TRIGGER WARNINGS - Imperialism, talks of war and war crimes, victims of war

SIDE STORY - CONQUEST

"Why did father have to die, mother? Why?"

"Remember, Akagi," her mother softly said. "War is a way of life. People die for what we believe in. In hopes of seeing Ransei unified."

Flames crackled within the fireplace, spreading warmth and light throughout the living room. Akagi's bare feet felt warm on the stony floor. She'd always liked how the fire made the stone like that, given how cold her house got during wintertime. There were no sounds of bombings or explosions in the distance tonight, so it would have been a good evening spent with her mother, had she not received terrible news of her father's passing this afternoon. Akagi's fingers intertwined with her mother's, who smiled.

"Aren't you sad?" she asked.

"This is something a wife must expect," Mother answered, softly caressing her hair. "When a man has married and his wife given birth, he is drafted into the fighting, so it is only a matter of time. How many old men do you see out and about in Aurora, Akagi?"

"Two…"

"Exactly. A good wife must expect her husband to die for the dreams of the Ranseian people," she beamed. "You too, one day, will be in my position. It is important for you to learn these lessons."

Her mother's hands, usually so comfortable and warm turned cold and rigid in a split second, though Akagi did not react. She hated talking about adult life, given all of the terrible stories she would hear from her friends. Her mother made it sound beautiful and worth it, but her friends' parents did not, and she wanted to make full use of the three years she had left as a child.

"Do not be unhappy, sweetie," mother smoothly said. "When we push back these monsters from Ignis and Fontaine, we will rise again."

"Mother… we were allied to Fontaine a year ago, weren't we?"

Her parent stared into the fire, saying nothing for a long while. She grabbed onto a cup, sipping on water heated from the flames. Akagi loved tea leaves, but they were expensive and she could only get those in batches when the merchants came back from Shinwa. They made it sound like such an amazing place. A land of peace and cooperation, where humans never fought each other. Akagi was only thirteen years old, but she knew about the expeditionary forces the outsiders sent to back whoever they favored at the moment. The kingdoms supported by them would rise above the rest for a few months or years, and then support would suddenly vanish, and they would collapse all over again and no progress would be done. While the world had been killing itself forty years ago, forcing the Three Elements into action, Ransei had known that kind of war, had been born in it, molded by it. For centuries— or perhaps millennia, Ransei had been at war with itself, and while tribes had risen and fallen, only a few had come close to uniting the continent with one goal.

For the creator to show Himself. It was said in the scriptures, that the people of Ransei were the oldest and the continent itself was as well.

"Alliances shift, Akagi," her mother finally answered. "That is the nature of politics."

She would talk about politics, when Akagi managed to break past the happy housewife persona that her mother put on. She was far smarter than she seemed, and yet… her mother was just there. Drifting across life.

"Tell me the truth."

Her mother's dark brown eyes closed for a few seconds. "The other women say that Sinnoh's Champion started backing Ignis and that they thought they could stab us in the back in exchange for rights to mine their coal and… some kind of gas."

Akagi did not freeze, for subterfuge and betrayal was a way of life, here, but she wondered. If Shinwa was a land of peace— if the entire world outside of Ransei was a land of peace, then why? Why did they feel the need to come in and ruin things? She was just a girl, but if no outsiders intervened, then would one of the kingdoms finally unite their lands in cooperation? Would peace finally come to Ransei?

Would their creator finally appear before them and lead them to His garden?

Akagi's eyes burned as bright as the flames, and she clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into the flesh of her palm. It was the fire of ambition, that burned inside of her, and she used the death of her father and the knowledge that other nations used Ransei as a whorehouse as kindling. Father had not needed to die, because Sinnoh had killed him. The world had killed him, smothered him before he could truly live. He had been at war since the age of sixteen, lived for thirteen years on the front lines with only a few months spent at home.

"Mother," Akagi said, her voice trembling with rage. "Why is the world unfair?"

She sighed. "Do not think unnecessary thoughts, or you will not be let into His garden and your soul will be lost."

"I hate you. You hate yourself, too, but you act like everything is fine. Like this is normal."

A breath caught in her mother's throat, but the smile returned soon after. "I suppose I do. Hate myself."

"I know."

Akagi ran away from home during the night.

—

Akagi Yoshike, thirteen years old, had left Aurora in the winter with nothing but a satchel on her back with as much food she managed to scrounge up. The air was bitterly cold, slicing through her layers of clothing like a thousand icy blades. Her entire body shivered as one, the wind carrying a chill that seeped into her very bones and her face numb. The snot leaking from her nose was frozen on her upper lip, and she could see her breath in front of her face.

