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| Mission 10 - Landfall | Meanwhile... Dream Therapy | |
Drumbeats sound in unison with peals of thunder. Banners, some of blue-green, others of blue-white, flap in the wind trying to tug them away. The battle rages without pause, Sazanami against Gāng Tiě, clashing over the sand, striking with no mercy. Anger has settled heavily in their hearts: it would take a miracle to stop them now.
Emperor Wei-Guang rides his Zebstrika through the Sazanami forces, Leaf Blade glowing as it slashes a path. His eyes are devoid of any emotion save one -- righteous fury -- and the soldiers of Shogo’s army fall like paper dolls before him. But as he slices yet another one, something red darts out of the corner of his eye, and Wei-Guang shifts in his saddle, lifting a Leaf Blade to protect himself--
: Prepare to DIE!
The masked Scizor leaps at Wei-Guang, tackling him off of the Zebstrika who speeds away. Ju-long lands atop Wei-Guang, arming a Night Slash and driving it towards Wei-Guang’s head -- but Wei-Guang blocks it with a Leaf Blade, shoulder shaking at the effort to holding the darkened claw from his face.
: (with malevolent glee) Now that I’ve knocked you off your high horse, you’re FINISHED!
: Guards! KILL THIS IDIOT!
Nearby guards not distracted by their own battles surge towards their downed Emperor, managing to shove Ju-long off of him. But the masked Scizor is not so easily stopped: he spins, catching a guard in the jaw with a claw encased with blue light, then strikes at another with a flurry of steely punches. Wei-Guang gets back to his feet just as all of his guards fall to the ground, Ju-long standing without having broken a sweat.
: Impressive, Sazanamese warrior. I remember seeing you at that ill-fated meeting with the Shōgun. Who are you? A bodyguard to those children who pretended to be my daughter’s legacy?
: I am the one who will take the throne of Gāng Tiě once you are dead!
He rushes forward, arms crossed with X-Scissor -- and Wei-Guang does the same, both insects dueling, matching blow for blow. For a moment, it seems neither will get the upper hand, but Wei-Guang subtly shifts to the left, and once Ju-long leans to compensate, the Shiny Leavanny uses Shadow Claw to slice the straps holding the mask in place. Ju-long’s face is revealed, and Wei-Guang’s eyes widen, staring at the spot of green under his eye.
: That mark… Who are you?
: You will NEVER harm or even come NEAR my siblings AGAIN -- I’ll make SURE of it!
He picks up the mask, voice dark and hardly more than a growl.
: Hello, Grandfather, and goodBYE!
Ju-long taps the small stone in his mask -- and the sparkling stone in his shoulder-guard flashes, light spreading along his body. Wei-Guang (and everyone nearby) step back as two massive claws jut out from the light, like twin serrated jaws from a vicious dragon. Ju-long’s legs are thicker, sinking into the sand, and dark gray plates bulge under his armor, a matching crest over his brow.
Wind billows around the Mega Scizor as he darts forward, X-Scissor shining. Wei-Guang stiffens, using Endure but knowing full well that it will leave him open to a follow-up attack… but before Ju-long can land his attack, it’s blocked by a sword parry, and Alaric turns around to face Ju-long, his back towards a shocked Wei-Guang.
: Stand down, Ju-long! This is not the way!
: (reverting to his normal form, flinging a claw at Wei-Guang) He DESERVES this! You know how many lives he’s destroyed, families he’s torn apart -- he CAN’T get off scot-free, I won’t ALLOW IT!
: I understand, trust me. Better than most, I’d wager. But you cannot let your anger guide your decisions. Killing Wei-Guang, while giving you momentary satisfaction, it won’t fix anything, only cause more anger and, in turn, more needless destruction and death.
: A good leader thinks of his people before his own needs; as a future leader, you would do well to remember that!
: …
: (clearing his throat) Well, Lord Alaric, while I appreciate your assistance, I believe I can handle this young upstart from now--
: (turning his head rapidly) And YOU! You have as much to learn about being a leader as Ju-long!
: What are you--?
: Sending your troops into battle like ants, ordering one in three to their deaths: it is all because you could not master your ANGER! A master general must NEVER mobilize his men out of spite --
: You were doomed from the moment you left your palace!
: Now see here, Alaric, you and I may not be true enemies yet, but you are bordering on dangerous territory here--
: Emperor Wei-Guang, don’t you see? Anger can turn to pleasure, grief to joy: these negative emotions can become positive in time. But if you continue this attack, if you keep warring, know that a nation destroyed cannot be put back together…
: And no matter how hard you fight… the dead cannot be brought back to life…
: …
: ALARIC!
The Charizard soars towards them, fire ripping from his maw, leading the charge as the third Sazanamese army enters the field. He wheels about, landing in a crouch beside Alaric, and leers at Wei-Guang, draconic eyes slitted.
