Imppala: You're telling me... and it didn't help that you got sick again!
Grim: Or that you have a niggling competition.
ShadowedTactician: Quit yammering and help me already!
ShadowAngelUmbreon
Imppala: Tsk, tsk, tsk. Obviously you have no idea how good Priscilla is in the game. Not only is she one of the best magic users, but she also maxes out her Luck, making her untouchable in the final stages of...
ShadowedTactician: Blahdy, blahdy, blah. Moving on...
Elven-girl10
ShadowedTactician: Yes, yes, I do see your point. I am trying to work in the characters' various backgrounds into the story, but that's taking some organisation still. And the Pokémon bits are still prevailing as you will see in a certain side-chapter to come...
FadE
ShadowedTactician: Yes, FadE, I am including support conversations. In fact, I included Marcus/Merlinus Support Level C conversation in the last chapter.
Imppala: Must not have studied his supports much.
RubyVulpix
Grim: To save time, all Pokémon allotment analysis will be explained when the fiction draws to a close. And now...
Eliwood and his companions defeat Marquess Laus' son, Erik, and seize Castle Laus. Erik tells Eliwood of a shocking plan: a plot to use Laus as starting ground in a rebellion against Ostia. At first the Pheraen youth cannot take in this new information, but later becomes even more determined than ever to find his father. After the battle, the group rests in the castle and settle their affairs. They diligently prepare for any possible counterattack. They should've spotted anyone attempting to approach the castle. And yet, somehow, they find themselves facing an unforseen attack...
"Lord Hector!" cried Oswin as he came running (or clanking and shuffling) from the main hall. "We're under attack!"
"Is it Marquess Laus? He's come back to take the castle?" asked Hector. "Perfect! We'll catch him easily."
"No, it's not him..." Oswin frowned. "The attackers aren't regular army. Maybe they're mercenaries hired by Laus..."
"Mercenaries?" Shadow asked.
"Their movements are very rapid... coordinated," described the knight. "They've already made their way into the castle."
"For mercenaries, they're very, very good," Hector noted. "Eliwood, do you have any ideas?"
"My father told me something once..." recalled Eliwood. "There's a mercenary group extremely loyal to House Laus. Their leader is named Eubans, but he's called the Hurricane. He's famed for surprise attacks and lightning-swift strikes."
"Hmmm... This could be interesting," mused Hector. "Protect the throne! We will not lose the castle!"
"Yes, Lord Hector!" saluted Shadow and Grim, who rushed off to plan their strategy.
Meanwhile, the leader of the mercenary band was busily organising the team's assault, when a soldier riding a green dragon-like creature flew in. The dragon was a wyvern, and the soldier was a wyvern rider. "Sealen!" he shouted.
"Is that you, Heath?" asked the nomad impatiently as he looked up.
"I've secured a retreat path, as Commander Eubans ordered," reported Heath. "Just in case something goes wrong..."
"I don't need you to tell me when to retreat," Sealen snapped. "If we lose the element of surprise, we'll fall back."
"I've heard there are Ostian knights among the energy forces," Heath pointed out. "Watch yourself, Sealen." After his warning, the wyvern rider flew off, leaving Sealen shaking his head.
"Are we friends now?" the nomad sighed. "Worrying so about a complete stranger... Heath, you weren't meant to be a mercenary."
"Mmmm..." Hannah hummed as she and her Xatu performed another ritual, under the request of Shadow. "Ah... I see you are surrounded, or soon will be. A dangerous situation, to be sure... don't worry about defeating every foe you face. Just mind your defences... And beware the enemy leader. Do not foolishly anger him. Observe his reach and the extent of his powers. Those with weak defences would do well to remain behind. That's common sense, yes?" she chuckled.
"Is there anything else?" asked Shadow.
"What else... oh, yes. Of course," nodded Hannah. "If you would protect your valuables, watch out for thieves. If you don't, they'll steal your eyes from your sockets, they will!" Laughing, the fortune-teller opened her eyes. "Do you want me to repeat that?"
"That will be fine, Hannah." After pondering for half a minute, Shadow was ready.
"As our mission is to simply protect the throne until the enemy gives up and leaves, our plan shall also be simple," Shadow briefed as he pointed to various bits of his new map. "One or two of us shall stay behind to protect the throne while the others advance slowly to deal damage to the enemy and deter them from coming forward. There are a couple of chests which I need Matthew to raid, so he requires a few people to cover him. Understand?" No questions were asked, so Eliwood gave the order to move out immediately. Meanwhile, Sealen was also giving orders...
