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(Before reading, please take into account that each time we change scenes, we're jumping back in time as well, to the start of the same day, in multiple places.)
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Arciana City Limits - Arciana Region
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Hilbert and Hilda had, upon arriving in the city of Menefer, split their forces evenly. That meant each Champion turned General had five thousand Scales, most untested in true combat, as well as two hundred thousand regular troops in each army group. Menefer was a good example of what most cities east of the 'new border' had become. Covered in ash, streets filled with refugees moving east, and of course, rumors of the dark things going on to their west. Nothing but foul rumors came from Arciana City, one of the largest satellites the Arceans had pulled into their fold. At the source of all these foul rumors was, as per usual, a Hand of the Prophet.
Doctor Manchineel, a world-renowned scientist in his own right, had been placed in charge of using the 'undesirable converts' shipped en masse by train to his walled city to perfect something. Nobody knew quite what, only that it involved the Light, and a disturbing amount of people turning essentially brain dead, tossed aside to aimlessly wander the cold city streets. The sane locals of Arciana City had abandoned their homes once the Hand had built a massive steel retaining wall, hundreds of feet high and several feet thick, to keep the inhabitants from simply wandering away.
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Though the shambling, dead-eyed humans were considered failures, those touched by the Light sometimes clawed their way back to sanity, and the strange new abilities that came with it. The Arcean Church had made full use of the largely abandoned homes, which were their property anyway, to house their soldiers. The few civilians who remained were usually in positions of importance. The good doctor had been given eight hundred thousand Crusaders to hold the eastern border line that had once marked the State of Arciana. The territory had changed much, in the months he'd been in charge. Villages and small towns west of the city were empty, and every surrounding city was the same, a habitat for ghosts, and dark types, but no humans. They had all been taken to Arciana City or had escaped before they were captured by Manchineel's Crusaders.
In truth, he had plenty of men, but nowhere near enough machines for them to fly in, after constantly having them blown apart by Hyper Beams from the dragon types that General Nate favored using in massive numbers. Even flying types were somewhat rare in this region, as much of it was little more than large swathes of flat, farmed land now covered in ash and snow, and the Doctor had found that moving his troops anywhere in the winter was simply not feasible, thus, he'd brought the people to him. Hilbert and Hilda's newly reinforced troops had no such problems, as by this point only those serious enough to train ten Pokémon remained. The early battles of the war had not been kind to amateurs.
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With the mobilization came additional aid from the Imperial capital, in the form of Gym Leaders, from both Unova and Kalos. The majority of Kalos's military was now en route to aid Japan, but their elite Trainers, essentially the nobility, had been sent to Unova alongside two armies that had been trained for battling in winter conditions in the Mediterra Mountains, against Thunder Warriors. The twins had the aid of Burgh, Elesa, and Roxie for this particular endeavor, and their respective forces had become specialized during their training for combat.
It was standard practice of late in Unova for those intending to fight for their homes and their Empire to train rigorously under those the Original Dragon had elevated with his teachings. Not one of them lacked psychic powers, and were Scales in rank having served under the Dragon Emperor's squads, but their duty was to remain home to defend and train while the Dragon Emperor went south, and that is what they had done. The results spoke for themselves.
True to form, Roxie's crowd did not lack for motorcycles, and more than a few had taken to specializing in poison, but a common second favorite was pairing the poison with an electric type. This was largely where Elesa came in, and together under Hilda's leadership, they formed one half of the forces besieging Arciana City, which left Hilbert and Burgh to handle the rest. The Champion and the Gym Leader had found that bug types and dragon types paired surprisingly well, when working together, and their own training had been just as intense.
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There was little ceremony once everyone was in place. They knew their task, and the boon from the Original Dragon kept their heads clear, and focused. The 'Dragon Legions' as the soldiery had taken to calling the entirety of the budding government's military power, had been given explicit orders by both their Emperor, and Tao.
Unlike most armies throughout history, it had been decreed that soldiers bearing the Dragon's mark, typically on their shoulder-armor, would remember what that meant, and in the heat of battle would refrain from the usual tactics of pillaging the civilians' valuable possessions, or worse, slaking their lust on Fornian civilians. There was only one punishment for those who callously broke this rule, and as with the majority of the punishable offenses crafted by the Five Generals, the sentence was a permanent guarantee that such atrocities would not happen again.
They did not deal out death for relatively minor things, like looting a store or home that was obviously abandoned for army resources, but the more serious repeat offenders, those who abused their weapons and rank to control and terrorize average civilians would be sent to Unova for another lesson on what was and was not allowed in 'honorable combat', as Tao had called it.
There would be those, as there always were, who would try to steal and rape and kill anyways as the power of authority mixed with the adrenaline of war, and those were the intended focus of this particular order. Officers and soldiers alike were expected to follow it, with the guarantee that even one of the Generals, should they violate the rules, would receive the same sentence from the Dragon himself, if needed. Tao did not look kindly on such things, but luckily, his chosen Generals all possessed hearts that were, at their core, kind. His halves had chosen and battled together with each of the Generals at one point or another. The exception had been Jessica Gladstone, but she and Alex both led the tip of the spear that was their own company of Scales, segregated mostly by sex. Together, Unova's Champions would not fail.
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Hilbert and Burgh demonstrated the results of their preparation first, as the bug Trainers combined the power of hundreds, if not thousands, of Pokémon all using Bug Buzz. Most of the soldiers, formerly under Nate's command, had possessed dragon types, and Hilbert had one of his own, as did most serious Trainers on his level. Among the rising Scales, dragon types had, surprising no one, become the favored type to train.
His Hydreigon led the others in empowering the Bug Buzz with the undisputed force of Hyper Voice, and the resulting sound wave was enough to reduce the western side of the city's steel retaining wall to scrap, by causing it to buckle inward, and fall upon the barracks behind it. Though nobody had intel from the ground, aerial spies had confirmed where the Arceans had placed their valuable buildings, and both of the twins had intended to take out those targets with their entrance. The eastern forces rushed through the shattered opening, and battle was soon joined as Crusaders streamed in from across the city to plug the breach and drive the enemy out.
Hilda's approach was subtle, where her brother's was brazen. She had Elesa lead the very loud, very distracting bikers in a serpentine biking formation as they exchanged shots with Crusaders on their part of the wall, hiding behind their combined Stave shields. Hilda took Roxie and her strongest poison users straight to the wall, and after a few Acid Sprays, entered the back of Arciana City's own house of worship. The inside was heavily decorated with white and gold, and symbols of Arceus adorned the walls, always accompanied by the not entirely unpleasant facial features of his self-proclaimed Prophet. Strangely enough, the building was empty, as quiet as a tomb, for the Light branded did not wander into it by instinct. That was good, for Tao had been very clear on what they were to do to these false temples of Arceus worship.
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"Alright Draga, Sludge Waaaave!" Roxie gave the command from the statue of Caleb Pravus, just outside the temple as she struck her ever-present electric guitar, and the purple and green colored Dragalge responded with his usual volume as the vibrations got him pumped up for battle. Hilda and the others had gone up to deal with the soldiers atop the walls by that point, and the poison dragon was able to drown the entire building in his attacks. He was soon joined by the rest of Roxie's squad, and as her Scolipede brought down the statue outside, crushing it to dust, they knew they had announced their presence to the city. Power Staves hummed to life around them, and the battle began on both sides of the city.
