Wardens Eternal

Chapter Twenty: Mirror Image

Day sixteen, but nowhere near close to the objective. The frustration continued to boil underneath Martian's fur as he continued to march towards the Southern Gulf. So far the only thing he could do was just that: travel at a pace that allowed him to cover the most ground without tiring himself out too much. That said, he was very close to walking himself to death. No distractions, no detours, no more stopping than absolutely necessary, not even for a full night's sleep or to clean the blood from the prey he ate off of his muzzle and paws.

Most of the pokemon he passed on the roads treated him with suspicion, but moved out of his way and let him pass. Mostly out of the fear that they might just find out whose blood was dried into his fur and add to it. Maybe there was a part of him that regretted intimidating those pokemon, especially those who thought that he might go after their children, but he ignored it. Nothing mattered but the mission, nothing.

At least the blood convinced more than a few bandits to not try and hold him up. If it wasn't for the mission he would have engaged all of them on the way, but nothing mattered except the mission. That said, he did intervene when he encountered a group of brigands holding up a lone traveler. A life-threatening mistake.

The Warden managed to keep silent as he stalked into position behind his first target: The kabutops and likely leader of this band of thieves. The rock/water type was dead before it could even attempt to fight back, first it's legs got swept out from under him causing him to fall backwards, followed by the sight of the luxio standing over him lashing out with Metal Claw. The attack smashed through the stoney exoskeleton on the victim's neck, letting a torrent of blue blood empty out onto the ground.

The rest of the bandits were stunned by the surprise takedown, only regaining movement when the luxio roared displaying his blood-stained jaws. Most chose to flee as fast as they could, though an ekans knowing it couldn't outrun the lion did try to hold its ground by coiling in place and shaking it's rattle.

The electric and poison types squared off, both reluctant to make the first move. Eventually, the snake went on the offensive, rearing up and spitting out a spray of acid. Martian shielded himself with Protect, letting the fluid splash against his circular barrier before using the shield to force the snake back.

That's when he made an error. The warden's sleep-deprived mind misjudged the distance between the two combatants, causing the luxio to bash too early. The ekans was quick to identify and seize the opportunity and struck from the safety of his coil, lodging its poisonous fangs deep into the luxio's arm.

The former human roared in painful fury before gripping the base of the snake's head between his own jaws, applying as much strength as he could alongside electric shocks to try and dislodge the serpent from his arm. Thankfully, the luxio managed to crush the snake's spine in his jaws before the venom in his bloodstream finished him off. Weakly, the lion was able to pry open the dead poison-type's jaws and remove its fangs from his flesh.

He had to work fast, he could already feel the venom's effects in his body as he managed to dig out a pair of Pecha berries. First one he managed to weakly deposit in his mouth and force himself to chew, the second was weakly crushed into a pulp and heavily smeared it in and around the bite.

Consciousness was rapidly fading, with his sleep deprivation only amplifying the effects of the venom. Already everything beyond himself had faded into darkness as Martian continued to struggle with his injuries. The last thing he could remember doing was draping a linen cloth over his arm but ultimately fainted before he could finish the bandage. . .

Wardens Eternal

Keeping track of time had been difficult down in the basement without any means of viewing sunlight to establish the difference between night and day. Days without much activity becoming a state of near-perpetual boredom only broken up by the "guards" coming into the prison after varying amounts of time to add or remove child prisoners in accordance to the state of their ransoms.

Quillian was a welcome distraction, bringing some food that was at least more tolerable than the occasional pan of slop the guards would leave her. Unfortunately, the owl could only sneak in a limited amount of roasted fish or berries to give. If he could have smuggled enough food without raising suspicion, Scarlett would have asked him to share at least a little with all of the kids locked in the dungeon.

The guards thought that they had won, sneering and insulting the vixin every time they had passed her cell. After all, she was just a runt, how much trouble could she be trapped in the dungeon? It's not like she could break the collar around her neck or escape, all it would take is some time and even the most optimist of pokemon to give in to despair.

Scarlett played along, biding her time while playing the part of the helpless damsel. Pretending to break down and pitifully sob when guards were present, setting a trap and dangling the bait for her intended target. All she had to do was keep up the act until it was time to spring the trap.

It was easy to hear the huge, heavy, wooden door up the stairs to the outside world when it opened or closed, providing plenty of advanced warning to the occupants of the dungeon. A sound that Scarlett took advantage of as a sign to resume her charade. Normally it was a guard patrol, but this time the sound of the old hinges was accompanied by a couple of familiar telltale sounds.

She took the bait.

Scarlett couldn't help but smirk at the fact as she curled up and pretended to whimper, continuing to listen to the sounds of her quarry. The soft clicking of glass beads colliding with each other, the soft tapping sound of paws walking against the stone floor, and most importantly: the voice that gave a particular disgusted scoff. No mistaking it now, it was definitely her.

The captured warden's quarry paused at the top of the stairs, hesitating for a moment before pushing one of its accompanying steenee maidservants down the steps. Scarlett couldn't help but wince as the poor girl stumbled onto the floor. The grass type quickly got back on her feet, dusted some of the dirt off her skirt, and quickly began cleaning away as much of the loose dirt and filth off the dungeon floor in front of Scarlett's cell.

A minute later, and Scarlett's greatest obstacle sat elegantly just on the other side of the metal bars, smirking with sadistic glee.

"Hello, Sister"

Meet Glacia: Spoiled brat, Lady Winter's daughter and worst of all: Scarlett's twin sister.

