Lore of Yandor #13

Situated farther up north in the mountainous landscape of Croudor, Merritown was built inside a massive ancient crater caused by a meteor landing back in the Age of Rayquaza. Despite its long-standing existence, the town has seen little to no expansions aside from a few tourist centric shops. Regardless, this town primarily houses all the miners that have delved deep into the crater in an attempt to discover extremely rare and precious materials from the meteor. One of these so-called materials happens to be responsible for the creation of nactvite. The miners of Merritown aren't the most welcoming of visitors, since their work is often bothered by the curiosity of the tourists. That, coupled by their valued peace and quiet after a long day's work.

Age of Zezula: Year 780: Location: Croudor Province: Merritown

Upon stepping out of the teleporter, Rukous's ears were immediately met with the terrified screams of pokemon from outside the building. Lulu, Jessica, and Tuba appeared shortly after.

"Sounds like we were late to arrive," Tuba commented, concerned for the town. "Hopefully not too much so."

Jessica covered her mouth in worry. "Then we better get out there fast! We have to save all those pokemon!" She cried out in urgency.

Rukous nodded and quickly rushed out the door along with the others. They noticed a group of pokemon terrorizing the townspeople, many bodies littering the ground. The group consisted of a roserade, shiny greninja, krokorok, banette, and skarmory. The latter of the bunch wearing an all too familiar buzzsaw like a mohawk.

They were all standing inside of an imposingly large crater, the ground was cracked and very dry looking. The area was also home to a lot of mining and construction equipment. A few large drills were scattered about the place, there were steel beams hanging from steel wires, big metal cranes, piles of dirt and rubble, and pokemon-made tunnels at the edges of the crater. Furthermore, there were some small, steel buildings here and there. Overlooking the place from just outside the crater was a bunch of buildings, presumingly houses for the miners.

"Wait… is that Aeron?" Jessica asked upon seeing the familiar krokorok she fought with back in the Acron Province. "Why is he here?"

"Aeron?! Lumen's personal dj?! You are with the Fireforged?!" A shocked Rukous asked. "Well… actually it's not all that surprising the more I think about it."

"Yeah, and what of it?" Aeron responded with a shrug. "There's a reason I tricked your dumbasses back in Acron. You weren't there, but I sent your allies right into a trap, albeit, I didn't expect them to succeed. So, I had to improvise when they came back to me for a reward. It's funny though, because I find myself yet again, witnessing a bunch of idiots from Team Eternity fall for another obvious trap, courtesy of Raime."

"Getting us to come here was the intention, wasn't it?" Tuba realized.

"Correctamundo, I told you our plans specifically so you would be our first victims in this invasion!" the banette, now known as Raime, informed. "Nothing better than kicking off a classic worldwide beatdown by taking out your nemesis from the get go."

"Although, Skorge couldn't help himself and prematurely kicked things off…" the roserade mentioned in an amused tone. "Hmph, not that I mind, no pokemon in Yandor deserves a shred of mercy anyways."

"Don't encourage his terrible habits, Hibiscus," the greninja chastised, crossing his arms.

Skorge clicked his tongue and leaned in close to the greninja.

"Put a cork in it, Ansuis! This addiction to violence of mine may be hard to control, but it sure as hell ain't a negative habit!" He rebuked, turning to glare at Team Eternity. "I'm just glad that we have finally reunited! We are all here today because of our hatred of each other and it would be unjust of us not to take it out on one another!"

"Indeed, you murderers will receive your rightful punishment for killing my beloved Vaylie," Hibiscus remarked, furrowing her brow while looking hurt. "She never deserved that kind of fate…"

"No, she was far from deserving of a life," Lulu said, shaking her head. "Not only did she traumatize Naoto, but she's the reason Havan and Shinji are gone."

"How dare you!" Skorge exclaimed in anger, stomping a foot down. "She was the greatest partner in torture that I've ever had! The way she cruelly mistreats her toys is just so inspiring to me… But now she can no longer do what she enjoyed most in life because of a few disrespectful mercenaries!"

"You have no right to speak of your victims in such a manner! Naoto and Lu were living, breathing pokemon, not dolls for your amusement!" Rukous chided through clenched teeth.

"Oh? Lu was with you then? Now I understand why she was desperately crying out for someone named 'Rukous' or 'Viime' overnight," Skorge said. "Let me tell you, she was quite the screamer, very enjoyable to listen to. You really caught a fine one, must've been quite the riot in bed, amiright, Rukous?"

"Y-you didn't! You disgusting perverted freak!"

"Wha!? Nah man, don't start assuming that I'm that abhorrent of a pokemon," Skorge defended, offended from the accusation of rape. "I would never lay my talons on another man's mate, it's just not right you know? Plus, I prefer mine fresh over being a used and abused object that came from a bargain bin at a cheap store. I like to believe that I actually have a sense of taste."

"Doesn't make you any less of a vile deviant! You will regret talking about her like a degenerate! She is more than just an object of sexual gratification to me!" Rukous rebuked in earnesty.

"C-couldn't we just move on in forgiveness?" Jessica piped up in an innocent tone, holding her tail cutely. "I mean, we all seem very hurt over death and all, continuing to fight will only cause more pain for both parties."

