Apologies for taking a whole month to get this chapter out. I launched The Fall, and then ended up putting out another chapter of it before I returned to writing Thrones. This is still my main project, so expect to see more of Thrones before I go back to The Fall. Thanks for the patience, I think you guys will enjoy this chapter! Stay tuned at the bottom, because I've got a few things to say!


"So what are you still doing here?" Jay asked, pushing himself into a sitting position on his bed. "I'd have thought you'd be tearing through any Rocket dumb enough to get between you and Cerulean."

Misty shook her head and sighed in frustration. "it was suggested that I not take part in the battle." She put on a fake voice and mimicked the general they had met before. "You're far too valuable to risk. You have too much of a personal stake in this battle, it would not be wise to participate." She sat down heavily in her chair and closed her eyes.

Jay laughed. "Clearly you don't agree with his assessment."

She laughed, and made an obscene gesture with her hands. "He can go shove that alakazam's spoons up his own ass." She smirked at her own joke, then shook her head. "I should be out there Jay." She said solemnly. "It's my home. People are fighting for my home, and I'm sitting here taking the piss out of some old codger."

"Am I that boring?" Jay asked sarcastically.

She looked at the floor, leaning back in her chair. "Yeah, but that's beside the point." She looked up at him. "I'm trying to be serious Jay. People are fighting and dying for me. And for what?" She asked. "So I can take my sister's job?"

"Misty, we're doing this all for you." Jay started.

"That's my point!" She shouted. "All of this is because of me." She pointed at him. "You've had your arm snapped and fell into a pit for me. That's not even mentioning the ghosts." She stood up. "Brock lost his brother, Gary lost one of his pokemon… Now your friends are caught up in a battle for my city, one that they didn't even want to be a part of." She shook her head. "Fuck, and I was ready to hand over the rebels on a silver platter…"

"Misty…"

She looked at him, and something inside her snapped. "I don't want this."

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I don't want people dying for me. I don't want people fighting for my cause, or getting hurt, or any of it. I don't want that on my conscience. I don't want that responsibility." She walked over to Jay's bed and took a seat on the end of it. "I don't want people depending on me anymore. Not if I can't be trusted to act like a sane person."

He nodded slowly. "You are sane. It's not your fault that the world forces you to be ruthless." He shrugged. "I think I'm starting to understand how the world works now."

Misty shook her head. "Look at you… You just got your mind fucked by a psychic, and I'm moping around because people are willing to fight for me."

Jay smiled awkwardly. "It does sound bad when you say it that way." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "But maybe you're just worth fighting for." She raised her eyebrow and cocked her head. A moment passed in silence before Jay spoke up. "Misty, I…"

"Let's leave." She said abruptly, cutting him off. "Go to Lavender Town on our own. I can't stay here, and you need to go there." She frowned solemnly. "I'll take you. I just need some supplies." She stood up and strode over to the door. "I'll be back. Get your pokemon ready . I don't want to have to fight our way out, but I will if I have to." She opened the door and stepped out, leaving Jay alone.

He smiled and swung his legs off the side of the bed. He stood up shakily, knees nearly buckling several times. He stumbled over to the chair that Misty had sat in and picked his belt off the back of it. He tapped the pair of balls strapped to the belt and released his growlithe and nidorino. "Get ready boys." He said. "Because we're leaving here as soon as Misty gets back."


"Pour acid!" Bellowed Lord Galbert. "Archers, fire at will." He shouted over the din of battle.

The acid cauldrons tipped, drenching dozens of Rockets with the boiling liquid. They fell, their skin dissolving away. Screams of pain that turned into choked gurgling reached Lord Galbert's ears, bringing a grimace to his face. Volley after volley of arrows rained down on the bridge, practically barricading parts of the bridge with dead bodies.

The Rocket assault broke off, men running to clear the bridge and escape the range of the Cerulean bows. Lord Galbert breathed a sigh of relief as they went, content to catch his breath and deal with the numerous reports on the siege. Before he could say a word to any of his lieutenants, a voice in his head interrupted him.