The soldiers atop the wall were removed in short order, and the rest of the ladies' forces soon enlarged the hole, and streamed into the city over the still sizzling remains of what had once been an impressive stone cathedral dedicated to Arceus. As the armies moved through the city from two sides, they did their best to avoid catching the almost zombie-like people who had been 'purified' by 'Arceus' Light' in the radius of their attacks. These victims had been ordered north, to the Black Hills, provided they survived the battle in the city.
It soon became obvious that the city itself was evidently not holding the armies that had kept the east from pushing west throughout the conflict. Only a few thousand Crusaders had met them, and they had in no way been the best of the best. The twins regrouped alongside the Gym Leaders once the city was taken.
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"I have a bad feeling about this." Hilda said, as her brother and Burgh approached their appointed rendezvous. "This was too easy, and I feel like I'm standing in the middle of a trap." She looked up at her mega evolved Metagross, who was scanning below them with its powerful brains for signs of human life they were as yet unaware of. "Anything, MetaGee?"
The Pokémon gave a sound that sounded like a no, and then, a voice was projected to each of them, one that sounded much like Hilda's, but wasn't. "There is Dark Type energy shielding something below. Above, only the branded. If they are hiding, it is under the city."
"Of course they're under. You read the intel." Hilbert said, glaring downwards. "They build into mountains and rock. It's a running theme. Diggers! You're up!" Hilbert finished as he summoned a truly imposing Krookodile to join them. "Don't dig straight down. Guide them on the proper way to make a descending tunnel, strip mine variant. I don't care about ores, just find out if anyone is down there, and watch out for ice attacks."
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The dark and ground gator gave his Trainer a thumb pointed upwards, and moments later, the gathered diggers, primarily ground types from the belts of Scales, began heading downwards in tight spirals. Hilda's Metagross shared a psychic projection of the Krookodile's eyes with them, and it did not take the ground gator long to find what he was after. He descended from the tunnel he came upon with all the force of Dig, and chomped down on one of the patrolling Crusaders as the other diggers joined him. Some went deeper, some went sideways, but in short order they had mapped out a somewhat detailed sketch of the underground complex in what had once been an urban garden center.
The two Generals and their accompanying Gym Leaders had sketched out what their Pokémon found, and once more, they found few soldiers. Even the underground, which bore signs of recent habitation, had been emptied somehow.
"I don't like this…" Hilbert said as his digger returned to the surface and was recalled. "There are supposed to be eight hundred thousand of them. We've barely taken out four… Where could they…" He paused, glancing back at the way they'd come. The wall had buckled with surprising ease, despite the power of their attack. They had been told it matched the Kanadian's in thickness if not length, but that had not been the case. It had fallen in like crumpled tin foil, and that was when he realized why.
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At that same moment, a soldier ran up to him, an officer judging by the small set of horns, styled after Tao's, sweeping back from his black and white helmet. He saluted. "General! We've discovered more dead Crusaders in the remnants of the wall we brought down! It's my opinion sir that if they were hiding in that portion, they'll be in the others as well."
Sounds of battle erupted again before either of the Generals could respond, this time to the north of the city's centermost building, but soon, the fighting engulfed the entire perimeter. The officer had been correct, and the Arceans had begun countering.
"Oh ho ho ho!" A voice rang out from above them, and the gathered leaders of the Dragon's Legion got their first look at the enemy General, floating above them in a machine that looked like half of a Pokéball, and somehow kept the heft of its occupant aloft. Doctor Manchineel was a bald portly man with an almost comically round body not unlike an egg. He appeared to have no neck, and sported a bushy, grayed moustache under his far too large bulbous nose. His eyes were protected by what appeared to be a horizontal band of black glass, not dissimilar from what was used in the Crusader's T-shaped visors, and his clothes were a combination of red and black made of some sort of shiny, almost plastic like material. "This is what the Unovan Dragon sends me? A pair of twins, and a few Gym Leaders way past their prime? I have to admit, I'm disappointed! I thought my success in holding a hard border against hordes of Dragon Types would merit sending your Emperor. No matter...perhaps he will come to reclaim your corpses!" The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Open fire!"
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At his command, the light around them seemed to shift, and atop the walls they saw far, far more Crusaders than they'd seen from the air. Even at that moment, more were streaming up from, presumably, where they'd been waiting within the hollow walls of the city. The easterners suddenly found themselves within a very large barrel, and the losses mounted as the Crusaders did as they were ordered.
Hilda reacted first. "Elesa, Roxie, Burgh, defensive formations! Shield as many of them as you can." She turned to her brother, who was already on his Braviary. "We'll handle the floating fool." She summoned her own Pidgeot, and together, the twins ascended towards the Doctor amidst a hail of mostly electric beams of energy. Being hit by just one would likely bring down their flying types, but the two Trainers had long since mastered aerial dodging with their partners.
"Focus fire on the twins!" Manchineel shouted, sounding somewhat frantic as he guided the machine keeping him aloft away from the angry, charging pair of avian predators, "Electric beams! Now! Now!"
The two flying types had to break off, if they wanted to stay aloft, their entire focus became dodging, but it became rapidly apparent that evasion alone would not be enough for long. Both understood that, eventually, one of the hundreds of stave wielders aiming for them would fire at the right time to score a hit.
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"Storm them! Get atop the walls!" The order came from Elesa, and Burgh took the lead, as did Roxie, bringing their respective squads up the southern and eastern sides of the wall. The focused fire on the twins gave the three Gym Leaders an opening, and the last the twins saw of them was the three Gym Leaders vanishing into the depths of the walls at different points. They would take care of the soldiers within, while the regular forces secured the top.
The two tiring flying types were recalled once the volume of electric death beams lessened. Hilbert summoned his Hydreigon, and Hilda jumped atop her Metagross. The two Generals once more charged the Doctor, whose comparatively slow machine had been chugging towards the tallest building in the city, the city's center. A window opened to admit him, and it would have, if a very angry three headed dragon had not floated up between him and the entrance and barred his way. Behind him, the Metagross closed in as well.
"Psychic." Hilda gave the order, and her partner obeyed, freezing the mad Doctor's flying machine where it was. "It's over, Doctor. Give the order to surrender."
The Doctor met her hard eyes and kept his expression unreadable given his blank features and hidden eyes. "You're right, you've clearly outsmarted me. I am defeated." He held out his hands, wrists together, as if he expected to be cuffed. Hilda moved forward to do exactly that, which was when the man shifted, and hammered one of the buttons on his floating machine's dashboard. "Not!"
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The twins didn't have to guess at what he'd done, the results were obvious and immediate. The walls of the city blew up from within, leaving a ring of charred slag and human remains around the entirety of the city. He had sacrificed his remaining forces, once they'd drawn in the Gym Leaders, and a good portion of the east's Scales, into the walls. Most of the regular army, and their own squads, had avoided the initial explosion, but as the wreckage tilted inward, it threatened to crush them. Some reacted swiftly. Others, did not.
"No…" Hilbert stared at the wreckage, knowing the odds of surviving such an immediate and devastating explosion were small at best, even with their new armored uniforms. But while the brother was sorrowful, his sister displayed another emotion.
A low hum filled the air and the blue light of Hilda's plasma sword underlit her severe expression. She raised it horizontally, holding it in the air. Even the portly Doctor recoiled at the ferocity in her gaze. "N-now now, I'm an important prisoner of war! You can't kill me! Think of all the secrets I could tell y-"
Hilda raised her free hand and pointed as the man began begging, and her Metagross shifted its Psychic to him, instead, immobilizing the man rather than the machine. That was a mistake she would not repeat but learning it had been costly. "Doctor Manchineel, for your abominable experiments on the people of Arciana City, as well as the murder of three Gym Leaders, and most of your own forces, I sentence you to swift and immediate death in the name of the Original Dragon. Speak your final words."
