Valor couldn't sleep. He was too wired. Too restless. The coming morning pressed on his head, seeped into his every thought. No matter what he tried to do, no matter what he thought of, he found himself staring down the guards from that morning. He saw Ranger, poised to strike, just out of sight. He saw himself rushing in to do whatever he could to help beat them to the ground.

He tried to slow his breathing, desperate to relax himself. Someone sat down beside him in the darkness of The Hole. "You hanging in there, Valor?" asked Ranger.

"Yeah. I'm just nervous."

"We all are, kid. Hard fought victory coming our way."

"You think we'll win?" asked Valor, looking incredulous. For what good that did, Ranger probably couldn't see his expression anyway.

"Against those shitheads that took Silent Skies? Yeah. Against the rest of Mother's children? Anyone's guess."

"You sound so sure about-"

"Gotta be. I have to accept what might come. We all do. Well, most of us. Maybe not you, though. It's why I told you to run when the sick make it out. You've got spirit. You can hack it out there. I've been here for a couple weeks now. I've got just about enough energy to give some of them what they've got coming." He chuckled. "But there's a lot of 'em, kid."

"How many?"

"Not sure. Double our numbers, at least. Maybe more. Probably more." Ranger made an indistinct noise in his throat. "If we hit 'em hard enough, we just might have a shot at it."

Valor looked up at Ranger, trying to make out what little he could of the duck. "You think so?"

"Lots of scared kids up top. Sure, you get some geezers that'll fight to the bitter end, but the kids? That's a toss up. Youngest ones might just cut and run when they see a few of the older ones go down in pieces." Ranger suppressed a chuckle. "Or fulla holes."

The chespin said nothing, and opted instead to not have to consider what tomorrow would entail. The broken body of that houndour from the outpost drifted across his mind's eye.

"Can't say I blame them. I'd run too in their position," reasoned Ranger. "Between my chances in the wild or the certainty of the Abyss, well, good thing I learned how to forage, right? Besides, wouldn't feel too good gutting some of those poor bastards up top. They don't deserve it. They're just scared shitless and winging it. If they want to start something, then they've started something, but I'm not one to chase down runners."

"They-" began Valor. He stopped and cleared his throat. "Do we…" He took a deep breath but said no more.

The farfetch'd draped a wing over the chespin and chuckled. The feeling of the feathers around him immediately put Valor at ease. "Kid, sometimes we all gotta do shit that feels wrong. Not our fault. They brought the wrong to us. Anyone wants to cry foul, sayin' that there was another way and we coulda avoided it? Not worth listening to. You don't get middle paths if you don't make 'em. And no one's made a middle path for this kinda choice yet. And they never will."

Valor leaned against Ranger's side and shut his eyes. "Sentry talked about stuff like that all the time."

"Never gets easier, kid."

"Really?"

"Knowing the answer faster doesn't mean the question got any easier. You've just been asked it too often."

Ran pulled her claws free from the sandshrew's stomach, sending a spray of blood across the forest floor. Her chest was heaving and the gashes in her side burned. Somehow, he wasn't done fighting, and thrashed violently against the paw pinning him to the ground, trying to tuck back into a ball. He wriggled free and rolled away from her, then got to his feet, swaying slightly on the spot, his expression equal parts furious and pained. With a sharp kick, the sandshrew launched a spray of sand directly at the weavile and dove towards her immediately after.

Ran let out a bestial scream and drove her claws through the sand, groping blindly for her opponent. Even if the sand had hit her full in the face, it would have hardly mattered - her vision had narrowed to the horribly familiar pin pricks of her rages. Warmth soaked into the tips of her digits and a weight settled itself on her claws.

She slammed the sandshrew down onto the forest floor and drove her claws back into the shrew's soft belly again. And again. And again. And again. The violent thrashing against her free paw that held him down weakened with each thrust, until finally she drove both paws into him and pulled the shrew apart.

Something collided square with the small of her back and sent her stumbling forward, screaming in rage all the while. She tucked into a roll, and rose into a low crouch, using her momentum to swing a leg out in a wide half circle to turn and face her next opponent.

A bolt of electricity struck her in the stomach, sending her to the ground, convulsing and screaming in pain. Not even the full force of the furious abyss within her could overcome it. She writhed in the dirt, still screaming - the electricity wouldn't let up. She could barely see the magnemite it was coming from, managing to move her head no more than an inch or so as the intensity of the electrical charge waxed and waned.

And then, abruptly, the pain stopped, and the convulsions ceased. She was on her feet in an instant, ready to charge the magnet, but instead saw Thea gripping it tight with both of her paws. The braixen screamed a string of profanities and bizarre incantations at it nonstop, the air around it and her paws distorting with heat. Now and again she would jump as the magnemite tried its best to shock her, but it was clear it had spent a considerable bit of energy on Ran. The shocks did little more than stoke the fires behind Thea's eyes.

"STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP," the ball screamed. "PLEASE, STOP STOP STOP STOP!"

Thea ignored it, and instead finished her string of swears and chants with an impassioned, "AND BURN TO CINDER, THE HATE THAT FALLS UPON THE HOUSE OF COVEN'S FLAME." The iron ball began to glow red hot as flames exploded to life in Thea's hands, and a horrible, warped mixture of buzzes and screeches filled the air. The cacophony rose in pitch and speed and then began to fall. Slower and slower. The magnemite turned to slag in Thea's paws in silence, and with a look of contempt she dropped it with a dull thud on the ground.

"That was mine," spat Ran. Something struck her hard in the back of the head and her vision returned to normal in a flash of blinding white. She rubbed the spot Outrider had struck her, groaning. "Thanks. A little excessive there, though."

"You actually spoke to her," said Outrider, striding into view. He was sporting a fresh cut on his cheek and several on his right bicep, but otherwise appeared to have come off his own fights without too much issue. Behind him, Thea continued to stare down at the magnemite with contempt. Save a few shocks and noticeably shorter ear fluff in her left ear, she had avoided injury altogether.

"And Thea actually said something that wasn't just shouting and angry swears," replied Ran, still rubbing her head. "What was up with that?"

"I was angry," she said, breathing heavily. "It's what comes to mind when it happens."

"Did you read that somewhere? It sounded like proper incantations. I've only had the pleasure of listening to delphox chant them once in my life. I think." Outrider tapped the side of his head. "I could be fabricating that memory."

"Yeah. Vanguard didn't do fancy words." Thea stretched her legs, then swung her left leg straight up and then down, performing an axe kick wreathed in flame. "And that rubbed off on me."

"I can tell," said Ran, looking at Thea, somewhat fearful. "Did you have to slag it?"

"Instead of what, Ran?"

"Making it quick?"

"It wasn't going to make it quick for you if it could help it." Thea turned around and stepped out of the forest, out into the meadows beyond. Ran quietly thanked Outrider and caught up to the braixen. In the distance, the smoke from several fires could be seen rising up into the sky. "Especially not this close to their camp." She pointed towards the telltale plumes. "A few hours and we're there."

The sun was dipping below the horizon.

"Might want to get off this trail and camp out in a tree or something," said Ran.

Outrider came up beside Ran and nodded in agreement. "Striking now is less than ideal. They'll be bringing their 'spoils' back for the next few hours, and I doubt they drop their guard on account of nightfall. If anything they would bolster their patrols."

"Assuming this is actually their settlement," said Ran, looking at Outrider. "What if it's just-"

"It can't be anything but their settlement. Why else would we have fought Mother just now?" said Thea, cutting her off. "And you two are crazy, now's the best time to strike. Everyone will be settling in to eat, some of their patrols will still be out - it's the safest time to actually hit the place."

"The cover of darkness will not be enough of an advantage. We're better off waiting for morning, and striking an hour or so after sunrise. Assuming their ambush parties leave early to get to the main trails, they'll be leaving from before sunrise to some time after. It gives us the best chance at running into the least number of them. And it will be hard fought to get to Valor. We have to find him in the first place. Assuming-" Outrider trailed off. "Our strike will need to be hard, decisive, and we may need to retreat. Drag this out over a few days, try to take up position in a chokepoint."

"What chokepoint?" asked Thea. "They're probably in a small clearing within that forest beyond the meadow. There won't be any chokepoints, Outrider. We have to strike now."

"I'm with Outrider. We've been fighting on and off for the last half of today. We're tired and hurt. We go in now, we're throwing away the best chance at getting Valor back. And we could be throwing away our lives," said Ran, looking at Thea, her tone distinctly worried. "We owe Valor the best shot we have at this. If we could get close to the camp before we strike - scope it out, even - that would give us the best shot. But for now, we need to find somewhere safe to camp."

The braixen stared at them, looking furious, but slowly, she deflated and eventually sighed in resignation. "Alright," she mumbled. "Let's see if we can't find somewhere that doesn't look like pokemon have been passing through."

As they made their way through the tall grasses of the meadow, Outrider muttered, "Ran. Do you still have that wand that Planter and Oracle gifted you?"

Ran dug around in the largest pouch on her belt and produced it. "Yeah. I haven't used it much because…" She smiled sheepishly. "I keep forgetting to. Or, uh, the rage makes me forget, I should say." She felt stupid. She could have been using this to blow the enemy away. Although, that would mean that they would never have known they could simply strike her over the head to knock her out of her fury. "Why do you ask? Think we might be able to use it?"

