[PKMN FULL] The Shattered Era [IC] [T]

Messop Village - A casual inspection​

Maverick had to keep himself well restrained. Oh, how he wanted to go back there and give that Kirlia a piece of his mind, but thankfully Alice took initiative. Yes, that was why he had knight commanders with him after all! Delegation was a lovely thing, though he would have to see if he could use the perks of his new rank to make sure he wouldn't have to deal with W... but at the same time that was pulling rank and that could cause moral debates in his mind later... now that he thought about it being a Supreme Commander probably would force new responsibilities such as working with knights like W. Oh dear... what had he walked into?

For the moment though he swallowed those trains of thought and kept on leading the others. Thankfully some of the civilians were starting to mingle, mostly oogling and awwing the knights and mostly showing the respect they would normally recieve in the cities. That was okay for now, but when the fighting started they would have to be quickly reminded not to stand by idly and oogle. Hopefully these civilians had been taught that much.

At the end of the dirt road Maverick caught sight of their destination, Messop V. The village itself wasn't all that big like the cities. There were small stone buildings with most being only one story tall. There was one building that rose above the others and that was no doubt the local temple. Apart from the temple, there were several signs of mismanagement around the village. There were vines creeping up cracked walls, doors hung on their hinges looking about ready to fall off, and even the mon weren't the cleanest he had seen in his travels. The citizens of this village were moving among the stone buildings with many stopping and quickly backing off the center of the paths to allow the knights further in. Maverick led the knights into the middle of the village and stopped them there and reached into his armor to pull out a proclamation written by the orator himself.

"Citizens of Messop Village, the orator himself has gathered a list of villages and towns that are highly suspected of dealing with the Mechanist threat. None of you are being charged guilty as of this time. We are going to be inspecting the various buildings in this village for any signs of Mechanist technology. If we are to find anything of that sort then we will take the appropriate measures to destroy such items and bring those guilty of using these devices to Markus to await trial. We ask that you do not attempt to halt our investigation in any way possible, so please allow us to go unhindered. Cooperate and this will be a rather brief event on your parts. That is all."

He set the paper back in his armor and turns his head to address his knights behind him, "Each of you, inspect the houses and businesses. No building remains untouched. If you do find anything of Mechanist origin do not touch it. It is likely that it could cause you serious harm if you so much as touch it in the wrong place. Inform a demolisher and allow them to deal with it."

He turned his head back and saw an elderly looking Sandshrew making his way over. "Excuse me, did I hear correctly that you are looking for signs of Mechanist technology? For what reason is our village on this list?"

Maverick could easily peg this mon as a village elder and he pulled out his orders again, "Hm, the reason given is that travelers that happened to move through your village claimed that they saw technology here. Under more direct questioning they were unable to clearly answer as to how much technology was here. If this however proves to be a false claim then there is nothing to worry about elder. We'll simply be on our way after this."

The Sandshrew sighed softly, "Please, do not do this young man."

Maverick frowned at that statement, "You wish for us to leave without entering one building? Is that what I am to interpret elder?"

The Sandshrew fell silent and looked away, "Please, for your own safety."

Maverick stared at the elder and looked back at his knights. His own body was starting to tense up and he glanced about the village yet again, this time making sure to pick out details. Several mon were older as supported by graying fur or saggy skin, but surprisingly there didn't seem to be any young mon here. Most villages and towns had a few young mons just playing in the streets or helping their parents, not only that but everything had fallen eerily quiet. Many eyes were on them, ones that were fearful in a way.

The Grovyle slowly made his way to a nearby house and flashed a glance to Caedmon. A quick one, but the Lucario would understand, which he showed as he gave a light nod of his head, visibly tensing up, his eyes giving off a faint, blue shine. Maverick grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. Seconds ticked by as he saw a young Cubone standing there holding exactly what he feared. Maverick was one of the quickest knights around and so his legs moved just a fraction of an inch faster and let him hit the wall just as flames shot out of the open doorway.

That seemed to be a signal of sorts. Up on the rooftops the few young mon who had been laying against the roofs suddenly shot up and began taking aim. Some had machines in their hands that began to shoot out something akin to air waves. Loud sounds similar to explosions were heard as these machines were used, followed by powerful gusts of concentrated wind. Other mon held small pebbles in their hands that they began to throw at the knights. Maverick had actually heard of these personally from the Council. They didn't have a name for them from the knights' side, but they could cause a mon to fall into a deep sleep or even become poisoned.

As Maverick was attacked, Caedmon raised his arms and lept backwards, raising his voice to call out to the other knights. "It's a trap! Defensive positions, knights! Non-lethal force if you can!"

Other doors in village began to open as other youngsters, mostly about the eleven to fifteen age bracket, held up their own machines and fired out attacks at the knights.

Maverick knew he wouldn't have to tell his knights to start moving. They would do that on their own. What they needed to do was take these mon out one by one. Yes they were young, but still they were posing a serious danger to their own health. "TAKE THEM OUT KNIGHTS!" He shouted out as he rolled off to the side. The Cubone with the fire gun stepped out and kept spewing out flames to hold the knights at bay. At a glance Maverick could spy a good twenty something Mechanists attacking them. Just how had these Mechanists gotten into such a close village so easily?