Akagi followed a lonely path in the wilderness leading out of Aurora with a destination in mind. She had not learned geography or even how to read, but everyone knew that in reference to their kingdom of Aurora, Ignis lay to the north, a nation of harsh land not fit for agriculture that had turned them to raiding Aurora's granaries after every harvesting season, save for when an alliance had been established and they traded instead. To the south lay Fontaine, a smaller coastal kingdom full of rivers and streams, and a lot less cold thanks to hugging the warm ocean breeze. Since Aurora was in a state of war with both, Akagi's only option lay to the west.

The Kingdom of Greenleaf, surrounded by lush plains for miles and the biggest producer of food in the region, or at least according to her mother. They were currently at peace with Aurora, so it was her best bet to get through the frontier without meeting a military contingent that would kill her or capture her on sight. She had heard horror stories of what they did to girls they managed to get their hands on, and Akagi would rather slit her own throat than live through that.

Her feet scrunched on the snow, and exposed patches protested against the frigid, agonizing cold. Akagi pulled her scarf tighter, attempting to shield her face from the relentless howling of the frozen winds. Every twig, every leaf, even the path was completely blanketed in pristine, unmarred snow, and the only reason Akagi knew where to walk was because it was slightly more elevated than the rest of the terrain and she knew that the sun rose in the east and set in the west, so she was walking away from it, cursing the enormous star for not giving her any warmth. For hours, the road stretched ahead, seemingly endless in its monotony.

Was she outside of Aurora yet? Her village was at the edge of the Kingdom, so maybe. She couldn't feel her legs or hands. Was that normal? Why was she so tired? Why was she on the ground? The snow coated the side of her face, and Akagi crawled forward, hoping to get herself toward one of the trees to sit upright, but her body felt so numb. She gripped the snow and dragged, but her grip wasn't strong enough to get herself moving. She cackled, her eyes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake. Was this it, then? Should she have stayed home, been handed off to a man and be made to bear as many children as she could to sustain Aurora's population?

Akagi spat on the ground, and it froze in front of her eyes.

Half delirious, she started to whisper.

"O Arceus, creator of realms and harbinger of balance,

Bless us with your guiding light, as vast as the cosmos.

Grant us strength to face the challenges that lie ahead,

And wisdom to navigate the paths of our journey.

In your divine presence, may harmony reign,

As we tread upon the landscapes of our destinies.

As Poke—Pokemon trainers and seekers of truth,

May your cosmic grace be our e—eternal companion.

A—Arceus, source of all existence,

We offer… our gratitude and reverence,

For the wonders of… creation and the bonds we f—forge,

In your name, we find purpose and… unity,

And one day, we—" she stopped to cough. "—we will unite these lands under your radiance."

"That's a pretty prayer, little tyke," said a gruff voice slightly masked by the wind. "What're you doing all the way out there? Decided to go off and die?"

Akagi didn't freeze, for her body was already completely still, and she struggled to open her eyes again. They were nearly frozen shut, and no longer how hard she told her body to move, nothing happened. It was over. She was going to get captured. She could hear the steps and the muffled voices of the others in the distance. They were going to have their way with her and keep her as a slave.

"Lieutenant! Don't get too close, she might have a bomb under her clothes!" a voice said. Male, but lighter than whoever this lieutenant was.

Akagi finally managed to open her eyes, nearly gasping when she saw the size of the man who had approached her. She could only see with one of her unburied eyes, but he towered over all around him at around seven feet, at least, and he had the build of someone who had tilled fields his entire life. It was nighttime now, so it was difficult to see in the moonlight, but his hair was blonde and spiky. Unkept. He carried a sharp scent that tingled her nose and kept her awake. Slightly sweet, but burning. A Raichu and some kind of blue and yellow Canine stood by his side, a Pokemon Akagi had never seen before.

"Grab her and take her back to camp," the Lieutenant said. "Not the first runaway runt we've come across."

"Not the first that'd have a dirty bomb on 'em either," the man said. "But orders are orders. You heard the Lieutenant, boys and girls!"

Akagi was not sure how, but energy coursed through her veins, and suddenly, she could move again. Her heart was beating so loudly she could feel the pulse in her ears, and she started to sweat. She could not move very much, but her hand sluggishly reached inside her satchel. The people around her jumped out of the way, diving away from her as she grabbed her knife and shoved it toward her throat—

The Lieutenant's burly hands grabbed her wrist, and she knew he could have snapped them if he applied enough strength.

"None of that," he grunted. "We won't do anything you're thinking of to ya, so no need to be all fucking dramatic about it." He grabbed her and put her over his shoulder. "Declan! Get your fucking Houndoom to work, you useless sack of shit! I'm freezing my fucking balls off."