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The Doctor looked at her for a long moment, and then grinned. "I'm sorry my dear, but you don't have the eyes of a killer. It wouldn't matter if you did! You have no idea what is coming for you...for all of you. Caleb Pravus will bring us all back." He gave her a smug smirk, and Hilda's hand tightened around her blade.
"No...he won't. There won't be anything left to revive." She made a gesture, and before her brother, still shocked by the apparent death of three Gym Leaders and old friends could stop her, her Metagross tossed the man from his cockpit into the air, and by no coincidence, the small sliver of throat between his chin and clavicle met the tip of Hilda's blade as his obese form went sailing past. She didn't turn to watch, she spoke only a single command, knowing MetaGee's aim to be true. "Hyper Beam."
The Mega Metagross again acquiesced, and the Doctor's portly frame, skeleton and all, was atomized before the unbridled fury of one of the most powerful moves known to humankind. The twins descended then, and quickly the battle resolved itself. The east had more remaining soldiers, but any attempts at excavating the walls only revealed body parts, and crushed human. Elesa and Burgh had been blindsided, along with their ace Pokémon, but Roxie's Scolipede came rolling out about an hour into the search for survivors. The severely burned bug type deposited his cargo, a very burned, but still living Roxie, and then proceeded to Arceus' realm with a final sigh.
The Scale's armor had kept a few of them alive, but their forces had each taken serious casualties. Once Tao's symbol flapped above the sea of wreckage and carnage below, the twins took what was left of their armies further west, to the camps they had gained the exact locations of from Manchineel's lab.
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There, they made short work of the Crusaders defending the camps, and more than once the 'prisoner' population jumped in to aid them. The people were emaciated, grimy, and covered in ashfall. The areas directly east of the Stoney Mountains had received the heaviest, and almost constant, cloud cover from Fornia's burning forests. What the twins discovered within the camps only cemented Manchineel's fate. Even Hilbert eventually agreed he was better off dead.
They found numerous logs of experiments, from meddling with human and Pokémon genomes, to forcibly attempting to psychically link twins and awaken their latent potential, the experiments were detailed, brutal, and had accompanying video footage that was sent back to Unova for study and use in propaganda. The science, and sacrifices required to advance it, would not be wasted. Though the twins personally found Manchineel's dumping site for failed experiments, and buried them properly, it still felt like far too little for the number of lives that had been taken.
It wasn't until they found evidence of the Church of Arceus' support that they knew they'd won the war on the moral front. From lauding Doctor Manchineel as a 'paragon of morality' to directly funding the macabre experiments he enacted, the proof of Church involvement was hard, and undeniable. Each camp liberated only provided more evidence, and before the day was out, Tao had reports of the mad Doctor's experiments finding their way to the ears of the relatively sequestered Arcean populace that had fled to his territory. Without Arcean brainwashing and obedience to keep them from looking, the refugees learned what had become of their homes, and many were filled with fury by the news, and images. The more those from the central regions saw of the true nature of the Arceans, the more soldiers they would have enlisting.
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Several Miles South of Fargo - Dakota Region
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The second foray in Urbe Monachus proved to be easier than the east's last attempt, but no less dramatic. Thor had strongly insisted to General Nate that he and his warriors would be the ones to claim victory here, as they should have the last time. To that end, the being straight from prehistorical legends had charged the city, army of Asgardian warriors in tow, and in short order had claimed it for the Dragon Empire.
To the God of Thunder's disappointment, the city had only contained those branded by the light, who had taken to aimlessly wandering the streets, and roughly two thousand Crusaders, most of which surrendered when they laid eyes upon the sparking form of Thor, and his iconic hammer. From them, Nate learned that the Arceans, under their newest General, had strategically withdrawn to their northernmost city of Fargo, the largest city they had outside of the Kanadian Wall, and the one that had been the source of almost every failed Arcean attempt to surmount said wall. With Shruikan gone, the attempts had gotten bolder, but the new defender, a Rayquaza known to the Fornian people, made less than short work of their forces. All had been recalled to Fargo, after that last failed attempt, and as far as anyone knew, the former capital of the Dakota region had played host to the Crusader's entire northern army group for months as the harsh winter stalemate had dragged on.
Nate ordered the Light branded rounded up, as peacefully as possible, and then guided them to a holding facility where, presumably, Tao had someone who could help these poor, wandering husks. The dragon had not elaborated on how they were being taken care of, only that Nate was to send any Light branded who'd been left to wander to that specific location. What was unnerving about them, besides the gray skin, and white eyes, was the constant moaning. They only ever said one word. Human. They groaned it constantly, as they shambled.
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Evidently, Hilbert and Hilda were going to be sending anyone else they found branded within Arciana City to the same place. The location in question was one of the last eastern holdouts this far west of Fornia's new border, in a place known historically as the Black Hills. Evidently, several former Champions from the surrounding regions had refused to give up the mountain they'd entrenched themselves in, and at this stage in the war, had offered their relatively empty mountain base as a holding facility for refugees, and those branded by the Arceans.
As the armies of men primarily from Kalos and further east trudged onwards, Nate and his complement of Scales led the way, and thus, they were the first to lay eyes upon what General Nonagon had set up for them. To its south, Fargo was surrounded by a small community of mostly farmers known as Briar Wood. The Hand of the Prophet had taken the name literally, and Nate didn't have to guess what Pokémon was responsible. A Trevenant's handiwork was obvious, and one on a Hand's level, no doubt infused with Shadow, was a force indeed if it had done this alone.
The once farmable land now played host to an impossibly massive thorny bramble that, after some aerial surveillance, proved to be too large to jump across even for Thor's blue maned Rapidash. The regular Norstad and Kalosian troops would have to go by foot, and Nate found his advance paused as the sons of Asgard, who had taken to leading the men of Norstad, caught up to the mounted Scales.
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Nate looked over the troops, frowning. The Kalosians were all, supposedly, decent Trainers, and could likely fly over, as they all had belts of ten Pokémon, and any decent Trainer had one that could carry them. The Norstadders were another case entirely. Most only had one Pokémon, if they had any, and even then, they were wild, and would run off if injured. Some had Pokéballs for them to hide in, but few used them. They would be going on foot, if they went at all.
Alex had privately confided in the Gym Leader turned General before leaving, telling him that it was imperative that their allied forces stayed as intact as possible. Despite that, Nate had a feeling leaving the eager, bloodthirsty horde behind newly armed and armored as they were, would cause his new Emperor more of a headache. Denying them a fight and a 'glorious death' as they called it would make them unwilling allies. He missed his legion of dragon types and hoped the twins had managed to keep them alive. But he knew war, by now.
At that moment, a hefty, golden skinned hand placed itself upon one of his dragonbone encased shoulders. "Worry not, laddie. Your Dragon gave us the perfect tools to cut through this pathetic attempt at defense. They call this a wall. Pah."
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The Asgardian turned to the now formed up ranks of Asgardians behind him. Their blue maned Rapidash gave off a similar golden aura in the cold night, and like the rest of their equipment, a tinge of gold covered their burning blue manes. Thor rose into the air on his own crimson Gogoat driven chariot and raised the hammer. "Let us teach these curs what happens when they dare to attack our Yggdrasil!" Once more, the Asgardians led the charge, and their Voiceforged weapons, burning with the dragon's Light, did indeed make short work of the bramble, which receded harshly before the Light. Mjolnir was no exception to the weapons and armor that had been empowered, and the hammer burned brighter than any other weapon as it led the wedge of mounted warriors straight through the defenses and minor traps the Hand had left for them.
