[PKMN FULL] Crimson Dawn: A Tale of Conquest (IC)

[Ray Maverick]

The Exalted

Garland patted the table, looking anywhere but the people in front of him, but listening quietly and carefully. Judging by their opinions, it seemed the options they could take were two, die or retreat and live to fight another day. Garland wasn't a fun of the second one. He wasn't one to run away, and if they all died defending this stronghold, it wouldn't be for nothing. It would mean stalling for time for Vektor; if the north front fell and Alamagna was conquered quickly, this host would go down south, and the Hesperian forces and remaining Gold Tribe would find themselves in a tight situation, caught between two armies. Then, it would really be the end for the Gold Tribe. If Garland and Jacob died here, stalling for time, the rest of the Gold Tribe would find a new suitable leader for them... their brotherhood would live on.

But there was something nagging Garland. Something else to consider. The Reaching Mind was right, they had not quite considered all factors, and it was about time they did that. Time didn't seem to matter to the enemy, who'd camped outside, waiting. Could that mean that even if they stalled, it would be in vain...? "Let me see that book," Garland said to Pendro, reaching out to take it out of the Metang's hands. He turned and placed it on the table, then begun searching for the pages for all of Alamagna's sieges. Skimming through them quickly, he didn't find anything particularly eye-catching, which was to be expected. "I understand that the city itself was not harmed during any of the sieges, is that right, General?"

"It is. The Stygians do not harm their own unless it is a tactic of war... or unless they're Vanir," the Gigalith said, his contempt showing a bit. "The enemies of Alamagna, when they weren't Hesperians, made sure to avoid killing the citizens."

"... and as a result, there were little to no damages to buildings and the like." Garland brushed the strand of hair off his eyes. "Even if we die here, let us take solace in the fact that the city will be left unharmed after this, as with every past siege."The Floatzel turned to look at the gathered men. He saw soldiers in them, but not enough of them. And they weren't ready to die yet. "Some of you want to fight. Some want to retreat, some both. Our oaths to protect this Realm and its citizens require us to be the first ones to die in its defense. However, I see that some of you are not ready to die just yet, and that is acceptable... I once felt like that, when I was presented with the same choice. Go all out, and die inevitably, or have my back covered and an escape close by. Those of you who want to fight... you'll get your chance to do that. More times than once after we break up this meeting, if we have secured an escape route."

"We cannot count on the zeppelin for a safe escape route, or an escape route at all," General Althalos said, "we need to get my troops out as well. And it's madness to pilot an airship out of Alamagna when so many of theirs are in the sky. It's the tunnels we need to count on. They don't serve only as mines, they are part of a vaster complex of tunnels. Like Jacob said, there are hidden tunnels beneath the city that could take us to Ascanfell, if only we find the right ones..."

"What!" Zack exclaimed, "you mean there is a possibility of taking the wrong ones?! Where would that lead us, then?! I hate the ground, and I hate what's beneath it too. I'm not leaving my ship!"

The old Gigalith seemed too uncomfortable to speak.

Garland spoke in his place. "It's the best chance to move so many people out of the city at once, and undetected. Like Jacob and Sophia said, we should defend parts of the town if they manage to break through the walls, then retreat to the mines, and from there to the tunnels. We'll need someone to go down there and secure our path, so we know where to go when the time comes."

"With the escape route out of the way, we're left with the defense of the city," Althalos spoke again, "firstly, I need able soldiers to man and protect the Hyper Beam cannons on the city's battlements. Pay attention, these have some heavy firepower, bound to cause some a wide range of destruction below. They're our best bet against their fleet as well, but their weakness is, they're easily destroyed. A few ranged fighters atop the walls would be welcome, too. Secondly, I need any of you to set traps on the main road, in case they do enter from the gate somehow. They'll charge blindly and fall right into them. I'll leave this part up to your imagination. You'll have the help of my troops to plan anything you want."

"Hey, somebody suggested we put up a barrier to protect the city," Zack said, "it was Lucius, wasn't it? Frank's gonna appreciate it if you help us put up barriers. The city's too big to shield it all at once, but it should be enough for protecting those Hyper Beam cannons. We don't want those out of commission too early, or the entire equation gets f*cked up beyond repair real quick. Tell you what, people, if any of you are up for delivering some serious sky retribution, you're free to join me on the Storm's Fury. We might be outnumbered, but never outgunned! Heh. We'll rain fire on them!" He raised his fist in the air.

Garland didn't know Zack was so courageous. Perhaps he'd already forgotten that the Stygians had demolished their entire fleet, except the Storm's Fury, only because Zack had taken control of it after their captain died and retreated early (but early enough to be saved) from their enemies.

He covered his forehead with his palm. This was almost over... and the real thing begun after that. "If we defend these walls long enough, Vektor will have all the time he needs to crush the opposition on the south front, and if we retreat when they break through, we will be safe as well. That is how we can secure the most lives and time while doing the maximum amount of damage. But let us not forget our duty to protect General Althalos. If he falls in battle while we were retreating, the Emperor will call us to answer for it - it's us who must fall, protecting him. Not the other way around..." Garland grimaced somewhat at the thought. He would rather die than be disgraced like that in front of the Council. He glanced at Althalos, who nodded.

"Let's shake on our plan, and each be on our way." Garland said and extended his arm, waiting for the others to put theirs on it. The last time he had done that, there were so many, the brothers and sisters beyond the inner circle had to put their hands on the members of the circle. Now, the circle was the only thing that was left, after the Deathbringer's Mark had claimed the rest.

Grimly, he said, "after we leave this room, we'll all stain our hands with blood, in the name of freedom, in the name of liberty... and in the name of peace." Ironically. His expression was smoky, but cold and hard, determined. "Outside our walls, there are men who murdered our brothers and sisters in the battlefield and in cold blood, and now they want to kill us too... let's kill them first."

Once that was done, he headed for the door. "I'll go find us a tunnel to make our retreat. If anyone cares to join me, meet me on the entrance to the caves."


OOC: We'll do a bit of a time skip. One hour, let's say. After you make your decision on how you'll defend the city, in your next post you'll take up your position (either on the battlements, on top of the walls with the ranged fighters and the Hyper Beam Cannons, in the streets, setting up traps, in the Dock Rock where the Storm's Fury is docked, or the entrance to the mines where Garland's waiting).

​

Skysaber
​

In the northern part of the city, there were mountains instead of walls. One of those mountains was hollow, and on the face of the cliff, there were multiple, massive pockets carved in the rock that served as landing bays for the airships. That rock was the Dock Rock, where Zack was right now. In front of him was the Storm's Fury, the only remaining zeppelin of the Stygian defense's fleet and its former flagship.

It was designed like a normal ship but with two rigid balloons chained to them main body; the balloons were full of flogistron, the primary fuel for the ship, which was lighter than air and allowed the balloons to carry the ship to the sky or drop it, depending on its density. The density changed with the help of pressure applied from the engines of the ship, which operated with psychic energy, the best kind of energy to increase or decrease pressure with ease.

The figurehead of the ship was what Zack was proud of: it was the face of a mighty roaring Gyarados. The Storm's Fury wasn't as big as other ships, nor had as many cannons, but that allowed it to be swift and light on the wind. It was easy to squeeze a barrier around it, given its size. Frank usually took care of that. Frank was the pilot of their ship, but he took care of mostly everything else too, apart from the engines.

"Yo, Frank," Zack shouted. There was no answer. "Frank. FRANK!"

At last, someone answered from the airship. It was coming from belowdecks, so it was muffled somewhat. "Zack! Come over here, quickly!"

Zack jumped on board and took the stairs belowdecks, to find the Kadabra on his knees next to one of the engines. Frank turned to look at him, exasperated, with his face red, and pointed at the small, square gem that was fixed on the engine. That gem was a dyna-core, which held an awesome amount of psychic power stored in it. There were four engines in total, so four dyna-cores for each.

"Aww, this again?" Zack whined. "I guess the last blow knocked it off-balance. Well, put it back!"

"That's what I've been trying to do all this time, but I only direct its energy. The technical part is up to you."

Zack shook his head, reaching for the wrench in his belt. "Get out of here," he said, "and go find Nik, I didn't see him on the deck. I want him here when we take off."

"He's probably checking on the weather again," Frank muttered and climbed the stairs, leaving Zack alone with the engines. The Electabuzz kneeled next to the engine with the dislocated dyna-core and patted it gently. "Don't worry, baby, I'll have you fixed real good, soon."

 

[<Challenger>]

Kallet "Dauntless" Galliger

A small squad of brothers and sisters of the Gold Tribe walked through the streets of Alamagna, almost every single one of them with a grim look on their face. Kallet, ever the prankster, had a grin of excitement on his face. This squad was designated to lay down the traps and ambushes, and if their was anything that this particular Ambipom was good at, it was traps and ambushes.

The Breloom at the head of the small column looked to the buildings on either of side of the street in the dead center and turned back to the group, barking out, "Swift, Flash, Blitz, Ragnorak, take positions in those buildings. Two in each." A Magmar, Jolteon, Aggron, and Infernape rushed to follow his commands. As they neared the gate he called out, "Wall, see about laying down some Spikes and Stealth Rocks." A Forrtress nodded and began to hover towards the gate, a grim look of determination on his face. After a few moments it was just Kallet, a Diggersby, and the Breloom. "Dauntless, Brawler, I need you to set up the Voltorbs and Electrodes." He gestured to a group of sacks lying on the ground a few yards away. "Some fighting types will be there in a moment to help you carry them. I need you to place them carefully." He gestured to Kallet's tails and Brawler's ears. "You two can reach farther than most with some precision."

Moments later the pair was handling the explosive Pokemon, teeth gritted in concentration. Two Machamps each held a bag of the ball Pokemon in each hand. Dauntless looked back at them, "You guys be careful. If one of those things goes off prematurely, we're all f*cked." He went back to work after they nodded in understanding. A mine or two had already been placed, but there was still enough there to light up the entire sector. The pair of Pokemon each had an Electrode in their appendages, carefully placing them in inconspicuous places that the Stygians wouldn't notice. Normally Kallet would be joking around or making fun of something, but he took pranks seriously. And this was a massive, totally wicked prank. "Brawler, see if you can get one in that window! It could knock a few big guys over!"

The Diggersby found the spot he was talking about. "Gotcha." He lifted the Electrode into the spot. "How about you put one in that culvert right there!"

"I see it." The Ambipom followed the command as well. "You know, you're an alright guy, Brawler." He smirked, realizing that the two were bonding over explosive pranks. "This'll be pretty great. I can't wait to see everyone in action!" Kallet hoped that it would really be epic. It would be the best prank he had ever pulled to date!
​

 

[GastlyGibus]

Defending the cannons: The Punisher, Reaching Mind, Cassandra, Jacob and Sophia.​

This situation, from Pendro's perspective, certainly wasn't ideal. A third option of some kind hadn't really been discussed - though he supposed he could hardly blame the others when he couldn't come up with anything himself. The Metang's first instinct was to flee. The tunnels sounded like the best idea, though it did also seem fairly likely that the enemy would know about them as well, considering their luck so far. That wasn't the Hesperian way, though, nor was it the way of the Gold Tribe. But then again, retreating still seemed like the best tactical option... Pendro tapped his claws together as he struggled to come to some form of a decision.

