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44 - Sacrifice

Tinker's paws were silent over the wet mountain grass. Dew from the rain sparkled over it like fallen stars, soaking through his short fur. He kept his head low, peering at the trees as they passed by. Sandpaw followed behind him more slowly, keeping a watchful eye on Scout as the little sentret scampered ahead. The river wound its way back down the mountain slope, its surface glittering in the sunlight.

"What are you looking for?" Sandpaw asked.

"Hmm?" Tinker twitched an ear at her but didn't look back.

"You look like you're searching for something," Sandpaw explained. "What is it? I might be able to help."

"I doubt it," said Tinker. "I'm afraid I can't really divulge that information currently. And even if I could, you likely wouldn't recognise it if you saw it."

Sandpaw inclined her head on one side, and Tinker moved deeper into the grass, his eyes fixed on a row of brambles. Their prickly thorns formed an impenetrable net that wound along the glen's cliff face for several yards. The tangle of branches stretched up over the rocks behind them, embedding themselves amid the stiff mountain plants. He knew exactly what he was looking for, but he'd misplaced it over the years. That thorny barrier would be as good a place as any to hide it. He was desperate to find it and get out of the open. Those murkrow could come back at any moment, and he wasn't exactly confident in his abilities to defend himself and his two new charges. A fighting-type like him would crumble beneath their beaks and wings.

Sandpaw joined Tinker's side, her breathing heavy from the climb up the mountain. They'd not been moving at a brisk pace. It made her life among the flat grounds of the forest and moorlands increasingly obvious.

"Are you sure I can't help you?" she asked.

Tinker gave a noncommittal grunt and parted the leaves of the brambles to peer inside. He leapt back as a small brown bundle of fur exploded from amid the thorns. Tinker stifled a yell of surprise and raised his paws before his chest.

"Hey, look!" Scout rose up on his tail and pointed back into the thorns. "I found a cave!"

Tinker placed a paw on his chest and took a breath to calm himself. "Goodness, Scout, you almost scared the life out of me."

"That's because I'm fierce!" Scout puffed out his chest, then caught his mother's disapproving eye. The little sentret sank slightly and looked back at Tinker. "I didn't mean to, though."

"That's quite all right." Tinker lowered himself to the sentret's level. "Where is this cave?"

"Oh, Tinker," said Sandpaw, cutting Scout off before he could answer. "You don't need to entertain him."

Tinker ignored her and nodded to the sentret. "Show me."

Scout let out a squeal of glee and dashed back into the brambles. Tinker ducked in behind him and motioned to Sandpaw to follow. The furret sighed and crouched down onto all-fours, her lithe body slipping in behind him with the ease of an ekans.

Thorns snagged in Tinker's fur and he winced as one of them cut a little deeper. Scout scrambled ahead of him, ducking under the thorns and leaping over low branches with the nimble grace expected of a young, energetic hatchling. For a moment Tinker lost sight of him, but he soon spotted the sentret standing beside the rocky wall.

"Here!" Scout waved a paw at a hole yawning in the cliff's surface. "It's dark inside, but there's something in there that looks cool!"

"Keep your voice down," Tinker hissed, drawing closer to it.

Something inside? It wasn't a member of the Darkness, was it? After Scout's reaction to Harlequin he wouldn't put it past the little fuzzball to find a lurking assassin 'cool'.

As the riolu peered inside, he found the cave as barren as he'd expected it to be. On the far side was a stone slab, which Scout bounded over to. The sentret jabbed a claw into a small engraving on the stone.

"It looks like your badge," he whispered. "What is it? A drawing?"

Tinker remained silent, rising to his feet before the stone slab. His ears brushed the ceiling of the cave, and Sandpaw had to duck as she joined his side. Tinker removed his badge from his bag and jammed it into the sun-shaped engraving. He pushed a button on the back of his badge and a hidden pin shot out, causing a quiet click from the hidden lock. Sandpaw's ears twitched at it and she gave Tinker a questioning look. The riolu turned the badge and the slab rolled away on its mechanism.

"Quick," he said, ushering Sandpaw in ahead of him. "Once it closes I won't be able to open it again for a good while."

Sandpaw craned her neck back to question him. "What… what is it?"