: If you dare to approach milord, I will not hesitate to rip you to shreds!
: Be at ease, dragon. I will not harm Lord Alaric…
: Not today, at least.
: Then are we agreed? You will stop this pointless combat?
Wei-Guang glances towards Ju-long, both insects’ faces impassive: but before he can reply, another voice echoes loudly over the beach, clear as a bell but with a force strong enough to overwhelm the thunder.
: HEAR ME, PEOPLE OF SAZANAMI AND GĀNG TIĚ, AND HALT!
The armies stall, looking around for the source of the voice -- finding it moments later in the whirlpool forming in the ocean. Suddenly, a massive column of water shoots up out of the center of the whirlpool, reaching towards the heavens; it bursts apart in a shower of water, revealing the Lord of the Dragon Palace and his two children, suspended in the sky. As gasps ripple among the armies, Ryūjin sets Otohime and Kairyuu down into the shallow waters, hovering just behind them, a notable look of exhaustion settling in his eyes.
: C-Can that really be--?
: Ryūjin, in the flesh!
: The appearance of a god is not one to take lightly…
: Gāng Tiě, STAND DOWN!
: Same goes for you, my brave men, STOP!
: You heard Ryūjin, ENOUGH!
The fighting pauses, soldiers lowering their weapons and shuffling to their respective sides. Katsumi and the other warlords (except Shogo) hurry through the crowd to stand with Alaric, Gawain, Ju-long, and Wei, and soon after they reach them, Otohime speaks, stretching herself high to gaze over all of them.
: Good people of Sazanami and Gāng Tiě, heed my words! I am Otohime, daughter of Lord Ryūjin, priestess of the Dragon Palace, and this is my brother, Kairyuu, guardian of both our father and the Dragon Palace. We have watched you from afar, waiting to see if you would stop this senseless war --
: But when it became apparent that you wouldn’t, my lord had to interfere. You cannot continue like this, you will destroy yourselves if you do! Cease this battle at once or we shall all be--!
“And why should we listen to you?!” … “You’ve done NOTHING to stop this before!” … “After abandoning us for so long, NOW you show up?” … “How do we know YOU’RE not the cause of this storm?!” … “So many have already died: this is all YOUR fault!” … “You are no kami!”
Otohime flinches as the irate voices shout not from Gāng Tiě’s army, or even from Shogo’s forces, but from the Sazanamese army brought by the Shōgun. The crowd gets angrier as the yells continue, discontent spreading from ‘mon to ‘mon, and Otohime raises her voice, trying to calm them.
: Please, do not fall prey to the darkness in your hearts!
: It is no use, my daughter. Their hearts are closed and cannot be reached.
: Father is right. No point in trying to reason with an unruly mob.
: B-But we cannot let them annihilate themselves!
: And why not? If they wish to wipe themselves off the face of Avalon, then so be it! Perhaps they deserve their fates.
: … No. I refuse to believe that.
: (turning back to the still-fuming crowd) You cannot harden yourselves to this! Listen to the goodness inside of you, let it shine bright! It is not yet too late, you can stop this, you can end the storm, just have faith!
: The priestess is correct -- our stubborn anger and disbelief in Lord Ryūjin is causing this storm! If we stand together, we can yet save our land!
: As Shōgun, I command all of you to drop your weapons and stop fighting! The Emperor and I will--
The crowd’s anger boils over. Archers take aim -- soldiers heft spears -- and the weapons fly, arrowheads and bladed spears glinting in the lightning strike in the sky. They soar with deadly precision towards Otohime who cannot erect a shield in time… but Ryūjin dives over her, folding his wings around her in an embrace, protecting her with his own body. Kairyuu sweeps his tail across the ocean, sending a wave into the soldiers, pushing them back -- though it is too late to stop the weapons from slicing into bone and scale, crimson staining the Lugia’s snow-white body.
: Father! N-No, why did you…?
: I… I will not… let them… hurt you…
: Nor I you, Father. Stay still, I shall pray for you.
The Milotic’s power shimmers weakly in the rain -- but it is nothing compared to the raw wrath taking hold in the armies. It is as if the sight of the divine blood dripping from Ryūjin’s wounds had corrupted them, turning them into monstrous versions of themselves, and the war begins anew, combat even more violent and ruthless than before.
: HEY! STOP, ALL OF YOU!
: You heard your Shōgun, HALT!
: It is useless, they won’t listen.
: Neither will my men. My forces are too many, I can’t stop them all, and they cannot hear me in their aggression.
: Sound familiar, old man?
: Now is not the time for smug quips.
: Dammit! Is there ANY way to control them?!
: HOLD YOUR FIRE, MEN! Regroup on the south-eastern end of the field, hurry, on the double! Use your weapons for self-defense ONLY until I give the word!
