The Greater Evil IV : World of Ruins

by Guillaume HJ

Destiny has gone awry, and the world is left broken...May, Misty and the others once more set out as the final threat is revealed...but without their leader, Ash, now long dead, what hope is there?

1. Reunion

The Greater Evil IV : World of Ruins

Part I : Reunion

Chapter 1

Thunder lashed against the enormous stone bulk that stretched from the coast toward the heartland of the Alph peninsula. The coarse light briefly illuminated the great towers of the fortress of Murasakiiro Shiro - the violet castle - the easternmost stronghold of the line of defense that was generally known as the Wall of Alph, the line of defense that stretched from the mainland in front of Goldenrod in the west, across the broken remnants of the mountains of Alph, to the great fortress south of Violet in the east.

North of the great wall, the land was relatively fertile, at least fertile enough for the survivors of the three cities to make a living with what food they could collect. The hills of the heart of Alph, the only remnants of the great mountain peaks that had once been there, provided a good space for what few herds they could raise to graze. Life was decent in the region, at least as decent as it could get. Or it would have been, had it not been for the deadlands.

The deadlands were a vast expense of blackened, scorched earth, of disgusting lifeless swamp of which the smell would repulse even the strongest heart, the direct results of the death of a God, a place where life could not exist. Had it only been for the geographical horror that they were, the deadlands would not have proven so much of a problem.

What made them terrible was far worst, perhaps even worst than even the people who lived daily next to the deadlands could see.

Where Tremayne, the god of the night, a god who had died while such as thing was not meant to happen, had fallen, brought there by the unleashed energy waves of his death, was a portal, or perhaps a rift in the fabric of creation, one that reached beyond heaven. Through it, the primal force of destruction could seep in the universe, the dreaded beings of pure shadow known as Avaraen appearing as its minions. They had stared spawning on the instant the world had fallen. Within months, they had been strong enough to swarm over the remnants of the citizens of Azalea. In minutes, only ruins had remained, ruins and a few survivors fleeing to the north, barely making it, many of them dying before they could reach Goldenrod and Violet.

They had done as best as they could manage in response, erecting a tremendous wall across the peninsula, barring off all attempts at crossing easily in the fertile lands. It could not be done, not without an assault, and fortunately, they had learned how to make effective weapon in time to repulse the assault when it had come.

Jeffrey had been the one to tell them, the one who had realized that many of the stones turned over and discarded while building the wall were starspire, as surprising as it seemed. He had been the one who had taught them what he had once learned of how to make weapons that would actually harm the shadow. And now, armed with their swords, their pikes, their axes, the troops of the wall waited for the next assault.

There had been many of them already, at various points, but so far, thanks to Falkner and to the rapid deployment his aerial forces mounted on flying pokemon could manage, none of them had managed to seriously breech the wall. So far, the rest of Johto was safe.

So far. Reflecting on the situation, the man, once a scientist, now a warrior, could not help but admit that they would keep coming, their numbers ever increasing, while on the other hand the troops of the wall would keep dying without anyone to climb to the front instead of them. They would last still a while, perhaps even as much as a year more or even two, but one day, the wall would fall.

The towers of the great Shiro, those same towers that stood so valiantly against all the armies that would challenge it, these towers would fall in ruins one day, swept and brought down by the assault of the darkness. It could not be avoided; they all knew it.

Brushing away the strand of blonde hair that had fallen in his face, the young man peered through his glasses again, looking for any sign of activity in the deadlands. No shadow that he could see, which was good, though there were still area were the creatures of utter shadow could move without being noticed. Through hard work, they had cleared a band of earth of fifty meters on the southern side of the wall of all obstruction to make sure there were no place for the shadows to hide in from the powerful flames that burned atop the parapets of the great fortification. Even with all that work, it still was not enough, there always seemed to be one more dark shadow for them to hide in.

So much had happened to the world since that day when, instead of simply defeating a God in a duel as things had been meant, he and his companions had broken the prophecies and destiny, killing the deity instead. The world had been shattered, and everything had been changed. He knew from what scouts had told him that the land of Alph; once a bridge between Faris to the south and Johto to the north; was now a peninsula stretching in the sea, with a vast straight between it and the coast of Faris, now covered with impassable, hostile cliffs. The mountains of Alph, once tall peaks clawing at the sky had been torn and broken, becoming to the north a series of low hills, and to the south a total wasteland, save for perhaps a few cragged peaks that remained standing alone in the empty expanse. To the west, the gulf of Violet was still there, though it had been terribly enlarged at its mouth, swallowing in the process the town of Cherrygrove. No one knew about survivors, and in a world were they all had to fend for their continued existence, no one had the time to look for them.

New Bark still lived on, though now it was a small island in the middle of the bay of Bark, a bay that now stretched halfway through the continent northward, a deep gouge in the taller than ever mountains of the Silver range, one of the few mountain range that had grown with the breaking. Beyond Johto, there was no telling what Kanto was now like, save for the rumors that the gulf of Viridian was now a vast plain, while the plains of Celadon supposedly had become a great inner sea. Cerulean, Lavender, Fuchsia, Pallet, all of them were, if the rumors were true, now on island separated from the mainland by the water. As was Goldenrod to the west. Olivine was no more, its ruins standing all around the tall mountains that had appeared there, mountains that continued south in what had once been the sea to swallow Cianwood as well. From the north, not even rumors came of how much of the geography had been reshaped by the breaking. Mahogany, Blackthorn, Ecruteak, there were no news from them. It seemed as if the earth, in its anger, had swallowed them all.

"Jeffrey." The word that broke his concentration came from the mouth of a young man with fierce dark hair. His long cloak was wrapped tightly around him, providing some measure of protection against the wind that blew from the north, a rather cold wind. The man had hawk-like blue eyes, and his face, once carefree, now was that of a true tested warrior. Like most citizens of the world, he had had his easy life taken away from him three years before, and had been forced to adapt to a new world.

"Falkner." He nodded, smiling at the simple fact that he was one of the few in the entire army on the wall that actually called the three generals - Bugsy Heiver, Whitney Crescent and Falkner Eisenstein by their actual first name rather than simply general, my lord, or my lady. Of course, that came as much from the help he had given them as from the fact that he was directly related to Jonathan Surge, the gym leader of Vermilion.

"The scouts we sent in the deadlands are returning. They reached the Skythorn gate three days ago. I thought you might want to be there for their reports." The man informed him rapidly. "Commander Bearge will also be there, of course."

Jeffrey nodded, rapidly reviewing the information. The scouts had been sent to investigate the strange lessening in the activities of the deadlands - no attacks against the walls in twelve months at least - and they already were late by a few days. Of course, the fact that they had returned by the Skythorn gate, in the middle of Alph, rather than the Violet gate, in front of the great castle, explained their lateness to at least a certain extent, but still. He got up to his feet, eager to hear more of the news, and to see what the three generals as well as Felicity Bearge, the leader of a group of battle-hardened mercenary that had agreed to help them, would have to say about the report.

Rising to his feet from his sitting position, he nimbly jumped from the great stones of her parapet on the walkway behind it, swiftly racing back toward the Shiro. His halberd was still in the castle, as it was a rather inconvenient weapon to carry around unless one expected a true battle, although he still had a short sword in a scabbard at his belt. The guards at the doors let him and Falkner in quickly, knowing they were dealing with one of their strongest, most important allies, as well as their very leader.

Flying almost literally up the stairs, Jeffrey did not notice Falkner slowing down and then stopping; extenuated by the running while Jeffrey still felt not even the smallest sign of tiredness. He could have walked, raced all the way to the southern end of the deadlands and come back, and still he would not feel any weaker, he knew it.

