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

Able vs Alai- Round 1

The past week had mostly been errands for Able. Nothing that she couldn't handle of course. Back in Beatruce, her whole job was running back and forth, fetching packages and mail on an hourly basis! The only difference was that it was Karn. By now the various folks in the city were bound to at least recognize the Ninjask's deeds... or at least she hoped so. She wasn't the strongest fighter around but she definitely knew how to fight, even getting past a few scuffles here and there with her speed and reflexes. Now it was time to continue the daily routine once more. Able was curious how Snype and the others were doing at the tournament... "...Really hope the boss is alright up there." Able muttered to herself as she entered Gregs office. "Gregggyyy! Your friendly neighborhood ninjask is back!" She said cheerily.

"Able," Greg greeted politely and reservedly with a small nod and a smile, a stark contrast of Able's wild greeting. "How are you this morning?"

The Ninjask quickly flew up to Greg happily. "Full of energy Greg! I've been meeting with a lot of interesting folks while out delivering! I think some of the mon here in Karn are even starting to remember me! Can't really pick a fight with a bug who's faster than the speed of light you know? Oh but if they try I'll definitely show 'em what for! You know, after I deal with the job of course!" She said.

Gregory stacked a few papers carefully and nodded. "Yes, I've been hearing back from a few of my associates. They've heard nothing but positive things about you. I'm quite impressed with your services. But let me ask you something. And I would quite like it if I had your complete honesty," The mild-mannered Snorlax began as he folded his palms as best as he could and leaned over to the Ninjask. "How are you liking the tasks I am giving you thus far? You are not over or underwhelmed by them?"

Able shook her head. "Awwww you're keeping me busy here in Karn! And I'm getting a rep which is pretty darn important for staying alive in this place right? I worked myself to death all the time to be at my peak back in Beatruce when I did freelance work with my brothers and sisters!" Able said happily. "Honestly, the load of requests is pretty nostalgic Greg. I'm just glad someone appreciates my work... wasn't really like that back in Beatruce to be honest..."

"I understand the situation was quite different there recently," Gregory agreed with a nod of his head. "And the very fact that our nation is very large and has but one Network Point means you are essential for spreading messages across."

"Damn right! If I had my crew here we could work quadruple time for ya! Well... I figure they're all busy preparing and getting regrouped for Darkrai. The cold weather here isn't exctly very good conditions for a Ninjask. You just gotta know the right ways around and when to stop and sit by some heat in one of the bars! Luckily I know how to act in them now! I admit I may have gotten mixed into a few hijynx in them. Hehehe" Able chuckled playfully. "Stories for another time though!"

"I suppose so," Gregory nodded. "I find Karn to be so diverse, I don't really know if you can quantify the entire 'bar' culture to one single manner of interaction... ah, but that is just unnecessary rambling. Now then, to business. The reason I asked you how you felt about your past assignments is because I have something a little bit different in mind for you today. Something that will utilize your other known skills. Something... a bit more dangerous."

"Ahhh... finally onto the bigger stuff eh? Guess that's just natural after all I've done Greggy." Able said as she perched herself onto the Snorlax's desk. "So lay it on me big guy! What's the job?"

"Well, you see," Gregory began as he cleared his throat. "I find myself in the peculiar position of needing someone of your questionably legal talents. I understand Snype's profession, and I am curious if said profession extends to you as well. That being, thieving. You see, Abel, I need something stolen. Or more precisely, I need something stolen back which was stolen from me."

"Well... I wouldn't exactly be with the thieves if I didn't know my way around a bit of criminal activity. I ain't the bosses right hand gal for nothing you know? I've swiped a few things from the boss here and there back in the day!" Able replied.

"Good, good," Greg nodded. "Let me give you the facts of this one. At some point last night, I had an item stolen from my home. This item is very important to me, on more than just a personal level. It is quite possibly one of the most important items I have. I am unsure whether the assailant even knows how valuable it is, or what is in it, as it is kept sealed in a box, and as of the last time we had spotted said 'mon, the box has not been opened. I am tasking you with retrieving the box. Now, I am willing to answer any question you may have that I myself know, save one. I will not tell you what is inside the box. It is for the best that you do not know."

"Man Greg, after some of the crap my team has done, I'm starting to get pretty darn sick of the secrets." Able said with a joking laugh. "But you're the boss! I'll help ya snag whatever that box is. Where exactly do you think the mon's hiding out at?" Able asked.

"Believe me, it is for the very best that you are not aware of what is inside there," Gregory explained. "Such information could very well kill you. So I thank you for understanding," Gregory pinched the part of his face where his nose ought to be as he sighed. "The aggravating truth, for myself, is that I know precisely where this 'mon is. You are actually not the first one I have sent after him. I have sent other thieves at him. I have sent mercenaries. I have sent my soldiers. I have even sent... characters of less than savory morale. Stealing, direct combat, law enforcement pressure. I have launched missions at him on all fronts. And on all fronts we've been unsuccessful. I will be honest. I do not even expect you to succeed. But I am willing to try, if you are. He is staying at an inn called Galleon's Gamble, on the far side of East Daggen."

"Any particular reason you're sending me of all mon after him? After everyone else you went through and all... why me?" Able asked

"Well, two reasons," Greg held up a pair of large fingers. "One, you are, as you have said, Snype's right hand, am I right? And Snype is the King of Thieves. While I do have a variety of associates under me, surely the right hand of perhaps the greatest thief in the world is up to the task. Second, I believe you, or rather your party, has a history with this 'mon, so perhaps you know something I do not. Perhaps another way to approach it."

"Wait... you think our group might know this guy? What species is the mon anyways?" Able quickly followed up.

"I have absolutely no doubt your group knows him," Gregory answered with a nod. "He is an Agent of Darkrai after all. A Simisage that goes by the name Alai."

"Heh... you should have told me from the beginning he was an agent, Greggy." Able said with a confident grin. "Can't say I ever met the follow though. If I can though, I can swipe that box from him at the very least. Snype's told me about his encounters with the other agents. I know he isn't one to fool around with." Able stated, already flying up into the air. "But I don't really know much about this agent or what he's capable of. Did you catch any attacks or his fighting style? Habits and whatnot?"

"I apologize, I didn't want to alarm you all at once with the proposition," Greg stated with a small frown. "Ah, yes, I have gathered a bit of information on him. As I understand it, he is the Agents' infiltrator. Whenever they need a task related to observation, espionage, or generally infiltration, he is the one they send. As I understand it, he is the one who broke out the other Agent you had captured, Roxanna, back in your Fortress Ferrol. He also did the same for Ben, another Agent, when he was captured by your group. I... cannot tell you exactly what his general power level is because at this point, I am not fully certain. I do know he is strong. Stronger than some of my best associates. He utilizes berries and Natural Gift as his tactic, somehow coordinating each berry to a type, giving him a very distinct type advantage against any Pokemon. But... it is strange. He fights very... strangely. He announces his attacks to his opponents every time. Maybe that's just a quirk of his. But it is odd. The strange thing is, he still somehow pulverizes them. Perhaps even more odd," Gregory continued as he put his hands under his chin. "Not a single of my associates I have sent at him has died. Which is odd I'd say for an Agent. As their reputation goes."

"Hard to believe Darkrai has pacifists on his side." Able chuckled. "Still maybe he'll make an exception today. Can't help but be careful I suppose." Able held onto her small delivery bag and started to fly toward the door. "Anything else I should know before heading out Greggy?"

"Only a strong word of caution, ma'am," Gregory warned in a light, but stern voice. By his standards, at least. "I leave the discretion of your assignment and how you approach it up to you. But I warn you that I have tried many times to collect this item back, and each time it was trumped. I urge you to be careful. And do not listen to him. He can be very deceptive. This is clearly not a Pokemon to be trifled with."

"I'll be careful Greg. I'll be back!" Able cheered as she flew out the door. In actuality, Able never really fought an agent before.. she had heard of the encounters Snype had against them of course so she knew these folks were a force to be reckoned with. And if Darkrai wanted whatever Greg had, then it couldn't be good for the group. The Ninjask quickly flew out of the door, making her way toward the Galleon's Gamble.

---

The trip through Daggen was about as eventful as you could get. Though by Daggen's standards, it was just another day. Bodies flew everywhere, piling up and dying along the streets. Bar fights spilled to the streets, murders everywhere, duels beginning over the simplest of exchanges. But for those desensitized to all of this, it was just another day. As Able traveled, she would notice some Karnians take notice of her. Some glanced her way, and even spoke up to her. Some said 'Bug-eyes', while others called her 'Speedy', the two names the locals began giving her. Eventually, Able reached her destination. Galleon's Gamble was not unlike more other bars. It had a similar two-story building like most others in Daggen. One redeeming quality was the Garchomp insignia present on the outside of the bar. Chattering could be heard inside, but nothing too rough.

Able seemed a bit flattered by the nicknames, not really thinking of whether they were meant to be insulting or not. She figured most of them were mostly positive! After the bit of self motivation, the Ninjask finally arrived at the Bar. The first thing she had to be careful about was how she was going to approach this agent of Darkrai. They were bound to know about Able by now at the very least after their encounters with Darkrai so the guy would easily recognize her when she flew in. Assuming he was still here at least. Able flew into the bar with that confident look on her face, quickly peeking around.

The bar was only moderately busy, with a few 'mon chatting and drinking about. A Barbaracle manned the bar area.

So far it seemed to be the standard, minus how unsually calm it was. Able slowly flew by the crowd and moved up to the Barbaracle, taking a seat. She had to be mindful of her words, considering this was a brand new bar. Though maybe her current reputaion would gain her a bit of free points! "Mornin!" Able said cheerily, looking around her to see what mon might be sitting around.

"What'll it be, lady?" The Barbaracle asked as the 'mon cleaned the counter with two of its hands while putting the others on its hips.

"I'll take some Ariados Ale Mister Barbaracle!" Able said happily, trying her best to avoid an easy pun with his name. The Barbaracle nodded and quickly prepared the drink for the Ninjask. "Thank's for that bud!" Able said, looking into her satchel and casually reorganizing her belongings. She had a few empty letters inside of it since she wasn't in charge of any kind of delivery service this time around. "Pretty fine place ya got here considering all the others I've stumbled in on! Not as rowdy but that's not really a bad thing I guess! Heh!" Able said, trying to at least make a bit of conversation before dropping her question right away.

"Yeah, well, most 'mon like going crazy on Daggen's west point," The bartender replied with a shrug. "If people are looking for more idle chat and a nice environment after they got their ass kicked, they come here," He chuckled.

"Heh! Well it's a nice change of pace I'd say! I've been busy over there the past couple weeks! I've definitely had my fair share of junk thrown at me! Ah, name's Able by the way! Local Delivery girl at this point anyways!" Able chuckled.

"Bob," The bartender greeted back. "You from Daggen originally?"

The Ninjask shook her head. "Nope! Just a Ninjask moving in from the outside! I know a lot of folks have a problem with that kinda thing in parts of town but hey, I'm willing to bet I'm not the first outsider to stumble into a fine place like this eh? Was actually looking around for a fellow like that actually..."

"Eh, I don't care really," Bob shrugged. "Though few care to admit it, many of so called 'true Karnian's' parents weren't actually Karnian. But from the conquered lands. Oh yeah? Who you looking for?"

Able leaned in to talk a bit quieter. "Looking for a Semisage called Alai. Heard he was dropping by this place. Know anything about em?"

Bob leaned over and pointed up with two of his arms. "Oh, you're with that lot. He's upstairs. Third room."

"Huh... oddly specific." Able said with a grin before backing up and placing a bit of coins on the table. They seemed shiny enough to have some kind of value in Karn right? "Thank's for the tip bud. I'll uh... try to keep things quiet up there just in case."

"Don't break anything like the others!" Bob called out for Able as she left, picking up the money she deposited on the table.

Able started to make her way up the stairs of the inn... the agent was likely sitting in the room waiting for the next mon to be sent after him... how was she supposed to approach this? The Ninjask wasn't quiet enough to be as stealthy as her boss... and she was certain the agent wasn't just going to hand it over. The Ninjask ended up on the third floor, pausing and considering what she was going to do next... she felt like just approaching the door was a dumb move as it was... maybe flying through the window or peeking inside from there? The Ninjask quickly made a U turn and made her way outside of the bar after figuring out where the room exactly was. At the very least, she could peek inside of the room to scout it out. She recalled her boss had a rather... bad history at making this approach so hopefully the trend wouldn't follow suit with the Ninjask. When she peeked inside of the window, she noticed Alai laying down on the bed. Good thing she decided to take this route... if she ended up just walking through the door no doubt she'd have been spotted. It wasn't exactly what she expected an agent to look like... and if he was a master of infultration? No doubt he'd have alot of his ground covered to keep that box safe. Speaking of which... the Ninjask peeked further in the window to hopefully catch a glimpse of the box Greg wanted... of course, the box was right next to the Simisage. He seemed to be asleep at least but who knew how easy he would be to stir... Able took the necessary precautions and checked out the window for any kind of traps that might be set up. Even though they were in Karn, the guy could be expecting Able for all she knew... however the window didn't seem to be rigged at all. Maybe that would be a good cue to start making her way inside.

Able quietly opened up the window, keeping a close eye on the Simisage. If anything went wrong, she could always zip out of there. Stealing from an agent of Darkrai... Snype was going to be ecstatic when he hears about this! The Ninjask slowly flew inside, making her way through the room and slowly toward the box as quietly as possible. If nothing else, she would have expected that thing to at least be rigged with something... The Ninjask inspected it before even thinking about laying her claws on it. Oddly enough, that didn't seem to be too heavily secured either... there had to be some sort of trick to it... well she was here with the task of retrieving that box and bring it back to Greg. There's no way it could be this easy. The Ninjask reached her claws out and placed them on the box to snag it and place it in her bag.

"You could at least buy me dinner first," The Simisage pipped up from the bed, as he had one eye open staring at the Ninjask while his arms rested behind his head.

Able just stared at the mon with a widened expression on her eyes. ****! The classic "Not really asleep" trick! She should have just snagged it and bolted it out! Though with an agent, he may have already planned far enough ahead with this. "I don't think I'd roll that way unless you're into bug types buddy." Able chuckled as she quickly placed the box in her bag and was just about ready to bolt outside.

"Well I don't usually discriminate," The Simisage shot back as he leaned up from the bed. "You're with him too? That's surprising."

He certainly didn't seem too hostile despite that the box was snatched right out of his hands... was the guy trying to psyche her out or what? Able couldn't afford to waste time having a conversation with the guy.

"Wait, wait," Alai began. "Before you go, just hear me out! I'll even let you take the box after if you really want to."

"Greg did say you were an odd fellow. How do I know this isn't some kinda trick that you pulled on the others? I have very little reason to trust your kind after what you creeps have done to our home! After what HE did to Guardia?" Able spat out.

Alai frowned a bit. "What happened to your leader was regrettable. It's not the way I would have wanted it to happen. But things happen in war. When two sides fight, there will be casualties. It's the cruel way things work... after all, your people killed two of my friends as well. Tyren and Bastille. And the thing is, I know your pal boss was the one who did in Basty. But I'm willing to overlook it because I understand the situation, and I hope you will too. Right now, this goes beyond that."

Able raised a brow. Against her better judgement... she felt the need to at least hear the mon out. But she was ready to bolt out of the door if things got bad. "You crushed everyone else that went after you and you're willing to speak with me? I understand more or less... but what gives? What are you on about Alai?" Able asked.

"Well actually, I tried to tell every 'mon that went after me what I'm telling you now," Alai answered as he looked the Ninjask straight in the eye. "Every one. And the ones who listened left. And the ones who didn't, I had to make leave. Your 'boss' probably didn't tell you all of that. No doubt he wouldn't want that to get out. But I know who you are. So I figure maybe you'd listen. And hey, you're still here, so that's something!"

"Against my better judgement bud." Able said, still a bit cautious of the Simisage. "Talking like this with someone on the other side isn't something you get to do every day. And you seem respectable, despite your forwardness before. Heheh." Able joked to him. A bit odd of her to do toward the enemy.

"Yeah, I try to do it whenever I can," Alai said with a smile. "I got a chance to talk to one of your comrades, Kaveri, a while back in Anatellia. Which was nice. Nice girl. I liked her," Alai crossed his arms and nodded, seeming to recall in his mind his chat with the Floatzel. "It's good to know the other side of things. That way one side doesn't think the other is just doing this just because they're 'evil' or something like that."

"You're lucky you bumped into me then. My boss is in a pretty dark place right now... I can imagine he'd do nothing but scowl at you... but he's full of surprises I suppose." Able said to Alai, rubbing her head a bit nervously. "Uh... name's Able if you somehow didn't know already. If you're as good at infiltration as Snype I figure you have the know all by now."

"Alai, if you didn't already know," The Simisage greeted back with a smile. He glanced down at Able's bag and gestured to it. "You know what's in the box?"

"No I don't. Greg never told me. Said that it would be "best if I didn't know". The Ninjask said with a frown. "And if I know anything from my past experiences, that never means anything good."

"Well, suffice to say your pal 'Greg', or whatever he's calling himself these days, is a conniving bastard," Alai responded with a frown. "He's dangerous. And that's coming from me, so you should know I mean it. And I don't mean he's dangerous to me, or the Agents or Darkrai. He's dangerous to you. He's dangerous to your friends. And he's dangerous for Karn. He's a tyrant, trying to control anything and everything going on in Karn. Even the Emperor doesn't know about it. That box is just another way he's doing it. I'm here to take it away from him. And to find any others he has and do the same."

"Tsk... what is he that dealer fellow that's he's been talking about or something? He said he would contact Snype or something along those lines. I have a feeling my boss might be mixed in with him at this point... of course, knowing my boss, maybe he has his own reason for doing this... I don't know at this point." Able said with a shrug. "Snype did a bit of work with Greg before I took over. Just how is he dangerous anyway?"

"Because he'll do whatever it takes, push whoever he has to around, go any length, to accomplish his task," Alai replied with a frown. "And he doesn't care who he burns in the process. A 'mon with no limits and a high goal is dangerous. And he may be the most dangerous in Karn. If your buddy Snype is mixed up with him, I'd tell him to get out. Because in the end, he'll end up using both of you, and then tossing you aside when he's done with you."

"Snype's been mixed up in groups like this before. He's taken a similar route if he found something too dangerous. A little thing called sabotage ya know?" Able said with a chuckle. "But... with everything that's been happening with the guy in Karn... I don't know. If he's still mixed in then he better stay smart about it..." Able shook her head."Do you know what's in this box then...? What could possibly be in here that's that important?"

"Something far too dangerous to be in anyone's possession. Something that eats away at the very soul of 'mon," Alai suggested with a frown. "The arrogance of Pokemon like him is thinking they are in control of nature, instead of the other way around. Some things aren't meant to be held in our hands. Some things' costs aren't worth the benefit. Some things are just too powerful," Alai sighed and shook his head. "I'm not going to stop until all of it is gone. You take that back to your 'boss', if you really think its the right thing to do. I'll leave it to you to do what you think is right. Find me if you want to help," Alai stated and headed for the door.

"That's kinda funny to hear from an Agent Alai." Able said. "Here I thought that kind of control is exactly what Darkrai was aiming for. Wanting to change the world or something like that. Just who's side are you on anyway?"

Alai paused at the door and looked back at Able. "If you think we're trying to control the world like this, then you don't know anything about what we're fighting for. I'd be happy to fill you in next time we meet, if you want to meet again, that is. I'll leave some contact info for you over with Bob." He declared, and opened the door, before heading off. It was one thing after another... Greg being that kind of guy? She supposed it was too good to be true. What if Alai was fooling her? If Greg honestly did trust Able then he would have told her what was inside of that box in the first place. Able was at a loss... she supposed the best thing she could try to do right now was get information from Bob at least. Able exited the door and flew down the stairs deep in thought. The Ninjask was in a pretty good position with Greg as is and she could easily use that to her advantage for the time being. Able just really wanted to know what in the world was inside of this box now... as she flew downstairs, Able looked over to Bob with a goofy expression. "Ehehe, uh, see? Told ya we wouldn't be too loud up there." She said with a chuckle. Bob cocked an eyebrow and waved her off as he served a pair of drinks to a few others in the bar. Able could likely take her time with the task at hand if this agent was truly as dangerous as he made him out to be. Perhaps she would have gotten mixed in with a fight or something along the way, delaying her task? She had to know the other side of things not just in Karn, but with the whole war against Darkrai in general.

"****... forgot my drink by the counter. Heh." Able muttered bashfully before moving over to her seat. She figured it would most likely be taken by now. After Bob had finished serving the others, he turned his attention back to Able.

"Saved your ale for you," He mentioned as he reached for it on the other side of the counter. "Need anything else?"

"Heh... thanks. Um... did Alai pass by here?" Able asked. "He left kinda abruptly. I had a few more questions for the guy..." Able said. taking a sip of her drink.

"The Simisage?" Bob questioned. "Yeah, you just missed him, he went outside."

"Ah, uh, thanks Bob!" Able said happily before pausing on the way outside. There was one last thing she had to get off her chest. "Hey if you for some reason get like, your own bar did ya ever consider a name like, Barbaracle Bar? Hehe... sorry it was really hard to resist the pun there bud!" Able said with a small giggle. "Thanks for the company!"

Bob shook his head and waved at her with two of his arms. "Come back anytime, Able."

Alai and Able - Daggen, Karn

The Ninjask quickly flew outside, looking for a sign of the Simisage if he was still around. Able quickly caught sight of the Semisage walking away as the Ninjask quickly flew toward him. "Hey you!" Able shouted out as she approached him. "You're gonna leave a gal like that and not even stick around to have a drink?" She said with a chuckle.

"Ah!" The Simisage exclaimed with surprise. "I didn't expect you to go after me right away!"

"Yeah well don't go too crazy yet. I haven't decided if I buy the whole thing yet. I just wanted to talk more while everything is still tame." Able explained. "I haven't been as involved with the whole mess as everyone else until now. But if there's any chance both sides could find a way to get along one way or another... I'd like to take it. Even if I don't quite trust you yet. Maybe you can convince me." She chuckled.

"So how bout it? Want to sit and chat about whatever while we can?"

"Ah!" The Simisage pipped up happily. "I guess I can put off my plans for a bit. Care to walk and talk?"

"Heh, I have the feeling Greg would be the type to have eyes and ears all over the place. But hey, I'll say it's "part of my approach" or whatever he said if the dude cares. I'm doing this for me anyway."

"I doubt it matters anyway," Alai responded with a shrug. "I figured you wanted to talk more about our struggle, not about what he's doing. He's more of a third party in this. Two separate issues. I thought you wanted to know about our fight."

"You're right." Able said, flying beside him. "In that case, lets chat Alai. As one 'mon to another."

"Sounds good," Alai stated with a nod. "What would you like to know?"

"A lot of things...The first thing I want to know is... why?" Able gave off a long pause. "Alai, I'm sure you all have your goals and all but... why all of the death and destruction? Why did we have to lose Guardia? Why did I have to lose half of my brothers and sisters to Bastille's plague? Just what the hell is Darkrai doing besides spreading "chaos" or whatever the hell it is? James told us a bit a while back but I want to hear it from another agent that's more in the know." Able said with a firm expression on her face.

Alai frowned. "I would have hoped you would have heard by now," The Simisage muttered and shook his head. "I do my best trying to tell your side what our plan is, what much I can say. To understand why we fight. This isn't the first time I'm sharing this story. Let's see... let me get a range on what you already know. You know about the Guardians, right?"

"Of course I do. Darkrai tried to murder one of my closest friends over that whole ordeal." Able spat back. "Darkrai wants Celebi gone so that the Guardian Cycle can be stopped right? And then there's that whole thing about the Ancian... I always figured Darkrai wanted to go after Arceus himself with that whole ordeal but he can't really be that insane can he? I think the Guardian system is a trainwreck but this seems a bit excessive..."

"Ah... you already know so much," Alai muttered. "Well... I suppose at this point, there's no need to hide it," He sighed. "Gabriel has two goals. The first is to save the world, and the second is to reshape it. You know that he's trying to destroy the Guardians and the Guardian system... do you know exactly why?"

"No I don't." Able said, already coming up with some guesses but decided to simply hear everything out.

"The Guardian system is all about balance," Alai explained as they walked down one of the smaller streets in Daggen, avoiding the intensity the center brought. "Each Guardian controls at least one aspect of the world to ever keep it in line. Kyogre controls water and life, for example. Groudon: land and death. Darkrai, as you know, controls chaos. A Guardian is assigned to protect the world and to keep it running, by controlling the extent to which their aspect influences the world. Too much death breeds doom, but so does too much life, which could cause overpopulation. Now, on the surface, this looks pretty good, they're all essentially protecting us..."

Alai shook his head. "But even the Guardians' powers are limited. They can't be everywhere at once. Save one horrible catastrophe one place and risk losing many to another. And they also don't account for Guardians going bad. Or abusing their power. Which has happened way before Gabriel ever broke off. The point is... the Guardians are essentially here to stall. They keep it running, clean up what they can, but all they're doing is basically avoiding what's inevitable... In the end, it all happens. Maybe not in the same way. Maybe not by the same 'mon or 'mons. Maybe not by a 'mon at all, but it happens. A cataclysmic, world-ending event."

"...I still don't see what this has to do with Darkrai. Isn't that exactly what he's trying to do? What's this about saving the world if you're going to destroy it in the first place? Just reshape it to be the way he wants it to be?" Able asked.

Alai shook his head, and turned toward Able as he stopped in the alleyway. "No, Able," The Simisage answered. "What you need to understand is, while this war is terrible and horrible, what is going on now is NOTHING compared to the type of event I'm talking about. If everything goes our way, by the end of this war, many will unfortunately lose their lives, but we will save many more, and for generations to come many more. This will be our last great war we fight. And there will never be another. Even if we lose twenty percent of the total population everywhere, which is very high, it will be worth it. Because there won't be another," Alai sighed.

"But if this cataclysm happens, if this world-ending event happens, and it will if the Guardian system continues to survive, nearly everyone may die. Everyone," Alai emphasized. "It varies, but the last time this happened, the world was left with less than 1% of the world's population. That's why Gabriel has to end it. He ends the system, he stops this from all repeating again and again. Because this has all happened before. This isn't the first time the world has restarted like this. It won't be the last, either."

"Then what happens afterwards hm?" Able interupted. "After the Guardians die off... what then? how are you so sure something else won't follow suit?"

"Because Gabriel will re-shape the world into one where it can't happen," Alai answered immediately. "It's a two-part process. Destroy the Guardian system. Save the world from the event. And before the Guardians could come back or try to bring about this end, we stop that end from ever having to exist at all. A new world. A better world. Without violence. Without nations. Without reckless tyrants or bloodshed. No more global wars. No more disease. No father has to bury their son. No wife their spouse. No sibling buries another. We can end it all, this time around," Alai shook his head.

"I know, you don't think it's possible. Hell, you probably don't even believe me. You're probably thinking of some possible way that this isn't the right way, that this is the bad thing. That we're bad guys. Because you're taught to think that way. But this is the only world you ever knew. Why not take a chance on something that could be better?"

"Sounds like a certain Snorlax you described." Able simply replied.

Alai shook his head again. "No way," The Simisage replied. "Nothing could be further from the truth," He explained. "What he is trying to do is control everything, to bring Karn under his thumb. What we're trying to do is free it, in the most absolute way possible. Gabriel's two plans," Alai lifted up two fingers. "Save the world, by ending the Guardian System. And second," He brought down one finger. "Reshaping the world, freeing it. By bringing down the controller of the world himself. Arceus."

"And then what happens after that Alai? Like it or not, someone else is just going to take that throne next. If I were suddenly killed, the Ninjask Network would be in shambles. Someone else within that network would have to take charge to make sure everything stays in order and doesn't completely collapse. Is Darkrai just going to kill Arceus and say "Yup this is fine. Okay bye guys!"

Alai smiled. "Alright, let's use your Ninjask Network example. Say if you die, in the normal circumstance, one of your other thieves would have to step up and make sure things are running. To keep it in order. To remain in control. I emphasize these words because they're important to my example. But in this example, you aren't Arceus. You are a actually a leader of a nation. What Arceus is, in this example, is the act of being able to communicate through a web of others in a tight system. But in our world, if there is no Arceus, there is no system. You wouldn't need to communicate in that way. No one needs to step up. Everyone will just be able to communicate to each other. We've cut out the middle 'mon, and thus, cut off the need for order in it. It's rule, Able. Rules is what runs this world. And by breaking the rules, we're changing what everything means. This world says we must have a system that says, 'one plus one equals two. This is the law, there is no other. Our world could be something entirely different. Instead of one plus one equals two. Our world could simply say, 'there is no plus.'"

The Simisage scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "It's kinda hard to explain. Gabriel showed me once what would happen, but it's so much more difficult to describe. Needless to say, all the rules you think would exist then won't. There won't be a throne. There won't be a leader. Pokemon would be free."

Able looked to the side. "...I understand but something just feels wrong about it Alai... I understand the need to feel free, that's what the thieves practically live on! Breaking the rules and doing our own thing, and we run on criminal activities so that we can remain free spirits in the world. But even that needed some form of control." Able said. "Say you do go through with the plan Alai. When you're "free", what are you going to do? Where do you want to take the rest of your life? Just curious." Able asked.

Alai smiled again and turned away from Able. He walked forward and paced a bit. "There's this place... you probably don't know it, few do around here," He explained. "It's just south of Beatruce, not really in any country, just some outside lands... a valley with plains as far as you can see. Connected to the river... I used to fish there with my family. When this is all over, I'm going to build a house right on that river, and live out my days fishing."

"Sound's like a good plan you got there Alai." Able said with a smile. "...But do you think it'll be there after Arceus is destroyed? If he's gone then everything goes down with it. Unless you're sure Darkrai will recreate it the way you all want it to." Able said, still sounding a little unsure of herself through all of this. "I don't know Alai, I'm sorry we've gone through so much... it just kind of hard to grasp everything just like that."

"You're right, it's hard to say what becomes of everything when Arceus is gone," Alai answered. "It won't all go down with him, that much Gabriel made clear to me. And things would be very different. But Gabriel said he promised me my little spot, and that's good enough for me. Some things you just have to take on faith, and Gabriel's never lied to me yet."

"He lied to everyone in Tollen." Able said. "I personally wouldn't trust him hearing about that display."

"His lie to everyone in Tollen was a means to his goal, not his end goal," Alai responded. "Apples and oranges. He had plenty of times to deceive and lie to me. To use me and then discard me. But he hasn't. He's given me more hope for the future than anyone else ever has. And he was always straight up about it. Even all the gritty things."

"What about everyone else then? Everyone's lives who you have all destroyed? You think they'll appreciate this new world?! Will my brothers and sisters come back?!" Able shouted. "You keep talking about you! What about us?"

Alai shook his head and sighed. "Would you rather save thousands now, or millions, even billions of future lives?" The Simisage questioned the Ninjask. "We're talking about a war to literally end all future wars here! And yes, it's still tragic. And yes, it's still prone to horrors. But can you honestly say you would sit there and refuse if you knew with certainty that your kids, and your kids' kids would NEVER have to be in one?"

"A world of traumatized 'mon who have lost everything for a better world. They'll take that anger out on something. Darkrai, nearby 'mon... you all act so ignorant to how other 'mon are like. You'd need hardcore manipulation for them to just sit down and be happy like that. I know you're trying to stop the end of the world or whatever but this...? If in this new world they saw the 'mon who killed their wife walking along the street, what do you think they would do? Forgive me if I'm missing something here Alai." Able seemed to pant heavily, clearly frustrated. This wasn't the kind of conversation she usually got herself into but all she could think of was her own network of Ninjasks in the midst of all of this.

"What would you do if the 'mon who killed your friend made it to this new world you're trying to create? Or a group of 'mon? No rules or laws! What's to stop them? You think everyone will just sit there and understand? You can change the rules of a world, but rules are made to be broken. Much like all of us are doing now. What's to say this won't all happen again? I... just don't understand..." Able shook her said. "Sheesh... never had such a heated debate in a long time... never thought you guys went so deep into this stuff."

