Broken Honour and Armour: Wasaki's Tale – Part IV

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Authoresses Note: Thanks for all your continued support, I just love you guys :3. I hope you enjoy the fourth and final chapter of this side story. It's a little shorter than most I guess. But it's also very important.

The trio traveled around for several months after the Pokemon Center breakout. They had to be on alert at all times for they were constantly pursued. Annette was obviously in pursuit of her lost Pokemon and the three had already had several run in with Officer Jennys. It was hard to avoid attention when you were in a group made up of two uncommon Pokemon and one very rare Pokemon. Therefore it was hard to remain undetected, even in the dense green of the forest. White is a hard colour to hide unless there is a thick foliage present to completely obscure the snowy white pelts.

Gathering food was easy enough at least. Wasaki and Sacha were wild at heart and could still bring back enough kills to feed themselves and the other two, despite being cooped up in pokeballs for a stretch of time. Maleah had been in captivity for much to long to be any use at gathering food. The two Absols, however, happily brought back enough food. Sleeping was done in shifts, one would stay awake and keep guard until one of the others took over.

They weren't traveling aimlessly though. Wasaki was on a mission to try and make amends with his old pack. It wouldn't be easy, or particularly safe, but he felt he had to do it or die trying. He never asked the other two to accompany him. In fact, he discouraged it. On one of the times they had nearly been caught by a Jenny, he had angrily told Maleah to return to Annette. She didn't deserve a life of running when she could have a life of comfort. But she refused to leave. She planned on returning to Annette after he accomplished his goal. Until then, however, she would stand by him.

Wasaki too planned on following Maleah back to Annette. But after he accomplished his goal. That is, if Annette would take him back. If Annette refused to take him back, seeing as it was he who caused this mess, than he would leave Maleah with her. He could rest knowing that she was comfortable and safe with her trainer, though he sincerely hoped to be with her.

Sacha was friendly and seemed to harbour no ill-feelings towards Wasaki. But at the same time he never brought up anything to do with what had happened in the past. To Wasaki, it was quite clear that as long as Sacha didn't think about what Wasaki had done, then he could forgive him. Therefore, Wasaki never made any attempt to bring anything back up. Though one day, he knew, they would have to talk about it. It was unavoidable. Especially seeing as they were headed back to see Derak and the pack that Wasaki had betrayed.

The shrewd and untrusting side of Wasaki, the one he had repressed for quite some time, would occasionally pop up inside his head. He would question the motives behind Sacha's actions, wondering if instead of leading him back to rejoin, he was actually bringing him back to be slaughtered. For revenge. As much as Wasaki tried to squash this thought, it was a very real fear. There was the possibility that Sacha were leading him back out of his plans or out of Derak's. There was also the possibility of Sacha not siding with him when they returned, but instead being a neutral party and letting Wasaki talk his way out of this one on his own. This fear, however, was much less than the former.

As they got closer and closer to Fortree City, Wasaki truly began to miss his birthplace and home. It was a very large part of him, one that he could not ignore. To leave it without being on good terms with it's other inhabitants was a massive burden that Wasaki had never anticipated. He never imagined that his betrayal of the pack could have the biggest impact on himself. It was proof of the strong connection between pack members. However, Wasaki also acknowledged that the connection was fallible. It certainly wasn't present when he had cruelly took over lands that were not his. It certainly wasn't present as he killed several of his own kind and had other Pokemon do the same.

It certainly wasn't present when he completely lost sense of his place in his pack. His place long forgotten.

He only hoped that he could resume his place and that the connection between his packs members and himself did not fail when he returned. Because if it did fail, they would surely kill him.

The party of three stopped just outside the border. It was a bright, clear day. The sun was shining its rays down to the earth and warming the ground. Wasaki hoped that it was a good omen.

They stood in complete silence until Sacha solemnly turned to Wasaki, "Are you ready?" He asked.

Wasaki couldn't answer. Was he ready? Could he face his pack once more? Would he even make it out alive? Would they spare Maleah? Oh, Maleah….

He silently turned to look at his beautiful mate-to-be. There was no way he could risk having her get hurt if they came after him. He had to tell her to turn back now.

Before he could open his mouth, Sacha spoke up once more.

