The horizon was slowly beginning to shift away from midnight blues and deep purples. Hints of the coming dawn painted themselves in soft reds and faint oranges ahead of the coming sun. The light of the stars was dying.
Whistle dove straight towards the opening of the Commander's tent and landed a few feet away from the entrance. This is bad. He rushed past the machop standing in front of the tent, clearly trying to not nod off where he stood, and gave him the barest of nods before he burst into the stuffy enclosure. "Vain! Navigator!" he shouted, panting heavily. "There's- we've-" He kept panting.
It had been such a long journey. His wings were exhausted, but the death of Mother Superior was not news that could wait. The eerie sight of the camp, devoid of any fires - of any light at all - had unsettled him deeply, even if he had been approaching in the dead of night. There were always a few fires going. Always.
The sight of Mother's corpse had filled him with equal parts revulsion and fear. They were without a proper leader now. She had held them together through promises, violence, and her own twisted love in equal measure. With her death, what did they have left?
Vain rose from his pile of hay and looked at Whistle through tired eyes. "What in the name of the Abyss are you shouting about?" he grumbled.
"Mother is dead," said Whistle.
The pawniard was completely awake right then and there. The gently stirring body of Navigator, sleeping a few feet away, sat bolt upright, scattering hay around her in the process. "She's what?" said the clefairy sharply.
Whistle struggled to catch his breath. "Water. Please, some water." Navigator brought him a bowl filled with water and set it down. "Thank you." He took several gulps before looking up at the two Commanders and saying, "She's dead. Mother Superior is dead." He drank more from the bowl before continuing, "I found her dead behind her home. Large hole in her side where something punched through. Full of needles." He finished the bowl of water and stood up to look them each in the eyes proper as he spoke. "The rest of the camp was completely empty. Not a single fire."
"The prisoners…?" asked Vain.
"Gone. A few of our own were dead in The Hole. There must have been a breakout of some kind," said Whistle, his breath now evening out. "Or something. The camp sustained heavy damage. Wildling attack?"
Navigator's eyes went wide. "That bastard," she whispered. Vain and Whistle both looked at her, confused. "Windrazor. He knows the location of the camp. He's been there several times, moving letters back and forth between Mother and Octavian. He could have easily told anyone where the camp was. Crag can make maps better than we can and way more easily. It wouldn't have been hard for any of their cartographers to guess roughly where we are."
"And then Octavian makes up a little plan. Says he's staging a false battle but needs the numbers to be convincing, so he tells Mother to send us out. She does, and he has his forces strike. And now he's having us march into Crag instead of the agreed area," said Vain, crossing his arms. His eyes narrowed. "He wants to box us in. Make it easier to kill us all."
"But why? He had a good deal with us," said Navigator. "We get a slow, but steady supply of new forces, some supplies, even get to hit unguarded caravans. He twists that fucking city around his claws and keeps his seat. Why the change?"
Whistle made a sad, low crooning sound in his throat. "I'm not good at this. I just deliver messages. But, if I had to guess, he might be through with us. Maybe he got whatever he wanted. And now we're a problem."
The pawniard nodded. "That sounds about right. Which means we can't let Windrazor get back to him. He's not just here to give us the new plan. He's doing something else. Has to be." He strode past Whistle and gestured for Navigator to follow him. "Get some rest, Whistle. Navigator and I are going to introduce Windrazor to some orphans."
"No, no, let me come with you. I want to see this," said Whistle, catching up to Vain. Navigator was right at his side, looking furious.
"Is that really what we are now?" asked the clefairy. "Orphans of Mother?"
"Good a name as any," said Vain, shrugging. He gestured silently for the machop standing in front of the Command tent to follow, and the four of them made their way into the sea of tents where Mother's forces slept.
"Where is Windrazor?" asked Whistle, looking at the bisharp, the clefairy and then the machop.
The machop shrugged. "A spare tent, I think. We usually mark those with a red square," he mumbled.
The spearow looked confused. "Who packs spares?"
"No one does. But you end up with some when wildlings surprise you," said Vain grimly. "Which is why I hate moving in large groups." The pawniard pointed at a tent at the end of the row they were in. "That one?"
The machop nodded. "Looks like it."
"Wait here," said Vain. He disappeared into the sea of tents for a few minutes before returning with three bellsprout and two petilil in tow. At the look Navigator gave him, he added, "Just making sure he doesn't get away before I slit his throat."
They resumed their march towards the tent, and once they had arrived, Navigator opened the flap and ushered the petilil inside. "Keep him there," said the clefairy in a whisper. The rustling sounds of foliage filled the tent, followed by a shout or surprise that cut out halfway. The petilil marched right back out of the tent, looking pleased.
"Pick it up," said Vain, looking at the machop. The pokemon nodded and picked up and tossed aside Windrazor's tent. The pidgeot was stuck halfway between sitting and flapping his wings, and had fallen forward onto his breast, his head looking up at them all from the dirt floor, covered in a fine golden powder. Confusion and anger flickered behind his eyes, but they both gave way to fear as the pawniard said, "Tie him down. On his back."
The bellsprout got to work immediately, rolling Windrazor onto his back, spreading his wings and pulling his legs straight out. Pinned in place in three places - both wings and his legs, Vain strode over to the immobilized bird and crossed his sharp arms. "Whistle came back from our camp. Our home," he began. He glanced at Navigator.
The clefairy stared hatefully down at the pidgeot, her voice shaking with rage. "Mother is dead. Our home is destroyed. There is no one to go back to. And you show up to tell us the plan has changed. We won't be having a mock battle anymore. We'll be going into Crag as refugees?" The bellsprout holding the pidgeot down looked at Navigator in alarm, though their grip did not loosen. If anything, Whistle noticed, it appeared to become stronger. The machop standing next to him took a step forward, his hands balled so tightly into fists they were shaking, fury etched onto his face. Whistle held out a wing and looked at the pokemon, then shook his head.
