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

[Sir Bastian]

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The Shattered Era: IC Thread [T]
GMed by Greiger and Sir Bastian
OOC Thread​

Markus - A Celebration for the Ages!​

News had spread quickly of a threat that the many thought had long since been buried away. A civilization that up to that point was only spoken of in historical documents and briefly discussed in history classes. When word slipped that the Mechanists had crawled up from the earth and were moving around in their cities many civilians became understandably upset. Many knew nothing of their culture and the only things that they did know indicated that these strange mon were a cult of sorts. They worshipped things known as machines and had turned away from Arceus to place their faith in worldly possessions. Even worse was the news that some who lived in the cities had gone to live undergound with these blasphemers. Every so often a Mechanist would be found, but never had they ever gone into a town or city before. Most of the time they could be found in the forests or on the plains and mainly kept within a few boundaries they had set up. Every so often one of these cultists would step out of these bounds, but only for a bit before retreating to their underground cities. Then it happened... one of them went into a village.

The Council finally had to reign in their distressed citizens and so they had stepped out of their chambers to address the concerns floating about. They revealed to the pokemon that when their soldiers came upon the Mechanists they had invaded a small village and managed to capture a prisoner. They gave no details as to who they had caught, but they proclaimed that the treaty they had upheld for so long in good faith was now broken. They did not give in to the speculation about how many times the Mechanists may have walked into their cities, instead they focused on this one act they had caught.

The Council, although furious at the treaty being broken, were curious as to why the Mechanists chose now to break the treaty. Something else that made the situation worse was the fact that weapons had been brought into the town that had been infiltrated. Weapons that were capable of killing another. The Council had a solution of course. They would send the knights into one of these enclaves and question this strange cult as to why they broke the treaty. The cities grew tense as the knights traveled out. They soon returned, but with news that caused the cities to grow anxious.

They had found the enclave, but when they had tried to step inside to speak they were attacked by the Mechanists themselves! The battle had been long fought... mainly because they had no ideas at first how to handle themselves against the strange weaponry the Mechanists wielded. In the end they achieved victory and even raided the ruins of the city for machines to bring back in the hopes that the Council was wise enough to figure out how to keep these strange weapons from affecting them. The Council turned to the knights who had done regular street patrols looking for smuggled machinery brought into the cities. Although no weapons had been smuggled into the cities as of that time, the knights were able to figure out how to dismantle the items with no fear of an explosion of electrical energy. Not only that but they began recruiting civilians into their ranks, those able to withstand accidental electrical explosions, and taught them the art of distmantling various machines.

The Council passed new measures as well. Any machines or technology that had been discovered to be hoarded by various citizens at first would be confiscated with those who owned the technology to either be jailed or killed on the spot. The new orders required those on street patrol to immediately capture those who held such technology so that these mon could be properly interrogated by the Council.

The citizens wholeheartedly agreed with these new rulings, not wanting to have secret Mechanists who could whip out a weapon at any moment.

The news of the successful destruction of an enclave did bring some relief to the citizens and so, celebrations rang out. Likewise, the knights celebrated as well, but the time for celebrations was over for now. In Markus stood a tall building that housed the Council on the top floor. The great thing about it was the fact that the knight's headquarters was positioned on the first floor. In one of the many briefing rooms they had many knights that had been called together. It was still unknown why exactly they had been called together, but one of the knight commanders who were set to lead them were still missing from the room. The normal ettiquette for knights had allowed them to have a relaxing and calming atmosphere until all of their superiors arrived and the briefing was started. There were drinks and snacks laid out on the tables with a portion of the room occupied with rows of chairs for the knights attending the meeting.

It was seven in the morning and in the streets, merchants were starting to set out their wares and workers were getting up to set about their jobs. The streets were a bit empty for now, but they would soon become crowded with pokemon as they went about their duties for the day.

~~~~~

Saffron Enclave​

The mood was somber, that much was certain. His dreams were filled with all sorts of horrid images. Those of burned down buildings, of children's screams, of- The buzz of his alarm clock awoke him from his nightmare and his eyes slowly opened. He yawned and rubbed at his face and reached over to turn off his alarm clock. He ended up knocking it off of the desk and the Linoone pressed his face into his pillow as the alarm kept on blarring until finally he forced himself to get out of bed and turn off the blasted thing. Damon yawned widely and moved on into his bathroom and set about getting his shower over with. He always cheered up when he took a shower, but he knew it wouldn't help this time.

There was a meeting going on for everyone in the Declarum Forces. A meeting on how things had turned to s**t so quickly. It would be followed by arguments, shouting, and afterwards, he would really need a drink or two. He finished his shower and as predicted it didn't lift his spirits. He grabbed his white bandanna and wrapped it around his neck and took a look at his clock. It was seven in the morning, but the previous days still wore on him. Having to recount all of the DF, having to make sure no one stepped out of the enclave, all of it wore on his neves. He just really wanted to lie down for a bit longer, but he coudn't. He had a duty to perform

He walked through the still empty streets and off to the convention center they had set up. He pushed on into the air conditioned building and noticed the many empty seats in the place. It was a circular room that had hundreds of seats set up that all faced toward the center of the room and whoever the speaker would be. That stage of course would be occupied not by the DF leaders themselves... but by the mayor of Safforn itself as well as having some mayors from the other enclaves who would be attending. And he, along with the other leaders of the DF from other enclaves, would be drilled into and demeaned before their troops. Fan freaking tastic.

He went over and found a seat right near the front of the stage that was reserved especially for him and he sat on down on the customized chair. He looked up at the stage and knew he would have to tilt his head up along with the other leaders whenever they would talk to the mayors. Great. Just... great.

He could see that some of the soldiers were streaming in now, and he doubted any of them would be in a happy mood. Their comrades in the Vermillion enclave... they... well, they had heard from the radio room once they recieved the attacked enclave's distress signal. The few brave souls that ventured over there after the fact had reported on the gruesome sight that met them via the public radio. He closed his eyes and let out a stressed breath. All because they had tried to protect the civilians. He slowly looked up at the stage again and could only wait for the mayors to arrive.
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[Turnip]

Krekker Shar
Saffron Enclave​

I can't imagine what could have possessed this forerunner race to construct buildings with bright red roofs…

Krekker Shar scraped away at a small portion of the building he was lying on. Although a much darker brown on the surface, the sharp blades of a Bisharp could easily reveal the true colour underneath. He'd taken to sleeping on roofs recently; they were old, and some quite dilapidated, yes, but in general, they held. Today was a good day for Krekker in that he actually had something to do. Well, no, not 'good' exactly – he was fairly sure he wouldn't enjoy the meeting in any way, shape or form. Slaughter certainly wasn't the most enticing of subjects for discussion.

Slaughter discussion aside, Krekker found that a lot of his time in the Enclaves was spent doing virtually nothing. True, he would try to explore and discover new technologies every now and then, and he could still train as he wished, but… it didn't feel the same. Back home, there were constant rules and regulations. Must do this, must do that… here, there wasn't really any of that. He lacked direction and purpose. True, he would never willingly go back to that way of life, but still – it's hard to change when you're so used to something, even if you hate it with every fibre of your being.

Today was different, though, there was direction today. There was to be a meeting today in the convention centre, involving all members of the Declarum Forces and as far as Krekker was concerned, that included him. Looking down at the streets, the Bisharp spotted a Linoone a little while off, who soon entered the convention centre. Few other people were up by now, but Krekker figured if someone else was already there, why shouldn't he be? He stood slowly, then stretched in a quick Swords Dance. He flipped onto his hands and launched himself off of the building, landing crouched on his feet with a clank and a small puff of dust.

Nothing like a good jump in the morning. Krekker mused.

The black Bisharp walked calmly and silently to the convention centre, noticing the general populous of the Enclave beginning to stir. He pushed the door open to find the Linoone who had entered earlier and nodded once to him, but it seemed no others were here yet. He hadn't expected a circular design for the place's seating – in truth, it seemed more like a tiny theatre than a convention centre – but he could bear it. Krekker strode to the seats, making no noise other than the clanging of his metal feet on the ground, before sitting down in the middle of the outer ring.

Krekker Shar folded his arms and waited.

 

[Garet]

Felix Teufel
Markus, Knights' HQ - Just the Messenger
~~~~~

