Jubilife City.
The largest city in Sinnoh, and by proxy it’s capital. Jubilife was known to many as Sinnoh’s ‘City of Dreams’, the land of opportunity, a place where those who had nothing could make something out of themselves. Jubilife had always been Sinnoh’s crown jewel, its magnum opus since the days of old where it played a pivotal role in uniting the different tribesmen of Hisui into one strong nation. Even to this day, it played a major role in fostering political alliances with its cross-continental message/transit systems. It was a city of beauty, progress, and unity.
For the normal folk, at least.
For the upper echelons of society however, It was a city of corruption, excess, and greed.
Within the confines of the most luxurious suite in Jubilife, the rich partied. There was no real reason for this party, but having money and not being able to do anything with it was awfully boring, and what better way to spend it than to have fun with your friends? Money couldn’t buy happiness, but it could buy drugs, and those made people happy.
At least, that’s what Ox of the Red path thought it did based on the dopey and manic smiles of the men and women moving throughout the apartment the size of several UNITE fields. The place was fitted like a casino, packed to the brim with tables and games gambling away money most would kill for like it was just another Tuesday. That incessant Jazz music that the Sinnoh people loved so much drifted throughout the suite over the idle chatter, filling the room enough so that it didn’t overtake the talkings, but rather, allowed them to converse about less reputable things.
It was all a false sense of security, however. As Ox made his way towards the high table, he already spotted a number of Chronos ‘waiters’ and ‘servants’ hiding listening devices on their persons as they moved throughout the party with professional grace. Their faces remained stoic even at the lack of…professionalism from some of the guests.
He walked side by side with 3 of his other compatriots, faces set and arms locked firmly behind them as they stepped in tandem towards the base of the steps leading towards the high table. There they waited as the head of Chronos bestowed judgement on the unlucky fools before it would be their turn.
“--mean to tell me that you put your hands on Pokémon that belong to me?” A bored voice asked, cutting through the chatter and the music.
“I-I-well-you see,” A masked man stammered, older and with a receding hairline, “I wasn’t in my right mind, we all make mistakes, don’t we?”
“We do, we do.” The voice agreed.”
“Right! And-and it’s not about the mistake, but how we make-up for the mistake right? Quick!” The balding man snapped, his servants stepped up hesitantly with a suitcase in tow, “Go on! Open it for our host!”
Trembling fingers fidgeted with the suitcase, and a click was heard from above. A long silence followed, as the music slowly began to fade out Ox could feel the telltale sign of a psychic barrier being raised, cutting the High Table off from the rest of the party, much to the disappointment of the guests outside.
A chair scraped back, slow but heavy footsteps walked slowly, each step echoing louder and louder as they made their way closer to the masked man.
“Do you think.” The head of Chronos whispered, Ox’s highly trained hearing allowing him to pick the words out, “500,000 is enough to buy forgiveness…for sleeping with my Lopunnies?”
“Wa-”
He heard the telltale sound of a foot slamming into the masked man’s gut, wincing internally as the man cried out in pain, stumbling back and tumbling down the steps. All 4 Aurafire Grunts stepped seamlessly to the side, letting the rotund man collapse between them.
Slow steps followed down the stairs, and Ox got to see the head of Chronos from his peripheral view. Dressed in a crisp blue suit with white trimmings, was Damus Diamond, 5th head of the Diamond Clan, and one of the three most prominent crime lords in Sinnoh.
A hand ran through Damus’s cobalt hair, which was slightly stained by greys as the man let out a long sigh, fixing his suit before taking a seat on the steps.
“I’m a little disappointed Oscar,” The Crime Lord said, fishing a knife out of his shoe and waving it around lazily through the air, “I basically guarantee your victory in the coming election, and this is how you repay me?”
“I-I-”
“Shut up.” Damus interrupted, pointing the knife at the man, “You know the most insulting part? You tried to hide it from me. Me. Do I look like the type of person you should keep secrets from? Hm, Oscar?”
“No-”
The knife thunked between Oscar’s legs, and the man let out a whimper.
“No. And then you offer me 500,000 for my silence. Do you think 500,000 is enough to silence this?”
There was a hum of energy, Ox could feel the psychic barrier shift and morph, crackling sounds spilling forth that became clearer by the second.
Then the audio began to play.
All 4 Aurafire Grunts stiffened as the sounds of Oscar’s…mistake echoed around them. The cries of the Pokémon, Oscar’s laughter. Ox knew the man was high, the sheer primitiveness in his voice was evidence enough, and despite the rigorous training he and his brethren had gone through, it took everything in Ox’s power not to gag and throw up.