"Should have known what that really meant. It shouldn't have taken Whistle flying like he's never flown before to make us realize you were trying to trick us," spat Vain. The pidgeot thrashed weakly beneath the vines of the bellsprout and the effects of the petilil spores. The pawniard uncrossed his arms and raised one up, then nodded at Navigator. The clefairy walked over and pulled the pidgeot's head back to expose Windrazor's neck. "Your city is gonna burn, Windrazor. But you won't see it."
"NO, NO, NO, STOP!" shouted Windrazor, managing to force his beak apart.
The struggling was beginning to intensify, and so Vain drove his knife-tipped arm down into the pidgeot's neck and cut violently across it. Blood flowed like a river from Windrazor's neck, and the pidgeot's thrashing beneath the vines the bellsprout were holding him down with kicked up considerably. The sound of some of the vines snapping filled the cool, early morning air. But as quickly as they came, they left, along with the last of the struggle and life left in Windrazor.
The pawniard straightened up and looked around at the other pokemon. "I meant that," he said, his eyes narrowed down to slits. "We're going to burn that fucking city to the ground."
"Get everyone up and ready to move," said Navigator, looking at the machop and three bellsprout. "I want them all lined up and ready for us to explain the situation in ten minutes. Go." The four left immediately. Whistle walked over to Navigator, his exhaustion from the long night beginning to clear as adrenaline filled his body.
"What are we going to do?" he asked.
"Hit hard and fast. If Octavian is letting us in as refugees, then we should accept his generous offer. The moment the last Orphan steps foot into Crag…" began Vain.
"We tear it to the ground," finished Navigator. "No prisoners. We don't need any more pokemon from that city fucking us over."
Ran awoke to the sounds of the door to their Communal flying open and slamming into the wall. She sat bolt upright, same as Outrider, Thea and Valor, and stared in the direction of the sound. Strong sunlight filtered in from behind Stone, casting her in a dramatic shadow. She held several items in her arms. "Rise and shine!" shouted the lycanroc. "And grab your shit, it's kinda heavy."
"We could have done without you making it sound like we were under attack," mumbled Outrider, his eyes drooping. He poorly stifled a yawn behind a paw and rose to walk over to Stone and see what she'd brought. Ran followed him, same as Valor, but Thea instead flopped back onto her back and closed her eyes.
"Nothing for me, right?" shouted the braixen from her pile of hay.
"Sorry, Thea. You want a pat on the ass instead?" replied Stone.
The braixen laughed. "Only pokemon here with longer claws than you is Ran. I'll keep my ass in one piece, thanks."
"Your loss." The lycanroc looked at Outrider and held up a set of shin guards. "Here. Put these on."
Outrider took them with a nod. "Thank you. How did you get these so quickly?" He began strapping them on.
"A very competent smith," replied Stone. "Here, Ran. Slide these on." She held out a pair of shining, fingerless chainmail gloves. "He said you're supposed to make sure you can see the runes on the back of your paw. So that should help you figure out what way they go on. Make sure they're snug, they've got a leather strap you can wind around your arm and tie off in a loop to help with that." The weavile took the gloves and held them up to the light, looking awestruck. "Pretty, huh?"
Ran nodded. "Thank you," she said.
"Are they just armor, or do they have special properties given what they're made of?" asked Outrider, looking at his shin guards and then at Ran's gloves.
"Both. Not sure on the properties though. What did Magnus say about Rune Ore?" She paused and frowned. "Something about it conforming to the natural strengths of whoever is using or wearing something made with it."
"Enhancement, then?" asked Outrider.
"Yeah, but Striker - the blacksmith - said Rune Ore can do weird shit. 'Impossible feats' or something that appears so, anyway. Nothing actually truly impossible - no going back in time, turning invincible, any of that shit. Just weird things. Magnus was still doing research back when he talked about it, and I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. Striker only had accounts from his customers. Only one of them could do anything 'impossible' - he could explode in place."
"He could explode?" asked Ran, looking down at the chainmail gloves she'd slid on. "That sounds, uh, kinda concerning."
"He didn't actually explode, but it did look like it. Just a flash of purple and then boom. And there he was when the dust and light cleared," explained Stone. "Didn't get hurt doing it. Not from here though. Was passing through on his way to Highbridge."
Valor looked expectantly at Stone, who smiled back at him and handed him two kite shields. The quilladin took them from her happily and hefted them, one on each arm. "These are great! Thanks, Stone."
The lycanroc nodded and looked down at the last remaining piece of gear - a sword. "This is mine," she said fondly. "I can't hold it in my paws to save my life, but…" She craned her neck down and bit the handle, then pulled the weapon from its sheath with a flourish, dropping to all fours in the process. "I can do zish."
"Do you even know how to fight with a sword? Especially like that?" asked Outrider, looking the lycanroc up and down.
Stone awkwardly picked up the discarded scabbard of the weapon and sheathed it. "Not really, but it's worth keeping it around for being unpredictable. Besides, I can just get better with it later." She waved off the judgement and looked around at the three of them. "So? What do you think?"
Valor knocked the shields together, sending a reverberating clang through the Communal and causing the runes that had been seemingly melted into the boss of the shield to glow a soft green. "I see why you said I'd make Watch proud," he replied. "This is cool. But what do they do besides just...be shields?"
"I dunno. Figure it out. You're smart, right?" said Stone, smirking.
