Draco: How can it be cool enough that I'm having zero insect troubles and yet warm enough to affect my sleep patterns? Frick all.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Terrera: Signs of Conflict

"Oh, Mulch."

Oichi and Driftwalker's travel through the region to gather willing Warriors had swiftly discovered that the crystal-pillar invasion was not exclusive to the Aurora Trigram, and indeed, seemed to be affecting every castle in Ransei. Fortunately, the attackers had already made themselves known to the Warlords and Warriors of each kingdom, none of whom seemed to have been taken by the crystals like Evia and Kaguya were; defense camps were in place outside each crystal's hollow, with someone on watch at all hours to make sure the trained Pokémon that emerged from within did not go unnoticed.

As they approached the site of Terrera Castle, however, it became clear that they had greater concerns; the earthy hues of these crystals had obscured until they were near enough that the invasive formations extended north from the castle.

Driftwalker followed the extension with her gaze. "Is this... leading to Illusio?"

"At least most of the town is away from the path of Shingen's favourite march," Oichi observed. "But still... I hope the townsfolk had as much luck for being out of the house as the Warriors have." She shook her head. "These are much more extensive than they are in the western kingdoms. Where is the...?"

"Oichi!"

The voice from nearby drew the healer's attention, finding a lightly-clad figure in dark hues approaching with a Weavile at her side. "Kunoichi!"

"Dammit, but I owe Aya 500 gold," the ninja muttered. "What are you doing here, and in such strange company no less?" She narrowed her gaze at Driftwalker, Hatterene, and Iron Valiant.

"Trying to coordinate Ransei against whatever the hell is going on," Oichi explained. "Evia went missing when the crystals appeared."

Kunoichi started. "Her, too?"

"Too?" Oichi echoed. "You don't mean-?"

"Lord Shingen and Kenshin were both in the castles when crystals went up," Kunoichi confirmed. "Kantesugu and Lord Yukimura have taken command, but we're all making the same camp at the old battlefield."

"You mean their private rivalry grounds," Oichi observed. "Does this reach all the way to Illusio?"

"More like Illusio's crystal met it halfway," Kunoichi admitted. "It looks like waves of coloured water splashed into each other and froze in mid-clash. There's a cave mouth there where Pokémon are coming out, but they're too well-trained to be wild."

"The attackers," Driftwalker mused. "Most other kingdoms' crystals are lone entities, but each has the same sort of entrance - and as with you, trained Pokémon emerge from therein. Are you sure there is only the one entrance?"

Kunoichi nodded. "We're sure. Lord Yukimura and Kanetsugu did a lap after we first met up and found nothing else. Aya said we should do another round in case there's been any new developments, and, well, here we are."

"Glad to hear it," Oichi mused. "I don't suppose I could give you a set of com-crystals for everyone and go around to Cragspur?"

"Ten earpieces and ten bracelets?" Kunoichi argued. "Yeah, no. I just know I'm gonna drop something and make everyone's life harder." She glanced back towards Illusio. "I'm sorry, the battlefield's on this side; you're gonna have to pay them a visit for yourself."

Oichi sighed. "I was afraid of that," she admitted. "Halfway to Illusio, then all the way around to go to shinobi territory."

Driftwalker turned to her. "We were planning to visit both kingdoms to begin with."

"That doesn't mean I don't wish we had it easier than that."

+x+x+x+

"Bad time to pay a visit, cutie."

Oichi narrowed her gaze at Hideyoshi's greeting. "That was already in poor taste the first four times you said it."

"Evia didn't seem to be complaining when we showed up with the White Yin," the Ignisan argued.

A sharp strike to the back of the head as his junior Warlords approached. "You do not get to assume what is or is not appropriate based on how the recipient reacts in a life-threatening situation," Hanbei scolded.

Kanbei turned to Oichi. "If I'd known circumstances would bring you here so quickly," he admitted, "I'd not have sent your crystals with Keiji."

"I'm glad you did," Oichi insisted. "Otherwise they would've been in Ignis Castle, just like my other batch was in Aurora Castle. This way, I can distribute."

"I hope you're not expecting us to help you defend Aurora," Hideyoshi insisted. "We've kinda got our hands full here."

