[Pokémon] He who is Merely a Rumour

[Citrinin]

XD; Thanks. ^^ It was more of an excuse to test out a new program I'd downloaded, and I thought that Augury's voice would be perfect to create. XD

 

[Citrinin]

Chapter Twenty-Four: Arc of the Grenade
"I sense danger." Rex looked up from the planning table, staring at Susan Adams. "I can't sense who, so it's probably The Knife."

Susan nodded. "I'll go to the safe room."

Rex pulled a cellphone from his pocket. "This is Rex. You have a task: kill every intruder in the Unit 6 operation for setting up martial law in Sectra City."

Hanging up, Rex motioned to two Cloaks to search the building. He stayed behind, wanting to gauge the invasion team's calibre.

*
​

The words of Dagger from about an hour earlier rung in all their minds. "Even before the Event, thousands upon thousands of dictators ruled. They all came in different sizes and forms: some as ideological radicals, others as brutal autocrats, others as smiling assassins. Perhaps nature was simply getting bored with the regurgitated dictators, and Augury was sent as a twisted joke.

"Make no mistake: this is no mundane rebellion. We are not rebelling against any ordinary oppressor. It's not simply a matter of taking up arms against your run-of-the-mill human. No - we are fighting against something inhuman. If we allow this thing to take Torcra from us… we are doomed."

This was not the view this member of the Moonlight Squad took. Ten minutes ago, he had received a call from an agent of his master, Lord Augury. It was to kill the intruders. That was his duty; there were no morals involved. He stood on a window ledge, almost as if he was only a white mask: his black cloak faded into the night perfectly.

Of course, he had propelled himself up to this height with his telekinetic abilities. There was a reason this elite group was so feared across the region: they could leap outside the normal restrictions of humanity.

The Moonlight Squad member fiddled with the complicated lock, opening the window neatly, and crawled in silently. Closing it, he strolled towards a heavily guarded door, where two guards lay dead. He silently released two Pokémon: Persian and Poliwrath. They seemed abnormal: silent, dark, and cool.

He psychically lifted one of the guards by their head, and revealed his iris to the biometric scanner. As the door swung open, the Squad member's Pokémon rushed into the room at the terrorist inside.

A flash of darkness struck the two oncoming Pokémon head on: a waiting Houndoom snarled and clawed as the two Pokémon removed the angry canine from its trainer. After all, that was what they were trained to do: to remove Pokémon from the equation.

The Knife member raised a gun, but that flew out of his hand, and he was hoisted up by his leg into the air by a psychic hand. The Squad member drew the sword from within his cloak. The handle was golden, and the blade was long and silver. Were it not stained with the blood of hundreds, it would have almost looked majestic. He stepped forward, but was knocked down by the Houndoom, who had managed to escape the grappling of Poliwrath and Persian. As the Squad member fell, so did the terrorist; his psychic concentration was broken.

The Squad member slashed the Pokémon viciously with its sword, cutting deeply into the poor Pokémon's leg. Never had it felt such force from a human before: not only was the Squad member trained physically, but the swing of his sword was charged with telekinetic momentum. Houndoom uncharacteristically whimpered, and was almost immediately pulled back by Poliwrath.

Trying desperately to escape, the Knife member darted for the exit, but the rising Squad member broke his legs. He screamed in agony as the bones broke his skin. Slowly, he was pulled up psychically, crying and whimpering. In the distance, his Houndoom had been incapacitated. His hands were held in place, so as to prevent him from reaching for another Pokémon.

As had been practiced so many times before, the Squad member jabbed his enemy in the throat, softly but sharply. Impending death reached the dangling terrorist's eyes. The drips of death began to gush with malice from the victim's neck. The few seconds between this and his death seemed to last a whole other lifetime. Another chance to live again. And still, it was too short.

The Squad member swung, with all his physical and psychic might, cleanly removing the Knife member's head. The smash of metal against bone, the sweep of sharpness against skin, the gushing sound of blood. There was no joy, nor thrill. Just duty. One down.

*
​

Two shots. Two heads. Two deaths.

Dagger kept his gun high in the air, prepared for any more guards to come. Joined by Bevan, he crept around the corner. The atmosphere was tense. This was Bevan's second mission, and nothing like his first. With his first, they had retrieved the information perfectly. It was easy, and almost disappointing. But here, there were people dying. It was obvious that they had been discovered. The Eyes was in the building, no doubt surrounded by a convoy of Cloaks, and possibly a Moonlight Squad assassin.