Suffice to say, Punisher was quite eager already. No running away, that was the Gold Tribe way! Heh, at this point they would soon be running out there and smaching everyone left and right! He couldn't wait for that, but for now he was content with this. His large bulk would be helpful in defending the guns. As for the rest of the meeting he listened in on the war speech that the Floatzel gave. He eagerly put his hand into the circle as he thought of going out there and fnally kicking some a**. They deserved it after all and with him being as powerful as he was, he could easily wipe the floor against whoever tried to go against him.

"Heh, we'll beat them so hard they'll be nothing left!" He said with a smirk on his face.

The Meowstic siblings put their hands into the circle as well, though Jacob tensed as he waited for someone to strike at that moment. "For sure, we'll give them a licking they won't forget," Sophia stated, ignoring Jacob for the moment.

As the group began to disperse, Jacob and Sophia hopped down to the floor and followed a few feet behind Garland. The brother still didn't trust the Floatzel's safety until there wasn't a group anymore. "Barriers first?" Sophia asked, glancing at Jacob.

"Barriers first. And I want to have a hand in setting up the traps, too." After a moment, Jacob mentally said to her, "Olop."

"Ocram," Sophia replied, bumping fists with her brother. Yes, she was still his sister.

Cassandra giggled at Punisher's confidence. It was silly, but inspiring, in a way. A smile crossed her face as they group had decided on a plan of action. She figured defending the guns would be best suited for her. With her ranged attacks and support, she would do well to defend the turrets as they kept the enemy at bay. As the meeting concluded, she simply nodded, as the group began to disperse, each Gold Tribe brother and sister going to handle their respective duties.

"I'll help defend the turrets," Cassandra said, looking over the rest of the group.

Punisher grinned as everyone was heading out and looked down at the Lilligant, flexing his lower arms, "Ya sure that's a good idea? Not to sound rude, but ya hardly look like the kind to take a hit easily."

Cassandra smirked at Punisher's remark. True, she wasn't the most physically imposing pokemon around, but she had her methods.

"You'd be surprised," she said with a confident tone. "I can be pretty scary when I want."

Punisher chuckled and crossed all four of his arms, "I see... well, if that gets some damage on the enemy so be it. I'll be heading down then. This will be too easy in my opinion. Deathbringer's mark was a one time deal, a fluke! They'll get too overconfident with their latest win. We shouldn't even bother finding those tunnels, we'll keep this city safe easily enough. We should be focusing more on staying on the walls and sending down attacks at them. They're practically helpless out there!" He began to turn and walk back out to the hallway.

Cassandra simply smiled at the Punisher's remarks. He seemed to have an indomitable spirit that couldn't be broken, no matter what the odds. As the Punisher turned to leave, she followed after, seeing as they were both settled on defending the gun turrets. The cannons themselves weren't all that complicated. The Machamp had seen them in action before and they were only a cannon set on a mounted device that could shoot out hyper beams. On the one hand, it could cause quite a stir in the enemy ranks. On the other, they would have to recharge and frankly could take a long time to do so. He couldn't really decide if that was inefficent or not, but he looked back at the Lilligant and shook his head. That girl would have to watch herself or she would die out there.

~~~~​

The walls still stood tall and proud and many mon were moving behind them. There weren't as many as there were before, but despite the decrease in numbers they were working fast. There were small towers set up with ladders that allowed one to access the cannons. Punisher was already on top of one and could see over the walls well enough. He smirked and couldn't wait for them to charge the gate, to jump down and slam as many as he could into dust. He crossed his upper arms as his lower ones cracked their knuckled eagerly.

A few bumps and clangs from the nearest stairwell heralded the coming of a latecomer. Punisher paused in his cracking and looked down, sighing at the obviously flustered Metang making his way over. Nearby in the tower, the Marinos siblings stayed focused for the next few seconds as they formed a double-layer of Reflect and Light Screen; that would only be their part of the barrier. It was only after that Jacob and Sophia bothered to look down at the noises. Cassandra, meanwhile, climbed up a separate stairwell, looking over the outside. She took a position standing near one of the cannons, manned by a Stygian soldier, a Sableye.

"You ready for this, little miss?" The Sableye said, looking over at Cassandra with a smirk. Cassandra looked back at him, a grin crossing her face.

"You just worry about your cannon," she said with a wink. "I'll keep the enemy at bay."

With a heavy sigh, Pendro at long last emerged from the stairwell. He was already regretting his decision, though he was hardly going to go back on it now. He readjusted the scroll case on his back and made his way to the closest cannon, slumped slightly.

"Don't worry, I'm here... to save the day... euhhh..."

Pendro approached the cannon to be met with a Machamp, who crossed his arms and tilted his head, "Uh huh... and how do you expect to do that? You're obviously weary at this point. You can go ahead and get back on the ground. If you're this weary already then I doubt you would do much, no offense."

"I, uh-" Pendro hadn't really expected anyone to take that seriously. "You... really know how to encourage someone, don't you? Look, I... I've made my decision, here."

With a quick Magnet Rise on the cannon, the Metang left the Machamp be and moved to the next one.

The Marinos siblings had already moved on to the next tower by the time Pendro finished with his first Magnet Rise. Beside the next cannon in line, Jacob lowered his arms as their double-layer barrier was finished around it. He stretched slightly before following Sophia toward the ladder. At least, until the white Meowstic hopped down and landed on top of the Metang, prompting a quiet scream from the metal 'mon in question. "Oof! Sorry," Sophia said, quickly sliding off his back onto the floor of the wall. "Didn't see you there."

"Hey," Jacob greeted, stepping to the side of the ladder. "Mm, Shining Mind, wasn't it?"

"Oh- h- um, hello." Pendro returned the greeting once he'd recovered from the shock. "And actually it's, uh... close enough, never mind."

Jacob shrugged slightly. His eyes brightened briefly as he said, "Oh, by the way, I got something for you."

"Not now, Jake." Sophia pulled on her brother with a brief Psychic, making the dark-blue Meowstic fall down onto the Metang as well, who hurriedly ducked to the floor before noticing that nothing much had really happened. "Sorry," she added, pulling Jacob along to the next tower. "See you at the next one!"

Reaching Mind (not to be confused with Shining Mind) laughed nervously from his new place on the ground. "Okay, good! That's... good...! Heheh... oh, dear." He quickly returned to floating and went back to his Magnet Rising duties.

Cassandra looked outward towards the horizon, seeing small billows of smoke rising in the distance; enemy camps, no doubt. Her attention was diverted when Pendro came up to the cannon as well, providing a Magnet Rise to the structure as it levitated slighty off the ground.

"Good thinking," Cassandra said with a smile. "Affords us some protection from ground-type assaults."

"Hehe, thanks. I, uh, figured an Earthquake might be able to move through the tristanite structure enough to affect the cannons without necessarily affecting the walls themselves, so..." Pendro scratched the back of his head.

"This feels weird!" The Sableye gunner exclaimed, still sitting on the now hovering cannon, hanging on so as not to fall.

"Oh hush, you," Cassandra said, chuckling at the Stygian soldier.

"Oh, I'm sorry- I'll... that's fine, that's fine, just, uh, keep... clinging. It should be good. I think. Bye...! Hehehuuuh..." And with that, the Metang made a hurried exit.

Cassandra nodded at the Metang as he left, turning her attention once more to the outside of the walls. The siege was set to begin at any moment now. Cassandra's expression turned serious, taking in a deep breath and letting it out as she mentally prepared herself for the imminent assault.

 

[Greiger]

Thrasher - Searching for a way out​

​

Thrasher put his hand into the circle, frowning a bit. There was enthusiasm… but for the wrong reason. Everyone wanted to stay, but that would be foolish. They had to retreat as soon as possible and avoid as many casualties as they could. If they stayed and defended the city… the city might not be destroyed but they could easily be overrun and slain. Everyone soon departed but Thrasher wasn't going to the walls. Instead he made his way to the elevators and went down. He closed his eyes and thought to himself. They had to map the way out fast and as quickly as they could. If they could save more lives this way, then this would have to be it.

He soon exited on the ground floor and made his way out of the building. No doubt this would be the last time he would see the city. He looked around and tried his best to take a mental snapshot. He took in a deep breath and maneuvered through the streets until he caught sight of the opening of the caves, and there already was the Floatzel himself with some other Gold Tribe. There were some mon off to the side and figured they were probably soldiers aiming to help as well.

"Where do we start sir?" He asked Garland. "I've never been in the caves before, so I am uncertain how large it is." He peered inside and could only see darkness. Well, that was just great. Wandering around in darkness. Well they had some fire types here so hopefully they could provide enough lights for them to get through.

 

[Garet]

Jacob [Prankster] and Sophia [Pyro]
Alamagna - Defense Preparation
~~~~~

It didn't take too long before the Marinos siblings had placed their portion of the barriers around the Hyper Beam cannons on the walls. As they headed down a stairwell back toward the ground, Sophia said, "That was a little more obvious than usual, what you tried to do."

Jacob shrugged. "The Metang is nervous enough as it is, Fi. I wanted to know how the Reaching Mind would react to a near-stranger giving him a small package. That would have been as good a time as any."

"Nuh-uh. You probably would've ruined his focus even more than his nervousness." When they reached the ground, Sophia asked, "So where you heading now?"

"Three gates, which means three main streets leading to them, and I know one's already being trapped by others. I'm heading to another one. You?"

"We need someone on the airship. That's where I'm going now." Sophia blinked. "Oh. That means splitting up for the two of us. You are staying down here, aren't you?"

"Yep. I'm gonna make sure these traps are set off properly." The two Meowstic hugged each other briefly. "See you after this is done."

"See ya." Sophia set off down the street, beginning to reach out with her mind at the same time. She'd need to contact this Frank if she were to get to the airship immediately.

Behind her, Jacob turned his attention to the gate which he stood beside. As noted, he knew another gate and street were being tended to by others of the Gold Tribe, Dauntless among them. On this street here, there was already a layer of Toxic Spikes in front of the gates, and some soldiers were debating on what to do next trap-wise. Jacob approached them, hearing, "--oil would set the city on fire."

"Only if you're not careful," Jacob spoke up, drawing the soldiers' attention. "I'd add more of those Toxic Spikes, another layer. Sticky Web, too, aaand a set of Stealth Rocks."

"Who are you, again?" an Aipom asked, before seeing the gold bracelets on Jacob's wrists. "Oh, Gold Tribe. That much trapping is assumin' that they'll get further than this."

"If they get inside the gates, they will," Jacob countered. "So, oil? Mm, yeah, a covering of oil on the ground would be dangerous to the city. Oil-bombs, then, lobbed at the invaders, or pots of boiling oil, that sort of thing. Also, it'd be great to have Pokemon around here who can make them burn, or sleep, or paralyzed. Got any Spore users here?"