Once Tinker and his friends were inside, the stone slab brushed his tail as it rolled back into place. They stood in a tunnel as low as the cave, lit up by torches in the distance. The firelight glinted off Sandpaw's wide eyes, and the tunnel echoed as Scout exclaimed 'Cool!'

"Where are we?" Sandpaw's whisper sounded oddly loud in the hollow underground. She covered her mouth with both paws and stared into the darkness ahead.

"This," Tinker explained quietly as he ushered them along, "is a hidden passageway to New City."

"You travel underground?" Sandpaw exclaimed.

"It's safer," Tinker explained. "Only the Guild Leader can use that exit as an entrance, and once it's been opened from the outside it locks for the rest of the day."

"That doesn't seem safe," said Sandpaw. "What if you need to get out?"

"It's very safe," said Tinker. "Guards patrol these tunnels, keeping them lit, maintained and protected. If someone were to steal my key and break in they'd then be stuck. Guards on one side, and a locked exit behind them."

"So we're gonna meet some Guild Warriors?" Scout squeaked with delight.

"I should hope so," said Tinker. "The torches look like they are about to burn out. We might run into them very soon."

Sandpaw twitched her tail and ears, and looked back over her shoulder. "What if we need to get out, though?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. Neither of you will be leaving now we're underground."

"Not leaving?" Sandpaw exclaimed.

"No. It's not safe," Tinker explained. "You're both new to New City. Newcomers need to prove their loyalty before they're given a badge and the freedom to come and go. Even then, badges are reserved for Guild workers such as myself and the Warriors who protect the Outcasts. You'll find everything you need to survive in New City and more."

"But…" Sandpaw rubbed her paws together and glanced at Scout. The conversation appeared to have gone over his head. He hopped along on his tail, gazing up at the roots tangling over the ceiling. "But I was hoping to travel to the Fairy Garden once Scout is old enough."

Tinker's muzzle creased with a frown and he bit his lip.

"Do you really not trust us to leave?" Sandpaw asked. "I've already promised we won't tell anyone about New City."

"It's not that I don't trust you," said Tinker. "I said you need to prove your loyalty. You were both Heretics. Besides, if I didn't trust you I wouldn't be bringing you with me at all!"

The tunnel began to descend further underground with steps to make the decline easier. It was a good thing too. The sharp scent of wet earth rose up from beneath them, and Tinker crinkled his nose. It had been some heavy rain the night before. Even the stone steps were slick under his pawpads and he had to steady himself with a paw against the rough surface of the wall.

"How long does this tunnel go on for?" Sandpaw asked.

"A good few miles," Tinker explained. "They're designed to cut out a lot of the tricker routes to make travel to and from New City easier. The ones further out from New City are very rarely used by Guild Warriors. They're mainly used by myself." He then added, quietly, "If anything happened to me, the Guild would crumble."

"How come?" Sandpaw asked. "Isn't there anyone else who could do your duties, like Cleo?"

Tinker scoffed laughter and shook his head. "Good grief, Sandpaw. If the Guild was handed over to Cleo I dread to think what would happen! She's a good warrior but she is not a leader. No. I shouldn't be leader, really. I took over when my father went off on an important mission."

Tinker trailed off as the words left his mouth. He wasn't really seeing where he was going anymore, and he faltered by the foot of the stairs. Sandpaw looked back at him and her expression softened.

"Did… did he not come back?" she asked.

Tinker shook his head and pushed on past her. "Come on. There's a fork up ahead."

Silence washed over them with a thick and heavy air of tension. Tinker suspected Sandpaw wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't voice any. Instead she drew Scout in closer and nattered with him quietly as they turned along the right fork. Tinker tried to keep his mind off the past, focusing instead on where they were headed. A constant drip of water echoed deep in the tunnel, growing louder as they progressed along. He had no idea how long they'd been travelling when a dark shape appeared out of the shadows ahead. Light from the torches glinted orange on a heavy set of metal claws as they dug away at a mound of loose earth.

The pokemon looked up as Tinker's pawsteps reached its ears, and it stopped its digging to rise to its feet.

"Tinker!" The excadrill raised his paws. "I'm gonna have to stop you."

Tinker's eyes widened and he looked from the excadrill to the pile of earth. Tinker's paws prickled with worry and he trotted towards the large mole pokemon. "Is there a problem-"

"Stop!"