Akagi felt warmth spread through her skin, but she had no time to enjoy the sensation, given the fact that she passed out seconds later.

—

She woke up inside of a bed larger than she'd ever been in, and the warmth here felt so good she almost opted to go to sleep before remembering she'd been kidnapped. Akagi's entire body ached, was covered in blisters and was slightly swollen and paler than she was used to. Just the covers and clothes brushing up against her body was painful. Frostbite. She'd never seen one this severe, though, and it made her want to die. The same Raichu Akagi had seen early was lying on the floor, curled up next to some sort of machine that continuously hummed and emanated with heat and contained some kind of chimney that rose through the tent's ceiling. The entrance flap of the olive-colored tent was zipped up, keeping all of the warmth inside. Akagi froze, hoping not to wake up the electric type and gather her thoughts. There was no sound of any bombing or fighting outside, so she knew she was in a peaceful area, at least. From the subtle hints of light and how hungry she was, the thirteen-year-old could tell it was morning again. The tent had a desk and a few chairs, and was more spacious than any tent ought to be, but it didn't look like there was anything she could make use of, save for some papers at the desk that she couldn't read.

And either way, it wasn't like they would have left anything of import here.

What did Akagi know? The accent of the people who took her… was foreign. They were foreigners, but from where? Shinwa? Arceus almighty, if she was in a foreigner camp, she was screwed. If these were Sinnohans, then that meant they'd taken her back to Ignis or somewhere nearby, and if they learned she was an Auroran, they'd enslave or execute her.

She needed to run.

Every movement spread agony throughout her body, and she left the bed inch by inch in order not to wake up Raichu. She was barefoot, but there were shoes in the tent, way to large for her, but it would work. Akagi had one leg out of the covers when that same Lieutenant bent over to enter the tent with another average-sized man at his size. Declan, he had called him. They both wore thick, green clothing with strange patterns on them and he had a medal around his neck made of silver, or maybe a plaque. When he saw she'd been trying to run, he simply grinned, waking up Raichu, and another smaller electric type climbed onto his shoulder from behind his thick neck. This one, she recognized as Pachirisu. Akagi would have called it cute, in different circumstances.

"Already up, hm? Told you she was fierce," the Lieutenant boasted, dragging a chair for him to sit. It looked like it would almost collapse under his weight. "You feeling better, runt?"

"Who— who are you?" she forced out.

"None of your business," he smiled sharply, something both his Pokemon mirrored. "You cooperate now, and we might play nice later. Declan."

Declan was an average man through and through, though Akagi usually never saw ones his age. Brown eyes and hair that was cut short, a thin face and a bit of a beard that looked to be growing.

He stayed standing, tapping on some kind of wooden board he carried with a pen in his other hand. "Tell us what we need to know, and we'll let you go back home."

"I don't want to go back home," she instantly said. "I ran away."

The Lieutenant snorted. "She got you there."

"Then we'll just let you go with actual winter clothing and supplies."

Akagi frowned. "You would… do that?"

"Can't kill civvies we capture, kid," the blond Lieutenant said. "Much less children. Gotta respect the rules of engagement and all of that."

Her frown deepened. "We get bombed at least once per week!" she yelled. To be honest, she knew she shouldn't be fighting this hard. There was distrust, yes, but these Sinnohans had caused her father's death, and all for resources! "Don't pretend to have rules. We keep dying because of the weapons you give. Weapons that go against the bond between a Pokemon and its trainer!"

"Who cares about the bond?" Surge said, causing her to gasp. There was nothing more important than that bond, in these lands, save for the creator Himself. "You people don't use Pokeballs, and most of you use one or two Pokemon at most that take you way too long to train and die or get crippled before they can do anything of note anyway. Missiles and artillery are faster." He paused, scruffing his Pachirisu's neck. "But I can tell you we're not the ones bombing you. We just relocated here three days ago from the other side of the continent."

Declan chimed in. "Maybe if you tell us where you're from, we can help you figure out who was hurting your people."

"I already know who it was. The Sinnohans!" she yelled.

"Auroran, then," Surge nodded as Declan scribbled on his paper. With a tiny gasp, Akagi covered her mouth with her hands. "Just give it up, kid. We'll figure it out eventually."

"...Akagi Yoshike, thirteen years old from Millstone," she sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Millstone. It's a small border town 40 miles to the southeast of here…" Declan hummed, flipping through the papers on the table. Akagi caught a glimpse of a map. "44.7854° N, 116.8503° W."

