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

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Ragnaros 'Bloodthirster' Phylax

Ragnaros put the opinion he had formed about the King somewhere in the back of his mind. Now it was the time for war. He tightened his claws, staring at Roswell explaining the ambush job. His eyes flashed as he heard of the guard that was escorting the thieves. Ancients? Been a long time since I trashed some of those.
But the guard was indeed large for just a bunch of thieves - and when Roswell told them one of the thieves was his brother, the Salamence could not help but chuckle at the skill of the legacy. He soon focused back on the conversation. Apparently, things were more interesting than Ragnaros had thought: this brother of Roswell was going to be publicly executed.

Vigil turned to the group, Bloodthirster eyeing him, "Well, what do you think? Should we do this?"

The Salamence leaned forward, so his head was in the same height as the others. Without giving it much thought, he blurted, "I vote we do this, it seems like a fair trade. We still get to wipe out some Ancients and possibly a Sentinel, so why the heck not? Count me in - I might not be good at hiding down on the ground, but fire from the sky is something they won't be expecting."
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Penance Malum
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Penance just listened as Roswell talked and already he had ideas spinning about in his head. He idly listened as Ragnaros talked about fire and his head snapped up. "No. No fire." He said as his thoughts raced. "Alright, Roswell, I'll need your best diggers. Anyone that can dig holes as fast as possible, right now. Also, I need bags, tons of them. Gather up every bug and plant type and collect as much sleeping powder and stun spore as possible. I'll also need water types. Anyone that knows hydro pump or anything else like that. Those that can unleash a ton of water as quick as possible. There even have to be psychics here who can teleport around, I'll need one.... no, two of them. They need to be as quick as possible to do what I need them to do." He frowned a bit and then nodded, "Yeah, that will work."

He looked around, "Okay, here's the plan. They're coming by the forest, if they see some 'theives' heading toward the forest then what are the odds that they will go out and capture them? A big chance, especially if it's only one or two. Just more pokemon to execute. I'll have the diggers lay down pit traps for the Ancients to fall into. For that I will need some tarps." He nodded again, "Right, we'll cover the traps with tarps. The ancients will be focused on us that they will fall down the traps and into the holes. Another obstacle that is needed is water, lots of water. We're going to fill the holes with water and the ancients will either drown or try to crawl back up and since most are extremely weak to water they will be ripe for the picking. When the first ancients fall down the hole there is a slight chance that the ones guarding the prisoners will be in shock or may very well leave their posts to rush forward. When that happens we'll need some flying types armed with bags filled with the sleeping powder and stun spore to rip them open and fly over Ancients and the Sentinel. It doesn't matter if the prisoners are hit since they'll be ported out of there by the psychics on stand by. Once the spores and powder is poured out the psychics port in, grab them, then teleport out. They need to be fast because if they aren't the Sentinel could easily slaughter the prisoners or even the psychics themselves. If the prisoners are killed, then all of this would have been for nothing.

The last thing we'll need to do is get the Sentinel down. He or she won't fall for the same traps we set up, they're smarter than that. Instead we'll need to bring them away from the forest. At first, he'll come simply because we are outnumbered, the way we make sure he doesn't dive into the forest to find the escaped prisoners is that we show off our Gold Tribe emblems. We'll have them on stand by and if we show them too early than the Sentinel will be on guard and everything will be that much harder. He probably expects thieves to have less complicated plans."

Penance looked at Roswell, "If you want this to go off without a hitch I need to know exactly how much time we have, whether we have the needed materials and if we have the volunteers. Just lose one of these things and we'll have to instead rush in, which will probably kill your brother immediately. We either pick up our a**es and prepare as fast as possible and have your thieves help us out, or we take a shot at just attacking. It's your call." He said. "Though, you should make a decision very quickly if you want your brother back."
 
Thieves Village- The Decreement

Bloodthirster seemed to agree with the job. Calamity and Dark Lightning gave silent nods as well, and Hoodhide gave a chirp. Dryad and Wildfire seemed to be fine with it as well.

"Count me in - I might not be good at hiding down on the ground, but fire from the sky is something they won't be expecting." Bloodthirster said, but Defender quickly dismissed the prospect of fire. He then went into detail about his own plan. Zane was initially shocked by the amount of detail he was putting into it, but then remembered that it was Defender who had planned out the infiltration of the torturehouse when they were rescuing Hazone and the others from there. Roswell also seemed to be impressed with the Golduck, switching his seating position from the laid back one to one in which he was leaning forward, listening intently. When Defender finished speaking, Roswell smirked, and spoke back.

"Hmm...nice plan. Well, according to my sources, we have until daybreak tomorrow to set everything up. That's when they will be going through a small pass between the top of the Thieves Forest and the bottom of the Korhal Mountains. Perfect spot for this ambush. You'll get everything you want in terms of supplies and Pokemon. We have the capabilities. So...do we have a deal then?"

Zane looked back at the group, and then at Roswell, and nodded.

"Good." Roswell said. "Then enjoy the Thieves Village tonight. Walk around, talk to Pokemon, shop, party, whatever you Gold Tribe like to do. Maybe you'll learn something about what true 'freedom' is. Noctus will stay with you to keep an eye on you. Tomorrow morning, your ambush team will head out and get my brother back. For now, rest." Roswell now looked at Defender. "I'm going to go gather up water, bug and plant types for tomorrow."

As Roswell exited, he leaned over to Noctus and whispered into his hear. "Don't let them leave your sight. I'm leaving it up to you to watch them."