The quilladin rolled his eyes. "Sure. Alright. Let's just try…" Ran looked over and saw the gaps between the plates on his arms bristle with needles, then felt her jaw drop when the boss of the shield began to shudder and undulate, like the metal had become a syrup someone had dropped a rock into. The surface went rigid again for the briefest of moments before metal spikes exploded out of the once smooth surface of the shields, shorter towards the faces' edges, and longer towards the center. Valor looked on in awe. "That's like a full arm's length of spikes in the center."
The spikes retracted back into the quilladin's arms, and the spikes on the shields went down with them. "Well, at least I know they can do that," he said.
Outrider's aura flickered to life, and the runes on his shin guards began to glow the same cyan. The air around them became distorted, much like heat rising off a hot stone floor at the height of summer, and the lucario looked down at the pieces of armor with a look of intrigue. "Not sure what that did, but it certainly is interesting," he mumbled.
Ran shrugged. "Maybe it gets stronger like that?" she asked, before looking down at her claws. She swiped through the air with one of her paws, a curious expression on her face. The air seemed to shimmer a dull purple in the wake of her claws, but nothing more. She tried it again, though with more purpose. The purple became vivid, and now her claws traced a line of black smoke as they cut through the air. But still, nothing more.
"If we get into a fight, you'll know soon enough," said Outrider. "Speaking of which. We have a public to inform."
"I'd rather know before I get into a fight," said Ran, putting her paws on her hips. "You know, just in case the rage ends up finding out I can tear apart reality or something."
"We'll just zip it back up," said Thea from her pile of hay. "Can't be that hard."
"I'm being serious!" said Ran, looking over at the braixen.
"Things will be fine," said Outrider, reaching over and putting a paw on Ran's shoulder. He gave her a reassuring nod. "If this material is only supposed to augment our natural strengths, I don't think there's too much to worry about. Dangerous though you are in the middle of your rages, you haven't done anything beyond the capacity of a well practiced weavile."
"I hope for all our sakes you're right."
"Speaking of all our sakes," said Stone, strapping the scabbard of the sword around her chest so that the hilt poked out from just above one of the odd little claws on her side, "What are we about to do? Go to a tavern and hold up some letters?"
Outrider nodded. "Yes. We have evidence of Octavian's crimes. We present it to the pokemon in the tavern, and tell them to spread the word. We leave that tavern and find another. And another. We keep going until someone tries to stop us or we run out of taverns. Could take us a few days."
Stone crossed her arms. "Alright. And then?"
"And then the pokemon of Crag demand answers from the Council," grunted Thea, sitting up and then getting to her feet. She yawned and stretched. "The Council then acts. Maybe. If they refuse…" Thea began to tap her foot. "If they refuse… nothing fucking happens. It's only upsetting, this news. It makes everyone upset, but not truly angry."
"How can you be so certain?" asked Outrider.
"Because there are too many explanations. Forged letters, a band of largely unknown pokemon and a low-ranking defense and scouting member, Octavian's own track record…" She shook her head. "He's been the Chief Security Advisor for so long, pokemon might be afraid to get rid of him. Crag's worked out well enough, even with all her problems."
"Has the city really?" asked Stone. "Lots of pokemon seem like they're kinda just… alive. Existing."
"Being alive isn't a bad thing," said Ran quietly.
"Being alive is easy. Living is hard," replied Stone. "Apathy sounds like it's going to result in you marching into the tavern and getting maybe three pokemon riled up while everyone else just shrugs it off. Another fucking day in Crag."
"How can you be so certain?" asked Outrider, his tone a bite defensive.
"Not everyone has your righteous spirit," muttered Stone. "In Unova, where I'm from, government corruption was…" She trailed off. "A given. Why would it be any different with a government made of pokemon? Maybe the mindsets are different. After everything I've seen walking around with Magnus, I know the mindsets are different. But corruption finds its way in every time, it just takes a different form. Octavian wanting to hold onto power? That's gotta be universal, given how much humans do it."
The lucario began to pace back and forth, muttering. He did so for nearly a minute straight before Thea finally said, "We're burning daylight."
"We have to incense them," said Outrider, looking around at his friend. "We have to incense everyone we can in that tavern. Get them to understand what this injustice means. What it could do. How they've been abused. They have to see what kind of poisons the structure of Crag has generated beneath its facade of stability. The lower levels are dim, choked with smoke and dreary."
"And you can work your way up," replied Thea, shrugging. "What good will it do telling them they have to work harder?"
"It's not about working your way to a better position. It's about what should already exist at their position." Outrider looked at Stone, a look of comprehension dawning on his face. "I know exactly what to say. Ran, I need you to help." He snapped his gaze over to her.
The weavile looked taken aback. "I'm not much of a public speaker," she said, her tone meek.
"You only need to repeat what I say. Just change the words," he said. "It won't be hard." He gave her a wink.
"Not being much of a public speaker means stuff that's 'not hard' will still be hard, Outrider."
"Trust me."
Ran stared the lucario in the eyes. The electricity came alongside a feeling of warmth spreading through her limbs. She nodded. "Alright."
"Outrider," said Stone, putting a paw on his shoulder. The lucario looked at her. "If we go into that tavern and you speak your piece, and no one gives a shit…" She paused and squeezed his shoulder. "We leave. We walk right the fuck out of that tavern, and out of this city. Thea, you're welcome to join. Otherwise that'll be goodbye from all of us." The lycanroc looked around at her friends. "Agreed?"
Thea took a long, deep breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled. "If no one in that tavern cares after Outrider's had his say, then this city and her citizens aren't worth caring about." She opened her eyes and nodded at Stone, frowning. "I'll go with you."
"So, settled?" asked Stone, looking at each of her friends again.