He didn't know if he wanted to be here right now.

Felix stood at the end of one table where the drinks were, filling his cup with juice. It was a blend of Sitrus and Pecha, which didn't always have the right emphasis on its sweetness. Felix drank a gulp of it; yeah, they did it right this time. He turned and looked again at the layout of the room. Tables with refreshments, and rows of chairs for the Knights who'd be at this meeting.

The meeting. Felix downed the rest of his cup and filled it again with juice before moving on to the middle of the table. He was too nervous to sit down at the moment; being a messenger did that to him sometimes. Okay, almost never. The difference, the difference this time was the kind of news that Felix had brought to the Council. The Blaziken had been there with all the other Knights who had gone to the enclave, present when the fighting had begun. Felix had been lucky to live through it with only minor injuries. He couldn't say the same for those who had been hit the hardest by the Mechanists' weapons.

Vould you stop vorrying already? Vee von, and zee enclave is no more. All you're going to do here is be present ven zey ask you for details.

"All right," Felix muttered to himself, taking a deep breath. It wasn't like he was fighting the Mechanists again in the next few minutes. Although, everyone was going to be asking if they'd found out why the Mechanists had broken the treaty. Did he know that, himself?

 

[Sir Bastian]

Caedmon Yeonart - Knights' HQ, Markus

Despite the recent victory against the Mechanists in their own enclave, apparently, after they started attacking the knights come to question them, the feeling in the room was rather… tense. There were a fairly big group of knights all scattered around, a few of them muttering with one another, but by far, the room was nearly quiet.

Caedmon was wearing his breastplate, arm and leg-guards, but had left his helmet at his home. He looked over the group of Pokémon gathered while taking a little sip of the glass of juice he'd poured himself. He knew most of them, if not personally, then at least by name. After becoming the second-in-command, he'd done his best to try and seem the leader type to them, and that included trying to memorize what everyone's name were, and who they actually were. A commander that didn't know his soldiers' names was a bad commander, in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped a little forth, offering a smile to the gathered knights as he cleared his throat to get their attention.

"I know the situation is tense right now, what with the recent attack from the Mechanists, but there's no need to worry. We have knights stationed in almost every city scattered around, so even if the other enclaves of the Mechanists should try to attack, they'll be met with an iron wall of stout defenders. I'd just like to take this moment to raise my glass in honor of those who fought, both the living, and the ones that fell."

Raising his glass into the air, he waited for at least majority of the others to do the same before taking a sip of his drink. After having gotten over his somewhat serious expression, he smiled pleasantly again. "So please, help yourselves to some snacks and drinks, talk to one another. I don't know how long it will be before we find out what we are doing here, so might as well make yourselves comfortable."

With that, he poured his glass full again and stepped over to the wall where he proceeded to look out of the window into the streets outside, where Pokémon were slowly starting to walk around in the beginning rays of the morning sun.

 

[Xilfer]

Knights' HQ

​

"Uuuugh, so boring!" W moaned, fiddling about with his fingers. "What the hell is there to do around here?"

W the Kirlia was bored. And for someone like him, that was dangerous. He rubbed at his head frantically, slapping himself in the face a couple of times to keep from slipping into the black hole of thoughts that was his mind.

Distractions, distractions! He needed something to do!

Everyone at this silly little meeting was boring. Some were talking, but the conversations were so dull and meaningless that it was difficult to follow them for more than five seconds. Everyone else was just quiet, looking all somber and almost as dull as the few conversations taking place. The mood of this celebration highly contrasted its purpose, that was for sure, and it annoyed W.

"For crying out loud!" He shouted quite suddenly. He was perfectly aware that he was now speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, but he did not care. As he felt himself slipping into the dark embrace of boredom, a worried expression grew on his face as he looked around frantically for something to do. That's when he spotted the salt and pepper.

W shuffled over a few spaces on the table at which he sat, where luckily nobody else had dared to sit. Now, he found two clear bottles of salt and pepper before him. Smiling widely, he took one in each hand.

"Die, Mechanist!" He squeaked in a ridiculously high voice, moving the pepper pot around to emphasize that it was supposed to be speaking.

"Never! We have guns!" He squeaked again, this time moving the salt pot around a bit. At that point he had the two engage in some sort of mock battle, making occasional squeaky noises to show that they were supposed so be struggling. W was so immersed in this childish game of pretend that he neglected to notice the usual odd glances directed at him by his fellow knights as they searched for the cause of the odd squeaks.

Of course, upon realizing that it was W who was the source of the noise, they quickly returned to what they were doing, even if that was just staring at a wall or something equally monotonous. W, on the other hand, kept bashing the salt and pepper into one another, until the salt pot finally shattered, as if unable to take the ridiculousness of the act any longer.

It was at this point that a rather commanding voice caught W's attention. He quickly spun around to see the source of the noise: a Lucario. W rolled his eyes as he saw the famous Caedmon raise a glass to those who had fought in the recent raids. How pointless, he thought. Having nothing else to raise, he took the remaining pepper pot and raised it into the air, but when most of the others actually took a sip of their drinks, W hesitated before doing the same, letting the individual flakes fall into his open mouth.

It only took a few moments for his eyes to widen as the effects of what he had just done came into play. The terrible taste of the pepper was accompanied by the burning sensation of the spiciness, and he began fanning at his mouth frantically to relieve himself, to no avail.

"Ah, ah, AH!" He cried as he rose from his seat, his eyes darting around for a container of juice. He managed to locate one at the far end of the room and sprinted towards the thing, though he didn't make it far before accidentally tripping over his own foot and falling to the ground with a soft thump.

A few nearby Knights couldn't help but snicker at the sight, but the sound was lost to W's ears as he looked intently at the container. Reaching out to it with his mind, he lifted it and had it float towards him instead, but in his panicked state he applied too much force, causing the container to fly at him at ramming speed and smash right into his face.

W groaned in pain, both from the lingering spiciness and the bruise forming on his forehead. The container had now smashed into pieces, and he found himself to be lying in a pool of juice.