Lyn smiled brightly. "The night to rest, eh? I'm sure we'll have plenty to do are here..." She said, as he rubbed her claws together.

"Shouldn't we be gathering supplies for Defender's plan?" Zane asked Guardia.

"Oh, we'll have plenty of time for that! Come on! Let's live a little. How often are going to get a chance to spend a night at a thieves village without them trying to cut our heads off? Besides...." She said as she looked over Defender, with a huge grin on her face. "...Defender was just recently knocked out. He still needs to recover from the damage he took, dontcha, pal?" She asked, nudging him.
 
Ragnaros 'Bloodthirster' Phylax

Bloodthirster raised his eyebrows as he listened to Defender unfold his plan. He started admiring his wits, slowly realizing every survivor of the Gold Tribe must have had special qualities he had not known of. Defender's plan would surely come in handy, as it sounded completly reasonable and doable. He cracked his claws, unable to wait for their plan to be set in motion.
He perked up his scales when he heard of the element of water being needed. He was surely the Pokemon for the job, but he chose to tell Defender later, they had time. Roswell broke Bloodthirster's thoughts.

"Good." Roswell said. "Then enjoy the Thieves Village tonight. Walk around, talk to Pokemon, shop, party, whatever you Gold Tribe like to do. Maybe you'll learn something about what true 'freedom' is. Noctus will stay with you to keep an eye on you. Tomorrow morning, your ambush team will head out and get my brother back. For now, rest." Roswell now looked at Defender. "I'm going to go gather up water, bug and plant types for tomorrow."

Lyn smiled. "The night to rest, eh? I'm sure we'll have plenty to do are here..." She said, as he rubbed her claws together.

"Shouldn't we be gathering supplies for Defender's plan?" Vigil asked Guardia.

"Oh, we'll have plenty of time for that! Come on! Let's live a little. How often are going to get a chance to spend a night at a thieves village without them trying to cut our heads off? Besides...." She said as she looked over Defender, with a huge grin on her face. "...Defender was just recently knocked out. He still needs to recover from the damage he took, dontcha, pal?"

Ragnaros almost chuckled at Guardia's playful attitude. It was true he hardly ever relaxed since he ran away from Gold City. The sudden memory overlapped with reality for a brief moment, him remembering crystal clear the events that took place in the latest record of his contribution to the Gold Tribe. His face darkened, he looked at the wooden floor of the Decreement, unable to hide his shame. He figured everybody would learn soon enough, even if the Gold Tribe was shattered right now and they were only one of the pieces, maybe the only one that was left.
He flapped his wings, remembering of his emblem and how much he wanted to shout it to the world that he was a Gold Tribe member, to rebuild what he had thrown away in Gold City. He would never permit himself of 'having fun' until he paid his dues.

The Salamence curled up his entire body to reach his rear feet with his mouth. The golden emblem was stuck on the left side of his right feet, entirely covered by the shadow of his enormous body. After only a moment, the Gold Tribe's emblem was stuck on the tip of his tail for once more. He stared at the others intently, full knowing that he wouldn't enjoy a bit of 'having fun', but it would surely be good to get to know his allies better - he had this theory that the better communication they had, the better they fought together.

'Why don't you all just put your emblems back on? Turns out hidin' them didn't do us any good anyway. I'd rather be proud of who I am than sneak around and pretend someone I'm not.'

Ragnaros said with a prideful tone, yet maintaining his darkened expression. His words gave the impression that he believed taking off their emblems was a blasphemy in the first place.
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Hanso didn't really analyze the details of the prisoners' movement until Zane spoke. He was right about that many Ancients being overkill for a group of thieves. When Roswell revealed that his brother was one of them, Hanso felt a slight pang of sympathy. He'd been searching for his own sister after the Silver Tribe's invasion, after all.
Hanso continued to listen silently, still watching Nocturne. When Penance began talking, Hanso was surprised at the amount of details for an ambush planned on the spot. As he listened, he mentally highlighted the parts about teleporting the prisoners out and hiding the Gold Tribe fighters until the right moment. Personally, Hanso thought he could hide pretty well - better than some of the others, anyways - and if he wasn't one of the psychics, then he could be one of those fighting the Sentinel. Assuming that there was one escorting the prisoners. If they planned for the worst, then they would need to assume that not all the Ancients would be out of action.

So, the deal was finished. Rescue the prisoners, including Roswell's brother, and the thieves would help them get into the watchtowers. The ambush would be tomorrow's daybreak, and in the meantime...the Gold Tribe should just do what they want. Hanso watched Roswell until he left the room, noting that he said something to Noctus. There was no doubt that the Cacturne hated them, perhaps more than the average thief.

"The night to rest, eh? I'm sure we'll have plenty to do are here..." Lyn said, as he rubbed her claws together.

"Shouldn't we be gathering supplies for Defender's plan?" Zane asked Guardia.

"Oh, we'll have plenty of time for that! Come on! Let's live a little. How often are going to get a chance to spend a night at a thieves village without them trying to cut our heads off? Besides...." She said as she looked over Defender, with a huge grin on her face. "...Defender was just recently knocked out. He still needs to recover from the damage he took, dontcha, pal?" She asked, nudging him.

Hanso smiled a little. It had actually been a while since he'd been allowed to relax, hadn't it? Not counting their arrival in Poseida Village.

Ragnaros then said, after moving his emblem, "Why don't you all just put your emblems back on? Turns out hidin' them didn't do us any good anyway. I'd rather be proud of who I am than sneak around and pretend someone I'm not."