"Here." A Parasect raised a claw.

The Aipom nodded. "Okay, sounding good so far. What about you, though, mister...?"

"Prankster," Jacob said, giving his title. "I'll be helping with the traps here until it's time to fight from the walls. If they do get past this gate, I'll come back down. I have something for stopping enemy speedsters."

As they began setting up more of the traps, Jacob stopped the Aipom with an outstretched arm. "Could you do something for me real quick?" Jacob asked, pulling a small box out of his satchel. Handing it to the Aipom soldier, he said, "I want you to go find an Ambipom of the Gold Tribe, title of Dauntless, and give him this. He's on another street, helping with traps over there I think."

The Aipom gave the package a funny look before shrugging. "I suppose I have time."

As the soldier left to deliver to Dauntless, Jacob shook his head. Why can't everyone around here be as suspicious as I am?

~~~~~

On her way back toward the Dock Rock, Sophia finally found the mind of Frank the Kadabra. "Hey, Frank, this is Pyro, of the Gold Tribe. I'm coming to the airship, I'm gonna get on board when the battle starts. Could you please come and 'port me there, if I don't get there on time?"

 

[CourageHound]

Noah Endris ~ The Flash

-Alamagna- A Hasty Retreat​

Noah solemnly put his hand into the the circle. He hoped the others didn't think less of him for opting to retreat. He would promise in his escape, he would find a way to support them in the near future. As their hands pulled out he gave a short nod. "Those of you that choose to stay; make sure you indeed show them the might of the Gold Tribe". The confidence in those words were true to his heart as well. The Typhlosion has faith in his brothers and sisters. He just hoped everything would end well in the events soon to come.

Turning away from the group he fell to all fours and dashed down the corridors to the elevator. There was no time to waste and The Flash intended to make haste in his retreat. He wasn't certain exactly where they were headed, as he hadn't used the tunnels before but he did know where to meet Garland. All along the way through the streets of the fortress, pokemon where already preparing themselves for the battle. Civilians started taking shelter and grounded troops of the Gold Tribe began fortifying the area. It wasn't long before he reached the entrance of the mines and he immediately identified with Garland and Thrasher.

The entrance would certainly be hard to locate for 'mon that don't know how to navigate through the streets. "We're going through here right?" Without exactly waiting for an answer, he walks straight into the mouth of the tunnel, flexing his shoulders and setting his flame vents ablaze once visibility became low. Redeeming his impatience with surveillance, Noah scans the immediate area of the mines beyond the entrance and rushed back with a report. "It's just wide enough for a few 'mon to go in side by side. There are a few different paths going in that split further." He turns to Garland visibly puzzled. "Err, you should probably lead the way sir."

 

[GastlyGibus]

The smallest of the group, Tavhir, reached forward to put his bladed hand in the circle, taking care not to inadvertently cut somebody in the process. Determination showed in his eyes; even though their plan was decidedly a safe retreat rather than a full fledged assault, he was willing to follow it for now.

Tavhir pondered the best course of action. While part of him wanted to join the defensive in the fight, he also knew that the other Gold Tribe members were going to need help navigating through the tunnels, and if they ran into trouble underground, they'd need all the help they could get. Since this was the planned route for evacuation, Tavhir considered defending the tunnel escort a higher priority than the battle out in the city. After all, there's no use in defending a city if all of it's citizens are dead. Not to mention, his small stature would allow him greater maneuverability than the rest of his comrades in the compact confines of the underground passages. There were advantages to being the smallest pokemon in the group.

As the group began to disband, Tavhir made his way down to ground level, quickly making his way through the city streets to the tunnels. He had noticed the other members of the Gold Tribe there already, notably Flash and Thrasher. He was glad the former had decided to go with them; having a fire-type to illuminate the consuming darkness of the caves would be invaluable. Once he had joined up with the group, he stood silently in front of the entrance of the cave, taking a look inside. If what Althalos said before was true, these caves most likely went on for miles, assuming they didn't take the correct path. Tavhir turned to face Garland.

"Ready whenever you are."

 

[Ray Maverick]

The Exalted
​

"Where do we start sir?" The Thrasher asked Garland, when he reached him. "I've never been in the caves before, so I am uncertain how large it is."

Garland said nothing, he only crouched to relax his knees and shut his eyes, recalling the last time he had been in these caves. This was the last place he wanted to be at a time like this. He wondered what his old friends would say. What Dareon would say. A leader must not ask of others to fight in the front lines, if they themselves are not willing to join them, that's what a young Dareon would say. But Dareon was old now, and changed. He then wondered what the other 'genius', Achilles, would say about him. Having authority is the sweetest thing. Look at Dareon, he commands half the Realm to die fighting in his name, while he's drinking tea in his chambers back in the safety of Union City. I do the same thing! And you should, too.

Lost in his thoughts as he was, he didn't notice the Flash getting past him. "Err, you should probably lead the way sir."

Garland set his stony gaze on the Typhlosion. Tavhir the Restless had also arrived. He grunted as he got back on his feet from the crouching position. "Let's get on with this, then," He grabbed his floatation device, as if it gave him strength, and marched into the cave. Good thing the Flash had come; the fire on his back lit their way easily. "Somebody mark the ground, lest we get lost on the way back."

Garland was sure he was taking the right turns. His feet took him where he needed to go, and his ears and nose guided him to the right way. The last time he had been here had been so memorable in his life, he could not possibly forget. The memories made him think of the past; the times he especially did not want to think of right now. He grimaced in the dark.

As youngsters with great ambitions and dreams, Garland, Dareon and Achilles were great friends. However, once they achieved all those dreams, they weren't friends anymore. It's what his sister, Ariadne, always said, power corrupts.He felt corrupted. What has happened to me? There was a day, one of the early ones, where I would not even think of retreating. I would bash my enemies full in the face with everything I had and a foolish smile on my face. Am I starting to become more like Achilles...? The image of the delicate, always perfumed Medicham with the pale, blue eyes came to his mind. The smile, albeit a restrained one, was courteous, and his manners always polite. People always thought of him as a kind, tolerant and charitable person. Now Garland was wondering if that was truly the case...

The Floatzel stopped at the sight of the cave separating into multiple paths. He perked up his ears, listening to the constant sound he had started to pick up not a long time ago. His nose smelled those unique flowers that bloomed in only one place... but he didn't remember that the main path dispersed into so many others. He got on his four feet to poke and smell the ground. It was foul down here, and that gave him no clues as to which direction to go.

He looked through the cave's paths. "One of those leads to the old waterworks, and from there, to the old aqueduct of the city. That's where we're headed. There is a waterway that connects Alamagna to Ascanfell; it was used to transfer water to Ascanfell during the summer droughts, long ago. After the Illinkar invasions, it became unusable... the Eshirians intended to convert the waterway tunnel into a train track, but that project was abandoned. A dangerous construction... too many deaths. But, it should still serve as our escape." He now looked at his comrades. "Brothers, we must split up, if we're to find the place on time. You'll know if you reach it: the name, E-88 is the first thing you'll notice about the aqueduct.

As for the other paths... they could lead anywhere, really. Even outside Alamagna, in the middle of the Grey Waste. I recall one leads to a cave under Alamagna. In any case, mark your way on the ground; we'll come find you if you get lost. Good luck, soldiers."

Cozette
​

The Marill clutched her little Banette doll, looking up at the statue of God, Arceus. It was made of white marble, a great contrast to the deep black obsidian walls. Her doll's eyes were also made from white marble, and they seemed to reflect almost anything.

The Stygian General was in front of the statue, and he hadn't noticed her. Althalos had settled on the floor with his eyes shut; Cozette supposed he was praying. She knew the nobles on the upper floors would be praying too, though they weren't allowed to come down here. She wasn't allowed in here either. No noble was allowed to exit the Tower of Nobles during a lock-down... at least they were in the Obsidian Citadel, and not locked down in some common house, where there was danger of being killed. But she could not simply accept being pinned down. If she was to die in the siege, she would go down fighting too.

Once Althalos noticed her, he grunted with worry. "You're not allowed in here! Get back to your room, little lady! I don't want the battle finding you here."

The little Marill girl shouted, "it makes no sense, why are we locked in a tower? Why don't we just get away?" She didn't care for herself. She wanted to join the armies and take part in the battle; but her parents were defenseless here. They needed to evacuate, and fast.

"Get away!" the Gigalith roared, exasperated, "and go where? There is no place for us to go!"

"Where are my father's teleporters?"

"The teleporters will get you as far as outside the walls, girl, and that's where the bad people are waiting for you. Go back to your room!"

"No!" She ran outside, dragging her Banette doll with her.

Outside were the soldiers waiting for their General.

"Huh?! A little girl!"

"Capture her!" Althalos roared from within the Tower of Nobles as he rushed outside.

A Heliolisk got in her way. She tried to jerk out of his way, but she was too slow. Soon, she was brought in front of the General, her teeth grit and her eyes full of tears. When I grow up, this'll never happen again, Cozette promised herself. I will grow up and be strong and feared. The nobles weren't supposed to become warriors, but that's exactly what she was planning on being: a hero of her country. She wouldn't just stay locked up in a tower because of some stupid law, while men fought and died for her country.

She wiped her tears, but more were coming up.
Althalos brought his head close to the ground. Their eyes were at the same level. "We're working on an escape route as we speak," he assured her. "You'll be the first one through there, how about that?"

"I don't care," she shouted, "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! I want to fight!"

Althalos had no expression on his face. He was a rock, anyways. "I wish all of us were as eager to fight as you. You're too young to fight with us... and I wish I could tell you to enjoy your childhood while you can, but death has come knocking on our doors this day. Take her back to her room, and see that she does not escape again." He turned away from her. "Men! We're moving out."

As she was being dragged back to the Tower of Nobles, she dropped her doll, but she was too choked up in tears to ask for it. The linen Banette was left there, on the obsidian stairs, staring at the cloudy sky sightlessly.

 

[CourageHound]

Noah Endris ~ The Flash

& Thrasher

-Alamagna Mines- Into the Darkness​

Thrasher grinned and stepped into the caves. "Hmm... it's pretty dark." He frowned and thought for a moment and then looked back at the The Flash. We can go together brother. There are many tunnels in here no? I'll let you decide which we go down first. We must be careful though, if there are other cave entrances, then it very well could mean that we encounter Stygian soldiers out there. We must be prepared for anything to come out at us, so keep your eyes peeled." He smiled, "It shouldn't be that much, hopefully the caves are tight so they won't be able to swarm us."

The Flash nodded. "True. However, tight tunnels would restrict movement if we found ourselves in a need to escape." He smiled and gave Thrasher a reassuring pat on the back. "Though we'll make sure stealth is our priority...In any case...", Noah scanned the three tunnels back and forth. After briefly observing the cave-mouths, he pointed a finger the leftmost tunnel. "There. I have a good feeling about that one."

Thrasher nodded, "Lead the way then brother. I'll be right behind you."

With a huff of smoke, the Flash used Will-o-Wisp's ghostly blue fire to make a distinct mark on entrance to their path to avoid getting lost. Wearing the flames on his back proudly, he guides himself and Thrasher into the would be dark tunnel. The Typhlosion wasn't exactly sure what awaited them despite the confidence in his selection. However he rarely had grim luck, so the Flash had that to ride on. After several minutes the monotony of wandering through the caverns became painstaking. He thought conversation was in order. "What exactly do we intend to find at the aqueducts again? Erm, that is if you are knowledgeable of our destination of course."

Thrasher followed along, nodding at the usage of Will-o-Wisp. That was as good a mark as any for them to keep track of their progress. The quiet did get boring however and he was glad for the Flash to speak up. "What we intend to find is a clear escape route my brother." He sighed, "It is hard to accept, but we won't survive a assault. If they do not take us down that way, then eventually we will run out of food and starve to death. There is only so much food for us and the civilians here. As Garland said, it connects to Ascanfell, so if we are able to get through there, then we will have to wary. Here in the Stygian's territory they will have the numbers to their advantage."

The Flash nodded. "Ascanfell hmm...? I would assume the territory is neutral seeing as both enemy and allied forces are currently in Alamagna. I'm not sure how Ascenfell would welcome us".

"Correct... but it's the only way out. At the very least we could separate, here we are bottled up... but if we get to the city we could spread out, be harder to find and in that way get out of the city and try and regroup somewhere else. In any case, if these tunnels do lead to other places, as a last case scenario we could split into teams and work together in small groups, find each other should we stay separated. I have learned in my life that stealth is a good option to turn to if in need. And we are in need at the moment."

