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Ballonlea Stadium
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
-Rorian Commando axiom
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Two days later...
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"They're on to us, Sordward. Rose discovered that they looked into the drone footage-"
"The Grand Plan is near completion, Shielbert. We mustn't risk openly attacking."
"You know what will happen! They will find out about the statue at the Budew Drop Inn. Tercano will get involved and discover what we had to do with it! Rose will be quashed with the coming attack before he can fulfill the Plan. And it won't just be any type of corporate warfare, brother, or party to party. One million Rorian troops are inbound for Galar. Not a battle. A slaughter."
"That slaughter would happen even if they had never known about the fifth tapestry. Rose senses his doom...he must complete the Grand Plan with only hours to spare. Macro Cosmos cannot resist the tide that is coming, even with their entrenched presence in Galar, but we will be lauded as heroes if all goes well. I suppose that this evidence about to come out would spurn Tercano to attack even quicker before the League is over. Only a week, my dear brother."
"Are you suggesting the assassination of the two women in question? At least you see now that something must be done!"
"Scare tactics only, brother. We need a bargaining chip if we want to keep things quiet...not forever, just long enough for the Grand Plan to be complete. Could we obtain a Galarian Stunfisk and a Falinks?"
"You know just as well as I do! I told you we should have kept her Pokemon!"
"Past mistakes must be amended. Royal intrigue is most unlike common intrigue. Now, I must think of a plan."
"It ought to be a good one. Rose-"
"Hang Rose! Tercano will shut him away for life. He's a madman in believing that the Galarian people will keep him in power after what's coming. We, brother, will be the true heroes in this story."
...
Two hours later, Magnolia RV, Route Nine Highway...
With Henry gone training in his errantry, Casey digitally reconstructed the ruined fifth tapestry in the set at Sonia's request, while pairing them with scans of the tapestries from the Hammerlocke Vault. She observed that the tale was contradictory to the legend espoused by the statue at the Budew Drop Inn, and many other collected sources on the Omninet.
Marvin entered and shut the door to the RV with a quiet thunk. "How's it going, Casey? Anything yet with Magnolia's theory about the conspiracy?
"Not sure," she replied. "Sonia and Magnolia wanted me to hack into Macro Cosmos network to see if they had anything to do with this, but I would need a far larger computer for that. The Association keeps its servers on an even tighter security basis. I'm almost done with filling in the bottom of the fifth tapestry..."
Casey glanced at the image of the third banner and saw the sword and shield intertwined across each other. When she looked away, she knew something was wrong. But it was already too late. The arrangement of memetic images had already breached her prefrontal cortex and was now headed toward her hypothalamus.
She heard Marvin calling her name, but was preoccupied with the shifting miasma of the tapestries before her. Features blended and became congealed, but the sword and shield remained clear, two shadows against a sea of chaos. They bubbled and elongated, taking on human curves. A war drum beat on her consciousness, a cry from an Otherworld deep in her mind.
Yes, the shapes were human. No visible features could be seen, but an inscrutable slope of a nose here, or an arc of blurred hair there...more, Casey! More descriptions without any seeming origin burst forth in bulbous waves...Golisopod...Doublade...celebrities! These people were celebrities!
"No, Marvin," a distorted voice said. "She isn't having a stroke. Get me the sugar, it's in the medical cabinet. The syringe with the liquid in it, yes!"
Henry, Magnolia, don't wake me up! I can see them praising themselves...two men, releasing Pokemon into the wild...but sparing Henry's Pokemon!
"Casey, you are really going to feel this. Hold steady!"
She felt the prick, the liquid Bounsweet sugar running through her veins. She screamed, flailing about with no control over her movements. Lancelot wrestled her into a headlock with its sticks, keeping her still. "Calm down, child!" Magnolia said. "You fell out of your seat. Have you hit your head, my dear?"
"I remember something!" Casey yelled. "Henry, you're back? Hear this: the people who stole my Pokemon were a pair of celebrities!"
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There was once a man so wise
That he jumped into a sandy place,
and burnt out his eyes!
When he knew his eyes were gone,
he offered no complaint.
He summoned up a vision,
and made himself a saint.
-Logarian children's poem
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Sonia thought that eavesdropping wasn't in her character, but she was willing to put aside her principles for a moment, mostly because her principles had absolutely no bearing on what happened to her.
She had been scoring historical records in Circhester, until she came upon the Macro Cosmos library. It was a grand building, enough to house a cathedral from ancient Hisui. The attendants had been oblique when handling her and filled with augury, trying to keep her from delving too deep into the building's back passages and hidden tunnels. Spurning them, she had ventured into the basement levels of the library, hunting for records relating to the Hammerlocke Vault.