The leaf on his right wrist began to glow green and he turned the corner of the building. He jumped onto the rooftop and spied an Elekid and a Wartortle on the roof. Both quickly faced him, but he was far faster. He sped at the water type and swung his blade as quickly as he could. The Mechanist fell with a thud to the ground and as he turned to the electric type a loud boom rocked his ears. He cried out and gripped his head in pain as a loud ringing drowned out every other noise. The blast of air caused him to skid backwards and cough a bit, though he could see the Mechanist was already readying to use his machine again. Maverick charged and sliced him across his abdomen without a second thought. He grunted and kicked the weapon he had been using over the side of the roof and jumped down onto the ground as well. The question now was, how well would they do against these machines?

~~~~~

Saffron Enclave - A cry for help​

Damon looked at the Bisharp and the Electivire. Already he could tell the Electivire was full of himself which was drama he didn't need right now. "Krekker... Krekker... right! That former knight!" He nodded, "For battle strategy, as soon as we gather up we will discuss strategy, just to see where our strengths lie with our given volunteers. And eh..." He turned to face Dex, "I am not sure those statistics are grounded in science. We are a team here after all." He said with a nod, "Though you two should probably pack the necessary equi-" His sentence was cut off as a very loud ringing sounded out from the speakers inside the dome.

Damon knew that sound well enough. "Uh, one moment!" He called out to Krekker and Dex, having to raise his voice to be heard over the ringing. He dashed on back to a room and burst on in. Inside was one of the few computers they had and manning it was Charlie himself. The Porygon let out a slight buzz as Damon burst in, but he quickly settled down when he saw who it was. "Damon, bzzt, we have an emergency signal going off."

"I see that Charlie! Can you shut off the alarm!?" The ringing ceased and Damon sighed in relief, "Okay, where is it coming from?"

"Here." Charlie pointed on the small, and incomplete, map they had of the surface and Damon peered at it, "Oh... it's close to Markus."

"Correct." Charlie said. "It's an emergency signal that is given to DF operatives who travel top side. It is likely that a group is either battling knights or has possibly been captured by knights. You need to hurry. As long as the emergency signal isn't broken then I can track them."

"Right. Radio contact okay?" Damon rushed out and went back onto the stage, "Alright, sorry people but we're going on a rescue mission right now. Uh, you two!" He pointed at Krekker and Dex, "And eh.. you three!" He pointed to three other mon in the back, "Come with me!"

Damon raced outside and saw some DF already on alert, having heard the noise from the loudspeakers set around the enclave, "Alright, we have a distress beacon all! Those volunteering come with us! We're possibly going into combat. Get what you need right now. We're teleporting away."

Right next to where Seven was a female Blaziken rushed through the city and stopped where a majority of DF were gathered on patrol. "Move it people! Either you get your a** to the coliseum or I'll start breaking some bones! Move it!" To all of the DF residing in Saffron this woman was well known. Her name was Urta Runes and she was the training instructor for all DF members. Tamely put, if you didn't do what she said she would track you down at your house or anywhere you went and put a well placed kick right in your most vulnerable spot. It was either do what she said or get an a** kicking that could send you to the hospital for a few days.

"Get moving! Even you, yeah I see you Seven! Get a move on!" The Blaizken snapped at the Sneasel. It was yet another odd thing with Urta. The Blaizken had been born with photographic memory. Tell her your name and in a second she would remember that name for the rest of her life along with your face.

Damon watched as more DF rushed on over to the psychic teleporters as crates were being set up by non DF volunteers. Weapons of all sorts were in them along with a few field supplies such as compasses or binoculars. Damon rose up on his hind feet and spoke out, "Gather your weapons and grab onto a teleporter! This is an emergency so no stalling!" As the various mon got geared up and grabbed onto the various psychics they would soon find themselves in an open grove of sorts. More and more DF were being ported in and soon Damon and Urta were there as well.

"Listen up, north of here there is a distress beacon going off. Highly likely that knights are in the area so tread carefully. No running off along and always stay with a team mate. This is where we will regroup, so if worst comes to worst then return here and await transport out. Let's move pokemon!" Damon began making his way through the grass as some DF already rushed ahead to set up a perimeter. Others were slower to make their way through given the threat of knights being around.

The sight of a small village soon appeared and Damon frowned, "A village... but, Urta, did we have any DF set in this area?"

The Blaziken couldn't reply as loud explosions were heard from the village along with various outcries. "We'll figure this out later. Alright everyone!" Damon spoke out loud, "Head into the village and find our men! Do not engage knights head on! Get in, retrieve our fellow Mechanists, and get out! I don't want anyone rushing in to be a hero!"

Damon looked on to smoke starting to come out of the village and he sighed, "It's always something."

Felix Teufel
Messop Village
~~~~~

Since he had been wearing his armor since the meeting at headquarters, Felix had gotten used to the feel of wearing it on the road. Okay, it wasn't a new experience, really, but nowadays he wasn't ever completely himself whenever a battle came along. The part that felt strange, even though he expected it, was coming out of those battles.

Felix shook his head and stopped thinking about it. As the Knights walked into the village, he slid his helmet onto his head, alert for anything that would indicate trouble. It would be great if nothing happened, but Felix knew better than to hope for that. They were Knights, looking for Mechanist technology. Something would spark before they left.