He'd heard a lot about this group, how they inspired terror into those who opposed Augury. The only person whom they had ever failed to capture was Cicero, and even then, the scientist didn't like to talk about it.

Dagger motioned forward, and the two black-clad saboteurs crept forward. Now that the security system had been destroyed (as evidenced by the lack of light on the security cameras and the fact that no alarms had been set off) the plan was in Phase 2. The idea was to simply destroy everything that could help Unit 6 enact martial law. That meant both people and documents.

They slinked through some more corridors, before coming to another room. Dagger held his glove up to the biometric hand scanner, and it hacked into the system, sending through heat and pressure signals perfectly matching an authorised hand. The door swung open, and Bevan and Dagger walked in.

A man in a suit raised his hands, but Bevan shot at him nonetheless. Due to his terrible aim, it instead fired into his computer screen. The suit opened his mouth to scream, before Bevan, gesturing wildly (and unnecessarily), snapped his neck.

His first kill. Perhaps the thought would have been unsavoury before, but now he felt nothing. What did human life matter, aside from the sentiment which we attach to it? Irrational, emotional sentiment.

Dagger released one of his Pokémon – Ninetales. "Will-o-wisp," he whispered.

Obeying, the fox released a silvery breath of fire around the room. It was the perfect weapon of sabotage: it burned everything it came in touch with, but didn't burn the room. Files burst into flame. Hard drives were left burned and destroyed. This Ninetales had evidently had some training in this technique: within ten seconds the room, admittedly small, had no remnants of much of the strategy in it.

Dagger nodded to Bevan, returning his Pokémon. Off they went to the next room to destroy any duplicates.

*
​

Rex sat up, and opened his eyes. In the past ten minutes, he had felt two lethal psychic forces within the building. The first was to propel a swing so that it would kill an enemy. The second was unfamiliar, and hostile. They… they have psychic powers. A defector from the Moonlight Squad, perhaps? Or have they discovered the secret?

He rose out of his chair. It was time to see for himself what new weapon the other side had. He walked out from the main room, commanding the Cloaks inside to guard it.

It was time to show his true strength.

*
​

Perhaps it was the overconfidence that struck them that led them to meet the member of the Moonlight Squad. Having trudged on, they came to a halt when they saw his terrifying, featureless white mask, or his flowing black cloak. It was perhaps at this point that Bevan's downfall occurred. Maybe if Dagger and Bevan had stuck together, things would have turned out differently. Maybe Torcra wouldn't have gone down the dark road it did.

"Run!"

Bevan saw him first. The two Knife members ran as fast as they could. The assassin rose into the air, and began pursuing them at a comfortable speed. It wasn't just enough to kill people. It was his job to induce terror. That was how Augury maintained his power.

He couldn't tell either of them apart. If he could, he would have turned left when his two targets split up: one left, one right. Instead, he went right, pursuing Bevan. Time to pick up the pace.

The Squad member propelled himself forward, drawing his sword in the air. It was a terrifyingly beautiful sight, the long blade swishing through the air beside a cloaked assassin.

Bevan just kept running. Running to the end of the corridor. The grey walls went passed him in a blur, the floor getting eaten up behind him. Get to the door. Get to the door.

As he neared it, he pulled it open psychically. He didn't know whether or not it would work, but it was worth a shot. Again, his mental abilities succeeded. The door swung open, and he launched himself through the frame, before slamming it shut and locking it on the other side.

He was in a new room. He was on a narrow path above the atrium of the room. He ran straight, turned, and continued running. The door burst open, and the dark assassin emerged, flying rapidly across the corner which Bevan had to run in full.

"Aerial Ace!"

Bevan threw his Pokéball, releasing Gliscor, who shot towards the assassin at full speed. Realising he was in danger, the Squad member dropped to the floor. But it was futile: Gliscor moved easily, striking the assassin to the floor. The impact would have been enough to kill any ordinary man. But this trained killer was the antithesis of ordinary. He broke his fall psychically, landing with minimal impact.

"Curve into him!"

Bevan's voice sounded from above, and Gliscor obeyed, circling over his enemy. The assassin raised his sword in defence. Gliscor moved in, claws outstretched. The Squad member gracefully jumped out of the way, propelled by psychic powers, and slashed Gliscor's shell. He screamed in pain, and the assassin leapt into the air, flying.

There was only one response available to Bevan: fly or die. Naturally, he chose the former. Almost as if in slow motion, Bevan tipped himself off the ledge, and curved up, flying past his assailant and returning Gliscor as he flew through a narrow passage of escape.

The assassin looked around, still mid-air and flew down in pursuit, his sword flashing in front of him.