"Lord Galbert I presume?" It asked. "I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."

Lord Galbert looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

"I don't have time to explain everything, my mind is already stretched to the breaking point." The voice said hurriedly. "I'm currently coordinating a three-pronged assault to wipe that Rocket army off the map. Only problem is, you're my third prong."

"So you want me to hit the Rockets when you give me a signal?" Galbert said. "I can't even be sure of who you actually work for. You might be a Rocket agent, or one of their pokemon. Until I've got real proof that this isn't a trick, you don't have a third prong."

There was a pause, then a massive roar. A huge gyarados burst from the river. It landed on one of the Rocket formations and immediately began tearing into the surprised soldiers.

The voice returned to Galbert's mind, smugly chuckling. "That was the first prong my lord. The second is only minutes away. I would suggest preparing yourself immediately. All of us will fall unless we have your aid."


In the wild, gyarados are exceedingly rare due to one simple reason. Humanity relentlessly hunts any gyarados that shows its scales anywhere close to a settlement. A single enraged gyarados is powerful enough to wipe frontier towns off the map. Martyn smiled grimly as his massive pokemon thrashed its way through a swath of Rocket Troops. Without pokemon of their own, the Rockets' rearguard stood no chance against the raging beast.

Martyn watched grimly as his gyarados ripped a Rocket trooper in half, showering the remains of his opponents in gore. He pointed towards another formation of Rockets, shouting orders to the men flanking him. "I'll have Balthazar deal with them next. Get the men ready, because the Rockets are gonna hit us with everything they got in a minute."

His gyarados turned, leaving the shattered remains of the Rocket formation behind him. It slipped into the river with grace that betrayed its size. Balthazar reared up, sighting it's next target. He roared a challenge, then opened his maw. A beam of pure energy shot out, washing over the Rockets. The beam tore into the earth, blasting bodies apart and igniting the remaining underbrush. Finished with its assault, Balthazar slipped back underwater to rest for a moment.

The Rocket army reacted immediately. The men attempting to cross the bridge retreated. A wave of arrows followed them, loosed by the Cerulean soldiers on the walls. The thousands of soldiers reformed, slowly turning to face the mercenaries.

"Stand fast! Hold your ground!" Martyn shouted. "We are the anvil boys! We will hold against these fatherless cunts!" He smiled to himself and whispered softly. "For Kanto." He thrust his sword into the air, shouting a mad war cry.

"FOR KANTO!" The men echoed, barely heard over the noise of the Rocket army marching. The men released their pokemon, swelling their numbers to over two-hundred. The pokemon let out a battle cry that drowned out the sound of a thousand footsteps.

A deafening roar erupted from the Rocket lines, and they charged in unison. A wave of pokemon attacks met them, cutting down hordes of the soldiers before they could even reach the mercenaries. The Rockets broke ranks, charging wildly in order to reach the mercenaries and cut off the devastating ranged assault.

Hundreds fell before they could even react, torn apart by a variety of elemental attacks. The flat plain turned into a veritable killing field, each fallen Rocket making the plain more difficult to cross.

Martyn grinned viciously, and mentally sent a command to the alakazam coordinating the attack. He pinpointed a spot in the centre of the army's mass, then spoke. "As soon as Balthazar is capable of fighting have him carve a path towards their commanders. Once they're dead, this battle should be easy." The alakazam mentally processed the order, relaying it to the gyarados lurking in the river.


Alan was afraid. He was afraid for his life, for his friends' lives, and the state of the world that he was fighting to save. He'd been trained to fight other men, not beasts that could kill him with no more effort than a breath. That hadn't mattered when a gyarados set upon his squad, ripping the captain in half. He'd been forced to fight, ignoring the carnage around him. He ignored the blood that splattered over his rudimentary armour. He ignored the blast that destroyed his hearing and killed dozens of his friends.

Then the beast was gone, snapping Alan out of his trancelike state. He looked around, horrified at the death surrounding him. He dropped his sword, and fell to his knees. A hand found his shoulder. He looked up at the man, who simply smiled back. The man held out his hand and pulled Alan to his feet. He silently patted the younger man on his back, then motioned towards the reforming Rocket army.