Only elderly Pokemon in the streets...Felix did not move from where he stood, ignoring for now the order to search the houses and businesses. His feathers ruffled slightly at the words of the Sandshrew. Next to Felix was a Charizard Knight, one with black steel-plated armor. "Get ready," Felix murmured to Franco, tensing up himself as he watched the surrounding streets and buildings. He didn't know what was going to happen yet.

When the Cubone stepped out with the flame gun, the first thought that came to Felix's mind was 'priority target'. Moments after the scene exploded into action, he shouted out to the surrounding Knights, "Zose vis vings, blow avay zee gas zat comes!" It wasn't a sense of authority that he held, it was a sound tactic, at least in his mind. Felix held his breath as he ran toward the nearest building, flinching strongly as one of the wind machines' blasts shot through the air over him. Once he began pulling himself by the wall's vines and cracks, Felix let himself breathe again.

This particular rooftop didn't look like it held any Mechanists. Felix never stopped moving, making a running jump to the next rooftop over, heading toward the roof over the Cubone with the flame gun. The Blaziken landed and locked onto the two young Pokemon with air guns, a Kecleon and a Rattata. The Rattata hurriedly turned to aim at him, but Felix was running forward with a Fire Punch before the Mechanist could get a shot out. His Fire Punch landed at the same time that a blast of wind shot out. Felix skidded back, ears ringing, while the Rattata stumbled back and fell over the edge of the building.

Where was the Kecleon? Felix spun around on one foot, his other leg Kicking out in a Blaze at the Kecleon behind him. The Mechanist fell back with a cry onto the rooftop, dropping a gun with a tank on it. Water. You can use that to fight off the flame gun. No! It is a Mechanist's veapon!

Felix turned and ran once more, making another jump and landing neatly on the rooftop of the house that the Cubone had stepped out of. Ignoring the lone Mechanist there, Felix kept going and jumped once more, this time off the front of the house and down at the Cubone with a fierce battle-cry. The Cubone hardly had a chance to aim up before Felix's Blaze Kick came down on his head.

"Take them out, Knights!" Maverick shouted as he charged into the fray, immediately dispatching more than one Mechanist alone. He was the head commander for good reasons, and this was one of them.

"W, you can teleport, right?" Already Alice had an idea, grabbing her subordinate and pulling him out of any harm's way.

W opened his mouth to respond before Alice pulled him away, prompting a slight yelp before he recollected himself and nodded. She still scared him quite a bit; if it wasn't for the fact that she was his superior he would most likely be using that very move to escape her right now. "Y-Yessir—ma'am," he confirmed anxiously.

W had to focus now. The action he'd been waiting for was finally here; he couldn't let it go to waste because of his irrational fear of his own commander. He shook his head a couple of times to try and get the feeling out of his head, blocking Knight-Commander Alice's glare from his mind for a moment as he tried to gain that concentration. Yes... that concentration he so loved, he felt it pushing all other thoughts aside.

W's nervousness instantly dissipated and his eyes narrowed, scanning the surroundings for a moment before looking back to Alice. "What's your plan?" he asked, his tone much stronger than before.

---

"... but I am an experienced field technician. My knowledge of machinery alone guarantees a 100% success rate on any mission you task me with... so long as you don't make me bear the insidious burden of working with such... profligates."

Krekker glanced to his side as the other Pokémon spoke. A guaranteed 100% success rate simply wasn't possible, and what raging arrogance this electric-type had to say that it was made him appear careless and stupid in the Bisharp's eyes.

"So the Electivire has a tongue, charming," Krekker murmured. "I'm no profligate. You'd do better to contain your prejudice."

"Krekker... Krekker... right! That former knight!" Damon said, nodding. Krekker was a little saddened that 'that former knight' appeared to be how he was known, but he supposed he couldn't blame Damon. "For battle strategy, as soon as we gather up we will discuss strategy, just to see where our strengths lie with our given volunteers. And eh..." He turned to face the Electivire, "I am not sure those statistics are grounded in science. We are a team here after all." He said with a nod, "Though you two should probably pack the necessary equi-"

Krekker – and Damon, it seemed – were caught off-guard when an alarm sounded abruptly. The Linoone rushed into another room, and soon enough the ringing ceased. When he returned, though, it was clear that it hadn't been a false alarm.

"Alright, sorry people but we're going on a rescue mission right now. Uh, you two! And eh.. you three! Come with me!"

"So soon? Very well," Krekker bashed his metal fists together twice in percussion of sorts before leaving the convention centre. The situation outside could only be described as organised chaos. Pokémon rushing about, grabbing weapons, being wisked out of existence by other Pokémon that seemed to be teleporting them. And then there was- oh, dear... Urta Runes, training instructor. Krekker had luckily had few dealings with her - he preferred to train alone, and his ex-knighthood and general nomadic attitude so far was enough to avoid the Blaziken. Not only was she scary in personality, but her being Fire/Fighting type wasn't so comfortable a position for Krekker. Fighting type moves destroy him anyway, but the offensive capabilities of his Steel-type moves were nullified by fire. Fighting was bad. Fire/Fighting was just adding insult to injury. And with a personality like that to match... he'd rather not think about it, even if she was technically on his side.

Thoughts of Blaziken-related mortal danger aside, Krekker was fairly surprised at his own eagerness. He extended his blades - sharpened, he made sure of that - and made a move to the teleporters. The Bisharp left the weapons where they were, but took a couple of those pellets. He could use them if he needed them, even if he preferred using his own weapons for the most part.

