when he notices the vial gone." Snype advised. "If anyone finds out about your hiding place, just say you have a hobby of peeping up here or something! Kehe! They'll fall for that!" Snype said in a teasing tone, kinda joking there.

"U-understood!" Pieter stated and headed down the stairs and out of sight.

Kaveri "Jetstream" Vian - Operation Fangril

There was just one thing Kaveri needed if she was going to make her diversion work: candy, and lots of it. So of course her first stop was the same candy store she'd gone to when they'd first arrived in Tollen. The Duosion was more than happy to see her again and suggested a variety of different treats to her as she collected them from the shelves and deposited them in a bag. She stayed there a short while after paying, conversing with him a short while as she nibbled on the candy. Eventually, though, he politely asked her to leave when she nearly knocked a few jars of candy off of one of the shelves with her excited gestures.

Kaveri needed to get going anyways. She'd already consumed enough sugary sweets that she was buzzing with energy, and it was time to track down Gabriel. Isabella had told her the places he frequented on his returns to Argime but seeing as Kaveri didn't really know her way around yet, it'd still take a bit of looking to find him. Luckily, though, she had something else to go off of as well. As she was walking through the poorer districts of town, where she was certain Gabe would be around this time of day according to what she'd been told, she would hear whispers and gossip that "The Savior" had been spotted here, or on this street, or over there, and every once in awhile she'd stop to have a friendly chat with a passerby, sharing her sweets with them to ease the tension. Everyone loved candy, after all!

Eventually her trek led her to a street near the Reagal Center. There had been a bit of a crowd there checking out the fuss earlier, but it seemed to have thinned out now. Those who were still about, though, had their eyes fixed on the Greninja walking down the street. Of course, any of Tollen's citizens would recognize their Savior, and his green armor confirmed him as the 'mon Kaveri was looking for. She paused behind a corner for a moment, running her paws through her fur a few times to ruffle it and give herself a more scruffy look, as if she belonged on these streets. She'd already switched the black Brotherhood robe out as well - it would be too conspicuous when meeting with Gabriel. Instead, she now wore a dull brown robe.

Once satisfied with her appearance (she double-checked a mirror just to make sure it was effective enough), she walked out from around the corner, turning towards Gabe's direction and widening her eyes in surprise and awe as if she'd only just noticed him. Her tail twitching with excitement, the Floatzel dashed down the street and right into the Greninja, clinging to him like some crazed fangirl. "Oooooh, it's you! It's really you!" Kaveri pulled back, though she kept her paws on his shoulders as she stared at him, words babbling from her mouth, Ican'tbelieveit'sreallyyou! AndI'mactuallytouchingyou!" Then her eyes stretched even wider and she jerked away, as if just realizing what she was doing, and she slammed her head to the ground. "I'm so sorry, sir! It's just, you saved my brother, and when I saw you it just made me so happy...!" Looking up tentatively, she added quietly, "Will you marry me? I don't have a ring, but I do have candy! Though if you don't want to marry me, I understand, you don't even know me, but you can still have the candy! It's really good stuff. And, you totally deserve it! I mean, I wouldn't have my brother all safe and sound with me anymore if it wasn't for you!"

Gabriel was surprised by the sudden hug he had received, but didn't react much to it beyond a light chuckle. As the Floatzel in front of him began to bow before him and apologize, as well as suggest marriage and candy, the Greninja leaned in beside her and offered her a hand to stand up. "That's really sweet of you to say! You know that I'm happy to help you and your brother!" He responded happily as he helped her up to her feet. "What's your name?"

"I'm Candy, and this is some very delicious Cass, wouldyoulikesome?" Kaveri was keeping up the facade of an excited, babbling fangirl - though with the sugar high she was on, it actually flowed pretty naturally for her. "Um, I mean. I'm Cass, and this is candy. Cass isn't delicious in the least."

The Greninja politely declined the candy offer with a small wave of his hand. "No, thanks Cass. You're right, candy is the best, but I have to keep my senses sharp to protect the city, after all!" He explained enthusiastically. He bowed his head slightly in respect. "It was nice to meetya, be sure to say hello to your brother for me. If you ever need anything, just give me or any Royal Knight a holler and we'll come running!"

"Of course, sir, of course!" Kaveri grabbed one of Gabe's hands and kissed it multiple times in rapid succession before placing a candied oran berry in it anyways and closing his fingers over it. "For later," she said, patting the hand, then scurrying quickly away before he could reject it again, casting occasional glances backwards with a blush darkening the fur on her cheeks, just so he didn't think she was in a hurry to get away from him for other reasons.

Gabriel looked at his hand where he was kissed, and then over to his palm where the oran berry was placed. The Greninja then looked back at Cass, pondered something for a moment, and then called out to her. "Hey, Cass, hold on a sec!" The Greninja cried and waved his arms about. He ran up to her and rummaged through his cloak, before pulling out a piece of paper. "Here you go, can you read?" He asked.

Kaveri had been about to turn a corner, but she paused as the Greninja called after her, turning to him with her head cocked to one side as she was apt to do when she was curious as she stared at the paper then up at him. "I know some of my words, enough to get me by and look a bit knowledgeable." In all honesty she was a proficient reader, but no need for him to know that - especially since it seemed not all Tollenians could read.

"This is an invitation to the Queen's Royal Banquet tomorrow!" Gabriel explained enthusiastically. "It's open to the public, but this will get you into the upper deck, where all the nobility and higher citizens can enter and sit! Consider it my gift to you!"

Kaveri's eyes opened wide in eye, this eagerness much easier to feign since this really was quite the unexpected development. "Th-thank you sir," she stuttered, accepting the invitation as if it was the greatest treasure in the world. "This is an incredible honor, I-I just." She squeed, as if lost for words and hid her face, bowing to the Greninja again - though this time not slamming her face to the ground. "I'll definitely be there!" Then she was off again, face still hidden like an embarrassed little school girl.

"Sure thing! Bring your brother if you want too!" Gabriel turned around and began to walked away, giving her a passing wave. "See you there!"

Isabella's Distraction

It was midday in the eastern-most border of Argime. Isabella lay in the shadows of the fortress, along with her team from the Brotherhood: Rina the Espeon, Zark the Zoroark, Jani the Grimer and Adrian the Aipom. There were others in separate teams in other parts of the city, but these were the 'mon she selected to go with her. This was done for one main reason: these were her best 'mon, the most talented she had under her. While the other teams across the city would be doing dangerous and daring tasks while attempting to keep the pressure off the thieves and their lead pursuing and instead focus on them, this team in particular would have the most dangerous part of it. Border Royal Knights were the strongest warriors around now. Isabella knew her Brotherhood members were also good, but they had one X factor they didn't.

Gabriel might show up here. Having seen the Greninja in action before, Isabella knew how unnaturally dangerous the 'mon was. She had to have the best, and also hope for the best. She sighed deeply and looked at the scene around her. The border area was guarded by half a dozen Royal Knights in this area. Not too bad, but they appeared to be backed up by a string of standing army soldiers as well. Isabella knew better than to fight them head on, and the plan was simply to distract, not engage. With her team in position, she nodded over to them to initiate the surprise.

From the left side of the border guard, Zark began setting up his illusion, which formed just on the treeline outside of town. He formed multiple different Pokemon stepping out of the bushing and heading forward to the city. One of the Royal Knights, a Linoone, instantly yelled out to them.

"Halt, citizen! Argime is closed to the forest dwellers! Return to your villages or face the consequences!" He stated firmly. The other Royal Knights also propped up and stared at the illusions, who continued to move forward despite the warning from the Royal Knight. Meanwhile, Jani, Rina, and Adrian began setting up traps around the outpost. Wrapped in preserved but very fragile balls of grass Isabella created, the 'mon placed in sludge bombs, poisonous gases, and Infestations to spring once they were touched. With the Royal Knights distracted by the illusions, the Brotherhood placed the balls successfully, which were all tied by a vine next to Isabella, to sprout at her command. Zark beside her began to bleed a bit from his nose, as keeping up such an illusions for so long was damaging to his brain. He began making the 'mon retreat back into the forest line as the Royal Knights continued to approach and shout at them to turn back.

They finally did, and the Royal Knights turned back to the outpost. Isabella waited patiently for all of them to be around the balls, and when it was the right moment, she pulled the vine and released the traps. Sludge, an excess of vines, and explosive force was released around the outpost simultaneously. The entire outpost erupted in coughing, and gas and even flames began to sprout. Jani and Rina then began to attack from the treelines they hid from, and when they thought their position was even somewhat compromised, they retreated into the trees, moved spots, and continued their attack. The Royal Knights were still in a daze over what the hell was going on.

This went on for a while, and as Isabella looked across at other parts of Argime, it became apparent that the others began to unleash similar diversions. Traps, explosions, strange elemental occurrences, unbelievable events. All these happened almost simultaneously and lasted for the better part of an hour. This proved to be plenty of fun for Isabella, who enjoyed messing with this particular group of Royal Knights. However, as she noticed as time went on, the excitement somewhat began to die down. She assumed Royal Knights began to get employed in order to contain any of the situations that sprouted. This meant that there was likely going to be assistance sent here as well.

"Time to pack up and go," Isabella ordered to the others, as she watched the purple fumes fill the outpost and screams continue to exit from it. The others nodded and began to pack up their supplies and head on behind Isabella. She took one final look behind her at the mayhem they had caused, and put on her hood. The others all put on their hoods as well. They grinned to each other and murmured excitedly at their successful plan.

"Off without a hitch!" Rina beamed and looked back at the outpost in all its glory.

"I don't think we coulda done a better job than that, Eye," Jani stated to Isabella, and also looked back at the outpost.

"Great work everyone," Isabella stated with a grin and pushed forward. "Hopefully the thieves from Valkaria will have something by now. Let's head back to the safe house."

Zark chuckled and turned to the outpost, motioning everyone else to do the same. "Take a good long look at that, boys and girls! You know what that represents? That's revolution! It's the beginning of the end of Gabri-"

Zark didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as he and the rest of the Brotherhood were suddenly pummeled to the ground. Isabella fell hard to the ground and knocked her head on the pavement. She lifted her eyes to see their attacker, and any joy she held on her face melted. The others were slow to get up and also face their attacker.

"I'll finish your sentence for you," Gabriel stated in front of the team of Brotherhood members. He crossed his arms and stared at them with an expression that Isabella couldn't quite identify, partially because of the tongue-scarf wrapped around his mouth, and partially because it was one she hadn't quite seen on the Greninja's face before. "It's the beginning of the end of Gabriel's patience."

---

The Hunt Begins

It was a particularly intriguing day in Argime. What started off as a routine border check for Gabriel turned out to be much more. The Greninja roamed through the streets of Argime on his way back toward the palace, deep in thought. Pokemon around continued to yelp in surprise, cheer him, and smile whenever they spotted him, though he did little to answer them back, quite unlike what he would do before. Instead, the Greninja strutted toward the palace, entered silently, and walked straight through the large castle to his room.

The minute he touched the door and opened it, his expression changed further from a silent, aloof one to seemingly even more ominous. Walking over to his desk, he instantly noticed something was missing. Two books, in fact, were not where he had left them when he first left his room earlier that day. Gabriel stared blankly at the desk. He didn't move, he barely reacted. Behind him, General Marcus Tyren walked through and immediately raised his voice at the Greninja.