"This battle just got a whole lot more complicated." The man said. "Are you with me, recruit?" Alan nodded and grabbed his sword. The man grimaced and nodded. "Good." He said. "Because we've got work to do."

An alakazam appeared beside the man, dropping to one knee. "General, we have been betrayed. Ulysses has joined with the rebels, we are surrounded."

The general turned and frowned. "Knew that bastard was trouble from the start." He looked over to the mercenary company, and watched as their pokemon were released. "Fuck." He swore. "Aramus, contact my brother. I need him to bring his riders down on these mercenaries. They pose the greatest threat to this entire operation." He glanced at the Rocket soldiers charging the mercenaries and grimaced. "Pull back half those men and reform the rearguard. The Rebels and Ceruleans are going to try flanking us while we are distracted by Ulysses."

Alan's jaw dropped as the general rapidly doled out his orders. The general turned to face Alan, glancing over his shoulder as the Alakazam warped out of sight. Alan dropped to one knee, babbling honorifics. "My lord-general, I apologize for my cowardice in battle…" He trailed off with a stern look for the general.

"Join up with one of the squads hitting those mercenaries. They're gonna need help, and I can't spare many more men." The general said. He looked back at the main body of the Rocket army and swore. "Get over there, recruit. I've got to get back to safety." The general started off, not looking back at Alan.

Alan nodded, bowing deeply. He looked over at the mercenaries and grimaced. His lord-general had commanded him to assist those men, and by the grace of Mew, he would obey the order. He unsheathed his sword and ran, eager to fulfill the lord-general's orders. He would help those men or he would die trying.


"Here we are Lee!" Ethan said, practically bouncing with glee. "The Gold Ranch. My home." He said proudly. "You can't see anything from here, but we just crossed onto my land."

Lyra looked around at the land. They were on a dirt road with flat plain to their left. To the right, all she could see was a thick copse of trees. "It doesn't look like much." She said, faking indifference. He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. "Hey, at least you own land. It's more than most people can say."

"Don't act like you aren't impressed." He said. "Just wait 'till you see it."

"See what?" Lyra asked.

They rounded the trees to their right, coming into view of a short stone fort with a small house beside it. Ethan turned and looked at her, a massive grin on his face. "There she is." He said. "Fort Gold."

"I thought you said you were a pokemon breeder?" Lyra asked.

He grinned sheepishly at her. "I am. I'm really good at it."

"So you built a castle?" She asked.

"I had to spend my money somehow. Building a castle just made sense, ya know?" He answered. "Provide for the future of my family and all."

Before Lyra could answer, a pair of shadows passed over them. She looked up and shrieked, throwing herself to the side.

"Hunter! Farrow!" She heard Ethan say before he burst into laughter. "You can get up Lee!" He called. "They just wanted to say hello."

She looked up to see Ethan flanked by a pair of massive birds-of-prey. A braviary and staraptor stared her down, eyes drilling hard stares directly at her. "Intimidating hello, isn't it?"

Ethan chuckled and patted the staraptor's flank. "They're just very protective." He said. "I might've raised them, but they treat me like one of their own children. Minus the pre-digested food of course, though it hasn't stopped them from trying."

Lyra grimaced squeamishly at the thought of one of the birds vomiting half-digested food into Ethan's mouth. "I don't think I needed to know that." She said.

Ethan smiled and motioned towards the fort. "Come on, let's head inside." He said. "If these two know that we're here then grams definitely knows. Ho-Oh help us if we take too long to come in from the cold."


Gary jumped awake, a blast of cold water bringing him back to consciousness. Sergei grinned at him lopsidedly and winced audibly. Gary turned his pokemon's head, studying the three claw marks that disfigured his pokemon's face. He gulped, recognizing the work of a persian.

Brock's voice boomed across the room. He rushed across from his post at one of the main doors to the hall, brandishing his sword madly. "Bar the doors!" He shouted. "If the Rockets get in here, we're done."