The lucario nodded. "Yes. There could be gates to blow open, poorly constructed shacks and homes to knock down - anything, really. That wand had the power to give a mamoswine trouble. Imagine what it could do to the shoddy buildings of a raider camp."

"Yeah. You've got a good point there." Ran twirled the wand between her claws. "Do you have any wands on you, Thea?"

The braixen reached back into her tail and dug around in its huge volume of fur before finally pulling her paw free and nodded. "At least three. I'd like to avoid using the last one though."

"Why is that?" asked Outrider, tilting his head. "Is there something unusual about it, or perhaps sentimental-"

"I nicknamed it 'Rockmelter.' For what are probably obvious reasons," said the braixen, looking back at Ran and Outrider and smirking. "But I can't just use it forever. It'll run out of steam eventually, and I've had Rockmelter for a while now."

"Why would you name a wand?" asked Ran, raising an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't you?" replied Thea. She pointed to the edge of the forest before them. "We need to start looking for tracks. If it seems clear, we can probably slap together a bush to sleep in that doesn't look too out of place."

Something shook Valor awake. "Time to dance, Valor." The chespin his eyes and looked up at the heavily shadowed face of Fist.

"Already?" asked Valor, a stone immediately slipping into his stomach. The frog gave him a grim nod. "Alright. I'm up. I'm up." The chespin rose to his feet and whispered, "Ranger?"

"Over here, kid," replied the duck. Valor followed his voice and found the rest of the pokemon spaced unusually around him.

"What's going on here?" asked Valor. Several were standing very close to two bodies that had been laid out beside one another.

"Optimal rush formation. As optimal as we can get it with what we have anyway," replied Ranger at once. He continued to stare at the on the opposite end of The Hole. "Get in formation. You'll be with me." His voice dropped to a bare whisper. "They all know the second Needle grabs a body, it's go time. We're rushing Pulverizer with Fist. Sundance, Vandal and a couple others are taking down Bandit. If they can't get the necklaces off in time, I'll be by when we're done with Pulverizer to stab them to death. From there…" He let out a long, shaky breath. "We get to that building by the cages, free any late night 'guests' and-"

"And we start fucking killing," spat Sundance. She was a few paces away from Valor and looked like she was barely containing her rage, her body was shaking so fiercely.

"Don't disappoint the lady," chuckled Ranger. "And remember: no screaming." Bangs rang out from the metal door.

"Get ready," muttered Fist.

"BACK OFF! AWAY FROM THE FUCKIN' DOOR. NOW!" shouted Pulverizer, his voice muffled. The sound of the lock clicking open and clattering to the ground rang out, and the door to The Hole creaked open.

Valor had trouble keeping the shakes down. If they saw how nervous everyone looked, it could be enough of a tip off. He took several breaths as they drew closer, their silhouettes eventually becoming semi-solid shapes in the dim light that filtered from the mouth of The Hole.

Pulverizer and Bandit came to a stop a few paces from the prisoners, just like yesterday. Needle, meanwhile, made his way over to the two bodies that had been laid out. He paused and shouted at the pokemon standing close to them. "Back the fuck up, what do you think you're trying to pull?" The pincers on his tail clicked in the silence of The Hole. "Now, back the fuck up, or I'm dragging you out of here dosed up to the eyeballs in venom." The pokemon near the bodies took a single step back in unison.

The skorupi did not budge.

"Just get a fucking move on, will you, Needle? What are they going to do, break their arms on you? This place fuckin' reeks and I don't wanna stay here any longer than I need to," grumbled Pulverizer. Beside him, Bandit raised a paw to her mouth to snicker.

The skorupi took a few steps towards the body and seized hold of it. The mob of pokemon standing before the skorupi engulfed him in a second. "What the fuck!?" shouted Needle.

Valor only barely heard him. He was already running up to Pulverizer. Ranger pulled the makeshift spear he'd buried free and jumped straight at the machop. Valor saw the tip connect with Pulverizer's gut and embed itself. With a flourish, Ranger tugged it free and spun away from a wild punch from the jailer.

Valor launched himself over the pokemon in the way and seized one of the machop's arms and bit into it as hard as he could. The taste of copper filled his mouth for an instant before the machop shook him off. But it was too late - the pokemon had all thrown themselves full force at Pulverizer and knocked him over. Ranger was already driving the spear down before the machop had even hit the ground. It pierced straight through the pokemon's ribcage, and Valor watched his eyes go wide.

Ranger wrenched the spear out and jumped over the dying machop to engage Bandit.

