Charmander

Rage: His heart welled with it like a forest set ablaze. He wanted to kick and scream at Lucario, whose arm he was now under, but knew deeper in his heart that doing so would only cause more problems. It was better they run away from the toxic fumes, from the poison gas that would spread through this section of Terra and choke the civilians and soldiers alike. There was nothing anyone could do for them, just as there was nothing Charmander could do to bring Froakie back to life.

He didn't feel the pain of Froakie's loss just yet. He hoped he would at some point, but sadness was the last emotion running through his veins at the moment. All he felt was an infinite inferno, a starving need to burn the whole world down as an act of vengeance. It felt as though nothing could stand in the way of his yearning conquest, of his unadulterated mission to destroy the Reapers, even if it destroyed him alongside them.

For now, however, he had no choice but to go along with the chance encounter they were now having. Here he was, the former leader of a quintet of determination, now nothing more but a captive under the arm of a Fighting Nation Senator that had once murdered his friend's brother. But he already knew where this was going. Everyone in that room just now knew what path would follow. It wasn't so much a twist as it was a turn of fate, some kind of ancient hand reaching down from the sky and curving the world in such a way that this was where they ended up. Charmander couldn't yet tell if this was a positive or negative curvature. All he knew was that things would never be the same from this point forward. The journey they were on would be more than what they had first believed.

And it had all begun with a tragic mistake.

Air whipped at the sides of his head. Peering up, he tried to make out Lucario's visage, although it was difficult given the position of his head directly in front of the setting sun. The purple of the sky, however, gave his fur its own violet tinge, as if he were something different from what they had known of him thus far. It wasn't until that moment Charmander realized how fast the sky behind him was moving. Then he glanced down, and his heart nearly dropped in his stomach. Lucario had jumped, his legs so powerful that the ground below was a life-threatening drop. He watched, transfixed, as a closer, grayscale surface passed through his vision. The walls of Terra. Lucario had hopped right over them.

He landed running, his legs moving so fast Charmander felt a bit of nausea in his throat as the Senator began to move through the Ground Nation undergrowth. Charmander closed his eyes, allowing the blur of the world to pass by him unseen, hoping his last measly meal wouldn't come up and make him hungry again. He didn't have to worry about that for long, however; Lucario came to a halt a few moments after taking off at what must have been light speed. Opening his eyes, Charmander looked down, then glanced around. They were in a clearing. Perhaps close to Terra, but far enough away that their position wouldn't be compromised. At least, Charmander hoped so. But the only other thing present in the clearing didn't give him any hope that this would end well for any of them.

A stain of near-black blood, perhaps as old as Garchomp's unknown betrayal of his people. A sure sign, Charmander thought, of things to come.

Lucario turned him on his feet and placed him on the ground. It took him a moment to regain his balance, and he had to shake the dizziness out of his head. But, after glancing around a bit, he realized just how isolated this clearing truly was. There were bushes, trees, and other foliage thick on every side, including wherever they had come in from (that included the sky). It was dark here, but just enough evening light was flooding through that Charmander could see who else had been under Lucario's care. When her talons hit the forest floor, it took all of Charmander's strength not to embrace her. He wanted to, but in this moment, he felt that the rage welling within would be felt, that it would hurt. Not knowing how much sense that made only caused his heart to blacken further.

Wait, he thought, interrupting his own brooding. Where's everyone else?

"Tranquill has your other friends," Lucario said. "I saw them fly out before we even leapt the wall. They should be here soon."

Torchic was also having a bit of trouble reorienting herself, stepping in high, overexaggerated ways before grounding herself and shaking off her dizziness. She took a deep, audible breath in before sighing it out. Her beak quivered, and for a moment Charmander thought she was going to burst into tears. Instead, her top and bottom beak clenched together like magnets, and she swallowed. A tear did roll down her right eye, but she didn't burst into wailing sorrow. It was a silent, inner one that was masked by a need to understand what world they had now stepped into.