The Lieutenant nodded. "Figures. Seen anyone on the road?"

"Just me."

"Looks like their plan to push in actually was a dud," he gruffed, scratching his chin. "Fucking Sinnohan pricks."

Wait— you're not Sinnohan?" Akagi gasped.

"Kantoan, born and bred," he grinned. "The name's Surge. Just Surge. We figured we'd nurse you back to health and then let you go. Not the first time we've done it. If you tried to run and somehow made it out of camp, you would have collapsed ten minutes into your escape. Wouldn't have bothered me, personally, but I think it's a waste of talent."

"Talent?"

"You're determined. Walked… twenty-eight miles in the snow until we picked you up, and tried to end your own life rather than get taken by the enemy. I can admire guts like those," Surge grinned. "You've got more balls than Declan and the majority of the people under my command," he laughed, clapping his underling on the back. Declan only whimpered, though he didn't try to escape. "Tell me, runt. What do you want in life?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Akagi clenched a fist, bearing through the pain. "I want to bring peace to Ransei."

Pachirisu laughed at the idea, though Surge raised a hand. "Interesting. And how would you do that?" he asked.

"I would… can I say whatever I want?"

Both Surge and Declan nodded.

"I would forge alliances to kick out outside powers… and then we would fight it out between ourselves and unify, and Arceus would intervene and welcome us all into a life of eternal bliss and peace."

Surge leaned forward. "That's a very nice dream," he said in a clearly sarcastic tone. "Maybe we'll all join in, link hands and sing and dance in the flowery fields too, eh?" he snorted. "What you want, Akagi, is impossible."

"Why is it—"

"I wasn't alive for it, but more than forty years ago, we spent years killing each other until Gods had to come and make us stop," he interrupted. "But war's built into the human condition, you see, we can't fucking stop. It's encoded into each and every one of us, to want to take something we don't have, even if we don't fucking have a need for it, so the world looked and saw your shithole of a continent. Divided into petty kingdoms, more than half the people still living under some feudalistic system and without running water or electricity, but so, so many resources. Oil, gas, coal, mega stones, minerals, excellent soil— this place is a treasure trove, and you're using none of it."

Raichu squeaked by his side, crossing its arms.

"Right? It's a waste, and it lets us vent some steam. Kill each other in a contained way without awakening the Gods that could end us in an afternoon," he continued with a sigh. "But let's say that what you said happens. Let's say that we all pack up and leave."

"We get peace," Akagi said.

"You keep fighting, and maybe, after a few decades, some petty King comes close to uniting this place, but then the remaining Kingdoms band together, his generals stab him in the back, and his country collapses."

"No, it was the foreigners who—"

Surge waved a hand. "Oh yeah, sure, we've sped up the process since we came to these shores, but you have history. We've only been here for forty years, but this state of affairs has existed for far longer than that— longer than your recorded history. Tell me, little tyke, have you ever wondered if your people think that uniting the country would bring forth Arceus and you'd get to prance around naked in some fictional garden, that they would just not fight? After all, everyone could be saved if you just stayed at peace. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say Ransei has to be united through conquest."

"The glory!" she snapped. "Being the one to unify the continent would put you in His good graces!"

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Exactly! It's all a game! All ego! A thinly veiled excuse to justify this generational slaughter. You remind me of Johtohans, you know? The way you spin religion to justify whatever the hell you want at the time."

Akagi bit her lip. "So what? Do you think you're any better? All of you foreigners, you're all cut from the same cloth!"

Surge laughed. "Oh, no. I'm a bastard. We're all bastards who're exploiting your home for profit, but hey, at least we don't pretend. Funny thing is, the Unovans say it's to bring freedom and democracy, as do the Galarians, though they're more focused on the free market side of things. Kalosians are ideological fanatics who want all monarchies to disappear. Sinnohans, they say that they need to keep control of the waterways in the Ranseian Channel because those pricks from Fontaine keep mining the sea and raiding their ships, but let's be honest, they just want in on the feast. Us at Indigo? We tell you how it is. That's what's right. That's honesty."

The girl huffed. "Doesn't make me like you anymore."

"I don't expect you to like me. I expect you to hate my guts. Funny thing is, we're here to ally with Aurora to counterbalance Sinnoh's alliance with Ignis."

Akagi blinked.

"That's what I'm talking about. That look. You hate me, but I'm doing what you want." He outstretched his long arms and grinned. "I like you, runt. Let me train you and make you worth something. I'll teach you how to fight, how to read and write, and at the end of it all, I'll give you a 'mon and maybe you'll have what it takes to shine bright in this pile of shit you call home."

He offered his hand.