Right! The necklace, thought Valor. He scrambled to pull it off the machop, but Fist beat him to it, pulling it free from the hyperventilating machop's neck and then pulling it around his own. It had barely settled against his chest when the croagunk drew his fist back and brought it down with enough force to create a depression for what was left of the machop's head to collect in.

A screech of pain filled Valor's ears, and he turned his attention towards its source in time to see Ranger staring down Bandit, his spear driven completely through her from one side of her stomach to the other. The nickit's breathing was coming in and out at a fever pitch, and her eyes shone in the darkness with hate and fear in equal measure.

Fist sprinted into view, dodging out of the way of a half-hearted attempt at a bite before following up with a knee to the fox's face. She recoiled and screeched as the spear jostled about in her and then gagged. The croagunk had seized her head. The sound of cracking vertebrae sent a cold chill down Valor's spine. He tugged the necklace free and tossed it towards Ranger and the others, but Sundance sprinted forward and seized it out of the air.

She pulled it on and knocked the few pokemon that hadn't been stung by Needle out of the way and immediately dodged back as the skorupi snapped at her with its tail and its pincers with reckless abandon.

"YOU FUCKING KILLED THEM, I'LL-" It was cut off by Fist rushing in from behind and delivering a flying roundhouse to the scorpion's tail. A very loud crunch and a horrific scream of pain echoed in The Hole as his tail broke completely off. Sundance did not wait for the scorpion to recover, and unleashed a flurry of punches, leaving Needle dazed.

Ranger drove his spear through the scorpion's head. The pokemon went limp immediately. "Grab that necklace. It's flashing for some reason." He pulled the spear free and gestured at the necklace still looped around Needle's severed tail.

Fist looked down at his own flashing necklace. "What's this mean?"

A deafening noise filled The Hole as a horn blew somewhere far above them.

Ran sat bolt upright in their makeshift hide of sticks and leaves. Thea and Outrider sat up alongside her almost as quickly. "You heard that, right?" she whispered, scared.

"That's either an alarm to start the day, or an alarm calling back anyone that isn't in the camp. And there aren't many reasons to call your scouts unless you really need them," said Outrider.

"So is it a wake up call or a proper alarm?" asked Ran.

"It doesn't matter," said Thea, getting up and destroying part of their hide in the process. She pulled herself free and began running towards the source of the noise, yelling back, "We can't take our chances on this!"

Ran and Outrider stood in unison and chased after the braixen. She was right.

"This is definitely going to slow us down!" screamed Sundance, dragging a minccino and a magby behind her.

Taking the stairs with those that were poisoned or too weak to climb them in tow was certainly slowing them down. Valor could see it himself as he struggled to help a shinx up the steps. But it would have been wrong to leave them down in that pit. At the very least they might have a chance when they were topside.

He was also last in the line of pokemon fit enough to help others up the stairs and out of The Hole. And when he exited the tunnel out into the camp proper, he sorely wished he hadn't been. It was chaos.

Ranger rolled out of the way of a barrage of rocks from a geodude before bringing his spear down atop the animate boulder's head with such force that a crack nearly split it in two. He grunted in pain as a grovyle came from behind and slashed across his back with a long blade of stiff grass. The duck stumbled forward a few paces more than the blow warranted, however, and as the grovyle stepped up to follow up, Ranger spun on the spot and slashed across the grovyle's body. A screech of pain joined the others hanging in the air, fighting for dominance with shouts of profanity and yells of exertion. Valor set the shinx he'd helped topside up and ran over to Ranger as fast as he could.

But he changed track on the spot when a charjabug crashed directly into Fist's stomach and left the frog doubled over, and then on the floor, convulsing as a stream of electricity arced from the bug's horns to the frog. Valor curled up and threw himself at the living battery. It wasn't enough speed, and he bounced off the bug with a shout of surprise. The charjabug didn't seem fazed, and instead fired a thick glob of webbing at Valor's feet.

The chespin only just dodged out of the way, and right into a follow-up headbutt. He doubled over, just like Fist had, but a follow-up shock did not come. Valor got to his feet and looked up, and saw the croagunk struggling to pull his fist from the hold he'd punched into the bug's side. With a grunt of effort, he finally pulled it - and a considerable length of intestine - free. "Thanks, gave me an opening," said Fist, letting go of the viscera and sprinting to meet a charging oshawott.

Ranger. Get back to Ranger. Valor looked around for the farfetch'd and instead nearly stumbled over as a cutiefly descended upon him, kicking up a wind of shining pink and purple dust. He only half meant to dodge the fly by stumbling to the right, but it mattered little as it landed on his back and bit him repeatedly. Sharp pains shot up and down his spine, and he tried vainly to pull the cutiefly from his back, but couldn't quite reach it.