"How do you do that?" Falkner asked him as he finally reached the top of the great stairway, a few minutes after Jeffrey. "I mean...it's almost as if you had unlimited energy, you're never tired..."

"I know. Come from that." With his answer, he slowly pulled up the right sleeve of his shirt, revealing his arm and part of his shoulder. And more important, revealing the strange shapes that covered them. Swirling darkness, like clouds of a thunderstorm, covered the back of his shoulder and the outer side of his arm. From time to time, a brilliant bolt of lighting would flash on the image, as if a living storm had been set just under his skin, though he felt no shock as the lightning raced all over him.

"What is that?" Falkner's strangled voice came in a reply.

"Dunno. Got that a few years ago, just before the fight. It has something to do with Zapdos, or so I understand. But I've never been tired since I got that. I can get sleep anytime if I want to, but I don't need the sleep." He remembered the details of the event, how great wings of crackling energy had wrapped up around him while his Jolteon stared, how he had felt a strange sensation in his back as if a power was awakening there.

The council room already held quite a few others as they entered, Bugsy alone by a window, his yellow-green hair cut short around his ears. When the disaster had struck three years before, he had been young, barely twelve, but now, at fifteen, he was as much a fighter as any of them, hardened by the loss of his home, his friends. A short battle spear was propped on the wall near him, his own weapon which he had used many time against the Avaraen of the deadlands.

Whitney was alone as well, her reddish brown hair cascading around her shoulders, over her dark leather combat suit. Her eyes were hard as she scanned the room around them from her place, sitting on one of the chair near the wall. Just besides her, wearing their light armor, Felicity and her aide, Ashton Maxwell, stood. Both of their armors were marked with a symbol shaped like a strange red bug-like creature, the mark they had adopted as the symbol of their mercenary group, which they had called the scorpions.

"Surge. Falkner" Whitney nodded as he entered, pointing toward the pair of scout standing close to the door, both of them also wearing light armor, one with dark black hair, the other with light brown, almost blonde hair. Their eyes seemed haunted, something not surprising at all considering they had just witnessed the horrors of the deadlands.

"Everyone." Falkner nodded as he took his chair.

"What do you have to report?" Bugsy turned toward the scouts, his eyes seeming to bore in their minds, as if she was trying to find out what they had to say before they would say it.

"The first fifty miles to the south of the wall are clear of all activities." One of the scouts reported. "Beyond that, there are a few sparse Avaraen, but really nothing worth noticing."

"Really?" Felicity's voice was questioning. "No traces of Avaraen activity at all?"

"Some major traces around the central mountains, but we can't go in there. You all know that the pit is too dangerous for humans to visit." The scout quickly reported.

"So they might be gathering there." Jeffrey drew the logical conclusion. "And yes, we know." He acknowledged as an afterthought to make it clear he was not blaming the scouts for not going there.

"Partially. Other traces indicate heavy movement toward the sea, to the south, but we went there and found nothing. They can't have moved to Faris, so..."

"True." With a curt nod, Jeffrey considered that turn of events. Obviously, them leaving by way of the sea meant ships, and since there was no way ships could have been built in the deadlands, that meant outside intervention. "They got allies. Avaraen not in the deadlands or else humans siding with them." He pointed out.

"Definitely." Felicity nodded quickly. "But who, I have no idea. Anything else?" She turned again toward the scout.

"Strange things. Once or twice we heard the sound of fighting not too far away from us, and tried to get a clear sight of it, but only things we saw were a few Avaraen running away from it. Almost every time when we arrived, there would be nothing left to see, except maybe dissipating Avaraen."

The puzzling new was welcomed with great silence. There were no immediate explanations for them to find, but it seemed as if a new ally was acting inside the enemy lines, one who had a starspire weapon, and who wished to remain unseen. That certainly was an odd new.

"Almost every time?" He suddenly noticed the distinction. The soldier fidgeted, apparently unwilling to explain what he had meant, from his expression wishing he had not mentioned the "almost".

"Well...one of my men claimed to have seen them once...but he was a bit...weird. The deadlands just didn't agree with him, he tried to kill himself a bit later. We had him taken to one of the towers for the medics to look at him."

"The details, captain. Maybe he was insane, but maybe he actually saw the things that happened." Falkner's stern voice brought the man back on track.

"Yes, sir." The man nodded quickly. "He claimed to see a golden figure - shining golden figure - attacking the Avaraen, and devastating them, as a second one attacked that they seemed not to see at all."

"Strange." Falkner pondered the problem. "Most Avaraen are able to sense their enemy, even camouflage wouldn't have worked.

"Dark types. We know Avaraen detect their enemies by using brain waves akin to psychic powers. Someone with the same mental focus as a dark type pokemon could conceivably find a way around that." Jeffrey replied, rapidly going over what he had just heard.

"Any other details?" He asked the man.

"He claimed to see two cloaked figures attacking the Avaraen with sword, one shining that they were all attacking while they completely ignored the other."

"Swords and cloaks..." The thought raced through his mind. "And a dark type...It almost has to be..."

"You have an idea Jeffrey?" Falkner questioned him.

It was worth trying, that much he could certainly see. If two of the nine were out there, he had to go and try to help them. If. The possibilities of them being anyone else, however, were low. Few, if any humans were armed with swords, wore cloak, and had a soft glow in the world, while equally few humans had the dark type mental focus that shielded them from all form of mental assault.

But May Oak had a soft golden glow coming out of her, probably the result of coming back from the dead, and Misty Waterflower had the dark type mental focus, the result, as far as he knew, of an unlucky adventure involving Syraelle, one of the priestess of Tremayne, the god they had later killed. He was not much interested in saving May, as she had once been part of the Crimson Lotus, the group that had captured him, tortured him, and killed his only pokemon. But on the other hand, Misty had been a good friend in the few months they had all traveled together after the battle at the Ruins of Alph, and he could not let her down.

"I think the scout might have reported what really happened sir. It seems unlikely, but it's a possibility I want to investigate." Of course, if the scout had really been seeing things, going there would be a waste of time, and potentially a waste of life. But still, it had to be tried. "I'd like to lead personally a group of scouts down there." He concluded.

"Hmmm....of all the men we have here, you are probably the one who know the most about what's going on in this world, so you going there would make sense..." Whitney nodded, her forehead creased in concentration. "Risky, though. Any idea about how to cover up for that risk?"

Quick reflects gave him the answer easily. "I think a small group of scorpion would be a reasonable protective force. They are among our most skilled fighters. Perhaps a few soldiers from Azalea, too, they know what the deep deadlands are like. And of course the captain here will have to come along to show us the way. That's as good as it get protection-wise, outside staying here. I don't think we can afford that." He completed his plan.

The gym leaders seemed to consider the option for a moment as Jeffrey went over the plan again, trying to find ways to increase it. He wished for a brief moment he had taken the time to listen to his uncle's talk of battles and tactics when he had been younger, but now was too late to think about it.

"He's right." Falkner finally nodded. "Felicity?" The man, once a gym leader, now a general, turned toward the mercenary leader, who insisted on keeping her past a secret, though he had heard whispered that she had once been part of the nefarious Team Rocket. Not the best base on which to trust someone, but she was a deadly warrior, and having her as a hard to trust ally was better than having her as an outright enemy.

"I'll take my personal force down there. There's not a single fighting force that can match us in this part of the world." Her voice was confident, and as far as Jeffrey was concerned she had every reason to think that way. Her troops were just that good.