"If there's something to debate, then that just means there's two sides who actually might have something to what they're talking about," Alai explained. "But... hmm, to answer your question. It's hard to really explain. Probably easier to see or to show. There is..." Alai held up a finger. "One rule. One sort of law that will be developed into this new rule. The law of Darkrai. The chaos law, you can call it. But it's not really a law, or a rule. It's a feeling. It's an emotional response. An attribute. It melds into who you are. Who everyone is. And who everyone is... is Darkrai."

Able backed up hesitantly with a hint of fear in her face. "Wha....what?" Able simply said. "You're talking about being free and suddenly your talking about Darkrai getting into our heads?!"

Alai chuckled and held up his hands. "Oh, no no, nothing like that!" He insisted. "Gabriel, or Darkrai, has nothing to do with it! I only coined the name after him because it was his explanation. Nothing's done with your head. Nothing's done with you at all. Not really anyway," The Simisage continued to explain. He put a hand to his chin. "Hmm... how to explain... I guess it's sorta like a bond, a widespread bond. But also not really. In the new world, we're all connected, in a sense. Not on any really physical or even mental level. Not really anyway. When something happens to one person, it's for that one person to share to himself. When one 'mon thinks something, it's their own thoughts. But in a spiritual way, we're all almost... tied by a small thread. United. There are no nations or countries, sides or factions. We're all just Pokemon. Pokemon who lived separated but share the same world. And in that world, because of that small connection with each other, things we may have wanted to do once would be gone, because it would almost feel like you're attacking a part of yourself. It's almost counter-productive, in that way! We solve the biggest problem associated with that world with a small adjustment to how the world works. Everyone is connected. United."

Able fell silent at the explanation, placing a claw on her head. "Sheesh... that does sound... convincing but... there's just a part of me that keeps screaming at me whenever I start to doubt myself..." Able shook her head. "...Damnit I need a drink... Haha..." Able forcibly joked.

Alai smiled. "It's a lot to take in, I know," He stated. "Why don't you take a break and do that? Maybe go figure out what you're going to do with your package situation and Greg? And if you feel like listening some more, or want to help me with what I'm doing... come find me again."

Able just stared down at her package for a moment and back up to Alai. She wasn't quite sure who to believe. Granted she could learn more about the situation with Karn from bringing this package to Greg... right now that was her real best option to find more information. "You're a lot different from the other agents. You're understanding, kind, flattering, and a bit charming I got to admit. You seem dead set on your goal." Able smiled back. "Heh, who knows? If we chat again, maybe you'll even convince me a bit." She added with a tiny wink toward him.

Alai chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Haha! Really? Aww, well I do my best. Someone has to, right?" He asked rhetorically. "I'll be around the city probably a few more days. Find me through Bob. I'll leave info."

Able flew up a little closer to Alai. "Well... guess I can give you a way to contact me. As long as you don't go off and try to backstab me with it. After how good of a first impression ya made I'd hate to see that ruined!" Able said with a small giggle. "Its a universal method for the Ninjask Network. Snype simply whistles out to us whenever he needs us. If you run into trouble feel free to do the same. I'll know it's you if I'm nearby. Each 'mon has their own unique whistle so you could just say I'm whitelisting you in a way!" Able grinned. "C'mon! Give me your best one and I'll lock it up in the memory banks up here!"

"My best whistle?" Alai questioned with a cocked eyebrow, before nodding and sucking in his breath. He let out a low, sharp whistle right after, enough for a few others nearby to turn and stare at him for a moment. "How's that?"

"Ohhhh way different from the bosses! Not bad there!" Able said, giving off a playful nudge to his arm. "Just don't go off abusing it or anything if you start to miss me or anything! I'm a busy delivery girl ya know?"

"I dunno, you're kinda fun to be around," Alai joked. "But I'll do my best not to use it unless I need to, scout's honor," He stated while crossing his heart with his hand. He chuckled a bit. "Oddly enough, Xander calls me 'boyscout' too."

"Scout?" Able gave off laugh at that. "Sorry that's actually kind of an adorable name! Didn't mean to laugh at it. Kinda suits ya mister infiltrator!" Able chuckled.

"Ehehe... I think he means it as an insult," Alai replied with a slight frown. "But thanks I guess!" He said cheerfully.

"Heh, from Xander? Maybe! Can't say I know the guy... But it's a pretty cute nickname. Don't take it as an offense from me, I mean its what ya do right? I bet you've snuck in our camp a few times doing who knows what." Able smirked.

"He's uh... not the friendliest guy," Alai chuckled nervously again. "I'd make sure you avoid him if you could... he's here in Karn. Bit of friendly advice there. Hmm... well so far, I only snuck in to get my friends back from you guys."

"Might be a little late on the whole avoiding thing there. Bit of a group is probably up there right now..." Able rubbed her head. "Heh, really? Back in the camp I was always afraid someone with Darkrai would always sneak in and spy on us and everything we do..." She said in an exaggerate teasing tone, giving off a glance toward Alai. It was similar to how she would often tease Snype. She felt like giving it a shot with the mon for the fun of it. "The fighting gets ya paranoid I spose."

"Ah... uh... well, let's hope all goes well with them," The Simisage said nervously about the group after Xander. "Heh... yeah, that it does. I... probably shouldn't mention all the other things I did. We still technically are on opposite sides... hehe."

"Heheh, you've told me so much this far. Unless there's something you're ashamed of that you don't wanna tell little old me." Able teased with a chuckle.

Alai chuckled nervously again and backed away. "Eh... probably best I err... take my leave now. Before I say anything else I'm not supposed to. It was a pleasure Able."

"Is that a blush I see from the big scary agent? Hehehe!" Able continued to tease as he backed away.

"N-no!" Alai protested, before he took off. "J-just... bah... see ya!"

Able gave off a small chuckle as she watched Alai run off. Looks like she hit a nerve on the poor guy or something! Or perhaps he was hiding some other things from her... needless to say, the Ninjask could at least use that to her advantage if she could somehow get closer to the mon... "now... what the heck am I going to do with this thing..." Able stared down at the box. The only thing she could truly think of was returning it to Greg for the time being... Alai could just steal it again if it truly became a problem. Maybe she should have asked Alai why he even bothered if their group was the only one that would truly be affected. She wasn't sure if Alai was right about the whole thing in the first place... for now, she would have to rely on the same tactics as Snype. He supposedly had more of these back there after all.

Mission Accomplished? Able and Greg

Able quickly made her way back to Greg, now that the task had been properly completed. All that was left was to deliver this package and continue her usual duties. Except her mind was plagued by everything Alai had explained to her... what if he was telling the truth? She currently had no reason to trust an agent but the 'mon seemed to be nice enough at least... it was a bit out of place compared to the other agents. "Ugh... dammit... what'll happen if I bring this back to Greg? I know he's got more of them but... what the hell is going on here..." Able shook her head and pressed on. The only way she was going to get answers was from Greg himself. The Ninjask quickly flew into Greg's office, box firmly placed in her satchel.

"Able, you've returned," Greg greeted her with a hint of delight in his calm voice. "How was your assignment?"

"Phew... it... took a bit longer then expected. Heheh..." Able said with a hint of exhaustion as she pulled out the box she had retrieved from Alai. "Managed to snag it from him though and get away mostly unharmed."

"Truly?" Greg seemed surprised. "I did not think you would be able to do it. You have clearly proven me wrong... no problems at all from the Agent? He did not stop you or anything?"

"Heh, being a thief means you gotta have a certain charm with you! I swooped it right under him! He practically gave it to me. Heheh." Able said with a small laugh.

"I see... and you did not communicate or interact with him at all?" Greg asked the Ninjask curiously as he motioned for the box with his open palm.

Able raised a brow at Greg. "Heh, what if I did? They're technically our enemies you know? If I have a chance to snag a bit of information from the other side then its kinda in our job description Greggy." Able said cheerfully.

Gregory frowned a bit at Able's answer. "What did he tell you?"

Able raised a brow. This was a bit intense of Greg to suddenly go off an act this way. "A couple things... a lot of mumbo jumbo about Darkrai that's for sure." Able said with a small shrug, of course lying mostly to see how Greg would react. If he truly was watching her the whole way through... organizations like this tended to act in such a manner.

"I see..." Greg muttered. "Very well, if that is all that occurred, then hand me the package, and your assignment is completed," The Snorlax stated as he extended his arm for the box.

Everything about this was throwing Able the wrong way... perhaps she was getting paranoid? Maybe Greg more upstanding then Alai was making him out to be? Able could stay in good standing with Greg... "Greg... why did Alai steal this thing in the first place...? I feel like there's something you aren't telling me here... I already have a boss who does that enough." She said with a frown, slowly moving closer.

Gregory cocked an eyebrow. "I am sorry you feel that way... I did not intend for you to believe I was keeping something from you... what brought this about? Surely I have been nothing but forthcoming since we began our working relationship."

"You have been. But..." Able glanced down at the box in her grip. "I suppose its my fault for not asking before. All of these delivery tasks that you've sent me out on. What are they all for? Guess its a bit dumb for me not to ask what kind of job I took in the first place. I gotta say I've flown through some shady parts of the neighborhood. What is this all for? And..." Able looked down at the box again. "What's the deal with this thing? All you told me is not to ask what's inside of it." Able chuckled. "So I'll keep hush hush on that greggy."

Gregory was silent as Able explained her situation. When she concluded, Gregory spoke. "Your jobs have been for the good and protection of Karn. Some are simple errands and messages passed on through my associates. Orders to carry out. It's better we send a fast message in a secure way rather than have that message be heard here. The contents of the box is merely another way I ensure things run smoothly. I had not told you what specifically is inside of it because it may be dangerous for you to know. I was merely looking out for you, Able," Gregory explained as he examined the box in her hands. "But if you truly are not comfortable with the secrets, I do not wish you to operate in such a way. So if you give it to me, I will open it for you and explain what is inside. If you would like."

Alai said whatever was inside of that box was extremely dangerous... if she gave the box to Greg who knows what would happen. Maybe Alai was lying... she wasn't sure who to believe in Karn... Greg wouldn't truly backstab her would he? Just in case, she wanted to be ready nonetheless. A little trick she stole from Snype... "...gotta admit, I've been pretty curious Greggy. Sorry for being so cautious on you there... its not very proper behavior for the Ninjask network to ask so many questions to their clients..." Able said, starting to move closer. "Say Greg... the mon you sent after Alai... you said they were left alive... whatever happened to them afterwards...?" Able asked.

"It's quite alright... the others?" Greg questioned as he observed the box and her movements as she came closer. He hesitated for a moment then replied. "Why... the ones who returned I put on other assignments. Sent them to other locations."

Able felt herself growing more and more nervous the closer she got. She did catch the hesitation though. "...Right... duh. Hehe..." Able said with a small smile. She had to trust Greg... at the very least, seeing what was in the box would be all the confirmation she needed to decide if Greg truly was the same upstanding fellow she knew. Able placed the box in Greg's hand nervously, one on the box and the other on the bottom of his hand. A bit overdramatic for her. Something was biting at her for what she was about to do but like any thief, she had backup plans just in case.

Gregory nodded and grabbed hold of the box gently. Then, the Snorlax began to slowly open the top of it. He peered inside, and stared into it silently for a few moments, without speaking. After a few seconds of silence, the Snorlax dug his paw into the box and removed a few papers. "This is what was inside," Gregory explained. "It is a list. Of Pokemon who are under my employment. Their names, positions, locations, family, tendencies, pay grade. And a variety of other information. In the wrong hands, this would be very bad for both my operations and for Karn in general. One could pick apart the names of anyone they choose, know how to target them, and end them. Information is valuable, wouldn't you agree?"

Able seemed a bit awe stuck, to the point where her little claws were still placed on Gregs paw. She was a bit frozen. "Oh Arceus... I don't know why I got myself so worked up over all of that..." Able panted heavily... but perhaps Alai was still onto something...? Information was incredibly powerful after all. "...Oh Greg I'm sorry I took ages finishing your job. Heheh... I guess all of the stuff going on in Karn has been getting to my head. Uh... I'm sorry Greg." Able said with a tiny blush on her face. Something still didn't feel right about all of this but still... she was at least in good standing just in case.

"There is nothing to forgive," Greg stated with a pleasant smile. "No doubt working in such settings as you have for so long takes a toll on you. It is a good thing to be cautious. But hopefully I have demonstrated my trustworthiness to you," He added as he continued to smile, before he cleared his throat and continued. "It is a good thing you did not converse with the Agent. That was what I was most concerned about, to be honest. As I said to you before, he is very deceiving. Do not trust a single word that comes from his mouth. He may play the nice conversationalist, but his motives are hardly benevolent. The reason why I asked if you spoke to him... and the reason why I hesitated when you asked about my other associates... it is true, he did not harm any of them. But he did manage to cause a few of mine to defect to Darkrai's side. I admit I am a bit ashamed because of that."

"The little bastard..." Able muttered to herself... it only figured that she was dumb enough to trust an agent. But at the same time... she truly did like Alai's personality. But then again... this was the infiltrator they were talking about here. Perhaps she could still use all of this to her advantage. "To be honest Greg, I didn't want you to worry about me either. He did try to talk to me and give me that song and dance... thankfully I'm a lot smarter than that wouldn't you agree Greg?" She said with a small wink. "Heheh, I'd dare say I might have gotten under his skin a little! So hey! Points for your side eh? Kill two birds with one stone! I get my info, and you got your papers!" Able smiled. "Sorry Greggy, I guess I was a bit of a hypocrite with the whole secrets thing... hehe... how bout we call it even from there eh?"

Gregory nodded. "Sure... let's start fresh... although to be honest, I hadn't gotten everything back," Gregory muttered as he examined the packed notes. "It appears the Agent has stolen one of the pages inside... I'm uncertain how he did this if you managed to steal it from him. Unless of course he got it before you arrived. Alas... he appears to have gotten what he wanted... it could be problematic."

"...Of course...he must have broken through the seal. No wonder he didn't put up much of a fight at letting me run off with the box. The ninjask looked like she was beginning to fume. "...What did he steal? Greg just what is he after?"

Gregory frowned again. "Unfortunately, it is difficult to discern because many different names and information was on that sheet he acquired. The best I can do is account for all of the factors on the list and see if I can anticipate his approach..." He muttered, before he looked up at Able and smiled. "Ah... do not trouble yourself on it. I will take care of things. It is only a small hiccup for now. Consider your task completed. I will deal with the rest."

"If you say so Greg..." Able said with a smile. "Sorry for any trouble I might have caused. Give me a call whenever you need me!" Able said before flying out of the doors. Of course... she still had a way of contacting Alai. Perhaps she could use this to her advantage if she were to go after the agent... "You know Greg... Alai doesn't know that I gave that box to you. And I don't know if he knows that I know of the missing page... maybe we could plot something around that?" Able grinned. "Course I'd have to find him again and all... eheh..."

Gregory took his eyes from the papers and glanced at Able. He gave her a serious look, putting away his small spectacles and focused in on her. "Able... there is something I must make clear to you. I want you under no circumstances to approach this Agent again. Doing so is far too dangerous, and put frankly, I cannot risk losing a valuable asset such as yourself. If not by combat, then due to defection. I know you may claim that you would never, but I can only imagine what this fellow must have said to dissuade my loyal associates from defecting in previous visits. Please, ma'am, as a favor to me. Promise me you will not approach Alai again. I fear for what may happen to you if you did."

"Aww afraid I'll end up being a bad guy, Greggy?" Able said with a small giggle. "Comon I wouldn't do that to ya. I like ya wayyy too much to go off and start picking fights! Sides uh... pretty sure all you'd have to do is sit on me to take me out. Hehe, uh, no offense or anything Greggy!" She said with a bashful laugh.

The Snorlax chuckled a bit too in response, before his face became serious again. "A good one, Able, but I am being quite serious," He implored again. He rummaged through a paper on his desk for a moment and then continued. "I do not know if you are aware, but along with Mr. Eidragon, the mercenary James, and a Mr. Grett, this Agent Alai is considered one of the top tier Agents with Darkrai. He is not a joke. He is not a pushover. Able... I am quite afraid of what he is capable of. Please promise me you will not approach the Agent again."

Able nodded to the Snorlax. "Don't worry Greg. I won't. I wouldn't be able to take him on my own anyways. I'm kinda lucky to still be here." Able said with a grin. "Well give me a shout when you need me Greg. I'm gonna fly around town and see what's going on." Able said as she made her way out of the door.

"Take care of yourself, Able," The Snorlax waved.

Able sat outside of the door for a moment... it made sense Alai would try to manipulate her... just what on earth was she thinking? Snype would have never forgiven her if she turned over to Darkrai's side just like that. "...ugh... I can't believe myself..." The Ninjask began to fly slowly through the city with a bit of a downed expression on her face. She had to cheer herself up somehow. "Heh... already got drinks on the mind again... what the hell is happening to me. I'm going to end up like Snype at this rate." Able said, placing a claw on her head and shaking a bit. Able flew into the nearby Inn, one that she often was a regular at, due to being her main pitstop to sleep in.

Karn's Grand Tournament: Round 16, match two

"WHAT A THRILLING FIRST FIGHT WE'VE JUST HAD!" The Exploud announcer exclaimed as the crowd continued to buzz, still excited from the preceding events. "IF THAT'S ANY INDICATION OF HOW THIS TOURNEY IS GOING, WE'RE IN FOR A GREAT ONE THIS YEAR! SO, LET'S GET TO THIS NEXT ONE!" The audience once more cheered. "FIRST, A FOREIGNER AND LEADER OF THE GOLD TRIBE, WE'VE GOT CALLIMER VIAN, THE EMERALD SENTINEL!" The Exploud announced as he gestured toward the first gate below the audience on the far side of the arena.

The gargantuan Dragonite stepped forward, glittering like the gem of his namesake as the cold light filtering into the arena hit him. This time he was actually met with some applause thanks to the show he put on in the preliminaries, but it was still a far cry from a roaring welcome of cheering fans. That was just fine by Cal, he couldn't remember the last time he felt so tense. If it had been anyone else on their team this would feel like a friendly competition, but it was Abel...ever since Beatruce Cal had felt as if there was a frightening shadow between them. Abel has settled down recently, and clearly forgiven everyone else, he was even following orders but... The ice in his gaze whenever he even deigned to look at Cal... He knew, feral or not, that Anzu's killer wouldn't be forgiven so easily.

"AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE'VE GOT ABEL 'ATROX' ONDERON," The Exploud announced, gesturing to the other side of the arena. The Medicham emerged to a mediocre cheering, though he did earn a few fans with his display during the Battle Royale, especially his finishing move against the tough Typhlosion he and Snype fought. "ABEL IS GOLD TRIBE, JUST LIKE CALLIMER, WHICH MAKES THIS FIGHT AN IN-HOUSE FIGHT!" The announcer explained. As Abel reached the center, his eyes bounced around the arena before they set on Callimer. His cold expression was as difficult as ever to discern. Abel remembered in the previous fight that the competitors were supposed to turn and face the Emperor before the fight began, so the Medicham turned to do so.

Callimer turned at the same moment as Abel and awaited the Emperor's approval to begin. The Emperor glanced at the two of them and nodded his head in approval. Abel quickly turned back to the Dragonite and readied himself. "This is just another fight," Abel declared to Cal. "The best 'mon needs to move on to have the best chance of winning."

"Right." Cal answered with a nod. "We have to win this tournament, for everyone." He shifted his stance slightly, but not much. "Then let's get this over with, whenever you're ready!" He felt the need to announce that he was ready to start, even if the emperor had already approved Cal would prefer to have Abel's confirmation as well.

"COMPETITORS READY!" The announcer began. Abel altered his stance by crunching his knees. He prepared a Calm Mind for his upcoming bout. "SET..." The Exploud continued. "FIGHT!"

Immediately, Abel burst forward, he brought his palm back behind his body and thrust it forward, attempting a Brick Break on the Dragonite.

Well aware of and prepared for the Medicham's speed, but still not able to match it on his own, Cal was only able to throw his arms up in an attempt to parry Abel's attack. He went skidding back a few feet and winced at the pain in his arm before launching into the air. Cal flew around the arena for a short pause, making sure Abel's eyes were following him before he swooped back down and dived towards his opponent, aiming an Ice Punch at his legs.

"AND WE'RE UNDER WAY!" The Exploud began his commentary. "ABEL GOES IN FOR A QUICK ATTACK, BUT CALLIMER IS ALL READY FOR HIM! THIS IS QUITE A PAIRING!"

Abel knew he had a slight advantage in speed over his opponent, and fought beside Cal long enough to know if it was taken away, the Dragonite would have the advantage. Realizing Cal was trying to take that advantage away, the Medicham hopped into the air to meet his opponent. He narrowly avoided the Ice Punch along his leg, and used his height to attempt a Brick Break directly on the Dragonite's forehead.

Cal snorted in frustration when his fist ineffectually coated the ground in ice, but when he looked up he realized Abel may have made a grave miscalculation, and channeled a Superpower into his arms. When Abel's attack reached him, Cal grabbed Abel's arms, grimacing at the force behind them, then right before the attack went through he used his superior strength, increased by the Superpower to divert the Brick Break and attempt to slam his opponent into the ground.

Abel widened his eyes as he realized the Cal intended to do. Unable to escape his predicament, the Medicham was slammed onto the ground. However, the Medicham pushed past the pain, and used the force of his own body slamming on the ground to quickly twist his body around and unleash a Psychic on the Dragonite at point blank distance as a retaliation.

With no chance to dodge, and no physical force to try and block, Cal was sent careening away from Abel and wracked with pain from the psychic assault on his body. It was hard to concentrate while trying to withstand such a force, but he managed to right himself in the air with a well-placed spin and caught the air on his wings. This time, instead of trying to attack directly, Cal roared into the sky, a crackling, dense core of black energy with bright blue flames forming above his head. The core of the Draco Meteor floated a bit higher into the air, then instead of releasing it normally, Cal shattered it with an Ice Punch, sending icy Draco Comets raining down around the arena and at Abel, scattering frost and cold mist wherever they burst, and littering the ground with small craters.

Abel had seen a variation of this attack before, but was surprised when Callimer decided to break it apart. He initially decided to rely on his speed when he assumed Draco Meteors were coming, but once they were separated, Abel figured it was better to stand his ground in one spot and take on the comets that came directly at him. Using a quick bulk up, Abel felt extra adrenaline course through his body, and then began to smash up comets that approached him with an open palm from his Brick Break. A few managed to push through and strike along his body, but thankfully the extra defense from his Bulk Up didn't cause him extreme injury.

However, before Abel even had a chance to take a breath after weathering the storm of comets a blur flew at him with far more velocity than before from the mist. The Draco Comets seemed to have been a distraction, and in all the confusion Cal had used Extremespeed to bolt right for the Medicham, attempting to slam his shoulder into him like a supersonic freight train. Abel only had an opportunity to lift up his arms to block the brunt of the attack, but the sheer force caused him to be propelled back and rolled across the arena floor.

"WHAT AN EXCITING SECOND MATCH WE'VE GOT GOING ON HERE!" The Exploud commentated. "THE TWO GOLD TRIBERS ARE CLEARLY TOUGH FIGHTERS, EACH EXCHANGING HITS ON EACH OTHER. BUT NOW ABEL'S DOWN! WILL HE GET BACK UP? OH, AND HE DOES!" The Exploud exclaimed, as Abel slowly rose to his feet from the hit. The crowd cheered around them, clearly excited for the fight between these two 'mon. But Abel knew Cal wouldn't give him an opportunity to get a break, and so he prepared once more for his next attack. He brought his hands together for a meditative stance, once more allowing the effects of Calm Mind to infiltrate him.

This can't go on much longer. I can probably outlast Abel, but if so that just means soon he'll start attacking more and more ferociously to take me down before he burns out. No more playing around. Cal saw the faint glow that overtook Abel's body and decided it was time to strike again. He clunked his fists together and flew at the Medicham and locked hands with him. They seemed evenly matched for a moment, then as he was readying another psychic attack to break the stalemate he noticed Cal's scales beginning to redden, and felt the Dragonite's hands burn his own as they heated up and began to release steam. A low growl grew in Cal's throat and he started to push Abel back, not intending to let him make himself any stronger.

"LOOKS LIKE CALLIMER'S UP TO SOMETHING NOW!" The announcer exclaimed. "WHAT'S THAT REDDENING ON HIS SKIN?"

Abel recognized the dangers of being so close to Cal as he began transforming into this stage. The Medicham had to think fast in order to push him back. He then got an idea he had been working on before. While still clashing with Cal's fists, Abel's legs began to glow. He then pushed himself off the ground and positioned his feet toward the Dragonite. Then, he fired off a powerful Focus Blast directly toward the Dragonite from the bottom of his feet. "I'm not an opponent you can mon-handle!" Abel declared.

Once again Cal was too close to dodge Abel's attack, but this time he refused to be blown away. He felt so much pain that his Outrage grew, and even as he was pushed back, and felt a few pops and cracks within him, he didn't let go of Atrox's hands. They skidded closer to the arena's walls together, until Cal managed to start moving through the attack, and as soon as the Focus Blast began to fade, Cal kept one hand trying to hold Abel's in place, and reared the other one back then attempted to pummel Abel with multiple Ice Punches even as they grappled.

Abel didn't relent, even as Callimer tried to throw an onslaught of Ice Punches at him. The Medicham retaliated with a flurry of Brick Breaks in turn, and the two clashed as these attacks collided. Abel was relentless, his expression going from his usually calm neutral to a more aggressive and angrier one.

The pair of warriors continued to clash for minutes straight, the crowd would be getting bored if not for how curious they were who could outlast the other. Finally, Cal couldn't stand the relative silence between himself and his bitter comrade any longer, and alongside another punch he blurted out, "I'm so sorry about Anzu! I did it to put her to rest!" He reared his fist back and threw another punch while he continued to vent his guilt. "I couldn't bear the thought of one of your comrades having to do it themselves, and I didn't want you to have to see it! There was nothing else I could have done but ignore it and-and let her-it's too horrible to think about!"

The Medicham's expression only seemed to anger more at Callimer's words. "I'm not angry that you brought her down," Abel began as he forced another palm toward Callimer with a Brick Break, this time with the heightened ferocity of his adrenaline-infused rage. "If I were there, I would have done the same thing... I'm angry because... it never should have happened in the first place! If we went to Beatruce first, she would have been alive!" He roared.

"I know!" Cal admitted, his guilt nearly catching in his throat. "At first it just seemed that Beatruce needed us the least...and we were in contact with them...but then we got caught up in everything!" His own punches grew more fierce with his anger, anger at himself, at the others for their voting, and most of all at Darkrai for throwing them into all of this. "But it's too late for being bitter to save anyone now, we've got to move forward! I'm going to do everything I possibly can to avenge Anzu! And Lyn! And all the others we've lost! I'll fight on until there's either nothing left of me, or nothing left of Gabriel! But that means I can't afford to lose to you here, the leader of the Gold Tribe will not lose to the second-in-command of one of its branches!"

Abel's punches met the ferocity of Cal's, but the Medicham was silent for a moment as he seemed to ponder the Dragonite's words. "... she was my world, Cal," Abel finally croaked back, as he seemed to be holding back tears hardly seen on the cold Medicham. "She was the reason I joined the Gold Tribe... I would have done anything for her... I WILL do anything for her."

Callimer was so shocked by the sound of Abel's voice and expression that he felt his fist lower before he even thought about it. "I understand that feeling all too well, Abel. That's exactly how I feel about Kaveri, and I can only imagine how I'd feel if I lost her. I was born so weak...and helpless...the only thing I was any good at was reading, and I didn't even have arms to hold a book. Then we lost our parents...and she took care of me all by herself until we met Wildfire. She raised me, kept me safe, even stole to keep us going, and she read to me, or held a book in front of me so I could read for myself when I wanted to... I never told her because I didn't want her to know I still relied on her so much but... I didn't join the Gold Tribe to follow in Wildfire's footsteps, I joined to follow in hers." He found himself staring down at the ground in sympathy for Abel, but also filled with memories of how much he loved his sister, and how much he loved the Gold Tribe, and the pokémon they protected.

"And what would you do if she was taken away from you?!" Abel questioned, as he stormed forward and launched another Brick Break at the Dragonite in anger.

This time the response couldn't quite be called a struggle, at least for the moment. Abel's palm stopped dead in Cal's hand, his scales red enough now that one could barely remember they were green in the first place, and steam was shooting out of his nose and radiating from his skin like a Charizard using Flare-blitz in the rain. The anger he felt at truly imagining if he lost Kaveri forever brought his Outrage right back up to full scale, and it was only his sense of camaraderie keeping him from trying to crush Abel's hand at that moment, whether he could or not. "I would do everything I could to root out the cause of her death and end it once and for all, even if it meant I had to do things I knew I would regret later..." He muttered, words dripping with hatred for the one he knew was the main threat to his only family. "But you know who's really responsible for Anzu's death, don't you!?" He began to shout, leaning closer to Abel. "You know who's fault it is she's gone, and it's not mine, and it's not our group's fault for being too slow. It's just hard for you to admit because he's so far away and we're all around you! Tell me! Who killed Anzu?!"

"It's Gabriel!" Abel shouted as he exerted as much force as he could and attempted to push the Dragonite back.

"That's right!" Cal yelled in return, beginning to slide back and having to put his all into keeping even with Abel. "And who's going to stop him?!"

Abel clenched his teeth. He knew what Cal wanted to hear, but something prevented him from saying it aloud. Something held him back from speaking the words. Instead, he continued to push at Callimer with everything he had, one final exertion of all of his energy.

Cal's eyes widened when Abel began to push him back, faster and faster, till he was sliding perilously towards the wall. He knew right away that if Abel got the leverage advantage against him he was likely done for, so he began to throw everything he had into pushing back. His muscles strained until veins were popping out of his neck and shoulders, and he dared to channel Superpower and Outrage at the same time. It still didn't seem to be working... but if he lost and Abel made it to the end in his place just for James to mega evolve... Images raced through Cal's head at a lightning pace, everything that had happened and everything he thought would if Darkrai won...and then he saw Anzu, and Lyn...and what Kaveri would look like if...Cal's eyes popped wide open and his hands slid forward to the side of Abel's arms before locking onto them again. "You know the answer!" Then, with everything he had he threw Abel straight up into the air so hard that even the Emperor had to look up to keep eyes on him.

Abel was surprised by his sudden toss into the air, but wouldn't let Cal keep him from still fighting back. He tried to turn his body and fire a Focus Blast while he was up there down at the Dragonite.

A loud flapping was heard even through the sounds of the crowd, and alongside Abel's Focus Blast. Cal whipped up a Hurricane as quickly as he could and lifted it up towards the Medicham. It was only able to slow down the Focus Blast, but it kept Abel suspended in the air, and gave Cal just enough time for his next move. Before he could be hit Cal launched a Draco Meteor up into the Hurricane, and just as it entered the Focus blast broke through, overtaking the attack and shattering it. But instead of disappearing the Draco Meteor fragmented into all the pieces it would normally be raining down on the battlefield, and they were caught up in the swirling winds. The eerie blue lights whisked around and around too fast to keep track of, some going after Abel and others colliding with each other in the Hurricane, causing bright blue bursts to show up all over the improvised natural disaster, leaving the explosions the only thing the audience could see. The Focus Blast, however, was undeterred and finally broke free of the Hurricane, slamming into Cal and bringing him to the ground with it, shrouding him in dust and smoke, leaving both combatants obscured to the crowds.

"WHAT A MOVE!" The Exploud roared with delight. "BUT WHAT HAPPENED? DID BOTH CONTESTANTS BITE THE DUST? IS ONE STANDING? I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING THROUGH THE SMOKE! WAIT... I'M GETTING SOMETHING..."

As the dust cleared, Abel was seen lying on the ground, panting heavily with a variety of injuries across his body. He tried to lift himself off the ground, but he wouldn't budge.