Nate turned as the apparently otherworldly warriors once more leapt into battle. He'd been given three Gym Leaders to aid him with this assault, two of which were Kalosian nobility. "Skyla, take half of the Kalosians, and strike from above. Take down any surprises that are waiting in the cloud cover. Grant, take the other half, and follow Thor. Keep your weapons up. This is too easy. This bramble isn't done with us yet." He turned then to the only noble that the men of Norstad had agreed to follow, not because she was rather beautiful, but because she had the fighting spirit of a true warrior, and there was nothing that was more valued in the northerner's culture. "Korrina, take these warriors around the city, see if this bramble extends all the way around, and if not...hammer them from the north."
The Gym Leaders saluted, and moved to their tasks as the battle began. "As for us…" Nate said, smirking as he turned, and mounted the dragon in his arsenal that best handled fire and electric based attacks. "We follow Skyla...and reinforce Thor when he steps in whatever this Hand set up for us."
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His Garchomp roared, and the Scales under Nate, formerly Hilbert's, took to the air as well. From above, he saw Korrina's Lucario, already tearing a path through the bramble. The Aura Pokémon was burning with Light like all the others and seemed to be enjoying itself. He briefly worried that, if he could see literally every eastern soldier, so could this Nonagon person.
Halfway over the labyrinthine bramble, the pace of the men below shifted, as the forest's roots came alive. The forward progress slowed but did not stop. The men of Norstad knew how to kill angry plants. Nate raised a hand, and a pair of Hydreigon riders, the few Hilbert had bothered to promote, torched the sides of the forest, and reinforced the border Thor and his host had carved with fire and fury.
"Incoming!"
The cry came from Skyla's unit just above them, as from the newest of the ashen clouds coming from Fornia's still burning wilderness came no less than nine floating airships, each similar in design but fundamentally improved from the Plasma Frigate upon which they were based descended in a line in the skies before Fargo. From them, came Pokémon riders streaming Shadow energy behind them as they sped towards Skyla's unit, and the Scales. Below, the trees had literally come alive, as average sized Trevenant, and Crusaders acting as their Trainers, met the Norstadders in combat. Thor and his warriors charged on, seemingly oblivious, or just simply not caring as Nonagon made his move. The God of Thunder was charging straight for the gate that guarded the southern entrance of Fargo. It was impressive, tall and made of steel. Nate had a feeling Mjolnir would prove stronger. If it could reach it.
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"Send your Fire Types to join the men below! The rest of you, with me! Keep Skyla's people alive!" His orders given, Nate's Garchomp rocketed towards the horde of shadowy, aerial fighters, more specifically, for the blob of shadow leading them. His fellow Scales could handle the others. The Hand of the Prophet was wreathed in Shadow that flared off of him like a cape. A wall of energy beams sporting the ice, fire, and electric typings aimed for the Scales specifically, as they ascended. That was when Nonagon's men began to understand the difference between the regular soldiers, and those clad in dragonbone.
Plasma swords bisected numerous energy beams, and Nate was impressed as more than a few of the fiery ones were redirected at the enemies below. It was hard to miss, as the Arceans had been using the bramble's shadowy cover to great effect. Judging by how everything shifted below, it was where the majority of their own ground troops had been placed. Psychic aura shields surrounded Skyla's fliers, and as the Scales shielded and healed them, the sky became a whirl of golden lights dancing seemingly in vain among the Shadow surrounding them. But they did not break, and they did not yield. Nor would they. The Original Dragon was counting on all of them.
For his part, Nate approached the ships amidst similar, if much larger, beams of energy. Trying to hit a Garchomp and its rider with something so massive was a wasted effort though, and soon, with naught but a pointed finger, the airships began bombarding Korrina's group as well. Nate didn't see how they fared, as he landed before Nonagon, and recalled his Garchomp.
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"So. You're the famous 'General' Nate, hmm?" The man's tone was light for a male, and his frame was thin underneath the black armor in the typical pattern for an Arcean officer. Armored as he was, Nate had the impression he could break him, like a toothpick if it came down to it, but appearances were deceptive. There was only one surefire way to be certain that this Hand would go down.
He drew an Ultra Ball and leveled it at the Hand of the Prophet. "General Nonagon, I challenge you to Battle, ten on ten, no substitutions. The loser surrenders immediately, once the Battle concludes."
The man chuckled and raised his arms. The shadows on the deck of his airship parted, revealing a force of bodyguards surrounding them. Nate seemed unfazed, mostly because better villains had tried similar tactics when he was still a rookie Trainer, and he'd smashed every single one of them with the kind of winning streak most Champions had. "I think...I will accept your honorable Battle. There has been far too little...structure...in the conflicts thus far. People calling Moves out of turn, firing energy lasers every direction, Pokémon attacking Humans, Humans attacking Pokémon, it's...Chaos." The man's thin, beardless face sneered at his opponent. "I shall draw first in the interest of fairness, as I have the field advantage. Come forth, Felidion!"
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A Dark Ball sent forth a Pokémon Nate hadn't seen much of, but could counter easily enough, with his team. The Pyroar in question radiated Shadow as one might expect, but beyond that, appeared to be normal. Nate rolled his neck, and called forth his newest heavy hitter, all the way from Alola. "Komodo. You're up."
The Kommo-o appeared from an Ultra Ball that shared his color pattern in a flash, eyed the Pyroar, and shuddered in anticipation. The scales began jangling, and Nonagon smiled, tilting his head as he listened. "Such a lovely tune...a smart choice. Heavy defense, fire resistant, and multiple moves that have an advantage over me and my kitty." The sneer widened. "Flamethrower."
Komodo lifted a single paw and took the fire attack. The Pyroar blinked, a shiver running through its fur as the torrent of ten-thousand-degree heat did almost nothing to the dragon, whose scales began jangling a different more ominous tune as he shifted into an attack pose. Nonagon didn't wait, and shouted again, "Shadow Fire!"
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Komodo was already moving though, and the black flames missed. Nate smirked. "You shouldn't have wasted the first Move advantage. Komodo, Rising Fist!" Before the Pyroar could blink, the dragon was low under his guard, and his heavily scaled fist was shining gold and striking upwards into his jaw. The lion Pokémon flipped onto his back and did not rise again. Nonagon recalled him, sighing.
"Fine, if you want to Play Rough...so be it." He tossed another dark ball, revealing a Mawile, which shuddered in obvious pain as her master immediately forced her to the next level of evolution. Strands of shadowy energy from him sank into the Pokémon, and the pair of mouths on its head began salivating as the power of Shadow and Mega Evolution merged. Quick on the uptake, the steel and fairy type began hammering at the dragon, and the newest member of Nate's team was brought down in short order by the powerful fairy typed blows.
The next several rounds went back and forth in a similar manner. Nate's Arcanine removed the Mawile as a threat with a series of rapid Flame Charges and fell to a harsh Earthquake from the Krookodile the Hand summoned next.
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After that, Nate stopped playing around. He drew a Luxury Ball and spoke a single word as he held the ball before him on an open palm that was surrounded by his visibly burning aura. "Therion." The Lucario he summoned rose slowly as it appeared, and yawned. Nonagon paused and glanced at his Krookodile. They were trading type advantage with each round, but this Lucario was obviously stronger than the others the supposed dragon expert had used thus far. Nonagon still had one very effective dragon remover, but this Lucario needed to fall before he brought it out and claimed victory.
