Pokémon Odyssey: A New Beginning [T] [Best Veteran 4Q '12]

Thieves Forest- The Decreement

Zane listened to TrueStriker silently. He didn't give a detailed explanation, but from what he could gather, Roswell had betrayed them. He turned to Roswell, to see him with a cold expression, but beyond that nothing much. But it was enough for Zane to understand that what he was saying was true. Thoughts began racing into Zane's head. What had he done? Had he just led his brothers and sisters to their deaths? His stomach lurched as he could only imagine what had happened.

Roswell had only to give a single signal to the rest of his thieves pouring in the top of the Decreement, and they would have attacked on sight. But as TrueStriker walked to the other three, he prepared to teleport. Roswell sighed and decided to let them go. He had done what the Sentinels had asked, and he wanted no further bother with any of them.

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Thieves Forest- Ambush Site

Scar saw the Golduck fall to the ground, but as he staggered up, he was surprisingly smiling. He titled his head slightly, unsure of what had happened. "Did I miss something? Is there something you find amusing here?" Scar asked, visibly annoyed. Defender began to speak, and Scar was sure he must have been hit in the head or something, because what he began saying didn't seem quite right. But the more he was saying, the more it actually began to worry him. The strange thing was that there seemed to be some accurate truth in what he said, right? No, that couldn't be right. The Sentinels were a team, a team in their own right, but they showed affection differently.

"You're insane." Scar said. Just as he said thing, the Golduck brought his own neck to Scar's hand. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Then, what he said next, actually made a bit of sense. If Scar took out the other two right now, things would be so much easier. He took a look at the ones to the right, fighting their own opponents, then back at Defender. Now it was him who was having trouble thinking. Two options were in his head, but an overpowering sensation of what would happen should Auron find out about this all suddenly filled him. There was genuine fear in his eyes as he thought, and shook his head. "You are insane." He said again, lifting up his arms and preparing to strike. Just as he was about to land his blows, however, he was suddenly impacted from behind and flung away. It was Dark Lightning, standing shakily on his feet, panting heavily. On his back he carried Hoodhide, who was still unmoving, whether unconscious or dead, it was at that moment unsure.

Lyn took in a deep breath as she looked over her opponent, the Inferno. It was usually suicide to face a Sentinel alone, but given their current position, she didn't have many other options. She decided to hit first, running at the Typhlosion. In an immediate reaction, the Inferno unleashed a Flamethrower. Lyn dodged left and right, using her swift legs and arms to keep out of the way of the intense heat. A bit of the Flamethrower barely passed over her head as she tried to close the gap, and even if she wasn't hit, she could feel the intensity of the heat from the attack. She finally was close enough to launch her own attack, slashing him with her right claw. The Inferno made no attempt to dodge the attack, but instead seemed to take it. But despite Lyn's renowned strength among the tribe, it looked like it hardly shook her opponent at all. Lyn then realized what he was doing, allowing her to come this close. The Inferno prepared his attack, and Lyn, in a last second ditch effort, used Agility to try to get out of there, but to no avail. The Inferno unleashed a Fire Blast, right directly at the area Lyn was in. Because of her quick thinking, she was able to escape the bulk of the attack, but it didn't matter, as whatever remained was still enough to fling her back as if she was a doll. Lyn landed on the ground a few meters away, a burn mark developing on her arm. She clutched it, gritting her teeth in pain, but refused to get up. Lyn looked to see that the Inferno was already on his approach again, and began unleashing a torrent of Flamethrower directly at her. She moved as fast as she could, avoiding the attack as she encircled the battlefield, yet she could feel the heat catching up to her. Eventually, it caught her, and her entire body seared with pain. She was severely hurt, and fell to the ground with a thud. Lyn struggled to get up, unable to feel parts of her body from the attacks. The Inferno silently walked to Lyn's body, as she continued to struggle. She made glances between her body and him, until he was right above her, the same cold demeanor on his face as he lifted his arm and prepared to finish her. She couldn't understand it. How could one single Pokemon have so much power? It was unreal. The Inferno took in a breath, and all at once released an immense Blast Burn right in front of Lyn. In a last minute ditch effort, Lyn used her family's signature Thunder barrier from the sky. Because of their close distance, as the Thunder past in between them, the very light of it flashed at Inferno's eyes, causing him to temporarily be blinded by the attack. Lyn took this opportunity to retreat further away from this monster, running as best she could, while clutching her left arm, which hung lifeless at her side.