A short distance away, everyone could also see a shiny green lump on the floor. It was shaking, a better look made it clear Cal was having much the same struggle as his opponent. Finally, after what felt like entire minutes to the impatient crowd, but was barely more than seconds, the lump began to move, and soon after The Emerald Sentinel was kneeling. He glanced over at Abel and bowed his head, and a moment later he was standing shakily. In that moment, it was just the two of them, no struggle, and no crowd as far as he was concerned. Cal managed to just barely limp over to the Medicham, and when he did, he grabbed Abel's arm and pulled him upright, leaning him on his shoulder, before he finally gave the crowd his attention. "We're going to stop the lord of Chaos! And anyone else who dares to stand in our way!" He was speaking as much to Abel as the Karnians, but he thought it important he give the audience at least a bit of a show.

At that moment, the crowd erupted into thunderous cheering. Even the Exploud jumped with excitement. "THE MATCH IS OVER, CALLIMER IS THE WINNER! WHAT A FIGHT! WHAT A FINISH! ONE WORTHY TO BE REMEMBERED IN THE TOURNAMENT ARCHIVES!" He exclaimed. Even the Emperor was grinning and nodding his head in approval from his throne. Through the intense noise and rumbling of the crowd, Abel leaned in closer to Callimer.

"... We will," He managed to say to the Dragonite in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I swear it on my life." Callimer muttered.

The Erble Tournament - Round 16 - Fight 4: Atlas vs. Rebel

"WE'VE GOT THREE IMPRESSIVE FIGHTS DOWN!" The Exploud announced to the very eager and excited crowd. "AND NOW TODAY, WE'VE GOT ONE MORE TO GO! IF THE LAST THREE ARE ANY INDICATION, LADS AND LADIES, WE'RE IN FOR A GOOD ONE!" He declared, much to the crowd's delight. "FIRST, THE DUELIST OF DAGGEN, WE'VE GOT REBEL!" He announced, as an outpouring of cheers followed. The gate at the far side of the arena opened and the Leavanny emerged looking as confident as ever. She walked to the center of the arena and began to shake herself to warm up. She definitely seemed to be a crowd favorite from the reaction the audience gave.

"AND SECOND, HER OPPONENT, LORD ATLAS ARCANSUS!"

Cheers from a certain part of the stands followed the entrance of the elusive Lord Atlas. Clad in his black robes, and fully hooded, he was taking his sweet time when walking to meet Rebel in the center. When he stopped, forty yards away, just within attacking range, he turned to the audience and spread his arms in an easy manner, as if to embrace them, and rotated his body so all of the stadium saw him. Arcansus! Arcansus! His followers were screeching and thrashing behind the glass wall. However, his reception was less enthusiastic than Rebel's.

Rebel glanced at the hooded 'mon with a bit of annoyance. She didn't mind showing off, but she felt one ought to only do so when they have earned it. She hadn't heard much about her opponent, and having no reputation was almost as bad as flaunting an empty one. The Leavanny turned to the direction of the Emperor, the customary tradition of Karnian duelists before every match. "I wonder if they'll keep cheering after I beat the sh*t out of you," She stated loud enough for Atlas to hear.

Her opponent, who mimicked her example of facing the Emperor, begun laughing at her remark. "That is a bold thing to say," he commented calmly and evidently amused, after his laugh. "And very stupid."

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" She questioned the hooded 'mon as she turned to face him.

"Oh, I do," he said, locking his red eyes with hers, and by the tone of his voice, one could easily tell he wasn't lying. "Do you?"

"COMPETITORS READY!" The Exploud began as Rebel quickly formed into a stance of preparation. Her opponent did the same, drawing the fiery scythe that he carried around sheathed on his back.

"SET... FIGHT!" The Exploud announced, as the crowd roared at the commencement of the bout. Rebel decided to strike hard and fast, lifting her arms toward the hooded 'mon and unleashing a torrent of sharp leaves at him. At the same time, she momentarily saw his eyes flash purple with psychic energy; and the barrage of leaves washed over him. Some of them grazed the fabric of his robe, tearing it, others got stuck in it, sharp as claws, but he did not appear to flinch, and the next moment, he raised his scythe made of fire, much like a wand, releasing a Psyshock that seemed to be poorly aimed. The psychic shards struck the ground a few yards away from the Leavanny with a crackling sound, breaking it and raising dust.

Rebel glanced behind her at the missed Psyshock which passed her by. She snorted. "You get hit too hard in the head?" She mocked, as she raised another set of razor leaves and tried firing them at the hooded 'mon. But then, the Future Sight her opponent had cast earlier materialized in front of her. The psychic explosion was similar to that of a mine, bursting out from the air in a flash of purple, and her own attack was left unfinished. "Ugh!" She grunted as she took a direct hit from the powerful psychic attack. She was pushed onto her back and skidded across the arena, but the tough Leavanny didn't stay there for long.

"OOH, A SURPRISE HIT FROM ATLAS!" The Exploud announcer exclaimed. "LOOKS LIKE SHE RAN RIGHT INTO A PSYCHIC TRAP HE SET! OH, BUT WAIT, SHE'S GETTING BACK UP!" He yelled, to the delight of the eager audience. "WHAT A WARRIOR SHE IS! TOUGH AS NAILS! AND SHE'S OFF AGAIN!" The announcer exclaimed, as his words mirrored Rebel's actions.

The Leavanny burst forward at the hooded Atlas as she attempted to strike him with a Leaf Blade, which struck his chest, right through the thick fabric of the black robe like it was paper. But her blade got stuck into thick fur, and no blood was drawn. The crowd didn't see what happened next. Lord Atlas's eyes glowed red inside the hood, just as the Leavanny was raising hers to look at him. Her eyes seemed to freeze at the moment of contact with the hooded 'mon's. She tried to pull herself away from his gaze, but for some reason, she couldn't. She felt her tense and adrenaline-pumped body begin to relax, as her muscles softened and her grip loosened within the span of a few seconds. She began to feel incredibly drowsy.

But the Leavanny quickly clenched her fist, forcing her body to focus and prevent the effects Atlas tried to impart on her from being fully realized. The duelist pushed herself back and fired off another storm of leaves toward her hooded opponent. "Nice try, asshole!" She exclaimed through the torrent of leaves. In response, Lord Atlas raised his fiery scythe, and, tapping into its core, which appeared to be a Power Orb, engulfed the weapon into flames. The Power Orb became white, radiating with heat, and the next moment, a thick stream of fire was shot from it in the air; the Heat Wave, coiling and writhing like a snake, got caught in the approaching storm of sharp-as-knives leaves, reducing any of them which came close to him to cinders. The next target of the deadly wave of hellish flames was the Leavanny herself.

But Rebel was no stranger to flame attacks. Countless opponents of hers tried to do similar tactics of using her type disadvantage to defeat her. Atlas was stronger than most she faced, but she refused to fall to the flames. The Leavanny elected a powerful Hyper Beam attacked, aimed more toward the ground below her instead of at her opponent directly. This allowed the Leavanny to propel herself into the air, narrowly avoiding the sinister Heat Wave with only minor injuries. The problem she faced now, however, was freefalling in the air while feeling the after-effects of the Hyper Beam. The stadium erupted in cheers as the powerful attack sliced through the fire; caught off-guard from an attack powerful enough to reach him through his flames, Lord Atlas swerved, too late. Her ultimate attack struck him on the right shoulder, forcing him on the ground.

"OOOH! IT'S A HIT!" The Exploud exclaimed.

Lord Atlas seemed to have lost his breath briefly, but it was hard to tell how wounded he was, as the Hyper Beam had left no mark on his robe. Kneeling, he raised one hand, forcing his weapon to fly into his grasp, and immediately pointed it at the spot where the Leavanny was falling; he knew she was vulnerable after the Hyper Beam. Purple energy flashed from the inside of his hood, and a blast of psychic shards was shot from his weapon.

"A POWERFUL WAVE OF FLAMES AVOIDED BY QUICK THINKING FROM THE DUELIST, BUT WAIT! SHE'S UNPROTECTED IN THE AIR, AND ATLAS IS GETTING BACK UP! OH! A DIRECT HIT FROM A PSYSHOCK!" The Exploud commentated passionately.

Rebel couldn't do anything to stop the incoming Psyshock attack, and was bombarded by the powerful wave of shards and forced to the other side of the arena. She was slow to get up, taking such a direct and powerful hit from the 'mon. But the tough-as-nail Leavanny eventually brought herself to her feet, and quickly tried another Razor Leaf on her opponent. And it seemed Lord Atlas was not fast enough to dodge her attack, or did not even deign to attempt to dodge it. In a display of what the less savvy in the crowd thought to be arrogance, he remained stationary, only raising one hand to protect his head. The blades got pinned through his robe on every spot, arms, chest, legs, with apparently little to no effect. The Future Sight he had cast while his eyes were concealed would strike two seconds later.

Rebel was shocked at the ineffectiveness of her attack, assuming it would have done some damage. She thought of the possible reasons her move did little to no damage, but before she could go too far in her reflection, she was struck again by a blast of energy that seemingly came from nowhere. Once more, Rebel was knocked off her feet and collided hard with the arena floor. The last hit took a toll on her, as she stayed down longer than she would have liked. But the resilient Leavanny didn't stay down for good. Instead, she rose shakily once more, and tried to figure out how to approach this fight. Rebel figured the 'mon may very well be Psychic from all of the attacks they launched, so she decided to respond based on that. With her blade-arms glowing a faint purple, Rebel went in for another close-range bout, trying to strike at Atlas with a Shadow Claw. Despite her injuries, her speed had not forsaken her yet, and her quick recovery took Lord Atlas by surprise. Her attack found its mark on his arm and for the first time in the match, he was heard screeching in pain. The shadow claw had pierced through his robe and blood was drawn from his arm. But the Leavanny had gotten dangerously close again, and their eyes crossed for just one second. This time, the Hypnosis took full effect within a moment, as the Leavanny was already weakened. The last thing she saw before her eyelids fell shut was Lord Atlas retreating, clutching the wound on his left arm.


... ...


"... and if by then, all else falls into line, then we will execute." The depths of Rebel's mind conveyed a scene, taking place in a dark hall in a location not immediately known by sight. The Pokemon in front of her was unidentifiable, whether by the dream's machinations, or the low light of the room. What was known was he was large, and tall enough that the Leavanny had to stare up. "Is that understood?"

"... Yes, sir."

"Good," The large Pokemon replied with a nod of his head, the shadows of the dream swirling around. "I hear reservations in your voice, Rebel. Would you care to share them with me?"

"It's just... I follow you because I believe in what you're trying to do. But isn't this taking it too far?" The Leavanny questioned hesitantly.

The larger Pokemon engulfed in shadows took his time to respond. "The duty of Pokemon in power is to govern, not promote lawlessness. The five Generals and the Emperor have, with their carelessness, willful blindness and thoughtless lack of concern, brought our great nation to its knees far too many times. This is not taking it too far, Rebel. This is exactly what Karn needs. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then by weeks end, we will-"

The room started to melt. The two 'mon did not notice a thing; they kept talking as if nothing was happening, but their voices became distant in the Leavanny's mind. The fabric of the dream was slowly being torn apart by a Dream Eater, and soon it was overshadowed by the hooded figure of Lord Atlas, who walked right through the torn walls of the hall. "I did not know you two were that kind of people," he said, almost cheerfully. He seemed pleasantly surprised. "I don't like to play by the rules either."


... ...


His laugh shattered the dream, and the Leavanny woke just in time to see the flames of hell headed her way.

The wide-eyed Leavanny quickly tried to hop up and use some sort of defense against the flames. In a ditch effort to avoid most of the damage, she once more launched a Hyper Beam, again straight through the flames to try and reach Atlas on the other side. As the walls hellish flames reached her sides, she resolutely shot forward to avoid being crushed in between. Now that she knew what he saw, he couldn't be allowed to live.

This time, Lord Atlas was ready for her ultimate attack. He let the Hyper Beam strike his scythe; his face was lit by the flashing colors of the attack, but it never reached him. The Power Orb of his scythe soaked it all, and as the attack left the field, the orb remained smiling brilliant white. And as the Leavanny was at a safe distance still, her opponent made a wide gesture with his arm that was wounded by the Shadow Claw earlier, a wound which appeared to have been healed, and the energy lines of a Magic Room that encompassed a large part of the arena were set in place. Rebel glanced below at the lines beyond her feet. The hooded 'mon was no doubt preparing for an attack, and she was within its range. But having just launched a Hyper Beam, she was exposed and unable to move much to resist. All she could do was await what happened next, and hope she was quick enough to dodge or move out if her body recharged fast enough. Her opponent took advantage of her pause to set up another Future Sight, as was evident from one of those flashes of energy coming from his eyes. But she could not see where. His next move was a more tricky one. Thanks to the Magic Room, the rules of reality were altered; objects and held items did not behave as they normally should. The Power Orb, no larger than a snowball, had detached itself from Lord Atlas's scythe, and after the command of his unseen power, it was sent flying in the air towards her like a cannonball.

With Rebel now feeling the effects of her Hyper Beam wearing off, she decided to charge in at Atlas, trying to bring him down before his attacks would take effect, she tried to roll out of the way to avoid whatever thing was launched at her, and pursued the hooded 'mon by striking at him with a Shadow Claw. The orb flew past her, and the Future Sight materialized upon it; the shock shattered the orb, and all the energy stored inside was released at once into an explosion fiery and psychic in nature that leveled nearly half the field of the arena. The Leavanny couldn't finish her attack, as she was caught dangerously close to the epicenter of the blast, which sent her flying forward and into the ground.

"A SURPRISE ATTACK FROM THAT ORB LORD ATLAS WAS CARRYING!" The commentator exclaimed. "HE DETONATED IT OR SOMETHING, AND CAUGHT REBEL IN IT! SHE'S ON THE GROUND!" The Exploud explained, mirroring Rebel's actions as her body hit the arena floor. From the crowd came cries, even some booing. The ones who were shouting Rebel's name before were now holding their breath, counting every moment for her to get up. But there appeared to be no more struggle from the 'mon, beside heavy breathing and shaking across her damaged form. "AND... IT LOOKS LIKE ITS DONE! IT'S DONE! LORD ATLAS HAS WON THE FIGHT!" The Exploud screeched, and the crowd accepted the result with excitement. The followers of Lord Atlas were louder than ever, and now some of the crowd joined in their cries as well.

The hooded figure of Lord Atlas looked over them all, without gloating or gesturing like he did before the fight.

As she was from the ground, the Leavanny saw him sheathe his fiery scythe and approach her; flames poured out of his hood like a fiery beard, engulfing first his chest, shoulders, and then his entire person, without his black robe ever burning. The leaf blades that were stuck on his robe were blackened, turned to ash, and scattered in the wind. When the walking fireball of a 'mon reached her, he looked down upon her with the face of fire, until it went out, and she saw his red eyes.

"Are you still alive?" he asked, in a surprisingly courteous manner. He observed her chest, that was moving with each weary breath of hers, and shook his head. "Shame. I know that you, and perhaps some of your friends, will want to pursue me afterwards for what I saw." His voice was reduced to a sinister whisper. "But if you do... be careful."

"LADS AND LADIES," The announcer greeted the receptive audience on the second day of the tournament. "WELCOME BACK TO THE ERBLE TOURNAMENT!" He declared to a steady wave of cheering across the arena. "WE'VE GOT HALF OF ROUND 16 DOWN, WITH FOUR MORE AMAZING FIGHTS TO GO! SO LET'S KICK THINGS OFF RIGHT AWAY WITH OUR FIRST FIGHT!" He began.

"FIRST, FROM OUR VERY OWN KARN, WE'VE GOT THE MOUNTAIN-CLIMBER, DOLAN!"

Just as before, Dolan paid little attention to the announcer, all its attention focused on the opponent in front of it.

"AND DOLAN'S OPPONENT, KAVERI VIAN!"

Kaveri strode into the arena shining with confidence, and just a bit of excitement for the fight ahead.

Dolan turned to the Emperor and bowed, Kaveri following suit, as was custom, before facing Kaveri again.

"COMPETITORS READY!" The Exploud announced as he brought his arm into the ready position. "SET... FIGHT!"

As soon as the announcer began the fight, the frigid air emanating from Dolan intensified. An Icy Wind that more closely resembled a fierce blizzard swirled around the 'mon, shrouding it from view and engulfing Kaveri. With every moment she spent in its localized snowstorm, tiny crystals of ice accumulated on her fur that would slowly but surely drag her down.

Kaveri didn't waste time on her usual pre-battle banter (not that she really had a chance to since Dolan leaped right into fighting). At first she didn't think much of the Icy Wind - she was a water-type, there wasn't much it could d- HOLY FRICK THAT WAS COLD. She shivered fiercely at the icy touch, immediately diving underground with Dig to avoid freezing to death before she'd even had a chance to really fight. It wouldn't be a good idea to waste time underground either though - there was a very high chance that the Golurk could take advantage of this and use an Earthquake, and she didn't want to risk being crushed by the earth around her.

As she scuttled through the earth, a plan formed in her mind. Kaveri suddenly shot out of the ground as close to Dolan as she could get, racing towards it with an Aqua Jet. The water around her moved fast enough that it didn't immediately freeze upon entering the storm, but the colder it got before reaching Dolan the better, as that would play into its own weakness.

Kaveri rammed Dolan with the super-effective move, pushing it back with the impact. However, the attack itself didn't seem to do too much damage. While difficult to notice because of the storm, Dolan's body now carried a metallic sheen from its Iron Defense, which it'd donned while she was underground. It lifted its fist and brought it down over the Floatzel. Fortunately for her, the attack itself was incredibly slow compared to what the seasoned Gold Tribe member was used to. Kaveri used an Agility to quickly slip between the titan's legs and avoid the giant fist. Once behind it she once again used Aqua Jet. This time, though instead of just generally aiming at its body, she aimed herself directly at its right leg.

"WE'RE OFF TO A FAST-PACED START!" The commentator announced eagerly. "GETTING HARD TO SEE, FOLKS, BUT KAV JETS HER WAY TOWARD DOLAN, AND THE GOLURK RESPONDS WITH A FIST OF HIS OWN... NOT FAST ENOUGH FOR HER! SHE GOES RIGHT THROUGH HIS LEGS! GOOD MOVE!" The crowd too showed their approval as they cheered on.

The fist Kaveri avoided kept on going until it slammed down, shaking the ground around them. But it was no earthquake. Jagged stones of its Stealth Rock rose from the ground around it slowly until they stopped in the air, making the area around it something like a minefield. The low visibility didn't make it any better for its opponent.

It made no attempts to dodge so Kaveri's attack managed to throw off the Golurk's balance, bringing it to its knees. Within the next few seconds, Dolan's body began to fade slowly, evidence of Phantom Force, until it seemed to disappear altogether leaving Kaveri alone in its small field of hazards.

Kaveri would have to be wary of how she moved now... She didn't want to end up impaling herself on one of those stones. As Dolan began to fade away, Kaveri squinted at it, wondering if perhaps the storm was playing tricks on her... But ah, no, he'd really vanished. Well, she'd just do the same then! Just in a different way. The only sign of where Kaveri had been was the hole she left as she once again went underground. She planned to wait there until she heard some sign of the Golurk's reappearance - once it rematerialized, its heavy footsteps were sure to vibrate through the earth to her. It wasn't long before she heard her cue, followed by a low rumbling sound. Kaveri dug upwards toward where the sound seemed to be coming from, hoping to Arceus that her instincts were right, otherwise this could end disastrously. As soon as she resurfaced, she flung a large Water Pulse towards where she hoped Dolan would be.

"AND... BOTH COMPETITORS ARE GONE?" The Exploud seemed confused, as did some in the crowd. "HOW BIZARRE! ONE SECOND, I SAW THEM, AND NOW THEY'RE NOWHERE TO BE SEEN! WAIT, THERE'S ONE, AND OUT COMES THE OTHER!"

It seemed the Golurk was expecting a repeat of Kaveri's previous exit from the ground, as when she emerged she saw it hovering several meters in the air, legs tucked into its body while a blast of flame propelled it from underneath. The ranged attack, chilled by the Icy Wind, hit hard, with Iron Defense offering no protection. At the same time, the rumbling Kaveri heard intensified as the ground underneath her opened up to bring forth a geyser of Earth Power. While Kaveri was busy with the attack, Dolan took the opportunity to disappear once more.

"Sh*t!" Kaveri cursed, using Aqua Jet to propel herself as far out of the way of the Earth Power as she could. The speedster wasn't quite fast enough to completely avoid the surprise attack, however, and she was hit in the side. She missed her landing due to this and was sent rolling a ways before she was able to regain her footing, side aching.

"OOOH, WHAT A MOVE BY DOLAN, BUT QUICK THINKING BY THE FLOATZEL SAVES HER FROM AN EARLY GRAVE!" The Exploud commented. The audience seemed to show their approval of both competitors' fighting spirits.

When she looked around for Dolan, she realized that the Golurk had vanished again. Rather than Dig underground again, however, Kaveri instead stayed where she was, all senses straining to find it as soon as it reappeared as she took the time to form a trio of Water Pulses - two in her paws, and one between her twin tails. Unfortunately, a 'mon under the effects of Phantom Force might as well not even exist, so there was no way for her to notice it until it was right behind her, lunging at her with a fist that was coated in a sickly green energy.

Unlike when Dolan used Earth Power, Kaveri was prepared this time. She'd been prepared for him to attack her from behind - expecting it, really - and the moment she felt the shift in the air she instinctively dropped to the ground - feeling his fist whoosh over her head and tickle her fur - and shot herself backwards right under the Golurk and launched the three Water Pulses off at it all at once, once again targeting its right leg.

Dolan toppled to the ground, leg badly wounded. But before Kaveri could follow up, it disappeared yet again. However, there was no waiting game this time as it reappeared several meters away. "You... are a worthy foe," she heard it say. It stood tall, ignoring the pain from its leg, and stomped the ground with the wounded limb. She could feel the already strong winds pick up in intensity, creating a chill that would drain even ice types of their vitality. More sharp rocks also shot up from the ground, turning the field around Dolan into a veritable death trap. "Feel the wrath of Titan," it said before fading away.

"A DIRECT HIT FROM KAV ON THAT LEG! WE'LL SEE IF IT COMES TO BE A BOTHER LATER!"

"Heh. Ya ain't so bad yourself, bud," Kaveri said through chattering teeth. She needed to get out of this storm, NOW. Gathering water around herself, she used the force of an Aqua Jet to launch herself upwards, as if flying. She counted her lucky stars when she actually managed to get above the Icy Wind, frost covering her fur like a thick mist.

She would only have a moment to think while up in the air, as it wouldn't be long before she'd fall back to the ground. But then again... there was nothing saying Kaveri had to re-enter the storm! Now that she was above the ice storm, she could see that it didn't quite cover the entire arena; rather, it seemed to be centered around where Dolan was. With this in mind, Kaveri started throwing a frenzy of Water Pulses towards the center of the storm. She wasn't sure if it would actually be possible to hit him until he rematerialized, but there wasn't much else she could do at this point. And even if she wasn't able to hit him, she could at least break some of the rocks that made up the Stealth Rock so she wouldn't end up landing on them.

Dolan had indeed rematerialized, but was under no threat from the Water Pulses. The considerable distance the projectiles had to travel to reach the Golurk was occupied by the powerful ice storm, completely freezing them so that the solid ice glanced off the 'mon's newly reinforced Iron Defense. In response, it forced another geyser of Earth Power under where Kaveri was hanging. Even if she was out of its reach, the attack would launch rocks on the arena floor upward.

"NO DICE FROM THE WATER PULSES THIS TIME!" The Exploud shook his head. "AND DOLAN HITS BACK!"

Kaveri was nearly caught off guard as stones came flying up into the air to meet her. She barely propelled herself out of the way of the first one with Aqua Jet, and after that it was an obstacle course of death as she shot back and forth to avoid the stones that followed, even having to use Water Pulse to destroy a few that were otherwise unavoidable. She finally landed back on solid ground a short distance from the erupting Earth Power, cut and bruised from some close calls but otherwise unscathed. Now that she was back in the storm, though, it was beginning to wear on her again, as evidenced by the intensity of her shivers and the difficulty of her breathing - she wasn't used to such cold, thin air, and the wind only made it more difficult for her to catch her breath as it whipped it away from her. The only way she was even able to move at her usual pace was because of Agility and Aqua Jet - but she was going to need more than that.

A glowing blue orb formed in Kaveri's paw that she then tossed up into the sky. There was a low rumble as dark clouds formed overhead, soon followed by a torrent of rain - though, with the freezing cold, it became more like sleet. While this was going to only end up making the Floatzel even colder, the burst of energy she got from the rain made it worth it. Besides that, she hoped that she wouldn't be the only one to feel the effects of the sleet - it was her hope that the icy rain would make its way into the Golurk's joints and start freezing him from the inside out. He was, after all, a ground-type first and foremost, even if he was some mighty mountain climber.

Dolan's body had been thoroughly conditioned to resist and even embrace extreme cold, but Mount Titan was far too tall for rain to reach it in any meaningful capacity. The drops of water soaked into Dolan's earthen body particularly well before promptly freezing solid. If the Golurk didn't do something quickly, that would be the end for it. But Dolan refused to be defeated by any other than Titan itself.

The rain had soaked into the ground at their feet as well, creating thick sheets of frozen mud. Dolan dug its hands into the ground and used its considerable strength to snap off a massive one of these sheets, some of its Stealth Rocks still prodding out, and threw it at Kaveri before fading away.

Kaveri used a Water Pulse to shatter the frozen mud and Stealth Rock before it reached her rather than avoiding it, as she decided that it would be best to conserve her physical energy as much as possible. But as soon as she destroyed the slab, she heard another rumbling sound, this time from above. While Kaveri had been focused on the mud, Dolan had moved above her, and now dove down at her with its fists forward, an ominous purple aura surrounding it as it emerged from its Phantom Force. She could see that its lower thrusters were active, the source of the rumbling as well as its surprising speed. Kaveri's eyes widened when she saw the Golurk shooting towards her, quickly coming up with a plan as water formed around her. Rather than leap out of the way, the Floatzel used Aqua Jet to launch herself up towards Dolan, aiming to just barely skim right past it. As she shot upwards, she formed a Water Pulse between her tails; and just as she reached Dolan she swung her body around to strike at it with the Water Pulse at close range.

"THE COMPETITORS ARE HEADING RIGHT AT EACH OTHER NOW!" The Exploud exclaimed excitedly. "WHAT A GREAT FIGHT THIS IS TURNING OUT TO BE, FOLKS!"

With quick thinking, Dolan activated the thruster in one of its arms and used it to spin itself enough to swing its arm at Kaveri just as the Water Pulse hit it. The water move threw the Golurk to the ground with a boom and soaked it further. Despite all the damage it had taken, it was still able to stand, but the ice storm still took its toll on both fighters. Dolan's body was freezing at an alarming rate, and the Golurk would not be able to fight much longer. It could easily just stop its ice storm, but its pride would not allow it.

Thus, Dolan gathered all the power it had for one final attack, slamming its fists into the ground. Geysers of Earth Power began to erupt randomly around the arena in a desperate attempt to catch the nimble Floatzel, who had managed to evade Dolan this long even in the intense cold. The deadly founts were larger than any it had used before, and far more numerous, proving that it passing the preliminaries was no fluke. Dolan was determined to finish Kaveri, even as the crawling ice quickly made its way across its body and even over its joints.

"THIS LOOKS LIKE AN END-ALL MOVE COMING HERE, WE MIGHT BE SEEING THE FINALE HERE, LADS AND LADIES!" The Exploud's own excitement matched the intense crowd around, which cheered the loudest at this moment.

Kaveri yelped when the Golurk's arm slammed into her side, sending her flying back down to the ground. Now covered in wet mud and snow, ice was quickly spreading over her fur, making it even more difficult for her to rise as the cold pierced her to the bone. She was almost grateful for the pain that now shot through her side with every step - she was sure something was broken, but at least the stabbing pain helped to keep her awake and aware through the cold that drained her energy. She wouldn't be able to last much longer, though. She needed to end this soon, otherwise-.

An Earth Power suddenly erupted right next to her, the attack missing but the force of it knocking her off balance and back onto her rump. Clenching her teeth and grunting, she was back on her feet much more quickly than before, pain clouding her vision for a brief moment. The Earth Powers were erupting everywhere, and she had to move fast to avoid them, often having to rely on Aqua Jet when her body was too stiff to move quickly enough on its own. There were times when it seemed she might fall, a few Earth Powers catching her off guard and sending her tumbling across the ground, gasping for breath. But she got back up every time, moving closer and closer to Dolan with every moment. As she got nearer to her opponent, she focused whatever excess energy she could spare into forming another Water Pulse between her paws, this one larger and forming much faster than the last one. With one last push from Aqua Jet and Agility, she leaped in the air so she was above the Golurk, blood, mud, and bruises matting her fur and the gigantic Water Pulse raised above her head as she glared down at him with determination. "Fancy an ice water bath?" she coughed out, then brought her paws down, throwing the Water Pulse as hard as she could directly down towards Dolan's head.

In that moment, amid the howling of the Icy Winds and the resounding explosions from the Earth Power, a sharp ear would just barely be able to make out the words, "Well...done..." The attack hit the unmoving giant dead-on, and for a while it seemed like nothing happened. But gradually the Earth Power geysers erupted with less and less frequency until they died out altogether. The great storm followed suit, fading away and leaving only the ruined battlefield and the two combatants. Dolan itself was completely frozen, with nothing to show whether or not it was even still alive.

Kaveri stood silently watching as the titan froze over, refusing to allow herself to fall until it was completely over. "You weren't half bad... yourself," she wheezed, placing a paw on one of the Golurk's frozen fists. As the storm cleared and she was finally able to breathe at least somewhat warmer air, Kaveri found the last of her energy and adrenaline fleeing her, and she collapsed to her knees, barely holding herself up with a paw. The ice storm may have been gone, but she still felt the chill straight to her center and a thick layer of frost and ice coated her fur - a nice nap next to a warm fire wrapped in a thick blanket sounded really nice right about now...

"THAT... THAT'S IT!" The Exploud announced. "THE FIGHT IS OVER, THE FIGHT IS OVER! KAVERI VIAN HAS WON!" He exclaimed, as the crowd cheered wildly to the news. "THAT'S TWO GOLD TRIBERS OFF TO THE NEXT ROUND! THESE FOLKS LOOK LIKE THEY MIGHT BE THE ONES TO BEAT! EVEN THE MIGHTY DOLAN COULDN'T STOP THEM. CAN ANYONE DO IT? I CAN'T TELL YOU FOLKS, BUT ONLY TIME WILL TELL!"

The Erble Tournament - Round 16 - Fight 6: Rolph v. Percival

"FIVE FANTASTIC FIGHTS IN THE BOOKS, AND THREE MORE TO GO!" The Exploud announced. "LET'S GET READY FOR ANOTHER ONE!" He exclaimed, to the sounds of approval from the crowd. "FIRST, A SON OF KARN BEFORE US! WE'VE GOT THE MERCENARY, BURNING ROLPH!" The Camerupt emerged from the gate at the far side of the arena and proceeded to the center of the ring without really acknowledging the crowd. He seemed to be mentally focusing on the incoming fight, even while many chanted his name.

"AND HIS OPPONENT, FROM ACROSS THE WIDE WATERS, WE'VE GOT PERCIVAL OF HOUSE FIRRELL!" The Exploud gestured to the far side of the arena, where the armored Garchomp entered. He acknowledge those that did cheer from him humbly, a contrast to the opponent he faced. The two met at the very center of the arena, and turned to the Emperor, as was done in the previous fights.

"I might not but confess, thy reasons for holding a grudge on me art puzzling," Percival called toward the Camerupt.

"I'm not holding a grudge," The Camerupt explained. "You're only a job. And I get my jobs done."

"COMPETITORS READY!" The Exploud began.

"But I cameth from the flote! I am not from this land!" Percival replied in protest.

"Well, you already did a good job of pissing someone off, then," Rolph responded.

"SET..."

"If be true thee bethink me an easy square, thee shall be mistaken," Percival warned as he positioned himself in a stance.