Maybe twin wasn't the right word, they both shared their origin, gender, and base species, but that was where the similarities ended. Ever since birth, the two had been mirror opposites in all aspects: personality, visually, and even their typing. It was a little confusing for Scarlett, how both her mother and sister were ice types, yet she herself was a fire type. From what the red vulpix could figure out, she had inherited her typing from her father (who was also a fire type) before he ran away and abandoned his family.

The real difference between the sisters was in their behaviors and values. Scarlett had always valued friendship and helping those in need, (although until lately she was too cowardly to actually do anything about it) Glacia on the other paw, she'd been raised thinking that the world was there to serve her, never the other way around. Basically, Glacia believed that only she deserved the luxuries of prosperity, Scarlett wanted prosperity shared equally with those who've worked for it.

Problem was, it was obvious which one Mother favored. Glacia had a habit of bullying and overshadowing her sister, forcing her to stay in the background. Scarlett always felt bad knowing that all of her possessions were actually forcefully taken from their legitimate owners. Glacia couldn't be more happy about it and went out of her way to make the most of it. Whatever Glacia wanted, Mother made sure she got it and more.

The glass beads Glacia always wore were an excellent example: The white vulpix got herself several flawless glass beads that she would braid into her fur as a form of jewelry just to show off her wealth. After a few weeks, the beads were not pretty enough anymore, so she got a new set custom made for her. They only lasted a few days until they too lost their appeal. After years, Glacia's room was stuffed with baskets and boxes filled to the brim with discarded, yet still valuable smooth pieces of glass. Then Glacia complained about how her room was getting crowded, so most of those containers were moved and stacked in Scarlett's significantly smaller room.

Just another reason Scarlett had to run away, and another reason to come back.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this my sweet little sister," Glacia began to sarcastically mock, "Why did you run away from our home? What could a life groveling in filth with the rest of these. . . peasants give you that you didn't already have?"

Time to drop the act, and knock the spoiled brat off her pedestal. This was going to feel good.

"Hm, a lot. Don't know if I can just list them off the top of my head." Scarlett smugly replied as she stood up. Was she imagining things or was Glacia actually shorter then she remembered?

"Let's see, that life is tough, and it has been painful on more than a few occasions, but it's rewards are more than worth it. Truth is Sister, my time out there in that filth as you call it, made me realize how much I pity you." Scarlett summarized with a grin, knowing that it would strike Glacia right where it hurts: her ego.

Glacia visibly recoiled in disbelief, nobody had dared to talk back with that tone or even consider talking back at all. She was nobility! Pokemon were to mind their manners and etiquette around her! The only time someone was to speak at all was if she allowed it. To have that law broke in front of dozens of peasant children to witness it was bad enough, it would encourage other pokemon to challenge her if the guards didn't clean up the mess fast enough.

The real terrifying thing was that it was Flaris who challenged her and the realization that the red vulpix was no longer afraid of her. If Flaris, the most miserable and easy to intimidate could overcome her fears and rise to challenge her, then almost any pokemon could.

She could feel all of her influence and power rapidly decay, her entire image shuttered ominously. If Glacia didn't take back control of the situation and fast, everything would be destroyed.

"That's a lot of talk from a runt who has to settle for eating vermin raw and unrefined for a living." Glacia sneered, "Absolutely disgusting, where are the fine spices and roasts that I am brought every day? How do your scrawny pickings compare to that?"

"At least I can secure food for myself." Scarlett countered, "Can you find food that isn't placed in front of you on a patter? Do you know where to look for berries? Meat? How about clean water?"

Glacia was about to argue, but Scarlett wasn't going to give her the chance.

"Want to know why I pity you so much? You're a prisoner to your own selfish ignorance!" Scarlett exclaimed, "Yeah, I might be the one with a chain locked around my neck, but you are the one who's actually trapped here. You can only survive here at the estate, have you ever spent one night outside of the walls? Your entire life and the furthest you've traveled is the closest village? Only seeing the same things you've seen a hundred times before."

"Oh please," The white vulpix rolled her eyes while waving a paw, "Is this the part where you tell me that real treasure are things like sunsets and working together and all of that worthless talk?"

"Don't take it lightly sister," The red vixen warned, "Treasure isn't judged by how much something costs in coin. Real treasure sister, is achievement. A reminder of some challenge however large or small: History, wisdom, a means to better ourselves. Milestones in our legacy of success and of our failures. Something to unite us, a cause to rally together behind. It's what gives life purpose, in the hands of those who value it."

"And how is your life's purpose doing for you so far?" Glacia mocked, trying to hide her growing doubts,

"Oh," Scarlett shrugged, prodding the lock to her cell casually with her paw. The latch was easy to work without the key once she figured it out opening the cell door, "Better than you think."

Glacia's flawlessly groomed and clean fur coat fell into chaos as frizzy strands of fur shot out everywhere on her body. Now she truly was powerless with nothing to protect her, and that terrified her.

"Don't worry," Scarlett smirked as she closed the cell door as if nothing happened, "I'm not going to hurt you Sister, I pity you, not hate you. You better run off now and go fix your fur, I think I see a little dirt on your cheek, go on, shoo." Scarlett finished, half-heartedly dismissing her sister, knowing full well the ice type hated not having the final word.

Glacia stood silent for a few seconds, twitching in disbelief as she tried to comprehend what just happened. The white-furred brat pouted as loud as she could and angrily stormed up the stairs, her image ruined. Shouting one final threat before stomping her way outside.

"We'll see what's more valuable when your Beloved shows up, little sister!"