Ran and Valor nodded. Outrider, however, looked unsure. The corners of his mouth twitched up and down and a low hum rose in his throat. The seconds stretched out into nearly a minute of silence, save the bustle of the city outside their house, when finally the lucario nodded. "Alright. Settled."
Ran noticed the cheery ambience of the tavern dropped only a touch as four clearly armed and armored pokemon walked in, a braixen following closely behind. As they approached an empty bench, several onlookers returned to their conversations and food. This did not reassure her for the coming speech.
Outrider climbed onto a table in the middle of the tavern and raised his arms. Ran joined him, and immediately felt exposed when several patrons turned to look at them. "ATTENTION!" shouted Outrider.
The conversations around the tavern died and the music coming from the corner faded. Eyes shifted in the direction of Ran and Outrider, and the lucario held his arms out and began to speak. "What justice do you expect in Crag?" asked Outrider.
Murmurs ran through the crowd. "Effective," said a kadabra that was seated a few tables away from them. "And swift."
The lucario nodded. "I agree." He gestured to himself. "I agree wholeheartedly. Justice is best served effectively. Swiftly. Fairly. Impartially." He furtively tapped Ran on the back.
The weavile felt her mouth go dry and coughed. Several pokemon shifted their attention to her. Gods above that only makes it worse. "Um, justice should be simple, right?" she asked. More mutters ran through the crowd, some of them clearly in agreement. "If it's not simple, then there's… problems."
"Enormous problems," said Outrider, cutting in. He gave Ran a swift smile and continued, "The kind that can see justice become complicated. Muddied. There must always be a process, but even the process can become bloated." He paused and paced across the table and back. "Everything can become bloated." Outrider gestured with a paw up to the ceiling. "From justice to the systems that enact it."
"What's your point? Some of us have shit to do!" shouted a flareon from another nearby table. It felt like three quarters of the tavern joined in their agreement. Ran looked over at Stone, worried, but the lycanroc simply shook her head and then looked meaningfully at the door out of the tavern. The weavile swallowed and looked back to Outrider, but he was looking right back at her.
Ran coughed and looked at the flareon, addressing him directly, "The point is, something bad happened. Something that demands justice. How do you think that'll go?"
"The case will move to committee and get reviewed a half dozen times. Then the pokemon and all associated or involved parties get pulled into a room with a Judiciary Council to have their case heard," explained the absol beside the flareon.
"And if that case involves someone high up?" asked Outrider.
The absol scowled. "Someone high up?" she repeated. "Then it takes four times as long and is reviewed by higher and higher Judiciary Councils. If it goes high enough the Council of Elders reviews it."
Outrider nodded, then turned to look around at the pokemon staring up at him. "Do you trust in this process? Do you believe it to be swift? Effective?" He continued to scan the tavern, and eventually his eyes fell on the kadabra.
He stared back at Outrider and shook his head. "I've seen slowpoke process everything faster than our own Councils. It's disgraceful," he spat. "Stuck so far up their own-" He caught himself and closed his eyes. "Needless to say, no. It is not swift nor effective."
"I'm still not seeing the point to all this," shouted the flareon again. "You gonna spare us the speech and tell us what's wrong yet?" Maybe half the tavern that was with him now, possibly less. But it was still substantial.
Outrider tapped Ran on the back again and so she stepped towards the flareon and said, "It's important to know how things could be. Right?" The flareon glared at her. "If you know something is wrong then… you should know what things should look like when it's right." She paused. "Uh, right?"
"Still don't see the point," he called back, rolling his eyes.
"Do you see this letter?" asked Outrider, looking at the flareon.
"Yeah, but I sure as shit can't read it."
"It's a letter from Octavian. It is his script, I can show it to anyone that doubts me," said Outrider.
"Then give it here, let's see this letter from Octavian," said the flareon, thumping a paw on the table. Outrider obliged, and hopped down from the table to walk the letter over to the pokemon.
"If you could please read it aloud?" asked Outrider as he approached and set the open letter down in front of the flareon.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever." The fire-type cleared his throat and began to read. "The hour of the attack is close at hand. Ensure your forces arrive at the correct area to avoid minimal contact with defensive and recon squads that are patrolling the areas around Crag. If they run into any, eliminate them. No prisoners."
The flareon paused and scoffed. "Yeah, it's Octavian alright. Read enough of his fucking mass letters to know it when I see it. But this just sounds like-"
"Keep reading," said Outrider.
The flareon groaned. "Fine." He cleared his throat once more and continued, "The field has been marked with a tall column atop which sits a triangular rock that has been painted red. A small detachment of defense forces will be sent to the site of the battle to provide support - they will arrive first. Eliminate them but try to keep the bodies mostly intact."
The flareon stopped reading and snarled. "What the fuck is this? Did you make this shit up?" he snapped at Outrider and Ran. "What's this shit about 'eliminate the defense forces?' That includes pokemon like ME. Like my fucking friends."
The absol beside him looked, if possible, even angrier. With a clawed paw, she pulled the letter towards and continued reading where the flareon had left off: "The SDC will arrive after and handle most of the grunt work for making the battlefield look worn. Any wildlings you encounter and kill should be kept as your forces march and handed over to the SDC provided they are not too decomposed. Your forces may return after - any squads they encounter that are not SDC are fair game for sport or recruitment."
Shouts of anger erupted in the tavern as frenzied conversation rippled through the entire building.
"Who the fuck is Octavian talking to?"
"Is he working with raiders?"
"The SDC is working with him!"
The absol grit her teeth and let out a long, low growl. "That fucking dragon." She continued, "As agreed, you will continue to receive scouting routes, and advance notice of expendable trade caravans leaving Crag. Do not fail me, Mother Superior, and I will not fail you. Your forces MUST arrive before the election. If they arrive after, I cannot guarantee a future to this mutually beneficial relationship."
