Imppala: Indeed. And so am I, assistant muse and tactician in command.
Grim: ...What?
ShadowedTactician: Shush! You'll give it away!
Gijinka Renamon
ShadowedTactician: ...Why do so many people compare Nergal with Mewtwo? Cloning hasn't even been invented yet!
Imppala: Maybe, but there's no reason why you can't take creative liberties and change history a little.
ShadowedTactician: ...I'll think about it. Thanks for the review.
ShadowAngelUmbreon
Grim: ...Fine. Apology accepted.
Imppala: I must admit, that was a very subtle ending for Matthew's debut.
ShadowedTactician: You have a chair of laughter? Wow, show it to me sometime...
Toxic Bishounen
The two humans and one Duskull look at the review, at each other, at the review, and so ad infinitum.
ShadowedTactician: Er... to save space and time, I think we'll leave all the respective character and Pokémon allotment discussions to their individual debuts.
Imppala: All in good time.
ShadowedTactician: And, pertaining to Eliwood and Hector's choices... well, since Lyn, Eliwood and Hector are pretty much like Green, Red and Blue from the manga,Pokemon Adventures, I thought it'd be good to give them all the starter Pokémon from the same generation. I didn't think Cyndaquil fit Eliwood, nor did Torchic. Charmander seemed to fit him best; he does marry a dragon in the end anyway. Hector's suited up in armour like Squirtle, and... you get the idea. Moving on...
Generic Reviewer
ShadowedTactician: Thanks for the review, GR, but Pent isn't getting Alakazam. To see what three-stager he does get, refer to Toxic Bishounen's last review.
Lyn takes her leave of Araphen, finding no aid from its spiteful marquess. Now, she and her companions resume their march toward Caelin in earnest. Racing against time, with her grandfather's life the prize. Harried and impatient, Lyn presses onward. Suddenly, a young boy appears and pleads for their assistance.
At a small inn in Khathelet, another Lycian territory, something very unusual was taking place...
"Please!" A young boy was begging, "Somebody... Somebody, please help!"
"That's enough! Get out now! I want none of your trouble!" barked the innkeeper, shoving the boy outside onto the dirt road.
"Oof!" went the boy as he fell in a heap. He turned to face the innkeeper as his eyes started to water, "But, sir... Why? You were so kind yesterday..."
"I thought you were just two kids, a couple of travelling performers..." The innkeeper said sternly. "If those men are chasing you, you must be up to no good! Now get up and get out! You're a plague on decent folk!"
"But...!" The boy stared helplessly as the innkeeper slammed the door in his face. "Whew... what a mess," the innkeeper heaved a sigh of relief as he went to complete some other unfinished business. The entire proceeding of events did not go unseen however; from behind a door a blond monk with blue robes and shoulder-length hair had witnessed the entire thing. A small Pokémon hid behind his leg. It had equally girlish features as the monk besides it in the form of green "hair", red horns and snow-white skin. "Hmm..." hummed the monk in deep thought.
Meanwhile, Lyn's group had just entered the scene.
"Where are we, Kent?" asked Lyn.
"This is Khathelet," explained the red knight. "If we head due south, we'll pass into Caelin."
"From here, I'd say we're about ten days' ride to Castle Caelin," Sain estimated. "...Assuming we don't run into any delays, of course."
"Ten days..." Before Lyn could say anything else, the young boy from earlier on approached them. "Pardon me, but..." he began nervously.
"Yes? Can I help you?" Lyn asked kindly.
"My... my name is Nils. You and your friends... are you mercenaries?" asked the boy.
"And... if we are?" Lyn's eyebrow twitched.
"I need your help!" The boy burst out suddenly.
"Milady Lyndis, you mustn't let your guard down. Not even for a child," warned Kent.
"I know," Lyn replied, slightly annoyed. She turned to the boy, "Forgive me, but we're in a hurry. Is there someone else you can ask?"