"We have to talk!" Tyren uttered. He slammed the door loudly behind him and approached closer to the Greninja. Gabriel meanwhile sat at his desk and pulled out a small, circular object from his pocket. He moved it in between his fingers, and then leaned over and waved the small object at the bottom section of his desk. The two drawers clicked and popped open. The second drawer underneath was covered by the top one, but as Gabriel peered through the first drawer, he noticed that it was emptied. The Greninja sighed and leaned back in his chair. He kicked his feet onto the desk and turned to Marcus.

"What did you find out?" Gabriel asked in a somewhat monotone, lowered voice. He observed the small object in his palm as he did so.

"We've been misled, Gabriel," Tyren continued in his robotic voice as he paced across the room. "The Brotherhood isn't working alone. They're working with others! From Valkaria!" He yelled furiously. though Gabriel did little to react except continue to twirl the object in his hand. "You said that you were monitoring the Diplomats from Valkaria!"

"Yep," Gabriel answered simply.

"That there was no way to they were having contact with the Brotherhood! That there was no way they were sneaking off at night from their room in the palace!"

"Correct," Gabriel answered again plainly.

"Then do you mind explaining to me how they apparently have been running around with the Brotherhood all this time?!"

"They haven't," Gabriel answered again. He stopped fiddling with the object, and clutched it between his fist. He looked over at the Escavalier General and chuckled. "We've been duped, Marcus! Played! Pretty well too, I might add. The diplomats came to Tollen for aid. But they didn't come alone," Gabriel sighed and looked around his room. "In fact, one of them was in my room earlier today while I was out."

"Truly?" Marcus stated curiously.

"Yep," Gabriel answered as his eyes scanned across his room. "I'm beginning to think that this was their main purpose all along too. That entire Brotherhood 'action' we had going on the last hour or so? I'm guessing that was a big distraction for them to get into here."

"But I thought you said that your room was trapped," Marcus pressed from the Greninja. "That no one would be able to enter in through here."

"Well, yeah, if they used the door, which apparently they didn't," Gabriel answered with a sigh.

"The window then?"

"Mmm... not sure," Gabriel looked toward the window as he pondered this. "Probably not, but I can't be sure. Either way, they played it pretty well! Looks like the Valkarians aren't completely dead in the water. They might actually have something. It might be a good idea to go find them," He stated, and leaned over to the empty drawer. Then, he suddenly extended his arm, and dropped the object from his hand inside of the drawer. The object reacted and shined an ominous purple hue, also setting off other objects around the room that shined, including the archway to the window and the door. Gabriel then picked up the object from the drawer and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he chuckled slightly and murmured to himself. "Ohhh... interesting."

"Does this ruin our plans at all? Should we abandon them or change them?" Marcus asked the Greninja.

"Hmmm... nah, continue on as planned," Gabriel stated with a little more beat in his voice. He closed the first cabinet again, which revealed the contents of the second cabinet below it. It was another vial, the exact same kind as the one Snype stole from the first drawer. "I always have a back up plan."

"Very well then. And who exactly should my men be looking for?"

Gabriel leaned back in his chair and turned his head to Marcus. He placed his arms behind his head to get more comfortable before he answered. "The King of Thieves."

Obsidian : Making chill plans (GET IT CAUSE HE'S A ICE TYPE!!!!!!)​

"We don't have much time here. Can you please just help me here?" Obsidian asked the Brotherhood member that was supposed to help him with looking over the scrolls. He didn't want to say so... but he doubted that his temporary teammate could help him much. It wasn't that he wasn't smart, more along he lacked the knowledge most likely needed for the scrolls. Knowledge that Obsidian had from Anatellia. "I know what I said upset you guys, but... every angle has to be shown."

The Brotherhood member, a Meowth, scoffed and walked over to the Obsidian. "If you weren't helping us, I probably wouldn't be help you right now. So, what do you need?"

"Hold it open." Obsidian said as he reached into his pack and pulled out his journal once more, "I need to possibly do some translations. If it's anything like the stuff in Anatellia, it could mean we need to spend several hours matching up letters to spell out anything in this."

The Meowth nodded and held the scroll open for Obsidian. He was relatively silent while doing so, as he didn't want to get into conversing with the Weavile who had talked about leaving Tollen behind before. He was heartless in the Meowth's mind.

The poor warrior that was selected by this darkness was consumed by it. It was a shame, to see such valor and spirit leave them and watch something else take over. It was obvious he no longer was the Pokemon he was when he fought in that illustrious tournament. He was a slave, a slave to a power I don't quite understand.

The Alakazam known as the Keeper explained to us that this power, this being that thirsted on the region of Argos, he was a nameless Pokemon from a time long gone. His story originated long before many were born, but his roots stem from many sources, including the warrior's own homeland of Valkaria. There, he was known as the Dark One. The Alakazam shared the story of this 'Dark One' to us, how he sought to bring the world into chaos, town by town, city by city, nation by nation, until the entire world was such that chaos would reign. For it is how he gains his power, the Keeper explained. Now, he seeks such power in order to break free from his prison. But before... what was it that made him seek such power, I wonder?"

Obsidian was silent as he read over the passage and let out a weak sigh, "Well, that's one step in the right direction." He muttered, "Still..." He opened his journal and flipped through his notes again, "He knew where to go at what time... " He flipped a bit more, "... Would he start acting against us now? That's the question..." He murmured softly.

So much power over such a small thing. That is what the Zangoose Kent Reed stated of the object of gold he was given to counteract the object of silver the Wielder holds. There has been so much death and ruin by the Ancient armies which have ravaged the land, that I question whether we would be able to all survive if this plan of the Keepers does not succeed.

I asked the Keeper again about what he expects the Dark One will do once he returns. The Keeper explained that if he will not first seek vengeance upon those who had entrapped them, then he will continue what he was doing before he was trapped. I asked him what exactly that was, and the Keeper stated that his goal was to acquire chaos. For what purpose, he did not know.

Obsidian sighed and rolled up the scroll. "Ain't getting much more out of this." He muttered. "And it's just the same old bull c**p. And we truly have nothing in the long run." He tossed the scroll onto the table and rubbed at his forehead, "Urgh, this is just going great. Next thing you know, Gabe will have Isabella killed or something. She's served her purpose so far." He let out a stressed sigh, "This is just fantastic."

"Served her purpose?" The Meowth Brotherhood member asked Obsidian, looking for clarification.

Obsidian chuckled softly, "You don't get it, do you?" He asked softly. "Of course you all don't." He closed his book and placed it back in his pack. "Like Penance would say, letting just one mind know instead of many is a waste of time. I'll be surprised if no one else understands by the time the others get back. Carry on with whatever you do around here. I have some plans to draw up."

Snype, Zai, Sylvio, and Obsidian - The Spa

Snype would eventually arrive to the Safehouse. He had a large amount of evidence stored both in his noggin and his bag. Not to mention allies he had gained. No doubt Gabe would notice what was missing from the room by now... and worst case Scenario, Snype might be found out if Gabe really was that clever. Twenty Four Hours to get things together and keep from being caught. He'd have to devise some kind of plan... the upcoming day wouldn't be kind to him.

"Hope the others made it through alright..." Snype thought to himself.

"First one back?" The Haunter Gastault of the Brotherhood called out as he materialized through the wall. "I sure hope you brought some good news. Zai hasn't come back from tailing the Abomasnow yet, nor has Isabella come back with her team yet. But a few other Brotherhood members returned already. Shouldn't be long now... I hope."

"I have more than enough information. Keheh. This stuff will prove Gabe as a fraud. I made some... friends inside the Palace as well. Don't worry I'll explain it but I need to head inside. I don't know how Gabe will react when he figures out what I stole from his room." Snype whispered.

"And what did you steal?" Zai entered the room at a calm pace, glancing between the two ghost types. "I'm back, by the way. Saw some interesting things while I was out."

"Keheh, proof of Gabe's schemes. A log of the Royal Commander, and an interesting book he was reading. Also found a pretty odd vial of... something in there. But I'll show you when we aren't being watched. Its kind of dangerous." Snype replied.

"Yes, that it is." Obsidian stated as he walked in, some scrolls held in his arms. "Surely you realize what has been happening Snype? I just can't shake the feeling that it might happen sooner or later. We're so close to a plan right now. I doubt Gabe will just let us slip it by without him doing something." The Weavile set some of the scrolls down, "I took the liberty to already mark each scroll with as close a marking that is on the true scroll with our evidence. It's better this way I think."

Snype smirked. "Heh. Comon you think he'll just let me slip by after stealing the very thing he'll use to kill the Queen? I have evidence up the Wazoo. He's gonna hunt me down for this thing! Kehe." Snype said oddly cheerful. "Also you lost me on the whole scroll thing. Whatcha got there?" Snype asked.

"Let's share when everyone arrives, so that we won't have to repeat information for them," Gastault suggested as he floated beside the thieves and looked around to see if there was any sign of Isabella or her Brotherhood team.

Snype was a bit concerned. Isabella hadn't arrived... if anything she should have been here before everybody else... Her job was to be a distraction after all. That action should have passed by the time Snype left the Palace. He began to fear the worst.

After a long silence, Sylvio arrived in the back-caves of the spa, clad in his black robe and a smile for the thieves. "Greetings," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, as he went over to his corner. "I hope everything goes well."

"It isn't. Looks like Gabe finally did it." Obsidian muttered. "For those of you with your heads turned off, it's apparent. It's the same thing that happened in Valkaria. It's how he knew where to send that assassin when we left. It's how he managed to cross paths to us at the exact moment we left to the library. It's why there wasn't a manhunt for the brotherhood before. Isabella did what Gabriel wanted. She spread chaos and fear by fighting back. You have to, sorry for this, be an idiot not to see that. Maybe she did legitimately escape, maybe Gabe let her easily run away. Point of the matter is that he let her go around and spread fear. She didn't mean to, she thought she was fighting back, but it still served his purposes. Now things are heating up and she can't be allowed to fight against him anymore."

He frowned, "We have to leave. Now." He began to quickly put the various scrolls into his pack, "It means they are onto us. We have to find a rendezvous point."

"Yeah, guess fighting back does spread fear and chaos. Guess you can indulge us in what good would come if we did nothing then hm?" Snype argued back. "Next thing you know, spilling a glass of milk will cause "chaos and fear" to power up Darkrai. We haven't even exchanged notes and you're coming to conclusions already on what his plan was. He didn't even have a clue we were here until just recently." Snype stated harshly. Obsidian's theory wasn't too out there though but Snype had a pretty out there theory only to have it be proven to be a much simpler scheme then he thought.

"She did what she could. That much is certain. It was the same as what any of us would have done." Obsidian said calmly. "It's just like the stories Penance told me. Back then the Gold Tribe fought back, much like Isabella did. You don't have to track someone down to know if chaos is being done. You just have to sit back, and let it happen. News of her exploits has been circulating around for some time, Snype. Gabe didn't have to track then. Once the diplomats arrived though... that could have been the trigger right there." The Weavile set his pack on his back, "We'll wait for them alright? But... we have to be cautious. It does us no good if what Isabella set up here suddenly comes crashing down."

