Chickens don't have shoulder blades, someone had to say it.

Please review/follow/fav and I will see you for the next chapter!

Chapter 19: Father and Son

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

It had just finished the complete transition to night when Axl and Erin arrived at the old scouting house. Although Erin thought it looked more like a tower than anything, being a relatively tall, skinny building made of gray and dark blue stones. It wasn't as tall as her actual guild building, but certainly much taller than Nolan's house.

While the building looked in good shape, the surrounding area was much creepier than the scouting house they had just visited. The remnants of the desecrated Stormdrain Village seemed to spread to this part of the area as dead trees littered the surrounding area, making the sky and border much more open than the forest they had been walking through. The building itself had been located downhill, situating itself across a stone bridge that led to a steep cliff. Enormous, sharp rocks protruded from the ocean that awaited at the bottom of the cliff, almost forming itself into a cave around the building, with a pathway for the water hugging the edge to their right.

With the downslope, the water was rushing down into this pit, forming a massive whirlpool that seemed unending, a deadly drop for any unfortunate soul that tumbled over the edge. Erin shivered at the height, her skin slightly prickling at the intensity of the scenery.

Even spookier, a small graveyard that stood as a memorial for the slain scouts was also built almost directly next to the tower with a large, dead tree splitting it down the middle.

Axl scratched his temple. "Let's make a mental note to not get too close to that edge." He said, looking a little impressed himself at the sight.

Erin nodded. "Mental note made." She replied, equally as wary of the cliff. She fiddled with her Teleport Stone on her bag, thinking of the matching stone they had left in Stormdrain Village on their way here. Axl recommended teleporting instead of fighting in order to keep Karl out of as much crossfire as they could.

Axl was looking around the building, taking advantage of the limited windows on it to keep out of sight. "You know, I sure hope that Boufflant is with him at the very least." He commented, trying to find a less discreet way to enter the building than the front door. "Otherwise, you may need to sit this one out."

Erin gave a small shudder but continued to follow him around the building. "You don't suppose I could just climb up the roof with my vines, do you?" She asked, looking for a ledge to grab.

Axl blinked at her, impressed. "You are a clever snake." He praised her, momentarily filling her with pride. "Do you think you'd be able to carry me up, though?"

Studying him for a moment, Erin looked away in embarrassment. "Umm… I'm not sure…" She said slowly. "My vine's aren't very strong…"

A look of hurt passed over Axl's face. "You're calling me fat, aren't you?"

Erin felt mortified. "Arceus, no!" She exclaimed, panicking. "You're not…you just might be a teensy bit heavy for my vines."

Axl had already curled into a ball of depression. "It's okay, I get it." He said, drawing a circle in the ground with his finger. "I carry the baby fat for warmth, I swear." He mumbled.

"You know the front door is probably wide open, right?" Both Erin and Axl snapped into a defensive position at the sudden voice, and both were in shock as Trager was calmly walking towards them, hands in his pockets.

Erin felt guarded. "What are you doing here?" She asked, feeling suspicious almost immediately. Axl seemed to share her thoughts as he had already pulled out his scalchop.

Trager raised his hands as though to surrender. "Relax, I think I'm here for the same reason you two are." He said, glaring past them at the tower they were at. "It appears the guild isn't the only one my father is hiding things from. He disappeared after his little fiasco with the mayor today, I think he owes us all an explanation."

Erin glanced sideways at Axl to read his body language and noticed his position wasn't as hostile as before, but he kept his scalchop unsheathed just in case. Trusting his instincts, she dropped her defensive stance but kept her senses alert as she started to talk a little more evenly.

"Fiasco?"

Trager looked ready to spit. "It appears my father was able to help a new law get pushed through this evening. All Hazaranmon will be forced to identify themselves through a census next Friday."

Erin's eyes stretched wide in shock. "That's absurd!" She said sharply, aggravated. "That's a complete violation of their privacy."

Axl looked upset. "Most Hazaranmon hide their marks for a reason, they're going to be in trouble if they just put them out in the open like that." He muttered, sounding disgusted. "He realizes they could get hurt with how bigoted this stupid city is, doesn't he?"

Erin was surprised to hear Axl talk so sharply, then realized how unfairly he must've seen Karl get treated during their friendship. Hell, she's barely known Karl for a couple days and already saw how the Jynx treated him because of the mark.

Trager scoffed. "You'd think even he'd be smart enough to understand how stupid this is." He said. "Only a handful of non-criminal Hazaranmon's are accounted for, but it's theorized there's at least four hundred unaccounted Hazranmon living in our city, and they stay hidden for a reason."