"Aura Sphere." In the space of an eye blink, the seemingly mild Lucario summoned a sphere of pure fighting spirit, imbued it with aura, and launched it in the center of the Krookodile's stomach. The dark and ground type went spinning through the air, and Nonagon didn't even try to recall it as it went over the ship's edge. If the Lucario was bothered by this turn of events, he didn't show it, but his eyes did get quite a bit harder as they took in the latest human they were facing, properly. The appendages humans mistook for hair rose as the Aura Pokémon closed his eyes and summoned his power against one who fought with Shadow. Light flared around his palms, and then condensed, covering them in golden aura. "Leave this, to me." He said as he projected his thoughts, dropping into a pose common to the dragon style of martial arts.
Nonagon answered the Lucario with the only thing left on his belt that might hit it critically. The rest would have to chip away at it before it inevitably brought them down. A Toxicroak appeared on the field, as Shadow infused as the rest of his party members. His poison points lit with dark energy as his Trainer called the move. "Shadow Sting!"
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"Amateurs!" Therion's response thundered through the air as he moved his body and struck the empty air with his palm as he projected his harsh psychic baritone over the field. It was followed by a wave of pure psychic typed power, burning a deep blue and gold, that slammed into the poison type, and sent it flying as well. The fainted Pokémon arced in the air then, as the Lucario landed it, somewhat harshly, but still on the deck of the airship.
Nonagon had taken the brief opportunity to summon his next Pokémon, who was already charging forward and striking as the Lucario's focus turned back to the battle. "Shadow Slash!"
The Kabutops in question was a sickly green color and was also encased in an aura of darkness and purple. It raised its scythe arm, and the bladed appendage glowed with Shadow energy as the fast physical attacker brought it down on the Lucario. An aura bone slashed through the air in response, and forced the prehistoric hunter to leap backwards, as Therion fell to one knee. He looked back at his Trainer, opened his eyes again, and nodded.
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Nate raised a dragonbone encased fist, and it glowed with the fighting typed energy of a Plate of Arceus himself. The energy shot into Therion, who used it to ascend to the next level. His aura swirled low around his feet, and then flared, turning a harsh golden color as the Mega Lucario retaliated faster than any modern Kabutops could hope to match.
Nate called the move that his partner had already been charging, just so Nonagon would understand he was about to lose another round. "Leaf Blade!" The aura bone shifted to a deep green color, and took the Kabutops down, again with only one hit. It seemed there was a reason Nate had become a Champion. Time had only made him better, and he'd had Therion since he was a Riolu, having caught him early on his journey through Unova at the Floccesy Ranch. After beating down Team Plasma alongside Rosa, the Aura Pokémon had then become the bar by which Nate's dragons measured their strength.
Therion similarly dispatched many of Nonagon's remaining belt members. Another Psychic for the Dustox, an Aura Sphere ended the rabid Emolga, but it was the Hand's latest pick that had the shining gold Lucario stumped.
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The Goodra in question was, undoubtedly, the strongest Pokémon Nonagon had. Not surprising, as it was a dragon, but Nate had yet to see his Trevenant, and the as yet unknown member of the Hand's final three. Weirder still, unnerving red eyes covered the Goodra's body, and Therion learned the hard way that it could fire attacks from said eyes. Each Dragon Pulse from Therion had been redirected by the hefty defensive fighter, and getting in close would only slow Therion on the dragon's goo. Without his speed, a Goodra like this would make short work of him. Nate knew he was far from losing, but there was only one other member of his team on Therion's level, and he was saving that one for the Trevenant.
"Shadow Storm!" The Goodra raised its mouth to the sky and summoned the clouds of ash above them. Sooty raindrops fell, healing the dragon slightly where the Mega Form's power had left an impact. Dark lightning bolts fell from the clouds and struck the Lucario full force.
"Return!" Nate said, as he raised the Luxury Ball, and recalled the seemingly fainted Lucario. He wasn't completely down yet, but he had been making little headway here anyways, and had earned his respite. It was time to fight a dragon with a dragon. "Chomper! Dragon Claw!"
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Nonagon swore. His power hitter was down, but a Garchomp beat a Goodra any day. It had been the right choice against a special attacking Lucario, but now, once more, Nate made him pay for it by countering as hard as he had throughout the battle. The Garchomp's wings lit with draconic energy, and hit the Goodra before it could react, finishing what the Lucario had started, and leaving him fresh and ready for the next enemy.
Having no other choice than to begin dragon slaying, for he needed to start if he was going to turn this battle around, Nonagon summoned his chosen tool for the job. A Sandslash adapted for the cold of the Stoney Mountain range. Knowing he didn't have time to waste in this battle, Nate ordered the move as soon as the Pokémon materialized. "Fire Fang!"
Chomper's flame-covered form hit before the ice and steel type had a chance to lift a claw in defense, and Nonagon stared, watching as his icy tank weathered the super effective hit, but stayed standing. Chomper smirked, and leapt away, his rough tail brushing the icy digger as he did, and the resulting damage was enough for its eyes to roll back. The Sandslash fell over, fainted, and the Garchomp crouched low as it prepared for the next round.
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Nonagon chuckled. "I didn't think I'd have to pull him out for this...I will give you this, former Unovan Champion...the rumors of your power are not based on nothing. But...alas, your fight ends here. Shadow Curse!" The Trevenant appeared, and as expected, was impressive as a specimen of the species. It seemed Nonagon had purified and then again corrupted this Pokémon several times. Its eyes were dead, and after a closer look, Nate understood that what stood before him was, at this point, more a vessel of Shadow than a Pokémon. Not unlike the humans turned into shambling husks by overexposure to Light energy.
As the curse hit Chomper, Nate's eyes confirmed what he'd expected the shadow version of Trevenant's signature move to cause. His dragon was now purely grass typed, and had become entrenched by rampant grass energy, fueled by the power of Shadow. The dragon struggled to move as the slow, massive tree approached. Nonagon spoke again. "Shadow Fire."
A ball of flame, not unlike a Will-O-Wisp attack, floated down to the trapped dragon, and then detonated, finishing the dragon in a single move. Nonagon grinned. "The power of the Curse transfers to every member of your team, and only grows more powerful as they faint. Bring forth the next victim."
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Nate sighed. With this particular curse, he was sure only one of his remaining party members could resist it. He hadn't wanted to wake her up quite yet, as he expected she'd be needed for Pravus, but the Hand had him cornered. "Laurea. You're up."
A scarlet light opened from a red-orange and tan Pokéball, and the Victini stretched, before she opened her eyes, and took in the sight of her next conquest. She glanced back at Nate, and his belt, as well as those who had fainted already, and with her third eye, she took in the war.
In short, Thor was doing, or rather had already done, the hard work. The southern gate of Fargo was down, bearing several deep dents from a square-headed object. It was impressive that it stayed in one piece despite the lightning adding to the pure force, but the host of Rapidash mounted warriors trampled over it all the same, their forward progress unaffected. Within the city, the battalions under Grant converged with their Norstad support, who had made it largely intact through the bramble alongside Korrina. Together, they met the Crusaders within the city, and with their ability to wipe out entire squads postponed for a few hits by Tao's infusion, it was enough for the warriors to get in close and overwhelm the ranks of soldiers. The Asgardian warriors had equipment that could take far more hits, but hadn't shared how to craft it, claiming the Unovan's current level would be enough for a conflict bound to a single planet. As expected, the God of Thunder had delivered a bloodbath, if the cries inside the city were anything to go by.
