Obsidian - Rescuers​

A group of Pokemon appeared suddenly below a watertower in a small village on the outskirts of Karn. It was led by Obsidian and Hugh, with three other Serving warriors behind: a Swellow, Starmie, and Blastoise. The Kadabra Serving who led them there was also present. Hugh looked around, and nodded, recognizing the area. Having already spoken to Obsidian about the area and where the warehouse was, the group proceeded southbound, where they expected to run into the shack.

And it wasn't long before they did. In the not too far distance, the shack could be made out, with the Vibrava and Magmortar standing in front of it. "This is it," Hugh stated with a nod. "We act fast and swift. Handle the Vibrava," He ordered the other Serving. "I will deal with Mance. Are you ready?" Hugh questioned Obsidian.

Obsidian frowned, "... Possibly." He stated. "I... I am not sure, but we're here now." He clenched a hand shut, "Let's just get it over with."

Hugh nodded and proceeded forward, along with his other Serving warriors. They approached the shack casually, taking a front approach rather than any surprise attack. The Magmortar and Vibrava were chatting about something before they noticed the group approaching. The Vibrava raised an eyebrow while Mance just glared at the group sternly.

"This is private property," The Vibrava announced to the group. "Approach any further, and you're dead 'mon."

"The property may be private, but the 'mon inside of it aren't yours," Hugh responded as he continued his pace. The Vibrava widened his eyes and glanced at Mance, who continued to look silently at the group.

"Who... what..." The Vibrava began, before taking a better look at the soldiers. "Serving slaves," He spat on the ground, before glaring at the Arcanine. "And the slave General, in the flesh."

"I'm only going to ask you once," Hugh stated sternly as he finally stopped about five meters from the two in front of the shack. The rest of the Serving stopped behind him. "Give up the captives now, or be destroyed."

"Destroyed?" The Vibrava laughed incredulously. "By slaves? Do you eve-"

"You can take 'em," Mance interrupted and told the Serving with a waive of his hand.

Obsidian glanced warily at Hugh, "... This is obviously some sort of trap." He looked at Mance, "You're just giving them up? Just like that? After all the time you've spent keeping them captive?"

"Yup," Mance replied as he took a step from the door. The Vibrava beside him was in utter shock.

"A-are you kidding me?!" The Vibrava shouted to the Magmortar, closing in on him. "Have you lost your mind? We're not giving them up! Who said you had any sa-" Before the Vibrava could finish his sentence, the Magmortar grabbed hold of the Vibrava, tossed him into the air behind the shack, and unleashed a furious, powerful Fire Blast on him. The Vibrava's screamed could be heard through the intense flames as he was blasted through the air and settled down on the ground somewhere out of sight behind the shack.

"Annoying f*ck," The Magmortar hissed under his breath. He looked back at Hugh and Obsidian. "Yeah, go take 'em."

Obsidian didn't approach the door or anything, "... You spend all this time just guarding them. I don't understand. You hid them away, took great pains to make sure that as little knew about this.. and you're just.... you're giving them away?" The Weavile asked.

"Yeah," Mance repeated. "Unlike my dumba*s associate over there," He explained as he gestured to the Vibrava he had just blasted away. "I'm not an idiot. I know who I'm talking to," He gestured to Hugh. "That there's General Hugh. Lotsa 'mon in Karn disrespect the sh*t out of him because he used to be a slave or whatever. I don't give a f*ck about any of that, I know how strong he is. He'sa Grand General of Karn. Meaning he's one of the six strongest 'mon. In all of f*cking Karn. Could I take him on one on one?" Mance shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. I like my chances. Maybe I might win, maybe not. It'll be close, and I'll give him hell, I know that," He nodded. "I also know those f*cks. Geralt," He gestured with his arm at the Blastoise. "Last I heard you were at 800 of your one-thousand kills to be free. Minna," He pointed to the Starmie. 500? And you," He pointed to the Swellow. "... actually I don't know who the f*ck you are, but I'm guessing you're also one of Hugh's top boys. And you," He pointed to Obsidian. "Same thing. So yeah, if it were just Hugh here, and me, you bet your a*s they're paying me enough to fight. Plus being a Grand General sounds pretty cool. But Hugh and four of his boys, against me and f*ckboy over there?" He pointed to where the Vibrava landed. "I think I'll just live, thanks. I'm a merc, not a believer."

"Believer?" Obsidian inquired, "... Are you speaking of what Alai says?"

Mance shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, whatever." After he concluded, Hugh gestured for the other Serving along with the Kadabra to go inside of the shack, while Hugh remained outside with Mance and Obsidian.

Obsidina crossed his arms, "This doesn't make sense though..." Obsidian shook his head, "Alai knew that we would get involved." He turned to Hugh, "He said that there would be enough chaos here to ensure they won. Yet they kept the point open, allowed us open access, and did nothing to halt us or to ensure that they could end the war here and now. None of this makes sense at all."

"It does seem odd..." Hugh agreed as his thoughts trailed off.

Mance shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, you got someone lookin' out for you," He stated. "No way it should have just been us here right now. There was definitely someone here before, so we notified peeps and they were supposed to send a sh*tton of reinforcements. And they respond quickly, believe me. When you appeared, and our guys didn't yet, I knew nobody was comin'."

"Intriguing..." Hugh murmured. "Someone else? Who else could have assisted?"

"Obviously someone who didn't want Dragon guy beating the Emps and becoming Emps," Mance shrugged. "I stopped caring to figure out who."

"... You know all about the match going on?" Obsidian muttered out. "And someone wants to keep Gabriel from winning... it doesn't make sense, Hugh. Literally no one else in Daggen will assist us. or would know about any of this. Unless one of Alai's men stopped it, but that doesn't make any lick of sense either."

"Of course I know about the match, it's the Erble f*cking tournament, everyone hears about it," Mance replied harshly. "And we all heard the challenge General Alai let out. And I know this group of foreign f*cks is with the Dragon guy. So it's not hard to put two and two together."

"That still does not answer who would could have done this," Hugh retorted, but mostly spoke to himself. "It was not anyone from my army. And obviously it would not be anyone from the Agent's armies. Your allies also probably do not have that kind of pull in Karn either, they have only just arrived."

"General!" The Blastoise stated as he wandered back outside from the shack. "Prisoners good. No bad wounds. Good health. Ready to go."

Hugh nodded. "... good. We'll finish up here in a bit, Geralt."

Obsidian nodded, "I'll go check on them. At the very least get them a bit more up to speed. ... Thanks, Hugh." He made his way to the shack.

Inside, the Serving had already removed the chains from the prisoners. The group seemed greatful, albeit somewhat confused. The same group Obsidian encountered before was there: a Patrat, Bagon, Luxray, Lycanroc, Vigoroth, Houndoom, and Druddigon.

Obsidian glanced among them, quickly relating that Percy was currently fighting in the tournament. They would have to get all of them to safety before any reinforcements came, and to make sure Percy got the news.

"I see..." The Houndoom responded finally after Obsidian had told them about Percival's predicament. "We will, of course, go. But... what of the others of our company?"

"Fifteen there were total yet seven are among us," The Bagon added on.

Obsidian looked away, "They are... around." He said, hesitation in his voice, "I really need to transport you all back to Hugh's encampment. You'll be safer there then out here."

The Bagon blinked at Obsidian once, and looked around at the others. They all nodded their heads, and so the Bagon did as well toward Obsidian. "We art forever grateful for thou assistance, warrior."

Obsidian just meekly shrugged, "I needed help." He gestured to the others, "Thank them. They did the real leg work. Now we need to get moving before anyone is sent this way."

With a grunt of distaste, Razathiel set to work. The ineffectually torturous death that Xander had suffered left the Ralts with a bitter taste in his mouth - a disappointing reminder of why he didn't usually bother with torture. Granted, this was something of a freebie in that the drawing out of the Beast's death was just a side-effect of Groudon's Farewell, not actually requiring any effort on the Dreadmage's part. But though Xander's passing was certainly beneficial it wasn't as satisfying as the wizard had hoped; the Ursaring had remained stoically aligned with Darkrai's cause for whatever reason - Raz couldn't imagine why - and with equal stoicism had blunted most of the acclaim Razathiel sought to take from the shattering of the supposedly-invincible Beast's ego. A mediocre experience for the wizard overall, certainly, and the irritating sensation of the gash in his torso he still had yet to tend to only served as further insult - the unerring accuracy of the Aerial Ace technique be damned. First things first: with the Ursaring dead he could not resist - Raz tore the head from the corpse with the surgical precision befitting a psyker of his expertise. He debated whether he should keep it as a trophy afterwards, but decided against it; he hadn't as much taste for such grisly trophies as he supposed he probably should, and as he considered it further he decided that commemorating this event in such a way was probably giving his enemy a little too much credit. Still, the deed was done: Xander was no more, and wouldn't be coming back without a head. Or, alternatively, with just a head. That was the important thing, and for all the smaller details that irked the mage, Razathiel could at least take satisfaction that he had, in fact, succeeded.

Secondly, he scanned the area; not a trace of the plant remained. A minor shame, but he had suspected as much - still worth checking. Next on the list: his staff. Reunited at last! Intense flames and precise waves of psychic force soon tore any and all impurities and imperfections from the rod's surface and shape. Worn out though he was, the Dreadmage would not stoop to neglecting the care of his staff. Strange, he had not considered how much he appreciated that particular item until it was taken from him - perhaps he was a little more possessive than he let on. It did a lot for his look, he realised, and indeed for others' looks upon him. It was a lot more awkward to have to float up to a decent enough height to be at eye-level or, at the very least, waist level; hopping up on his staff was much preferred. He applied slightly more flaming attention to the staff's base, then turned his attention to the next item on the agenda: injuries. Blasted things. While his ego would prefer to forget they existed, the rational side of the wizard's brain was a little more concerned about survival and instead sought fast and efficient ways to provide treatment. With a gesture, a Psychic bubble expanded from nothing into a cocoon that covered the Ralts' small form entirely and then some, pushing away the dust in the air. A small pocket of space tore open within the bubble, and Razathiel's armour clanked off of him into the aether with barely a movement on his part, his slightly battered robe soon following. With practised competence the red-hot staff was guided by invisible hand to the mage's wounds, which were sealed shut by the heat. Raz allowed himself only the slightest flinch, even alone as he was, as the metal did its work and the balm-covered bandages floated out from his Magic Room to cover the wounds entirely.

Treatment applied, a clean robe floated out from the tear in space and covered the wizard before the rift sealed itself shut. Razathiel sighed and dropped to the floor afterwards; he'd expended a lot of Psychic energy in the fight, and general exhaustion from exertion and injury didn't help. A short rest, at least, would allow him to prepare - no, perfect - a speech for Xander's goons. Raz was a villain of epic proportions - at least in the mental sense, if not the physical - and could effortlessly pluck rousing and emotive strings of words and weave them in ways the riff-raff could only dream of rivaling; extra time to prepare would only offer perhaps, an icing-on-the-cake of sorts? A cough from the Ralts. No need to be silly about it - his skill with language was perhaps notable, but not something that really had the capacity to be considered worthy of dreaming about, not when most people used the same bloody dictionary, anyway. Not something he particularly needed to bother trying to justify to himself in such a grandiose way. Also, not all that related to villainy, either. The Dreadmage hmphed. Failing to justify his musings to himself and, as Xander had evidently shown, to others as well. Perhaps that was the reason he was ending up injured a little more severely lately. Or it could be that he was simply facing more challenging opponents? The two theories were equally plausible.

A situation has presented itself, then: when you claim yourself invincible but face opponents of increasing strength who will likely prove you wrong, how much worth is there in continuing the false pretence? Raz was not blind, not as blind as that bastard Xander was - one of these days he would be hit, and it would be obvious enough. If he'd taken that blast of Darkrai's, how would he have played that off? The hole in Guardia's chest had been about as big as he was... he supposed, at least, he could pass off being totally evaporated as having teleported away. Being dead would make that level of deception a little more difficult than it otherwise would be, though. The wizard paused, refusing to shudder but feeling the thoughts gnaw at him still. He shook it off - without actually shaking, of course. There were still a large range of injuries between the ones he had taken so far - ones he could deal with - and utter evisceration that could have nothing done about it. Was it better to continue pretences of invulnerability with the risk of that facade being brought to a destructive end, or was there an alternative through which perceived strength could be realised? He supposed there were plenty of reputable villains who suffered momentary defeat only to come back stronger. Also, was there strength to be found in being able to deal with injuries where there was none in never attaining any? He supposed, with a healer with a power arguably rivalling that of the so-called 'legendaries' on the side he was fighting on, now - as vitriolic as she may be - that there could be much to gain from, if not dropping his ego entirely, reducing it in a controlled manner. Such a reduction would also prevent an utter fall from grace - or rather, whatever the more villain-y opposite of grace was.

But there was a thought. A single case this may be, but how much truth did that hold for the rest of what he did? Was there much to be gained from maintaining any pretence at this point?

A dark chuckle. An entertaining thought, though just barely. His villainy is what has kept him alive thus far - to even attempt a rethink now, with so much riding on him? Hilariously dangerous, if even possible; what would change? Deciding even the smallest adjustment outside of safety would be impossible to judge or determine - and who would decide what was what? Did he even know? Such things had protected him, they had nurtured him, and they had become him. Rather late now, eh? But he had known that already, surely. Had this thought come up before? He should know better. This single alteration, if he allowed it, would be the only alteration until another presented itself as absolutely necessary. Best not rest much longer - he should keep himself busy.

Razathiel stood with a grunt, the rest having done little to assuage his fatigue. Still, that little should be enough, the wizard decided; with an invisible force he brought Xander's head to him and headed out, back to the plaza. Once in his sight again, he lifted the head above himself and took off on a blast of magical energy. The odd addition of Xander's head did nothing to help the Ralts' manoeuvrability, but without much in the way it proved only a slight annoyance. A good (evil) fifty feet above the centre of the plaza, Razathiel held the severed head of the Beast aloft and spoke, his Psychic power amplifying the relatively meagre waves of sound his voice produced to send them rebounding off of walls throughout the city.

"Attention, peons of the so-called 'Beast'! In spite of the ghostly lackeys he summoned to distract me - I suppose a last resort to deter his impending doom - Xander Eidragon lies slain by my hand alone! Gaze upon his ugly, stupid face!" With a wave of his hand, Xander's disembodied head began to fly in a slow arc around the plaza, though with this distance Raz had to wonder how much it was really visible and if the floating around helped at all. At least, he supposed, he had tried. "Now I suppose that means that command falls to me, but honestly this piddly little force pales in comparison to what I should be commanding - that being everything on this plane and the next, everything on all the others and all the nothing in the void between them - so I'll make my demands quick! I'm not much for this rebellion nonsense; my hate burns with the heat of a thousand stars at one 'mon in particular: Darkrai, that fool, that pretender who would audaciously go to war with me! So if you were pumped up on this rebellion and you're such a savage, animal idiot that you lack the ability to temper your adrenaline in any way, shape, or form, I tell you this! Go North, to the Karnian border, and clash with the Dark prick's army instead! That'll really shit in his sandwich..." The Dreadmage trailed off, floating back down to the ground and carelessly lifting his grasp on Xander's head.

Murmurs spread around the plaza and beyond. Most of the Pokemon gathered looked at the dismembered head of Xander with disbelief, but others were more surprise by who had done him in.

"And who the f*ck are you?" One Sudowoodo decided to be brave enough to ask. Most other Pokemon in the area had already stopped bothering to continue fighting. Whatever happened next, Xander's rebellion seemed to swiftly losing its steam.

"Oh, shit!" The Ralts exclaimed, before reapplying the psychic amplification to his voice and floating back up a decent distance. "Razathiel, the Dreadmage! Feared magician, deadly psyker, harbinger of all evil! In case you were wondering." And with that he floated back down again and began waddling to where he'd last seen Cythera and Rattles.

The Sudowoodo looked back and forth between other soldiers. Many had already lowered banners they had, others just stood there dumbfoundedly. A few seemed to enjoy Raz's speech. The Sudowoodo eventually raised his arm in the air. "General Razathiel!" He called out, to which others raised their arms as well.

"I think the idiots like you," Cythera said dryly as she dispelled her camouflage. With a wave of her hand she granted a quick, final heal to Rattles, who was finishing off yet another fire type. "Can we go now?"

"Everyone likes me," the wizard countered, ambling over slowly so as not to disturb his torso. "Some people just happen to also hate me. Most people, even. Where would we be going? I doubt Alai decided to wait up for us, so... Erble? Daggen?"

"I don't care, as long as I can take a well deserved break," she grumbled. "though it's less the healing that tired me, and more just chasing Xander all over the fucking country." She opened her mouth to say more, but stopped and frowned. "...On second thought, we should probably go to Erble. After seeing how Snype ended up, the others will probably need my help. At least if we want them to be of any use in case anything else goes down there."

"Well," Entered another voice as Vee appeared behind the group, glancing over at Xander's head. He seemed tired, and a small gash was below his left eye. "Looks like it all worked out. Good thing too, it was getting a bit hectic..." Vee shook his head and concentrated back on the others. "To Erble, then? I figure things will sort of play themselves out over here. After your whole... well, speech, the Karnians seemed to have calmed down... pretty darn quickly."

"Oh! Vee, er... yes, indeed. I suppose the feckless twits being so fickle is beneficial in this instance, if not so many others," Razathiel mused. The wizard glanced around, then perked up for a moment as he remembered something. "Ah, and before I forget, I may have conceived some developments of sorts regarding mega stone manipulation. When next there is time, we should discuss it - er, incidentally..." with an annoyed grunt, the Ralts craned his neck upward from Vee as he turned to Cythera. "Are you well? I assume the tiredness isn't something unusual, and if anything was bothersome healing ability would be a means of cushioning if not curing. Still, nothing to speak of, nothing that required any healing, or anything?"

Cythera raised an eyebrow at her companion. ?Is the terrible dreadmage worried about me? Well there?s no need. If there was anything I couldn?t handle then we?d all be dead. Though I appreciate the thought.? Despite her words, there was a telling sluggishness to her movements. Rattles looked at her curiously, but said nothing. "What are we waiting for, then?"

"Yes, the terrible Dreadmage is worried about you," Raz parroted, blowing a raspberry afterwards for good measure. Evil measure, rather. "I'm asking if you've had any inklings of anything out of the ordinary since..." The wizard paused, lifting his staff from the ground to wave at the length of the Mega Florges' form. "This. Granted, the process of transforming you is done, but the experiment as a whole is far grander in scope, and remains ongoing! It's, uh, me, is what it is. I'm what makes the scope grand. Ha! Just gathering data for my own purposes - though, egh... I suppose if there were something, I would be the only qualified 'mon to help. In retrospect, I guess there must be nothing; you probably would have complained incessantly to Vee or I about it if there was - let's go, Vee."

Vee nodded, glancing between Cythera and Raz, as well as giving a small look toward Rattles to ensure the silent fighter was still present as well. "Alright, and sure. Next time we have a moment, we can look into that. Let's go."

Kaveri could hear the sounds of Callimer and Percival's fight clearly from the recovery room she was sharing with Snype, and it was making her rather fidgety. She hated being stuck here where she couldn't see what was going on, but The Emerald Sentinel had done quite the number on her in their own fight just the other day and she was still recovering from a few broken bones. She was also feeling rather squirmy. She hadn't been very focused on it considering the tournament, but now that she was out of the fight for the time being... It was hard to get her mind off of her last conversation with Snype. When she'd confessed some rather, uh... deep feelings for him. And right now here she was, stuck in a room with the Sableye in a bed right across from her. Not that she minded, but it felt mildly awkward as her gaze kept casually flicking over to him.

Snype was probobly in worse condition then Kav. Worse then the last time he was in bed having nearly convinced Percy that Snype was killed in the previous fight and all. It hopefully did some mental damage enough to support Cal or at least get Percy to think things out more properly. He had to somehow return the favor but he couldn't do a whole lot being stuck in a bed again. Where's a mega healer when you need one? The Sableye glanced over to Kav as best as he could, noticing her looking over every so often. "Kehehehe, we really need to stop meeting like this huh?" The Sableye joked. "I think I've been injured in some manner every time we've chatted lately huh?" Kehe-a-aahhhh..." the Sableye couldn't even use his laugh without nearly breaking something.

Ah, she'd been caught. Oh well. "I don't think anyone's getting outta Karn with out at least a dozen broken bones first," Kaveri responded with a dry chuckle. "At least we're still alive to tell the tale!" She let out a small huff as she leaned back in her bed. "Still can't believe Cal took my General title from me so quickly, though. I was kinda having fun with it."

"Kehehe, oh yeah! You were technically a general after that last fight! Shame you didn't get to boss anybody around during that time. Keheh-o-ow!" Snype grunted. Cursed habits. "W-well, least you took out an agent while you were at it... glad he's taken care of. Shame I didn't get to take him out but guess its better I don't blow another Mega Evolution. Need to save it for when it matters ya know?" Snype said, with a small sigh.

Kaveri agreed with a light hum. "Yeah, I'm hoping I can avoid using it again. I'd rather save it for Darkrai." Her eyes suddenly sparkled eagerly. "Can you imagine, every one of us going Mega at once and kicking his butt?"

"Kehehe, oh yeah. That's what I'm hopeing for. We'll crush him with a full army of Mega Evolved mon. Maybe I'll even get a closer look at your own Mega form when we do eh? Kehehehe. Coudn't really see it much through all the explosions and water" The Sableye teased. "Kehehe, I was almost tempted to waste mine in the last fight but figured it'd just be smarter to get wrecked all over again and have Cal or you take over depending on who won anyways."

"I didn't really even wanna use it in that fight, but boy, pretty sure I would've been literal toast if I hadn't! I mean, Mega alone wasn't enough against James even. I probably wouldn't have beat 'im without Wildfire's gift." Kaveri hooked a finger under her float to pull out the small vial with black flames flickering inside, dangling it from a string. "It was a pretty hard choice using this, honestly. It's all Cal and I have left of her."

"Keheh, its a good thing ya did. James is no joke... wouldn't have been good to hold anything back on him. I'm happy you got out of it in one piece at least. Too many close calls in this tournament. As soon as I get out of this bed I have to get back to work myself." The Sableye grunted a little at the small movement.

"Want a pillow to make yourself more comfortable in the meanwhile? I'm pretty sure I could at least make it over there, even I can't make it to the stands," Kaveri said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. She was definitely joking. Probably.

Snype smirked at Kav. "Kehehehe, wouldn't mind that~ don't want ya to break anything on the way though. Kehehe" The Sableye said playfully. "Though actually another pillow would be kinda nice. Eheheh. I feel worse then I did after the last battle royale I got out of. Haha." He added.

"Well, I'll be right over then!" Kaveri announced, a goofy grin spread across her face. The Floatzel stood up... far too suddenly and after a step promptly collapsed. After a few moments of silence, a low, pained groan came from the heap of blue fur on the floor. "I'm... ok! I'm ok!" She wobbled back to her feet, looking somewhat dazed as she blinked down at Snype. Well, she was already halfway there anyways, so she might as well finish the trip. Now stepping forward much more slowly and deliberately, Kaveri managed to make it over to his bedside and proceeded to crumple into a ball at the head of his bed. "New pillow, ahoy! Do as you will!" came the somewhat muffled voice as she flopped a paw welcomingly about in the air.

The Sableye slightly adjusted himself as Kav provided him a new "Pillow". Nice and fluffy on top of that. "Kehehehe, silly girl. One step out of bed and almost losing a leg! Well least ya made the trip! Could use someone to cuddle with right now." The Sableye grinned, resting his head on her lightly. Snype looked down at himself and searched around for his berry pouch. He was still dressed in his cloak from after the battle. Not the best shape but it was still holding on, minus the stench of blood. He still had a decent supply at least. He reached in to the pouch attatched to his cloak and pulled out a small Oran berry and passed one up to Kaveri. "kehehe, here, got a few of these. Oughta help us heal up a little faster." The Sableye smiled.

Kaveri gladly accepted the Oran berry, chomping into the sumptious fruit as juices dribbled down her chin and onto the bed. Eh, well... no harm done, right? She carefully repositioned herself so that Snype's head was on her chest so that her arms were at least a little more mobile.

"Kheheh, feelin a little better already? Don't wanna break anything while layin on ya." Snype said while laying down. He looked down at his tattered cloak and shuffled it off his body. "Ahhh much better. Kehe"

"Nah, don't worry about me! If I can take one of Cal's punches I can take a wittle Sableye sitting on me," Kaveri said with a small chuckle. She did wince a bit at the initial pressure of Snype's body against hers, but after a few moments the aching faded and she found this to be quite snug. Taking another chomp out of her berry, she tilted her head down a the Sableye. "So... you survived the tourney after all, eh?"

"Keheh... Looks like it. I've lost count of how many times I've cheated death now. Guess that luck comes with being the king eh?" Snype smirked confidently. "Surprised I got through that battle royale. I had to really release my inner Karn to live."

"It is pretty lucky. I thought the Emperor was gonna jump down and fight you himself!" She let out a low whistle. "That probably wouldn't have ended well. And after your fight with Percival, I could've sworn you were done for."

"Hehehe aww the kings not gonna die that easily" He winked up at her. "But it was pretty close... Heh. Sorry if I worried your cute little butt back there. Getting into near death situations is kinda common lately for me" he said in a half reading tone. He was hoping he wouldn't have to explain what really happened back there... His silliness was an attempt to dodge the question.

Popping the last bit of the Oran berry into her mouth, Kaveri licked the last of the juices from her paw before lightly ruffling the fuzz on Snype head. "Eh, all that matters is you're here, am I right? I just hope this doesn't mean someone else is gonna have to go down for it." She paused as she realized how that might sound. "Not saying I'd rather it be you. I'd just rather it not be anyone."

Once Kav said that, Abel suddenly came to mind... as well as what Celebi said before. "...Yeah. Hopefully nobody else takes the hit for me. Keheheh... I'm just glad to be alive in general. Just glad the Emperor didn't jump down and fight me himself. I seriously expected him to do it. Cheatin death is just how I roll I spose." Snype smiled, nudging up against her. The only way anyone else would take the hit would be if something changed... and Snype couldn't exactly tell her what had really happened. He was afraid she was already assuming the possibility though.

Luckily, Kaveri didn't seem keen on pondering the topic any longer. Whatever would come would come anyways, right? "So what're your plans now with the tourney done? Just gonna wait around til thinks kick up again?"

"Not sure. Really need to see what everyone else has accomplished before I decide. I get the feeling that we're reaching the end of the road pretty soon." Snype said. "Once we get Karn's Support, I think all that's left is to take out Darkrai and take back our home. And after that..." Snype paused. "Well... I dunno really."

"I don't think any of us have really gotten that far," Kaveri said, continuing on as she gave Snype the side-eye. "Though... I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered running off to join the Thieves."

"Hehehehe, can't stand to stay too far away from lil ol me eh?" The Sableye gave her a sly wink. "Dating the King of Thieves would definately turn some heads over at Gold City eh? Keheheh. Always wondered what fun rumors and gossip spread around there. I always imagined I had some kinda small group of fans that would make up stories of my antics." Snype laughed.

"I think most of the girls were probably more concerned that you'd pop out and steal their fancy purses," Kaveri responded with a laugh.

"Hahaha! Well then that'd be smart of em! Guess I ended up stealing one of their hearts in the process though eh?" He winked again. "Ya know when we first met I had a feeling you would have made a great thief. Takes some guts to pick me out of the crowd and try pick pocketing me. Kehehe"

Kaveri lifted her shoulders in a shrug, a small smirk on her muzzle. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a pretty gutsy gal," she said with a wink of her own. "And you may have my heart, but at least I've still got my material baggage. So I'd say it's a win-win."

"Kehehehe, don't get too cocky there~ I'm still the King of Thieves at the end of the day Kav." Snype snickered. "To be fair though I don't have anything left on me beside a bag of berries, some coin and a piece of cloth to wrap around me so guess you got me beat there! Maybe I'll train ya in some thief secrets before the final showdown eh?"

"Heh, sounds like it could be fun! And who knows..," Kaveri said as she crossed her arms confidently over her chest, right above Snype's head. "Maybe I'll have a thing or two to teach you too."

Snype nudged up againt her arms playfully. "Kehehehe, well consider it a date then. Been pretty interested in your moves while watchin ya fight anyways! A closer look wouldn't hurt. Kehehe. If you can keep up with me in a fight." Snype said confidently.

"I dunno if that'll be much of an issue. Unless you have a giant hurricane to sweep me off my feet?" Kaveri countered with a toothy grin down at the Sableye, referencing her previous fight with Callimer.

"Kehehehe, I won't need a Hurricane to knock ya on your butt." the Sableye shot back as he tried to move a tiny bit but only winced in pain as he attempted it. "Hngh... aahh darn it. How am I supposed to be sly if I can't feel my legs? Kehehe. Can't even sneak a smooch on the face like this!" He laughed playfully.

A pair of silver paws rested on the Sableye's shoulders to keep him from wriggling about as Kaveri leaned forward to land a peck on top of his head. "Guess I'll just have to do it for ya then, huh? Though this is 'bout as far as I can reach from here," she chuckled.

Snype felt a faint blush go across his face after the small peck on the head. "Kehehehe... well guess I'm left with no choice then" Snype smiled up at her. "I"ll try to move a little closer when I start recovering. You can work from there. Kehehehe." Snype smiled and just drifted off into a train of thought from there.

Kaveri gave a small stretch and a yawn, careful not to disturb the Sableye using her as a pillow. "Well, I dunno 'bout you, but I'm actually feeling rather exhausted. I don't know if I'm up for any uppity stuff right now, sadly."

Snype yawned and snuggled on up with his new pillow. "Kehehe... its fine Kav. Could use a small nap myself despite all the noise outside. Cal's got this in the bag don't worry." Snype said, leaning back and getting himself nice and rested. "Whenever we do finally faceoff with Darkrai, I'll have your backs. I'm not gonna let anyone else in the group die on my watch again. Kehehe... Lets get rested up till then."

After arriving in Erble, the team tasked with taking out Xander soon found that the hectic atmosphere that had been present when they had last left had since dissipated. The city was of course still tense with the anticipation of the coming final round of the tournament, but the activity of Agents of Darkrai and attempts on the Emperor's life seemed absent. Razathiel took this as an opportunity to break straight into mad science.

"Veeveeveeveeveeveeveevee- we should find someplace for science, er... some poor, unsuspecting inn that won't care about a room being blown up until it's too late. And Cythera, you should come too. For reasons. I don't want to explain right now."

"Maybe it might be good to port out of the city area," Vee suggested. "This could attract some attention."

"Er... well, we did just get here, but if you don't mind then I guess that's probably a good idea. Suitable idea, rather."

"I suppose I'll play along." Cythera sighed. She turned to Vee, adding, "Just try to take us somewhere a bit more hospitable than the frozen wastelands this country seems so fond of..." Rattles walked up next to Cythera, under the assumption that she would be going as well.

Vee nodded, and the Victini's eyes closed. After the three gathered around him, they soon disappeared, reappearing in a fairly plain area, with a slight chill in the air, but not a whole lot of snow or ice. The group may recognize the area as one part of their journey to find Xander the first time around as they traveled south from Daggen. Vee remembered the area because of an large, knocked over, long-destroyed cylindrical structure that they had used as cover and a campsite on the way over. Vee remembered wondering what the structure was at the time. Maybe once, it was some important part of Karn's history. But like everything else in this brutal country, it was probably destroyed by the brutality of its own people.

"This seems a good a place as any," Vee concluded as it looked around and nodded. "So, shall we?"

"Indeed," the Dreadmage obliged, as with a thrust of his staff he sent a desk and multiple books, gems and measuring instruments tumbling out of his Magic Room. He surveyed the selection briefly and nodded before turning and launching himself up on a cloud of psychic force. He landed sitting on the rim of his desk, though the impact seemed to cause him to freeze for a couple of moments. He shook off the pause and broke into discourse; "My fellow experimental participants - and Rattles - I'm sure you are all well aware of just how fruitful our labours thus far have been. In our very presence stands a being possessing an ascended form, wrought from the power of a Mega Stone by means its creators would surely find abominable; bastardised and corrupted by 'mon with a desire for greatness and the courage to take it tooth-and-nail. Today, I plan to repeat the success of this initial experiment - though there are some things I should clear before such a thing begins, as well as just because they're itching at me and I suspect you may provide some insight that fills in the gaps and produces a full picture: firstly, why exactly was this evolution permanent? What has caused the notable absence of ill-effects? I'm not sure how focused on the transferal of energy you were, Vee, being in something of a battlefield as we were, but I've a number of hypotheses on the subjects that, if nothing else, you could hopefully shed light on with the coming experiment."

"I think it was permanent just because of the way we used both stones together," Vee responded as the Victini glanced at Cythera. "As to ill-effects... I think it's too soon to think there aren't any. None readily apparent maybe."

"I've been feeling a certain exhaustion, which I initially attributed to this stupid errand we've been on since we got here." Cythera explaied with a grim expression. "Now, as Raz pointed out back at Xander's, that's nothing to one with my talents, especially now. And as expected, a quick bit of work did the trick. But no matter how often I banish it, the exhaustion finds its way back. If I've fixed the problem, there should no longer be a problem, so why is there still a problem? It calls to mind my first encounter with the consequences of mega evolution. Despite leaving Snype's body better than new, he still suffered the transformation's effects. It's possible that the effects are still there, but are applied over time rather than all at once. But if that's the case, why can I reverse it now, if only temporarily? Am I just that much stronger, or is this actually different?"

The wizard said, "Again, Vee, you think well on the surface but neglect to dive into your hypotheses. The way both stones were used together is quite undoubtedly the cause, but what part of that mechanism was the trigger, and can it always be replicated? Cythera offers interesting thoughts; er, did anyone manage to see what happened to the Shiny Stone and the Mega Stone that were used? I didn't catch sight of them, myself, and they may hold useful information."

"I believe both stones become inactive after the usage," Vee responded, ignoring Raz's other comment. The Victini had gotten used to the Ralts' snark mouth. "Useless stones at this point. What I am wondering now is, what precisely would you wish to accomplish now?"

"Inactive most likely, but useless? Not from a data perspective," the Dreadmage disagreed. "I prefer to have all the information; more data leads to greater insight into the mechanisms at play, which leads to a better understanding of the powers at our very fingertips! Before I move on, do we have them, or not? I shall attempt to pre-quell my infernal fury should we have lost them."

"Calm down," Cythera said as she psychically rustled through her bag, pulling out her mega stone. "I saved it to serve as a trophy of the moment I became a god. No idea what became of the other one."

"Looks like that answers your question," Vee chimed in with a nod.

"Oh oh oh!" The terrifying Dreadmage clapped his hands excitedly as he leaned forward and pointed at the orb. "Vee! Is there anything left in the thing? Energy left behind?"

Vee glanced over to the orb, which lacked the usual visual flair a mega stone normally had. It wasn't completely gone of its color, more like it seemed to have been diluted, worn off. Vee placed a hand on the stone and the Victini's eyes closed. A few small moments of silence followed, before Vee's eyes opened. "None that I can feel. If there is anything left, it's deep inside the stone."

"Hmm... well, that potentially changes things. Or perhaps just leaves them open-" Excitement seemingly drained, Raz withdrew and put a hand to his chin. "Well, I suppose there's no way to tell what was happening with the Shiny Stone if it's up and destroyed itself. We should see what happens with this repeat experiment anyhow, I don't expect that much will turn me away from such an endeavour. Right! Er, well, we know how the last one was done. I'm sure it's no surprise when I say that I intend to push forward and ascend to greater power!"

"In the same way?" Vee questioned, looking between Raz and Cythera. "Like a permanent transition?"

"Indeed! Under similar conditions we should hope for a somewhat similar result-" Razathiel paused to reach his staff behind him and psychically plop one of the gems onto its tip, a glittering gem of a tinged brown hue. "Although technically untested, this gem should work well enough as a catalyst, so long as- erm... yes, that; Cythera, you wouldn't happen to recall that favour you owe me, hmm?"

She raised an eyebrow and incredulously answered, "I recall no such thing."

"You know, the favour! Of yours. Owed to, er... me."

"I owe you absolutely nothing," she declared firmly. "And if this is that nonsense about owing you for taking part in your untested and absolutely insane experiment, you're the one who owes me. I'll admit, the power of the gods is a nice bonus that has me a little less upset with the whole thing, but the fact remains that we had no idea it would turn out so splendidly, or if it even has turned out splendidly."

The Dreadmage paused for a while as the gears in his head whirred. "... I disagree," He said.

"I agree with Cythera," Vee responded. "But I also think wielding such a power is a very useful tool, especially now..." Vee approached closer to Cythera, and stared at the 'mon for a second. "I need to see something for a moment, can I grab hold of you for a second?"

The Florges frowned. "That depends on what exactly you mean by that."

"I usually feel energy pretty easily," Vee explained. "But grabbing hold of someone makes it even easier. I'm trying to see exactly to what extent and how the Mega energies are affecting you."

"Do it, then," she allowed, holding out a hand.