"There's no time! Ninian's been... It's my sister! Some men have taken her away!" wailed Nils.
"Your sister?" Sain appeared to spring up from his horse at the mention of another female target to chase. "Did you say your sister's been accosted?"
"Sain..." groaned Kent. He already knew where this conversation was headed.
"That's right!" Nils nodded. "By some cruel, awful men. I don't know what I'll do without Ninian..."
"Milady Lyndis! We must help him!" exclaimed Sain.
"Nonsense! We haven't the time!" disagreed Kent. "If the marquess is as ill as we've heard, we must proceed!"
"Kent, I..." Lyn uttered, "I want to help this child."
"Milady?" Kent was surprised.
"I'm worried about my grandfather, of course..." Lyn explained. "But this! I cannot stand by and let a child be taken from her home!"
"...I see." Kent closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Kent," Lyn apologised.
"I am your loyal retainer. You owe me no apologies," smiled Kent. "You must do as your heart dictates, milady. I will follow you, no matter where that may lead."
"Thank you." Lyn gave Kent her gratitude. "Hah! Such a noble speech! Ever the true knight, that one!" Sain commented. "Ah, well. You're in luck, laddie! Let's go get your sister!"
"Will you lead us to the men who've done this, Nils?" Lyn asked.
"Uh huh. They're really tough, so be careful," Nils cautioned.
"Leave them to us. We're pretty tough ourselves," laughed Lyn. "Right, Shadow?" Her ever-reliable tactician only gave her a knowing smile. Suddenly, an archer and another shady character emerged from the hills ahead. Both were wearing black robes, but the man besides the archer was wearing a black hood that covered most of his face.
"Ah! Oh, no..." Nils started to back away.
"Heh heh heh... Found him!" declared the archer. "C'mon, it's back to Nergal with you. Quiet now," he coaxed.
"No! Let Ninian go!" yelled Nils.
"We ain't supposed to kill you, but we sure can rough you up!" So saying, the archer proceeded to grab Nils, when a brilliant sheen of light suddenly stopped him. It was Lyn, who was standing protectively in front of Lyn with her Mani Katti unsheathed. "Huh?" The archer stepped backwards, "Who do you think you are?"
"Lyn!" exclaimed Nils.
"Let the boy's sister go." Lyn ordered in a deadly voice.
"Ah... So you want to help the kid, huh?" sneered the archer. "What a shame. You're gonna die for something that don't concern you."
"You think so, do you? Do we look so meek to you? I think you're in for a terrible shock!" retorted Lyn.
"Stupid girl... you'll regret those words." The archer muttered. "Take 'em down, boys!" On the hills and grass beyond, more people dressed in black came out from their hiding places, ready to fight.
"Hmmm... we appear to be facing a shaman," Shadow noted as he pointed to the hooded character. "I've heard that these practicioners of the dark arts are fearsome foes. We'll have to be careful." As Shadow briefed the rest, another stranger walked up to the group. It was the blonde monk from the inn, and he had his girl-like Pokémon with him.
"What! Who are you?" exclaimed Lyn.
"Please forgive me. I never meant to startle you," apologised the stranger.
"Your clothes... they look like religious vestiary," noted Lyn. "Are you an Elimine bishop?"
"Yes... well, no." The stranger confessed, "I'm only an acolyte, an Elimine monk, to be specific. My name's Lucius."
"Do you have business with us?" Lyn asked.
"I was at the local inn when this child came seeking help," explained Lucius. "The innkeeper was afraid to get involved. He was... unpleasant."
"I wasn't afraid of him!" protested Nils. "I'm used to being treated that way."
"That's awful," commented Lyn.
"May I please lend you my services?" offered Lucius. "I truly wish to help the boy, if only a little."
"Of course," Lyn smiled.
"Thank you very much," Lucius bowed. "The blessings of Saint Elimine be upon you."