“15 seconds Oscar, that’s how long the barrier lasts.”
The audio was played louder.
“Wait. WAIT! I’M SORRY!” Oscar cried out, “1 million! I’ll give you 1 million!”
The audio went louder.
“5 million!”
“10 seconds Oscar!”
“20 million!”
The audio went a tad bit lower.
“50 million!”
“5!” Damus sang, as the Psychic barrier began to falter, “4! 3~! 2-”
“100 million!”
The audio stopped. The psychic barrier fell, and Damus let out a low whistle.
“100 million…hmmm I think I can make that work.” The Crime lord stood, walking towards Oscar with his hands in his pockets. When the politician was at his feet, he removed one hand, fingers bedecked with diamond rings held towards Oscar expectantly.
“It’ll be done, I promise, I swear.” Oscar rushed, immediately moving to his knees and kissing the rings.
“That’s a good man. Hmm hmm, when do I want it...next week seems doable, right?”
“Next…next week?”
“Is that a problem, Oscar?” Damus drawled.
“No! No of course not. Next week it is then.”
“Perfect!” Damus smiled, the smile of a man who knew he had all the power over another. “Now get out.”
“Will I…will you still support me?”
“Oscar.” He warned.
The man let out a whimper and stood, rushing back out the entryway with his servant in tow, the laughter and the pointing fingers of the partygoers trailing him at every step.
“Arceus, so much work, so little time.” Damus breathed, before heading back up the steps. As he walked up Ox realized his shadow hadn’t moved, instead it reached out, plucking the knife from the ground where it lay, drifting back into Damus’s extended hand.
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“My lord.” A voice rumbled from up above, “Shall I send my son to ensure he keeps his word?”
“Georgy!” The Crime lord exclaimed, “When’d you get here?”
“Just now, with Lady Leander.”
Ox straightened at the mention of their leader, shoving the feeling of shame that welled in his stomach as he awaited for their call.
“Oh perfect,” Damus drawled, voice oozing with sarcasm, “Yes, send your boy. But do that later, we deal with this first.”
“Grunts.” The gruff voice barked, “Up.”
A quick glance passed between the four before they made their way up, steps locking in unison once more as they approached the high table. There upon the raised dias they could see various heads of the clans that made up team Chronos. Ox knew them all by name and face, ordered to study by lady Lea so that they would not embarrass themselves.
A little late for that, he supposed.
They stood at attention by the steps, their lady stepping out in front of them. A woman in her later years, Lady Leander Enshiro had led Aurafire for the past 30 years, taking over at a young age after her father had fallen to illness. She wore traditional Johto robes, colored in the red and gold of Aurafire, her greying hair done up in a well-maintained bun. Despite the bags under her eyes, her gaze was bright and alert, briefly scanning her men for any injuries. Satisfied, she turned to face the High table, and much to Ox’s anger, bowed.
“I thank the High Table for showing their hospitality.” She demurred, her voice as clear as song.
“You should be,” One of the lords–Percival Pendula–scoffed, “After the mess you made I don’t know why we keep you around.”
“Oh come now Percy,” A voice tittered, lady Rosalind Quartez speaking up now, “I’m sure there’s some coal she could burn for us. Winter draws near, and it does appear to be her specialty.”
The two shared a laugh, all the while Ox fumed. They dared speak to their leader like that? His anger, like his dear Magcargo, bubbled. Fists clenched so hard they drew blood, but above the anger, was shame. They had failed in their task, they had placed their lady in the position of fealty, not as an equal. The damned Galactic warriors, using trickery and darkness to hide and ambush. They had nearly killed him as well, left bleeding out if it had not been for Snake waking from his unconsciousness and treating him.
“Enough.” Damus waved, and both heads immediately grew quiet. He was silent for a while, staring at Leander as she remained in her bow, undeterred by the laughter.
“You know,” He finally said, “I gave up on some rather lucrative dealings with Rocket because of that stunt you pulled in Johto. A mountain of bodies…all burned in your name. People said that they could smell the burning flesh from Alola to here.”
Leander bowed deeper, “You honor me, my lord.”
“But is that the only thing you know how to do? Setting things on fire? I sent you to retrieve Pokémon and you decided to set a whole route on fire?”
Damus awaited a response, when none came he continued, “What do you think will happen when the Rangers come snooping through, investigating the cause? What do you think they will do, when they realize that the fire was spread by Pokemon? Pokemon that can’t be native to Sinnoh because guess what? We don’t have Fire types capable of burning down half the forest!”
