Chapter Text
๐ธ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ค ๐ ๐ โโโโ ๐๐ฆ๐-๐ฅ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ค.
๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐ค: ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐? ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ. ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โโโโ, ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐: โโโโ ๐จ๐๐ค ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐? ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐?
๐ธ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: โโโโโโ โโโโโโโโโ, ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฅ. ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐'๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ฅ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐.
๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐ค: ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐! ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ. ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐'๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ'๐ค ๐ค๐๐'๐ค ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐.
A long winded sigh...
She closed the watch she had on her, her face thoroughly unamused with his words. How could you have done such a thing to her? She only acted on her nature, and honestly? She had set quite a good example for the rest of the division.
She leapt down effortlessly from the branch, hitting the ground with a silent thud. She looked at who stood beside her. The little Pokemon at her side smiled wryly, grooming his minty paws with his long, sharp tongue.
"That cunt's lost his marbles." She laughed, as he joined in.
"Honestly... I don't get what obsession he has with her."
"A childhood crush, evidently. Nothing more, he needs to move on and just accept that life is life, and he can do fuck all about it." She smirked, as the Pokemon beside her laughed.
"Yeah. I feel a bit bad for 'im, mind. Losing a childhood friend ain't easy..."
"Uh-huh, I get that, but going absolutely psychoneurotic because of it?! He's just a fuckin' simp who took it too far." She replied, "God, I fuckin' hate these codenames."
"Hey, I'd take Archangel any day over Magnetar... it's boring..."
"Magnetar's a cool fuckin' word, I don't wanna hear you slander it." She replied snappily, as he rolled his eyes.
"And so is Archangel!"
"Well, maybe it's not boring, but it just doesn't really represent me, I'd argue. I'm more of a lil' devil, according to my lawyer." She joked, as he laughed, "Y'know, he really makes me wanna join her..."
"What, like, desertion?" He replied, as she nodded.
"Yup. I've heard about this Eeveelution group in Osore, they don't seem half bad." She smiled to herself.
"I mean... I won't stop you, but I'd warn you, he'll have a fat bounty on your head. I'm sure you can protect yourself better than she could, but still... I don't fancy your chances."
"That's why I bring up the Eeveelutions in Osore, they're supposedly quite rough'n'tough fighters. I see myself in that." She grinned, as he shrugged.
"You tell me. I reckon you've gotten a good shot with 'em. They don't mind Shinies, right?" He asked, as she shook her head.
"Nope! Apparently, one of them was even sighted talking to her! I think they're on good terms with shinies..." She grinned.
"I thought he said that there had been absolutely no sightings of her on Osore at all?" He replied, as she laughed.
"What a load of bollocks! I'd seen her a couple of times, and I didn't say shit. I know what he has planned with her, and that's why I'm taking her side in this." She grimaced, as the Pokemon beside her nodded.
"Well, Monarcha, if you are gonna ditch us, I can't do anything to stop you, just... stay safe out there, m'kay?" He asked, as she nodded.
"I'll be fine." She smirked, beginning to walk off.
"Also, is she actually where you said she was in the chat?"
"I have no fuckin' idea!" She laughed, finally making her way off.
~
"So, how does that all make you feel?"
Shoku and Myuku had another little counselling session at the moment. Myuku was still bound to his bed by his injuries, Hackney and Holloway had departed, and he never got to see them. He felt a little tired and achy, but a lot more mobile than before. He could sit up easily now, and he could stand. He just couldn't walk. Once that had returned to him, he'd be ready to go once more.
"Well, it's not been all that easy to cope with, really... I feel like I could've done so much more to make them proud, and I didn't." He sighed, as Shoku looked over at him, her luminous, purple eyes displaying sorrow and empathy.
"Filial issues can be difficult. I cannot relate to your plight, but I understand it. It can be hard when such a long held trust, like that of one with your family is just... broken in an instant, and it can sometimes be hard to realise the gravity of situations like these. It's perfectly normal to feel sad about this, but deep down, they do care about you, from the sounds of things. They wish you the best, but... it's hard to show it." Shoku responded, as Myuku looked down.
"You heard him. He... said I wasn't the son he wanted anymore, now that I have left him." Myuku sighed, as Shoku looked at the Jolteon despondently.
"O-Of course it can feel like that. And... even if he meant the words he said, you have a happier life here, do you not? If he was the kind of father to cut ties with his son due to something so trivial, then he is not a good father. I hate to show your father in such a bad light, but it's true." Shoku took a deep breath as Myuku thought about it all.