"Ah... Lucius, right?" Shadow studied their new addition. "I see that you have a Pokémon with you as well...all themembers of our group do. And it's a Ralts, too! You don't see much of those Pokémon around!" Lucius blushed slightly at the comment. "Anyway," Shadow continued, "I need to see what you can do. You are a user of light magic, yes?" The monk nodded. "Then the shaman over there should be no problem to you at all," Shadow pointed.
"Very well." Obeying his orders, Lucius marched up to the shaman, brought out a shining tome, and briefly muttered a spell. "Lightning!" Instantly, a storm of lightning bolts rained down on the shaman. Staggering from the attack, the shaman produced his own tome, and launched his own attack.
"Flux!" The jewel on the necklace the shaman was wearing began to sparkle with dark energy, and his cloak began to levitate. A ball of dark energy suddenly formed in front of him, and sunk into the ground, only to emerge right under Lucius and damaging him.
"I can help too!" Nils was jumping up and down.
"Nils! Can you fight?" Lyn asked.
"No..." admitted the boy. "But I'm a bard, and bards are useful to have around!"
"A bard? Do you mean you're a minstrel?" Lyn frowned slightly. "This is no place for a ballad or a saltarello, Nils."
"C'mon, trust me!" Nils pleaded. "Let me show you what I can do." Lyn thought for a moment, then looked at Shadow.
"Well, we don't have anything to lose. I say we give Nils a shot," shrugged the tactician. "Okay, Nils, I want you to play for Lucius." Nodding, Nils hurried over to Lucius, who was still panting from his exchange with the shaman. The young bard produced a flute from his pocket, and began to dance around Lucius while playing a lively tune. When Nils had finished, a sort of energy seemed to fill Lucius, and he was ready to attack again.
"What do you think?" Nils asked brightly.
"That was... lovely. Invigorating, even," smiled Lyn. "You ought to play for me sometime, Nils... I could use the boost!"
"Everyone could! My music can refresh you all!" Nils smiled back. Meanwhile, Lucius had sent the shaman to a very bright death, and the group began to move on after Shadow had told them about his plan.
When Lyn and her comrades had passed through a fortress, they were met with more black-robed assailants. Like Shadow had told them to, the group split into two parts: the troops on horses were to take the easternmost bridge as they would not be able to cross the hills the other bridge led to, and the walking troops would take the western bridge. They would then be able to attack the enemy in a pincer movement. Meanwhile, Shadow decided to warn a nearby village of the danger as the others were fighting.
"Excuse me!" He called. "We're in the middle of a battle here. Please close your gates!"
"Oh, you came to warn us?" A man, apparently the village head, walked over to Shadow. "Thank you for your help. Hm... your clothes... are you a tactician, by any chance?"
"Yep." Shadow nodded as Grim floated above him. "That's right."
"Ah. You seem to have some experience with guiding people. So how much do you know about magic, huh?"
"Um... well..." Shadow tried to think of pointers, but all his apprentice knowledge seem to have left him.
"Magical attacks are special," the village head began to lecture. "You can't just avoid 'em like a sword or axe. Not even if you're wearing armour."
"So... who's tough against magic?" asked Shadow.
"Let me think..." pondered the village head. "Well, anyone who uses magic or staves. Pegasus knights, too."
"That's pretty fine... but I've only got three people in my group who fit into the categories above," Shadow said.
"Hm? In that case, I got something for 'em," said the village head as he took out a small blue flask from his pocket. "It's a special kind of water. 'Pure water', it's called. Just sprinkle a bit on yourself, and it'll protect you and lessen the damage you take from magic by a bit."
"Huh?" Shadow was surprised as the village head passed him the vial. "That's really nice, but I think we should be fine..."
"Go on, take it. Don't be so shy; it's not like I'm giving you gold or anything," urged the man. "Just remember, this stuff's strongest when you first put it on. It gets weaker as time passes, so be careful," he said before closing the gates, just as Shadow waved his thanks.