Vee nodded and grabbed the Mega 'mon's arm. To concentrate, the Victini's eyes closed, and for a moment, the 'mon was silent. "I feel your energy flow..." The Victini commented and then fell silent again. "Your power output is incredible. It's like a vast ocean of energy is flowing around you... all at once." Vee's eyes opened and met Cythera's. "Your form really is powerful. There's no denying it. It's frighteningly potent. But it doesn't come free. All the Mega Stone's energies is released, and it's all released inside you at once. Flowing constantly. Normally, the Mega Stone form for a normal Pokemon isn't supposed to last this long. Sure, this is a slightly reduced power Mega form, but it's always active, and with that, comes a price," Vee continued. "Imagine a pool of water in a well. The water flows through the well like energy flows through a Pokemon. Now imagine that a Mega Stone's power isn't just water, but acid. And a lot of it was just dumped into this well. Now the well is sturdy, it's made of tough rock and can hold together the acid for a while. But slowly, and surely, that acid is doing its damage. And eventually, it'll wear the rock down, and break it apart. That's what is going on with you, Cythera. It's a slow process, but I can feel it. To hold that much power, a price will be paid. That price is the steady deterioration of your life."

Cythera's expression fell more sour than usual, but she kept calm. "In that case, we're lucky I was the one to ascend. With this overflowing fount of restorative energies, it should be a simple matter to 'repair' the well in your analogy." She closed her eyes to focus and bring forth her power. Instead of casting her magic in one great burst, she instead conjured a faint cloak of Aromatherapic energy that would take her little effort to maintain to keep her mounting exhaustion at bay.

She looked at her companions confidently. "Unfortunately, I doubt Raz would be capable of the same if he were to ascend as well."

"Pah!" The Dreadmage waved a hand at the healer. "You know nought of the roiling tempest of malevolent energies already suppressed within my being. A cavalcade of maladies are attempting to tear me apart from the inside as we speak, to the point where any other 'mon would surely be unable to cope - I, on the other hand, can likely handle yet another destructive influence quite comfortably!" Razathiel paused to jauntily rise to a standing position atop the desk before readying his air quotes. "Some so-called 'exhaustion' and some piddly deterioration of lifespan mean rather little to an accomplished sorcerer of my calibre. Why, I'll probably be a lich in just another couple of years."

"I still say a more... well, for lack of a better word "regular" route may be more beneficial. There's no telling what damage can be caused." Vee explained.

Raz tilted his head and asked, "... Regarding the ascension or the lichdom?"

"Ascension obviously!" Vee squeaked. "So, what sort of experiment are we looking to conduct?"

The wizard harrumphed and said, "Well, assuming we ignore your silly claims of a 'more beneficial' cop-out, a repeat experiment should work quite nicely in our favour. Similar deal as last time, though under less arduous conditions. Of course, such a thing should only be possible if Cythera's faulty memory is at long last jogged to the favour that she most definitely owes me, so that such a thing can be cashed in for the mega-powered evolutionary assistance I've earned from bloody decades of undeserved toil!"

Cythera scoffed, then proceeded to ignore the dreadmage. The wizard bristled and after a short pause, said: "... Well?"

With a grumble, she turned to Vee for help. "Vee, you've been with us both the whole time we've been in Karn, and almost the whole time we've even known each other. Please clear up this misunderstanding about any 'favors' stemming from Raz's faulty memory."

"I don't know, nor understand to know," Vee replied with a shrug. "But if it helps, then I don't know why you wouldn't help," Vee told Cythera.

"Ha! Out of the goodness of her heart? Unlikely!" The Dreadmage scoffed. "I suppose the point remains that a favour needn't be required; any 'mon should comply with the demands that I make as it is! On pain of death, or something - now, technically, I'm not allowed to actually carry out the threat, but how can I be blamed when the fucking bastards who would impose such restrictions fail to offer an alternative!? Just act as if I'd slay you at the drop of a hat, and this will all go over a hell of a lot easier!"

"Pfft! As if you could kill me in this state!" she countered with a mocking laugh. "Anyone around me who dies does so only because I've allowed it. You'd do well to remember this next time you're getting off on eviscerating someone. Maybe I could have been persuaded to help, depending on what this 'favor' you're so insistent on was, given that you are at least partially responsible for my ascension, but that was before you lost your brain somewhere and decided a death threat would make me want to help you."

"You impudent fool!" The Ralts cried. "You are in no position to doubt me - nor, indeed, the general effectiveness of death threats! You will act as if I can threaten you with death, because if you refuse then I'll be forced to eviscerate your very bei- wait..." Raz turned to Vee and pouted. "You see, that's where this whole thing falls apart. Not sure if you happen to have any solutions to the rules of sodding peacetime shitting on my parade. Double-layered death threat? Triple? Just more of the same problem, I suppose..."

Vee rubbed its head in confusion. "Why are you both always arguing so much? Don't you realize we have more important things to figure out? It shouldn't matter who owes what favor! Arceus, you both owe me favors at this point! So just let's figure out this stone thing! Or not!"

Vee's statement provoked an onslaught of incomprehensible annoyed babbling from the other two, who had decided that the likelihood that Vee couldn't understand a word they were saying was a small price to pay for the catharsis of yelling at the poor Victini until its ears fell off. Vee rubbed its ears in response and raised a hand, motioning them to calm down. The Victini then released a Psychic force just around him to try to stop them from saying anything else. "OKAY OKAY!"

After a moment of silence, the Dreadmage rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Well, if Vee has nothing constructive to offer, I suppose I'm left with little choice. Seeing as death threats are apparently off the table..." Raz paused for a moment to gawk at his surroundings just to reel his dwindling sanity back in after speaking aloud such a woeful ultimatum. His sullen gaze turned to Rattles as he droned out: "I don't suppose you've any alternative bargaining techniques to offer? Something not too hideously demeaning, or filled with sickly butterfrees of happiness, I hope... Hell, maybe there's just something incredibly easy that I haven't been exposed to. I'm not above admitting I'm clueless to much of the mundane."

Rattles slowly rotated in thought for a bit before answering, "She responds well to praise and money."

Cythera smirked. "And you'll be needing a lot of both for even a chance of me forgiving you."

"... Money!?" The Ralts cried out. "Are you shitting me? Money just works? Outside of shops and all that garbage...? And since when was forgiveness a part of the equation? I just need a job done, don't know how this forgiveness bullshit comes into play anywhere- is there a preference on form of currency? Gold, silver? Fuckin'... shiny rocks? I don't really know what the deal is here, I'm just still trying to wrap my head around the idea of Rattles having useful input."

"Well, I guess this is progress..." she sighed. "As long as it's valuable, I don't care. And I'd like to know what this 'job' is so I can figure out exactly how much you'll need." It looked like she wanted to say more, but she held her tongue.

"The job is-" The wizard paused, suddenly bashful. "Well, I already mentioned what it was. Sort of. In passing. Should be obvious enough anyway, seeing as there's no way of repeating the experiment as a first-stage... and Kyogre was a prick... healing status is pseudo-similar... I'm counting on it, at least..."

Cythera's expression turned serious as she slipped into a more professional attitude. "I suppose this, in a way, is also a sickness to be cured... Vee, is there anything noteworthy about Raz's energies?"

"I've always noted something about the way Raz's energies flow," Vee commented with its eyes closed. "I think that may be one of the ways why you're so effective in combat. Well, along with your natural talent. I notice whenever you release your energy, it seems to come all from one point. Imagine all your energy being released from one tiny spot from within your body. Sure, it's powerful, but it also can be damaging. I think the problem is, when you try to evolve, energy is released across your entire body. But if you can't have that energy travel freely, this could stop this process. I never said anything before because it's something I've seen before. It's somewhat of a genetic issue. But usually it doesn't affect that 'mon too much. If anything, it makes that Pokemon more explosive at times. And if you don't look out specifically for it, it's not something anyone would catch. But I noticed it during your first fight with Xander. If Cythera could somehow 'open' that energy around you, maybe that could help you be able to evolve."

"I'm... not quite sure what you're getting at, Vee. Is this detailed energy sense some kind of technique, or is it just some innate garbage? Seems like a useful ability to have, might help me grasp this whole deal a little better..." Raz paused, a little confused but seemingly attentive at the idea of a new area of research. "Of course, if it's just me and you can understand it perfectly, Cythera, then I suppose all that rubbish can wait."

"His wording was weird, but I think I see what he's getting at," Cythera said, only half paying attention to him as she started pulling various books from her bag. "I'll have to look through my notes and run some tests on you to get a proper diagnosis, but for now it seems doable. The treatment itself will wait until after my payment."

"You're right, it is more innate, but it's something I am able to pick up being who I am," Vee explained, before looking between Raz and Cythera and waiting for some exchange to be made. The Dreadmage humphed, gesturing for the healer to approach as he tore open a rift in space.

"Just do what needs to be done and get it over with," said the wizard. He waved a hand at the portal to his Magic Room: a veritable hoard of treasures and trinkets. "Take a look and see if anything pops out. Don't touch anything. Don't go inside. Actually, don't even look for too long. Just pick a thing."

With a humph of her own, Cythera focused her abundance of energy on her Psychic power and filled an empty chest she found inside with a small fortune's worth of shiny knickknacks. The wizard's portal sealed itself shut in an instant, and the Ralts beside it bristled with anger.

"I said not to touch anything! That counts! Honestly, as though I hadn't made it clear enough..." As Razathiel devolved into annoyed grumbling, he spent a moment fumbling around in a much smaller rift in space before eventually turning it in the Florges' direction and spitting the chest out of it with a grumpy grunt. "There. I don't suppose you need to fiddle around haphazardly with anything else in my personal demi-plane in which I keep my things, which are owned by me? Egh... ungrateful sod... probably doesn't even have... a thing... I should place traps, or something... or perhaps not, all things considered..."

"This should suffice," she answered curtly, dropping the chest on Rattles' head for her to carry. "And don't you dare call me ungrateful. You should be grateful I'm letting you off so easy, considering how you don't intend to ask for forgiveness or improve your attitude in the slightest. But at this point I suppose that doesn't matter. You're now my patient and I'm your doctor, so all I care is that you're cured." She sat atop the chest and began looking through her notes. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to begin. You're free to do whatever until then."

"I- waiting?" The wizard crossed his arms. "Sure. I'm sure there's endless activity to be found in this frozen fucking wasteland."

---

With Cythera now seemingly prepared, Vee propped up and examined the two carefully. He couldn't do much here except to observe, and make sure whatever Cythera did on Raz's insides worked.

"So what I've gathered about a 'mon's energy," Cythera explained, "is that it's generally housed in a sort of internal reservoir. Liken it to an underground water reserve, and imagine there's a pump to draw it out. Whenever you do anything, you draw out energy, and your body naturally carries it to wherever it's needed. It seems, however, that you've been born without this 'pump', and its attempt to access the energy forcefully results in less of a smooth flow and more of a crude, directed geyser. While this allows for explosive power, it seems that to evolve you need this flow. I doubt I can make you a pump, but I can forcibly guide your energies to achieve the same goal. All I need you to do is cast and maintain a spell, preferably a strong one, so that I can access your energy reservoir and I'll handle the rest."

"Er... okay," Razathiel let out. He couldn't help but fidget, his feet scuffing the light layer of frost that had begun to form atop the desk he stood on. "I do hope you're more considerate of energy reservoirs than you are of magic rooms. Er- Vee, you will, uh... mediate this, won't you? Supervise to ensure there's no funny business going on."

"No need," she stopped him. "Like I said; you're my patient now. If something goes wrong, it'll look bad on me as your doctor, and I won't have that."

"I'm sorry if this news shocks you, but I've had far less experience than you with doctor-patient etiquette," the Ralts drawled. "Though I mean no disrespect - rather, no more than the base amount of disrespect that can and should be taken with any and all actions of mine - this whole operation is certainly not a comfortable procedure for a first time, and one I'd rather not repeat. Anything to help things go along smoothly, and potentially halt the tide of me exploding on reflex..." Raz paused with a grimace before turning to the Victini. "I'd assume you should monitor the whole process anyway, Vee, just for the purpose of recording the results of our experiment."

"I'll be monitoring, don't worry," Vee replied with an affirmative nod. "You're in safe hands here."

Cythera rollled her eyes with a groan. "Whatever. Raz? I'm waiting." The Dreadmage grumbled something incomprehensible before focusing his power to lift a giant piece of the abundant rubble around them, holding it in the air. With everything ready, Cythera got to work.

She created a focused patch of Grassy Terrain that flooded Raz's body with healing energy, which she used to feel around for the source of Raz's own energy. From Raz's end, at first he felt only the energizing feeling that came with healing. For a while that was all there was, until suddenly he felt his energy leave him, and he struggled to keep his rock afloat. The Ralts swore, barely suppressing a growl as he sent a glare the way of the healer.

"You're fine," She assured. "I've adjusted my energies to better meld with yours, and managed to take control. You can drop the rock now."

What followed was an incredibly uncomfortable minute during which the power he normally felt total command over swelled and faded seemingly randomly throughout his body until suddenly it surged, like a dam had burst. His body began to feel hot as she drained the energy from his reservoir and distributed it throughout him at increasing levels. He felt incredibly powerful, but at the same time very tired.

This feeling continued for a while as Cythera moved the energy around throughout his body, attempting to replicate a normal mon's natural flow, and eventually, despite an emptied energy reserve, his power grew further with each passing moment.

Cythera laughed almost maniacally. "I have it!" Raz began to shine with the telltale glow of evolution. The Florges' laughter was joined by cackling of entirely maniacal nature. Around the Ralts the glowing energy that surrounded him thickened, coalesced, and all at once shattered; before the group floated a Kirlia, grinning madly, who laughed loudly before abruptly swearing and flattening the frilly protrusions at his waist. After making sure Raz's new form was stable, Cythera finally released her grasp on his energies. With a grumble, Razathiel let his arms hang by his sides, his psychic power holding the plaited frills in place.

"Egh, I suppose this is a success," He admitted. "Though we're only partly through. How's the energy looking, Vee?"

"Looks healthy and stable," Vee responded with a nod as it opened its eyes. The Victini glanced at Raz's new form. "This suits you." Cythera chuckled at the idea. "Wait..." Vee held up a hand, and focused on Raz's energies again. The Victini frowned and paused for a while. "... it's not lasting. The energy is reverting back to the way it was before. You won't be a Kirlia for long."

"I- what?! Y-you're kidding, really?"

Cythera growled in frustration, recreating her Grassy Terrain and forcibly grabbing hold of Raz's energies. "It looks like the moment I let go, it all goes to shit!" After a bit of work, she managed to stabilize him, but she didn't look happy about it. "I can keep you stable enough for you to try the stones, but I wouldn't recommend it in the slightest. Alternatively, we can stop for now so I can go over the results, and see if we can't make it work next time, in which case we'll have to hope your body hasn't built up any kind of resistance against me. Your call."

"I can't waste this opportunity!" The Dreadmage snapped. "This could be the only chance I get at this, and I'll be damned if I pass it up. Maybe the power of the stones is enough to stabilise whatever form I take, just... just try it, do it. Stones are on the desk. I refuse to go back!"

Vee propped up and approach Raz. "Hold still, I'm going to try something!" The Victini held out its arm and closed its eyes. One hand was on Raz, the other one was touching the oddly-colored stone Razathiel produced. As Cythera tried to stabilize Raz's form, a white energy began to slowly drain from Raz's Kirlia form and pour into Vee's hand. The same white energy then shot out of Vee's other hand into the stone. This caused the stone to also slowly glow white as well as this energy flowed from Raz, into Vee, and out of Vee into the stone. Vee remained like this for almost a full minute, concentrated deeply to ensure that every bit of energy could be salvaged. Eventually, the Victini broke out of the trance it was in, and looked down at the stone. It shone bright white for a moment longer, before it reverted out of this white glow and into its normal stage. "I... think I may have done it," Vee muttered.

"Er, done what?" Razathiel sighed, irritated. "Doesn't seem like anything we did last time."

"I preserved your Kirlia evolution into the stone," Vee explained. The Victini put a paw to its chin. "In theory, I'm hoping this will be able to act as any other stone would and cause you to evolve using it. And since I'm assuming it's already an evolutionary stone, it might be able to make you jump straight to your final form. Albeit maybe only temporarily. At least, that's what I'm hoping it would do."

"That's-!" The wizard looked about to burst before he stopped himself, grumpiness almost overtaking him. "Actually, that's quite useful, I suppose... huh. Didn't know you could do that without killing people. And with a greater evolutionary difference, no less - what I'd have given for your bloody energy manipulation decades ago, Vee. Spent far too long cramped up in this fucking- I- shit, never mind, we can just... that's a beneficial thing to have, that stone, with its stuff in it now, that should... give us preparation time. And make the repeat experiment much easier, should it come to that, which I very much think it should."

"I didn't entirely know I could either," Vee answered. "This is all new to me too. But it seems to be working... more or less. Should we proceed further? Maybe try the final step and put them all together?" Vee asked.

"I think that's a terrible idea, but at this point I don't see why you wouldn't." Cythera said, nose buried in a notebook as she etched its pages with the results of her procedure. Rattles, on the other hand, watched the restored Ralts intently.

"I... yes, we should go ahead with it," said the Dreadmage, tone tinged with exhaustion. "Do mind that stone, however. It should work, but it hasn't been fully tested - in more ways than one, now."

Vee nodded and began to concentrate on the Mega Stone. The Victini's eyes were closed as the stone began to slowly glow a cool, low white light. The light brightened as the Victini grabbed onto the stone with more pressure, before it almost seemed to burst for a moment and shined brightly. Vee quickly used this gathered energy around and slowly guided it into the other stone beside it. The energies slowly began to merge together, and once more the stone seemed to change color, this time incorporating a few more of the traits of the Mega Stone. Vee exhaled loudly. "There... I think I did it.... there's a lot going on inside this stone now," Vee explained and handed it closer to Raz.

"I'll say," the wizard concurred. "There's an entire line of evolution crammed into the bloody thing. A little surprised it's holding up, though I suppose I shouldn't be; obviously a product of my marvellous engineering ability, or some such. Whatever. I'll get on with it, shall- actually, one moment-" Razathiel paused to stretch a hand out, tearing a rift in space. He clenched a fist, and through the portal flew his bespoke suit of plate mail. "Right. Here goes nothing, I suppose."

The Dreadmage reached out and grabbed the evolutionary stone. It reacted immediately to his touch, a burst of light swallowing the Ralts' arm. As the wizard stepped back the glow spread throughout him, covering his form like an iridescent second skin that thickened and grew brighter with each passing moment. Even the staff and armour beside the Ralts seemed to glow - at first, it could be mistaken for Raz's glow reflecting off of their shiny surfaces, but on closer inspection the size and shape of the inanimate objects appeared to be undergoing metamorphosis. Soon the mage's equipment had changed shape, his barely-visible silhouette took on the form of a Kirlia once more, and the light dimmed only for a fraction of a second before brightening even more fiercely. Amidst the blinding radiance, one hand extended; Razathiel's staff flew to him, and the metal plates of his armour slipped from their stand one by one, encircling the brilliant mass of energy - and, presumably, a Pokémon beneath. As the tempest of power reached the apex of its luminescence, the plates surrounding the wizard flew inward and the shell of evolutionary energy imploded, sending out a shockwave that buffeted the nearby desk and kicked up puffs of snow.

Before the other three floated a Pokémon, not quite a Gardevoir, clad in robes and plate mail and brimming with the newfound power suffused within him. At once, the eerie darkness beneath the wizard's visor was flooded with crimson light as Razathiel the Dreadmage opened his eyes. Hesitantly he spoke, his voice still tinged with its signature gravel, but lowered in pitch to a potent baritone.

"... Did it work?" He asked, suspecting that it had probably worked.

"Looks like it, by some absurd miracle," Cythera commented. "You look like you might actually be able to intimidate someone now."

Vee looked up, for once, at Razathiel in his new form. The Victini beamed, clearly jubilant that the transformation had taken affect. "This is fantastic!" Vee exclaimed happily. "I can't believe that worked!" Vee approached the new Raz. "How do you feel?"

"How do I feel?" Repeated the wizard, turning to gaze out into the Karnian wasteland. "This form has realised my true potential. Raw arcane might courses through every inch of my being. My defiant clawing at the hands of fate has finally borne fruit, and I feel..." With a dramatic pause, Razathiel twisted his head to face his companions with one eye. "I feel powerful. More powerful than ever before. I feel as though not a 'mon on this planet could possibly stand in my way; not any of Darkrai's agents, not even Darkrai himself, and not... you. Not any of you..."

The Dreadmage turned fully to face the others, his robe swishing dramatically with the movement. "The time is ripe for me for take my rightful place atop this world - just after all of you lie broken and battered at my-!" He paused to tilt his head at the faces of his companions. "What? I'm kidding, I'm kidding - was that too much? Rough crowd," Raz sighed, traitorous pretences dropped. "Potential energy seems potent, probably requires testing. If I'm not wrong, I should have the ability to master that coveted Moonblast technique, too. The properties I can discern are probably of lesser importance, however; Vee, how does my energy look from that end? I don't dare to hope that this form can miraculously prevent itself from fading."

Vee nodded its head happily. "It loo-" The Victini cut itself off, suddenly examining the new form of Raz with a touch of concern. "Hrm...there's something off with your energy..." Vee mumbled.

"I suppose that's to be expected," Razathiel grumbled. "Define 'off'."

"Your energies," Vee began to explain. "Your form is still powerful, and it's stable, but I can feel deep inside, it's not naturally flowing with you. Whatever block prevented you from staying as a Kirlia is still there. You still have the level of power that a permanent Mega-evolution will have, I can tell, but... I don't think it will last," Vee concluded with a frown.

"Given the time, effort, and some practice, I might be able to manipulate even your new form's colossal amounts of energy to keep it stable indefinitely," Cythera said. "Of course, I'd need to devote my full attention to it, and in a large scale battle against Darkrai and his agents I get the feeling I'd have other things to worry about, but the option's theoretically there."

"That's of course assuming that the stones remain usable after this form fades," the wizard grumbled. "I... I suppose I should try this out a tad. Might make things a little more cheery - fairly sure I should be able to pull off one of those Moonblasts in this state, suppose that should be interesting..."

With a somewhat sour taste in his mouth, Razathiel got to testing out his newfound power. Dreariness faded in favour of villainous glee as he laid waste to the poor, unfortunate Karnian countryside - of course, the place was something of a waste to begin with, but the destruction the wizard was now capable of seemed to be able to make even this barren hell-scape seem ruined in comparison to its previous, less-ruined-but-still-ruined state. But alas, all good (evil) things come to pass. After a generous while of enjoying his mega-evolution - perhaps a tauntingly long time - the Dreadmage was faced with a reluctant return to Raltsdom.

"Well... that didn't go exactly as planned," Vee commented, looking over the stones in front of Raz. "Hmmm..."

"Not as planned, what a-" The Dreadmage began to growl but stopped himself, either by serendipitous restraint or simple fatigue. He sat, slumped and let out a sigh. "The data, at least, better have been useful. How did- wait, forget that, how are the stones? What's up with those? Are they fine? Are they active? Are they in tact?"

"They seem... dormant," Vee answered. "Partially, at least. It's hard to explain. They're not fully inactive, but they won't automatically turn you if you touch them. If you concentrate on them, they may react to you, though. Bizarre." Upon hearing this, Raz moved to stand. He tripped and fell forward in his haste with a nasty thump but quickly snarled his way back to his feet, trying to hide his embarrassment as he approached the stones to get a closer look.

"I wouldn't call this a complete success, but it may not have been a total failure either," Vee explained. "By my reckoning, I think you may be able to access the Mega Evolution form at the same power consistency as Cythera would. But with the same drawbacks. Albeit, it won't be permanent, it looks like. That, at least, is what I believe."

"I suppose I'll take what I can get," said Razathiel, lightly prodding one of the stones. "If they're usable I may have to do some forging. I think I recall James mentioning some dormant form method or whatnot - have you heard of any of the others doing that sort of thing?"

"There's something like that to be used for practice. But I haven't really done it myself. I think I vaguely remember him talking it over to Snype and Callimer?" Vee responded with a hint of doubt. "Maybe it's something you could ask them."

"In that case, we should probably meet back up with the others so we can finally just relax," Cythera said, "And maybe get something to drink too. I'm gonna need it with the fucking mess we're about to walk into."

"Pfft, relaxation," scoffed the Ralts. He exhaled and began to pack up his things into his Magic Room as he started to speak. "Well, that wasn't a total disaster. The end result is certainly salvageable, and any and all hiccups seem to be the result of blasted fate rather than any incompetence on your parts, which I would be sure to jump on at the slightest opportunity. As it stands, the lot of you have performed up to villainous standards of perfection - even Rattles, who has quite valiantly managed to stay completely out of the way so as not to ruin anything!" Rattles nodded, perhaps in an odd sense of pride or accomplishment. His equipment gathered, Raz turned to the trio and firmly planted his staff against the ground. "Thusly, I'm somewhat obliged to offer you all the opportunity to be taken into my minionship. After all this, I could even say it'd be slightly silly not to."

"Never." Cythera answered.

"I'll pass on that," Vee answered with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, I'm more curious to see how that tournament is shaking up."

"Right," Razathiel shrugged. "Suit yourselves, I suppose. Let's be off."

"Our best bet is to simply inform him in the arena," Hugh explained, back at his headquarters in Daggen. "From what you described to me before, he stopped Vee from relaying any information to him Psychically before. He will probably do so again if we try that way. You'll need to tell him, or show him, up front. And you have to be careful about it. Having the 'mon just quit won't quite sit well with the Karnians. Although I'm sure you have much more pressing issues to worry about."

Obsidian frowned, crossing his arms, "What I can do is have Vee send the information to Cal. From there, Cal can get in close and tell him. I mean, they are fighters, I'm sure Percy knows how to take a fall if he needs to."

"I've ne'er heard a square Percival wast willing to turn down," The Bagon of the group chuckled.

"Perhaps for the right reason, he would," The Luxray of Percival's group shrugged.

"I assume this 'Cal' is quite the skilled squarer?" The Bagon asked.

"The best out of anyone on this continent." Obsidian rubbed his chin, "Do any of you have a clear message to send to Percival?" He asked the group, "If I can at least get Cal to tell him something personal, something only you all would know, it would convince him that we do have your custody now."

The Bagon looked toward the others in the group, who all smiled back at him. He smiled as well. "Yes, I doth believe so. But first, shall we reunite with the rest of our company?" The Bagon looked around. "Where art they?"

Obsidian let out a nervous laugh, then patted Hugh on the shoulder, "Just hold on one moment. I have to talk with the general outside first." He gestured for Hugh to follow him outside. Hugh shook his head and accompanied Obsidian out the door.

"You're better off just telling them, my friend," Hugh stated to the Weavile outside in the bustling city.

"Oh, yeah, that'll go off without a hitch." He muttered angrily, as he paced. "Yeah, hey guys, I fucked up big time. I sort of caused every other friend you knew your entire lives to just die a few seconds ago. Anyways, we're cool, right?" He stated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, that'll go off great without a hitch."

"I feel these 'mon are quite honorable," Hugh responded with a shrug. "Do you believe they will take lies over honesty, even if that truth is so dreadful? And besides, they won't blame you-"

"Tell that to the Medicham who tried to slaughter us all because Gabriel killed his sister." Obsidian muttered out angrily.

"I don't know anyting about that," Hugh stated with another shrug of his shoulders. "You saved half of them. For all they knew, they were all going to die."

"And I condemned half of their crew to death." Obsidian pointed out. "This whole war... Hugh, that's death on MY hands. I didn't tell them..." He looked away, "I didn't tell them cause it's all my fault. I made the decision to follow. They're dead cause of me."

Hugh patted Obsidian on the shoulder and forced him to look into the Arcanine's eyes. "If you're looking for sympathy, you'll get none from me. Us Karnians are short on that, even the nicest of us. You made a choice. You saved them. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"You sound like a bunch of whining b*tches to me," A voice came from the side. There, the familiar Camerupt Rolph emerged, seemingly battered, worn and exhausted. Accompanying him were a bit more than half a dozen other 'mon, dressed similarly to Percival's crew.

Obsidian glanced over, confusion in his eyes again, "... I'm hallucinating now." He muttered, rubbing at his temples. "I didn't think it would get THIS bad."

"You're not hallucinating," The Camerupt declared, as he motioned for the other half of Percival's crew to go inside to reunite with the first half. "You're Obsidian, right? I met up with your friends Alex, Killian and Able back in Erble. Said I would help free the foreigners."

"... That's right." Obsidian said slowly, "... How did you find them? I had to trail several mon to even get to any of them... and who are you?"

"Call me Rolph," Rolph declared. "I'm a merc. I used to work for the Dealer, back when he... well, back before he was under different management. I was pretty high up in the food chain, so... erm... talking to the right folks pointed me in the direction I needed to go."

Obsidian snapped his fingers, "That's right! I need to let the others know who the Dealer is as well! Okay..." He began to pace, "Got to get that info to Percival asap. Hugh, I need a psychic as quick as you can."

"They know," Rolph responded to Obsidian bluntly.

"... Oh." Obsidian frowned, "Well, now just to tell them everyone's safe. Has the round even started yet?" He asked Rolph.

The Camerupt snorted. "Oh yeah, it's started. It's deep in there. Last update I heard, the boys did something no one's seen in a long, long time. Something I don't think anyone seen since... well, pretty much earlier in the tourney. But besides that, not a damn long time."

Obsidian frowned, "... Hugh, I need that psychic now!"

"A psychic from here won't be able to relay a message," Hugh stated with a shake of his head. "I'll send one over to teleport you and the prisoners there, then you can try from the tournament grounds."

"Get them ready for me then!" He snapped out as he rushed back in where the various prisoner mon were gathered, "Okay, this is very important. I need that message now!" He demanded, "Right now Percy and Cal are in a brutal fight and the sooner we stop it the better!"

The arena rumbled, even from the waiting area it could be heard. It felt almost like an earthquake, but what it really was just the announcer prepping the final match of the evening. While he was spicing the crowd up, the rest of the group gathered with Callimer to see him off. John looked anxiously from between Callimer and the other members of the group. Cel glided right beside the Poliwrath, while Lia made small circles around Cel. Vee, meanwhile, had his eyes shut, seemingly concentrating on something. It wasn't long after the fight with Callimer and Kaveri ended that Vee and the others from the south had returned, with phenomenal news.

Karn was a peculiar place. Everything started and ended at the top. Once news came out that the Beast, the so-believed Immortal Xander had fallen to the Dreadmage, his rebellion practically fell apart. Most believed that was the way it would happen, but the speed with which it fell was still astonishing. Truly, a Grand General had much pull in Karn, and now that title passed from Xander to Raz. As it did from James to Kaveri, and then Kaveri to Callimer.

But even with the newly secured titles, which would give the group a large pull in Karn, and with Xander fallen, there was still one more major dilemma to fix, and that was what to do about Percival.

"Still nothing from Daggen," Vee finally stated as the Victini's eyes opened. "No word about finding Percy's crew. Looks like you're going to have to fight him, Cal."

"I was always going to have to fight him." Cal said, voice shaking slightly. None of those gathered had ever heard that tinge to his voice, his antennae continuously twitched, and his tail swept back and forth. Upon closer inspection, the members of the group who'd known the Emerald Sentinel longer saw the strange half-grimace-half-smile on his face and realized it wasn't fear he was shaking with. "The instant I first laid eyes on Percival back at that tavern a shiver ran up my spine and all my muscles tensed up, I felt ready to leap at him and for us to tear each other apart right then and there if he so much as looked at us funny and when our eyes met I knew the same thing had happened to him. At the time I just chalked it up to some deeply rooted draconic rivalry, but no. Whatever that ultimately was, it was always going to come to this, one way or the other. The stupid part is, despite everything that's at stake...I'm excited. I can't wait to throw everything I have at him and see who's stronger. I already feel completely different from when this tournament started, like fighting Abel and Kav each passed me by some huge milestone." His trembling stopped for a moment when he thought of Abel. His entire body seemed to droop, but he fought it off quickly.

"They say Karn's tournaments change the fighters," John responded. "Not always for the better. You learn something from it. But I'm not exactly sure that's what happened to you," He said with a shrug.

"Excited or not, remember what's at stake," Vee interjected matter-of-factly. "If you lose, we don't get the final piece of Cresselia. That, and Percy probably ends up fighting the Emperor after. And believe me when I say with that stone around his neck, and the Emperor's weakened state, he might pull it off... it took me a while to figure out before where that power I felt from Gabriel was," He held up a hand to everyone. "He's not here, not directly. But his power is. It's in Percy's Mega Stone. Just like you had with the Guardians of Balance, Gabriel put his own energy into the stone. Meaning after this fight, if he wins, he'll be able to use it again without any negative consequences to his body."

"I'm going to win." Callimer said without a shred of doubt. "I don't want to hurt Percival, he's a good 'mon, and I don't want his allies to be hurt either...But there's so much more riding on all this than a few lives and I have to prove I'm worthy of this stone." He stared down at the orb hanging from his neck, perfectly smooth and the same shade of green as his scales. It had never occurred to him before, but it now seemed a bit strange that the mega stone of Dragonites was colored to match him, despite him being an entirely different color from most of his species. "And, I now control the territory the temple of Balance lies within. After this is over I'm marching back down there and we'll see what Zekrom and Reshiram have to say then."

"Let's hope the others in Daggen are doing something about his allies then," Vee replied with a nod of his head. In the background, cheering could be heard, Percival's name seemed to have just been called. A few moments later, the introductions for Callimer were commencing. "Looks like that's you... good luck. And believe me when I say that I don't want you to hurt Percival either. He was my friend once. But he is going to try to kill you now. If it comes down to him or Cresselia, you can't hold back," Vee stated with determination. As if on cue, Lia floated toward Callimer and giggled as she made a few circles around his head.

Cal raised an arm to rest his hand on Lia's flank, then nodded at Vee. "I don't think either of us would ever have been able to hold back against one-another even in the most peaceful of times. I'll see you all when I get back. Don't let Kav bounce around too much if she gets excited, she needs her rest still." Without anything else of note to say, Cal marched solemnly out of the waiting room and into the arena to face his opponent.

"-EW GRAND GENERAL, CALLIMER VIAN!" The Exploud announcer had just concluded Cal's introductions just as the giant Dragonite emerged onto the arena. The rambunctious crowd was as loud as ever, seemingly screaming their lungs out at their new representative of Karn. It was almost comical how fast the Grand General title could pass, and the people's adoration with it. But here, that's how much weight the name had. And the 'mon of Karn showed that adoration.

Waiting in the center of the arena, whose name was already announced, was Percival, eyeing his opponent with a mixture of caution and curiosity, mixed with his obvious disdain for the situation he was in. As much as he did not want to fight in his predicament, however, he still wanted to fight. His heart, the heart of the warrior, was still so easily visible from his stance, his posture, his presence. Percival was ready.

The Emerald Sentinel waved slightly at the audience on his way to the center of the arena, admittedly a bit glad to feel supported, but by the time he stopped in the proper position he was all business. "You knew it too, didn't you?" He asked the Garchomp loud enough for him to hear over the audience, but no one else. "You had that same itch telling you that this was going to happen, tournament or no tournament, hostages or no hostages. From the moment we met, this was going to happen."

Percival gave the Dragonite a long, stern look. His eyes remained on the 'mon even as he turned to give the Emperor the proper formalities before the fight. "I hadst a humour, an inkling," The Garchomp stated for only him to hear.

"COMPETITORS READY... ONE LAST TIME!" The Exploud began, which drew a large eruption from the audience. "SET..."

Cal spread his feet a bit further apart and put up his fists. "Seems like no matter how civilized we are, certain reactions run through our blood. But I suppose even if Dragons didn't always clash with each other, this is just how things are done in Karn."

Percival squared his body toward Callimer and lowered his stance in response to Callimer. "The land maketh the 'mon," He concurred. "I apologize for this, Callimer."

"BRAWL!" The Exploud announcer shouted, causing the audience to go ballistic.

Callimer answered their cries by shooting forward with more speed than he'd ever managed before the instant the call rang out, his claws gouging out part of the floor beneath him and his arm swinging a frost-laden fist at Percival.

Percival responded in kind, rushing forward at a blistering speed, as his body glowed a low red, as his Dragon Rush took effect. Percival attempted to bulldoze his way through Callimer with all of his force.

Normally, Cal's fist alone wouldn't be enough to withstand a full-body attack from an opponent like Percival, but the quadruple type advantage allowed him to hold his ground and to swing another Ice Punch at his enemy's ribs with his free hand. Percival grunted in response, but did not falter. His body armor seemed to take most of the hit from the Ice Punch, allowing him to raise his claws and bring a set of dragon-infused power down upon the large Dragonite. Callimer grunted similarly and bent his knees at the force slamming down from above, then his body took on a red glow like Percival's, but more brick-colored and he shoved his shoulder into the Garchomp's chest with Superpower-fueled strength. Percival responded back, forcing his large, steel-plated chest down upon the powerful Superpower of Callimer. A few cracks formed in his armor, but Percival didn't relent, as he used Dragon Rush to meet Callimer's Superpower. The two behemoths clashed in a furious force of glowing energy, power which shook and broke the ground beneath their feet. But Percival refused to give an inch.