Tinker skidded to a halt over the damp soil. It crumbled under his feet and he scurried back, watching with wide eyes as loose, wet earth vanished into a dark void.

The riolu took a few deep breaths and took another pace back. "I see. There's a big problem."

"That's an understatement." The excadrill lifted a paw to the ceiling. "That rainfall last night was pretty heavy, and the wind didn't help matters at all. It's been blowing into the air vents in the trees and its soaked right down to the earth. The ground here's caved in on the tunnel below."

Tinker took a cautious step towards the gaping hole. It was too dark to see anything much further than his feet. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No one was down there, thankfully." The excadrill scratched beneath his chin, smearing dirt over his fur. "I dunno how we're gonna fix it though. Me and my guys are planning to fill the entire tunnel in and dig it back out again when the soil's dry enough. As for the ceiling here… it seems pretty sturdy. But I think we're gonna have to block this tunnel off too, until the storms have passed."

Tinker sucked in air through his teeth and glanced up at the ceiling. A drop of muddy water bounced off his nose and he shook his head sharply, narrowing his eyes at the roots knotted above him. Water stretched along them, dripping down into the cavern and splattering over the wet earth.

"It seems like a good idea, so go ahead," Tinker told the excadrill. "I'll look into this further when we get back to New City. Hopefully no other tunnels have suffered like this."

"Perils of living underground, I'm afraid," said the excadrill.

Sandpaw joined Tinker's side and stuck her tail out to stop Scout from peering into the hole. "Does this mean we're stuck?"

Tinker scratched his head and sighed. "I hope not."

"I'd suggest taking a different tunnel," said the excadrill. "Go back and head through the north tunnel. It eventually winds back to New City, but it's not suffered like this one has. One of my diggers checked it out earlier, and reinforced the ceiling just in case."

Tinker nodded and bit back a bitter sigh. It would lengthen the journey exceptionally. "Thank you. Send message back to me when you're done here. This tunnel will need to be kept under supervision for a while."

"Like I said, we'll be blocking this whole section off," the excadrill explained. "The last thing we want is it caving in and the Darkness finding it."

A cold chill washed over Tinker. Why hadn't he considered that? With a wave of farewell, he steered Sandpaw back the way they'd come, and gave one last glance back at the excadrill. The perils of living underground… Tinker deeply hoped this would be the only disaster to happen to New City. The war couldn't end fast enough… that was, if it ended at all.

...

Lightning lit up the canopy, arcing through the murkrow flock. The black mass of feathers parted, allowing the lightning to erupt through the evergreen branches.

"They just won't stop!" Spark squeaked, letting off another discharge.

Cleo stood with her back to Harlequin and Faith as they kept their eyes on the murkrow. Their honchkrow leader hovered above them, barking out orders with deep, husky caws. Each instruction was followed by a small number of murkrow swooping down towards their targets for a swift attack before returning to the canopy. It was like a tag-team, each small group replaced by the next.

The walk from Stonehaven had been going well until they'd reached the woods on the fringe of the mountains. Sunset was on the horizon, but it was still daylight. Cleo had guessed the attack on Stonehaven had been aimed at her and her companions. Now she was certain of it. The honchkrow boss and her flock had been waiting for them, possibly stalking them to ambush in the woods.

Cleo let off another disarming voice, which came as no surprise to the murkrow. They expected it now. Only Faith's mega evolution had managed to surprise them, despite having performed it the night before. Feathered bodies littered the floor around the mawile's feet. The murkrow had become more cautious since, treating Faith as a larger threat they'd rather skirt around.

Mischief stood several feet away, hiding in a patch of bracken. 'Stay out of the way!' Cleo had told him. 'Only jump in if things turn nasty.' She hadn't needed to tell him twice. He was gone before she'd even finished her instruction.

The murkrow knew he was there. Spark's electrical attacks formed a barrier between them and the whimsicott, blasting any that got too close. Cleo deeply hoped they'd manage to repel the flock before Mischief had to leap in.

Five murkrow swooped down towards Cleo, talons extended towards her. Cleo waited, watching them as they drew closer. Two of them faltered, suspicion clouding their beady eyes. Before the other three could strike, Cleo launched a disarming voice. Two scattered into her blind spot, but the third was struck head on. The two that had held back were caught in the aftermath and flew back from her, dazed.