They’d begin their search, working their way through a list of all trainers with fire types. When that came up short, they’d begin to move in force, because it meant either something strong had invaded the forest, or there were trainers with unregistered Pokémon capable of dealing extreme environmental damage. And if the Rangers were active, then so too would the Gym leaders be, and then the Champion, who should have been away, would be called back.
In short, it couldn’t happen.
“I can only say we were wholly unprepared for the quality Galactic brought to the table.” Leander offered, “I assumed they were of Rocket’s mindset, with quantity over quality. I underestimated them, for that I ask for your forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness.” Damus scoffed, “Do you know how much money I’ll have to spend to keep the Rangers off our backs? How much time I’ll need to spend? I don’t do forgiveness Lea, I do compensation. But you can’t do that, can you? You no longer have your assets, your money or territory, you don’t have anything. I gave you everything, so what can you do?”
“...Atonement.” She whispered, and Ox closed his eyes, letting out a silent breath. This would be it, it was how they did things in Johto, it would be how they did things here.
“Atonement?” The Crime Lord asked, intrigued.
Lady Leander turned to her Grunts, her face hidden away from the High Table her mask finally cracked. Sadness more profound than anything Ox had ever seen adorned their lady’s visage, one that only remained because of their failure.
“Don’t cry.” Ox wanted to beg, “It was our fault, do not blame yourself for our mistakes!”
Instead, he and his brothers knelt to the ground, pulling ceremonial knives from within their robes they held it, blade first by the left side of their stomachs.
“Atonement.” Their lady said again, turning to face the High Table with her mask in place, “A sacrifice, and a promise of success. Because for us,” One arm swept across the air towards her men, “failure is death.”
Silence filled the air, the Sinnoh Crime Lord uncertain for the first time in a long time if they were serious or not.
“They’ll off themselves?” He finally asked, hands clasped in front of his chin.
“At your command.” Lea answered, “It will serve as a reminder for the rest of us.”
“You.” Damus said, pointing to Snake, “Do it.”
With heavy heart Ox heard the knife of his brother-in-arms plunge, the ripping of flesh as he tugged it sideways, only letting out a grunt of pain. Lords Pendula and Quartez gasped in shock as blood spilled, pooling around his body and seeping into Ox’s robes. He heard the breath of the man he’d spent his whole life training with come out in ragged gasps, doing his best to hold in the scream that so desperately wanted to burst forth. Then finally, the silence. The blessing of knowing Snake no longer suffered. The curse of knowing that the four would never share drinks together again.
A relief, knowing they’d meet each other again soon.
Lady Leander watched, stone faced, before turning back to Damus. “And the others, Lord Diamond?” She asked.
“...Georgy.” Damus finally said, “It was your Nephew’s Pokemon after all, what do you think? Shall I have them all die?”
Georgios Finchley, a behemoth of a man with long dark hair, olive skin, and a bushy moustache simply watched with his arms folded. Unlike the others he wore no fancy suit or dress, instead wearing a simple tee with a jacket overtop.
“No.” The man rumbled, after thinking for some time, “A finger each for their failure. We shall need the numbers to protect the supply lines.”
Ox’s shoulders slumped in relief and shame. He did not want to die, but it meant they’d move on without Snake. Spared by their masters like a rattata on the street.
“Forgive me Snake.” He whispered in his mind, Perhaps I’ll see you soon.”
“A finger it is then, Lady Leander.” Damus waved, watching intently.
“As you wish.” Their Lady demurred, turning to her men.
The remaining three Aurafire Grunts placed their pinkies onto the ground, and with one quick slice their fingers fell. Lady Leander was by their side in an instant, wish a snap of her fingers a small fire burst forth, and she began cauterising the stumps.
“Be strong, my warriors,” She whispered as Ox held back a scream, “Be strong.”
And then it was done, all three Grunts gasping for breath as the the stumps that were once their fingers throbbed with a dull burn.
“It is done, my lord.”
“It is not.”
Lady Leander froze, slowly looking up at the Crime Lord, who now lounged back in his chair with a smile.
“A finger was asked, my lor-”
“And yet you still haven’t given yours.”
Anger, hot like lava erupted within Ox, he rose with a snarl already planted on his lips, hand ready to draw forth his Pokémon-
He couldn’t move his arm.
He couldn’t move anything.
“Hm? Were you going to do something?” The Crime Lord asked, leaning forward in his chair.
Why…why couldn’t he…?
Oh.
He hadn’t noticed before, but Damus’s shadow was long. Too long for it to be natural, even with the strange lighting of the suite. A single, mangled black arm gripped tightly around his own shadow, locking it into place.
“Can’t speak? It looked like you were going to say something. Go ahead, I can wait.”
“My lor-”
“No.” He snapped, fixing a glare to their Lady before turning his gaze back to Ox, “Go on…speak.”