"Nothing..." Cal grumbled through grit teeth as the pair of monstrous dragons continued to chip away at each other's strengths. "Will...stop me...Not chaos," He pushed Percival back a single inch. "Not some death tournament," One more inch. "Not even Gabriel trying to force one my friends to be his pawn!" Every single one of the Dragonite's muscles screamed with the effort, but after another struggle he pushed hard enough to send Percival skidding back a few feet, though it did little damage. As soon as he had some space, Cal's mega stone began to glow and shake upon his neck, and a vicious wind whipped up around the arena, quickly growing intense enough to raise Cal up into the air without the use of his wings. "We've lost too much! And there's too much left to lose! If the cycle does have to end, then it's ending on our terms!" Just as the Hurricane reached the pitch where it would normally begin tearing at his opponent's body, the wind stopped as if a vacuum had formed around the arena, then all of the Hurricane collapsed inward, all the previous stormy terror forming a calamitous localized vortex around Cal's body. The white glow of Extremespeed coated Cal's body and the Dragonite-shaped natural disaster blasted at Percival with such ferocity that a crater was etched into the arena's wall behind where he'd launched from, causing some of the stands to shake.

The Garchomp was surprised by the sudden powerful Extremespeed that approached him. With few seconds to react, the Garchomp brought his arms up to block the monstrous attack. His armor could audibly be heard cracking under the weight of the force thrust upon him. He flipped back and skidded across the arena as it ripped apart around him. Eventually, the armor plating covering Percival's body was ripping apart, from his chest armor, to his side leg pieces, until eventually the armor plating on his shoulders fell apart. His right first, and then his left followed, revealing his own Mega Stone attached to his shoulder. Percival grabbed for it, frowning as he did. "Then on our terms, it shall end!" He declared, as he closed his eyes, concentrating on the stone in his arm. White energy coated around the stone, and the Garchomp started swirling with energy around him.

His body glowed with the pure-white color of evolution, and slowly, it began to morph. His claws across his arms altered, changing from the solid blue color, to a mixture of blue and red. His claws became longer, sharper, like scythes awaiting to decapitate all who wandered too close. His chest expanded and more white spikes appeared across. His height seemed to visibly increase as well, as the Dragon seemed to grow another foot. Complete in his transformation, Percival roared loudly, his very audible scream seeming to infuse him with even more power. The area around him had completely cleared from any signs of a physical arena, with nothing but the dirt ground of Karn seen below. Then, with a furious assault, Percival unleashed a breath of flamed draconic fury from his mouth, the Dragonbreath sizzling across the arena with matching ferocity of Percival's new form.

Callimer didn't flinch when Percival began to transform, but he did grab the mega stone on his neck and begin to squeeze it tightly. Hello...you're all still there, aren't you? I know I've had you for so long without really making use of your strength, just shallow little tests here and there to acclimate myself, but I'm ready now...it's time. Grant me your power! His eyes shot open, glowing with prismatic light for a few seconds before the light coated and overtook his entire body. A spherical shell hid Cal's body from view then after a short pause, shattered. What stood in the arena facing Percival afterwards seemed like a new pokémon entirely. It still resembled Callimer but was even more massive than before, an entire 50% larger by all estimates. His body was entirely covered by large plates of ornate armor that in places that had naturally formed from his scales being concentrated into superdense formations and in some places was the iconic green of his scales but in others was an unmistakable gold, there was even armor along the bones of Callimer's wings, and a helmet covering his head with a sharp, bladed nose resembling a curved beak. To top it all off, his bandana seemed to have fused with the armor and the Gold Tribe's symbol stood proudly emblazoned across the chest piece of the natural armor of Cal's new form.

The Mega Dragonite the Emerald Sentinel had become cracked the ground underneath him just by flexing his toes slightly and stared grimly at Percival. He continued to stare for a stint before taking a deep breath and raising his head to the sky for an intense roar, just that simple act alone caused the whole arena to shake, so much so that mon were falling over in the stands.

"THIS...THIS IS F*CKING AMAZING!" The Exploud announcer stammered, as the arena fell into an uproar. "HANG TIGHT FOLKS, WE'RE IN FOR A MEGA FIGHT NOW!"

Percival glanced at his opponent without an inch of fear in his gaze. His Mega form faced his opponent, his own armor reflecting off this new, powerful body. There was no hesitation in the Garchomp's step as the Dragon rushed forward, and unleashed a Dragonbreath, one larger than had ever been witnessed in the tournament thus far, which burned across the arena, incinerating the arena floor beneath it as it traveled, and seemed to set the very air on fire.

Callimer stood still as the merciless stream of flames flew at him and clenched his fists. His right hand began to glow light blue, the air around it growing colder and colder until frosty crystal specks glittered around his arm accompanied by a matching freezy mist. Air began to swirl around his left arm, flowing faster and faster in a tight cylinder until it created a vacuum around the Emerald Sentinel's arm. Finally, he raised both fists up and slammed them together, making a CRACK loud enough to force many of the audience to cover their ears. The Ice Punch and miniature Hurricane combined together and flew straight for Percival in an icy vortex, suffocating the draconic flames with a lack of oxygen while cooling them with the ice and continuing on towards their target.

The Evolved Garchomp widened his eyes momentarily as the powerful Hurricane-Ice Punch combo torpedoed toward him.The Garchomp raised its large, slashing claws, and instead of evading the attack, he decided to take the attack head-on. Percival's claws shined, and his body glowed from the energies of a Dragon Rush. He then burst forward, and propelled himself right through the Hurricane Callimer summoned. The Garchomp's armor and body suffered some injuries through the powerful move, but Percival's own power couldn't be denied, and the dragon forced his way through the Hurricane and straight at Callimer with incredible force.

The claws of the Dragonite dug into the ground for traction and his body began to glow brick-red as he met Percival's charge with a massive punch, the clash of the two dragons sending another powerful tremor throughout the entire arena. The pair struggled for dominance once again, neither one having many options for further attack without separating and putting themselves at risk. The combatants had only been in their mega forms for a short time and it looked as if they might destroy the entire coliseum if their battle went on too long from that point.

"HANG ON TO... F*CKING SOMETHING, FOLKS!" The Exploud announcer bellowed as pieces of debris soared across the coliseum. The very force of the two Mega Pokemon sent pressurized wind throughout the audience, causing a mixture of awe and some fear.

The two dragons continued to clash in the center of the damaged ring. Neither wanted to give up even an inch of ground, as both were determined to see it through. Their bout wasn't just about strength and power. It was about sheer will and resolve. In the midst of their intense struggle, Percival seemed to frown and part his mouth open. "Never had I want for this, Callimer," He stated solemnly. Then, as he parted his mouth more, a bright, white light resonated outward. In point blank range, the Mega Garchomp prepared a Hyper Beam to launch at Callimer, taxing as it was on his own body, as he was still in the midst of another attack at that moment. But Percival was determined to show that his resolve would outlast his opponent's, even at the cost of his own life. The Hyper Beam launched forward.

"Neither had I, Percival." Cal muttered as his body glowed amidst the struggle and a single sphere of swirling black and and blue energy floated out of him and straight up into the air. The Draco Meteor confused the audience by doing nothing after it ceased rising, merely remaining in place. The Emerald Sentinel's aura brightened to one of pure crimson and steam began to fly off of his body, the Superpower shifting into a different attack as the point-blank Hyper Beam fired from his opponent slammed into his chest and began to melt away his Mega Evolution's armor. Every vein on Cal's body bulged visibly at the strain of his increasing strength and the effort of withstanding Percival's attack until, just as Cal's armor buckled he stopped pushing against the Garchomp and pulled back and downwards.

The warriors' shared momentum pulled both off their feet and left Percival atop Callimer while the latter's tail held them both up. With every last ounce of strength he could muster from his Mega Outrage Cal's tail, arms and legs all pushed upwards at the same time, sending Percival flying in a blur straight towards the Draco Meteor core hovering in the air. None of this stopped the Hyper Beam, however and at that moment the breast plate with the Gold Tribe's emblem formed by Cal's mega evolution shattered, a roar of pain reaching the match's onlookers in the stands.

The Draco Meteors above collided mercilessly into Percival, with each hit annihilating what armor the Garchomp had across his own body. Each hit took its toll, until the last of the attack struck at the worn and battered Percival, and the dragon, like one of the many meteors that hit him, slammed onto the ground in a ferocious collision. The impact sent a final wave of debris and gust through the arena as the gathered audience looked on in a mixture of emotions, most of which was disbelief. Dust settled across the arena, but cleared enough to see a large crater where Percival landed. It was quite a few moments of suspenseful silence before the behemoth Garchomp rose forward from the ground, albeit without his mega form. He looked out toward his opponent, who had risen in a similar state. His body was heavily injured, but his eyes still shined with determination. He seemed like he was about to say something, but something caught his attention momentarily in the arena. He looked outward, his eyes scanning in on something, in silence. He then turned back to Callimer, and that same look of determination seemed to leave him at that point. Instead, he gazed at his fierce dragon opponent with what appeared to be relief. "I yield," He stated, in a shaky voice barely above a whisper, before he collapsed to the ground.

The audience erupted in an ear-splitting chorus of cheers, screams and shouts but Cal was deaf to them all at that moment. As soon as Percival lost consciousness the Dragonite turned and began scanning in the direction he thought Percival had been looking earlier, trying to parse what had driven the fight from the Garchomp's eyes. In that direction, through the pool of Pokemon watching, Callimer could make out what appeared to be a familiar Camerupt, Rolph, sitting alongside Obsidian, and a group of a dozen or so other Pokemon, all bearing strikingly similar armor patterns to that of Percival. Cal's observation was broken up by a bout of coughing, blood issuing freely from his mouth but it couldn't stop that same mouth from curving into a smile. "Good work everyone..." He began to limp towards one of the Coliseum's entrances only to stumble halfway there and fall to one knee. "Do me a favor and keep watch over things while I...have a short rest." At that Cal's legs gave out on him and he fell forward into a blissful sleep.

Though Cal was deaf to it, the thousands of gathered Pokemon erupted into a large chanting of his name. Many began climbing down from the stands to try and make their way to the large Dragonite, while the group, as well as some guards, held them back. The Exploud announcer continued to shout at the top of his lungs in a series of expletives that were drowned out by most of the other screaming the audience was now pouring out. It was a special thing to see, the crowning of a winner of the Erble Tournament. Many times, the tournament would see no winners. Sometimes, those winners would be alive for mere moments before they too perished, either from their own injuries or because of the aftermath. In those rare cases that a winner is declared, however, as was here the case, all of Karn is put on notice. Put on notice that one 'mon walks among them with a title some say is even more prestigious than a Grand General. Champion.

A few hours had passed since the climactic fight between Percival and Callimer. Though it was difficult, the group managed to secure Callimer and bring him to his room, where Cythera was able to begin treating him. In the meantime, Percival was also taken to his own room a few doors down, where he was watched over and treated by his crew, who he was happily reunited with. All the while, Erble was in an uproar. With the tournament finally over, the entire city seemed to be celebrating as if they themselves won the tournament. 'Mon drank and danced through the streets, every ten seconds there was some sort of rumbling or explosion, and crowds continuously gathered around in pools across the city. It was drowning at times, but the Emperor's guards did a pretty decent job of keeping things running stable. At least, by Karnian standards. It was a mess, but it was still a happy mess.

"I still can't believe you pulled that off," John commented with a shake of his head. "This was the craziest tournament I've ever seen. Multiple mega evolutions? Geez! And don't get me started on the Grand General turn-overs. First Kav beats James, then Cal beats Kav. Man, what a show. They'll be talking about this one for a while."

"Hopefully for decades to come, since we're fighting to make sure that's even possible." Callimer rasped, sounding happy but exhausted still.

"Hell, if we do all live through this sh*t, it'll be centuries," Rolph commented with a snort. "And if I have anything to say about it, then you best believe it. Cause I sure as hell ain't letting Darkrai kill all of us. I'll be coming back with you."

"Me too," John chimed in. "It's the least I could do."

From behind them, there was a bump and a creaking sound. In the doorway stood a Samurott clad in armour, with the face of Yveltal covering her head.

"You have my congratulations, Emerald Sentinel," said the Wyvern. "But I have-"

"What right have you to barge in here?!" Cried the Dreadmage, levelling his staff at the newcomer. "Locked room, and all! Tell us before I blow that bloody mask off your face, and your head with it!"

The Samurott replied, "... You'll have to remind the proprietor to fix those. I bring urgent news for the victor of the Erble Tournament."

"Don't worry about it, Raz. They're welcome in here, as far as I'm concerned we're allies, if indirectly." Cal said from his bed, forcing himself to sit up amidst violent creaking from the furniture he rested upon. "What have you come to tell me?"

"Word is that the Emperor of Karn wishes to see you, which I suppose shouldn't be much of a surprise."

The bed groaned even louder as Cal forced himself to roll over to its edge and plop his feet back on the ground. "I guess I should go see what he wants, then."

"No need," the Wyvern raised a hand. "He is on his way here as we speak."

Razathiel blinked. "Well, fuck this," he said. "I'm out of here."

"But Raz." Cal complained. "What will we do without you around to keep the big guy in line?"

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Vee commented. "Raz isn't exactly everyone's favorite 'mon."

"Emps kinda likes him, though," Rolph chimed in.

"Does that even matter anymore?" Vee questioned. "We won the tournament, so do we even have to prove anything to him anymore?"

"I can think of one thing." Snype spoke out, finally entering the room. "Keheh, and with how long Cal has been out there, I think he should have a good idea what I'm talking about. Best make sure you're good and recovered before ya chat with the guy, Cal."

At that Cal fell back into his bed, now perpendicular to the actual length of the bed. "No time for that, he's coming right now. Luckily, thanks to Zekrom and Reshiram I'm only recovering from my actual wounds, not mega evolving...The big panda himself isn't at a hundred percent either if it comes down to that but we'll see what he wants. Hopefully he'll be here soon."

"Maybe you're still feeling a bit tired or sore, but I've made sure there are no actual wounds you still need recovering from." Cythera said, sounding almost offended.

"Mere seconds away," the armoured Samurott confirmed. "Is this your trusted company, Callimer Vian? Those who have joined you in the fight against the Dark One?"

Before Callimer would have a chance to respond, the front door suddenly burst open, as the Emperor entered the room, accompanied by a few of his guards. Edgar seemed worn and pale, as the poison from before still seemed to be affected him. But the Pangoro seemed intent on trying to keep it hidden. "What a f*cking show!" He exclaimed, followed by a a small cough. "I tell ya, that was one of the best tourneys I saw in a while," He nodded in approval. "Not bad, not bad at all. All of you," He looked around, nodding at the other competitors, Snype, Kaveri, and Callimer, before his sights set on the Samurrott. "Well, most of you,"He scowled momentarily, and coughed again. "And I also heard you guys took down Xander too! Call me f*cking impressed. Impressed enough..." The Emperor began to say, as he removed the Soul Stone from around his neck, and proceeded forward. "... to give you this. Here," He extended his arm forward, which was noticeably shaking slightly. The Emperor gritted his teeth and tried to stabilize his hand to stop it from shaking.

Cal stretched out his own arm and grabbed Edgar's hand, giving it a friendly squeeze tight enough to hold it stable for a few seconds before pulling away with the stone. "Thank you, Edgar. I can't even begin to tell you what a good thing you've just done."

"Screw your good thing!" The Pangoro Emperor roared, followed by a set of coughs. "I did this because I said I would when you proved yourself, and you did! We Karnians are Pokemon of our word. Your group has two Grand Generals among you. If you actually had a third, you'd be able to make major laws if you wanted. Not that I'm saying you want that. Point is, you've got a lot of say now. Armies that'll follow you! Both Xander's and James'! And anyone else who'll follow ya," The Emperor snorted. "Course something tells me Grett and Alai won't be doin' that anytime soon."

"I just wanted you to understand how much it matters to us." Cal said good-naturedly. After a moment his tail thumped the ground and he spoke more loudly. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about, something I decided some time ago. I want the practice of the Serving abolished and the pokémon currently in the Serving class to be uplifted to proper citizenship."

Edgar glanced at Callimer and blinked once, before smirking. "Heh... bold move. I'm guessing you have Hugh's support," He turned to Raz. "You good with this too?" He questioned the Ralts.

The wizard "Good with this? I-"

"-Let me put it another way." Cal interjected. "Are you evil with it or otherwise accepting?"

"Err... with what? Honestly I blanked out. All this murder suppression is rather taxing."

"Abolishing the practice of the Serving."

"Oh. Sure, whatever - no idea why that became common practice amongst these brain-dead clods anyhow..."

Edgar looked between Callimer and Raz, before nodded. "Alright then, passed. I'll have Greg wri- Oh..." He suddenly remembered. "Shit, he's dead," He cursed and frowned for a moment. "Who the fuck's going to write up my sh*t now...? Eh, I'll have Hugh do it. Anyway, consider it passed."

"... That was far more painless than I expected," said the Wyvern.

"Not when you think about what it took to even get here." Cal replied with a chuckle. "I've got something else for you, Edgar, though this one's more like a proposition than a request. What would you say to a serious alliance against Darkrai?" As he made the offer Cal's voice grew more bold, almost matching Edgar's excited tone when thinking about a good fight. "The time for fighting him is coming one way or another, and it's going to be bigger than anything Karn has ever seen by far. I promise you'd have a hell of a lot more fun fighting alongside us than on your own. Plus just think of how good it would feel to slug Darkrai right in the mug after all that cowardly crap he tried to take your place."

"Heh... well you do know how to sell it," Edgar stated with a chuckle. He coughed again, and then nodded. "You know what, I might just take you up on that offer. But..." He gritted his teeth a little. "Gimme a few days to rest. I'm not at my best right now. Then I'll give ya yer answer," He stated. "Ya got anything else for me? I got places to be!"

"Ain't ya just gonna go rest, Emps?" The Scizor guard asked.

"Shut up, my sleep's important!" Edgar roared, though this was followed by a few coughs.

"Holy shit," Razathiel giggled. "He'll be dead before breakfast. Is this real?"

Edgar cackled, though in between the cackling he coughed loudly. "It'll take more than this to kill me, boy! They've been trying for years now!"

"He doesn't even know!" laughed the wizard, burying his face in the side of Callimer's bed.

Edgar snorted again, and turned to leave. "If ya need me, I'll be in my tower." He headed out the door and his guards followed. The door then slammed shut.

John inhaled and exhaled sharply. "Man, even like that, he's a pretty intimidating guy."

"... He doesn't look like he's in good shape," Vee muttered. "Kyogre's bond is basically gone from him now," Vee looked around the group. "I didn't want to bring this up in front of the Emperor, but I think there's still one more decision we have to make before we leave Karn. Cal, remember, Alai made the Emperor allow the winner of the tournament a chance to challenge him. You can fight him. End him. Think about that opportunity."

"I have been." Cal agreed grimly. "It would certainly mean a lot for the war effort but...Even though I'd like to fight Edgar I really don't want to kill him. It would feel like signing Karn's death warrant. I mean what would I do with it after the war? I couldn't come back and actually be Emperor, I don't want that. But uprooting the traditions of an entire country is no simple task either. While I think on it a bit further, back to you, Wyvern. Yes, these are my trusted allies."

"Yes, I-" The Samurott paused, raising one brow beneath her mask. "Really? All of them?"

Cal looked around the room and turned back to the masked warrior with a smile. "There are a few 'mon here I haven't known terribly long, but I'd be glad to fight alongside them. As for those I came with, I'd fight with them anytime, anywhere and I'm honored to call them friends and companions. Except Raz, he's an evil overlord allied out of necessity...I'm still glad to have him around though, I like him well enough. There's also our newest member, recovering in the other room...I have to go check on him soon. I don't know if he'll stay with us now that he's been reunited with his crew but he's also a member of the Gold Tribe now."

"Quite the... colourful group. Very well," said the Wyvern. She removed her mask and tied it at her side, before giving a nod to the group as a whole. "You have kept to your word, and for that you have my gratitude. The Serving are now free, though I'm sure there may be much yet to do - there are more pressing matters at hand for now, however. It has been made clear to me that the Dark One threatens the stability of all we know, all we cherish, and so that is where I must now set my sights. My name is Fendrala Morda, and you may consider my blades at your side... Also, hello again, Rolph."

"Fen," Rolph acknowledged with a nod of his head.

"I don't use swords, thanks," murmured Raz, who was picking at a hole in the Dragonite's mattress.

"We'll be glad to have you, Fendrala! Especially after experiencing your skills firsthand!" Cal welcomed the Karnian warrior. "We need every bit of help we can get..." His face scrunched up as he found himself back in thought. "I suppose a decision needs to be made one way or the other on the point Vee brought up. I want to hear what everyone else thinks. Should I challenge Edgar? Being the ultimate authority and Karn would make a huge difference but we already have two grand generals - one of whom is Karn's champion - an alliance with a third making for majority votes and Edgar seems like he'd be willing to work with us. On the other hand, now that he's not bonded to Kyogre anymore, if we don't take his title, someone else might, especially while he's recovering. I doubt he's ever once been this weak in his entire time as the Emperor of Karn."

"I think we should do it," Vee responded immediately. "If it were up to me, I'd do it. Uprooting the traditions of a country is not something I'd ever do lightly. But when the country is like this... isn't it worth it? Surely whatever Cal would put out is better than this."

"Isn't the Emperor able to do whatever he wants?" Cythera asked. "Can't you just become Emperor, then have, I don't know, Hugh do all the work?"

The Samurott sighed, "I feel nothing for the 'mon who sentenced thousands to death and called it freeing them."

"You'd also have control over the other generals... who's to say Alai wont pull something while the emperors resting? Ahhh well he's a big boy, I think he could still handle him either way but you never know. Last thing we need is one of Darkrai's generals ruling over Karn. It's bad enough they have half of it already. Kind of a messy divide." Snype said,

"Or we jut beat up the other Generals ourselves. I still got a bone to pick with that Simisage." Able commented.

"As much as I hate to say it, it'd probably be best if you did. We could end up in a bit of a sticky situation if one of Darkrai's followers took him out instead," Kaveri piped in.

"Why wouldn't you?" Silence questioned bluntly from her corner of the room. "That'd be like turning down a mountain of gold. And if you can't take care of Karn, who cares? They're not our problem, Darkrai is."

"I'd hate to say it, but I disagree," John chimed in. "Edgar's always done right by the citizens at Karn, even the foreigners who became citizens like me. I feel like killing him could open up a whole 'nother avenue you really don't want to deal with. They might not take to the new Emperor as well as the old."

"He's got a point," Rolph agreed. "Plus, a lot of 'mon are gonna see it as weak that you decided to challenge Emps when he was weakened himself. They won't respect you. And they won't all follow a 'mon they can't respect. Because they'll see you as weaker. Maybe even weaker than them."

"I guess you gotta point there... And I suppose if we suggested a handicap for Cal, they might just think we're calling Ed weak," Kaveri mused.

"Guess that'd be the same case if Alai tried it. Or hell Darkrai. They'd never follow him if they took him down in this state if what you say is true. Guess it isn't too worrying then on that front." Snype said. "Besides, you'd be inviting a lot of company to Gold City if you became emperor don't ya think? Kehehe. I'd rather not have another group of trouble makers take my throne." He joked.

"That shouldn't matter!" Vee pipped up. "Even if some 'mon didn't like it, the vast majority would still go along with it. Even if half of the entire army wouldn't, and that's a big if, that's still more than how much we'd have now with only two Grand Generals! And besides, this is a chance to make real change in Karn. To change it for good! To change it for the better! Think of how many years it's been this rotting mess. Hundreds? Thousands? Why do we let it continue like that?"

The Sableye turned to Vee and stared him down for a bit. He was about to say something but figured it wasn't really his place. Nor his home. He turned to the Karnians and motioned to them to speak up. It was their home after all.

"Ya can't just ask a country to change thousands of years of tradition with a snap of your fingers," Rolph snorted. "Ain't gonna happen. Karn's always been Karn. I'm sure 'mon have tried to change it in the past. But it didn't work. And it won't work now."

"Well, maybe..." John muttered. "It's a nice thought."

We got a bigger problem than Karn at the moment. Lets do one thing at a time, Vee. If we want to get the other generals then we take them out. I think Kav probably already missed being a general don't ya think?" The Sableye joked. "Besides, I get the feeling we don't have much time left as is. Darkrai has been far too quiet. Quieter then I'm comfortable with. With Celebi out in the open, he's eventually going to target her again. We'll have to fight. So whatever we decide to do, we need to hop on it." Snype said, instinctively moving closer to Celebi. "Besides, now that we have all of the pieces of Cresselia on hand, I think we should get our priorities straight as soon as possible."

"Right, I guess," Vee muttered. "I'd say the final decision lies with you on what to do. If you do wish to challenge the Emperor, then we ought to see about arranging that. If not, then I think we're done here in Karn for now."

"I think I know what to do." Cal said quietly. "Come with me." Without further explanation Cal stepped right out of the room and into the hallway, wasting no time in shoving the door to Percival's room wide open and stepping in side to check on his last opponent.

"Callimer!" Percival exclaimed, as he sat up in his bed surrounded by his comrades. He seemed to be in generally good health, minus a few bandages across his body. His armor was removed and was sitting beside his bedside. "How art thou?"

The Emerald Sentinel smiled at the proof of his friend's health and nodded. "Better already." His expression grew serious uncharacteristically quick and he stepped forward to put a hand on Percival's shoulder, making sure to brush Abel's Gold Tribe Insignia along the way. "Percival, I have need to call upon you, not just as a friend but as the leader of the Gold Tribe you have now been sworn into. This first mission I give you as a brother may also be the last for both of us, it may even put the comrades you've only just been reunited with in danger again. Would you be willing to take that risk to fulfill your oath, to perhaps save the world itself?"

Percival's eyes narrowed at Callimer as he spoke. He could feel the seriousness in his eyes and in his tone, so the dragon listened intently. When Cal finished, the Garchomp smiled. "My dear Callimer, I art yours to command. I hast sworn by it. Call upon me, and I shall answer."

"Very well." Cal continued. "Percival, when the rest of us leave to return to Gold City, you will remain behind...at first. Before I explain the rest of the details to you let me make one thing clear, you absolutely must not die here. If you are left with this feeling like a suicide mission at any point, you are to simply move on to Gold City to help as best you can with your own power. With that out of the way... You will be our insurance. As the second-place winner of the tournament I cede my right to challenge Edgar for his throne to you. You are to stay in Karn for the next short while as my liaison and await Edgar's definitive answer on whether or not he will directly assist us against Darkrai. If he refuses after his recovery, challenge him and throw everything you have into taking the throne from him, and direct all that power against Darkrai. You will also keep watch over Edgar as if you were his own bodyguard. If Alai or Grett make a move of their own upon Edgar then you will protect him, kill either of them if you can and take control of their army, if they make an attempt on Edgar's life and it becomes clear you can't protect him...then you will kill him yourself. This is not what I can call an honorable mission, but these are loose ends that simply can not be left lying. Do you accept?"

Percival blinked a few times, but then nodded his head affirmatively. "I understand. And I accept. I shall see this mission through, Callimer."

Cal smiled a bittersweet smile, the best he could manage after giving such a mission. However, his guilt at the position he was putting Percival in didn't stop him from crossing arms with the Garchomp. "It's official then, I know that you won't let me down, Brother. Remember, don't throw your life away on this, that's an order." At that Cal's gaze swept across the room and the faces of Percival's reunited friends and crewmates before he bowed to them all. "You guys owe no allegiance to me and I understand completely if any assistance you offer is to help Percival, not us. All the same I thank you for any contributions you make while you're here and I fully support your decisions if you choose to leave while you can. The rest of us can't afford to wait here, our city and the greatest bastion of resistance against Darkrai is being broken down piece by piece as we speak, I hope to see all of you again when this is over."

The Bagon among Percival's group scoffed at Callimer's reply. "As if we would depart our comrade now."

"We have heard of what thou kinsman has done for us," A Houndoom among the group chimed in. "He hast freed us, and we shall return the favor. We art all in agreement on this," He stated as he looked around, as the other 'mon around nodded and smiled in agreement.

"That's what I was hoping to here...Nonetheless, thanks to all of you from the bottom of my heart." Cal finished with a smile. Before stepping back into the hallway and looking to Vee, leading the way back to his own room as he spoke. "Is there anyway you could use your powers to help set up a small Network post here so we could leave behind a few psychics to potentially keep in contact with Percival's group, maybe get him and his crew to Gold City faster if all else fails and they have to come by themselves?"

"I can try to keep tabs on one of them," Vee shrugged. "But the distance between Valkaria and Karn is pretty stark, and with everything that's about to go on, I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep that link fully active. I can try, but I can only personally come and teleport them out. I don't really know how those network machines work or anything. That's the best I can do."

Cal's brow furrowed but he continued on. "If that's the best we can do even knowing counts for a lot...Snype, any ideas? If there's anything you or Able have the knowledge of but lack the resources for, we've got two Karnian armies to divert from."

"I'd offer the Ninjask Network but I'm not sure who else is still straggling out there. If they aren't stuck in a Skirmish then most of the remnants are likely hanging around in Beatruce and Tollen." Able explained. "Even then its still too long range without the network links. But if theres any still hanging around there, I can get some over or I can hang back. I'm not really a front lines kinda girl anyways. Heheh." Able smiled.

"Do what you can, Able." Cal confirmed. "Speed is the name of the game on this front and you're our girl for speed. With all the power Darkrai has consolidated for the final push against Gold City now, I doubt many of your agents are actually still stuck, get the line of communication as efficient and far ranging as you can, and be ready to send someone with updates on Percy's group if anything significant happens. Other than that, we should really leave as soon as we can as long as everyone is rested and ready."

"I'll try to see who I can get once we start making plan. May have to contact the folks over in Tollen if anything if we even have time." Snype added in. "Able should be able to handle Karn in the meantime. She hasn't let me down in the Communication department."

"Besides, I owe a certain someone that much anyways." Able said.

A knock came at the door soon after Able spoke. The door opened and in came one of the Network psychics that was stationed at the Network Point just outside of Daggen. The Kadabra looked around and grinned. "Sup, fellas! You all look sharp. Karn treating you well? Got a message for ya. From your friend, goes by Thomas."

"What did he say?" Vee asked.

"He heard about you getting all the pieces together, I think one of you sent the message earlier through us," The Kabadra explained. "So he went straight to work. And reaching out to 'mon. Gathering them in Selar Village."

"Gathering who?" Vee asked to clarify. The Kadabra grinned.

"Everyone."

Snype turned to the Kadabra. "kehehehe, Everyone wouldn't happen to include a couple thieves would it?" The Sableye grinned.

"F*ck would I know?!" The Kadabra exclaimed. "Everyone means everyone!"

"Good answer." Snype chuckled.

"Seems like it's time." Cal announced. "Anything else anyone needs to do before we leave? If not then I think it's time we go see what we have to work with. Raz and I had our armies sent to Selar as well when I sent the message through, so we don't have to worry about waiting for them."

Selar Village - Reunions

The group finished their affairs in Karn, and once everyone was ready to depart, they all traveled together to the Network Point just outside of Karn. With the Emperor still on the fence about whether Karn will fight in Valkaria, the group leaves with a bit of uncertainty with regards to their military forces. While they have the 3 armies of Callimer, Hugh and Raz due to their Grand General statuses, the armies of the remaining two generals (Alai and Grett) likely will be joining the other side. Only with the Emperor's word could all fight under one flag.

The one thing that was certain, however, was that the group had finally recovered all the pieces of Cresselia. The soul stone was recovered in Karn from the Emperor. The spirit was found in the body of the Musharna, Lia, in Beatruce. The vessel was found in the Queen of Tollen, Aleena. With all three pieces together, Cresselia could be reborn.

The Network Machine carried the group across the land before they found themselves in a new place altogether. Standing atop a hill of plains, they saw a fairly-sized village below.



Selar Village is a decently sized village seemingly in the middle of the outskirts of the land. Its modest stone walls and gates give it decent protections, while its watchtowers provide observance throughout the nearby lands, which are mostly fields of grass. It's warm climate attracts a multitude of passers-by, mostly either traveling through into the deserts to its south for lofty tales of treasure, or to go north into the unknown lands. When the Gold Tribe began their explorations into new lands, Selar was fairly open to them. Because the unknown lands were more a collection of medium-sized villages rather than any one nation, they were much more prone to bandit raids or unwanted attacks. Gold Tribe protection was therefore quickly accepted. Although no official large-scale Gold Tribe base exists there, there's generally a troop of Gold Tribe members stationed there to protect the citizens. It was here that the armies were to all meet, to discuss the large, and hopefully final, battle coming in Valkaria.

As the group appeared on the hill, they were immediately greeted by Thomas, who eagerly ran toward them with a smile. "Great to see you all!" He exclaimed happily. "Welcome to Selar Village. I heard about everything that happened in Karn. Congratulations on finding the Soul Stone! And... I apologize about what happened to Abel..." He concluded with a frown.

Vee broke the small silence eventually. "How's everything on this end?" The Victini asked Thomas.

The Hypno turned to the Victini and sighed, mentioning the group to follow. "Very... busy," He replied. "To put it one way. There's been a lot of commotion since Callimer put out the message a little while ago. Movement everywhere. A lot to handle all at once, but I suppose that's not entirely bad news."

"It doesn't seem like there's a lot going on," John stated with a small shrug as he observed the village in the distance from the hill. At that, Thomas smiled, and directed the group to the far side of the hill. The path led a little bit further north, before it dipped into the valley on the other side of the hill. There, the group was visited with an extraordinary sight.





There were tents upon tents as far as the eye could see. Some tents held flags which had familiar markings on them. Some were from Tollen. Some were from Anatellia. Some were from Beatruce. It was easy to see where some country's tents ended because of the different styles they employed, but around those tents, thousands upon thousands of Pokemon were moving between each place, preparing.

"I did not know what to expect when I sent out the call to everyone but... our works these past few months have been rewarded, it seems. Those who answered the call have arrived," Thomas continued to explain as he crossed his arms. "At first, we tried placing the armies around the town, but it became obvious very quickly that we wouldn't be able to fit everyone, so we put them over this hill here. The leaders of each of the forces actually want a sit-down with you soon. There's a bit of concern among them about... potential alliances, let us say. Most concerns being about Karn. But before you go to that, I wanted to update all of you of everything that has happened across the nations, just so you have all the information, and you know exactly what strength we have... and what we lost."

Thomas cleared his throat and began. "I'll start in Tollen. This was quite a while ago, so I'll summarize in case you have forgotten. It was a great decision, it turns out, to split up our group and go out to the borders. Securing the Hellguards' help was crucial, and they have pledged their help here. Both Commander Darrell, Lieutenant Trace, and the rest of the Hellguards are here as part of the Tollenian Force. While we were there, we dealt a deadly blow to the Morrian savage force, and when the Beatrucian forces came to help Tollen's, the Hellguards and the warriors from Beatruce actually rallied together and completely annihilated the Morrian Army, as well as the Bandit Clans from the south. So the only force in Darkrai's camp that we have to worry about from the Tollen area is the Pentosarrs who came from the North. Also, because Beatruce came in and helped Tollen, General Isabella promised us the Tollenian Standing Army as well. Along with that, because of our help with everything in Tollen, and our help with the election to Commander Elewyn to the Royal Knights, the Royal Knights have also come to help us. We also have the private armies of Lord Arron and Lord Marrow, both declaring their help after we helped them with the plague and cleared the name of the Gold Tribe before. Also, I think it's important to note that because of Snype's help with setting up a vast network in Tollen, Roran has sent a large group of Pokemon to act as an advantage network of spies, courtesy of the thieves. They are being led by a trio of thieves who have moved up in the ranks. I think you might remember them, Snype. Stretch, Rett, and Joseph. I think you pulled a few jobs with them back in Tollen."

"Kehehehe, I know talent when I see it. Happy to see they've been busy up there." The Sableye grinned.

"We also have a few outlying allies who are quite strong, including Alistair, who's now Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights, and Popous, who's one of the strongest fighters in Tollen. Both have agreed to help as well. Oh.. also, some Mr. Mime named Rupert... something about a towel he said would remind some of you... I'm unsure... but he says he will help. It was also a good thing that you eliminated the agent and former General Lord Tyren, and removed Gabriel from his position too. Unfortunately, a bit of bad news, while out in the forest, we failed to help a certain Lord Jenoscent, who perished out in the wilds. His death caused his son to close off, and he has refused to offer any help to us. Besides that, however, our allies from Tollen are plentiful. I am also obligated to remind you that since you elected Lord Arron to the Throne of Rectitude, things have been running... well, rather... well, efficiently, more or less. Lord Arron is a harsh 'mon, but his fear has 'mon working, at least. I do fear what is to become of Tollen when all this is done, however. If everything goes as planned... well, Queen Aleena will be gone. And that means that Lord Arron will become the new King of Tollen... I do wonder if that was his plan all along..." Thomas's voice trailed off for a moment.

"It'll just be something we'll have to deal with as it happens. Whatever the future holds won't matter if Darkrai isn't taken care of. We've had to take on several necessary evils to get this far-" Razathiel perked up and waggled his staff at everyone. "-and I'm sure we'll do many more after we win the war. Besides, I'll make sure things are kept in check up in Tollen if I gotta. Kehehe. I got good people up there. One thing at a time though." Snype said.