"They don't send me after the weak,"Rolph responded as he too prepared.

"FIGHT!"

The two Pokemon immediately charged forward. Rolph surrounded his body with flames and charged at the Garchomp. He seemed to have created a flame-infused Take Down. It would work as a physical ability, while also causing intense heat upon making contact, working on dual levels. Percival had similar ideas, however, as he too rushed at the Camerupt as a similar red energy surrounded his own body as he burst forward with a Dragon Rush.

"AND IT'S A CLASH RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING!" The Exploud exclaimed. Both attacks met in the middle as Rolph's body collided with Percival's. The shockwave would have surely forced back anyone if they were within range. Instead, it served to provide a spectacular sight for the audience. "THEY SEEM TO BE ON EVEN TERMS, ONE INCH HERE, ONE INCH THERE! NEITHER FIGHTER IS GIVING WAY!" The announcer continued.

Percival's claws continued to collide with the mini volcano on the Camerupt's back. Energies collapsed against one another as neither competitor wanted to give way. Eventually, both attacks expanded and erupted on the two of them, causing them to part ways and move back. But neither seemed fazed and moved in again. Rolph sucked in a breath and fired a Flame Burst along the floor, heating Percival's path just as the Garchomp prepared to move in with a combo with his claws. The super-heating caused Percival to leap forward and instead alter his attack to an aerial one. Green energy surrounded the 'mon's claws as he tried to strike the top of the Camerupt's head with his augmented Dragon Claw.

"Try again!" Rolph cried out as he stomped furiously at the ground below, forcing a set of rocks to the surface at his behest, and flinging the large boulders toward the sky-bound Percival with a Rock Throw. Percy, upon seeing the boulders in front of him, altered his attack to strike at the rock instead. His claws sliced through the deep rock and continued on past it, seeking still to strike at Rolph directly. By the time he had diced clean through the rock, however, Rolph had already manage to move from the spot, causing Percival to only strike at the ground below.

"Get f*cked!" The Camerupt shouted as he once again began stomping furiously at the arena below, causing it to shake uncontrollably. Then, sharp rocks began to protrude and pop out unexpectedly as the Earthquake took form and forced these boulders to the surface. One such pointed rock popped out and collided directly with the chest of the Garchomp. Percival was forced back through the air, but not before firing a Dragonbreath at the position Rolph was in. The Camerupt widened his eyes at the incoming attack, causing him to be partially burned along his side and also be forced back.

Rolph skidded back a bit as Percival landed somewhat roughly on the arena grounds, both to the sounds of intense cheering from the audience. "WHAT AN EXCHANGE! ROLPH GOT HIM WITH A DIRECT EARTHQUAKE SHOT, BUT PERCIVAL COUNTERED RIGHT AFTER WITH A MOVE OF HIS OWN! THESE TWO ARE GIVING IT THEIR ALL!"

Percival and Rolph exchange brief glances with each other, before Percival took a moment to examine the vast, cheering audience. His eyes then darted back to his opponent. "I must admit, thou art a stout squarer."

"You're not so bad yourself, princess," Rolph admitted as he spit to the side of the arena. "Much better than most 'mon they send me after. This may actually be fun," Rolph snorted as he charged forward again.

"I concur!" Percival agreed and also drove at the Camerupt. Rolph, along the way, suddenly shined his body with Rock Polish, which boosted his speed toward Percy. The Garchomp elected to brandish his claws once more and try to pierce the Camerupt's tough hide with a Dragon Claw. His claws made contact with the volcano on Rolph's back. He held it there for a moment, trying to make a dent. Suddenly, he saw a red flash begin to form from the hold in the center. The Camerupt launched a surprise Fire Blast directly from the volcano. Percival only saw the explosion of flames come last minute, and fired a Dragonbreath from his mouth to counteract it by holding it back as long as he could in an attempt to escape. The dragonic energy only helped slow down the blast, and the two blasts collided point blank with each other.

Rolph ended up skidding across the arena ground, damaged from the point blank explosion of the energies. Percival got out with more damage, taking a blow from the Fire Blast directly. He grunted as he landed with a partially burned shoulder. However, much to the satisfaction of the crowd, both competitors didn't sit still for long. Percy and Rolph were both on the move again, this time Rolph was moving faster because of his added speed. He went in for a flaming Take Down on Percival. The Garchomp only barely moved out of the way in time, with the move still partially chipping him on the shoulder and bruising it. Taking the opportunity to use the move of the momentum, Percival went along with the strike to his shoulder, and spun around to strike a Dragon Claw, which met its mark along the Camerupt's neck.

"Nngh!" Rolph wailed as he retreated away from the sharp claws of the formidable dragon. "F*ck!" He cursed and fired a flamethrower onto the Garchomp. Percival responded with a Dragonbreath to meet the Camerupt's flames. Both attacks clashed in the middle in a brilliant, continuous wave of burning energy.

"WHAT A BACK AND FORTH AFFAIR THIS IS!" The Exploud continued. "FIRST ROLPH GAINS SOME GROUND WITH THE FLAMETHROWER! NO WAIT, HERE COME'S PERCIVAL WITH HIS DRAGONBREATH! AND IT'S AN OLD FASHION KARNIAN FLAME TUG OF WAR, FOLKS! ROLPH GAINS SOME GROUND! NO WAIT! PERCIVAL JUST GOT IT BACK! ARCEUS, FOLKS THESE TWO ARE REALLY GOING AT IT! I DON'T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME TWO ATTACKS CONTINUED ON FOR THIS LONG! OH WAIT, SOMETHING'S REACTING IN THE CENTER... I THINK IT'S GOING TO BLOW!" The Exploud warned.

The two bursts of flame energy continued to stream from the two 'mon's mouths, with the continuous wave of hot breath gathering in the center and building up. Eventually all of the energy gave way and exploded in a brilliant burst of flaming intensity. Both competitors were forced a good distance away, with the Garchomp and Camerupt landing harshly on the unforgiving Karn arena.

Smoke and steam filled the area from the intense heat of the two attacks, covering the fighting area from the eyes of the spectactors.

"Gargh, clear this smoke, damn it!" The Emperor demanded, as a Tailow beside the Emperor lightly flung its wings to gently nudge the smoke away. As it dissipated, the crowd was greeted to the sight of both competitors on the ground, panting heavily and struggling to stand up.

"AND IT LOOKS LIKE BOTH OF THE FIGHTERS TOOK SOME NASTY HITS THERE!" The Exploud stated, his own excitement clearly showing in his voice. "WHO'S GOING TO GET UP? WILL IT BE BURNING ROLPH, OR THE KNIGHT OF EXATRASS? WHAT A THRILLING FIGHT IT'S BEEN! OH... WAIT... WE'RE GETTING SOME MOVEMENT!"

The Exploud pointed to the side of the Camerupt, where Rolph began willing himself to his feet. His body ached from the punishment it took from the surprisingly strong Percival. He exerted much of his strength, but the Camerupt eventually agonizingly returned to his feet. The crowd roared with delight, and Rolph grinned. "I don't believe it!" The Exploud announcer began. Rolph turned toward him and the audience, prepared to mouth him off for ever doubting that he could do it. However, once he turned, he found the Exploud, as well as most of the crowd, to be staring in the other direction. Rolph turned there as well to see where their gaze was drawn.

To the Camerupt's surprise, Percival took was rising to his feet. With much of the same exertion as Rolph, the Garchomp climbed to his feet with determination and fire in his gaze. Rolph and Percival eyed each other, as the snow slowly fell along the arena grounds, covering whatever burning mess the two had made. There were no words between the two at that moment, as the announcer egged them on, and the audience cheered with delight. There was no praise, no insults, no baffled questions. The only source of acknowledgement the two shared was a very small nod the Camerupt gave to the Garchomp, one which the Garchomp returned.

That was the only action necessary between the two, and the fighters were at it again.

Rolph released flames from the top of his volcano, and positioned it above his body. He then struck at the ground, forming boulders to also take a similar position. The two attacks combined, forming molten boulders which the Camerupt began flinging at the Garchomp.

Percival too was preparing. He sliced up portions of the arena with his own claws, condensing the rock to form into tight, thick rocks in the form of a Rock Tomb. The Garchomp cleverly chose to position these rocks instead around himself, and then, propelled by his own strength, he drove forward with these rocks still positioned around him. The flaming boulders made contact with these thick rocks, bouncing off them and partially cracking them with each impact.

Each strike also temporarily set Percival off course as he continued forward. However, he soon continued on his path. A few more of these molten boulders pushed forward, and after the final one was launched, Percival's Rock Tomb defense had collapsed. A bit of flames reached the skin of the dragon, but he powered through it and leapt forward, charging into the Camerupt with a Dragon Rush.

Rolph cleverly positioned the ground directly in front of him to be burning from his Flame Burst. However, even as Percival's feet skidded across the unbelievable heat his legs experienced, he continued forward, the force of his Dragon Rush intending to meet his target. Rolph fired another Flame Burst, this time at Percival directly to try and deter the Dragon. However, he would not be stopped. Percival continued on, pushing past the unbelievable pain both now on his feet and in the front of his body. Percival screamed and used more of his energy to shoot his body forward, until finally he felt the collision of the Camerupt's rough skin.

The Dragon Rush met its target successfully, and Rolph grunted from the pain. Rolph was shot back through the arena and was cascaded across the it like a rag doll. The Camerupt did not stop until he was at the edge of the arena, before tumbling off and firing directly into the side wall of the coliseum. The dragonic energy from the Dragon Rush subsided, and Percival gazed on as the Camerupt's form came into view.

Everyone gasped as they saw the Camerupt walk out from the hole in the wall, his body bruised and bloody, gazing intensely at the Garchomp. Percival was amazed, clearly not expecting the Camerupt to still be standing.

"WHAT... WHAT AN UNBELIEVABLE CONTEST THIS IS! THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE SEEN YET! BOTH FIGHTERS ARE SHOWING SUCH INTENSE DETERMINATION! I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE TAKE SUCH A HIT AND STILL BE ALIVE! JUST WHAT IS BURNING ROLPH MADE OUT OF?!"

The audience seemed to also appreciate the special level of fiery determination they were witnessing from both fighters. The two competitors continued to gaze at one another, clearly both on their last legs. Percival wasn't sure he had anything left in the tank. He doubted he would be able to fire off another move if he could. He here he saw, a determined gaze from the Camerupt in front of him, glaring at him with so much intensity, Percival felt it necessary to return that gaze. If the Camerupt were about to bring him down, then Percival wanted to watch him do it.

But, much to the surprise of the Garchomp, the Camerupt grinned, and began to fall himself. Rolph fell to the ground in a thud, and the audience cheered wildly.

"THAT... THAT'S IT!" The announcer roared. "WE HAVE OUR WINNER! THESE FIGHTERS PUT IT ALL ON THE LINE HERE, BUT THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WHO WALKS AWAY VICTORIOUS. AND THAT IS... PERCIVAL!" The spectators roared in approval, many now chanting 'Percy! Percy!' wildly.

Percival on the other hand, was baffled. He had to stop himself from falling to his knee. His eyes were fixed on the Camerupt in front of him. He couldn't believe his luck, if it were even that. He and Rolph were almost even in terms of skill. In the very end too, if Rolph had the strength, one more hit would have finished the Garchomp. But it seemed, in the end, Rolph turned out to be just as injured as Percival, and they were merely separated by victory and defeat by a few seconds.

It was the last moment of confrontation which Percival focused on. Rolph, in his last moments, likely knew he was a defeated 'mon and believed he could fight no more. Percival too thought the same thing, and neither knew the other's thoughts at that moment. Instead, the two shared an intense glare at the very end, their last bit of defiance. They were both ready to end the contest on that note, because they both felt at that moment that it was a conclusion they could have both accepted. It wasn't just a look of intensity they shared. It was a moment of clarity. A moment of understanding.

It was a moment of respect.

The Erble Tournament - Round 16 - Fight 7: James v. Sen

"SIX INCREDIBLE FIGHTS PRODUCED SIX INCREDIBLE VICTORS!" The Exploud announced to the crowd of eager spectators. "WHO WILL BE OUR NEXT FIGHTER TO ADVANCE TO THE QUARTERFINALS? WILL IT BE THE UPCOMING SOON-TO-BE FORMER SERVING, OR THE LEGENDARY ONE HIMSELF? LET'S FIND OUT!" He declared, as the crowd cheered loudly.

"FIRST... FROM DAGGEN, HE'S A SERVING, BUT THE WAY HE'S BEEN FIGHTING, SOMETHING TELLS ME HE MAY NOT BE ONE FOR LONG! HE'S ONE OF THE THREE LIEUTENANTS UNDER GRAND GENERAL HUGH... HERE'S SEN!" The announcer gestured to the far side of the coliseum, where the Vigoroth Serving emerged to a split of jeers and cheers. Sen walked humbly to the center, his head lowered the entire time as he did so.

"AND HIS OPPONENT... LADS AND LADIES, WE'VE GOT A SPECIAL ONE COMING UP. HE'S ONE OF OUR FIVE GRAND GENERALS. BORN AND RAISED IN THE SLUMS OF ERBLE. THIS 'MON FOUGHT HIS WAY TO THE TOP. AND NOW, HE'S ONE OF OUR MOST LEGENDARY FIGHTERS! HERE'S GENERAL JAMES!" The announcer gestured to the other side of the coliseum, where the one-eyed Blaziken emerged and walked casually to the center. He seemed immune to the overwhelming cheering he was receiving.

The two faced off, with Sen taking the opportunity to turn toward the Emperor. Instead of simply standing and awaiting an acknowledgement, Sen bowed lowly, a requirement of the Serving who still have not met their quota. James on the other hand, gave a small nod to the Emperor, without actually turning his entire body.

"COMPETITORS READY!" The Exploud began as he raised his arm. Sen bowed lowly to the Blaziken.

"Sen... destined to die," He greeted his Blaziken opponent.

"If you insist," James shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"SET... FIGHT!"

Immediately upon the announcement, the Vigoroth Serving decided to act decisively and burst forward with tremendous speed at the Blaziken. Sen brandished his claws and prepared to strike at his opponent with a fierce Slash. James chose not to move from his spot. Instead, he closed his one visible eye, inhaling and then exhaling slowly as steam emitting from his nostrils. This partially filled the immediate area around James with smoke, which partially blinded Sen's vision. The Serving Vigoroth was undeterred, knowing that the distance was close enough to prevent him from dodging his strike.

But the Blaziken didn't try to dodge. Rather, as Sen's claws pierced through the smoke to try and reach him, his arm extended from the steam and grabbed hold of the Vigoroth's arm. Sen tried to push forward, but the claws held him in place. Sen looked down at them, noticing their difference from before. The Blaziken now had bursts of flame extended from his wrists. Sen's eyes widened and his focus turned on the rest of the Blaziken, whose appearance was now fully visible as the smoke dissipated. Black markings were on his upper legs and his chest. The hair-like feathers on his head took on a more wing-like appearance, and fire extended longer around his wrists. He had gone into his Mega Evolution already.

"AND IT LOOKS LIKE GENERAL JAMES HAS GONE AND ACTIVATED HIS LEGENDARY STAGE ALREADY!" The Exploud announced, his own excitement seeping into his voice. "WHAT WILL SEN DO?"

The Vigoroth continued to try and push forward with his claws, but understood it to be futile. Nevertheless, his face glared with determination. He would not back down.

"You're not the one," James muttered. "Fortune wasn't on your side when she made us cross paths," A quick wave of fire from the Blaziken propelled Sen from James and barreled him into the far side of the arena. The crowd went absolutely nuts at the display of power.

"A BURST OF FLAME FROM OUR POWERFUL GENERAL HAS SENT SEN ACROSS THE ARENA! DID YOU FEEL THE POWER ON THAT, FOLKS? I THINK THIS ONE IS OVER ALREADY! WAIT..." The Exploud observed Sen's position, noting that the Vigoroth slowly began to rise shakily from his feet. "INCREDIBLE, A DIRECT HIT FROM JAMES AND STILL THE VIGOROTH MANAGED TO STAND BACK UP AGAIN!"

James cocked his eyebrow and examined the Vigoroth. "Stay down, boy. This isn't a fight you can win. And I have no interest fighting it." Sen continued forward, making a running break at the Blaziken. James sighed, and just as Sen prepared to strike at the Blaziken, he seemed to almost vanish. Sen's claws struck nothing but air, and the perplexed Vigoroth looked around, puzzled. Soon after, he felt immense pain, as a series of fists propelled by James' Close Combat struck the back of Sen. His bones could be visibly heard breaking along his back as the Vigoroth cried out from the pain. Even some of the crowd turned away from the brutality.

"OH, I HEARD THAT ALL THE WAY FROM HERE!" The Exploud cringed.

Sen fell to the ground with a thud, and James snorted and turned to walk away. As he did, however, the crowd began to cheer again strangely. James turned around and viewed where Sen was, seeing the 'mon start rising.

With a frustrated snort, the Blaziken, drove forward and launched a powerful Blaze Kick directly at the Vigoroth's chest, causing his fur to burn and something definitely to crack underneath. Sen flew off to the side of the arena. James turned away, awaiting the announcement of the victory.

"IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S THAT! THE FIGHT GOES T- WAIT JUST A SECOND, I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" The Exploud exclaimed. James stopped and turned around. The battered, bruised and broken Vigoroth began climbing to his feet. "SEN IS GETTING BACK UP!" The crowd cheered the Vigoroth on, while some worriedly tried to shout at him to stay down and accept defeat. It was a divided crowd, some wishing to see nothing but blood. Others, likely Serving themselves, just wanted to see their comrade stay healthy.

"You looking for a death wish, boy?" James questioned the Serving.

"I say already..." Sen panted heavily, his body visibly shaking from standing up. "Sen... Serving... Destined to die..."

"Everyone's destined to die," James retorted, his Mega form showing flames burst across his body from the intensity of his energy level. "Are you sure this is where it is for you?"

"I... no want to die..." Sen managed.

"Then stay down," James muttered as he fired a powerful flamethrower at the Vigoroth. The flames struck the chest of the 'mon directly, causing him to cry out from the pain. He was shot through the air and took another hard fall onto the arena floor.

"OH... WHAT A HIT FROM JAMES! AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE SEN IS DONE FOR GOOD THIS TIME!" The Exploud announced, as James shook his head and turned once more to walk away. "WHAT... WHAT?!" James paused from the Exploud's words. He turned again, to view the scene. His eye almost carried disbelief in it. Once more, the Vigoroth began to shakily rise to his feet. "I DON'T... I DON'T BELIEVE IT... HE MADE IT UP AGAIN!"

"What's your deal?" James questioned. "I thought you didn't want to die."

"Yes... but I want... something more..." Sen managed to say through the immense pain his body was under.

"What?"

The Vigoroth muttered under his breath to James, something that only the Blaziken managed to pick up. James stared blankly at Sen, taking in his words for a moment. His silence was eventually ended by a slight nod of his head. The Blaziken charged forward, and drove his hand directly through the Vigoroth's chest, piercing it directly. Sen's eyes widened at the blow, as the audience audibly gasped from the hit. "Find in death what you couldn't find in life," He muttered to him, and he removed his arm from his chest. The Vigoroth exhaled lowly, and fell from his feet onto his knees, and then to the ground in a pool of blood.

"I... I THINK IT'S DONE NOW!" The Exploud announced, though more remorsefully now than before. "JAMES IS THE WINNER!" He declared, as many in the coliseum cheered, while others looked on in sadness. James too, stared down at the Serving he had just slain, his mind filled with thoughts.

The Erble Tournament - Round 16 - Fight 8: Snype v. Drake

"WHAT AN AMAZING FIRST ROUND WE'VE HAD SO FAR!" The Exploud exclaimed to the roaring crowd. "FOURTEEN STRONG FIGHTERS HAVE COME AND FOUGHT, AND NOW THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE LAST MATCH OF ROUND 16! LET'S BRING OUT OUR FIGHTERS!" He yelled, and the crowd cheered right after him. "FIRST, A FOREIGNER FROM SOMEWHERE OR OTHER, WE'VE GOT SNYPE, THE KING OF THIEVES!" The Exploud introduced as he gestured for one opening into the massive arena, cleared of all of the glass barriers which were in place for Battle Royales.

Snype walked into the arena, observing around him. The Sableye didn't exactly expect to have any fans down in Karn. Nobody really knew who he was up in these parts and he most certainly doubted word of his actions in Beatruce had spread around.

"AND OUR SECOND FIGHTER, WE'VE GOT, DRAKE THE MARAUDER!" The announcer gestured to the other side of the arena, where the Mienshao emerged and proceeded toward the center. "NOW NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT THIS GUY, BUT I FIGURED OUT FROM SOME SOURCES THAT HE'S A KARNIAN, LIKELY FROM THE CAPITAL. SO FOR ALL YOU DAGGENITES, CHEER YOUR MAN!" He exclaimed, causing a wave of applause from the audience.

Drake reached the very center of the arena opposite Snype wordlessly. He glanced from the Sableye over to the Emperor's chair, and turned to face the Emperor, as was custom before the duel. Snype stared at Drake's actions for a moment before turning around and doing the same. He could hardly tell if this was the same 'mon he had saved earlier...

With both challengers facing the Emperor, Edgar gave them a nod, the sign he had accepted their fight. Drake once more turned toward the Sableye. He parted his legs slightly, allowing for a wider stance. The way he gazed at the Sableye was... odd. He had a peculiar presence about him. Ominous, and baleful, but also somehow serene, as if he weren't the least bit worried about the upcoming altercation.

"...You're Drake right? Geez you're way different from before..." Snype said as he held out his claws, preparing himself for the incoming fight. What the heck was up with this guy? Whatever the case, Snype had a feeling he wasn't going to be the stumbling bum he had met before.

"COMPETITORS, READY!" The announcer began. Drake did not move, but continued to gaze at the Sableye. "SET..."

"FIGHT!" The Exploud roared, to the sounds of a torrent of cheering from the crowd.

Snype used Detect to start off as he usually would, rushing in to approach Drake, mostly to see what kind of attacks the mon would have in the first place. He wasn't about to rush in on an attack that would get him killed or anything! Drake, in turn, chose not to move at all, but rather wait as the Sableye began to approach him. As the Sableye began to get closer, the Mienshao suddenly lifted a hand. "I surrender," He stated loudly.

Snype stopped in his tracks and just blinked at Drake. "...w..wait what? Surrender?!" Snype said in shock... what in the hell? Snype looked around at the crowd in confusion and then to Drake. "Alright what's this about Drake?"

The crowd around was stunned. Chattering and murmuring began across the entire arena. The Emperor looked around, and cocked an eyebrow. "What? What happened?" He questioned.

"UH..." The Exploud began toward the Emperor. "DRAKE JUST SURRENDERED, SIRE..."

"He WHAT?!" The Emperor raged, knocking over a nearby table with fruit over with his foot. Pokemon across the large coliseum began to boo profusely.

"ARE YOU SURE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, DRAKE THE MARAUDER?" The Exploud clarified at the Mienshao.

"Yes," Drake replied with a nod, over the streamline of boos that followed.

"THEN... THEN I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DECLARE SNYPE, THE KING OF THIEVES, THE WINNER BY DEFAULT!" The Exploud declared.

"BAH!" The Emperor roared angrily. "Get them the fuck outta my sight!" He ordered.

The Mienshao turned toward Snype and nodded to him. "Fight well, Snype of Valkaria," He stated, before he turned away and began to head out of the arena. The audience began to show their disparagement for the 'mon by tossing all sorts of food and drink at him. The Marauder seemed to take it as he continued to walk away.

"What... what the hell just happened?" Snype soon followed suit, exiting the Arena and searching for the Mienshao.

"WELL... THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS!" The Exploud announced through the arena. "EIGHT FIGHTS DONE, WHICH CONCLUDES THE ROUND OF 16! LET'S ALL FORGET ABOUT THE SOUR TASTE LEFT IN OUR MOUTHS BY THAT LAST ONE, AND REMEMBER HOW EXCITING THIS TOURNAMENT HAS BEEN SO FAR! OUR NEXT ROUND, THE QUARTERFINALS, BEGINS IN TWO DAYS, HERE AT ERBLE'S COLISEUM! SEE YOU ALL THERE!"

Vee, Raz, Rattles, Cythera and Obsidian - Back in Daggen

After a brilliant flash of light, the group of Vee, Raz, Rattles, Cythera and Obsidian materialized right in front of the ravaged spiral tower of the Emperor. All around, the familiar chaotic activity of Daggen persisted, much like it did before they left on their journey almost two weeks ago. "Here we are," Vee stated as the Victini took a look around at their surroundings. "Eh... still not used to this city..."

"It's as charming as ever." Cythera said sarcastically, already moving ahead atop Rattles. "I wonder if they get news about that tournament here."

"Let's be quick about this," Razathiel suggested. "Before we have a run-in with any time-wasting miscreants, or the Emperor or something."

Vee nodded and the group proceeded inside the same building. Vee noticed a line forming like the one the first time they passed by, but the guards seemed to allow their group to pass without much trouble. They passed through the familiar walls and headed further in until they came across the familiar office of Gregory, who was in the process of writing something quickly behind his undersized desk. He was in relatively the same position and appearance as they last saw him. Vee had to wonder: did the 'mon ever leave that desk?

Gregory looked up and scanned the group through his small spectacles. "Ah, hello, sirs and madams," He greeted pleasantly. He glanced down at his paper and scribbled a few more lines as he continued to speak. "You are back sooner than I would have expected. How goes your travels?"

"Evilly!" Raz replied. "Well, evilly for me, not sure about the others - but then, who cares? We've come to inquire about the nature of the plant known as Groudon's Gift."

Greg stopped his writing and placed his implement down. He examined the Ralts as well as the rest of the group, before replying. "What is your interest in Groudon's Gift?" He inquired curiously.

"Xander wouldn't die even when Raz just about killed him twice," Cythera explained "Vee didn't see anything special about his energy except that it spiked when he got back up and that it had no limit. The only thing we know for sure he has up his sleeve is that damned plant, so it probably has something to do with this mess. I need to counter it."

"Ah," The Snorlax seemed to lighten up at Cythera's explanation and returned to his notes. "Yes, I do believe he is in possession of Groudon's Gift. Or rather, Groudon's Gift is in his body now. If you believe the rumors, that is. There are very few ways to counter the poison of the flower, and additionally to counter its regenerative capabilities. But the one way many surmised that it is possible is merely to use the opposite of what was already used to eliminate the adverse or beneficial effects. So using the effects of Groudon's Farewell will eliminate that of Groudon's Gift, and vice versa. At least, that is what the rumors say."

"Aha, perfect," the Dreadmage exclaimed dryly. "I suppose we'll pop up Mount Titan to grab some and be back with Xander's head in time for tea, shall we?"

"Indeed, you can reach the plant from top of the mountain, sir," Gregory replied with a nod. "If you can spare the three weeks to journey up there."

"We're back to square one." Obsidian muttered, "It's all rumors and hearsay. That means there's a fifty fifty chance it's true, or it isn't."

Razathiel grumbled, "Oddly enough, I'd rather we not spare three weeks scaling a mountain and dying."

"Is that it?" Cythera questioned. "I want everything you know about the plant. Every single little detail."

"Every detail?" Gregory repeated as he took out a small handkerchief and gently padded his forehead. "Oh dear... that may take a while. Would you like me to include rumors or pure fact?"

"Let's start with the facts."

"Very well, let me begin..." Gregory began to explain.

Suddenly a few small taps could be heard coming from the door before Able suddenly flew in "Heeeyyyy Greggy! I'm ba-" Able paused when she noticed most of the group back. "Raz! Cythera! Vee! Obsidian! Geez you guys beat up Xander already or was I sleeping too late again?"

"Ah, Able, no they had just arrived," Gregory greeted the bug Pokemon. "They are inquiring about assistance for Xander. I will be with you in just a moment."

"Okie doke! I'll say hi when you're all done." Able said, perching herself onto his desk and waving cheerily to the group.

"Yes... as I was saying," Greg cleared his throat. "Groudon's Farewell grows at the very top of Mount Titan, and supposedly only there. It is considered a very honorable and profound achievement to make the climb to the top. Many say as your reward, Groudon blesses you with the gift of death. Or life, depending on how you look at it, I suppose. As the plant, Groudon's Farewell has no equal as a poison. It can kill all who consume it or inhale it. It is quite a horrifying experience. Your veins pop out from under your skin, and your eyes glow a gastly purple. And then death comes about you. Sometimes instantaneous, something it takes a few seconds, or minutes. But it happens. And it is painful. Very nasty business."

Gregory frowned somewhat, but continued. "Now, Groudon's Gift is the opposite of that. Heated to just the right temperature into a liquid form, consuming the plant like this will grant you exponential healing capabilities. It can prolong life, destroy illness, and even remove certain negative effects moves could have on you, they say. It is said that Groudon gave Pokemon the gift of death, and it was Kyogre who gave the gift of life, through this plant. I question why no one refers to it as Kyogre's Gift, but... " Gregory shrugged. "I suppose it is irrelevant. Anyway, the effects of the plant are instantaneous and deadly. The effects of the liquid are said to not be as permanent, but even a single drop can produce lasting effects for up to a week at a time. They do not altogether prevent death, but with such a 'mon as Xander, and his... type of battling, it is a very lethal combination. And the amount of liquid that a single plant produces can be quite exponential. Therefore, I suspect Xander may not nearly have used his up, should he have it, of course. It would take either a tremendous amount of power, or a nullification of this ability to defeat him, I suspect."

"Aghem, er, Greg," Razathiel began, apparently slightly rattled. "Pardon me, but it appears a lot of things have clicked into place just now and I'm feeling a little shocked I hadn't thought of such things earlier..." the wizard paused, composing himself and waving a hand dismissively. "Though this information isn't particularly anything new, of course. You haven't dropped any bombshells or anything, I just, uh... crafted one in my own mind and it blew up there on its own. Fucking, whatever- do you know anything about the concept of Mega Evolution?"

Greg glanced over to Raz and nodded. "I am aware of it. I understand James is in possession of such a stone which would grant him that power. I hear it's quite powerful. But not without some repercussions."

"Are you aware of these repercussions?" Razathiel inquired. "Does Groudon's Gift seem like something that could negate the adverse effects of such things?"

The Snorlax put his large paw up to his chin and pondered the question for a moment. "Hmm... theoretically I do believe such a thing is possible. If it does not altogether remove the negative effects, it most certainly should decrease them. Very keen observation, Mr. Dreadmage."

With a grin, the Ralts turned to the others and said, "Seems this bloody plant just got a whole lot more enticing!" He made another odd hand-motion, stopped to check his Magic Room, then immediately swore in frustration.

"But we have no idea if it will. Yes, the evidence points there, but this is mega evolution we are talking about." Obsidian pointed out. "It's one thing to clear up bad effects, it's another to clear up a god like ability. And even if it does help none of us are capable of mega evolving."

"Either way, we still have to get Mega Stones for ourselves, and not to mention Groudon's Gift in order to try," Vee insisted.

Cythera frowned, unsatisfied. "I was uh, hoping for a bit more... So we need the plant or to go mega, but we can't go to those temples for more stones without the rep from killing Xander." She sighed. "Can any of us even make it up that mountain? You felt how bad it was even at the base!" She reminded them, shivering at the memory. "Greg, do you know anyone besides Xander who's made it up? Or anyone who's even made it close? Maybe someone that could be persuaded to give us some of the plant?"

"I am unfamiliar with many currently alive who has made the climb," Gregory responded with a frown. "However, if it is passage to the Temples you seek, I can give my seal of approval for all of the excellent work Ms. Able has been conducting on my behalf. The Emperor will surely accept the word of a Grand General." He said with a more brightened up countenance.

"Well I'll be damned," Raz murmured. "How very, uh... convenient of you, minion-minion. Grand-minion? I really need to brush up on these levels of hierarchy..."

"Hehe, hey I've been one busy bug Raz! Grand-Minion sounds good to me personally!" Able said happily.

"It sounds 'good' to you? Egh. Minion-minion it is."