Speculum was having trouble, mostly even getting to Sentry, who kept leading him further away from the main portion of the battle, and by the time he realized what exactly he was doing, he had already begun his retreat back, and Sentry then sprang onto the attack, as well as dozens of nearby Ancients. Speculum unleashed a Razor Leaf upon them as he kept running back. He dared not even try to see the damage he caused, for fear of seeing how close Sentry was from behind. He knew the rumors. The fastest of the Sentinels. A Kabutops and Omastar were in from of him, and Speculum used a Leaf Blade on the two, trying to keep on running so that Sentry doesn't get a chance to strike back. Making a mistake, Speculum decided to turn back to see how far away Sentry was, only not to see him at all. He found it strange, unsure of where the Sentinel went. Had he gone to pursue a different target? But as he turned in front again, he saw the Scizor right in front of him, and before he could parry at all, he was struck by a Crush Claw, and then again by another. Speculum tried to defend himself, but the attacks came at such a high velocity, that he was never given a chance. Strike after strike was hit by Sentry, until Speculum was too damaged and too worn out to put up his arms to defend himself. Sentry took the advantage, beating down Speculum, and just as he was about to go in for another set, he was suddenly attacked from behind by Calamity, who struck him with enough force to send him back into the crowd of Sentinels. Calamity helped him up, and the two of them ran back over to the others, who seemed to be all gathered together.

As Ragnaros flew in from the side, Lyn took a look at the Gold Tribe around. They were all in pretty bad shape after fighting the Sentinels. Hoodhide seemed to be out of commission completely, either dead or unconscious. Speculum was badly bruised. Ragnaros had a few cuts here and there, but was relatively alright. She wondered how long they would actually be able to hold off another wave of a fight with apparently four Sentinels.



"So, what now?" Speculum asked. Lyn didn't answer, nobody did for a moment. What could she tell them? This was most likely the end of them as they knew it. But she knew she had to answer somehow. Talk about dying honorably and protecting each other and the Alpha Alliance to their last breaths. That was the way of the Gold Tribe, right? Sacrifice. Lyn just didn't think it would all end like this. She took a deep breath and spoke, but before she did, someone else intervened.

"Now, you run." Dark Lightning said. Lyn looked at him strangely. She was unable to see his face because he stood in front of them, looking off to where the Inferno slowly recovered from the temporary blindness Lyn inflicted.

"It's pointless, we'll never get far enough. They'll catch up anyways." Calamity said back to him.

"Not if I stay behind and hold them off while you get out of here." Dark Lightning replied calmly. Lyn turned to Dark Lightning, as did Calamity. "What are you saying?" She asked him, as if not understanding what he was doing.

"I'm saying that we can't have all of this be for nothing. If we all die here, then the Alpha Alliance won't have a chance. They need you."

"But…but why do you have to stay?!" Speculum demanded.

"Because I'm already dead." He said, turning around to face them, showing them his front side for the first time. Lyn's eyes opened wide as she saw him. Between his front legs was a large hole from the Inferno's previous attack. It seemed to go deep into his body. The wound was no doubt fatal, and it caused Lyn to wonder how he was even standing on his feet. Dark Lightning gave the others a smile. "I've lived a long life. Over my years, I have served with the best of them. I fought alongside Rey, and before that his father in his later years too. But over the years, I've lost many friends, especially in this war. Now…it's time for me to go see them again. Let me do this, brothers and sisters. Let me draw my last breath as any Gold Tribe member should."

No one else spoke for a moment. Lyn knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to do it. She didn't want to leave her brother behind. Dark Lightning looked back at the Sentinels, who were already heading to this direction, as well as the massive amount of Ancients. His expression suddenly changed. "Go…GO you fools! It'll be your only chance! Head into the forest, try to find TrueStriker and the others, and teleport out of here! Go! And don't look back! NOW!"

At the sound of Dark Lightning's yelling, something snapped in Lyn, and she began to run, as did the others. Calamity removed Hoodhide's body off of his back and put him on his own. Lyn dared not take a look back, knowing that if she did, she would want to stay behind and fight with Dark Lightning to the bitter end. It took all the patience she could muster inside of her to do this, perhaps a sign of her finally growing a bit in that regard, but even so, as she passed by Ancients between the forest and she let them have all the anger and pain she carried with her. They reached the edge of the forest, and before proceeding inside, and against her better judgment, she took one look back at the area where the lone Gold Tribe member stood, and knew this would be the last time she would ever see Layton Igneel, Dark Lightning.