After an hour of fruitless searching, Sonia fell asleep at a long table in the restricted sections, surrounded by piles of files. Soon, she was awoken by the sounds of footsteps...five pairs of footsteps.
She stood with a start and ran for the cover of a nearby shelf. She ducked just out of sight before three people entered. His face obscured by a wooden slab, a man ordered two to wait outside and prevent anyone from entering. "This is a private council. Fill your ears with this powder, it will prevent you from hearing while we converse."
"Making your men deaf and dumb, eh, Rose?" a voice said, taunting but erudite. "They must be more loyal than I first thought."
A small watcheye, painted red, floated into the room before the figure in a tweed suit closed the door and locked it. It almost glimpsed Sonia, but then hovered down to where she could have grabbed it. Its droning hum quieted, one of the men having powered it off with a comsignal. "It shouldn't record this, you well know," the third man said. "I suppose that none of our legendary exploits will occur here."
The suited figure sat where Sonia had been studying, and she had to stifle a gasp.
Chairman Rose!
Two others were with him: men with extravagant hairstyles, shapes fashioned like a sword and a shield. They wore fine blue and red suits that made Rose's own look as though it had been passed down to him second-hand. The two sat, uncomfortable on the wooden chairs. "We should have met at Rose Tower!" the blue-suited one said. "We could have sat in fine lounges, not these crude apparatuses that pass for places to sit."
"Tercano has bugged every inch of Rose Tower," Rose said. "And you were about to go to Route Nine unless my memory has wholly left me. All in all, since we have not been followed, this is the best location for this secret little council." He paused. "I assume that the two are cooperative?"
"Yes, they will follow our orders. The girl shouldn't be able to tell the difference."
It occurred to Sonia that these two strangers spoke in tandem, as a cohesive unit rather than two unique individuals. Still, differences could be found. The blue-suited one was more aggressive and spoke with a biting edge, while the red-suited one seemed younger and timider; prepared to defend his arguments at any moment. What is Rose doing with these two men? There is an element of hatred between everyone here...
"I believe that the Grand Plan will go accordingly," Rose said. "Tell me, how do you like to sound of Emperor Sordward and Emperor Shielbert I?"
"It was not our fault that our ancestors lost the throne!" Sordward said. "The sting of that loss should be felt as keenly as any. Still, some people might not approve of the actions taken to give us that, ahh, title. Do you have some sort of special task for us, Chairman Ro-"
"No. You should go about your own affairs in preventing her from keeping on the trail." Rose's voice was hoarse, but there remained a sharp edge to it. "I doubt Tercano will let me live after the Darkest Day has transpired, but if you play your cards right, he will spare you. I can hear the jubilant throngs, the cries of the people begging for the deliverance of those who saved them from the Dark Lord Eternatus! Only you two have such a power."
"You have a bad habit of interrupting us."
"Why should you care?"
Sonia felt as though her vision was constricting in a narrow passage, filling up with a blurred haze like ozone. Rose? Causing the Darkest Day? This is just a dream, a very strange dream.
Sordward glanced his face away to conceal anger. "You really think that Tercano will let us have the throne?"
"Not at all. You will have to take care of him yourself. At the very least, the facilities that Macro Cosmos maintains to keep Galar powered will still need to be staffed. Without Oleana or any crony of Bronze, you would be the most popular and viable choice. In time, your line will have control over Galar. Play on people's dissatisfaction and fears, as all great leaders do."
Rose continued speaking, but Sonia felt a compulsion in her hands to reach up and grasp the watcheye. It did not stir. She twisted it through the shelf, dislodging its feedback socket with a simple press of a button. Inside was a memory card: full of the experiences and data of the watcheye. Perfect. She took the square device, hoping that it would contain some evidence that could incriminate these two.
"And our rule will be secure," Shielbert agreed, "Because the Rorian Convention and Association will go where the money goes. Manipulating the minds of the people (although it is hardly manipulation, us being rightful heirs to the throne) is hardly the worst thing that royalty has done to gain power. I long for the day in which House Wulfhere gains control over Galar once more...and that might be tomorrow. The Rorians will drown in their own religion!"
Sonia continued to lie in wait. Once Rose and the two royals left, she would go straight to Magnolia. From there, Tercano would bring everyone involved in this conspiracy to summon the Darkest Day again to justice. She was wondering how they would do such a thing, and for what reason. Feeling a twinge of regret for Rose, Sonia remembered all that he had done for Galar. Now, he was betraying it. She steeled herself and continued eavesdropping.