Skorge's eyes widened, you could almost see the histeria emanating from him.

"Forgiveness!? Pahaha! Forgiveness is non-existent in this world!" Skorge chuckled darkly, eyes filled with pure malice. "Your innocence is endearing, but it has no counsel in Yandor, oh no no no no, it wouldn't last a second in the ring with the unadulterated cruelty in this hellish landscape! Not a single soul on this damned piece of rubble we call Yandor is without sin! Kehehehehaha… not even Arceus themselves, as they've already left us to our devices as we rip each other to pieces… they must enjoy the show, seeing they've yet to influence our lives."

"You truly are a being of pure malice…" Rukous remarked, his brow furrowing inwards. "I may not have a clue what you've been through, as it's clear you have suffered some kind of mental trauma. Regardless, you will not get sympathy from me."

Skorge's talons dug into the flesh of the head beneath him.

"Heh… Oh yes… I'm fully aware of my personal delirium, I don't need your sympathy though," he sneered before looking down with a frown. "Alas… we all will succumb to the nature of destruction, all will become corrupted by the malignant nature of Yandor… Indeed, I am a depraved monster… and you'll all be one of them sooner or later! Every last pokemon! The vile savages, criminals, bandits, malfarians… there's no escaping it…"

Tuba scratched his chest as he became increasingly uncomfortable. "Alrighty then, you are without a doubt, beyond saving," he commented, shrugging his shoulders in carelessness.

"Excuse me, did I request a savior?" Skorge mockingly asked, scoffing afterwards. "I have long since abandoned all hope for any semblance of sanity and have chosen to embrace the nature of our world. And let me tell you… pulling back the curtains and realizing that every wrong is a right. This…this path I've chosen has led me to glory for every pointless moral I refuse to abide by. Life has become far more worth living!"

He held out his wings for dramatic emphasization, looking upwards into the cloudy sky.

"No more cowering, no more hopelessly wishing for a better future! It was time that I embraced the chaos, embraced the present for all its glory! Spreading the name of death and ruin! Reveling in the neverending danger that surrounds us! Ohhohoho~ I've never felt more alive till then… till now... letting the chaos inside my soul, filling the hollow void that was left within me... there's not a single regret left within me anymore, hehehe…"

An angered expression grew on Rukous's face as he took in the words of the psychotic pokemon.

"Which is why your reign of terror will end here and now!" He shouted, gritting his teeth. "For all that you did to Lu and many many others!"

"Kehehaha~ Ohhhh, it'll be such a joy tearing all that heroism apart~" Skorge said, deriding the concept of heroes. He then licked his lips while creepily staring off into the distance. "I can taste it now, the rupturing of organs, the flesh and blood sliding against my tongue~ You'll understand soon enough that the truest answer to life is surrendering to the demons inside all of us… that's when you realize what being a Yandorian is all about!"

Ansuis shook his head with a face of concern.

"Skorge… Enough of the typical nefarious monologue, let's just get this fight over with for the sake of our Mother," he ordered, taking note of Skorge's degrading attitude.

"Right… for Mother... I-I suppose I've let myself ramble long enough," Skorge said, seeming somewhat lost in thought.

"Yeah, dude, you went a little too far with all of… whatever that nonsense was," Aeron commented. "Like, I'm just here because you assholes dragged me into it for "Family" bonding or someshit…honestly just care about ensuring Hibiscus isn't harmed. She's the only one that I ever got along with."

Skorge turned to Team Eternity, stepping off of the head he mangled with his talons.

"Let us get to the slaughter fest then! Your screams shall join this symphony of destruction! PAHAHAHAAHAAAaaa!~" he announced in a bout of madness.

Tuba bore his fangs, which were sparking with electricity.

"Well, if you say we're starting now, Thun-"

"Water Shuriken!" Ansuis suddenly interrupted, jumping up and tossing out shurikens made of water at lightning fast speeds, all targeted at the luxio.

The first found its place in Tuba's left side, the second in his upper back, a third in his right foreleg, and the fourth dangerously close to his neck. Fortunately, he was able to dodge the fifth one that nearly hit him between the eyes. Regardless, the attack did a number on him, leaving many bleeding puncture wounds all over his body.

Tuba angrily glared at the greninja as they landed on top of a heightened steel beam with some added flourish.

"Way to ruin my moment, dickshit!" he declared with vehemence in his tone, then he crouched down, preparing to pounce. "Thunder Fang!"

With a large leap, he made it to the top of the steel beam while also striking at Ansuis. However, the greninja had intended to draw Tuba's aggro, so he promptly spun around to avoid him. However, Tuba still managed to catch Ansuis's left elbow with a scrape of his fangs.

Aeron looked over at Hibiscus and Raime.

"A quick heads up, You two better get off the ground for a moment," he whispered to them with a smirk. They understood and hopped up onto a nearby railroad track.

"Bulldoze!" Aeron announced before stomping hard onto the ground.

While the shockwave and cracks it created weren't the most impressive, it was enough to knock Jessica and Rukous over, causing them to hit the floor with an Oomph. Wasn't very damaging, but it did leave them feeling a little more sluggish than before.

Jessica noticed Skorge was preoccupied with the abuse of an already dead tranquil, disrespectfully kicking it rapidly.