"Our goal is the throne," he stated. "We'll attack from the front and send another unit behind. We want to drive the enemy into a state of chaos. The ambushed units are concealed as ordered. When the enemy splits its forces, we strike. That's all," said Sealen finally. "Go!"
"Ah... your name is Priscilla, right?" asked Shadow. He was familiarising himself with the newest member of the group while he stayed behind with Marcus and Eliwood to guard the throne.
"Yes, Shadow," bowed Priscilla. "Thank you for coming to my aid earlier on."
"It was nothing," smiled the tactician. "Had Erk not told us where you were, we couldn't possibly have known you needed our assistance. So what type of weapon do you use?"
"Well..." Priscilla blushed slightly. "I can't attack, but I am quite skilled in the use of staves."
"That's useful," Shadow noted. "At least we won't be shorthanded if we have multiple injuries that need dealing with."
Meanwhile...
"Yahoo! Treasure time! Treasure time!" Matthew sang as he unlocked a couple of chests, while the others took care of the incoming cavaliers, nomads and soldiers. "A Mend staff and silver axe..." mused the cheery thief. "I've got a pretty good idea who can use these... Here, Serra!"
"Ah!" Serra yelped as Matthew tossed the staff to her, nearly hitting her on the head. "Hey! Watch it!" she scolded while Matthew quickly passed the silver axe to Hector.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" commanded Erk. "Swinub, Icy Wind!" shouted Lowen. A combination of electric shocks and ice particles stormed towards the horde of enemies, throwing them backwards. "Is that all of them?" asked the green-haired cavalier.
"I think so," Erk said breathlessly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I don't see any more..."
"Kyaaaaaaaah!" Priscilla's scream suddenly echoed throughout the castle.
"Everyone, fall back!" cried Oswin with urgency. "The enemy's attacking from behind!"
"Lady Priscilla!" "Lord Eliwood!" Immediately, the two frontline fighters ran back to the throne room...
"Ha!" The door crumbled into several pieces as Sealen busted it down after several tries. "I'll meet any challengers here. Go after the throne."
"Yes, sir!" shouted the mercenary who was besides him. As the swordsman ran towards the throne, Sealen quickly tossed out a Pokéball, revealing a Pokémon about one-and-a-half metres tall. It had two thick, purple, spiky plates of shell on its sides that protected another grey layer of shell. A round black orb was in the centre of the Pokémon where its face was. A long grey spike extended above its face, as well as two purple ones that pointed outwards from its external shell. This was Cloyster, the Bivalve Pokémon.
"They're here to take the throne!" shouted Eliwood. "Charge!"
"Cloyster, Spikes attack!" ordered Sealen. The Water/Ice-type withdrew into its shell, then suddenly opened up, sending a barrage of sharp spikes spilling towards Eliwood's company. "Ungh!" The others grunted as the spikes bounced off their armour. Eliwood then tried to proceed, but the moment he put his foot down...
"OUCH!" Eliwood yelped, hopping on his other foot.
"Cloyster's Spikes are scattered all over the floor!" Shadow exclaimed. "All our movements are limited!"
"Almost there!" The mercenary smirked as he neared the throne. "Ugh!" He grunted as he was thrown back. "What the..."
"Wobbuffet!" The Patient Pokémon stood proudly on the throne. A green aura appeared to be surrounding it. "That's Wobbuffet's Safeguard!" realised Shadow.
"Grrr... yaaa!" The mercenary grimaced, then brought his sword downwards. As he did so, the aura around Wobbuffet changed from green to red. "Uwaaa!" The swordsman gasped as a gash suddenly appeared on his forehead, causing him to bleed profusely.
"What's that?" Eliwood exclaimed.
"It's Wobbuffet's Counter!" explained Shadow. "It's returned the wound it was supposed to receive back at its deliverer!"
"Wobba!" Wobbuffet said proudly. Just then, Wobbuffet cringed unexpectedly in pain as a fighter struck it from behind, and was roughly pushed off the throne. "Oh no!" Shadow groaned. "Wobbuffet can't defend against attacks on its black tail!"
"Heh heh heh..." The axeman was about to seize the throne!
"Let's use our Pokémon and help!" shouted Marcus.
"We can't!" Shadow yelled back. "There's nowhere for them to come out! The floor is covered in spikes!"