"Common people must have a strict orthodoxy to follow: ergo, the belief in the lordship of Men over Pokemon, not Pokemon over Men or Elohim over Men," Sordward said. "With your cooperation and the forgetfulness of the collective consciousness of the nation, only a select minority remember the propaganda espoused by the Clan of Theon relating the Two Princes. The statue at the Budew Drop Inn was a pretty penny to forge, but it has accomplished its purpose. By locking away the four famed tapestries and nearly destroying the fifth, we have control over who may know about the contradictions between different myth cycles. The textbooks and published historical manuals are biased and edited to a degree that even Tercano would gasp at. The path is set for dominion of Galar."
Beside herself with rage, Sonia let out a soft "oh!" These men were responsible for the age-old plot to erase the memory of the Two Princes featured in ancient myth, merely to set the way for their own grab at political control.
The three talked a little longer, but Sonia understood nothing of the strange terminology used. Eventually, they got up to leave, opening the door again. Sonia waited until their footsteps faded away before leaving the cover of the packed bookshelves.
...
She stepped outside the door into the curved hall and heard a faint pop. She dove, recognizing it as the sound of a projectile dart. Two Macro Cosmos guards remained behind, firing their weapons. Sonia sent out her Yamper, crawling across the hall. A stunner pellet hit the Pokemon, but it harmlessly bounced off, broken.
Sonia heard an electrical whirring behind her, then screams followed by the smell of burning flesh. Yamper had done its work. More shouts came from behind as Sonia ran out of a back exit and into Circhester's empty streets. She took a look behind her to see the operatives running with Sordward and Shielbert in tow, one of them holding the ruined watcheye.
"Get that woman!" Sordward howled. "She's got the memory card! If it gets out, we'll be ruined!"
"I told you we should never have gotten that damned watcheye!" Shielbert cried.
"Shut up and catch that whore!"
I have to get to a Flying Taxi, Sonia thought as she ran, her Yamper following close behind. The natural, exhilarating movement of her stride was a welcome relief from the cramped sitting position that she had been stuck in for the past half-hour. They won't be able to follow me there!
Turning around a sharp curve, she heard the lumbering footsteps of a Golisopod in pursuit, followed by a Mud Shot whipping past her. The attack smashed through a store's plastiglass window, sending alarms blaring. A Flying Taxi was parked by a curb just ahead, with a group of male trainers in ski equipment crowding around it.
"Help, somebody!" Sonia screamed, hoping for a diversion. "Insane men with guns are chasing me! Help, help!"
"What do you mean, lady?" a man asked. "Guns are illegal in Galar, aren't they? Who's following you?"
A stun pellet bounced off the taxi, and Sonia got in and sent back her Pokemon as the other swiveled to see her pursuers. She sent the Corivknight flying into the clear sky, saw the group of men angrily running after Sordward and Shielbert, who were running for their lives and firing indiscriminately. The shadow of a private shuttle emblazoned with the symbol of Macro Cosmos went north, with Rose within.
Once high above the city, Sonia quickly phoned Magnolia, fumbling with her Rotom Phone.
...
"We understand, Casey!" Magnolia said. "You believe that two celebrities stole your Pokemon. Calm down while I take this call from Sonia!"
"Gran!" Sonia yelled, frantic. "Where are you?"
"On Route Nine," Magnolia replied, alarmed. "What's going on? Are you injured?"
"No," Sonia said. "But I found a massive breakthrough in the cause of the conspiracy!" Her voice became so rapid that Magnolia hardly heard her. "Rose is plotting something with two royals who want to take the throne of Galar by starting the Darkest Day and overthrowing Bronze Tercano and I was listening in the library while researching so I got a memory card from their watcheye that they had with them but they chased me and now I'm in the middle of nowhere in a Flying Taxi! We have to get the memory card to Chairman Tercano so he can stop this and I need Casey to find more evidence in the data on the card-"
"Oi, Sonia!" Magnolia roared. "Calm down and speak clearly!"
Sonia saw the tunnel that led to Route Nine from Spikemuth, a dark circle the size of a bottlecap from the air. "I'm almost there, Gran! We'll talk more in the RV!"
A glint of metal in the sunlight struck Sonia's eye, and she looked back in the cramped box to see a Klinklang soaring through the heavens, sending a bolt of luminiferous electricity at the Flying Taxi. A dull hatred was in the Pokemon's eyes, a sign of a life of mistreatment and neglect. Sordward and Shielbert!
The attack struck the Corviknight, (Wild Charge, she thought) and emergency ray shields went up. Even through the distortion of the energy, Sonia could hear the Corviknight crow and then faint. The Flying Taxi plummeted to the ground, backup retrorockets flaring as it fell.
As Sonia hit the ground and was jarred into unconsciousness, she thought that certainly, the two madmen would capture her in such a helpless state. However, the Klinklang swerved to see Spikemuth City, trembled far above, and then rushed to Route Nine. Two more Flying Taxis followed it, landing inconspicuously on the other side of the long tunnel.