Hanso's smile disappeared. Wait, if they were going to be here for a while, then where could they leave their packs? "We don't know where we're staying, do we?" Hanso asked, turning back to the others.
 
Penance Malum​

Penance nodded as Roswell agreed to the plan. Alright, they would have everything. Still, there was so much to do. He remembered that there was always one rule you followed. Always one rule. As his brothers and sisters headed out Penance followed with them. There would be no partying tonight, first they had to-then Guardia began to talk. Penance grew tense as she talked about 'living' and partying. "...Defender was just recently knocked out. He still needs to recover from the damage he took, dontcha, pal?" Penance was about to speak when there was talk about going out and putting on their gold tribe emblems. Yet again he tried to speak but then the talk then turned to where they were going to be resting. He held up a hand.

"First off, everyone stop. Now." He said. There was no light bigheartedness in his voice, he was serious. It seemed something had changed in the Golduck after his presentation in there. "Second, we are not going to party. We are going to be going over the plan. Have none of you ever been in an ambush?" He asked as he cocked his head. There was a slight edge in his voice as he spoke. "No? Thought not. I have. One, there is always a plan. Two, the enemy always has a plan. Three, plans fail, always. In the grand scheme of the plan, small parts will work, but it will ultimately crumble and fail. Why did you all think I put in so many details and so many different things? Because one of them is bound to work. ONE THING. Whatever can go wrong WILL go wrong." He snapped.

He sighed and began to pace. "No, we are going to go over each and every single detail of the plan. We are going to go over alternatives of the plan. We are going to go over the alternatives for those alternatives. What happens when we can't dig the holes in enough time? What happens if we can't cover them up? What if the tarps blow away and reveal the holes? What if the bags holding the powder and spores rips open too early? What if the teleporters aren't fast enough and have their throats ripped open? What if there are five sentinels instead of one? What if there are two thousand ancients instead of a hundred? What if a gold tribe emblem fall out of someone's pack?" He asked as he gave a brief glare at HoodHide, "What if they surround us and kill us because there is a spy within this forest? What if they go on a different route than the one planned to? What if they use the prisoners as shields? What then?" He asked all of them.

"Every single plan has flaws, and mine is riddled with them. It will NOT go smooth and there will be deaths on our side, I can already tell. We will even lose a prisoner or two. Which is why we are going to spend the night going over all the alternatives and analyzing them and making alternate plans in response to them. We'll never cover them all, but we'll be better prepared. In the ambush business if you are not prepared, you die. Now for those of you who want to live, follow me. Those who want to die, go have fun." He walked off as he searched for a quiet spot for them to gather. It was all fun and games until the plan went wrong and you're head was ripped off in combat.
 
Thieves Village

"Why don't you all just put your emblems back on? Turns out hidin' them didn't do us any good anyway. I'd rather be proud of who I am than sneak around and pretend someone I'm not." Bloodthirster suggested. Zane smiled and nodded in agreement. It was encouraging to hear those words out of one of them. Zane too was proud to be apart of the Gold Tribe, regardless of the opinions of the thieves towards them.

"We don't know where we're staying, do we?" TrueStriker suddenly asked.

"That's true." Dark Lightning added, taking a look around the vast sea of treehouses. Lyn smiled in response.

"Don't worry about that. Last time I was here, Roswell told me one thing: Pick a house, any house.' Nobody really owns any of these. They just sleep in whichever ones they want to, or whichever ones they reach first. Probably will work the same this time around too. Oh..." She leaned into TrueStriker and whispered to him, but spoke loud enough so the other Gold Tribe members could hear as well, "...but I would carry all you belongings on you, unless you never want to see them again. It sucks, but always keep your stuff on you. They are thieves after all, and they'll steal from anyone, even themselves."

As she said this, she gave a wink to Noctus, who remained close by. Zane nodded in understanding. He adjusted the bag on his back, almost forgetting it was there for a moment. He had been carrying it around so long, it had almost felt like it had become part of his body.

"First off, everyone stop. Now." Defender suddenly said. Zane turned to him. His expression was with the most serious Zane had every seen him. Lyn stopped walking and turned to him as well.

"What? What happened?" She asked, as Defender continued speaking. His voice was serious and stern. None of the others spoke as they listened to him. Zane had no idea what sparked this sudden sternness in Defender, but he dared not interrupt, deciding it be better if he spoke his mind.

And speak it he did. In fact, he thoroughly spoke his thoughts to everyone without any hint of caring about the drawback. Even Lyn's face was awestruck during the speech. Zane knew quite a bit of them were tired from the journey, and from the constant fighting, but that was the life of the Gold Tribe. They weren't just soldiers. They were the elite protectors. They lives to serve, and that meant rest and sleep might often turn out to be secondary priorities.

You are tools. The voice from Zane's dream flooded into his mind once again. With each passing day, it was turning out to be more and more true. Defender concluded his thoughts to them.

"Every single plan has flaws, and mine is riddled with them. It will NOT go smooth and there will be deaths on our side, I can already tell. We will even lose a prisoner or two. Which is why we are going to spend the night going over all the alternatives and analyzing them and making alternate plans in response to them. We'll never cover them all, but we'll be better prepared. In the ambush business if you are not prepared, you die. Now for those of you who want to live, follow me. Those who want to die, go have fun."