By the time Shadow had returned, the group had already polished off the attackers on the bridges, allowing Lyn and her friends to proceed without trouble. As Matthew walked with the others, he happened to pass by a lone house. Unable to resist, he peeked through the window and saw an armoured blue-hair man polishing his axe. A blue-skinned turtle with a brown shell sat on the table. "Blast!" The man was grumbling, "Eliwood's late. I wonder what's keeping him... I'm starting to think my axe'll rust over before he finds his way here."
"Huh? Milord!" Matthew exclaimed, jumping into the house. "What brings you here?"
"Ah, Matthew!" smiled the man. "Eliwood and I are here for our monthly bout."
"You're still testing one another's fighting prowess, eh?" smirked Matthew. "It's a solid friendship you two share, that you can practice so faithfully."
"If you don't sharpen your blade, you lose your edge," the man replied. "So tell me, what are you doing here?"
"Milord Uther was curious about the succession issue here," Matthew began to explain.
"Oh, the long-lost granddaughter thing, right? So which way does my brother lean?" asked the man.
"By my assessment... he will back the granddaughter's claim," answered the thief. "The marquess' brother, Lundgren, is too ambitious by far. Left alone, we might wake to find him at Ostia's door before long."
"Sound advice, I think." The man remarked.
"My return to Ostia is going to be delayed a bit," Matthew went on. "Would you mind letting Lord Uther know?"
"What?" The armoured man put on an indignant face, "So the marquess' brother is now your personal messenger?"
"You always did have a good sense of humour, milord. Don't forget my message!" Matthew replied cheekily before leaping out the window. "What impudence," muttered the armoured man as he shook his head.
Finally, Lyn and her comrades reached a fortress, guarded by the leader shaman, Heintz, and a pair of other dark magic users. "Who are you supposed to be? Playing the heroes in some foolish knightly romance?" sniggered Heintz. "You may think you're helping the children, but you're only rushing to your doom!" Raising his hands, he commanded, "Flux!" Instantly, he and his minions generated three orbs of dark energy that melted into the ground.
"Dorcas!" Shadow rushed to the axeman and passed him the pure water. "Have Poliwhirl spray this over everyone, quick!"
"Alright!" Dorcas produced the Tadpole Pokémon from his Pokéball and had it hold the flask in its hands. "Use Rain Dance!"
"Poli!" As Poliwhirl concentrated its powers, the pure water began to fly out from its container and scatter over the group. Just then, the Flux spells came up from the ground, but because everyone had received the effects of the pure water, the dark magic did very little damage. Heintz, however, seemed unfazed, and each of the shamans began to conjure up another ball of dark energy that dissolved into the earth just as before.
"Is that all you can do?" smirked Lyn. "I told you we weren't so... eh?" Lyn gasped suddenly. Instead of striking them, the three balls of dark energy floated lazily in front of the group after emerging.
"Wh... what's going on, Shadow?" Lyn asked, feeling less and less sure of herself by each passing second. A dark purple mist had began to spread across the area.
"I don't know..." Shadow looked around. "But I'm quite sure that those aren't Flux!"
"Hey! What're those things over there?" Sain pointed into the distance. Another band of people seemed to be making their way towards Lyn's group. As they got closer, Lyn and her friends could see who was headed for them, and got a nasty shock.
"Th... tho... those are the people we fought earlier!" stammered Kent. True enough, as the mysterious band of fighters came into view, they revealed themselves to be the black-robed assailants from before, except that they were clouded in a mysterious purple aura and looked like zombies.
"But... who could be controlling them?" Shadow uttered as he stepped back. "I thought they were..."
"EEEEEEEEEEK!" Serra suddenly screamed. "G-g-gh-ghost!" Everyone turned behind to see that the black orbs suddenly had eyes, fanged smiles and evil expressions. "Those aren't Flux spells... those are Gastly!" exclaimed Shadow. "And they're using their powers to control those dead corpses!"