Axl gripped his scalchop a bit harder. "All the more reason to crack him over the head." He muttered, looking murderous.

Trager raised a brow. "Why are you two here?" He asked, sounding a little suspicious himself.

His eyes were clouded in fury, although Erin guessed it was more directed at his anger for his father than Axl and her.

"We were following a lead on a missing child, and apparently your father was spotted bringing a very large amount of food to this location." She said a little uneasily.

Trager scrunched his nose in thought. "He did buy an excess amount of food now that you mention it, but it certainly seemed way too large for a normal Pokemon to eat in a week even." He explained.

Axl looked bemused. "We're talking about a young Munchlax." He explained, causing Trager to sweatdrop.

He did another quick calculation. "Okay, we're talking two days if he doesn't snack." He said.

He walked by them, all three of them deciding to trust each other simultaneously. Both were in front of the large tower, the large wooden door that stood taller than the three of them directly in front.

Axl suddenly went for the door.

"Wait!" Trager hissed rather impatiently.

Axl whipped his head at Trager and met his red gaze, his eyes burning at the draconian Pokemon.

"There's no other entrance, and I can't seem to see through the windows because they're all tinted. This is as good as any, I can't imagine him attacking us if you're in the middle." He pointed out, sounding hurried. "What's important is grabbing Karl and figure out what's happening."

Erin stared at Axl, shocked at his snappy mood.

He seemed to catch on and lose the strange passion in his eyes. "The Munchlax that was kidnapped is a Hazaranmon, one of the few that is pretty known in the city. It's clear your dad doesn't exactly care for them, and if this lead does have more to it, then Karl could be in trouble."

Trager studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, I can agree to that." The rage that Axl had lost was now plastered on Trager's face. "I will never forgive him for putting them through more turmoil than they've already been through."

Erin looked between the two of them with a worrisome expression. This clearly struck a chord with them both, even causing the usually relaxed Axl to lose his composure a little bit for the safety of his friend. She was even surprised by how passionate Trager was by the new law, as the Fraxure could seem a little emotionless at times.

She didn't have a chance to respond as they pushed open the door to the house and were met with quite possibly the worst case scenario imaginable.

The room they entered was a singular room with a wooden floor shaped in a circular shape. Dying roots were sprouting out through the cracks in the floor, making the room look gloomier then it perhaps normally was. Although, the gray skulls carved in the stone walls that circled the room certainly helped add to the feeling as well. Moonlight poured into the room, pairing with a chandelier that hangs from the ceiling to brightly light up the room.

Clay was in the room, whipping his head around in a frantic manner, his eyes widening in horror at the sight of the three unexpected Pokemon. The massive bag of food had fallen to his side, and he seem winded from the long walk.

Across from him, however, was a Pokemon that made the three of them freeze in place at the sight of him: Thorn.

To say he was massive was an understatement as he towered over the already pretty large Clay, the Haxorus' head barely reaching Thorn's shoulders. He glanced up murderously at the new faces, a manic grin glued to his face as his tail lashed excitedly.

His dark eyes were stretched in madness. "Well, well, so much for remaining stealthy." He spoke in a garbled, deep voice that made Erin's blood freeze.

Axl let a breath out through his nose. "I'm going to take a wild jab and say you're either Thorn. That or another massive Nidoking with a Hazaran Mark on his chest." He said, surprising Erin with how forward he was with the dangerous Pokemon.

This seemed to capture the attention of another Pokemon. "I'd be careful with who you're being sarcastic to." A Ninetails was perched up on a ledge above them that seemed to be the entry way upstairs. "I've seen him kill for far much less."

Erin suddenly found her surge of bravery as rage filled her at the sight of the Ninetails. "You're the Pokemon that attacked Liza, aren't you!?" She shouted, as she met his uninterested gaze.

He smirked, infuriating her more. "How is our friend doing?" He asked tauntingly.

Erin's teeth gritted, wanting to Leaf Blade the look off his face. "She's in critical condition." She snarled, angrier than she'd been in her life she felt.

Thorn clicked his tongue. "Critical condition, eh?" He asked, making Max flinch a little. "You do sloppy work."

Max glanced away, looking a bit troubled. "Her brother intervened; we didn't want to draw too much attention." He muttered, not sounding entirely convincing.

She glanced back at the others, her mind racing at a thousand miles per hour as she struggled to think of the situation. Thorn didn't lose his smile, looking excited at the prospect of fresh meat while Clay looked frustrated about the events that were unfolding in front of him.