As the two conversed among each other, Gregory filled out a paper, rolled it up, and placed a seal onto it, before extending his large arm to hand it over to the group. "Here it is, that should be sufficient for the Emperor. He is in Erble for the tournament. Now, is there anything else you require?"

Able flew over to the paper and picked it up, quickly placing it in her bag. "Well hey glad I could help Greggy! You're a pretty darn great boss! Karn's kind of an interesting place when ya get around to meeting the folks! Ya know.. despite the conditions." Able said. "Boy do I got stories to tell all of ya on the way! Anything we should know about the temples themselves in particular?"

"I'm not quite familiar with the Temples as I would like to be," Gregory stated with a small frown. "Other than their names."

"Don't worry, I'll fill you guys in later," Vee chimed in.

"Also, wasn't there another agent pushing into Karn?" Cythera wondered. "How are things on that front?

"Oh! Alai. Yeah I had a run in with him." Able said oddly casually.

"Did you kill him?" Razathiel asked.

"What? No we had a small chat and he ran off. Tried to mess with my head or Something. He's a pretty deceptive little bugger." Able continued.

"Why didn't you kill him?"

"Pay him no mind," Gregory interjected. "My associates are in the process of tracking him down. I will take care of the situation."

Cythera's eyes widened. "What!? He's here too? I meant that Juggernaut guy. Which of them isn't here at this point?"

"Fairly sure Tyren and Bastille aren't," Razathiel murmured with a smirk.

"The Agent known as the Juggernaut is quite effective," Gregory answered. "More than one would care to admit. His force proceeded onward across our borders until only recently, when his attacks became less frequent, though still occurring."

"...Wouldn't be surprised if Gabe was here at this point..." Able said with a hint of worry.

"Ah, I do not believe you have to worry about Gabriel appearing here at this point," Gregory shifted uncomfortably. "He... was spotted in Valkaria not two days ago. It seems his... err... attention is fixed there... in not the best of circumstances. I am not sure if you have heard until now."

Cythera's heart sank. "Oh this can't be good."

"Apparently, Darkrai's called all forces toward Valkaria about a week ago," Gregory continued. "My scouts gathered that as of two days ago, Eternity City, Poseida Village, Albia, Gravel City, and Cape City are no longer in Valkarian hands. He's launched an aggressive assault on Gold City about the same time, too, though the city is holding as it has been for now. However, Gabriel himself made an appearance a few days ago, and since then, it hasn't been going favorably. According to my predictions, I unfortunately believe that in less than two weeks, Gold City may fall."

"This was a mistake." Obsidian muttered. "No doubt he's been slaughtering the populace. And the Ancian is there.... we should have gone back home. At the very least intercept the Ancian."

"We can't go home without all of Cresselia," Cythera said, frustration clear in her tone. "But as soon as Cal and the others have that stone, maybe we should... We can check out the temples, get our mega stones, the others get the last piece of Cresselia then we forget Xander and leave."

Obsidian paced, "We have to leave now." He stated, "Look, let the others do Cresselia, but dammit we need to get back home. I need to get back home! I'm not going to let Darkrai just... just destroy my home!" He snapped out. "I saw what he did to Beatruce and Tollen and I'm not letting that happen to Valkaria!"

"Aren't Beatruce and Tollen... relatively fine?" Raz questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"After so many died, yeah!" Obsidian grit his teeth, "I'm not letting my friends just die! I came on this trip because I thought we could stop Gabe from getting in there even more. And we couldn't even do that!"

"I would think you would be sensible enough to understand the bigger picture here," Vee stated from under its hood. It crossed its arms and gazed upon the Weavile. "If you leave now, maybe you'll help your country, but how much can one Pokemon do? Or two, or three or all five of us? We'll be a help, sure, but how long before Xander comes to your home with that army? A larger one? No, the way I see it, if you really want to help your home, then you need both Cresselia's pieces, and an army strong enough to combat Gabriel. If you win the tournament, you'll have Cresselia. But what about an army? No doubt the south-country and Gaiyo's and Anatellia's will help if they can, but you won't win without this place's help. And we can't get their help if Xander controls part of their army!"

"If you felt so strongly about protecting Gold City from the inside, I'm not sure why you left with this group in the first place," Razathiel shrugged. "The whole point of all this was that leaving was necessary. We're ill-equipped for combating the fucker without, well... everything we've been working towards this entire time."

"I came because Penance believed in Guardia. I came because I listened, and began to believe her too. But even she's dead!" He snapped out, "She was the one who was supposed to survive till the end! And she didn't! If she fell... what if this all falls? What if it's... not enough?" He panted a bit.

"Like hell I'm letting it fall," Cythera said, hints of anger in her firm voice. "I'm not going to fail again. We're wasting time, let's go." After a quick signal from Cythera, Rattles made her way to the exit.

"Uhm, before you leave," Gregory began in his normal voice, calling after the departing group. "Might you like to be teleported to Erble? I can arrange that."

Cythera and Rattles stopped abruptly before hurrying back. "Yes, please, thank you very much," she answered.

"Want me to head up with them Greggy? Unless you still need me to hang around here and give you a hand." She said.

"I think that decision is largely up to you, Able," Gregory replied. "You have been a tremendous help here, but if you wish to depart with your group, I will not stop you. Very well. Meet with one of my associates near in this inn across town," He scribbled a note on this paper. "His name and contact information is written. He'll send you across. Understand the importance of discretion about this. Karnians do not look to highly upon teleportation in this capacity."

"Heh, Hell I'll stick around! Someone's gotta keep an eye on the homefront!" Able cheered. "You guys want me to snag supplies? I got a bit of shinies in hand to snag some good stuff!"

"Oh, almost forgot - I was livid at the time," Razathiel raised a hand and looked up at Gregory. "Around Xander, a quadruped came along and started fucking shit up. Told us to meet up with him at a place named Dart. I assume it must be a place, at least. What's with that?"

"Ah, Dart," Gregory repeated with a nod. "Yes, yes, it is a small village just outside of Truon. I believe I mentioned it to your group before when you were inquiring about the former Grand General Dorrian?" Gregory gestured to Obsidian. "The very same place."

Obsidian looked away, "... The odds of him being alive are nonexistent.... everyone at that tavern told me otherwise." He muttered. "A rumor gets spread because it has to have some truth in it."

"Arceus has he been whining the whole trip?" Able butted in. "Yeah everyone believed Isabella was dead back in Tollen and that turned out to be false. Karn doesn't exactly have a lot of reliable information sources besides Greg here. Trust me I've tried. Just gotta rely on your gut here."

"... My gut does say he could be alive... " Obsidian sighed, "But if he's in Dart.... that's another place we'll have to go. It'll be another side stop that keeps us from getting to the Emperor any sooner. If you all believe in the mission... then I shouldn't risk you all getting sidetracked again. You all should head to the emperor and get your business done. This is my burden to carry."

Cythera nodded and turned to the others. "We should get going to Erble then. But once we've made it there I think Vee should check Dart with Obsidian, in case there's anything worthwhile there. Obsidian did say he wasn't sure he'd make it out alive, so we'd need someone to relay that sort of information."

"If there is nothing else, then I wish you luck, and hope your mission proves fruitful," Gregory stated with a wave of his large paw. "Good-bye, sirs and ma'ams."

Obsidian gave a nod toward the others, "Stay safe. If you don't mind, Greg, I'm going to plan a bit before I head out. This is important to me, so I need to make sure I get it right. You wouldn't have any maps of Dart, would you?"

Gregory chuckled a bit and reached through a stack of papers he had to the far side of his table. He took one out and handed it toward the Weavile. "Here is a general map of Karn as well as a pinpoint of where Dart is. I do not have a map of Dart personally, though. I do not find there is no need. It's quite a small village. Only a few dozen homes."

Obsidian gave a small nod, "And.... how current is that information? Judging by what was said by the Meganium, it is likely that if it is now a base of operations that the area is bound to have grown."

"The information is as recent as a few weeks ago," Gregory replied. "It is a small village with the population of perhaps a little over a hundred at most. Beyond Karn's main three cities, you'll find thousands of these small villages across the countryside, and Dart is one of them."

"Hey, Obsidian," Vee called out to the Weavile. "Are you certain you're going to that town now?"

Obsidian nodded to Vee, "Yeah, I am. I need to head there now. If I don't.... if he's alive and he dies... I could never forgive myself."

Vee sighed and shook her head. "Fine then. Good luck. That Meganium was a Tropius, by the way," The Victini stated casually as it proceeded outside with the others.

"Mother fu-" Obsidian barely had time to say as the others closed the doors behind them.

With that bomb shell dropped upon him Obsidian didn't feel like spending more time being watched under Greg's critical eye. He took the map and retreated to one of the pub's in town, having to order a drink to get rid of the shuddering he was feeling. This was it. His whole life had been leading to this one particular moment. His father's spirit was counting on him, and he was counting on himself too. Every moment in his childhood he had thought of this, and the nerves were getting to him. He tried some deep breathing exercises but they didn't help much. He finally packed the map into his pack and retreated to the restroom, splashing some warm water upon his face to ease his tension. "You can do this. You can do this." He kept muttering to himself as he clenched his teeth and kept his eyes closed, using the darkness to ease himself even more. "You've been training your whole life for this. You can do this."

"Of course you can."

That voice. Obsidian shook his head and took in a few more deep breaths, focusing on himself once more. Nothing was going to stop him now.

"If you kill him... you know what doorway that opens."

Obsidian finally opened his eyes and looked up at the mirror. He saw him... right then and there. The Weavile was silent for a moment, then slashed out at the glass, his claw tips slicing through some bits as shards fell to the ground. No, it wouldn't open that doorway. He wasn't going to be like him. Taking in one more deep breath he straightened his back and walked back out to the main area, having to find a new table to sit out while he pulled the map out yet again to scan through.

~~~~~

They were already sticking out enough as it was, so it took some effort for the Greninja to keep his mouth shut out on one of Daggen's streets. On top of that, ever since this new war had broken out and he learned that Darkrai was also Gabriel the Greninja, Kilian was extra watchful of any 'mon he'd met. And, no surprise, one or two had already tried to call him out on it, to which he'd had to explain that no, he isn't Gabriel who's trying to take over Valkaria (again).

"Is this it?" Alexandre asked, stopping in front of one of the pubs in town. In recent weeks, the Gardevoir had taken to wearing a dull, gray cloak instead of his usual blue one. He, too, was trying to keep low on the radar, especially here. He still carried his usual ebony cane, however; that was too personal an item for Alex to leave behind.

Kilian almost walked past, so he backtracked a step to return to Alex's side. "Yeppers, now that I'm looking at it," he replied. "Least, it's the one I saw him walking into, because I know it wasn't that next building over." He stepped forward and pushed the door open, leading his friend to the counter.

While Kilian ordered two drinks, Alex furtively glanced around the room. <I don't see him, Kilian,> he said via telepathy, turning his face forward again. Alex's usual cheery demeanor was subdued, despite his friend's recent attempts to cheer him up.

<Are you sure, 'cause I know for certain I saw him come in here...> Kilian took a look himself, being slightly less successful in being furtive. It was at that moment that he spied a certain Weavile reentering the main room. <Oh, see?, he's right there!> The Greninja waited until the bartender put their drinks out, then he grabbed his in one hand and straightaway sauntered over to Obsidian's table. "Room for two more?" he asked casually, smiling slightly behind his tongue-scarf.

Obsidian didn't respond for a moment, not recognizing the voice as he made a shooing motion with his hand, "Sorry. Busy." He said only as he glued his eyes to the map, "I'm not interested in whatever. So just go." He stated.

Kilian cocked his head to one side, getting a closer look at Obsidian's face. "'Mon, when was the last time you slept?" he asked, taking a seat across the table anyway. "Alex, take a look at this kid, what do you think?"

"I think you're on to something," Alex replied, seating himself a couple feet to Obsidian's left. "But then again, these are tiring days, aren't they, Dian?"

Obsidian slowly turned his head up and stared at the two, disbelief on his face. "... You're not real." He croaked out. He closed his eyes.

"Are you?"

The voice again. "SHUT UP!" Obsidian screamed as he clutched at his temples, "I-I don't need you! Just shut up!" He spat out as he quivered against the table, "Just... not there, not there..." He murmured to himself.

That attracted the attention of a few surrounding Karnians. Kilian's pulse raced a bit; he almost never had a good time in Karn. "He's had a little too much to drink," Alex spoke out in response to the others. A couple chuckled before they returned to their own business.

<Yeah, right, Alex.> "We are real, Obsidian, whether you believe it or not." Kilian reached out and tapped a finger against Obsidian's skull. In a quieter voice, he added, "Now do you have a room someplace where we can talk further? Or anything else you'd prefer? Hm, maybe he ought to sleep first, Alex..."

Obsidian stopped shuddering at the tap and let out a weak sigh, his body slowly relaxing, "No.... I just... I just got here an hour ago." He muttered. "I was going to get one later... once I got to another city."

"Hey, d' you know this 'un?" A Lickitung asked suddenly, looming over the table and staring at the three of them. "It ain't your business what he does if y' don't."

Alex nodded his head gravely. "Why, yes, we do know this one. In fact, Obi and I go years back." He smiled at the Lickitung while talking, but he was getting as tense as Kilian was already.

"We just had some business to attend to before catching up with him," Kilian added, one hand still clutching the drink he'd ordered. "We're talking about where to go next, right, Obsidian?"

Obsidian took in a deep breath, "Yes... that's right. And we'll go over that in a bit. Just... let's leave for now." He shakily got off of his seat and rolled up the map, "Let's just... go." He began making his way to the exit, stepping outside.

Kilian tried to ignore the Karnian's continuing stare as he and Alex both stood as well. "Right, it's time to sleep off that drink now," Alex said, continuing that bit of cover as he stepped forward and began guiding Obsidian by the arm, as if he needed the support. No one tried to stop them, so far, but Kilian couldn't shake the chills that the Lickitung gave.

"That is one creepy Lickitung, if you ask me," Kilian muttered as they stepped outside the door. "Now, then, why wait until you reach another city before getting a room?"

Obsidian let out a long sigh, "It's.... complicated. All of it is. Just... it'll take time to explain. Do you two have time?"

"Do magicians keep secrets?" Alex asked back, smirking a bit. "You're actually part of the group we came looking for, Obsidian, wherever they may be. We have a few updates to pass on, and it's time that we started helping more directly with the cause. Now, follow me, friends, I have a place we can check in at." He continued trying to guide Obsidian down the street, in the direction that seemed to be toward the spiral tower. Alex didn't allow himself to look behind them just yet; he needed to stay cool in the head, or at least look like it. "It's about as private as any inn here can get, and there will be someone, at least, who can watch the door." He paused, glancing at Obsidian again. "I trust that we'll need to hurry in the near future, though, correct?"

Obsidian frowned, "... How do you know so much about Karn? You know where to go... and what is here.... how can you know this stuff? There's only one network point here, Alex. No SEC embassy or anything." Obsidian was slowly becoming tense.

Kilian rolled his eyes. "This place we have is an inn room," he muttered. "We booked it about two hours ago, actually. The friend, on the other hand--" The Greninja stopped and face-palmed. "Oh, right, I forgot... I'm hanging out with two 'mon who hung around with Penance..." He began walking again to keep pace with the other two 'mon. "You're probably being paranoid now, what with Gabriel returning, and the fact that a lot of Pokemon deserted to his side, and anyone around the corner could be a spy, etcetera, etcetera."

"He does have a point," Alex conceded, stopping himself and turning fully to face Obsidian. "What was it I said before? I have friends in places. Before we get to that, though..." He leaned forward on his cane, watching the Weavile while raising his eyebrows. "We need to make sure each of us are who we claim to be. What do you think?"

Obsidian closed his eyes and let out a sigh, "... You won't believe what I've been through, okay? It's... you know, I never asked for it. I never ASKED to do this for living. I honestly though that for a moment I could do something that I enjoyed. You THINK I enjoy leading everyone when I'm messed up?" He burst into laughter... sounding a bit like crazed laughter, "Nope. Not for dear old Penance. You know... I saw him, back at the inn." He nodded his head a bit, "I saw him in the mirror. He was just staring at me, and and... and I had to shut him up. Cause he just wouldn't stop talking and jabbering and and...." He paused, "I guess it doesn't matter... we're dead anyways. I know all about Valk. I know Darkrai is in there and is going to win, cause we're ****ed. I know that."

Kilian had actually continued walking forward, continuing to mutter about the whole situation, or what he knew of it, until he was several yards ahead. He stopped and looked back, a bit surprised seemingly that the other two weren't with him. While he came back toward them, Alex nodded a bit. "And I suppose he was trying to talk back at you for messing up?"

Obsidian actually began to tear up as he slowly nodded his head, "Yeah... I suck." He croaked out as he sniffled a bit.

Alex reached inside his sleeve with his free hand, pulling free a red handkerchief and holding it out for Obsidian. "Don't worry, it's not tricked up or anything." Over his friend's shoulder, Alex noticed a pair of Karnians sitting near another pub. They were staring at the foreigners, though judging by the bottles in their hands, he wasn't sure whether they were up to anything. "I have to give you credit for trying, Obi, I really do, especially when you never asked for it." Kilian had returned to their side, and he was nervously glancing at this pub as well.

Obsidian shook his head, "Doesn't matter in the end. Heh... we're all good and dead now. I just got told the news. He's taken over every city, probably keeping everyone captive or killed them all. How should I know. We screwed up. We messed up and there's no hope left. I know that much."

"Well, I wouldn't say every city." Alex shrugged. "You do know that Gold City is still holding out, correct?"

<Alex...> Kilian warned in their telepathic link. The two 'mon, a Sandslash and a Marowak, were starting to stand up, their stares bordering on hostile. Alex glanced back at the way they'd come, and sure enough, a familiar Lickitung was heading straight for them.

The Gardevoir sighed, tapping his cane on the ground. "Why must this place be so difficult?" he wondered aloud, eyes glowing blue. A slight hum could be heard for a moment as the glow extended to Kilian and Obsidian. The Marowak threw his bottle as if he thought it was his bone; the bottle would have struck true on Obsidian's back, too, if the trio hadn't vanished into thin air.

~~~~~

A brief flash of light announced their arrival in a small room, with a window overlooking the street. "Well, here's our room," Alex stated. "And for the record, there is still hope."

Kilian stepped over to the door and glanced out the keyhole briefly. "A small, flickering hope," he muttered.

"It's not that small."

Obsidian glanced about, sitting down softly, "... We already know about Cresselia." Obsidian muttered, "The last part the emperor has. Good luck trying to get it though. Whoever wins the tourney gets it. And James is in it, and he's invulnerable with apparently a million lives. Fat chance of anyone beating him."

Kilian's eyes widened slightly as he turned back to them. "The winner of the tourney gets the last piece of Cresselia? Ooh, boy, that is gonna be tough, isn't it?"

Alex cleared his throat. "First of all..." He sat down beside Obsidian, cane in front of him. "So, judging by your behavior, yes, you're Obsidian. Did you ever happen to figure out how I got those rings on you, weeks ago?"

"What does that have to do with any-- Oh." Kilian shook his head.

Obsidian sighed, "No. I'm sorry, but I had bigger fish to fry. Like trying to figure out how not to die every single day or trying to figure out why I didn't start drinking weeks ago. My bad."

"True." Alex watched Obsidian for a moment before saying, "Well, then, why don't you tell us about these bigger fish to fry? I got a version from my father, but it's a bit outdated at the moment about what's been happening with all of you."

Obsidian shuddered, "It's... it's long. We found the one responsible for all the legendaries, but she's basically useless. Can't tell us anything, and doesn't even know how her own powers work. Pretty much scared of her own shadow, and I'm of the opinion now we should have let Darkrai kill her, cause she's absolutely useless in every single aspect. Not to mention that Beautruce's Gold Tribe was all wiped out save for, like, five guys. Big help that did going over there. Add in the fact that Guardia died to Darkrai, that we have no hope of beating his generals his invincible generals here and I'm about ready to tie a noose and just end it all."

"Now don't go saying that." Alex gave his friend a slightly disapproving look. "If everyone went around noosing themselves in the face of trouble, why, we'd be left with empty cities and countries." He shrugged. "And those wouldn't have appeared in the first place, really, if you think about it."

By this time, Kilian was sitting against the door, his bookbag open as he set a book open against his legs. He began writing as Obsidian spoke about Beatruce. "Found the one responsible... Watcher, wasn't it?... smaller Beatruce Gold Tribe... invincible generals-- wait, who else is there besides this James that's invincible?" Kilian looked up with a questioning look.

"Xander." Obsidian closed his eyes, "Has some plant that makes it so he never dies. So fat luck on beating him any time soon. We had a ****ing legendary on our side, and we still didn't even get close to beating him. And if we can't beat him we won't get Karn's armies. And Karn won't help in the end. And this guy will steam roll into Valkaria and I hate this stupid ****ing life. I honestly just want to cry, but I can't. Cause everyone else is so ****ing perfect." He spat out. "Everyone but me has already recovered from Guardia's death. It's basically like she never existed, and here I am thinking if she can go down then what's the point? I'm just worthless."

"Guardia's death..." Kilian wrote some more before pausing, finally realizing the import of what that meant even though it had been stated twice now. "Whoa! Whoa!" He was near to jumping back up, until Alex gave him a silent stare. "Okay, um, I was interviewed personally by her, and she was not someone to take lightly!"

Alex rubbed his face before turning his stare to Obsidian. "You are not worthless, Obsidian," he retorted, smile long gone. "If you need to cry, then cry. We won't tell anyone." He glanced back at Kilian to make sure the Greninja got the point. "Lyn exists, you exist... so anything you need to let out, let out."

Obsidian let out a shaky sigh, "... I wanted to some time ago, but I just can't now." He lowered his head, "I just suck as a leader. I'm not.... Penance. And I know that's wrong to think... I just can't help thinking about it. I mean, you look up to your dad, right? It's just what I've always known."

"So, what, someone asked you to be Penance?" Kilian asked, though he was still shocked at Guardia's death. That was one part he hadn't heard before now, after all. Did someone say it and he just didn't pick it up? Or was Hanso's information more outdated than he'd thought?

"Well, at least we know you're mortal," Alex said simply. "Personally, I'm hoping everything emotional will catch up with everyone when this is all over. I think I'd be mulling over her death if I weren't so busy talking to you." When he didn't say anything more, Kilian cleared his throat. Looking back at him, Alex raised his eyebrows as if to say, What is it?

Kilian twirled his pen in his hand. "Thing is, Obi, Mr. Magician here won't admit often to looking up to his daddy. Whether it's obvious or not, he don't like admitting it. I mean, part of the time, Alex goes off and does things that don't align perfectly with what Mr. SharpEye would want. But, mm... where am I going with this?..."

"That you shouldn't always do what your parents want?" Obsidian managed a weak smile, "Sorry... I, I just had to get that stuff of my chest." He sighed, "The others... they aren't like you, Alex. It's like... I can't talk to them at all. They have so much experience, and are just plain out better. Something that I could never do they can easily do, you know? .... So.... how did you get those rings on me? I mean... I thought about it for a few days. My feet were firm against the ground. My biceps, yeah, I understand. But all the way up my thighs? There's no way you could have done that without me feeling them."

Alex grinned. "Now why would I go and reveal that secret?"

Obsidian snorted, wiping a stray tear from his eyes, "Yeah yeah, I'll figure it out eventually. So... um...." He unfurled his map again, "So, I finally found him.... and this is where he's at. And I've been trying to memorize this map and it's sort of hard to."

"'Him.'" Kilian paused in his writing again, blinking once. "Care to explain? 'Cause I'm not sure whether you're speaking about Xander or about... some other 'mon..."

Alex looked over the map, noting the place that Obsidian pointed out. "So... is this the one who'd done in your first father?" He gave a short whistle. "Do we get to carry out all those plans, after all?"

Oh. That 'him'. Although Kilian didn't know as much, since he wasn't as close a friend to Obsidian as Alex was.

Obsidian let out a sigh, slowly nodding his head, "I've been thinking more.... given how the village is set up here we could have tried one or two of them... but it's changed." He leaned back and crossed his arms, "You see, from what we were told there have been recent changes. It's a base camp for some of the guy's forces. They are going directly against Xander now. If I don't kill him before Xander does... well... my chance is gone. And Xander is too powerful for any of us to take out. So... we take him out first. That's the plan."

"A-HA!" Kilian shot straight up to his feet, holding his pen triumphantly as his book clattered to the floor.

Alex jumped slightly as the Greninja got his attention. "What is it this time, Sacha?"

Kilian jabbed his pen in the air at Obsidian. "What is this plant, exactly? There are only a few plants I know of that might ring a bell, but it's been a while since I heard about any of them. And please, let me know everything you know fact-wise about this plant!"

"Er... Groudon's Farewell... and Gift too. The names are interchangeable. The Farewell is how it usually comes and it kills anyone. But if you boil it then it becomes the gift part, and basically you become invincible and never able to die." Obsidian answered with a shrug.

"Did anyone ever say how long the gift part lasts?" Kilian pressed, now leaning forward from the hips. Excitement showed in his face, even though chances were that it would deflate soon.

"Well.... a few days to a few weeks, I think." Obsidian stated, "That's how it was explained to us anyways. But.... I do have a query for you two. How goes Valkaria? ... I mean, I only heard that part but... is everyone there really dead?"

Kilian almost stopped listening once he heard the time length, beginning to pace back and forth across the room. "Problem: Xander can't be defeated, or at least is difficult to defeat. Root cause: he uses a plant that is either deadly or... deadly, but in a different sense. Diagnosis: Remove the plant!" He stopped as suddenly as he'd started. "Remove the plant, though, what would that take?..."

Alex twirled his cane a bit. "That would seem to be the logical answer, really, to remove the plant... and if it does double as a poison, then why not use that against him?" He shook his head and turned back to Obsidian. "My apologies, Obi. Anyway, once a city is taken over, it's difficult to hear whether those inside are alive or not. That's more or less the case with Albia, Cape City, Eternity City, Gravel City... what am I forgetting, Sacha?"

"Poseida Village," the Greninja rattled off, pacing again in his own thoughts.

"Right, Poseida. As for Gold City..." Alex looked to the side for a moment, hands tightening on his cane. "It's holding, but it's been three or four days since Kilian and I were there. Father was not looking good..."

"I still need to know more," Kilian interrupted, stopping to lean toward Obsidian again. "Did you see Xander yourself? What's his strategy, his battle style? What in addition to this plant would make him so invincible?"

Obsidian managed a weak smile, "We'll get to that. Originally I was planning on leaving today to Dart... but I think we could wait a day. Just figure out some plans or what not." He smirked a bit at Alex, "So... learned any new magic tricks while trying to stay alive?"

"Oh, cummon, I'm thinking up plans now!"

"Calm down, Sacha," Alex piped up, having gotten over his moment. "It's not like we need to leave today, after all. Speaking of which..."

Kilian huffed and folded his arms. Then he realized something else. "We never did find out where the rest of the group is, did we?" He walked to the door and opened it slightly, muttering something to a Pokemon on the outside.

"Yes, we'll need to let the others know that we're with you now. Regarding magic..." Alex smirked back. "There are a couple things I would like to do. Do you still have that handkerchief?"

Obsidian nodded and handed the red handkerchief back, 'Yeah. A bit wet, but it's still good." He said.

Kilian could be heard stating, "Yes, I know we didn't tell you we're back, but that's what I get for being with a 'porter. Now can you pass a message, please?, okay?, here it is..." He then quieted back down as he continued speaking to the other 'mon.

Alex set his cane down on the bed as he took hold of the handkerchief, inspecting it as if for hidden secrets. When Kilian closed the door and came back, Alex nodded and handed the handkerchief back to Obsidian. "All right, so here's a coin." His left hand held up a coin, though it wasn't clear where it came from. "I'm going to place this on my hand, like so, now would you kindly cover it up with that 'chief? Spread it all out."

Obsidian frowned and felt along the fabric himself, just to make sure he wasn't missing anything. He then placed it over his hand. "Alright, now what?" He asked.

"Now, I want you to just reach under there," Alex continued, "and feel the coin to make sure it's still there. Just leave the handkerchief on there, as well. You, too, Kilian." He held up his covered hand for Obsidian, who reached out and felt for the coin, nodding once he felt the item, then for Kilian, who reached under and felt for the coin as well before nodding. Alex then held it in front of him, shaking his hand slightly as he said, "Now, the coin is going to disappear in three, two, one." With 'one', he gave his hand a final shake before asking Obsidian, "Pull that off now, if you would?"

Obsidian reached out and tugged the handkerchief off, eager to see if the coin would be there or not. It was gone, just like that. Alex turned his hand over and flexed his fingers to show that he wasn't holding it or hiding it anywhere on his hand. "Just like that?" Kilian stated, folding his arms. "You sure you didn't pull a psychic move or anything?"

"I'm sure."

Obsidian smirked, "Heh, coin tricks. You know I've seen that so many times. I don't know how you do them, but you manage to pull it off. But again," The Weavile gave a meek shrug, "I've seen something like it before."

Alex tilted his head a bit. "Would you care to hazard a guess, my friend? I can make the coin reappear, too, if you'd put the handkerchief back."

Obsidian frowned, and reached out to put the fabric back, "Fine, but I'll see your trick this time. And I'll figure this out." He decreed with a smirk.

Deciding not to reply directly this time, Alex kept his covered hand up. "Now, make sure the coin isn't under there," he said, holding it up for Obsidian again, who felt out for the coin, giving a begrudging nod, then for Kilian. As the Greninja pushed his hand under to feel for the missing coin, a brief speck of light appeared as something dropped from underneath the handkerchief. Alex stopped, not moving while Kilian looked down, surprised at the coin on the bed.

Obsidian smirked, ".... Heh, that's it, eh?" He asked, a smirk gracing his face, "Looks like that's one trick that you can't use against me anymore! Haha! Losing your touch, master magician?" He asked, pure glee in his voice.

"Uh, oops?" Kilian looked away guiltily. He hadn't meant to drop it that way. "Um, what can I say, slippery hands?"

Alex picked up the coin. "Didn't I say earlier that we're not perfect?" he objected in their defense, folding the coin and the handkerchief away inside his cloak.

Obsidian put his hands on his hips, his smirk not fading anytime soon. "Guess you need a better assistant, eh?" He chuckled out. "Well, have any other tricks that he can reveal to me?"

Alex tapped his chin, considering Obsidian and Kilian. The Greninja cleared his throat. "Maybe I do..." Alex mused. "Or maybe..." A grin returned to his face as he asked, "How would you like to be in my shoes, Obsidian?"

Obsidian blinked in surprise, "Your shoes? Like.... in your position?" He thought for a moment, "Well... not being me for a bit wouldn't be too bad, honestly. I mean, no real responsibilities like leading and such."

"Okay, then!" Alex reached forward and pushed Obsidian's eyelids closed with one hand, snapping his fingers with a bit of Hypnosis while he was at it. "You, too, Kilian!"

"Wait, what, nonono--" Kilian's protests stopped as his eyelids, too, were pushed closed by Alex with fingers and another snap.

While their eyes were closed, Alex grabbed the haft of his cane for a few moments, channeling some of the sapphire's stored power into an illusion. This was on the edge of what Alex normally did for magic tricks, but it was still something he'd learned. Then he was heard saying, "Now open up."

Kilian's eyes snapped open. "--nono, don't! ...Huh?!" His face radiated confusion as before him, he saw a Greninja sitting where Alex had been, and a red-and-blue-eyed Gardevoir sitting where Obsidian had been. Kilian raised his hand to point between them, only to transfer his confused stare to his hand. It looked more like claws... and... "What did you do?!" Kilian appeared to be a Weavile, with the same appearance as Obsidian would've been.

Obsidian yelped at the sight, not quite used to the height he was at now and ended up falling back onto his rump. With Killan's startled cry Obsidian glanced over, noticing his toned form standing there, and looking completely confused. There was only one other mon in the room. Obsidian snapped his head toward the Greninja and struggled to rise, his legs shaking a bit under him, "... How the heck did you do this!?" He asked, more awe in his voice than anything else, "There is no way this is real!"