"Everyone, attack the Gastly! Maybe that'll stop the corpses from attacking!" Lyn shouted. "Bulbasaur, try Razor Leaf!"
"Bulba-saur!" The Seed Pokémon shot out its crescent leaves, but they merely sliced through the purple mist. Meanwhile, the black-robed zombies had begun to attack the group, and this round, they were having a very hard time.
"Ungh!" Kent grunted as he received a blow from an axe that gashed his right arm. "This purple fog is making it hard to see our enemies!"
"Maybe I can help. Mitch!" Florina threw her Pokéball, "Use Whirlwind!"
"Pidgeot!" The Bird Pokémon flapped its wings furiously, and the mist began to spread from the gusts of wind.
"Yes!" cheered Shadow. "Now we can see clearly! Attack!" At Shadow's order, everyone picked a respective zombie and destroyed it with whatever methods they could use, be it Pokémon, force or magic. Soon, the zombies lay in broken piles of bones all around.
"You think you've won my Gastly... but in fact, you've already lost!" Heintz smiled mysteriously. As he finished, all the Pokémon suddenly fell to ground, apparently weakened.
"Wha... what!" Lyn knelt down to check her Bulbasaur, who was slipping out of consciousness. "But... how..."
"It's Gastly's Curse!" shouted Shadow as he examined Grim. "We were attacked by the Gastly while being distracted by the zombies!"
"Correct! Of course, this knowledge won't save you now. Now that we've defeated your Pokémon... you're next!" announced the shaman. The black forms of Gastly reappeared, and began to close in on the group. Everyone was shivering out of utmost terror. Then, Nils miraculously produced a Pokéball from his belt.
"Nils?" Lyn gasped. "You have a..."
"It's time for me to help. Plusle!" Nils shouted as he flung out a Pokémon that looked like a yellow rodent with plus signs on its cheeks and another plus for a tail, which matched its red ears.
"What's this?" Heintz sneered. "The boy is actually trying to fight back?"
"Plusle! Use Helping Hand on Ralts!" At Nils' command, Plusle rushed forward, and passed on a series of electric shocks through its paws into Ralts. Slowly, Ralts stood up from its lying position, and it was ready to fight.
"Impossible!" Heintz was alarmed, "Gastly! Vanish away!"
"Gastly!" Quickly, the black orbs disappeared once more. Lucius, however, didn't seem to be worried.
"Ralts... Confusion!" The Feeling Pokémon tensed up, and fired three bolts of psychokinetic energy that hit three distinct spots. Immediately, the Gastly showed themselves and fell to the ground. "What!" Heintz was visibly shocked. "How, how..."
"Ralts is known for their ability to sense human emotion," Lucius explained serenely. "As a result, my Ralts can also detect positive and negative energy. The nearest andstrongest source of negative energy came from the centre of Gastly, which was where my Ralts hit with its Confusion."
"Argh!" Heintz had lost his cool. The other two shamans quickly stood beside him, "FLUX!" Their cloaks began to fly as they combined their strengths to make a huge dark fireball.
"LIGHTNING!" Lucius raised his right hand, causing specks of light to follow it. He then got into a praying position, making his clothes flare upwards, before releasing a huge storm of light magic. A large explosion occured where the two magic attacks collided, and after the smoke had cleared, only Lucius was left standing.
"You were only... striking at air..." coughed Heintz as he lay defeated. "You are... too late. The girl is already... urgh..." he muttered before closing his eyes one last time. Victorious, the group dashed into the fortress.
"Nils! Where's your sister?" Lyn asked. The group had together scoured most of the castle and still found no sign of Nils' sister. The boy himself was frantically crying out her name, but to no avail. "She's not here..." he began to panic. "Why? Where could she be?"
"My lady Lyndis!" Kent rode into the main hall where Nils and Lyn were. "A villager spotted a group of men riding south!"