A squeak filled his ears as something brushed past his back. The cutiefly was gone, and he turned to see a nidorino with the weakly-stirring fly gored on its horn. A nidorino? He looked over at Valor and shouted, "That one's free!" It was Crunch. He turned his attention to a chimchar as it sprinted up to him, screaming.

Valor resumed his sprint towards Ranger. The farfetch'd seemed completely nonplussed as he dexterously side-stepped through the combined attacks of a krabby, scraggy, and cyndaquil. It looked so easy. With a single thrust he speared the krabby, tossed it behind him with a sharp flick and then struck the scraggy across the face and leapt over the incoming fireball from the cyndaquil.

The scraggy did not seem to understand Ranger's reach with the spear, and went stiff as the farfetch'd stabbed into the lizard's neck. He pulled it free with a twirling flourish, and pointed the spear at the cyndaquil. It stared at him for a beat and then immediately took off in the other direction. The scraggy fell over, still clutching its neck, blood pooling around it as its gurgles became weaker and weaker.

Someone collided with Valor and sent him crashing into a pile of baskets set out outside of a shack. He groaned and got to his feet, covered in sticky berry juice and found Sundance getting to her feet, breathing heavily. "Sorry Valor," she mumbled, still focused on her opponent. Valor turned his attention to who she was staring at - a marill.

Sundance tore after the mouse, and Valor followed closely behind her, bringing vines to bear from under the shell on his back and swinging them directly at the marill's stomach. He missed, but its jumping dodge meant it was hit full force by Sundance's flying kick. The marill went sailing away, crashing through the wooden wall of the shack behind it, and did not emerge.

"I'm gonna go help Ranger," said Valor, looking Sundance in the eyes. The pancham only seemed to half-register he was there, and did not seem to hear him. Her eyes remained unfocused, her paw clutching her side. "Sundance. Sundance!" The chespin's eyes went wide as he pulled her paw away and saw the deep gash in her side.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," she said in a distant voice. "Where's Vandal? She needs help." Valor scanned around, looking for the aipom, and caught sight of her dodging left and right as a doduo pecked furiously at the monkey. Left head. Right head. Left head. Left head. Right head. Right- no, left head. No pattern.

Sundance was already sprinting away towards Vandal - Valor gave a start and ran after her to catch up. He wasn't halfway to them when Sundance leapt into the air again and brought a diving kick right into the neck of the doduo's left head. A loud crunch met Valor's ears and the head immediately went limp, flopping uselessly about as the doduo reared back, screaming in pain and grief.

Vandal rushed to Sundance's side to help her get away from the raging bird. Valor cursed his legs being so short and his feet so broad. He was almost there. The chespin fired a spray of quills at the doduo, but many of them fell short. The few that struck the bird only seemed to enrage it more. Almost there. The aipom could only force the pancham out of the way of the furious stomps from the bird for so long before she messed up.

But Valor was almost there. Just-

The doduo brought one of his feet up and kicked Vandal away, directly into the partially destroyed wall of a stone shack, and then brought his pointed beak straight down on Sundance's stomach.

A horrible wet tearing sound froze Valor in his tracks as the doduo lifted the speared pancham up and then flung her loose from his beak, straight at the same wall he'd kicked Vandal into. The aipom screamed at the sight, her tone mimicking the anger and grief of the doduo, and ran forward to engage him again. As the chespin sprinted towards the wounded pancham, he saw Vandal sail past him, using her tail as leverage to spring high into the sky.

He made it to Sundance's side, but the pancham was fading fast. Her hands were clamped weakly against the wide hole in her stomach and her breathing short, rapid and labored. Valor knelt down and said, "Hold on, Sundance, hold on. I can… I can…" He gently pulled the panda's hands away and fought down the revulsion that pooled in his stomach as he stared at her exposed intestines. "I- I-" he stammered.

Valor looked up and saw Sundance's eyes welling with tears. "I don't know what to do." A crack and a strangled sort of cough hit his ears and he turned in time to watch Vandal release the now broken neck of the doduo and sprint back to him and Sundance.

"Oh no, oh no," said Vandal, her expression frenzied and eyes wide. "We have to pack that with something. Keep pressure on it, keep-" Valor did as he was told, but Sundance screeched in pain. He pulled his hands away immediately.

The pancham looked up at him, and struggled out, "C-can't stop the b-bleeding…" She gasped for air. "B-beak w-went through… through… through me."