In a flash, the scene changed. The Psychic-types' Teleport worked, thankfully; he'd been a little afraid they might not work for him, what with his typing. Caves gave way to grassland, and grassland gave way to village. And explosions.

"Alright everyone!" Damon spoke out loud, "Head into the village and find our men! Do not engage knights head on! Get in, retrieve our fellow Mechanists, and get out! I don't want anyone rushing in to be a hero!" because heroes are bad guise

Krekker observed the village from afar, though Damon was right. As much as he'd like to plan a strategy before going in, there wan't time. He could strategise while fighting, his mind was fast enough for that, he knew. There were a few different entry points to the village, he could probably go with one of the nearer side entrances, maybe climbing up around there...

Mind set on entering the fray, Krekker stretched and scraped his blades together in his regular Swords Dance before running towards the village's boundaries.

This fight was chaos. Maverick Renos was downright slaughtering Mechanists left and right, and his soldiers followed suit as they started breaking the front lines. Then Krekker heard a scream from an end of the village that he could've sworn was devoid of Knights. When he took a glance in that direction he found the roof of a house was blown out, and an armored Absol standing on the wreckage. She looked in Krekker's direction, then to a squad of Mechanists that were just then preparing to throw a bunch of gas pellets at her.

Then she disappeared into thin air, and a leafy tree branch collided with the pellets, dragging the gas back towards the Mechanists who threw it.

---

"How are you holding up?" Alice asked her Kirlia "friend" as she appeared by his side in the thick of some trees. The rapid teleporting he'd been doing for her couldn't have been good for him. On top of it, he was throwing things around with his powers.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," W responded hastily. This was a blatant lie, as the Kirlia stood leaning against a tree catching his breath.

Alice looked toward a small group that she could pick off easily. "Over there," she told him. As W teleported her out again she finished, "Get somewhere safe," like she could tell he was exhausted.

At this, W furrowed his brow. "Are you kidding me? I came here for action, I'm gonna get it, orders or no," he said sternly. Before his commander could respond, the Kirlia sent out a devastating pulse of Psychic energy at the group of Mechanists in question.

Unaffected by the attack, Alice had a much easier time of taking them out.

---

Get in, retrieve fellow Mechanists, get out... Krekker reminded himself of his orders. This was a rescue mission, not an attack. He approached the squad of pellet-throwing Mechanists - before he could reach them, however, they were blown back by a wave, assumedly made of Psychic energy. Krekker sprinted to the scene to find the armoured Absol from before incapacitating the Pokémon who were still standing, lightning-quick purple flashes coming from her claws.

"Step away, knight," Krekker called to the Absol, stepping in front of the Mechanists at the back. "I am not here to fight." He put one foot backwards, his hands in front of his face in an Iron Defense in case the Absol attacked, but she stood down as he asked. "Leave this village—behind me and to the right," the Bisharp told the conscious Mechanists behind him.

"We're not here to kill you," Alice clarified, although Maverick wasn't nearly as merciful as he ordered the other Knights to be. "This was an ambush."

Krekker hesitated, sensing familiarity in the Absol's voice. "Do I-?" He stopped himself. "An ambush? Hmm." Krekker wasn't sure what to think on hearing that. Best to ignore it for the time being.

"Yes; we were escorting civilians to a safe location."

"Words can do nothing to convince me of that. I'm sorry." Krekker raised a metallic eyebrow, "I've noticed you aren't attacking me. Is it not in your 'code' to show no mercy to your enemies?"

"Our orders were to use non-lethal force." Rear legs poised to move, the Knight-Commander's bright blue eyes glowed black and gold as she stared Krekker dead in the face, paralysing him with a fear he only felt for an instant. She leapt back, an entire tree finding its way to the Bisharp in front of her.

---

Shooting out Psychics at what little remained of the Mechanist group was all well and fun, but when the Bisharp came strolling in to start a conversation with Alice, a small smile crept upon W's face. "Hmm, maybe this'll be the challenge I was looking for," he mumbled to himself. Taking a few steps back from the tree he'd been leaning his back against, he directed all of his focus to uprooting the ten-foot-tall plant and sending it flying in the Bisharp's direction.

---

Krekker's eyes widened as he noticed the tree flying at him. He knew he had to move, but his feet wouldn't listen even as he tried to run, and the massive plant was too big to just dodge. The Bisharp held his arms up in defense, head lowered and taking the tree face-first, his body grinding into the bark. Lifted off the ground, Krekker recovered from the Knight's glare and twisted his body, the blades that made up his form slicing through the foot-wide trunk with ease.

Krekker landed with a metallic clang, pieces of wood dropping from the air and adding to the percussion with their own bonks and thumps.

"Please retreat," the Absol asked of him.

Krekker smirked, refusing to just back away so easily—he was starting to have fun. "I'm afraid you'll need a few more trees to take me out. Who is throwing them, by the way?"

As the mysterious Bisharp was revealed to practically be unharmed by his attack, W's face lit up with excitement. Up until now, the easily-dispatchable Mechanists had been more of a bore than he'd anticipated; even that silly Arcanine from earlier might have been more of a challenge. However, this Bisharp seemed to have the makings of a Knight, so maybe he was worth the time.