"Stop them!" Sentry commanded the Ancients, in which they turned to pursue, only to have Dark Lightning get in their way with a quick attack, and charge at the group of them with a Wild Charge. Ancients were taken out by the group as Dark Lightning gave it his all to give the others that chance to escape. A Kabutops tried attacking him from behind, but Dark Lightning parried the attack, took him down with a Thrash. He repeated the process to others that gathered around, and successfully blocked the path for the others. He panted heavily, as loads of enemies were sprawled next to his feet, only to see the Sentinels come around him and surround him.

"Admirable." Sentry said to him. "But pointless. All of them will meet their fates eventually. In the end, no one escapes the Silver Tribe. Now let's end this."

"No." Dark Lightning said silently to himself, with a smile. He looked back as the others as they disappeared into the forest, knowing his mission was accomplished. "No, this isn't the end. Not for them. Not yet."

Penance 'Defender' Malum​

Penance giggled as he heard the Mienshao's words. Oh... he had gotten in there. He was worming about in there and had already planed the seeds of truth as well as deception. He giggled as he laid his eyes on Dark Lightening and Hoodhide, "Howdy you two! It's a bash!" He burst into more spontaneous laughter as he wiped a tear from his eye. The rest of the events really passed in a blur for Penance as he just followed Dark Lightning and soon enough everyone was gathered around and then... they left. Penance ran. He ran... It was then that it seemed that the last piece that was still kept his mind together snapped as he just stood there as TrueStriker teleported them away and he temporarily took command. He blinked a bit as his shattered mind slowly began to piece together.

He smiled and then he began to giggle a bit and soon enough he was laughing. He leaned against a tree and smiled at everyone. "Ah! A great plan to be destroyed! I didn't think he could do it! I refused to believe it but Auron did it!" He giggled with a amused smile on his bill. "I wanted to believe my plan could succeed, but it didn't come close!" He burst into higher pitches of laughter as he slowly sank down until he was sitting on the ground. "Oh, but it doesn't end there! Not at all!" He staggered up and looked around, "Oh! Because they wanted us to escape!" He said gleefully. "What fun is there if the prey is shot down immediately? What purpose would they have then? No, they want us alive as long as possible! It's all a plan!" He burst into more laughter, "Oh! I see it all! A perfect excuse to burn the thieve's village for they know where it is! Without a Gold Tribe to protect it the fire will burn all the trees! Oh, it will be bright and the screams will be so loud! The screams of all your little friends!" He said gleefully as he pointed at Noctus.

"Oh! A fire will swell and then they will be happy and go after us! We could spend years running because once we're out they turn on each other and they don't want that!" He burst into more laughter. "Oh... also by the way... the city is long long lost, probably the second we got out of site!" He giggled some more. "Everyone is dead and slaughtered and bloody corpses are everywhere and the army is gone too~" He sang out as he leaned against the tree. "Oh... the spy in the city made sure the ancients came back and killed everyone. My daddy's dead, our friends are dead, the soldiers are dead. And since they knew where we were going they knew where the army was going as well! Which means what Vigil!?" He asked as he pointed his finger at the Bisharp.

"Well... it means we have a epic failure! Not only is the Alpha Alliance wiped out, but it's leaders are possibly captured as well and without the Gold Tribe there all hope is lost! The towers cannot be taken down and the only city they managed to gnab is lost as well, so Gold Tribe what are you going to do next!?" He asked in a kind of announcer's voice. "Well.... we can do absolutely nothing! The spy that informed the Sentinels we were going here has no doubt made sure all hope is lost! And it is indeed!" He burst into laughter once more. "Oh... hope is lost!" He walked down a bit into the forest, still in view of them and began to bang his head against one of the trees with much force before he put his back against and slid down until he was sitting there. "Yup... that's it." He giggled a bit more. Surprisingly thoughout his whole explosion Penance had managed to smile the whole time and had said everything with a cheery attitude.

He perked up, "Oh.... the area is probably crawling with Ancients already so we either die here or we pick ourselves up and see if we can find hope!" He got back up and stretched. "Can't pick yaselves up after that speech than you deserve to die!" He giggled and began to walk forward. "Come now! We need to find hope somewhere out there! If I remember correctly she should be somewhere in this direction!"

Sovereign could only watch as the remaining Gold Tribe members made their escape. Crap. More of them escaped. But it wasn't all bad news. A Zebstrika had stayed behind to hold them back. He was clearly wounded beyond the ability to stand, yet there he was. How noble. But it is a waste. Sovereign then approached the other Sentinels.

"What do we do now? They're getting away." He hoped with all his heart that no one saw him let the Dragon get away. It was none of their business what he did anyway. He was sure that he was safe for the time being though. They were all too busy in the battle anyway to notice what he was doing.

