Tales of Mysterra

Chapter 10-Lieutenant

"So...you're back from your assignment."

The small group gathered in the dimly-lit, hall-like, stone room turned around, finding something emerging from the floor; it was easily identifiable as Orochimaru, still looking pretty battered from his recent fight. "Where is-"

"I don't have it," the ninja interrupted with a cold frown, slowly straightening his body out into a standing position.

A low murmur went across the room, the figures speaking lowly. "How do you expect us to succeed if you keep on failing?" came a rather crass, louder voice from a tall figure, whose rather skinny arms and legs contrdicted his round body.

"You're one to talk, doctor." This figure was just as tall, if not even moreso, and had what seemed to be a fur coat draped over his shoulder. He lifted his left hand, which seemed to have a gleaming hook on the end, then asked, "Weren't you supposed to invade Twilight Plains while everyone was at Lunar Hill?"

The round figure turned to the man with the hook, and retorted hotly, "It isn't that easy, you know! They still have guards there!"

"And you can't even deal with those?" This time, it was a man in a robe, with piercing, yellow eyes, and long, spiky hair. "If your army can't defeat some guards, then I hate to think what use they would be to us at all..."

"Probably as scrap metal!" This comment came from a very short, almost toddler-sized figure, who had a rather oblong-shaped head. "They would be much better use if they were used as parts for weapons!"

The child began laughing at this, a rather unusual, gentlemanly laugh, which was soon joined by some loud, beastial laughter from another, very large figure, who barely had any human-like appearances at all. The round man turned towards them with a growl, and shouted back, "Why don't you just..."

"Enough."

Everyone fell silent at the voice, coming from the far side of the room. It was a rather tall figure, rather muscularly built, with long, spiky hair that almost looked like a mane. A cloak was draped on his shoulders. "It is bad enough that one of us can't complete a mission, but if none of us can function as a group, then our plan will never reach fruition!"

The entire group bowed their head before their supposed superior. "There were a few slight mishaps this time...but next time, be sure that there are none. Understand?"

A unanimous "yes sir" went up from the group, as the figure's glowing yellow eyes peered around cautiously. "Now then...I had devised a backup plan in case this one failed...so listen carefully..."

-Meanwhile-

Silence overtook the room, Victor and Don Patch staring, jaw agape, at Chopper. "You're joking, right? Tell me you're joking!" the orange blob shouted, grabbing a hold of Chopper and shaking him about. "Say it ain't sooooo!"

"But, I'm not. You are all on a team now," Chopper responded, pushing Don Patch away from him, then folding his arms with a smile. "And I'm your captain."

Don Patch's eyes widened in horror, then fell to his knees, covering his mouth as tears poured out of his eyes. "Chopper, you have to understand..." Victor grunted, suddenly hopping from bed and startling everyone, including the reindeer. The dragon practically got on his knees, pleading, "I cannot be on a team with them!"

He pointed rather accusingly at Don Patch, who was rolling around on the ground, and the slightly stunned Tails, who folded his arms upon being pointed at. "Well gee, that makes me feel really good about myself..." the fox mumbled flatly.

Chopper shrugged, then responded, "Well alright. We can send you home if you don't want to-"

"NO!" Victor all but shouted, shaking Chopper around madly. "Isn't there something you can do about it?"

Chopper's head bobbed about from Victor's violent shaking, the reindeer calling out amidst it, "There is no other way! I'm sorry! You're just gonna have to find some way to get your act together!"

Victor fell silent, continuing to stare ahead as Chopper dettached his claws from his body. "Now then, once you're all in working condition, meet me in the training grounds. We have a little work to do before we can go on missions."

With this comment, Chopper left the room, leaving the others in there silent. Tails lifted one of his namesakes, then pinched it, wincing slightly before looking up. "Nope. No dream."

-Later-

Some time later, the trio now waited in the aforementioned training grounds, several new teams training amongst each other, the sounds of smashing and low blasts heard from all around. Victor, Don Patch, and Tails, however, remained motionless for the most part on a bench. Victor and Don Patch continued to look away from each other, Tails glancing at the two of them, chewing the contents of what looked to be a lunchbox. After swallowing, he mumbled lowly, "Sooooo...what's our training regimen for today?"

Don Patch folded his arms and stuck his nose high into the air. "Hmph. It doesn't matter to me, as long as Victor doesn't make it up!"

Victor copied the motion, looking away and mumbling, "Same here, only don't make HIM choose it."