She snuck up to him from behind and attempted to tickle him to get his guard lowered. Unfortunately or luckily in some cases, he was completely oblivious to her tail swiping across his body.

"Kahahahaha! What a damn forgettable existence you live! You do make for a nice kicking bag though!" The skarmory evilly taunted as he continued with his violent actions on the corpse.

Jessica backed away slowly. "Honestly, what else was I expecting from that anyways?" she commented to herself with a sigh of disappointment. "He clearly doesn't have any positive or fun emotions…"

As this was going on, Raime, in the heat of battle, had snuck into the teleporter building to shut the portal off to insure that reinforcements would not be arriving anytime soon. He snickered to himself as he left the building.

Lulu saw him and pointed at him with her wing.

"You! After confusing me and my friends in that blasted house, it's time that you get a taste of your own medicine!" She exclaimed, tipping her hat as a blinding flash of light shot from her person towards the banette. "Confuse Ray!"

Raime easily sunk into the ground to duck underneath the ray of light and shield his eyes. He came back up with a cocky grin.

"You were saying m'lady?" he teased, adding a wink for extra effect, to which Lulu huffed in annoyance. "Oh, and Will-O-Wisp!"

He counter-attacked. Launching a bluish-white flame from his hands that Lulu simply put out with a flap of her wings. She returned the favor with a cocky smirk of her own.

"At least we're even then with our nonoptimal attacks," she said, winking in his direction.

Hibiscus flicked her hair back with one of her bouquets, peering over at Rukous and Jessica whom were standing next to each other.

"I'm going to need both of you to wait right there, Toxic Spikes!" She cockily flung her right arm up, tossing out a staggering amount of violet tinted spikes around and directly on top of Rukous and Jessica.

Both of them began to pull out the spikes that got lodged into their flesh. They began to feel a little woozy as the toxins infected their wounds.

"Ack! You're going to be okay, Jess...?" Rukous questioned, giving the minccino a look of concern.

Jessica squinted in minor pain. "W-we just have to end the fight quicker then…" she responded, not sounding all too confident with her words. "But yeah, I'll be fine for now."

A look of regret filled Rukous's face. "Really wish I had time to prepare beforehand, could've brought some antidotes," he said, frowning before being awash with fear once he noticed the ethereal swords Skorge was summoning around himself. "Crap, we must not allow him to get away with that…"

For added fearsomeness, Skorge snapped a piece of bone off of a corpse with his talons and began using it as a sharpener for the buzzsaw atop his head. After he finished, he tossed the bone behind him and grinned at Rukous.

"If you fancy yourself such a strategist, then by all means, throw yourself into the face of danger!" He threatened, manically laughing. "I'll one hit your motherfuckin' naive ass!"

Rukous gulped and started to ponder.

Unfortunately for him, I am no naive fool. If I am to take him out, it's going to require a more careful approach…

He searched his surroundings until his eyes lay upon a large, vertical drill nearby. The drill itself was raised up, currently deactivated. That's when it hit him.

If I can lure him underneath the drill, maybe I'll be able to activate it before he realizes and pulverise that steel hide of his…

"Hey Skorge! I have a wonderful proposal that you may find appealing," Rukous shouted, garnering the Skarmory's attention, whom seemed doubtful.

"If this is some kind of pansy declaration of peace, then I want no part of it!" He exclaimed angrily, vehemently shaking his head.

"No no, I was going to suggest that you could make good use of this drill over here," Rukous gestured with his head over to the drill. "Just think of all the ways you could torment me with it, drilling into my flesh, twisting and snapping all the bones in my body as it flings blood all over the mining facility. Doesn't it sound a satisfying way to torture your victim?"

"Excuse me?! You believe me to be the type of bird to steal another psychopath's genius torturous idea? That's simply disrespectful to the integrity of their artistic creativity!" Skorge remarked in disbelief, frowning at the proposal. "Not to be rude though, you have one hell of a sickening mind, kid. I'm proud that you are embracing your inner desire for suffering!"

Rukous found himself to be utterly befuddled after that, gawking at Skorge in pure confusion.

I'll add that to the list of 'things I refuse to believe that I heard...ever.' Also, his pride is one of the few I'd rather be without.

Ansuis rolled his eyes, having overheard their conversation.

*sigh* "Skorge, you do know that he was attempting to bait you underneath the drill with the intention to use it on you! Not himself," the greninja explained, wiping his face slowly in a clear show of tiredness.

Skorge let out a gasp of offense, furiously glaring at Rukous.

"Here I thought you were an upstanding creature of worth, I might just take you up on your offer now!" He exclaimed with an angered expression, gritting his teeth dangerously. "I'll shove that damn drill down your fucking esophagus! We'll see just how much that long neck of yours can take!"

Rukous gulped and re-thought out his plan of action.

Guess I'll just stand over here and Calm Mind then… he thought, allowing himself to relax and trail off from the woes of battle.

Tuba was still standing on the steel beam along with Ansuis. He faced the black frog ninja with a look of determination. He reared back and charged at him with lightning fangs once more.

"Thunder Fang!" Tuba declared, finding himself chomping down on nothing but the dust particles emanating from the crater. He shook his head and saw Ansuis sitting on a higher up beam.

Ansuis gave him a bored look as he swung his feet back and forth cutely.