"Well, then, it's settled." With a nod, Bugsy confirmed that the plan would be used. "I think you'll have to do it soon and do it quickly. I don't like those reports about Avaraen crossing to the sea."

Chapter 2

"I'm not very fond of the idea of you going there." Naïa declared firmly, her eyes locked with his. "At least going there without me." She amended. "The strategic reasons for you going there make perfect sense, but give me one good reason why I can't go along?"

He shrugged. "I guess there are no good reasons, except that I was thinking in terms of larger forces when I came up with the idea." He answered.

"Not very brilliant thinking." She pointed out, a sardonic smile on her lips. "Who would you rather have along? Twenty recruits or Bearge?" She asked sweetly. "Don't bother answering, we both know the truth of the matter."

She sat on the edge of their bed, her ring glittering softly as a flicker of torch fire caught it. The stone inlaid on it was not a diamond, it would have meant nothing to them in the new world. Monetary value, as well as it seemed, was not something they gave much though to. So, instead of giving her a ring made of gold, or diamond, or any such, he had painstakingly crafted it out of a pure block of Starspire. At least such a ring could be used as a last line of defense against Avaraen.

"The whole thing is, you know as well as I that I can help you." She smiled. "I know the deadlands as well as those people of Azalea, fight better than them, and then there's the reason that made you notice me in the first place." She smiled.

"Your stunning beauty? True, the troops of Azalea seems to lack that." He grinned as she picked up the pillow and tried to hit him with it. Her loose ebony hair floated behind her, the dark skin of her cheek reddening - or at least it would have reddened, if it had been visible.

"You know that's not what I was talking about." She smiled.

"True." He acknowledged, knowing very well he was talking about her ability to stay calm under the greatest stress, and do what had to be done. When he had first met her, two years before, in the deadlands, she had been alone, isolated, with a host of Avaraen hunting her. Her family had already been killed, yet she was not weeping, crying, or panicking. No, she had been coldly feeding a large fire to keep the creatures at bay with a blazing light that gave her a small shelter. With her help, he had been able to take her back to the wall, and they had soon fallen in love. A year later, now just over a year ago, he had married her.

Upon her arrival, she had joined the forces fighting on the wall, and had been a welcome addition, as her cold-headedness had helped stave off one or two assault against the wall. She knew how to fight, and knew how to stay focused, not to lose sight of her goal in action, and to take the actions required to reach it.

"All right. You win." He gave in with a smile, knowing there would be no keeping her away from the forces he would lead southward. "I'll talk to Falkner about letting you come tomorrow." He smiled, knowing that convincing the young man would be an easier task than convincing Naïa not to come along.

She seemed thoughtful for the briefest of moment, as if she found a thing or two to be improved in his plan. "I think I'll deal with Falkner myself." She finally decided, her lips moving quickly as she let out the words. "He owe me a favor or two for helping him out with Whitney, so I'll just remind him of that." She laughed.

"You're manipulative." Jeffrey smiled, putting an arm on her shoulder, letting her move closer to him.

"Yes, but as you said, I'm ready to go to any length to reach my goals." She smiled, reaching out to kiss him, their lips meeting.

"True." He grinned, caressing her cheek softly as she kept close to him.

There was the briefest of pause before she spoke again, as she seemed to grow thoughtful for the shortest while. A smile appeared on her lips suddenly as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, slipping her hands under his shirt.

"I take it your current goal just changed?" He smiled back, holding her as close to him as she could be.

"Yes." Her smile became a full grin as she ran an hand along his spine. "And I'll need to be very manipulative to reach it." She added, grinning still, kissing him.

He smiled back.

___________________________

"Surge." The hard voice welcomed him as he stepped in the small keep that served as a base for the Scorpion along the wall. The owner of the voice was tall, though not that much taller than Jeffrey himself, had short dark brown hair, battle-hardened eyes, and was missing one hand, the results of wounds taken during the breaking of the world. Fortunately for him, the missing hand was his right one, and he was left-handed, letting him free to fight still.

"Harper." Jeffrey acknowledged, his eyes equally hard.

"Why do you show up your lousy face here again, softy?" The man asked, his voice harsh.

"Probably because you don't want to see it." The answer came with the speed of lightning.

The man's face broke with a grin. "Great to see you again, softy." He smiled, his hard face noticeably softened. He was a deadly fighter, and along with Felicity Bearge, one of the two leaders of the Scorpion, but that was far from making him a heartless warrior who cared nothing about others.

"Great to see you too, Harper. Things quiet here too?" He asked.

"Like everywhere along the wall recently. Nothing happens, and we just keep warming the wall with our behind. Or cooling our behinds on the stones of the wall, depend of how you see it." he added, with a smile. He laughed, his real features clear now, rather than those he kept up as a facade.

"Personally, I think it's the second version that's right." Jeffrey smiled.

"Yeah. Though I heard you had gotten bored with things and were going down there to have some fun?" there was the strangest sparkle in his eyes. "I wish Felicity would let me go instead of leaving me here with the troops."

"Someone's got to take care of home. I'd rather like to have some place to return to once we're done down there." With a grin, Jeffrey looked around.

"Yeah. Though with the dangerous threats we've been facing, a 2 years old kid alone and unarmed would be enough to make sure there's no assault." Ralph smiled. "Felicity's gathered the Black Talon, her own elite force. Sure looks like you guys are going on something big."

"Probably, yes."

They stepped in the dark hallways of the base, leaving the well-lit main hall. They were headed toward the main conference room, were Felicity probably waited, along with the rest of the troops that would come on the mission. Indeed, as the great oaken doors opened, she was there, waiting, a score of Scorpion troops waiting in the room as well as Captain Argun, the leader of the first patrol, and five Azalean soldiers. A pretty solid scouting parties, all in all, and one that might draw attention, unless special care was taken.

"All right." Felicity pointed to a map as soon as he stepped in the room, Naïa behind him. "The plan's going to be this." She pointed out the current base on the map. "We're here. We're trying to go there." She pointed at a vast zone red, shaped like a donut with the central mountains around the pit in the middle. "The people we're looking for have been operating within that area, so that's where we'll go search." Her terms were quick and precise. "We'll need someone to cover up for us, though. Avaraen activity is heavy around those mountains, so..." she left it hanging, as they all approved of the general idea of sending a decoy force. "General Falkner has agreed to send a small squadron of troops down there. A few of our troops will be added to that, led by Ashton Maxwell." Her stern eyes scanned the crowd.

There were no objections, and the troops quickly scattered through the fortress, efficiently gathering all the supplies that would be needed for the trek. Starspire arrows for the archers, food, spare weapons, there were a lot of things that an expedition, even one of only twenty nine members, would require. Still, the efficiency of the scorpion proved up to the task, and soon they were at the main gate, ready to walk down to the south.

The scorpions wore some layer of armor, protection against both those Avaraen that would possess a living being and use it as a weapon, and as well some extent of protection against normal Avaraen, as steel seemed fairly effective at absorbing their searing strikes. The armors were by no mean the heavy battle armor of knights, but still they were enough of an armor to protect them from the most obvious threat. In comparison, the Azalean troops wore only light clothing, of brown and black tones that matched the colors of the deadlands, an efficient camouflage tactic against those Avaraen that actually relied on sight. Against the others, there were no camouflage tactics that did any good.

"Are we all set?" Bearge asked a bit later, as the last of the troops went back in carrying the supplies.

"We're ready captain." One of the men reported. "Maxwell asked us to tell you he's ready too."

"Good. Let's go then."

They quickly assembled in the entrance hall, ready to head out.