"They're being rather cautious." Faith dropped one of the murkrow that had tried to get behind Cleo, only to be mangled by her play rough attack. "We could be here for a while."

Cleo nodded stiffly, her eyes on the honchkrow. "We might need to break apart and go all-out."

"No." Harlequin cast her a brief sideways glance. "That's what they want. They're trying to drive us apart so they can pick us off one by one."

"Really?" Cleo asked. "Are you sure?"

"I don't understand murkrow but I've seen the strategy before," Harlequin explained. "The mightyena and the Wildfires are famous for it. 'Scatter the flock, pick off the weak'. Trust me. If you fall for it, you're dead."

The honchkrow jerked her head slightly, her eyes lighting up with amusement. She gave a series of harsh caws that, to Cleo, sounded different from before. The flock parted, sticking to the canopy as they surrounded the Outcasts.

The meowstic stiffened and her tails fluffed out. "Guys… I think-"

Another five murkrow swooped down towards them from the front. Cleo didn't have time to finish her warning. She unfurled her ears, unleashing two disarming voices in quick succession. The first clipped the murkrow, but the second hit home, knocking three of them from the sky.

'Caw!'

Five more replaced the three she'd struck and Cleo sent out another attack. Faith was a blur beside her, swinging her horns to catch those outside Cleo's range. Wings bashed against the back of Cleo's head, causing her to stagger and cut off her attack. Spots danced before her vision as pain radiated from her ears into her head. Sharp talons fastened around her ears and pain blinded her as a sharp beak jabbed into her psychic organs. She crumpled to the floor with a blood-curdling screech that seemed to come from outside her own body. Bright lights filled her eyes and she flailed, lashing out at her assailant with her claws.

A shrill caw echoed in her ears and the attack was brought to an end. Pain pulsed in Cleo's ears and she blinked the spots away, trying to get her breath. Harlequin stood beside her, ragging a murkrow in their jaws. They tossed it aside and fixed Cleo with wide, blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" they asked.

Cleo gingerly touched her sore ear and hissed. Blood marred her paw and she grimaced, nodding stiffly. She pushed herself up into a crouch, quickly glancing around the battlefield. Faith stood close by her, swinging her twin horns over her head to keep the murkrow at bay. Spark had moved from Mischief's hiding spot, her breaths coming in heavy bursts. She kept one eye on Cleo, aiming her attacks at the flock that had concentrated on the meowstic and her companions.

The honchkrow barked another command and the murkrow relented, rising into the canopy. The large raven-like bird dropped from the sky to land before Cleo, tilting her head from side to side as she took in her prey.

"Not so threatening now you're disarmed, are you?" the honchkrow crooned.

Cleo was silent, panting as she met the large bird's eyes.

"Now… give me what I want," the honchkrow said slowly, "and maybe I'll let you go."

"And what do you want?" It was Faith who'd asked, turning fully to face the honchkrow.

"The whimsicott," answered the honchkrow. She turned her head towards Harlequin and a smirk spread across her beak, "and the traitor."

"You expect us to just hand them over to you?" Cleo grimaced at how pathetic her own words had sounded, and she resisted the urge to nurse her head.

"If you don't, then we'll take them by force." The honchkrow lowered her head towards Cleo's and spread her wings slightly. "And I don't think you're in any fit state to keep on fighting. With one down, your friends don't stand a chance. Today, I, Ilana, will succeed where Yurlik has failed."

"Then I guess we have to fight." Cleo pushed herself to her feet, staggering as pain pulsed from her ear behind her left eye. "Because we're not just going to hand over our friends."

"Friends?" Ilana threw back her head and laughed. Then she gestured with a wing to Harlequin. "You consider this cur a friend? Didn't anyone teach you never to trust a zorua? They do nothing but lie and deceive."

Harlequin's hackles rose and their lips pulled back from their canines. A low growl rose in the zorua's throat as they lowered their head.

Ilana barked a strange, cawing laughter. "Oh, Harlequin. You know I speak the truth! Perhaps if you'd waited a while, you wouldn't need to hide behind a mask?"

"What, and end up as some half-baked soldier filling in the holes brought about by years of failure?" Harlequin snapped. "Because that's what Hydreigon's doing by leeching the breeding pens dry."

Ilana stiffened and her face tensed.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Harlequin went on. "I mean, let's face it, Hydreigon is obviously desperate. I doubt Yurlik would allow females into his flock so willingly."