"I just... I don't get it. I don't know why it had to be this way..." Myuku shed a tear as he looked down. Shoku wanted to hug him, but kept her distance. She had to remain professional, difficult as it may have been. She did want to hug every patient that she had, but that urge had to be placed on the back burner to retain a sense of understanding and empathy, or at least a sense of professionalism.
"Despite what those say, not everything that people think needs a valid reason to occur. Sometimes things can happen in the heat of the moment, and people get angry, upset, distraught and stressed, and it causes them to say things they don't mean." Shoku replied, smiling happily. Myuku did not look up at her, and continued to wallow in a pit of misery.
"It's impossible to know, isn't it?" Myuku groveled, as Shoku grimaced, before nodding slowly. The Jolteon huffed in anger and regret, "For all we know--"
"Hey, now. Don't get all sad and despondent about this. But if it's impossible to know, that means that there's a chance that they want you back, and that they didn't mean what they said... it's not an immediate negative at the sign of uncertainty, as much as your brain may trick you into thinking such things." Shoku replied swiftly, cutting through Myuku's sad speech with some words of encouragement. He simply lay there unsure of how to respond.
A deafening silence befell the two as they sat there.
"Would you like a few minutes alone?"
"Y-Yes, I think I'd like that very much."
~
"Well... now what?"
She was on her own. Monarcha was a free, flying solo Sylveon, for the next few hours or so. She did intend to have a little rendezvous with this Eeveelution group, perhaps meet up with a few of the friendly faces. Who knows what kind of characters she'd find there?
It didn't really matter all that much that Noire probably had found out about her desertion. Her watch was switched off, so even if they were talking to or about her, she couldn't see it, and she liked that, for a change. Normally, their watch was to be on at all times in case of an emergency call when they were on the prowl, but now? Ah, it felt so good to be a free woman.
Her mind couldn't help but wander back to her as she walked. The one that they were all looking for.
Jade Chartreuse.
They weren't finding her. There were very few members of their little cult actually stationed on both Osore and Kikin, where she believes she went. Osore is just too dangerous for the cult to be stationed, they'd probably be snuffed out by the BGC in a heartbeat and locked behind grimy bars, in lonesome cells overlooking the equally miserable streets, creating a dilemma of who the real prisoner was in the waste of a city.
Jade... she was quite an interesting figure, wasn't she? Monarcha scoffed to herself, of course she was. She was one of the only sane ones in their whole damn division. Even Monarcha wouldn't rope herself in with Jade. Jade was always so generous and kind... seeing the best in society and just praying for its change rather than its downfall.
She wandered through the forest, her ribbons flowing gently behind her, glowing a cerulean blue, as opposed to usual pastel pink. She was quite proud of her altered pigmentation, hoping it would make her look better than most Sylveon, and even though politics disagreed, she didn't care. She liked the way she looked, and she was proud of it.
There she was, striding onwards through the Osorian Foothills, a pep in her step as she headed towards this group of Eeveelutions she'd heard so much about. They were supposedly a real tough group of fighters, comprised of Eeveelutions from all across the Archipelago! Gods, what she wouldn't have done to be one of them. Well, now, if she just kept up the walking she could be hours away from success.
She took a short break to lie down beneath a log. How had it gotten so dusky already? It felt like just a few minutes ago it was still in the morning. Monarcha laid down beneath the old, mossy log, looking up into the canopy as she did, her face painted with somehow both excitement and boredom. She sighed to herself as she looked up at the starry sky.
How had she even joined this stupid cult in the first place?
She must've been under the influence of something, probably alcohol, or cocaine. She kicked herself mentally, how could she? She did it because she believed in the rehabilitation and acceptance of Shinies into society, not the subjugation of anything else... and now look. She, and many others who shared her viewpoints were forced at the tip of a blade to do the dirty work, all for views and ideologies that many of them don't even believe in. Their clemencies had long since fizzled out, and all that was left was an all-swallowing being, hell-bent on anger, violence and conquest. That was not what she was fighting for, not who she dared to serve under the flag of, not who she wanted to be seen as an individual. She was more than some politically driven assassin or hitwoman. She was a Pokemon with a dream, of bringing Shinies and Non-Shinies together, not to further split them apart.
Monarcha sighed to herself as she laid there, looking up at the sky.
