"This… this wasn't part of the plan."

It was all he could say. The Pallid stood, frozen. His tail poked out of the doorway, hit by the occasional bursts of rain. He barely noticed it. There were only three other things that mattered in their cramped, dingy excuse for a shed; The Raichu at his side, the Zorua bloodied into unconsciousness in the middle, and the Stoutland staring him down from across. Curiously, Piolu seemed equally perplexed.

"So what?" he replied, jabbing his hoof at Cerise's side. "Everything we could ever need, everything we could want for this revolution is right here. Imagine the hundreds, thousands of lives we can save if o'l Two-face finds out that he can't push us around anymore. Isn't that what we wanted? Savin' lives?"

Cerise was left with just enough strength to recoil against the jab. She let out a low moan, clutching her paw against a deep gash in her belly. Nearly in unison, a shiver ran down both Raichu and Charmander at the sight. Though she quivered from head to toe in the oppressive chill of the room, Argon kept a stern glare at Piolu. Eoin found himself lost staring at the floorboards of the shed, maw open trying to speak faster than his mind could process.

"B-but even if I did agree, this was nowhere near necessary," Eoin stammered, blinking faster and faster in thought. "We've spent months planning to change the minds of Faire's populace, you know that better than anyone. T-there was never supposed to be any plan for violent confrontation in the first place. And more than that—"

"It's wrong," Argon finished, a ferocity in her voice that caused even Eoin to flinch. "Piolu, I-I… I understand that you don't have much reason to care for pokemon like Cerise, but kidnapping her goes against everything we've tried to stand for."

Drops of water fell through the frayed ceiling, as brief as the minute changes in the Stoutland's glare under his fur covered visage. He let out a gruff sigh, lifting the fractured end of his paw to his head as if rubbing his temples.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Piolu replied, centering his stance to Eoin while casting a brief glimpse at Argon. "Neither of ya do. 'Cuz you weren't there. Only took till now to realize it."

Neither Raichu nor Charmander could see each other in anything but peripheral, but between them was an unspoken conclusion to keep flames low and let words speak where sparks couldn't. Eoin moved first, taking a few steps forward that Piolu soon matched. The Stoutland kept a close eye as they covered both sides of the room, keeping his paw within reach of Cerise.

"Piolu," Eoin said, "I—"

"Weren't hauled out of your home as feral as a Cranidos by some posh resource team," Piolu finished gravely, staring down at Eoin."Weren't strapped to a plow like the thousands of Pallids here were, and forced to spend decades wasting your life away while pokemon watched you from above like we're all just a buzzing hive of combee. The very same guards made from folks an ocean away that you've got set in your mind will come runnin' to our aid."

Piolu's hoof slammed to the ground. The floorboards splintered from the hit, while his paw grinded into the grain as if smothering a candle flame. For a moment as the Stoutland made to speak, his maw stayed agape; from his flinch, it was hard to tell if even he wanted to believe it.

"Don't ya see it, Eoin?" Piolu seethed. "There's gonna be no big rush to our side once we pass the point of no return. Every single guard and resource team that set foot on this prison knew who we were, what we endured, and did fuck all." Piolu stamped his paw on the floor inches from the groaning Cerise. Her eyes focused on the cracks left in the planks, and she whimpered. "The thousands of pokemon lying ignorant in their beds won't be any different, no matter what some photos say. I wish it didn't get to the point where I had to spell it out like this, but…we've gotta face it, pallids are going to die. All we can do now is save who we can."

His chest heaved, out of breath waiting for an answer. In his attempt to find a retort, Eoin looked to Argon, only to find his partner's ears drooped, and her mind equally awash. It… couldn't be true? Could it? She could almost see herself just a few short months ago, nestled in the bunk of a room as crowded as this, glazing over some feel-good romance novel without a care in the world. Where would some boring, black and white article about pallids have landed? Cringing at the memory of her overflowing waste bin, she had a few ideas.

"B-but, " Argon said, voice trailing off, "we…"

"You're wrong."