But even as he stood there, he had an eerie feeling. What happened out there. He knew that his father could not possibly have been talking to him, since it was sovereign himself who had killed him. What's happening to me?

Daricka "Wildfire" Cambar

So... Even though Noctus was Roswell's second in command, he didn't know anything about the trap? Daricka was a bit skeptical that he was telling the truth, but he didn't appear to be lying. She decided to believe him for the moment and went back to her pacing. By the time TrueStriker appeared with more of the Gold Tribe, she had mostly regained her usual stoic expression. Only her eyes betrayed traces of her irritation from before. The Gallade took a moment to eat before disappearing once again, saying something about not killing Noctus while he was gone. Daricka nodded to the three that had teleported here with Truestriker, but didn't otherwise greet them. Her mind was still focused on the battle the rest of her brothers were currently facing. It seemed unlikely that Vigil, Dryad, or Sword and Shield would know much of what was going on seeing as they had been at the village, so they weren't really her main concern at the moment.

When TrueStriker returned, this time with a larger group, a quick scan showed that Dark Lightning was missing. Daricka's gaze darkened and she looked the group over once more, but still she could find no trace of the Zebstrika.

"Everyone tell their part of today's ambush, don't leave out anything that might be important. Do not explode on Noctus there-" TrueStriker spoke between bites of food. "-no matter how much you might want to. He's not Roswell. Now, the real leader here, take over. I'm checking Hoodhide before we go anywhere. Anyone with healing experience, come over now."

Daricka shifted her gaze to the unmoving body of Hoodhide. If he was dead she would make the Silver Tribe pay dearly. Not that she hadn't already been planning to give them a good beating, even more so now that it seemed Dark Lightning was lost. By now she had completely regained her composure and not even a trace of emotion showed on her face as she rested with her back against a tree.

Hysterical laughter drew her attention to Defender, who appeared to have totally lost it. Daricka listened patiently to his psychotic rant, unlike Bloodthirster who exploded in anger.

"Not everyone is as strong as you, brother," Daricka said to the Salamence. She moved from her resting position to place a hand on Defender's shoulder, more to keep him from wandering away than anything. She wasn't one to use words often, and she wasn't sure how much her next words would help, but she did know that if Defender continued in this manner he could end up discouraging the others. "We haven't lost yet. Let's not let Dark Lightning's sacrifice be in vain." Even though no one had told her what had happened, if Dark Lightning hadn't come with the rest she could only guess that meant he was dead.

Thieves Forest- Ambush Site- a while later

Scar cracked his neck back and forth. Blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away, looking at his hand as he did. "Damn Gold Tribe member...B*stard was tougher than I thought."

Sentry looked around the battlefield. The Ancients all stood together, lined up in perfect unison now as if they were dolls. In a way, they were. Mindless soldiers that did the bidding of the Sentinels and Lord Auron. They were loyal and always followed directions, but their lack of sentience could sometimes be a curse as well. No matter, they accomplished their tasks with usually reasonable success. Usually. This time happened not to be one of them. The purpose of this mission was to bring about the end of the thorn that was the Gold Tribe for good. Not to simply kill one member.

"What do we do now? They're getting away." Sovereign said.

"Let them run." Sentry answered. "Eventually, their day will come. Whether it be tomorrow, in a week, in a month, or even in a year. The end of the Gold Tribe is almost certain. There's too few of them now to do much."

"We need to move again." The Inferno spoke, with words that demanded attention, and respect. Sentry nodded in agreement, speaking himself. "I will go to Auron and report what happened here. Inferno, you go with Scar to Cape City. Take these Ancients with you. Crusher, you go to Albia. Frost, Deluge, and Ignitus have just quelled a rebellion there and might need some help keeping the city secure. The Gold Tribe might have lost the battle here, but there's still an Alpha Alliance army out there, and from our reports, they're coming soon."

Without another word, the Inferno already headed off. Scar nodded to Sovereign and Sentry and followed. Sentry looked back at Sovereign and spoke to him. "Keep an eye on Frost. She may be one of us, but her arrogance and pride get into her emotions too much. Keep her in line if you have to."

With that, Sentry took off. The Ancients began to slowly follow the Inferno and Scar out of the area, leaving the once filled plains empty with nothing but echoes of the dead.

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Liberty Forest/Sovereign Rainforest Border

Before Zane could really get a grip on anything, he was already teleported to a new area. It was a somewhat familiar sight, having been on this path weeks before. There, he saw Noctus and Wildfire, while TrueStriker disappeared once more to go back for the others. When they arrived, Zane hoped to finally get some answers on what had happened.