A second mangled claw emerged, this time wrapping around the shadow’s neck, and Ox began to feel his own neck tighten. Fear began to pound through his heart, as he choked and spluttered, unable to move or speak, watching in mute horror.
“Ah, I forgot, didn't I?” He snapped his fingers, and the hands retracted immediately, Ox fell to his knees, gasping for breath as he heaved.
“Well, you were saying?”
“N-nothing.”
“Good, my Lady, if you will?”
She stared, and with a sigh fished her own knife out. With a slight cry of pain, her pinkie soon fell to the floor, the stench of burned flesh permeating through the air as the cauterization process began.
“Good. Now that that’s handled, we can move to more pressing matters, namely how we’ll deal with Galactic in the coming days. Tell your Grunts to leave, and take the dead one too.”
“Rat.” Leander ordered.
“It will be done, my lady.” Their leader, Rat, bowed. With a nod to Horse and Ox, the three lifted their dead brethren, careful to avoid any innards spilling to the floor, leaving behind the High Table, and the men and women who laughed and pointed at them all as if they were items on display.
He wished they burned.
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That night, after they had returned to their new “base”, and had shared condolences with their brothers and sisters, Ox and his brothers awaited their lady’s return, sitting seiza in her throne chambers. To call it a throne would be insulting however, it was simply a fancy pillow with tables lined across them, a shadow of the wealth they had cultivated in Johto..
The doors slid open, the Ox and Dragon of the Grey standing escort to their lady, before leaving with a bow. The three Reds immediately stood, bowing to their leader, only to find themselves pulled into a hug a second later.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered, Ox could feel the tears drop onto his hair, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you all.”
“My lady.” Rat’s voice shook with emotion, “We are sorry to have failed you.”
All four wept in silence, Ox taking solace in his Lady’s arms. He was but a child when they took him in, all of them were. Orphans who had nothing, dredges of society who would be forgotten by the masses. It was lady Leander who took them in, raised them, showed them love and affection. He would do anything for her, die at her command. He should have died back at the High table, defiance in the face of that monster. Instead he showed fear.
He hated himself for it.
Afterwards the four shared rice wine, swapping stories about Snake and his coy ways. The pranks he pulled when they were children had Lady Leander laughing in wistful mirth, as she too traded his secrets and embarrassing tales that would have Snake shaking in embarrassment if he had known. By the time they were done with stories, the pulsing sadness had given way to a dull ache, a pain that would never truly go away, but would not eclipse the entirety of their lives.
“We will begin soon.” Leander said, wiping the runny mascara away with a handkerchief, “Lord Damus has ordered us to move.”
“And where shall we go, my lady?” Horse asked, shifting in his seated position at the discomfort in his leg.
“We will be split, Oreburgh and Eterna, to destabilise them, keeping their Gym Leaders occupied while Lord Tempus gathers the necessary materials, and rebuilds the old supply lines.”
“Lord Tempus…” Ox muttered, “The silent one?”
He had barely seen the man, handsome and well-built despite his older age. His silver hair was kept in a tight ponytail, complimenting his grey eyes and grey suit.
“That one manages the drug trade among the families, he will be…overseeing us.”
Watching their every step, more like.
“How shall we be deployed then?” Rat asked.
“The Blue shall be deployed to Oreburgh.” Leander said, “Red to Eterna. I shall have the Grey split amongst the two groups, the rest will remain as per Damus’s command.”
“Will they back us with men?”
“...Unless Lord Tempus brings his own, no.”
Ox cursed aloud, his brothers instead choosing to mutter under their breaths. Alone it was then, outnumbered against who knew how many Galactic held under their command, and the Gym leaders as well. It would be just like Johto, except this time, if they failed there would be no more running.
“I shall be there with you in Eterna, my daughter shall take Oreburgh.”
“My lady!” Ox protested, but was cut off immediately by a wave of her hand.
“I shall not hear it!” She snapped, causing Ox to flinch back, “We are alone without allies, a master who will not hesitate to kill us. If we fail, death. All of us must work to earn our keep. Am I understood?”
“Yes, my lady.” Ox bowed.
Lady Leander stood, regarding each of them with a look. “But when it is done, and we’ve established ourselves, do you know what we’ll do? Do you know what Aurafire will do?”
“Cleanse the impure.” All three Reds chanted, their Clan's words having been burned into their very minds from the day they were taken in.
“That’s right.” Their lady, their mother smiled, “Rocket learned, Galactic will learn, and then we shall finally teach these leeches ourselves, what happens when they leave our embers unattended.”
You didn’t play with fire without getting burned.