A cannon going off. No, the loud whooshing of something dropping in from above. Glancing up, Charmander watched as a gray bullet of sorts cascaded down to the clearing. In a single, swift motion, the figure dropped two bundles to the ground, although much like Lucario kept them on their feet. Chikorita twisted around a bit, trying to recover from the flight. Piplup, however, remained stock still, save for the silent up and down movement of his shoulders. It took Charmander a minute to register what was going on, but once he saw the droplets hit the ground just below his friend's face, everything came together.

The gray bird was perhaps double Charmander's height, but given his ability to carry two trainees with seemingly no problem, he guessed his strength must have been more than his body showed. He landed with tact precision on the forest floor, as though there had once been an official air about him he'd relinquished for a more rugged persona. His golden eyes were what stood out the most, still holding the faint echo of a shine despite the fading light above. He looked around as though he had more authority than Lucario. For all Charmander knew, he did.

Tranquill looked around at everyone. At this point, all of them save for Piplup was facing his way. Even Lucario appeared to be awaiting an order or explanation from Tranquill's beak. But it didn't come, not right away. Instead the bird clawed his way across the clearing to Piplup. He looked at the Water Nation trainee for a few moments, his eyes glazed with the same kind of hurt Charmander would have expected to find on a grieving parent's face. Froakie and Piplup's grief should have meant nothing to this stranger, yet here he was, now, his face full of sorrow. Even the timid way in which he reached out to Piplup with a wing was full of soft mourning.

Piplup didn't even look up. He slapped the wing away, keeping his head low. His shoulders had stopped moving, but the darkness still lingered inside. That was enough to keep him from facing the Pokémon that had saved him. That was enough to keep him in the dark.

Tranquill sighed. "I may upset you even more," he murmured, barely audible from where Charmander stood. "I apologize in advance for the truth."

He waited for a reaction, but Piplup didn't give him one. Instead he kept himself in his metaphorical cage, stifled in the black reaches of his soul. Tranquill, for his part, simply sighed, then meandered back to where he'd been standing prior. With every step back, however, Charmander could see a growing glare on his face. The golden shine of his eyes was transforming, now, becoming an ugly yellow symbol of anger. Charmander never thought he would associate yellow of all colors with such a crimson emotion, but here it was, glowing in Tranquill's eyes as if yellow had been the true color of rage this whole time.

The bird whipped around with unhinged malice. "What the hell were you thinking?" he shouted. "Were you? Because if Lucario and I hadn't been stationed at Terra, the four of you would be on your way to Smoke Mountain right now! They haven't found the Emerald yet, but when they do, there's going to be more than hell to pay!"

Tranquill's breathing was heavy as he glanced around at all of them with a bitter glare. Charmander couldn't help but lower his head at such a reaction. Because now that the dust had settled, now that everything had transpired as it did, he realized Tranquill was right. That if they hadn't been so headstrong and cocky, they would have realized invading Terra as a five-man army was a terrible idea. And look at the price they had paid for their mistake. It was one that could never be undone, a story that could never be unwritten, set in stone for eternity.

"We thought we could end it here," Chikorita whispered. "We thought maybe…there was a way to stop it. Lady Sandslash arrived in the Grass Nation and we just—"

"We know that already."

Charmander was now compelled to glance up at Tranquill's face. It didn't hold as much malice in it as it had before, but hints of it still danced across his eyes. Now, however, there was also a sure determination on his face. Charmander, however, understood just what kind of determination it was plastered against him. It was the type one displayed when they weren't quite sure if what they were going to do next was the right thing or not, but nonetheless they were going to commit to their actions.

"We know already because we're Wardens."

And all at once, the pieces fell into place. Charmander felt the dizziness return at the revelation. They had been right about everything. The Reapers, the Wardens, what Garchomp had done to Terra. Yes, they had already pretty much known their suspicions and conclusions were true, but now here was a Warden, a Warden who had saved their lives from Reapers, informing them point-blank that the secret war they had unearthed was now enfolding them into the hush. Charmander's heart beat with fury. He didn't know, however, if this was out of fear or success. Perhaps a little bit of both, perhaps neither. All he could be sure of at this point was that this was no dream.