He looked around at the others in their tiny abode, "Now, I know most of you don't want to accept it. It's hard to take in, but if this is true we just can't stop right here. We can't be sitting ducks and watch a good plan be destroyed before we have a chance to carry it out. We have the clues we need! We have what can bring Gabriel down! I stayed here in Tollen to help, and that's what I'm going to do. We have to maximize our chances of being able to pull Gabe off of his throne in the most efficient way possible. You all spent, what? Months planning this? Maybe close to a year? That's a lot of progress! Look around you? We have a lot of capable mon here. So much so, that we can pull this off if we stay a step ahead of Gabriel! This isn't the time to run... not that we could. I even doubt I could make it out of here if I really wanted. What we have to do is stand and finish what was started, opening Tollen's eyes to Gabriel's treachery."

He held up a claw, "But we won't do it by stabbing him in the face. We won't do it by slaughtering millions of royal knights. We do it... by showing just who he is. What he's done. And lastly, by where his true allegiances lie. Whatever evidence we have... it's here and now that we get it together, and we stop the stem of chaos here in Tollen!"

Snype smiled and nodded to Obsidian. "Good that's what I like to hear. I have everything I need in my bag. You won't be disappointed. Tomorrow Gabe is going down." Snype stated. The only ones missing were Kav and Isabella's group now...

At that moment the sound of dragging feet could be heard before Kaveri walked in, looking quite utterly exhausted. The excess sugar part of her little plan (though perhaps it had also just been for her own indulgence... that store really did have good candy) had backfired just a bit, and now after the rush, here was the crash. "Sorry I'm-" she cut off as she let out a yawn, "-late. I got a bit distracted - and lost." She scratched her head sheepishly as she shuffled in.

"But I did get something pretty cool!" The Floatzel managed to look at least a bit more excited as she spoke, pushing back the after-effects of the sugar rush as she took a piece of paper out of her robe. "Seems acting like a fangirl wasn't such a bad plan after all," Kaveri chuckled, holding the paper up for everyone to get a look at. "It's an invitation to the Queen's banquet - this'll get me right up with the nobility. Oh, and, Gabe thinks he saved my brother and told me to bring him along. So, we can get one more person in if we need to. As long as they're male. And can be biologically related to a Floatzel." Her words were punctuated by another yawn.

Snype gave off a sigh of relief when Kaveri returned. Passes into the banquet would be a great way to crash the party! There was still no sign of Isabella though..."...Blast it, where is she?" Snype wondered aloud.

Gastault, who had heard Snype's mutterings, began to wonder the same thing. He fidgeted once more and sighed. "I... we all knew that this could be a possibility. I think this... might be all that shows up," The Haunter murmured.

"Don't bury me yet, Gastault," The familiar voice of Isabella was heard to the left of the Haunter. Gastault's expression immediately brightened as he turned to his leader, though it somewhat dropped again when he saw her appearance, as well as those with her. She was bloody, worn, and tired. It looked like she was barely standing. Along with her was Rina, who looked just as bad. There was no sign of the others.

"Isabella! What happened? Where are Jani, Adrian, and Zark?" Gastault questioned.

Isabella did not answer beyond motioning everyone inside and out of the street, and then into the secure part of the spa. When they were alone and gathered together, she finally replied. "The distraction... was a success. But we have paid for it with blood. I wish I could bring you better news, but whatever has transpired among you these past few hours has garnered the attention of the enemy. Gabriel knows you're here now. So I pray to Arceus you've uncovered something useful. Let's hear it all."

Snype nodded and placed his bag down. He was glad Isabella was ok... but still concerned about her condition. "This stuff will be more than useful... keheh... well first of all, I've made allies with Alistar. He'll be working on the inside to make sure nothing bad happens. Actually I have three allies but I'll explain those later. First off, what I found in Gabe's room." Snype said as he reached in and pulled a burnt piece of paper. "This note was supposed to be burnt away but Gabe is apparently a bad shot. Keheh. Its coded, but when translated it comes out as this.

--
gabriel, tracked down source of the message from your network.small cottage north in karn.abandoned,signs of life going toward anatellia.not my territory,not my problem.you shouldn't worry.random message mentioning her isn't big deal.could be anatellian.legendary worshippers.extreme,but harmless.

grow a pair.hail darkrai. -xander
--

"That doesn't make any sense to me," Gastault chimed in as he looked over the coded message. "Karn and Anatellia? Message? Xander? I don't know what any of it means."

"You're missing the biggest thing there!" Isabella replied in practically a shout as she realized what the letter stipulated. "Whoever it is and whatever it states isn't important to us. But two things are: It starts addressing Gabriel, and it ends 'hailing Darkrai'! This ties the two of them together!"

"Correct. The next thing I have is the Royal Commander log. The whole thing. Yeah was kinda in a rush. Keheh" Snype said as he placed the book in front of him. "One of these logs contradicts with the attack on Gold City. As for other contractions I was hoping Isabella here would know something."

"Let me see that," Isabella held out her arm and looked through the logbook, particularly the later entries. "Mmm, many of these correlate with orders he's given out regarding the troop dispersion. Many times when we would usually send out troops to the wilds, he purposefully didn't do so because he claims to have gone over and checked it out, and said that no additional troops have been necessary. Arceus, now that we know he was lying about things here, I can only imagine what's been going on out there. But since we have no connection to the outside for now, it won't be too much help. However, the order to drop Popous from the Royal Knights was a largely unpopular one. He was destined for greatness among them. It could reason that this could prove Gabriel hasn't been looking after the best interests of Tollen."

Sylvio pointed at the logbook; his look told everyone he wasn't convinced. "That alone, the logbook, seems weak. As evidence, that is. Many will simply dismiss it. Not unless there is a way to highlight what events it describes..."

"I'm more interested at the moment as to how you are alive." Obsidian said to Isabella, "Usually when someone is kept alive it's for a reason. You said blood was spilled, so I assume the others are dead, yet you stand here. Are you sure you two weren't followed at all?" He asked warily.

"It's possible," Isabella responded quickly. "I won't lie, we are no longer safe in this city. Which is why we need to share all of the evidence we have quickly and then most likely find somewhere else to hide."

"Then lets not waste any more time. This next bit of evidence is moreso on a whim. This was open on Gabes desk but he's been reading through it. I don't know if it has any kind of evidence but its worth giving a look when we have time." Snype said as he pulled out the second book. He didn't have much time to look over it but really there weren't much other notable things in the room he could take. He placed the book in front of him as well. The burnt up note he placed back in his bag.

Obsidian kept his pack shouldered, "I have things in my pack... but I won't take them out." He said slowly, "Right now, the most important thing to do is set up a plan. Not specifics but backbone. Here's the plan. We find some way to get into the castle tomorrow during the banquet. Got it? Good. We have to split up now. Explaining the evidence doesn't matter if Gabe kicks in the door and seizes it all here. We have to break apart into groups. At least one Tollen mon with every out of towner. We need to get moving here and now, so once the banquet happens tomorrow whoever has evidence presents it. Now let's get moving people! Time is of the essence!"

Obsidian pointed to a Tyrogue in the back, "You and me. We're going. No one meet up before the banquet. The less of us Gabe can find, the better. If we go in clusters then it's all over. Stay separated, two and threes at max I say."

"Slow down. Who put you in charge?" Snype stated bluntly. "I haven't even shown the most important part of all this. You don't even know Gabe's plan. I have the specific instructions in my head and we need a proper strategy to keep the Queen from being killed..." Snype reached into his bag and pulled out a dark vial, covered up by a cloth. "...By this!" Snype said. "The plague that hit Tollen, the death of the Crown Prince, all because of this... and chances are Gabe could have more of them. He intends to present this in one form or another to kill the Queen, cause the nobles to turn on each other, and inevitably, cause everyone to take their disorder out on the Gold Tribe. It'll lead to a full scale war." Snype explained.

"First of all, I'm positive Gabe will be looking for me or any brotherhood members. Who else could break into his room so easily? Sides... Gabe has no clue just who the King of Thieves brought along with him. Otherwise Kaveri wouldn't have gotten to approach him so easily." Snype continued. "On top of that, I know who was responsible for a big role of the first assassination attempt on the Queen. The very same that was pinned on Isabella." Snype said, almost sounding a bit rushed. They had to change locations quick but he had to let everyone in on his knowledge! If Snype were killed then everything would go down the crapper right then and there.

"Isabella, first I want to know. What the heck happened to you? Just who did you encounter back there?" Snype asked.

"Gabriel," Isabella responded in a rushed tone. She looked at Rina, whose eyes fell to the floor. "He cornered us on our way back from the mission. We tried to get away but he... the others didn't make it. He did something... strange. I will explain more later. I'd rather know now what else we have uncovered, if anything else. You say we have who initially helped plan the assassination, and you also said the Crown Prince's death is also tied to the vial? Then we may have everything we need, if it ties to Gabriel directly. The letter certainly does."

"Both Alistar and that Munchlax, vouch for me when we prove Gabe as a fake. Alistar was given this very same vial by General Tyren, thinking it was a form of medicine, only to have it be the very cause of the Crown Prince's death. Pieter would be the one behind the assassination attempt, however he was bribed by Gabe. Promised a better living. I convinced him otherwise with a bit of blackmail of my own. Keheh..." Snype said, trying to explain things as quickly as he could.

"Pieter told me Gabe's full plan. He intends to kill the Queen tonight, using this vial one way or another. He'll be right behind the Queen the entire time and replace Royal Knights with those who are loyal to him. Someone else will deliver the vial and thus end her life right then and there. Pieter is also stationed near there and I plan on using his position as an advantage... but back on topic. Gabe's Royal Knights are stationed to make sure the delivery goes smoothly. If not, he intends to target the Queen directly as a backup plan most likely. Once the Queen falls, the houses will be divided amongst each other on who could be responsible. Turmoil will break out, and citizens will revolt since the event will be in the public eye. Gabe dosn't want control, he wants Tollen to burn. Chaos you know?" Snype would continue, crossing his arms and tapping his foot quickly.

"He was hoping for the Diplomats to show up. If we do get more assistance, Gabe has a trump card prepared. I don't know what it is, but it will plunge the country into further chaos. If Gabe becomes king, he will use his power to lead everyone's rage toward Gold City. We'll be blamed for the assassination. Of course, that's ONLY if Gabe manages to become the king." Snype paced around the room.

"The primary goal is to make sure the Queen isn't killed. Don't worry about what will happen, but focus on preventing anything from happening in the first place. We need a strategy to counter all of Gabes plans and his backup plan so that he'll be left with nothing. Unfortunately, I'll have to leave that to all of you." Snype said with a sigh.

"Gabe is after me. I'm the one that stole from his room. Who else could pull it off? Keheh. He knows of the Brotherhood and the King of thieves, but he still has no clue who the King brought along with him. The rest of you are still safe for now. If you weren't, Kav wouldn't have been able to approach Gabe so easily. Any questions? I need to get a move on. If anyone else has vital evidence, speak up." Snype said.

Zai also shared with the group about her encounter with the Abomasnow, which led her to believe that he was working for General Marcus Tyren. She also explained how they had one brotherhood member in captivity and tortured him into giving up that there were Valkarians in Tollen. Zai stated that the Abomasnow would be after them too.