She took it, thinking that she would kill him by the end of it.

—

Six months had passed since Surge had taken Akagi under his wing.

The war was a distant thing, now. There were close calls in the middle of the night where Ranseians from Ignis had tried to breach their camp, which they had moved closer to Aurora, but the Indigoans always pushed them back with so few casualties it was almost a joke. The things they could do with their Pokemon, the tactics employed, it was all so new to her, even today. She was fourteen, now, and had spent most of her time sticking by Surge during strategy meetings or when he drilled his troops, or inside his tent like she currently was doing.

Taking a geography test.

Ransei currently had seventeen kingdoms, though that number fluctuated throughout the decades. On the table lay a blank map of Ransei with empty boxes above where kingdoms were supposed to be. There were no borders, given the fact that they changed every day, but the general location was always the same. Manectric and Raichu were watching her, making sure that she didn't cheat, and Pachirisu was sitting on the table, sniggering at Akagi for her failure to identify the northeastern kingdoms of Ransei.

"I'd like to see you try, you stupid runt," she growled under her breath. "How the hell am I supposed to tell which one Valora is? Or Illusio? There isn't even topography to help!"

Learning about the countries themselves was easier. Each Kingdom specialized in a single type, though they did not only use that type. Ignis, for example, was full of fire type users. The ruling family had used them for as long as they remembered, and according to Surge, it was a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, though Akagi couldn't help but think there was something more to it. Aurora, her own country, had been specialized in normal types.

Pachirisu fell on her back, giggling like an idiot as her legs and arms moved wildly, and Raichu shrugged, probably saying that he wouldn't know? Akagi had learned to know all of Surge's Pokemon, but she had bonded specifically with those three. She was confident in having at least twelve of the seventeen down, but the rest, she was stumped on, and she ended up filling them randomly when she only had two minutes left for her test.

"Finished yet? Patches, did she cheat?"

Pachirisu nodded, and Akagi strangled her until she jolted her arms and escaped to climb on Surge's shoulder.

"I guess not," the tall Lieutenant grinned. "Let's see what you're made of, runt." She handed him the paper, and after a glance, he shrugged. "12 out of 17. Mediocre, but at least you know the ones closest to us."

"I started learning these a week ago."

"A week should be enough to memorize seventeen things, Akagi," he said.

"Whatever. I'll ace it next time."

"Good attitude to have, just make sure it actually happens, or you're running an extra ten laps around camp."

"Any news? From the war?"

"We caught some Sinnohans scouts and brought 'em back to camp," he said. "We're going to question them for their plans to see if they're anticipating our offensive or not."

"Question how?"

"Pull a few fingernails," he said.

It was at times like these, that Akagi remembered who it was, she was facing. An awful man who had caused the death of her people, children included. Who ordered them to be tortured for information, and who was exploiting Aurora for its resources. She'd gotten smarter the last few months, learned about the world, and this small unit was only a small part of the actual operation. Indigo had launched. They still had expeditionary forces all over the continent, and this was only one of them, albeit the most powerful, given the fact that they were led by Surge.

"No need to look at me like I just pulled your fingernails," he laughed.

"I thought torture of prisoners of war was illegal under the Sootopolis Accords established after the Great War," she said, her voice shaking. "Have you been doing this the entire time?"

"Smart girl. At least you can memorize your history," Surge said. "You see, the funny thing with laws is that there are loopholes. Sinnoh and Kanto-Johto are not at war. In fact, Indigo is not at war with anyone. The people we're capturing aren't prisoners of war, they're enemy combatants."

"That's the same thing!"

"One is illegal, one isn't. No need to launch into an entire ethical debate, I know what I'm doing is wrong, I just don't care."

"Is there anything you care about?" she asked. "Or are you just some empty fucking shell?"

Surge didn't answer. Instead, he sat down on another chair and sighed. "I'm being recalled in three months, runt."

She frowned. "Recalled?"

"Champion Lance has personally asked for me to take over the Vermillion Gym to deal with the Rocket presence building up in the city. He thinks my experience in war will help get the country on war footing to take the fight to them."

He had told her about Team Rocket before, some kind of mafia who was growing more and more prominent in Indigo. Akagi thought they deserved all of it. It was a taste of their own medicine.

"You could call it an early retirement," he sighed. "All my life, I've fought in this damn place, and just like that, I'm leaving. That's something, isn't it?"

"What? Are you gonna cry? Ask for me to come with you?" she mocked.

"No. You could not waterboard begging out of me, runt. I don't ask for things," he said. "And I know you wouldn't come anyway. Bummer, really. You could have a good life in Vermillion, but it is what it is."