W's expression faded as the excitement and all other emotions were put on the back burner once more, the only thing left to focus on being the Bisharp and how to kill him.

Behind W stood three more trees, each as large as the last. Without hesitation the Kirlia uprooted all three and devoted most of his energy to keeping them aloft, before sending them hurling in the general direction of Alice and the Bisharp. The first tree seemed to be flying straight at its intended target, but the other two had been thrown quite randomly; who knew which 'mon it could've ended up hitting?

The Absol didn't seem to have any trouble at all. She lifted into the air and disappeared in the leaves of one of the trees, coming out the other side with little more than greenery and some twigs on her fur that she quickly shook away. She'd have to reprimand W later for such careless aim.

Krekker took a tree head-on, purple light covering the blades on his body as he tore straight through the one he found flying at him.

The third tree curved, flying into the air. Krekker, having been distracted by the first tree, was rammed right between the chest blades with Alice's horn. He was swiftly thrown skyward as the third tree came crashing down. Krekker saw his chance. Swords Dancing mid-air, he grabbed onto a stable branch and redirected the tree, sending it flying in the direction it came. Krekker saw the Psychic now. A Kirlia a ways from the Absol—a safe enough distance to throw trees, clearly. Krekker landed as the tree sped towards its target, settling back into his ready stance.

"Not bad," W spoke out, since the Bisharp saw him now anyway. He released a burst of Psychic energy at the tree's center, causing it to split into two in midair and fall to the ground before hitting the Kirlia. He had to admit, keeping himself in the open probably hadn't been the best idea. His goal was now to keep the Bisharp away while giving Alice chances to attack, and so he set to work.

The first part was easy: W lifted himself high up into the air, higher than the trees had once stood, so that there was no way the Bisharp could harm him without the use of a gun. Next, he focused on the patch of ground beneath his enemy and wrenched it out of the ground with his Psychic, promptly tripping him. Then, he let his mental grip go, allowing the chunk he'd extracted to fall back down onto the Bisharp.

The chunk of earth pinned Krekker's arms, but a quick Iron Head soon split the boulder in two. He stood again, panting slightly, and spoke.

"Two-on-one? I expected better from you." The Bisharp Swords Danced once more, reaching for his pellets and abruptly launching one at the Kirlia above. The sleeping pellet raced to its mark and exploded, a cloud of gas surrounding the Psychic Pokémon. Krekker kept an eye on the Kirlia's position, but turned back to the Absol. "Ready for a fairer fight, or should we both agree to go our separate ways? I shan't judge you on your comrade's lack of manners."

"Thank you," Alice responded, her subordinate teleporting away before he passed out completely, "but you're weary. I won't continue this fight as if we were on equal footing, and I'd prefer not to kill a former comrade."

"So you had noticed after all," Krekker chuckled.

"You have the makings of a Knight; it was difficult not to."

"I have the training of a Knight. Such fascism was lost on me. Regardless, it is good to see that not all Knights follow the Code as blindly as others." The Bisharp checked behind him — most of the Mechanists there appeared to have made it out. Backing away to follow the others, he told the Absol, "I should hope you will see sense soon, lest this war take you down a path you may regret. Farewell."

Seven Hill - Saffron Enclave and Messop Village

Damn it! Just as Seven was about to deck out and head home, something seemed to be happening. In a matter of moments, activity was spread across at the sounds of the alarms, and the Sneasel was called to action along with the rest of them. Urta Runes ensured Seven did his part as well, so even if he didn't want to participate, or even if he did, the decision at that moment seemed no longer to be in his hands. Instead with a deep sigh, he followed the others, gathering the supplies he usually liked to travel with, and headed over to the transportation area.

While he gathered his necessary supplies and awaited teleportation, he wondered what, or more precisely who, he would discover there. Likely, there were probably knights. Maybe even some that he once knew. He wondered briefly how all of his friends were doing back with the Knights. He wondered if they had given him any thought since his abrupt disappearance. But all he did was wonder. He had no wish to actually find out. They were his friends, once, but that was in another life, one he never wanted to bring up, and never wanted to revisit. As far as he was concerned, they were dead to him, and he was dead to them. That was why he planned to stay as far away from the action as possible, hopefully avoiding any confrontations with any Knights if there were any.

As he went through and teleported with the others, Seven made his way up the path and to the village. Instantly, he saw the mayhem going on, including Knights battling Mechanists. His heartrate spiked in a matter of seconds, and he quickly broke off from the group and hid off to the side. He hid behind a tree, his chest tightening as he tried to breath short, sharp breaths. He tried to shake off these feelings, but seeing them brought up too many unwanted memories. Suddenly, he was interupted by the sound of fighting nearby. He looked from behind his tree to see the black Bisharp he had saw earlier squaring off against two knights. One was an Absol he had seen and known all too well: Knight-Commander Alice.

Damn it! He was surprised to see her so soon. The other was a Kirlia he didn't immediately recognize from the quick glance he had gotten from behind his tree. He observed their altercation for a bit, before realizing that the Bisharp was actually engaging the Knights head on, instead of fighting them Mechanist-style, or simply running away. Most of the others would likely have elected one of those two options. Seven found it strange, but he appeared to be holding off alright in the beginning. He debated internally as to whether he should assist him, as even with some strength, he might need help fighting the two of them. However, as he found the tree he was hiding behind slowly begin to rise and be pulled by the apparent Psychic energies of the Kirlia, Seven quickly darted away from the scene, instead deciding to go and find the rest of the Mechanists and get them out of here. The less he interacts with others here and the faster they leave, the better.