"I suppose you're right," Thomas agreed with a nod. "Regardless, we've done well there, so it's good to reap the benefits. Their armies are probably the second largest we have, next to Karn, so they will be a powerful ally. Moving on... to Anatellia," He continued and scrunched his eyebrows. "Let's see, where to begin... when last you heard, the Anatellians were in a civil war, with the Dark Moons and the Reverse Kings. That war's finally over. The Sons of Arceus won, thanks in no small part to the work we've done when we were there. Winning the under-race was huge for them. It attracted a bunch of smaller sects to the cause. It was also good that you managed to get rid of the Gambler while you were there. This prevented a lot more losses that the Sons would have definitely suffered. Also saving the capital from that Earth Dweller bomb was big. The Sons would have lost a lot of good lives if you all didn't stop that. It also turns out going to the Temples through the Anatellian side of Karn reached the ears of the Anatellians. They actually respected that you traveled there from their territory. They would have considered it a slight if you did otherwise. After Roxanna was killed in the tournament in Karn, this was crucial. The Dark Moons practically stopped fighting as much after that. This was the killing blow."

Thomas frowned for a moment. "Now the bad news. It was unfortunate that we didn't get an opportunity to recruit the Just Root sect in Anatellia that Silence and Zai went to recruit. They were elders in Anatellia, and had a lot of pull in terms of smaller sects. Their numbers would have been a good boost for the Sons. Having Shaymin's Riders defect during the events was also not a great move. It lost more soldiers that the Sons could have used, especially going against the Reverse Kings and the Dark Moons. Having that Sons of Arceus 'mon Francis die in the trial was a huge blow too. He was well liked, and a good leader. It ended up causing a few battles to turn sour, unfortunately. All in all, the Sons lost some strength. They suffered losses against the Reverse Kings and Dark Moons. They're not at full strength now. But, they won the civil war, and ultimately, they're here to help with the fight. And with Gaiyo Nyys at the helm, it's a fantastic boost."

"Feh, I don't know why I was sent to recruit those old farts in the first place," Silence grumbled snidely. "I'm a saboteur, not a diplomat."

Raz huffed, "At least you weren't sent with me."

"All things considered, it could have been a much worse situation," Thomas replied with a shrug. "Now,as for Beatruce..."Thomas cleared his throat and continued. "We've run into a minor problem there. In terms of military strength, before this entire debacle with the plague, they would have probably been the second strongest army. However..." Thomas frowned a bit. "We arrived into their country at a very late stage during the plague. Bastille's poison had ravaged the country by then, and caused a massive amount of their forces to perish. Nearly half of their strength is gone. However, their army is still strong, and the Overseer, Julian Oriah, has offered his entire support to our cause. We also have the support of Prime, Beatruce's Gold Tribe Leader and the remainder of the Beatrucian Gold Tribe. Though they're few in number now, they're all present here and ready to help with the fight," Thomas added with a smile. "It was also extremely fortunate that we were able to defeat the Priest, Bastille, while we were there. Because we did, the plague has all but been eradicated from Darkrai's arsenal of weapons."

"Actually, that might not be true." Obsidian pointed out, "Back in Tollen, they had parts of the plague in containers." He crossed his arms, "I doubt that Darkrai wouldn't have any more containers left. And he is the one powering up the original plague, no? Which means even without Bastille, that plague can still multiply within hosts and and still spread even without him around. As long as the enemy has some medically trained staff on their end, possibly some learning from Bastille even, all they would have to do is store some of the leftovers in such containers and release them on the army whenever they wished. Unless they just forgot about bottling up one of the most powerful weapons they ever had. There is also the fact that if there are still infected around, they would have the virus in them still. Meaning infection from bites or scratches if they have some feral made mon in cages back in their camps."

He frowned at Thomas, "Have we captured any of their men so far? Have any of them even said what they need in Valkaria? If we had an idea of WHY they are there, it would help quite a lot. They have all the intel on us that they need, due to our soldiers turning to their ranks. What about theirs? Do we have any of their soldiers coming to our ranks? Or at the least spilling any secrets about what they really want with this war? It's been a long time now in this war, and we still have no idea what Darkrai truly wants. Chaos is happening, and apparently he has a means to get to Arceus, but we have no idea what this doorway looks like, nor how it works, nor what would happen if Darkrai uses it." He glanced at the others, "Anyone else think we're not even close to using a lamp to light the darkness yet?"

"I think it's best I leave the second question for the meeting you're about to attend," Thomas replied with a slight frown. "Everyone there may have more information. However, as far as the plague itself, the power that was used to turn the 'mon feral was Darkrai's. However, the actual method of spreading the plague through the cloud was Bastille's technique. So even if they were to replicate the power again, they don't have the Priest to actually spread the plague like it was before. Which is advantageous. I agree it still may mean we may run into some feral 'mon, but at least we won't have to deal with it on quite as large a scale."

"Honestly," Cythera spoke, "part of me wants a chance to see if my newfound power can take on the plague, out of both curiosity and frustration over my last attempt. But I certainly don't mind if I never see another fucking feral again."

"I think that's something we can all agree on," Thomas agreed. "Anyway, as to Karn..." Thomas clear his throat somewhat nervously. "We are in a bit of unknown territory here as of yet. I will first highlight that it was extremely invaluable that we won the Erble tournament. Winning the tournament has gained us a lot of favor and respect with the Karnians that have joined us. They have seen the likes of Callimer, Snype, Kaveri, and others compete, and many of them hold them in quite high praise. This is even more so because we happen to have two among us who are Grand Generals," Thomas stated and gave both Raz and Callimer an affirmative nod. "The armies that accompany those titles are also at our disposal, which is extremely useful. It is even more so fortunate that in the process, we managed to defeat and kill both Xander and James, both of which were powerful agents under Darkrai's forces. We also have the full support of General Hugh, who is awaiting us in the debriefing as well. We were also fortunate to gain a few valuable allies in Karn, including the likes of Percival and John." Thomas then frowned and shook his head.

"The bad news, however, is in the process, we lost both General Boros and General Gregory to Darkrai's forces, and all of the 'mon that followed them now follow Grand Generals Grett and Alai, both of which have now diverted their forces here in Valkaria. This is especially problematic because General Boros was the Grand General in charge of the borders of Karn, and General Gregory was responsible for the stability of Karn as a whole. Losing these two positions has made the Emperor of Karn still on the fence about if he is sending his entire forces to assist us, as he is now looking to his own borders to protect Karn. Raz sending his new forces to Karn's border may be the tipping scale we need for the Emperor to come. However, we have, as of yet, not heard from the Emperor if he will be assisting us. This, as of now, is how we stand."

Raz huffed, leaping up onto the tip of his staff. ?Hah... looking back on it, it's made clear to me what a sordid affair this whole thing has been! Just a cavalcade of missed opportunities on everyone's part but mine. It seems, in spite of the tremendous burden of your combined incompetence, the sheer idiocy of our opponents has left you with something of a fighting chance. If by some stroke of dumb luck you lot can manage to suppress your moronic tendencies for but the next few key moments, I may not be forced to break my fucking back shouldering your various and numerable inadequacies ? and with that, our victory should be quite readily in sight! Feel free to stare vacantly at it, I suppose...? The Dreadmage paused, his demeanour changing slightly. "Er, not every day - or, uh, ever - that I attempt a motivational speech. How did it go?"

"One hundred percent on point." Obsidian agreed.

"A very good speech," Kaveri added. "For a very Good Overlord."

"How d- 'good'!?" Razathiel recoiled in horror at the word. "Are you off your shitting rocker? Must you immediately insult all I've just said with your usual, inane, dimwitted, tomfoolerous bollocks!?"

The question was met with a horrible, stuttered grinding noise from Rattles, who at the same time wrote "Ha ha ha, what a funny situation!"

Cythera stared at her assistant in shock. "Was... was that a laugh? Whatever it was, please don't do it again. Ever."

"I thought it was lovely," Callimer added, "just like Raz's speech."

After the group had a rundown on the situation, Thomas guided them to the main village. It seemed modest on first glance, but many, many Pokemon ran around there. Solders, messengers, and refugees caught in the madness of the war were around. When the group walked by, many 'mon actually stopped and observed them. By now, any secret about their exploits had in some way or another made its way to public knowledge. Whether by their shining Gold Tribe emblems, their known physical appearances, or their incredible exploits, many of the group were now well known, and quite celebrated.

"We've arranged for a special meeting," Thomas explained in a lower voice as he turned the corner to a less crowded street. "Obsidian actually had the idea of a separate location that none would know about. Just in case," He stated as he walked into a normal, wooden home guarded by at least a dozen guards, one of which was a Houndoom who wore a Gold Tribe emblem, John "Ripper" Aries, who had fought alongside most of them when Darkrai returned to Gold City many months ago. Ripper acknowledged the group with a warm smile and a respectful nod to Callimer and Kaveri.

Thomas led the group inside. It was as simple inside was it was outside. Any furnishing that used to be inside was replaced with a few large tables with maps on them, and a group of Psychics around a Network machine. "Shall we?" Thomas led the group toward the Psychics, who instantly closed their eyes in preparation.

"Connecting to the network..." An Alakazam began to say. "... network confirmed, sending you to meeting location... best be ready, there's a bit of... well, you'll see. Good luck."

In a flash of light, the group disappeared, and reappeared at a completely new location. The climate was the first thing noticeably different. Selar Village was a warmer, almost tropical village. But this place was a bit breezier, they had appeared right in front of a large, almost mansion-like house, with special, symbolic decorations of stone. The network machine on the other side stood right in front of this large building, and deep inside, even from the outside, shouting could be heard.

"You must be the guys," A Drowzee Psychic nodded to them and pointed inside. "They're all in there... you'd best come and help. It's not going the best."

"Oh dear," Thomas began and rushed inside. Instantly, they were met with a large group of familiar Pokemon arguing back and forth with each other. In some cases, some were in screaming matches and were getting into each other's faces. It was borderline mayhem.

"I will NOT divert my forces now!" A familiar Herdier, Lord Durania of Tollen, yelled across the enormous, round table in the middle of the room, right at an Ambipom, who the group would recognize as Gaiyo Nyys, the leader of the Sons of Arceus of Anatellia. Beside Lord Durania was the Queen of Tollen, Aleena, who sat passively and somewhat shyly in her chair.

"My Sons have been holding up that entire region so that f*cking refugees could escape!" Gaiyo shot back. "If we don't get help, not only are all of those 'mon screwed, but so are your refugees!"

"Which is why you should get the assistance of the Karnian general!" A Slowking noble the group would recognize as Lord Marrow of Tollen, chimed in. Lord Marrow sat beside the new Leader of the Royal Knights, Commander Elewyn, an Ampharos, and the General of Tollen's Standing Army, Isabella, a Roserade. "He has offered aid!" Lord Marrow gestured to General Hugh of Karn to the other side of the table, without looking at him.

"My Sons will NOT fight alongside a Karnian!" Gaiyo hissed with disgust, as he glared at General Hugh. General Hugh meanwhile shook his head, without saying anything.

"We don't have time for that pettiness now!" A Feraligatr roared in, who many of the group would remember as Commander Darrell of the Hellguards in Tollen. "Just take the f*cking help!" Commander Darrell was to the right of the Tollenian lords, and had his Lieutenant Hellguards around him, Trace, Vintus, and the newly promoted Andrea, who used to be a Seeker.

"Why don't you fight beside them, then?" Gaiyo questioned both the lords and Commander Darrell. "Hmm? All you seem to be doing is seeking aid from the Beatrucians!" Gaiyo exclaimed as he gestured to the Overseer Julian Oriah, the Tangrowth leader of Beatruce. Julian sat beside members of the Beatrucian Gold Tribe who survived, including Prime, the leader, and Pyre, Mountain and Thunder, all of whom seemed annoyed by the politics behind the meeting.

"We have a very complicated history with Karn, same as you Anatellians!" Lord Marrow retorted with a scoff.

"An ancient history," General Hugh muttered and shook his head. "We should NOT be fighting about these things now! We must join together on this o-"

"Easy for a Karnian to say!" Gaiyo spat. "If you say we have to join together, then where's your Emperor?! Huh?! Where's your other Grand Generals?!"

"Well, looks like they're right here," Muttered out Hanso Sharp-Eye, leader of SEC, as he smiled and looked to the front of the room where the group appeared. The gathered room full of politicians, generals and leaders turned to the group.

"Well, at least he's still alive..." Obsidian muttered, eyeing Hanso. Given that this was more his place at the moment, the Weavile stepped up, "If you all don't mind, instead of arguing like children, we need to do something first." He gave a nod to a few of his Seekers, then to the SEC. "Number one," His eyes narrowed, "Ensuring another Abel doesn't happen. You will all be subjected to a mind check by my Seekers. Failure to comply results in ejection. If you are a spy, or have tossed your basket of eggs over to Darkrai's side, then you will be ejected as well. I've had a high ranking Gold Tribe member already turn traitor, as well as have numerous soldiers on all sides turn to his side. I am not going to simply spout out plans here if you all fall into that same territory." He frowned at Hanso, "Even you, Hanso. You all as well." He turned to the very group he had arrived with. "And for reasoning, again, a Medicham double crossed us who stayed with our group and was well trusted, as well as having a certain ghost keenly intent on keeping certain secrets away from our ears." He glared a bit at Snype. "If such things can happen already within our ranks, then I have to be absolutely sure no one in this room is in any case harboring any ill will to our cause."

The Dreadmage raised an eyebrow at that, snapping, "Define 'mind check'."

Obsidian shrugged, "Looking over the past few days of memories. Seeing if anyone here has any psychic connections ongoing, or at the very least, had any communications with anyone associated with Darkrai. Memories that one is trying to hide, or are guilty of, would show up in such a check. We investigate and see if it's damaging to the group."

"Past few days is fine," the Ralts grunted.

"We'll all comply," Hanso chimed in with a nod. "Everyone. We agreed to this before," He stated as he looked around the room.

"I... well... yes, very well," Lord Marrow acknowledged, and around the room, the Seekers got to work, checking on the memories of all those around.

As they did so, some of the Gold Tribe members of the Beatrucian Gold Tribe seemed a bit displeased with Obsidian, including Pyre and Mountain, who both glared at him. They didn't seem to take too kindly to the way Obsidian spoke about Abel. A bit of time passed as the Seekers got to work, and Hanso looked around to make sure everyone got in their last checks. "All clear?"

"Kehehehe, yup. All clear with me. As long as ya didn't look too deep in my head. Kehehehe. Uh... though guess I wouldn't blame you at this rate." Snype joked. "Feel free to dig deeper if you reaaallyyyy wanna."

"Now that we have that cleared up," Lord Durania interjected and cleared his throat. "Maybe we can sort out this..." he paused to find the right word. "... matter. This may take a more delicate touch, something you all have some more experience with."

"Before we touch on that matter, we need all the information we can get." Obsidian stated. "We already have a good idea of what's been going on in each respective country. We had to fight in there, after all. However, we have little idea as to what has been occurring in Valkaria." He faced Hanso, "With our battleground now being there, we need as much information as we can get. At the same time, with the spies you have in Darkrai's ranks... would there be any additional information as to what the enemy is planning or how they are moving?"

Hanso nodded and sighed deeply. "... Then let me start off by saying that the reason I'm here, and not in Gold City, is because as of yesterday, Gold City is under the control of Darkrai. So is Albia, Eternity City, Poseida City, Cape City, Shine City, Gravel City... " Hanso trailed off for a moment. "There's heavy resistance in most of these cities, even now. But as of now, they are under enemy control. We've been coordinating with the 'mon in each city to start pushing for a full-fledged resistance once our forces here begin the invasion. It looks like most of enemy forces are concentrated at Gold City. And more forces keep pouring into there. Some of my spies picked up something else..." Hanso gestured to his side, to the an Abra posted to the side. The Psychic approached from the side and stood beside Hanso. A mental image then projected itself right above everyone's faces over the table. There, a picture of a large, stone object was shone. It appeared to have arcs around it, and appeared almost like a large, stone doorway.

"Several dozen 'mon were spotted by our spies carrying... this into the city," Hanso continued. "They took it deep into the city and positioned it on the very top of the Gold Tribe's Citadel."

Obsidian frowned, "... So, a gateway to god seemingly, huh? I guess he's really pissed about them beating him still." He shook his head, "What about troops? Have your spies figured out where their reinforcements are coming through? If we can cut off those points of access, we'll have an easier time here. Who still is coming to their aid, what with their defeats in each country?"

Hanso nodded. "Yes. Our spies have counted ten Network Points that are spread out throughout the cities. Five are in Gold City now. Two are in Albia, beside the Thieves Forest. Two more are in Eternity City, and one is in Cape City. We haven't figured out where all the others are positioned on the other side, but we know that means they have ten more spread out through their controlled territory on the other side. Most are probably stationed in the Path of Nations base they have. Most of the reinforcement seem to be originating from Karn. What our spies have reported is that the remains of Karnian forces allied with Darkrai are traveling from their country and going to the Path of Nations, where they're being teleported. Most of the other forces are already set up in Valkaria. Morrians and Pentosarrs from Tollen are here, mostly along the west of Valkaria. The bandit clans are mostly holed up in Shine City. Ferals are throughout the land, too, as well as Ancients. There's also a large contingent of Royal Knights that Gabriel recruited while in Tollen. They're tough forces to fight."

"Or possibly not." Obsidian stated, "Now, for one important matter. What does Darkrai want?" He frowned, "We've been at this war for months now, and he's been building this army for years. Has anyone managed to figure out what he wants besides chaos? Chaos is too general a goal. If they just want chaos and nothing else, then why go to the lengths of not killing everyone who wants order? I want a hard certified answer here. What does our enemy want?"

Hanso fell silent, as did most of the other diplomats in the room. Many exchanged glances with each other, before ultimately Hanso spoke up. "... We were hoping you would tell us," He finally answered. "All we know is what you've told us. We've heard from SEC members of conversations they've had with Alai. And we remember all the other messages picked up by Alai from you guys as well. And we remember what you said about this..." Hanso gestured to the projected image of the large doorway. "... Ancian."

"From everything we've gathered, here is the hypothesis I can assume," Lord Durania interjected. "Darkrai has been gathering chaos for years to build up enough power to be able to enter this doorway. This doorway which supposedly leads to Arceus. My guess is that he intends to destroy Arceus, along with the other Guardians, who are the last pieces standing in the way of his goal: which I believe is to become the next Arceus."

"The next Arceus?" Lord Marrow said incredulously. "Is that even possible?"

"It may be," Gaiyo interjected, giving the two lords from Tollen a small scowl. "Old texts say that 'mon have been able to transform and ascend into other, legendary 'mon since the beginning of time. That's what the Guardian system is. In the end, Arceus is just another Pokemon, right? Well, what's to stop him from destroying that Pokemon, and taking its place?"

"Make the world in his image," Durania commented in agreement, ignoring Gaiyo's gaze.

"That's definitely one possibility," Hanso agreed. "But if you're asking for specifics, I'd ask Darkrai himself. He's there... in Gold City. What we have to do now is figure out how to get to him."

"We don't have to." Obsidian said, leaning back in his chair. "We don't have to get to him at all. What we have to do is get to the Ancian, and blow it up."

"I agree," The Overseer from Beatruce commented dryly. "We eliminate this doorway, and we eliminate Darkrai's plan."

"IF that's his plan," General Hugh shook his head. "That's just a theory. And even if we do destroy it, what, are we just gonna sit around and have Darkrai and his armies kill us all anyway?" Hugh shook his head.

Hanso nodded his head. "Destroying the doorway would be a major goal for us, but our main objective has always been the same: defeat Darkrai. And now, we have the way to do that," Hanso looked at the group, including at Queen Aleena. "Right?"

"Kehehe, would say its about damn time too. We have all the pieces of Cresselia. Now we just have to put them together and finally wrap this all up cleanly." Snype commented.

"Precisely," Lord Durania concluded with a nod. Queen Aleena shifted somewhat uncomfortably in her seat as many gazed upon her for a moment. "Or as clean as we can make it," The Herdier lord added.

"Now the question is, how should we put her together...?" Hanso questioned as he glanced over at Queen Aleena, and then over by Snype, where Lia floated around in the air.

"You'll want to do it there," Celebi pipped up for the first time during this meeting. Many of the nobles looked over to her as she pointed to the image of the Ancian. "Where Gabriel is. That would be the best idea."

"Why do you say so?" General Hugh asked the legendary.

"Cresselia's power is Darkrai's foil," Celebi explained. "One reacts to the other, one is stronger when with the other. We can do it here and now too, but the strongest effect, the best effect, would be to take her right up there, and awaken her there. That's your best bet."

"But that will require taking the Queen through conquered territory?" Lord Marrow questioned nervously. Celebi nodded quietly, looking over at the young Queen, who bowed her head lowly as she gazed at the Ancian.

"Oh, so now you decide to say something?" Obsidian said, standing up and slapping his hands against the table, "And here I thought you had gone mute. Well, since you're so talkative now, how about clearing some things up? How about telling us all who Darkrai is? How about giving us something other than 'I don't know'?" He frowned, "That's all it's been with you, locked up in your forest. Guess what? That forest didn't always exist. You had to have been out in the real world at some point. All it's been with you and Snype are cover ups, falsehoods. You're here now, and like or not, your lot is tossed in with us. I don't care if Arceus strikes me down, and probably he won't given how much of a crap he cares about Darkrai, so go on. Tell us some more things we should have learned months ago."

Snype was already concerned about that gesture. Celebi did warn Snype something would happen after her previous interference with the timeline to save Snype's life... though she never even told him exactly would would occur. The Sableye looked toward Celebi and back to Obsidian. "What's done is done. With how close we are I doubt we have alot more to hide... right?" Snype stated, glancing to Celebi. "If anyone knows something that could prevent us from kicking the bucket so close to the finish line now would be a good time."

"I... I already said before," Celebi stated with a frown. "I was shut off from knowing. I wasn't there. If you wanted to know about Darkrai, you should ask someone who was there. Like Cresselia. Or another Guardian who was alive then."

"Shut off from-?" Razathiel began, quickly stopping himself. He grumbled, "Great load of 'watching' Celebi must be doing - I'd kill to get a hold of whatever facetious bastard came up with that title."

"The Guardians sure weren't one for communication huh Cel? Kehehe" The Sableye said, patting her back a bit playfully. "Well, guess putting her together here and asking would be the easy way out but doubt that'd be smart long term."

"... And why were you shut out?" Obsidian asked. "You need to select new mon to become Guardians. So, let me guess, this is a pattern. What did you do that required a punishment for being shut off from the rest of the world... hm?"

"This was not a punishment for me," Celebi answered the Weavile. "This was my reward. I was chosen to become the Watcher, and in turn, I am given the choices of picking the next Guardians. But just like I told you before when... when we first met," Celebi paused for a moment, reflecting on the moment when Guardia died. "I'm not allowed to know what happens. I'm not allowed to know who's who, and where's what. I'm not allowed to use my power for anything except to keep me hidden. If I do, something bad happens. I am hidden so that the Guardians are protected, not because I was 'shut out'."

"And yet, nothing bad has happened." Obsidian pointed out, "You're here, and lightning hasn't struck you down yet, right?"

"That's because I haven't used my power," Celebi responded. "If I did, just like before... something bad would happen."

"Pardon me to mention that now's an odd time and place to have this conversation - and then continue it anyway," the Dreadmage weighed in. "But what ghastly eldritch force governs this irritating power anyhow? It'd seem odd for 'oh so mighty' Arceus to punish reasonable use of it when it's their hide on the line.... though I suppose divines do seem to have an uncanny knack of being disturbingly senseless..."

Celebi was slow to respond to Raz, and Lord Durania jumped in at her silence. "That seems to be a trend, given everything I've been learning about the legendaries over the past few months. Perhaps you could ask Arceus if you all end up meeting the Pokemon."

"I think the most pressing issue now is just figuring out how all of..." Hanso gestured to all of the diplomats around. "... this is going to work. Clearly there's some tension with some of the 'mon here, and if we don't get around it, we won't be able to move forward."

"Hmph, pressing," Razathiel scoffed, climbing up onto his staff and hopping about absentmindedly on puffs of psychic force. "I suppose interrogating the Watcher can be done later, because the so-called 'tension' amongst the squabbling idiots requires attention, apparently. Here's a thought: you will get around your petty grievances because it is required of you. The alternative is oblivion for you and whatever outcomes you fear from whatever piddly nonsense is happening between the lot of you sorry sods. What could you possibly be worried about enough to supersede the ruin of this entire plane of existence? Can't be that important, I'm not even sure I remember who any of you are- who do we have here?"

The wizard paused, his gaze of scrutiny befalling the room's occupants a few at a time. "Hmm, yes, Sharp-Eye, purveyor of gadgets that someone here might have used once or something, terrific- then there's er... that one's... Overseer something. A shrubbery in all but title." The Overseer responded by furrowing his brows and glaring at Razathiel. "Golden pricks behind him I don't recall meeting. There's the only other Grand General to bother turning up- such an insufferable pillock that he hasn't even given me any ammunition to insult him with. The Ambipom, with supposedly all the limbs a 'mon could wish for and yet, with all the verbal garbage he exudes you'd expect an extra mouth or five sneaked in there. Then there's the powerless Tollenians with their powerless figurehead - as though it wasn't enough already to deal with a Florges who thinks herself a queen, now there's one who actually is a queen, hollow though the title may be."

Lord Marrow leaped out of his seat and pointed at the Ralts angrily. "What? How dare you insult not just me, but our Queen! 'Mon have died for less!"

"You live in a world," Razathiel snapped back. "Where 'mon have died and continue to die for little reason at all - much less interrupting me in the middle of a rant - and yet as thousands perish, it is unbridled fury at petty insults that manages to raise you from your seat! All of you gathered here, for what- to bicker? A splendid disaster. Allow me to make one thing clear, if your addled minds can understand such a thing; here, in the presence of myself and my compatriots, you exist for a single reason. Gold Tribe, Thief... Seeker, General... Lord, Legendary... Villain. Meaningless titles in our context, relinquished before the gravity of a single goal... To stop Darkrai.

"Now, of course, I wouldn't necessarily have surmised that any of you had any relevance in stopping Darkrai whatsoever - but my eye is a cynical one, and supposedly you all have parts to play. I lack the synergy or care to assign whatever parts those may be, though I can think of none better to do so than the one who has taken up the mantle of responsibility in shouldering the weight of this operation. You would do well to listen to his instruction, even more so than you should listen to mine - and should you follow him, you stand a chance at preserving your lives and whatever other inane garbage you hold dear." Raz jumped off of his staff, grabbing it in one hand as he hit the floor. He began walking off to the side. "Callimer, I yield you the floor. Make decent use of it."

There was a large slam on the earthen floor, one so thunderous it shook the ground even outside the tent slightly. Dust billowed around the Emerald Sentinel's tail from where it had slammed on the floor. "However coarse and grating his choices of language may be, Razathiel is absolutely right! Look at you all! Bickering amongst yourselves even as the world falls apart around you! Well I've had enough, it's time you all appreciate the position you're in. Need I remind that my people, my friends, even this dark overlord who couldn't give a fig about any you have been risking our lives, fighting with everything we had to help each and every one of you while our own homes, our own people burned and you were all merely fighting for yourselves and your own people? Of course working together is what's best for everyone but let none of you forget the debts you owe to us - and by extension, each other. The borders that existed before today mean little at this moment. Even if everything in the fight against Darkrai were to go as well as possible from here on out the world would still be an utterly different place when it's all said and done."

The crowd was stunned into silence for a moment so Cal continued before he could have any interruptions. "There will be time for borders to be discussed, re-established and possibly even still squabbled over after this is finished, but if you can't all see forward to what really matters right now that day will never come! This is more than just an international alliance, this is the world's last hope." He finished the first part of what he had to say, arms crossed and tail still firmly planted inside of the indentation it had made in the ground as he looked at those around him to see if he had gotten through at all.

"Well, he has a point," Commander Darrell of the Tollenian Hellguards spoke up first.

"F*ck yeah he does!" Prime exclaimed with a proud smile. He winked at Callimer as he wore his usual huge grin on his face.

"... One speech cannot rid lifetimes of deep hatred," Lord Marrow chimed in with a frown.

"Of course not." Cal replied grimly, arms still folded. "My words aren't to make you all forget your prejudices, the injustices against you but to see the much larger events you're all now a part of. Do you mean to tell me, Lord Marrow that those lifetimes of hatred matter more to you than the lives of your own people?" Before Marrow could respond Cal rose his voice, again speaking to all assembled. "Do you all mean to tell me you would rather watch all those you care about die before your very eyes than have to work alongside those who've done you wrong in the past but even now have a common goal?!"

Lord Marrow glanced around the table, at the other gathered 'mon. He and General Hugh exchanged a look with one another, for a few seconds. Gaiyo also looked around the room, crossing his arms as he silently glared at the others while mulling over Callimer's words. The tense room seemed more relaxed than it first was when the group walked in. Now, everyone seemed to be waiting for the first of the diplomats to speak up.

"My forces are at your disposal," The Overseer from Beatruce finally broke the silence, giving the Dragonite an affirmative nod.

"As are mine," General Hugh added after. "Karn stands with Valkaria. Or at least I do."

Queen Aleena, who had mostly been silent at this point, shot from her seat. "As does Tollen!" She exclaimed forcefully, quite unlike her usual, reserved self. Lord Marrow and General Isabella looked at the Queen in surprise. Lord Durania, who sat beside the Queen, nodded in agreement, as did General Isabella and Royal Commander Elewyn.

Gaiyo Nyys, who was still crossing his arms, looked across the room and sighed. "F*ck it, fine. Anatellia's ready to roll," He stated with a nod.

Selar Village - The Final Meeting

Obsidian held up his hands, "... Well, I have a problem already." He said, looking around the room, "We're together now, that's fine, but I am considering awakening Cresselia now." He held out a finger, "Cress was around to stop Darkrai the first time, correct? Given that memories seem to transfer with new rebirths of these legendaries, it stands to reason that Cresselia knew what Darkrai was up to back then. What if Darkrai is using our ignorance of the situation to benefit his side?" He frowned, "There are tales of strategists using this very tactic even back in ancient times. Where they would predict their opponents doing one thing, and withhold information to watch them do what they predicted. We are no closer to knowing what he is trying to achieve. If we can figure that out here and now with Cresselia's help, we'll have an advantage. If he's planning on us destroying this Ancian for him, for instance, then we'll be screwed if we move forward without Cress. She could very well know how to activate it, maybe opening a portal for Arceus to come out and blast him... or better. Allow us a total way to seal it off so no one can ever use it again. She might even know of a weakness Darkrai and his forces have apart from her own powers." He glanced around, "Point of the matter is, we're entering this clash with no information whatsoever. No idea of what could happen if he opens the Ancian, or gets us to accidentally open it for him."

"If he opens the Ancian, then that means he's going to try and kill Arceus," Vee chimed in for the first time in the meeting. The Victini crossed its arms. "That's my guess. You can ask Cresselia yourself, sure, but bottom line is that's likely his plan. And he'll use up all the chaos he's gathered over the years to do it. The Ancian isn't a simple doorway," Vee explained. "It requires a tremendous amount of power to open, so is said. Even legendaries usually can't. But Gabriel's beyond any other legendary now. He's... well you could say he's god-like. To hold that kind of power is insane. And it's precisely why I think you should wait to awaken Cresselia," Vee hopped off his seat and paced around as he talked to everyone. "When Cresselia will be released, an enormous amount of energy will be shot out at once. That's the usual process behind the choosing of a Guardian. Their energy is tied to some part of this world. Physical, emotional, mystic. Darkrai's is attached to the world's chaos, and Cresselia's to the world's serenity. But she's been gone for so long now, that the amount of power she will unleash to try and correct that imbalance will be enormous."

Vee paused for a second, then continued. "Enormous enough to land a devastating first blow to Darkrai. See, there's two type of energies involved with the Guardians. There's 'active' energy, which is when the Guardian is actively using their power to infuse into the world. Like Darkrai firing an attack at someone, or using chaos to create more chaos. It's frightening, but in some ways, it's the weaker of the two energies. That's because the second energy acts as a sort of shield against this active energy. We call it 'passive' energy. Passive energy generally only activates as a natural response whenever a Guardian's opposite active energy gets too out of hand. For example, if Cresselia and Darkrai were both around now, and Darkrai was infusing chaos into the world at a tremendous rate, Cresselia's passive energy would activatee and act as a powerful shield against it. This is used to help keep the Guardians in check. One Guardian's passive energy activates to fight another's active energy," Vee continued to explain. The Victini looked around the room to see if everyone was following. "The drawback of passive energy is that it's not really 'usable' often. It more or less acts as an initial shock to try and steer the balance of the world back. It's like taking a bit of energy from the planet reserves for a brief moment. At this point, Cresselia's passive energy won't be enough to defeat or destroy Gabriel in his current state, but it'll definitely deliver a power blow. And the closer we are to him, the more powerful it will be. That's why I think we should awaken Cresselia right there. Closer to him. At least in the city range. Maybe if we can, in the same building as him. He'll feel that."

"Okay..." Obsidian held up a hand, "Question on that front... why hasn't he already busted down the Ancian then?" He asked, confusion in his voice, "If he's a god now... then why wait? Is he just showing off? Does he want us there for a show or something? And if that's the case... how immature is he that he is waiting for us specifically to show we're fucked?"

"I don't think he's there yet," Vee responded quickly with a shake of its head. "He's close... that's why he suddenly attacked with much more ferocity recently...." Vee shut its eyes and shuddered briefly. "I can feel his energy, even here. He's close. But he's not there yet. He's using the last of this battle to probably feed him a bit more."

"So... the problem I see now is getting everything there." He frowned, "You know, he could easily kill any part of Cresselia we have, right? And it spawns back into the world... but somewhere else. If we bring the parts to him, he can just easily destroy her before we can properly bring her into the world. What do we do to stop that?"

"We make a plan," Hanso answered. "We plan on who we send where, we plan on how we defend the Queen and the other parts, and we plan on how to take back our home."

Obsidian sighed, "... What if we get her in there secretly? Have the heavy fighting elsewhere, draw all the fighters to that part. We use stealth to our advantage to get her close then. And we'll have to be quick. If we try to push through with fighting he wins before we get there." He gave a helpless shrug, "With how confusing and convoluted this system in, that's the best shot we have. If we fight before, we lose. If we wait too long, we lose. So... we have to somehow lure the enemy out without sparking chaos." He looked around, "Anyone have any smart ideas?"

"Kehehe, well, if we're planning backhanded tactics, I'm always your guy. Whether we sneak her in or lure them out, either way, shouldn't be trouble for the thieves amirite?" The Sableye said confidently. "I got some choice words for that frog anyways. Kehehe. Wouldn't be the first time I've snuck around with the queen." He gave a coy wink toward her. The Queen shyly lowered her head for a moment. "Any kinda sneaky sabotaging that ya need, the thieves can pull it off. Kehehe."

"You'll have help from us too," Roran spoke up from the edge of the room. The Raticate thief from Tollen had been mostly quiet up to that point. "If we do try to sneak something in, there's no better group for the task than us."

"Hmm... it may not be a bad idea," Lord Durania stated, deep in thought. "Perhaps a major distraction of some sort? An attack on many fronts? While a smaller group sneaks into the occupied city?"

"Even if we do this, this 'distraction' force would still have to be fighting," General Hugh added in. "Meaning we still need to defeat the enemy's armies, not just their leader. Who should lead both forces? Where should we go? Do we strike at just one point? Multiple points? How do we divide our forces?" He questioned. "I'm open to suggestions, though I do have some of my own too."

"I bet you do," Gaiyo muttered under his breath quietly.

"I still have some of the power I used in Beatruce should it come to that." Snype said.

Obsidian shook his head, "No no no. You are all missing the point." He said, a frown on his face. "We need to find ways to diminish chaos from these fights. Those ideas are all good, theoretically, to get us in close... but they would lead to more chaos. We have no idea how much is needed to have him open that thing up. Once Cresselia is awakened close to him then we can go and do full frontal battle. Because he'll be so far away from his goal that there won't be any chance of him quickly recovering to that point again. We need to think underhanded tactics. Not facing an enemy head on... but denying them the pleasure of battle." He smirks, "... Things like... pits, trenches. Where the enemy comes rushing, only to fall into a pit and having to spend some time getting back up. Things that halt the fighting and distract, say like singing them to sleep, or using sleep powder." He looked around, "Any chance of chaos out there, any one small bit helps him. And we have no idea how much more he needs. If it's just one tiny battle, or a full scaled one. I need you all to heavily consider defensive tactics. If we have Zoroarks or such, use illusion to make them think they are attacking the enemy when they aren't. Ground types, break up the ground and keep the two sides separated. Water types that can surge in floods and work as another barrier. Grass types that can summon walls to separate our enemies from each other. Stuff that has minimal chaotic potential, all while keeping the army busy."