"Bubblebeam!" Hector's voice rang out as the fighter was suddenly riddled with a storm of bubbles. "Sorry we're late!" panted the Ostian lord. "There were several enemies that needed taking care off."
"Never mind them, mind him!" Eliwood pointed to the nomad. "We can't get close to the leader thanks to these spikes!"
"Not a problem!" Hector grinned. "Squirtle, use Rapid Spin!"
"Squir!" The Tinyturtle Pokémon withdrew into its shell and spun across the floor, knocking all the spikes aside. "At all costs protect the throne!" shouted Hector. "Shadow, stay with Eliwood and me! The rest of you, protect the throne! We'll handle this guy!"
"But..." Oswin wanted to protest, but the serious look on Hector's face told him otherwise. Quickly, he rallied the others to guard the royal seat. "Squirtle, Water Gun now!" ordered Hector.
"Charmander, Flamethrower!" commanded Eliwood.
"Cloyster, Withdraw!" The Bivalve Pokémon immediately closed its shell, allowing the attacks to bounce off its hard exterior. "Water Pulse, now!" Cloyster then reopened its shell, shooting a shockwave of water that threw the lords backwards. At the same time, Sealen shot out a storm of arrows that mixed with the water to fly towards their targets at an increased speed. Luckily, they stuck headfirst into the marble floor.
"Repeat!" Hector shouted. Squirtle and Charmander performed their attacks again, only to have them repelled in the same fashion, followed by another arrow-filled Water Pulse.
"This isn't working!" Eliwood panted. "Our attacks can't get past that rock-hard defence, and that combination of Water Pulse and archery isn't making it any easier!"
"It's Cloyster's Shell Armour!" noted Shadow grimly. "I've heard that even the strongest blows can't land a dent on it! But there's a pattern in his attacks!..." Quickly, Shadow whispered his plan to Eliwood and Hector, who immediately put it into action.
"Charmander!" Eliwood ordered. "Flamethrower again!"
"Withdraw!" As expected, Cloyster used its shell to block out the flame attack. "Water Pulse, Cloyster!" Sealen commanded.
"Squirtle! Ride the Water Pulse with Surf!" yelled Hector. The Water-type reptile jumped into the swirling vortex of water, skimming through the hydro shockwave and avoiding the arrows inside.
"Cloyster! Withdraw!" Alarmed, Sealen ordered Cloyster to retreat into its shell again as Squirtle drew near.
"Grim! Disable attack, now!" The Duskull shot a glare in Cloyster's direction at Shadow's command, causing the Bivalve Pokémon to freeze in horror. Its Withdraw had failed because of Grim's Disable!
"Finish it up with Focus Punch!" With Cloyster unable to attack in time, Squirtle's forceful knuckle came hard and fast, dealing a lot of damage to Cloyster's insides and sending it flying. Dazed and confused, Cloyster shut its shell, and began to glow with a powerful bright light...
"Nooooo!" Sealen stared in shock as Cloyster was thrown towards to him, and burst forth in a huge explosion!
"Whoa!" Shadow, Hector, Eliwood and their Pokémon were flung backwards. Sealen, being the nearest to the explosion, took most of the impact from the attack and crashed into a nearby wall. The nomad grimaced in pain as he felt his spinal column crack.
"Urgh..." Sealen coughed as he collapsed on the floor. "So... this is a mercenary's death..."
"Yes!" cheered Hector when the last of Sealen's troops attacking the throne were finished off. "We survived!"
"The rest of the enemy units have begun to retreat," Oswin reported. "It must be part of their plan. Half of them are already gone."
"Blast!" Hector swore, as if hoping to sink his axe into a few more people. "You have to admire their efficiency, though. Euban's mercenaries... I won't forget this. We'll likely cross paths someday." The Ostian lordling frowned, "And there's the assassins I fought in Ostia..."
"Hector?" asked Eliwood. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing special," said Hector hurriedly. "We simply have to tighten our belts and prepare. It appears we have more than one enemy... Oswin!" He looked at the knight, who had been anticipating his orders.
"We'll see to the castle's defences at once..." began Oswin.
"No, I grow weary of defending things," Hector cut in. "Let's get out of here and pursue Marquess Laus. It's time to put him on the defence!"
To be continued...
Imppala: Now... we go on to my bit. Finally!
Grim: Bah... who cares about you?
ShadowedTactician: ...Review.