Obsidian just shrugged, "Go ahead Snype. Get going." He turned to Isabella, "At this point I'm guessing the others are either dead... or probably infected with chaos, correct? Did Gabe turn them against us? If so, no safe houses are... well.... safe now."

"They are dead," Isabella mumbled, then fell to silence. She lowered her eyes to the floor. She sighed deeply and spoke up again, avoiding going into any more detail than that. "If that is all the information out then, I suggest we do something that you stated doing before: getting whatever crystal or necklace you said would help from your fortress outside of Tollen. You mentioned contacting whoever had it, right? I know it isn't the most ideal time to do it, but there might not be another, and it might take some time for him to get here."

Obsidian frowned, "What we can do is this, get the crystal here. Now, a majority of the royal knights are under his control. If we can bring the gold bracelet over here, it could help free any influence he has over them, but also be a demonstration of what we have against Darkrai. No doubt Gabe knows we use the network point already, so it could be well guarded now. We need a distraction."

"Keh, I'm busted already. I'm pretty much the best candidate for a distraction at this point." Snype said. "I can't go off intruding a SEC network while being chased all over town though so somebody is gonna to have to manage bringing over the Gold bracelet." Snype said. "I would guess the Royal Knights are under the influence of Gabe simply being the savior rather then mind control. However we need the Crystal to look into this plague. I have a bad feeling its related to Gabes trump card." He said.

Obsidian nodded, "I can bring him over. Be the distraction." The Weavile turned to Isabella, "Then from there we can show off the bracelet and maybe cause some doubt in the knights'
minds. Anything Gabe throws at us chaos related would also be weakened." He gave a nod, "That's our plan then. Let's head out... and I guess if we manage to meet up... then we'll see what will happen."

Snype handed over the Royal Commander log to Isabella. "Here. You'll probably find out alot more about this then I will. Take the other book too I doubt I'll have much time to read it while on the run. I'll keep the other pieces of evidence on me." Snype said.

Isabella nodded and accepted the two books from Snype. She looked over the Royal Commander logbook for a few moments before switching over to the second book. "Guardians?" She questioned as she read over the title. "I wonder what this is for..." She looked back up from the book and toward the others. "Then it's settled. We have someone send the message to your contact outside, we avoid the authorities, and we preserve the evidence no matter what. With any luck, by this time tomorrow, both General Marcus Tyren and Commander Gabriel will be brought down."

"Know any other spots I can hide out in? Depending on how insistent Gabe is with catching me." Snype asked.

Isabella nodded and reached for a map in her pocket. She handed it over to Snype, while additional, similar maps were handed to the others. "Here's a list of our safe houses across the city. However, I can't guarantee their safety anymore. If Gabriel caught any other Brotherhood members, there's no telling if the-"

A loud, sudden bang permeated the spa, shaking up the room and causing some of the 'mon inside to fall. A second bang followed soon after, in which a large hole suddenly emerged from the side wall. Rocks, rubble and loose marble collapsed and spread across the floor, and incoming through the hole were Royal Knights, led in front by a Rhyperior knight.

"Get out of here now, all of you!" Isabella cried.

Obsidian and Rina : The lesser sacrifice​

Obsidian knew it was coming. He had been bracing for it as the meeting continued on. They had to have some means of tracking Isabella down. Why else let her go if they wouldn't get a larger boon from it. Why kill the brotherhood members who weren't as powerful as her and let the general simply escape? As soon as he heard the noises he knew it was time to go. He still kept his pack shouldered as he turned to the various exits and spied the closest one. "Move it!" He shouted back as he began to run. His natural Weavile instincts kicked in as his head bowed and his arms moved close to his body so he could move just a bit faster.

The Royal Knights attacked everyone inside, and through the commotion most of them were separated, electing different methods of leaving the spa. Behind Obsidian, one of the other Brotherhood members, Rina, followed him out just as a pair of Royal Knights followed. It was a Shiftry and Swampert. The Shiftry fired off a set of Razor Leafs at the two, while the Swampert slammed his giant arms along the ground, and tore through the marble and combined it with his water to launch a Muddy Water their way.

Obsidian looked behind him and quickly jumped, twirling about as he aimed a claw right at the incoming water. From the tip of his claws a Shadow Ball emerged that slammed into the combo attack. The ball exploded as water and marble flew out in all directions. Some of the rubble managed to hit into Obsidian while other parts of the rubble smacked back into the Royal Knights. "Rina! Where do we go!?" The Weavile cried out as he landed back on the ground, though gripping his side where the rubble had managed to smack him.

"I'm here!" She cried as she made her way through the flurry of leaves summoned at her. She launched a Psychic wave at them, deterring some of their halt, though others managed to go through and slash up her shoulder and leg. "Arceus damn it!" She cursed and gritted her teeth. She made a run for it behind Obsidian as she saw the two Royal Knights quickly recover from the rubble sent at them. "Those are border Royal Knights, the strongest under Gabriel! Better run for it rather than fight!"

"But where!?" He cried out, "The moment we get into the real streets everyone will move aside and let the knights catch us! We won't survive long out here!" He turned about again and sent another Shadow Ball out. "We need some ideas!"

"Uh... safe house!" Rina cried and leaped through the original hole the Rhyperior Royal Knight created and climbed out. "We'll head through the alleyways! Come on!" She yelled, and turned to see the two Royal Knights following.

Obsidian grit his teeth as he ran after her, "Bad idea! They knew where this place was! I have a feeling they know about other safe houses. We need a... the sewers!" He shouted out. "We need a straight shot to the sewers! It's dark enough and large enough!"

"They knew about the spa because it's your hiding place, not ours!" Rina cried. "I don't wanna climb in the da-" A sudden attack from the Swampert behind them caused Rina to yelp and compromise. "Fine, let's do it!"

Obsidian nodded, "Lead the way!" He shouted.

Rina leaped forward and turned the corner sharply, which hopefully would through off the larger Pokemon chasing them. She then burst forward down the main street, knocking back or over anymon that got in her way, before she once more turned sharply on the corner, to another alleyway. Down the way was a pair of bars which led into a small tunnel to the sewers. Rina didn't stop running, bursting the bars apart with a psychic wave, and jumping into the darkness.

Likewise Obsidian leapt with her as he suddenly crashing into the water. He closed his mouth tightly as the water sank into his fur. Instead he pushed his arms out and began to swim as fast as he could. He couldn't hear anything from Rina, but he was sure that she was paddling as fast as she could as well. Then, he bumped against some stone. Figuring it was one of the walkways he raised a claw and struggled to pull himself up while he gasped and coughed.

Rina likewise appeared beside Obsidian, panting heavily and coughing. She looked across her fur and spotted the small traces of blood, before she heard the soft yelling on the surface, likely of Royal Knights pursuing them. However, the noise slowly dissipated and felt further off. "I think we lost them."

Obsidian scrambled up and quickly pulled Rina up as he sat down, huffing softly, "I hate swimming." He gasped. "Penance always took me swimming. I'm surprised I didn't fall like a log in there."

"I hate sewers," Rina replied back in disgust. "We had to hide out here in the beginning, before the safe houses were set up. I thought I'd never have to come back here."

"Well too bad." Obsidian muttered, "We have to do things we hate." He wiped his body off as best as he could. "This backpack is more sturdy than it looks. Seals up thanks to some techno mumbo. Penance could probably explain it if he wanted to, but we have bigger fish to worry about. You saw how many there were back there. My guess is they are out to capture lots of mon. You get captives, you get them to talk and you get them to show off secret places. By tonight, if worse comes to worse, then all the safe houses will be busted in. We have to get to the network point... but I'm not sure how now." He crossed his arms and let out a weak sigh, "I knew we shouldn't have stayed. They'll be on the lookout for us now, specifically by species."

"If we wouldn't have shared what we found, we would have been in even deeper hell," Rina spat back, shaking off the disgusting water off of her fur. "Well you'd best come up with a plan soon. Because I'm guessing if we don't, they're going to deploy an entire squadron to the Network Point, and then we'll have no chance of getting in. What about using some of those devices you have or something?"

Obsidian was silent, "I... don't know what to do." The Weavile hung his head, "Penance always came up with everything. Everyone always came up with everything. And there is no telling what Gabe is capable of. Whatever party trick he did up there... he can do far worse." Obsidian looked away, "From what Penance told me, Darkrai is able to resurrect the dead to serve him, cause illusions... just all manner of bad stuff. He needs the power to do it, yeah, but right now he has more than an abundance of it. Right now they know they are after a Weavile and a Espeon. If I go up there and snoop around the access point that's more than enough information they need to just detain me then and there. I have no ways to talk to Snype now, so he can't pull of his distractions when I need him to." The Weavile sat down, "I need to catch my breath. It isn't helping if I'm just exhausted while I need to think."

Rina looked at the Weavile and rolled her eyes. She reached into her sack and pulled out a slab of paper and a writing utensil, and pushed it over to Obsidian. "Give me the name of the 'mon you want to contact through the Network, their location, and the message you want to send," She stated sternly.

Obsidian looked and bit his lower lip, "I can't let you risk it." He finally stated. "Look, I can get in, but the risks of getting caught are high. You all have much less to lose if I'm caught than you. You have knowledge of the various safe houses here. You know the routes. You know everyone probably by face and name. If you get caught then everything is lost. I barely know anything. If Gabe gets me then sure, he finds out Seeker stuff. But I know diddly squat compared to Penance. You have to hide for now. You have to get to the safest place you can."

"He won't catch me if I don't want him to," Rina replied. "We of the Brotherhood know the risks going in. If we're caught, all they'll have is corpses. All I'm hearing is how you're complaining about not knowing what to do, while my country continues to rot. I'm tired of it. My friends have constantly payed for Gabriel's tyranny with their lives. My brother first, then my friends, and now Creed, Jari... I'm tired, and I don't care anymore. I'm going to the Network Point, and I'm going to deliver this message, even if it kills me. You think I have anything else to lose?" She asked as tears began to form in her eyes. "I've already lost practically everything. I won't lose Argime too."

Obsidian was quiet for a moment, "Yeah... I get you." He shrugged helplessly, "I guess you're going to go out there, emotions clouding your judgement right? You're just going to let yourself get caught. Well, if you do so..." He set his pack down, "I have to give you something first. It'll help in the long run. It's a SEC device. Basically...." Suddenly Obsidian pulled his hand out as the sleeping powder that he had flew out and nailed Rina right in the face, "It's going to keep you safe, even if you don't want to be."

Rina struggled for a moment to get free from his grasp, but soon felt the effect of Obsidian's powder and fell limp to the cold wet floor of the sewers.

Obsidian sighed and kneeled next to her as he picked her up, "Rina... you are more important than I. Don't let your emotions control you." He walked a bit further into the sewers until he found what he needed. It was a small alcove with some sewage placed around in it. He gently laid her there and patted her head, "... Seek the light Rina." He murmured. He took his pack off and set it next to her. "Gabriel cannot find the scroll. Keep it safe Rina." He took in a deep breath and began walking once more, soon breaking out into a light jog as he made his way along until he finally found another exit out of the sewers. He would stick out, he knew that in a way, but what mattered was that he got his message out. He had to get it out by any means after all.