At the cost of such insurmountable loss, they had made progress. All that was left to debate, was if it had all been worth it.

Tranquill sighed. "I should explain," he said. "I don't know how much you all know, but I'm sure you know enough. Otherwise you never would have gone into Terra looking to pick a fight with Garchomp. And don't pretend that isn't what you were planning on doing. Lucario already told me about your interaction with him by the wall. Nonetheless, I'm going to tell you some things so you have a bigger picture."

His eyes darted once more over towards Piplup. "I know you don't know who I am. And I'm sure after what just happened, none of you really care. But you're at the center of this, all eyes on you, even if you don't know it yet." For just this moment, his voice softened. "Please. This is your fight too, now. You know it is. All I'm asking is that you stand up. But this time with us."

Although his movements radiated with reluctance, Piplup still turned. Watching his head lift, Charmander couldn't help but feel the rage pile upon itself. His face was nearly slack, the spark of life drained from his eyes. He looked more like a walking corpse than he did a trainee, more cadaverous than even Froakie appeared in his last moments. A chill surrounded Charmander at seeing his comrade look like this. Everything they had fought for, everything they had lost, all culminated in his emotionless eyes.

Tranquill addressed them all now. "Lucario and I are part of a group known as Wardens. We're 'keepers of the peace,' if you will, although you could argue that isn't entirely the case. Lucario is senior of me, but I've lived with the Wardens my whole life, hence why you're hearing all of this from me instead of him. Now, I know you know about the Reapers, yes? Their an organization much like us Wardens. Spanning multiple Nations, taking control of some more than others. The war we've been waging against one another has been small-scale for quite some time. Sometimes Reapers would take control of Nations and Wardens would be forced to drive them out. Other times they've been planning catastrophes that we've managed to halt in their tracks.

"That is, of course, until now."

Tranquill sighed. "We had…underestimated the number of Reapers that were present throughout the Nations. They'd been quiet for years, so we thought that maybe their numbers were dwindling. Maybe they had given up. But we should have known better. They'd never give up something as promising as their goal. We were just settling into the idea that we'd won a well-earned victory when. we got word that something was being planned, something big. That was from Sir Ferrothorn from Grass Nation."

"Ferrothorn's a Warden?" Chikorita spoke up.

"Yes," Tranquill nodded. "Yes, he is. He called us, not by radio, but by a device known as a hologram caller. I'm not up to speed on where your Nations are in terms of that technology, but am I right in assuming the Fire Nation has some?"

It took a moment for Charmander to realize Tranquill was looking to him for an answer. "Uh, yeah," he said, feeling a little dazed now that all this semi-new information was coming to light. "We have them, but in a limited capacity. At least, that's what it was like a month ago."

"Okay." Tranquill nodded, considering this for a moment before continuing. "Ferrothorn had informed us that Senator Meganium's daughter Bayleef had been killed, and that his other daughter, Chikorita, had disappeared. He was certain she had been taken by the Rock Nation, as we knew Rhyperior to be a Reaper at this time, albeit one that hadn't done anything up to that point. But the possilbity that you had been taken by him," and now he turned towards Chikorita to address her, "was too much for us to risk. So we had Ferrothorn sneak over enemy territory and scout out the base, under the guise of an operation in an attempt to rescue you. That's how Torterra's child, Turtwig, was kidnapped, and how we knew they didn't know about you, Chikorita."

"About my power," she said. "Or at least, whatever it is I can do."

Tranquill diverted his attention to Lucario. "How much did you tell them?" he asked.

Lucario shrugged. "Only that the Reapers know who the four of them are, and what they can do. Nothing more than that."

"What is it that we can do?" Torchic asked.

"It's best we put a pin in that for now," Tranquill advised. "We'll get you answers to that all in due time. Now—"

"Bullshit."