Noah nodded once more as they walked onward. He couldn't exactly tell how long they had been walking after a while. The duo had only backtracked a total of two times indicated by the markings. Regardless it would be a pain if they had taken the wrong path. The Typhlosion put his hand out in front of the Primeape to signal him to stop. Taking his ear and pressing it to the cave wall there was nothing but a dreary hollowness. "I'm trying to determine if we are going the right way. If the aqueducts were anywhere near I think running water would be audible after a time". Listening more carefully the sound of emptiness still remained. The Flash wasn't exactly troubled yet...that was until after another lengthy period of walking and still no sound of running water. He then clenched his teeth at not thinking to make a second mark guiding them down their original path. "I...think we may be wandering into the cave Garland mentioned".

Thrasher nodded slowly, "I see. Hm... a cave could be here, but if that is the case, then we should head back don't you think? If we find a cave we'll just be stuck in the tunnels and the army will be able to block us in and kill us all. Let's head back then if that is what you think... or we could keep going. It's possible that we could head out into the Gray Wastes. In any way, we could find another exit and if it goes out there, that could lead the army to find a back way inside the city and we could collapse the tunnel instead to prevent that."

The Flash scratched his head for a moment weighing their options. They might be pointlessly wandered in the giant cave or they could just have a longer ways to go like Thrasher said, and eventually make it out. After a few minutes he then decided to continue going forward. Just until they were certain of their situation. They had marks and an infinite light source. With that the Typhlosion nodded to his brother and they both continued their trek down the stony cavern.

 

[<Challenger>]

Kallet "Dauntless" Galliger

Kallet gingerly placed the last Voltorb in a cranny in the arch above the gates, a last gambit in case the enemy was flooding the city too greatly. That'll be a nasty surprise when their leaders come through. A smirk ran across his face as he thought about the mass destruction his mines would cause. All of the mines on the ground would go off when a Stygian rebel came running through the streets hollering like mad men. It would startle them well enough to set the Electrodes and Voltorbs off. Those stored in convenient places, like upper floors of buildings, would have to be thrown to go off. That's where Dauntless would come in. He had taken the authority to make himself the official "Mine Thrower." He would jump and swing between buildings to chuck the Ball pokemon at whoever he damn-well pleased. He may have not had a very good accuracy in math, but his throwing skills were among the best.

As Kallet dropped to the ground, a young Aipom came running up to him, almost like he was in a hurry. "Sir! A package for you!" He held out his tail to show a strange looking box. "Another Goldie...Prankster I believe, said to give this to you."

Oh...Delightful. A gift from Prankster. A smirk spread across his face as he began to ponder what was inside it. "Thank you, my man." He took the box using his actual arms, patting the Aipom on the back using one of his tails. "Good job. Hey, can you do a job for me?"

"What's that, Mister Dauntless?" The Aipom looked perplexed.

"I want you to climb up there," Kallet gestured to the Voltorb he had hidden up in the corner, "And throw it down below if the enemy comes pouring in to quickly. You should be fine as long as you duck into a corner. If you feel it's not safe enough, I could always move it on top of the wall. It may, or may not, bring down the gateway."

The Aipom looked a bit concerned about the request. "Do you really think that's a good idea? It could take a long time to repair the wall!"

Kallet grinned. "Small chance it will. These babies are made of tristanite. I'm no genius, but it'll take the wrath of Arceus himself to bring those walls down."

The Aipom, now more sure of himself, started to smile. "Aye, I think I could do that."

"Good man." Dauntless gave a reassuring nod. "What's your name, soldier?"

"Ajax, Mister Dauntless."

"Call me Kallet, Ajax." A look of surprise came across the Aipom's face. "Find me after the battle...If we survive that is. Drinks on me." The Ambipom grinned, turned around, and began to probe the streets for any faults in his mine layout. Convinced his work was complete, he climbed up to the first mine. He placed the box Prankster had sent him beside him and drifted off into sleep. Surely the battle would wake him.
​

 

[Necrum]

Sir Lucius Noble, The Blue Baron

Noble nodded in agreement. Everyone was to play their part in the coming battle, he knew that. And though he felt the best course was to run, he was bound to the will of the Gold Tribe.

One hour passed...

Lucius made rounds to all the Cannons. It was not that he didn't trust the shielding they had been given, but thought they needed just a little extra insurance. At each barrier, Lucius gently applied a well hidden trap. For anyone who tried to take down the shield, a triggered Hex was waiting for them. Not strong enough to kill, but certainly strong enough to hurt.

"What are you doing...?" Asked a curious soldier, as he was finishing up.

"Just making sure you're as protected as possible, my good sir. Just leave it at that." The half threat shook the soldier as Lucius left. Looking down, he spotted the pair of Meowstic as they parted ways. Lucius, rather than waste time, decided to float down to ground level this one time. After all, they would have time for leisurely transportation after the war was won.

"Jacob, I've found you!" Lucius shouted down at him. "I have that gift for you!"

Landing with the grace of an Aromatisse, Lucius began to dig around in his bag. He was careful to hide it's contents from the eyes of the young Meowstic, for fear of exposing his secrets. "Aha!" He produced a small, woven tube from the bag, and handed it to Jacob. "This is called a finger trap. I've heard that the makers of these actually live outside the great barrier. But that's just a story. Anyway take it and be careful not to get caught in it yourself. I figure you may be able to put it to better use than me." Lucius chuckled. "After all, I've got no fingers!"

 

[Jason Wolf]

Aecron "Cowboy" Everhold

Aecron had followed the new blood to the skysaber, and had his friends Malvin "Tunnel Pig" swinub and Galith "Raider" Bisharp. He was curious to see what remained of his precious fleet. The years he had put into those ships were years now destroyed. He looked upon the battered ship and sighed.

"So this is what's left." Aecron looked down, "Then let's get her in shape."

Galith and Malvin went into the ship to give them ship a once over. Aecron remained outside checking one of the rudders that had major damage to it. He grabbed some tools and began to fiddle with the parts until he had broken it apart completely. From there he inspected each piece discarding those too broken for mending, but he kept them piled up for melting down into new parts. In times like this there was no use for waste. He assembled the rudder to near perfect condition then went up to the helm to test it. On the way he found Malvin who he sent to watch the rudder while he turned the wheel. With an A-OK from Malvin Aecron went on to do other repairs.

All the while his thoughts were on the pokemon he didn't see around the ship. He wanted to ask where they were, but he knew where the majority of the crew had gone. One of his dearest friends, a samurott named Torok "White Blade" Hybal was out on those ships. The man had joined just before Aecron. They trained together, and Torok became more like a real brother than ones in arms alone. Bitterness was growing in Aecron. If he had been there maybe more would have lived. He could have gotten more ships out and need be would have traded his own life to save another ship.
"This time. This time they'll have to deal with me. They'll have to deal with the consequences of their crimes. Aecron growled his face dark as he remembered Torok's face.

He went off to find the new captain. When he did so he introduced himself,

"Aecron 'Cowboy Everhold. Mechanic, Artillery, Pilot, and Vangaurd of the gold tribe. Permission to join your crew?"

 

[Ray Maverick]

Earthquake

Romulus woke to the gentle sound of a flute playing, a glorious melody coming to his tent from somewhere outside. His eyes were already wide open and full of furor, as if he wasn't sleeping moments ago. He'd made it his habit to sleep while standing up in the middle of the room, so the slightest sound would wake him up; a surprise attack on their camp wouldn't ever find him sleeping. The Haxorus was staring at the entrance of the tent, but he did not make a move for it yet. I will strangle that man one day, he vowed, grinding his teeth hard. It was Asaito again, playing his goddamn flute. Lady Alucianna had found his preludes so soothing and exhilarating, she had commanded him to play every song he knew. Asaito is a warrior, little lady, not a musician, Romulus had said, but his words fell on deaf ears. If the Lady wanted something, she would get it no matter what. It didn't matter if Asaito was a warrior or a musician, he would play the flute for the sake of annoying Romulus all the same.

​

He stepped out his tent and stopped, staring at Asaito who was balancing on one foot by the entrance of the royal tent. He was a slender, agile, shady-looking Greninja who was famed for his mastery of the Water Shuriken technique. The Greninja's movements did nothing to conceal his pride in an otherwise subtle and humble demeanor. Asaito was anything but humble in lord's hearing. He'd claimed his killing streak in the Mark was higher than Romulus's in front of Chantalai, who chose to believe him. That had gotten the Haxorus seething with silent fury, and he was on the verge of challenging him to a duel to prove he was only as good as dead meat when facing someone like Romulus.

The Greninja smiled calmly at him, putting down his flute, still balancing on one foot like a fool. There was a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Cute flute," Romulus rasped, his words stumbling on his teeth. "What are you pretending to be? The lady's fool?"

Asaito spread his arms, smiling. "I'll be whatever my lady requires me to be. And what are you pretending to be, Romulus?"

Romulus, disturbed, shifted his mouth, as if he was chewing on something that was hard to swallow. "I do not need to pretend. And if you wake me up again, I'll choke you with that scarf you fancy so much."

"So you are resorting to threats... since you don't dare go any further."

Romulus took two sudden steps towards him with all his speed and the Greninja lost his smile, dropped his flute and slipped in his battle stance, realizing he was about to be attacked. The Haxorus stopped as suddenly as he'd advanced, when he heard a voice from the nearby tents.

"You two, get inside."

The tent was dark and thick with smoke that made Romulus's nose twitch. On each of the corners of the tent, there was one bowl with ashes that were still smoking. There were two candles on the table, shedding what little light they could around. Lord Chantalai was crouched on his red, velvet chair, his massive black mane falling from the back of his chair to the floor. His wooden cane rested against the chair, its rubies reflecting the sunlight outside the tent. The light of the candles made the silver hair on Chantalai's head shine dully. Looking at his face, Romulus could tell he was angry.

The two warriors stood in front of their lord, bowing their heads in respect. The lord inspected them with his mismatched eyes, having his arms crossed. "I will say this once. There will be no fighting between you two," he said, though it was more of a statement. Romulus made sure to meet his eyes, lest the lord think he was weak and therefore untrustworthy. And that moment was harder than killing.

The Zoroark raised his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly as if to point his ear to their direction, waiting for their response. "Yes," Asaito said carefully. "No fighting." At least he handled that well, Romulus thought with contempt. He nodded to show his agreement.

"Asaito, you're in the vanguard with the Tocan," Chantalai informed Asaito without preamble. The Greninja probably inflated with pride, but he hid it well.

Instead, he bowed deeply and said, "that would honor me greatly."

Chantalai bared his fangs in what seemed to be a smile, but it wasn't. He didn't care for Asaito's pride, only his usefulness, Romulus figured. He slowly turned to Romulus, who was breathing heavily from all the smoke. "And you will find the commander of the fleet."

"What should I do with him?" Romulus asked grimly. So he wasn't to be in the vanguard?

"He should have a ship ready for you. Board it and wait for orders."

The Haxorus stood unmoving at first, and Chantalai was still staring at him intently. He's waiting for me to question his orders. Instead, Romulus bowed his head and said, "as you command."

Lord Chantalai nodded curtly. "You're dismissed," he said, between his teeth.

Romulus made sure to exit the tent before Asaito, as not to seem like the sluggish one. Much to his dismay, the Greninja followed him down the valley, to join the troops of the vanguard no doubt. Of the three areas of the camp, they were in the area where the Vanir had settled down; their tents were either black, or grey, and they outnumbered the Tocan and Shukahen. Smoke was coming out of all the tents, many thick streams of grey that joined in the sky, shrouding the camp in a cloud of smoke that concealed it from sight. The grey dust on the ground, combined with the smoke and the clouds made it impossible for the camp to be seen from a great distance. It was one of Lord Chantalai's tactics, luring the enemy into the Grey Waste, where he could mislead them with the smoke and unleash a stunning strike from absolute cover.

It was hard for Romulus to see the main road, let alone breathe. Some soldiers saw him walk past, they looked at each other, but they didn't whisper anything like before. Some of them held the Gold Tribe in great contempt, and Romulus was forever stained as one of them in their eyes. Once, before the Mark, a bunch of Vanir soldiers had mocked him for his broken vows and questionable loyalty, so Romulus broke their bones to send a message. When he was brought in front of Lord Chantalai for his crime, the lord let him go. "Hang those fools," the lord had said, pleased that the Haxorus had forsaken his old, peaceful ways. "Romulus ought to have killed them." Chantalai could spare some warriors for Romulus, and he would spare Asaito, too, but his usefulness kept him alive... Romulus was sure of that.

"I wonder," Asaito said suddenly, "will you go running back to Garland as soon as the battle starts?"

"I will," Romulus agreed. "... to cut his head off."

The Greninja laughed. "Not if I get to him first."