As he peeked out he could only wince. Chaos... pure blooded chaos was all he saw. Of course the citizens were running around in pure fear of their own soldiers. Others were being thrown down as soldiers dragged them. Loud noises were echoing around as doors were smashed in, and even some areas appeared to be lit on fire, no doubt from the Royal Knights. Obsidian slowly made his way out and dashed through the streets. He had to keep low and hidden in the shadows. At this point, he doubted the knights would be friendly near the Network Point. They would most surely try to kill him once he got there. He just had to be unseen for a moment... just for a moment.

He dashed along the streets, feeling his heart beat with every step as he made his way closer and closer to where he knew the point was. Along the way he could hear the terrified screams around him. Honestly, Gabriel expected to host a banquet after THIS? Surely he would have pulled a stunt after the banquet. Still, the darkness did much to cover him. At the point itself was quite the site. Royal Knights were being set up around the perimeter. If he didn't move now... then all would be lost. He took in a deep breath and as he hid behind a building he decided to make a run for it. He looked over at one part of the perimeter still left to be protected and began to make a run for it. He would sneak in before they got a chance to spot him, though one Royal knight, a Raichu, did glance in his direction.

Obsidian didn't even notice the glance as he ran along the building itself and placed his back against a wall, taking in a few deep breaths as he did his best to peer among one of the openings to see how many were with the psychics. He didn't want to... but he very well would be forced to battle if he could get his message out that much sooner. The Psychics were still there, as was the buffer watching them. However, also in the room were half a dozen Royal Knights discussing among themselves.

It was do or die. If he could at least alert Alex, he knew that his friend would think smart before coming over. Taking in a deep breath he slipped in through the opening and wasted no time in tossing out two Shadow Balls right at the buffer. "Hey guys. Sorry, but I don't really want to be here when Darkrai shows up." He narrowed his eyes, "Who wants to dance?"

The buffer of the Psychics was sent back and got knocked to the floor at the end of the room. The Royal Knights instantly brought their attention to the Weavile who just entered and attacked. Two Mightyena Royal Knights tried to bite at him with crunch, while a Victreebell shot a Vine Whip at him. A Furret attempted a pound, and a Poliwhirl and Octillery bubblebeams.

Obsidian snapped his claws together as two identical copies appeared on either side of him. All copies dashed about as one of them got hit with a Crunch and quickly faded away. As the other Mightyena leaped at him Obsidian gave a short hop to instead jump on the Mightyena's head and use it as leverage to jump further to get behind him and land behind the ranks of the knights. "PSYCHICS! MESSAGE OUT TO FORT FERROL! ALEX COMES HERE!" He shrieked out. With him now behind the knights Obsidian dashed back... right for the buffer. He readied his two claws, "You're dead!" He cried out as he came closer, more than intent to shichkabob the buffer to the wall. The claws penetrated the buffered stomach and blood spilled out of his mouth.

"Stop that message!" The Poliwhirl cried back, firing off another water gun. The Mightyena still upright dashed toward the Psychics, while the Victreebell fired a Razor Leaf toward Obsidian. The Psychics quickly banded together at Obsidian's words and tried to shoot off the message as quickly as possible.

"Anything else to say in it?" One of the Psychics asked quickly to Obsidian. "Red alert! Tollen red alert!" He shouted. He could either block the Razor Leaf, or protect the psychics. He chose the later. A Shadow Ball appeared in between his hands as he whipped around and threw it right at the Mightyena. With his guard down the leafs managed to stick into him. Two jabbed into his chest while another hit into his thigh. Obsidian cried out in pain as his struck leg gave out under him and he fell onto a knee. But he wasn't giving up that easily. He cried out as he shot out another Ball at the Victrebell. "Get the message out now!" He screamed.

The Psychics concentrate further and tightened their eyes. The Mightyena stumbled from the Shadow Ball, but his type effectiveness made it hardly slow him down. He came right at the Psychics, and attempted to tackle them over to distract them. Meanwhile the Octillery and Poliwhirl both fired another round of water guns at Obsidian, while the Victreebell shot a Stun Spore on him. The Furret and other Mightyena also tackle the Psychics to break their concentration.

Obsidian managed to get out one last Shadow Ball, that at a MightyenaI before the Stun Spore hit him. He let out a cry and fell to the ground, his body tingling from paralysis as he grit his teeth. Any attempt to get up was only met by numb muscles. "Guess... I fucked you guys... up." He chuckled a bit, "The light... shall be sought... " He gasped out.

The Mightyena and Furret finally managed to subdue the Psychics while the second Mightyena was hit back by the Shadow Ball. The Psychics glanced at Obsidian from the ground, with the Meowstic among them giving Obsidian a weak smile and a nod. The other Royal Knights meanwhile, surrounded Obsidian on the ground. The Victreebell fired off an additional Stun Spore to ensure he was paralyzed fully, while the Poliwhirl shot a supersonic at him.

"What should we do to him?" The Octillery asked.

"Keep him alive for now. It's Brotherhood garb, he might know something," The Poliwhirl commanded. "Take him to Gabriel."

Snype - To be Commended and Destroyed

Snype was able to make his escape out of the Spa. Once again he was on his own. The team was scattered a bit through the mess going on within the Spa but Snype was still sure that he was the primary target next to the brotherhood. As long as the other thieves weren't spotted things should still go somewhat smoothly. All Snype had to do now was survive. He was quick to make his way through the streets of Tollen, his hood hanging over his head. He still had yet to learn how far Gabe has gone into finding Snype, The Thieves, and the Brotherhood.

All across him, the city appeared to be in turmoil. Royal Knights and standing army soldiers were patrolling around, questioning random citizens, and breaking through homes. They burned certain homes that were unoccupied and attacked those they were considering disloyal. It was a massive effort with the goal to take out those who plague the city, as Snype would hear. Clearly he was apart of it.

The Rhyperior Royal Knight fromt he spa, as well as a Mismagius and Pidgeotto all jumped soon after from the spa and began to pursue the direction Snype went to. The Mismagius caught sight of the Sableye and motioned the others, who also looked on and began to pursue the Sableye. They were border Royal Knights, highly trained and advanced in combat and many other skills. The border Royal Knights have earned their reputation under Gabriel as the strongest Royal Knights around, on the level of the Gold Tribe in Beatruce and Valkaria.

Gabe wasn't exactly going to be winning any points by storming into people's homes like this... he couldn't see how this would benefit his position in becoming the next king. Though he supposed that wouldn't matter if the Queen were killed. Snype was at a disadvantage. Two Pokemon flying in the air, and a absolute juggernaut on the ground. Not to mention one of them was a ghost type so Snype didn't have much places to hide. He needed a plan and fast or he'd lead the storm right to the other safe houses. He had to see just what kind of skill level he was going against. Those Royal Knights looked more powerful then any of the others Snype had encountered.

Snype did have his SEC equipment though. He could disguise himself and likely get out of trouble... he'd have to do it when out of sight though. Right now the three knights were on his tail. He prepared Detect just to make sure of any tricks they may have had on them.

The Rhyperior leaped forward with one giant stepped and slammed the ground in front of him, causing a Fissure to form across the street, destroying the ground beneath the feet of anyone in front of them. Meanwhile, the Pidgeotto circled in front and tried to strike at the Sableye with a Fly, whle the Mismagius fired a Confuse Ray at him.

Snype was thankfully able to avoid the deadly Fissure attack and keep his position. When the Pidgeotto flew in from above, Snype held out his claws and struck back while taking a hit himself. Snype caught notice of the Mismagius's Confuse Ray and was hit by it, scrambling his mind a bit. This would be a perfect chance to land a good hit on Snype, but the Sableye was always prepared. His bag was stashed with plenty of supplies to deal with these kind of crippling moves. Snype reached into his pack and munched on a Persim berry immediately, returning his senses. The King of Thieves wasn't going to fall over that easily!

"Not ones for negotiation eh? Keheh. Alright then!" Snype said as his eyes gave off a sharp glimmer. Soon after, he would give off a blinding bright flash from his eyes!

The Pidgeotto, as it was preparing for another strike, was hit directly by the flash, as was the Mismagius. The Rhyperior was also hit, but instead of succumbing to it, he decided to randomly toss Rock throws forward in the hopes of hitting his target.

Snype was quick to counter attack. The Rhyperior was a big powerful threat... a perfect target for one of Snype's signature attacks, Foul Play. The lack of Precision on the Rock Throws made it a bit easier to avoid them, giving Snype the chance to approach. Snype's figure would fade into a dark blur, rushing toward the Rypherior and striking him right in the stomach. Foul Play allowed Snype to use his opponents attack power right back at them. Perfect for a giant opponent like this.

The Rhyperior roared loudly from the immense damage caused along his stomach. He held it and doubled over. However, the other two Royal Knights recovered by now and brought their gaze back to the Sableye. The Pidgeotto charged in with an Aerial Ace, while the Mismagius elected to fire another Confuse Ray.

Snype was countered by the Arial Ace and at the same time, hit by the Second Confuse Ray. "Ngh!" Snype shouted in pain. Snype didnt want to burn through his supply of berries so he had to make do and focus! He had to weaken both of these Knights and open an opportunity to escape. Snype prepared will o wisp and fired several blue flames toward the Pidgeotto to burn it. The Pidgeotto was hit by the sudden colorful burst of flames and knocked temporarily out of the sky. The Rhyperior meanwhile stumbled back to his feet and tried to launch a Rock Throw again at the Sableye, this time with his eyes a bit more fresh.

Once Snype finished with his Will-o-Wisp Attack, he turned around to see a gigantic rock about to hit Snype. He rolled away but the shock wave of the Rock's impact sent him flying a bit of distance. The Pidgeotto was crippled now... but he was still in a nasty situation. "Keheh... just following orders as usual eh? Figured more of you Knights would notice something weird by now." Snype said with a smirk as he backed up, giving off a glimmer in his eye.

The Rhyperior all but ignored the Salbeye as he talked, instant charging forward in an attempt to bring him down with a Take Down. The Mismagius, meanwhile, re-emerged and tried to fire a Growl at the King of Thieves.

Snype was able to use Detect once more, leaping over the Rypherior's take down attack and landing right on top of his head. Meanwhile he looked to the Mismagius and chuckled at the growl. "Keheh, that growl sounds cute coming from you!" Snype said, giving off a small wink, not even considering the gender but either way, a taunt was a taunt! Snype was sitting right on the Rypherior's horn. He wiggled his behind at the Rypherior to taunt him.

"Shut up, you piece of garbage!" The Mismagius shouted, firing a Confuse Ray right toward Snype on top of the Rhyperior.

"Wait, you idiot!" The Rhyperior roared as the Confuse Ray came for both Snype and him.

Snype would be hit by the Confuse Ray as well, considering how accurate the move was, but in return, the Rhyperior was hit as well. Snype decided to hang out on top of the Rhyperior, still firm on his horn. "Ogghhh... dizzy... kehe... hey look! It's the King of Thieves!" Snype said, pointing to the Mismagius. He was purple like him at least! Was he saying that out of strategy or his confusion?

The Rhyperior glanced at the Mismagius with his confused eyes and ran forward toward him.