It was Argon's turn to jump back. Eoin's voice rang through the room, along with the faint, charcoal like smell of his tail flame inflaming. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his claws balled into a fist.

"I've lived my life with more privilege than most," Eoin said. "I admit I spent the first weeks of my civilized life reading under a legendary's care while my brethren suffered. But my unique position has offered me a sight that you and most everyone else here was denied: a… hope."

Piolu met the Charmander's claim with a passive yet curious stare. Argon was very much the same, at least until the Pallid once steadfast in his stance at Piolu turned to meet her. She tilted her head, seeing in his wide, grey irises a steady warmth even in their perilous predicament.

"Eoin?" Argon asked.

"She had no reason to give me the slightest thought when we first met," Eoin said, tone a bit more bashful than usual. "But in spite of having a secure career, and as much knowledge as any other denizen of Faire for our capacity to harm, Argon reached out her paw. The dozen pokemon we've recruited are no different, nor are the thousands I've lived among, and am willing to bet harbor a sympathetic heart in Pith Town. Maybe not all, but enough for this kidnapping to cause more harm than help."

In any other situation, Argon would have felt her cheeks light up in warmth, but instead she found her paws sweaty, feet shaking awaiting Piolu's reply. The roof creaked and dripped as the Stoutland mulled over his words. After a long exhale that ruffled his fur lined snout, his voice dropped to a chilly drole.

"If yer so sure the pokemon you've been with on the other side will give a patrat's behind about you," Piolu said, a faint smile under his fur, "then why don't you test it right now? A jab at Eoin's chest caused him to shudder, with nowhere to look but his scale's hue. "Go on, go back to Pith Town like you are now, no goggles or scale paint to hide behind. See how much they really care about ya behind the mask. Will be a riot watchin' the guards decide where yer best put to work."

The recoil of hesitation in Eoin was all Piolu needed. His flame dulled, flickering in the breeze even as Argon stepped in front.

"That was different," Argon replied, cheeks sparking in the humid air. "E-Eoin hid who he was because nobody knew the truth about pallids. Trying to change that will do a lot more than kidnapping Ce—"

"You don't know that!" Piolu shot back, mangled paw pointing at the new threat. "Tell me this, Argon: What are you going to count on if your old boss decides our investment costs aren't worth lettin' us live? Words? A… A… "

His tone wavered, pointed paw trembling in a subconscious paralysis. The Stoutland looked around Argon, ears drooped looking at Eoin as if half muttering an apology.

"A newborn, pretty boy Charmander with his head in the clouds, just as likely to be stuck hugging your legs as he is to do any meaningful leading? It may be fine and dandy snogging your snouts together, but back here in the fields, we need someone who knows what our suffering is like, and can put their mind above the heat in their cheeks."

Argon's retort was instant, or at least it would have been. Her teeth began to chatter in anger, only stopped by a resounding 'floosh'. All at once, the once soaking fur on her back felt warm. Uncomfortable warm.

She looked back, anger faltering to shock at the sight. Eoin's claws were clenched, with only a faint shadow of his eyes in view over his drooped snout. Even from the front, Argon couldn't miss the grey flame on Eoin's tail.

"E-Eoin?" Argon whispered. "Are… are you…"

It rebelled against the rain, rising to the size of a campfire. Steam floated up behind him, while the edges of the doorframe where Eoin stood were singed a dusty black. Subconsciously, Argon found one of her feet shuffling back.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Eoin snarled.

Another barrage of rain hit the ceiling while Piolu thought. It creaked and groaned, seeming ready to join Cerise in a collapsed state anytime.

"What was the best for all of us," Piolu replied, letting out another dry huff.

Not good enough. Eoin took a step forward, further blackening the door frame with fire that only the storm above could fight. He took another, and another still, until the Charmander stood right before Cerise, on the opposite side of Piolu. Still, the Stoutland did not falter.

"We had a chance, Piolu," Eoin said, voice nearly matching Piolu's piercing monotone. "Despite everything you've said, we had a chance. To stand side by side with the pokemon of Faire as equals. To show them that we were not the heartless, feral beings they've been trained to think we are."