Charmander turned. Piplup had his flippers clenched at his sides, little balls on the ends of them, bundled up in frustration. "Bullshit!" he spat, looking at Tranquill with hate on his face. "My friend, the only brother I had left, just died because of all of this! Because of whatever it is we're involved in now! Do you even know what Toxicroak said when Chikorita asked him why he murdered Froakie? 'He wasn't necessary.' He said it just like that, like a robotic husk! So I don't care about what secrets you feel like you have to keep, or what you can't tell us because of 'information overload' or 'in due time' crap that you're just using as an excuse! We've been trudging through this whole thing blindfolded so far, and we've only just figured that out! Either tell us what the hell is going on, or I'm marching back into Terra and handing myself over to the Reapers!"

Saliva dripped from his beak. His breath wheezed in and out, heavy. Charmander watched Tranquill's face to see his reaction, but it appeared to be hiding behind a mask. The Warden looked over to Lucario, his face giving off nothing at all. Even Lucario appeared confused by this turn of events. "What?" he asked.

"You're senior of me," Tranquill said. "If they're going to hear about something as important as this right now, it has to come from you."

Charmander turned to face the Senator. He backed up a bit, allowing everyone to enfold his field of vision. Those red eyes, eyes that looked like they belonged to a blood-hungry warlord, were tinged with traces of fear. It didn't show on the rest of his face, but just the way his pupils were dilated was enough to see thoughts of concern racing through his head. Either way, Charmander didn't care. Piplup was right. They deserved answers after having gone through so much turmoil. To come out with half-baked responses to their inquiries was not the smart decision. Because, given his grief, Piplup would march right back into Terra if he wasn't given a satisfactory answer. And from the look in Lucario's eyes, he must have known it too.

"Fine." Lucario paused for a moment, then gave them the revelation.

"The four of you, by some whim of fate, have been brought together. The perfect platter for the Reapers to feast on. The four of you hold great powers, none of which anyone but you and those who witness them knows of. They can be powers of destruction, of healing, or of something between the two of them. This is because you are the lastborn descendants of the Guardians of the Warriors Emerald."

Charmander took a step back. This only confused everything. Not just, he realized, their journey so far, but everything in its entirety. It wasn't as if he'd just been handed this title out of thin air by a stranger, no. This was from someone part of a group dedicated to defending the world from an evil far worse than their endless wars. And it was information that explained the little, near insignificant pieces of a puzzle they were only just beginning to put together. A range of emotions, questions, and realizations pierced his mind. In that instant, things that had remained unexplained for so long suddenly took on new meaning. Now he knew for certain: His heart was pumping out of fear.

"What…what the hell is that?" Piplup breathed it out as though he'd been punched in the gut. "What the hell is the Warriors Emerald?"

"Something we'll talk about as soon as we get back," Tranquill snapped. "The information that passes between Wardens is often too crucial to be telling anyone. We thought you should know that so you understand just what kind of danger you're in. The Warriors Emerald is a weapon, the kind of thing that could bring the whole world to its knees. An ancient device with power so great, it could change the course of history if it fell into the wrong hands. Or worse, if they managed to capture that alongside members of the Guardians' bloodlines, everything would fall to ashes."

Piplup's incredulous glare told Charmander he was ready to demand more answers, and to use Froakie as the excuse. But it appeared Tranquill had grown impatient with playing Piplup's games. "Look, if it were up to me, you would know everything. But you have to understand that, in a battle as grave and sprawling as this one, who knows what becomes a matter of life and death. So the less you know right now, the better. Anyway, back to what I was saying about how we know what we know." Tranquill turned his attention away from Piplup—who still didn't look even half-satisfied—and started to address the whole of the group again.

"Like I was saying, the Rock Nation—whom we can now only assume is working side-by-side with the Wardens in a near-full capacity—captured Turtwig because their intel was incorrect regarding the Grass Nation bloodline for the Guardians. At this point, it was all about finding Chikorita and making sure she was returned to the Grass Nation safely."