Again, the halls flashed past, but this time, the blur was faster. Bevan still had a chance of escape. Closer, closer… He burst into the next room, ready to find a new way of escape. He looked to the right, and zoomed out. And then Bevan saw him. The face that had haunted him for ages. Those dark eyes. That hellish beard.

He quickly darted in another direction, turning swiftly, but the doors of all the exits closed. The only two paths out were blocked. One by the approaching Rex, the other by an approaching Moonlight Squad member. This was it. I'm going to die.

He pulled out a Pokéball, but that was knocked out of his hand before he could release something to protect himself, by an unknown psychic force. Out of the hall from which he came, the flash of a silver blade against the flying, grim cloak came hurling at him. Rex simply watched.

Survival mode. Live or die. Almost involuntarily, Bevan threw his hands at the flying assassin, knocking him backwards and throwing the sword from his hand. The assassin, surprised though unfazed, opened his hand and allowed his weapon to fly back in.

"Halt," Rex's cold voice commanded.

"I can tell from your eyes who you are," said Rex, his lip twitching. "You survived. And come with a few new tricks."

Bevan stepped back defensively.

"Did the old priest teach you how to do it? You're a fast learner." Rex moved in. His voice was loaded with cold jealousy and contempt. He so terribly wanted to kill Bevan. But he knew that Augury would not tolerate it. Not when he had psychic powers. Bevan would have to be a prisoner. And to his disgust, an alive one.

The scene could not have been more tense. Rex stood there, a lust for death but a need to hold back. The Moonlight Squad member had disappeared to find blood that was not forbidden. Bevan stared his foe down, his eyes full of repressed hatred.

Rex glared at Bevan, and with incredible speed, released a Luxray from its Pokéball. "Thunder Wave!"

 

[Nudge]

Great chapter Citrinin
Great action in my opinion.
Also I love how you've got Rex there with Bevan at his mercy with total bloodlust on his mind but he can't do a thing lol.
And furthermore, I liked Bevan using his psychic powers a bit more, I hope they develop into something more poweful, and I'd love to see him kill Rex in the end :P

But yeah love the chapter bro :D

 

[Citrinin]

Great chapter Citrinin

Thanks. ;D

Great action in my opinion.

I thought you might think so. XD; When I proofread it, I actually had you in mind as the person who'd probably like it the most. :P

Also I love how you've got Rex there with Bevan at his mercy with total bloodlust on his mind but he can't do a thing lol.

Yes. Unfortunately for Rex's bloodlust, his sense of duty outweighs his sadism. ;[ And he'll have to live with the fact that he saved Bevan's life. :P

Also Bevan using his psychic powers a bit more, I hope they develop into something more poweful,

You're going to love Part III, then. ;D

and I'd love to see him kill Rex in the end :P

Hehehe. You'll just have to wait and see. XP But Bevan certainly looks like the most viable candidate to kill Rex if he were to die in the story, doesn't he?

 

[Nudge]

Thanks. ;D


I thought you might think so. XD; When I proofread it, I actually had you in mind as the person who'd probably like it the most. :P

Hahaha really? You read me like a book then :P

Yes. Unfortunately for Rex's bloodlust, his sense of duty outweighs his sadism. ;[ And he'll have to live with the fact that he saved Bevan's life. :P

You're going to love Part III, then. ;D

Yeah I don't think that'll be a good hit for Rex's self-esteem haha
And I can't wait for Part III then :D

Hehehe. You'll just have to wait and see. XP But Bevan certainly looks like the most viable candidate to kill Rex if he were to die in the story, doesn't he?

Yep he most certainly does, however maybe Dagger could with help from Bevan?

Also I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere along the track Bevan turns on Dagger and Cicero after finding out they gave him the powers and possibly killing them but hey you never know, well actually you do know :P

 

[Citrinin]

Hahaha really? You read me like a book then :P

XD; Not quite so easily. I'd just picked up that you liked action. X3

Yeah I don't think that'll be a good hit for Rex's self-esteem haha

Knowing him, he'd probably just take it out on someone of lower rank anyway. :s

Yep he most certainly does, however maybe Dagger could with help from Bevan?

Indeed. It's definitely possible. Or, maybe from someone that you didn't quite expect? ;D

Also I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere along the track Bevan turns on Dagger and Cicero after finding out they gave him the powers and possibly killing them but hey you never know, well actually you do know :P

Definitely a possibility, my friend. After all, he's still operating under a lie. It's inevitable that he'll find out at some point, as his telepathic abilities grow. XP Of course, he could still decide to stay, as the psychic powers were advantageous. He could decide to side with Augury - certainly a candidate for the new, "perfectly" rational Bevan - he's the winning side with the most power. Or he could become a rogue. (Maybe that's the significance of Liam - someone he could meet up with?)