"I've lost count of how many times you've used that same electric move against me…" He commented, sighing while rolling his eyes lazily. "From a fellow fighter to another, learn to change up your game every once in a while, even if your attack may do less damage to your opponent. Sometimes, catching pokemon off-guard proves to be more effective."

Tuba stomped his back foot in frustration.

"I didn't ask for advice from a no-good bandit!"

"Forgive me for trying to be a good sport about it…" Ansuis mumbled under his breath. "See, Skorge, you've ruined all of our images and honor with this nonsense… oh how I mourn for the old days back in the foster home..."

"Lost your parents too eh?" Tuba spoke up, hearing Ansuis's final words. His expression then softened. "Lost mine to raiders not much unlike yourself. I still remember when I was helpless during that time, crying out for help that would never come…how'd you lose yours?"

"I didn't have it as rough as the others did," Ansuis began, looking away with a frown. "I was simply not perfect enough for them, called me an impure demon mostly due to my colors appearing too "malevolent" for their liking. So they casted me aside as if I was an inventor's failed blueprint. Sure, it was far easier for me to get over it, but my opinion on Yandor's pokemon isn't all too different from the rest of the Fireforged. However, we do not share the same morals and ideas of how to recoup."

"Huh… maybe you aren't too bad after all," Tuba nodded in approval with a smile. "I mean, I also was able to move past my parents' death, but of course I still harbor some hatred for raiders and the like."

"Wish the rest of my brothers and sisters had the same capacity that he does..." Ansuis muttered to himself.

Meanwhile down below, Aeron positioned himself in front of some big rocks.

"Leave me to be the only one utilizing AOEs…" He mumbled to himself as he smacked the rocks with his strong tail. However, he misjudged their weight since they only went a few feet. "Goddamnit! Now I look like just as much of an idiot as our enemies!"

Ansuis pointed a finger at Tuba, charging up a torrent of water. Steam was visibly floating around his hand.

"Scald!" A blast of building water left from his finger, only for Tuba to jump right over it.

"Think you can keep mocking me after that embarrassment!?" He taunted cockily.

"Not until you finally land your first hit, and no, a minor scrape doesn't count," Ansuis responded, crossing his arms as he looked down on the Luxio.

Jessica, deciding it was best if she'd help out one of the others, saw who Lulu was facing up against.

"Knock Off!" she announced, swinging an outstretched palm towards Raime.

Much to his nature, he momentarily faded his corporeal form to make the attack phase right through him, leaving him unharmed.

"You guys are making this too easy!" Raime teased, chortling hauntingly. "Vaylie must've been hit with a series of unfortunate events to have died to jabronis like you…"

Lulu patteed Jessica's back.

"Welcome to my world, missy. Though, I do appreciate that you came to my aid," she comforted with a smile. "But he cannot possibly continue to dodge forever."

She turned to face the banette.

"You'll run out of energy sooner or later!" She exclaimed, hunkering her head down and sprinted towards Raime. "Pursuit!"

Yet again, he avoided the attack with ease, snickering as he did so.

"Seriously, will any of you ever show your worth as a mercenary band?" He questioned, shrugging. "Like… why would Croudor allow such pathetic fighters into their ranks?"

Jessica furrowed her brows and tapped her foot.

"Because they recognize that we have spirit and good-natured hearts beyond many others in Yandor!" She loudly answered before sharply pointing at the ghost. "Unlike you and your cronies!"

Raime looked at her emotionless, then burst out laughing.

"Ok ok ok… you really think that you, a ball of fur, is intimidating?" He clutched his stomach. "You're a riot, little girl! So is your blind murkrow friend! As much fun as it is messing with you two, I'm starting to feel a little bored by the repetitiveness of our fight. It's time for a Charge Beam!"

He shot out a concentrated beam of electricity at Lulu, only for it to whiff when she launched over it with a powerful flap of her wings. Raime facepalmed in shame.

Hibiscus caught sight of Rukous thinking calmly to himself. She sneered as she held out her bouquet, pointing it at the Girafarig.

"Magical Leaf!" She announced, covering her mouth with her other bouquet. "This should feel all the more painful thanks to my technique."

Proving her point, Rukous groaned in pain after the leaves left nasty cuts all over his body. He gritted through it, his wounds leaking some blood.

Hopefully, at least one of us can show them that we can do this… Because the statistics don't lie, they have been far more consistent with their attacks thus far…

Skorge menacingly grinned, setting his eyes on his prey, the already weakened Luxio whom was too focused on Ansuis.

"Sorry Ansuis, hope you won't be pissed about me kill stealing! I just can't allow you to have all the glory!" He lifted himself into the air, keeping himself afloat with his metal wings. "Time for my signature move, Buzzsaw Smash!"

What Tuba was subjected to was nothing short of unbearably agonzing. Skorge swooped in head first, his buzzsaw slicing straight through Tuba's back right leg and its bone, leaving it hanging by the flesh barely keeping it connected. Tuba howled in pure anguish before succumbing to the massive amount of blood loss, leaving him unconscious. His body fell from the steel beam and landed with a thud onto the rocky ground.

Rukous's eyes widened in shock and worry.