Romulus exhaled with his teeth grit together. If he was forced to listen to this fool a minute more, he would have to kill him in his sleep. But nothing would really give him more pleasure than killing him in single combat. He stopped put and turned to look at the Greninja for the first time ever since he was about to attack him. "Pay attention, little man," he whispered menacingly, "if I catch you near Garland, I'll make sure you become a messy casualty of war."

Asaito cocked his eyebrow. "Another threat, 'big man'? I thought you were a man of action, rather than just words."

"No threat. Only a promise." He placed one claw on top of the Greninja's head, who remained on the spot, defiant. The pressure on his head was enough to get the message across. That was Romulus's way of sealing a promise.

After that, Romulus walked his own way to where the fleet had docked, just out the camp. There were a series of zeppelin landed on a stable, straight part of the grey wasteland. The fleet had to be, ten ships in total. Not too many... in fact, less than Romulus remembered there were. He walked through the main path, glancing from left to right; he found the flagship, a great ship named Pestilence, which was called also Fat Fussock by its engineers for its poor maneuverability. Romulus saw her captain, an old Braviary, shouting something at the engineers aboard the ship. They hurried to do as he commanded.

The elder Braviary noticed the Haxorus approaching and gave him a hard eye. "You're Romulus, aye? That spot on your neck marks you."

Romulus looked down his shoulder, at the base of his arm. "A battle scar, nothing more. And you are?"

"Fleet Commander Jonathan, under the command of all the true lords of Stygia."

He nodded.

"We were told of your coming," the Braviary begun saying, but Romulus interrupted him.

"I see ten ships. The fleet had more than thirty."

"They've gone south to help Lord Teneth on the southern front... after command given by Lord Chantalai. I don't know what he's thinking, but he says we won't be needing them here." The Braviary looked troubled for a second. "Weren't you in the war meeting?"

"That's no place for me. I do as I am bid, and nothing more."

Jonathan threw him an examining look with his sharp, yellow eyes. "You're a good soldier... but a bit of a heavy one."

Before Romulus could say a thing, a certain somebody showed aboard the Pestilence. It was a rare Pokemon, a Meloetta who was almost small enough to fit in his hand and fragile enough to be broken by it. "There's little harm in being heavy," she said, "it's not like your fussock can go any slower."

The Braviary cried out his laughter. "That's true, miss Vendra, she's always been slow."

Vendra was that mysterious woman - or rather, teenage girl - who performed the Ritual of War for the tribes. Romulus had first seen her nine years ago, before the first Stygian rebellion; she'd come to Lord Chantalai while Romulus was protecting him as part of his standard ECUL training program. He hadn't heard what was said between them; the next day, he was dismissed and returned to Union City. A few days later, hell broke loose when news reached the south: two of the tribes, Vanir and Tocan, had performed the Ritual of War, and the recent death of the leader of the Shukahen served as a trigger for the war. The rebellion failed, and she was nowhere to be found; Chantalai or the other lords did not speak of her again and Romulus returned to his duties as a personal household guard, after graduating. Nine years later, she shows up and brings war, the same stuff all over again.

Romulus never trusted her, because he didn't know who she was, and she didn't trust him, probably because he had the stain of Gold Tribe on him. But the thing that bothered him about Vendra most was that she hadn't aged at all after nine years.

"Earthquake," Vendra called him out, "why are you here?" She'd jumped off the ship to fly in front of him, at the same level as his eyes.

"Lord Chantalai's commands."

Her big, green eyes glowed strangely. Romulus saw cunning in there, and he didn't like it one bit. "Is that so?" she asked with a smile of amusement on her delicate face.

Just then, the horn of war sounded. It was a deep sound, resonating oddly in the extent of the Grey Waste.

"A'ight boys, time for war," Fleet Commander Jonathan chirped and flew over to Pestilence. "Sorry miss Vendra, but I'm gonna have to ask you to go. We're lifting off soon."

Vendra and Romulus locked eyes. He showed her his teeth, not in a smile, but in a smirk. In the end, she turned and floated away. "Good luck up there," she giggled.

***

Romulus wasn't used to flying. The ground was his ally. The wooden deck of a ship was more like his enemy, bound to break under him. He was so heavy, he thought the wood was going to yield under his feet and he'd fall to his death. He cursed loudly as the wind swept through the deck, Pestilence diving from one cloud to the next. Heights didn't bother him, it was ships that were untrustworthy. He'd be better off in the vanguard, smashing some things up properly.

Alamagna wasn't far. As soon as the ship escaped the clouds, the city showed. It was closer than Romulus had thought. Below Pestilence, the horn of war sounded, multiple times as the hordes of the Stygians marching through the grey wastes to the walls of the city. The army was vast, though not as endless as it had been in the Mark; many had been killed, many had been ordered to retreat. Apparently the lords did not think the full might of their tribes was needed to conquer the city. Romulus thought they were underestimating the ones guarding that city. Still, the amount of soldiers amassed below the ships were indeed great. They outnumbered the defenders tremendously.

The armies marched up to a point, then a psychically enhanced voice commanded them to halt. It was a metallic, skin-stirring voice that belonged to no other than Chantalai, who used his powers of illusion to alter it. Even with the wind, Romulus could hear him up here. The banners of Stygia flapped as the wind struck them. The clouds brought dust back and forth, covering the horizons, but not the sky. Visibility was surprisingly clear. The defenders on the walls could see the strength of three combined tribes in all of its immensity, halted just outside their range of fire. Then, Chantalai spoke again. "Let them see," he said, only. Silence had fallen, only the wind to be heard.

Then, the horn of war roared again. Many other roars joined the sound. The armies charged forward, the attack on the walls had begun. Romulus scratched the black spot on his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the blue figure running swiftly to be the first one in the walls. The Greninja was fast, Romulus knew that already. It seemed like Asaito would be the first one through.

The airships didn't move, their engines shut down. The crew had their attention at the top of the battlements, Romulus realized. The Hyper Beam cannons made it impossible for them to approach by air. If they did, they would be destroyed in a matter of seconds. Romulus put one foot on the edge of the airship, leaning his long neck forward to scan the situation.

The three tribes clashed with the walls, some throwing attacks at them, trying out if that would work. Some begun to climb using their feet, others using ladders. The flying-types were all held back with the fleet... they would be unleashed once Jonathan gave the green signal. The Hyper Beam cannons worked their magic, releasing those blindly flashing beams that laid annihilation and carnage below. They were extremely destructive, but their range wasn't large enough. And the tribes were attacking in a thin line, forming a spear of sorts, so not many of the cannons reached them at first. Romulus watched carefully Asaito, climbing the walls with incredible dexterity and speed. He landed on top of the battlements, where he was met by the defenders. The walls made it impossible for him to see what happened next.

The Haxorus cracked his knuckles, watching the attackers gather to the trench, below the walls, some attacking the gate. Explosions went up, flames licked the wall, streams of war struck, lightning came down from the sky and some hyper beams were shot by the Pokemon at the base of the walls in an attempt to destroy them, with little luck. The walls were too thick and well-made for that. They would need to improvise to get through.
​

OOC: the siege has started! Asaito is the first one up the battlements. If any of you want to fight him, let's make a joint post! Those of you who are with Skysaber currently, wait a bit for the end of the first phase.

 

[Greiger]

Punisher - Defending da cannons… unenthusiastically​

​

The Machamp couldn't help but pace after a while, grumbling as he realized how boring a task this was going to be. There were no enemies here and despite his great thought of perhaps a few enemies making it over the walls, he realized that his other brothers and sisters had different ideas. They were along the walls, protecting them as best as they could. No doubt any warriors would be easily kicked off and he would be left without any chance to charge in! Of course he was here at a cannon now… but at the same time if he could make it out of the walls and onto the other side he would be able to wreck true havoc amid the enemy's numbers. Now… the question was how could he get there without just abandoning his post?

The Charmeleon at the cannons was far from bored and looked a bit frightened. Punisher was far from a smooth talker, so he mostly just paced and ignored the fire type as best as he could. With those shields the siblings had set up there was no doubt that the cannons would be far from destroyed, rather they could easily kill off any ships that would make it here. On the plus at least if any birds tried to get down to him the canon could shoot them out of the sky.

Once he heard the sounds he couldn't help but smile. He flexed his four arms eagerly as he saw in the distance the army coming right at them. Perfect! They were now able to fight! He couldn't help but giggle in glee as the Charmeleon armed the canon and began to fire out. Punisher saw that there were way too many bodies out there for the canons to take them all out, meaning he would have his chance at punching in a few faces! He soon saw a Greninja hop out onto the wall and move along it quickly. He clenched his muscles in anticipation, knowing he was probably the best bet to bring down the dark type, yet he was stuck HERE and not there! Oh, he so wanted to get onto the wall now!

He glanced back at the Charmeleon gunner and sighed, his lower arms crossing themselves angrily as he could only wait. Once the army surged in he would have his chance at beating them to the ground. He couldn't see Garland around at the moment, so he figured he had run into those caves. Heh, at least he would go down fighting! He began to brace himself as he clenched his muscles, taking in a deep breath as he focused for a bit. There! His eyes snapped open once more as he began to think a bit more. He reached into his bag and grabbed out a oran berry. At the least he could provide a bit of support to anyone on the wall by throwing berries at them… like that would matter. If anything else he could grab random objects and fling them out at his opponents.

 

[CourageHound]

Noah Endris ~ The Flash

& Thrasher

-Alamagna Mines- Back to Square One...​

As the two 'mon continued to press on, eventually something became audible as they went deeper. However, it wasn't what the aqueduct they were searching for. Pebbles and debris fell from the ceiling as the earth trembled above them. The Flash at first fearing a fatal cave in, realized that the siege above them in Alamagna was underway. "What a battle", Noah said to the Primeape. "The vibrations can even be felt down here. You think our brothers will be able to hold their own?"

Thrasher thought for a moment, "On the one hand... we could return upside and help with the battle... on the other if we abandon our mission to find the exit... then we will only aid in their downfall. Eventually they will need to retreat or face death. "If we cannot find the aqueducts... then we will have failed in our own mission and only more will perish. It is up to you brother, should we head back up and fight for a few minutes and perish along with everyone? Or should we try and find the route that will save our brothers and sisters?"

The Typhlosion sighed. I appreciate your optimism, he thought sarcastically. Looking back up to the cave ceiling, he shakes his head. "No, no we have a goal in mind and that is to reach the aqueducts. Now that we at least know which path we took, I suggest we head back to where the tunnels began to diverge and choose a different path."

Thrasher nodded, "Right. We must be also prepared for anything though. It could be that the tunnels behind us could be filled with Stygian soldiers. In that case we'll need to find the aqueducts. If that does happen... we'll have to head through the aqueducts and lose the soldiers in the city. In that case we'll have to find someway to hide our symbols to make sure that we can even hide from civilians. In such a scenario we will meet outside the city gates. That's only IF such a scenario happens. In any other case let's find those aqueducts and help get as many of our brothers and sisters out of harm's way."

The Flash nodded in agreement. They hastily backtracked their way through the marked tunnels. It took much less time going back due to both 'mon not bothering to slow their pace. Noah took a citrus berry from the pouch around his waist and offers one to Thrasher. "To keep your energy up." As they approached the original three tunnels at the beginning of the mine they were careful to make stealth a priority just in case Stygians had found the cave-mouth. Once all seemed clear, they observed the remaining two paths. One lead to the aqueducts and the other could probably lead to the Grey Wastes for all they knew. "Let's take the central path this time. I hope it'll yield more promising results". He shifted his gaze to Thrasher for his approval.

Thrasher licked the remaining berry juice from his lips and nodded, "Let's. Also we should observe our surrounding while we move this time. If any Stygians do come after us we will already know where weak points in the caves are, that way we could cause a tunnel collapse if we get desperate. But lead on brother."

The duo set off once more into the mines, this time down the path that neither they or their comrades had taken. The explosive sound of the siege slowly began to fade behind them and was gradually replaced by the hollow echo tunnel itself.

 

[GastlyGibus]

Tavhir and Garland - The Escape Route​

"Let's go this way," Tavhir said towards Garland, taking the opposite path that Flash and Thrasher had taken. He approached one of the walls, feeling the surface of the rock against his bladed hand. Taking a step back, he drew his arms back and swung them violently forward in a Metal Claw attack, making a large, distinct X mark on the wall should they need to find their way back. "In case we get lost."

"Good thinking," Garland muttered, glancing briefly at the Pawniard as he walked down the dark path. The moisture in the air was getting thicker and the air thinner. Garland could feel it, they were getting close to that spot he had once known so well.