"Is that why you sent Krookodile and Tyrunt?" Chikorita interrupted.

Tranquill looked surprised. "What? No, we never ended up sending anybody. Wait, did you see the two of them?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "They patched me up in a cave and let me run free after I decided trusting them was too much of a risk."

Tranquill sighed. "Yeah, sounds like Krookodile. He's wise when he wants to be, but when he needs to be, sometimes things don't go over too well. Nonetheless, that was just another whim of fate, or so it seems."

"So if they weren't there to rescue me, what were they doing out there?"

"And that's where the fates connect," Tranquill said. "We didn't send anyone out looking for you because we got word from Lady Golduck in the Water Nation that Senator Feraligatr had made a secretive alliance with the Ground Nation that the Great Warriors in Water Nation only found out about during a battle against the Fire Nation for some desert."

Torchic and Charmander exchanged a glance but said nothing.

"After that, we sent Krookodile and Tyrunt south towards Water Nation. Since we're not exactly a group with the capacities of a Nation, we weren't able to send them with anything but their wits. Their job was to scout out Water Nation and to contact home base via Golduck's hologram caller. We never received a call from her, but we did receive one from Senator Haxorus of the Dragon Nation. Apparently, there's a battle going on between them and Steel Nation at the moment, a dispute on Steel Nation's northern border. Apparently, the Water Nation had started to up their defenses on their northern border, although we weren't sure why just yet. That was when Lucario called home base and told us what had happened."

"I learned it from Senator Toxicroak," Lucario interjected. "He'd been telling me about secretive training he wanted me to start participating in. He never used the word 'Reaper' directly, but as soon as I learned he was in contact with Senator Rhyperior, I had my suspicions. It wasn't until he laid out everything that happened in Water Nation for me that I realized just what kind of shit we were in for. He told me that he didn't like speaking unless it was necessary, something he knew was getting on the nerves of his Reaper comrades. So he put me on the team as a basic translator, putting me in charge of information management when it came to communications between us and Reapers in other Nations. Although I only made it as far as Ground, Water, and Rock in terms of speaking to Reapers outside of the Fighting Nation."

"Of which there was no one aside from Toxicroak, correct?" Tranquill asked.

Lucario's lip curled. "That we know of."

Tranquill continued. "Anyway, we currently have no idea where Krookodile and Tyrunt are. At the moment, they're MIA until they return to home base, which for all we know has already happened. We're on a mission of our own, so it's not like it's our prerogative to know where the two of them are. That mission, of course, being to intercept the Reapers before another catastrophe could happen."

"Something we failed to do," Lucario explained, "because we had the wrong mastermind."

"We were so sure Feraligatr was the ringleader in this scenario," Tranquill said, his voice filling with sorrowful regret that made Charmander pause in his listening for a short second so he could clearly register just how much pain was in his voice. "I mean, it was the only thing that made sense to us at the time. Hire on the Ground Nation as a way to provide a distraction, make Golduck split her investigation between two different Nations, then suddenly spring a surprise attack on Aquarius. It was the only thing that made sense. Especially after seeing the damage. Sweet Arceus, if only you'd witnessed the aftermath of those city streets…" Tranquill trailed off.

"We know," Charmander found himself saying. "We were there."

Tranquill snapped his head up. "This is news to me," he said. "Mind filling us in?"

"When you're done filling us in."

The shadow of a smirk rested on Tranquill's face for a moment. It disappeared as he continued recounting their journey from the Wardens' perspective. "As I was saying, we figured out what had happened in the Water Nation and were positive Feraligatr was behind it. Lucario kept in close contact with him, even introduced him to me under the guise that I was a rookie Reaper from the Flying Nation."

Lucario chimed in. "The fact that they all bought it, including Toxicroak, was more than a little disturbing. We don't have any record of Reapers being in Flying Nation, but the fact they were so willing to believe…we were so damn sure at least that one was clean."

"Clean?" Torchic echoed.