Seven proceeded instead to the main town, where multiple knights fought with Mechanists, most of which were being overpowered by the stronger Pokemon. Seven felt guilty not directly getting involved to help. But then again, the orders were to specifically not fight them directly, and instead rescue the other Mechanists. So in reality, Seven was just following orders. At least, that's how he was justifying it to himself in his head. He clasped the side of the wall of a building, Watching nearby Knights take down Mechanists. He rolled from the edge of one building to another, hugging the side to avoid being seen. As he neared the edge of one house, he saw a Cubone who was clearly a Mechanist right at the front of it. He was about to step out and address him, hopefully getting his attention so he could bring him back with him, and maybe that would be enough in his superiors' eyes that he did his job. However, out from above him, a Blaziken Knight suddenly jumped down and struck at him. The two quickly began to be entangled in a fight.

Damn it, Seven cursed in his mind, seeing his opportunity for a quick getaway spoiled by the...wait a minute! Seven took another look at the Knight who had jumped down. It's been years, but he recognized Felix Teufel as another knight he once knew. He stood there, watching the two fight in silence, before realizing he was lingering too long in one spot. As the two were facing a direction opposite his, he moved quickly to the edge of another building. Even though he had no desire to interact with him, it was actually nice to see Felix. He always did like him.

Seven moved again from building to building, whispering (hopefully) loud enough to try and get som Mechanists attention so that he could leave. Most of the houses he had gone through thus far either had civilians, or were empty. He moved to another one, clutching the side of the house to minimize the chances of getting caught. There was some commotion going on around the house, but he couldn't be sure it came from there. He tried to 'psst' the Pokemon inside, but no answer came. More commotion was heard, but Seven didn't quite make out the sounds in all of the action happening around. He tried to sneak a peak through the window, but didn't want to get spotted so he quickly ducked his head when he saw figured standing nearby on the inside. Then, he suddenly heard a loud slam, as if something, or maybe someone, was suddenly dropped on the ground. Seven debated again whether he should enter the house. He crept along the side of it, slowly moving toward the door. His heart was racing and his breathing was out of control. He was now only a few inches away from the doorknob. He eyed it intently, deciding what to do. For all he knew, a group of Mechanists were in there, either getting pummeled by knights or hiding. If he did enter and they were there, he could easily try to escape with them and be out of this town without any more problems. However, if there were others there, who knows what could happen? Seven breathed in deeply, reaching for the door with his hand. He was very close to it, about to open it up. when suddenly.

Damn it! The door flew open, and another knight he knew by name and face walked out. It was Caedmon. Seven held his breath. Luckily, the door opened outwards, and it managed to cover the hiding Seven just as the Lucario stepped out and proceeded back into the fray. He seemed to not get caught, at least immediately, and quickly tried tiptoeing away. He peered inside for a moment, seeing a family of citizens, as well as a knocked out Mechanist, presumably the work of Caedmon. He was about to exit the area and move on, but the downed Machoke suddenly gave him an idea. He was supposed to rescue Mechanists, right? Well, that Machoke Caedmon had just knocked out was clearly a Mechanist. He ultimately decided to proceed inside. He checked the side of his neck for vitals. A heartbeat! Seven grinned. This would work out perfectly! He could pick him up, carry him on his back out on the outskirts of the town, and then back to the Enclave. He would technically be doing his job, and he would be done with this place no problem, back to his sleeping post and out of the fighting. Sure, a Machoke would normally be tough to carry for Pokemon his size, but was once a Knight, so he believed he could manage. Seven proceeded to lift the unconscious Machoke by the arms, positioning most of his weight upon the center of his back and shoulder blades. It was fairly heavy at first, but he got used to it after a few seconds. So all he had to do was make it out of the house, off to the side or smaller roads, then back the path he came fro-

As Seven turned his body to the side as he proceeded to make his way out, he suddenly froze in place as he saw the Bellossom and two children right in front of him. He was so preoccupied with the Machoke and Caedmon, he had forgotten to check his surroundings for any other Pokemon, and ended up missing them entirely. Seven stood there silently and stupidly, with the large Machoke over his shoulders. The family and the Sneasel stared silently at each other, both parties seeming to be frozen in place. He had spent all that time specifically avoiding contact with others in the area, and he ended up being spotted quite easily by citizens. What a rookie move!

"Damn it..."