The night came, and there she slept, head resting on the ground and drooling profusely, as if she were a toddler. Needless to say, she wasn't the most civil individual. Not that she particularly minded. She was a hot-headed, obstinate Shiny Sylveon, and she was proud of that.
She woke up in the morning to a groggy, cloudy sky, and a breezy wind blowing throughout the trees and through the thickets. This was so common of Osore at this point, that she didn't even care. She stood herself up, her ribbons fluttering about her as they sprung to life along with her. She looked up towards the sky and groaned, it was going to be one of those mornings.
Hopefully this little group of Eeveelutions wasn't so far away.
She walked slower than usual, wiping her eyes with her prehensile feelers as she sauntered forward through the lifeless, seemingly empty woods.
It didn't take long for a bush to rustle beside her.
She stopped dead in her tracks as she heard it, swiveling her head around cautiously and keeping one paw suspended in the air. After a few moments of no further response, she resumed her walk slowly, her lips curled into a frown and her brow lowered a bit more cautiously.
She continued to walk through the woods, until it sounded again, a horrible, scratching reminder that something was there, and could be following her. Whatever its intentions were, be it a carnivorous predator or a perverse predator, she could definitely fight her way out of a difficult stroll.
Before long, the source of the rustling sprung out at her.
A Linoone, a long scar running down its right eye, and sharply brandishing its long, raked claws stood before her, on its hind legs, to appear larger.
"Listen, lady, you're gonna hand over what you have, or you'll be gutted like a market Magikarp." He growled savagely, snarling as he drew nearer to her. Monarcha merely rose a leg in response, curling up her ribbons like fists and spitting on the ground on which he walked.
"Fuck off. I am not the kind of woman you wanna fight, perv." She smirked, as the Linoone grimaced.
"How about we prove that?" He replied cockily, leaping forward for an overhead swipe at Monarcha. She merely smirked, leaping sideways and out of the way. She clenched more of her ribbons like fists, and swung them into the side of the Linoone's face, cackling as he recoiled in pain, "You slut!" He cried.
Monarcha tsked to herself as she approached him.
"Shouldn't be using those words to refer to a woman now, should we?" She called back to him, exposing her sharp claws as he got up. Two of her ribbons went behind the Linoone, grabbing him by his tail and slamming him into a nearby tree. He screamed in discomfort as he got back to his feet, "Go. I'm giving you this one chance."
"Fuck you, whore! May you die!" He replied, cutting his losses and scarpering back off into the woods. Monarcha once more spat at the ground on which he walked.
"Such horrible words..." She grimaced to herself, "Fuck you too, pussy!" She yelled back out to him, hoping he'd hear. She smirked, feeling a little content with her victory then, and slowly pressed on, glad that the threat was neutralised.
She continued on... further and further.
~
"It's a little confusing, eh?"
Kasha and Kiru were in the latter's room. Kiru had the blueprint to the boats given to her by Myuku. She stared at it tirelessly.
"Well, maybe not complex, it just seems... quite challenging. These things appear to be quite big." Kiru remarked as Kasha shrugged.
"Well, we can shrink it down, by say... half the size? There'll only be a few of us on board, and these things can hold tens of Pokemon! So, we should have no problem dropping the length or number of beds... or something like that." The Flareon offered, as Kiru considered the idea.
"We can't make the rooms too small, mind. If we shrink the overall dimensions, the rooms'll be too cramped for the big ones like you and me." Kiru reminded her, as she clenched her teeth in response.
"Damn, you're right... well, we can make some adjustments, r-right?" Kasha asked, as Kiru nodded slowly.
"Perhaps, but that could affect its performance... this whole thing is proving to be quite frustrating..." Kiru scoffed to herself angrily, as Kasha shook her head.
"Whey aye, man, but calm down love. It's just a blueprint, losing your rag won't get this ship built... now will it?" She asked, in a motherly tone. Kiru rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Alright, mum..." She jeered, as Kasha snickered.
"I've had to wrangle your shitfaced ass enough times off of the streets of Tyrrenal toย beย your mum." Kasha laughed to herself, as Kiru joined in briefly.
"Yeah, yeah... s'pose so." Kiru shrugged to herself as Kasha took her by the paw and yanked her up.
"Let's see if Shoku can ease Mimi's pain a bit more and then we'll ask him about it, eh?" She offered, as the Glaceon smiled.
"Aye, poor bloke's in a state. He dinnae seem alright when I last saw 'im."
"Where'd that accent come from, ay?" Kasha asked, chuckling to herself.