"The boy's dear sister... they must have her!" Sain exclaimed after hearing Kent's report.
"Come!" Lyn gathered the others, "We must give chase!"
"But... but... we won't make it!" Nils cried. "What if they've already..."
"Are you looking for this girl here?" Everyone turned to see a red-headed young man wearing blue nobleman's clothes, carrying the limp body of a young girl in his arms. Behind him walked a small red lizard with a flame burning at the tip of its tail.
"Ninian! Ninian!" Nils ran over to the man, excited and relieved to see his sister.
"She'll be fine," assured the stranger. "She's just lost consciousness."
"Who are you?" questioned Lyn.
"I'm Eliwood, of Pherae," introduced the nobleman. "My father is the marquess."
"The marquess' son..." Lyn murmured to herself.
"She was with a band of ruffians and seemed upset. She looked in need of rescuing," explained Eliwood. "Was I wrong to involve myself?"
"No, you saved her life. Thank you," Lyn replied. "My name is Lyn. I'm from Sacae... I'm Marquess Caelin's granddaughter."
"Marquess Caelin?" Eliwood asked amusedly. As Shadow brought the rest out (minus Nils), Lyn explained her past to Eliwood.
"And that's my story," she finished. "It's not an easy tale to believe, I know..."
"No. I do believe you."
"What?" Lyn was surprised at Eliwood's answer.
"At first glance, all I saw was a daughter of the plainsfolk. Now I can see it, though... You have your grandfather's eyes," smiled Eliwood.
"Do you know my grandfather?" Lyn asked anxiously.
"The Marquess, Lord Hausen, is my father's good friend," Eliwood explained. "I also know that the proud people of Sacae tell no lies. It's true, isn't it?"
"Yes... Thank you." Lyn felt her face heat up at Eliwood's compliment. "I would not have expected any Lycian noble to be so courteous to a Sacaen nomad."
"You seemed to be in trouble," noted Eliwood. "May I be of assistance?"
"Thank you for your kind offer," Lyn bowed. "This is my problem, though, and I'll deal with it."
"I see. I'll be in the area a few days longer. If you need anything, please let me know." said the Pheraen noble. "Lyndis, I'm on your side."
"Eliwood... thank you."
"Ninian! Are you awake?" Outside, Nils had propped Ninian against a tree, just as she slowly opened her eyes. The others crowded around with concerned looks on their faces.
"Nils? Is it really you?" The older sibling blinked a few times, then hugged her younger brother. "Oh, you're safe!"
"Uh-huh. These people, helped me," Nils explained as Lyn walked out.
"Who are they?" asked Ninian. "Uh..." Nils could not come up with a reply.
"I'm Lyn. I'm glad you're feeling better," Lyn said as she stepped forward.
"Milady Lyn... thank you," bowed Ninian. "I'm called Ninian. My brother, nils, and I are travelling performers."
"Both of you?" Lyn sounded amused. "Your brother's a musician. How about you, Ninian?"
"I... I dance," mumbled Ninian.
"What? Oh my... you're a dancer!" Sain gushed.
"Sain... Later, please," sighed Lyn. "Um, yeah. Of course," the cavalier apologised sheepishly.
"Your clothes don't look like those of a dancer," Shadow noted.
"Ninian dances to honour life," Nils quickly cut in. "It's special... sacred."
"A sacred dance? What does that mean?" The comment had piqued Lyn's interest.
"I..." Ninian stammered. "The dance I perform when we travel is just a normal dance. My other dance, though..." She looked down sadly at her foot. "When they caught me, I twisted my ankle. I cannot dance to aid you... I'm sorry."
"Please don't worry," assured Lyn. "We're just happy to see that you're out of harm's way."
"Thank you," Ninian bowed again.
"But I am concerned about your leg," Lyn frowned. "You can't travel on it..."