In the faint, blue glow emanating from Eoin's bag, Argon could swear that Eoin's pupils were starting to grow thin. Finding her tongue heavy in the dense air, she took an instinctive position between the two. Angled at Piolu, though nonetheless primed to grab either should the hoofs, or claws lit by dim azure light struck.

"I can see where yer goin' with this," Piolu replied, exhaling sharply, "but you've gotta listen. You're too—"

A sharp growl left Eoin's muzzle, enough to keep the Stoutland tentatively silent.

"Because of your rash, opportunistic kidnapping, we don't have that chance anymore. Do you think there's any chance at rational, evenhanded change now that the pokemon of Faire will know that we kidnapped an innocent pokemon simply because of her heritage?"

"Look, Eoin," Piolu replied, "I don't think you understand. You. Weren't. There."

"Do you think any of the soldiers will stay their claws when we've played right into Binair's hand? When we repay a pokemon with cruelty, whom without her help I might not even be alive?"

The Stoutland's brow furrowed, stuck between mulling over the Charmander's words or countering them.

"That's not the point. How the pokemon judge us won't matter long as we have her."

"We'll be judged by larger forces than them," Eoin retorted, tail flame slowly growing almost to the ceiling. "Even if we do succeed, you've built a future of mistrust, of fear. You've attempted to strong arm a force that outnumbers us a hundred to one, slandering a name we were supposed to protect, all for the cheap cost of our moral fortitude!"

If for only a moment, Piolu looked down from Eoin's gaze. In a renewed darkness, was the soft rise and fall of Cerises bruised, bloodied chest. Dozens of the same scrape marks lined her whole body, while coughed up blood soaked the floor. Butterfrees swam in Argon's stomach seeing the Stoutland's eyes widen. A faint flash of lightning sounded as he shook his head, looking back up to Eoin.

"I stand by my decision," Piolu said, slamming his hoof against Cerise's back. "Been pushed around too much in my life to let the same thing happen now. If you don't like that, then I suggest you leave."

Hours seemed to take the place of seconds. Eoin's expression didn't change, the dim of his tail flame doing the talking. Down and down it went, filling the room with smoke until Argon saw only a grey candle flame, faintly blue against the moonlight.

"You," Eoin seethed, "you've damned us all."

"Move!"

Argon shot back, flinching as if a bomb had just exploded next to her ears. Following after was a sharp squawk, pushed to the side for footsteps to take its place. That voice…

"Out of the way, the both of you, if you know what's good for you. Cerise?"

The door creaked back, caught in a gust of wind. It was just about to shut when a rocky forehead bashed into it, slamming it off its hinges with the force of a battering ram.

A tentative silence followed the breach. Argon's fur went on end, seeing in the doorway Chimera's dimmed silhouette. His crossbow was drawn, eyes like a Watchog looking for a Zorua's form. At first, his gaze set upon the Raichu and Charmander on the left and right, and for a moment his adrenaline fueled glare subdued.

It wouldn't last. Piolu was the third to look back, unmoving whether in surprise, or lacking the will and desire to back down. Still, the Bagon stayed his hand, weapon lowering to the floor.

At least, until he heard the groan. More of a whimper than anything, of a battered and bruised demeanor Chimera could scarcely believe belonged to the same pokemon. And yet, there she was. Blood, scars, and fractures clear for all to see against a dim, blue light. Chimera's eyes shot open, breath sucked out of him. She was tucked in a loose fetal position, barely able to breath against the ragged, clawed paw pressing down against her back.

In unison, Argon and Eoin glared at each other, having so much to say, yet veiled in an instinctual panic that held their lips just long enough. For another few seconds, Chimera stayed in something similar, chilling rain crashing against his grey cape.

"C-Chimera," Eoin sputtered, "I can—"

A loud 'thwick' hit the air. Argon knew that sound, knew it all too well. She didn't even need to turn her head to see what had happened; Piolu's roaring scream was enough to tell. All Eoin saw was a faint glimmer of light, from a razored bolt soaring through the air straight into the Stoutland's shadowed eye. A stream of colorless blood clashed against the blue light, all the while Piolu shook his head in a blind stuper.