"Tuba! S-someone needs to stop the bleeding now!" He demanded, looking over at Lulu and Jessica who were also just as shocked. Jessica, in particular, felt her eyes begin to water over as she stared at Tuba's unmoving body.

"L-Lulu! Y-you have the medical experience, right?! Y-You can s-save him!" She sputtered in between panicked breaths, wiping her eyes.

Lulu shook some sense back into herself and nodded firmly.

"O-of course, right away!" She quickly flew over to Tuba, pulling out her trusty bandages that also helped Court back in the quarry. She made a cast over his wounded leg, not that it would ensure he'd keep it for the future.

Skorge landed back onto the ground with a full-of-himself expression. Tuba's blood was dripping down from his head and over his mouth.

"Kehahahahahaaa! Yyyyeeeessss~" he licked at the blood, manic in his eyes. "Revenge has never tasted so sweet… what an arousing feeling indeed…"

He peered over at Lulu tending to her friend.

"Trust me, you're wasting your time with that inevitable corpse! You are already outnumbered by two now, why jeopardize the whole fight for that!" He mocked before glancing up at Ansuis with a cocky smile. "See how simple it is!? When will you figure out that holding back purposely drags the rest of us down!? I just wish you'd join me in the enjoyment of the kill…"

Ansuis shook his head, seeming a bit disgusted by his brother's attitude.

"I've told you many times that I'm only doing this for the sake of our mother, not for the thrill of senseless slaughter," he proclaimed, turning his back to Skorge while crossing his arms. "You've blinded yourself with madness and have lost sight of our original intent."

Hibiscus furrowed her brow.

"For all that Yandor has done to us, you think they deserve any sort of mercy!?" She questioned furiously. "Or have you forgotten? Forgotten why we all nearly ended ourselves? Forgotten that Vaylie was murdered by those damned mercs!?"

Ansuis's face twitched for a moment.

"I had thought you, with your previous noblewoman's life, would have been spared his corrupted will. Alas, my judgment was incorrect," he said, letting out a relaxing sigh. "Irregardless, I cannot stop any of you…which is why I find myself assisting in this atrocity..."

Skorge began to fume.

"I'm really starting to lose my patience with you and your 'Look at me! I'm so high and mighty! I'm the last remnant of the good ole times!'" He exclaimed in a mocking impression of Ansuis. "Our mother has demanded that we take our revenge! How dare you even hint at defying her wishes!"

Meanwhile, Rukous was sneaking up behind Hibiscus as the Fireforged distracted themselves with personal arguments.

Now's the perfect time to strike, I swear… if this somehow goes awry…

"Psychic!" He suddenly announced, scaring the life out of Hibiscus who yelped in response.

To his relief, he was finally able to make some headway in the fight as he slammed the roserade to the floor with his telekinetic powers. However, it wasn't quite enough to put her down once and for all, since she slowly pushed herself back up.

Aeron clenched his fist.

"Oi! Fuckwit! Hands off the beautiful lady!" He yelled at Rukous, shining his menacing teeth at him. "Crunch!"

Rukous was unable to avoid the incoming jaws of death as they snapped down on his neck. Miraculously, he managed to power through it and remain conscious despite the pointed teeth shaped holes in his neck. Aeron seemed pretty confused that he didn't actually get the kill on him.

"The hell!? Since when does a creature that's 60% neck not fucking die with me literally biting their jugular!?"

Raime noticed that Ansuis was refusing to move a muscle.

"Ey hombre! Get your ass in gear! Don't stand there being useless!" He accused him in an annoyed manner before glancing at Skorge while gesturing to him. "Get a load of him now, bro. He's being rebellious again…"

Skorge shook his head and flew up to where Ansuis was.

"Ansuis. Yet again, you are just making it so apparent that you are a slut for punishment... Of course, I'm happy to oblige and encourage you to continue to suffer under my claws!" the skarmory began to perpetually scrape his talons against the steel beam.

Ansuis winced, covering his scarred eye from his past injuries that Skorge "gifted" him. He breathed in through his lips.

"Scald!" He launched heated water towards Lulu, making no effort to actually aim his attack. As such, it landed nowhere near her.

Skorge let out a growl of frustration and leapt up to slam Ansuis down with his left foot, making sure to painstakingly drag his talon across his head, digging deep into the flesh. Then he freed Ansuis, whom silently stood back up, seething in pain as he touched his fresh wounds.

"...This...isn't what… our family was meant to be…" he whispered under staggered breaths, looking down.

Skorge harrumphed and grinned maliciously

Jessica was awkwardly standing in the background. The poor thing was trembling in complete fear and nervousness as her friends were beaten and maimed by the Fireforged.

You can do this, Jessica, they need your help more than ever. You knew it was going to be difficult from the start ever since you even considered being a mercenary… Backing down now will only serve you a tray of regret and probably depression as a spice… Come on, you can do this!

Once she built up enough confidence, she rushed to the debilitated roserade. She readied her tail to try and slap Hibiscus multiple times, only for her tail to get caught by Aeron. He glared at her with malevolent intent.

"I'm done playing nice with you! It's time you become a real woman!" He suddenly yanked hard on the fragile minccino's tail, it was separated from its owner in a bloody mess. Jessica wailed in excruciation, falling to the ground face first in tears.