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Nonagon had stayed silent as he watched the mythical Victory Pokémon awaken before his eyes. That was it, then. His enemies had both the dragon, and the essence of victory. The pair had conquered the entire continent, mostly by themselves, in days of old. If the legends were to be believed. Naturally, most Fornians were only concerned with their own mythology, no matter how absurd it became. Old 'eastern myths' were considered markers on the path to exile from the Church of Arceus, and His Light. Nonagon had studied them all the same, and as usual, found the legend to be based on quite a bit of truth.
"Searing Shot." As neutral toned as ever, Nate gave the order, and the burning psychic type sent a wave of scarlet flames towards the Trevenant. It had an effect, but surprisingly, the Pokémon stayed standing. Moreover, it seemed unbothered by the scarlet flame remnants still sticking to it.
"This old tree is special, you know." Nonagon said, sneering at the Trainer who, he was now convinced, had hyped up his reputation by using the Victory Pokémon. "Of course it is…" Nate muttered. Nonagon continued anyway. "I found it in Alola. Its' fire had long gone out when I came upon it, but with a little Shadow...the old Totem Pokémon lived again. More or less." The sneer widened. "Shadow Force!"
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The ghostly tree exuded a mixed aura of ghost and Shadow energy, then disappeared from view, and reappeared instantly before the Victini, hammering it hard with the super effective Shadow move using ghost energy as a base. The tiny Pokémon went sailing straight into Nate, who caught it with the softer parts of his armor, but still slid back several feet from the inertia.
Something new happened then, as the Victini became surrounded by scarlet aura, tinged with golden Light, and hovered forward out of her Trainer's grasp. Her eyes burned with the power, and she reached for victory. Nate urged her forward, and the psychic and fire type boomed towards the Trevenant as she countered, hard. "Flare Blitz!"
The impossibly fast scarlet meteor hammered into the old tree, knocking it over, and proving just how strong her opening move had been. It struggled to rise, but the Victini hovered over it before it could counter. Nonagon was shouting moves, but Nate just shook his head. The Pokémon couldn't hear them, now. Victini was blocking the surrounding sound as she delivered a merciful end. Nate's eyes shifted to Nonagon's as he spoke the command anyway. He knew what move she would use. "Inferno."
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The psychic barrier surrounding the two Pokémon became opaque as it filled with intense scarlet flames, which then proceeded to die down. Laurea let the barrier fall and stared for a long time at the pile of ashes that had once been a true defender of nature. Her eyes hardened, and then shifted to the human responsible for desecrating a Totem Trevenant's final rest.
The Searing Shot formed above her head without a command, as the battle was over, the war was again on, for them, and the enemy leader was right before her. As always, she claimed victory. The attack split into several shots of undiminished power, and she took down Nonagon and his guards as well in the space of a moment, the gold-tinged scarlet flames reducing the Shadow infused humans to nothing but ash. Then, she whirled on her human. "Next time, just kill him. We do not have time to delay." She looked around then and sighed as only two of the nine airships had been felled by the Scales so far.
She hovered high above all of them, and Nate gave the psychic command to clear the air around the ships and force the airborne Crusaders back towards them. The Scales and Skyla's forces did as ordered despite being outnumbered, and by the time the seven pillars of burning scarlet death tore through the rotors of each massive ship, most of the Arcean's flying forces were caught in the exploding vessel's radius. The ground below became a scarlet tinged inferno of molten slag and armored human.
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Nate joined Laurea above, as she watched the carnage she had wrought. Each of the ships was falling into the bramble below, and where her flames touched it, the dark vines burned away. "This is why I told you not to use me in Battle. All I cause is death."
Nate shook his head at her psychically projected words. "You put an end to what that lunatic had created from an already long departed Pokémon. And the ships needed to come down anyway. Let's go rejoin Thor and -"
He was interrupted, as the Victini gave his Garchomp a boost that would last the rest of this battle, and then returned to her ball. Nate sighed and rocketed towards the city. Fargo fell not long after the ships had been burned out of the sky by the embodiment of victory. Those who surrendered were Teleported somewhere back in Unova, where they would be freed of their brainwashing, or tossed in with the zealots who would die before 'betraying the Prophet'. Most abandoned loyalty to him once they finally looked at and read about the things he had done with their hard-earned wealth, all in the name of their Church. The evidence was damning, but there were always a few who would need years to accept that they had been used and had about as much worth to Pravus as the rest of his tools.
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From Fargo, Nate and Thor liberated the Northstone Pass, and were the first eastern regular forces to lay eyes upon what had, for them, started this entire conflict. By this point, all understood what had been done to Colville. Seeing it, however, was something else entirely. The march was steady, but quiet as the soldiers had to either fly, or cover their mouths as their west moving columns kicked up fallen ash. Much of Fornia was still on fire, but these first flames had long since gone out.
Their target was a city known as Pravia, and one that their Dragon Emperor and his Legion of ten thousand Scales were supposed to handle. They had been filled by the strongest Trainers to come out of the Swamp, and by no coincidence had Alex put Champions, current and old, from each former loyal State in charge of the battalions they divided into.
They finally came upon the city six hours of hard flying later and found it in the midst of a siege. Nate recognized what tactics they were using, though he also wondered why the Scales hadn't already conquered the city. They'd had time to do so with how long his forces had taken to march here. The plan had been to refuel, and then charge Port: Land before the Fornians defending the homeland got wind of their movements.
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Thor wasted no time, as usual, and his burning chariot charged towards the city, as his host of blue flaming Rapidash riders followed him once more into the fray. Not one of their number had been felled by the Crusaders thus far. Injured perhaps, and sometimes rather seriously, but they always recovered, and always refused to share how they managed that exactly.
Tao had explained to Nate that he was essentially supposed to deliver Thor's forces to Alex once they'd redeemed their earlier forced retreat, and once combined, the armies would charge south down the western coast of the continent, all the way to Mewsia, unite with the Dark Fleet, and then head east to hit Sacreus. They would be behind Rosa and the twins now, unless they made serious time catching up. To that end, Pravia needed to fall quickly. Nate gave the order to join the fray, and charged in alongside his troops once they began moving.
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The Rocky Pass - Border of Orre, Texico East and Texico West
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The Southern Dragon Legion bamfed into the middle of the newly retaken city of Aweston, and had promptly begun marching westward, towards the Rocky Pass, and Orre beyond it. The soldiers following Rosa had been fighting consistently down here, for snow rarely bothered anyone this far south. Their war had been filled with sand, blood, and ash as the Texicans under Rosa had brought their foes to a halt time and again, for months on end. Now, empowered and literally burning with the Light energy infused into their very auras by the Original Dragon himself, they felt they had a chance to finally break this stalemate.
Supporting her, Rosa had Clay, Marlon, and Lenora, three level-headed and experienced Gym Leaders who knew how to keep the men under them in check. After a bit of shifting around when they'd been resupplying in Castelia, Clay had taken charge of the majority of the Texican's regular troops, Lenora had most of the Kalosians, and Marlon took whoever he wanted, as long as they had a good vibe. His force was smaller, but then, his role would be smaller too. But no less important. Water would be constantly needed if they were to cross Orre's desert twice.