"You know I use slang like that often. It's just how I'm programmed, and so are you." Kiru replied, rolling her eyes, as Kasha chuckled mildly to herself.
"I guess so. But, how do you propose we actually build this vessel? It's monstrously large. Is it really worth just building it with accurate proportions? It normally houses 20..." Kasha responded, as the Glaceon buried her face in her hands.
"You tell me... it might be worth doing that. We might be picking up some 'luchd-creachaidh' along the way, if you know what I'm saying." Kiru replied, as Kasha nodded understandingly.
"Mhm, some might come along, if our mission really is to rectify the Archipelago. Come to think of it, what is our mission?" Kasha asked, as Kiru frowned.
"Well, I'd argue that our mission is, as you say, to rectify the Archipelago. This means tackling the problem of the far right and left..."
"The left?" Kasha queried.
"The Shadowed Gems. They strive for equality, but look at their methods, from what Shoku has extrapolated. They're no better than the BGC..." Kiru scoffed, as Kasha made a noise of understanding.
"Then they should be our first target. The BGC won't accept peace until the rest of the islands do... so we'll have to try and twist the other governments' wrists..." Kiru scowled. Kasha bit her tongue in her mouth in apprehension.
"That's way easier said than being done. But, I do see what you mean, if the other islands prosper more than Osore with a more centralised mindset, Blackfall might change itself with it, and following that the whole island." Kiru responded, "We'll have to talk with all the heads of the other islands. The King of Goldshire, the President of Tyrrenal and the Minister of Itami... those are who we need to see." She replied, pointing to a book, with the names of those individuals written down.
"I don't know much about them." Kasha admitted.
"That's our next mission, for the time being. Find out about those who rule the other islands. We need to know who to appease, and how to reach and appease them in the beginning." Kiru replied, showing a bunch of crude diagrams and writing done on the next page of the book she had shown to Kasha.
"You've really delved deeper than I dare dive, you will always prove to be a great leader." Kasha beamed confidently, "So, what will be the ultimate outcome if Blackfall does decide to change its ways?" She asked, as Kiru thought to herself.
"We will no longer be Rogues, Kasha." Kiru replied, as Kasha looked somewhat confused.
"Will we disband?" She asked nervously, as Kiru chuckled to herself.
"Heavens, no! If anything, we'll grow closer. We won't be Rogues, because we won't be in the minority politically anymore. The islands will hear us, and all, Shiny or not, will come together in unity. Then, we won't be Rogues." Kiru smiled, as Kasha made another noise of understanding.
"Hell yeah, girl! Tell 'em!" Kasha cheered on, applauding kindly, as Kiru smiled proudly, "It's a big dream, but I suppose you miss every shot you don't take, eh?"
"My train of thought exactly." Kiru smiled, "I believe in us."
~
Kazekiri sat outside of the Coven, curled up on a small overhang above the door, his tail hanging over the edge. There was a comfy patch of dark grass, which absorbed the most sunlight, therefore being the warmest place for a kip.
The wind blew in his face, the chilling winter air blowing against his scales. What he wouldn't do to have fur at this moment...
His fins blew back as his eyepatch blew up, revealing his eye briefly. He hid it away quickly.
"Damned wind... no need for reminders." He coughed to himself, his once toothy grin contorted into an angry scowl. He bore the appearance of a vicious dog guarding a house as he looked upon the path before him.
His pointed snout and curled muzzle shivered in the cold, as the chilled grass swept against his legs and tail. The sight of the overcast clouds on a fittingly dismal winter day was something that he was more than used to by now. Each twirl of the wicked winds sent shivers down his spine, as he surveyed the foothills which stretched far out into the horizon, as Blackfall rose like an ugly blotch in the distance.
Kazekiri hopped down from his vantage point, talking a brisk walk along the path. His lips curled into a frown as he walked through the eerily quiet woods. The whole area felt barren, with a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees giving the area an unsettlingly desolate atmosphere. His icy eyes stared around the bushes as he walked, his mind alert. It felt too quiet for there not to be something afoot, as far as he knew.
The chilly dirt path seemed to go on endlessly as he walked slowly down it. There was nothing around him, as if he were the only living thing in the area, save the flora. His head hung low as he continued walking, his thoughts unsure of where they were and where to go. After a few minutes, he overheard chatter in the distance. His fins perked up as he heard it, and went onwards to listen to it.