"Take care." Ralph talked swiftly and softly to Felicity, before leaving her with a handshake.

________________________

The first few miles of the deadlands weren't too bad a zone, not that different really from the world on the other side of the wall, except of course that here and there traces of battle and of Avaraen crossing where lying around. The grass, what remained of it, was a sickly brownish green, or completely brown even, and only a few thorns bushes, blackened and lifeless, remained lying around. Here and there the ground went up in low hills, or down in small valleys, but those were barely even noticeable.

"Things are real tranquil around the wall lately...too tranquil." One of the Azalean commented. "Usually by here we would have sighted a few Avaraen - running away from us, sure, but we'd have seen them." He noticed, his eyes warily scanning the area.

"Right." Naïa agreed. "I don't like it at all..." Her hand was hovering close to the hilt of her sword, ready to draw and strike the moment a menace would appear.

There were no sounds in the deadlands save that of the wind, a soft howl racing over the land, empty of life save for themselves, and for the second party led my Maxwell a bit further west. No birds, no water, nothing except the wind and the sound of their footsteps on the dry ground.

The fact was that even with the lessened activity along the wall, they still would have to keep an eye out for anything menacing that would come after them, which perhaps explained the edginess of all the members of their group. They had no visible threat to keep them ready, therefore they had to imagine one in order to stand ready for any attack that could come.

Jeffrey casually glanced at the tip of the halberd he held in his hand, watching carefully still the world around. The Azaleans were ahead, scouting out, using their experience in dealing with the deadlands to try to find enemies before enemies found them. The Scorpions were deployed in a double file on each side, flanking the pokemon that carried their supplies.

The first few days in the dreaded area weren't too bad, nothing serious happening, beyond a lone avaraen, sighted and shot before it could do anything. It had been too small to pose much of a threat, dispatching it was nothing more than routine work for the brown-clothed Azalean scouts.

As they made their way further south, a dark line of cliff appeared over the horizon, steadily coming closer to them as they continued. The cliffs weren't especially tall, nor especially menacing, but they did mark the boundary between the near deadlands, the area close to the wall where things were not too bad even when avaraen activity was worst than it now was, and were about to step in the deep deadlands. There were others layer beyond, the deeper deadlands beyond a second ring of cliffs, and even further, the real heart of the deadlands, the central mountains. But the deep deadlands were bad enough, except now in this new time of tranquility. Now, the deep deadlands were as much of a dangerous area as the near deadlands usually were just prior to a massive assault against the wall, which was still very dangerous.

There seemed to be shadows everywhere, tall dead trees providing perfect hiding places for Avaraen in the fallen dark forest. The scouts now moved closer to the group, holding torches around, watching for any traces of enemies. The scorpions eyes the world around them warily, while Naïa had her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to draw rather than simply keeping her hands near the hilt.

A few more small avaraen appeared on their way, but were killed before they could react, and go to their allies. Of course, those were only the Avaraen that were found, and many probably remained beyond their sight, carrying off the information about the raid in their territory. The only thing they all could hope for was that Maxwell would do his job well, and manage to draw the enemy away from the important group.

As they cleared out the forest and reached the treacherous swamps that comprised a large part of the deadlands, Jeffrey caught his first sight of the true deadlands in a long time. Beyond the swamps, another line of cliffs, barely visible as a thin black line on the horizon. Behind them, a few jagged black peaks with an undying shroud of darkness over them, the central mountains, the heard of the deadlands, and the location of the great pit, the Avaraen spawning ground.

"That's a place we aren't going to visit anytime soon." Felicity shuddered. She had been to the feet of those mountains once, and obviously was not too interested in repeating the experiment.

"Not if we can help it. I think we reached our search zone though. Captain?" He turned toward the man, casting a questioning glance at the scout.

"That's where we started encountering those traces, yes. Near here." He stated firmly, pointing a bit to the east. "Around there, to be exact."

"Very well. Let's go that way then. We have to find them, and I don't like staying in the deadlands anymore than we have to."

They slowly made their way in the swamp, paralleling the cliffs on their way to the east, carefully avoiding the deeper areas of the swamps, the one that held, according to all they knew, the most powerful avaraen of the area.

Chapter 3

Sickly weeds grew everywhere in the depths of the deadlands, the area they were now exploring. They stuck out of the surface of the swamp like strange green hair on a disgusting greenish face, that of an horrible monster from a children book.

"I really hate this place." One of the men commented. "It almost feel like something is watching us..." he whispered, looking suspiciously all around.

"Really, be serious. Nothing wrong here, we could waltz our way to the mountains and back...I mean, my scouts went there and back more than once already."

The man should have known better than to tempt fate that way, yet he somehow forgot himself. Within seconds, and inky black tentacle was wrapped around his waist, drawing him to the water as a powerful being appeared. The creature looked like a strange cross between a crab and an octopus, a set of long dark tentacles coming out of a black shell.

"Kraken!" One of the soldiers shouted as another tentacle darted out toward them, only to be quickly sliced by a quick strike from Naïa. "Don't panic anyone!" She told them, her voice even, controlled.

"She's right, we need to stay calm." Bearge nodded as she drew her own sword. "Time to fight now." She added.

"Right." Jeffrey nodded. Around him, the Scorpions were arraying themselves for battle, slowly circling the edge of the little bay the Kraken apparently was in. The creature seemed to wait, patient, seeking out the perfect opening for an attack...

It would not get an occasion to attack, not if he had anything to say about it. His halberd raised, he made it appear as if he was about to launch a physical attack, knowing that Krakens were among the few Avaraen actually able to see things, not only to feel.

The Kraken readied itself to meet the attack, Tentacles held away as his seeping darkness seemed ready to swallow...The air seemed to fill with tension, both combatants waiting for the other to make the first move, both of them ready to put up a terrible fight...

"Down and away from the water!" Jeffrey suddenly yelled, diving to the ground even as he unleashed a fiery bolt of thunder at the brown water, causing riddling waves of energy and light to spread across it. The Kraken yelped in pain as the intense white flash washed over its body, and for a moment it seemed as if the light would do the trick of defeating it.

Sadly, that only lasted for an instant, as it soon recovered, a tentacle lashing out toward the young man who barely rolled out of the way as the black tendril struck the very place he had been in mere seconds earlier. That had been a close call, far too close for his comfort.

The tentacle fell off as a blade struck it, held by a scorpion, but Jeffrey knew that was only temporary respite, as more of the tentacles would strike. One more, no, two, coming toward him, on either side, not leaving him enough room to stay where he was, but already too wide apart for him to move out of the way in time...

Naïa was there, her blade slicing, and one more tentacle fell, the third out of the many the creature possessed. With that tentacle off, Jeffrey was able to slide of the way, the blow missing him narrowly. It had been a quick call, and only Naïa's cold blood and her sharp reflexes had saved him from near-certain death.

"Next time you try something like that, concentrate on being effective and not good looking." She advised him clinically, a quick advice.

"I thought you liked me being good looking?" He asked, while finally getting to his feet as the Kraken returned to playing the waiting game, knowing the moment had been wasted, and that it would have to wait more.

"I'd rather have you bad-looking and alive than good-looking and dead, to tell you the truth." The woman smiled as the Scorpion - those that had not been felled by other tentacles during his brief skirmish with the thing - were arraying themselves for an assault now.