"I feel like I owe an apology to everyone," the Floatzel said, his voice trembling a bit. "Let me start with you... I'm sorry things did not turn out as expected in the Mark. So many deaths... if it is anyone's fault, it's mine." He couldn't bear to look at the Pawniard walking next to him.

"Don't dwell on it too heavily," Tavhir responded, thinking of the attack on the Mark. "What's done is done. We will avenge our Gold Tribe bretheren and put this rebellion down. Their sacrifice will not have been in vain." Tavhir said with confidence, though there was also a small amount of what sounded like vengeful anger in his tone as well. He kept his pace, stopping every few feet to make another mark on the stone walls.

Willful lad, Garland thought, and said, "the factor of confidence and morale is important in a battle, I suppose." He would try, for once, being optimistic. "The escape route we're searching for is what keeps us all comfort... let's do our best finding it."

There was a pleasant scent to be found in the wetness of the air, the farther down the caves they reached. The aroma was soothing for Garland, strangely and unexpectedly, even though the memories from this place weren't the best. He knew it was coming from those white night-flowers that grew on the walls of the depths of this cave, blooming when it was night...

As they walked in silence, the dark passage started to seem familiar. Garland was now convinced he had walked this path before. Many signs were there: the scent, the humidity in the air, the distant sound of traveling water. The rest of the way was now clear. The Floatzel got on his four and started running.

Garland ran straight past Tavhir, the latter running after the Floatzel. He had abandoned marking the walls; they appeared to have found the right path. He chased after Garland, running surprisingly quick despite his small size.

"I assume we're going the right way?" Tavhir called out to Garland as they continued to run down the path.

"I suppose," Garland shouted. He hoped the old aqueduct was still accessible. The waterway was one landfall away from becoming blocked off and unusable. If anything of the sort had happened down here in the past years, they were all doomed.

The path was widening, a lush, green light was coming above. The river was roaring under the natural bridge the rocks were forming. Grass grew on the wet walls and those white nightflowers bloomed in thick patches. The sound of running water resonated radiantly in the cave; a waterfall was crushing down from somewhere above. Garland tried looking up until his head pushed his back, but he couldn't see the ceiling of the cave. The light coming from above was the sun, coming as rays through openings in the rock above. Green light was also mixed in there, for a reason that eluded his understanding.

A wave of freshness and pleasant aroma hit Garland's face the moment he walked across that bridge. This place was an underground heaven - and an excellent resting place. Clearly, he recalled himself and his sister, Ariadne, easing up close to the river and brainstorming on battle tactics, trying to figure out how to thwart the Stygian opposition, during the first rebellion. He stopped walking, kneeled on the ground and picked up one of these nightflowers. It was so fragile, it melted in his hand... raising his eyes, he saw the rock with the familiar symbol. E-88.

Past that rock were stones once polished well and placed in order. The aqueduct connected to the river, but some fallen rocks prevented water from getting into it. The waterway led to a massive opening in the cave's wall, the start of the pipe that led to Ascanfell, where moss had overgrown terribly, covering the ground, the wall and hanging from the ceiling. The depths of the waterway's pipe were dark, but the sun managed to reach just below the opening... Garland's eye caught something peculiar. He walked over there, to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"Snow," he said out loud, touching it. His heart beat faster as he looked at it, his mind working feverishly. There was no way snow reached naturally here. Snow hadn't fallen for weeks. And it wasn't that cold down here, so it could not have formed on its own. When he took a closer inspection, he realized the snow was quickly melting. He looked within the pipe's darkness, as far as his eyes could possibly see. There was snow all over the floor, and it was melting quickly.

He gestured to Tavhir, without looking at him. "Somebody is down here," he whispered.

Tavhir's expression turned serious, taking notice of the unnatural presence of snow in these caves. Garland was correct; they were not alone down here. Whether this person was still in the room was unknown. Tavhir shifted his stance slightly, not an overt combat stance, but one where he could easily spring into action if need be.

"Friend or foe?" he whispered back to Garland, mentally preparing himself for the worst. They could have walked right into an ambush for all he knew.

"Foe," Garland muttered, feeling the blood pump through his limbs. His ears were occupied with the sound of the crushing waterfall and the river, but now that he was getting over it, he could hear something else from the darkness of the pipe. It was a constant, shrieky metallic sound that echoed one the walls. Garland felt his hackles rise, knowing that whatever it was, it was coming. He braced himself... in the light came a floating ring of steel. Many keys were hanging from it, creating that metallic sound as they touched together. A Klefki, Garland knew.

Just then, something stirred in the shadows next to the pipe. The Floatzel managed to see a pair of yellow eyes, before the thing lunged at him. He sidestepped, water forming in his hand as he prepared to strike back. The thing was a Ferrothorn with nasty spikes and a mean stare. "Problem!" it shouted, "you are problem!"

"The Stygians," Garland cursed. They had found the place through the caves, surely.

"Good," the Klefki said softly, "I see we've found their leader!"

Garland jerked behind him, to see a ghost floating behind Tavhir. It was a Chandelure, its mauve flames whirling with the breeze.

Tavhir saw the alarm in Garland's eyes as he turned to face behind him. Tavhir knew almost instantly that someone must have snuck behind him. In one swift motion, Tavhir spun around, delivering a Night Slash attack to whomever was foolish enough to sneak up on him. The Chandelure reacted quickly, dodging to the side and just barely avoiding the attack as it floated back, away from Tavhir.

"Cover your ears!" Tavhir shouted to Garland, the Pawniard crossing his bladed hands together and scraping them against each-other to create a terrible noise like grinding metal: Metal Sound.

The Chandelure recoiled from the noise, growing more hostile and retaliating with a powerful flamethrower attack, the spiraling flames rapidly flowing towards the Pawniard. Garland leaped above Tavhir, right into the stream of flames. He blocked the stream, letting the wild flames lick his fur, grunting with the force he had to withstand. The water floating on his hand burst, and suddenly, a whirl of water engulfed the whole of him. The flames fought the water, and steam rose, but they were quickly overwhelmed; Garland shot through the flames like a bullet towards his opponent. The whirl of water smashed at the ghost, who screamed and swerved abruptly, floating away.

The Klefki launched a blast and the Floatzel was forced to leap aside to dodge it; he rolled, the power of the winds gathered into his hands. He saw the Ferrothorn had begun a cruel advance, its long, vine-like appendages acting as weapons for smashing. "Remember your training," Garland shouted to Tavhir.

Tavhir dodged the blast launched by the Kelfki, jumping in the opposite direction of Garland. Regaining his bearings, he looked up to see the Ferrothorn approaching, smashing the ground with his approach as he let out a sadistic laugh.

Tavhir stood his ground, dropping down into a battle stance once more as he scanned the Ferrothorn, waiting for a opening. Once the Ferrothorn was within distance, it raised one of it's maces, intending to crush the Pawniard in one swift motion. Tavhir sprung forward, launching himself with tremendous speed towards the Ferrothorn, letting loose a powerful sucker punch attack at the Ferrothorn's face. The Ferrothorn fell back from the pain, his attack abruptly ended before it could land. The thorn pod fell to the ground momentarily, and Tavhir took advantage of it, landing on top of Ferrothorn's head and using it as a booster to launch himself again, this time aiming for the Klefki. The Pawniard readied himself as he flew towards the Klefki, steadying his blades for a metal claw attack. The Klefki swerved in mid-air, just narrowly avoiding the metal claw. Tavhir cursed to himself; he had to be quicker next time. He landed with a roll next to Garland, seeing that the Ferrothorn had recovered from his earlier attack, once again approaching the two with malicious intent.

Garland unleashed the Razor Wind, which cut through the Ferrothorn with little effect and reached the Klefki behind it. The Floatzel was coated in water already, puddles forming around his feet. The water was soon rising up in a wave aimed at the Ferrothorn. However, Garland didn't manage to finish his attack. There was a scream coming from above, where the light was coming from. Garland glanced to see a shadow, something huge was falling towards him; in the very last second, he managed to leap away before the thing crushed with the disgusting sound of a bag of liquids being broken.

The Floatzel was met with a Garbodor, who roared, "I needed to see what took you guys sooo long!" He didn't close his mouth. Instead, he unleashed a Gunk Shot directly at Garland. There are more of them, and they're not just amateurs, he thought furiously, the Gunk Shot slipping past him as he sidestepped with incredible speed, but he screamed of pain the next instant. He'd stepped on a Poison Spike that the Garbodor had spread with its arrival. He blinked, pushing himself off the ground, baring his fangs in pain; the Ferrothorn came at him quickly and this time, he couldn't dodge. He took a direct hit to the chest with the spiked vines, which send him flying and rolling onto the rocky wall of the cave.

"Garland!" Tavhir shouted, seeing his comrade blasted back by the Ferrothorn. He turned again towards his attackers, the Chandelure once again appearing behind the rest of his Stygian friends; there were four of them now, all of them facing towards Tavhir with a vicious grin.

"One down... one to go!" The Klefki said with a grin, laughing maniacally at the Pawniard.

"Your leader is no more," the Ferrothorn shouted, "and you're next. Prepare to die!"

 

[Ray Maverick]

Skysaber

Through his spyglass, he could see the battle as if he was there. The battlements were riddled with Stygians, charging into fight and clashing with the defenders. The sounds of the blasts, mingled with the cries for victory and screams of pain reached all the way over to the Dock Rock. "Order. Entropy. Order! Entropy!" gibbered Skysaber. "It really is interesting. Frank! Do you see? Everything falls into place in a matter of seconds, then it suddenly is restored to its former place." At one moment, he could see everything clearly. Who was about to kill whom. The next moment, everything became chaos. He put the spyglass down, leaned on one knee that was based on the rail and chewed on his gum loudly. Two Magnemites were buzzing loudly on the rail next to his foot.

The Kadabra blinked. "I've no idea what you're talking about." That happened quite often. Zack reached out to pet his Magnemites, who zapped him with a weak jolt of electricity that was absorbed by his fur. Those were mindless Magnemites, wild Pokemon as some called it, but Zack preferred to call them living artillery, because the projectiles that did most damage were the living ones. It was his idea to include Magnemites to the Storm's Fury's arsenal, and it had saved them when running away. The little guys could do wonders.

"The clouds are coming." Nik was a Castform, the weather-boy of the crew who it seemed always had one eye in the sky, or so Zack thought. "Captain, we had better set off in the clouds. That way, they won't see us coming."

"We're one airship against..."he looked through his spyglass again. In the horizon, he saw the Stygian fleet floating idle. "Many. More than ten. Doesn't matter, they're more than us, and they know we're here, so the element of surprise is not considerable."

"The bigger guns we got sure are considerable," smiled the Kadabra, snatching the spyglass off Zack's hands. He looked to the horizon. "Those ships are old generation. If we handle this correctly, victory won't be impossible."

Yeah, that seems to be the case. "Oookay-dokey... round up, boys," he shouted, especially to Aecron, who had recently joined their crew. "Aecron 'Cowboy Everhold. Mechanic, Artillery, Pilot, and Vangaurd of the gold tribe. Permission to join your crew?" The Chestnaught had asked. Hell yea!Skysaber was pleased with the new addition. They could fit that guy in Donna, the cannon fixed on the mouth of the Gyarados figurehead of the ship, then shoot him off to blast some enemies to smithereens. Plus, he seemed experienced. The equation of the impending sky battle was starting to tip to their favor in Skysaber's mind... the fact that they were massively outnumbered didn't matter to him, like he mentioned before. The escape from the Mark seemed to have given him confidence in his skills as a captain, but it wasn't only that that made him chew his gum with open mouth, grinning widely without a care in the world. Now that he was the captain, he called the shots... literally, as it happened. And this time, he had something that he could not possibly have before: a plan that he personally devised on his own.

The Electabuzz took his foot off the ship's rail and reached for a great barbed iron spear next to him; it was so heavy he could barely lift it, but the heavier, the worse the damage was. "Expertly designed, properly forged. The tip oughta pierce through anything but tristanite." His crew had gathered around, listening. "Take a look at their ships--" he turned to the grey horizon. "Oh. They're too far away... at any rate. They're always shielded with protective and most of the time reflective barriers that ward off ranged attacks that could otherwise prove harmful to their regularity, even to the point of utter destruction. Yeah, they're shielded at all times. What kind of moron sets out for a sky battle without shields?" He chuckled dorkishly, then cleared his throat. He raised the iron spear so everyone could see it. "This is no normal ranged attack. It might be a projectile, but it's still solid iron that can't be held back by mere psychic power. It'll shoot right through their barriers. I found it in the Citadel's armory, it was used by the old cannons before the Hyper Beam cannons were invented. But here's the best part: if I do this..."