"Aha! AHAHAHAHA!" W began laughing hysterically as the hilarity of the situation dawned on him. The surrounding knights did their best to ignore the strange Kirlia but found themselves unable to resist casting those same strange glances in his direction. After all, he was rolling around in a pool of juice laughing his ass off.

A few minutes later, W found himself once again sitting at a table, using Psychic to hold a pack of ice to his head. He was still covered in juice, though the pool on the ground had been cleared up. Yeah, he was perfectly aware he'd made a fool of himself. It was fun while it lasted.

But now W was bored. And for someone like him, that was very dangerous.

 

[moon]

Arbo, Ledian Mechanist
Saffron Enclave

Arbo wasn't easily affected by tragedies. Sure, it was terrible, but it wouldn't do her any good to worry about it. Instead, she continued her business as usual after the Vermilion Enclave incident. But soon enough, she was called to a meeting, just like all the other soldiers from the Declarum Forces. Not that she was a soldier. But if she was needed, she would be there.

The streets were pretty empty this early in the morning. Shopkeepers were just opening up their doors, a mailman Beedrill zoomed past Arbo in the air above the street where the Ledian was flying. She always flew when she was going somewhere. Being airborne made her feel free and independent. Staying on the ground was for resting, or when she was talking to someone. For some reason, other pokémon found it annoying when she was hovering while conversing. It wasn't as if she was the only airborne pokémon - what about Bronzors or Chimechos? Just because they didn't have legs, did they have more of a right to stay flying?

Occupied with these thoughts rather than grim pictures of a burning sister enclave, Arbo reached the convention centre and entered. It was far from filled up so far. Lazy people, she thought with a little smile, and sat down on a chair somewhere in the middle. Not too important, not completely out in a corner. She was just a field technician. But she wanted to hear this. Not that she was affected personally, but because she was genuinely wondering what was going on. Had the mechanists crawled too far into their comfort zone, thinking that those knights and people who lived without machines like barbarians would leave them alone forever?
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[Stinging Bea]

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Fina Asgard - Knights' HQ​

Sighing to herself, Fina rolled her eyes at her cheering comrades before taking a sip of the drink she had been nursing since this little party began. The whole thought of there needing to be a celebration in the first place was something that the Infernape found to be a bit ridiculous. They were knights, after all. It was their sworn duty to uphold the Council's rulings and to punish those heathen Mechanics for their sinful ways.

"The whole thing could have been avoided as well," Fina thought, bringing her cup to her lips and taking a small sip. "All they had to do was repent and accept their arrest... The Council would have probably spared their lives and we could have started a rehabilitation or something of the sort..."

Shaking her head at the thought, Fina placed her cup back down on the table she was seated at. If those fools were too stupid to see the right way, then it was not her place to worry about it. Besides, something told the Infernape that it would not be last time she and her comrades would have to punish those damn fools.

Leaning back in her chair and looking for something to occupy her mind in the meantime, she caught a glimpse of her comrade, W, looking like he was playing some sort of game with salt and pepper shakers. A small smirk graced Fina's lips as she watched the Kirlia. He was definitely an odd one, that much was sure...
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[Blake Belladonna]

Perisophia Sonclaire | Medic | Saffron Enclave

When the news came in the dawn, the Chimecho thought it was both expected and unexpected. There was no doubt only one cause behind the attack - the Knights. What was unexpected was how the enclave was quickly lost to the enemy troops. She may not have known anyone in the sister enclave but as a healer, she knew very well of tragedy like a surgeon knows his tools. Such news only fuelled her drive to save and help people, and prevent harm from being brought to her allies, in any measure she could.

Perisophia downed a nutritional draught and nibbled on a poffin before leaving for the convention centre. She drifted through the streets, mentally ticking off her check-list. Did she closed the windows? She stopped halfway, thankfully not obstructing anyone's path while she levitated in the air. She vaguely remembered that she did. Did she bring enough potions? She checked her kit; there was enough to revitalize a fainted Snorlax. Why was she assuming that there would be bloodshed later anyway? Oh well, it didn't hurt to be safe. Perisophia whispered a prayer to Uxie that the day would pass by smoothly.

The Chimecho finally arrived at the convention center. She took a moment to gather her bearings, before assimilating into the stream of other DF members entering the giant building.​

 

[SV]

Seven Hill - Saffron Enclave

It was never a good idea to arrive first. Arriving first meant having to deal with the trailing eyes of the leaders and other higher-ups. The leaders were there out of a sense of obligation. Everyone else that came early either were trying to show up everyone else and rise up the ranks of the Declarum Forces, or had a deep passion about the subject matter. In most cases, it was the primer, and Seven Hill wanted nothing to do with it. It was unwanted attention that he had often tried to avoid. On the other hand, arriving late was even worse, because it was going to not only get you unwanted attention, but also get you in trouble. Facetime with the leadership wasn't exactly something that Seven wanted at this point. All he wanted to do was to meld and disappear effortlessly through the cracks of the DF, and just be another one of the guys, not any more or less important than anyone else. There, he could live out the rest of his days in peace and quiet.

Of course, that was before the event at Vermillion happened. Ever since, everyone had been a bit on edge, and with good reason. If the situation wasn't resolved, war might be coming, and no one wanted to see that happen, especially Seven. Sure, there was the fact that he'd rather not do much of anything, let alone fighting. Beyond that, he had no desire to fight against those who he once fought alongside. With his own experience as a member of the Knights, he definitely wouldn't put it passed them to react as they did. Yet even so, there were still some among the Knights that he had once called friend. The thought of fighting them, or even interacting with them, was something he definitely could do without. It would just bring up old, painful memories he'd rather leave in the past. Buried and forgotten forever.

So he woke up this morning with a bit of extra motivation, arriving at the convention center just as the place was beginning to fill up. He took a spot near the back of the convention, spotting a few other Declarum Forces soldiers and technicians he was aware of among the crowd of Pokemon, but decided to take a seat away from them by himself for now.

 

[ANARCHit3cht]

The Vermillion enclave... . Like practically all other Mechanists, although not for the same reasons, the events that occurred during its raid would not leave his mind. While most everyone was busy grieving over the loss of life, or being terrified that the enclaves are not as safe as they thought, Dex did not weigh himself down with such unnecessary qualms about what could not be undone. Instead, he decided to use it as a springboard to further his research. Present, during the battle, Dex had begun his devious plan, opting to keep his motives hidden for the time being.

While a meeting was called, Dex didn't mind being late. In fact, he had some rather important business to attend to. In an undisclosed location near the Saffron enclave, Dex constructed a small hiding place, big enough only for its one occupant and the salvaged Pokemon Center machinery that sustained him. When **** hit the fan in the Vermillion enclave, Dex quickly broke into action. While the opposing forces fought each other, he used the distraction to scour the ranks of his own army, salvaging tech from the fallen. While his gains were minimal—he plans to return later—he did manage to recover a barely living mon, a non-descript Gligar who had his own flamethrower explode on him. It happened before he even reached the battlefield, making it quite easy for Dex to procure him unnoticed. And so he brought him here. While the machine gave him life, it did not provide sustenance, thus Dex has to make constant trips to administer a special nutrient enhanced broth.