The Greninja spread his hands, feigning a surprised look. "How often must I say it?" he asked in Kilian's voice. "A good magician doesn't reveal his secrets."

"You had to have done something there, Alex!" Weavile-Kilian snapped, leveling a claw at the Greninja. "Even I don't know how you did this!"

"Exactly." The Greninja smirked. "So what do you think, 'Alex'?" He turned his gaze back to Obsidian.

Obsidian looked down at his form, blinking a bit, "Well... it's different." He was getting used to his new height as he turned about a bit, "Though, I am lacking in muscle. That's fine, I guess. I just hope I'm not mistaken too much for a girl." He threw the Greninja a smirk, "So, how long are you keeping us like this? This seems pretty cool, to be honest."

"How long would you like to stay like this?" Greninja-Alex asked.

"No." Kilian's voice was flat-out serious. "Absolutely not. There is no way I am going to re--"

The Greninja snapped his fingers again, at which point both Obsidian's and Kilian's eyelids closed again as if in response. He waited a moment, allowing the illusion to wear off so the three of them appeared as they truly were. It wouldn't have lasted long without more effort, anyway. "Now open up."

"--main as someone else when I like myself, thank you very much!" Kilian blinked several times, checking himself. He was back to being himself, now.

Obsidian blinked as well upon the command, looking down at his usual form, "... That was interesting." He said as flexed his fingers a bit, "That's the coolest trick you've had yet!" Obsidian grinned at Alex. "I actually wouldn't mind that again."

Alex beamed, giving a small bow from where he sat. "If I had a hat, I'd take it off to ya, pal," Kilian muttered, clapping slowly for a few seconds. "Now care to let me in on it? Or am I still your assistant?"

"You're fired as my assistant, butterfingers," Alex retorted, throwing a smirk at his friend. As he turned back to Obsidian, though, his stomach growled. "Oh, goodness, me, when was the last time we ate?"

Obsidian gestured toward the door, "Well, let's get some food then. I think we can find something here easily enough."

Kilian snorted. "If them Karnians don't beat us up first." He looked down at the floor, taking notice of his abandoned book. "Oh, dear, let me get that, and my bookbag, too..." The Greninja crouched to collect his items, partly so the door wouldn't be blocked much anymore.

