Imppala: Now, we reveal Hector's side of the story... although seriously, I'm amazed you have anything at all to write on the subject ofHector bulldozing his way through a pile of Black Fang underlings.
ShadowedTactician: Aw, shaddup... now help me out here.

Gijinka Renamon
ShadowedTactician: Yep, it's an update. Other than the chapter, nothing new there.

FadE
ShadowedTactician: Don't worry. Unsigned reviews will do just fine.
Imppala: And in case you were wondering, YES, Karla is getting Seviper. Pretty much ShadowedTactician's basis for giving Zangoose to start with...
ShadowedTactician: And the first idea I had for our favourite warrior.

Lao Who Mai
ShadowedTactician: Actually, I gave Marcus Sunflora because it, like him, is promoted, and both their pre-evolved forms have really sad stats. Marcus apparently was promoted at level 10 when the stats are the lowest of any promotable unit, and Sunkern's got the worst base stats in Pokémon history... so far.
Grim: Right, now that we're done here, on with the parallel chapter...


Chapter 11b: Another Journey/VS Nosepass

A month has passed since word came of Marquess Pherae's disappearance. Rumours and speculation run rampant throughout Lycia. The head of House Ostia, Lord Uther, takes no apparent interest...

The marquess' younger brother is considered odd by the populace. He and Marquess Pherae's son, Eliwood, are fast friends. A hot-blooded youth, he cannot ignore his friend's plight.

Marquess Ostia's younger brother, Hector. He would one day be a courageous general, a steel warrior to be feared. The path he chooses will test him to the limits of his strength.


Just as Eliwood began on his voyage, his friend Hector was stomping through the halls of Castle Ostia...

"Brother!" shouted the blue-haired man in heavy armour and wearing a red cape. "Brother! Where is he! He's here, isn't he?"

"Lord Hector! Calm yourself!" chided another man in armour behind him. Unlike Hector, he had orange armour instead of lilac, and he had brown hair, as well as older facial features.

"No words, Oswin!" retorted Hector. "Just move!"

"That's enough, Hector!" Another man rebuked Hector as he walked into the hall. He had slightly greyer hair than Hector, and was clad in green armour and a dark purple cape instead. He also had a matching goatee as well as a scar on his forehead. This was Lord Uther, Hector's older brother and marquess of Ostia. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You know full well!" Hector folded his arms. "The disappearance of Marquess Pherae!"

"We've discussed this time and time again," Uther said firmly. "This matter is none of Ostia's affair. We have no reason to involve ourselves. It would be folly to do so."

"Eliwood's father is missing, for goodness' sake!" Hector was disgusted with his brother's reply. "We know that Marquess Laus is connected in some way. I say we use Ostia's might to end this mystery and find the truth!"

"Calm yourself, you fool! An invasion would be madness!" Uther reminded angrily. "Lycia can ill afford the chaos such an action would bring. Surely even you must understand that!"

"Bah... I understand all too well, Brother!" Hector growled as he turned to leave. "Stay there on your throne. Sit there until it rots beneath you! I will do this alone!"

"Lord Hector!" Oswin shouted after Hector. "You should watch your tone..."

"Peace, Oswin. Let him go." Uther sighed, "There's no reasoning with him when he gets like this." Oswin could only slap his own forehead in silent frustration.


Still fuming at his brother's response, Hector stormed into the main hall. "Matthew! Matthew!" he called. "Blast it! Where could he be?" Suddenly, the enigmatic thief appeared from the shadows, with his trusty Aipom perched in its usual spot. "I'm right here, milord," Matthew said with his eyes closed.

"You... you're not a wraith," Hector rebuked. "Stop skulking in the shadows like one."

"Hm? A wraith?" mused Matthew. "And here I thought I was a spy. Be that as it may." Producing several bags, a hand axe and a gleaming single-bladed axe. "As milord ordered, here are your travel rations, a hand axe and your beloved Wolf Beil," said Matthew as he passed the items to Hector. "And I've purchased the silence of some royal guardsmen," added the thief. "You're free to slip out the rear entrance and vanish."

"Well done, Matthew," complimented Hector. "Try not to let my brother discover my absence to quickly," he whispered in Matthew's ear.

"What?" Matthew pretended to look hurt. "I thought I was going with you."

"You're a bigger fool than I imagined! Did you think I would trust my brother's spy?" Hector reminded. "Who knows when you would turn me in for some favour! Where I go, I go alone!"

"Shh!" hushed Matthew. "You keep on shouting, and you'll go nowhere! Every guard in the palace must have heard that!"

"Enough..." Hector turned away, ready to leave. "Do not try and follow me!"