"We aren't going to take down that thing easily..." he muttered darkly, realizing that the creature was just too powerful for their usual battle tactics to do much. It was reminiscent of the Valaurkor, the strange Avaraen they had encountered in the tunnels of Mount Silver, while looking for the last clue of the prophecies. Back then, one of their friends, a psychic with powers unequaled, had destroyed each tentacle in turn quickly enough to leave the creature defenseless. Back then, Ash had been able to finish the job with his soul gift, the abilities he had gained from receiving the soul of a pokemon, sending a beam of intense white light crashing in the creature.

Now, neither of them were there, of course. Ash had been badly wounded during the fierce battle with Tremayne three years before, Jeffrey had heard nothing about him since then. As far as he knew, the young man could very well be dead by now.

Forcing his wandering mind away from stray thoughts, Jeffrey focused again on the battle. The creature seemed to be waiting still, but for what? Reinforcements? That was possible, and a chilly possibility. If other Kraken attacked, or even other Avaraen, it would be a pure slaughter of their troops. Yet somehow the general strategy of the Avaraen didn't seem to be that of a creature awaiting allies. No, if that had been it, it would have pulled back further away from the edge of the swamp, simply pinning them down instead of seemingly looking for an opportunity to attack. And the fact was, there seemed to be a feeling of urgency to the actions of the being, as if it knew that time was limited, but did not dare to attack yet...

It appeared as though the creature would make-do of forcing them not to go further, but would rather push them back if that could somehow be managed, or kill them. As if there was something they were not supposed to interfer with, but something the creature would rather they did not see entirely...

"It's not going to attack without an opening." Felicity called. "So..." Her sword fell from her hand, and she turned to grab it, her back now facing the creature...

Five tentacles flashed forward toward her blind side, moving through the air with sizzling speed as Jeffrey caught on and did much the same. From the corner of his eye, he could see more tentacles, flashing toward him, black lightning streaking through the sky...

The whistling sound of blade slicing through empty air suddenly was heard, followed by the shriek of pain of the beast as its tentacles were severed one by one by the rest of the group, which had just awaited the moment to take them out, knowing they would be open to attack.

"Great job!" He yelled at Felicity, as the creature bellowed another shriek of pain, rearing, even though no strike had been taken on the tentacles. It seemed almost as if something was attacking the Kraken from under the water. A tentacle flashed forward, randomly striking in any direction it could, lashing at empty air. More and more tentacles, as their group withdrew...

One of the tentacles charged straight toward him, and Jeffrey knew he had no time to run away. Desperately, he looked for some way to escape it, then suddenly felt himself pushed forward by some incredible force, landing face-first in the dirt a few feet away from the area the tentacle was now in. He looked around for his mysterious savior, but found no one who could possibly have pushed him forward.

Blazing light struck the tentacles, blue fire coming out in tremendous waves to ravage them as the Kraken futily tried to escape the torturing pain it was now facing. Its head appeared from under the shell, an ugly worm-like shape made of what seemed like black slime. It was one of the ugliest sight Jeffrey had ever seen, one that nauseated him, but he managed to control himself, though some of the men did not.

Rising out of the water with blinding speed, a hand holding a katana struck, neatly slicing the head at the base, killing the beast as it destroyed all of its inner system. The hand returned to the water quickly, vanishing from where it had come.

"I guess I should thank you all for luring that bugger out." A voice said, one he had heard once before, one he had expected to hear again after their probe in the deadlands. "We've been hunting it for a week, but it just stayed out of range in its lair."

A soft, barely visible glow around her, a long floating cloak in shades of red and gold on her shoulders, her once-white clothes now covered with dirt and mud, her brown hair held by a loose headband, May Oak appeared from behind them, making a way through the weeds that reached almost to her neck covering the southern edge of the swamp.

"Oak." He nodded, without a trace of a smile. She had brought much suffering to him once, and had saved him now. At best, the two of them canceled out and made for a neutral relationship, and only at best.

"Surge." She answered, not smiling either, though there seemed to be traces of pain in her eyes. From what he could see, she genuinely regretted the events that had taken place while she had been with the Crimson Lotus, but it was not something he could forgive. Not now, now yet. The pain was still fresh, stabbing, even four years after, and it would always be so with the reminder he bore in his soul.

"Glad to see you made it out." A voice called from the edge of the marsh, as woman stepped out. She had red hair, at least Jeffrey though so, from the little he could see under the sickly green weeds and the brown mud covering her head. Her clothes were, of course, wet and clung to her, revealing attractive forms, though he paid little attention to that. She had no cloak, but that didn't prove much, considering it would have been a major hindrance in the water. The katana she held was one Jeffrey had seen before, had heard legends about for years. One of nine weapons forged long ago, along with May's long sword and his own halberd, its name was Crest, and it had probably killed more Avaraen than all the blades held by the scorpion in their group. "For a while I thought we were all dead..." A strange longing was in the voice, one that Jeffrey had no problem understanding. "I don't know what happened to Ash still..." she shook her head.

May's expression changed for the briefest of instant, a mixture of pain and guilt, one that could only mean one thing. She knew what had happened to Ash, but had chosen not to inform Misty of it. And in turn, that could truly mean one thing, knowing Ash.

"I've been wondering what happened to all of you for the last three years, too." He answered, carefully avoiding specific mention of Ash. May's eyes rested on him, a thankful look in them. She knew that he knew, and probably had expected him to betray her to Misty.

"I don't know." She admitted. "I think I caught a glimpse of Sabrina in Goldenrod, but I'm not sure, and I didn't have the time to find out before our ship left. To any extent, that was almost four weeks ago, before we got shipwrecked on the coasts of the deadlands."

"You've been in there for four weeks?" Bearge's voice was disbelieving. "How did you survive?"

"Badly. We had enough food with us, but between Avaraen here and Avaraen there, it was a serious fight for survival." May answered. "At first anyway. It didn't take us that long to get the trick of how to beat them."

"Of course the fact that they couldn't feel me so I could sneak up to them helped." Misty pointed out, taking an old rag from the hands of a scorpion who had fished it out of his bag and washing most of the mud out of her orange-red hair. "If it doesn't bother anyone, I'll go put on my dry clothes." She added, walking off in the tall grass.

"Have you heard of any of the others Oak?" Jeffrey turned toward her, trying to keep his voice from being too cold, knowing that the deadlands were no place to pick up a fight.

"Beyond Misty, I have no idea where the others are. Except Ash, of course." She shook her head, tears coming to them, though she brushed them away.

They were all silent for a while, and Jeffrey's mind wandered back to the problem they were now facing. He heard Misty coming back, in dry clothes and with her long cloak, and half-listened as Felicity and Naïa presented themselves, too worried about the why of the attack, about the puzzling behavior of the Avaraen.

A startled oath from one of the three remaining scouts drew him out. The man was using a spying glass to look at the dark bastion that were the central mountains, and apparently he had just seen something he did not like - something that was perhaps what the Kraken had wanted to keep them away from.

"What's wrong?" He asked quickly, receiving only the spying glass and a pointed finger in return.

Putting the device to his eye, he scanned the black wall of the mountains quickly, looking for the source of the surprise. Everything seemed black, though in various shades of black, from the deepest gray, to glossy, shiny black...

And some of it was moving. Looking at the mountains again, it became clearer, almost like a river of darkness flowing from it toward the deadlands.

But only, it was no river, far from it.

A stream of Avaraen was coming out of the central mountains, headed toward the wall, for an assault of a scale greater than any they had faced so far. Nearby, Bearge swore as she saw it too.

"Looks like we're racing to the wall now." She commented, before releasing a single firework rocket in the sky, the agreed upon signal to Maxwell that they were done and that it was time to head back.

They turned away from the mountains, heading as fast as they could toward their home, praying the warning they brought would arrive in time.