"Oh, I don't think that's going to be a lot of trouble," Alex replied, grabbing his cane and standing up. "We can take care of ourselves in the face of trouble, can't we?"

~~~~~

The Pokemon that had been outside the inn room's door, an Accelgor, had left the inn through the front doors and was flying down the street. She was no Ninjask, but she could get a message delivered, and she could find other Pokemon easily enough in this city. At least, that's what she had been able to do for the past... five years? six? maybe ten... However long it was, it was long for someone to survive living in Karn. The Accelgor had this message committed to memory:

"Dear Gold Tribe, Thieves, SEC, and Seekers,

How are all of you doing? I trust that despite the circumstances, you're finding your way through to retrieving Cresselia. This is Alexandre SharpEye and Kilian Hauer, and we have found Obsidian. We will be assisting him for as long as it takes for all of us to meet up again, at which point we hope to get further updates exchanged between us. You can trust this Accelgor to be your messenger, whether once or multiple times. This is hoping you have not left Daggen already. Please respond ASAP.

Sincerely,
Alexandre and Kilian"

Now, judging by the message, the Accelgor figured she didn't have much time to find this group. So she hurried as fast as she could, starting with the last known sighting of Vee's group and moving from there: exiting the Emperor's tower.

Snype headed out of the arena and quickly began to search for where Drake ran off to. He felt odd getting a free win like that and he knew the Emperor would not be happy with the Sableye after that performance. But he was extremely curious about why Drake was up here of all places...maybe this what Greg meant by "Keeping in touch". The area around the arena quickly began to be packed as thousands of spectators began to leave their seats and exit the coliseum. Space condensed and visibility became harder by the second. Soon, wherever Drake left would be unknown. "Slippery bastard..." Snype sighed as he continued to wander through the crowd hoping for some kind of sign. At the end of the crowd, heading into one of the streets away from the coliseum, Snype would barely catch sight of the Mienshao walking away through the storm of Pokemon around. The Sableye quickly went after the Mienshao as soon as he caught sight of him. He had to learn more about this guy while they were setting up the next round at least! "Hey! Drake!" Snype tried calling out.

"There he is!" A Venonat, Shroomish, Spinarak, Bidoof, and various other Pokemon approached the Sableye. "He was in the tournament!" They shouted at him, blocking his path as Drake looked back for a moment at the Sableye, before continuing on.

Snype halted in his tracks, staring at Drake before looking at the crowd of Pokemon in front of him. The Sableye looked around at the various Pokemon blocking their path in confusion. He half expected them to go off rioting on the Sableye for the free win he got.

"Think you're so special, huh?" The Spinarak asked rhetorically. "Winning without a fight! You coward!"

"Yeah, you should just quit!" The Bidoof added. "You're not a real fighter!" He exclaimed. Others agreed, as Drake passed further and further from sight.

"Keheh, yeah well I'm not the coward that surrendered. I think you're yellin' at the wrong guy here! Now if ya don't mind I got someone I'm trying to catch up to so if you'd just move over that'd be great. Next round I'll kick the dudes ass if they don't wuss out." Snype said, trying to push through the crowd. The crowd continued to throw a few words Snype's way as they slowly allowed him to pass through. Many clearly didn't like the way the last fight ended. The Sableye moved outside of the arena and searched for Drake once more. That little interruption really made Snype lose some distance...

Further up ahead, Drake was passing through the street, heading into a local tavern. He wandered inside as the door shut behind him. It was a quaint place, with a wooden exterior. The Sableye followed suit into the tavern. The Sableye hadn't visted a Karn tavern before but knowing this country, it was bound to be way different from the ones he frequented in... Snype knew better then to go off shouting random names in a bar as well so for now he'd have to rely on his own eyes. Snype shut the doors behind him so that the cold didn't get inside. The Pokemon in the bar were spread out and laughing merrily. Many kept to themselves in smaller groups, but more 'mon seemed to come in behind the doors, and the tavern slowly began to be packed. To the side of the room, Drake sat alone, enjoying a drink from a rather large mug. The tourney goers must have been dropping by to catch a drink while on intermission... still, the Sableye found the man he was looking for and wandered on over to him. "Keheh, there ya are." Snype simply said to the Mienshao. "You aren't gonna get yourself wasted again are ya? Kehehe."

"Snype," The Mienshao acknowledged as he looked up at him. "You like to live life dangerously, don't you?"

Snype sat down across the Mienshao. "Kehehehe, call it a guilty pleasure of mine." Snype said with a wide grin.

"You misunderstand me," Drake replied as he took a sip of his drink. "You're an idiot."

"Pardon?" Snype raised a brow. "Keh... well guess you aren't wrong in a sense..." Snype shrugged.

Drake finished drinking his mug and set it down with a satisfying exhale. "Snype. You and I just fought in the tournament. I just surrendered to you without fighting, causing you to advance to the next round without a problem. And now you're sitting with me in a bar while it looks like we're having a drink. Do the math. How do you think this is going to look to people? Especially when most of the ones walking in now are likely coming from the tournament audience?"

Snype blinked at Drake, looking around a bit. Shit... he didn't think about that part. "Keh, guess it wouldn't look to well. Honestly? The reason I chased you down is because I wanted to know why you surrendered to me in the first place. Not exactly a satisfying way to start a tournament you know? Snype asked. "I could honestly care less what they think of me. The Emperor already hates my guts. It really can't get any worse then that."

"Yes it can," Drake answered back. "It can always get worse. And it just did. I don't know about the other nations you've been to, but reputation is everything in Karn, and you're destroying yours. And by extension your allies. How do you plan on getting Karn's support if you don't even have the respect of Karn's people?" He questioned. "And yeah, I do know who you are and what you're doing here, before you ask. Do yourself a favor and leave now, before too many others see and start to talk. Because the last 'mon who was in a situation like yours got a surprise one on one against the Emperor, and I don't need to tell you how that went."

A surprise one on one? Snype immediately tought back to Celebi's vision. This surprise one on one... maybe that was what would be how the Sableye would end up being killed... he really was ruining his reputation with how he was acting. The world of Karn was just unfamiliar to the Sableye. Perhaps walking away would be the best thing to do. He wanted to figure out what Drakes deal was but at the risk of his entire group? Snype already dug himself into a hole.

"You're still here?" Drake questioned. "If I were planning on telling you why I did what I did, then I would have told you already. Don't complain, at least you're one step closer to the top, and your prize." He stated, as a few 'mon from across the tavern began whispering to themselves and pointing toward the two. Snype just gave off a small glare. At least to give off the impression that this was a confrontation. With that, the Sableye walked away with an angry expression on his face. It was something he would have to deal with later it seemed. His reputation really had gone to shit since he got here and right now, it was going to make the difference whether or not he would stay alive or not... "Dammit... can't walk a step without doing something wrong now... first endangering Celebi, and now I'm about to endanger Cal and the others with my stupidity." Snype clenched his fist and kicked the door open on the way out. He could have just fought him right then and there if he truly wished. Hell that would have gotten his reputation up for sure! But it didn't feel right. Snype just didn't fit in Karn... no matter how hard he tried, Snype just felt like he was making things worse for everyone around him. And in the end, it was inevitably going to be his end. "Fuck..." Snype muttered to himself.

"Something got you down in the dumps?" A Crawdaunt asked the Sableye behind him.

Snype turned around to the Crawdaunt behind him, unsure what to make of him. It was Karn after all. "Long day is all. Was hoping for a fight to show my stuff at the tournament but the guy ends up surrendering. Now everyones looking at me like I'm some kinda fake. Keheh... ah well, I guess its alot more then that I spose." Snype said with a shrug.

"Looks like you've got a problem," The Crawdaunt stated. "But hell, you moved on to the next round, didn't you? And you didn't break a sweat. I'd call that an advantage, no?"

"Keh...that's what I thought! But getting swarmed by half of the arena isn't exactly a great feeling when your trying to get a reputation around these parts ya know? Kehehe. Hell I'm pretty sure the emperor hates my guts so ya know, that ain't good."

The Crawdaunt shook his head. "Don't you think it's stupid that we have to live in a place that's so dependent on reputation and strength like this?" The Crawdaunt asked with a sigh. "Everyone is literally obsessed with it. Hell, sometimes I wish Karn could be like other places. What do you think?"

Snype raised his brow and looked at the Crawdaunt. "Wow and here I thought folks like you didn't exist here in Karn! That's exactly what's driving me crazy! I'm so damn worried about keeping a rep so that my own allies don't suffer for it and well, here I am. Keheh... hell with how deep I've dug myself, I'm kinda afraid its gonna be the end of me at this rate. The audience already hates my guts as far as I'm concerned."

"Oh, believe me. We're out there... so if you could change it, would you?" The Crawdaunt asked.

"Well... to be perfectly honest, I might consider it. I do respect the spirit of a lot of the warriors here in Karn but that seems to take a backseat to whoever has the biggest ego in Karn eh? Kehehe. Course we all know who wins that department." Snype said, whispering the last part so nobody else would overhear it.

"So what if I told you that you could?" The Crawdaunt asked again. "That change is possible in Karn? That some are trying to make it a reality?"

"I did overhear that from a certain someone actually..." Snype glanced back at the bar and to the Crawdaunt. Was this guy with Drake or something? "I'd be curious really, as long as I don't endanger our own mission. But I've been curious about folks like you ever since I got here."

"I won't lie to you," The Crawdaunt continued as he gestured for him to follow to one of the smaller streets away from the crowds. "I already know who you are and why you're here. My employer is quite interested in you. And they believe you can help them, and vice versa. So you helping my employer would actually help you in your mission too. But I would be lying to you if I said it wasn't extremely dangerous as well."

Snype followed the Crawdaunt, listening to his explanation.. "Keh, at this rate, Dangerous is kind of a subjective term to me. I've already been on the brink of death more then a few times at this rate." Snype said.

"I am aware of your fulfilling resume," The Crawdaunt explained. "What you did in Tollen, Anatellia, and Beatruce. But believe me when I say that this will be unlike anything you've done before. I'm talking about changing the very foundation of this country. And the dangers of which may extend beyond just you. Maybe to your comrades too. I am wondering if you have the long-term foresight to put aside such possible repercussions for the greater good."

Snype glanced back to the arena and toward the Crawdaunt. Despite the underground being his forte, he still felt a bit uneasy. "...Well, I'd like to know what I'm getting into at least." Snype said.

The Crawdaunt shook its head. "I'm afraid I can't divulge that. My employer has risked too much to have complications now. If I were to tell you and you then later would decide not to follow through with our wishes at any point, then you could jeopardize our mission. Understand, this operation will happen, with or without your help. Maybe with it, you can come out on the right side of this."

Snype crossed his arms. He had a bad feeling of what would happen if he got involved with this "Operation"... mostly if this would be the very thing getting himself killed or not. Snype was letting his paranoia get the better of him again. If this was another mistake that would jeapordize his group then he wasn't sure what he would do. "...It wouldn't be the first time I've put my allies in danger. Having your employers support for our cause would benefit us greatly as well..." Snype stated.

"So what is your answer?" The Crawdaunt questioned.

"I... well..." Snype took a moment to thik about it. True they would gain the support of Greg which he assumed was the employer. Or perhaps someone else was working above greg... Snype felt like whatever he did, would effect everyone drastically. The last wrong move he made got someone killed however... what would happen if he botched this up? The Sableye wasn't sure what to think anymore. Keeping more secrets from Cal just felt dirty considering everything they went through, but Snype was the only one who had the expertise to go through with something like this... Either way, Karn needed to change. Otherwise it was bound to end up destroying itself from what Greg had told Snype. Maybe this would effect the greater good. He was just more concerned on what methods would be used. At the very least, he would the eyes and ears of Karns underground. He would truly decide as he went through with this. "Alright. I'll do what I can to assist you." Snype explained, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Excellent," The Crawdaunt nodded and smiled. "Then I welcome you to the Dealer's Revolution. I'll be your contact. There'll be a series of tasks I'll ask you to do at some points. Know that accomplishing these may seem mundane, but they are extremely important. And know: you're not alone. we are everywhere. In fact, we've got nearly half of the fighters that were in the top 16."

"H-half?!" Snype said in surprise. He expected the group to be fairly small but if they had half of the arena contestants then this was bigger then he thought. "So what should I do till then? Keep fighting in the tournament as usual?"

"Nearly half, yes," The Crawdaunt stated. "But we have many different agendas. Likely, one might not know the other is working toward the same goal until later. That's how we prefer it. Knowing who is doing what is on a need to know basis. Regardless... the tournament isn't directly tied to what we're trying to accomplish. It's merely a catalyst. We'll ask you to do a few tasks soon. Your first as soon as tonight. We will find you."

This kind of group seemed right up Snype's alley... shady, secret communication. It was the most Snype felt at home in a long time... he just hoped this was the right thing to do. The Sableye was once again heading into a situation blindly but having the intel from the darker parts of Karn could be useful overall. He still had a tournament to worry about either way, along with Celebi's vision that he had to try his damdist to prevent. "Keheheh, you remind me of a a group I met back in Tollen." Snype said with a smile.

"Oh really?" The Crawdaunt raised a brow. "I don't know much about Tollen. Maybe they had such a group for good reason."

"Yeah... You could say that." Snype replied.

"Whatever their motivations are, you know very well ours," The Crawdaunt commented. "We've lived enough in a world where the only thing that defines this country is power and strength. We want to create a nation where we are more than that. Remember this," The 'mon said as he proceeded to walk away. "We'll be in touch."

Eight fighters gathered together within a room in the depths of the arena. This was the first time the fighters privately met without a live audience around. There, the eight stood, awaiting the Emperor to arrive and supposedly pair them up into fights for the quarterfinals.

Snype looked around the room silently, occasionally glancing at James and occasionally Atlas. Something about the hooded mon concerned Snype... on top of that, James had the blood of two mon on his hands now. Both Lyn and Sen... All Snype wanted to do was have a chance at fighting him... even if it was futile for the most part. He could kill him if he wanted to using his own Mega Evolution but he wanted to give the chance to Cal. He owed him that much.

"This is horribly dull," Roxanna finally managed to blurt out, cutting a metaphorical knife through the silence that persisted in the room. "Why must we wait with these ingrates in such a confined space? I fear our close proximity will infect me with their... taint." The Zoroark hissed harshly.

"Ohhhh better look out Roxy, might get Sableye cooties or somethin'." He mocked, making a small kissy face.

"I'd rather drown myself in mud," The Zoroark answered with disgust.

"Oh c'mon don't tempt me now. Kehehehe" Snype continued.

"I do hope you will be my next opponent," Roxanna sighed dismissively at Snype's words. "Then I can reunite you with your sad enslaved friend James ended. Oh!" She suddenly got a bit excited. "And that foolish, pathetic Zangoose that the Dark One destroyed too! What an insignificant miscreant she was."

Snype winced a bit at her words but the Sableye knew better then to submit to someone like Roxanna. The Sableye just gave off a small yawn in response. "Least she didn't cry like one when she was about to die." Snype shot back at her.

"Really?" Roxanna questioned. "That's not what I hear. I hear she was bawling with fear when she did. She begged like a Poochyena pup for mercy from the Destruction Saint. And only when she was groveling on the ground like the worthless strumpet she was did the merciful Gabriel see fit to end her," Roxanna shrugged. "Personally I would have simply chopped her up and fed her to the serfs in Karn. Much more fitting end for her, I think."

"Cute, ya make that one up yourself?" Snype said, walking up to her with a smirk.

"As if I'd stoop to the low action of imitating another's words!" Roxanna scoffed.

He'd kept his cool thus far, but Cal had no intentions of staying completely silent through the exchange. "That's alright, she died saving our lives, and through us, many others as well. Guardia would be proud of the sacrifice she made. You on the other hand Roxanna...you will die for nothing. Your death won't even do so much as pave the way to one last triumph for Darkrai's forces as your own allies trample over your corpse hoping it can give them the shortest boost towards their lofty goals. It's only fitting though, you didn't accomplish much in life either, did you? It must really ache in your twisted, blackened heart to know that the "Queen of Darkness" is so powerfully outshone by a mere mercenary. Despite all your preaching of the 'Dark One's greatness, a 'mon without the slightest bit of loyalty to your god stands so far above you."

The words from Callimer seemed to strike a nerve with the Zoroark, as she clenched her fists. "Far above... you insolent cur! I will strike you down now!" She exclaimed and took a step forward.

"What's up, you f*cks!" The Emperor bellowed as he knocked down the door with a wide grin on his face and entered the room. "How are we all feeling?!" At his appearance, the Zoroark backed down and stepped back, but continued to glare angrily at the Dragonite. The Wyvern let out a breath of air that was either from tension or, perhaps more likely, amusement.

Snype gave an "ok" gesture with his hand. "Great if my next opponent doesn't bail on me. Kehe."

"You better f*cking hope they don't," Edgar spat angrily at the Sableye. "Or you won't see the next round either. We all here? I'm about to pick the next fighters!"

Snype gave off a confident smirk at the Emperor's call out, trying to at least keep his cool. He didn't want this guy killing him before the tournament even started. "C'mon Roxy, cross your fingers and hope you and I get paired up. I'll show you a hell of a time. Kehehehe." Snype said.

The Zoroark responded with a hint of disgust but remained silent as the Emperor began reaching into a large brown sack a Meowth beside him held. "Alright!" He exclaimed as he picked out the first two named. "First match... you, and you!" He pointed to Kaveri, and then immediately after to James. The Blaziken didn't react much to the news, but Roxanna smiled mischievously.

Kaveri looked over at James, her head cocked to one side. Everyone, it seemed, had fully been expecting her brother to end up being the one to face him, but now that she thought about it... That didn't make much sense, considering the match-ups in the tourney were random, anyone could end up fighting him. And now it turned out it was going to be her. Kaveri reached under her float to touch the vial that was tucked away there, tied to a string around her neck as an extra precaution. She had a feeling she would finally have cause to use Wildfire's final gift to her.

Callimer's eyes widened and his scales visible paled at the revelation that Kav would be fighting James. He'd never doubt his sister's skills, and she had the type advantage but... nothing could make the single most important person to him still alive fighting James while he was barred from interfering sit right with him.

"Next up!" The Emperor continued. "Callimer and Wyvern!" He declared as he read off the names. The Samurott spared the Gold Tribe Leader a glance and an extremely subtle head movement that was probably supposed to be a nod.

Steadying his nerves once he could focus on his own future battle, the Emerald Sentinel nodded at the Wyvern in return.

"Fight three!" Edgar roared as he reached into the sack. "Snype and Atlas!"

The Sableye glanced over to Atlas. "Kehehe, shame it isn't Roxanna but guess you'll do. You've even gone off and stole my fashion sense and everything! Kehehe" Snype chuckled. Lord Atlas was looking at the Sableye, but there was no apparent response. "Aw geez the last guy that did the silent **** ended up bailing on me. Don't you dare follow suit." Snype added.

"Which means you two are the last fight!" The Emperor declared as he pointed at Percival and Roxanna.

Roxanna grinned and chuckled lightly. "Oh, and I was half expecting a challenge this round," She sighed. "I suppose I must settle for mediocrity."

"I partake not much in insult, but I shall very much enjoy removing the smile of thy visage," Percival declared.

"Yeah, yeah, enough talk. You wanna make something happen? You let your actions speak for your words. Or else they don't mean ****!" The Emperor declared. "Rest. Drink. Party. Get laid. Do whatever you want tonight. But tomorrow, you fight!"

"As though a day goes by in Karn without fighting," the Wyvern murmured.

"Guess I'll have to find something to do till tomorrow. Kehehe." Snype said, giving off a small stretch. He looked over to Kav with a obvious hint of worry though... she was going to fight James now? Several scenarios raced through the Sableye's mind... it wasn't enough that he already had Celebi's vision to worry about but now this was happening. "..."Kav..."

"Well I'm going drinking!" The Emperor exclaimed as he headed for the door. "I don't give a sh*t what the rest of you do!"

Kaveri slapped her paws against Snype and Callimer's backs, slinging her arms around them and pulling them both towards her (or pulling Callimer's bulk as well as she could with one arm). "Come on, gloom and worries can wait til later," she chirped. "If any one of us dies I'm sure as hell not gonna let it be remembered that we spent our last days sitting in a corner with sad little faces. Is there a bar around? I don't think I'd mind getting drunk for once."

"Kehehe, getting drunk eh? Well hey if your gonna go and party then I may as well join ya Kav. Sounds like fun." Snype said to Kav with a grin, trying to hide his worried expression as best as he could.

"I doth not mind having a drink, if be true thee would not mind the extra company," Percival added in.

"You're welcome to join in Percival!" Cal answered before anyone else could. "I know I will! Don't expect me to get drunk though...I'm not sure we can even afford the amount of alcohol that would take."

"Kehehe, sounds like a plan then! Getting ourselves drunk off our butts before the next big fight! Kehehe!" Snype cheered.

Able- A Simple Delivery

Able flew right back to Greg's office after seeing the gang off and passing on the letter of approval. Things were going swell for the Ninjask! Better then she hopes anyways. She wanted to go up there with the gang but she still had to follow any per tasks. Eyes and ears everywhere!

"Able, your friends are off then?" Greg greeted with a small nod before he asked the Ninjask.

"Yup! Was nice to see them but I still got business here Greggy." Able said with a smile. "What's up today? Ya ever take vacations? I always see ya behind that desk. Ya do anything for fun?"

"Unfortunately, for the good of Karn, I cannot afford to take many breaks," Gregory said with a frown. He quickly gave Able a smile. "But I do like rearranging and then arranging again my tasks from least to most important, just to spice things up a bit."

"Hehe, well hey whatever keeps ya busy! Remind me to bring you a deck of cards or something like that! My boss carries a few sometimes." Able said.

"Oh, does he?" Greg asked. "I'm sure it does well to pass the time."

"Yeah pretty good if he has nothing to do. Good if you're a high stakes fellow too!" Able perched herself onto Greg's desk since things were a little more relaxed now. "Need anything while I'm hanging around?" She asked, looking out for her boss at the least.

"Mmm... actually, yes," Gregory nodded in affirmation. "I do have two separate jobs that need doing. Both are fairly straightforward, though I do need both done relatively soon. So I will have you do one of them, and one of my other associates will complete the other. I will allow you to pick which you prefer to do," The Snorlax explained. "The first is a letter I need sent to a dear friend of mine visiting Daggen. He and I were colleagues for a long time, though I haven't gotten around to go seeing him. The delivery will take you through Daggen's north side, past the dueling tournament here and into the north slums." The Snorlax pointed to another piece of parchment below. "The second is a pick up. One of my associates has some information they want to share with me, along with a package to be delivered. It'll take you to a familiar part of town in East Daggen. I trust you will stay on task and ensure the package's safe arrival to me with great haste. So, which would you prefer to do?"

"Heh, I can handle the delivery! Nothing wrong with getting in contact with an old friend! Heck I'll probably be back on time to make sure your other associate didn't screw up the info pick up!" Able said confidently.

"Mmm, no I need both of these handled swiftly, so likely the other assignment will already be done as well," Greg added with a smile. "But I appreciate your enthusiasm. Here you are," He said as he handed the Ninjask a small envelope. "Please do be cautious. My friend can be a bit... brutish sometimes. His name is Dill. A Hitmonchan."

"Dill? Geez that's one heck of a name." Able joked. "I've dealt with brutish sorts all over Karn. My charms kept me alive so far! But I'll be careful. Haven't been in the Karnian slums yet." Able said as she reached out to the small envelope.

"They are only the slums in name," Gregory replied. "In fact I would say they are the more docile part of town, if we were to have that. The slums were just what was once there. I have done my best to remodel that into a more productive part of town... I have not yet been entirely successful."

"Hehe, well keep your head up Greg! I'm here to help ya out, well, until my boss needs me somewhere else of course." Able said with a chuckle. "Don't worry your big butt off though Greg, I'll get this delivered asap!" Able said, trying to dodge the accidental rude comment.

"I shall eagerly await your return," Gregory replied with a nod. "Do be careful, as always. Dill is an impatient 'mon sometimes, but please do not indulge him."

"Ah we'll get along finnnee!" Able said as she quickly flew out the building.

-----

After heading off on her task, Able flew straight toward the dueling tournament first at least to use it as a landmark to keep track of her position in the city. The Ninjask flew past it and began to hear up north, heading Greg's instruction and searching about for whatever looked like the north slums. "Hmmm... lets see... the place has gotta be pretty close. The part of town is pretty docile so it oughta stick out." Able said to herself as she continued on her way.

In a nearby alleyway, two Pokemon, a Houndour and Sneasel were talking, apparently trying to be quiet, but also loud enough for someone to hear if they were close by.

"I'm telling you, the damn ass got us running around a ghost!" The Houndour hissed. "And if we don't stop him, we'll be out!"

"Shut up, he's taking care of it!" The Sneasel motioned for the Houndour to lower his voice.

Able heard the nearby chatter as she was flying by and immediately went into a halt, moving closer behind one of the walls. The conversation was probobly nothing... but still knowing Karn? Who knew? The Ninjask didn't want to be distracted from the main task at hand... but information was important, as greg stated.

"He ain't taking care of nothing!" The Houndour repeated. "He's one of them, and he's taking everything away!"

"It doesn't matter, dumbass, we're all set up already!" The Sneasel repeated in a lowered whisper. "Even if he cleans us out."

"Yeah, but we're never going to get another chance if it's all gone! What if we mess up?"

"Shh!" The Sneasel hissed as he looked out of the alleyway momentarily.

Able perked up when she heard the voices coming closer. Shady activity in Karn wasn't exactly a common thing. Most of the folks here were more... direct. The Ninjask quickly flew upwards onto the top of the buildings of the ally way. At least these two werent flyers. They wouldn't spot her up there.

"What's the problem?" The Houndour asked, as the Sneasel looked around.

"... nothing," The Sneasel finally answered. "Just do your job, and he'll figure out the rest. And keep your damn mouth shut."

"Grr... fine!" The Houndour snarled. "But don't blame me when the Simisage ruins everything for us." He began to walk out of the alleyway and away from the scene. The Sneasel turned soon after and walked the opposite way.

"Simisage...?" Able wondered to herself... so Alai was here...but just what the heck were those two up to? The Ninjask was extremely curious of what was going on but she still had her own job to do... it was something she would have to look into later... after her job was complete. She wasn't in a position to get involved in this sort of mess on her own. The Ninjask glanced at the two and continued on her way into the slums.

----


The Ninjask would finally make her way to the tavern explained by Greg... despite what she witnessed before, the job comes first. With that, the Ninjask would fly through the door slowly, looking around inside in search for this Dill fellow. Just as she entered, a 'mon was suddenly sent soaring passed her and through the front door of the tavern. The Pokemon in question, a Totodile, skidded across the street before coming to a halt, no longer moving. The 'mon responsible was a heated Hitmonchan, who still had his arm extended from the hit. "Eep!" Able squeaked as she moved out of the way from the incoming mon.

"Say something! Anyone! I dare you!" He declared to all around, most of which decided to mind their business. Able just looked back at the Totodile and then to the Hitmochan. Yup... this was him alright. Perhaps not the best time to approach with the letter. The Ninjask just flew in place silently by the door.

The Hitmonchan glanced toward the open door. "Close it," He commanded the Ninjask, before he silently wandered over to a seat at the far side of the bar.

"U-uh, yeah!" Able said, quickly shutting the door. Yikes this guy had a commanding presence! She didn't give it a second thought. Approaching the Hitmochan could be more difficult than she thought... The Ninjask slowly approached the Hitmonchan and reached into her bag. "Uh... hate to bother you sir but I have a delivery for you." Able said, trying to keep her cheery attitude.

"Buzz off," The Hitmonchan declared to the Ninjask as he grabbed hold of his drink and downed it quickly.

"Heh... bug pun..." Able muttered to herself. The Ninjask looked around the room a bit nervously. "Well I can just leave you the letter then... Greg really wanted to have this sent so...."

"I don't give a sh*t what the fat 'mon has to say!" The Hitmonchan yelled as he grabbed the letter and slammed it on the bar counter. "What's he gonna do about my men I lost, huh?"

"Huh? Your men?" Able said, perching herself onto the counter. Maybe this was realted to the two mon she listened in on earlier... but she doubted that it would be related to that kind of task. It'd be too soon. "Well if you wanna throw back some slander to him I can always send back a reply to help ya get some steam off." Able grinned. "What happened though?"

"What do you mean what happened?!" The Hitmonchan yelled. "You said-!" He suddenly stopped himself and examined the Ninjask. He gazed at her for a few moments, before he spoke again. "What color are the ice sheets of Titan?"

Able blinked. She knew what this was. The Hitmonchan was seeing if she was an outsider. Well all she could do right now was be honest about it. "Uhhhhh... red?" Able chuckled nervously.

The Hitmonchan eyed her for a moment longer, before he reached over for the letter again. "Ah, sorry about the outburst. Letter from Greg, you say?" He inquired as he examined the letter. His entire demeanor seemed to change as if he completely calmed down. "Yeah, cool. You let Greg know I got it. And keep up the good work."

"O-oh! Uh... that was... huh." Able seemed to be completely confused by the sudden change. She could hardly tell if she was talking to the same mon.

The Hitmonchan continued to look at the Ninjask expectantly, with his hand over the letter. "That's all," He stated with a slight nod.

"Oh... well uh..." Able smiled and gave off a small salute. "P-pleasure doing business with ya then!" Able smiled before starting to make her way out the door. That was... bizzare... was it just a Quirk of Dills or was something else going on? Whatever the case, the job went by far smoother then she expected... so far anyway... was Dill trying to hide something from her after going off on that tangent? Perhaps there was still more to Greg's whole business then met the eye... Alai may have been on to something... still, she continued to keep a good position with Greg. Perhaps she could investigate a bit further...

Alexandre was the first one down the stairs as he entered the main room, making a near-beeline for the counter and bartender. "What can you offer us in the way of food?" he asked, taking a seat at the counter.

"I've got meat and meat," The Toxicroak bartender replied with a low gurgle of a voice. "If ya want anything else, go f*ck yourself."

"We'll take the meat." Obsidian answered as he walked down next, rubbing at his head a bit. "Is it good meat at least?"

"It's meat!" The Toxicroak spat as he pulled out a few slabs of meat from under the counter and shoved them toward the pair on a plate.

Kilian peered over from where he rested his arms on the stairs' railing, looking at the meat on the plate. "That looks--"

"We'll take it," Alex interrupted, reaching inside his cloak. He placed some Valkarian coins on the counter for the Toxicroak and took the plate of meat, turning to head back to the stairs. The bartender grabbed hold of the Valkarian coins, examined them for a moment, then seemed to accept their worth and place them under his counter somewhere.

At the top of the stairs, out of sight of the bar, Kilian muttered to the Gardevoir, "Like I would've said, that looks kinda bad. What's it from, anyway?" He poked one of the slabs of meat, sounding very hesitant about the idea of eating it.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know, but I felt that it would've been bad to offend the bartender even further," he muttered back, continuing on back to their inn room. Once inside, he placed the plate on the small table near the window and seated himself on one of only two chairs.

Obsidian sat down as well, smirking, "So then... today what are we doing? Probably planning, right?" He asked. "We could get to planning and seeing what we come up with. We'll need a lot of alternate plans just to make sure that we don't get blindsided too."

"Of course. You still need your rest after those supposed 'drinks' from before," Alex replied with a mischievous grin. He looked back at the plate before sighing. "Snap... they probably don't have utensils in Karn, anyway." He began checking the inside of his cloak, seemingly having more than one or two pockets.

Kilian closed the door and walked toward one of two packs that were sitting in a corner. "So as I was saying earlier, what exactly is Xander's fighting style and all that?" the Greninja asked, opening the pack's flap and digging through it. "Not to mention, the map shows how far away Dart is, right?"

"Xander buffs himself up a lot. He goes over the limit in terms of Bulk Up and he gets to super high levels. Not only that, but he's invincible. Nothing can kill him because if you try that flower is in him. He'll just keep getting up. We pretty much had him left for dead, but he got up anyways. If we take him down, we cut his head off. That's what we do. He can be brought down, but what we need to is make sure that the head gets chopped clean off, else he'll pretty much regenerate... or we could try ripping a vital organ out from his body. Say his heart or such."

"Precisely!" Kilian stood somewhat triumphantly, trail ration bar in one hand as he pointed back at Obsidian. "Remove the flower, remove the invincibility! And the buffing, we can delay that easy enough if he and I get into a fight. Or so I believe. Won't know if I don't try, right?"

"Mm, that assumes we're able to find the flower," Alex replied, seemingly a bit exasperated as he stood up. He began walking toward Kilian's back as the Greninja had returned to looking for something else inside the pack. "What you're saying makes sense, Obi, though it does sound...messy. If I understand this correctly, though, you're saying Groudon's Gift, if that's what it is, effectively removes Xander's buff limit?"

"Yes, it does." Obsidian frowned, "So he'll just buff all the time in battle. I know eventually buffs fade away, so when we strike we'll use that opportunity early on to strike at his neck or his chest, somewhere we can really get at. Something that is easy to tear into."

"There are a few ways to remove buffs, though," Kilian answered, finding a can of beans and spoon as he stood up again. Alex took this chance to poke a hand at the side of Kilian's shirt. "Whoa, back off there." Kilian poked back at Alex with his spoon, and the Gardevoir backed away with a small grin. "What're you trying to get at, anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Alex asked back, empty hands spread wide. When Kilian snorted and turned around again, Alex quietly tossed a sheathed knife from inside his sleeve for Obsidian to catch. He mouthed at him, 'Hide it.' "So we have a general idea of how to fight Xander, and we know that we'd need to get into his living quarters to find the flower. Did you have something specific in mind for the other 'mon, the one in Dart?"

Obsidian quickly slipped the knife down and raised his leg just a bit to place the knife underneath his thigh, "Well, for starters, we'll have to use some of those ways to remove buffs. I know a big one he uses is Bulk Up, so a way to counter that? Apart from the flower... well, that's just a hunch. For all we know he has them on his person at all times, hidden or something. So we'll have to be very careful there with slipping into the enemy camp. As for the Tropius... first off see if he could get us an edge against Xander. Otherwise, kill him. I'll do the killing there."

Kilian had the can, spoon, and ration bar in hand when he returned to one end of the bed on the window's left. "Sorry, personally I don't trust the meat, but don't let that stop you. And I like Bulk Up. Something I can Snatch, yes?" He set the fork and bar down before reaching for his shirt, then frowned as he stuck his hand inside one of the hidden pockets and felt for something.

"Yes, 'mon can't help us if they're dead, generally," Alex replied, seating himself at the table again. This time, he had no trouble in finding his own knife and fork from inside his cloak. "Unless we have a way of speaking with them. Do you want some of this meat, Obi?"

Obsidian gave a nod toward the Gardevoir, "Something up, Kilian? You look like you're looking for something." He eyed the meat that Alex had, "It's good enough for the mon here to eat it, so I doubt it's filled with poison or whatever."

Alex just pulled out a thick cloth, white this time, and laid it on the table before putting one of the meat-slabs on it. He then pushed the plate toward Obsidian while Kilian watched the Gardevoir narrowly. "Yes, I'm looking for something that I think Alex took."

"Alex took something? When was that?" Obsidian gazed down at the meat, sniffing a bit, "Doesn't smell TOO bad. In all honesty."

"I think it's just fine. Besides, it's bad business if an innkeeper poisons the food all the time." Alex took a bite of his meat and chewed slowly. After a moment, he shrugged and continued eating. "Doesn't taste too bad."

Kilian tossed one of his hands up a bit in frustration, before forming a miniature Night Slash blade and using it to cut open the top of his can. "Where were we?... Oh, yeah. The Tropius must have a name, but anyway, I figure we get close to Dart, enough to see who's there, if anyone. That way, we don't blindly charge into one of Xander's camps, if for some reason they were there. And, oh, he is expecting you, isn't he, Obsidian?"

Obsidian nodded, "Yes, well... he's expecting the group I was with. He'll be a bit surprised no doubt at the change, but I think we can still meet with him. He knows we attacked Xander, so he won't outright attack allies.. at least I hope he won't. Xander will need more than his group to take down. That is, if Xander hasn't already killed him." Obsidian grimaced at the thought.

After finishing one of his bites, Alex stated, "Then I propose we hurry and eat? After that, we can sleep sooner, after which we can leave sooner. Or something along those lines." Kilian was working on that, being a bit put off as he ate his own meal. The Greninja almost hoped that Alex would get food poisoning or something, to show him for trusting a meal in these circumstances, but it was a fleeting thought.

Obsidian nodded, "Yeah, we need to do that. The only thing we have to be careful of is seeing any of Darkrai's troops. Other than that, that's really all we have to worry about. Besides the blood thirsty residents who would want to kill us where we stand." He said with a weak smile.

A few minutes passed as the three 'mon continued to eat, focusing on dinner for the moment. When Alex was done with his meat, he dabbed at his face with another handkerchief before asking, "I wonder, why do these soldiers follow Xander? I understand they're rebelling because the Emperor is supposedly not being true to the Karnian way, or something similar, but if they're following the law of strength, then they'd follow someone who could defeat Xander."

"Unless they're really up to following Darkrai," Kilian muttered, eyeing the inside of his can. "'Cause that would be a problem."

"Basically, we beat Xander, we get his troops." Obsidain replied, "Thing is he's so powerful. And it's all unnatural. I doubt he got up that mountain all by himself, he needed to have had help. I mean, hell, Darkrai was helping Grett to be elected and all, training him or what not. No doubt he helped out Xander here."

Kilian pointed his spoon at Obsidian, raising an eyebrow. "If you keep looking, there are conspiracies around every corner, especially ones that don't exist. I should know, I've been journaling for a while now. Anyway, we can ask Xander about getting up the mountain when he's dead, assuming there's a Dusknoir somewhere. Okay? We focus on what we can do. My opinion, anyway." He set his can on the windowsill, spoon inside it. "Alex, do you know a place near Dart that we'd be able to teleport to?"

"Not particularly. I don't recall a specific landmark for that area, so either we find someone who does, or walk there." Alex turned to the Weavile. "At the very least, the Tropius can let us know where Xander's camp is, it seems like. Even if Darkrai did help Xander, which I don't doubt, either, we can still act on our hunch about the flower." He sighed, rubbing one of his wrists. "Do you happen to know where the gold bracelet ended up?"

"We know a contact here in the city." Obsidian stated, "He has a teleporter who can get us to Dart. As for the bracelet, I believe it's with the others. Snype and them, at least that's what I think. I wasn't keeping my eye on it all that well, to be honest. So much has been going on." He shrugged.

"Really? Who's your contact?" Kilian was surprised at the thought. He pulled out a notepad and pen from his shirt pocket, beginning to scribble some notes in it.

Obsidian was about ready to open his mouth, then shut it, "Well... I'll tell you all later." He said with a smirk. "He's pretty high up. I'm not sure if anyone could be overhearing us... you know? We don't see anyone, yeah, but I still don't want to talk about it yet. I'll just lead you guys to him instead." He leaned on back, sighing a bit, "It's good you two came along, well... at least with you Alex. No offense Kilian, but I just trust Alex more."

Kilian looked over his notepad at Obsidian, then shrugged as he finished his notes for the moment. "No worries, no worries. I get that a lot, though sometimes not so nicely. Some journalists give the rest of us a bad name, you know?" Inwardly, he had to let out a mental sigh of disappointment. He didn't like it when anyone withheld information from him, especially when they were at least acquainted with him.

Alex had raised his eyebrows slightly when Obi didn't come forth with a name immediately, but he smiled slightly. His "uncle" had certainly left an impression on the Weavile. "Smart 'mon," Alex said, balling up the cloth with only a few scraps of meat left on it.

".... You know, you've always been honest with me, Alex. The only other one who did that with me was Guardia... and she's gone. Well, Penance too, but it's not the same, you know? Here Snype was lying to us... and I can't help but wonder what else everyone else is keeping secret. It's just nice that I'm able to completely trust you, you know? That's getting more rare for me these days." He said with a weary sigh.

Alex's blue eye twitched a bit, but a moment later he sneezed into his sleeve. "Gesundheit," Kilian said automatically.

"Thanks." Alex then smiled at Obsidian. "These are days of war, Obi," he replied. "Secrets tend to get out because of that, especially if it concerns the potential end of the world."

Kilian frowned. "Wait, could you remind me again, what Snype was lying about?"

"... Celebi." Obsidian frowned, "You know, that whole spheal of her in the forest?"

"The Thieves' Forest? Celebi?" Kilian processed this, then smacked his forehead with a palm. "Of course! No wonder the forest was always like that!"

Alex sighed. "Sacha, if you had been paying more attention over the past few days, you'd be as up to date on the situation as I am. Like I'd tried to tell you after father told me, Snype is bonded to Celebi, who is The Watcher for the Guardians." Looking back at Obsidian, he added, "Annabelle gave my father an update before you all left for Karn."

"I figured. Look..." Obsidian tapped his claws upon the table, "... I can't trust anyone in that group. After what Snype pulled? I would be ready to believe that Calimer is Darkrai in disguise. I would readily believe ANYTHING at this point, because that's how many secrets everyone is keeping. Instead of making sure we can trust each other we instead wrap our secrets up tighter, nervously glancing at each other, not able to trust each other no matter what happens. It sucks."

Grinning broadly, Kilian couldn't help saying, "Oh, so you'd believe me if I said that Gabriel has been making clones of himself and using them to replace every single 'mon he comes into contact with? Especially when they're alone?"

Alex suppressed a grin of his own before turning stern. "As funny as that might be, this is not the time to make that kind of joke, Kilian." He stood up and stretched a bit, then took the nearly-empty plate. "If you'll excuse me, I'll take this down." Taking his cane as he passed it, Alex disappeared out the door and closed it behind him.

Kilian still had his grin on. "So, yeah. Clones, right?"

"I wouldn't put him past it." Obsidian pointed out. "A world filled with Darkrai... I wouldn't put it past him in any way." Obsidian snorted, "Though I think he's more for shrouding the world in darkness and torturing everyone until kingdom come."

His grin disappeared, and Kilian reached for his notepad again, flipping through past pages. "Is that what he and his underlings want?" The Greninja was searching for something specific. "Whatever. So, recap. We meet your mysteeeerious contact--" Here he fluttered his fingers. "--and or his teleporter, who can take us directly to Dart. There, we meet the unnamed Tropius and figure out what Xander's done in the past... what, day or so? Then we figure out how to go about taking him out." Kilian looked at Obsidian again. "Did I miss anything this time? Because I don't like missing info, especially important info."

Obsidian smirked, "You didn't miss a beat. That's the general plan. Hopefully it works out, that's the only thing." He sighed, "Plans go awry more these days."

"Yep. Days of war... Oh, yeah, and you get your revenge in the process." Kilian made one more small note before putting his pen and pad back in his pocket. "Welp, time to sleep, no?" He stretched his arms upward, hands laced together. Then he asked, "You're sure, though? You do it yourself? And we don't help?"

Obsidian thought for a moment, then slowly nodded, "It's what I've wanted to do ever since it happened. It's been my plan. I need to do it on my own."

Kilian nodded a few times. "Well, sounds like a life goal. Though if you do ever need anyone to help ya out..." He pointed a thumb at himself. "...Alex 'n' I are here for you." He then put his palms flat together, eyes closed briefly. A faint flash of white emanated from him, followed by a second Greninja that appeared on the floor next to Kilian. The Substitute then moved until it was lying on the floor in front of the window, ready to keep watch on that end for now. "Juuust in case," Kilian muttered.

<Sacha.> Alex's voice echoed inside Kilian's head. <Matilda just reported back.>

<Say who?> Kilian asked back, resting his head against the wall behind him.

<Matilda. The Accelgor. Now what exactly was the message you told her to deliver?> There was a questioning tone, as if Alex didn't like something about the report.

<Ah, that.> Kilian repeated to Alex the message he'd told the Accelgor to deliver to the others from Obsidian's group.

There was a brief groan. <Many of the Seekers are dead or traitorous, aside from whoever's still following Obi, and you're lucky that Matilda removed Cresselia's name from the message. Even so, if there were two psychics there with the group, who by the way didn't exactly belong to any of the factions you named, then they might report what they heard to their superiors. Now, who were in the group you found, again?>

A feminine voice sounded this time, likely the Accelgor. <A foul-mouthed Ralts, a Ferrothorn, a Floette, and a cloaked 'mon who seemed to be their leader. Small, about the same size as the Ralts. They said they knew Obsidian, as a Weavile, and the cloaked one wanted me to tell him not to do anything stupid. They have compatriots in Erble, which is where they were about to be teleported to.>

<Sounds like our group,> Kilian replied, nodding a bit to himself. <So they know that we're in the game now, at least.>

<Be careful with what you say, nitwit,> a fourth voice retorted. It was very close to sounding like Alex, but colder. <I don't want magic boy here dying on me.>

<He's not a nitwit, Lucien,> Alex shot back. <He does have a point, though, Kilian. Anyway, I'm having Matilda go look for Able and Annabelle. Those seem to be the only two 'mon unaccounted for, right now. And Kilian?... I'm going to be out for a bit before sleeping.>

Kilian raised his eyebrows, but he responded, <All right.> Opening his eyes, he looked over at Obsidian. "Sooo, the message got to your friends. They said to you to not do anything stupid."

Obsidian stretched on back as he glanced over at Kilian's substitute. To be honest, that move always crept Obsidian out. It was just a blank faced silent copy of yourself. Sure, it disappeared quickly in battle, but having one just sitting there made Obsidian's fur shiver along his back. Well, at least it wouldn't be close up against him this night. And he was still rather tired, so much so he knew that he would be conked out and not worrying about such things in his dreams. As he glanced up at the ceiling he couldn't help but wonder just briefly about Valkaria. He shuddered at the thought. "Huh?" He glanced over at Kilian, "Oh...." He frowned, "... Me? Stupid? How about Snype keeping everything secret? How about him hiring James and him fu**ing us over?" Obsidian snorted, "That's what I mean. You see it there. They don't trust me for as far as they could throw me. Honestly I'm surprised they kept me around this long. I would have thought with Penance out of the picture they would have thrown me in a lake or something." He grumbled angrily.

"Um..." Kilian rubbed his arm. "Maaaybe you're looking at their reply the wrong way. Maybe they're just concerned, and besides, uh..." Where was he going with this, again? "So Snype keeping everything secret. Can you perchance point out anyone in the group who has been honest? I mean, besides Guardia, yikes, that was a surprise, but anyway, there must be some level of trust among all of you. I mean, they didn't push to keep someone with you, right? Or...did they?"

"They really didn't." Obsidian shrugged, "I mean... I'm here, yeah, but more or less because I want to be. Guardia was really the only one who would get on a personal level and talk with me. Sure, there's Callimer and the other Gold Tribe, but we really didn't hit it off. I mean, he's nice and all, don't get me wrong, but it isn't like he's really ever stood up and declared that I was needed, that I was important or anything. And I haven't really chatted with any of the other Gold Tribe either. Funny, huh? Head of his own division of mon, and they don't bother to walk around and ask how you're doing. ... No one did. I mean, it makes it easier to make sure I make the right choices in the end. I'm putting Valkaria first, that's what I'm doing. If it means that in the end changes have to be made.... then changes will be made. No doubt about that."

A few sounds of fighting filtered in from the street outside the window. Sub-Kilian sat up long enough to look out, then shrugged and lied back down. Nothing important to them. "Hm..." Kilian watched Obsidian for a few moments. "Basically, you need a friend and someone you can trust. And so far, it's sounded like Alex fills both of those. Right? Either way, I don't see a good reason so far as to why you can't walk around and see how the others are doing. Someone has to start a conversation for it to happen."

Obsidian snorted, "Yeah, sure. Have you even tried talking to a Gold Tribe warrior? I always thought they were supposed to be the ones who start things off. What could I even talk about? Hey, doesn't it suck that we aren't winning? That so many are dead cause you guys suck so much and didn't kill Darkrai back when you had the chance? Yeah, great topic starter there." He sighed and pressed his head against the bed, "It's too late to start making friends now. While I was busy having to look over hundreds of mon they were off doing other stuff. Maybe if they bothered to sit down with me, sure. But they're Gold Tribe. Who would care for a mon like me? One they think is stupid?"

"Oy, you're not stupid!" Kilian said, a bit forcefully. "And yes, I have talked to Gold Tribe warriors, dozens of times. What do you think journalists do? Plus, I did train in that Heroes Alliance School. I was very close to getting membership, too." He paused and seemed to lose a bit of energy. "Juuust...by the time my interview with Guardia came, I had...changed my mind about a few things...partly thanks to Alex, anyway."

Obsidian couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit, "Whatever. So you didn't get forced to die in Valkaria. Guess that means you owe Alex your life then."

Kilian couldn't help but stare at the Weavile before snorting. "Where did you get that idea from?" he asked, surprised. "It's not like I'm his lifelong slave, bound to help him in any way I can because of a life debt I can't pay off any other way. No, no, I don't owe him my life. More like, I had a mindset that didn't settle completely on being one of Valkaria's defenders with certain guidelines to go by. I respect the Gold Tribe, I really do, which was another reason for me to not join in the end. If that makes sense. I like doing a few things my way a little too much. So, naturally, after being one of Alex's friends and with my skills, I started working for him and his family. And now, well, we're fighting against Darkrai now, I didn't think much that we'd be the ones doing that. Fighting him's a bigger reason than wanting any paycheck, you know?" Kilian yawned behind his tongue-scarf, then decided to stand up from the bed. "Welp, good night, Obi." He walked to the door and lied down in front of that, leaving the bed empty for Alex when he got back.

"Yeah..... night." Obisidan said softly as he closed his eyes as well and did his best to get to sleep.

Kilian tried to get to sleep, as well, though he was used to sleeping slightly. That was the whole point of him and his Substitute sleeping where they are now - guarding the door and window in case anyone tried to sneak in. He wasn't worried about Alex, of course, the Gardevoir knew he could teleport in. Knowing him, he probably would. Question was, why exactly was Alexandre staying out a little later, especially here in Daggen, in Karn? The Greninja shrugged to himself, hands folded across his chest. Mr. SharpEye had his reasons. And seeing the state of Gold City and his family wouldn't have done him much good, either.

Still...what was important enough for Alex to leave his two best friends for a short while in dangerous territory?

After meeting with Matilda and giving her the new assignment, Alexandre had wandered on out of the inn and down the street a ways, looking for any building that was still intact yet abandoned. It took some searching before he found a two-story house that was part-intact and part-cinders. It looked as though no one was paying attention to it, and Alex hoped that was indeed the case. He didn't want to be interrupted. The Gardevoir took a good look through one of the windows at the room inside, then turned and continued on down the road another block or so, twirling his cane in the air occasionally. Sure, it looked promising, but anyone watching would need their attention pulled elsewhere.

With that new thought, Alex decided to give the same kind of look to three other buildings. He attracted some new attention he didn't like, however. The fourth seemingly abandoned house he looked in had a resident, a Garbodor who was busy eating...something, in the room on the other side of an empty window-frame. "Think yer fancy, foreigner?" the Garbodor sneered in a husky voice. Alex raised his eyebrows at the Karnian, silently preparing his next move already. The Garbodor spat to one side before continuing, "Won't save ya." He then spat out a brown ball of Sludge at Alex.

The Gardevoir sighed, as he was already holding up his cane and glowing a bit blue. Alex vanished before the Sludge could strike him.

Back at the two-story house, a small glow of light inside one of the rooms was followed by Alex completing his teleport. Why, oh why, must Karnians pick stupid fights for stupid reasons? he thought, stepping through the room's debris as he looked for any stairs. The ones he found, toward the back of the house, were missing several steps and looked charred on most of the rest. Alex took a look at the top of the stairs, seeing and sensing nobody up there, then tele-stepped to the top landing. Two steps away, a whole mess of debris and fallen beams blocked access to the rest of the second floor. Well, here is as good as anywhere else...

The Gardevoir brushed away dust and other particles from a small circle with his psychic power, then proceeded to seat himself, legs crossed and cane set across them. Alexandre closed his eyes, focusing on his power, before snapping his fingers. A Substitute-Alex appeared on the floor across from him, within the cleared circle. Sub-Alex blinked several times and flexed his fingers before shaking his head, smirking at the original. "Well, magic boy, private enough for ya?" Lucien asked through the Substitute. "You were feeling preeetty guilty back there."

Alex sighed, reaching inside his cloak. "Not a word to Obsidian without my say-so, Lucien," he warned. "He's already a bit unstable, if he'd seen Penance in a mirror earlier today. He doesn't need to know yet that I actually do have...responsibilities." He didn't like that Lucien found it humorous for him to be keeping a big secret from the Weavile, and he didn't appreciate Lucien's needling, either.

"Yeah, yeah, right." The Sub still smirked as he spoke. "So what's the plan? Wait until we're about to fight Darkrai once and for all, then tell Obi the big secret so he can go uber-mad and save the day?"

"I..." Alex stopped himself, pulling out a gray onyx stone. It hung from a simple leather choker. He gave a slow sigh. "It reminds me too much of father's story about when they lied to Penance, up until he revealed that a fellow Goldie-- Gold Tribe member, was dead all along. They seemed to think that they needed Penance in a clear state of mind, rather than muddled or...or crazy, or something. If Obsidian is anything like that, and he kinda is..."

"Yep. He's taking after his adopted daddy." Lucien snickered a bit.

"We don't know that, though. But Lucien, Obi basically thinks of me as his best friend. If he learns that even his best friend has been keeping secrets, and not just magician's tricks...I'm afraid he'll go ballistic, or worse." Alex shook his head, then took a deep breath. "Whether I tell him or not, though, now isn't the time. We need to get this back on track now." He closed his fist around the onyx stone, closing his eyes again. He dimly heard Lucien saying through the Sub that he would keep watch, of course, because the world would end if hero boy's little magic boy died.

Alexandre began expanding his mind, using the onyx stone as a focus. His breathing slowed and his hands fell into his lap, one still clutching the stone. As a couple minutes passed, he began hearing voices chattering to each other, apparently still in some turmoil after recent events. It was rough and distant at first, but became more clear with each second. He could sense their unease, but also that they were at least more calm than they had been a week ago. <Friends, may I have your attention, please?> Alex asked. The chatter died down a little in response, though not entirely. Then several began asking him questions at the same time, while the rest either shared the same questioning tone or just waited quietly. <Please, calm down, I need to know that we can understand each other. One at a time, please.>

<One of them held the stone, Alexandre,> a few voices stated. <We know your family examined it in Gold City, but are you sure it isn't changed in any way?>

<My family are some of the best 'mon I know, especially my sister Hannah, and my father and I are both familiar with how the stone should feel. We all agreed it's fine. Do you know of something different that I don't?>

Two other voices cut in. <Please please please don't lose it again. They know we're around, what's to stop them from trying to use us if you lose it again?>

Alex sighed. <I won't lose it again, I promise you that. So listen, I know all of you have been in some disarray while Kilian and I tracked down the stone and the thief. Now I would like to set some things back in place. My top priority is to help bring back Cresselia, and we know the location of two of her pieces. Zeke, Riya, I want you and your teams to go to Argime, in Tollen. Watch over Queen Aleena, and if you're able to, please don't reveal your presence to anyone.>

<Will do!> Zeke replied positively; Riya's echoed response was less optimistic.

<Lexi, Celeste. I want you and your teams to head for Erble, where it seems most of the group of Cresselia searchers have gone. Watch them, especially Lia the Musharna, and again, be quiet about it. If either the Victini or the Watcher notice your presence, it's better than if anyone else does. Just, I'd prefer that no one knows who sent you, as I usually prefer.>

<You still think you need to remind us?> Celeste asked. <We know what we are doing, young boy.>

Alex took that as meaning yes, Lexi and Celeste would go with their task. <Thank you for doing it, anyway. All of you I just assigned to Argime and Erble...yes, I know you know what you're doing, but if it looks like either Aleena or Lia is in danger, then feel free to intervene.>

Several other voices sounded, <What of the Watcher?>

Ah. He'd almost forgotten that. Alex cleared his throat reflexively before answering, <Make sure she stays alive, too. Top priority is making sure Cresselia returns, followed closely by doing what we can to stop Darkrai, and thank you for reminding me, that includes protecting the Watcher. Those bound for Erble, I'm not sure whether they've found the third piece of Cresselia, but if you learn where it is, then protect that, as well.> There was something else about Erble that Alex tried to remember... <Oh, yes. When was the last report from Roland?>

This caused some more unease to emanate from the voices. <Just before the stone was stolen. He hasn't said a word to us since then. We fear that he might have someone watching him closely, but we do not know.>

<Yes, that is one of the dangers we're familiar with, Colo... Well. Everyone else, wherever you are, I want eyes and ears posted in several places again. Every place that we know has been visited by an Agent of Darkrai, or Darkrai himself, I want you to watch, in case it's visited by them again. I want every known Agent to be tracked from the moment you see them. Reminder, Darkrai also poses as Gabriel the Greninja. If any of you see James or Roxanna in particular, watch them more carefully than usual. Hugo, I want you and your team to try and trace Alai's trail again. If you can find him, then great, watch him and report to me. Hum...who else here has been in Karn lately, or currently is?>

<That would be us,> someone answered. <We've remained in Daggen this whole time.>

<Great, thank you, Tane. I want you and your team to start watching the Grand General Gregory, the Snorlax, and his office. It's starting to sound like he's involved in a few things, if what Matilda and Haris have said about him is true. Have I missed anything?> There wasn't an immediate response, so Alex took a deep breath. <Now, Bano, Dagny... Could you please protect my family, especially while in Gold City?>

<... ... ...Yes.>

The hesitant pause before their answer struck Alex as odd, but he wasn't sure why. <Thank you, it means so much to me. All of you, really, and your help, thank you. Hum...oh, duh. Albin, you and your team, on me now. I can trust you four to help make sure the stone isn't stolen again, and having more eyes on my surroundings helps, as always. Everyone...these are crucial days. Darkrai's trying to accomplish something that includes removing the entire Guardian system, or however that goes. If he's trying to change the way this very world runs, then he must be stopped. Do your very best. Please.>

It was Celeste and her team who spoke up again, with obvious distaste for the Gardevoir. <We know what we're doing, boy, and we are well aware of what Darkrai's plans are, according to what you have told us and what we have seen. Your mother had our full respect for her, full respect. You? You still have some measuring up to do. But we will continue to aid you.>

<Oh, come on, does it hurt for me to express thanks every now and then?> Alex felt a pang of sorrow at the mention of his mother. <I'm just trying to do what I can.>

<There isn't much room for mistakes in this war, boy,> Celeste snapped back. <Not for you, not for us, not for anyone. We will go to Erble.>

<Same here, about going to Erble,> Lexi piped up, more positive in tone than many of the others present. <I would like to add, we have hope, everyone. Hope, I say. Darkrai hasn't won so far, and Cresselia is soon to return. Hope, I say.>

Alex smiled at the vote of confidence. He was glad that at least some of these were still hopeful, and more glad that so far, everyone was still willing to work with him. Well, except he didn't know Roland's condition... <Thank you, Lexi. Actually, you and Tane, your teams are large enough. If you have time to look for Roland while you're out and about, please do so. I'm worried about him.>

<Him, or the idea of him compromising us?> Celeste asked suspiciously.

Ignoring her verbal jab, Alex stated, <I don't have anything else for now. Please, any new developments, report to me. I will check in every night from now on, but don't hesitate to tell me immediately if it is urgent. I will see you all later. Good night!> He then gradually let go of his focus, slipping back until he was aware of his surroundings once more. His breathing picked up, and Alex blinked his eyes. It was getting darker with each passing minute as night came to the city.

"Oh, I also forgot," Lucien said, seeing that Alex was back. "You're also feeling guilty about doing this without Kilian watching. Yeah, he still isn't sure whether the stone is safe or not, or the network for that matter. What are you gonna say to him, hm?"

Alex sighed, reaching up to tie the leather choker with the stone around his neck. It was his foremost exception to his style of dressing up, and he didn't care. "It needed to be done, otherwise we'd be in the dark for a while longer. Did you sense anyone, anything?"

"Hm..." The Substitute closed his eyes for a moment, obviously delaying his answer. "I seeeeeensssed...nope. Nada. You're fine and clear, buddy boy." He climbed to his feet, stretching both legs and arms straight up for a few seconds. "Time for fun, now?"

Alex shook his head and answered, "Not this time, I'm afraid. Daggen is too volatile. It's back to the inn with us." He stood up as well, facing his double as he brushed off a few specks of dirt from his cloak.

Lucien glared back at him. "I'm sorry, did I hear wrong? Maybe this Subby's ears are clogged, but I thought I heard you say, 'not this time.'" When Alex didn't change his answer, Lucien growled, "I've behaved well for a while now, Alex, with that hope in mind, so if you think--" Alexandre snapped his fingers, making the Substitute dissipate into thin air. In his mind, he could hear, It's only a matter of time, magic boy. Only a matter of time.

And I'll let you know when the time comes, shade. You don't have so much a say in my life the way Varren has in my father's life.

~~~~~

It was some minutes later before Alexandre teleported back into the inn-room. Sub-Kilian sat up immediately at the arrival, followed slowly by Kilian. <It's me, Sacha,> Alex reassured, dropping quietly onto the empty bed. The Greninja raised an eyebrow in the darkness before shrugging and going back to sleep. Alex sighed, removing his cloak and draping it over the foot of his bed, then setting his cane on top of that. As he climbed under the blanket, he couldn't help his mind wandering over everything he'd experienced in the past few months. It could all so easily go south...but it seemed that it could so easily go north, as well. And his family, how would they survive this war? What if they didn't?