"AAAAIIIIIEEEEE!" She continued to cry in pain, crawling towards Lulu who was now filled with grief witnessing this. "L-L-Lul..u… p-please, help...me…"

Lulu's talon dug into the dirt beneath her, she was shaking with visible anger. The Fireforged just watched her in amusement, not taking her seriously one bit.

"Sick bastards! Every last one of you! Torturing these poor children and teens all because you can't let a petty grudge go!" She chastised, unfurling her wings. "If that's how it is, then prepare for the grudge to worsen, Wing Attack!"

In one hell of an amazingly fast movement, Lulu launched herself up and plunged at Aeron with her wings held out straight. Aeron, not expecting such a quick attack, had no time to react as her wings severed his head from his body. Blood spurted from the newly created hole like a water fountain, spraying all over Hibiscus.

Lulu looked back with a darkened expression, her hat creating a shadow over her face.

"And that's your well overdue execution, you reptilian, no-life, scumbag! Your music blows as well!" She remarked with a proud grin. Her eyes flitted to the both pissed and shocked Fireforged. "What!? No witty, mocking remarks?! Didn't think a great detective doubles as an executioner?"

Rukous couldn't help but smile in delight, glad that things are starting to turn in their favor. Albeit, he wasn't faring too well at the moment, struggling to even stand. He wasn't going to last another round with the toxic still worsening.

Jessica let out a sigh of relief which quickly turned to a pained groan. She too wouldn't be capable of remaining conscious for too long with her toxicity in effect.

If it wasn't scary enough, Skorge's deposition turned all the more frightening.

"This has become more than just a grudge now, you fucking bitch! You will feel the weight of this path of destruction tenfold!" Skorge exclaimed, growling very loudly and angrily.

Raime gave the murkrow the deadliest of glares.

"Charge Beam!" he announced as a yellow beam was launched at Lulu from his hands. It clipped her right wing, barely making a scratch.

Hibiscus swiped the blood off her face, a single tear falling down from her cheek,

"First Vaylie, my love, then Aeron, my best friend! Yes, I friend-zoned him, but he was good company...There I go, getting off track… For taking them away from me... You'll pay! You will suffer!" Hibiscus shouted in anguish. "Sludge Bomb!"

Her attack was more successful than Raime's, seeing that the ball of poison smothered Lulu, knocking her back and to the ground. Luckily, she wasn't poisoned as a result.

I really ticked them off didn't I? Jeez, I'm not sure if I can keep fighting with all them targeting me like this… Lulu pondered to herself, hoping to Arceus that whatever comes next isn't her last moment alive.

"Drill Peck!" Skorge, not letting her get a breather at all, came in hot, spinning at extreme speeds as he flew towards her.

His beak took a chunk out of Lulu's left thigh as he sailed by. She stumbled to the ground and leaned against a rock. She would not be able to take another hit like that.

Rukous gathered what strength he had left to attempt an attack.

"P-Psychic!" He exclaimed with an ounce of energy. Much to his dismay, his vision was too blurry for him to even see who he was directing his attack on. Even still, he tried to stay up on his hooves for just a few more seconds. "S-sorry to disappoint you... L-Lu…I-I must n-not sleep again..."

Unfortunately, it was to no avail and he finally passed out due to the Toxins in his bloodstream.

Ansuis smirked, choosing to fake a flinch instead of attacking.

"My apologies, but Skorge's punishment made me flinch!" He announced in a slightly sarcastic manner. "Seriously though, I'm just as upset that I've bore witness to the death of a brother."

He had it coming though and it was only a matter of time till he got his just desserts. Ansuis thought to himself, frowning.

Skorge hmphed. "Ugh you! You are such a damn brat!" He rebuked in utter aggravation, stomping his foot down hard.

Jessica wobbled back onto her feet and took a deep breath. Knowing that Hibiscus is the only one weakened enough for her to possibly take out, she set her eyes on her. Plus, she doesn't have Aeron to protect her any longer. So, she walked up to Hibiscus and tapped on her shoulder.

"Double Slap!" And just as the roserade turned to face her, she got two somewhat wimpy slaps to the face.

Hibiscus rubbed her now bruised face, making sure to stare down Jessica in the process, whom shrunk down in fear under the gaze.

Lulu quickly jumped into action to save her ally from the wrath of the roserade. Since it proved effective last time, she went for another Wing Attack.

Even though her wings only collided with Hibiscus's stomach, it was enough to leave her hacking out blood and bring her to her knees.

Raime jumped out of nowhere with a Shadow Claw attack on Lulu. She was spooked, but was able to avoid the menacing claws of shadow by hopping backwards.

Hibiscus wiped some blood off her mouth as she stood up straight.

"I very much would prefer to be annihilating you right now… but I really need a pick-me-up at the moment. Grassy Terrain," She said in a soothing voice, causing grass to grow all around her. Providing quite the contrast to the overall arid environment. "Too bad you're a flying type, teehee~"

Skorge was about to assault Lulu again until he sprouted a different course of action within that screwed up head of his. He stomped his way over to Tuba's still body and grasped the luxio's skull with his talons. He then peered at Lulu with an expression of demonic properties.

"Keheheheh… An eye for an eye!" He announced, waiting for Lulu to panic and run towards him. She only got halfway before a sickening crunch sounding throughout the crater. The skarmory's talons busted open Tuba's skull.