The silence that hung in the tavern was thick enough to use as a bed.
Ran looked around and frowned, her eyes shifting from one angry face to another that appeared defeated, then to another that looked to be on the verge of an outburst, and then to another that looked like they were about to cry. A pool of emotions, swirling all around them, and still the silence stretched on.
And then Outrider broke it. "This evidence…" He dug around in a pouch at his side and held several more letters aloft. "And all of this as well. Do you believe swift and effective justice will come to Octavian? Will sharing this through the proper channels bring that dragon what he deserves? Do you trust your Elder Council to do what must be done-"
"Fuck no, I don't," shouted the kadabra from the other side of the bar. "I don't expect the Elder Council to do anything to one of their own precious members!"
"His seat is elected! They could move against him without much issue!" shouted back an ampharos sitting near Ran. "And they should! To do anything less is to ignore their very responsibilities!"
"What good is responsibility if there is no penalty for ignoring it?" asked Outrider, looking over at the ampharos. "The Council has the capacity to shift blame endlessly, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean?" asked the flareon behind him.
"I mean, if Octavian is a problem, the Council must decide what to do. If they cannot reach a consensus, what justice does Octavian see? And who is blamed for this lapse in justice? Who is blamed for these transgressions against the laws of this city?"
"How do you pin things down on just one Council Member? How many of them even are there? Like five or something?" asked Ran.
"Six. Seven if you include that bastard dragon," growled the absol near her.
Ran nodded and continued, "If they all vote not to do anything to him, then who do you blame? All of them? How do you do anything about that? What about splits like four to two or something? Only blame four of them? How do you actually hold the Elders accountable?"
The mix of anger, hopelessness and depression that coursed through the tavern shifted. The voices grew more numerous, more upset, and much louder. This might work. Ran swallowed hard. Gods above, this might work. What does that even mean? What comes next?
"That's it. That's Crag," said Vain, pointing at the looming walls of the city. It couldn't have been more than a thousand paces away, but the company couldn't get much closer. Not without going over the orders one last time. The sunlight that shone down on them overhead was strong. Were it any other day, it would have been idyllic. But the anticipation, worry and thirst for vengeance in Vain's stomach made it anything but.
He turned around and shouted, "HALT! SEND ORDERS, HALT! HALT!" The pokemon that led each long file of Orphans began to shout orders for the entire company to cease. "Navigator, brief them one more time."
The clefairy nodded, and amplified her voice to address the troops. "We've been betrayed," she boomed, "Taken for idiots, used up and tossed aside. Mother has been taken from us, and now that dragon sitting pretty at the top of this fucking city wants to take all that's left of us. He wants our lives."
The Orphans looked on at Navigator as she spoke. Some with hardened stares and grimaces, their own poorly contained anger threatening to burst out. Others seemed unsure, their gaze drifting left and right, sizing up how those around them felt. And it was clear that those that remained felt nothing but terror. Slumped postures, shaking limbs, and eyes cast to the ground. Some of the troops appeared ready to run for the forests around Crag the instant they got a chance.
Vain looked over at Navigator and mumbled, "Tell them cowardice will not end well. The guards of Crag will not show mercy." The clefairy nodded.
"Swallow your fear. When we are within the walls of Crag, you will wait for the signal, and then we'll strike. Hard. Fast. Brutal. If you try to run, the guards won't care if you don't want to be there. They don't care if you don't want to fight. All they care about is this." She gestured to the brilliantly red armband she wore. "If you have it on, they're going to kill you."
"AND IF SEE ANY OF YOU TAKE IT OFF," shouted Vain, "I'LL KILL YOU!" He turned around and gestured to Crag. "FORWARD!"
The march to Crag resumed, and as the Orphans of Mother drew closer to the gates of the city, Vain could see the machoke on either side growing more alert. Long columns of pokemon had probably never walked into Crag all at once. Until now. As Vain cleared the bridge and approached the machoke to the left of the gate, he nodded and pointed into Crag. "I'm sure you know why we're here. What do we do?"
The machoke looked past the pawniard and traced his eyes along the long columns of pokemon. With a low whistle, he replied, "Head on in. Through the archways. When you've cleared the last of them, you'll be in the closest thing the ground floor has to a city square. Try to keep your troops in line. Octavian can't have them running off into the surrounding farmland."
"Farmland?" asked Navigator, looking incredulous. "What farmland?"
The machoke sneered. "Most of the land within the walls is farmland. Why do you think the city is stacked so high?"
Vain nodded. "Right." He looked over his shoulder and gestured forward into the city once more. The pokemon leading each column did the same, and they continued their march into the center of Crag. The massive arches that soared over their heads eventually gave way to the criss-crossing bridges of the city proper. The buildings closed in as they approached the "square", and the pokemon that bustled around them stopped in their tracks and watched the massive formation march on.
Some were scared. Some were confused. Some didn't seem to care at all, and simply carried on with their day. Idiots, thought Vain. He looked back at the formation and gestured for each of the leading pokemon to take each column to different parts of the tiny square they had entered, and then gestured for a small squad to remain with him and Navigator.
As the troops carried out their orders, each long stack of pokemon flowing out into the many walkways and alleys between the buildings, a conkeldurr and several machoke approached Vain. The conkeldurr appeared confused.
"I thought you were told to wait in the center of this square to be processed as refugees," mumbled the conkeldurr as he approached. "You're spilling off into side streets and alleys." He came to a stop a few paces from Vain and Navigator and peered around, frowning.
"Makes things harder for you, doesn't it?" whispered Navigator, taking another step towards the conkeldurr. She took a deep breath.