"Everyone tell their part of today's ambush, don't leave out anything that might be important. Do not explode on Noctus there-" TrueStriker motioned to Noctus. "-no matter how much you might want to. He's not Roswell."

Zane looked at Noctus. From his expressions on his own face, he had no idea what had happened either. He wasn't sure if he believed him up front, but for the moment, he seemed sincere.

"No, we won't hurt him, but he owes us an explanation. Roswell betrayed us and he's the prince of his stupid forest, isn't he?"

Zane was inclined to agree. He was second in command, and yet Roswell didn't tell him anything? Before anything else about this could have been asked, Zane heard the sound of giggling, and then flat-out laughing coming from Defender. He turned to him, perplexed, and as the Golduck began to speak, Zane became more and more aware of the situation at hand. Had the plan really gone that bad? It appeared so. It appeared as if they were waiting for them the whole time. Roswell was in cahoots with the Silver Tribe from the beginning. The entire plan was just a ploy to get the Gold Tribe, and it seemed that Defender, being the one who orchestrated it, took it hard. Really hard. And for good reason. Zane recalled the conversation the two had merely a day ago, about his entire situation, and how a plan went bad before. This must have been extremely hard on him, and Defender seemed to crack. Ragnaros began screaming at Defender. Wildfire went up to comfort him telling him that Dark Lightning's sacrifice won't be for nothing.

"Wait, Dark Lightning?" Zane asked, standing up and turning to Lyn. It was the first time he had realized that he wasn't with them. Lyn simply shook her head, turning her back to Zane and clutching her knees to her chest. Zane looked at the others, who also hung their heads down in sorrow. He was gone. Zane abruptly sat to the ground. He didn't know what to do now. The others sat with him in silence, nothing to be heard except Defender's slow descent into madness. He was suppose to lead the others, but all he did was lead them straight into a trap. Despite it being Defender's plan, it was Zane's fault that Dark Lightning had died. What could he do now? Zane tried to imagine in his mind what 'Rey' would say. What would the former leader say in this situation? He then remembered a memory of his past, and a conversation he had with 'Rey'. Zane smiled and stood up, facing them.

"Rey once said to me that the most admirable trait we of the Gold Tribe possessed was endurance. He said that no matter what came our way, whether the toughest battle or the worst calamity, we would always make it through because we were fighting for something important. We had the endurance to see it through. He said that everything, even bad fortune like this, can be overcome by endurance. That's what we've done this whole time. That's what Dark Lightning died believing too. He knew we wouldn't just give up once he passed. There really is still hope. As long as we endure, there'll always be hope. No matter what happens. If you still follow me, we can still do this. I know we can."

"Vigil..." Calamity began. "I want to believe that, but what do we do now? The ambush failed. We have no means of getting into the Albia. The Alpha Alliance army will be crushed by those watchtowers."

"Not quite." Noctus spoke up, walking to the middle of them all. "I...don't know why Roswell did what he did. He probably had good reason to. I'm not justifying what he did. It was terrible. But I came with you guys to accomplish a mission. You may not have the thieves anymore, but you have me. I know the secret paths into Albia as well. If you still want, I can take you there, and finish what you started."

A small grunting noise was heard for a moment, and Zane turned to see Hoodhide, stirring from unconsciousness. "Ugh...I hope-I'm not gonna end up beatup likethis in every bigbattle...I'mwithya Vigil all the way..."

"Let them run." Sentry answered. "Eventually, their day will come. Whether it be tomorrow, in a week, in a month, or even in a year. The end of the Gold Tribe is almost certain. There's too few of them now to do much." This seemed ridiculous. The opportunity to wipe them out for good was slipping away. Fine. I can wait a little longer. Sovereign stood silently and waited. He didn't care as long as he got to fight again soon.

The Inferno issued orders to the other Sentinels like he was the boss. "Crusher," he hated that name, but he was known by it now. It was his reputaion. "You go to Albia. Frost, Deluge, and Ignitus have just quelled a rebellion there and might need some help keeping the city secure. The Gold Tribe might have lost the battle here, but there's still an Alpha Alliance army out there, and from our reports, they're coming soon."

Inferno took his leave as Scar nodded to Sovereign. Then, Sentry looked at Sovereign. "Keep an eye on Frost. She may be one of us, but her arrogance and pride get into her emotions too much. Keep her in line if you have to." He had a point. Sovereign had never liked Frost much. "She is a coward. Nothing more."