All seem reasonable at this point. [/teaser]

 

[Nudge]

Indeed. It's definitely possible. Or, maybe from someone that you didn't quite expect? ;D

Well the person I wouldn't expect would be Charlotte, her running in to save Bevan or something.

Definitely a possibility, my friend. After all, he's still operating under a lie. It's inevitable that he'll find out at some point, as his telepathic abilities grow. XP Of course, he could still decide to stay, as the psychic powers were advantageous. He could decide to side with Augury - certainly a candidate for the new, "perfectly" rational Bevan - he's the winning side with the most power. Or he could become a rogue. (Maybe that's the significance of Liam - someone he could meet up with?)

All seem reasonable at this point. [/teaser]

Funny you should mention the latter two as I have been tossing those two thoughts around in my head actually lol
Like him siding with Augury, but I'm not sure how that would go as both Bevan's parents are dead because of Augury, maybe he could side with Augury as a facade to get close enough to kill him?
And meeting up with Liam seems like a plausible thing to happen and maybe Charlotte joining him as she has feelings for him? and I think I mentioned it before Liam talking sense into him about the ridding himself of emotion rubbish lol

 

[Citrinin]

Well the person I wouldn't expect would be Charlotte, her running in to save Bevan or something.

Heh, that would be a bit of a letdown, wouldn't it? XD

Like him siding with Augury, but I'm not sure how that would go as both Bevan's parents are dead because of Augury, maybe he could side with Augury as a facade to get close enough to kill him?

He might be able to get passed the parents issue with the lack of emotion. He was never that close to Evan, and the last time he saw Amanda was years ago (and he's already released his anger over her and regretted it). It's not entirely implausible. ;D

As for the facade, it would be difficult, considering Augury's extraordinary psychic powers.

And meeting up with Liam seems like a plausible thing to happen and maybe Charlotte joining him as she has feelings for him? and I think I mentioned it before Liam talking sense into him about the ridding himself of emotion rubbish lol

Indeed. ;D Yet another possibility.

 

[Nudge]

Heh, that would be a bit of a letdown, wouldn't it? XD

Hahah yeah sure would lol

He might be able to get passed the parents issue with the lack of emotion. He was never that close to Evan, and the last time he saw Amanda was years ago (and he's already released his anger over her and regretted it). It's not entirely implausible. ;D

Yeah true because if i remember correctly him and his dad were butting heads a bit ayy

As for the facade, it would be difficult, considering Augury's extraordinary psychic powers.

Yeah I realised that after I posted :P however if Bevan's powers manifested more or say he found out they were artificial and somehow got Cicero to do something to enhance them to a point beyond belief it could be possible.

Haha I think I speculate too much :P

 

[Citrinin]

Yeah true because if i remember correctly him and his dad were butting heads a bit ayy

That's an understatement. XD Bevan hated bullies, and his father epitomised that role.

Bevan's powers manifested more or say he found out they were artificial and somehow got Cicero to do something to enhance them to a point beyond belief it could be possible.

That won't happen, for risk of the story becoming far too easy for Bevan (if he can deceive Augury on something so fundamental, then think of what else he could do to his enemies.) Not much of a conflict, then. :P

Haha I think I speculate too much :P

Not at all. This fic lends itself to speculation. ;D

 

[Nudge]

That won't happen, for risk of the story becoming far too easy for Bevan (if he can deceive Augury on something so fundamental, then think of what else he could do to his enemies.) Not much of a conflict, then. :P

Yeah I didn't really think it would happen as it would make for a shorter story and less exciting just thought I might mention it.

 

[Caliban]

The Moonlight Squad fiddled with the complicated lock, opening the window neatly, and crawled in silently.

Is the man a squad all on his own? Or is this another case of the Psychic-Midgets-Who-Pretend-To-Be-One-Person?

Anyway, nice to see Bevan exhibiting Sith Lord powers. Are his eyes going to turn yellow?

Are there any "good" psychics in Torcra?

 

[Citrinin]

Yeah I didn't really think it would happen as it would make for a shorter story and less exciting just thought I might mention it.

Perfectly alright. I love to hear reviewer theories. ;D

Is the man a squad all on his own? Or is this another case of the Psychic-Midgets-Who-Pretend-To-Be-One-Person?