"Fuck! F-fucking shi—arrghhh!"

Chimera was already halfway across the room when Argon gasped. Were it any other pokemon behind the crossbow's sights, any other visage with bared fangs and fury charging against the Stoutland, she could have intercepted him like any dungeon foe.

Not once had he acted this fast. While Piolu struggled to open his right eye, fractured paw flinching against his pierced left, the Bagon struck. Like a ram, his bony forehead crushed against his foe. A distinct crack from the Stoutland's jaw followed another sputter of grey blood. Piolu collapsed. There was barely enough time for fear when he looked up, seeing the otherwise stout Bagon towering over him. His breath seethed. Glimmering against the moonlight, held in Chimera's hand with an icepick grip, was a razored bolt.

"Chimera!"

A familiar paw shot up against the Bagon's wrist, holding it back.

"J-just give me a reason," Chimera sputtered. "Just give me a reason why I shouldn't!"

With the start of tears in his eyes, Chimera glanced back at Argon, desperate for an answer. Argon didn't have an easy one. His hand flinched in her grasp, finding not a single word from her in defense of the Stoutland's actions. And yet…

"Chimera," Argon whispered, quivering in fear or intensity, "p-please."

All anyone could hear were the faint groans of agony, pallid and pokemon alike. All Chimera saw, where the deep blue, solom irises of his partner.

He knew that look. It was a pale memory, nearly trampled by hours of explorations, administrative training, and paperwork, but he knew it. The dampness in the air. The chittering moans of a foe at his mercy. The flush of anger that couldn't stop his knees from feeling weak. The desperate, pleading look for the human behind his scales. All at once, he knew.

His hand loosened from the bolt, letting it stab itself into the floor. What was likely the biggest sigh of relief he'd heard left Argon's muzzle. Just as Chimera returned a solemn nod, he caught a glimpse of her cheeks sparking in the darkness. Electrons flowed through her tail, diffusing along with a great deal of stress into the floor. Just then, the two blinked, sharing a realization:

Argon could have paralyzed his arm anytime she wanted. She'd done it before, after all, to save his life no less, and yet… why not now? Before the Bagon could give it another thought, a tentative hand set itself on his shoulder.

"Chimera," Eoin said, soft voice as if trying to soothe a Tauros, "I can't… I can't apologize enough for this. To both you and her."

Chimera's teeth clenched, thoughts warring on whether to let the Pallid's hand remain, or bat it away. In a shaky compromise, he turned back, stepping away from the two to look back at Cerise. The sight of the bloodied Zorua made his gut churn as he took a knee. The claw marks were unmistakable, from Stoutland, Weavile, and Mightyena alike. One of the Bagon's hands clenched, the other checking that her pulse was steady.

"Months…" Chimera whispered.

Eoin tilted his head, combing over what to say as if diffusing a bomb. His flame flickered, knowing the thousands of beings within the blast range of poor words.

"She'll be given the best care," Eoin said, "I assure you. I only ask that we can keep what's transpired a secret from Faire's—"

"I kept your secret for months," Chimera finished.

His thoughts broiled. Eoin stepped back from Chimera's piercing gaze, muzzle stammering.

"I told you I thought this was wrong!" Chimera shouted, slamming his fist against the floor. "I lied to my boss's face when I had every reason not to, because I respected you. Because I thought if I didn't tell him, if I stayed out of it, maybe you could shut this farm down while living up to your plan that no blood would be spilt."

"T-that was my hope," Eoin countered. "I… I couldn't have predicted this. I implore you, Chimera, thousands of innocent beings will be left to destitution if any pokemon finds out. Piolu was a renegade, we tried to stop it! His actions, they… they weren't from us."

The Pallid's plea fell on deaf ears. Chimera looked away, finding nothing to look at except the open door. A thin puddle of rain had formed where the dirt met the floorboards. In its warped reflection, Chimera could just see the silent reflections of some of the pallid sheds.