"She's gone too?!" Yelled one voice. Kazekiri felt too scared to poke his head through the thicket to identify the source of the voice. Something felt off, it was awfully crackly and glitched.
"Y-Yes... I was with her just, and she's up and vanished." Replied another voice, much more clear in his lines and more audible. Kazekiri raised an eyebrow as he eavesdropped quietly. The conversation between the two figures ricocheted back and forth.
"I am going to lose my fucking mind, you stupid Jolteon! How could you let this happen?!" The crackly voice screamed back, ferociously and aggressively. Kazekiri pondered, there was another Jolteon on this island too? This one certainly wasn't Myuku, their accents were completely different.
"I didn't let it happen, boss!" The Jolteon replied. Kazekiri began to connect some very vague dots by this point. This Jolteon was talking to his boss, and someone had presumably vanished. It wasn't much of a concern to him, but he had nothing better to do. Why not get enrolled in a mystery he'd probably never hear about again?
"Well, who did?! She wasn't taken by fucking Giratina, was she?!" The crackly voice insulted back, as the Jolteon whimpered quietly in apprehension.
"N-No sir. I'm looking for her, I promise." The Jolteon replied.
"Dismissed, then... now, piss off!" Spat back the crackly voice, as a beeping sound could be heard. The Jolteon sighed to himself. Kazekiri saw this as an opportune moment to peek his head through the thicket. There was indeed a Jolteon, but his fur was more of a limey mint hue, as opposed to the saturated yellow. He was sat by two tents, a creamy ivory in colour. Beside each tent were some boxes, one with a picture on them that was too far away to discern. Kazekiri took a deep breath and waded out from the bushes, slinking himself next to the Jolteon. The lime coloured Jolteon's ears twitched inquisitively, and he turned to face the Vaporeon before him.
"W-Who are you?" He asked suddenly, leaning back nervously. Kazekiri coughed idly.
"I could be asking that question to you yourself, mate." He stated deeply, trying to come across and friendly but also willing to fight if need be. The Jolteon moved backwards, rummaging through his satchel.
"That's not important. You've heard too much..." The Jolteon frowned, pulling out a flintlock pistol, aimed directly at Kazekiri's head, "I can't have anyone hearing compromised information, I'm sorry."
He pulled the trigger.
Before he could, however, Kazekiri had darted out of the way, still staring at him intently.
"I'd argue I've not heard enough. Also, to answer your initial question, Kazekiri, Deftness of The Rogues." He replied, as the Jolteon raised an eyebrow.
"Who are you 'Rogues'?" He asked shakily, keeping the flintlock on Kazekiri, trying to keep his composure.
"We're a vigilante group of Eeveelutions based in the Osorian Foothills."
This sentence caused the Jolteon to lower the smoking gun as his eyes widened, "That's where she's going..." He whispered beneath his breath.
"Mind repeating that?" Kazekiri asked, as the Jolteon put the gun back into his satchel.
"Look, how much of my conversation with my boss did you overhear?" He muttered, quivering a little at the presence of the Vaporeon. Kazekiri chuckled lightly to himself.
"Enough to know that some girl is missing." He responded, as the Jolteon sighed to himself.
"Well, expect a visitor. If you are who I believe you are, then that 'lost girl' might arrive at your establishment. I-I'm sorry about trying to shoot you, I know that doesn't really soften the blow, but... I work in very... secretive conditions." Responded the Jolteon apologetically.
"I think I can gather where you work. This tells me a lot. Not all of the SG is necessarily evil." Kazekiri responded, as the Jolteon's eyes widened.
"You know of the SG? I guess we're not the best secret keepers after all..." The Jolteon sighed.
"Yeah, one of us Rogues told us about a run in with a certain Espeon." Kazekiri added on, as the Jolteon nodded.
"So she was right... well then, your new visitor should hopefully find you within a few days. If you find her, be kind with her, she's quite aggressive..." The Jolteon added, as Kazekiri chuckled.
"She'll be right at home, then. Is she another Shiny Eeveelution, such as yourself?" Kazekiri asked, as the Jolteon nodded.
"Mhm. I can't tell you too much about her, I'm afraid, but you'll know her when you see her." The Jolteon replied.
"Alright, it's best if I go now. Thank you for helping us Rogues with our knowledge of the SG." He grinned, before leaping off before the Jolteon could respond. He sprang back up into the bushes, wandering back off into the woods.
This whole ordeal could've changed the Rogues for the near future...