Oichi shook her head. "Not defense - offense."

The Ignisans all started. "What do you have in mind?" Kanbei asked.

"I'm going to go across Ransei," Oichi insisted, "and distribute com-crystals to every Warrior helping fight this battle. If anyone finds a way to stem the tide of attacking Pokémon, I want everyone to know as soon as possible. Then we can see if their means of coming here is a two-way road - and if it is, we can take the fight to the source."

A grin rose on Hideyoshi's face. "I like the sound of that," he agreed.

Oichi made her way around the camp, distributing com-crystals to every Warrior defending Ignis. The last two were a familiar pair - Koroku and Nagayasu, the first Warriors that Oichi had ever fought alongside Evia - and they had a curious look on their faces as they inspected the jewelry.

"These com-crystal things..." Nagayasu held the earpiece between his fingers, holding it up to the light. "I swear I'd seen 'em before."

"We distributed them to the Warriors who chose to join Lady Evia's army," Oichi explained. "Those who deserted left them scattered in the kingdoms where they were stationed."

Koroku took a bite of his snack cake. "Wasn't that prick going around looking for 'em? That asshat who wouldn't settle on a partner."

That description rang familiar. "Are you talking about Takatora?"

"Takatora, that's his name," Koroku confirmed. "Yeah, he was going around sayin' they were some kind of trap. Came from someone who just wanted a harem of Warriors to sit around and look pretty."

"Harem?!"

Oichi's disgusted yell had Koroku raising his hands defensively. "Well, that's what he said," he insisted. "But you know, when I look at what you guys were actually doing, it looks less like you thought they were worthless and more like they jumped ship on you before you needed them."

"Yeah," Nagayasu agreed. "Like, Terrera and Illusio kind of form a chokepoint between the east and west halves of Ransei. You only really needed a battle or two's worth of Warriors until after you started clashing with Nobunaga proper."

"He gets kicked out for valid cause, and holds such a grudge he starts making claims like that?" Oichi muttered.

"Lady Oichi." The voice from behind drew the healer's gaze; Driftwalker and Hatterene were approaching. "Is something amiss?"

Oichi shook her head. "Just new information about old developments. Where's Valiant?"

"...I was hoping you could help me with that," Driftwalker admitted. "The Warlords seem a bit overly wary about him."

+x+x+x+

The crystalline extension had barely missed the battlefield where Shingen and Kenshin had clashed so often - though Oichi seemed to recall that there had been scoreboards set up to tally 598 fights and 598 draws when last she visited. The combined army of Illusio and Terrera was set up in the battlefield, albeit prominently divided down the middle; any concerns about whether Kanetsugu or Yukimura had let their old rivalry resurface were quashed when they were found conversing before the hollow.

"Lady Oichi," Kanetsugu greeted. "And this is...?"

"She goes by Driftwalker," Oichi introduced. "She's been victim to an invasion like this before."

Driftwalker bowed. "Greetings, my lords."

Yukimura hummed. "You know about these crystals?"

"Little that you won't have learned in defending against them, I'm afraid," Driftwalker confessed. "But enough, perhaps, to put yours minds at ease. The shinobi said your Warlords had been within the castles when the crystals manifested?"

"They were indeed," Kanetsugu confirmed. "And I presume...?"

Oichi's gaze fell. "Evia and Kaguya as well."

"They are not dead," Driftwalker insisted. "They have been cast out across the world, lost but alive. With any luck, they'll make their way back, and if not, we can seek them out - once we have dealt with the source."

"Source?" Yukimura echoed.

Driftwalker nodded. "Yes. There are men behind these events. If we can find them, with an army mighty enough..."

Oichi double-took at her choice of words.

"You presume much," Kanetsugu mused. "And your keep a rather unusual Pokémon as your companion."

It was a very amusing sight, witnessing Iron Valiant roll his eyes when said eyes had more in common with an LCD display screen.