Rosa's Scales, all five thousand of them, lead the charge west. Most in her group were brand new graduates from the Great Swamp, and the Sage who lived there. She personally had trained with Tao, and kept that fact hidden from everyone, including Nate. She did not yet know what psychic ability she would manifest, for many Scales either had common psychic abilities, or discovered something else entirely, but Tao had promised that this next battle would see hers awakened. She'd found that training with he who had once been Zekrom was far more useful than some giant Oranguru on a swamp island. Some people could live in that haze, with that smell. She was not one of them.
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Their first target was The Rocky Pass, the site of an ancient Old Earth city that had marked an important border between countries that no longer existed in any capacity. Despite the apparent tensions on said border, it had all been crushed to dust when Arceus had graced their world with his presence and raised the Stoney Mountain range several thousand miles higher. Now, all that remained of the ancient city was a graveyard, where the people of the southwest and the people of the 'wild west' had clashed numerous times. Nobody remembered why the two peoples disliked each other, they only knew that things had always been this way and were unlikely to ever change.
The people of western Texico, historically far calmer and more rational compared to their quick drawing eastern Texican adversaries, had gone through a complete ideological shift with the introduction of Caleb Pravus' cult. Within a few generations, he had converted the people of western Texico, and used their ingrained dislike of the east as a focus for their war effort. It had paid off, as most of the Arcean's victories had been on southern lines, and Texico City was rumored to be as well guarded as Sacreus.
As the Legion came upon The Pass, they found themselves funneled into a single tunnel that, historically, had been open to people on both sides of Texico, provided their business was legitimate, and nobody caused trouble. Trouble usually occurred when humans avoided the Pass entirely, and bumped into nests of wild, and very territorial Pokémon.
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In war time, things were very different, and the two halves of the same region had also had more than a few wars, with the Pass always playing a pivotal role in who claimed victory. Since most of their forces had to walk, and they were still small enough at the moment to be vastly outnumbered by splitting their group, the southern Imperial Legion had taken the Pass, and thus found their entire army group ambushed.
Strangely enough, the attacks that came from the Crusaders of western Texico were not beams of energy and death, but webs, not dissimilar in shape from an Electro Web move. They captured, rather than killed, and then dragged Scales and soldiers away before retaliation could come. Rosa had been beset by no less than twenty of them at once, and her Scales also found themselves similarly outnumbered five to one.
Their foes appeared from hidden tunnels that disappeared as quickly as they'd shown up, and the Arceans carrying their friends would simply vanish into solid stone. Attempts to follow only met more rock, and even diggers couldn't track where they'd gone. The very rock walls of The Pass seemed to obey the Arcean's will, and it did not take long for the Gym Leaders to sound a retreat. They were losing too many people to capture, and at this stage of the war, that could mean an end to their newest offensive. Without the lower 'jaws' of the offensive to crush Sacreus, the Arceans could very likely overpower Alex, Jess, and Nate's troops when they approached the Fornian capitol.
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With Rosa and many Scales cut off from timely aid, Clay was the one who ultimately decided to sound the order to leave them. The Pass was too small for many of their force's Pokémon, and most hadn't even had a chance to call them out before they'd been bound in energy webs. Those Pokémon who had appeared anyway, sensing the danger, had been similarly subdued by type effective energy webs that kept them pinned. The upgraded staves did not seem limited to only three types.
Rosa's partners, naturally, sliced through the webs, and kept each other covered as Crusaders popped in and out of the stone to attack them. Finally, they stopped, and Rosa realized that she and her ten chosen partners were now alone. Then, like a bad nightmare, from out of the shadows came three old acquaintances that still creeped her out. Their Bisharp now radiated Shadow auras that her burgeoning psychic abilities barely made visible to her eyes. They surrounded her and her circle of powerful Pokémon, and then, one spoke. "You...we remember you...come…"
The three members of the Shadow Triad advanced, and Rosa's Pokémon snarled. From the walls came more Crusaders, bearing Power Staves that seemed different from the usual kit such soldiers had. Rosa looked at her partners, and then to the psychic partner of her mind. "Gothi...get them out of here." The Gothitelle shook her head, readying for more battle, but Rosa knew a hopeless situation when she saw one. "Now, Gothi...I'll be fine...but they'll infuse you all with Shadow...get out while you can."
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The Gothitelle looked at her Trainer, and then her partners. She'd been on Rosa's team almost as long as her former Snivy, now a Serperior, who at that moment, gave her a nod as well. They needed to retreat, to fight another day, but one of their psychic-powered people had to stay behind. Gothi looked again at her Trainer. Her time had not yet come, nor would it, according to her eyes, for quite some time. She trusted that, if nothing else, and with a flash of deep purple aura, Teleported away. The balls on Rosa's cloak went with her, leaving the Shadow Triad to find only her plasma sword, which they took. They bound her with a web of dark energy, and then vanished in the way they usually did.
She was, after so many encounters, more than acquainted with how the Shadow Triad moved about, and when her vision reoriented itself, she found herself staring down what she assumed was the General of the Arcean's southern army, and the man who would, apparently, draw forth her psychic power. Lucien.
He seemed to have styled his appearance after Caleb Pravus, though where the 'Prophet of Arceus' had a goatee that belonged on a villain from a children's movie, Lucien had a full, well-kept beard. His hair was even combed over like his Prophet's, and as the Shadow Triad approached him, they handed over her blade.
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"Ahh yes...the weapon of a Scale of Balance...but where are her Pokémon? I was interested to see what was on her team…" Lucien's voice had an even timbre, though it was filled with amusement. And why wouldn't it be? As far as he knew, his trap had worked. The apparent leader of the Shadow Triad gestured to his right, and the shadow on the right stepped forward, brushing their hair from their eyes. It was then that Rosa noticed, this was not one of the original three Ghetsis had at his beck and call. The other two were, she was rather sure, but this one had evidently replaced the third. What had happened to him, she knew not.
The newest member revealed herself to be female as she spoke. "We...knew you would be curious, General. She possessed a Serperior, a Gothitelle, a Wigglytuff, a Milotic, a Rapidash, an Excadrill, a Heliolisk, an Ariados, a Pangoro, and an Altaria. We expect that the Serperior and Altaria were capable of Mega Evolution."
Lucien nodded, eyebrows rising and falling, sometimes in disappointment, as he heard the list. "Not a bad line up...most of the Types covered...and enough of a Move pool to be ready for just about anything. Another exceptional setup for a Champion of the Eastern States." He chuckled, though it was full of malice rather than humor. "I can see why you stuck to making movies, General Rosa...compared to the other Generals your holy lizard has placed in charge, your team is...lacking. As are you, if our information is accurate?"
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The lead shadow spoke again. "She...did not use any...interesting powers against us. We surmise she cannot yet even Teleport."
Lucien tutted. "A shame. Such potential. Such beauty. Wasted." He walked over to stand before Rosa, his arms crossed over his medium build. He was clad in black Crusader pattern armor, with an appropriate coating of sand and ash.
"Why do you care what gets wasted or not? Just kill me and be done with it…I'm not going to talk." Rosa spat on his boots, but the man seemed not to give a single Muk.
"I wouldn't say I care...I simply despise wasted potential...especially in those of our race who have awakened their latent Psychic abilities...there are so very few in Fornia, and yet, Unova seems to have been sleeping upon thousands of them. You and I are going to...get acquainted, young Rosa, and then perhaps, you can tell me where exactly the Dragon is getting all these...awakened Humans...and how exactly he's waking them up." Lucien leaned in low as he spoke and sneered at the woman.