Sovereign was alone now. He gazed at the mountains. They reminded him of home. Do you remember the day I gave you your name? Sovereign turned around quickly to a shocking sight. "Father?!" Indeed, the former Garchomp seemed to be standing right in front of his eyes. "Your dead. You can't be here." Indeed I am. You made sure of that didn't you? His voice didn't sound right. His father never talked in such a malevolent tone. Why do you trust them? The other Sentinels are just going to betray you. It's in their nature. Sovereign stared for a moment at the impossible image before him.

"You let him get away." Sovereign snapped out of it. He turned to see a Blaziken on a nearby boulder. He turned back for a moment. His father was gone. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," said Vera. "Maybe I have," Sovereign said to himself. "So, why'd you let the dragon go?" she asked. "He gave me exactly what I wanted. A good fight. Haven't had one that good in forever." He paused. "I trust this will stay between us?" Vera raised an eyebrow. "Of course Sovereign. You know you can trust me."

"Do you have it?" asked Sovereign as they walked away from the battlefield. Vera removed a pouch hanging around her neck and handed it to Sovereign. He turned it out in his hand revealing a small, light blue rock shard. He placed it back into the pouch and handed it back to Vera. "I almost lost control out there. You should be ready to use that if necessary." Vera looked at him and took the pouch back. "I will be," she said, "Where are we going?"

"To Albia."

Penance 'Defender' Malum​

Penance just burst into laughter as Bloodthrister actually began to shout and was enraged. "Oh! That's rich!" He was about to head out a bit further but then was grabbed by Wildfire and given a small speech as he rolled his eyes. "Oh you! You know nothing about what you speak!" He giggled some more. "You always need to be happy! If you don't laugh then you just hurt!" He burst into some more laughter.

"Wait, Dark Lightning?" Penance burst into more laughter, "Aw! Vigie wigie didn't know!? Well, now ya do Vigie! We all do! Just one down and then even more! Just like before in the past! Like looking through the window!" He exclaimed happily. He just listened to the others talk with a smile still on his bill. "Oh, you!" He pointed at Noctus. "They have been with your leader for so long! Do you think they would know where it's at? I'm sure he and every thief in the village knows! Of course, they're probably there with roses."

He burst into more laughter as he pulled away from Wildfire, "You all don't get it! I guess I don't get it either... but it's not supposed to be gotten!" He giggled a bit more and leaned against a tree, "It's right there in the mind! Just staring at us!" He looked down at his bracelet and chuckled a bit more, "Not even luck helps us. No, we need hope. Has anyone seen her?" He asked as he looked around. "I was pretty sure she was somewhere here.... but I can't remember."

He sighed, "You know, this reminds me of the roses. There were so many back then.... you don't want to be a rose, do you Vigie?" He asked as he glance over at the Bisharp. "I wouldn't want to be one. That would be too sad. So very sad."

Liberty Forest/Sovereign Rainforest Border

Zane silently watched as his brother Defender continued his descent into apparent madness. Zane however, didn't think he was insane, just in a tremendous amount of pain. For all their prowess in combat, it is often easily forgot that many of them weren't very seasoned. Both Lyn and Guardia were only 17 years old. Speculum was only 14. Besides, Hanso, who was now the oldest since Dark Lightning past, most of the others, including Zane, were in their 20s. Of course, age among the Gold Tribe is not often a setback. 100 years ago, Lyn's grandfather won a war against the Order of Neoverse, and he was only 18 at the time. Still, even the most hardened warriors could experience a breakdown. Defender's entire plan was collapsed before his very eyes, and while Ragnaros was getting angry at him, Zane was feeling sorry for him.

What happened next was bound to be expected, but Zane and the others decided not to do anything about it, as Ragnaros swung his tail, and knocked out Defender.

"He does!" Ragnaros said angrily in response to TrueStriker's previous question of who else needed healing.

"Maybe it's best he does get some rest." Calamity said as he walked up beside Zane. "Arceus knows we all need it."

He looked up Defender's body once more, still in deep sorrow over the day's events. If things would continue as they did, Zane might not have just lost one brother, but two.

"Right." Zane finally said. "Let's head over to Hoodhide's village. It shouldn't be too far from here. We'll rest there for the night, and figure out what we'll do tomorrow morning."

The rest of the Gold Tribe began preparing to move. Zane checked around on them momentarily, to see if any of them were severely wounded. He would imagine they would not speak up about it before perhaps because of pride. Although quite a few were bruised up a bit, none seemed to be incapable of walking. Sword and Shield picked up Defender's body, and carried him. The rest began to walk over through the familiar sight of the rainforest. Thankfully, TrueStriker teleported them to a reasonably close location to the village. Which reminded Zane, TrueStriker actually did quite a bit recently, including making multiple trips across the entire country, just to get them all out. He even went back into the ambush site multiple times, and the Thieves Village. Before forgetting, Zane walked over to Hanso.