Felix Teufel
Messop Village
~~~~~

The flame-gun went quiet as Felix rolled on the ground after his kick to the Cubone's head. He jumped back to his feet and turned back to the Mechanist, who shook his head as he slowly got to his own feet. Impressive, that this Cubone wasn't knocked unconscious so soon. Felix didn't give it another thought - he lunged forward and swung an Uppercut into the Cubone's snout, knocking him backward onto his side.

As a pair of Demolishers rushed over to begin dismantling the flamethrower, Felix realized that these civilians were easy targets for the Mechanists. Sure, the Demolishers could've had combat training of some sort, but Felix was sure they were nowhere near a Knight's level of expertise. You could be wrong, for all you know. Shut up.

"You just standin' around for a reason?" Wedge asked, popping up out of nowhere. The Minun and Vicks had come to Felix's side, waiting for more Mechanists to come.

"Zese Demolishers are sitting ducks," Felix answered, ignoring the offended look that the two Demolishers nearby gave him. "Zee Mechanists are going to realize zat zeir veapons are being destroyed. How long before zey start targeting Demolishers, hm?"

"Got a point there," Vicks muttered. "Clumping together makes a bigger target, though."

"So don't. But if you find unprotected Demolishers, protect zem." Felix didn't watch the Plusle and Minun leave; he was watching for more Mechanists. The immediate area had become nearly deserted, though, after the first few minutes of fighting. When the two Demolishers, a Pikachu and a Krokorok, said that they'd dismantled the flamethrower, Felix said, "Stick vis me. Vee are going to attract more. I do my job, you do yours." With that, he turned and began heading down one street, with the two Demolishers following close behind.

After a minute or two, Felix stopped at a building that looked more like a business than a house and waved for the other two 'mon to stand back. He kicked the door open, revealing a Poliwhirl who was already pulling the trigger on the machine in her hand. Felix cried out as he got a face-full of 'boom', taking a few steps back from the force of the propelled air. The Poliwhirl stepped out, keeping the trigger pulled down as she kept her boom stick focused on Felix. Even if she'd said something, Felix wouldn't have heard it over the ringing in his head.

Thankfully, it stopped after only a few seconds. Felix looked up; the Poliwhirl was on the ground, twitching after an unexpected shock. The Pikachu said something to Felix, with a pretty snarky look on his face. Nothing but ringing. Felix shook his head and reached down to grab the Poliwhirl's arm. He then spun and threw her down the street while the two Demolishers went inside the door to the building. Felix stepped inside and stood guard at the doorway while they began searching for more machinery to destroy.

Messop Village: The Aftermath​

Maverick watched on as the knights moved around in efficent fashion. The small village had soon become a battleground. Caedmon had already given orders to resist killing anyone, but that was proving a problem. Sure it was fine and dandy to try and prevent harming the mechanists too much, but the mechanists had no such restraints against THEM. These young mon were dashing about and were armed with all sorts of weapons. Such mon naturally would have been quickly rounded up in any other circumstances, but the use of pellets and weapons were not only driving a few knights back, but they were causing injuries to those who had never gone against such tactics before.

He could see some knights suddenly being engulfed by fire while others would fall to the ground, paralyzed, as electricity jumped about on their form. Despite the advantage these mechanists had in the beginning, the knights were quick to learn from mistakes and from the tactics an opponent used. They were able to figure out the range of certain weapons and learn some weaknesses that could be used, such as taking cover behind their rock types allies and then shooting out their own ranged attacks. That was all fine and well... until reinforcements came.

Maverick couldn't believe as more of these rebels rushed into the battle scene and took fire against them. The Grovyle dashed through the streets as various projectiles whizzed by his from. He keyed in on a Rhydon and slashed him with a Leaf Blade. As his foe fell he made a quick check around him to confirm his knights still holding up their positions. Well, at least they had no fallen warriors on their side yet. If anything these weapons were proving to be more of an annoyance than something that could take down a knight in one or two successful hits. Still, it was time to push them back. If they kept fighting in this village then more innocent souls would come in harm's way.

"Push them out knights!" Maverick shouted out. He was about to shout another order when a electrical bolt whizzed by him and he had to duck as another almost hit his chest. These mechanists weren't making it easy at all. He charged up another leaf blade and rushed to the side of a building. He caught sight of the Mismagius who once more shot out another electical bolt at him. He was quick to sidestep it and his blade swung at her, easily dropping her to the ground. He didn't stop there. He was quick to jump up the walls and soon landed on a rooftop and took note of the overall battle. Many mechanists were laying down on the ground with some no longer moving and some Knights likewise had fallen.

He once more raised his voice, "Push them out and take them alive!"

~~~

Damon could say that he had been in fire fights before... but it was nothing like this! Sure, every so often he would get into practice matches with some other DF for training, but to face a full regiment of knights! Now that was a whole other story. He had figured that at least a few hits on one would make them fall, but at the most they were only able to knock out a few, but that was it. If anything the knights were far faster and so strong that they were easily knocking out soldiers left and right! The knights had formal training and Damon's forces.... well, they knew how to navigate caves... which wasn't helping right now.

As the fight raged on, Damon realized that this was as best as it was going to get. Already the DF were carrying back wounded comrades and even retrieving unconscious mon that Damon didn't recognize. He assumed these were the mechanists that had signaled the beacon and so he too raised his voice. "DF! FALL BACK! BACK TO THE TELEPORTERS!"

He raised his boom stick and aimed down toward the ground. He held the trigger as DF rushed on by and released. A loud pocket of air shot out as it slammed into the ground and achieved the effect he desired. Clouds of dirt shot out and began to cover the area. He did it once more as other DF helped out. More and more thick clouds began obscuring the area. Eventually the sounds of the boom sticks ceased as Maverick and those remaining fled out of the cloud. It was some ways back to where the porters had dropped them off, now it was about buying time.