He smirked, "You may all be wondering, how we can look so weak that we have to rely on division tactics and trying to keep the enemy at bay. I mean, with a large army like ours the enemy would know something is up immediately. Throughout this whole war we had no idea how big their army was. We had no idea who had allied with them, or how they were moving around or planning. Now it's time to use that tactic against them. We're going to only have a small portion of our forces enter, looking as if they are the very last hope for Valkaria and this world. No one outside of this room knows anything of our plans. No one knows if we put aside our differences, nor do they know if we have allied enough to bring our armies together in one fell swoop." He put his hands on the table, "That is where the plan comes into effect. One army will only march out there and hold off the surge of defenders. Within their ranks we'll have a few mon from other armies, those who have specialized abilities in keeping the distraction going. The enemy won't think of analyzing every single mon in the crowd, so the likelihood of them realizing this is slim. Very slim. We set up this small portion right in front of Gold City, one last defense... or so it seems to our enemies."

He looked around at the gathered faces. "Now, here comes the tricky part. We can't truly engage until Cress is born again. We'll have that portion of the army march into Valkaria... but we still have network points. The other armies will gather and bring one network point over to another part of Valkaria. Their small numbers will help keep them secret, just like how the enemy invaded our lands. With that point up, we can start putting mon through, waiting for the signal of Cress' awakening. Once that awakening hits, the rest of the army will surge forth from another area, hitting the city from the side. The good thing about this is, if my plan works well enough, a majority of the defenders could be drawn out from the city. This leads to us not only taking over the fortifications easily, but also clearing out the streets and creating a barrier, preventing Darkrai's men from getting to him easily to try and help him. They would have to go through our new defenses to get to him. And by that point, we can engage in full combat. With Cress alive, that chaos is significantly weakened, and I doubt one major battle would be enough to give Darkrai all he lost back."

Lord Durania glanced at Obsidian and pondered silently for a moment. "Hmm... this isn't a bad idea. I am open to something like this."

"It's not what I'm used to, but I can pull something like this off," General Hugh added.

"It's right up my alley," Roran chimed in. "I can definitely get 'mon on those diversion tactics."

'General Isabella looked around. "Are there any other suggestions?"

"Kehehe, sounds like a plan to me. When it comes to underhanded tactics, I'm literally the king here. I'd be honored to help sneak cresselia through to get this awakening going." Snype smiled. "Though the Queen may have to dress a little more uh... thief like if she's going to efficiently sneak around with us and all." Snype chuckled. "Merely a suggestion. I'm sure the guys can help with that part right Roran?"

"We can," Roran stated with a nod. "Maybe even use one of our Zoroarks to mask her in an illusion. Not sure how long it'll last, but it could hide her for a while."

"I... yes, if that is agreeable with everyone," The Queen stated with a nod, looking around everywhere.

"I still have reservations in sending the Queen into a war zone," General Isabella muttered.

"I tend to agree," Royal Commander Elewyn added.

"Hrm..." Snype rubbed his chin. "I get your concern. I wouldn't know how comfortable the queen herself is with such a thing either... hmmm... how much time do we have till our operation takes place?" Snype asked.

"The sooner the better," Hanso responded. "... why?"

The Sableye rubbed his chin. "Well then my Queen, this is a dangerous operation we're running here. How would you feel about having a rundown of some basics with the thieves? Some training before the big day. Kehehe. Should help us with getting all of you to our destination safely without detection. If you have no objections of course. It'll help you get comfortable with the plan once we get a route going."

"I have reservations about this," Lord Marrow objected with a furrow of his brow. "This type of behavior is most... unbecoming, particularly of a Queen!"

"It's probably a bit late for that," General Isabella stated. "'If she does go, she'll have to be ready."

"Plus, I will be besides her through this," Commander Elewyn stated. "As much as I don't like her wandering into the center of all of this."

"I am not so sure, still," Lord Marrow stated again.

"I too have objections, milady," Alistair, the deputy Royal Commander chimed in.

"Maybe you should let her decide by herself?" Vee interjected. "We're running out of time."

Many around glanced at the Queen. She nervously looked around, then looked at Snype. "I... I want to try."

"What we have to do is an illusion for sure." Obsidian pointed out. "If anyone sees her... well, I'm sure they all know she is a part of Cresselia... we have to be careful here. If any part of Cress is destroyed, it does get reborn, yes... but we wouldn't know where. For anyone who does go in with the queen they would have to DIE before they give the enemy even one item that would resurrect Cress. If we lose but one part before we get there, it's all over."

"Annddd that's why I'd like to train her myself! May as well not be a walking target right? Kehehe! Just in case it comes to that I'd like to be ready for all possibilities! If you're comfortable with it my queen, we can begin as soon as possible! As far as getting in however... I do still have a route assuming Darkrai hasn't discovered it. We used it to evacuate some folks from Gold City. We set up an underground tunnel system far before Darkrai's attack so the thieves could get access inside. Leads to a small area we set up in the middle of town. Should be a simple way to get through."

"... You'd probably have to take the other piece of Cresselia with you as well, I'm assuming?" Hanso asked Snype as he pointed to the floating Musharna Lia. "Just to keep track of both of them."

"It'd be easier that way for sure." Snype replied. "Makes my mission all the more dangerous but I'm willing to take that risk if everyone else is." He replied.

"I'm still not entirely comfortable with the idea, but if a small group went together to protect the Queen, and if she is alright with it, then I can get behind the idea," General Isabella replied.

"I... I think I can do it," Queen Aleena responded softly, as many of the diplomats' eyes traveled to her. "If you believe it's best."

"At this point, my Queen, it is what you believe," Royal Commander Elewyn commented with a warm smile. "We will be behind you, no matter what." She reassured her.

"Be that as it may, if we do go forward with this plan, we'd have to coordinate where to send our armies," Lord Durania stated as he glanced over to Obsidian. "I am open to your plan of attack through the network points, but ultimately, whether we like it or not, we have to spread some of our forces to the other cities as well. Defeating Darkrai is crucial, of course, but we still have to defeat his armies too. That's presumably why you asked for those soldiers from each nation. This means we not only have to defeat Darkrai, but we have to defeat their armies, and the ones leading them."

General Hugh nodded in agreement. "There's still a few Agents leading the other side that we have to deal with. You guys did well in defeating most of the Agents in the other cities that you visited, but our scouts report that there's still 3 more that you need to take out: The Abomasnow from Tollen, Wyatt, Alai, whose taken up one-fifth of the Karnian Armies as the new Grand General, and General Grett, who has another one-fifth of the Karnian armies. Our sources also report Grett is the leading General of all of Darkrai's forces. Each of these Generals also have to be taken out in order to guarantee our victory."

"Luckily, most of our sources say all three Generals are around Gold City," Hanso elaborated. "We're definitely going to divide our forces and send them to the other cities when the time comes so that we can retake them. But I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we'd prefer your group," He motioned to the group. "Help with the fight in Gold City. You've faced Agents before, you've fought Darkrai before, you'd be the most equipped to lead and handle the main battle."

"Well... we don't have to necessarily defeat them first." Obsidian pointed out, wagging his finger with a grin, "I mean, you all know what Darkrai did with his generals, right? Imagine this... Cress comes in, cuts D's power in half, or more. And with that, she more than likely gains the memories of these parts around us, particularly of the queen. She would know what's going on." He smirked at the queen, "It's simple, once you're Cresselia, you do the same thing Darkrai did. We'll have a small entourage with us. Throw some power to one mon, someone who can take on Grett. Elevate someone to that position and that one mon can pretty much fight him down. With Darkrai's power cut down, and some reinforcements as well, we'll take him down first. Once Grett is down, the main right hand man is down. Blow to morale, as everyone thinks Grett can't be beat. And here's the neat part, we have our own Grett on our side who can take down the other generals in turn. We just turn what Darkrai did back on his side. Playing fire with fire."

"Hmm..." Vee pondered for a moment. "I like where your head is at, but I don't quite think it'll work the same way with Cresselia. Likely she'll need all her energy to combat all of the chaos going on around her. But your plan does give me another idea..." Vee trailed off for a second and then shook its head. "I'll figure that out later. Your best chance against the Agents still would have to be the Mega Stones. But I think you're right on the other point. Cresselia will have a better idea what's going on once she's awakened."

"One thing that's for sure is that as much as we'd like to disrupt them and avoid fighting, there's a very hard limit on how much 'chaos' we can avoid." Cal cut in. "Chaos isn't exactly the most literal term, many things could be considered chaos, including the results of whatever traps or workaround maneuvers we make. Ultimately some of us will have to do as much direct damage as possible, especially where the agents are concerned. The agents are an ever-present problem that must be dealt with, as well as one that no amount of 'regular' pokémon will be able to handle. We're going to have to dedicate some of our best fighters to surgical strikes against Darkrai's remaining agents, including Grett."

He looked around at the expressions of those listening for a few moments before his tail thumped the ground, making sure any eyes that may have wandered were back on him. "I already have a few ideas on that matter but the main question as to the strike teams is, do we want to make a squad for each Agent to go after all of them at once, with each victorious squad moving on to assist those still fighting, or do we form one large team into what we'd hope is an unstoppable Bulldozer that cleave through the enemy and take out the agents one at a time but rapidly before moving onto Grett? Personally I'm in favor of the split approach since it would be more organized and I could handpick the members of each group a bit more easily but I'm open to opinions on this."

"Singling out the bastards and forming kill-squads based on type advantage seems like the way to go," the Dreadmage weighed in. He closed his eyes and folded his arms, leaning back against the right wall. "Requires battlefield control - we need to be sure they're fighting us where we want them to fight - which should be plausible when we outnumber them. Well, outnumber whilst ignoring the grander pleb numbers; I don't much care how many insects each side is throwing at each-other, I'm just talking about the big kids- no insult intended to the bug types in the room..." the wizard paused, lifting a hand and opening one gleaming eye. "Shame about the whole agents of Cresselia business, though I have to admit I wouldn't touch the crescent cretin's power with a fucking barge pole. Are you sure there's too much chaos about? I didn't miss the part where we were handed out comprehensive pamphlets on the nature of chaos according to Darkrai, did I?"

"I'm not sure about Cresselia giving out additional power at this point," Vee responded with a frown. "But Obsidian's idea gave me another one. I was going to send a message to a few other legendaries. They didn't help as much in the past. But with Cresselia almost together and us pushing forward, maybe they might change their mind and lend their power. I'll call up my pal Wem and see if he can get a message across."

"I- Wem?" Razathiel bristled at the name, shooting a glare Vee's way. "Don't tell me you've had that superfluous changeling cock-arse at your beck and call this entire time."

"Not entirely, but I'm able to get a message out recently," Vee explained. "I reached out after you mentioned that you ran into it earlier. I think I might have made contact. Wem has a particularly good streak of running into legendaries. It might help."

"Well tell the bastard to transform into Darkrai to even the odds a little."

"I wish it worked that way," Vee replied in a murmur. "But on splitting up, I'm more than happy to help with that, to take out these Agents and Darkrai."

"I can support split groups to engage the Agents," General Hugh nodded in agreement. "We have the numbers advantage after all."

Gaiyo looked around the table and shrugged his shoulders. "Anyone got anyone in mind they wanna go after? I personally would have loved to help take out that f*cker James, but you guys already did that, so."

"As much as I'd love to take a crack at Alai for manipulating me, I need to help Snype scout if we're going to have any success sneaking into the city with Cresselia." Able stated out.

"While I wouldn't mind another quibble with Alai - he's really quite the pleasant guy for a follower of Darkrai - I think I'd be best suited to fight that Abamasnow. Uh... Wyatt, was it?" Kaveri looked around the table for affirmation. "If I remember right from when we last ran into him, he can stir up some pretty fricking icy blizzards. And I'm pretty sure I can stand up to the cold better than most anyone else here." She raised her paws in a small shrug. "Besides that no matter who I go up against, I'm going to be at a type-disadvantage. I might as well go for the fat slow-poke of the whole lot. Another thought I had." She leaned forward, resting her paws on the table. "If we defeat Grett and Alai, even if it is in the middle of battle, don't we take charge of their armies?"

"That's right," General Hugh confirmed. "As Grand Generals, if we take them out, we get control of their armies."

"Which means those two ought to be a priority," General Isabella commented.

"I personally would still prefer to go with the group that protects the Queen," Commander Elewyn chimed in.

"As would I," Vee announced. "I think I'd best fit there."

"I wouldn't mind taking a crack at that Grett guy," Commander Darrell chimed in. "If I can get my Hellguards situated."

"I can probably handle the Hellguard leadership if you want to try at Grett, sir," Lieutenant Trace stated to the Feraligatr Hellguard leader. "That way, me and Lieutenant Vintus could focus on his army while you go after the 'mon." Darrell nodded at Trace.

"I'd want to go after one of those, but I'd probably need to direct my armies too," General Hugh agreed.

"Yes, it would probably be best for all of the Generals to be directing their own armies," Lord Marrow added. "We can have others pursue the Agents directly. Like Popous for example. And Alistair as support. Along with whoever your group sends."

"Wait, aren't I-? Well- I should think not!" Razathiel spluttered in protest, having forgotten for a moment that he was supposed to be a Grand General. "I don't want to waste time running daycare for those disloyal, senseless peons! What use is a dark wizard who doesn't go around dark wizarding? Unthinkable!"

"I meant more those directly in charge of nation's armies," Lord Marrow stated to Raz. "You are... well, you would do better going against Agents I expect."

"Oh, well, I- fair enough! Er, damn straight!"

"What you all are forgetting is that this is the final bout." Obsidian pointed out, "Darkrai isn't going to take chances here. He did that last time, and he got sucked into a crystal for hundreds of years. We all saw how powerful James was. Until the power source, Darkrai, is weakened with Cress' awakening, don't try to take on any of the generals. Cress can give us the first push we need to topple the opposition over. Going after them while there is plenty of chaos in the air would be borderline suicide."

"I will say the last time I was around Alai, I never sensed any presence of Darkrai," Vee commented. "So facing him before or after we awaken Cresselia might not matter. But I will agree going after the Agents after would be safer."

"Ah, yeah. For whoever does fight Alai... He relied pretty heavily on Natural Gift in our fight," Kaveri inputted. "I don't know what other tricks he might have up his sleeve, but that on it's own made him a pretty wily little trickster to deal with."

"He's incredibly manipulative. Don't trust a word he says." Able stated out and didn't say much else after.

"I would be more than happy to engage either Alai or Grett's armies," General Hugh stated. "It's probably best in terms of Karnian morale to see us fighting each other. That way if you guys do defeat those generals, they'd be more inclined to turn sooner."

"If Hugh's forces go to Gold City, mine probably won't," Gaiyo Nyys interjected with a shrug. "Listen, ya got me willing to fight side by side with Karn and everything, and I can convince my guys to tolerate it. But morale-wise, it might just be best for us to help out a different Valkarian city."

"There are plenty of forces to go around," Hanso agreed. "Most of the fighting will be in Gold City, but the other cities could use our help. I've got General Warren securing Eternity City for us. He's arranging all of the Valkarian forces in hiding in the area to make a massive strike once we hear news about Cresselia's awakening."

"I'm thinking of sending the Sons to Cape City," Gaiyo stated. "I was looking at the map, and it seems to be close enough to Gold City that I could send help if we do well here. And it could have us steer clear of Karn conflicts."

"I'll have the Tollenian army engage any forces from Tollen that came from our area. So any renegade Royal Knights, and the Pentosarr Army from Tollen's North," General Isabella stated.

Alistair stepped forward, "I'll have the rest of the Royal Knights assist with that, under my command."

Lord Marrow nodded his head. "My forces along with Lord Durania will probably assist you with that. Rupert will act as a strategist for my forces as well."

"I can have the Beatrucian army focus on all of the Ancients and Feral Pokemon in Gold City, when the time to strike arrives," Overseer Julian Oriah commented in his usual, dry demeanor.

"Seems like a pretty good divide in terms of the armies," Hanso nodded in acceptance of the divide. "What about the Agent strike teams Callimer suggested?"

"I can go help against that Wyatt guy," John chimed in.

"As can I," Mountain, one of the remaining Beatrucian Gold Tribe members, bellowed.

"Me too!" Thunder, another Beatrucian Gold Tribe member, pipped up.

The Wyvern raised a hand and said, "I have a blade with Alai's name on it."

"I follow Master," wrote Rattles.

"How do the Gold Tribe and Alliance healers fare... including the Restorative Arts Academy?" Cythera asked with a strained voice. She cleared her throat before continuing. "...I can easily keep an entire army healthy on my own if the situation calls for it, but if not I'd prefer to go wherever the most mega-evolving 'mon intend to go. I have an idea that might mitigate the some of the after effects and I'd like to test it out."

"There's still Gold Tribe members around," Hanso answered. "Some are captured, many have died, but we have those still ready to fight for us. Our healers have been damaged, and we could definitely use help on that front, but not to the extent where we won't manage without you," The Gallade stated to Cythera.

Prime grinned and gave the group a thumbs up. "Beatrucian Gold Tribe's got your back! I'll probably head after Grett as well. Type advantage and all."

"I'll help out as well against him," Popous chimed in.

"Then I will assist with Alai," Pyre stated with a smile toward Prime.

Hanso nodded. "Alright then, I will take up any forces I have left with SEC, and help out General Warren against the other armies Gabriel has under his control," Hanso paused for a moment to think, then continued. "I think I'll have our forces deal with any captives we have in Gold City as well, maybe also try to stop their influx of reinforcements by taking out their Network Points."

"I'll assist with that," Ripper, a Gold Tribe member from Valkaria, added in after. "The rest of the Gold Tribe forces from Valkaria could assist."

"I'd also like to assist with that," Thomas stated after Ripper. "Freeing prisoners could boost our numbers while destroying Network Points will diminish theirs. It's a page out of their own handbook they used all the way back during the first invasion of Valkaria when Darkrai first returned."

"I'll lend a claw with Alai," Silence said.

"Hmmmmmmrngggg..." Razathiel let out a noise, looking just about ready to burst with frustration that, thankfully, didn't seem to be directed at anyone present. "I just can't decide! Though I'm obviously not too keen on the sneaky-beaky-business, there's a three way split for raising my Agent kill-count! Would that I could just kill all of them at once. Not much preference for or against any of them, so... eh, don't suppose anyone here has any idea where I'm most needed?"

"Probably where the Agents are, that's where we'd want to send you," Lord Durania commented. "Where we'd want to send all of you. Let us figure it out."

The gathered continued discussing the upcoming battle strategy for a while. When they were finished, through much debate and preparation, a plan seemed to be in place. A plan to, hopefully, stop Darkrai. This time, for good.

Snype and Rupert - Reunited, with another towel

Snype started to wander around the hotel room to see if he could catch up with Rupert since last time. He had a pretty good eye on all of Tollen and he of course was right in the castle. It'd be nice to know just what was going on so he could prepare for the future considering who the new king was. He didn't really know where the guy was but he could probably take a few good guesses if he listened around enough. The guy did love his showers... and he sure forgot to lock his door a lot. The guy was oblivious but he was smart at the same time... more or less. Maybe just turning a few random knobs would do the trick. Would be better then Shadow Sneaking through everyone's rooms and creeping in uninvited. Not while he was saving the world anyways... kehehehe. Sure enough, one of the doors did seem to be unlocked. After last time though Snype was going to be a lot more careful... he started by knocking the door and listening to hear if there was any noise. If the door was unlocked then chances are the guy didn't learn anything from last time.

The room seemed relatively empty, with normal furnishings. A teapot was just put on though, which meant someone was likely nearby. There could be faint humming coming from a doorway on the far end of the room, however. But the door itself muffled the sounds.

The Sabelye gave off a small shrug and walked on inside, should he knock on the door and let Rupert know he was here? It'd probably end up kinda awkward if he finished up without knowing. He may have just gotten in there recently... the Sableye ended up resting on the couch and getting himself nice and relaxed. He recalled he hadn't really had a chance to lay down on a comfortable piece of furniture since Beatruce... his whole body just seemed to relax and ease up as soon as he laid down on it. He shouldn't be napping in someone elses room but he was getting pretty close to passing out right then and there. "Kehehe... hope he takes his time. A break is pretty nice all things considered. kehehe..."

Not too long after, the door suddenly opened, and out came Rupert, with a towel in his hands but nothing else beyond that. He was humming lowly, before washing himself off, before he saw Snype on the couch and suddenly yelped loudly. "AAHHH!" He screamed in surprise.

Snype raised his brows and went red at the sudden sight of Rupert coming out. He was suddenly glad he didnt go for the door. He was getting a real sense of Deja vu now as he suddenly got a whole eyeful. "Ahhh! K-kehehe... uh... Heya Rupert! Still as big of a fan of hygene as ever huh?" The Sableye chuckled nervously. At this point he was kinda used to this though so he didn't really hide his vision. "Ya know your door was unlocked right? Kehehe."

"S-snype?" Rupert questioned with surprise. "Why must you always just barge in, sir?!?" Rupert quickly realized he was without any clothing and wrapped his towel around him quickly.

"Kehehe, wouldn't be the king of thieves if I came in expectedly huh? Besides, an unlocked door just invites visitors don'tcha think?" The Sableye chuckled as he sat up and got comfortable, tugging off his cloak and hanging it to the side to get some more room to stretch. "Kehehe... well nice to see you haven't changed much Rupert... in more ways then I thought I'd see." He joked, watching him wrap himself up. "Was wondering if that was just a Tollen thing or what not..."

"What was a Tollen thing?" Rupert questioned, still clutching his towel to cover himself.

"Uh... you know..." Snype just kinda glanced him over a bit and down at his towel. A bit of a contrast between the two seeing Snype wasn't wearing anything at the moment... but that was the norm for him.

"I... uh..." Rupert covered himself more, feeling even more embarrassed about Snype being unclothed. "You mean why we in Tollen wear clothing and are not uncultured like others?" He questioned, before biting his lip. "Uh... with respect of course."

Snype gave a small chuckle at that. "Kehehe... uncultured? That's one way to put it I suppose." The Sableye laughed. "We usually don't wear anything. No need to really! Unlike you folks anyways as I clearly saw." The Sableye chuckled. "Would be nice to learn about though! If I stay at Tollen am I gonna have to do the same thing and get some pants or something and wear towels? Guess I coouulldd give it a try!" He joked.

"Well... I mean... it is what is normal here, after all!" Rupert managed to state shakily. He was clearly uncomfortable with just a towel on, and Snype wearing nothing. "Uhm... p-perhaps you can put your cloak back on now?"

"Hmm?" Snype looked down at himself. "Kehehe, dang I got you uncomfortable? Don't see why... kehehe. A lot of the mon outside are wearing less then me after all!" The Sableye said jokingly as he stood up, turned around, and reached up to grab his cloak. "Tollen is such an interesting culture. Kehehe..."

"It's... d-difficult to explain," Rupert began. "After all we've only been in this setting for a short while so I suspect a lot from Tollen are adjusting. But as for you, it's just close proximity in such a... well, ahem... i-intimate environment."

"Kehehehe... right right. I'm just teasin ya Rupert!" The Sableye chuckled as he put his cloak right back on. "With the final battle so soon I gotta try to live a little bit before I go off risking my life like that you know? Chat with everyone that I can and say what I gotta before I head into the front lines. And even if I do make it out of that battle... I was considering spending some time away in Tollen myself, which is why I was kinda curious mostly. I felt pretty at home in Tollen when I was doing my missions back there ya know?"

"Ah... I see," Rupert responded as he sat on the edge of the couch, still covered in his towel. "Well, I am glad you find comfort in my home. It is quite an amazing country. With a rich history... I too want to return to it. But... I am frightened, to be frank."

"Frightened?" Snype asked, turning towards him. "Was meaning to ask how things have been going up there since I last visited. Been hearing concerned about Lord Arron and such. Part of another reason I wanted to hang out up there a bit too... kehehe... geez even when I need a vacation I gotta add some hidden job in there. Never a dull moment eh?"

"Oh, I-I did not mean to suggest anything about Llord Arron!" The Mr. Mime exclaimed. "I was concerned about the upcoming battle. As to Lord Arron, he has been quite an effective ruler. Terrifying at times, yes. But very effective. If I may be frank, and I hope our conversation does not leave these walls, our country has never ran smoother... but it has also never been more harsh."

"I suppose nothing can truely be perfect. But i'd call it an improvement from the last king nontheless. Guess its nothing for me to worry about right now with Darkrai at our door." Snype sighed, resting his head on the couch. "I gotta see it through to the end after all for Lyn- er... Guardia's sake after all. If you were in my shoes... er... cloak, what would you do if you were heading to the front lines to confront something like that? Anything you'd want to do beforehand if you had the opprotunity? I can keep a secret. I've gotten kinda famous for that in the group. For better or worse. Kehehe" He asked.

"If I were headed to face D-Darkrai?" Rupert stammered as he repeated Snype's question. "I... well..." His voice trailed off for a moment, before he calmed down a bit and smiled. "I would want to be with the one who means the most to me. That dear person in my life I care about the most." He concluded with a warm smile.

Snype smiled back at Rupert, pleased with the response. "Same here honestly... unfortunately for me I care about a lot of folks here. You, Isabella, the thieves, The Gold Tribe, Roran, Celebi, all of our allies. Guess that'd be why I'm making my rounds to talk with everyone I can. Just incase its the last chance I'll get ya know?" The Sableye stated out. "Kehehe. You're a good mon Rupert. Don't let anyone tell ya otherwise. After all, you matter right? Kehehe."

"I... I?" Rupert was about to answer, before he looked at Snype suspiciously. "I... I do matter..." He paled as he looked at Snype for a moment. "Ahem... yes, yes, thank you Snype. I believe you are a fantastic 'mon too. A truly noble 'mon to partake in this entire expedition to find Cresselia."

"Heheh... Noble huh? Not a word I'd match with a thief so that kinda means alot Rupert. Kehehe" The Sableye grinned. "I've made alot of mistakes on the way but guess its all turned me to the mon I am now at this point. I'll do what I gotta do to have you guys sleep comfortably at night by the time this is over. And I'll be sure to come home alive and have a proper celebration. Kehehe. I'll get everyone together for a fun time! But I'll worry about that when it comes... " Snype said, glancing over to Rupert once more. "Looks like ya still got your confidence in tact from last time too. Kehehe. Bet you'd be alot of fun at a party when it does happen!"

Rupert chuckled nervously. "Well, truth be told, I do not attend much of those celebrations, unless they are officially sanctioned by the crown, or are for political purposes. So I do not know how I would interact in those situations."

"Kehehe, aw just pretend its all those things pretty much! Take it as a chance to run a little wild! I know I'm sure looking forward to it when we win this war. Kehehe."

"Win this war... do you truly believe that we will win Snype?" Rupert asked the Sableye, seemingly with a bit of hesitation in his voice. "I, of course do not doubt your abilities, or your comrades... but... well..."

"Well not like we have much other choice do we? We either go in there and die trying for victory or sit on our asses and wath everything fall apart. Just seems like the obvious choice don't ya think?" Snype replied.

"I-I of course agree," Rupert stammered. "But my question was... do you believe we will win?"

Snype crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "...Yeah. I think we'll pull through." Snype said with a firm grin. "We've gotten this far and I'm confident enough in my group. We Got Cresselia all back together so already we got a good edge on our side... though... if I gotta be honest, I do feel pretty guilty about some of the screw-ups me and Able pulled in Karn. If we just played our cards differently maybe those generals wouldn't have died." Snype sighed.

"I... well I was not there to see it, but I think if I were," Rupert began, walking over to Snype and placing a hand on the 'mon's shoulder. "I am certain I would say that you made the calls anyone else would have made in that situation. No situation is perfect. But what we have now? It's a fighting chance. And I do believe if it had not been for your small group, we would not have it."

"Kehehe... I s'pose so. I've had more then enough of my fair share of blunders on this adventure. I think the only smooth run I've had is with Tollen. But I suppose what we do have is a lot better then just leaving it alone." The Sableye looked over to Rupert. "Just a shame I can't go back and fix all those mistakes somehow. Keheheh. But guess everyone wishes they could do that huh. I dunno I'm thinking too much before the big battle. I'm getting used to having all of this pressure. Kehehe. Guardia would kill me if I kept complaining like this."

"Well, I would not presume to know what Lady Guardia would say or not say, but if she would metaphorically kill you if you did keep complaining, then perhaps... you should not?" Rupert chuckled nervously.

The Sableye laughed. "Kehehe, I keep forgetting you're not quite in my inner circle like the others are huh? You're right though. I'm the gosh dang King of Thieves! I'm a big deal!" The Sableye laughed, giving the Mr. Mime a playful nudge. "And I know I have a lot of folks counting on me out there. And not just the thieves."

"Well... of course!" The Mr. Mime chuckled. "I of course do not wish to put any unwanted pressure on your shoulders, but... well, the world is counting on you."

"Kehehe, yeah. When I was knocked out back in Beatruce I got a few letters from folks counting on me too. Kehehe. I keep em around and read em over to remind myself who I'm fighting for and all ya know? kehehe... for now I spose it'd be better to just breathe before we get mixed into things. I got some choice words for Darkrai when I see him again." Snype smirked, giving the Mr. Mime another playful nudge. "How bout you? If you could talk some smack toward Darkrai what would you say? Humor me here!"

"Talk to D-Darkrai?" Rupert stammered as he placed a hand to his chin. "Well... gosh, I never thought of it..." He pondered, and as he did, his towel slipped from around his waist to the floor, though the Mr. Mime didn't realize it.

"Kehehe! I'd probly come up with a good variety of curse words and maybe make up my own if I had a really good chance at it! Kehehe!" the Sableye laughed, glancing down as he saw that towel fall right on down in a familiar fashion. He didn't seem too amused though. This guy could walk out the door and probably never notice. He tried to hold back his blush from that eyeful and tried to just focus on the conversation... "Kehehe, comon if you stood up to him and could say anything right to his face with no consequence what would ya spurt out? Kehehe! Be a little bold!"

"I... I couldn't be sure," Rupert continued to think, completely oblivious to the towel which had fallen. "Probably a cry of vengeance for my homeland, I think!"

"Kehehe, sounds solid for a bold fella like yourself eh?" The Sableye snickered at his obliviousness, trying his best not to glance down. "I'd probably go and do the same in your shoes. Kehehe. Just gotta stand proud and speak it out to em! Show him whos boss! Kehehe"

"Why... yes yes!" Rupert exclaimed proudly. "And that is precisely what I shall do! Erhm... hypothetically speaking, of course," The Mr. Mime concluded.

Snype laughed up at him. "Course course. You can leave the fighting to us. I'll let em know for ya instead kehehe" The Sableye smirked back at him.

"I shall leave it to the ex-" Rupert suddenly looked down and realized his towel had come off. He quickly squealed quite loudly and grabbed the towel off the floor to cover up.

The Sableye laughed at him. "Kehehehe, aw took ya long enough. I appreciate the gesture but I'm taken. But I guess that's one way to get used to things around here huh?" The Sableye laughed. "I don't remember the last time we met where you were clothed. Kehehehe. I think I've gotten used to this by now. Nothin to be ashamed of. Not like anyone else is here. Kehehe. Thought coming in without my cloak would have been a good gesture to that." Snype laughed.

"M-m-my apologies, sir!" Rupert managed to stammer out. "Why did you not say anything earlier?!"

"Kehehe, this is like, what, the third time? I've kinda gotten used to it at this point. Doesn't phase me anymore honestly! Kehehe. May as well not even be embarrassed. You did say you wanted to try and get used to things around here and all right?" Snype chuckled.

"I... I did not mean it like this!" Rupert exclaimed nervously. "I... think I need a moment now, if it is alright with you, sir."

The Sableye chuckled and sat back on his seat, looking at Rupert with a wide grin. "Kehehe, sure sure big guy. Do whatcha gotta do!" The Sableye snickered. "Ya know though, if your gonna walk around your room naked you should prrrooobobly lock the door before someone walks in eh?"

"I... will take that into consideration," Rupert muttered, as he raised his towel higher across his body. "Perhaps a wise thing to do..."

The Sableye tilted his head as he put the towel higher across his body. "Kehehe... no need to be so self conscious Rupert! You're fine. I mean, its not like anyone else has done this yet. Er... right? " Snype said.

"I suppose not..." Rupert chuckled nervously. "No one is quite as... err... open with their door policies as you, Lord Snype."

"Kehehe, I spose not! I'm kinda numb to it at this point trust me. Kehehe. " The Sableye smiled up at Rupert, poking at him a bit. "Dunno how I can make up for it... maybe I'll help ya hook yourself up with a girl after the war too eh? Maybe they'll like a bold fella like yourself. Kehehehe"

"Oh, I have a beautiful wife back in Tollen, actually," Rupert beamed happily. "I'd love to introduce you sometime, if you ever do return to our nation after all of this."

"Oh ya do? Kehehe. Well go you Rupert!" The Sableye said happily. "Does she catch you with the door open sometimes hmm?" He teased with a playful wink. "Kidding kidding. Kehehe its getting a little easy to tease ya for that at this rate kehehe!"

"No, no!" Rupert exclaimed. "She's absolutely modest. And most certai- ah, you jest of course," He chuckled nervously. "I suppose I should get used to that with you!"

"Kehehehe! Of course! You should definately expect the unexpected with me! I am the king of thieves after all. Kehehehe..." The Sableye smirked as he got a fun little idea. With the final battle approaching so soon he figures a little playfulness wouldn't hurt. The Sableye mischiviously reached up and yoinked the towel off of Rupert unexpectedly. Course he was never great at noticing this but it seemed like a fun thing to do. "Kehehe!"

"BAAAAAH!" Rupert yelled immediately, ducking behind the couch. "Why would you d-d-do that?!"

"Like ya said, prepare for the unexpected Rupert! This battle is going to have plenty of that right?" The Sableye said, waving the towel around teasingly. "The battle could stretch out to here at anytime so you gotta be able to fight back for whats yours am I right? Kehehe!" The Sableye stuck his tongue out. "Ya got family to protect after all. Kehehe! So hope you're ready for the unexpected! And especially hope your ready to fight back for what belongs to you. Kehehe."

"This is not funny, Lord Snype!" Rupert yelled from behind the couch. "Return my towel to me, p-please!"

"What I'm serious! Kehehe!" The Sableye grinned. "Aren't you psychic or something? You can just snag it back! Kehehe... geez your too easy Rupert!" Snype said as he hopped on top of the couch and tossed the towel into his face.

Snype and Queen Aleena- Training

After doing a few errands, Snype made his way to check on the thieves. He hadn't heard word of the queen being ready yet so he had to make sure himself at this point. He couldn't exactly sneak around with the queen if she was dressed so formal so he requested that the thieves put together something a little more light for her. More thief like anyways. On top of that, Snype had to take a bit of time to train her so that she wasn't completely helpless on her own. He couldn't accept any dead weight, especially when they were as important as Cresselia.

Snype walked to the meeting point outside of town. There, Stretch and Rett had just finished putting on an outfit for the Queen. Aleena had discarded her long, flowing royal gown for a dark cloak blending in with the surrounding darkness.

"Ah! Snype!" Stretch squeaked. "Just in time, we got her Highness all sorted!"

"Kehehe, good work! Lets see..." The Sableye walked up to the Queen and took a good look around her to see the proper Dark cloak a thief was known for. "...Keheheh, well well well you look like a proper thief now don'tcha? How do ya feel? Comfortable enough to move around more freely hopefully?" Snype asked, crossing his arms.

"I... I am not used to it," Queen Aleena answered lowly.

"Ah well sounds about the answer I expected Aleena." Snype said, completely abandoning the formalities. "But this is exactly why I'm here training ya. We can't have "Not used to it" when we're sneaking into Darkrai's turf you know? I'm confident you'll be able to pick things up pretty quickly!" Snype smiled. "Have ya ever gotten yourself into a fight before?"

"She's never fought," Commander Elewyn answered for Aleena. The Royal Commander was standing to the side of the group, full clad in her Royal Knight armor while crossing her arms and looking at Snype. "And you would do well to remember to refer to her by her title."

"L-Lady Elewyn..." Queen Aleena stated bashfully.

"Kehehe, well as of now, the Queen here is one of the thieves! No need to any fancy titles if we're sneakin around and all ya know? Course if miss Aleena here would perfer as much then I'll keep to the title. Kehehe." Snype grinned. "Anyways... not having fought a battle isn't too big of a deal. If we're doing a stealth operation then we shouldn't be getting into a fight anyways. But just in case, I want to see what I'm working with." Snype said, standing back and readjusting his cloak. "Show me what moves ya know. Hit me with all you got." Snype said. "Don't worry about hurting me. I got some rations to get me back on my feet should we need em. Kehehe."

"Again, she has never fought," Commander Elewyn interjected. "And she will not fight. And as long as she is my Queen, you will address her as that. I won't have you disrespecting the Queen just because you come from a different... lifestyle."

"L-Lady Elewyn," Queen Aleena implored. "It is alright."

"Milady?"

"I believe I must do this," Queen Aleena stated to the Ampharos Royal Knight, this time more confidently. "But I'm afraid in terms of offense," She said to Snype. "I am fairly limited. I do not do normal battle beyond some lessons I received."