As Defender began to walk off, Zane exchanged glances with Lyn. "He's right." Zane began. "We can't rest now. We need this. If we mess up, there goes our one chance of sabotaging those watchtowers for the Alpha Alliance armies. Too many lives are depending on us."

"Everyone needs some rest. Even us. There's a such thing as overworking too, you know." Lyn snapped back. Calamity spoke up now.

"You guys remember back at H.A.S, our instructor 'Gallant'?" He asked them. Zane recalled the Sawk who was one of their teachers at the Heroes Alliance School vividly, being one of the toughest instructors he ever had as a Gold Tribe trainee. Calamity continued. "He always said, 'You can rest when you're dead.' Maybe now's a good time to follow his philosophy." He said with a shrug, as he followed Defender to prepare for the plan.

Zane followed right after, followed by Dark Lightning, Wildfire, Dryad, Sword and Shield, and then Hoodhide. Even though some of them most likely won't even be there for the plan, they elected to come for support, it seemed. Zane accounted that probably because of Defender's speech. Lyn, who remained standing there next to Noctus, groaned, and eventually followed.

When they came upon what he believed to be a suitable location to speak behind one of the treehouses, Zane started speaking first.

"Well, I guess we should get the important question out of the way first. Who's going to be apart of the ambush team? I know some of us probably won't be able to because we're not suited for it, me included." He admitted.
 
Ragnaros 'Bloodthirster' Phylax

"We don't know where we're staying, do we?"

TrueStriker asked, Bloodthirster looking up in the sky. The sky was his home, and only then he realized how much he missed flying - he wanted to fly more than he wanted to put something in his huge growling stomach.

"First off, everyone stop. Now." Defender's voice silenced everybody. Bloodthirster stared at him, detecting a serious tone; he sensed the Golduck was going to talk about business, he was going to talk to his language. As he continued to speak, pointing out the flaws of his ambush plan, Bloodthirster nodded silently in agreement, smirking his eyebrows.

"Every single plan has flaws, and mine is riddled with them. It will NOT go smooth and there will be deaths on our side, I can already tell. We will even lose a prisoner or two. Which is why we are going to spend the night going over all the alternatives and analyzing them and making alternate plans in response to them. We'll never cover them all, but we'll be better prepared. In the ambush business if you are not prepared, you die. Now for those of you who want to live, follow me. Those who want to die, go have fun."

As Defender walked off to a quiet corner, Vigil spoke, "He's right. We can't rest now. We need this. If we mess up, there goes our one chance of sabotaging those watchtowers for the Alpha Alliance armies. Too many lives are depending on us."

Itching for some more action, the Salamence had already left the group, walking behind Defender with his heavy feet landing soft on the grass. He felt ready to push the limits of his extreme endurance and make sure the Gold Tribe's goals would be achieved. Vigil and the others arrived a moment ago, without letting him express his thoughts about Defender's plan.

"Well, I guess we should get the important question out of the way first. Who's going to be apart of the ambush team? I know some of us probably won't be able to because we're not suited for it, me included."

Bloodthirster, looking at the gap between the trees, spoke first - impatient as he always was - without even trying to lower his thunderous voice in case somebody was eavesdropping.

"Defender stated clearly that we need water. I can easily shoot hydro pump from the sky, no problems. I just need to drink some."

He was still looking at the sky, thinking everyone in the group was unaware of how his inner systems worked. Another thought crossed his mind, now turning his long head to look at Defender. He was sure he was going to forget it if he didn't tell him now.

"Maybe you want to see the place you'll set traps on for yourself. Before we do any direct planning, how about I take you there to have a look from above?"

Bloodthirster had never offered any Pokemon to climb up his back, and he considered it a disrespectful action towards the dragons. But this was completly different; he was going to assist the Tribe any way he could.
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Penance Malum​

Penance smirked as he heard the others coming after him. He looked around and finally found a house that didn't have anyone in it. He led the others in and waited until all were present before he began. He first turned to Bloodthirster and nodded, "Yes, when we're done here I can use that ride and see where we will be ambushing them. It'll help to have an eagle eye perspective. I need to see the best places to lay down traps and the like." He turned to the others, "Now, the first thing we need to do is know who is coming and who isn't. Vigil, Sword and Shield, you two are out. Sword and Shield is too large to hide and Vigil, frankly, I need you here. He looked around the first alternative before we head out is the back up plan."

He sighed as he looked at them. "There is a fifty percent chance that we may not be able to rescue Roswell's brother. There is a strong chance we could all die out there. To keep the Gold Tribe alive we need some members staying here. The problem is that how will they know we failed and that Roswell will blame someone?" He looked over them all. "That's where you two come in." He turned to Bloodthirster and TrueStriker. "You two will be there with us, but will be in the shadows. Your only job is to observe. If we get the brother out of there, great, join in. But if not.... you two are the only ones who can get to the village in enough time to warn Vigil and Sword and Shield that they may be murdered by a very angry Lucario. I trust you two that if we fall, you get back here and get them out of here as fast as possible." He turned to the group. "If we start to fall and there is no hope, retreat. Don't go to the forest, you will be killed by the very same Lucario. Instead run as fast as possible, somewhere, anywhere."

He looked at Noctus, "I know leaders and they always punish someone.... and I will not have my surviving brothers and sisters punished because of my mistakes." He turned to the others once more, "Now, we're going out there and we are going to look at each and every singe inch of that land. I want to know if you all can act as ambushers. It's not easy and if you can't do it then I don't want you out there to compromise us. I need to know right now, who can blend in with the thieves and for a short amount of time, not act like a gold tribe member because if you give away your disguise too early... then the Sentinel will know and the plan will fail entirely." He leaned against a wall and crossed his arms, waiting for the answers.
 