"I did not imagine you would find me so untrustworthy..." Matthew lazily stretched his arms, as his Aipom did with its tail. "Professional hazard, it seems. Watch yourself, young master."

"Ai!" Aipom gave Hector a huge grin as Matthew wrapped his cloak around himself and vanished. Blinking, Hector stepped into the space where Matthew was standing to find nothing at all. "Huh?" The armoured noble was a bit surprised. "He... he gave up too easily," he said to himself, frowning. "I don't trust him..." Looking all around, Hector took a last gaze at the walls of Castle Ostia. "The time has come..." Muttering, Hector ripped a Pokéball from his belt and opened it, releasing a turtle Pokémon with light-blue skin, shining red eyes and a hard brown shell. "We've got to get out of here and rendezvous with Eliwood, Squirtle."

"Squir!" nodded the Tinyturtle.

"These bags!" grumbled Hector as he and his Pokémon set off. "What did Matthew put in these things? This is ridiculous even if he was packing for two!... Huh?" Hector suddenly stopped in his tracks, as did Squirtle. Both of them had sensed someone else hidden in the shadows and it wasn't Matthew. Neither did it seem friendly.

"...Come out." Hector snarled in a deadly voice. "I know you're there." From out of nowhere a soldier appeared, except that his outfit was an eerie black. He said nothing as he stared at Hector.

"Who are you?" the noble demanded. The soldier remained as silent as ever.

"Too dumb to speak?" smirked Hector. "Makes no difference to me. Move out of my way, or I'll run you through!" When met with no response at all, Hector brandished his Wolf Beil, and he and Squirtle lunged at the mysterious soldier. Without warning the soldier vanished into thin air, leaving Hector confused. Furious, Hector spotted another figure lurking about and decided to switch targets. "Hah!" he yelled, waving his axe.

"Whoa! M-Milord! Stay your arm! It's me!" As Hector charged, the figure turned out to be none other than Matthew himself. A lightning-quick dodge barely saved the thief from certain injury. "Ai!" Matthew's Aipom raised its paws as if surrendering.

"Who? Matthew?" Hector looked at his brother's spy in bewilderment as he pulled his Wolf Beil from its stuck position in a palace wall. "I was sure you were one of them."

"Well, I'm not!" Matthew replied indignantly. "I'm one of me. And I would prefer to remain in one piece!"

"Your fault for jumping out of nowhere," Hector narrowed his eyes. "Now tell me, what are you doing here?"

"Hm? I... I sensed that something was wrong and... came to your aid." Matthew answered in not very convincing tone.

"My aid..." Hector rubbed his chin. "I'll accept that answer for the time being."

"So, what should we do, milord?" asked Matthew.

"About what?" Hector returned Matthew's question.

"About the fellows between us and the way out," Matthew said seriously. "I'd say there are seven or eight of them. To make matters worse, they seem highly competent. I know you're quite confident in your martial abilities, but... I'm not the strongest sword arm around, and, well..."

"If you've something to say, Matthew, then say it!" Hector interrupted impatiently.

"We could abandon the rear entrance," suggested Matthew. "I'm sure the royal guardsmen would be happy to aid us, and..."

"Never!" cut in Hector.

"That's what I thought you would say," the thief shrugged concedingly. "All that's left is to avoid getting killed, right?"

"You can go back if you want," Hector said curtly.

"In your own words, milord, never." Matthew smiled, "I'm with you, wherever that may lead."

"Right." Gripping his hand axe tightly, Hector pointed to the wall where his Wolf Beil had landed. "Then let's give them a good thrashing and get out of here!" Throwing the ranged axe at the damaged bricks, Hector shouted, "Squirtle! Bubble!"

"Squirtle!" The Water-type Pokémon spewed a tornado of bright blue bubbles at the wall. The force of Hector's strike and Squirtle's attack crumbled the wall, revealing the soldier from earlier on and an archer, who had donned similar black garments.

"Hyaaaaaa!" Hector yelled as he ran forward, gashing the lance user. The soldier stood no chance as he collapsed to the floor, clutching his bleeding stomach. Quickly, the archer attempted to launch a few arrows, but Squirtle beat him to it with a powerful Skull Bash to the gut.

"Highly competent?" snorted Hector as he dusted himself off. "What was Matthew thinking of? Speaking of Matthew..." The Ostian noble frowned as he looked around. Matthew was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he!"

"I'm right here, milord!" Matthew emerged from another room, clutching something gleaming in his hands. "I thought this might prove useful," he said as he passed the item to Hector.

"A red gem?" Hector studied the jewel. "You know Oswin won't be pleased with you pilfering from the coffers, Matthew."