"Defensive positions!" He shouted out as a few mechanists positioned themsleves with boom sticks ready. If anything they could cause another dirt cloud to halt their persuers again. There were only so many teleporters active and only so many that could be ported at a time. He just hoped these knights could be distracted for long enough.

~~~

As the dirt clouds began forming Maverick watched as several mon fled from the scene. He frowned and lept down as he saw some Knights still trying to find the mechanists that had already fled. "Knights! Hear my voice! Follow it out of that cloud! The Mechanists are already retreating! Keep formation and use ranged attacks!" He cast a glance at the deprating foes, but was surprised as they stopped at a spot and pulled out their weapons. They were going to hold that spot? That was odd in Maverick's eyes, but if they truly wished to be captured then so be it.

He was already moving toward the group as his knights began exiting the dirt cloud and followed. Maverick couldn't help but chuckle as the group seemed to form a circle around a spot. The Grovyle let a smile grace his face as he strode forward and held out an arm to halt the other knights. "So... it has come to this. You infiltrate our villages and then decide to attack us when you are in the wrong? I must say, it was unexpected, but not surprising. I will only give you one chance, surrender here and now. We outnumber you and many of your allies are wounded already. Surrender and we will take you captive and no further harm shall come upon you."

Damon glanced over at Urta with a confused look. They... infiltrated? Okay, there were some soldiers in the city, but most likely they had been passing through. If that was the case... why attack the knights? Just as Damon was about to speak more beings popped into the scene. The psychics appeared in a flash and just like that the spot where the mechanists once stood was empty.

Maverick stared on, almost in disbelief at what happened before he quickly shook his head, "Knights.... head back to the city. There are still fallen mechanists there. Round them up. Demolishers you know what to do. We'll be making our return to Markus."

He waited there as the knights began to depart and when he was left alone he angrily kicked a few rocks to the side. The Grovyle made his way back to the town to see the knights already bringing prisoners to the entrace of the village. Hopefully they would get information out of these mechanists, but he knew he would also have to report what happened with the escaped mechanists. That wouldn't be the highlight of his day, that was for sure. At the end there was only a total of six prisoners with most of them being the young ones that had set the ambush for them.

Maverick glanced over at his knights once more and nodded, "We head back to Markus. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves on the road. When we arrive back in Markus be ready for any new assignments. It is highly likely that other knights have been ambushed as well." With that he set the pace as the prinsoers were pushed forth to walk along the knights.

~~~~

As soon as they appeared back in Saffron Damon made sure to call for emergency assistance. Of the soldiers that came with him many suffered from broken bones or were bleeding from wounds. Those that they had been sent in to rescue seemed to be confused and dazed, so the medics took them in at least to have their brains checked out to see if they had suffered any concussions.

All the while the Linoone gathered those that had come (and weren't currently being treated) and nodded, "Well, we did as good as we could do. We lost some friends out there, but we also saved lives. The patrols will be put on hiatus as of now. We can't risk having any DF up top at the moment. For now, relax. Go get a drink at the bar, or go do something around town. You all are released from your normal duties for the day. The other DF can handle those responsiblities."

With that the Linoone began making his way down the street with Urta following alongside him.

It became clear to Krekker shortly after the stand-off that the Mechanists were fighting a losing battle. It was a rescue mission, after all, he supposed, but there were very few knights incapacitated. In the long run, that was worrying. There seemed to be some civilians amongst the knights – not ones from the village, no; ones trained to dismantle weapons. Demolishers, if the Bisharp remembered correctly. The Mechanists still around appeared to be retreating, so perhaps it would be best if he did, too.

"DF! FALL BACK! BACK TO THE TELEPORTERS! Defensive positions!"

Well, that confirmed it, then. Krekker dashed around the back of a house for cover, trying to make his way back around to the wall he'd entered over. A boom came from his left, and an armoured Heracross rolled and came to a halt on the other side of the building. The Pokémon stood, shook his head and lowered it in Krekker's direction.

Krekker held his ground, flexing as the charge neared him. The Bisharp's blades glowed purple as the Megahorn attack was parried around to the side, flinging the surprised Heracross into the house with a sickening thwak. Krekker sliced the bug Pokémon across the back and pulled him around, delivering a quick Iron Head to the face to send him slumping to the floor. Seeing no reason to hang around, Krekker took off at a run to the wall and launched himself upwards, grabbing onto the top and hauling himself over to the other side.

He could hear orders to the knights being shouted behind him, and saw some fellow Mechanists making their way up and over the hill. He thought he could make out others through a cloud of dust, but it wasn't clear. It didn't take long for him to reach where they'd arrived, and when he did, psychics appeared and dealt with his return before he could even so much as check all of his surroundings.

The Saffron Enclave flashed into existence around the Bisharp, and with it came scenes of the battle's aftermath – for the Mechanist side, at least. Krekker made no move, as Damon began to gather the Pokémon he'd taken with him. Urta Runes was there with him, which perturbed the Bisharp to some degree, but he ignored it for the most part as the Linoone spoke.

"Well, we did as good as we could do. We lost some friends out there, but we also saved lives. The patrols will be put on hiatus as of now. We can't risk having any DF up top at the moment. For now, relax. Go get a drink at the bar, or go do something around town. You all are released from your normal duties for the day. The other DF can handle those responsibilities."

Krekker was a little surprised at having been effectively given the day off, though he supposed it was a fairly Mechanist-style thing to do. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning around and heading to the nearest bar. The Bisharp sat on a stool at one end and ordered some Sitrus juice. He could do with something nice after the little skirmish he'd had with the knights.