Trager, well, if looks could kill then Clay would be dead a thousand times by now as his son was glaring daggers at him. She could sense the apprehension in his stance as well, however, as he understood the precarious situation that the three were in.

Glancing at Axl, she was surprised to see a look of great relief on his face and followed his gaze to see a familiar young Munchlax in a steel cage who looked happy to see his friends.

Karl waved as though he didn't understand the situation. "Hey guys!" He said cheerfully, making Erin breathe a sigh in relief as he didn't seem hurt.

Not thinking about the situation, she ran to the cage that was on the far side of the room, concerned with only getting to Karl and getting him out of there.

However, quicker than she could have imagined, Thorn had appeared in front of her, her eyes widening in horror as he raised a purple glowing fist, completely happy to take her life. She froze, as she no time whatsoever to even defend herself from the blitz attack.

A light blue flash told her that once again, though, Axl had jumped in front of an attack for her, meeting Thorn's powerful Poison Jab head on with a Razor Shell. This time, though, it didn't end as well as Axl was sent careening into Erin and knocked right back to where they were. Erin felt the breath leave her body as Axl landed on top of her, although the otter jumped right back up, readying his scalchop once more. Blood was already leaking from a cut on his cheek, and he seemed much more serious than his battle with Guildmaster Finnegan.

Thorn looked impressed. "You're pretty good." He sneered, almost giddy. "You might even make me break a sweat."

Axl popped a vein, but didn't cave into the taunt. "A little different from attacking women and children, huh?" He called back, making a vein pop in Thorn's head. "Or attacking guild members from behind, I got to say you're pretty disappointing for everything I've heard."

Erin gave Axl a look of astonishment, and Thorn cackled at the otter's absolute lack of f's to give about the situation. Trager even broke character to give Axl a look of respect.

Axl readied his scalchop, looking as serious as Erin ever saw him. "The second you mess with my friends, is the second you signed up for the ass-kicking of a lifetime." He said, a light blue aura extending from his scalchop.

Thorn's grin somehow widened, and he cackled once more, his tail lashing so much the floor was shaking. He clenched his fists, ready to take Axl's challenge on.

Axl glanced at Erin. "Erin, get to Karl and use the Teleportation Stone to get yourselves out of here." Erin opened her mouth to protest but Axl cut her off. "We aren't going to beat him even if we work together, the faster you get out of here the faster you can contact the Guildmaster who can definitely beat this sack of Garbodor dung! I can hold him off for at least a couple of moments."

Erin still wasn't on board, her heart tearing. "Yeah, but-"

Axl gave her a teasing look. "Don't worry, I'm a big boy. I think Peridot City's finest has done enough in this mission. It's time for Amethyst City's worst to do his part." He told her reassuringly with his usual light heartedness.

Max interjected. "I hate to interrupt you two." He said, his sharp ears catching their convo. "But I'm afraid all of your gear is going to be useless here." He told them, making them turn their heads up at the perched Pokemon.

A large light blue orb that was pulsating sat next to him, emitting a small buzz that Erin hadn't noticed before. It looked like a bigger version of her Teleportation stone.

He patted it with one of his paws. "I'm afraid my little invention was made exactly to jam your devices, any magnetic signal you send out with that stone will be intercepted and nullified with mine." He said, sounding a bit smug.

Axl sighed in annoyance and Erin gripped her fists as he stood next to him, ready to fight. "I guess we don't have much of a choice, huh?" She asked, before glaring at Clay. "And what are you doing here?"

Trager stepped forward, vexed. "Yes, that seems to be the question of the day." He said angrily. "Why is my father, the president of the Peridot and Amethyst Justice Guild's, with the most dangerous criminal in Peridot City?"

Clay gave his son a pleading look. "Trager…please…. it's not what it looks like." He begged, before Thorn cut him off.

"Heh…it's a lot worse than you can imagine."

Clay whipped his head. "Don't-" He fell backwards as Thorn squared to him, looming over the usually large Pokemon.

His grin didn't vanish, but his voice contained so much bloodlust that the room fell deathly silent. "Do not give me orders, puny president." He growled, making Clay shake a bit. "Why not tell him? It almost feels like a shame to let such a well thought out plan go unheard, why not let them go to the grave with a little present?"

Clay didn't fight back, too afraid to stand up to Thorn again.

Thorn licked his lips. "So, what should I tell him first, president? Our little plan to eradicate the city or our little secret of how you've been using the money for the guild to keep me hidden the past few months?"

Stunned silence filled the room, and Clay's refusal to refute what Thorn just said made the sickening truth more dreadful. Erin and Axl exchanged wide-eyed, upset glances.