"What, wait, I'm not th-" The Rhyperior used a Rock Slide and pounded the Mismagius like a rag doll, delivering blow after blow of powerful rubble and stone from around, strengthened by the fact he used marble instead of regular rock. The Mismagius was helpless in the face of that strength.

Snype laughed loudly, nearly falling off of the horn he was sitting on.. "Hahaha! Good boy! Can't wait to see Gabes face when you explain this little incident!" Snype said . This was his chance to make an escape. Snype had no intention on killing these Royal Knights as it wouldn't make him look any better but he could at least hide somewhere now.

"Kehe, you have fun! We'll meet up somewhere in town again!" Snype said, only saying this to confuse the Rhyperior even more. Snype clenched his fist and used Foul Play right on the Rhyperior's face. Though Snype's own confusion was kicking in. Instead of using his fist, he used his head. It would certaintly hurt the Rhyperior nonetheless, but Snype would feel the recoil go right up his skull.

The Rhyperior clung its head and fell back in the confusion. Unable to stand up straight anymore, he roared very loudly and for a long time, drawing the attention of many other 'mon toward his direction. The Pidgeotto had temporarily recovered enough to try to make one final dive for the Sabeleye with a Fly. It's burned wings tried to slice at the Sableye once more.

That Roar would be trouble! On top of that, Snype wasn't exactly looking like a big hero here but what was he to expect? Snype was a fugitive at this point! The Confused Sableye clenched onto his head after bashing his skull and was hit by the fly attack. A large cut would be visable across the Sableye's arm. "Gah! K-k-keheh..." Snype cried out with a sneer. The Sableye would attempt to make his escape away from the three Royal Knights.

The Pidgeotto pursued behind him, desperate to not let his prey go despite the burning sensation happening around him. He tried to fire off one more gust attack, just as he succumbed to his burns and fell from the sky.

Snype was sent right off of his feet and sent to the ground by the sharp winds. The Pidgeotto was down however, leaving Snype time to escape. He ended up with some pretty bad injuries though. He needed a safe place to use Recover or heal using a berry. All around, the murmurs of soldiers and Royal Knights could be heard as they wandered the streets, questioning 'mon and burning homes. The soldiers were particularly relentless, even going as far as beating those that didn't comply. It was a terrible mess that was happening. With the Rhyperior's last roar, however, more knights and soldiers seemed gathered around the area, searching for the source of the outcry.

Snype had to recover himself... but the chaos going on in town wasn't something he could simply ignore. Snype was still injured however. Tollen really was becoming more chaotic with this whole search. Snype felt extremely guilty. These Knights were searching for him no doubt, along with the brotherhood. "Gah... gotta relax..." Snype thought to himself. He took a moment to concentrate, using Recovery to heal his wounds. This took alot of energy to do so he would still have to take a moment to breathe after his wounds were healed. Snype moved into one of the abandoned homes to keep out of sight for the time being.

The moment Snype entered the abandoned home, he was suddenly struck by an Energy Ball that collided straight into his chest. The origin of the attack came from a Pokemon at the far end of the room, clouded by the darkness of the room, combined with the darkened night sky outside. Only the subtle light from the flames of burning homes outside and the bright moon above gave any indication on who the Pokemon was.

Snype was hit square in the chest by the Energy Ball. To top off his weakened state, it quickly sent Snype right to the floor. "Ngh... b...blast..." Snype muttered quietly as he clutched his chest and tried to keep himself conscious.



"There is a subtle beauty in knowing that an end approaches," The 'mon stated in its low, hardened, metallic voice. "You all cannot yet comprehend it, but it is there, just over the horizon. To know that such a drastic undertaking, something so life-altering and unimaginably divergent of the current state, is so close warms the iron in my body to a melting point," The 'mon took a few steps closer to the Sableye, peering down upon him. "And then there is you. You… you and your little band of squabbling fools seeking to prevent it.

I confess not to know whether to commend you for trying to fight a losing battle, or to destroy you absolutely for being one of the few bastions preventing this undertaking from coming to pass. Or perhaps… I can do both."

General Marcus Tyren stepped from the shadows of the room and revealed himself to the King of Thieves. "All of us, the Agents of Darkrai, are different in our methods, and bound in our actions by contrasting motivations," He continued to explain as he examined the devastation his soldiers caused on the streets of Tollen. "And as such, we go about our commitments in whichever way we please. Gabriel's way is much different than my own. I consider him a fool for not taking action against you or the diplomats in a much more brutal fashion once your presence in Tollen has been confirmed. When a threat to your cause is revealed, the quickest way to ensure your continued success is to destroy that threat... immediately." General Tyren scraped its lance-arms along the walls, breaking apart the tough marble interior with ease as a demonstration of his tenacity, his determination, and his strength. He then turned back to Snype and gestured for him to rise.

"So stand, stand, King of Thieves. Stand and let wrath be brought upon you. Stand and be commended, and stand and be destroyed."

Snype vs General Marcus Tyren

Snype clutched onto his chest, breathing heavily. Snype had to admit he was at a severe disadvantage right now. On top of that, this was an Agent of Darkrai. Snype had no idea what to expect other then to stall for awhile. "Keheh... thanks but I like the floor. Tastes pretty good if ya wanna try." Snype said with a cocky grin, and a faint glimmer in his eye.

Tyren glared at Snype with his stern, remorseless expression and pointed a lance-arm menacingly at the Sableye. From the very end point of the lance, another Energy Ball formed and fired upon Snype. "I suppose it matters not to me whether you agree to fight or not. You end comes today regardless. The only difference is how you will be remembers by those who know your name. And by myself." Immediately after he released the attack, Marcus stormed forward to deliver another set of Energy Balls directly at the Sableye again.

Snype smirked and prepared Detect beforehand, managing to the oncoming stream of Energy Balls. "Who said I disagreed to fight? Kehehe" Snype prepared a will-o-wisp to at least cripple him. "You agents are insane if you honestly see any sort of benefit to this plan of yours. Even crazier if you think it'll work. Keheh... so many gaping holes in it! Everything Gabe has worked for can only go downhill from here." Snype said confidently.

"And you believe you have any knowledge of what we're trying to accomplish?" Tyren questioned, as he stormed past the will-o-wisp on approach to him. The burning move crumbled instead against the home, causing it to light up slightly in a minor flame. Tyren kept going and swiftly ran by Snype, attempting to slash his side with his lance blades, an X-Scissor. He swiped the powerful attack in an attempt to cut deep into the rips of the Sableye. "Any insight you believe you possess is already tainted by your past biases. Thus, you are blind."

Snype stepped back, still taking heavy damage from the cut and slightly losing his balance. "Gyah... keheh... well I don't exactly appreciate my home being attacked. I don't really care what you're trying to accomplish, but it can't be any good for us." Snype said as he clenched his fist and used Shadow Sneak, sending his shadow behind the Escavalier. Snype would dissapear and reappear behind him, swiping with his claws.

Seeing the Sableye's shadow travel along the ground, the Escavalier promptly turned behind him, and held up one of his lances to block Snype's claws. The dinging of metal was heard as the two sharp tools clashed, before Tyren stepped forward again and unleashed another Energy Ball upon him. "Your home," Marcus repeated. "Your home was chosen first for a reason, you know. As repayment for the debt of imprisonment," The Escavalier explained.

Snype was blasted once more, feeling his vision get fairly fuzzy now. This wasn't good... Snype wasn't in a position to fight him right now. He had to think fast on how to make use of his tools properly. "Fine then. Educate me then eh? What do you aim to accomplish? Especially here in Tollen?" Snype asked, panting heavily.

General Tyren did not desist in his attacks, instead seeing Snype's halting as an opportunity to inflict more damage while simultaneously sharing what he thought was pertinent. He fired another Energy Ball at the Sableye, and only afterward did he temporarily halt in order to explain a bit. "In Tollen? We seek for Tollen what we seek for the entire world. A New World. A better one, free of chains and limitations, pestilence and boundaries. Free of walls to prevent our unlimited potential. Think of your forest of Eden in Valkaria, and project it across the world. Is it such a bad idea, King of Thieves?"

Snype took the hit once more, hitting the floor... "N...ngh... keheh...I feel like I've heard this one before..the thieves always talked about this sort of thing after the Gold Tribe gave them the boot into the forest." Snype said, trying to think fast before he was killed right on the spot here. Tyren was seeing through all of his tricks... he had to use something unexpected.

"You're not exactly being specific with whatcha want here... keheh... A new world eh? Just for you and you're overlord Darkrai... keheh... " Snype had a plan that could potentially get him out of this situation as well as give him alot of time.

"A world for everyone to be apart of, not just the Dark One and those who follow him," Tyren corrected the Sableye. Darkrai has no intention of becoming your overlord. He doesn't seek to control. It is the propaganda of those you follow that makes you believe that," He stated sternly in his metallic voice.

Snype frowned. Tyren was sounding fairly convincing here. "Well if he doesn't intend to become an overlord, what of Gabe? That seems to be exactly what he has planned from what I've been hearing." Snype responded sternly. "Doesn't exactly sound like a world for "everyone" here."

"Gabriel," Tyren repeated the name with a hint of displeasure. "I do not know about Gabriel. I know nothing about him, just as I know little about the other Agents. What I do know is that while all of the rumors claim otherwise, he is not from Tollen, as he claims to be. He was assigned here, placed here. But the method he chose to acquire chaos, while it is perhaps effective, is also deplorable. We are all bound by the chaos pact, yet his is solely focused on that, it seems. Darkrai has his end goal in mind, and perhaps first he has to destroy a bit of what was one established in order for the new to rise."

"I'm not convinced. If anything, Gabe's plans totally go against this whole new world your trying to make. He's going to be the King of Tollen and he seems like someone who would have so much fun with that kind of power. Keheh. Yeah this is gonna be a great world! Sure this frog totally destroyed an entire city and its people but I'm feeling really good about the future right now!" Snype stated sarcastically. "I find it hard to believe every one of you Agents are one the same page here. You know how easy it'd be to betray each other? Keheh..."

"What a nosy, informed pest you are," Tyren spat, as he dashed forward in order to slash Snype back onto the ground. "I am curious as to where you've gotten your information. Right as it may be, there is one crucial aspect that you are mistaking. Gabriel will become the King of Tollen, a very prestigious title which much can be done with. And what will he do with it? Simply toss it all away like it is meaningless trash. He cares nothing for the people of this country or its traditions! He cares little for the lives of anyone, in fact! If Darkrai had chosen me to take that title, a true son of Tollen, this may have all gone much differently. But for some reason, he made his choice differently. You are right about one thing... all of us Agents, we act in different ways, and fight for different reasons. We think differently, we feel differently, and we go about our duties differently. The only thing that binds us is our promised sum, and the chaos pact, the promise to promote the power of Darkrai."

Snype was attacked once again, this time causing him to cough up a bit of blood onto the floor. As he landed though, his hand moved behind him to make it look somewhat natural. He was reaching for something in his bag but tried to make it seem like a really bad wound. "Gah...guess ya don't care to see your own home destroyed eh? Not one bit?" Snype asked. His hand meanwhile was searching for a specific bracelet to put around his arm...