And so, the Electivire set about doing this. Sweeping the dirt off the hatch, he groped around for the handle before wrenching it open. Inside he looked at the decimated Gligar, witnessing the pain in his eyes, although he was unable to speak to communicate such himself. "Don't worry, my dear child, I shall soon end your suffering." He knelt down and withdrew the thermos containing the broth, beginning to unscrew it. "Though it was not easy, I believe I have acquired nearly everything I need to begin your ascension." Dex began to pour the broth into the Gligar's mouth, continuing to speak as he did so. "What? Is that fear I see in your eyes? Do not be afraid—you should be honored to among the first to bask in such holy grace." Sealing the thermos, he carefully placed it back in his bag. "Tch. I guess I can't expect you to understand just quite yet, but it'll be easy enough to change that." He let out a sinister laugh. "I shall be back soon.' With that, he closed the hatch and covered it back.

Hopefully enough his stop had not cost him too much time, while Dex did not particularly care, the less suspicion he arose, the better. It was already bad enough having to make such frequent trips out there. Every time he went there, it only increased the chances that he was discovered. That is why he decided that he needed to act quickly. If this panned out... if the Gligar lived, it would be the perfect driving point to allow the machine ascension that Dex has so carefully planned gain support, and thus come one step closer to fruition.

Being a big, yellow giant, next to no one missed Dex enter. While many stared, it was irrelevant as he stalked to the back of the room, unable to even fit in the chairs set-up.

(note: Don't worry, he is not going to make this Gligar like him, but ideally a few people have begun to notice his erratic behavior. He is going to attempt the surgery, but fail due to lack of parts in good condition and the bad condition of the Gligars biological half.)

 

[<Challenger>]

Franco Newman: Knight's HQ​

A lonely Franco sat in the back of the room, arms crossed and face grim. His dark armor reflected the rays of the sun just perfectly to blind the one or two Pokemon that were staring at him. "It...It didn't have to happen. They were all innocent Pokemon...More or less. The slaughter was completely unnecessary." He let out a sigh and looked around. Almost every single knight looked to be happy and cheersome. Even that funny Kirlia, W. "It's strange how everybody refuses to see the Mechanists as anything other than sheep for the slaughter...It's quite sad really."

The old knight moved away from the wall and moved to get a drink. A berry mixture of Nanab Berries and Sitrus Berries would do just the trick. The armor-clad figure was given two mugs, one for each hand. He looked to the young knights around him and gave a weak smile. "To peace." He raised one mug and drained it.

"There is no time for peace, old timer." A young Marowak challenged him. The young Pokemon hefted his bone onto his shoulder and drained another mug. "It's time you leave the past behind you."

Franco sighed and gently put the first mug on the table. "I'm afraid you're right..." He looked at the other knights and smirked, "But that's only because we have rambunctious fools like you coming into place." The nearby knights looked at the Marowak with expressions that said, 'You just got told!' Satisfied with his work to humble the young knight, he wandered off towards the front of the room.

He was going to drain the last of his bitter drink when he heard a cheer from the front of the room. "Caedmon." He turned to see the second-in-command, the center of attention. The Lucario gave a brief speech and ordered a toast. Franco raised his glass with everyone else and drained its contents. With that, everyone went back to their separate conversations. The ever-awkward W had caused a brief scene, but other than that everything was normal. "Time to find him.

Franco scanned the room with his sights set on finding one 'Mon in particular. And he found him. The Charizard approached Caedmon by the window and took a place next to him. "Caedmon...It's been too long." He sighed and crossed his arms. "This damned war is going to kill us all."

 

[Greiger]

Saffron Enclave - The debrief​

​

As more and more DF filtered into the room Damon noticed some familiar faces here and there, but ultimately he couldn't know every single face nor every single name among the organization. He was just but one leader after all. That was also a lucky thing as well given that he wouldn't be the only mon being lectured by the mayors of the city. Every enclave had their own leader... he was just the most important leader. Okay, well that would cause more of the anger to be directed at him then now that he thought about it. Nothing like this had happened in their history before... well, except for the Tremont incident. He hadn't been alive when it happened, but he had read the stories around it, that had been quite a pickle for the organization as well. Among the surge of DF members pouring in he also saw some more familiar faces.

The first to arrive was Gillepsie, the DF leader of the Pewter enclave and he wasn't looking too happy either. The Dragonite bore a large frown as opposed to his usual happy demeanor whenever Damon would speak to him over the computer. Even with casual protocol check ins he was always just so... cheerful. Heh, even the happiest were sad in this situation and he didn't give that much of a greeting as he sat into the large chair specficially designated for him.

"We're getting creamed here huh?" He muttered as his wings just flapped a bit, "One incident is all it takes."

Damon shrugged, "I would want to be positive... but that's usually your thing."

"Well, we can only hope that they don't fire us all. They need us now more than ever."

Damon just gave a weak nod at that, "That they do... "

Eventually the other overseers began joining them along the front row. There was Rod, a Charizard in control of Celadon enclave; Peril, a Banette that monitored activities in Fuschia; Melissa, a Milotic in charge of Cerulean; and finally Brom, a Aggron in charge of Pallet. Damon counted over the others once more and frowned, "Where's Slim?" He asked. "He should be here."

Peril held up a hand, his zipper like mouth somehow allowing him to still speak words, "Eh... he's sick or something. Called me up to give you a message that he can't come though he really wanted to."

Damon facepalmed and sighed. Great, just... great. He looked on over at the stage as several mon came over. They walked in unison and held their heads up high. Great... they were here. The Overseers, chosen within the Declarum Forces and charged with making sure the mayors did their jobs right. The many soldiers fell silent and the overseers quickly settled in their seats as the mayors found their own on the stage. Since the stage was elevated it allowed them to look down at the overseers as only little insects. Of course, it was a bit jarring to have to arch his neck up to look at the questioners, but that was how they worked.

There was silence as some papers were moved about and finally Rilo, the mayor for Saffron, began to speak. "The incident last week concerning the Vermillion Enclave and subsequent massacre there has been looked over by many analysists. There are those that have managed to uncover security camera footage... at least the parts still remaing and deduce that the firefight happened immediately when the knights entered the enclave. Let me ask you all." The Kricketune looked down at the overseers, then frowned, "Where is Slim?"

Peril held up his hand again, "Uh... he's sick mayor Rilo. Deadly stuff going around the Lavender enclave."

The Kricketune huffed, "I see... then we shall have a private meeting with him after this hearing. Onto my question then, is it Declarum Forces regulations to immediately start attacking whenever another force enters the enclave?"

Rod rose with a growl, "Mayors, you must understand that the knights went there for one purpose, to attack the enclave! If the forces had not repelled them then everyone would have quickly been slaughtered! The teleporters managed to get out with civilians because of the actions of the forces themselves!"

"And yet the enclave still suffered a great loss of life." Rilo countered. "It very well could be that your regulations may have even caused a greater loss of life. For now though we shall ask other questions..."

A few hours passed as the mayors drilled into the overseers as they asked morally ambiguous questions, inquired about their regulations, and even asked the other overseers if they would have done things differently. By the end of it all, all of the overseers were doing their best not to lash out at the mayors.