"I've got to thank you for what you've done. I know you must be exhausted from all those teleportations. But I wanted you to know that we all owe you quite a bit. We wouldn't have all made it out without you."

Sovereign Rainforest

Not to Zane's surprise, Hanso's response was laid back and dismissive. He noticed that about TrueStriker. He was much quieter than many other Gold Tribe members he met. He still had the same dedication and strength the others had, but he used it differently. Zane supposed there were grand purposes for every type, and TrueStriker was slowly beginning to show his. The mention of Roswell made something churn at the bottom of Zane's stomach. He still despised himself for actually trusting the thieves so much in all this. He had naively assumed that it would be possible to finally stop hundreds of years of hate and simply coexist together once more. Yet Roswell had shown him once more how different the two sides were. For someone who thought he knew much about the world, Zane found himself baffled.

"I still can't believe what happened." He said to TrueStriker. He looked up at Defender, who was being carried by Sword and Shield. "Poor Defender. He took this all really hard. I hope he's going to be alright…."

"Thereitis!" Hoodhide exclaimed, beginning to run to the town even though he was still fairly injured from the wounds. His excitement to be back in his home must have overwhelmed the pain.

"Hey, slow down, brother! You'll open your wounds again!" Calamity yelled at him.

Hoodhide didn't bother listening, who ran out over to the village entrance, which was already being opened, and the village Pokemon children all began to run towards Hoodhide and swarm him. Hoodhide tried his best to embrace all of them through all of the chaos of the puddle of Pokemon around him. Despite everything that had happened in the past day, the sight made Zane smile. They began asking him numerous questions, to which Hoodhide was unable to respond all at once, but tried his best.

"That's enough, children!" A Jumpluff said from behind, who Zane imagined was the village leader. The children reluctantly got off of Hoodhide, as he stood up, still smiling brightly. "Lucian! It's great to see you again. What brings you back here?"

"Well, thethingis, we need a-place to stay-and rest. We'vebeenthrough a-lot." Hoodhide chirped.

"Hmm, I see. We'll you and your Gold Tribe are always welcome here, Lucian. Come in, come in! We'll prepare food right away. And we can take care of your wounded too."

Sovereign Rainforest- Hoodhide's Village

The day moved slowly on in the village. For the first time in a while, Zane and the others were able to rest and replenish. He figured after everything that had happened, they deserved that much. However, everyone's personas were somewhat different. Zane didn't see much of Defender around, most likely still unconscious, and Zane regrettably wishing to keep it like that for now. He had no idea what to possibly say to cheer him up, and stop him from acting the way he did. Sword and Shield had taken to eating as much as he could, whether in hunger or simply to get his mind off of things. A few of the others kept to themselves, but what Zane found most notably different was Guardia, who had not spoken a word since she got back from the ambush site.

Noctus had promised them a way into Albia, but if the Gold Tribe themselves couldn't pull it together, what would be the point? Zane reached into his bag, and pulled out the ancient Gold Tribe medallion Kivir had in his possession before he went with General Belas and the armies. The medallion belonged to 'DivineBlade', an old member who disliked the way the Gold Tribe was running before, and wanted to change it. Thoughts raced through Zane's head. He wondered if he was right. He thought that maybe after all of this, maybe they weren't really worthy of being Gold Tribe members.

"No..." Zane said to himself outloud, grasping the medallion in his hand. He knew what they were. He knew what depended on them. But they had to be ready.


Lyn walked into the house where Defender lay resting. By now he would have been awake, and she wasn't sure what state of mind he was in, but she had to get something off of her chest. "Hey, listen..." She began telling him. "I know it probably doesn't meant much at this point, but I..." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I wanted to thank you for saving me back on the ambush site. If you haven't had noticed that the Sentinels could be under those hoods, we could have had it a lot worse. I may not be here. Maybe more. So...thanks."

From the entrance of the house came one of the citizens of the house. "Ermm...excuse me, Gold Tribe? Your leader asks you guys to come meet him in the town center. He wants to say something to all of you."