"Now, now, Kanetsugu." Aya's voice drew the group's attention to find her, Kunoichi, Froslass, and Weavile approaching. Kenshin's sister had the same serene smile on her face as always as she continued; "One of her Pokémon might be unusual, but our attackers are not. Foreign to Ransei, perhaps, but all of common species. We haven't even had those variant forms that they encountered in... what was the Trainer term," she asked, turning to Oichi, "for those worlds through the gates?"

"Ultra Space," Oichi recalled. "You mean those ones we ran into in Nagamasa's kingdom - familiar Pokémon with unfamiliar types. You haven't even run into those?"

"No, we haven't," Yukimura confirmed. "We recognize all the species that come out, and they all have the types we're expecting out of them."

"Be that as it may," Kanetsugu insisted, "that's not to say there have been no such unfamiliar Pokémon." He turned to Aya. "Did you not see what I saw before the crystals consumed the castle?"

Aya narrowed her gaze. "You mean that flying Pokémon you said you'd sighted above the castle? We were all the way out at the snowy mountain when the crystals appeared. You cannot have me believe that you saw enough of its details to know it was 'unusual' in any way."

Kanetsugu shook his head. "Its silhouette was unusual enough - movement of wings that formed a crescent moon when raised."

"Moon...?" Driftwalker started. "Coursebreaker!"

Oichi turned to her. "Friend of yours?"

"Yes, she is," Driftwalker confirmed. "She said she had places she wanted to visit while I was travelling Ransei, so she let me go on ahead. She and Moon must have been on their way..." Her smile vanished as she turned back to Kanetsugu. "You said you saw this silhouette above the castle...?"

"I did," Kanetsugu confirmed, a dark expression on his face. "No sooner had it settled upon the castle's highest point than the crystals began to manifest."

Driftwalker began to tremble. "...No."

Kanetsugu drew an ofuda. "And you would claim this perpetrator to be your friend?"

Yukimura turned to him. "Kanetsugu, now's not the best-"

"Be silent," Kanetsugu protested. "This woman claims to have borne witness to these crystals before, to know that there are men behind their appearance, she would have us amass an army to oppose the ones responsible, and now she is convinced her friend was in all likelihood the one who did this to Illusio!" He turned a glare on Driftwalker. "I cannot in good conscience let her stand before me unopposed."

Oichi stepped forward. "You've got to be-!"

A hand before her cut her off; with a shaky breath, Driftwalker raised her gaze to Kanetsugu. "You would oppose me as a Warrior, then?"

Kanetsugu seemed to take her meaning well enough. "Indeed. To the edge of camp with us, that we are not in the crossfire should more attackers emerge." He started to march off. "Yukimura, the watch is yours!"

"Hold on a-!"

Yukimura's call seemed to fall on deaf ears as the Illusian walked away, with Driftwalker following behind her; Iron Valiant and Alakazam followed suit without a word. Wigglytuff glanced at Oichi, who met her gaze and nodded; Hatterene reached for her mouth with her hair-tendril, uncertain, before joining them in following the battle. On reaching the edge of camp, Kanetsugu took a few more paces to make sure all combatants had room to maneuver before stepping towards the Illusio end of the battlefield; Driftwalker made sure to stand at the same distance as she took her position at the Terrera end, and with a deep breath, she made to remove her woven-feather robe.

Oichi was amazed when she saw what was beneath. Driftwalker was clad in silver armour, albeit armour designed to prioritize mobility over protection; the gauntlets were separated from the pauldrons, which were themselves separated from the chestplate, and the greaves did not connect to a codpiece, instead halting halfway up her thighs. A dark leotard worn beneath the plate preserved her modesty and added a surface between her skin and the plates, as did a pair of elbow-length gloves worn under the gauntlets; a feathered skirt encircled her waist from the plates around her hips to provide additional coverage, with a trio of leather straps hanging from the fore rather than the skirt closing all the way around and potentially restricting her movement.

She seized something off her back; it seemed to be a small baton at first, but as she swept it out it extended into a full-length staff, and a bright blade extended off one end to form a spearhead as her other hand grasped the shaft.

Iron Valiant's seized the blade off his right arm with his left hand, bringing it up in a backhand grip; then he grasped the blade off his left arm with his right hand, sweeping it out to his side in a forehand grip. The two handles were brought together to merge them, blades facing opposite directions, and he raised the conjoined glaive overhead before sweeping it out at his side.