Ash and another militiaman forced themselves into the door, attempting to hold back the wall of Rocket soldiers that pressed themselves against it. Brock slammed into the door beside him, followed quickly by another pair of Cerulean militiamen.

Gary forced himself to his feet, ignoring the wave of nausea and dizziness that threatened to topple him. He stumbled over to a huge decorative armoire that dominated one corner of the hall. Sergei understood, tackling the armoire in an effort to knock it over.

The armoire smashed to the ground, drawing Brock's attention. His hand dropped to his belt, releasing his ryhorn. "Help him!" He shouted, pointing at Gary. The massive horned pokemon lumbered over to the young trainer. It lowered its head and placed its horn on the fallen armoire. With barely any effort, the ryhorn pushed the armoire over to the door being held shut. The trainers and militiamen leapt aside, the armoire replacing them and barricading the door.

The main doors into the hall crumpled, splintered by a makeshift ram. Rockets poured in, forcing the Cerulean defenders back. Brock roared and charged, followed by the scant few militiamen that had followed him to barricade the door. His ryhorn bellowed and charged, lowering its horn. Ash raised his sword and plunged into the melee, followed by an angry streak of yellow.

Gary scavenged a weapon, taking up one of his fallen comrades' swords. He followed Ash into the fighting, looking for the streak of yellow. A bolt of lightning lit up the hall, dropping a group of Rockets. Gary raised his sword , and with a savage shout he stabbed it through the back of the nearest Rocket. He fell, the Cerulean he was fighting ensuring he was dead by shoving his own blade through the man's chest.

The armoire blocking the door at the back of the hall shifted, Rockets pouring through the breach. At their head, Jessie and James led the charge. Their persian was with them, tearing apart Cerulean defenders one at a time.

"Fall back!" Brock shouted. "Form a circle!" He ordered.

The few Ceruleans around him took heed, forcing the Rockets back far enough to form a circle around Brock. His ryhorn grunted and charged forward, clearing room for the Cerulean militia. Slowly but surely, the circle expanded. Every one of the remaining defenders fell back, joining the circle and strengthening their last stand.

A whistle blew and every single Rocket stepped back, giving the Ceruleans a reprieve. Ash stumbled out of a knot of Rockets, limping and clutching at a wound above his knee. Gary pushed himself past a pair of Rockets, rushing over to help his friend. He put one of Ash's arms over his shoulder and helped him over to the circle of Ceruleans. Their pokemon stalked behind them, warily glancing at the Rocket soldiers.

The whistle blew again, and the Rockets collectively took a step back. Jessie and James stepped forward, their persian at their side.

"Well my dears, it seems that we have reached the end of this battle." Jessie said tauntingly. "Surrender now, and you may live to see another day."

Brock slightly lowered his shield, leering over it at the agents. "We stand to the last man." He slightly lowered his blade and stepped forward. "Our deaths will not be in vain. You will fall. To us, to our allies, to someone else entirely…" He trailed off, resigning himself to fate. "It doesn't matter. We fight to the last man. For Cerulean. For Pewter. For the hope of a free Kanto."

Jessie laughed, high and clear. She turned her head to James with a vicious smile. "My dear, I think this long-winded man requires a lesson in humility."

James frowned. "Are you sure?" He asked uncertainly. "Lord Sakai won't like this if he finds out."

"He won't find out. I just want to make sure that he pays for the trouble he's caused us."

James hesitated, then nodded shortly. He stepped back, allowing Jessie to take the lead.

She cackled maliciously, drawing her sword slowly and deliberately. "Brock Takeshi, I challenge you to to a duel. Beat me, and your pitiful band of warriors will be allowed to live."

Brock considered for a moment, then spoke. "And if I lose?" He asked cautiously.

A wicked smile spread across Jessie's face. "We slaughter you all."


I lied, I've got nothing to say down here! Please leave me a revie, to let me know what you thought! Sorry for the month-long wait, it won't happen again. Sqcircles out!