"The exact opposite is true," Tyren explained. "No patriot wishes to see their home burned. But sometimes, the sacrifice is worth it. Now enough talking. Stand, Snype. And I will give you the benefit of a swift death."

Snype smirked, equipping the bracelet in his bag. "Keh... The King of Thieves never dies..." Snype said, giving a glare to Tyren.

Marcus immediately extended his arm toward the Sableye and clicked on a bracelet of his own, one which seemed somewhat similar in design to the invisibility bracelet, though a bit smaller. It released an electric pulse, which somehow caused the invisibility bracelet Snype wore to malfunction. "Perhaps in title only. But you, Snype, will not have the same fortune," Tyren declared. He fired a set of Energy Balls at the Sableye before gesturing to his bracelet he wore.

"One thing Gabriel did do that I was content with, was confiscating the technology from SEC," He explained. "Using our own resources, we devised a counter bracelet which would negate the effects of the bracelets we salvaged."

Snype was blastered by more Energy Balls and his escape plan had failed. At this point, Snype couldn't even move his body anymore. "No... I can't die here..." He thought to himself, his vision growing more blurred. He was frozen on the ground, vulnerable to be finished off. "...sorry..." He thought aloud, not to anything specific in the area. Snype was out of options.

"Your resistance is admirable," Marcus Tyren said as he rolled toward Snype, prepared to deliver the final blow. "And unquestionably, your thorn to our side made have been the largest. But there was never any doubt to the outcome. What can normal 'mon do against the might of a legendary, after all?" He lifted his lance, and prepared to deliver a final X-Scissor upon the Sableye. But his lance-arm was suddenly stopped.

"I never took you to be one that fought on the front lines anymore, General Tyren," Came the voice of one Snype met recently. A Monferno stood between Snype and the General now, confidently staring down the Escavalier.

"You... Popous!" General Tyren hissed in his metallic voice. "What is the meaning of your intrusion?!"

"I'm more interested in what you're doing to the citizens of Argime with your soldiers, General," Popous retorted and crossed his arms. "Beating helpless Pokemon on the streets? Causing fires? Dropping anyone who stands in your way? What madness has caused such deprave acts from you, General? You are no General Isabella."

"You are who stands in my way now, Popous," Marcus spat angrily. "Move, or you will join the rest in fire."

Popous shrugged and remained in place. "Well, I'd certainly like to see you try."

A angry hissing noise came from the Escavalier. He stared down the Monferno menacingly, who only stared back at him just as menacingly. During the action of the fighting, a few other 'mon from nearby were standing beside the open doors and broken windows of the abandoned house, watching the two face each other off. "... soon," Marcus finally replied, as he turned and left through the crushed front door. "Your time will come soon, Popous. You've chosen the wrong side."

Popous watched the General leave, and motioned for the rest of the 'mon around to depart. They did so eventually, leaving Snype alone with Popous. The Monferno walked over to the Sableye and offered him a hand to help him up. "You've come a long way from napping on the streets and drinking at the Pit, haven't you Aden?"

Snype couldn't move. However to figure that stood before him looked familiar. "You... heh... I remember ya... gah..." Snype seemed to be struggling to keep conscious. Snype finally remembered. There was a note about Popous in the Royal Commander log. When they last met up, he mentioned that he was never brought into the Royal Knights due to Gabe's choice due to his superior potential to take on the role.

Snype had several large cuts over his body, and was pelted with Energy Balls. He was on his last ropes.

"Oh man, you're in worse shape than I thought," Popous huffed as he scooped the Sableye off the floor and slung him over his back. "What the heck are you doing, getting into a fight with a General? Don't you know he's one of the best fighters in Tollen? We're going to my house so you can recover and rest, and then you're going to tell me everything."

Snype didn't really have a choice in the matter. As soon as Snype was picked up, he would pass out from exhaustion and allow Popous to carry him back to his home.

Obsidian - Imprisoned

It was sometime later before Obsidian finally full came to his senses. He would notice himself in a dark room little lighting. His arms were bounded with chains ties to the roof of whatever building was in front of him. Below him was the cold, hard ground of a dungeon. Directly in front of him was the bars of a prison, and just outside of that was a Greninja sitting on a stool with his legs crossed.

"Man you Valkarians," Gabriel began to say as he watched the Weavile stir. "You're a tricky bunch. Pulling a fast one on me. And here I thought the diplomats were the only ones who came in. Now I see that the King of Thieves is also here? As well as the Madman's personal lackey? Which brings me to my next question. If you're here, he's probably not too far off, right? Make it easier for yourself, Obsidian. Where's Penance?" He asked courteously

Obsidian coughed a bit and looked up with a small smile, "I could say... but that's ruining the surprise, right? You probably heard how Penance loves surprises." He shook his head and blinked a bit, "I never really did get to talk with you back there, but I do have some critiques. Very sloppy in Valkaria." He sighed, "I mean, look, I don't want to be mean or anything. You did... alright, but would another year have really killed you? I mean, you would have Tollen under control, the Sceptile... I forgot his name, but he would have been in full power. Honestly, you must have s**t management to try and go ahead so far."

He looked over at Gabe, "I know I can't guess what you can do... but it's funny. You're just as smart as Penance is. I mean, LOOK at you." He glanced around the dungeon, "Okay, not the most scenic of places, but you got to the top of the freaking charts! Honestly, if Darkrai wasn't around, I could see you easily joining the Seekers and probably almost ready to kick Penance out of his position of leader." He sighed, "But it's too late for that isn't it? I'm trained... so go at me. Mind torture, peeling my skin off, whatever. It'll take some time to crack me, so go ahead. As for Penance? Well... Brynn convinced him to let me come here with the others. If Penance REALLY was around, do you think he would let me go off to get captured by you?" He asked as he raised his brow, "You know how protective he is of me."

Gabriel glanced at Obsidian in silence. He let his words sink in for the moment without a reply, before he began to speak. "Grett," He stated simply. "His name is General Grett. You should remember that," He stated and shrugged his shoulders. "Good points, but... Penance didn't know I was here. So him sending you off to get captured is irrelevant, isn't it?" He asked before shaking his head. "No, I'm guessing he's not to far off... I'd like to know where, but I'm guessing you won't say, so I'll convince you later. Torture isn't really my thing. But I know some people who aren't half bad in it!" He added cheerfully.

"Of course we can avoid it altogether if you simply just tell me where he is," He continued. "As for Tollen... I think you're missing the point of what's going on, aren't you?" He asked, before he uncrossed his legs and stood up. "The keyword is control. There's a big hint. What do you make of that?"

Obsidian tilted his head, "Um... I did mention control." Obsidian stated bluntly, "Look, I know you have a lot of things on your mind, but you really should see someone about that memory problem. That's probably why you 're sucking so lately." He gave a meek shrug, "Honestly, I'm just trying to help you here. Okay, memorize these numbers." He placed three claws up, "Three, two," As he got to one only his middle claw showed, "One. Now recite the order of the numbers please. Just to make sure it isn't a memory problem of course." He said cheerfully right on back.

Gabriel chuckled at Obsidian's gesture. "Good one," He stated. "But I said control because you said it. See, the reason you guys and my side can never get along is because of one fundamental problem," He held one hand up balled in a fist, while the other one was held open with the palm facing Obsidian. "Control." He stated again, and motioned to the hand with the closed fist. "Freedom." He then said, gesturing to the open hand on the other side. "You think... we're this, control," He explained, gesturing to the fist. "But that's not true! We're this," He motioned to the palm. "We're freedom. You are control. Alpha Alliance, Kingdom of Tollen, Empire of Karn. Every modern society here is based on that fundamentally iron fist of control. And the problem here is that you think we want to swoop in and take control of everything the you have laid out."

Gabriel shook his head. "We don't. All we want to bring... is true freedom," He explained, gesturing to the open hand. "But the only way to do that, is to first break the control."

"And there is a reason why control works." Obsidian countered, "Because it has helped us to survive as a species. Let me ask you this, if there was true freedom all around, would anyone want to ally with each other? Of course not. If chaos ruled everyone would lock themselves up in their caves to avoid being backstabbed. The reason we emerged into societies like this is because we realized, a long time ago, that if we band together, we can accomplish great things. Look at this palace for instance! If no mon trusted each other, then sure enough this palace would have never been built. Tollen would have never become a country. Instead, there would be tribes of one mon each constantly fighting. You wouldn't mate because of the fear of being stabbed in the back by your mate. Children would be killed for fear of them stabbing you one day in the back."

He shook his head, "It's a service we've relied on for too long. It's... something we've forgotten. If this palace was taken from you, if every friend was suddenly an enemy, if every sibling you ever had would turn on you in seconds with pure freedom... what would life be like then? What sort of future is that for mon kind? Just kill everyone until only two mon are left? One kills the other and all life stops everywhere?"

He snorted, "That's not a life I want to live. Look, Penance is controlling, yes, but... if he hadn't been there I wouldn't be where I am now. I picked somethings up from him WITHOUT being afraid he would stick a dagger in my back." He closed his eyes, "I know Darkrai has a lot of tricks up his sleeves... and I know he can easily break me if he wants. So... go ahead. I'm in no position to try and escape, but I can resist." He opened his eyes and stared at Gabriel, "You know... despite all of the anger you caused Penance... I saw something else in his eyes. When he talked about you... he was angry sure... but also impressed. Sort of like he respected you." Obsidian weakly shrugged, "I know I can never get that shimmer in his eyes. I'm... not strategical like him. I probably will never get to his level."

He fell silent for a moment, "Well, do what you have to do. Though I will say this. He's looking for an honest battle of wits with you. You better be ready, because if not, you're just going to disappoint him."

When Obsidian finished speaking, Gabriel eyed him curiously. "You're still stuck in your 'control' mindset. Yeah sure, control 'works', as you said. But we're not looking at what 'works'." The Greninja stood up, and moved toward the cell. "All we're looking to do... is build our New World."

He then glanced around the dark room of the prison and chuckled. "Battle of wits, eh? So then you admit that he's here, or at least that he's coming for you. That's basically what I needed to know. Honestly, I was hoping he would be here, with those diplomats. When he wasn't there, I was curious. But when I heard about the secondary group, it made a bit more sense."

Gabriel then considered Obsidian's words, and shrugged. "Hmmm... nah. I mean, I would torture you, well, I wouldn't, but Penance, or rather Paradox," Gabriel corrected himself, holding up a finger as he looked at Obsidian. "Paradox, not Penance, that bit is important, did do that to me. But I think it would be much fun going in blind, don't you? His plans against mine, his tricks against my own? And we see who comes out on top? Besides, if anything does go wrong, I'll always have you! There's nothing a dad wouldn't do for his kid, right?"

Obsidian shrugged, "I guess? ... Can I honestly say I have no idea how he'll react if he DOES see me here? I mean..." Obsidian frowned, "Do you honestly see us as father and son? I mean... he never really... It's hard to explain." Obsidian said.

"Well I hope for your sake he values your life a bit," Gabriel replied with a shrug. "I always assumed you were his kid, but I guess it's not the first time I've been wrong. Paradox thinks he's Darkrai's son too, from what I understand. So, you want something to eat? Can't have you starve in here? Food? Drink? Grool? I'll have them bring you some grool." He stated and turned to leave.