Vandal looked over at Valor, horrified, and reached behind the pancham. Her expression darkened. "She's right. The wound is-" Sundance's short, labored breathing picked up - desperate gasps for air that made Valor sick to his stomach. "Sundance, I'm sorry, but…"

"J-just g-go," stammered the pancham. She looked up at Vandal, her eyes wide and shining with tears. "G-go!" she shouted before lapsing into a fit of coughing.

Valor couldn't bear to watch it any more. Ranger. Find Ranger. The chespin jumped to his feet and turned towards the ongoing fray. Several more shacks had broken down in the fighting and a few had caught fire. It was impossible to tell if they were even winning. "I have to find Ranger!" he shouted over his shoulder at Vandal as he ran off into the battle.

Fist sprinted past him and almost tore his attention away, but he ignored the frog and focused on finding Ranger. Where was he? He pressed deeper into the camp, unsure of who was who. Everyone looked like one dirty, bleeding pokemon fighting another equally dirty, bruised one. The scarves, bandanas and armbands Nomad had given its inhabitants did not seem to be as common as he'd hoped. Or perhaps the prisoners had simply lost them when they were captured?

Where was Ranger?

He nearly ran into a terrified looking froakie. She shielded her face immediately and screamed, "Please don't! I'm just trying to get out of here, I never wanted to be a part of this!"

Valor stared at her, stunned. "Have you seen a farfetch'd?"

The froakie turned and hopped away. "Leave me alone! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" At least she hadn't attacked him. He continued to push deeper into the camp. The shacks and makeshift homes gave way to nicer, more permanent looking structures. Fewer damaged roofs and cracked front doors, and some color was even beginning to creep into the walls. And yet, the homes here looked empty - abandoned even. Their doors were open, and the sounds of the fight raging behind him had faded just a bit. Where had everyone that lived here gone? To fight? Had they fled?

And where was Ranger?

"GET OUT HERE, MOTHER!" screamed a voice. It came from the other side of a particularly long shack in front of Valor. The chespin sprinted around the building as far as his little feet would let him.

Valor froze in place. It was an open gathering area of sorts, but it was littered with at least a dozen bodies. A pair of krokorok stood on either side of Mother Superior at the far end of the square. The trio stood in front of the largest building in the camp Valor had seen yet.

To his left, surrounded by four weakly stirring pokemon, was Ranger. The farfetch'd was breathing heavily and leaning against his spear for support. His left leg looked like it had been broken, and now resembled more a limp noodle than a functioning limb. It was impossible to tell how many cuts the bird had suffered, with blotches of red staining him here and there, but whether it came from Ranger or his fallen opponents was difficult to say.

"Ranger!" shouted Valor.

The farfetch'd hardly moved his head before barking back, "Don't get involved, kid! Get the fuck out of here!" The krokorok both charged him, rushing in from either side. With a groan of exertion, Ranger dug his spear into the ground and vaulted away from the two, then raised his spear, ready for them to charge again.

Valor sprinted towards the fray, and swung his vines out towards the closest krokorok as it charged Ranger. One vine missed, but the other successfully wrapped around the reptile's leg and sent it face first into the dirt. The farfetch'd immediately drove his spear into the back of the crocodile's neck. The other krokorok, however, was unfazed by the death of its partner, and collided with Ranger, snapping and biting at him.

Ranger screamed as he fell backwards, having neither the will nor the ability to stand on the broken leg he'd been forced back onto. Valor pulled his vines free from the twitching croc Ranger had stabbed and tried to yank the reptile away from the duck, both vines wound tightly around the croc's stomach. He saw his vines go taut - the krokorok had managed a solid bite onto Ranger's right wing and had latched onto him with his arms and legs. Try as he might, he couldn't pull the krokorok away. A loud crack and a scream of pain came from the farfetch'd as the croc successfully broke the bones in the wing.

"NO! LET HIM GO!" screamed Valor. He loosened one of the vines and immediately wrapped it around the croc's neck and squeezed as tightly as he could. Harder, harder, harder. He could feel his vine shaking at the effort - but it worked. The crocodile released the farfetch'd, coughing and hacking as the vine continued to squeeze, its whole body now thrashing about, trying desperately to get at the offending vine. Valor brought his second vine to bear and brought it down with tremendous force onto the ridge between the croc's eyes. Up and down again. Up and down again.

A nauseating crack and pop filled his ears as the vine successfully compromised the reptile's skull, and Valor released the pokemon immediately after. He rushed to Ranger's side, looking the duck over. "Ranger! Are you-" he began.

"Get out of here already, kid," said Ranger, looking immensely strained. His breathing was uneven. His left leg was still useless and now his right wing was broken and bent at a horrible angle. "Or at least get the others," he continued, looking past Valor. "I'll keep Mother-" His eyes widened and with a scream filled half with pain and half with fear, Ranger smacked Valor away.