"Yes..." Matthew sighed. "But this journey may take more time than you think it will. It's best if we went prepared. We could sell this for a bit of gold in the market."

"True," agreed Hector as he pocketed the precious red gem. "Now, let's polish off the rest of them!"


As Hector and Matthew advanced, they were met with a knight, as well as a couple of soldiers and archers, all dressed in matching, mysterious black clothes.

"I'll take care of these knaves," Hector instructed. "You go check if the rear entrance is clear. I'll follow once I'm done here."

"But...!" Matthew started to protest.

"Go, Matthew!" growled Hector. Matthew shook his head as he conceded, nimbly leaping onto a pillar and leaving Hector to handle the enemy. He already knew the answer, waiting for him at the rear entrance, even though Hector did not. But in the words of Lord Uther himself, when the younger of the Ostian brothers got like that there was no reasoning with him. Gently but grimly, Matthew landed on the cold marble floor, in front of another towering black knight.

"The Ostian spy..." The knight, whose name was Wire, rumbled menacingly. "Why did you return?"

"I've known you were here for some time." Matthew answered without looking up, "I also knew you were after Lord Hector, not me. You're all professional assassins. You wait for your chance, and you don't miss it. You were waiting for me to leave Lord Hector alone. That's when you were planning to attack, right?"

"Ah... so that's why you came back, is it? I was sure you'd gone back to play with the guards," sniggered Wire.

"If I had, I would've taken Lord Hector with me," smirked Matthew, finally looking up. "No matter what it took."

"Cheeky fellow, aren't you?" the knight sneered. "But you're out of your league."

"How so?" Matthew asked innocently.

"You think to challenge me?" Wire said as he gripped his lance, "Prepare to die, you witless fool! HA!"

"Whoa!" Matthew jumped away in time as the lance dove sharply into the air space where he once was. "Aipom! Use Swift attack!" The monkey Pokémon released a storm of small shining stars that collided with Wire's metal armour and shattered into thousands of small pieces. "Do you think such a paltry attack could stop me!" Widely smirking, Wire produced a Pokéball of his own, and threw it to the ground. "Nosepass!" he shouted. When the smoke had cleared, a statue-like rock creature about a metre high stood in between Wire and Matthew. Small flaps of stone represented its arms, and its eyes were nothing but small dots, sunken into what looked like eyeholes under its thick forehead. Its most distinguishing feature was its orange triangular nose.

"Nosepass!" commanded Wire. "Rock Tomb!"

"Nose!" The Compass Pokémon began to glow slightly as it used its gaiakinetic powers. Suddenly, fingers of rock burst from the ground, grabbing Matthew and Aipom by their limbs. "Ungh!" Relentlessly, Matthew and Aipom tried to struggle free, but the rocks held them tight.

"Die!" Lunging, Wire brought his lance forward, ready to skewer Matthew. CLANG! A hand axe thrown from behind knocked Wire's spear away in time, and flew back to its owner's hand.

"Lord Hector!" cried Matthew, recognising the axe.

"Finally," Wire murmured. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"You're not Marquess Laus' assassins, are you?" asked Hector softly. "You're too good, too professional. Nothing like those idiots over there. Even I had a bit of trouble handling your minions for a moment..."

"You've no need to know, little Lord Hector," sneered Wire. "A fool like you, sneaking out of the country alone... You'll go missing, never to return. Your body will never be found. Tidy story, eh? Ha ha..."

"Tsk tsk..." Hector wagged his finger. "Looks like your luck's run out."

"Our luck?" Wire was startled, "What are you..."

"You see, I'm about as angry as I've ever been. I doubt even a dozen more of you could slow me down." Brandishing his beloved axe, Hector charged and yelled, "Prepare to die!"

"Fool..." Wire only grinned mysteriously as the Ostian lord lunged. Suddenly, Hector felt a strange force tugging at his Wolf Beil, and the next thing he knew, his axe flew right out of his hands, landing on its flat side and attaching itself on Nosepass' nose.

"What!" Hector exclaimed as he felt the same mysterious force tugging at the armour he was wearing. Horrified, Hector discovered that he was slowly, bit by bit, moving towards Nosepass! "What's going on!"

"Nosepass' nose functions as a magnet," Wire was only too happy to explain. "Due to your armour and weapons being made out of iron and steel, your movements have been limited by Nosepass' Magnet Pull!"

"Angh!" Hector quickly fell to the ground and dug his fingers into the earth to prevent himself from being dragged towards the knight. "Squirtle! Water Gun!"

"Squir!" Squirtle leaped into the air, and shot out a powerful stream of water at Nosepass.

"Thunderbolt, Nosepass!" Nosepass' nose sizzled with electricity just as the Water Gun attack struck it, causing electricity to flow towards Squirtle, shocking it. Both Pokémon fell back from the assaults.