Lulu looked away in disgust as Skorge began to pulverize Tuba's head with multiple stomps, laughing like a maniac the entire way through. He admired his handiwork afterwards, soaking in the visceral image of the luxio's mutilated skull and all the blood and bits of brain splattered across the cracked ground. He finally strained his eyes away from the body to gaze darkly at Lulu.

"To have those close to you ripped away at a moment's notice, feels pretty fucking terrible huh?!" Skorge exclaimed, sounding very pleased with himself. "Call my grudge for you murderers petty again, I dare you! Cause now, now you understand why it's not so petty to be filled to the brim with unmatched hatred and grief! Try living with that your whole life..."

Ansuis held up his tongue-scarf to obscure his facial expressions as he wandered in thought.

They were right, Skorge is beyond saving, as is the rest of them… I never wanted to give up on any of them… I wish there was some way to pull them out of the ditch they dug for themselves, but there's nothing I can do. I was too lenient with my family and I regret it. The only thing to do now is to not bury myself along with them.

He observed the battlefield and noticed how dangerously close Raime was standing to the same drill Rukous had tried to lure Skorge under. He also saw a steel beam above the banette. So, he used a Water Shuriken to cut one end of the metal wires holding up the dangling beam. The front of the beam fell down and swung backwards. Due to the extreme weight of the object, it carried a lot of momentum that sent Raime flying once it made contact with him. He landed right under the drill, the perfect set-up that Ansuis wanted.

Raime shook his limbs to get the feeling back into them.

"What kind of fuckin' incompetent safety regulations are in this place!" He complained, unaware of Ansuis's meddling. "It's this kind of ignorance that left me an orphan in the first place…"

Wasting no time, Ansuis swiftly flung another shuriken at the button to activate the drill. The machine whirred to life and the drill plummeted downwards.

I'm truly sorry, Raime… I hope your parents will get along well with you in the Neverrest. Ansuis thought, paying his respects.

Raime didn't get a chance to look up before getting crushed under the immense weight of the drill. To confirm the kill, when the drill's rotation reached full speeds it tore apart the banette's form, sending thousands of pieces of ghastly fabric all over the area.

Skorge's body started twitching violently, beginning to lose his sanity watching his family go down one by one.

"RRRRAAAGGGHHH! Whoever is the one that… I'LL RIP YOU APART TILL THERE"S NOTHING LEFT!" He screeched in a pained and grief-stricken tone, his chest heaving heavily. He very scarily looked around the area to try and spot who activated the drill, not realizing that it was his own ally that was the culprit.

Hibiscus somberly turned her head down, her heart unable to take anymore of the death of her family. Her limbs slumped as she awaited for everything to end then and there.

Jessica had only one opportunity to turn the tides in their favor. If she couldn't… it'd surely be over for her and her friends. With a determined expression, she approached Hibiscus and held back her hand.

"Wake-Up Slap!" She exclaimed, catching Hibiscus by surprise as she quickly looked up to see a palm swinging towards her face.

Shocking even herself with her own power, the sheer force of the blow was enough to snap Hibscus's neck, putting her out of her misery when she wanted death the most. Jessica was so taken aback by this, that she fell backwards and stared at her hand that had just ended its first life.

"I-I-I d-did that…?" she quietly mumbled to herself in doubt before fainting due to the poison and flopping onto her side.

Lulu was now the last of her crew standing. To make matters worse, she wasn't in good health compared to the remaining Fireforged.

Well then, this'll certainly be a daunting task to finish this fight all alone. Fortunately, Ansuis seems to not be interested in listening to Skorge. Nevertheless, there's nothing in my arsenal that can ever hope to harm a skarmory… she sighed in acceptance. Without any miracles, I fear that this fight isn't going to end pleasantly for us…

Skorge's face and limbs were trembling wildly, Hibiscus's death being the last straw that broke his mind and emotions.

"N-no..NOOO!... this is- this… cannot be REAL! T-this is all wrong! Wrong wrong wrong wrong WRONG! This was supposed to be OUR retribution! OUR path of destruction! And our mother would've been so proud! But now, now she'll be heartbroken thanks to all of you bastard mercs!" He exclaimed in a maddened haze while banging his head against a steel support beam. It was evident that he was also fighting back tears. "I refuse to lose everything all over again... I REFUSE! I..."

He rested his head on the support beam he was banging against. He shut his eyes once he felt them begin to water over.

Ansuis jumped down next to Skorge.

"I warned you that this wouldn't work out the way you intended it to," he said, frowning. "Had you not attempted to interfere with our mother's fate and create the Fireforged, we'd all be living a more respectful and happy life without all this grief. Alas, you chose to succumb to the idea of vengeance and embraced chaos, leading us all down this trail of death. This is the consequences of your actions, and your actions alone."

Skorge didn't utter a word as Ansuis laid a hand upon his cold, metal back.

"But, you have a chance for redemption, at least in my eyes. Lay down your arms now, and put a stop to this nonsense immediately. Keep what family you have left," the greninja persuaded, attempting his hardest to comfort his unstable brother. "You still have me, Graves, Nilsine, Leslie, and our mother of course. Not all is lost, and I'd rather we not continue to make more mistakes that cut us down time and time again."