Finally, Alex reached a hand up to the onyx stone around his neck, eyes closing. Before falling asleep, he made a silent plea. <Please...please let this all work out the way it needs to. And please let me know if I can break this secret, and how.>

The Bar - Featuring the entire group (almost) and some revelations

Snype was the first to arrive at the mentioned meeting spot. After everything else he was dealing with today what with the Dealer, worrying about his own future, and the upcoming battle, settling down in a place like this would be a good way to at least get together with all of his friends. Course the last thing he needed was to end up in the same bar as the Emperor... but if he did then maybe he could by some miracle get on his good side?

Coming in after Snype was Percival, accompanied by Lia, Celebi, and John. Percival scouted around the bar, before settling in beside Snype. The others followed suit. "Well met, Snype!" The Garchomp exclaimed. "I see we art the first arrive."

"Hey Percy!" Snype waved before looking to Cel and Lia. "Kehehe, you too Cel? Didn't picture you as the type who'd wanna party in a place like this." He teased.

"I didn't exactly have a choice!" Celebi spat back. "Percival wanted to go, and so did John, and we probably shouldn't be alone without them so... here we are."

"Sorry bud, I know I said I'd watch 'em but a 'mon needs a drink every so often," John chuckled.

"Well won't argue with ya there. I feel the same way. Kehehe. Back home I had to make my own little network just to sneak into a good bar back home! That I happened to own by the way. Kehehe" Snype said a bit proudly.

"Look at the big shot here," John joked sarcastically. "Wanna buy the first rounds then, Mr. Big shot?"

"Kehehe, only fair. I didn't really get to do shit at the tournament today and all." Snype chuckled as he reached into his bag for whatever shiny objects he could find. Thankfully he was decently loaded up still. "Kehehe, tell em whatever ya want i'm sure I'll have the stuff for em." Snype said before turning over to Percy. "Don't think I've gotten to really sit down and chat with ya Percy. Cel tells me you've been a pretty good mon so that's good enough of a first impression for me."

"You'd better not be starting without me," Kaveri piped up as she approached the group, sporting a clearly fake pout. "And I was the one who suggested drinks and all, geez."

"Or me!" Came Callimer's voice as he followed his sister in. "After all, it's basically guaranteed I could drink every one of you under the table....except maybe Percy. It takes a lot to get a decently-sized dragon-type drunk, Speaking of which, don't worry Snype, I don't intend to get drunk tonight. If you're buying, you'd be better off rehiring James than paying for me to get drunk."

"Ah, the siblings Vian!" Percival greeted enthusiastically. "Well met! And nay! We've only just arrived. We shall drink to the good fortunes of last round and our future fortunes in the coming round!"

Snype moved his feet off one of the nearby chairs, patting it a few times. "Kehe, amen to that! Here saved ya a seat Kav. I'd say tonight's as good as ever to get a little wild!"

"What'll it be, lady and gents?" The Croconaw bartender leaned over and asked the group.

"Allow me," Percival said to the others as he faced the bartender. He cleared his throat. "Valorous sire, prithee giveth all of us thy finest purple-hued malt-worm beverage on thy menu. Wage is nay an obstacle, as I am willing to payeth whatever amount thee require."

The Croconaw continued to lean on the counter in dead silence, blinking in confusion. He glanced to the others around and spoke up. "Anyone wanna translate what I just heard?"

Kaveri plopped down on the seat Snype offered her. "Er... Something along the lines of 'give us all the best... purple alcohol you have, and don't worry about the price'? I think?" she pondered, looking to the Croconaw then to Percival.

"Keheh, Basically the best stuff ya got." Snype added.

The Croconaw glanced curiously at the Garchomp before nodding, and passing out a set of drinks for the group.

"Excellent!" Percival commented. "A toast then, to the champions of this first round in the tournament!" He exclaimed as he took a large gulp of his drink. "... and one to the victorious fallen no longer among us," He added as he thought of Sen.

"To Sen." Snype said as he held up his drink and took a small swig. Kaveri followed suit wordlessly, raising her drink in a toast before gulping it down.

"Brave dude he was," John added as he raised his own mug. "He was way too damn close to freedom to lose in the end."

Percival glanced down at his mug for a moment in silence. "That James character. He is indeed a powerful one. The transformation he hath performed. Was it thy first encounter with it?"

Snype clenched onto his glass a little tighter at the mere mention of James' name. "Nah... the guy actually used to travel with us for awhile. He's used that transformation quite a few times and to an extent, even taught us how to use it. Heck, I've done it myself once." Snype shrugged.

"Ah, thee hast such an ability too?" Percival questioned as he adjusted the bulky armor plating on his shoulders, easing into his seat more. "Valorous! Tis truly a power to behold."

"Heh, believe me if I could just use it whenever I'd want like James does, I'd have this tournament beat before the finals were even announced. Kehehe." Snype said confidently as he took another chug of his drink.

Suddenly, a loud thud was heard at the door, and through it came Emperor Rionart along with a posse of his guards. "SERVE THE DRINKS!" He roared loudly. At his sight, the entire bar erupted into cheers. He stormed forward and took a seat at the counter on the far side of the group. Soon, however, he caught sight of them. "Well, well, if it ain't the Valks!" He exclaimed. "F*cking around as usual, I see? Or getting in your last drinks?!" He howled with laughter.

The Emperor's roaring laughter was accompanied by the sound of shattering glass and a splash. All eyes turned to Callimer, who had been silent since the toast to Sen, and hadn't even noticed until then the scowl on his face or that he'd been clenching his fingers in anger. He looked down at the drink he'd spilled on the bar, and the broken glass in his hand and blinked in confusion for a few seconds before he shook his had and slammed his fist on the bar. "Another!" He turned to the cantankerous Pangoro that had just joined them and smirked cheekily at him. "Oh this'll be far from my last drink 'Eddy'. I'm gonna have plenty more, today, and for years to come!"

The Emperor glared intensely at the Dragonite in silence. His expression then formed into a grin once more as he motioned for the Croconaw bartender to bring drinks. "Oh, really? Lot'sa words, but no action is what I'm hearing, green. You were... alright in your fight against your friend. But that was a Valkarian. You've got a Karnian up next," He declared as the bartender brought to him an enormous mug of alcohol, which the Emperor quickly down. "And trust me, we Karnians are much tougher in every way than you southerners. Ain't that right, lads!?" The Emperor asked around the bar, which erupted in cheering.

"Oh, is that so? Is that why you couldn't even crush a little Ralts?" It bothered Cal to use Raz as a taunt, he knew the dreadmage deserved better, and how angry he'd be if he heard the jibe. But he could think of nothing else that would seem as insulting to a karnian, especially the Emperor. Cal banged his fist on the bar again and called out to the barkeep. "Hey! Crooked Jaw! Bring me more, in an 'Emperor-sized' mug!"

And here was the emperor. He wasn't sure about speaking up lest to completely ruin Cal's time with the Emperor but if there was any time to get in good with the Emperor himself now would be it. For now the Sableye took a swig of his drink while Cal and the Emperor went at it.

The Emperor laughed loudly at Callimer's response. "Still a foreigner! But I'll give ya points for balls!" He roared as he too took hold of the large mug and drank from it again. "First of all, if I wanted to break the f*cker, I would have done it!" He stated fiercely. "Second, and more f*cking importantly, you think his size has anything to do with his strength or power?! You think my size has anything to do with mine? The little f*cker was tough! Simple as that! And his size means absolutely sh*t! Only the fool judges by size, and only the fool gets angry over someone calling you out on it!" He howled. "You're not a decent fighter only because you're big, just the same as that one isn't weak because he's small!" The Emperor explained as he pointed to Snype without looking at him. "He's weak because he's weak!"

Snype knew he would never win... hell Snype knew for a fact that the Emperor wouldn't hesitate to kill him. He glanced over to Celebi once and then back to the Emperor as he was called out. He wasn't just going to take that. Snype clenched tightly onto Guardia's badge. "Wrong again. I'm Weak because I'm an idiot. Kehehe..." Snype stated. "But don't think that'll keep me from fighting on. Starting to regret not taking your offer back at the Tower Eddy. Might have been me instead of the Ralts." Snype said with a swig of a drink. He had a more confident tone then he did back in the tower. "If my opponent bails out maybe we should go at in down at the tournament eh? Oughta give the folks what they want. Or hell maybe I'll surprise ya."

Edgar slammed his mug on the table and clenched it. "I want to kill you right now," The Emperor stated without looking at the Sableye. "I really want to kill you right now. In fact, I'm having trouble figuring out why not to do it. Only real reasons I have at the moment are that you're in the tourney, and doing it will piss off a lot of my subjects. And out of the respect I had for Guardia. But call me Eddy one more time. Go ahead. I dare ya," He glared intensely at Snype now.

Snype clenched his drink as well and glared up at the Emperor dead straight in the eye, slamming his own drink right down. Being disrespected by mon wasn't new to the Sableye. It came with being a thief. He wasn't a mon for honor and glory at all. But for some reason Edgar's words continued to hit him hard... The Sableye began to breathe heavily. "Why do you hate me?" Snype said, not daring to break his gaze off of the Pangoro.

"I don't have time to hate," Edgar replied as he took a big swig of his large mug. "I just don't give a sh*t at all about you, which for you, is worse than hate. At least with hate, I'd actually think you're worth the time to do so. But hey! Give it time! Maybe you'll f*ck up enough for me to actually f*cking hate you! Won't that be a treat!"

"Guess I'll just have to fix that then won't I?" Snype said confidently as he took another chug of his drink.

"Yeah, yeah, good f*cking luck," The Emperor commented as he too took a large gulp of his drink.

Through the doors of the bar, Vee suddenly popped in. "Ah!" Vee exclaimed upon the sight of the group and the Emperor. It then disappeared in a flash of light. A few of the patrons looked over in confusion for a moment, before Vee reappeared once more, this time with Raz, Cythera, and Rattles. "There!" The Victini chirped. Razathiel blinked at the scene in front of him and turned to Vee with a frown.

"Why would you-? Fuck it. I'm waiting outside," the wizard snapped, turning to exit.

"RAZ!" The Emperor roared with delight upon seeing the Ralts. "SPEAK OF THE DEVIL! Come 'ere! Have a drink with me!" He declared.

Cythera analyzed her surroundings and sighed. "I should be glad we found him so soon, but for some reason I can't bring myself to feel anything but dread."

Vee turned to the Ralts and shook its head. "We may need you here."

"Will you fucking really, though?" Raz asked, throwing a perturbed glance the Pangoro's way. The Dreadmage looked as if he'd never been more repulsed in his life.

"We're supposed to be asking him for a favor, remember? Going into the Temples?" Vee questioned the Dreadmage incredulously. "It's obviously gonna sound better coming from someone he actually likes. Suck it up, normie." Vee rolled its eyes.

"Well if you're going to be like that, perhaps I'll just leave and then we'll see which one of us has to do the sucking up, hmm?" The Ralts said with a glare.

"Are you really going to risk the entire world over your arrogance?" Vee questioned.

"RAZ!" The Emperor roared again as he laughed merrily with some of his guards.

"Are you going to over yours?" Raz countered, ignoring the Pangoro. "In case you forget, I'm evil. I'm doing this out of necessity - I could very well just as easily blow this entire place up out of sheer mental instability. And yet apparently you seem adamant in declaring me a dignitary?"

"I don't have any arrogance!" Vee shot back. "I've been helping you out more than anyone else since you've found me. And I never had to do any of it! But fine, if you wanna go pout because you don't get along with someone, wait outside, Rattles, Cythera and I will take care of it, like usual!" Vee stormed forward toward the others and the Emperor.

"Ahh, you get it now," the wizard grinned. "Not sure about that first part, but aside from that your suggestion works for me! I'll try not to go too far."

"Son of a..." Snype pinched between his eyes at Raz's behavior. "Scuse me a second." Snype said as he got up from his seat and moved over to Raz and Vee. "Hey Vee, Raz. What brings you all the way back here? I thought you were going after Xander." Snype asked.

Vee acknowledged Snype with a nod and then spoke. "We were... and we did. And then we lost. He's stronger than we thought. Long story short, we've come here to get the Emperor's permission to go to the Temples to help us get stronger."

"What did Raz decide he's not a fan and making a big deal over it?" Snype said, turning to Raz. "Suck it up and spend a minute with the guy. Those temples are important. Pretty sure walking out on the freakin emperor would not look good for us."

"Okay, first of all," Razathiel paused with his hand halfway to the door. "I did not 'lose'. We did not lose; we scouted out the situation, we all came out of that fucking place unharmed, and now we're making preparations. Hardly a loss so much as it was just reconnaissance. Secondly: I am doing you ungrateful troglodytes a favour by attempting to leave and keep my interaction with the fucking king of all philistines to a minimum - how, when my normal actions are considered behaving and I do not even trust myself with that level of restraint, are there not thousands of alarm bells ringing in your brains?"

"Vee how badly did Xander beat this guy?" Snype asked. "He's acting more salty than usual."

"Let's just say we're probably going to need a Mega Stone to beat him," Vee answered with a shrug. "Or a way around his abilities."

"Yeah thought so. Look Raz, he likes you. Alot. And I'm preetttyy sure he's not a fan of Vee after the shenanigans from that last fight. Besides knowing him, he'll probably pull ya over to that bar himself at this rate. And no, I don't trust you to keep yourself at that level of restraint. But it'd sure look a lot better than Vee asking. No offense."

"None taken," Vee remarked.

"Very well, I see how it is," The Dreadmage said, walking over to Snype. He glared at the Sableye's gem-eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. "Listen here, Snype," the wizard punctuated the word with a prod to the Sableye's chest. "You are on dangerous ground. This is strike one. Don't push me."

Razathiel turned immediately away and headed towards the Emperor, his eyes glowing a crimson of greater than usual intensity borne of barely repressed fury. He spoke without addressing Edgar, "If you've managed to somehow retain your desperate grasp on comprehending spoken language, apparently you have something we need to access the temples to the North-East. Give it."

Edgar grinned widely at Raz and motioned toward the bartender. "A drink first!" He concluded. "A tall Karnian Ale for me, and... a milkshake for the Ralts!" He yelled, and the Croconaw bartender quickly went to work.

Snype raised a brow. He had to admit, The Emperor sure knew Raz well. Sweets were a huge weakness for the guy...

"No. Fuck you," Raz snapped. "I didn't ask for a drink. I demanded access to the temples to the North-East."

"Fuck you!" The Emperor retorted back. "You'll get your damn access after we get our damn drinks!" He declared. "Here we are!" He exclaimed as the bartender brought the drinks. "To me!" He laughed, and gulped down his large mug quickly. Vee approached the group from behind, silently observing the two, while narrowing his eyes at the Emperor. Snype meanwhile moved back to his seat, seriously hoping that Raz would just drink the damn thing.

"The temples," The Dreadmage repeated, tapping his foot impatiently.

The Emperor rolled his eyes. "FINE! You impatient f*ck. Learn to live a little. Or you'll die before you're... hell how old are ya anyway?" He wondered aloud. He shook his head. "Well, f*ck it. You can go to the Temples. Who's going with you?"

"The cloaked prick, the silent, metal thornbush and the aspiring gardener fairy," Razathiel told the Pangoro, jabbing a hand in the group's direction.

Cythera looked at Raz with a furrowed brow, but she got over her annoyance before long. "Well, this is going better than expected," she commented, turning to Vee. "Not by much, but better. Do we even really need Greg's letter?"

"Greg's letter? Gimme!" The Emperor demanded as he extended his hand. He snatched it from the group, and looked it over for a moment, lazily reading it's contents. "Arceus, that 'mon is dry as f*ck... yeah, OK you can go," He declared casually.

"Do we need anything," Raz asked Vee. "Or can I leave before my brain implodes?"

"AH, THAT HIT THE SPOT!" Edgar roared, slamming down his mug on the counter. "I'm tired of this place. We move on!" He declared to the rest of his guards. "Anyone looking for a good time, follow me!" He roared as he continued out the bar, followed by his guards and a few patrons who also went along. "RAZ, you too!"

"Wait," Vee muttered to Raz as he watched the Emperor leave.

"Due to current circumstances, Vee," The Dreadmage said dryly, sidling up to the Victini. "I'm inclined to comply."

The Emperor left, as well as a ton of other 'mon in the bar, leaving the tavern much emptier and quieter. Vee watched the Emperor leave the entire way, before he sighed. "I thought so. I was right. The Emperor is bonded."

"What?" Snype added in as he got off of his chair. "With who?"

"HA!" Raz let out a bark of laughter, psychically grabbing the milkshake on the counter and smashing it on the floor in elation. "I knew the fucker was hiding something! Fantastic, Vee... I hate you less. Fuck, that's one loose end tied off - that mystery was bugging the hell out of me."

Cythera floated up to the counter where she ordered some cider before focusing her attention on Vee. "Makes sense, what with that insane power. Has the situation changed at all, though?" Meanwhile, Rattles climbed onto the ceiling to get a better view of the bar's patrons.

"For us, I'm not sure if it's coincidence or providence," Vee explained. "The Emperor is bonded with the legendary we are about to seek out at the Temple of Life. Kyogre. There's no mistaking it, not that I've felt it."

"That's both good and bad." Snype stated. "Comon think about it, so lets say that bond gets broken and suddenly Edgar is beaten out by someone like, say, Darkrai... see where I'm going with this?"

Cythera let out a deep sigh, staring at her drink as she spoke. "I... highly doubt Darkrai will be showing up in Karn. Considering that he's busy attacking Valkaria at the moment."

"Yes, and from what I understand, the Emperor was likely bonded for a long time. It is not an easy thing to un-bond someone. Snype and Celebi can attest to that...." Vee muttered to himself, before continuing. "It definitely presents us with an opportunity beyond our original objective in going to the temples. Though, I should say Temple rather than Temples. We will not be going to the Temple of Balance. Or rather, we cannot go."

"Yeah... sorry. Its been a thing I've been afraid of far before this adventure even started." Snype said as he leaned into his chair, glancing over to Celebi for a moment before taking another chug of his drink. "Though guess I got bigger things to be afraid of nowadays."

"Why the bloody hell can't we go to the Temple of Balance?" Razathiel questioned.

"Certain legendaries are quite picky about interacting with normal Pokemon," Vee answered. "I'm more open to it, but others are quite against it. As such, legendary-gathering locations sometimes have wards to prevent 'mon from entering. I have been able to get past those of Kyogre in the past, but the twins require really annoying specificity. They are what we call the "duality," Vee continued to explain. They are one Guardian, but they are siblings. Only those who know such a bond can enter."

Snype quickly turned his head over to Cal and Kaveri at that very mention. "Keheh, you know as far as bonds go..." He gestured to the two.

"Eh?" Kaveri looked over from where she had been drowning her face in her sixth mug of ale for the past few minutes. She had been serious about getting drunk, it seemed, and had downed her first five drinks in record time and was already appearing rather unfocused. As her inebriated brain caught up with the conversation, a grin spread across her muzzle. "Ohz yeah, ya forshgat ya got a couple sibwings righ' 'ere?" she slurred out. Kaveri reached out to drape her arm over Cal's back, but missed and instead fell to the floor. "We got thish!" she declared confidently, waving a paw in the air as she lay on her back.

Cal, on the other hand, was only on his fifth mug, but considering he was drinking from mugs befitting his stature, most 'mon would be passed out by then anyways. He reached down and pulled his sister up, holding her shoulder to keep her balance. "That asshat Edgar completely forgot about our contest... now I'll never know if I can outdrink him... or how much of this stuff it would take to knock me out...I like it! It puts a real fire in your belly! And that suits a dragon just fine!" His speech sounded perfectly lucid... besides the fact that he hadn't yet addressed the topic at hand at all so far. After another moment of muttering he looked back at the group and frowned deeply. "Siblings...I suppose that answers that, but what about the tournament? We're both in it, and we have to beat James while we're here. And a lot could happen if we go to the temples at different times...." At that exact moment Cal remembered what his biggest worry had been ever since he had decided to go to the tournament, and he regretted not voicing it earlier. The result of Snype's first Mega transformation stuck in his mind uneasily.

With a repulsed look, Cythera cast Aromatherapy on Kaveri. She knew it wasn't able to cure drunkenness or she'd be less careful with alcohol herself, but she figured it could at least make the Floatzel seem a bit more... pleasant at the moment.

A loud thump accompanied Cal hopping down from his seat. He stood up all the way, cracked his neck back and forth, and stared towards the door. "Take care of Kav till she sobers up a bit guys. I need to go have a talk with James. Cythera, I'd like you to come with me."

The Floette looked at Cal with surprise. She was unsure at first, silently holding onto her drink, but she quickly came to an answer. "I hope you don't plan on doing anything stupid, but since you're asking for me I'm pretty sure that's exactly what you plan on doing." With the umpteenth sigh of the day, Cythera chugged the rest of her drink and floated up from her seat to follow Cal. She looked over to Raz and Vee and called, "Have Vee come and get me when I'm needed again." She wondered if she should bring Rattles along as well, but considering the 'mon they were going to see she decided against it.

Kaveri shook her head to try to clear it as she propped herself up on the bar, squinting at Cal in an effort to focus herself. "Eh? The f*uck you doing, bro? Better not mush up mah match, we fightin' fair 'n' square, no funny noses."

"I wouldn't dream of it, 'sis'." Cal soothed. "But I need to ask him about something that I'm not sure can wait until after the tournament anymore." He turned to the Floette and clinked his mug against the - practically a thimble - cup her cider was in with seemingly-impossible gentleness. "Don't worry Cythera, I won't be doing anything stupid. But it hit me that if James answers my question, it might be even more important for you to hear it than for me."

"Is that so..." Cythera mused. A thought occurred to her that seemed to blow away whatever uneasiness had been plaguing her. "Well, lets not waste anymore time!"

"Right!" Without further ado, Cal kicked the doors to the bar open in true Karnian fashion, and stepped outside. He took only a moment to turn and look back into the room while he held a door for Cythera. "We'll be back soon guys, hopefully with progress. And Snype, remember, if you take advantage of my sister having too much to drink, you'll wonder how you could ever have even been nervous about Edgar with me around." He finished with a wink, but even the good natured gesture wasn't enough to make it seem like Cal was completely joking.

Without asking, Cythera floated up to Cal's shoulder and sat down, not bothering to look back at the rest of the group either. "Definitely more comfortable than Rattles," she judged. "...If a bit leathery."

"Wha-" Snype looked down at the drunken Kaveri and up to Cal, pointing to himself and then down to her. "Kehehe, Comon I'm not that bad right? Comon vouch for me Kav!" Snype said in a joking tone, nudging Kaveri. The Sableye finally drank up his third mug. He had some catching up to do if he was going to get as into this as Kav. "Ahh... t...thats the spot..."

"Hmm..." Vee pondered to himself after listening briefly to everyone input their comments. "Theoretically, I may be able to get close enough to the Temple of Balance to drop Cal and Kav off before the next round begins. Since that Temple is closer to our drop-in port than the Temple of Life," He explained. "It would be up to them, but technically we could do it..."

"Ey! Hey you!" A Kecleon suddenly hissed toward the group. He seemed to have had one drink too many. "I heard ya...! Heard ya talking to Emps! Ya think you're big time 'mon, huh? Think yer so special cuz you know him, huh?! Huh?!" He demanded.

Snype chugged a fourth mug and just stared down at the Kecleon. "...k...keh... the heck are you sposed to be?"

"Who'm I? WHO'M I!?" The Kecleon repeatedly drunkenly. "I'm the fuggin best, that's who I am! I'm from the streets, and you pieces of sh*t are nuttin but a buncha Emps-hanging dumbasses!" He approached Snype, seemingly attempt to throw a punch at him. "Buawh!" He swung, though with little chance to seemingly hit.

Snype scooted back and avoided the incoming punch, not that it would have hit him anyways. "Kehehe, wanna try again bud?" Snype chuckled.

The Kecleon stumbled and turned drunkenly, his skin slight morphing from his normal type and altering to a more darker tone. "Ya think yer so smart, huh? Know what I gotta say to that?" The Kecleon slurred. He attempted to run at Snype again, but stumbled before he reached him, and trip and looked like he was about to fall on the Sableye. He was caught by Snype before he fell down. He groaned, and muttered lowly. "... what color are the ice sheets of Titan?" He asked in a low voice.

"Ack!" Snype caught the Kecleon but was still taken aback, falling off of his seat with him. "...Blood Red, but not for long." Snype whispered back before shifting around a bit. At least falling down made it easier to keep their voices concealed.

"Please," Raz murmured, resting a hand on his forehead. "Please, someone give me an excuse..."

"Throw me outside, and follow me there later," The Kecleon ordered. "Make it look convincing. We need you. Now. Tonight, it all begins."

"Kyeh! G-get off me! A little too forward! What's your deal?" Snype grunted as the Sableye shoved the Kecleon off of him. He had to make this convincing enough. Surely the Kecleon would follow suit.

"Gya! You good for nuddin..." He tried to push at Snype again, stumbling forward at him.

"Should... should we intervene?" Percival questioned.

"Hey! Hand's off" Snype grunted, catching him again. "Look I'm taken buddy! Move!" Snype said as he gave him another hard shove, stepping forward at him. The last shove caused the Kecleon to stumbled back. His leg got caught in a stool behind him, and he continued stumbling straight through the window of the bar to the outside.

"Oi!" The Croconaw shouted. "Get your asses out of my bar!" He demanded. "F*cking tourists... breaking sh*t..." He mumbled to himself.

"Gah!..." Snype grunted. "No I'll go. Let them enjoy themselves. I've screwed up enough." Snype sighed.

"Then GIT OUT!" The Croconaw shouted.

The Sableye sneered and stormed outside of the bar. "Have fun folks. I'll be somewhere."

A little meeting with James - Featuring Captain Callimer Thaddeus Vian and the dread parrot Cythera

Erble's streets were strangely peaceful at the moment Cal stepped out of the bar with Cythera in tow. The tournament seemed to be giving many of the visitors and residents a good outlet for their aggression by proxy, though it didn't stop there being an assortment of skirmishes and scuffles sprouting up regularly anyways. He'd heard more than enough talk around the Coliseum to know which tavern James was staying at, especially after his 'brutal slaughter of that serving lieutenant', so he wasted no time bringing Cythera there. When they arrived, Cal unceremoniously pushed the door open hard enough for it to slam loudly, and stepped inside among all the staring eyes. He felt bad for drawing attention so obviously while he had Cythera with him, but they had no time to waste, and Cal's good mood was more than gone just thinking about the upcoming events. "Where is General James?!"

Most of the patrons glanced at Callimer and Cythera as they burst through. Most, if not all, recognized him from the tournament, so the normal Karnian reacted may not have happened. Instead, they silently turned from Callimer toward the far end of the tavern, where a one-eyed Blaziken seemed to be enjoying a casual drink. "I wasn't expecting company," James announced himself from the far side.

Once he knew where James was, all the other patrons may as well have been statues to the Dragonite, and he didn't even spare any of them a single glance as he approached the Blaziken general. Cal didn't feel like going through the trouble of finding a seat that would actually fit his rump and tail, so he simply stood by James' table while he spoke. "James, we need to talk before the tournament continues, and sadly since it starts with something Snype and I asked about before, I'm not sure it can be the pleasant chat I'd prefer to have with a warrior of your caliber."

James cocked an eyebrow and leaned back in his booth. He sighed and gestured for the two to sit down at his table. "Let's get this over with."

"Right." Cal answered dryly, sliding into the booth and tucking his tail to the side so no passers-by would trip on it. "I'm going to be blunt here James. I need to know more about Mega Evolution. I can live with only ever being able to use it twice...but the recovery time Snype went through, I'm not sure we can afford to do that again - that I can afford to let myself be out of commission that long. I absolutely have to know how you stay standing after you go back to normal, or - failing that - if there's anything we could do to allow a pokémon with a talent for healing to shorten the recovery time afterwards."

Despite having plenty of space to sit, Cythera opted to stay on Cal's shoulder. She looked at James expectantly. "Neither my regenerative nor my rejuvenative abilities seemed to have much effect, so there has to be something else to it than simple body damage."

James crossed his legs and sighed. "It does. It damages your soul," He answered. "I know how it sounds, I used to not believe in that sh*t too, but seeing is believing. Do you remember what I said the Mega Stones contain? It's the memories and souls and power of all those Dragonites who've used it before. Your kin. And in an instant, all of that goes into you. No regular healing will cure that. Only a legendary, or one who walks with the legendaries, can. For me, the answer was Gabriel. What's yours, I wonder?"

Callimer was silent, staring down at the table without a word, and without even blinking. The potential of Cythera learning how to mega evolve, or otherwise harness a stone's power the way Raz wanted to occurred to him, but so did Vee's words.

"He asked for it," James suddenly interjected, breaking the Dragonite's thoughts. "The Vigoroth Serving friend of yours I fought," James clarified. "He asked me to do it. You have to understand, I don't make it a habit of killing those who've lost the ability to fight on. It leaves a dirty taste in the mouth. I'd knock him down, and keep him in his place," James chuckled and shook his head. "The stupid son of a bitch just stood up again. He told me... he said he was afraid to die. That he didn't want to do it. I don't blame him. Who would? But he said to me that even though he was afraid, there was something else he wanted even more," James paused for a moment and rubbed his shoulder. "To be free," He stated. "I ended up checking the records later, Greg keeps a nice bit of them on Serving kills. No idea how he manages it so well, but... that Sen guy had close to his quota. Upper 900s. It wouldn't have taken him that much longer to make it there. And yet, even then, at some point on his way up, whether by looking around at the world, or realizing it himself, he knew that even if he reached it, even if he was free from the Serving, he wouldn't ever really be free. He'd still be trapped in a world he was put into. Chosen or not, nobody wants to be trapped in a life of misery. Of pain," The Blaziken examined his hand, he held it up, showing that it was slowly trembling without the Grand General doing anything. He clenched his fist. "Sometimes, they just want to be free."

Cythera muttered something under her breath, a look of contempt on her face that didn't really seem directed at anyone.

Cal stayed quiet even longer, properly digesting the implications of what he'd just heard before he dared speak. His eyes alighted on James' shaking hand, and he knew that part of his assumption had been right. "I never had any doubt that you hadn't murdered Sen in cold blood James...But I just wish Sen had waited a bit longer before he did something so rash. I wanted to give him, and all the other Serving the true freedom they wished for, one that would still let them live in this world that's been so cruel to them until now... But he made his decision, and he's had a long time to think about it, it isn't my place to say he was wrong." Cal let out a dragon-sized sigh and leaned back in the booth, making it creak the slightest bit. "I also know you to have a certain amount of honor, certainly more than any sane 'mon would expect from a mercenary and one of Darkrai's most powerful subordinates. Despite all that I still feel like an idiot for being willing to talk to you so openly about such important things...but I suppose if you get what you really want out of this tournament you won't be one of Gabriel's agents much longer, will you?" He raised an eyebrow, but didn't bother elaborating, James would know what he was guessing at.

"I appreciate you answering my questions, and for telling me about Sen. Even with my guesses, it's really been weighing on my mind. I have one more thing to ask of you James, and this time it's a request. It would be presumptuous of me to assume that this tournament will come down to me and you, but if it does, I have some concerns about the outcome. First of all, I ask - with every ounce of humility I can muster - if you could find it in your heart, to put in your vote as a grand general with General Hugh to have Edgar completely abolish the practice of the Serving and their count. In all honesty it's one of the first things I intend to do if I can beat you and become a general, but in light of your ability to understand how Sen - and who knows how many other serving - felt about real, honest-to-goodness freedom, I hope that maybe you could make the vote yourself if you win the tournament and still hold your position at the end of it."

James listened to the Dragonite speak, before he shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on how interesting you, Kav and Snype end up being, if I face the three of you. If you make it interesting... maybe I'll consider it."

"I suppose that's it then." Cal said, sliding out of the booth and standing to his full height. "Thanks for speaking with me, James. It was a good talk, and a productive one. I'll see you at the next round of the tournament, I look forward to seeing how the match between you and my sister goes. Let's be off Cythera."