Tails looked between the two of them, then let out a sigh, looking down at the chili dog he had been snacking on previously. "This may take awhile..."

"So, how is everything going so far, team?" Tails looked up, noticing Chopper approaching, arms folded.

With this, Victor and Don Patch stuck their noses even higher into the air. "Terrible. They're not agreeing to anything!" Tails responded desperately, sighing.

Chopper stared for a moment with a blink. "Really? Any training exercises?" Tails shook his head with a frown. "No...plans? Nothing at all?"

"No," Tails mumbled, looking down again. "They're making me do all the choosing. And I don't know what to do! I'm not good at making decisions like this!"

A few moments passed in silence, Chopper folding his arms and rubbing his chin in thought. "Hm..."

"So...you're picking the fox boy as lieutenant?"

Everyone looked up at this, quickly turning to the source of the voice. A somewhat tall, white-furred dragon in a blue coat and black underclothes approached, a rather inviting smile on his face. "Who the hell're you?" Victor asked bluntly.

Chopper immediately turned to Victor, and hissed angrily, "V-Victor! That's General Shuurai you're talking to!"

The dragon glanced at his captain, Tails blinking slightly. "Who's...that?"

"Shuurai is the seond-in-command of the entire Lunar Guild," Chopper responded, turning to the trio with a shocked expression. "His power is second only to that of the Guildmaster; and in battle, he's said to be practically unmatched!"

A few moments passed in silence, Tails glancing at Shuurai with an amazed expression. "What was that you were saying about lieutenant...?" Victor mumbled, glancing at Shuurai slightly.

The furry dragon retained his friendly expression. "Lieutenant. The ranking directly below that of captain. Well...most of the time anyway; you should consider yourself kinda lucky, Chopper's ranking is higher than that of your average captain."

The reindeer blushed rather brightly, folding his hooves and looking away slightly. "B-but, sir...what are you doing here?"

Shuurai chuckled slightly. "Well, I just thought I'd come by and see how our new recruits are faring. Of course, it seems this particular group is having a little bit of difficulty." Chopper looked down with an embarrassed expression. "Anyway, back to what I was saying earlier..." He glanced at Victor, Don Patch, and Tails. "If you're making Miles call all of the shots, you must think he's the best fit to be the second-in-command of this team."

"No way!" Don Patch shouted, abruptly hopping up and pulling out a folder. "He doesn't have nearly all of the right credentials!"

"And that's to insinuate that you do?" Shuurai asked curiously, tilting his head to one side.

The orange blob opened his mouth to speak, only for Victor to finally step on Don Patch, setting an elbow on his knee and rubbing his knuckles against his chest. "Well, if we're speaking about who has the best credentials and stuff, you might as well skip the process and pick me."

Shuurai furrowed his brow at this, Don Patch looking up at Victor with a glare. "Who died and made you team leader?"

"Well, no one yet," Victor responded lowly, looking down at Don Patch with the same contemptuous glare. "But if you don't stop, we might have one or two casualties..."

"Victor, Don Patch, stop it," Chopper called in annoyance, frowning before looking at Tails, the fox having fallen completely silent throughout the argument.

Shuurai had followed the reindeer's gaze, looking down at Tails. "Nothing to say, little one? What do you feel your chances are?"

Tails looked up slightly, then shook his head with a frown. "I'm sorry sir, I just can't be team leader, even if I tried. I'm completely unable to manage it."

Chopper blinked slightly, Shuurai folding his arms. "Really...? Have you ever even tried it? Or have you been taking orders your entire life?"

The fox pursed his lips slightly, looking down as the image of a certain blue spiky-headed animal shot through his mind. While Tails meditated over this, Shuurai glanced back at Victor and Don Patch. "Anyway, since you can't seem to make a decision, we'll just have to resort to a series of tests to see who is best suited."

Victor and Don Patch looked up, the dragon folding his arms with a smirk. "Well hey, won't be my fault when they get hurt..."

"Easy, violent-much," Shuurai responded with a fairly unimpressed tone. "You're not fighting each other."

The drgaon sighed lowly, Don Patch letting out a disappointed "awh" sound. "Well then, what is this test?" Tails asked slightly, looking up.

Shuurai smiled at the vulpine. "Just a few tests to determine your general skill. Finish with your lunch and follow me."

With this comment, the furry dragon began walking off, the team glancing at the rather dense forest he was headed towards. Chopper glanced at the trio, then remarked, "Well then, let's hurry up! We can't leave him waiting!"