Noctus Gamble

A turn of events occurred when a Golduck interrupted everyone with a speech. As the others quieted down, Noctus crossed his arms and listened. He had never really appreciated people that often disagreed with their superiors. The Cacturne was surprised by his brave rant about the safety and flaws of the plans.

"First off, everyone stop. Now. Second, we are not going to party. We are going to be going over the plan. Have none of you ever been in an ambush? No? Thought not. I have. One, there is always a plan. Two, the enemy always has a plan. Three, plans fail, always. In the grand scheme of the plan, small parts will work, but it will ultimately crumble and fail. Why did you all think I put in so many details and so many different things? Because one of them is bound to work. ONE THING. Whatever can go wrong WILL go wrong." He snapped.

Noctus' hands slid to his side while he stepped forward, wanting to have a word with this Golduck. Yet he continued without letting anyone interfere. With a groan, the Cacturne slid back to the wall, leaning against it. He continued to listen, shaking his head while the Golduck babbled without any signs of stopping.

Every single plan does have flaws. But there is no perfect plan. Take it or leave it. Noctus thought, wanting to snap at the Golduck yet knew that it wasn't the best time to do so despite standing in Thieves' territory. Then, without waiting for the others to follow, the Golduck walked off without a sound. Noctus then watched as the others tailed from behind, going after the Gold Tribe Member. At first the Cacturne was angry at how easy it had been for the Golduck to 'persuade' his allies, but the thought soon disappeared into thin air. Perhaps he was right for a change.

It wouldn't kill me to follow.

As Lyn groaned and walked after them, Noctus stretched his arms a bit and followed. When everyone was back together, standing by the Golduck's side, the Psychic Pokemon requested for a 'piggy-back ride', and the Cacturne found it rather amusing, letting out a soft chuckle. Penace (he knew the name by asking Lyn) then looked at Noctus, "I know leaders and they always punish someone.... and I will not have my surviving brothers and sisters punished because of my mistakes."

"The thieves in my forest aren't all ruthless murderers, Penace," replied Noctus, defending his own allies, "It might be a stereotype but that's what they all think when it comes to the word 'thief'. We're more like outcasts, just living with our own laws and systems without caring about things beyond our realm. The King isn't the 'fail me and you all die' kind. I'm sure he'll do something else."

Probably something worse than that...

"Anyway," he continued, "Despite you being a Gold Tribe member, I still intend to help you. You're not the only one that wants his brother back. If you want a path, I can assist you. After all...you've seen our...special trees."

Noctus raised his armored arms and crashed the armor plates three times in a row. Two rows trees in front of the Cacturne slowly pushed themselves away from each other, creating an empty space about a meter wide. Then the trees bent down from both sides, creating an arch on top of the path, "From now on, wherever I walk, the few trees in front of me would make way. Now, I hope you Gold Tribe members wouldn't have any grudges or discrimination when it comes to a Thief like me."
 
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What was that about? Hanso watched as the others followed Penance; he was the last to leave before Lyn and Noctus. He followed at a somewhat slower pace in order to have some time to think. From what he knew and saw of Penance, the Golduck was one of the younger Gold Tribe members in the group. Yet, he was an expert ambusher who could rattle off details on the spot. Not everyone is so...experienced at his age, Hanso thought, following the others into the house.

He ended up standing by Ragnaros as Penance began talking again, now about the backup plan. "There is a fifty percent chance that we may not be able to rescue Roswell's brother. There is a strong chance we could all die out there. To keep the Gold Tribe alive we need some members staying here. The problem is that how will they know we failed and that Roswell will blame someone?" Penance looked over them all. "That's where you two come in." He turned to Bloodthirster and TrueStriker. "You two will be there with us, but will be in the shadows. Your only job is to observe. If we get the brother out of there, great, join in. But if not.... you two are the only ones who can get to the village in enough time to warn Vigil and Sword and Shield that they may be murdered by a very angry Lucario. I trust you two that if we fall, you get back here and get them out of here as fast as possible." He turned to the group. "If we start to fall and there is no hope, retreat. Don't go to the forest, you will be killed by the very same Lucario. Instead run as fast as possible, somewhere, anywhere."

As the conversation continued, and Noctus spoke, Hanso thought over his own part. He could teleport back with the warning, and Ragnaros could fly back with it. In that case, I need to figure out where I would come back to if I needed to. So far, there was no indication of where the others not in the ambush would be at the time. Despite what Noctus said, Hanso wondered what Roswell would do, if anything. At the least, he wouldn't help the Gold Tribe if his brother died.
Penance had also said Hanso and Ragnaros could join in if they got Roswell's brother out alive first. Looking down at the Salamence's claws, Hanso wondered if Ragnaros could restrain himself from 'joining in'.

"From now on, wherever I walk, the few trees in front of me would make way. Now, I hope you Gold Tribe members wouldn't have any grudges or discrimination when it comes to a Thief like me."

Hanso looked back at Noctus with a small smirk. "No personal grudges here that I can think of."
 
OOC TIMESKIP, 12 hours later OOC

ThievesForest- Ambush Site

The path to the ambush site took much longer than Zane initially expected. He had almost forgotten how huge Eden Forest truly was, a monster of a forest. Thankfully, on the way back, they would probably be able to use TrueStriker's teleport to get back, and the next day use teleport again to get there.