"Well... grool would make it a more natural prison experience!" He called after Gabriel.

"Grool it is, then!" Gabriel called back. "We'll be seeing you soon!"

Faltering

Isabella ran to the far side of the room as the Royal Knights burst through the spa and began to attack. The attack wasn't too surprising, as she expected now that the presence of the thieves was known by Gabriel and Marcus Tyren, they would be quick in attempting to eliminate them. However, she didn't expect them to be that quick. It was with great precision and efficiency that they came about this exact location that they were hiding in. Either they were tailed, or someone tipped them off. Her suspicions immediately went to the owners of the spa, who may have given their names up in exchange for a bit of extra coin or for the guarantee that they would be gone from their place of business.

She shot a Stun Spore upon the ones directly in front of the thieves, hoping this would help slow them down as they made their escape. As most of them managed to slip out one way or another, she sighed in relief. She then decided to concentrate on her own escape. The hole seemed to be taken by Obsidian and Rena, who had successfully gotten out. Isabella then decided to used the front entrance back up through the main cavern they established. She ran through, firing off a Stun Spore through the path once more, hopefully to deter anyone who would be up front, then stormed through.

Suddenly, a burst of energy, apparently electrical in nature, struck at her and propelled her backward. This shock was quickly followed by a Psychic energy which slammed into her just as she was about to make her escape from the pathway. The collision was hard along her back and neck, causing a throbbing sensation to ensue from her. She finally collided onto the ground from the hit, and heard the Royal Knights closing in on her. Isabella would have liked to continue forward undeterred, but the type advantage the attack had on her caused her to weakened quite extensively. Nonetheless, she forced herself up and tried to grab for her books before she continued out. However, as she grabbed for her two books, she noticed one of them, the Guardians one, was misplaced.

Isabella didn't understand. Even as she was struck by the energy, she still felt her hands strongly grasp the two books as if her life depended on it. It didn't make sense that one of them was now gone from her hands. She noticed the book in the air soon after, fluttering away as if some invisible force was drawing it to them. A Sandslash Royal Knight came between her and the book now. Though injured quite badly, Isabella shot out a Razor Leaf upon the Sandslash. The Royal Knight attempted to duck to the side and avoid the attack, but Isabella purposefully expanded the range of the attacks as to attack a wider area. The Sandslash fell back, though she expected he would get up soon enough to attack again.

That was when a secondary Psychic blast hit her square in the chest. The blast felt even more painful the second time around, combining her older injury she received against Gabriel with this fresh one now, made her fall and fall hard. She barely noticed the Sandslash get up and storm toward her now. Another Royal Knight also joined in on the chase. Isabella, however, concentrated on the two books that floated away from her. She lifted up a hand and tried to grab for them, but they were long gone before she could try. She closed her eyes as she waited for death to come by the hands of the Royal Knights, but found herself instead begin grabbed and lifted. As she opened her eyes again, she saw herself in the clutches of Gastault, her Brotherhood follower. Grateful as she was for him rescuing her, she was more concerned with the Royal Commander log and the 'Guardians' book that was no longer in her possession. "T-the... evi..." Isabella felt her eyes darken as she slipped from consciousness.

Popous's house

Snype thought he was dead... for the longest time, all he could see was darkness. He couldn't feel his body or feel Popous carrying him anymore. Snype didn't want things to end like this however. The stubborn Sableye stuggled to keep himself in tact and survive his wounds on the way to Popouses house. The next thing he knew, he'd feel himself laying on a comfortable surface and his vision would slowly come back to him. As he woke, the shimmer in his eyes would brighten up slightly. The ceiling above him was... nothing special really. It seemed rather modest more then anything. Snype could still hardly move but his bag, hood, and anything else that was on his person was removed and set to the side.


"Ngh..." Snype muttered as he shifted in his bed, quickly feeling a sharp pain from the attempt. "A-gyah!" He shouted.


"Hey, hey!" Popous yelled as he came running into the room at Snype's shouting. He lightly nudged the Sableye to remain still. "Keep calm, and don't move. You gotta rest so that your wounds heal up properly," He explained and took a seat on the stool beside Snype.


Snype panted, trying to at least turn his head and see where he was at. He looked down at his body to see what on earth happened since he had been found nearly dead... He had bandages and several wraps mostly around the spots where he had been cut through. "W..where...I swear Tyren had me dead back there..." Snype said quietly. "Caught me off guard... if I weren't wounded before hand I'd be able to take him... those other three Royal Knights really did a number on me while hunting me down." Snype said.


"Relax, you're in my house," The Monferno stated, before raising an eyebrow. "Really, claiming you could have taken Tyren himself in a fight?" Popous asked curiously. "And saying you've been chased by three other emerald cloaks too? Pretty big deal for a random bum on the streets, isn't it? Why don't you tell me who you really are? And what's really going on, for that matter?"


"Keheh... yeah there's really no point in hiding it anymore. Sharp. No wonder Gabe didn't let you in the Royal Knights." Snype stated with a small chuckle before wincing in pain. "I'm Snype. More well known as the King of thieves. And long story short, Tollen has really hit the shitter since Gabe got here. I broke into Gabes room to find some proof that he's a total fake with this whole Savior thing and... well I found plenty of evidence to prove he was. Naturally, the whole force of the Royal Knights has me as a wanted man. Wonder how much I'd be worth here in Tollen? Kehe" Snype said with a small grin.


"A pretty hefty fee, I'm guessing," Popous replied casually as he leaned back in his stool. He didn't seem too phased at all by the sudden reveal of Snype as the King of Thieves. He seemed more curious than surprised. "And what exactly do you gain by proving he's a 'fake' and not who he claims he is? What do you gain?"


"Oh me? Not a whole lot I suppose personally. Keheh. Though my buddies at the Gold Tribe? They got alot on their hands. And don't get me started with Tollen." Snype said as he tried to turn his head to face Popous. "This is gonna be a long story. Soooo hope ya got snacks. Kehe." Snype said. Snype would begin to explain everything that has happened since he got to Tollen. Gaining Tollen as allies, the Agents of Darkrai, Gabe's true intentions, along with the rest of the information he had received while infiltrating the palace. Popous took everything in stride, listening carefully and not commenting much except for the occasional question.


When Snype finished, the Monferno took a moment of silence to process everything, before he stood up and stretched his back. "So I'm guessing your big moment is going to be at the banquet then? Where you reveal everything?"


"That's the plan... though I doubt it'll be so simple. Everyone is scattered around Tollen so who knows what's happening. I can't really do much in this condition so all I can do is sit and wait for the day to pass... tsk." Snype said with a frustrated tone.


"Good thing I ran into you, then," Popous answered and cracked his shoulders. "I've been tired of being a civilian again. If you're going to fight for this country, then you can be sure I'll fight with you. I've still got a lot of pull in the Royal Knights and the standing army. I can probably convince some of them to join our side, or at least to remain neutral during the banquet. It could relieve some pressure off of you guys as you make your speech. I can also confirm with everyone else that's supposed to be there to make sure they're ready to go. In the meantime, you can give yourself a well-earned and well-needed rest."


Snype smiled, giving off a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear... I'm more worried about the Queen though. If Gabe does get her killed, then everything will fall apart. I want to make sure that doesn't happen and by now, I'm sure Gabe expects me to show my face there. Tyren will report the whole situation to him no doubt."


"Well from what you told me, his plan is to get her during the banquet, right?" Popous asked the Sableye.


"Correct. I've made a few preperations while inside to try and prevent this from happening. Like I mentioned before, I met three Pokemon who might be able to help prevent this assassination. They'll be there to help prove Gabe's true motives. Seeing how I'm wanted now I doubt I'll be able to get in so easily. Two buddies of mine have passes so they'll be taking the front seat." Snype explained.


"It looks to me like he won't try anything anywhere else except for at the banquet itself," Popous thought out loud. "Unless of course the method he goes about is intended to break down in your system ahead of time, like through the vial you described. I do have a question though... why Tollen? What drew them here?"


Snype scratched his chin. "That's a good point... really they could have done this sort of plot anywhere... either way they want to promote chaos as Darkrai wanted them to. All to make this "new world" or whatever they're blabbing on about. Tyren told me just as much." Snype said as he tried moving again, only to wince in pain.


"Still," Popous ordered to Snype as he motioned for him to remain in place. "If that's the case, what's to stop them from doing something similar in other places? You said that they've attacked Valkaria. We know they are here in Tollen. But what if they could also be in other countries? What if they took over Beatruce too? Or Arceus forbid, Karn?"


"I'm sure that's their goal. Tollen just happened to be our first stop on our expedition to stop Darkrai. We're searching for a Pokemon by the name of Cresellia but first, we need to find allies to help us in the battle going on in Gold City. At the rate things are going, our home won't survive... keheh. I was considering going to Karn first actually... Tollen just seemed to have more mystery to it that made me more suspicious. Good thing I dropped by huh?" Snype said with a grin.


"I'm not sure where we would have stood if you didn't," Popous replied, returning Snype's grin with one of his own. "But why did they go here first? I mean, it looks like Valkaria was first to be attacked. But they had deep roots here in Tollen... bah, never mind. I guess the important thing is that we'll end it soon. Obviously, because you helped here, you can count me in to help fight against Darkrai in Gold City. For now, I'll try to help get all your guys together and ready for the banquet. Is there anything else you need me to do beforehand?"


Snype rubbed his chin. "Well... I do have a few of the others out and about Argime. Likely being hunted down by Royal Knights. They don't know the identity of the thieves I brought along with me except for a select few I'm also concerned about the condition of the other Brotherhood members... especially I-" Snype paused before saying her name, wondering if it would really be right say it up front.


"I don't think I told you about that last detail did I?" Snype said with a goofy grin.


Popous shrugged. "You shared everything else, haven't you? Do you really think I would do anything at this point? I took you into my home, after all. If I wanted you dead, I would have done it already."


Snype chuckled. "Heh. Yeah I suppose so. Seeing how you're one hundred percent on our side I figure it should be proper. Might give ya a bit more motivation out there. Kehehe. So uhhhh... what if I told ya Isabella is alive?" Snype said.


"After everything you told me about Darkrai, Gabriel, and Valkaria, I'd consider this surprise the first one that's actually good," Popous stated.


"She's in charge of the Brotherhood. Right now I picture she's in a rough spot. Gabe found her already and now he's got Royal Knights after her. I bet they don't even know its Isabella...to be honest I'm a little worried.


"That could be a problem..." Popous agreed, his voice trailing off a bit. "How exactly did he find out about you though?"


"Kehe, easy! I stole from his room." He said casually with a big toothy grin.


"You mentioned that," Popous stated back with a nod, impressed with how easily Snype went about such tasks as if they were natural for him. "But how exactly did he know it was you? Did you leave something behind?"


"Pretty good question. He probably had some kind of security going on in there that I avoided...maybe he found footprints or something weird like that? Can't say but pretty sure stealing that vial would be a sure fire sign someone good got in there. Kehe" Snype said.


"Yeah but from what you described, it seemed he knew specifically it was you," Popous answered with a shrug. "I guess it doesn't matter now. I'll go and prep whoever I can. You rest up. Tonight, when you share with Tollen the kind of 'mon Gabriel really is, you may need all the strength you can."