"This concludes this meeting." Rilo announced, "For now all Declarum Forces are to be on high alert. Damon, you have my orders from earlier in this week. See to it that they are carried out." With that the various mayors took their leave. There were some murmurs about as Damon climbed on the stage and tapped the microphone there, "Alright, for those of you who are off duty and live in other enclaves, please take your leave now. For those that reside in the Saffron enclave please stay for the time being."

The Linoone waited as the other overseers and DF members departed, leaving the enclave a bit more empty. "Good good, now I have some thigs to go over with you all. The other overseers will inform their own members when they arrive back in their enclaves, but for the mean time our orders have changed. Due to the incident with Vermillion we have new orders. The mayors feel it is... justified that we strike back before another attack hits us. For the meantime we will split up duties. There are those of you who will continue your patrols as usual, but there are those that will journey out and head to the surface. We will have three different teams up there at a time doing anything from reconissance, sabotauge, or patrolling from the outside. The main objective is not to get caught. It's to see if the knights are attempting to cause anymore damage to our enclaves and possibly be able to find out what their plans are. This is a volunteer mission. If you wish to come, then please let me know and then head out to get any supplies you need. It's possible we'll stay out on top for some time, so prepare for the long run. If we have too little volunteers we'll need to just pick out volunteers for the time beings. So that being said... who wishes to volunteer? If you volunteer, then meet outside of this center. Just think about what you would like to do among the options I presented and we'll see what happens."

~~~~

Markus - A Noble Mission​

​

There was a respectable silence in the hallways as the Grovyle walked along. Maverick had just had a discussion with the council and had his new orders. The council had already informed him that several knights had gathered in a conference room and were awaiting his arrival. It seemed simple enough to him, and he had even been told that Caedmon and Alice would be aiding him in this new endeavor. That was well enough. He had worked with Caedmon every now and then, enough to get familiar with the Lucario and his thought process. Alice he had personally recommended to become a commander, and while it had earned him some slack, it had meant that he could have a commander he could truly depend on.

Inside of the briefing room he was currently heading towards, Caedmon had been approached by Franco, the Charizard. He'd known him for just about as long as he could remember and he respected him greatly, both due to his ferocity in battle, his viewpoints and the fact that he was actually older than him. Turning his head towards his friend, Caedmon gave a little sigh, though keeping his expression as neutral and stoic as he could, not wanting to drop the morale for the knights around him, as he'd been trained not to.

"I have a terrible feeling that the war is only just starting. The only thing we can do is-"

He was cut off as the Kirlia nickname 'W' had gone on a bit of a tantrum out of boredom and was waging war on the different items on the table.

Maverick hummed softly to himself as he made a turn and arrived at the room proper. He opened up the door and was about to speak, "Die Mechanists! Never! We have guns!" He paused dead in his tracks as he recognized that voice. Oh no... not him.

Caedmon turned and blinked in surprise, both at W and as Maverick entered the room, turning fully to face his commander, his back now to the window, sending Franco an apologetic half-glance that said 'Better look lively'.

Maverick thought back to that moment up in the council's chambers when he inquired about who specifically would be on his squard. The council had chuckled just a bit and told him they had gotten the best of the best. If anything he had seen that glint of cruelty in Eugene's eyes. That Marowak for some reason hated him. He didn't know what he had done to incur his wrath, but it was long lasting. He had shrugged it off before, but this time he was seriously close to hating the bonekeeper.

He stared on as the Kirlia seemed to break down into insanity and he raised his voice, "I'm going to step outside, and I'm going to count to ten. All insanity in this room stops then and there... and I'm going to forget anything I just saw." He stepped on back and closed the door softly. He stooped in front of it and closed his eyes, ticking the time down in his head as he took in deep breaths.

The Lucario cleared his throat, placing his hands behind his back while giving a quick look-over at all of the gathered knights in the room, raising his voice. "Looks like our orders are here. Put down your drinks, it's time to get serious."

Maverick went on in after that and looked about, almost as if he hadn't stepped into the room moments ago, "Hello all." He said as he went to stand in front of the stairs. His gaze looked around the room. "You're all here for an important mission. Many of you know that we have a prisoner from an enclave. The Council has been working on interrogating this individual and from the repeated interrogations we have found out important clues. One of which is the location of a village where Mechanists apparently 'donate' their goods to the village. We are to head over there and stop this illegal operation and prevent the innocent in that village from being tainted by the Mechanists' agenda."

He looked around the room, "You all are heading with us to this village. We will find those that trade with the Mechanist scum and ensure that their business is taken down. Now, Caedmon as well as Alice will be my help on this mission. Show them respect that you would show me. Any signs or rumors of disrespect and I will make sure that you understand how to respect them. For the moment, given the war, I have been given the rank of Supreme Commander, my word is law as long as you are working under me. Now, many of you are not aware I know, but with the technology we brought back from the enclaves we no longer have to worry about how to disable their weapons. Near the city gate is a team of demolishers, some civilians the Council has recruited. They aren't battle worthy like us, but they can get rid of machines without them blowing up in your faces. I heard a lot of what happened in that enclave. If anything, while on the battlefield you disable the Mechanist, they disable the weapons. Now, with the briefing out of the way we'll move out. Any questions will be answered on the road. It's imperative we get there as soon as possible. Now, if any of you are concerned about weapons they may have, ask Felix."

He gestured at the Blaziken, "He was in their enclave and could give some information on that. For now, we head out. The village isn't too far, but be prepared for anything on the road. No telling if the Mechanists are moving around out there."

Maverick led the knights out of the building and onto the busy streets of the city. There were market stalls, stone buildings that had various mon pouring in and out of, and at the city gates there was a small group of civilians waiting for them. They looked rather out of place to say the least. They had no armor on and their posture was very lax, something unfit for a knight to do. Still, the Council said they had to come along, so Maverick had to hold up the others to let these civilians gather their traveling sacks and they were soon off yet again.

Along the dirt roads there were only a few travelers, but many bowed their heads at the knights in respect whenever the passed. Maverick spoke out for his knights to hear, "Alright, for now you may carry on conversations if you wish. When we get close to the village I'll signal for the speaking to cease and we'll carry out our mission."

 

[Turnip]

Krekker Shar
Saffron Enclave​

As more and more Mechanists began to flood the convention centre, Krekker drew himself into a slightly tighter space. He couldn't help but notice he was receiving a few worried looks and stolen glances from a few of the others near him – specifically glances at his visor – ultimately, though, no-one acted upon it. He was glad for that, though he couldn't shake the bothersome feeling that he still wasn't trusted.

Krekker observed in silence as the mayors and overseers arrived. It didn't take long for the meeting to get underway once everyone was there – it did, however, take a fairly long time to end. The black Bisharp listened intently to the points and rebuttals the mayors and overseers made, and as he did so, he couldn't help but become increasingly annoyed. The mayors in that moment, elevated in both ego and positioning, seemed little better than the council to Krekker. Some of the mayors, anyway. He had hoped to get away from those kinds of people in abandoning Markus, but it seemed any kind of society tended to breed such 'mon. Or perhaps it was just Pokémanity in general.

"This concludes this meeting." the Kriketune mayor announced, "For now all Declarum Forces are to be on high alert. Damon, you have my orders from earlier in this week. See to it that they are carried out."

Once the meeting at long-last adjourned, at least an hour after its beginning, the Bisharp had to admit that he felt irritated and disappointed. The 'meeting' seemed to be little more than a guise for a drawn-out and vaguely official-sounding version of the blame game. He was about to leave when the Linoone he'd followed in stepped up to the microphone. That was Damon Malruth, he realised, generally acknowledged as the leader of the DF. Krekker had heard of him, but hadn't recognised the 'mon earlier on-sight. Now was as good a time to meet as any, he figured.

"Alright, for those of you who are off duty and live in other enclaves, please take your leave now. For those that reside in the Saffron enclave please stay for the time being."

The other overseers, mayors and general DF forces left. Good for Krekker – perhaps now there would actually be some inclusion, rather than just a public reprimand. Damon spoke.