The shockwave of an explosion washed over Valor, sending him tumbling backwards, end over end. He came to a stop on his stomach and groaned as he rose to feet. A few white shards had caught in his fur, along with some pebbles. White shards? He glanced in the direction he'd seen Mother standing before the krokorok had attacked, and caught the blissey disappearing into the large building behind her.

Valor looked over at where Ranger was and felt the floor go out from beneath him. The farfetch'd had been blown a few feet away from a small crater in the ground, and laid completely still on the ground. Valor rushed over and dropped to his knees beside Ranger. He shook the duck's body insistently. "Ranger! Ranger!" he shouted. "RANGER! RANGER!" The chespin moved the duck's broken wing out of the way to lift his head up. "Please, please wake- don't be- you can't-" The words caught in his throat.

Hot tears blinded him and sobs wracked his body. Not again. He'd already lost the world he'd known once. Sentry's voice filled his head.

You will run, little one. He hadn't understood what Sentry had meant that night Nomad was attacked. When she flung him up into the straw roof that covered Oracle's house, he hadn't understood. All he knew was to tuck into a ball to let his back take the impact of breaking through the thin sticks they'd used as reinforcements. All he knew was he had to get out into the forest, even as everything in him told him to stay and fight.

You will run, little one, she'd said. He hadn't understood. Even as he fell back towards the ground. Even as he struck the dirt without a lick of grace. Even as he disobeyed her and tried to turn back to help.

His refusal to listen filled his head, along with memories of his comeuppance as a foot kicked him into the forest with an evil cackle. Hideous laughter, certain of victory, rising from the dying gasps of Nomad. Even then, he hadn't understood. But now he did.

But what good was being saved when those who made it necessary in the first place still drew breath? Valor rose up from Ranger's body, still sniffling, and wiped his eyes. He let out a shaky breath and turned on his heel towards the farfetch'd's spear, fury building in his heart, and mixing into the sorrow within.

They had arrived at the camp no more than ten or fifteen minutes after hearing the horns, only to find it in utter chaos. Buildings were destroyed, on fire or both. Lifeless bodies littered the ground everywhere, and a croagunk had nearly dropkicked Thea before he had noticed the silver badge on her thigh. He had apologized and left as quick as he came, diving back into the fray without a single glance back.

The chaos of the fighting and the lack of any real identifiers on whoever their allies were supposed to be made her and Outrider nervous about the weavile joining the fray, and so, Ran was stuck directing terrified looking pokemon towards the front gate of the camp. She watched as Outrider delivered a roundhouse kick to a drilbur's head at inhuman speed, sending it careening into the wall of the half destroyed building beside it, leaving the building now fully destroyed. The mole did not emerge from the wreckage.

Something bumped into Ran, and she looked down at a terrified froakie. "Help! Help! Please, don't hurt me, don't-" The weavile frowned and pointed in the direction of the exit from the camp. "Th-thank you!" she shouted, hopping away.

A thought struck the weavile. "Wait! Have you seen a chespin?" called Ran to her.

The froakie looked back long enough to shout, "He was way at the other end of here!" And then she was gone.

Ran looked over towards Thea and saw her gracefully sidestep a pikachu, bringing her wand to bear as the electrified mouse streaked uselessly past her. A spark sputtered out of the tip of it. Ran cocked her head.

A fireball sprung to life a moment later, expanding in size from a pebble to a small boulder before it flew straight at the pikachu. The ball of flame struck the mouse in the back and exploded into a sphere of fire the size of a machoke. And then, quick as it came, the fire was gone, leaving only the blackened, smoking body of the pokemon in its wake.

"He's further in," shouted Ran, jogging over to Outrider and Thea. "We have to get further in."

Outrider stared further into the camp and frowned. "Easier said than done - there's still Children of Mother fighting further in. You can see it," muttered Outrider.

"Well, it's not getting any easier," shouted Thea back them, running towards the fights.

Every step Valor took towards the spear felt different. He was swelling. Growing. His stride lengthened. The ground drew further away from him. The arm that reached out and seized Ranger's spear was thicker. Armored. Clawed. With an effortless tug, the spear was free from the dead krokorok's neck.

The quilladin sprinted towards the entrance to the building Mother had slipped away into and rammed his shoulder into the door. It exploded into several pieces, filling the sitting room he now stood in with wood. Where had that blissey gone? He worked his way through the home and found a backdoor ajar, leading out of the kitchen and outside into an open patch of dirt lined with crates, nets, baskets and smaller buildings.