"Heheh, lessons eh? Well how bout ya demonstrate your lessons?" Snype smiled. "Take it from me. I don't pack a punch but I got my own ways of winning fights. Its just down to finding out how you can win your own battles. That's what I'm here to teach ya. Kehehe" Snype grinned. "Even if offense is't your strong suit, you got a strength somewhere we can use in our operation for sure. So lets see whatcha got. Kehehe"

Aleena nodded and stepped forward somewhat nervously. She held out a handle, and launched a set of leaves from her palm. The rainbow-colored leaves fluttered in the air elegantly before seemingly all in unison striking toward the Sableye, a fully formed Magical Leaf.

Snype held out his arms and attempted to resist the incoming leaves, getting a few cuts here and there from the incoming attack. "Kehehe, not bad. Ya definately know how to roll with it. Kehehe. Could definately put some hurt on some unsuspecting mon. Or better yet, use that range to trigger any kind of long range device should we need to. Sneaky stuff ya know? Kehe. Alright, lets see some more!"

"S-some more?" Queen Aleena questioned. "Well truthfully, that's my only attack move, but..." She held up her arms, and vines began to rise from the ground and attempt to grab at Snype in order to begin the Leech Seed.

"Hngh! Kehehe... ahh well either way, I'd still like to see what else ya bring to the table. Leech Seed eh? That could be useful. Kehehe. Could probably bind some unsuspecting mon with that... good good! Lets see the other moves!" Snype said.

Feeling reassurred, Queen Aleena smiled and raised her arms. A low hanging mist began to formulate around Snype as the Florges attempted to unleash a Stun Spore on him.

The Sableye took the hit from the stun spore, feeling his body suddenly numb up. "Kehehe... and stun spore? Geez you got the thief dream kit on ya so far!" The Sableye laughed, reaching into his bag and quickly munching on a proper berry so that the paralysis didn't hit him too hard. "Not bad so far... kehehe. Ya definately got a handy kit on hand."

Aleena smiled with a sense of accomplishment. "Thank you," She answered the Sableye. "Now what should I learn about going forward?"

"Kehehehe, next?" The Sableye stepped up to Aleena, munching on another berry to help get rid of the status he just was hit by. He'd need to remember to stock on these for their trip. "I gotta admit, fitting in a bunch of lessons in a single day is gonna be rough. Kehehe. I could teach you how to defend yourself... some strong attacks, etcetera." Snype said, holding up his hand and pointing up to her. "Overall, I just want to make sure you can keep yourself alive. Our mission is to escort you but I want to be sure you can help us all the same miss Aleena. And I think you the set of tools to make for a good thief with enough practice. Kehehe." The Sableye grinned as held out a small coin. "Try and steal this from me. Kehehe."

"S-steal?"Aleena repeated.

"Is this really necessary?" Elewyn cut in as she looked at Snype skeptically with crossed arms.

"You missed your chance." Snype said as he clutched onto the coin and quickly moved forward and held out his claws dangerously close to Aleena and pulled her close by the cloak. "Opportunity is an important part of stealth. If you hesitate or question it too long, you might not be alive very long. Keheheh. Sometimes it can't be helped though. Someone might corner you like this and catch ya off guard." Snype explained. "If that coin was a key to a locked room that we'd need then our plan would instantly become ten times harder if we missed such a prime opportunity."

"Watch it, Snype!" Elewyn threatened as she moved in, but Aleena held her hand up.

"Wait, Elewyn!" Aleena shrieked. "I... I need to learn this," to Snype. "Please.... continue."

Snype simply gave off a confident grin. "Loving your determination. Kehehe. I can see why your people care for you. Anyways let's continue. You missed your chance to snag the key from my hand. Its somewhere on my person now. Kehehehe. Its perfectly possible to steal it though if you can figure out how though. The answer may not be obvious immediately. You may need to take them out immediately. Maybe you can use stun spore or some form of sleep move to knock them out and strip them of their belongings. Or if your really sneaky you can take it without them even noticing. Kehehe. Depends on your type. Ghost's got it easy being able to fade through and just snag it carefully... well most ghosts anyways. Ya might have " Snype smirked. "This is just basic thievery though. Lets see what you come up with and I'll show you how I get it done. Deal?" Snype said with a wide grin. He didn't really leave any hints where the coin in his hand suddenly dissapeared to. He had clutched it tightly in his hand earlier but there was no indication of where it ended up.

Aleena listened carefully to Snype and nodded along as he talked. Commander Elewyn meanwhile backed away from the Queen and watched cautiously. When Snype finished, Aleena hesitated, but only for a brief moment, before she took in a deep breath and placed her hands in front of her. She then unleashed a row of spores aimed at Snype, attempting to target him with a Stun Spore.

Snype got himself hit with the move or rather he let himself at least to get the point across. An average grunt would easily fall for that kinda thing he figured. "Kehehe, better be quick or I might go callin for help! I'm Paralyzed but I can still talk!" Snype snickered as he dropped to the floor.

Quickly and frantically, Aleena darted towards the fallen Sableye and looked around for any sign of the coin he had previously shown her. She moved across her bag and tried to find something, panicking a bit as she did. "... where is it...?" He muttered quietly to herself as she tried to find the coin.

"...Kehehehe, I wouldn't be so naive as to leave something so important in an exposed bag like that. Maybe our targets will but might have to think outside the box ya know? I"ve had folks put important items in some... unsavory places before..." The Sableye grinned widely. Alot longer then he would have normally too... he shuffled around slightly as well. Maybe it was a vauge hint? "It's a little easier if I'm knocked out cold but lets assume you find a way to pull that off. You got the other thieves for backup there."

"Snype!" Commander Elewyn shouted from the side. "Where are you insinuating her Highness must search?!"

"Geez Chill kehehehe. I'm not insinuating anything. I doubt Darkrai's goons are gonna be THAT clever." The Sableye snickered. "But getting your hands dirty is part of the job sometimes. And doing it cleanly as well is another. If I'm knocked out it shouldn't be too hard right?" The Sableye's teeth seemed to have a small glimmer in it... and Snype was having a bit of trouble making clear sentances.

"It's okay, Lady Elewyn..." Queen Aleena began, as she noticed the glimmer and slurred speech. She quickly unleashed another move, a Sleep Powder, on Snype, enough to temporarily knock him out, or at least get him drowsy. Hoping it was enough, the Queen then quickly opened the Sableye's mouth and searched for where she suspected the coin was located.

Searching inside a sleeping Sableye's mouth wasn't exactly pleasent but never was stealing. Snype hid the coin right under his large tongue to make sure he didn't accidentally swollow it. It was a bit of a common technique for folks who REALLY didn't want their stuff stolen, expecially little things like keys. Snype was totally passed out thanks to the sleep powder so there wasn't much he could do in that regard. Someone would probably have to wake him up though... he WAS vulnerable like this after all.

"I... I got it!" Aleena exclaimed happily, as she held her arm victorious in the air, with the coin in her hand. "I did it, Lord Snype, look!" She continued, looking down to see Snype apparently out cold. "Ah... L-lord Snype?" She gently shook his shoudler in an attempt to awaken the Sableye.

"Mmmnngghh... mmmm... just a few more minutes..." Snype yawned as he woke up, noticing he suddenly didn't have that coin left in his mouth anymore. The coin was of course covered up in drool and wasn't exactly pleasent to hold onto but victory was victory. "Kehehe... not bad there... didn't think you'd have the spine to reach in there. But you forgot one important step. You got the item, but what happens after I wake up if you leave me here on your own? Kehehe. Got a plan for that? I can still call for help and warn others. Usually I'll tie them up, Gag them, or lock em in some secluded spot and strip them of any other important belongings. Berries, clothes if neccesary, valubles, depends on if I have the time to do so or not. Being too greedy is an easy way to get caught but being to passive can hurt ya long term." Snype said, sitting up. "For example, having the ability to put someone to sleep is valuble. Honestly in that state. you could have stolen everything that I had and got away with it. It was pretty potent honestly. Kehehe. Your lucky to have that kinda stuff on ya."

"Ah... I understand," Aleena listened along and nodded as Snype explained what she ought to be doing. "I did not think of that. But in the coming battle, is it something I ought to try and be doing?"

"Kehehe, definately something to consider if you manage to incompacitate someone like that. Just be careful if a Pokemon has their own native defenses such as electric Pokemon using their static while unconcious. You could use your vines I suppose. Imagine, if you snagged my stuff while I was unconcious" Snype held onto his cloak and pulled it open to unwrap and show a few of the trinkets he had in it. He had of course his berry pouch, a notepad with valuble information no doubt and a few other compartments with potential items to assist Snype in his work. "Kehehehe, all this stuff, including some extra supplies for the road ahead. Maybe cash if your lucky." Snype winked.

"Ah, I see," Aleena nodded. "Very resourceful."

"I doubt she'd need the cash," Elewyn murmured.

"It is still a useful technique to learn," Aleena beamed brightly. "I will try not to be too much of a burden in the fight to come." She nodded at Snype happily. "I will do my best."

"Kehehehe, you're getting the hang of it. Everyone has their own couple of techniques here and there..." Snype said, walking over to Aleena and patting her on the back. "But of course, they may have folks who will try to do the same to you. Ready for that possibility?" While Snype was saying this, he was being his slippery self and stealing the necklace around her neck. Snype was curious to see if she'd catch on to those little thieving claws and defend herself. "I say we should put this to the test. See if you can get the basics nailed. Why don't we try to steal from someone around camp? You know me so its easy to do but how about anyone else? Kehehe... Maybe Elewyn? She might have her guard down around you though... may be too easy..." Snype whispered.

"I... what?" Aleena questioned, oblivious to the necklace around he being stolen. She whispered in response. "W-what should I do?"

"Please remove your hand from the Queen, Snype," Elewyn called out from her spot. "It is not appropriate behavior with the Queen."

Snype nodded to her, carefully slipping the necklace into his cloak. "Well for starters, you should notice what I just stole while sweet talkin ya. Kehehehe. Now your back to square one! There's other slippery foes out there too and you gotta be ready to fight back. Maybe using your spores defensively would be an idea.... kehehe" The Sableye smirked. "Hmmm... actually... maybe trying to steal from someone else could mix those two lessons into one... kehehe. Whatcha think?" Snype said back.

"Ah... ah!" She exclaimed in surprise as she realized her necklace was gone. "When did you do that?" She asked in surprise. "Who... who should I try to steal from, my lord?"

Snype couldn't help but blush a little being called something so fancy like "My lord" from the queen herself. "Hmmm... Elewyn would drop her guard around you... definately think we should look for someone else nearby. Hmmm ohhh actually... I got a fun idea. How bout the fine gents who helped ya get the thief look down? Maybe stretch hmm? Might be a bit challanging for ya... kehehe"

"S-stretch?" Aleena repeated. "You mean the member of the Brotherhood from my country...? D-do you not think... he is a little too advanced for my skills?"

"Kehehe... just a bit! I wanna see whatcha try to pull off on someone as experienced as that. We are making a pretty big jump in the mission after all. I've never tried stealing from the guy so see whatcha come up. I guarentee you'll learn something out of it." Snype grinned.

"Well... i-if you think its best," Aleena nodded.

"Don't put her in any danger now, Snype," Elewyn warned.

"Elewyn the whole point of this to prepare her for danger. Or better yet, avoid the danger being we're sneaking in. Kehehe. If she isn't ready then that's just whats going to happen." Snype said, looking back to Aleena. "Kehehe, All you. Steal as much as you can from the little guy head to toe!" Snype chuckled.

"I... I got it!" Aleena exclaimed.

---

Snype, Elewyn, and Aleena roamed quietly around the quaint Selar Village. Most of the warriors were off in the camps outside the city, so there wasn't much in terms of noise. Usually, Aleena would stand out, but given the cloak Snype gave her, they blended in. Eventually, they came across a group of thieves. Stretch, Rett, and Joseph all appeared to be training some other members in the upcoming mission.

"No, no!" Stretch squeaked at a Tailow. "You have to be faster, or you'll be checked by a Darkrai goon, easy!"

"It has to be a quick in and out motion," Rett explained to the other thieves. "Don't be stupid! Be stupid, and you'll be dead."

"Ugh!" Stretch whined. "Joe, Rett, you guys take over, I'm gonna get a drink by the pond."

"Don't drown," Joseph teased Stretch as he walked off.

"I'm not gonna drown, you doofus!" Stretch piped at the Houndoom.

Aleena looked back at Snype, wondering if she should follow. "Should I...?"

"Kehehe, all alone getting a drink? Sounds like a perfect chance for an abush don'tcha think? Tail him a bit and then take action. Kehehe" Snype grinned.

Aleena nodded and followed along silently, making sure to keep some pace between herself and Stretch. The little spinarak walked across the streets, mumbling something to himself about Rett making fun of him. Aleena sweated heavily, trying not to get too close to him. The Spinarak stopped at one point, looking around for a second. Aleena stopped and hid quickly behind a home. Stretch turned around for a second, before shrugging its torso and moving on. Eventually, the Spinarak was at a small pond, taking a sip of water. Aleena, in the meantime, was hiding behind a tree, trying to must up the courage to make her move. She was sweating and hesitating, wondering when was the best moment.

"Kehehe, lets see what happens..." Snype thought to himself.

Aleena still could not budge, seemingly too afraid she would mess up. She took, however, one long look at Snype, took a deep breath, and after a few more seconds, twirled from around the tree. She instantly shot a stun spore at the drinking Stretch.

"Eh... wha-!" Stretch began as he suddenly fell motionless to the floor by the pond. "Damn! I thought I heard something!" He squeaked, trying to get a look at his attacker. "Who the... Queen?" He saw Aleena approach and quickly rummage around Stretch's cloak pockets. "What the.... heck?!"

"I am sorry, Lord Stretch," Aleena apologized as she finished rummaging Stretch and departed. "I assure you I will return this to you!"

Stretch looked on silently, completely in shock at what was happening. "I must be dreaming," He muttered to himself, as Queen Aleena turned and darted away, running as fast as she could.Even if Stretch did want to chase after her, it seemed as if he was too surprised to do so.

Snype nearly busted out laughing. Snype honestly didn't expect her to pull it off! Nor did he expect her to play it so clean. Maybe Stretch was a bit easier then he expected! They were all caught off guard by the Queen stealing from them. "Kehehehe, ya made that look real easy Aleena. So what kinda goodies did ya snag from him?" Snype asked.

"I... thank you!" She exclaimed excitedly. "It was... quite the thrill, I must say," Aleena looked over what she snatched in her hand. There was a folded cloth, a bag of coins, apparently, and a crumpled up note. "This appears to be everything."

"Kehehehe! Well not a whole lot in there.. I don't really wanna pry into Stretch's personal belongings and uh... probly shouldn't leave him stuck like that. We do need our thieves after all. But hey, remember that thrill! That's the reward of being a thief! The excitement of pulling it off! I'm thinking maybe I went a little too easy on ya! Maybe we should try some of the others while we're ahead huh? Kehehehe!" Snype said happily.

"I think she's done quite enough for now, don't you?" Elewyn interjected.

"But... But I will need to be ready for the battle ahead," Aleena protested.

"And I believe you will be," Elewyn replied with a smile. "But you must prepare in more than one way for what lies ahead, your Highness. And you must get a good rest too."

"I... I suppose..." Queen Aleena murmured. She glanced at Snype and smiled. "Thank you for showing me this. I... well, I quite enjoyed it."

"Kehehe... Elewyn is right. As much fun as it is to teach someone so talented, getting rested up before the big day would be good. But hey if you need another crash course in thieving feel free to give me a hollar. I'll be glad to sneak in a few more tricks. Ah... right, your necklace, you'll probly want this back won't ya? Kehehehe..." Snype said with a sharp glimmer in his eye. "I tease, here ya go. Kehehe. You've had a pretty decently long day as is. I wish I had more time to train ya but your pretty talented at this so far. Just got to work on the nerves. Practice a little with the others if ya get the time to." Snype said, handing over the necklace to her.

"I... yes," Queen Aleena took the necklace from Snype and looked down at it curiously. "T-thank you again, Snype. For everything."

Ok so like a Dragonite and a Ralts sit down and have a heart to heart but not really because the Ralts has no heart cuz he's evil but they talk and stuff a lot and it's all deep and you should be impressed but if you aren't that's okay we have ice cream​

It was the first morning since the group had arrived in Selar village. The grass waved in the lightest of breezes, mirroring the flapping fabric of the nigh-endless sea of tents that covered most of the plain. One of those tents belonged to the leader of the Gold Tribe, Callimer Vian. As the mighty Dragonite took his first step outside from the equally mighty abode that had been set up to house him, he found himself immediately accosted by Razathiel the Dreadmage, who dragged the larger 'mon back inside with an invisible force while simultaneously inviting himself in. The wizard wasted no time, jumping into interrogation.

"Simple question, Captain Crunch: dormant, suppressed, contained, whatever Mega Evolution. Yea or Nay?"

The Emerald Sentinel was taken aback by the vagueness of the question. He looked at his Mega Stone, now stuck to his neck much like the orb Dragonair have until they evolve, making him look a tiny bit like he'd regressed as well as unsure of whether Raz meant Cal or himself. "Who's?"

"Eh? Who- no! What?" The ralts shook his head. "I thought there was some kind of dormant thingy, mentioned a some while ago or something by someone-or-other someplace. Going mega but not really. Is that a thing? Like a quarter-mega. Pseudo-mega? Er- coward-mega! Practice-mega...?"

"I'm not completely sure myself, Raz." The Dragonite responded apologetically. "Do you mean my training to mega evolve more efficiently?" He tapped his understated chin with his undersized claw-finger-whatever you wanna call it. "Ah that's right, you didn't want much to do with James while he was here... What I did was whenever I did my regular training I would consistently use microbursts of Mega Evolution. Basically I'd go mega for as long as my body could handle without long-term stress or limiting my future uses. The first time I tried it I only lasted an instant before I all but passed out, then I did it for a second the next day, over and over again with breaks between, then two seconds the next day. I just kept increasing the amount by tiny little steps each time I trained. I think it must have worked at least a little bit because by the time we started the tournament in Karn I was able to last for ten seconds without hurting myself and when I fully evolved to fight Percival it felt very natural."

"Ah! Yes yes yes, that's what I had in mind - I thought I'd heard of something like that being done," Razathiel said, nodding profusely and grinning ear to ear - and not even in a particularly malicious way, as tended to be the case. "Granted, I'm not sure exactly how much it should help with my current situation- but!" The wizard paused to procure two orbs from a rift in space with a flourish. "Ta-daa! I suppose we'll just have to see - if you couldn't already tell, and couldn't guess judging by the success of Cythera's ascension, the mad genius of my experimentation has finally borne fruit! Well, fruit that, I suppose... I guess in this analogy, you'd say I'm not allergic to it? Where previously I was allergic to regular mega stone fruit- whatever- I can evolve in a way, is what I'm trying to say. And these two beauties are the key!"

Cal's eyes widened at the sight of the orbs. As nice a dragon as he was, The Emerald Sentinel had always harbored a certain lust for strength - though not for power as a whole. "That's awesome! Tell me more - or even show me, if you want! Maybe I could learn something from it! Our situations may be quite a bit different, but if I could use some of the Dreadmage's evil genius...who knows what I could accomplish?" He finished with a happy, yet serious enough smile.

"Well well well, look at you, getting all ambitious," the ralts teased. "I'm afraid, third stage and capable of mega-ing as you are, there's not much I can really do to help in that regard - I'd have to divert the direction of my research, and we don't have the time for that before the main event goes down. And after that, well... I suppose you're out of luck. Still, I'd be happy to show you what I've accomplished here if, of course, you'd do me the favour of showing me a little of that microburst trainy-thing. Then if I get a better look at how it's done, I can try a bit of it myself, and in all my wonderful benevolence I won't even stop you from watching! As you well know, I usually despise being the centre of attention!"

"Well, let's see..." Callimer muttered, standing straighter and tapping the stone attached to his neck like some pendant. "I haven't been doing it as often since the first time I transformed, too nervous about wasting a use if I overdo it, I guess. But I can pretty accurately feel how long I can hold it without eating into the timer now, and it gets a bit longer each time. Gimme a sec." He fingered the Mega Stone and furrowed his brow, concentrating intensely for a few seconds. Air began to coil and whip around the Dragonite, forcing his wings to fold against his back and flattening the grass around him. A small prismatic light flickered within the stone and after a brief delay it exploded outward and covered Cal's body.

There was no spectacle to this occasion, in less than a second the shape inside the light changed and then the light receded. Raz was left with a Dragonite that had grown another foot beyond his already imperious size and whom's scales had grown new outward layers that crystalized into sharp looking, dark green and gold armor covering most of his body, even the spines of his wings - which had themselves grown to each be the length of Cal's body, looking sharp enough to cut steel and strong enough to kick up a hurricane.

Razathiel was silent for a moment, staring, before breaking away to cough once into his hand. "Er - just a little underwhelming, but function over form I suppose. So... it's mainly concentration-based? It looks to be a kind of premature receding of the evolutionary energy - would that I could drag Vee around with me everywhere to measure the energy more precisely - but I don't suppose there's anything specific you're doing to halt the process at that point?"

"It'd hard to put into words when I think about it." Cal replied. "I guess it's kinda like -" there was a small flash of light and his evolution poofed away instantaneously, followed by a deep sigh from Cal. "I guess it's kinda like holding your breath...but with inner power instead of lungs...if that makes any sense? I don't fully give myself into the process so it's like I'm pulling it part of the way out, then letting go of it before it's gone too far out and letting it drop back to wherever it came from."

The wizard let out a drawn-out hum, rubbing his chin. "Not sure how effective the same technique's going to be - the energy transfer's different in a fair few ways, and there are three whole milestones instead of one where the evolution could feasibly be stopped... but I am kind of a master at will-based resistance... though on the other hand a complete novice at evolving- OK!" Raz jumped to attention and began to dive into his Magic Room. "I think I should be able to try something - hold these spoons for a second, Callimer?"

Cal's antennae twitched with curiosity when he reached for the spoons and grasped them between his little finger-like claws, resisting the urge to pose like an Alakazam. "Your wish is my command, Master Razathiel, what next?" By means of an answer, a wooden container was thrown haphazardly in the dragon's direction and caught safely but somewhat awkwardly.

"Light that for me, while I try to find the last one of- aha! There it is." Razathiel emerged from the depths of his tear in space, floating a series of gems around his head. His suit of armour clanked out after him, and then the rift closed. "These should help a little. All ready to go!"

"I don't know any fire-type attacks..." Cal muttered in annoyance, pulling out a lighter from his bag on the ground and igniting the incense within the container.

"Really? You don't-?" The Ralts barely held back a snicker, shaking his head to rid himself of the giggles. "OK, er- well. If something goes terribly wrong, don't hesitate to grab Cythera, I suppose - she's likely the only one who could deal with a mess, here - still, I have faith in my own stubborn resistance to things that generally should kill people or worse, so it probably won't come to that." He willed his armour onto himself, waggling his eyebrows just before the helmet came on. "Got to make sure all the equipment's in place. Make sure to maintain 5 feet or so of distance; metal shards, and all." The Dragonite quickly followed the advice with a few big steps back.

Raz lifted his hands up, took a deep breath, and was about to begin before he paused and said, "I know there's a certain point where all the energy coalesces - do you try to stop just before then, or just after or right at the exact moment?"

"Just after." Callimer said, getting slightly nervous at the direction this was going in. "There's a tiny little grace period before it really starts to drain you and practice can stretch that grace period out. For that itsy bitsy little window it's like having the power without the consequence, though I don't think I could actually *use* any of that power without letting the transformation finish."

"Right. Well, there's no point sitting around, I'm just going to-" the Ralts cut himself off, lifting the stones with a glint in his eye as he activated them. Light poured from one stone to the other, then into the Ralts and out from him. Amongst shifting colour and light Razathiel's body underwent metamorphosis, and just as the light and sound reached its zenith it jittered. The energy surrounding the wizard jolted inwards, sputtered and stopped - there floated the Dreadmage in all his mega-evolved glory. One fist was clenched tightly and shaking, surrounded with the telltale purple glow of psychic effort, and the visor of his helmet lit up red on one side as a single eye peeked open.

"I-I think it-" Raz paused. "I think I went for it a bit early for a second there." He let out a strained breath and immediately sucked air back in. "This is super fucking weird, but whatever. Everything looking good on that end?"

Cal squinted. "I think so, but it's kinda hard to tell with the armor...how do you feel? Are you swirling with arcane might or anything like that? Maybe you should throw a rock or something."

"I feel strained because I'm trying to hold it," Razathiel snapped. "You know, like we d-discussed. Thanks for asking. I don't think I should throw a rock or something."

"What'dya want from me?" Cal queried with false indignation. "Our situations aren't exactly the same - oh, okay." He got back on task before too much time could pass. "Keep that breath holding metaphor in mind. The second you start to feel that twinge of tightness or pressure start, just let it go. That's how I've kept it under control so far."

"L-let it go? It'll just go back to the stone if I release it? I thought I was trying to prevent it from going all- oh, I suppose it's- so when it initially suffers the sufficient resistance it backfires, or-? W-well, I g-guess that explains why it felt a little off. That's... a lot more comfortable, I th-think?"

Cal nodded, his nervousness being replaced by intense curiosity. "Yeah, for me I could always feel a certain threshhold where I could feel the full thing coming... It's tough to say exactly how much it differs from the whole thing, I wasn't exactly focusing on the subtle nuances of my training when I fully transformed against Percy... Comfortable, huh? We don't know what the rules are since you're creating a special exceptiong to the whole ordeal here. Maybe try doing... something? It doesn't matter what, just relax a bit and try to call on some of your power - not anything you couldn't normally do yet, something simple and see how it feels."

"It's definitely a different beast," Raz agreed, his shoulders slackening only slightly. "How long do you usually leave it? This form may be less of an upgrade than the traditional mega, but I am also holding in a Kirlia and a Gardevoir..."

"I've gone as far as 25 seconds after a lot of practice. You can probably go longer but I wouldn't push it, we don't know what would happen to you if we did. The potential consequences are as much a mystery as the rules and the power." Cal responded.

"...Right," the wizard agreed, though slightly reluctantly. "Maybe I'll see what Vee can glean from this - I'll try using a little something of the- oh there it goes." Razathiel reached out with one hand to psychically lift Callimer's bag and almost immediately let it drop, light covering his form once more as the evolved form started to fade. The energy in the air left a high-pitched whine that gradually teetered out as Raz's form returned to normal, and the Ralts let out a large breath of air. "The... whew. The second I reached out in my mind and took hold of it, it just... it just slipped right out!" Unlike the last time the mage had devolved from his ascended form, he wore something of a grin and seemed a lot less miffed about the whole thing - big surprise.

The Dragonite matched Raz's grin. "Looks like we learned something substantial after all! I can't wait to hear more about it after you've talked to Vee and had some time to think!"

"I can't wait..." the wizard began, huffing as he cast off his armour and sat down to rest against Callimer's desk. "To tell Vee... how easy that was. How long'd it take you... to master that one? Easiest thing I've ever done in my life!"

"Yeah, you didn't even break a sweat!" Cal agreed, plopping down on his giant sleeping bag with an extremely audible thump. "In fact, you look even more energetic than normal!" He piled on the praise. "It was pretty difficult for me, I had to concentrate really hard, have a chat with the ghosts of other Dragonite... and I was pretty exhausted afterward. But then again, I'm not the world's greatest master of the dark arts, arcane mysteries and ice cream."

Raz snorted, "True, but second greatest master of ice cream isn't a title to scoff at."

Callimer couldn't hold in the chuckle that forced its way out of him. "That [I[does[/I] sound pretty good. I'm honored to learn from the Dreadmage himself. Maybe if I keep applying myself one day I could learn some magic? Even if it's just something like summoning a scoop of vanilla."

"I hope you don't mean what I think you mean by that," the Ralts frowned, lazily scooping up the two stones in his psychic grasp. "Either it's in my Magic Room or it isn't - I can't create ice cream from nothing, I've told you and Snype a thousand times. Not even these things can grant me that power."

"Maybe you just haven't researched it enough yet? If anyone can learn, it's you." Cal retorted playfully. "Sorry but I'm not sure I can give up on such a miracle."

The mage shrugged, "Fair. I'll keep it on my list... for when this is all over."

"When it's all over..." Cal echoed. "I guess it's gonna be a whole new world...either literally or figuratively, depending on if we win or not."

"I..." Razathiel looked at Callimer for a while before his gaze trailed downward, to the two stones he was holding. "Yeah," he agreed, placing the altered shiny stone on the floor next to him and bringing the mega stone closer to his face, turning it over in his hands.

The Dragonite found himself leaning further back until he was properly lying down on his 'bed'. "It's going to be exciting...and scary. Rebuilding, seeing all the changes brought about by all this struggling... telling people who don't already know about Guardia... Probably lots of treaties to sign, diplomatic meetings to have, beaurocracy to wade through... You'd better watch out, I might try to recruit you and make you the Gold Tribe's first Head Wizard. Put a bunch of psychic, ghost and dark type minions under you and make you reveal all the world's greatest mysteries for the good of all....With utter deplorable, unstoppable evil, of course."

"Really, you think?" Raz chuckled at first, but his expression soon turned pensive and his laugh lost its humour. "That's a... funny take on things, I suppose. You know, it's... it's just strange, this-" He held the mega stone up for a moment, but gave up. "It's... it's just strange."

"What is?" Cal asked, lifting his head up slightly. "I could name a lot of things about this situation that are strange right now."

The wizard's eyes closed and he let his head slump against the desk as he let out air through his nostrils. "You've just said a lot of things you probably shouldn't have said, about a lot of things you probably shouldn't do, while I'm holding this stone that I probably shouldn't have... and the- well... ah, for fuck's sake."

The bedmat groaned in protest as Cal sat the rest of the way up and looked more directly at the dreadmage. "Go on, spit it out. You've never been one to shy away from speaking your brilliant, evil mind. If we're already having a conversation we shouldn't have about things that shouldn't happen, why stop short of complete and total shouldn't-osity?"

"But I have been one for that, Callimer," said the Ralts with a sigh, running a hand over his eyes and wearing something between a smile and a grimace. "Apparently I've just been good enough at it that you haven't really noticed. You know, I- this, thing, this stone... I'm not sure you remember how I got it."

"It was a pretty chaotic time... remind me." Cal said quietly.

"I was just... given it," said the wizard, fidgeting. "Somewhat unceremoniously and with no prompting - I suppose it's a testament to... the desperation of the whole thing? That it was such a simple choice to let me have the stone in spite of... well, the conversation we had before then, in Anatellia."

"So much has been lost... " Cal muttered, staring at the edge of the tent. "And still so much more may yet be lost even if we succeed."

"Callimer."

"Yes, Raz?"

The Ralts took a deep breath, "Not long before- before she gave me this stone, the plan was... well, I was going to have to be hunted down and imprisoned, after this all ended, in all likelihood. That's what sh- that, was what was said, and I don't see why it would be a lie. It's certainly a more realistic outlook than 'head wizard' or whatever silly-" He cut himself off. "I figured you should know, it wouldn't exactly be fair not to tell you."

At that Cal's antennae went ramrod straight and he stared at Raz. Everything was completely silent for a solid thirty seconds, then Cal's breathing sped up and finally... he started laughing. "Hahahaha - oh Raz... I can't tell you how much it means to me that you would be willing to tell me something like that... but of course I knew. Before all this, I would have been one of the 'mon sent to catch you."

"I mean I guess that makes more sense, but Fairy versus Dragon isn't really-"

"Tell me." Cal interrupted the type-talk. "Do you really think Guardia still felt that way by the time she - when she protected us?" He left a short pause for Raz to think and continued before he could reply. "Do you think, after everything we've been through that I could bear to treat you like a criminal - like any sort of enemy?" He stood up, carefully avoiding knocking anything over. "I know Dreadmages don't have friends." He continued with a smirk. "It's not a word Guardia said a lot either, but it's one that comes fairly easily to me. Regardless of what you wanna call it.. I'm glad I know you, Raz, and I look forward to continuing to do just that when this is all over and if anyone has a problem with that I'll just have to throw my big draconic weight around as the leader of the Gold Tribe. Besides -" He added at the end with a smirk right at the Ralts. "I'd way rather put you to work helping clean up this mess and stop it from ever happening again than lock you up, that would just be a waste."

Razathiel smiled in spite of himself, but his eyes remained downcast. "Ever the optimist... Callimer, maybe you won't lock me up - maybe you can't - but I'm not... there's no future for me as a... whatever that would be; ally, aide, friend, member of the sodding Gold Tribe - everyone knows that's ridiculous. And the people who would be around me don't deserve that - I certainly don't deserve that either."

The Dragonite's tail swished thoughtfully, brushing against the 'wall' of the tent. "Deserve, huh? Is it any more ridiculous than this entire journey? This team we've gathered? The conversation we're having at this very moment? Don't tell me you don't think helping to save the entire world from destruction at the hands of some dark god of chaos doesn't deserve some sort of reward, commuting of sentence, at least? It sure wouldn't be a cake walk, I promise you that. I'd work you hard enough for you to go right back to hating me in no time, even with the free ice cream I'd keep your wizard's tower stocked with."

"I don't mean deserve like that," Raz bristled, shaking his head. "I don't know about 'reward', but- I've been living too long on edge, just waiting for the time I accidentally let loose. And it will happen - it's a miracle it hasn't happened already - and I'm tired, Callimer. Fuck knows what I really deserve. A little break from on-high, finally, would probably be a decent start - not some kind of exercise in tragedy waiting to happen."

"Why not take a vacation, then?" The Emerald Sentinel asked with the bluntness of a Wood Hammer.

"Would that I fucking could take a proper one," said the wizard, exhaling through his nose.

"What's stopping you? I certainly won't. I don't imagine anyone who might hear of your part in all this would dare try, and you won't be buried in further obligations and paperwork when it's all over like some of us."

"Believe me, you'd be surprised," Raz huffed. "Or perhaps you're just not thinking about it enough."

"Perhaps a good first payment for all your help would be a travel pass? Y'know, our tribe has always gotten around quite well before all this and with just how much of the world is gonna owe us when all this is over I bet one of our passes could get a guy just about anywhere he needs to go and a lot of peace and quiet to go with it." Callimer posited. The Dreadmage had a hand on his chin for a moment as he thought the proposal over.

"That... doesn't seem like a bad idea. I don't necessarily even have to use it, so yes."

Cal smiled and his tail thumped the ground hard enough to shake the tent just once. "Great, I'll make all the arrangements in a few minutes. Have to make sure it's already in writing in case I don - Erm, so I can't forget, I'm gonna be really busy after all this... of course."

"Right, right..." Raz stood, seemingly recovered well enough from the ordeal of the microburst of mega evolution. He began shovelling things back into his Magic Room. "I'd best clear this up."

"And I should really do a fly-by of as much of the camp as I can, make sure everyone's alright. I'm sure I can trust you around my stuff." Cal responded as he stepped outside the tent. "I'm only going to ask you for one thing in exchange for that pass, Razathiel. If I'm not around to see this new world we're gonna be left with after this whole mess... make sure they don't let anyone take my place that can't go toe-to-toe with you, alright?" Without waiting for a reply he shot into the air, soaring over the various camps of the alliance for a good dragon's eye view. The Dreadmage looked like he was about to say something, but Callimer was already gone. Razathiel took a quick glance around to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then promptly began to waddle out of the tent too.

"Sure thing, Emerald Sentinel," He muttered. "Kill all of your successors, got it. That's what you meant, right? Dumbo."

Queen Aleena, Lady Elewyn, Lia, Vee, and Raz - Just a Ralts and his rock

"Off, wretch!" Commander Elewyn yelled as she swung her arms around Queen Aleena as Lia floated happily around the Queen. "She does not wish to be bothered!" Elewyn exclaimed.

"It's fine, Commander," Queen Aleena giggled. "She's not bothering me."

"Who the heck is this?" Elewyn continued at the floating Musharna. "Have you no manners? Stop pestering her!"

"Elewyn," Aleena said again, placing an arm on the Ampharos's shoulder. She smiled at Elewyn, who looked back at the Queen. "It's alright."

"I... yes, my Queen," Elewyn muttered as the pair continued walking down the cozy streets of Selar Village, with Lia floating around them.

"Will you be quiet!?" Screeched a high-pitched voice from a watch tower above the trio. "This is the fifth time that I have been bothered by impudent noise-making and I refuse to tolerate such ignorance of my resplendant aura of malice!"

"Who dares..." Elewyn began as she glanced up, to see Raz perched in the watchtower. "Ah... Razathiel. I'm with her Highness the Queen here, Razathiel. Please show a bit more respect."

"Respe-?" The Dreadmage's eyes flared, and he pushed himself up on the railings slightly to waggle his legs in frustration. "I've never been so-! How about you and your two thirds over there have some respect for the invisible fog of enmity that should by all accounts strike dread into the hearts of any who come near? Pfft, what a load of- you should all be silent, paralyzed with fear in my presence when I wish it! I need to focus on this bloody rock!"

"Rock? Two-th- what on Tollen are you on about?" Elewyn demanded.

"It's the other piece," Vee chimed in, who was apparently sitting on top of the watchtower just above Raz. "She's your spirit, Queen," Vee explained as the Victini pointed at Lia, and smiled.

"Really?" Aleena looked at Lia curiously, who continued to float beside the Queen. She then looked up at Raz in the watchtower. "W-what rock are you focusing, if I may ask, Lord Razathiel?"