Trager, though, was the one to break in in angered confusion. "What? What do you mean 'hidden'?" He snapped.

Thorn chuckled. "All that money that was being given to him to buy new members of course. You didn't think they just weren't funding you anymore, did you? No, your daddy was pocketing it all for us to keep ourselves fed and hidden without being found yet. And I dare say, he did a fantastic job of keeping us out of the guild's way" He laughed while Clay couldn't even meet his son's eyes.

Erin felt the rage surge through her veins again. "Are you serious?" She hissed, fury making her shake. "Do you understand how many Pokemon are dead?"

Thorn answered for him. "Could you remind me, actually? I think I lost count at about twenty, they all just die so quickly it's hard to keep track." Erin's fury was almost getting the best of her, but the young Munchlax who was looking more terrified of the situation kept her from getting herself killed.

Trager didn't bother to conceal his rage. "So you lied about keeping all the spare funds, sent the guild on missions specifically away from this location and watched as dozens of innocent lives were lost, including Deputy Paulson, who vouched for your presidency. Did I miss anything?" He asked rhetorically.

Thorn was relishing in the rage. "Oh, I didn't even get to the best part yet." He said. "Thanks to your father, I will be able to attack Peridot City directly. Once we are able to track every Hazaranmon in Peridot City and move them to a secure location for 'questioning', I will be able to freely attack without worry of killing fellow brethren." The three could only stare in disbelief as he continued on. "So go ahead and call your Guildmaster, it saves me the trouble of finding him. Once I have his corpse, I will rip away any faith your city had in survival, and bathe in their final moments of despair as we Hazaranmon had to for hundreds of years."

Trager seemed unusually intrigued at Thorn's words. "...I see." He said simply, walking calmly up to his father. "Is this true?"

Clay clenched his eyes shut. "Yes. But you don't understand! I was trying to protect you!"

Trager raised a brow. "Protect me?"

Thorn chuckled. "Oh yeah, he made me promise not to kill you, I almost forgot. Don't worry, I'm anything if not a Nidoking of my word." He laughed, not sounding serious, before turning his attention to Axl and Erin. "The Munchlax will be kept safe as well, I might even raise him as my own. However, you two will die right now, I'm afraid to say. The question is, who first?"

Axl mockingly thought out loud, putting a finger to his lips. "Hmmm, good question. Erin, if you don't mind, I think I'll go first. I need you to tell me if I went out cool or not." He replied, making the Snivy shake her head in exasperation.

"We're taking Karl and getting out of here." She said determinedly, not letting Thorn see anymore of her fear.

Clay didn't pay them any mind as he was standing in front of Trager. "Son…please."

However, almost in slow motion, Trager had ripped off his blazer, revealing a familiar gem shaped mark on his left shoulder, much to the astonishment of Erin and Axl. Trager opened his eyes to a blazing gold color, and his vicious claws erupted in a light green aura. Sinking them into Clay's throat, blood welled out as he ripped them down to his stomach with a single slash.

An agonizing scream erupted from Clay's throat before it cut off with a ghostly choking sound. His body convulsed as he fell to his knees, trying desperately to stop the bleeding with his hands. It was futile though, as dark red blood spilled on the ground in a ceaseless tide, a sight so sickening that Erin wanted to squeeze her eyes shut so she didn't have to see it anymore, but she was frozen to the spot.

It wasn't ending quickly for Clay either, as he could only look at Trager with confusion, hurt, betrayal and agony in his eyes as he breathed desperately to survive. His body gave one last jerk before he finally fell face forward, too exhausted to fight for his life anymore. A slight movement and his body finally laid still forever.

Clay Anderson was dead.

Erin and Axl were frozen in disbelief and Erin immediately thought of Karl who had to witness such a horrible thing. She found the strength to look at him and felt relieved he had his eyes squeezed shut from the traumatizing event.

Trager, meanwhile, was unmoved as he stared emotionlessly down at his father's body, the golden hue in his eyes dying back down to their crimson numbness.

He raised his blood-soaked claw. "I see…. Maybe this is more than fate after all." He said calmly to Thorn, who looked rather interested. "I apologize you had to work with that buffoon for so long, when you had one of your own right underneath your nose this entire time."

Thorn gave a contemptuous flick of his tail. "Well, well, what a turn of events." He rasped, amused by the situation.

Trager's gaze slid to where Erin and Axl stood ready for battle. "I retreat to inform you that this plan between my father and Thorn will still play out as accordingly. Your Guild will fall followed by every Pokémon in Peridot City." He warned scornfully. "The question is, will you go down with a fight or not?"