Rosa responded by spitting in his face. "Pravus hasn't figured that out yet? That's...depressing, really. You've all had months. We were sure you'd attack the facilities producing Scales soon, not that you could take them, but if you don't even know where they are...we're going to win this faster than I originally thought."
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That response, it seemed, warranted the usual show of brutality that those in power over others chose to dispense, often with perverse pleasure. Lucien was no exception, but Rosa had faith. The Dragon had told her to believe in him, and the strength he gave her. She had no reason to doubt it, and as the Hand's attack, whatever it was, fizzled against her, the aura of burning golden Light returned, as if it had never left. He struck several more times, each harder than the last, but the Light did not yield.
"Irritating...but there are plenty of others we have captured who will talk in your stead...perhaps once you see what becomes of them, you'll have a change of heart." He looked to the leader of the Shadow Triad. "Bring me the one that was closest to her position at the time of capture...we'll start with the officers... and work our way down.
Rosa started resisting, but her bonds held her in place. Heavy metal shackles kept her limbs pinned with both weight and restricted movement. The shadow in question disappeared, before he returned with one of her officers. Her name was Sarah, formerly an aspiring guitarist, and one of Rosa's oldest fans, she'd joined her idol in training under the Original Dragon when the war began and had excelled as most of Tao's students did.
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"Rosa!" She cried out as she saw the state of her friend and favorite actor, "Don't tell them anything! No matter what they-" She was silenced, but only momentarily, by a swift backhand from Lucien. "No matter what they do to me, Stay Quiet!"
Lucien turned to the two shadows not occupied by a prisoner. "One of you, move her to a seat with a view...the other...get the next prisoner. Make sure she's out of their sight...but not the range of their cries." He dragged Sarah through to a different room than himself, and Rosa did not have to wait long before she found herself behind a viewing glass. Her friend, and her first real fan of her non-Pokémon related work, was bound to a simple chair, beside a simple rolling table upon which lay many instruments designed for only one purpose.
She had heard of the Arcean's skill with torture from Geralt Redwood, who was also under her command in the southern Legion and had even seen his scars. Lucien, it seemed, had been the man who had taught poor Geralt's torturer everything he knew, and when he was finished with her friend, she tried to look away, but the shadow behind her forced her head to turn towards the gruesome sight. She kept her eyes closed, but opened them at new sounds, another of her officers, and several of his Pokémon who had not been able to get away.
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Thus, the process repeated. Over and over, hour by hour, Rosa eventually ran out of tears, and became stone faced, watching as many of her allies, friends and strangers alike, fell to the lunatic's knives. Lucien had presented quite a respectable face, but his madness was soon apparent. The Crusaders around them all watched as well, though thankfully, most of them had either neutral faces, or were hiding obvious disgust.
Most of the Scales met their end with a similar fortitude, though even the stoutest could not help crying out, eventually. Others were not so strong willed, and even offered to talk, but Lucien continued anyway. He was after bigger fish, and he needed her to understand the lengths he would go to. Human and Pokémon alike fell to him, and it was as he was once more proceeding towards yet another ended Pokémon life, on a Wigglytuff not at all that dissimilar from her own, that she finally felt something deep within her, stir.
Having nothing better to do, she pushed her burgeoning senses towards this new...gap, she sensed in her mind, to deeper parts of it. Parts that had always been there but buried under the trappings of life. In the face of the horror she had borne witness to, she had instinctively opened the pools of energy within herself. Little of what she had once considered important still mattered in the face of such casual disregard for her friend's lives, and while she had not quite opened herself to the universe, for once in an instance of one of many horrors this conflict had created, the universe was very much trying to help. All it needed, was a vessel for the power.
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Light surged within Rosa, and through the hand of the shadow-human still mercilessly holding her head towards the carnage below. The second oldest of the Triad vanished in a cloud of ash and dust, and Rosa noticed none of it, as her mind made contact with a God.
These actions nauseate and enrage you.
She tried to give the mental equivalent of a nod. The deity understood, even though for the moment, her senses were still new.
They have the same effect upon me…
The girl's third eye widened in surprise. She'd heard the rumors from those who'd been partying by Undella when the Imperial Palace rose again from the depths. Having been there herself as a teenager, she was convinced she and Nate had found all there was left to find. They had been wrong, but more importantly, the onlookers had reported seeing a familiar shape in the golden Light that had radiated from the palatial lighthouse. She hadn't believed Arceus had actually been present to 'crown' their newest Dragon Emperor, but here he was, burning before her third eye in all his glory.
Use my power...end these atrocities… The deity's red eye widened, and then shrank for emphasis. Quickly!
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Her chains melted away much like her captor had, and several things happened at once. The more eagerly viewing Crusaders noticed her, burning with an aura of silver, tinged on the edge with gold. The other half of the mandatory viewership, near the back of their underground base around the Pass, felt the tremors of Pokémon using Dig, or a similar move.
A whip-like tendril of white silver smashed through the upper viewing panel of Lucien's dungeon and wrapped around his neck. The Light shone brighter but did not burn those it shone upon. It healed the Wigglytuff below, leaving no physical trace of imperfection. The Light brought back all the Pokémon it shone upon, for their remains had been carelessly piled as the slaughter continued, and many of those returned had looks that suggested their reconstituted minds were still struggling to understand they were no longer suffering, or dead, for that matter.
Rosa hovered into the wider chamber, and then looked upwards. A pillar of silver light erupted through miles of rock and dirt, and Rosa rose through roughly half of it before she sensed the height she needed. Lucien came with her, gagging, but not dying, as her whip all but choked him. She liked to think it burned, as well.
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She raised both hands, and like a Gothitelle using Psychic, sent her new power out in a wave that eroded the topmost layer of rock over the Arcean base, exposing it to the sky, and effectively creating a new series of tunnels and holes within the Stoney Mountains. Thousands of armored faces looked up and stared open-mouthed as one of the Dragon Empire's Generals hovered above all of them.
While that was indeed unusual, they did not raise their weapons to fire, for floating above the lady General was the unmistakable form of Arceus, pure white, and furious.
You who claim to follow me, and my Light, put down your weapons and acknowledge the madness you have been willingly part of. That, and its implications, brought a few of the Zealots to actually attack their own deity. Their reasoning, as it was shouted, was that the 'real Arceus' was gold, not white. Those who raised their Power Staves vanished, in columns of golden flame, and not even ashes remained of them as their Pokéballs fell to the stone ground, unharmed.
The outline of Arceus raised his head then, and a sphere of pure golden Light formed above Rosa's head, in her raised palm. Those below kneeled, and prayed, begging for the mercy of the god they were only half convinced wouldn't just outright burn them all anyway. Those who genuinely repented, and understood why they needed to, did not suffer from the streaks of silvery gold that rained down on the humans below. Those Judged to be unworthy of forgiveness were not so lucky.
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The rest of the southern Legion poured into the newly opened base, capturing and ending those who still resisted. The Light in the sky around Rosa began to fade, but not before she heard a final pair of words, just for her.
Well done.
She reunited with her Pokémon then, and while the surge of power was gone, she felt she could manage levitating herself, at least. She knew her power was strong, and unrefined. At least now, there was something to refine. The Legion Teleported their prisoners back home to wherever they were being kept, and then marched on Orre. It took roughly six hours for them to reach it, but the locals were all too happy to rise up from under their occupiers once the army arrived.
From there, the Legion took an earned rest, armed the Orreans, and began the long march south to Texico City.