"Good good, now I have some things to go over with you all. The other overseers will inform their own members when they arrive back in their enclaves, but for the mean time our orders have changed. Due to the incident with Vermillion we have new orders. The mayors feel it is... justified that we strike back before another attack hits us. For the meantime we will split up duties. There are those of you who will continue your patrols as usual, but there are those that will journey out and head to the surface. We will have three different teams up there at a time doing anything from reconissance, sabotauge, or patrolling from the outside. The main objective is not to get caught. It's to see if the knights are attempting to cause anymore damage to our enclaves and possibly be able to find out what their plans are. This is a volunteer mission. If you wish to come, then please let me know and then head out to get any supplies you need. It's possible we'll stay out on top for some time, so prepare for the long run. If we have too little volunteers we'll need to just pick out volunteers for the time beings. So that being said... who wishes to volunteer? If you volunteer, then meet outside of this center. Just think about what you would like to do among the options I presented and we'll see what happens."

Krekker stood from his chair, speaking as he made his way to the end of his row of seats.

"Are we to discuss our battle strategy?" He asked. "I would have thought it would be a main topic of discussion at this meeting. Apparently I was mistaken," Krekker escaped his aisle of seats before turning to Damon, putting a hand on his chest and giving a slight bow of his head. "Krekker Shar, at your service."

 

[ANARCHit3cht]

They're all cowards. Tch. Volunteers... Dex let out an exasperated sigh. How easily I could fix that... Just a few minor adjustments and the whole DF Army will be ready to to jump on command... There was a maniacal gleam in his eye as he pondered alone, separating himself from those around him. Well, maybe not yet. But if someone got around to approving and funding my damn research. But will they? No! That'll change soon though... Snapping back to reality he approached the stage, being one of the first of the now scant crowd that remained.

Thinking about it, the whole thing was kind of silly. They were supposed to be on a reconnaissance mission, stealthy work. A six foot tall Electivire with a bionic eye and mechanical appendages is not exactly hard to miss. While Dex was typically garbed in clothing that disguised this, he still had to be careful. Of course, this wasn't an opportunity he was about to pass up so he was ready to pull a few strings to make sure he was allowed to go. Notably, they had his intelligence. His natural affinity for machinery.

Looking at the revered leader of the DF, Damon.... something—Dex hadn't really bothered to learn his name, probably out of contempt more than anything—he began to speak. "I will go to the surface and do as you ask. Being our leader, I'm sure you already know..." There was a sarcastic tone in his voice, he barely ever dealt with the fragile little Linoone personally. "... 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." His eyes wandered around the room as he spoke. While the other mon who had volunteered bowed his head, Dex felt hardly any inclination to do so. What did he owe this Linoone? This arrogant bastard who has the audacity to remain leader, even given his incompetence? Surely Dex could be a much better fit, and with such a prestigious position it'd be far easier to acquire support for his plans.

Regardless, the leader is the leader. For now, he would have to keep his plans of subversion to himself until the time was right. Speaking of plans, the Gligar had hardly left his mind. Tonight was the night that was going to finish it all, and test his knowledge. Failure was not an option, Dex had statistically ruled it out. This would be the beginning to a new world order, and at the helm of it? The ingenious Electivire dastard enough to pull it off. For now, it was a waiting game. And in more ways than one.

 

[Xilfer]

En route to (insert name here) village

"Sheesh, leave it to Maverick to make us go on a mission on such short notice," W complained silently under his breath, a glum expression on his face and his arms crossed sternly. Presently he floated in the air, keeping himself aloft with his Psychic. This was the only thing that currently held his attention, since not much else seemed to be happening on the fairly silent walk to whatever village the Knights were venturing to. Hopefully he would find some action here to relieve the tension building up in his mind.

That's when he noticed the demolishers. Having paid little attention to the briefing given by his leader moments earlier, W had neglected to realize that a group of civilians were accompanying them on this trip. If he recalled correctly, he'd heard of this division of the Knights called demolishers; they were regular civilians that volunteered to learn how to dismantle that 'tek' that the Mechanists always seemed to use.

"Hmm, maybe they could be useful," he mumbled moodily, staring intently at the volunteers. That's when a realization dawned on him: these 'mon barely knew him, if at all! Talking to fellow knights usually provided a distraction that lasted little more than five seconds, but perhaps he could keep it up longer if the other 'mon were not aware of his strange habits.

"Hey," W said rather loudly as he approached one of the demolishers. The Arcanine gave him a strange look, obviously confused as to why the Kirlia was giving him such an angry stare. His expression remained stern, almost in a stuck-up kind of way, before he responded. "Yes, what is it?"

"What's up?!" W asked, putting emphasis on the last word so as to demonstrate anger. If the Arcanine was taken aback, he wasn't showing it, instead continuing to look at the Kirlia with that strange look he was so accustomed to.

"Erm... I would assume you would know what's up, considering you're on this mission," the Arcanine replied almost maliciously.

"Whatever, you stupid mutt!" W retorted, prompting strange and surprised looks from all the other demolishers, but not the Arcanine, who held his head high and looked at W with disgust.

"Do you know who you are speaking to, you disrespectful brat?" The Arcanine spoke loudly so all the surrounding demolishers and knights could hear. "I am Fang, son of former Knight-Commander Hiron, descendant of a line of pure Arcanine blood!"

"Then why aren't you a Knight?" W asked, a small, devious grin growing on his face. He would change his strategy from making conversation to taunting, so perhaps he could finally get some action. "And why is your daddy not one? If ya ask me you're a phony, hehe."

Another demolisher walked up to W and Fang, a Hitmonlee. "Hey, kid, what do you think you're doing? You have no reason to be talking like that to him."

Fang shook his head at the Hitmonlee. "If the impudent little snotnose wants to taunt me, let him," he stated sternly. "It would be beneath me to even acknowledge him from here on out."

W didn't seem to pay attention to either the Hitmonlee or Fang's words, instead choosing to begin poking the Arcanine in the shoulder. The stubborn Fang refused to acknowledge him as he had said he would, and when the Hitmonlee extended a hand to make W stop the Arcanine batted him away. This Pokemon truly was too proud for his own good. W found it amusing.

And so he kept poking at the Fire type, giggling to himself every now and then as he felt the spot of skin into which he constantly pushed becoming squishier and squishier. As he floated beside the headstrong Fang he began poking faster and more intensely, occasionally prompting a small reaction from him.

Finally, after perhaps fifteen minutes of stubborn silence and poking, Fang snapped. He barked at a still-giggling W and attempted to bite him, though the Kirlia was too fast, leaping out of the way. Most of the demolishers were glaring angrily at him by now, and Fang seemed the most enraged of all.

"Come on then!" W said giddily. "Gimme your best shot!" He was truly excited for this; finally he would get some action, after waiting so long since the enclave raids! He looked on as the angry Arcanine readied a nasty-looking Fire Blast in his mouth, as if ready to receive it with open arms.

Disappointment rushed over W when a rather burly Machoke stepped between the two, prompting Fang to extinguish the flames in his mouth. The Kirlia moaned in annoyance as the Machoke walked up to him and began scolding him for starting such a 'pointless' squabble. Of course it wasn't pointless, W thought, it would have been fun! But his better judgement told him to keep quiet as the Knight lectured on. Finally, at the end of it, Fang gave off a scoff in W's direction before walking off with the rest of the demolishers, head held high as usual. W couldn't help but release a soft chuckle as he floated on, making sure to stay near the back of the group this time so as to avoid his new enemies. For the time being, anyways.

"Well, that was fun!" W blurted out randomly after a few moments of silence. "But now what?"
​

 

[Songbird]

Alice

​

Transporting civilians hopefully wasn't going to be the highlight of this Absol's day, but she followed Maverick's orders nonetheless. She had chatted with a Machoke named Brand on the way to pass the time. He called himself a smithy, giving the demolishers they were escorting things to practice on more than making armor. Alice listened to him for a while, asking the occasional question about the things he forged, until a pair of their subordinates caught both their gazes.

Brand did well in taking charge, quickly silencing his Arcanine friend and even lecturing the Kirlia who had started the scuffle. When he finished, Alice apologised to Brand—he shouldn't have to do his job for her—and thanked him for his efforts, yet noted how W was a chore in his inability to suppress his troublemaking desires.

Regardless, she soon started dragging W away from the others, being so brash as to grasp his arm in her teeth. Her almost motherly (dare I say it, knightly) stoicism was a stark contrast to W's childish antics; it was like she'd been through this crap many times before as W's commander! "You're an idiot," she muttered. "Stop causing fights like they're nothing. Next time someone might not be there to end it before you get hurt."​

 

[SV]

Seven Hill - Saffron Enclave, Convention Center

Normally listening in on meetings wasn't his favorite thing, but the current situation had made his eyes and ears open and receptive to mostly everything that the Overseers and the Mayors spoke of. However, it was mostly turned out to be the mayors asking questions in which there were no real right or wrong answers, with the Overseers being forced to reply. Seven didn't envy them one bit. He would hate to be in their position.

As the mayors departed and the rest of the DF from other Enclaves left, Seven stayed quietly in his corner to see what he was supposed to do next.