:O *fixes*. By the way, you're going to love Chapter Twenty-Seven. ;D

Anyway, nice to see Bevan exhibiting Sith Lord powers. Are his eyes going to turn yellow?

XDDD;

Are there any "good" psychics in Torcra?

Depending on your definition of good... Manfred? XD;

 

[Caliban]

:O *fixes*. By the way, you're going to love Chapter Twenty-Seven. ;D

ATTACK OF THE GIRATINA-POWER-INFUSED MIDGETS!

XDDD;

No, srsly!

Depending on your definition of good... Manfred? XD;

[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I thought so. At least his morals aren't as lacking as the rest of theirs...

I can't wait to see how this ties in to the random bit about tombs at the start.

 

[Citrinin]

ATTACK OF THE GIRATINA-POWER-INFUSED MIDGETS!

Well, you were kind of right... there is a "the" in the title. ;D

No, srsly!

Then seriously, no. :P

Yeah, I thought so. At least his morals aren't as lacking as the rest of theirs...

Indeed. ;o But even then, he only switched sides to save himself, and he was the one that inspired Evan to get psychic powers anyway.

I can't wait to see how this ties in to the random bit about tombs at the start.

Huh? The... random bit about tombs? Which part was that? XD

 

[Caliban]

Well, you were kind of right... there is a "the" in the title. ;D

YOU JUST GOT *OBLITERATE*D

Then seriously, no. :P

:(

Indeed. ;o But even then, he only switched sides to save himself, and he was the one that inspired Evan to get psychic powers anyway.

But he's not telling anyone else about it.

Huh? The... random bit about tombs? Which part was that? XD

Sorry, wrong fic. Here I am, having been reading with the assumption that you were tying things into a prologue which never had anything to do with tombs in it! XD

 

[Citrinin]

YOU JUST GOT *OBLITERATE*D

That's like the tenth time. XD

But he's not telling anyone else about it.

True. ;D

Sorry, wrong fic. Here I am, having been reading with the assumption that you were tying things into a prologue which never had anything to do with tombs in it! XD

XDDD; That is strangely awesome. :P

 

[Feign]

As the Squad member fell, so did the terrorist.

Lost psychic concentration? Might want to explain that.

everything that could help Unit 6 cause martial law.

would 'enact' be a better word than cause?

matching an authorisation hand.

authorised? (authorized for the American in you ;))

I liked the silence of the scene, it adds to the whole drama of a well planned out scheme. :)

Perhaps it was the overconfidence that struck them that lead them to meet the member of the Moonlight Squad.

I think led is the better word here, plus the two sentences in that paragraph are a bit confusing. Somewhat of course, because of the nature on how it starts, but it is still maliable.

Again, the halls flashed past, but this time, the blur was faster. He had a chance of escape. Closer, closer… He burst into the next room, ready to find a new way of escape. He looked to the right, and zoomed out. And then he saw him. The face that had haunted him for ages. Those dark eyes. That hellish beard.

Might want to have Bevan's name in this paragraph, instead of a pronoun. ;)

Nice chapter :) Great end to it too :D

I'm thinking that Bevan will decapitate Rex psychically like there is no tomorrow. XD

 

[Citrinin]

Lost psychic concentration? Might want to explain that.

OK. *explains*

would 'enact' be a better word than cause?

Yes, yes it would. :P

I think led is the better word here, plus the two sentences in that paragraph are a bit confusing. Somewhat of course, because of the nature on how it starts, but it is still maliable.

With the first one, *fixes*. With the second one, what would you suggest?

Might want to have Bevan's name in this paragraph, instead of a pronoun. ;)

OK. ;3

authorised? (authorized for the American in you ;))

Yeah, that works better. :P

I liked the silence of the scene, it adds to the whole drama of a well planned out scheme.

Thanks. ^^

Nice chapter :) Great end to it too :D

Thanks. :D

I'm thinking that Bevan will decapitate Rex psychically like there is no tomorrow. XD

Heh, that makes you the second person to think that. ;D Funny how Rex's death seems to be on your minds~ Why is that? XD

 

[Feign]

OK. *explains*


Yes, yes it would. :P


With the first one, *fixes*. With the second one, what would you suggest?

Oo there was a second one?

OK. ;3




Yeah, that works better. :P


Thanks. ^^


Thanks. :D


Heh, that makes you the second person to think that. ;D Funny how Rex's death seems to be on your minds~ Why is that? XD

Lol, is it too much to say that I want a Hamlet-like ending where everyone dies in a bloody mess? XD >.> (that makes me sound like a masochist XD)