The electricity stored in his fur showed, flew from his arm, traveling all the way up to his hand. The two Magnemites followed the surge, attracted to the iron, until they stuck to its tip. Zack grinned at them. Sparks flew around wildly. He took the end of the harpoon and attached it a cannon's chain, then armed it in. "Now this, I call revolutionary weaponry. Aimed right, this should anchor us to the enemy ship, and me and the rest of my Magnemite friends here can pump some electricity through the chain, channeling it to the other end, where the harpoon is. Great range, shoots through the barrier, the additional surge of electricity causes gradual but quick ignition, it melts the Magnemites on the tip of the spear, they go crazy and boom!" The Electabuzz raised his arms as a visual representation of the explosion. "Fire, everywhere. If the wood around them doesn't burn, then the heat will cause the Flogistron gas is their balloons to become thinner and thinner, till they explode and let the ships fall like rocks. Heh! Fatal damage done from the inside, all in one shot."

"Woah..." Nik was overtaken by the concept. "You're a genius, Zack!"

Zack rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, nah..."

"All we need now is somebody with good aim," Frank said.

Zack quieted down, looked at Frank, who looked at him back. Nik was looking at him too. "What! Don't look at me. I came up with the thing, now somebody has to help it get home. Well, I handle the machines and Flogistron. Everybody's got a role in here. Pyro! What's yours gonna be?"

Frank had brought the Meowstic to their ship through teleportation. He hadn't seen her in action, but her title hinted her abilities. Perhaps she could use a fire-type Hidden Power. Pyro was also the brother of the second-in-command, so her dependability was secured in Zack's mind, as that had to count for something.

"And you, Cowboy," Zack turned to the Chestnaught, "I've heard of that dive bomb of yours. We can fly above those ships or we can load ya to Donna and shoot you off wherever. Heh. Your choice."
​

 

[Greiger]

Thrasher, Tahvir, and Flash: Three GT in a cave!​

​

Thrasher followed along as closely as he could. Every so often rocks and dirt would fall from the ceiling and hit onto the ground, sometimes dirt would fall onto his fur, but Thrasher knew it was pointless to stop and try and wipe it out. He could get clean some other time, but for now they had to keep moving. The sounds from up top were getting softer the further they went and Thrasher had to assume that there were either moving further from the battle or were going deeper into the earth. He hoped that they were actually making their way to the aqueducts.

Still, he had to wonder why these caves weren't filled with other soldiers. It wasn't like they were hidden and a great state secret. The government in the Stygian cities had to know they were here, right? Maybe they just thought the Gold Tribe would stand and fight. Either way, it was a lucky break on their side. Now, if this did lead to the Gray Wastes it wouldn't be wasted either. They were only two mon and wouldn't be worth sending hundreds of soldiers their way and if they were really lucky they would end up some distance from the battle itself. If they couldn't find the way to the aquaducts in time they could simply move out here, make their way across the wastes and try to find another cave to hide in. It would be a waste of manpower to only find a few Gold Tribe stranded out in the wastes after all.

The best option was to find the aqueducts, get up them, then scatter throughout the city. Let no one stick together and one by one find each other in some pub or such. They could wait a few weeks, and he could try and blend back into Stygian society. Hopefully they would go undetected in such a state. He cast away his thoughts and spoke up, "So, any signs of an exit yet brother?" He asked softly.

The Flash took this moment to place his ear firmly to the cave wall. It took several moments but he could faintly hear a distant trickling sound. His eyes widened with releif. "Yes! I think we are close to water. Let's just keep moving forward." The Flash eagerly led the way the next ten minutes or so until the tunnel itself began to change and the running water was clearly audible. The walls were lined with moss and greenery and the tunnel expanded outward and a luminous green light came from above rendering the Flash's flames no longer necessary. Past patches of flowers and grass was a bridge the led of the pounding stream of the aqueduct. "Well I think this is it.", he finally said to Thrasher. He took in a waft of the moist air. "I beleive Garland said he'd be here."

Thrasher sighed in relief and followed behind him. They just had to get up the aqueducts, make sure that there were no soldiers patrolling the streets, and lead the others here. It was just the need to be cautious once they arrived. The Primeape nodded, "Be careful. I'm not sure if there could be mon down here working on the sewers or the like. We can't have anyone alerted too quickly. So keep your voice low and try not to make any noise. We'll need to find a way up to the city." He suddenly paused, "Hm... you hear that?" He asked.

It took the Typhlosion a moment to adjust his ears to the sound as well, but sure enough, there was a ruckous in the distance. Both 'mon crossed the bridge carefully and soon layed eyes on a cluster of Stygian soldiers across the cave from their position. Imediately on the alert, he crouches down on all fours and takes cover behind a near boulder. "How do we get past them?!" Noah asked his companion.

Thrasher stuck to his own positions against a wall and frowned, "First off, be as quiet as you can be." He said softly. He thought again, "It's likely that there are more soldiers down here, waiting in various paths in case we would have taken them. If that's the case... then if we proceed further into the aquaducts we'll just find more soldiers and if we try to ascend there are no doubt soldiers there ready to kill us or take us hostage. Given the sheer amount of tunnels we'll need to tread carefully, but it's likely we'll be ambushed either way we go."

He looked back over at the soldiers, "In any event... it might be best for us to simply go all out. Given the noises no doubt echoing all over the caves by this point, we'll be surrounded. We'll need to make our own escape route. Tell me brother, can your fire melt through rock? If you can make some exits for us we can escape up and onto the surface. The caves are no longer safe. If we do get separated, that'll be the plan. Head to the surface as fast as possible." He sighed, "This was an ambush from the beginning. Some of our own brothers no doubt betrayed this information. Hold up." He looked closer and let out another sigh, "I see... a Pawinard... one of our brothers. Garland and him must have been ambushed here. We'll head in, fight them off long enough to retrieve our brothers, and you make an escape route for us. Agreed?"

The Flash scratched his head. "I do suppose I can melt the rock but it would take more time than we have. Especially since the area is moist. Though I do agree we should confront them now." He ignited the flames on his back. "I''ll charge in first. Come from a different angle after I blast them." Noah then leaped over the rock he had taken shelter behind and unleashed a powerful lave plume, covering the area with molten lava and scattering the Stygian troops.

Just as the Flash rose so did Thrasher. He cast a glance around, making sure there wasn't someone in the corner ready to pounce out at them. He was soon running after the lava had gone by. As he ran he opened his mouth and let out a high pitched Screech. He knew such an attack might hit his brothers, but it was a risk he had to take. If it meant weakening the Stygian soldiers here, then he was willing to take it.

Landing in the middle of the cluster of Stygians next to Garland, Flash uses Extrasensory to pick the giant weasel up and quickly places the body a safe distance from the fighting. He then called to Thrasher, "Hurry and clear them out!"

Tavhir faced down the four Stygians, defiance in his eyes as he returned their glares back at them. He was outnumbered, but damned if he didn't go down without a fight. He prepared himself for the worst, when suddenly, Flash came crashing in, unleashing a deadly lava plume and scattering the enemy. In the same moment Thrasher came in as well; the odds had turned in the Gold Tribe's favor.

 

[GastlyGibus]

Thrasher moved on in, grinning as he aimed for the Chandelure. He leapt up as his body briefly took on a black glow. He jumped on up and struck out with his fist to hit into the ghost type with his Punishment attack and soon landing back as he grinned up at the ghost, "Heh, you're going down first Stygian!" He declared.

The Flash simutaneously charged and launched a devestating Inferno at the Ferrothorn, annialating the Grass/Steel type and leaving it in a pillar of hellish flames. He then quickly dashes over to the Pawniard's side.

"Took you long enough," Tavhir said as the Flash landed to his side.

Noah grunted. "Hmph. Hardly the warm welcome I would've expected. It's not like you to be backed in a corner like this anyway."

"A minor setback," Tavhir responded, brining his hands up in a combat stance. "Come on, these fools want to die, so let's grant their wish."

"Oh, you're in big trouble," the Klefki hummed, watching the Ferrothorn struggling to get up. Its body was set ablaze and it was screaming and moaning like a madman. "Athos here is rather volatile! You could say he, well... explodes if he's enraged! Even if he gets knocked out, he'll explode. It's gonna be a big boom! And you know what that means, don't you?"

"W-what?!" Noah glanced inbetween the Klefki and the burning Ferrothorn who the former claims the latter has explosion. If explosion was used it would mean the end for them. The cave will collapse on top of them and their escape route would be reduced to rubble, rendering the entire operation pointless. The Typhlosion clenched his teeth as the Ferrothorn continued to wail in pain. Quickly dashing to the waters edge, he gathered energy and unleashed Nature Power in the form of Hydro Pump, dousing the burning pokemon. It was still concious, but burns and ash was clearly visiable across its smoking metal. "Are you insane?! You know blowing up the cavern would be the end of us all!"

"He's bluffing!" Tavhir accused the Kelfki. "Unless you rebels are as clueless as you are cowardly." Tavhir had a hard time believing them. How could lowly grunts be so devoted to a cause that'd be willing to kill themselves for their goals?

Thrasher frowned and stepped back, "So then... let me guess this straight then. We either all die down here, or you take us prisoner lest we all blow up?" He looked over at Flash and back at the Klefki, "Well you all would die in such a case, so why give up your lives so easily?" He was still guarding himself. There were only four of them, but perhaps he could get their guard down.

At the very least, they could just ignore the Ferrothorn, and he was pretty sure his attacks on the Chandelure were effective enough. Still in these close quarters he couldn't really lay down a plan with Flash or Tavhir.

"Ha! Did you think we got all the way down here, so we could be blown to pieces with you?! That's why we brought Jiggs with us!" The Klefki hummed happily, and the Chandelure's smile became creepier. That had to be Jiggs. "While you're crushed under the rocks, Jiggs here will make us transparent! Oh, look..."

"Athos's gonna explode! Woo-hoo," the Garbodor chanted. The Ferrothorn was seething and shaking, its eyes red with anger, its body hot, melting and smoking. An Explosion was brewing!

The Typhlosion quickly began to weigh his options. He wanted to make sure there were no holes in their plan. Glancing at the chandelure he made a declaration to the Stygians. "How do you plan to turn intangible when you have no ghost type?" Before anyone had the chance to respond, he gathers energy from the cave and unleashes Nature Power in the form of Power Gem, striking down the chandelure with a barrage of energized stones.

Thrasher looked over at the Ferrothorn, then an idea struck him. There was a large pool of water here too, how deep it was... he didn't know, but it was better than nothing! With that he raced forward and grabbed the Ferrothorn. "Then how about exploding like this!?" He cried out as he fought off the urge to let go of the rather hot mon. He could already feel the heat searing into his hands as he swung him faster and faster. One swing, two swings, and there! With that the Primeape cried out, mostly in relief, as he let the Ferrothorn go. He had angled it as best as he could to try and throw the Ferrothorn deep into the water, hopefully it wasn't buoyant. Still, he dived off to the side and pressed himself low to the ground, unsure as to how large such an explosion would be.

Athos the Ferrothorn had fallen into the water, sinking quickly, until he was out of sight. "No!" the Klefki screamed. The Chandelure was knocked out by the powerful strike Noah the Flash had unleashed; there was no getting them out of there, and their trump cards were disabled one after another. Garland watched from the ground as his brothers showed them what it meant to be a member of the Gold Tribe. A slight but weary smile formed on his face, and he immediately winced, clutching his bloodied chest.

The explosion went off, and it was a powerful one. It shook the waters like a small earthquake and brought dust from the rocks down upon them, but that was it. The escape route was saved. Stunned, caught by surprise from the wits of Thrasher and the ferocity of the Flash, the Stygians screamed in dismay. The Klefki tried to get away by floating away. The Garbodor's face seemed as if he'd taken a whiff of his own stench.

Garland made an effort to get on his feet, leaning on a nearby rock. "Do not kill them. Knock them out and capture them. I think a questioning is in order."

Thrasher was quick to get back up and glared at the the retreating enemies. "Tahvir, go get him!" He shouted to the Pawniard as he suddenly picked up his brother, and using his strength, threw him right at the Klefki. Tavhir straightened his body, flying like a javelin through the air, aiming directly for the Klefki as he readied another metal claw attack. Once he was within range, he flipped in midair, swinging his blades down on the Klefki with all of his might, smacking the hapless fairy-type down to the rocks below.

The flames on his shoulders burning more furiously, the Flash traps the panicking Garbodor in a Fire Pledge, the flame pillar quickly extinguishing the poison type's conciousness. Walking over to the body, he pokes the 'mon's burnt body. "Uhh, I hope I didn't overdo it..." He then turned to his brothers. "Thrasher and I will handle the prisoners. Tahvir give this to Garland so he can recover more quickly." He tosses two sitrus berries from his pouch to the Pawniard. Tavhir caught the berries, rushing over to Garland's aid.

As the two were busy with that Thrasher went over to the water's edge and put his sore hands in them, gritting his teeth a bit at the pain and pulling them out. He could deal with the pain for now, but he knew he would have to get them treated for some burns. He walked on over to the Klefki and picked him up.

Garland took the berries into his mouth, gobbling them down almost without chewing them. "My thanks. That was a job well done... it's a good thing you showed up in time, Flash, Thrasher. Let us return to the surface. I've no idea how the battle is progressing, but our help will be welcome up there."

 

[Garet]

Jacob "Prankster" Marinos
Alamagna - The Battle Begins
~~~~~