At the very mention of reconnaissance, Seven couldn't help but do that which he promised himself he wouldn't do: think about his past life with the Knights. He remembered the feeling of being a teenage Knight, and discovering his talent for scouting assignments, uncovering hidden details and facts, and tracking things most others could not. He would be lying if he said that the mention of it by Damon didn't excite him. He was a great scout, probably one of the best among the DF. Yet the only time he had ever shown his talent for it was with the Knights. The few times he decided to do it for the Declarum Forces, he most likely distinguished himself among his superiors, but he didn't perform it with that same passion he had once had. Whenever he did it, all it brought back up in his mind were the ghosts of his past.

So when Damon asked for volunteers over his sound stick (microphone, but Seven gave new names for it as a Newborn), Seven only considered it given the circumstances. The DF were in a bind the Knights had caused. They would certainly need the best reconnaissance Pokemon out there to ensure success, especially if it was going against the Knights. He especially considered volunteering given what he Knights had apparently done to the Enclave, a barbarous act that reminded him all to well of what they were capable of. To ensure the safety of many, to prevent war and to give the Declarum Forces their best chance at tackling these assignments, it was most likely in his best interest and theirs for him to volunteer.

But the extent one would go for their own self-preservation was often high. As Pokemon began to exit the center and head off back to their respective enclaves, or to go outside and volunteer with Damon, the memories of his past with the Knights began to creep into his skull. He closed his eyes and tried to push them away, but the more he considered doing the job, the more the memories flooded his brain. He saw himself in his parents home again, and countless others, ordered to slaughter Pokemon like nothing, watching his fellow Knights do it without a moment's hesitation. He saw his father stand in front of his mother and accept his fate, and he saw himself unable to do anything about it. He saw the blood, the screams, the shrills, the howls of agony and pain.

He opened his eyes and sighed deeply. In the end, as much as he wanted to help, and as much as he knew he would benefit the DF, he selfishly chose to spare himself the torment of remembrance. Following the crowd of other Pokemon exiting the center, he hung his head low and tried to meld into the crowd. Once outside, he took a look at the gathered Pokemon next to Damon who began volunteering for the mission. He paused and stared, battling in his head with his indecision. As a knight, he would have jumped at the opportunity in a heartbeat. As a DF soldier, he wasn't the same Pokemon. Seven turned around, put on his hood and headed home.

 

[<Challenger>]

Franco Newman: En Route​

Franco trudged along with the rest of the troop, a stoic look on his face. "It's finally come to the point where we use civilians in war...The order is truly falling apart... The Charizard looked around at the surrounding troops in an attempt to pick out the ones he knew. The knights of note that he noticed were Caedmon and Alice, the new lord commander. A fitting choice...Although she is quite vain. Regardless, an honorable and worthy candidate. I'd be honored to fight beside her. Franco liked the commander, but she held little sympathy for the Mechanists.

He could pick out various other foot soldiers. W, the obvious Demolishers, and the leader of the Demolishers, Brand. Newman was acquainted with the majority of the men on the mission. If he was to trust them by his side in combat, he had to know them. If he wanted to know them he would have to get to know them. And Franco loved meeting new people. The Demolishers were particularly interesting characters. They lacked the discipline of the Knights and weren't afraid to voice their beliefs, no matter how detrimental to the Council's reputation.

At this moment in particular the Charizard was locked in conversation with a particularly talkative Electabuzz. "Those Mechanishtsh are good with machinesh. Go' to reshpect them," his slurred accent made him somewhat difficult to understand, but Franco could manage. "But the Council shaysh they blashpheme, and by Arceush'sh name I'll shtop them at any coshtsh!" The 'Mon clenched his fists with a bit of rage.

Franco couldn't help but smile. "You're a good man. A true warrior." The pair shared a glance as they walked, "Not many people would do this for fun. What's your story?"

The Electabuzz's ears perked up. "I have a wife and kidsh back home, you see. I want to defend them." He turned to look at the towering Pokemon. "You look like a family man yourshelf. What's your shtory, trooper? You look live you've sheen Hell."

Franco winced. "I've...I've been a sh-soldier for a long time...Raised in it and sh-I mean such. My father and mother were both knights. Father was killed by Monster a long time ago though. Thought I could avenge him by going through with this."

"Oh. Sho a Mechanisht killed him?"

"...No...Not quite...He was no better than one, though." Franco felt a twang of pain in his heart. "But, regardless, I have a family too, back in Marcus. A wife, Cecily, and a son, Bruno." Images of the young Charmander filled his mind.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Bruno ran up to his father with his face alight with a smile. "You're back!"

Franco chuckled and patted his son's head, smiling softly. "That's right, Bruno. I'm back from an adventure. Now, how has my little soldier been today?"

"I've been good, daddy! Just like you told me to!" The little Charmander's grin could bring a smile to the coldest man's face. "Mommy and I did some errands today! We cooked and everything!'

Franco's face lit of with a smile himself. "You're amazing, honey." "Well, now! You're becoming quite the man-"

"Yeah I have!"

"Maybe I'll have to start letting you do some chores."

The grin disappeared off of Bruno's lips. "But I'm only four, daddy!"

Franco laughed and poked his son in the chin. "I know, I know. I'm only kidding."

Bruno's grin returned. After they walked into the house, it slowly disappeared. "Mommy says you're leaving again."

The warrior's heart dropped in his chest. "He knows...It's for the best." "I am, son. The Council needs me on an important mission. I'll be fighting to protect you and mommy."

The Charmander smiled, but there were tears in his eyes. "I want you to come back, daddy." He latched himself onto his father's leg.

The Charizard's words caught in his throat. "Well...No Mechanist can keep me from you and your mother, son. You can have my word on that." Franco noticed Cecily standing in the doorway and stared her in the eyes. "I love you both more than you could ever imagine.

"I love you too, daddy!" The Charmander grinned and looked up at his father, his eyes now dreamy. "You have to come back now! You promised!"

"I did...And I meant what I said. I would never lie to my little soldier."

"I love them more than anything...I'd gladly do anything to save them...Besides. I made a promise that I'd come home to my little soldier. I'm keeping that promise."

 

[moon]

Arbo, Ledian Mechanist
Saffron Enclave

The meeting was long and boring. The mayors seemed annoyed but at the same time Arbo couldn't help but wondering if they were at least a little bit happy that for once it wasn't the overseers remarking on their job, but the other way around. All in all, Arbosas didn't listen much. She knew what might be coming next, and she was already feeling like refusing.

When the leaders and DF members from the other enclaves had left, and only Saffron's forces under Damon were left in the middle of the room, gathering to hear what their leader had to say. Arbo would gladly listen to the Linoone. He was someone she'd never really been annoyed with. He seemed to have much the same outlook on things that Arbo had, so she usually didn't feel as much reluctance in following his orders. Unless they were strictly given and she wasn't really feeling like doing them, of course.

"Good good, now I have some thigs to go over with you all," the Linoone began, pacing back and forth as he spoke. "The other overseers will inform their own members when they arrive back in their enclaves, but for the mean time our orders have changed. Due to the incident with Vermillion we have new orders. The mayors feel it is... justified that we strike back before another attack hits us."

Arbo raised an eyebrow, where she was hovering over the rest of the DF members to see properly while not being in anyone's way. Not that this little bug would be anyway. So they would attack the Knights? On purpose? Whoa, this was certainly a new direction.

Damon continued. "For the meantime we will split up duties. There are those of you who will continue your patrols as usual, but there are those that will journey out and head to the surface. We will have three different teams up there at a time doing anything from reconissance, sabotauge, or patrolling from the outside. The main objective is not to get caught. It's to see if the knights are attempting to cause anymore damage to our enclaves and possibly be able to find out what their plans are."

Fair enough, Arbo thought, crossing both pairs of arms across her chest and leaning back in the air. Of course DF needed to be on the lookout for more Knights now. Nothing weird there. Still, she felt a reluctance to obey and go with the orders... Until she heard the overseer's next words.

"This is a volunteer mission." Oh. "If you wish to come, then please let me know and then head out to get any supplies you need. It's possible we'll stay out on top for some time, so prepare for the long run. If we have too little volunteers we'll need to just pick out volunteers for the time beings. So that being said... who wishes to volunteer? If you volunteer, then meet outside of this center. Just think about what you would like to do among the options I presented and we'll see what happens."

The meeting was finally over and the DF members slowly begun to exit the convention center. Arbo lingered. A volunteer mission. Darnit. Then she would be free to do whatever she wanted to. Be wherever she felt like she was the most needed, or where she wanted to be the most. And to be honest... Even though she loved roaming the tunnels and caves down here, seeking out more about the ancient species of humans and their lives, she would also love to see more of the surface. And she would be volunteering, she wouldn't just blindly follow someone's orders. It was almost as if Damon had foreseen that people might actually be more willing to follow him if they were presented with the choice of doing that or staying behind.

No way Arbo would stay behind.

She flew over to Damon, where some other pokémon stood as well by now, and announced with a solemn nod that she would volunteer. Then, she didn't linger to listen to what the more ambitious members of the DF forces had to discuss with the Linoone; she zoomed out from the building and headed home. She certainly had supplies to pack.
​

 

[Garet]

Felix Teufel
Knights HQ -> En Route to a Village
~~~~~