The ogre's eyes went wide for the briefest of moments before they narrowed and a smirk crossed his face. "No wonder Windrazor wasn't back yet."
As the scream that exploded out of Navigator's mouth overcame the conkeldurr and sent him stumbling about, the ogre clutched at a location much higher than where his ears were. Vain ignored the ringing in his own head as he lunged directly at the stumbling conkeldurr and stabbed into its chest. Even with the ringing, there was no mistaking the sounds that had erupted behind him. Screams, both fearful and enraged. The Orphans were on the attack. Navigator's signal had worked.
A shriek of rage fell from his opponent's mouth as he stumbled back onto the ground, but before Vain could strike his throat, sharp claws ran across his face and knocked him off the ogre. Claws?
The illusion around the conkeldurr flickered and melted away, revealing the bleeding form of a zoroark. As Navigator took another breath, Vain braced himself for another scream, but the zoroark crossed the gap in less than a second and drove claws directly into the clefairy's stomach. His arm followed through, lifting the clefairy off the ground. The scream in her throat came out like a strangled cough, but before the zoroark could bring another set of red claws wreathed in a black aura up to Navigator, Vain lunged forward and dug his arm into the zoroark's side.
The fox screamed in pain and dropped the clefairy, twisting in Vain's direction and knocking aside the follow up stab Vain had hoped would slip straight through the ribcage. Instead, the zoroark caught his arm, yanked him away then brought him down into the dirt with an overhead smash. The follow up strike to his back came with a hideous, wet tearing sound and shot a blinding pain along his entire body.
He rolled away from the zoroark, and though he'd avoided another strike that might have ended him, he was now in so much pain it was difficult to stay conscious. He struggled to his knees and stared defiantly at the approaching fox, his arms raised and ready to retaliate. "I'm not fucking dying laying down you son of-"
"I don't give a shit, just die," spat the zoroark. His eyes came alive with black flame, and the zoroark raised a paw crackling with purple energy. The fox made a fist, and an explosion of darkness expanded out from the zoroark's body. Right before the growing ring of energy struck Vain, however, a brilliant pink light shone from behind the fox.
The ring of darkness did not make it to Vain; instead, the zoroark before him went rigid. Light shone from the fox's eyes, mouth, nostrils, and even ears - then the head exploded into equal parts blood, skull and radiant rose light. Shimmering particles of pink and lilac hung in the air, twinkling out of existence one by one.
Vain watched the headless zoroark crumple to the ground, revealing the bloodied, heaving form of Navigator. She clutched her stomach, the fur around the puncture wounds stained a deep red, and staggered over to the pawniard. As she drew closer, the pain in Vain's back began to make itself known with greater and greater insistence, and so he fell back from his knees onto his rear, and then flat onto his back.
Navigator sat heavily down beside him, her breathing uneven, her tiny paws still trying to keep pressure on the wounds in her stomach. "Saved your ass," she mumbled.
The pawniard chuckled and then felt his body spasm as pain wracked his body from the act. "Yeah. Thanks," groaned Vain. "Nice work with the scream…" Now that they weren't focused on the zoroark, he could pay attention to what was unfolding.
He saw the squad that had been right behind him and Navigator engage the machoke behind the conkeldurr. One machoke bellowed in pain as a machop successfully ducked under a haymaker and retaliated with a stiff kick to the shin that brought with it a distinct snapping sound. But even as the wounded machoke dropped to a knee to take weight off the broken limb, he blocked a series of follow up punches from the machop and then abruptly dropped his guard.
A powerful punch struck him straight in the chin, but rather than reel from the attack, the machoke immediately seized the machop's outstretched arm and snapped it in half. The following scream of pain stopped as quick as it began as the machoke grabbed the machop by the neck and began to squeeze.
Large boulders began to fall around the machoke, but he did not seem to care - until one of them landed right on his broken leg. He released the machop, who paused to catch his breath for no more than a second before using his good arm to lift one of the boulders and slam it down onto the machoke's head with such force it broke into pieces.
"Vain! Navigator! Are you alright?" shouted a familiar voice. Vain turned towards the approaching sound and saw a spearow land before him, looking concerned. "By the gods, what happened to you two? Can you walk, Vain? And you, Navigator? Navigator?" The pawniard looked over at his fellow Commander as well.
The clefairy stirred and raised her head just enough to look at the spearow. It was clear she could barely keep her eyes open. Whatever she mumbled was both indistinct and nonsensical. Blood had begun to pool around where she sat, though it was clear to Vain that Navigator had nearly lost the ability to apply any meaningful pressure to the punctures.
Vain looked back over at Whistle. "She's on her way out," he mumbled. "And so am I. Too bad things went from mock to real, right? Could have had supplies on hand for this..." With great effort and enormous protest from his body, Vain forced himself to roll to his side to show Whistle the damage he'd taken. Another jolt of pain rushed through his body as he laid flat on his back again. "I'll keep her company. Make sure no one eats her or something. You know what to do." He gestured at the chaos spreading out of the ground floor of Crag. "Kick the legs of this shithole out from under it. And Whistle?" The spearow nodded. "Don't hold back anymore. No one has to. We're not children anymore. Just orphans." Vain laid his head back on the ground. He was getting colder.
"Goodbye, Vain," muttered Whistle.
"Get fuckin' moving," shot back Vain, staring up at the the underside of some sort of building. He heard the spearow take off, and shook his head. Won't even get a view of the sky. He lifted his head again, with much greater difficulty, and looked at Navigator, still sitting and hunched over.
Her arm fell limp at her side.
The anger in the tavern continued to rise as Ran and Outrider shouted to try and establish quiet once more, but the many patrons either did not hear them or did not care. The restless bodies seated around the sea of tables all around them rippled with agitation. Ran could sense the question in the air: What must be done? The answer came in the form of the doors to the tavern flying open. Two machoke burst into the building, panting and looking strained.