"Jacob, I've found you!" Lucius shouted down at him. "I have that gift for you!"

The dark-blue Meowstic hurriedly stood up straight, erecting a Protect around himself until the Blue Baron mentioned the gift. Jacob relaxed a bit, stepping away from the traps as Lucius began rummaging through his bag. Perfect time for him to pull a trick or something. Although, the Jellicent was taking care to keep the bag's contents out of Jacob's sight. What was Lucius hiding?

When the Baron pulled out the finger trap and talked about it, Jacob couldn't help smiling a bit. "I'm sure I will," he replied, taking it gingerly at first, until he was sure it didn't have any triggers. Dropping it inside his own satchel, Jacob added, "I doubt I'll get myself caught, since I don't have any actual fingers, either."

"Traps are pretty much done," the Parasect soldier said, stopping a few feet away.

Jacob nodded. "See you around, Baron." He turned and walked away, heading back for the walls. This finger trap would need to be further examined, but since his initial look had revealed nothing hidden, he could leave it in his satchel for now. When he got to a cannon that stood above the gate to his trapped street, Jacob sat down and closed his eyes. He began focusing his mind; he'd need a Calm Mind for the coming battle.

~~~~~

The Watchog that manned this cannon perked up, and soon the Hyper Beams began tearing into the attacking army. Jacob opened his eyes and stood up, moving to a gap in the battlements and watching for enemy soldiers that would come up this part of the wall. Before long, the end of a ladder clacked against the wall before him; Jacob pushed it away with a Psybeam. He elevated himself into the same gap in order to actually see the enemy.

Just a few feet below him was a Grovyle. A few orbs of blue and purple energy formed around Jacob, and he fired two of the Psyshocks at the Grovyle, pushing him off the wall, and fired the last Psyshock at the same ladder, which was trying to come back. As it fell again, Jacob formed a Reflect-and-LightScreen barrier around himself, adding to the cannon's barrier as well.