"I've an idea," piped up Nils. "Would it be too much to ask that we travel with you?"
"I can't allow that!" gasped Lyn. "It's far too dangerous. We're being hunted. We never know when we're going to be attacked."
"We wouldn't be a hindrance," Nils pleaded. "We could even help you. Right, Ninian?"
"Yes. We might be able to repay our debt using our... special talents," agreed Ninian after pausing for a bit.
"Special abilities?" This time it was Shadow's turn to get interested.
"When something poses a threat to us, we can sense its approach," Ninian explained.
"Truly? That's amazing!" breathed Lyn.
"We can feel it coming, but we can't do anything to stop it," continued Nils. "You're warriors, though, so you don't have that worry."
"Hmmm... what do you think, Kent?" Lyn turned to her retainer.
"I think leaving them here would cause Lady Lyndis more worry than having them travel with us," Kent voiced his opinion.
"Sain? Oh, never mind, I know what your answer is," said the plainsgirl with a hint of a sigh. "Do you really want to travel with us?" she asked the siblings.
"Of course!" Nils nodded. "You have our gratitude, milady."
"Oh..." Ninian suddenly felt her left fingers, and gasped softly in surprise.
"What's wrong, Ninian?" asked Nils.
"I've lost my ring," said Ninian quietly. "Your ring?" Lyn asked.
"Not Ninis' Grace?" gasped Nils.
"The very one," Ninian mumbled.
"They stole it?" Nils jumped in a rage. "Those curs!"
"Was it valuable?" asked Lyn.
"It was a keepsake from our departed mother," explained Ninian.
"It was blessed with the spirit of Ninis..." Nils said forlornly. "There's no other like it in the world. And now we have lost it to those villains. There's nothing we can do."
"You're right," nodded Ninian. Lyn thought about it for a while, then turned to her tactician.
"Can I talk to you, Shadow?" The young man nodded. "You heard all of that right? What do you think? I'd really love to retrieve Ninian's ring for her, but... if Nils is right, those thieves might prove to be too strong for us... What should we do?"
Shadow frowned at Lyn's question. Certainly this was not an easy decision to make; there were a lot of things to take into account. Moreover, although no one had mentioned it yet, there was still the matter of Lyn's grandfather. Even if the group managed to grab Ninian's ring back from the thieves (and there was no sure way of guaranteeing they'd make it in one piece), Lord Hausen might not be able to survive the illness.
The tactician cracked his knuckles. Every second he used up making his choice would mean one less second they had to save Marquess Caelin. He looked at everyone surrounding him, as well as their Pokémon. No two fighters were alike, and yet he was familiar with their individual abilities, their strengths and weaknesses, and how well they worked with each other. Despite their different backgrounds and personalities, they had been together for quite some time, and formed quite a powerful team. Even Lucius the newcomer had found no trouble integrating with the rest, and had proven to be as strong as his comrades.
Casting a gaze at his Duskull, Shadow realised that Grim was looking at him with his all-too-famous glare. He realised what the Requiem was trying to tell him. This was no time to doubt his abilities; much less everyone else's. He had led this band of fighters for almost a month, and nothing had been able to stop them, even in the most trying of times. What was one more challenge?
"Lyn..." Shadow gave his answer. "I think we should retrieve Ninian's ring."
"You want to help them? That's great!" Lyn cheered. "I was hoping you'd say that, Shadow." Beckoning to the others, she shouted, "Okay, everyone! The men who took Ninian's ring headed south. We must give pursuit!"
"On your word, milady!" Sain and Kent replied as they took the lead. Kent took Ninian on his Stantler, while Sain ferried Nils on Ponyta.
"There's no turning back now, Shadow," Lyn said as she grasped his hand and began to break into a run. "Let's go!"
To be continued...
ShadowedTactician: Well... that sums it up.
Imppala: I still think you should dedicate a chapter to complete explanations...
Grim: Review.