"I'm going to step outside, and I'm going to count to ten. All insanity in this room stops then and there... and I'm going to forget anything I just saw."

Zat Kirlia von't stop being insane. It's a state of mind vis him.

"That's your opinion," Felix muttered, putting down his cup as he stood up straight. He didn't want to pass that sort of judgment on anyone; everyone had their own personality. This apparent childish play just seemed to be W's sort of thing. Even while he listened to Maverick, Felix wouldn't stop thinking about it. He'd only heard of the Kirlia's case, and he hadn't recognized W until a few minutes ago. That meant even less reason for Felix to slap a label on him. Now if he could just make himself shut up mentally...

Later, on the road out of the city, Felix had taken up a position toward the front of the Knights' group, feeling that that would be the easiest place for any of the others to find him with questions. Felix didn't expect more than a few, really, since Knights in general would be able to adapt to just about anything that was thrown at them. At least, that was his expectation. His father had made it a point to prepare the Blaziken for just about every imaginable situation that Felix could find himself in as a Knight.

The first two Knights to bring questions were Vicks and Wedge, a Plusle and a Minun respectively. "Hey, Felix, how's it going?" Vicks greeted, walking beside Felix's left leg.

On the Blaziken's other side, Wedge said, "So you're the one to ask, huh?"

"Yeah." Felix glanced down at Wedge, who was making a slight adjustment to the Minun's armor. Vicks and Wedge were two of the cadets in Felix's age group back in Swine, and they rolled with the idea of Felix's second personality like it was a common part of life. A few Knights had been turned off by it; not these two. "Curious as usual?" Felix asked.

The three Pokemon began discussing what Felix had seen at the enclave, with a few interruptions from other Knights who had similar questions about the Mechanists' weapons. Eventually, Vicks stretched his arms back. "I think that covers it. Anything else, Wedge?"

"Nope, that's it," the Minun replied. "Catch ya later, Felix. Oh, tell the other Felix that I said hi, okay?" He and Vicks dropped back in the group, leaving Felix to walk by himself again.

Zey're all going to leave you by yourself in zee end, you know. Even Vicks and Vedge.

"They talk to just about everyone," Felix muttered to himself. "Maybe if you wouldn't scare off most everyone else, this wouldn't be such a problem."

Zee only problem I see is zat you sink zere is a problem.