"They weren't from you," Chimera replied. "They weren't from the pallid that got a free ticket to sentience from Uxie. The rest? Well, I'm pretty sure Cerise is lucky that there were only three pallids here. Are they who I've been keeping a secret for? Half feral pallids that brutalize pokemon like Cerise?"

"They were three pallids out of the entire camp!" Eoin said back. "Your anger is warranted, but I offer you my word that no other pallid would have approved of this. I can bring in dozens who'd say the same. Hundreds!"

"From thousands?!"

Eoin bit his lip, just short of an honest confirmation. Argon was the one to take a knee in front of Chimera, glancing behind her to find Piolu sulking in the corner, attempting to treat his wound. None could deny that Chimera's scowl loosened in Argon's presence, though… something else briefly went unspoken between Bagon and Raichu. A slight furrow of the brow, a quick blink too many, or perhaps a recollection that, by each other's accounts, they both should have been a sea away in their bunks.

"T-the important thing is that we get them medical attention," Argon said. "You're free to do anything afterwards, Chimera. I-it's just… this is our only chance to get pallids the freedom they deserve. Please, you know what happens here is wrong."

Yet another weight to the scales. Chimera felt himself sulk, unable to rebuke her words. They stood against a counterweight of obligation. Remorse against anger. The desperate gaze of his partner against the expectant eye of his superior. A lifetime of education in another world screaming one action, the imagery of a fox's mangled form shouting another. Without a word, Chimera placed his arms under Cerise, softly picking up the Zorua as he turned back to the two; the die was cast.

"I'm sorry, " Chimera replied. "but I have to tell the truth. The whole truth. Eoin, Argon..."

The Pallid flinched, while Argon's ears drooped. As Eoin's breaths quickened, a temptation took him to make a break for the doorway. What were two pokemon's freedom to winning that of thousands? After a sideways glance to his Stoutland counterpart, however, stemming his bloodied eye with a loose rag, he found his feet weak.

All the electrons, and all the stress in Argon that had grounded into the floor came back with vengeance. They had to do… something. The very nature of their plan was based on surprise. Negating the Charmander next to her, however, there was likely no other pokemon than the Bagon her stomach reeked more at the thought of attacking. Could she stay the Raichu that stood by? The Raichu that stood by while all their plans, and the freedom of thousands were ground to—

"We've known each other a while," Chimera said, turning to the door. "In spite of everything, if there's any pallid or pokemon I trust can make sure this doesn't happen again, it's you two. I have my own obligations, but… just know it'll take a few hours of travel before I can tell Binair. Use them well, and… I guess I'll see you on the other side of the barricade."

Argon blinked, and blinked once more, as if her eyes were as surprised as her ears. Chimera's hands fidgeted, thoughts glazed over in an undying hope to have his cake and eat it too. It was only at the first step out of the shed that he hesitated, unable to turn back, yet with a muddy and uneven road before him.

"I-I'm sorry things ended up like this for us," Argon said. "For everyone…"

With a deep breath, Chimera glanced back, taking his first step forward all the while. A fleeting yet firm grin took to his muzzle as rain battered against his form. It was the most he could manage.

"Don't worry," he replied. "We'll all do our part to make sure no one dies. With everything I have, I'll make sure of that."

A few more steps into the dreary night, and he was gone. It was only after a moment more of staring into the darkness that Eoin let out his held breath. They looked at each other, loose posture and smiles telling a story of relief. Between Eoin's roaring flame, however, and the near constant sparks from Argon's cheeks, they each knew different.

"It's not perfect, but it'll have to be good enough," Eoin said. "I'll handle the ground evacuation. Between the adverse weather, and lack of preparation, I had hoped that the spirits would have been kinder. But… we have no time left."

Argon nodded, maw just about to open when her breath hitched. Slowly, her eyes widened. It was a minor detail, barely of note with the colossal adversity ahead of them, but the faint blue glow, the azure light that had shone from Eoin's bag to his scales, it was gone.

It took another second of incredulous silence at Argon's shock for Eoin to realize the same. All of the sudden… the bag felt a lot lighter now.