The site where the ambush was to take place was a peculiar one, but also a perfect one. It was a narrow path of plains, positioned between the top most portion of the forest, and the bottom most portion of the Korhal Mountains. Zane could imagine the ancients passing through this path the next day, and falling right into their trap. Even though he wouldn't physically be present here for the trap, he enjoyed the idea of imaging them fail. He couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy for not being able to participate, but knew it was for the best. It was as Defender said before: some of them had to stay behind in case the worst came to pass.

Lyn appeared to be anxious for the plan as well, as she could noticeably barely hold in her excitement, pacing around the area and grinning to herself. "So, what now, Defender?" She asked, wondering what the next stage of the plan was. They were all curious, it seemed. Hoodhide was as jittery as ever, and Calamity moved in closer to better hear the Golduck. Even the veteran Dark Lightning was intrigued. It was understandable for Zane. Many of the Gold Tribe weren't used to this sort of tactic in combat. The Gold Tribe had never been about secrecy and tactics, but more as front line soldiers and elite protectors. This departure of the norm must have been quite a new experience for most of them, and it was to that end that the excitement factor naturally steeped in.
 
Penance Malum​

Penance walked the entire way with his brothers and sisters. He could feel the hype, and frowned because of it. They were all too excited. Excited pokemon made mistakes. They eventually reached the ambush area and Penance looked around and gave a weak smile. Yes... this would do. This would do very well. Now, just time to give a more detailed plan and-"So, what now, Defender?"

Penance took in a deep breath, held it in, and let it out. He rubbed his temples as he noticed the others looking at him eagerly. "First, no." He went up to the Zangoose and looked at her, "Wipe that eager grin off your face. We are not here to have fun. We are here to think." He looked at the others. "When you are eager, you make mistakes. I know this for a fact, I was like you all once, and mistakes never leave you...." He sighed as he walked a bit from the group and turned from them. "Now.... I will let you all have some time. Calm down, take some deep breaths. Talk it about it if you must to get rid of that energy. I need you all at your normal energy levels, not too hyper, which is what you all are now. Just calm down and once everyone is truly ready, I'll lay out the plan."

He simply stood there as he waited for the energy to die down.
 
Ragnaros 'Bloodthirster' Phylax

Ragnaros enjoyed their walk through the forest, despite it being longer than everyone had expected. He wanted to fly again, though, he was getting sick of being pinned down to the ground; he suddenly remembered the old days, when he was free to roam the skies, his original and true domain. Nostalgia hit him like the lightnings that Raichu thief had thrown onto his wing, which was recovering quickly. Memories about his mentor, Phylax the Aerodactyl, flying above this forest and small Ragnaros staring at him from the ground, being unable to fly as he was still a Bagon. And from that, another thought popped in his mind; Phylax was his second name, so must be the Aerodactyl's. What was his first name, then? He was too young back then to wonder, and now his mentor was gone.

Before he could think of it anymore, they exited the forest towards his home, Korhal Mountains. But they weren't going in there, Ragnaros looked at the ground in disappointment. He suddenly remembered what his mentor had told him about the name, Phylax. It meant 'protector'. He stared at his allies next to him and thought - was he really living up to his name? Or was he just a tool, a killing machine that lived up only to his title he had taken when he joined the Gold Tribe, 'Bloodthirster'? He justified his lust for battle as a way of protecting those around him. Their enemies were threatening the existance of the Gold Tribe, and if he could wipe some of them, wouldn't it be considered protecting his allies?

He thought about it as they walked through the plains between the foot of the mountains and the northernmost part of the forest. The Gold Tribe required him to be a tool, practically, so where was he wrong if he wanted to squish some more Pokemon than the others around him? Even though he was trained to be patient, dedicated and methodical, the thought of disregarding any plan and telling his allies to go for a full-frontal assault on the Ancients. But he immediately crossed it out, reminding himself that brutal, raw power wasn't the answer. It could be much more powerful if accompanied by wits and strategy.

They seemed to have reached a specific point in the place. Lyn started, "So, what now, Defender?"

"First, no." Defender walked up to Lyn and looked at her, "Wipe that eager grin off your face. We are not here to have fun. We are here to think." He looked at the others. "When you are eager, you make mistakes. I know this for a fact, I was like you all once, and mistakes never leave you...." He sighed as he walked a bit from the group and turned from them. "Now.... I will let you all have some time. Calm down, take some deep breaths. Talk it about it if you must to get rid of that energy. I need you all at your normal energy levels, not too hyper, which is what you all are now. Just calm down and once everyone is truly ready, I'll lay out the plan."

Ragnaros realized he wasn't smiling, nor he was eager for the Ancients to come - he would sit on the sidelines and watch, anyway. As the time passed, he was growing more patient, especially after the thoughts he made before. He was a tool now. He was going to practice his killer techniques only when the Gold Tribe requested them. If he was strong, he would surely be able to control his instincts.

Eyes glowing with inspiration, he walked up to the Golduck who was standing with his back turned to the rest of the group. His loud voice sounded way different from before.

'Defender, I'm ready to hear you out.'
​
 
Thieves Forest- Ambush Site

"Wipe that eager grin off your face. We are not here to have fun. We are here to think." Defender said. Lyn's smile vanished, and instead was a replaced a look of frustration, maybe even a little bit of anger. Zane could tell, as he had known her for many years. She never liked being bossed around.