"No Reapers in it," Lucario said. "There are very few Nations we can say for sure aren't imbued with spies for the other side."

Before Charmander could ascertain which Nations Lucario was talking about, Tranquill had already started speaking again. "So Lucario made up some expert bullshit about me being sent over from Flying Nation under the guise of a peace treaty with the Fighting Nation. Not only does a peace treaty not exist, not only does Senator Togekiss not know I exist, but neither does my story about being a Reaper-in-training. To think they bought it all was disturbing, yes, but funny in some capacity, too.

"We weren't laughing all too hard, however, when we learned Terra had been attacked too. Talking with Feraligatr, he practically admitted to us that Garchomp was the true web-spinner. He'd been controlling it all from the very start, right in front of our faces. It was at this point we knew we had to do something about it, learn his plan, understand where things were going from there. That was when we were invited to a meeting in Terra, where we learned Garchomp had crowned himself King. We also learned of other plans he had. Lucario, if you will?"

"Certainly," the Fighting Nation Senator replied. "I had Tranquill arrive at the meeting before Toxicroak and I even walked through Terra's gates, just so it didn't seem as if we had as strong a connection as we do. The first thing I did was make an empty promise to Sir Kabutops that the Fighting Nation would lend the Southern Water Nation troops to avoid anything going awry. Apparently, the citizens haven't taken too kindly to Feraligatr turning himself into a monarch."

"Wait, like a king?" Torchic asked. "And what do you mean by Southern Water Nation?"

"The Nation's split itself in two," Lucario explained. "The Southern Water Nation, ruled by King Feraligatr, and the Northern Water Nation, ruled by Queen Suicune."

"We learned a lot more than that at the meeting, however," Tranquill responded. "Not to steal your thunder, Lucario, but he's the quick rundown. First off, not all of Rock Nation is in on Reaper business. At least Senator Aggron, the Head of their Council, doesn't know what's going on there. We also got confirmation from Rhyperior that they were trying to capture Turtwig because they believed him to be a Guardian. But we also learned of what happened in the camp, that you, Chikorita, and you, Piplup, used your powers in order to gravely injure him and kill Senator Rampardos. That's what unknowingly put Chikorita on the map. Well, it put all of you on the map once we learned the four of you were together."

"The five of us," Piplup whispered, although in his haste to explain, Tranquill appeared not to notice.

"We also found out the Dark Nation is involved in all of this in some capacity, but for some reason isn't being all too responsive with Garchomp's plan."

"He seems frazzled," Lucario said. "Garchomp, that is. During the meeting, he claimed Smoke Mountain was in between Dark and Rock Nation, when in reality it rests on the border of Dark and Ice. Rock is all the way on the eastern side of the map."

"But don't forget what he said," Tranquill warned. "That they have an inside man who might know who's holding onto the Emerald. Not to mention they have almost all the pieces they need."

"What are they planning on doing at Smoke Mountain?" Chikorita inquired.

"We have a feeling we know," Lucario said, "but we can't tell you. Not yet. All you need to know is that Smoke Mountain is likely to be heavily reinforced, but we don't have enough information. We would have but…never mind." Lucario glanced at Piplup for a guilty, near-nonexistent moment before turning his gaze away. "All we know is that they might have an idea as to where the Emerald is, and that they have three Guardian descendants already."

"What do you mean they have three already?" Torchic asked.

Lucario and Tranquill glanced at one another. Charmander felt his heart catch in his throat. Tranquill's eyes met his for only a moment, and while he saw his own gleam of hope reflected in Tranquill's, the Warden's eyes were nothing to scoff at. They didn't hide their emotions, instead telling Charmander that to get his hopes up, especially at a time like this, would be a waste of energy.

"According to Kabutops," Tranquill said, "they have in their possession Senators Charizard, Blaziken, and Empoleon."