Chapter 4

Nothing would stop them from getting to the wall before the Avaraen, not with the grim determination to win shown by the various members of their little group. The sense of heightened alert had forced them to review their formation, that and the losses they had taken fighting against the Kraken in the swampland. Their formation, once very compact, was now much more lose. The supplies-loaded pokemon had been recalled in the few non-electronic pokeballs that they carried. The supplies had been abandoned, beyond what would be needed for a straight rush to the wall.

Two of the remaining scouts edged ahead of the group, just in case another Avaraen army was already out, blocking their way, something that would prove disastrous, but that was fortunately highly unlikely. Behind them, the third scout kept a constant watch on the descending river of darkness, nearly as fast as them, barely allowing them to keep the two or three days of advantage they had.

The scorpions, the sixteen survivors out of the twenty, were arrayed in a strange crescent formation, covering the flanks of their group against anyone who might try to sneak up from east or west. The bulk of their forces, however, eight of them more or less, covered the rear of their group, as that was the direction the deep deadlands were in. The direction any menace would come from.

And of course, straight in the middle of that crescent, ready both to tackle any force that came at them from up front, and to move in to defend the front that needed help the most, their main fighting force, so to speak. May, Misty, Felicity, Naïa and Jeffrey himself, ready to draw their weapon to take on any attack that would come their way.

Rushing forward without pause, the way to the wall was far shorter than the way from it had been, as they no longer sought to make their presence as unknown as it could be, and no longer sought to find traces of enemies. They just struggled forward, only turning aside when the land straight ahead became impassable.

It took them a bit under a week, even going as fast as they could, where it had taken them nine days to make their way to the deep deadlands on the first part of their journey. On the fifth day after leaving the swamps, the uniform gray line of the wall finally appeared, soon followed by the towers of the Thorngate. By evening, they were on the other side of the wall, and early the next day, they were in Violet, carried there by wings of flying pokemon that were kept in the aviary of each of their bases.

"Surge, Bearge." Falkner welcomed them with short nods. "I've received your warning."

"Has Maxwell returned?" Felicity asked back. Obviously, she cared about her men.

"He arrived this morning at the thorngate, I just received a message about it. How long do you think we have until they arrive?" He returned to the true problem.

"Two days. Three if we're lucky." Felicity's voice was calm as she answered.

"And where do you think they are going to hit?" He went calmly to one of the bookcase, drawing maps out of it. They covered the whole region near the wall, from Violet to Goldenrod, and then as much of the deadlands as was actually mapped out.

They all sat at the table, including May and Misty. The second, Falkner already knew was a gym leader, that much had been obvious, but he had equally obviously never met or heard of the first. Simply, he had been in such an hurry to discuss the incoming assault that asking about the new members of their little group had not yet come to his mind.

"I think they'll hit around Thorngate." Felicity pointed out the actual location on the map, the great fortress mostly manned by the warriors of Violet. "They were following us, and from where we were, a straight line to the closest gate goes right there.

"Assuming they go to a gate." May objected. "They have no reason to do so, they can just pound open another part of the wall, if they feel like it."

"Leaving us behind? Not a very good move." Falkner countered, peering at the map.

"No, just encircling us. As is, they can't do that because of the wall, so without even the possibility of a siege, taking out any of the castles will require a massive full scale attack that's not that likely to suceed." She took a stick and pointed out on the map the various bulky stone fortifications, most important of which were East Goldenrod, Thorngate and Murasakiiro Shiro.

"True." Falkner gave in, conceding the point. "But leaving manned enemy fortress behind is the most lousy mistake a tactician can make.

"Right. But once they are in, nothing stop them from coming at us from behind, and grind us on the wall. That way they eliminate the fortress without having to work hard on it."

"All right. Where do you think they'll strike then?" He challenged her, apparently starting to be ever so slightly annoyed by the way she seemed to know everything about the war effort. Listening to her talking, Jeffrey had no problem understanding how the young woman had managed to bring the indigo league to its knees.

"Two possible targets. Either here." She pointed at a location on the map, in the vicinity of Goldenrod. "That put them more or less out of range of your flying troops, but on the other hand, it means that once they're on our side, they have to neutralize both East Goldenrod", she pointed at the fortress on the coast, then at the island "and Goldenrod proper after that. Given their lack of anything remotely resembling a navy, not a good prospect for them." She kept silent for a moment as they all mulled over her analysis of the situation.

"And the other target?" Felicity asked finally.

"Here." This time, she pointed at the wall, just a few, three or four, hours away from the Shiro.

"That's insane!" He exploded. "We can be there in mere hours, they'll never break the wall quickly enough..." he added, defending his point. Jeffrey privately agreed with the analysis, but was waiting for May to explain her reasoning.

"True, but striking further west put them in quick intervention range of both the Shiro and Thorngate. Not something they'd want. If they can have the wall weakened enough by the time we get there..." She seemed to pause and think for a moment. "Actually, if they can do that, being close to the Shiro might prove an advantage. Facing them without the wall would almost surely be a crushing defeat for whatever forces go there. And once they do that, the Shiro is theirs, they have a secure eastern flank, and can strike across the peninsula toward Thorngate and Goldenrod, or north to Violet, without any problem. It would be their best move."

"What do we do about it then?" The question was not as testy as the last one Falkner had asked.

"Easy. You force them to make the move you want them to. Do you want to face them at Goldenrod or here at the Shiro?"

"If there was a way to face them at Thorngate, I'd take that, it's our best fortress. Without that, I guess it's here, Murasakiiro Shiro is far better defended and on far better ground than East Goldenrod." He answered the question.

"Then you move your flying troops to Thorngate, so that they can cover the whole peninsula. That will nullify the major advantage of attacking on the other side, and force them here." She smiled. "And if you had wanted to fight it out at Goldenrod, then it would have been a matter of establishing a base of operation - not a fortress, just a place where you can maintain troop and where ships can unload - out there on those small islands." She explained. "So forcing them here is much easier."

"Doesn't that mean we're giving them the advantage fighting here?" Jeffrey inquired, though he already had an inkling of an answer.

"For the battle itself, no. If they win, it will be better for them to have fought here in the long term, but if we win, that's not a problem. So we'll just have to make sure we win." She smiled.

They all looked at the map, except her, who was apparently deep in thought, as if she had already memorized all the important information and was simply comparing the different way she could see to deal with the situation.

"You should move troops there." Misty pointed out, looking at the map attentively. "That way it'll already be better defended ..."

"No." May objected quickly. "See, if he moves enough troops there to make a difference, first they'll know we know where they are planning to attack, and second, that will leave one of the fortresses underdefended. And at that point, all they have to do is come in, sweep over the under-defended fortress, and they don't even have to worry about us at that point." She explained. "The fortresses won't do us any good without troops in them."

"True." Falkner added softly, nodding. "What's your plan though?"

"Where to they hit usually when they attack?"

"Thorngate."

"Then you move your troops there. As much of them as you can funnel without leaving any one of the fortress under-defended. They should be aware we know they are coming, so that's probably the reaction the expect from us."

"Right." Jeffrey nodded at the same time as Felicity and Naïa.

"Then, you move on a small force just at the point to set up traps. Have them fly there, that will save lots of time."

"What kind of traps? I don't think we can set up starspire stakes." Falkner brought up, but this time it was Naïa who answered.

"Maybe we don't have guns, but we still have some explosives that weren't made inoperative by the breaking. I know that some of the people at Thorngate used that trick a few time shortly after I joined the guard, before they stopped attacking."