"Don't worry. There is no ulterior motive here. You and I are simply returning so that you can apologize. I promise that you will not be in any danger because I am here. Maleah will not be in any danger likewise. I have once lost a mate to someone else's cruelty. I promise that I could not bear to see the same happen to another Pokemon." He said in a strong voice, one that was quite new for Wasaki to hear because Sacha had always been the meek and gentle Absol of their age.

Wasaki realized he couldn't speak for a moment. He was touched to the point where tears were welling in his eyes. Finally, he was able to swallow the lump that had grown in his throat and speak.

"Even if…Even if that Pokemon was the one to blame?" He asked in a quiet and shaking voice.

Sacha nodded slowly. "Any Pokemon. Now, I'll ask you again. Are you ready?"

Wasaki looked up. The emotion in his eyes suddenly became determined.

"I am ready."

They entered the northern border and walked in. Wasaki was waiting for a guard to leap down from a higher ledge and stand them down. He was waiting for the Pidgeot to swoop down and make sure that Wasaki felt his talons. He was waiting for Derak himself to walk in front of them and say that he had been waiting for them.

But nothing happened.

They walked through the lands in silence. Not encountering a soul. They searched every cave, every ledge, and every hot spot. The lands were scorched and part of the forest was burnt to the ground. The fields had been burned up for the most part.

It was a ghost town.

Something was very wrong here.

Sacha and Wasaki looked around at their home in horror. Neither could explain the disappearance of every Absol from the pack. There was no sign that any living creature had been here for quite some time.

"They're…gone." Sacha said in a disbelieving horror.

Wasaki couldn't speak. This was the first time that he had seen his home since his unhappy departure. He was supposed to come back and apologize. He supposed to come back to his pack. What was going on?

Sacha pawed at the sooty ground. "This was done by several powerful fire Pokemon. Though I have no idea why. And I have no idea where the Absols could've gone." He said in a downcast voice.

"At least we know that the fire didn't get them." Wasaki said. "Because if it did, we'd have found some trace." He shuddered at the image.

Sacha nodded. "They escaped. But we have no idea what species did this and for what purpose."

Maleah spoke up, "Your friend Derak," she started, "He seemed like he had made a lot of enemies when the Persians came into the lands. Perhaps that by killing the leader of the Persians, he made enemies not just with the Persians but with all of the Persians followers." She speculated.

"That's exactly right." A voice came from behind them.

The three jumped around and leapt into a defensive stance. They had been snuck up on and forcefully brought out of their daydreams. To their surprise, and rage, they found a young Persian male lying lazily behind them.

Sacha's usually calm face broke out into a fierce snarl. "You! What do you think you're doing here Persian?" He spat angrily. It seemed that while he had forgiven Wasaki, he could not bring himself to be civil to the Persian. The very type of Pokemon that had done Wasaki's bidding without hesitation and without feeling any remorse.

The Persian seemed undisturbed at the fact that three angry Pokemon were seemingly ready to tear him to shreds.

"I've been taking residence here. It's the only place that I could think of that no one would find me." He said simply while giving his tail a lazy flick.

"This land is forbidden to your kind." Sacha got right up close to the Persian's face as he said this, putting strong emphasis on the word 'your'. "Get out now or else we'll take you by force. Run out of here now or else I promise you, you won't even be able to manage to walk out of here. When we're finished with you, that is."

The Persian didn't even flinch as Sacha threatened him with what sounded like a brutal death. He didn't even unsheathe his claws or get into a defensive stance. He merely continued to lie on the grassy field.

"I don't know you and you don't know me. The simple fact that you're judging me based on what my kind has done to you is preventing us from getting anywhere. What if, for one moment, there were no different types or kinds of Pokemon? What if just for this one moment in time we were just three beings, completely autonomous of any ancestry or categories that we have had bestowed upon us? Maybe then, just for that moment, I could explain to you what's going on here and why everyone is in the wrong." He said calmly, yet passionately, looking Sacha dead in the eye.

There was something mysterious about this Persian. He looked familiar to Wasaki, yet Wasaki knew that he had never met him before in his life. Still, he was very curious as to what the Persian had to say. Wasaki stepped up beside Sacha and stuck out a paw in front of him.

"Wait, let's just let him finish." He said. Sacha backed down, looking calmer, but still not happy.

"Go ahead." Maleah pressed gently.

The Persian looked around at the trio. He sighed and said, in a very simple yet exasperated way, "We're in a continent-wide, inter-pokemon war. And we're sitting in the very spot that sparked it all."