For a brief, light-headed moment, Froakie and their current state of tragedy was forgotten. Charmander felt his spirit lift in a way he hadn't understood in a long time. As if the whole world had suddenly blessed him with an understanding, the universe before him expanded into a single answer to his question of parentage: Yes, Charmander, your father is still alive. He couldn't help but exchange a glance with Torchic, whose eyes were welling up not with tears of sorrow, but harmonic melodies of joy. Even if they were in enemy hands, even if they were captured behind lines they could only dream of crossing, they were still alive. There was still the possibility of holding them someday soon.

Only Piplup remained unfazed by this news.

"How is this a good thing?" Tranquill asked, perplexed by their reactions.

Arceus, it was the sound of an angel, hearing Torchic laugh for the first time in a long while. "The last time I saw my father," Torchic explained through her tears, "he was being sliced apart by Senator Garchomp in that desert you were talking about earlier. He was…he was dead. But now, now there's a chance that he…oh, Charmander!" In the most uncharacteristic display of affection Charmander had ever received from her, Torchic nuzzled her way beside his neck. He couldn't help but put his arm around her in that moment. How one piece of good news could, for the moment, decimate the horror they had just witnessed was insane. So insane, in fact, that as soon as that terrible event ran through Charmander's mind again, he felt stiffness in his veins that made his blood chill. How could he feel so happy at a time like this?

But now was not the time for emotions of any kind, it seemed. Tranquill stared at the two of them with seriousness in his gaze. "This isn't a laughing matter," he said. "They have your parents alive, probably captive in Smoke Mountain as we speak. And what they're planning on doing to them is something they're not apt to live through."

Lucario sighed. "C'mon, Tranquill," he said. "Let them enjoy their moment."

"Not with so much at stake," he whispered. Then he snapped his head up and began to speak in a more matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Right, then. I don't mean to break this off in such a dry manner, but we have more important things to consider right now. First thing's first; we're going back to base to regroup with everyone else, figure out what we're to do about Smoke Mountain. We're going to cut through Steel Nation, Dragon, back through the northern part of Ground and Dark, right through Ice and into the mainframe of our little secret society up there. Hope that sounds good, because there's no way we're altering the course."

Tranquill abruptly turned towards the undergrowth ahead. He looked back at the group. "You coming?" he asked.

Piplup opened his mouth as if he were about to protest. But, seeing that everyone else had taken a step forward—including Charmander in that very same moment—he closed his beak and began to trudge along with them.

"We'll be at the base sooner than you think," Lucario said. "Everything will make more sense once you've had time to digest everything."

But, even so, Charmander's mind was racing at a mile per minute. He hadn't even had time to grieve his friend yet, but these two strangers who were Wardens with a fairly accurate story of what was going on had swooped in and saved them, confirmed everything they had concluded throughout their travels, had told them they were descendants of Guardians for a mystical McGuffin they didn't know anything about, and that he and Torchic's parents were alive. He was sure there was more, but right now what he needed was time to digest it all. Like a meal, he couldn't eat a whole helping at once. What he had to do now was take it all in for what it was, and think. The walking, however, made it obvious that he would have plenty of time to do so.

Either way, his mind continued to wander back to Froakie. To the way Toxicroak had ended his life with such swift, uncompassionate precision. And, just like that, the rage began to swell up in him once again. Because no matter how much information was lumped onto him, even if his father was alive and he was some kind of chosen one within this sick war of charades, it still didn't take away from the promise he'd made at the behest of his fallen friend.

He was going to kill every single one of them. His words may have implied plurality when he told Toxicroak 'we' would kill him, but even he knew deep down he was lying to himself. No, he wanted every single Pokémon in that room all to himself. He wanted them to know just what it was like to die the way Froakie had. That was what he would do to avenge his fallen comrade, the voice of reason that had wanted to badly to make things right, even at the cost of his soul. He would make them suffer in the same way he had. No matter how long it took, no matter how many other Reapers he had to slay, no matter how much he had to learn from the Wardens. Someday, and someday soon, he would make things right again. For all of them. Not just for Froakie, but for all of them.

Ah, yes, there it was once more. Rage. His heart welled with it like a forest set ablaze.