"When you are eager, you make mistakes. I know this for a fact, I was like you all once, and mistakes never leave you...." He sighed as he walked a bit from the group and turned from them. "Now.... I will let you all have some time. Calm down, take some deep breaths. Talk it about it if you must to get rid of that energy. I need you all at your normal energy levels, not too hyper, which is what you all are now. Just calm down and once everyone is truly ready, I'll lay out the plan."

Zane looked on as Lyn looked like she was about to snap back at Defender, but Zane placed a hand on her, and shook his head. Lyn looked back between Defender and Zane, before finally giving up and accepting her position.

Lyn sighed. "Alright, alright. I'm calm."

Zane nodded to her in approval.

'Defender, I'm ready to hear you out.' Ragnaros added. Zane closed his eyes and took in a deep breath himself, trying to calm himself down, and get focused on the task. They had an ambush to plan.
 
Penance Malum​

The others were ready now. Penance sighed as he looked around and nodded, "Alright, first off, positions." He pointed at Lyn and Hoodhide, "You two... are fast thinkers. You two will be the next in command, first Lyn and then Hoodhide. It is highly possible that I may go down during the battle, if I do then Lyn, you're in command. You follow the plan and make adjustments as necessary. If you fall then Hoodhide takes control. Both of you listen as close as you can and for the love of Arceus understand what to do."

He looked around, "Alright, the plan I've already outlined, no need to do so again. Instead you all will be told what to do. Truestriker, Bloodthrister, you already know your actions to take. Bloodthirster you find a area that you can hide, preferably one where you can fly from quickly and you hunch down there. Trustriker, you hide in the forest, but not near any thieves. Do not let them know where either of you will hide. If it goes wrong then they may kill you two. First part of the plan. We're going to have two thieves act as bait. If we can't have two volunteers then it will be myself and Calamity. Either way the bait will draw the Ancients forward. Depending on which way the ancients come from we'll stand on a certain side. Down the middle, around here," Penance pointed to a area of the ground,

"We'll dig out the holes and fill them with water. We'll nail the tarps down and cover them with the dirt. Once the Ancients hit the water, the jig is up. Everyone except Truestriker and Bloodthirster will come out of their hiding place and attack. The main objective is to get the ancients and the Sentinel away from the prisoners. Or at least keep them distracted. The sleep powder and stun spore will aid us there, don't get hit by it so once it's poured head out and start attacking. Open a area for the prisoners to be ported out. If you can get to them first then grab the brother and get him out of there, don't focus on the others, only the brother. Once he is out then you can focus on the other prisoners, but only if the teleporters can't do their duty. Get rid of the ancients by any method and we'll then take down the Sentinel. If that happens we get all thieves out of there, pronto. We can't risk letting the Sentinel use them as a shield or letting out attacks fail if they get in the way. Once the thieves are gone then we go in for the attack. At that point both Bloodthirster and Trustriker can join us."

He looked at Vigil, "Now, Vigil, Sword and Shield, and Dryad will stay in the thieves city. You will be the last of the Gold Tribe if we go down. Bloodthirster." He turned to the dragon, "You must stay alive. You are the only one that can fly and it will be up to you to find the scattered Gold Tribe members if we are defeated. Don't die." He looked around, "Now.... we have a good chance of failing. We don't have a lot of information about what forces will come through. Use your instincts first and foremost. The only thing you should worry about is the brother, see me about to be decapitated? Go for the brother. See Hoodhide about to drown? Go for the brother. If he dies then everything would have been for nothing and we would have had many sacrifices for nothing." He looked around. "Once we get the brother free... if it does look like we can't beat the Sentinel then at every cost we stop him or her from entering that forest. We can't let our hard work go to waste. Even if you have to let yourself be slaughtered to stop him from going inside, do so."

He began to pace. "A million things can go wrong and every single thief and Gold Tribe member here could very well die." He sighed, "That is the cost we have to bring. I must know if you can adhere to the plan, all of you. If you can watch your brother or sister die in front of your eyes and be able to turn away to grab the prisoner. I need to know if you are ready to leap in front of an attack aimed at the brother and die because of it. I need to know if you would pay your very SOUL to Darkrai himself to make sure the brother gets out of here alive." He looked around, "If you can't, don't bother coming. You will be useless."
 
Daricka "Wildfire" Cambar

As Daricka listened to Defender speak, she sat in meditative position. A faint glow caused by Calm Mind emanated from her, causing her flames to appear brighter than they really were. She wanted to be prepared for the fight ahead, and so was using the time she had to strengthen herself as much as possible. Of course, she wouldn't have to stop soon otherwise when the Ancients came they would spot the glow.

Unlike her brothers and sisters of the Gold Tribe, she felt more at ease among the thieves of the forest; only knowing that they resented the Gold Tribe kept her on edge. Maybe if this mission succeeded they could be on more peaceful terms... The only thing bothering her about the plan was that she would have to put the life of the King of Thieves' brother above that of one of her brethren. Never the less, she could see why it was necessary. She only hoped it wouldn't come to any of the Gold Tribe dying.

When Defender finished speaking, the glow faded from Daricka's body, the only noticeable change being that her flame was now raging more fiercely. Her only reply to the Golduck was a nod of her head to show she understood.
 
Admittedly, the excitement was a little contagious, but not enough to stop Hanso from keeping to himself on the walk to the ambush site. During the first few minutes, his right arm had felt numb again where it had been poisoned before, which distracted him from swimming in the excitement. Looking around at the others, including Penance, Hanso thought back over the day since they'd entered the forest. Where'd this kid learn all this? Ambushing definitely wasn't one of the things that Gold Tribe fighters learned on a standard basis.