Kanetsugu fanned out a hand of ofuda before him like a gambler's cards, then seized them with his telekinesis as his fingers released them; five seals floated around him as he brought one hand towards his chest and thrust the other before him, and Alakazam brought one spoon back and held the other forward at an angle.

Silence on the battlefield for a long moment.

Driftwalker was the first one to charge forward, prompting Valiant to do the same. Alakazam started to advance as well, though at a more measured pace, and Kanetsugu directed his ofuda to fly towards the masked Warrior. She brought up the butt of her spear to beat one seal away, then swept the blade around to cut through two more as the remaining two lashed across her arms; as Valiant approached, Alakazam brought both spoons forward.

The moment the heads began to move, Valiant drove his glaive into the ground, halting his movement. Waves of Psychic ripped up around him - but not on him, whiffing in the air and ripping up the earth around him. Alakazam started in shock as Valiant pried his weapon free, and Fairy light danced around the blades as he swept it down and across to knock one spoon out of the Psi Pokémon's hands. The other was disarmed with a second swing, and Valiant stuck Alakazam once with a Spirit Break before leaping into a spin to bring the blades down for a second blow.

Kanetsugu started as the Psychic-type tumbled back, coming to a stop face-down; Driftwalker took advantage of his distraction to cleave his ofuda, cutting through two and impaling the last on the head of her spear. With a growl, the Illusian brought one hand to his face, setting a finger and a thumb on his temples, and a light gathered around Alakazam to rejuvenate him. As the Psi Pokémon got to his feet, the Warrior drew another hand of ofuda, hurling them at Driftwalker-

And finding them impaled on a kozuka.

"Enough, Kanetsugu."

Aya had reached the edge of the battlefield - and her smile was gone. "I knew my brother's disappearance had affected you, but I'd not thought your judgement so clouded as this. To show such aggression on so flimsy a ground as this... What happened to the man who would fight for love and honour?"

Kanetsugu stepped forward. "Lady Aya-!"

"Driftwalker has done nothing to merit such suspicion as you have cast on her," Aya proclaimed. "She told you to begin with that she knew of these crystals from having been victim to them in the past. And if, indeed, the 'strange' Pokémon you saw - of which you are so suspicious on such flimsy grounds as the shape of its wings - was that of her companion, she is more likely to have been taken with my brother than to be responsible for the invasion."

"I-I..."

Aya shook her head. "I am relieving you of command of Illusio's army," she announced. "If you object, we can settle this on the battlefield after our guests have departed." The smile returned to her face only once she had turned to the masked Warrior. "Pray forgive him his insolence, Driftwalker. You spoke of a mighty army, yes? We should be honoured to ally with you, if it means stopping this assault on Ransei."

"...Thank you, Aya-gozen," Driftwalker praised. "But such a counter-offensive shall have to wait - until we can prevent the attackers' march."

"A wise course of action," Aya praised. "Which means, if memory serves..."

She turned to Oichi, who nodded. "Com-crystals," she confirmed. "I came here to distribute them. If anyone learns of a means to stem the tide of attackers, I would that everyone know it as soon as possible."

"Much obliged."

Aya started back into the camp, and after a moment, Kanetsugu and Alakazam made to follow. Valiant separated his glaive, returning the blades to his arms as Oichi approached Driftwalker. "Are you alright?"

"As much as you are," Driftwalker confessed. "No matter how terrified I might have been to see crystals rise in Aurora... Coursebreaker must be so much worse off, to have been victim to them again."

Oichi set a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find her," she insisted. "Just as we'll find Evia and Kaguya, and anyone else. Anyone who can't find their own way home, we'll bring them home."

"...Thank you."

Draco: Yes, Driftwalker's armour is based on Lightning's Knight of Etro armour from Final Fantasy XIII-2. No, Driftwalker is not Lightning herself, I promise. I just saw similarities between her plate and Iron Valiant's design and decided to run with it. That is also why Valiant is partaking in Odin-reference swordplay; that was 100% meant to be Flourish of Steel when he disarmed Alakazam.