Skorge brushed off Ansuis hand rather aggressively.

"M-mother… s-she might be in danger, I-I can't let her leave me as well… without her I'm nothing…" he mumbled to himself, looking to the skies with shaky eyes. "I-I must not die here, I need to protect her!"

He quickly flew off into the air, heading south to where he remembers where his mother was going to be fighting. Lulu tried to muster up enough energy to stop him with a Pursuit, but ultimately couldn't manage. She motioned her head down in defeat, glancing over at Ansuis.

"Get on with it then, I'm an easy target for you even without your ally…" she requested despondently.

Ansuis shook his head in disagreement, walking over to her and crouching down to her level.

"That won't be necessary, it was never my intention to kill anyone during this overly ambitious invasion," he informed, a pensive expression forming on his face. "What you need to do is make sure your two friends don't give in to the poison in their wounds."

Lulu raised a brow in curiosity.

"S-seriously? Even after the fact that I killed Aeron?" She questioned in confusion. "Aren't they like family to you?"

Ansuis turned to the side and remained silent for a moment.

"The family I came to love is gone, in more ways than one," he stated flatly. "Regardless, I suppose it's my duty to make up for supporting them for far too long. Therefore, I shall chase down Skorge and hopefully put a stop to my mother's rage before things get chaotic for all those involved."

"Thanks… I honestly didn't believe any of the Fireforged had a sense of morality," she said, covering her chest with her left wing. "I just hope that the rest of my team has been faring better than us. Farewell then, Ansuis. I wish you luck in your efforts."

Ansuis firmly nodded and sprinted off in the same direction that Skorge flew off to. Meanwhile, Lulu went to re-activate the teleporter so that she can get her friends to safety. She gave one last mournful look at Tuba, silently wishing for him to rest in peace.

AN2: It is to my sadness that I must announce Tuba as R.I.P. Again, I would like to thank Vixal for sending him to me. I had some great ideas for where I was going to take his character, despite the fact that I was given so little to work with. So, it's a bit upsetting for me too that the D20 was so cruel to our protagonists. Like, seriously, the amount of times they got a 5 or lower is staggering. All the while the villains kept getting 14s and above more often than not. I'm just happy that only one died, because more could've easily followed. As such, please show your gratitude to Jessica, because her killing Hibiscus is probably what saved herself, Rukous, and Lulu.

AN3: Strategizing is still open for the battle with Mother btw.

OC Rules

1. The classic. No Mary or Gary Stues. You can submit some very skilled and/or powerful OCs, but you must give them at least 2 or 3 weaknesses.

2. There's a bar of quality that you must pass in order for your OC to be accepted. This is because I get some OCs here and there that lack any substance at all, and boy is it hard to work with that. Luckily for you guys, the bar isn't that high and you have unlimited attempts anyways (please no spam though).

3. No human turned pokemon OCs.

4. I will not accept incomplete OCs or OCs that just do not fit into the world of Yandor.

5. No main villains/antagonists. I'm very iffy about them in general, as they're hard to fit into the story.

6. PM your OCs please. I'd much rather see reviews in the review section over them. I know this hurts the guests, but it's really not that difficult to set up an account. If you do end up sending one in the reviews for whatever reason, the only way I'll accept them is if you clearly put time and effort into it.

7. Fair warning, no character is safe from death. Since, I roll dice to determine battle and choice outcomes. However, I may overrule the dice on certain occasions. In short, I'll try to do what is best for the story.

OC Form!

Name:

Nickname/alias (If applicable):

Species and gender (You can submit any species including legendaries, besides Arceus. And for genderless pokemon, just tell me what they prefer to be considered):

Estimated Age (Pokemon don't age the same as humans, so I just need you to tell me if they're a child, teen, young adult, adult, or elder):

Role (Teammate to the main character, recurring villain, just some random shopkeeper, another mercenary band leader/teammate, or maybe a pokemon that I can just kill as an example of how shit Yandor can be):

Province (tell me what province they live in, just know that certain types usually live in a certain province, but they can be in any province really (very unlikely). Read the Lore of Yandor in the introductory chapter for info on that. You can ask any question about the provinces if needed and if I can answer it):

Personality (I need decent enough description that'll allow me to get your OC right):

Character Alignment (You can look up the alignments on google or just ask me about it):

Backstory (I won't ask for much here, just give me a backstory that really shows why they are the way they are):

Relationship? (No, this doesn't mean sex scenes are planned. I'm asking whether or not you're fine with your OC having a relationship develop, and their sexuality):

Ability:

Move-set (give me 6 moves):

Fighting Style (Can be as descriptive as you feel it should be):

Quotes (This is so you can give me a general idea of how they act, talk, and how you'd see them being written. A minimum of 4 is required.):

Other things that you must tell me (like if they have anything unique about their appearance, or if they can mega-evolve, stuff like that):

And the form for mercenary bands (Just put this form above the OCs that are in the team)

Name of team:

Scarf color:

Rank (E, D, C, B, A, S, H, W, Royal):

Members:

Why created:

What they've done:

Forms will be on my profile so you can copy it from there.

And that's all, thanks for reading, ladies and gents, hope you enjoyed it thoroughly ^:^