"I don't want anything to do with you. You're just someone I'm using to bring my people peace."

"I know, I know, stop talking my ear off. Anyway, the goal is to finish off the Sinnohans before I leave, so you'll be of use, runt."

"Do you mean—"

"I'm giving you your first 'mon."

—

"Weak."

Magnemite levitated from the small crater in the ground that had formed after Raichu had slapped it down with his tail, and it was covered in dents and scratches. Raichu hadn't even used a move, just his body, and he hadn't gotten hit by any attacks even once. He could move faster than the eye could even see, but the worse was that he didn't. He slowed himself down, weakened himself so Magnemite and Akagi would be able to learn something out of this.

"You fight like a dumbass," Surge said. "Look around yourself, runt."

Akagi did so, ignoring Magnemite's protesting beeps. It hated when Surge talked shit, as did she, but it wasn't like they could do anything about it anyway. What she was were just trees. He had taken her to the middle of a clearing.

"What? It's just fucking trees, you asshole!"

"Then use those as cover. Don't just tell Magnemite to stand there and use Thundershock or Sonic Boom. Also, you're just standing there, wide open. Until you get yourself a psychic or a Protect user, that's not a luxury you can afford. You'd be dead before you know it. Use the terrain."

"Raichu could have just killed me anyway!" She yelled, pointing at the electric type, who responded with a laugh. "Don't make fun of me, you prick!"

"Oh, look at me, I'm Akagi," Surge mocked. "The opponent is too strong, so I'll just roll over and die! That's you, runt! You won't last a week without me, thinking like that. Some lad's Pokemon from Ignis is gonna crush your organs with Quick Attack!"

"I thought we were just training—"

Raichu fired off a blinding beam of electricity that burned the side of the arm even when she knew it hadn't touched her, because if it had she would be dead. She flinched, tumbling back into the grass and instinctively crawled back.

"This is training," Surge said. "Now get back up. Don't let your Magnemite show you up."

She cursed under her breath, but by Arceus' grace, she stood.

—

Surge was leaving in a week, but Akagi couldn't even bother thinking about what she'd do.

The teenager walked through a village that was eerily silent, broken by the occasional cry or scream and Surge and Declan chatting about the place they had recently bombarded to smithereens with a long-range barrage of Pokemon moves and missiles. The remnants of what were once vibrant neighborhoods now lay in ruins. Crumbled facades and rubble-strewn streets, blown up stores, schools and hospitals. The air carried a pungent mix of dust, despair and blood, a suffocating blend that mirrored the collective grief of a city torn apart. Amidst the destruction, haunting reminders of lives disrupted and dreams shattered emerged. Abandoned toys, torn clothes, and fragments of personal belongings lay strewn across the wreckage, leaving her with a feeling of emptiness. Something here was lacking.

That was only second to the casualties.

The corpse of an old woman, the bottom half of her body jutting out from below a massive collapsed structure that must have been her home. Children crying for their parents, clinging to non-responsive limbs. People with hollow stares who had just lost everything, just standing in the street without moving, sometimes wounded. People who would glare at her.

This was Ignis' third largest city. Akagi had grown up thinking of these people as enemies, but they were just like her. Victims. Victims of the same self-perpetuating cycle engineered by outsiders.

What am I doing here? she asked herself. The fact that she'd been ever been attached to Surge made her want to gag. The tall Lieutenant wasn't even looking at her, and she feared the next time she actually saw his face, she would convince herself that this was just a one-time event. Why was it so easy to grow to like this man? This monster in the shape of a man. How could one walk through this place and feel nothing? Not care?

"Wasn't this—" she retched, doubling over and puking on the side of the road.

"What, your first mission and you're already puking? You haven't even had to wade through guts yet!" Surge cackled.

Akagi wiped her mouth, though the taste of vomit lingered. "Surge, this is— why did we do this? Just to sniff out a few Sinnohans holding out in the city? So many people died."

"We warned 'em beforehand," Surge said. "It's a shame, but those who didn't evacuate only have themselves to blame."

Declan nodded. "And we finally expelled the final remnants of Sinnoh's expeditionary force. Those who didn't Teleport out are all captured or deceased."

Ah.

She was talking to monsters, not humans.

Akagi Yoshike finally understood that she'd been strung along this entire time. Manipulated. She needed to escape, but how could she? Surge had the majority of his Pokemon out, save for Magnezone being used for long-range communication and Manectric and Electabuzz having been wounded in a battle two weeks ago and still at base camp getting healed by the military nurses.