"That's none of your business!" The Ralts cried. "And I fail to understand why you aren't yet running away, screaming!"

"S-should I be?" Queen Aleena quesitoned somewhat hesitantly.

"You have nothing to fear while I am here, Milady," Lady Elewyn commented, before angrily glaring at Raz. "And he would not dare try something."

Raz admitted, "I am obliged not to, for the sake of general co-operation and the fate of the world, but it'd be nice if you could at least pretend that I would!" He paused, looking to the Victini above him. "What, do I have to give them money to get them to do what I want, too? Has that blasted apothecary been spreading rumours?"

"I don't think you can get a Queen to do what you want, Raz," Vee responded with a shrug. "But that's just me."

While Vee was responding, Lia made a few more twirls around Aleena before slowly climbing over to where Raz was sitting on the watchtower. "I think she likes you," Vee continued.

"Queen-schween," said the wizard, still looking upward to face the Victini. "I can get anyone to do what I want. The question is simply how long it takes, and to what nefarious methods I have to turn to make it happen- who the **** is it who's supposedly doing something as dangerous as liking such a dark wizard of unholy- gah, what the-!?" Raz fell backward into the watch tower as he recoiled away from the Musharna who had floated up behind him. "Touch me or my stone, you floating monstrosity, and I'll make you regret it! Yveltal preserve me, are you mad?"

The Musharna merely glanced curiously at Raz and floated in a slow circle around the Ralts. It tilted its head and giggled before continuing to roam around Raz.

"It's perfectly harmless," Vee explained from above Lia and Raz. "Who knows, it being around might actually help your stone anyway."

"Why is that?" Queen Aleena asked curiously.

"Well the stones are powers of legendary 'mon," Vee explained. "And Lia happens to be the spirit of Cresselia. Within her body lies the memories of all of the past Cresselias."

"I don't care if it's harmless, it's annoying!" Razathiel complained. "And any help a legendary could be with the stone is questionable considering its warped purpose and function. And hey! Stop telling the figurehead about it and making me tell her about it by proxy! I said it was none of her business and you're undermining that entire concept!"

"I think it's entirely her business," Vee answered Raz. "Seeing as you're fighitng so that she can use one of those herself, and... you know, save everything?"

"Those stones are not the same thing and you know it, Vee!" The Ralts snapped.

"I-it's quite alright Lord Vee," Queen Aleena interjected.

"Lord?" Vee looked down at Aleena.

"I was merely curious, if he does not wish to share, that is his perogative," The Queen continued. "... I am curious as to how you came to be a part of your company, however. If I may, how did you join your... er... companions?"

Razathiel stood up, keeping Lia at his staff's length as he manoeuvred back around to the front of the watch tower. "If you must know," he began, unable to resist the urge to boast. "It happened because they needed me because I'm so great and smart and powerful, and because we happened to all agree that Darkrai was and is a weenie!"

"A... a weenie?" Aleena repeated. "I suppose I understand... working for the common good, then?"

"Common good?" Raz repeated, as though the idea of it were abhorrent. "I'm just stopping the bastard from beating me to the punch! I can assure you that my involvement is entirely self-serving!"

"Ah... I see," Aleena frowned slightly, upset apparently with his response. "But... I don't..."

"Not everyone fights for us for the noblest reasons, my Queen," Elewyn explained. "But they have come to meet the threat all the same."

"But... what shall happen after that threat is vanquished?" Aleena questioned to Elewyn and Raz.

"Eh, I dunno," shrugged the Ralts. "Something'll happen. Not sure. Kind of depends on how well the vanquishing goes. Which also kind of depends on how well I manage to get this ****ing rock under control!"

"And if the vanquishing goes well?" Aleena asked Raz curiously, and somewhat cautiously.

"Nothing any of you buggers have anything to worry about," the mage said with a frown. "For the forseeable future, at least. I know what you're thinking. Winning off the back of Darkrai's mess is far too cheap for a villain of my calibre, and I'm insulted that you'd insinuate such a thing. Be glad I'm obliged not to kill or maim you."

"It would be the last thing you ever do," Commander Elewyn spat at the Ralts. She began to step toward Raz, but Aleena held her back.

"I-it's quite alright, Milady," She stated with a smile. She turned back to Raz. "I was only curious as to your motivations. I have not dealt a lot with those outside my own Kingdom. And even then, I have only ever spoken to nobles of the castle. Call it a simple curiosity."

"Hmph, fair," muttered Raz. "I suppose I'm just too charismatic for my own good. Er, evil, rather." He turned backward to snatch the two stones he possessed in his Psychic grasp before Lia could float over to them.

"I suspect you wouldn't want to be anywhere else, regardless of who we were fighting," Vee interjected. "But that's just me."

"That is just you," the Ralts grunted.

"You do have some connection with Darkrai, though, do you not, my lord Razathiel?" The Queen questioned Raz. "I recall after you had defeated General Tyren and Gabriel in Tollen some months back that there was some reaction to you and that device your ally had. The golden bracelet?"

"By the ****ing torn world, I didn't realise this general pestering was going to turn into a full-on thrice-damned interrogation," the Dreadmage scoffed, raising a hand to grasp the stones that hovered at his side and hopping up onto the railing. "Some sort of mark, but I don't think it could be called a connection. A scar more than anything - a shame it doesn't seem potent enough to get the floating moron away from me. As though my general demeanour shouldn't be enough by default."

"Oh, n-no by no stretch did I intend any sort of interrogation!" The Queen proclaimed as she tried to assure Razathiel. "I-I meant no disrespect, my lord. I was merely curious."

"Maybe Lia just likes your wardrobe choice," Vee chuckled as the Victini leaned down and watched the Musharna float once more around the Ralts. The wizard exhaled through his nostrils, tearing a rift in space and pulling a robe from it. He chucked the article of clothing off the side of the watch tower in the hopes that the floating 'mon might follow it.

"There, go float around that instead," Raz muttered. He sat down on the edge of the railing and sighed. "Egh, it's fine. I was getting fed up with the stones anyway. Turns out dormant evolution requires an annoying level of... well, dormancy. Bit of a shame, to be honest; it could really help my image..."

The Musharna watched the cloak fall to the floor curiously. It then examined the robe for a brief moment,before turning back to Raz and tilting its head. It then continued to float around Raz.

"What image would that be?" Queen Aleena asked the Ralts.

The wizard's eyes narrowed. "Is that... an insult? My image, my public image! I refuse to believe that as a public figure you know not the meaning of such a- oh, for ****'s sake, this again," the Ralts had to pause to stand up atop the railing again, glaring irritatedly at Lia as he did so. "What the hell do you want? Food? I don't have any!"

"Oh... I-I only meant that I was wondering of what image you perceived yourself," Queen Aleena clarified in a voice barely above a mumble. Lia, meanwhile, continued to stare expectantly at the Ralts, as if waiting for something. It then did a twirl in the air and continued gliding nearby.

"I don't have to perform a flamboyant introduction for everyone individually, do I?" The Dreadmage wondered aloud as he made a shooing motion at the Musharna. "Is it not obvious? Razathiel the Dreadmage, harbinger of evil, world's most prolific sorcerer - even if the world fails to recognise it! Vee, there's not something I'm missing with this floating buffoon, is there? I believe I've successfully ruled out fashion sense, as reasonable a suggestion as it was."

"I think it's just curious about you," Vee responded to Ralts with a shrug. "It's attracted to curious sights, I suppose."

The wizard harrumphed, "I guess. If anyone's likely to have 'killed the cat', I'm certainly up there on the list of usual suspects."

"Harbinger of evil...?" Aleena repeated worriedly.

"Yeah! Notorious villain of the grandest proportions!" Razathiel puffed his chest out proudly. "And even I'm coming out to face Darkrai! To think that some of those dreary sods were about to excuse themselves because 'boo-hoo, that other place was mean to me and stole my land, waah' - pfft, some land you'll have left at the end of this if it goes badly. Kind of ridiculous we had to make so much effort to get to where we are today, but there you go. Testament to the world's idiocy, I suppose."

"It's testament to everyone having low long-term vision," Vee stated.

"It's hard to wipe away years of hatred and culture," Commander Elewyn responded. "Anyway, I think the Queen is just worried about your phrasing as 'harbinger of evil.'"

"Well, it's not really a- well, I guess..." the wizard paused to stroke his chin. "I mean, it's not that she shouldn't be worried about it in general, just not [/I]now. Well, I guess she should a little bit- it depends on what specifically the worry is!" Raz turned to face the Queen. "For now, just worry about me in the hapless sort of way where I'm mighty and evil and terrifying, but forebodingly so, and in a way that you can't yet do anything about. And then sometime down the line, when this whole Dark One buggery is over and done with and I'm lounging about in my newly acquired villainous fortress of supreme villainy, you can start worrying about me properly and send some kind of pitiful 'champion' or someone or other to try and 'deal with me' or whatever you would frivolously believe would actually be capable of opposing my raw arcane might! Well, if you even want to by then, that is... might be nice, depends how much else I have on my plate at the time. I could- oh, ****, you'll be Cresselia by then, won't you? And to think, I almost forgot! Are you even going to keep up all the figurehead of Tollen malarkey at that point?"

The Queen was mostly silent, taking in everything Raz was saying, while also thinking about how to respond to the many points the Ralts had just stated. What would happen to Tollen? What would happen afterwards with Raz? Both were questions she wanted to have the answers to, but didn't.

Seemingly seeing her conflict, Vee jumped in. "She will no longer be the Queen of the southern country," Vee explained. "She will have a new responsibility. Quite a big one. But one she's definitely ready for!" Vee beamed.

"I... I am?" Queen Aleena questioned.

"You will be," Vee responded with a nod. "Don't worry. You certainly will be ready to take on any 'harbinger of evil,'" It joked, glancing at Raz.

"Hey now, none of that!" The Dreadmage chided the Victini, waving a hand. "The whole Cresselia responsibility is whatever. She basically just needs to show up, we - er, I have pretty much done all the heavy lifting already."

"Well, I guess in a way you are right," Vee muttered. "But you shouldn't diminish what Cresselia means in the end. If there is no Cresselia, there is no victory. Plain and simple. We need her."

"Eh, only for dealing with Darkrai, really. And all the other guardians can bugger off after then, too, as far as I'm concerned."

"I bet you'd like that," Elewyn murmured lowly.

"They can't just go," Vee insisted. "The guardians are important! You have to realize that."

"Too important for their own good," the Ralts snapped. "And indeed, the good of anyone else. As though the situation we find ourselves in now wasn't enough proof that their existence is something of a catastrophic failure. It's almost hilarious, when you think about it."

"Their existence is the only thing that prevented a catastrophic failure!" Vee whined. The Victini shook its head. "Honestly, you normies are so near-sighted sometimes."

"I thought we were past this, Vee," Razathiel exhaled through his nose. "Again, you fail to see the trees for the forest. They do not deserve praise for doing only what is expected of them. What are they even supposed to be the 'guardians' of? Not much guarding going on of anything but themselves, at the moment- oh, and stop using that bloody word, Vee. I've said it before."

"Right, right, I forget," Vee waived at Raz dismissively.

"W-well, they must do something, right?" Queen Aleena questioned worriedly. "I mean, they are important... yes?"

"Well, of course they are!" Vee replied in almost a yell. "Some of the most important legendaries."

"Which is a little like saying that genetic diseases are some of the most important diseases!" The Dreadmage helpfully supplied.

Vee shook its head, "You simply won't ever really understand." It looked over to Lia as it floated in a circle through the air. "Not unless you live it."

The Queen quietly took a few steps back, and cleared her throat. "Well... i-if you'll excuse me," She nodded her head to Raz and Vee. "Lord Raz, Lord Vee. It was a pleasure to talk to you. I am going to go... go lie down for a while." She proceeded to walk away, and Elewyn turned and followed her.

"Toodle-oo," the wizard called after them. "****ing finally, I can get back to the stone..."

"Poor kid," Vee muttered and looked over at Raz. "She's about to become one of those 'diseases'," Vee told the Ralts. "Her life will never be the same again. She was probably just looking for reassurance. To make it all mean something. To be worth something."

"Reassurance for becoming a-?" The Ralts did a double take. "I thought she was just nervous about facing Darkrai! Well, bugger. Er, should I...? Nah, it'd be... nah. Egh. Are you sure that's what the bother is? Has she been told that she's basically just getting a bunch of power and a fairly useful bank of memories for free?"

"I think she's aware," Vee responded, before looking over at Raz and raising an eyebrow. "Wait a second... are you... are you worried about her?" Vee asked almost incredulously.

"Worried in the perfectly reasonable sense that if she gets cold feet about becoming Cresselia enough to bugger off then we're doomed to fail against Darkrai at the final ****ing hurdle!" Razathiel frowned.

"Mhm," Vee mouthed with a smile. "So you do care."

"About the fate of myself and the world I inhabit, yes. As I have stated many times!"

"I think it's more than that," Vee added with a smile. "I think you genuinely care about her too."

"Are you-?" Raz tilted his head upward, giving the Victini a supremely skeptical look. "You're not serious, are you? Have you just now had an epiphany on how sarcasm works, or something?"

"Eh, I'm not always accustomed to how you nor- er... how 'mon talk to each other, I guess," Vee shrugged. "I still think you care for the girl."

"You-" the wizard almost laughed, or perhaps he exhaled out of anger. "That's just absurd. I could at least understand if you were trying to make a case for one of the relatively tolerable group-members, but the Tollenian figurehead? I've not much specifically against her, but I'm pretty sure that this is literally the first time we've ever conversed."

"And yet you were still worried about how she was feeling," Vee replied and crossed its arms. "You're just a small softie, aren't ya, Raz?"

"Did you not hear my whole thing about my worry only being about those belligerant 'feelings' causing our defeat at the hands of Darkrai? Calling me a 'small softie', ****ing-!" The wizard exhaled, turning away as he crossed his arms. "And even if I have gone a little soft, it's all the fault of these blithering morons restricting me and I'll soon be released to resume my natural pointiness! Thrice-damned ****ing bastard mongrels..."

Vee giggled. "I think being a part of this group for so long was a good thing for you, Raz," Vee held up a hand. "Evil, rather."

"You were right the first time, it's good," the mage snapped. "That's why it's so ****ing miserable."

"So you're saying you won't miss any of this when it's gone?" Vee questioned the Ralts.

"Don't try to put words in my mouth, Vee. It's irritating."

"I'm just asking a question," Vee stated with a shrug. "Groups like these build comraderie. Surely you've made some connections on this one."

"Don't say things like that, either," barked the Ralts. "It makes me feel obliged to refute you, even if I'm not so enthusiastic about doing so."

"Not enthusiastic because it's true?" Vee teased with a grin.

"Are you that incapable of taking a hint, you ****ing mongrel?" Raz grumbled. "Fine, have it your way. When this is gone, I shall feel nothing. I will be perfectly happy to murder you all. I will laugh as I watch the life drain from your eyes. There. Now shut up and watch my energies as I concentrate on this bloody stone."

"Mmhm," Vee shrugged. "I suppose if that's the defensive route you want to go... still messing with the stone?"

Razathiel's incoherent grumbling transitioned into understandable speech when he said, "Of course I'm still going to mess with it! I'll continue until continuing becomes dangerous, then I'll take a break."

"To be honest, if you were waiting for it to be dangerous before messing with it, I believe that ship's sailed months ago," Vee replied. "But I suppose the meaning of dangerous changes with the times. And... by the 'mon."

"I mean," Raz huffed, shaking his head. "This particular flavour of messing. The microburst business. At a certain point it should wear on me to the point it becomes dangerous, as in damaging. And seeing as you can apparently see energy fairly clearly in spite of my somewhat crowded situation, you should be able to tell when 'dangerous' is fairly easily."

"Eh... I guess so," Vee shrugged. "I expect I'll be pretty preoccupied though to tell you when that is."

"Oh. You've got something to do?" The Ralts exhaled and looked away. "You're not mad at me or something, are you?"

"Mad at you for always insulting me?" Vee shook its head as the sarcastic tone was prevalent. "Nah, why would I be?"

"What? When have I even insulted you?"

"You're joking, right?" Vee stated and crossed its arms.

"I mean- not recently, I don't think."

"You're either the most oblivious 'mon ever or you just don't care," Vee shrugged. "I don't think I would have standed you this long if all this wasn't going on. Even for a normie... you're something else Raz."

"Wh- I- well, you just called me a normie again!" Countered the wizard. "So we're even!"

"I- w- fine!" Vee exclaimed. "Let's try this out again..."

"The stones?"

"Yeah," Vee nodded. "I can see past minor squabbles to understand how important this is."

Raz fidgeted, "I thought you had something to do."

"Well not at the moment anymore," Vee replied.

"Well all right then," said the Ralts, hopping off the railing. "I guess- we can get on with..." he sighed, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, don't let it weigh on you, OK? I'll be gone from all this in a little while, anyway." He took one of the stones in hand, focusing on that instead of looking at the Victini. "And for ****'s sake, don't let me affect your view of 'mon who aren't lucky enough to be born legendary..."

Vee nodded and glanced at Raz. "Gone where? Where do you plan to go after?"

"I mean, back to travelling in the pursuit of more power - but that's not important, I just meant that I'd be... you know, gone from people, and you'd have no - I mean, I suppose technically you can teleport most places so you could follow if you really tried - but you'd be under no obligation to put up with me, or anything. Not long away now - getting to be about that time."

"Ah... I guess I would have thought you would decide to stick around for a bit," Vee shrugged.

There was a clink as Raz tapped the stones together. "... Why's that?"

"Well, my feelings aside, I assumed you had grown close to some of your companions. You've been traveling with them for months now, almost a year, right?"

"Vee," the Ralts warned.

"Raz," Vee stated the Ralts' name in response.

"That's not how-" the wizard bristled for a moment, but managed to calm himself. "Look, I've had this conversation too many times already, today. In fact I'm sure we had it not a minute ago - and I don't think either of us liked how it ended."

Vee shrugged. "Very well, it's not my business or desire to poke at your stuff anyway. Let's leave it be and look over these stones then, yes?"

"Yes," Raz agreed. "That's a... a wise stance to take, I think." He held up the stones and took a deep breath.

Outskirts of Gold City - The Final Gathering

Countless hours of planning had led to this defining moment. Not just the planning over the last few days, but the entirety of planning that the allies had done over the past months. It had all led to this. The plan was simple, but hopefully not simple enough to be effective. A relatively large army gathered south of Gold City. The army consisted of Valkarian fighters, both Gold Tribe survivors and normal soldiers. It also consisted of allied armies: Anatellian fighters, Tollenian Knights, some Karn forces from General Hugh.

But it didn't have all of the Allied forces.

This was a distraction army. Large enough to be dangerous, but not large enough to defeat the entire Darkrai forces. It's main purpose was to serve as bait for Darkrai's forces inside the city. The Allied forces knew Darkrai wanted chaos, and so they presented him with an army. But they purposefully didn't attack the city just yet. They wanted to bring the army out, or at least part of it, so that his forces would be focused on this army. Then came the Network Points.

Just like Network Points were used on Gold City when it was first conquered, the Allied forces smuggled in a set of Network Points around Gold City. They used illusions and tactics learned from the thieves and Hellguards from Tollen to hide the Network Points as they traveled through the north of Valkaria. They then set them up around Gold City. The hope was that while Darkrai's forces came out, the main forces would teleport in around Gold City, and cut off Darkrai's armies from each other. But the armies teleporting in through the Network Points had to wait for the signal.

And that signal was Cresselia.

While the distraction army would hopefully distract most of Darkrai's forces, a group of Pokemon in teams would teleport through these Network Points. They had two goals. First, they were to find and take down the remaining Agents within the city. Specific strike teams were assembled to take care of this. Second, they were to get the Queen to the Citadel of the Gold Tribe, in the center of the city. There, Darkrai's power was strongest, and there, Cresselia would be awakened.

It was a plan dependent on many things going right. And if anything went wrong, a lot could fall apart. Thankfully, the first set of the plan seemed to work. From where he teleported in the Network Point, Hanso could see that Darkrai had sent out a massive army toward the distraction force. He wondered for a moment if Gabriel did this purposefully, knowing it could be a plan, or if he didn't know yet what was going on. Hanso wasn't sure, but he felt bad for the brave souls who had volunteered to go with the distraction force. Even from far away, one could see that Darkrai's force coming out far exceeded their numbers. Even at their max, Hanso wasn't sure they had the numbers. He secretly wished that the Allied forces had managed to recruit all of Karn's armies, rather than just the ones they got from Cal, Raz, and General Hugh. Still, they had to work with what they had.

"They took the bait. Which means it's our turn now," Hanso stated, as he looked around at everyone gathered. There was a set of faces seemingly from every nation. All had gathered here for this final leg. There was the Queen from Tollen, standing beside her Royal Commander Elewyn and Commander Darrell of the Hellguards. Next to Queen Aleena was Vee, Lia, and Celebi. Beside Commander Darrell were his three lieutenants, Trace, Vintus and Andrea. There was also General Isabella, who was leading the bulk of Tollen's forces around the Network Points. Allistair, the Deputy Royal Commander of the Royal Knights, was in the distraction force. There was also Popous, the talented fighter from Tollen who had previously helped Snype. Roran, Stretch, Rett, Joseph, and the Brotherhood were nowhere to be seen, sent on another mission somewhere outside.

There was also General Hugh from Karn, with half of his own force, with the other half being part of the distraction army. Beside Hugh was John, the fighter from Karn. There were Serving, former slaves gathered to help in the coming conflict. Beside them were any Anatellian forces who were around. The remaining Antellian forces were with Gaiyo Nyys fighting in another city. There was the Overseer, Julian Oriah, from Beatruce, along with the half dozen surviving members of the Beatrucian Gold Tribe, including their leader Prime. There was also Hanso, along with a group of SEC scientists and fighters there were support. Most of the rest of SEC and the Valkarian Gold Tribe selflessly decided to help the distraction force. The rest were gathered to help out these forces. There were many others, slowly teleporting in through the Network Points and gathering for the coming conflict. All the world fighting against Gabriel seemed to be here.

"Well, there's a really good chance we'll all be dead soon," Commander Darrell stated to everyone around. "So I guess if anyone has anything to say, now's as good a time as any."

"I do want to say," The Queen spoke up for a moment. "I... I wanted to say thank you. To all of you. You are all risking your lives for me. And I hope I will not disappoint you."

"If I may," began the Wyvern, looking out across the fighters from Karn. "To those of you who were once Serving, I cannot commend you enough for being here. Darkrai seeks to end this world just as it was made open to us - to have taken what little freedom you have gained in this short time to follow us here... it displays nobility beyond words." She paused to clear her throat. "And to all, I suppose - this cause is great indeed, likely grander in scope than I can possibly imagine, and in the words of a wiser 'mon than I: 'To fight is to die, but to not fight for what is right is to die a thousand times.' I look upon this crowd and see faces both familiar and foreign, old enemies and new friends. I am honoured to call myself your ally. All of you."

Those that bore the Serving tattoos seemed pleased with the Wyvern's word, with some nodding in agreement, and others letting out cries of glee. General Hugh smiled at the Wyvern and gave her a curt nod. "That was well spoken."

A loud slamming noise quieted the clamor like an especially large gavel. All eyes were drawn to the Emerald Sentinel Callimer Vian, who stood close to the center of the assembly. His tail rose back into place, satisfied with its success at commanding their attention. "We're nearly at the end of this war. It may just be the single largest and most important conflict in our world's history by measure of scale, impact and cost, a war larger than any of us could have predicted and that has been going on for longer than any 'mon aside from our greatest enemy himself could really say. It was him, Darkrai, god of chaos, lord of nightmares and once the hero Gabriel. The rest of us are simply fighting for our very survival, because there's no room for us in the world Darkrai seeks to create. That is why I see 'mon around me from all walks of life, some of whom may have gladly been at each others' throats mere days ago."

He took a deep breath while the weight of that declaration and its more subtle implications sank in. "Many have turned a blind eye to our struggle, even some of Darkrai's fellow gods themselves - if indeed gods we should still call them - and many more 'mon than we have here yet stand against us, either crazed enough to follow Darkrai for the sake of the slaughter they know will follow or somehow genuinely convinced that his cause is just, as I'm sure he himself is. But no matter the depths of their devotion or beliefs, I know their ferocity could never compare to ours because we are all fighting for something more unifying than any other reason there could be. I only told a half truth when I said we fight for survival, what we all fight for is the world. Everyone here, no matter what it is that matters most to them stands to lose everything if we fail. In a way, we're all working to create a new world just like Darkrai is, but instead of giving it up and sweeping everything aside to start from scratch, we're reshaping what's here now. This may be the end of the war but it's only the beginning of our struggles, after we win we can get started with the new world. Our new world and there's going to be plenty to do in it so you had all better do everything you can to live to see it. We don't need any heroes! Remember, Gabriel was a hero."

Over the loud fighting and sounds of war, the gathered 'mon cheered. They cheered, they wore faces of encouragement, they smiled, they glared in preparation. For many, they knew it may be the last time they would see each other. Many would not return. But if they succeeded, many could be saved.

A large fireball swarmed through the sky and landed just beside General Isabella, who managed to dodge only barely. Ember singed her skin and she briefly grunted in pain, but slowly rose and shouted. "Fire at them!" He ordered. Around her, two Wartortle, a Mudkip, three Poliwags, and a pair of Raichu fired at a set of Pentosarr warriors. The water decimated most of the weaker 'mon, while the remaining ones still standing were soaked in water. The Raichu launched Thunderbolts in their direction, and the puddles of water ignited and shocked the armored Pokemon from north Tollen.

Isabella caught her breath, only for seconds, as more Pokemon following Darkrai approached. She could see the hordes of followers clashing with hers and her allies. While they had a good portion of Karnians, Tollenians, and Beatrucian fighters along with the Valkarian forces, Darkrai's were clearly larger. She saw Bandit clan 'mon, Pentosarrs, traiterous Royal Knights, Feral 'mon, Ancients, Karnians likely from Alai's forces, and others. All wanted to see them dead. Isabella had other plans in mind.

"Watch your back!" Yelled someone from behind. A pair of Sandslash tried to surprise Isabella, who saw them sliced down by a ferocious Houndoom. The Houndoom was larger than others, with a golden emblem on its paw. She knew he was Gold Tribe.

The Roserade General nodded. "Thank you… sir..?"

"Ripper!" The Houndoom shouted, and fired a series of burning flames at nearby Vileplume bandit 'mon. They yelled and burned under the intensity of the heat. General Isabella was awed for only a moment, turning and firing an Acid towards Ancient 'mon trying to attack her men.

All around, fighting continued, with more and more Pokemon approaching, and more and more Pokemon dying. Isabella fought. She fought for what seemed like days, but which was likely a few hours. Nevertheless, she was tired. Or, at least she thought she was. She had never continuously fought for this long before. The likelihood of imminent total destruction has a way of motivating Pokemon, it seems.

She fought around, with a variety of Pokemon. Karnians, who fought under the Grand General Hugh, Callimer, and Raz. Brutish style, with many focused on pure attacks and strength over anything else. Fortunately, they found themselves wildly successful, especially against Pokemon from other nations. They were without tact, save for those with tattoos on their faces, which Isabella learned earlier they were called the Serving, and were specifically under General Hugh. Those fought with some semblance of strategy, something Isabella appreciated.

She fought around Beatrucians. They were quite uniformed and proper, much like her own forces. They varied in styles depending on their district, but she appreciated their desire to make sure every single 'mon that opposed them, especially feral 'mon, were dead. Their leader, Julian Oriah, maintained a place to the back, and mostly oversaw tactics rather than fight. She didn't appreciate a leader who refused to join the soldiers, but she realized other countries had different ways of leadership.

She fought with Anatellians, though there were few around. Most of them, she had heard, chose to help retake the nearby other cities of Cape City and Albia.

She fought beside the local Valkarians, whose passion for their homeland could be seen in their blood, their sweat, their tears. Hanso commanded them, but she also spotted quite a few Gold Tribesmen, including Ripper, Conduit, Watchman, Raishuma and Mordecai. She had also fought alongside the Valkarian General Warren, a fearless Blastoise, as well as Hanso, leader of SEC.

She had fought beside her own comrades, including her men, the Royal Knights of Tollen, and the Hellguards. Never in a long time was there an occasion to have all three sections of Tollen's army to fight at once. There was something about it that made it special. But that feeling soured with each fighter that fell before Isabella's eyes.

She had fought along so many, but many of these Pokemon, like herself, were faltering.

"Watch out, General!" Isabella turned, watching a large rock being hurled by a Golem, right toward her. Allistair, the deputy commander of the Royal Knights, jumped in the way, shielding her from harm. Many surrounding Pokemon used that as an advantage to attack the stumbling Chestnaught. A set of Ancients tried to grab hold of him. Allistair struggled for a second, bashing one Kabutops to the ground, while swinging an Omastar toward a Bastiodon.

Ripper, along with a team of Alpha Alliance soldiers, rushed in to help Allistair, but their commotion caused bandits and Pentosarrs to join the fray. This led to some more royal knights to rush in, and following that, more Beatrucian soldiers. It was an all-out melee, with the presence of Gold Tribe warriors and Royal Knights seeming to tilt the tide.

The portion of the enemy fighters in that area were struck down, and all yelled acknowledging this minor victory in this area. General Isabella couldn't help joining in the yell. It empowered her. It drove her. After all, she knew this small push meant nothing. They were outnumbered, and still losing. Her muscled were tired. Her bones were bruised. But her will to fight was stronger than ever.

And with her allied, equally as motivated comrades, she charged forward at the hordes before her.

One powerful rumbling occurred after another. The rumbling didn't let up, pounding at the ground and shaking it like a large beat of an enormous drum. Stretch's heart seemed to skip a beat every time the ground rumbling. He reminded himself to breathe, because at that point, he may have very well forgotten a few times.

They were on a hill, a hill of grass stretching throughout the Valkarian plains. Valkaria was a strange place to Stretch. Unlike Tollen, where there were forests covering the countryside, Valkaria is covered by little more than the plains. Besides the mountains to the north, of course. But beyond that, not many places to hide. That made Stretch nervous. So he was always looking around.

"From this distance, it doesn't look that bad," He thought to himself. Below them, there was a large city the Valkarians called Cape City. The city had been captured by Gabriel's forces a while back now. And many of Darkrai's forces were now mustering a reinforcement assault upon Gold City, where most of the allied forces were now striking. If the forces successfully mustered and reached the Network Points within the city, they could easily make a large-scale assault and decimate the armies attacking Gold City.

So, Roran and the Brotherhood came up with an idea. An idea that, if it worked, would cut off reinforcements for the enemy to Gold City. An idea that, even if it did work, however, would most likely kill all those involved.

Here at the top of the summit, Stretch was with most of the Brotherhood Snype helped built, along with Gaiyo Nyys of Anatellia, and a large part of his army.

"So, are we all set?" Roran asked the others. He stood beside Rett and Joseph, along with Gaiyo Nyys. "Let's go over the plan one more time."

"Oh, come on! We don't have time!" Gaiyo yelled. "We have to do this as soon as possible, or we'll lose our window!"

"Relax, cupcake," Roran retorted relatively calmly. "They're doing a mass port," The Raticate explained. "We'll have a few hours before they're all ready to go."

"A few hours isn't a long time," Gaiyo snapped back.

"But it's enough to go over the plan one last time," Roran responded. "Just to make sure."

Gaiyo glared at the Raticate for a moment, then sighed deeply and nodded. "I'm just on edge. Let's do it." Roran nodded and began.

"So we know the allies are all sending everything we got at Gold City," Roran began as he pointed to the map of Valkaria. "Where Gabriel is. They've got a lot of boys up there, but there's even more scattered across Valkaria. Especially here in this city," Roran pointed to Cape City on the map, and over to the actual Cape City within viewing distance.

"Dakrai's plan seems to be to lure us into the city limits, and then port in reinforcements from Cape and cut us off. We've spotted over a dozen Network Points on the outskirts of Gold City. And we know from our scouts that there's about a dozen here in Cape City," Roran pointed to several points marked with 'X's' on the map. "If the reinforcements get to Gold City, our boys are screwed. There'd just be too much to deal with. But if we're successful here, then we have a chance."

Stretch gulped, knowing exactly where this was going. He had heard variations of this speech several times before, and everytime, he thought about running away and hiding. He was good at that. He wanted to do that. But every time, he stopped himself, because as good as he was at hiding, he also realized something: if he didn't do something, soon, there wouldn't be anywhere to hide.

"So, our objective is, for lack of a better word, simple: we destroy the Network Points, and cut off their army. We do this, and the only way they get to Gold City is the old fashioned way, by walking. And any army would take a few days to make that treck, at the very least. Buying us time," Roran cleared his throat and sighed. "So while the main part of Gaiyo's forces and the Valkarians take a whack at the main gates at Cape, a few dozen select of his boys, and all of the Brotherhood's, have the main mission. Destroy those damn points."

"Twelve in total?" Rett asked Roran.

"Twelve in total," Roran confirmed.

"We have to hit them simultaneously," Gaiyo warned. "We skip some, and they'll still send others out, or warn other cities. Or surround the others and make them unreachable. Point is, we have to take them all out around the same time. Any one of them staying could be bad."

Roran turned away from the group and looked at the city below. "Then none of us better f*ck up," He turned to the group. "Prep the groups. We move in 10."

Rett nodded and ran off. Joseph made a quiet prayer and ran after. Gaiyo looked over the map and shook his head, before leaving as well. Stretch lingered for a moment, in silence. Roran noticed the little Spinarak stick around, and smiled at him. "Here to have a little heart to heart before our send-off? I knew you were the sentimental type, Stretch!"

Stretch murmured silently, barely above a whisper. Roran leaned in. "What was that?"

Stretch squeaked silently again, barely being caught by Roran. "I can't hear you buddy, what are you trying to say?"

"I can't move my legs!" Stretch squeaked. "That's the only reason I'm still here!"

"Wha- bah! Get outta here!" Roran shouted and pushed Stretch away, causing him to take off on his tiny legs. Roran angrily watched as he scurried away, crossing his arms. His expression soon turned into a small smirk, however, as he watched the Spinarak run. "I'm gonna miss that boy…"

---

BOOM!

A loud explosion ran through Cape City as a set of Anatellian Golem hurled rocks at the Cape City gates. Darkrai followers shouted orders across the city to fire back. With the high ground and high walls, Cape City gave Darkrai and his followers a higher advantage. Teams of Pokemon, elementals and otherwise, hurled attacks back and forth to each other. Pokemon fell off the walls, but even more fell on the field.

"What fools!" A Mightyena laughed on top of the wall. He was a high commander in Darkrai's armies, and one of the leaders of the bandit clans that Gabriel recruited after Tollen. "The dumba*ses are literally linin' up to die! F*ck… let's help them go quicker, open the gates!" He shouted.

"What? Why, sir?" A Pentosarr Vigoroth asked.

"Dontchu sir me, as*hole! I'm in charge!" The Mightyena roared.

"Sir is a form of respect…" The Pentosarr warrior murmured.

"Gabe's orders were to fight on the field with them whenever possible," The Mightyena explained. "More chaos, more power. And he needs a bunch of it. Don'tchu worry your pretty armor," The Mightyena used a paw to pet the Vigoroth. "We'll send Ancients out there to fight. They don't got no soul anyways," He roared with laughter.

The gates slowly opened and scores of Ancient Pokemon marched out, and attacked the Allied armies. The Anatellian forces were taking heavy losses. They weren't born fighters, so they were struggling against the superior Ancient army bred for the sole purpose of war. But while the Anatellian forces took losses, and the Darkrai followers laughed and watched above, they were blind to all else that moved…

---

Stretch took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. They had made it through the gates following the ancients moving out onto the field. He couldn't spot any of the other teams, but that was probably a good thing, because it meant the rest didn't see either. With him were his old friends Rett and Joseph, which honestly made things easier for him. But he was still scared ****less. A lot was depending on them. Every strike team had to succeed in destroying the network points. Because even if one survived, Gold City could still get reinforcements. And the Allied forces there would be defeat.

No pressure, right?

"Ours is further down, on the left side," Joseph stated quietly to the others. "Stay low, don't get caught, but keep moving. If anyone of us are seen, just keep going. We can't be late."

Stretch nodded, spinning its web and slowly moving from spot to spot, in between Darkrai's soldiers moving around the city. They stuck close to alleys, and moved when it was safe. "Stop. Wait. Safe. Stop." Was a lot of what Joseph was saying.

A loud rumble shook the ground, followed by the sounds of screaming. Stretch squeeked for a second in surprise, but tried to put it out of his mind. He wasn't sure which side that explosion came from. But at this point, he didn't want to know. Too many lives were at stake.

The group continued down the alleys, eventually reaching the inner city. The network point they were after was up in one of the watchtowers guarded by a group of 'mon. "****," Joseph said out loud, as he looked on to see that watchtower, but with at least a dozen Pokemon guarding, and likely more inside the tower.

"We'll scale the side," Rett suggested, knowing the path there would be harder on the inside.

Joseph shook his head. "We'll risk getting caught. We need someone to tamper with it without distractions." Joseph didn't wait. He stepped out of the alley.

"What are you doing!?" Stretch whispered loudly. Joseph looked on at the tiny Spinarak.