"Raiders! Raiders have-" panted the first one.
"Entered Crag! They're...they're-" continued the second.
"Raiders!?" shouted the kadabra sitting near them. He was on his feet and looked livid. "Raiders are in Crag? What sort of perversion of Octavian's plans led to this?"
"Octavian's plans…?" repeated one of the machoke. "What are you-"
Outrider held up a letter and approached the pokemon, his gaze hard. "His plans to have you all stage a mock battle outside the walls to secure his own seat of power. His plans to allow defense forces to be destroyed or taken prisoner, as long as your mercenary group was kept safe. You know his plans."
"We don't know anything about that!" shouted the machoke closest to Outrider. "We just follow orders, and right now that's to tell you all that Children of Mother are attacking Crag! We don't know why they're-"
"LIAR!" roared the kadabra. He held a hand up and wreathed it and the machoke in a deep purple aura. His eyes flashed and the machoke immediately screamed in pain, clutching his head and dropping to his knees. "TELL US WHY!"
"Stop! We only came in here to tell anyone that isn't part of defense or reconnaissance squads to retreat to higher levels of Crag! The fighting is going to spread before we can stop the raiders, and we can't have civilians risk getting hurt!" shouted the machoke standing near Outrider. "We don't know why Octavian changed his plans, but they didn't include raiders getting into the city!"
"So you DID know!" said Ran, pointing at him accusingly. "Why should we believe you if you're just going to lie? What if the raiders being here is now the point?"
"WHY WOULD THAT BE THE POINT!?" screamed the machoke, rounding on Ran and taking several steps towards the weavile, bringing his fist back high into the air. Before she could dodge back, Ran saw Outrider rush into her vision and bring a rising knee into the machoke's jaw.
The pokemon stumbled back several paces and then turned his attention at Outrider, snarling. He rushed forward, fist pulling back all the while, ready to deliver a haymaker straight to the lucario's head. Instead, his fist connected with Outrider's shin guard as he brought his leg up in a high kick. A loud crack filled the air, followed by a howl of pain as the machoke clutched his mangled hand. The cyan aura emanating from Outrider's shin guard faded.
"We don't know what in the name of the Abyss is fucking happening!" screamed the machoke, still clutching his hand. "Raiders are attacking, that should be your priority!" Ran looked over at the other machoke. He was still screaming and clutching his head, though he'd fallen over and taken to convulsing on the ground. The livid kadabra that stood above him continued to stare, unpitying, at the suffering pokemon.
"Our priority is seeing Octavian brought to justice for what he's done!" shouted Outrider.
"What justice is he going to get if Crag is destroyed!? You should prioritize the survival of the-" screamed the machoke.
"Shut up!" screamed another voice. The absol that had read the second half of Octavian's letter to Mother sprinted past the lucario and launched herself at the machoke. The pokemon fell backwards to the floor of the tavern as the absol bit and scratched at every part of him she could get at.
She reared up to drive her claws down into his stomach, but the machoke seized the underside of her face and horn as she came back down. He wrenched her head ninety degrees clockwise, and the chilling sound of her vertebrae snapping filled Ran's ears. The machoke tossed her lifeless body aside and rose to his feet, severely scratched and bleeding. The tavern exploded into screams of anger, sorrow and terror.
The machoke had barely regained his footing when Outrider delivered a flying kick directly at his abdomen. As the pokemon doubled over, the lucario followed up with a forceful uppercut and then an immediate chop to the machoke's now exposed neck. Ran watched as he fell onto his back once more, choking and sputtering, hands clawing at his crushed trachea. Outrider returned to Ran, and as he did, several pokemon burst from their seats and descended upon the machoke, blocking whatever horrors would define the last few moments of his life.
Outrider raised her arms and shouted over the din, "QUIET! QUIET!" The noise level in the tavern barely dropped. The pokemon nearest him had given him their attention, but no one else had. Fortunately, the kadabra had taken notice. He raised his gaze from the machoke he was torturing and nodded at Outrider, then lifted the machoke high off the floor before flinging him directly into the main bar of the tavern.
The din from the limp body of the flying mercenary crashing into the bar and destroying a quarter of it in the process earned him several screams of fear, but the room went quiet immediately after. Ran climbed atop a nearby table to get a better view of things, as well as make herself more easily noticed if she had to speak again.
"Now that we have your attention," shouted Outrider, looking around the tavern, "That mercenary who just killed that poor absol wasn't entirely wrong. The raiders are a problem - a threat to Crag." The entire tavern filled with furious shouts of agreement, and Ran gestured for them all to hush as best as she could.
"They have to be dealt with. But so does the SDC. If you're not part of defense or reconnaissance forces, head higher into Crag and start alerting everyone you can. Tell them of Octavian's treachery, tell them of the threat from the Children of Mother that now run in Crag's streets, and tell them the SDC cannot be trusted."
"And what if we want to fight, but we're not a part of those defense forces? Or part of a recon squad?" shouted a voice across the tavern. Ran looked over at the source - it was a tangela. "What then? This is my home!"
Thea appeared at Ran's side, along with Stone and Valor. "Then tag along, but be ready for war," replied the braixen. "Listen: we have to move. Now. Defense and recon forces - we have to pull all that we can as we move down to the lowest parts of Crag. Once we're out of this tavern, we have to run from this end of Crag out to the other end and get anyone that could possibly help us to start making their way down. We need as many bodies coming with us as we can manage. Anyone that can't fight needs to get higher up and out of harm's way. Got it?"