What are they doing?
Magnolia's voice came like a poor holorecording. Remember, they said they had business on Route Nine. Be thankful that you were spared, at least for now. Wait and rest! Help may yet come.
Thank you, grandmother. Funny, this whole business with the watcheye makes me think that Sordward and Shielbert need to learn a very important lesson.
To not be prideful?
Not to trust a thinking machine.
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Roria, (Classified)
The man without emotions is one to fear. But deep emotions...ah, those can be bent to your needs.
-Emrett Dialoges, compiled works
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The rain poured on the polished shipyard dock, covering four figures that stood amid an awe-inspiring array of thousands upon thousands of transport vessels and battleships of every conceivable size and configuration. Gathered here was an armada before which none could stand, utterly filling the military base. Heavy cruisers, troop carryalls, automated bombers, huge rammers, and interdictors. Thousands upon thousands of them.
"I suppose they are aware that the force we send will overwhelm them," Bronze said to the Rorian captain. "But it is unlikely that Rose has guessed we truly would send everything we had."
"And why not?" Jake said. "We have been capable of moving against him at our leisure. We only wish to do this through legal channels so that the Galarian people will still have a modicum of faith in us. There is no other foe that can stand in combat against the Rorian military. By Arceus and Saint Rei, I thought Rose would have already held Galar as a hostage state."
"He is sincere in his love for Galar," Tess said. "Although this sincerity is misplaced. Signs and variables are becoming less flexible, more deadly. Rose is about to act, but we must strike before he does. The particle leak under Hammerlocke points to an energy weapon of some kind that can pierce ray shields...I suspect that his scheme will consist of a coordinated strike on our cities with this new weapon, and threatening to shut down Galar's power if we retaliate. Then he will use the enraged populace to dispose of you, Tercano."
"Obvious enough," Bronze said. He addressed his commander again. "Captian, Rose's mercenary armies, although only numbering in thousands, have heavily fortified positions in Galar. Macro Cosmos controls the region's infrastructure; comlinks, fuel, the media, and I suspect that they have hidden defenses. Is this fleet strong enough to end the battle in one night?"
The captain spat, gesturing toward the thousands of craft. "Bah! We are Rorians! We fight for you and your country! Weak mercenaries cannot stand against us. Macro Cosmos will fall within the hour of our arrival!"
"All is well, then," Bronze muttered. "When are these ready to depart? Woodhall, is the audit ready?"
"Everything is in place. Macro Cosmos will find itself attacked with the most overwhelming force conceivable, and will then find that all its assets have been frozen under your order. Henry Sword still remains in the Gym Challenge, so our claim is valid."
"He might be defeated at Spikemuth," Jake said. "We must attack, now! Rose might deploy his weapon, or we might lose our grounds for this entire assault. If we did, think of the scrutiny we would be put under! Even if it was determined that the battle was a simple act of region-to-region warfare, the Great Convention would limit our power drastically! You know of which entities I speak, Tercano."
Bronze nodded, remembering that some of his deals with other realities had gone sour. His actions were now accountable to very powerful beings that he could not fight. "Then we attack before all goes awry! How will we minimize civilian casualties?"
"We'll bomb their training center to ashes," the captain snarled. "Rose Tower will be ours for the taking. Electricians and workers will be needed to keep the plant running in the event of an attack, but once we take Rose Tower, a few cleverly-placed Porygons in their databanks will cede every last cent in their coffers to the Grand Bashar!" He looked to the rain-soaked west, sniffed. "This will hardly be a battle worthy of Rorian Commandos or even our common soldiers! The Pokemon will not be so easily calmed from their battle-fury."
"That is why gladiatorial matches are hosted in Orre, captain," Tess said. "To relive the fighting spirit of our noble soldiers." Her eyes glazed over. "Accounting for several hours in transit time, we will launch the fleet at sunset. Is this acceptable?"
"We could do it earlier," Jake said. "The men are ready to fight. Why not attack now, if everything is ready? We could wait until night outside the Girdle."
"Hours matter in this fight," Tess said. "I cannot foresee when Rose will make his move, so the earlier we attack, the more likely a complete victory is. Still, it would be strategically advantageous to wait for the night."
"Then we attack at sunset!" Bronze declared. "Captain, tell the soldiers that I will be leading them into battle."
The captain spoke into each vessel on his comlink. "The Grand Bashar will be fighting with us in our holy war! The enemies of Roria and Arceus will fall to our swords!"
Deep, guttural throat singing began, echoing over the shipyard. Plasma engines ominously flickered, and Bronze looked at the monster of a military that he had created.
For some implacable reason, he began to feel afraid.