Meanwhile, she wasn't allowed to use her Pokemon. Not outside of training or unless Surge gave her the okay. She'd caught or been given a few more by Surge that they were training up. Could she release them and strike? No, the noise from the Pokeballs would alert them. She was behind both of them and their Pokemon, at the moment, but she could still strike. Akagi still had that blade she'd tried killing herself with months ago when he had first stumbled upon her.

Swallowing, she slowly shifted her hand down to her pocket, every casualty she came across giving her an extra oomph. She would have to repent, to ever get these people to forgive her. She had not lobbed the attacks herself, but Akagi had participated and sometimes cheered, when she had not witnessed the true horrors of war. Her village in Aurora had never been bombed like this.

She moved like lightning, plunging the blade in Declan's neck. The man slumped to the ground, clutching at the hole. It continuously spurted blood, and Declan bled on the floor as he choked on his own blood. Surge barked out orders to his team before Akagi could strike, so instead she ran, escaping as fast as she could. She could get lost in these streets, blend in as a civilian if she dirtied herself enough. She needed to run. To escape from Surge's clutches before she couldn't forgive herself for what she had done.

"HAHAHAHA! YOU DID WELL TO STRIKE, RUNT!" Somehow, Surge's voice echoed through the streets, though when Akagi looked back, she was not being followed. "I THOUGHT YOU'D ATTACK WHEN I WAS LEAVING, BUT A WEEK BEFORE? HOW SMART OF YOU."

She wanted to retort, to tell him to go fuck himself, to die in a ditch, but instead, she stayed silent.

"RUN AWAY, LITTLE TYKE. LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE!"

And he would not be there to witness her rise.

Akagi would escape and start an insurgency in the coming years, fighting against Indigo's puppet regime of Aurora. Eight years later, she would take control of the Kingdom and start her own war of conquest across the continent, taking over sixty-three percent of the landmass in another six years with foreign support from Sinnoh. They called her Warlord. Ransei's fastest and best conqueror in centuries.

Everything had been going according to plan until a coalition formed to oppose her of the remaining Kingdoms.

Her enemies were supporters by Unova and Kalos in small numbers, but the ones doing the heavy lifting?

It was Kanto-Johto.

—

She was twenty-nine, now. Thirty in a month.

Akagi had never liked her castle. It was everything she hated in a ruler, the fact that she lived such a luxurious life compared to her people. The stone walls hung in tatters, a faint glow emanating from them as they slowly heated up due to the flames. Grand paintings of her and her conquests would smoulder and burn, as would the golden reams of the frames. The pillars holding up the room would soon collapse in on themselves, but the smoke would get her first.

So the fact that it was currently burning down and collapsing around her did not bother her much. Akagi lazily slumped on her throne, ignoring the fact that if she stayed here for long, she would be trapped by the flames. Her protector Pokemon Chansey had fainted, taken down by some Indigoan scouts before she could react. Heliolisk, Bibarel, Luxray were also all down, and only Magneton and Jolteon remained at her side, ready to die with her. She expected enemy forces to come and finish her off any minute now, but instead, it was her nemesis, who showed up, his entire team by his side, save for Magnezone who she guessed was playing comms relay again like it used to. He bore an extra scar, this time nearly missing his eye, going over his forehead and temple. This one was fresh. His hair was still as golden as ever, and he looked like he hadn't aged a day, even if she knew he was in his late thirties now. Maybe early forties.

Her eyes narrowed at the number of Pokemon. Manectric, Raichu, Pachirisu, Electivire— that one was new. Electabuzz had evolved, it seemed. Voltorb, Plusle and Minun.

"How?" she instantly roared through the flames.

She was not asking why Surge was there. Akagi had known about his presence for months, and had tortured information about him out of his soldiers. He was taking a break from Gym Leader duties and being deployed for eight months. This was his seventh. Surge was a man of war, and now that peace had come back to Kanto-Johto, he could not stay still for long.

"Well, look at you, runt," Surge grinned, his teeth perfectly white. "Our long-awaited reunion, and this is how you welcome me back?"

"Don't play fucking dumb," she drawled. "How is your team back on their feet? I sent people after you— my best people, and the survivors said you'd only have Patches and Raichu left. That the rest would take months to recover, if they didn't die from their wounds."

He snorted. "Oh, that. Nasty pieces of work, your men. You trained them just the way I trained you, and they caught me off-guard—"

"Answer the fucking question. You owe me that, at least."

If she could stall for time, if she could condemn him to burn to death with her, then it would all have been worth it. Surge leaned against one of the pillars, his Pachirisu, Plusle and Minun swarming his shoulder and head.