"Now, Nosepass, Rock Tomb!" At Wire's order, Nosepass summoned a few more fingers of rock that caught Squirtle, pinning it to the ground.

"Rapid Spin out of there, Squirtle!" Hector shouted. Quickly, Squirtle withdrew back into its shell and spun around once more, knocking the stone away. Hector gazed desperately at Nosepass. If I can get my axe back, maybe we could stand a chance! thought Hector. But how?...

"Nosepass! Rock Slide, now!" called Wire. As Nosepass raised its hands, blocks of stone began to rise from the ground, and flew towards the Tinyturtle Pokémon.

"Squirtle, Protect!" Squirtle retreated into its tough shell, creating a protective aura that guarded it against the incoming barrage of stones. "Iron Tail!"

"Heh heh heh... It's pointless!" Wire carelessly waved his hand. "Thunderbolt again!" Squirtle jumped into the air, its tail shining with the texture of metal, while Nosepass' nose sizzled with electricity again. The attacks met at Nosepass' nose, creating an explosion that threw both Pokémon and their respective owners backwards. When the smoke from the explosion had finally cleared, Wire opened his eyes... only to see Nosepass lying back with several deep cracks in its nose, Hector standing over it with his axe, and Squirtle beside him. "What!" Now it was Wire's turn to be surprised. "What did you..."

"When Squirtle used Iron Tail, its tail gained the properties of iron: texture, malleability, even attractability to magnets," Hector explained. "As a result, Nosepass' Magnet Pull pulled Squirtle towards its nose, accelerating its downward speed and increasing its force. The impact from Squirtle's Iron Tail damaged Nosepass' internal magnet, allowing me to retrieve my axe!" Gripping the Wolf Beil, Hector leapt at Wire and brought it down. "Now, DIE!"

"ARGH!" Wire screamed as Hector gashed him through his armour and into his gut. "Fuh... fuh... Forgive... me... Lord... Nergal..." he wheezed before passing out permanently.


"Whew... That was close," remarked Matthew as Hector used his axe to break the rocks imprisoning him and Aipom. "Glad we're both all right. Come, milord, we must fly!" He motioned urgently, "The castle guard must have heard all the noise."

"Matthew, you rogue." Hector smirked, "You knew this was all going to happen, didn't you?"

"What else could I do?" Matthew flailed his arms in protest. "Those assassins wouldn't show themselves until you were alone."

"I suppose..." Hector sighed. "Who are those guys?" he pondered. "There's something strange about this group in black... still there's no time to think about it now." Hector then faced the thief in a serious manner. "Mark my words, Matthew! You're coming with me. But from this point forward, you are no longer my brother's spy. You are my man now, to the bitter end."

"Yes, milord!" Matthew bowed, "Shall I swear a knightly vow?"

"To what purpose?" Hector raised his eyebrow. "Your own words will hold you well enough."

"True enough!" agreed Matthew.

"Let us go then!" Hector turned to face the open entrance. "To Eliwood!"

"Ai!" "Squirtle!" cheered the Pokémon companions.


"My lord! Marquess!" cried a soldier as he ran urgently into the throne room. "It's Lord Hector! He's..."

"He's gone, hasn't he?" asked Uther.

"Ye... Yes, milord!" stammered the soldier. "We are gathering men now to give chase."

"Attend me," Uther said simply as he stood up from his seat. "We will let him go."

"Milord?" The soldier looked surprised.

"A... headstrong fool..." muttered Uther to himself. "Oooh... cough, cough..." Suddenly, the Ostian marquess doubled up in a fit of hacking.

"Lord Uther!" Oswin stepped forward, alarmed. "Are you well?"

"...I'm fine." Uther patted his chest, and regained his upright position. "It has passed. There is no need for concern."

"You must not rely so much on physical strength alone," advised the knight. "It has been most trying these past few weeks. The affairs of the court have not let you sleep. You might endanger your health if you keep on..."

"Yes, Oswin. I understand," nodded Uther. "I will speak with a physician on the morrow. Will that allay your fears?"

"Yes, milord. I will make the arrangements," Oswin assured.

"Oswin... about Hector..." Uther placed his hands on the knight's shoulders. "I can entrust him to you, yes?"

"Of course, my lord," bowed Oswin. "I will guard him with my very life's blood."

To be continued...


ShadowedTactician: And next chapter, Eliwood and Hector join forces, and Zagan gets to have his face wiped with the floor. Imppala: Wait a minute, that's not how he was finished off in...
ShadowedTactician: SHHHHH! Or I'll cancel your role in the fiction!
Grim: ...Review.