"This is not Yurlik's flock!" Ilana's beak snapped close to Harlequin's muzzle and the zorua flinched back. Ilana righted herself and smoothed out her ragged plumage. "This is my flock. A new uprising for Lord Hydreigon's armies! I shall prove our worth! So what will it be, Outcasts? Hand over what I want, or shall I take it by force?"

Cleo stood her ground, psychic energy humming in her good ear. Ilana looked at each of the Outcasts in turn, her eyes lingering on Harlequin.

"Very well." The honchkrow whipped her wings back, beating up the air around her.

"Wait!" Mischief forced his way through his friends to stand beside Cleo. "You don't have to fight. I'll go with you."

Cleo jerked her head towards him. "Mischief, no!"

"It's fine, really," he told her. "It's because of me that this keeps happening to you. If they take me, then you'll be safe. Right?"

"But Hydreigon will kill you." Cleo met his eyes, and the look he gave her told her he'd thought this through. It was almost as if he was pleading with her to trust him.

'Promise me you'll run.'

She bit her lip and looked away, balling her paws into fists. She couldn't leave him. There was no way she was going to lose him after they'd come so far.

"You'll really come willingly?" Ilana asked him.

Mischief nodded. "Yes. On one condition. You let my friends go, and that includes Harlequin."

Harlequin let out a surprised yip and jerked their head towards him. The whimsicott's gaze lingered on Harlequin for a moment, then he turned back to face the honchkrow.

"I've been tasked to bring both you and Harlequin to Lord Hydreigon," Ilana said smoothly.

"It's either that, or you fight us. All of us." Mischief narrowed his eyes. "And I think you already know what I'm capable of."

Ilana straightened herself up and nodded once. "Very well. But with that in mind…"

She brought her wings together and a crescent of air whipped up before her and smashed into Mischief, knocking him off his feet. The whimsicott rolled away from her to land in a sprawled heap by the bracken.

Cleo gasped and spun around towards him. As she stretched out a paw, the murkrow surround her and dragged her back with their talons. Ilana whisked past her, snatching Mischief in her claws.

"Let me go!" Cleo fought against the murkrow as she watched Ilana lift Mischief's unconscious body through the canopy. "Let me go! Mischief!"

Tears stung Cleo's eyes and she released a disarming voice at the surrounding flock. It sputtered out as it struck one of the retreating birds in the tail.

Ilana, safely out of reach, turned her head down towards her flock. "Finish them!"

The murkrow let out a blood-curdling war cry and turned on Cleo and her friends. Claws raked Cleo's fur and she lashed out with her claws, firing disarming voices blindly into the thick mass of black feathers, each one causing a shocking pain in her head. Spark screamed as a mass of birds fell on her, only to part again as electricity scorched through them. Faith twisted through the flock, knocking them back with her dual horns. They landed upon her with raking talons and bashed her with air until the mawile was forced to drop her mega form.

Cleo forced herself up, wincing as claws yanked her fur and ears. She glimpsed Spark as once again the small dedenne was buried under vicious wings and talons. This time no electricity forced the birds back.

"Spark!"

Cleo's heart wrenched in her chest. She wasn't about to lose her too. She caught Harlequin's blue eyes as the zorua tossed two murkrow aside to try and reach Spark. Harlequin looked from Cleo to the dedenne, straining at the end of their confines. Cleo jerked the zorua back towards her, wincing at the relentless claws tearing at her blue and white fur. Harlequin yelped, flailing their paws as murkrow fell upon them. Cleo grabbed the zorua's collar, fumbling until she found the release switch. With a click, it fell away.

Harlequin looked up at her, their sapphire eyes wide with surprise.

"Go," Cleo wheezed. Claws raked her ears and her vision blurred as blood trickled into her eyes. "Help her. Please."

Harlequin leapt to their feet, their eyes fixed on Spark as the dedenne was buried under a mass of screeching feathers. With a loud yowl, Harlequin dived away from Cleo - away from Spark - towards the bracken where Mischief had been hiding. Cleo let out a cry of despair, shoving herself to her feet. Her head spun as the world swirled around her. Then she spotted an explosion of shadow amid the black feathers, stirring the murkrow into a whirlwind of panic just before her vision turned black.

...

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