"Go! I'll distract them! You're the smallest. You have to do this, Stretch."

"M-me!?" Stretch looked as pale as a ghost.

"Rett's too loud, but you can do it," Joseph nodded with a smirk. "You were born for these types of things."

Rett nodded in agreement, also stepping out onto the street. "We'll meet you after!" He exclaimed, and both Joseph and Rett began firing flamethrowers across the tower and onto the Pokemon above. One scorch of Joseph's fire burned at a Vileplume stationed near the edge, causing it to scream. "You got this, Stretch!" Rett yelled as Joseph and Rett took off, continuing their blazing onslaught.

Stretch began to hyperventilate and closed his eyes. He could hear Joseph and Rett shouting, and the guards chase after them. He could hear screams of Pokemon dying outside the gates. He knew the armies were likely done for. He knew his friends were likely done for. But he couldn't move. He was too scared. He wasn't a hero. He never was. He was just a thief. What could he do?

He wasn't sure when he started moving. He wasn't sure why he started moving. By all accounts this is the most frightened he had ever been in his life. But sometimes, it is at our most fearful that we are our most daring.

Stretch ducked past many Pokemon, using his web to maneuver quickly between paths and away from peering eyes. He was small enough not to be immediately noticeable, and each string shot was barely seen in all of the commotion. He shot a web to the watchtower, scaling across it as he worked his way up. A Growlithe fell off the top, hit by a giant rock nearby. Stretch almost lost his balance as the Growlithe fell nearby him. But he kept moving. The watchtower shook violently as a Golem crashed into it from the side, likely a result of another attack from another party. Stretch kept moving, cursing lowly to himself without any other thought in the world.

Eventually, he made it to the top. And he saw the network machine. He quietly climbed to it, and entered into the device using his small frame. He began pulling out various wires. Ones that seemed important. Slowly, the humming from the machine began to die down, making Stretch believe that it was working. He also began hearing sounds from outside the machine, the guards wondering what was going on. They shouted among themselves, but Stretch ignored it. He had one task, and if every other team would succeed, he sure as well would too.

Bang!

First loud explosion, Stretch knew the other Network Points were under attack. Bang! Bang! That was two and three. Stretch kept working. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! That was up to nine! The network machine's cover opened, and Stretch heard Pokemon look and shout at him. Stretch kept tearing up the machine. Bang! Ten. Bang! Eleven.

Stretch suddenly was grabbed by the guardis, and thrown out of the Network Machine. He fell to the ground, looking down at the city below. He spotted several smoke levels across the city, right around where the Network Points were reportedly located. He saw bodies, outside of the gates, and some inside. He saw Rett below, injured and surrounded by a lot of forces, and Joseph right there beside him, lying motionless on the ground. Stretch tried to move forward, but was caught by the guards. They were yelling at him, but Stretch seemed out of it, ignoring them and instead trying to look back at the Network Point. A few sparks had sprung out of it, but it didn't look like it was exploding. Stretch's heart sank. He did not succeed, even if he came so close. He frowned, unable to move, unable to think, unable to do anything.

Then, he heard another loud spark fly from the machine. The guards, who were holding onto Stretch, turned around. Another loud spark flew. Then another. The machine started glowing.

"Ah, ****, it's gonna explode!" A guard shouted. Stretch was dropped, and the guards started climbing out of the tower. Stretch watched in awe, seeing the machine seemingly about to fail. He moved his injured body across the floor, making sure that the machine indeed was failing. Satisfied, he eased down next to it, a smile creeping across his face.

"I did it… I di-"

Bang!

It had been difficult, but somewhat necessary. The battle had started, and Obsidian had taken to using the troops as a fine distraction. This was a one person job, sadly enough. The more people that came through meant the higher the chance that they would be detected. Obsidian elected to go alone, mainly cause he had the skill set needed to pull the plan off. It was simple in design. Find the various cages holding prisoners in place. Unlock said cages with either a key or his claws, and move on until all of them were open. Getting to the point itself was tricky, as all manner of mon were pouring out or standing guard near it. Still, Obsidian had the dexterity to slip past the various mon that rushed by and finally made his way through the gateway, feeling a small sense of vertigo as he arrived on the other side. The Weavile quickly moved to the side, watching various mon moving about in the camp.

The next challenge was simple, DO. NOT. GET. CAUGHT. Obsidian glanced about, looking around for any signs of captured mon. He made his way off to the side, avoiding the more active area of the network points. Once the various trapped mon were released, he figured it would be easy to rush at the network points and disable them. The mon trapped here would be in no condition to offer support out in the battle area. They could cut off reinforcements and then deal with any leftover threats. If Obsidian tried to take down the network points all on his own, he would only be able to take one or two off the grid. Then he would be caught, and that would spell bad news. Having a force working with him was best.

Obsidian snuck off to the eastern side, catching sight of a few caged areas where some depressed looking mon were sitting about, not doing much. Why risk having the slaves fight back when one side was so close to victory? Obsidian could already tell his stone was starting to fade, but thankfully no guards were around. Most were near the network points, ready to head out for battle if need be. Smirking to himself, Obsidian disabled his stone, casually walking along as he moved to a cage door. Lowering his hand to the lock, he inserted a claw and twisted it, a soft click echoing out.

"Don't go until the signal." he murmured to those inside, giving them a nod as he walked along the various cage doors, unlocking them as quick as he could while trying to look as unsuspicious as possible. Each and every prisoner he gave the same warning to. Move on the signal. Thankfully the captive mon weren't quick to charge into battle, noting their lower numbers compared to those still around the camp. There was a sizable population left, yes, but they looked more relaxed. Still ready to go, of course, but not really paying attention to the other parts of the camp. As he unlocked the last door Obsidian glanced about the area, starting to walk past a few tents as he glanced about, trying to find other containment areas.

All around, Darkrai's forces were mostly preoccupied with preparing to fight the Allied Forces gathering outside the city. Most of them didn't pay much mind to the prisoners anymore, and advantageous position for most of them. Even most guards were getting distracted by the invasion force coming, though some of them casually hung around just in case.

"Damn Valkarians!" One guard, a Drillbur shouted loudly. He banged across one of the cells and gave dirty looks to the prisoners, but did not notice them unlocked due to all of the commotion.

Obsidian managed to make his way to another section, noting another guard here. Once more he more or less casually walked along, stopping near one spot on the wall to casually lean back against it. He moved one hand quick, working his claw magic on the other doors nearby, having to whisper to the prisoners to wait for his signal. There was a bit of fear in Obsidian's mind though. If but one prisoner decided to act and take matters into their own hands… his plan was doomed. Obsidian glanced up along this section, noting a sort of higher second area where other prisoners were stationed.

The walkway was a bit further ahead, with Obsidian casually making his way up and acting more as a guard checking up on the mon. Using this to his advantage he unlocked a few more doors on his way, keeping up his routine and maintaining a relaxed demeanor. Instead of walking back to the walkway, the Weavile instead grasped onto a hanging ledge, using it to swing to another rocky ledge, then down onto the ground. From that point he continued his 'patrol' by making his way to yet another section, taking the time to adjust the pack he held over his shoulder.

A loud rumble shook the city. Fighting was getting intense outside the walls, so much so that it was felt by those inside. "Damn!" A nearby guard yelled and glanced to Obsidian as he was passing by for a second. "You felt that?" He said to him almost absentmindedly.

"I did." The Weavile nodded, "They're desperate." He gave him a parting wave, moving forward as he locked eyes with yet another area of cells. This was far smaller, just straight ahead and only needed but a minute to pass by, unlocking them as he moved. He let out a huff, setting a free hand on his hips as he glanced back. Seems he would have to search for the other holding areas. Rolling his shoulders back he continued on, passing a mon here and there as he tried to keep his eyes straight ahead, looking to be focused on heading to his next patrol spot.

Another set of cages polluted the area up ahead. Some of the Pokemon were in poor conditions, as likely Darkrai's forces didn't make their safety or health any priority. But still others had the fire to continue fighting, or at least living. That only caused Obsidian to frown. He moved to the cages that looked to have more active individuals, continuing his soft whispers as he passed along. He glanced about the area, making sure to give glances at the cages to make it seem he was inspecting them. He didn't spend too much time here, not wanting to look too out of place. As he moved on he began to head to another part of the city, taking the time to figure out where he had already gone in this city. He didn't want to accidentally backtrack. As the Weavile continued his path forward he caught sight of several new prison areas. Just like the area he had passed through, several cages were either under light surveillance, or completely left alone. However… other areas had more guards around them.

The areas with more heavily-guarded forces seemed to be due to the prisoners: there were Alpha Alliance soldiers, and even Gold Tribe among them, distinguished by the shining emblems they had on their bodies. The less-guarded areas seemed to be more civilian prisoners, and likely not as high-priority targets.

Okay… this was not good. Obsidian figured that most of the GT had managed to either escape the cities, or at least had perished fighting some time ago. … Why were they still being kept alive? It didn't make such sense to the infiltrator, given that at any point those prisoners could just bust out of their cells the moment their guards became distracted. And with a literal invasion running to their doorstep, he figured they would have already slaughtered their more prized prisoners. Obsidian adjusted the pack on his back, already having thoughts rush through his head. He could very well try and go mega here, rushing through and killing some guards while securing freedom for some of their powerful allies. Yet… how many would he be able to save? They were caged up, so somehow they had been rendered powerless. Had they been malnourished, or pushed to the point of being unable to move? They were still mortal mon, after all.

He carefully made his way over to the guarded cells, glancing over at a Granbull, "Hey, doing some checks on the civilian cells." He glanced back at the guarded prisoners, raising his brow, "I'm surprised they ain't raising a ruckus right now."

The Granbull looked over at the Weavile quizzically. He crossed his arms. "Who the heck are you?"

"Guard from the north eastern corner." He said, giving a meek shrug, "Call me Burr. We got some orders to check over a few of the unmanned cells. Just to make sure there are no dug out tunnels or such. We're on the final stretch, after all."

The Grandbull's eyebrows furrowed. "In the middle of a damned siege?!" He asked incredulously. The 'mon sighed and shook his head. "Alright, fine! Fine."

He glanced inside, "Well, yeah, in the middle of a damned siege." He replied, he turned to glare at the guard, crossing his arms, "You know how much trouble it could cause if but one, just one of these cells managed to get free? It isn't like I want to around doing cell duty, but over in our section we had two Furrets trying to tunnel their way out. Imagine that, opening a tunnel that could lead to troops just funneling deep into the city itself. Hell, they wouldn't have to break through the walls then! At least they aren't doing anything funny in this cell. They sent about half of my section out to fight already. Meaning we're being stretched thin, and a prison riot is something we don't need at the moment." He huffed, "Why are they even keeping these goldies alive anyways? They'll just cause more trouble for us later."

"Hell if I know, they don't tell me anything," The Granbull spat. "Let's just get this over with, where we headed?" He asked as he approached the Weavile.

"Pfft, you don't get any leg exercise." He said, rolling his eyes, "You need to watch over those goldies. Right now I'll be doing my rounds. Though, you didn't hear this from me." He glanced about, and leaned in and whispered, "I heard things aren't looking so hot out there. They're just sending about anyone out there now, even guards. The only ones they aren't sending out are some mon they consider 'favorites'. Mon they want to live after this whole war is done."

The Granbull cocked an eyebrow. "You're sh*tting me. Commander said it's not even close! Are you sure you got your info right?"

Obsidian raised his brow. He tapped a foot on the ground, "You tell me this. Let's say you're whole family is taken from you. Your home is burned to the ground, and the only reason you're alive is to go find the guy who did all of that, and kill them." He gestured toward the walls with a single finger, "Now… multiply by that a hundred thousand fold. One of the other guards had to head up to the city wall, and it didn't look good at all to him." He frowned, "It's called keeping up freaking morale. They have to lie to make everyone feel good and nice in here. That army is circling around the city, and soon enough even someone like you might be punted over the wall to hold them off a bit more." He coughed, "Now I have an advantage here in that I have my orders, and on top of that am moving around, meaning it's less likely I get punted anytime soon. But you… you're right here, in the same spot… and can be seen at any time by some higher up who wants to punt you over that wall to save five seconds of time. What you think they're going to do? Tell you what's going on? Or surprise ya?"

"... point taken… dang…" The Granbull murmured. He seemed worried and anxious. "So what do we do now, then?

"Well… that depends." He said, poking him in the stomach, "I'm probably going to live a long fruitful life after this. Again, I'm moving around. Once that army busts through it'll be too late. I'll be able to enjoy my reward… and you might be dead." He shrugged, "There are still plenty of guards around though, and a few soldiers waiting to be deployed. If you can find someone to take your post, or switch out or such… you might survive. I know my buds did that. He's near the center of the city now." He snorted, "Damn Tepig had the foresight to see this all coming. Otherwise… " He glanced inside the cage again, "Honestly… doesn't look like they can do anything from inside there, right? Even once they get the fortitude to break out, it won't matter in the end." He shrugged, "Honestly… it's up to you as to what you want to do, but if you want some advice." He glanced about again, "I don't think any of the commanders are seriously going to take the time to walk around, to make sure all the guards are at their posts at this point. If you get my drift."

The Granbull thought long and hard for a while, glancing nervously between Obsidian, other prisoners around, and out toward the smoke from the battles. After a long while, he sighed and darted away. "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t," He muttered. "I'm outta here," He declared, and moved away from the cells toward another corner on the streets of Gold City.

Obsidian couldn't hide the smirk from his face once the mon was gone. He turned to the door, chuckling at those inside, "Didn't think I would leave you high and dry, right?" He pushed a claw in, unlocking the cell, "Don't move yet… I'm trying to get a few more open." He frowned, "Why are they keeping you guys alive in there? Been overhearing anything of importance?"

"Thanks!" One Swellow whispered in his cell. Others weakly smiled or anxiously looked around, realizing freedom may be close.

"Isn't that what you do in war?" A Combusken replied as he glanced over Obsidian. "They didn't really tell us otherwise."

"Chaos," A Trophius in his cell chimed in. "I overheard something about that as a reason to stick around. Don't know much beyond that."

"They been taking anyone?" Obsidian asked, keeping a wary eye around, "Back in the old war they took people here and there out of cells. If so… seen which direction they were taken?" He glanced about again, "I'll have to get moving soon."

"Just a few," The Trophius said with a shake of his head. "Just the more rowdy ones. They took them to the direction of our Citadel, but I wouldn't go there, too many 'mon around. Thousands."

Obsidian huffed, "... That would be where Darkrai would be then." He noted to the mon, "Listen… we're going to have to storm that Citadel eventually. You are are not in any condition to help us out there. Once I give the signal, see if you can clear the city streets out that lead that way. The less energy the army uses, the better the outcome. Remember, wait for the signal." With that, he turned and began to walk away. Okay… so the citadel was a place of activity. It would be fitting for Darkrai to do his plan there. Obsidian glanced up, giving a quick glance over the sky above the city. If he could get a good eye on some flying types… or perhaps some other action in the sky, maybe that would serve as a clue as well?

Above Gold City, many various 'mon flew just in the city's presence. A flock of Pidgeotto flew southbound, while another set of different flying types rush to the western-most part of the city, towards the left. It seems many others were coming from another direction to the right, and heading toward where smoke was rising outside the city.

So, it looked like a good deal were still in the city. He could try and head over to the western area. From what it seemed soldiers were heading to the south and other areas, no doubt to start attacking the army outside. He kept his pack close to himself, walking along as he saw a few soldiers here and there rushing down a few other streets, heading to the walls. Okay… less guards was always good. It meant that the cells further ahead wouldn't be as well guarded.

Whistling softly to himself, he passed by mon here and there, most too occupied in their own tasks to pay him any attention. As he rounded one corner he stopped. He could see a group of mon ahead, no doubt about to be sent to the walls as well. What was different about this group was that he caught sight of an all too familiar Simisage with them. He moved around the corner, pressing himself against a wall as he waited for a few minutes. This was no time to stay in one place, especially for a commander. He counted down silently in his head, glancing back around and saw the group was gone.

He quickened his pace, starting to look more like one of the scurrying soldiers in the streets. He had to get to the west and see what was going on there. If he could, from there, find a high ledge to set his signal up to work.

Up ahead was a set of watchtowers. The towers were tall enough to be seen from a good distance, and provided a nice vantage point. Most of the Pokemon on the watchtowers were preoccupied, with forces overlooking the walls out into the armies below. There were several 'mon heading toward the watchtowers, while others scattered about and headed to the nearby western gate. Various Pokemon yelled and shouted on the walls, and Pokemon with longer movesets tried to fire out into the battlefield.

Good, there were enough distractions for this to work out. He made his way to one tower, climbing up as he passed by a few other mon. He reached into his pouch, pulling out a small silver disk. He got up to the top, giving a nod to the others up there. "Evening." He remarked calmly. He held out the disk, closing his eyes, as he clicked upon a small indent. In an instant the Flash attack stored inside went off, a brilliant flash of light shining above the city for the briefest of seconds. With that done, Obsidian dropped the disk and kicked out at two newly blinded mon, forcing them to fall off the side with a scream.

The Intruder, Part 2 - Featuring an Old Enemy

Following slowly after the brilliant flash of light, shouts could be heard from the distance. It sounds first like metal clanking, before the intensified sounds of battling and breaking could be heard within the city. No doubt, the prisoners have seen the flash, and begun to take action.

Smirking, Obsidian readied himself. No doubt other guards would be making their way up… or perhaps trying to force the tower down. He knew what to do, but the question was if he should now, or later. He gripped his bag tightly against his shoulder and readied himself. The assault, hopefully, should have started by now. The soldiers had to have their attention diverted.

As commotion continued through the city, three Pokemon made their way up the tower, including a Graveler, and two Spheal. Spotting Obsidian, they attacked instantly, with the Graveler hurling his body at the Weavile, while the two Spheal shot some powered water at him.

Obsidian tensed his legs up, then leapt away from the attacks, managing to leap off the side. As he began to fall he shot out a hand to grip along the tower, his claws sinking into a few holes as he stopped his descent. From there, he pushed his feet against the tower and lept away, hooking his claw tips to the side of a building. "Sheesh, no wonder Darkrai's losing! His soldiers suck!"

The Pokemon shouted some insults or shouts from the top of the tower, before retreating into the tower to scale down. Meanwhile, a large eruption was heard from outside the wall, almost like a sudden impact, or a powerful explosion. It was enough to shake the ground beneath Obsidian.

Obsidian hand to press himself against the building side, feeling his claws shake about in the wall. Once the shaking stopped, Obsidian used some of his upper body strength to flip his body up and over the wall, landing on the roof easily enough. He could see the numerous mon already alerted to his presence. Good, very good. It meant building up a distraction in this portion of the city. He adjusted his bag again and moved to the other side of the roof. So far he didn't want to rely on his mega stone too much. By all accounts there were three generals left and Darkrai. He had to save his charges for the fights ahead, just in case he ran into either of them before that final battle. If he was lucky, he just might have two charges saved up that could be used against the big man himself. Glancing along the other rooftops, Obsidian stepped back, then ran forward, managing to hook his claws into the next roof, once more flipping himself up and onto the roof. This… was going to take some time.

Below, Pokemon, who were previously alerted to his presence, began to track him. Nearly a dozen Pokemon were below firing attacks at Obsidian from below, and a set of Butterfree and three Venomoths fire series of Signal Beams, Poisonpowders, and other similar attacks.

Obsidian was quick, yes. He was fast… but not as fast as a Gold Tribe member. The Weavile had been trained in how to avoid attacks, thanks to Penance. He quickly jerked to the left and right as a few attacks whizzed by him. The Weavile jumped up, avoiding one Signal Beam, as he turned about in mid air, parting his mouth and spraying out a Ice Beam at the flying mon. His attack wasn't trying to hit them, more or less send them scattering. Of course, the antic took enough time to where he couldn't properly land. Instead, he curled up, rolling along the roof. Amid his roll he pushed his legs out, breaking back into a sprint as he made another jump to another rooftop, clearing it thanks to it being closer than the other jumps.

While the ice beam dispersed some of the 'mon pursuing him, others were alerted to his presence by noise and by sight. A pair of Spearow tailed him from above, trying to get in close to Peck at him, while a Growlithe and a Houndour fired flamethrowers aimed at the Weavile from below. One of the Venomoth continued its pursuit and fired a Signal Beam.

Obsidian couldn't help but yelp as a peck slammed into his vulnerable back, slamming him down onto the rooftop. Thankfully his push down caused the two flamethrowers to shoot above and miss him entirely. The Signal Beam, however, found a free target as it hit into his back as well. Still, Obsidian was just a bit tougher than other Weavile, finding the strength to get back up. He threw a hand out toward the Spearow, several sharp Ice Shards shooting out at the flying foe. He moved to the side this time, angling his body to leap onto a lower rooftop.

The ice shards made contact with the Spearow, and knocked it down. The other Spearow, who managed to avoid the attacks, angrily tried to peck at Obsidian again before he could reach one of the lower rooftops.

Obsidian heard the attack coming, maneuvering in mid air to twist to the side, avoiding the peck. This, in turn, made him lose his landing spot, instead causing the Weavile to grab onto the ledge of a window. He jerked his body forward, using some gathered momentum to swing to another ledge, and then down onto the ground. He let out a few puffs of air, but began to race along the streets. He knew how to get back on the rooftops from here, but he would need some time to do so.

While on the streets, other Pokemon who had been chasing him before began to tail the Weavile once more. The Growlithe and Houndour returned, accompanied by a Sandslash and Haunter. More fire attacks were flung at Obsidian, while the Sandslash tried to sweep street dust at the Weavile with a Sand Attack. The Haunter threw a Shadow Ball toward Obsidian.

Due to his back being turned to the group of mon the Sand Attack had no effect for Obsidian, but the Shadow Ball homed in on his body, hitting him in the arm. Falling into a roll to avoid the intense heat once more, Obsidian twisted about, parting his lips. Ice shot out along the alleyway as a powerful chill swept along the alleyway they were in. A Blizzard rocked the group, though Obsidian didn't stay around to see how many fell. He turned quick again, rushing down the area as he found a stack of boxes to leap up along, using that to grasp onto another window sill and pull him up higher.

Screams could be heard from the Pokemon following the Blizzard attack, and no others came around the corner to attack Obsidian. But more Pokemon were in front of him, viewing him catch on to the window sill. "He's up there, get him!" A Weepinbell yelled and fired a razor leaf on the Weavile.

Obsidian took the blow, the leaf slicing along his leg. As he began to bleed he moved on up higher, grasping onto another sill, and from there pushing himself up to grab at the rooftop. He hurriedly reached into his bag, pulling out an oran and popping it into his mouth. The Pokemon below did not let up, the Weepinbell fired more razor leafs, and two other Gloom join in on the attacks.

Obsidian quickly scurried onto the roof, chuckling to himself as the moves hit against the roof edge. He stood back up, making his way across the roof, "Sheesh, this is way too easy." He murmured to himself. He glanced back, making his way to the edge and shooting down two Ice Shards, just to keep the grass types occupied a bit. Now… what to do? He had done a long enough chase already, and those birds would be back any time now. Looking toward the citadel, Obsidian figured he could try heading that way. After all, he needed some sort of rendezvous point with the others. Cracking his knuckles, he began to rush along once more, keeping his eyes peeled for any potential distractions.

More distractions came, this time with bulk up numbers. Nearly two dozen Pokemon of various types were on pursuit, including two Gloom from before, a Spearow who had survived previous attacks, a Crobat, two Linoone, a Magmar, and a Trophius. They all shouted and fired off series of attacks at Obsidian, intent on making sure he doesn't reach wherever he's going.

The priority for Obsidian was avoiding the Magmar's flames. Given the sheer number of attacks heading his way, the Weavile couldn't dodge everything. Leaves sliced along his flesh, feathered wings would buffet against his body. He could himself having to drop off the roof and onto the streets again, mainly to get some small cover from the persistent flyers. The temptation was now high to use his mega stone. Yet… this was Gold City. He knew it well enough. Recognizing the area he had landed in, Obsidian made his way down another alleyway, noting that it was a much tighter area. If he could break through a doorway, he knew of a way to get around his attackers.

The attackers pursued him, as many ran toward him as he made his way through the streets and down an alleyway. They continued to fire attacks at him down this narrow pathway.

With less room to maneuver, all Obsidian could depend on was his speed. By varying how fast, or slow, he was going, he could let some attacks hit the ground behind him, or at least try and dunk to avoid others with a slower pace. All in all, the strategy wasn't the best as he ended up taking several more blows. Still… it was a narrow area. He turned, parting his mouth again with an intense Blizzard ringing down the alleyway to the mob.

The intensity of the Blizzard was enough to lay waste to the mob coming for him. For the moment, at least, it appeared as if he was clear of enemies from behind. Then suddenly, another 'mon appeared before him. This one appeared different, a Hitmonlee garbed in dark clothing, but with a clasp on his cloak, an insignia of the Royal Knights of Tollen.

"You're the one causing all this ruckus?" The Hitmonlee questioned. "You look familiar…"

Obsidian paled at the sight, taking a step back as he held his clawed hands ready. Great, just great! He took another step back, then threw an Ice Shard at the fighter. He couldn't let the mon get too close, otherwise he was going to get kicked into oblivion!

"Hmm?" The Hitmonlee, instead of trying to dodge in the condensed space of the alley, dashed at the Ice Shard. He used a Blaze Kick, burning up the shard and causing steam to end at his leg. "Alright, gonna play like that, eh?" The Hitmonlee charged forward toward Obsidian.

"Crap!" Obsidian jumped up to a wall, digging the tips of his claws into it, and using a bit of strength to jump up a tiny bit higher. He landed behind the charging fighter and turned, rushing toward the exit of the alleyway. "You deserve it!" He shouted back at the Hitmonlee.

"Deserve it?" The Hitmonlee questioned as he made a quick turn and jolted after the Weavile. "You don't even know me!"

Obsidian glanced back, gritting his teeth as the Hitmonlee was catching up to him. He turned about, readying himself for battle as he saw that he wasn't going to get away anytime soon. This was a step up above the normal troops. "Yeah, I do. Tried to kill my father before. Well guess what, I have plenty of tricks on my sleeves! You get close, and you're going to regret it!"

"Hate to break it to you kid," The Hitmonlee took off and extended his foot, seeking to strike the Weavile with a Hi Jump Kick. "but I'd tried to kill a bunch of people!"

Obsidian saw the attack coming as he held out a hand. A Protect shimmered in place, blocking the attack. In response, he blew out a Blizzard at his foe. However, due to the Protect taking up most of Obsidian's timing, the Hitmonlee was able to see the Weavile prepared the Blizzard. He tried cutting through the powerful ice attack and tried to reach Obsidian with a Blaze Kick, even as the tundra began to form around him, managing to slam that kick into Obsidian's chest as the ice-type was flung back. The powerful strike shut off his Blizzard as left over snow and ice fell to the ground, already turning to slush thanks to the sun's rays.

Obsidian groaned out in pain, gripping at his chest as he staggered back up, wincing a bit, "... Okay, I just might have to pull the big guns out." He panted out.

"Mmm.." The Hitmonlee's eyes grew a bit wider. "Now I remember you. Back in Tollen. You were with that stupid duck. Whatever happened to him?" The Hitmonlee questioned out loud. He snapped his fingers. "Oh right, I hear he's dead now."

Obsidian let out a angry cry, two Ice Shards being flung right at the fighter with a snap of his wrist. "As soon will be you!" He declared. As the shards flew at his foe, Obsidian rushed up, one hand readying for an upward swing along the fighter's stomach.

The Hitmonlee extended his foot, kicking at the ice shards with his flaming Blaze Kick. He successfully parried the ice attacks, but was unable to stop Obsidian's swing toward his stomach. The Hitmonlee grunted and held at his stomach for a moment, but managed to recover enough to strike a powerful strike toward Obsidian upper chest area to repel him back.

Obsidian went tumbling back, the Weavile rightening himself as he wobbled in place a little. He gripped his chest, glaring daggers at the fighter, "... You think you're going to be remembered? You're a shrimp… unimportant. A gear." He stood up taller, "You're nothing but a speck of dust, idiot."

"Well, this speck of dust is about to put you to sleep permanently," The Hitmonlee retorted, as his foot once more caught fire, and he made a running start toward Obsidian.

Obsidian had enough energy still to roll off to the side, grasping a hold of a nearby stairwell to stop his momentum, "Geez, nice comeback there." He muttered. He blew some more ice upon the ground, stepping back to gain some more distance between the two.

The Hitmonlee's foot collided with the cobblestone ground, as bits of burnt stone spread across the area. The Hitmonlee scoffed, and darted forward again, nearly slipping on the ice on the floor. He once more enflamed his foot, making the ice around it melt. As steam roamed through the air, the Hitmonlee once more charged Obsidian, this time jumping through the air as he targeted the Weavile with a series of strong assaults through his Close Combat.

Obsidian was ready this time. A series of doppelgangers formed out alongside the Weavile. Two quickly faded into wisps as the attacks hit them. "I ain't no ordinary Weavile!" Obsidian shouted out. He reached into his pack, throwing out a silver disk and closing his eyes, a bright Flash shooting out into the alleyway.

"Gah!" The Hitmonlee shouted as he covered his eyes from the brilliant flash of light. He rubbed them to try and gain back his composure, but it took a few moments.

As his opponent was recovering Obsidian took the time to rush right at him. He tossed his pack to the side, pulling out a smaller vial filled with some black liquid. The Weavile dipped his claw tips into it, quickly pulling them out as a few drops spilled out and onto the street. He passed by his opponent, slashing along his side as he let out a few shaky pants, turning to get his guard up.

The Hitmonlee grunted as he felt contact on his side. He grasped his side and rubbed his eyes once more, finally regaining his vision. The Hitmonlee turned, and observed the Weavile, but he still felt drowsy. He tried to refocus as his foot once more regained flames around it. He then charged at the Weavile and tried to make contact with his side with a Blaze Kick.

The Weavile kept his arms crossed, grunting as he took the attack and was pushed back a good distance, the fire causing him to sweat a good deal. "Heh… how's that side feeling?" He teased.

"Not as bad as your face is about to feel!" The Hitmonlee yelled and once more lit his foot on fire. The 'mon charged Obsidian again to try and once more strike him with a powerful Blaze Kick. However, he felt himself get dizzy once more, and then all of a sudden, he felt his body begin to fall toward the ground, as if he no longer had control of it. The throbbing definitely originated from his side.

Chuckling, Obsidian moved over to the side, kicking at the Hitmonlee's legs to force him down, "Oh? What's the matter? Wasn't prepared for your enemies to cheat as well?" He sneered. "Don't worry… it starts slow. You might have some time to cry for help. But then you won't be able to scream. Cause your throat muscles won't exist anymore." He chuckled. "That toxin is plenty strong. I figure… maybe… a few minutes or so? And you shouldn't worry, honest, cause all you'll be able to do is lay there. I hear it hurts a whole lot though." He made his way down the alley, "Looks like you chose the wrong team."

"Hngh… you… " Was all the Hitmonlee could muster out of his mouth from the floor. He was on obvious pain.

Obsidian gave him a parting wink, before turning the corner and continuing on. By now the assault had to have happened, which meant he needed to up his pace. His citadel was, frankly, his best bet on a rendezvous point.

The Distraction Army - Part2 - The Full Might

General Isabella was picked up forcefully off the ground. She had a fresh cut on the side of her face, where blood flowed freely. Her body ached. Her muscles were sore. She was worn out. She barely was able to look up and view her rescuer. There, Allistair, the Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights, stood. His armor was bent and cracked. He too seemed to have fresh wounds from the intense battle.

Isabella managed to get onto her feet and catch a breather. The battle was progressing horribly. A quick scan of the battlefield revealed the many bodies already scattered on the field. She saw her own soldiers, royal knights, Valkarian and Beatrucian soldiers, Karnian fighters, Anatellian sect followers. All of them. None were safe from the wrath the other side released.

Of course, those that fell took many with them, as she noticed many Ancient, feral, morrian, Pentosarr, fallen royal knights, and bandits also scattered across the plains of Valkaria.

"Are you well,General?!" Alistair shouted at her as he quickly turned to avoid being bitten by a Croconaw feral 'mon. The Chestnaught struggled with the feral pokemon as he held onto its teeth, before the royal knight used his formidable strength to rip apart the Croconaw's jaw, dislocating it and killing the fiend. Alistair turned back to Isabella. "General!" He shouted, motioning behind her.

There, about ten various Pokemon were charging forward. Isabella, still weakened, didn't have time to adequately prepare for the encounter. At that moment, Allistair seemed to have been preoccupied by a scourge of Morrians himself, meaning that Isabella would have to deal with them herself. She struck two Poliwhirl with a combination of Razor Leaf, which caused them to collapse onto the floor. However, a Bastiodon and two Graveler came at her from the front, with four Raticate enclosing behind her. A Swellow even made its way at her from above. Isabella was about to scream, believing this may have been the end, until a powerful electric attack suddenly shot at the ground of Raticate, while a Psychic attack collided with one of the Graveler.

Two Pokemon came rushing to Isabella's aid. The first was Thomas, the Hypno Isabella recognized as the one traveling with the group Snype was in before. The second was a Raichu, a little taller than average, with a Gold Tribe emblem worn as a necklace. She recognized him as Conduit, who she met during the preparations for this battle.

"Shocking turn of events, eh?" Conduit questioned as he dispatched with the Poliwhirl opponents. A Graveler managed to throw a few large boulders his way, which hit him across the shoulder and caused him to momentarily collapse. But the Gold Tribes'mon was trained for situations like these. He rammed into the Graveler head on with a Take Down, pushing it into the charging Bastiodon. Then, with Isabella and Thomas Blake together, they unleashed their strongest moves on the remaining fighters around. As other enemies targeted the area, Conduit jumped into the air, and slammed down onto the plains below, sending shockwaves in every direction, electrocuting the Pokemon to their cores, and gave the fighters a momentary breather.

Isabella stayed there panting heavily, with Allistair and Conduit by her side. Hanso Sharp-Eye, who was not far away, managed to get to the fighters, having dispatched his own set of enemies too.

"How are we faring?" Allistair asked the others, as he tried to catch his breath.

"Not great," Hanso replied. "We're severely outnumbered. And more just keep coming."

"Well… we're not meant to beat them all, right? Just wait them out for the guys to unlock Cresselia?" Conduit asked. "We can do it!"

"Maybe… maybe if this was it, we might be able to," Hanso shook his head. "But more pour out from the capital, including General Grett and his armies. And that's not counting other reinforcements that could be coming from other cities."

"We do not know if our plan had worked earlier, though," Allistair commented.

"That's right, we don't know," Hanso agreed. "Which makes it worse. Ha!" He cried as he used a Psycho Cut on a charging Stantler. The 'mon was nearly cut in half by Hanso's attack as he came. "We need the others to finish their part soon."

"I can try taking on Grett!" Conduit exclaimed as he grit his teeth. "He's killed a lot of my brothers and sisters."

"We have to leave Grett to Callimer," Hanso retorted. "That group is best to deal with him." Conduit merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I… I am not sure how much more I can take of this," Thomas chimed in wearily. "They're just too many."

Allistair shook his head, completely mirroring Thomas's sentiments but not wishing to say so. Instead, he looked at the others. His eyes wandered to Isabella, who was mostly quiet during this brief interaction. He looked at her, as she appeared to be looking off to the distance, seemingly in a trance. "General?" The Chestnaught questioned. "Is all well?" He asked, and looked toward where she was looking.

In the great distance, the sight of many more Pokemon approaching caught his gaze. They were coming from close to the mountains, but Allistair was unable to make out any banners from that distance.

"Well… shit," Conduit cursed, and readied himself. Every one of them was now looking at the incoming army, including many of Darkrai's forces as well. It was large, larger than the distraction force, but not quite as big as Darkrai's armies. The problem was, if this was the reinforcements that Hanso mentioned for Darkrai, the distraction army was doomed.

The army came to a halt. There didn't seem to be much formation or unison about them. Most were hollering and shouting, or in general making noise. Many didn't stand in straight lines or had any real formation. Isabella knew it couldn't be any Tollenian reinforcements. The question was, whose were they?

That question seemed to be answered as three Pokemon headed the front of the 'line' of fighters. The first was a Camerupt, a legendary fighter from his nation, earning his nickname by his charring flames and passionate fighting: Burning Rolph. The second was a Garchomp, covered in shining silver armor, with two large shoulder plates and a bright gold emblem he had recently acquired from Callimer. It was Percival, who some of the fighting 'mon had recognized.

The third 'mon was far more recognizeable, by nearly all of the fighters. The large Pangoro jumped into his spot, with his large cape flowing behind him. The Pangoro wore a huge grin on his face as he sent a roar through the field that literally sent shivers down the spines of many of his enemies.

"Alright, Percy!" Emperor Edgar Rionart bellowed as he cracked his neck and knuckles. "You convinced me! Looks like Karn's here to save all of your sorry asses! What a surprise!" He laughed loudly, and turned around. "KARNIANS!" He shouted to his army, standing as tall and proud and ferocious as ever. "KILL 'EM ALL!" The roar of approval was heard all throughout the battlefield, and the armies charged toward Darkrai's foes.

The full might of Karn had come.