"Because explosions create light. Right, that work." Falkner nodded.

"Some of those fireworks you used in the deadlands Felicity. They would help in pretty much the same way." The young woman then turned toward the Scorpion leader.

"And of course we move in a few of those mirrors of yours Surge, along with those huge lenses." The woman agreed quickly.

Jeffrey smiled, remembering how he had forced them to hear out his plan to make huge mirrors that would be used to reflect firelight, increasing its intensity where it was needed. It had been hard to achieve that without the factories that had once made such, but with some hard work, they had been able to do it. The lenses had been taken from an old laboratory where they had been used for some kind of strange experiment, and their use was simply to turn the light focused by the mirrors in beams of pure energy. It was not as powerful as what they could achieve with using the sun instead of a fire, but at night, fires were, for the most part, all they had to work it. A few flashlights had survived the breaking, somehow protected from the electromagnetic shock wave, though barely, and they were now proving their worth as part of those weapons system

"With all that we should be able to beat them off." He stated. "If no one objects I'll go oversee the installation of that little base of ours personally. I'm the one who know how most of our weapons work."

"Right. I'll go with you though, I want to get to know the battlefield and draw out an actual plan for the operation." May noted clinically, and though he was not really interested in having to work with her, he had to admit she was right. "Unless you have an objection to that, of course..." She left it hanging, knowing he disliked her, but his only answer was a quick shake of the head.

"I'll send Ralph with the fireworks then. He's probably bored to death by now, so some action will do him some good."

Their plans ready, they left the room, Jeffrey wondering for the space of an instant how or why May Oak had assumed command, deciding their tactics, planning everything....

He shook his head, decided not to think too much about it. She might not be the real leader, but she was the best tactician in the whole vicinity, and even though she had once been the enemy, he had to admit she was on their side now. Even though he privately hated her, he had to admit he would trust her to lead them to victory above anyone else he knew.

__________________________

Smoke came from the empty craters, as blasts of light struck out of the engines positioned on the wall. They had been used before to repel assaults at Thorngate, or so Surge told her, but May knew very well that alone they wouldn't have made the difference, not against the strength thrown at the wall now. In fact, those were not her own words, but Falkner, and as he had said them, Surge had simply stood there and nodded.

She had once wished that instead of trying to develop her fighting abilities, she had learned to heal, not to destroy. But now was too late to worry about it, she had chosen her path. And with the world falling in ruin, with Avaraen and bandits appearing everywhere to make trouble...

The world would need to use her for what she was gifted for - war. Sadly, she could do much more to change things with an army behind her on the battlefield than operating people in an hospital. It as her path to follow, just like it was someone else's path to become an healer.

The last dredges of Avaraen were slaughtered down below as another volley of fireworks struck true while the troops of the wall were now coming out on the field, weapons drawn. There would be little or no survivors in the ranks of the enemy army, and it would prevent them from coming back for another round for long months, years perhaps even.

"Where did you learn how to be such a good general?" Eisenstein asked her, coming near her once more. She had been afraid of the question coming up ever seen she had taken charge of things without asking, and now it was time to answer.

"In another life, I guess." She smiled inwardly at the misleading, yet true answer.

"I don't really believe in people coming back from the grave in any form...reincarnation, resurrection, whatever..." he opposed.

"That's your choice. Personally I believe in it." A brief smile crossed her lips. Of course, considering the events that had lead to her death and her return to the world, believing in resurrection was not exact a matter of choice for her. It was a matter of knowing for a fact that coming back from the dead was possible.

"If you say so. You must have been trained somewhere though." He objected.

"I read a lot about it." Her evasive reply came.

He shrugged. "Oh, well. It's the results that counts. However you did it, thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled.

"Are you going to stay here now? The wall could use someone like you to coordinate our operations.

She gazed in the emptiness of the deadlands, wondering if she wouldn't do better to stay and defeat other attempts from the deadlands as it could be done. Only, something tugged at her, some news that Surge had mentioned....She barely noticed Surge, Misty, Bearge, Naïa and a few others.

"No, I think I'll go and see what those Avaraen did on the seas. I don't like that at all." She finally replied, her choice made. "Misty?"

"I'll be along, of course." The young woman gave her a smile. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"I think I'll go with them too Falkner." Surge surprised her.

"Then I'll be going too." Naîa's reply was not surprising, not now that Surge had decided on coming.

"All right then. I'll go back to the Shiro to have them prepare a ship for you."

As he left them behind, May gazed once again at the now-empty battlefield, wondering how many men had lost their lives in the battle. It had been a victory, she knew.

She also knew it would almost certainly be only the first skirmish of a long war.

Chapter 5

A year ago, the valley had been just that - an empty, slightly lush valley by the sea in the Silver Mountains, close to the enlarged Bay of Pallet. A year ago. Now, twelve months later, the hard work of a hundred thousand Avaraen and enslaved humans had changed it to a marvelous city, a place of true splendor. Towers of the purest marble stood in the center of the entirely white city that sparkled under the sun, their golden domes glittering. A place worthy of an emperor.

The emperor he would be, soon.

"General Starkhad. The Crimson Troops are worried about our new allies. Some of them whisper they might be demons, the same kind as those pokemon..."

"Of course not." Starkhad laughed. The stupidity of those members of the Lotus who, despite the world situation, still continued to see pokemon as the true source of evil was simply amazing. No, there was much more evil in the world than those little creatures - and much more powerful.

"They are a sign from heaven. They are the warriors of God, sent to assist us in our Holy War." He smirked at the words, not believing them - but those who believed in that holy war would. Oh yes, they would.

"Angels?" The man seemed hopeful. He, of course, was one of the believer. To him, the power of God - as if there was such a thing as a single entity like the one the Lotus claimed to follow - was enough to create any army if there was need.

Why God had waited so long to assist them in their holy war apparently was a question that limited brains refused to handle.

"Yes, yes. Go tell them that." He smiled. "Angels have come to assist us in our war, and the heathens will fall." He felt like laughing, yet controlled himself. This was no time to laugh. "And tell my staff to come here." He added.

A moment later, they were all filling in, some of them people he had known for long. Butch Stryke and Cassidy Slauder took two of the seats closer to him, their scarred faces looking dark. They wanted to fight, to bring death and destruction to the world. Pure viciousness, and that was one thing lacking from many of the men that fought with him. Most of them had a few problems with the idea of serving with Avaraen, but these two enjoyed it. So did Syraelle, of course, but then, seeing as she was the one who had taught him the way of summoning, or at least the basics of it, it was no surprise. And of course Slayer, possessed by an Avaraen, would have no objection to fighting side by side with those of his kind.

The others tended to have those reservations, from Maren Telensky, once the high inquisitor of the Crimson Lotus, to any of his other commander. And of course, the best of them, their tactical genius, had the greatest reservations of all - reservations not only to fight with Avaraen, but reservations about the whole idea of fighting under the banner of the Crimson Lotus, and under Ethan Starkhad.

Unfortunately for him, the knife held to his throat - figuratively speaking, of course - by Starkhad, was more than enough to convince him to serve. Not willingly, but efficiently. He simply was not willing to pay the price of failure, and as long as he was not, Starkhad had his hand around his heart.

"What are the latest reports?" He asked around, wondering what their spies would have to say.

"The assault on the wall took place as you planned, sir." Telensky's voice informed him. "Most of the remaining Avaraen in the deadlands, against a lesser defended section of the wall."

"Very well. What have been the results?"

"Very mitigated results, I'm afraid." The young woman continued. "Apparently, the attack on the wall at that specific point was not unexpected. The troops of the wall crushed the attacking army, despite number disadvantage."