Penance 'Defender' Malum​

Penance groaned a bit as he felt something hit him in the head. He blinked open his eyes as he saw he was back.... there. He just looked at that tree... and there she was. He really didn't know how to respond. He just stared for about a minute before he slowly began to walk forward and quickly broke into a run as the figure stood up and held out her hands. He didn't stop as he grabbed onto her tightly and clutched her like he used to. "Shhh, my Penance. Shhh." He just held her tightly as he felt her rub his head, "Remember.... the roses." She whispered into his ear. He looked up in surprise as he saw her form fade into read and white ros-

Penance gasped as he awoke and lay in a bed, panting heavily. He wiped some of the sweat off from his brow as he clutched the sheets he had been given and curled up in the bed. He closed his eyes, but just saw red and white once more and forced his eyes open yet again and just stared at the ceiling as he put his hands behind his head. It was soon after he head the door open and turned to see her come in and start to talk to him. What she said was boring though! He rolled his eyes and got off of the bed and stretched his arms above his head as he turned to her and frowned, "Guardy! We were supposed to die! The stars said so!" He said with a nod of his head, "Yup! I talked to them a bit... no... wait... I talked to the rock, my bad!" He said as he formed a smile. "I forgot to tell you that, but that's what he said! To go and fly and be one!" He giggled a bit as he patted her shoulder, "I'm sorry for not letting you fly." He said with a sigh, "But we can fly later! And the worms can tell us more!"

He heard the announcement and grinned, "Vigies out there? Okay!" He said as he walked out of the house merrily and made his way to the center of the town, whistling a bit. Just as he got there he looked over to the side and immediately cried out and sent two Water Pulses to slam against the side of the building that had some vines on it. "ROSES!!!" He screamed as he sent another two Water Pulses at it and paused a bit. The vines snapped and fell softly to the ground as he put his hands down and made his way to Vigil and the others with a smile, "Howdy dowdy! Did he tell you as well? Or did you have to talk to the Nymph? She's always crazy though!" He commented as he burst into laughter as if he had just told a hilarious joke.

Sovereign Rainforest- Hoodhide's Village

Zane waited patiently for the others to arrive for his meeting. At the moment, a few concerns ran through his head, primarily the physical health of the others, and the mental health of Defender. He hoped both conditions were met. Maybe that was too much to hope for. The Gold Tribe began arriving, first Calamity and Sword and Shield coming, and then Hoodhide, who still was in bandages but seemed to be recovering quite well. Next came TrueStriker, who gave a nod of the head to Zane, which he returned.

And then came Penance and, much to Zane's dismay, he was still just as he was before. "ROSES!!!" He screamed, shooting Water Pulses into the side of the building. Zane stood upright, trying to figure out a way to control his brother before he truly hurt someone. Zane certainly believed in this state of mind, he had that capability. When he sent two more out, Zane felt he had to do something. As Defender walked up to them, Zane hit him with a Thunder Wave, just so he won't do anything drastic.

"You need to calm down, brother." Zane said to him. A moment later, TrueStriker grabbed hold of the Golduck, lowering him down to his level and speak firmly to him. Zane silently watched as TrueStriker spoke in a way he hadn't seen him before. The other Gold Tribe members arrived and watched in silence as well. When the Gallade was done speaking his mind, he let go of the Golduck.

"TrueStriker is right, brother. It wasn't your fault that this happened. Dark Lightning died because of the Silver Tribe, and them alone. Dark Lightning wouldn't have wanted you to be like this. He would have wanted us to move on, and continue our duty.

You are tools. The familiar voice of the dream filled his mind. Zane shook his head and pushed it out.

"The Alpha Alliance needs you, brother. They need all of us. They needed all of our brothers and sisters who died. Don't abandon them yet."

Penance 'Defender' Malum​

Before Penance could speak anymore he felt lightening ripple through his body as all of his muscles froze up. He felt his mind fog up as he was grabbed by something and heard someone talking to him, but he couldn't necessarily tell who it was and then he heard another voice. He felt the paralyzing effect slowly wear off as he groaned and reached up and rubbed his head. "Uh... my head..." He moaned as he blinked his eyes and looked around. His brothers and sisters were around as he smiled weakly. "Hey... wait. Where are we?" He looked around as he saw they were in some kind of village, but it wasn't the thieve's village.

"Uh... wait... THE AMBUSH!" He cried out as he looked around. He gritted his teeth and clutched his head. "Dammit! I must have been knocked out!" He turned to Vigil, "How'd it go? Did my plan work Vigil? I mean, it was rather elaborate, I just hope it wasn't too elaborate." He said. "Uh... also, what were you saying before? Something about Dark Lightening?" He looked around, "Speaking of Dark Lightening... where is he? Is he resting or something?" He asked as he looked around. "Also, where are we? I haven't seen this village before."

The Golduck looked genuinely confused as he looked at his brothers and sisters and frowned when he noticed their stares, "Uh.... is everything okay? Did I miss something?" He asked as he looked around trying to see if there was something that had caught their attention.