When they reached the ambush site, Hanso took a few steps out from among the trees and turned in a slow circle, taking in the surroundings and ignoring where the others were. If he was going to hide during the first part of the ambush, then he needed to find a suitable hiding place. Some of the trees' branches already looked promising.
"So, what now, Defender?" Lyn asked. Hanso glanced over at the Zangoose; she was one of the more excitable members, from the way she was pacing.

"First, no." The tone prompted Hanso to look at Penance now. "Wipe that eager grin off your face. We are not here to have fun. We are here to think. When you are eager, you make mistakes. I know this for a fact, I was like you all once, and mistakes never leave you...."
You got the mistakes part right. Except...come to think of it, Hanso didn't know anything about Penance's life before the Golduck had joined the Gold Tribe.
"Now.... I will let you all have some time. Calm down, take some deep breaths. Talk it about it if you must to get rid of that energy. I need you all at your normal energy levels, not too hyper, which is what you all are now. Just calm down and once everyone is truly ready, I'll lay out the plan."

Hanso turned back to looking at the trees he was close to. There was one with several large branches, standing at the edge of the forest. He walked closer before jumping up and grabbing the lowest branch; he climbed up several more branches before finding one with a screen of leaves. Looking out, Hanso nodded to himself. This would be a good hiding place.
He teleported back to the group as Penance began talking again. When he heard that none of the thieves should know where he and Ragnaros would be hiding, Hanso cocked his head a bit. Now I have to go back and recheck that tree.

By the time Penance was done talking, Hanso was looking up at the sky. Considering the time it took to get here, the ambush wouldn't be too long from now. Just walking back to the village, then back here, would take too long.
Anyways, Hanso looked at the ground that Penance had indicated. Pits filled with water... "Is there anything else we can put in the holes that would help?" he asked.
 
Thieves Forest- Ambush Site

As Defender began explaining the bulk of the plan, Zane silently listened. Lyn nodded her head in understanding as Defender explained that she was to be the leader of this plan should Defender die. Although he knew Lyn would never wish for anything like that to happen, Zane wondered if Lyn couldn't help but enjoy the position of command she was to be put in. Hoodhide didn't seem to mind, either, being quite jittery, although that might not be such a departure from usual. Zane couldn't really tell.

Zane, Sword and Shield, and Dryad were to remain in the Thieves Village during the plan. They weren't very suited for the ambush, it seemed, and should the worst come to pass, Defender wanted to ensure that the Gold Tribe continue to survive, be that it already had been hanging on a thread for the past year anyways. But Zane agreed. If the worst should happen, the Gold Tribe still had to ensure that the Alpha Alliance had a chance.

The rest of the plan was relatively straightforward and understandable. Their target was the safety of the brother. Everything else came second, and Defender was sure to reiterate that. Zane understood. Wildfire nodded in understanding, as did he, Lyn, Calamity and Dark Lightning.

"Yougotit!" Hoodhide exclaimed.

"I gotcha." Speculum added.

"Is there anything else we can put in the holes that would help?" TrueStriker asked afterwards.

"Good point." Zane replied. "Maybe we can fill some of the holes with sharp rocks as well. Could be useful too. We might consider filling some with poison too, but I would avoid it. After all, Ancients are usually quite resistant against it. I think for the most part, we go with Defender's idea and fill them with water."

Just then, something caught Zane's attention coming from the Thieves Forest.

"Speaking of Defender's plan..." Zane said, his voice trailing off as he pointed toward that direction. From there, Roswell emerged, accompanied by a large number of other Pokemon, most notably bug, plant, ground and water type. He came forward to the Gold Tribe with a smirk, his arms extended, showing the fruits of his labor.

"Well, what did I say? I told you I'd get what you needed. They'll get working on that plan of yours right away. Now, if there's something else you need, say so now. Otherwise, I'd say you better finish up whatever else you need to do here and teleport back to the Village. You've got a tough day ahead of you tomorrow, and you won't get a second chance."
 
Penance 'Defender' Malum​

Penance just looked at everyone. Good, they all understood what was truly important here. They would work together and complete this as fast as possible. If they went as fast as possible, then they could get the brother out faster and then watch out for each other. Penance heard Vigil speak and turned to see all the pokemon that had turned out, with Roswell leading them. Penance went up to Roswell and looked over the various pokemon, "Yes... they will do." He pointed at the area, "We'll need to space out the holes, no set patterns. Just random places will do. Also, my brother TrueStriker brought up the idea of having some alternatives to water. We could place sharp rocks at the bottom, but no poison. The ancients are resistant to it. We could possibly also place sleeping powder at the bottom so that those that fall in will be knocked out for some time and we won't have to worry about them."

He looked at the volunteers, "Right, you all are just going to do your jobs. For those of you that don't want to fight, fine. For those that do want to stay, you will only stay until the brother is safely transported away, once he's gone you're gone as well. We are trained fighters and unless you've been through several years of training with instructors, you won't last one second against a Sentinel. You will die. Don't be a hero and get out of there. You could be used as shields against us and knowing my brothers and sisters they will be too soft to attack you. Now, for the teleports, hide in the forest and first chance you get teleport in and get the prisoners out."

He turned to Roswell, "First priority is your brother. Can you live with the fact that the other prisoners could be slaughtered in the confusion that will happen?"
 
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