"Klaus? Your opinion of this?" Turning toward his main tactical advisor, Starkhad idly fingered his knife. A subtle but efficient reminder of what would happen to the young general's family, if he ever tried to cross Starkhad.

"They have a new leader. Before they always expected Avaraen at the fortresses, and the few time that the assaults were not there they were surprised and barely had the time to move in sufficient defenses. Someone else's in charge now, with more insight."

"Disquieting news. The wall might be held against us for a while if this is the case.

"True." With a slow nod, the general focused his mind on the situation. A thousand factors were in the balance. "We'll stop attacking the wall. Let's concentrate our efforts on some easier targets to strengthen our position." HE finally decided. Of course it would have been nice to open a way between the pit and his new imperial city, Arvalon, but he could do without, easily. With the angiris he had summoned, there was no need of the pit. They could summon up the legions he required, if properly fed in blood. The blood of some of the worthless pawns who crawled at his feet traded for the strength of new avaraen. It was a more than fair deal.

"Very well. Now, to deal with those other targets." He smiled, looking upon the map. "Butch, Cassidy, my friends, you will remain her to command the defense or Arvalon. It is important enough for you both to do so. Syraelle..." He started, then noticed that the woman had a far away look on her face.

"Master, I am afraid Slayer and I must leave immediately. I have seen the path we have to walk, and it begins now." Her visions were always like that, cloudy, especially to those who only heard of them. "It has to do with the nine, and with the dark side of each element. The task our lord set before us." Her dark eyes shone under the light of the candles on the table.

"Very well. Do what you must Syraelle. We all have our own dark side, and all must stand to it." He nodded. The path that most of them followed, that of the dark elements, was not easy to follow. But they all had sworn to take it, whether it be for the power, or for the chance to serve. No matter how much they all wished otherwise, they were pledged to Rethen now, his to command in both body and soul.

"Thank you master." The woman replied, before rising, leaving the council room, the cloaked Slayer following her, hand on the hilt of his katana. They had their task to play, as he had his - he would command an army to take the world and bring it to where it belonged.

"Klaus, you will ready your troop for a visit to Indigo, Viridian and Pewter. These must be taken." His next order came, turning toward the young general. He had once been an enemy of the Crimson Lotus, had once brought his strategies to bear against those of Starkhad, before he had revealed himself as a member of the crimson Lotus, and not a Rocket agent. "And as always, keep in mind the cost of failure. You do not want to have to pay it." the quiet laughter that came along with the warning would have been enough to chill most heart. But somehow, the young man found the strength to resist the fear.

One day, he would have to die, but for now, he still was of use to the Lotus, he still could do them all some good. For now. On the day this would no longer be true, he would take a delightful pleasure in bringing the young man and his family to the Angiris himself, that they might become valuable resources of another kind.

"I won't fail master. You know that." Bitter eyes watched him, flashing anger in them - but also reluctant, desperate submission. The young man wanted to fight back, but could not, not with his family held hostage, ready to die as Starkhad wished.

"Very well then. Telensky, you will ready your troops for an assault against Blackthorn and Mahogany. We will have Aysaka."

He stood silent for a moment more, wondering what all the others should do while these two took their Avaraen legions to strike against various target. The Crimson Guard deserved to fight a last true battle, one where no other allies would interfere. But he would chose his battlefield, his day, and none seemed fitting as it was.

"You will also keep the Crimson Guard ready. I want them able to march on their target within two hours of me giving the order." He instructed the remaining generals in the room, those who had not left to ready their campaign plans.

All would soon be in readiness. And then, war would begin.

__________________________________

"Do not do unto others..." The old quote came to her lips unbidden as the vivid memories came to her mind again. They had no right to do it, no right to take the childhood away from her. But they had done it. At the time, it has certainly seemed logical enough, but now...now that they had done it, going in two years through what should have been over ten of them...

"We didn't do it." Kyle's voice came as he sat by her side.

"We convinced both of them to do it. Told them it had to be done. Remember?" Bitterly, she lashed at him with her words. His sweet, reasonable answers were not nearly enough now, they held none of the brightness they had once seemed to have.

True, they had not directly done anything to the young girl - now a young woman. True, they had only wanted the best. But they had brought about events that had altered things, changed the life of two humans beyond what should have been done. They had convinced one of the three who had made them to alter the flow of time once more, bringing life to one who should have died, making her old enough to face the world and not be taken down by the raging storms around her.

"She doesn't hate us. Neither of them hate us."

The voice of reason, again, or so she tried to convince herself. It was futile, nothing would change the way she felt about the whole matter. A childhood stolen, just like hers had been. It was something she didn't wish.

Other had no memories of their childhood, forgetting it completely. But at least for them it had happened, and there was home of remembrance, that one day they would be given those lost pieces again. For her, for Kyle, for Sarah, no such thing. There were no forgotten memories waiting to be remembered, no half-lost piece of the past waiting to return. Their past had never happened, they had been thrown toward the future with virtually nothing to build on.

"What do we do, now?" Kyle's question was not unexpected, though it certain was one she would rather have waited before facing. "We can't stand here and do nothing. Not with the way the world is going." His eyes burned with blue fire. He was a clone, and the one he had been made from had been the bravest man their creator, Mewtwo, knew. Courage, tempered with a will to help out others, and a great amount of selflessness when the time to act came. As for Aimée, she had been a second attempt at making a clone of a young woman. The first attempt had been made at the same time as Mewtwo had been made, establishing a deep link between the two, a link that had resulted in her being made.

"True." She gazed at the valley below, pondering. They had both felt the disturbance, the echo of Avaraen being summoned in the world by the thousands, the hundred thousands.

Even now the constant echo still rang in her mind. She knew where they were appearing, knew this could not be allowed to proceed undisrupted for too long.

"We won't ever be able to get in their capital. The Avaraen would locate us and recognize the power we carry immediately, if that's what you're thinking of. I can't handle that many of them alone, and you can't either, even by freezing time." Kyle reluctantly pointed out, reminding her that the powers they carried, gifts from Mew and Celebi respectively, made them prime target for Avaraen.

"In other words, we tip in others about the location of the other Avaraen pit?"

"Yup. Though I doubt they'll be able to do much about it." He shook his head. "It's just too much. With all the Avaraen they should have there already, it would take a full scale assault of some kind just to get in. I don't think anyone can afford to lose so many lives over it as is."

"I don't think they can afford to have a few millions avaraen running lose either." She pointed out, though she knew Kyle was right. "They won't see it though. Short-term thinking. The bane of this world." She smiled sadly. For one who could see the flow of time passing by through her eyes, who could see everyone taking a step closer to death with everything they did, thinking only about now made little sense.

"Along with fast-food, pop music and preachers." Kyle smiled, though only for the briefest of moments. "True, though. They won't act even if we tip them in. I don't see any way to trickle down that flow. Heck, even if we got in, I wouldn't know what to do."

She thought on the problem for a short while, considering what, in fact, could be done. Certainly, they could not get in, not without some help. But...

An idea begin to form in the back of her mind. If she used someone else as a beacon to locate her target, it would be possible to unleash some of her power over time against the pit, perhaps even removing the defense enough for them both to go in and seal it.

"You know, that's not a bad idea you have there." Kyle, of course, did not bother to wait for her to actually put the plan forward, rather simply reading it from her mind. "With someone to act as a beacon, it would be possible to neutralize the pit. The question is, who?"

She did not answer, trying to come up with a plan to get someone in there who would not be noticed by the Avaraen, and who could find the pit.