"We can't let the SDC or the raiders get higher into Crag," shouted the kadabra. "Who knows what the SDC will do, but the raiders will start killing anyone they can overpower, and that's for certain!"
"We'll split up," shouted Stone in response. "Break up into roughly even groups. Thea's group follows her and collects more defense and recon forces." She pointed at the braixen. "One group follows me and does the same, but moves in the other direction. The last group follows these three!" She gestured to Outrider, Ran and Valor. "They'll start moving to the lower levels and meet the fight head-on."
"We'll pick up whoever we can as we move!" said Ran, chiming in. "I know it'll slow us down a little." She looked meaningfully at the kadabra. "But it'll mean we show up with more bodies to meet the raiders and the SDC. We don't know how many of each there are, or how far they've made it up into Crag."
"What about the farms?" asked a ludicolo seated a table away. "The raiders could be picking them clean. Or burning them."
"We can replant farms. Rebuilding Crag and replacing her citizens is a little more involved," replied Outrider. He looked around at the tavern and shouted, "Move! Fall in with whoever you wish to follow, and if you are not heading out to fight or recruit, then remember what I said! Get to safety. Do not trust the SDC. Tell everyone of Octavian's crimes against Crag and her citizens."
Outrider gestured for Ran and Valor to follow him, and rushed to the door of the tavern. He flung it open and looked back at the pokemon staring at him once more. "If you wish to bring the fight to the traitors and the raiders alike right now, follow us. To the rest of you, I say: we all keep the walls strong."
Octavian considered the diadem sitting upon the mannequin in his office. A rune had been set into it, and though the piece did not provide a great deal in the way of protection, that mattered very little to him. It was the effect of seeing it that was the point, he thought, as he placed it on his head. He glanced down at his arms, torso and legs. The armor he wore glittered in the warm glow of the sun that entered through the skylight above him. It was the effect of seeing all of this that was the point, really. Crag was under attack - how could the Chief Security Advisor not appear prepared for war?
The machoke standing a few feet away was still wheezing from his journey from the ground floor of Crag to Octavian's chambers in what was probably a significant hurry. The report he'd given him was grim, but helped settle at least one minor concern. Windrazor was certainly dead. There was no other explanation behind his failure to appear shortly after dawn, even if he had slept in a bit at the Children of Mother's camp.
No, the attack meant that somehow, they'd learned of Mother's death. How they'd learned of her death was irrelevant; all that mattered to Octavian is that it had driven them into a fury so strong they'd launched a surprise attack in the center of Crag. It was enormously convenient for him, all things considered. He no longer had to dream up a way to turn "refugees" back into "raiders" - they'd done that for him. They were simply never refugees in the first place.
Between a welcome outbreak of violence and the success he'd had in keeping Providence and Harvest quiet about the murders of Chloe and Bounty, the day had been going swimmingly. No unnecessary panic from the news that two Elders had died - both at the hands of one. He smirked at the thought. The one responsible was incorrectly identified, but that hardly mattered.
"Establish control over the lowest floors. Move troops dedicated to defending the uppermost and artisan levels all the way down to the thick of the fighting. They won't be needed this high up given the numbers Mother could muster," he said to the still out of breath Machoke.
The mercenary nodded. "What about the defense and recon forces?" he asked.
Octavian smiled. "What about them? They're useless. Couldn't even defend Crag when she needed it most. Spread troops out as they move down to avoid gathering unwanted attention and giving the defense forces a reason to want to help. They can reconvene once they're within a few levels of where the fighting begins. Send regular runners with updates to me. I want them every hour or two, understand?"
The machoke nodded once more and left the room.
Thinning out the available SDC units high in Crag also had the benefit of creating a perfect reason behind the effectiveness of a raider attack against the Elder Council's chambers. The deaths of Providence and Harvest could come far faster than he'd anticipated thanks to the Children. The added chaos and agitation an attack would produce in the population also nearly guaranteed no one would bother looking too closely at anything. No, during a crisis, there was only enough time to respond to whatever was happening in that moment.
For your average citizen, anyway. In his case, Octavian knew exactly what to do with a good crisis. Especially one that fell right into his lap without his prompting. He laughed to himself. Yes, he'd wring every last bit of usefulness from it. No sense letting any part go to waste.
For now, he simply had to wait for Brace - or rather, Illusionist - to get away from the fighting on the ground floor so he could deliver a report on how things were going. The zoroark had been eager to oversee accepting the Children in as "refugees", and his skills would have proven very valuable at swaying the raiders.
Nevertheless, he needed him back for the unfortunate and completely unexpected raider attack on the chambers that was now slated to happen tonight. And then the machoke from earlier burst into his room once again.
"Sledge. You've returned," said Octavian, furrowing his brow.
"Illusionist is dead," said the machoke, looking equal parts worried and confused. "I almost ran right into another runner that was sprinting his way up here to deliver that message to you." The machoke shook his head.
Octavian's eyes widened. "You're… certain?" asked the druddigon.
"The other runner certainly was. He said he watched a clefairy blow his head completely apart with a blast of-" began Sledge.
"I don't need details. They're irrelevant. What matters is I've lost a very important resource. I have some plans I must adjust. So, out."
The machoke looked worried. "Are you sure, sir? This doesn't-"
"I will make the adjustments I need to make. Now, get out. You're distracting me. Losing Illusionist makes some things more difficult and others more straightforward, but that is neither important to you, nor something you should know. So, again. Out." He gestured out of the room for added effect.
This was a problem more in the long-term than the short-term. He could address the long-term consequences after the attack on Crag had been settled. For now, he had to focus on the short term.
He stared down at his desk and made a low humming noise in his throat. In the short-term, he thought, all Illusionist's death really meant was that Providence and Harvest would instead die terrified.