Mother Superior waddled as quickly as her awkward feet allowed away from the building Valor stood in. She was running towards the looming, ramshackle wooden walls erected around the camp. Valor grabbed hold of Ranger's spear with one of his vines, took aim and then threw it in a high arc towards the blissey. The second the weapon had left his grip, he dove forward and rolled at top speed towards her.

A screech of pain met his ears three seconds before he collided with the overblown egg and bounced off. He uncurled in mid-air and landed heavily on his feet, staring daggers at Mother. Ranger's spear was lodged in her side. The blissey did not give him time to plan, and tossed several eggs, one after the other, straight at him.

Dodging out of the way of the explosives was difficult - each blast sent out a shockwave that threatened to knock him over and make him an easy target. And then one did. He tripped and rolled on his side into a stack of crates, then a deafening boom set his ears ringing. He staggered to his feet, his head aching and stared Mother down, grimacing. The blissey hesitated for a moment, her arm reared back, ready to throw another egg. Her expression said it all: how had he survived that?

Valor turned the moment she followed through with her throw and screamed as the egg impacted his back and exploded, launching him forward and back into the destroyed crates. It was impossible to hear anything over the insistent ringing in his ears now, but that hardly mattered. He was alive, and other than ache in his back, he was unharmed. As he rounded on the blissey once more, he saw her digging around in her egg pouch, frenzied.

"YOU'RE ALL OUT!" he shouted, though his own voice barely registered. He broke into a sprint and launched himself head first at the blissey. The single quill on his head punctured Mother's stomach and the two fell to the ground. Valor tore himself free and was on his feet again and sent his vines groping for the spear still stuck in the blissey's side.

All the while, he brought furious blows down upon the egg with his arms and elbows, needles jutting out of the divisions between the armored plates they bore. He could feel them breaking off in the blissey's rubbery flesh and regrowing almost immediately.

He had no idea what Mother Superior was doing, and he did not care. He saw her mouth moving, her tiny arms flailing, and her entire body wobbling as she tried to get the quilladin off of her, but she could not. His vine tugged Ranger's spear loose with some effort and immediately brought it down squarely into her egg pouch. The tiny quill had difficulty punching through the thick, rubbery skin of the blissey, and Mother Superior used the ineffective thrust to deliver a solid punch to Valor's jaw, sending him flying off of her.

He was on his feet again in an instant, his vine still clutching the spear. He brought the spear down and grabbed hold of it with his own paws, using the vine to keep it steady and locked eyes with Mother. The blissey was bleeding, covered in needles and thoroughly panicked. She opened her mouth again, and now the ringing in his ears had died down just enough that he could somewhat hear what she was saying. No - singing.

Valor bellowed a war cry at the top of his lungs to drown out her song and charged Mother. The blissey could not get out of the way, managing to turn only a quarter of the way away from him when his spear punched through her skin and snapped in half. He barely registered her howls of pain as the force of the blow knocked her to the ground, her side gushing blood, and tossed the now broken spear aside. He loomed over Mother Superior and stared down at her terrified face. She raised her arms and said something indistinct, but the ringing in his ears was still too strong.

Chest heaving, the quilladin raised his right arm and flexed it. Much longer needles and quills burst from the seams between the armor plates, and with a bellow of fury he forced it into the wound the spear had created. With another flex of his arm, he felt the needles explode out of his arm inside the blissey. The terrible screech of pain that met his ears cut even through the ringing in his ears, but lasted less than a second before it died, and Mother Superior was no more. He tugged his arm free from the lifeless blissey and stared down at her glassy-eyed expression of horror.

"For Sentry and Ranger," he muttered. He bowed his head and then trudged back to the building behind him. Mother's home, perhaps? Former home, anyway. The ringing was beginning to subside proper now, and he could hear past the annoying sound with greater ease. But he heard nothing. No shouts. No screams. No sounds of battle.

He walked through the kitchen, still straining to hear anything beyond the fading ringing. Nothing. Nothing at all. Had they won? Lost? What did that even mean, in the end? He rounded the corner in the L-shaped kitchen.

"V-Valor?" said a voice, confused. "What happened to your quill?"

He looked up. Ran, Thea and Outrider stared back at him, looking incredibly out of place in Mother's sitting room.

The quilladin stared wordlessly at his friends, his mouth agape. He rubbed his eyes. It felt like he'd been separated from them for over a week. "Thea. Outrider. R-Ran…" he said, looking at each of them in turn. "You- you found me."

Ran made it to him first, and pulled him into a tight hug, and Outrider joined them almost immediately after. He looked past Ran's shoulder, still dumbstruck, and at Thea's face. He didn't have to look up nearly as far anymore.

The braixen gave him a genuine smile. Her eyes looked incredibly tired, but the words that fell from her mouth bore boundless relief:

"Of course we did."