"He said we have to finish our lunch first!" Don Patch responded, glancing at Tails, then cramming the rest of the chili dog down his throat. "Get it in gear, slowpoke! You'll never win the golden weiner at that pace!"

Tails gagged slightly from the motion, coughing slightly after swallowing the remains, Victor and Chopper exchanging a sweatdrop. "If you're just about done clowning around, I'd like to get this show on the road," Victor mumbled, beginning to walk off after Shuurai. Chopper was soon to follow, Don Patch dragging the stunned Tails after him.

-Later-

After walking into the forest for about 30 minutes, the team managed to arrive at the area Shuurai had specified; a wide-open space in the middle of a clearing. "So glad you could make it," the furry dragon said, smiling.

Victor folded his arms, Don Patch dropping Tails to the ground, the fox slowly getting back to his feet with a groan. "Alright, alright," the dragon mumbled, frowning slightly. "So, what are these tests?"

"This test is usually used when determining a lieutenant," Shuurai responded, looking up. "It consists of five different tests, usually varying depending on the instructer, but overall putting five of your basic skills to the test. These are, in order of testing: Strength, Endurance, Intellect, Teamwork, and Leadership." Shuurai had lifted up a finger after listing off each one. "First off, we'll test your strength."

Victor smirked, cracking his knuckles as Tails gulped nervously. "Perfect. What do we have to do?"

Shuurai smiled again, then glanced at Chopper slightly. "Battle against your captain. All three of you against him."

Chopper blinked slightly, looking at Shuurai in confusion. Victor, Don Patch, and Tails glanced at Chopper disbelievingly. "...you're not serious, are you?" Victor mumbled flatly. "The three of us agains just him?"

"Don't be fooled by appearance," Shuurai remarked, smiling. "Chopper's high ranking in the Lunar Guild isn't just attributed to his skills as a doctor."

Victor glanced back at Chopper slightly, Tails murmuring, "And...that's it? We just have to fight him?"

"That's it," the furry dragon responded with a nod.

Victor, however, furrowed his brow. "Tch, I'll believe that when pigs fly."

"Go! Prove him wrong!" Don Patch shouted, lifting Tails into the air and tossing him up. "Fly! Fly!"

"I'm not a pig!" Tails shouted angrily, coming back down and bopping Don Patch on the head.

Shuurai tilted his head to one side, keeping his warm smile. "Oh? What's wrong, you don't think that's a suitable test?"

"I didn't say that," Victor mumbled lowly, narrowing his gaze. "I'm simply saying that there's gotta be more to the test than just that. How do we decide who wins? Give us some more details."

A few moments passed in silence, the group glancing at Victor, then at Shuurai, who chuckled. "Well, you're more insightful than I thought. Yes, there's a specific objective to complete, but you'll have to find it out yourself. Giving you all the answers would be a little too easy."

Victor narrowed his gaze slightly, Shuurai beckoning Chopper towards him. The reindeer approached, staring down his team as Shuurai stepped back. "You may begin when ready."

-Meanwhile-

"So. We heard that your conduct during the Induction Ceremony was a little less than acceptable."

The red-haired teen looked up, staring off at the figure in front of him; a certain gray-furrwed wolf, dressed in a trenchcoat with a single scarred eye, colored yellow as opposed to his other, reddish-brown one. "Raibaru. If it weren't for the fact that your fighter's report is quite impressive, I'd consider discharging you for this. However..."

"We simply cannot afford to lose such an asset like yourself." This voice came from a ratty-looking young man with unkempt black hair, pasty skin, and wide, bug-like eyes. He proceeded to plop several sugar cubes into what looked to be a cup of tea, stirring them about. "So this time, we'll let you off with a warning."

The wolf closed his eyes, bowing his head ever so slightly. "Yes sir."

"As for your team..." the red-haired teen, identifiable as Gaara, continued. He looked up, his attention going to two different figure son either side of Raibaru; a somewhat short, black, spiky-headed animal, and a slightly taller, blue, anthropomorphic jackal. "I trust you three have already gotten acquainted?"

A nod from the trio. Gaara closed his eyes, then spoke once again. "General Elric. I leave them in your care."

"Yes sir." At this, a somewhat short, blonde-haired boy approached, a red coat on underneath a black outfit. "Well, looks like you three're taking orders from me now."

All three glanced at the boy, Gaara looking up again. "You are to begin undertaking missions immediately. Do not fail me."