"Fancy new tech we got from the Rockets," he explained. "They made some Pokemon called Ditto when they tried to create a God, and it turns out that it's really useful for healing. We can't keep it to ourselves and leaks have already happened, so we're currently selling it to the highest bidder, which is why you lost the war against the coalition. They're already at each other's throats to get access to it and thinking about how to stab each other after the war's done, can you believe it?"

"You did that."

"We did," he nodded, crossing his arms. "Now are we going to do this the hard way, or the easy way, runt?"

"What, are you expecting me to surrender so you can capture me?"

"I'm asking you how you want to die," he said. "I tried to ask the League if we could keep you prisoner and spare your life, but you're too important to be left alive. Bummer," he shrugged.

"Tell me, Surge," Akagi inhaled. "Is there anything you care about?"

He smiled. "Still not going to answer that one, little tyke."

"Kill him," she hissed.

The smell of ozone filled her nostrils, and Magneton and Jolteon fired off two Thunders in Surge's direction. Deep in her heart, she'd known it wouldn't work. Raichu grunted, and the electricity bent toward him. He absorbed all of it in his tail, though he was heaving by the end of it.

"Packs a punch," Surge said. "You would have been a decent fight, with your entire team. Get her Pokemon."

Minun and Plusle disappeared— no, they blurred— no, they—

Jolteon managed to dodge, electricity crackling through her fur as she weaved right, but Magneton crumpled to the floor before Akagi even realized what was happening. Minun's body had been overtaken by flames, and she had rammed in its center. Its eyes blinked, and it prepared to fight back, but Akagi raised a hand.

"Stand down."

"Glad you're taking the easy way out," Surge said. "Recall 'em."

She did before they could protest, absorbing them both in their Pokeballs. It was not that she was giving up, of course. Surge was prone to bouts of overconfidence, and she had a plan. Akagi rose from her throne, staring Surge down while he and his team climbed the staircase. As soon as he got within reach, she pulled out a blade from her sleeve and tried ramming it into Surge's throat. The Kantoan was huge, but he was quick, and he ducked, punching her in the gut while Raichu whipped her leg with his electrified tail. The world went white for an instant as she convulsed, hit her head on her throne and crumpled to the floor like a piece of paper.

"Nice try," Surge said. His voice was distant, so distant, yet he was right here, looming over her. Pieces of the ceiling started to collapse near the entrance. "It's a shame it had to come to this, Akagi."

"You— you— you used me," she forced out. "Wanted me to— be strong."

"I suppose I did, in a way. Figured that in a decade, you could own a decent chunk of the continent and be an ally of Indigo. That we could collect the resources in your country in exchange for weapons and aid. Unfortunately you refused any diplomacy and you conquered Ransei a little too quickly."

"Fuck… you. You— make this land hell."

"I do."

It was so enraging, the way he acknowledged it. The way he didn't even try to justify himself for all the crimes he had committed, the deaths he had wrought, lives he and his country had ruined.

"You walked it too," he softly said. "You killed, pillaged, tortured and conquered. Allied with Sinnoh to get a leg up."

"Not— the same. Don't compare us."

"Sure thing, runt," he said, leaning over her. "What do you think would have happened, had we let you take over the entire continent? You were already putting down rebellions before we got fully involved."

"You can't just—" she coughed as pain coursed through her broken leg. "You can't just say that things would be the sa— same as justification."

"It's what I truly think. Doesn't make me any better of a person, though. I'm a bastard."

"I hate— you."

Surge winced. "I know you do—"

Second knife. That had been the plan. This one had been hidden in her boot, and she nearly managed to stab Surge in the neck. He'd been kneeling next to her, so he was in range, and she nearly killed him. Instead, he dodged out of the way and the blade penetrated his upper arm. Akagi internally swore, expecting death to take her, but instead, Surge told his team to stand down.

"Thought you'd try to kill yourself like last time instead," he hissed, clenching at his arm. "Hell of a gambit you threw here."

"Fuck you."

"Raichu."

The electric type's tail shone bright white with Iron Tail, ready to take her head.

"Any last words?" Surge asked between heavy breaths. With some luck, his use of the arm would be permanently crippled.

She spat a glob of bloody saliva in his eye. "Shinwa— was never— land of peace. You are— monsters. May Arceus choke you to de—death with His thousand hands, Lieutenant Surge. May your tar soul be lost forever and may you never see His— Garden."

The man she hated closed his eyes, turning away from her.

"Do— do it, runt," she choked at Raichu. "Finish me—"

Akagi Yoshike perished alone in her throne room.

Her Kingdom collapsed, and within weeks, the coalition needed to take her down were at each other's throats.

Ransei was a land of war, of subjugation. A victim of imperialism. And it would not change, at least not yet.