The soldiers under Shogo’s banners move quickly to obey their warlord’s commands, holding their weapons as shields to bat away the rage-filled soldiers. Shogo himself swims through the large puddles forming on the beach, leaping from one to the other, his Rhyperior assistant struggling to keep up. The Whiscash reaches the puddle closest to Katsumi, swims right to the edge -- and splashes muddy water onto her feet, making her jump away.
: What is the big idea, Katsumi?! I will be the first to say I am not very fond of that sea dragon, what with what he and that Hariyama did to my ancestor, the rightful patron of Sazanami, not to mention all of Avalon -- but attacking his daughter, how low can you stoop? Are we not supposed to stop this war by any means?!
: What?! You really think WE ordered that attack?!
: Then you are more foolish than we realized.
: (practically in a squawk) The men acted on their own accord, re-instigating the battle themselves!
: (puffing out his chest) Then you are CLEARLY not fit to lead. If your army doesn’t listen to you, that means they don’t respect you, and even more importantly, they don’t trust you. Hah, just LOOK at them! Their form is sloppy, and they’re even fighting each other!
: Hmph. No matter: I shall solve this situation with ease~ (He raises his voice, slapping his fins against the puddle.) MEN! Break up the fight -- show these incompetent oafs how a real army battles!
He calls out more battle plans, pointing squadron leaders to lead their soldiers into combat. They move in sync, rushing into the fray without abandon, even cheering themselves onward, and Shogo smirks to himself before turning back with a proud huff to the stunned Katsumi.
: It seems to me that once this battle is over, I will need to fix Sazanami myself, as all of you are much too inexperienced to handle things on your own. All traitors of Sazanami (not to mention those too useless for their own good) shall be punished -- heck, I’ll become Shōgun myself if I have to!
: Watch it, fish, I’m still in charge around here.
: Clearly…
The Whiscash swims away, laughing boisterously as he throws himself into battle. Hopping from puddle to puddle, he weaves through his soldiers (who, despite the rain, are holding the line and managing to defend against two armies), diving past them and making the ground quake underneath him. Headbutting one unfortunate soldier, Shogo then turns and slams his fins down, pointed rocks jutting out of sand in single file, stopping the enemy in their tracks before they’re knocked down by a mini-earthquake. And all the while, the fish cackles like a maniac, completely in his element on the water-logged battlefield.
Meanwhile, Katsumi ushers everyone to retreat to the shore, where Ryūjin slumps on the beach, his lower half in the water while his head and neck rests on the sand. Otohime floats in the surf next to him, still praying, and Kairyuu thrashes around in the waves, grumbling and growling angrily.
: Arrrgh, stupid mortals! To think Father depends on THEM for strength!
: Enough complaining, Kairyuu. I must concentrate.
: … sorry, Sister.
: (stomping a foot in annoyance) Bah, running away like this with our tails between our legs: what a disaster!
: It’s not over yet, Katsumi-sama. Shogo-san may be a blowhard, but even I must admit that his fighting skills are impressive.
: Who CARES about that fish and his flips?! We can’t just sit here and do NOTHING!
: Gawain is right, there must be something we can do.
: Besides pray?
: Otohime-sama is doing plenty of that for us. Now is the time for action!
: We cannot just rush into battle, not with Wei-Guang’s and our forces turned against us. To proceed, we must use caution.
: Agreed. (She points to each ‘mon in turn as she calls their name.) Takeshi, go as fast as you can back to town and find Wakana, we will need her to be messenger across the field. Isas, Shino, Ju-long, you three will keep those renegade soldiers away from us, make sure they can’t approach Ryūjin while he recovers.
: Go with them, Gawain. They could use your firepower.
: I’ll give ‘em hellfire, sire!
: Not if I get to them first.
: Is this really the time to be competing over who beats more foes?
: Breztr'z bpalrlpwp blm blpr bla brnplee blttch, brouu bruplinr blntzzz!
: What manner of speech is that?!
: No time to translate, they’re coming, Isas-sama!
The Manectric speaks true: several soldiers rush for the downed Lugia, ready to strike -- but Isas, Shino, Ju-long, and Gawain intercept them, firing off their respective attacks. Takeshi also leaves, gritting his beak in pain as he flies off, struggling to stay aloft in the rain, and Katsumi, Sho, Alaric, Raiju, and Wei huddle close to Ryūjin, Otohime, and Kairyuu, speaking in hushed tones to salvage some strategy together…
At the same moment, some familiar faces finally arrive, cresting the hill Shogo’s army had marched down. Nicholas has his hand over his eyes, scanning the chaotic beach battle, while Bon, Kaito, Kamen, and the other Aetherians come up behind him.
: (stretching his arms over his head) Ugh, I’ve got such a crick in my neck! How long were we in those dumb gadget carts?
: Almost five days.
: Four days, twenty-two hours, and thirty-five minutes, but hey, who’s counting? (rolls his head around, cracking his neck, then turns to Nicholas) See your dad yet, kid?
: No, I don’t see--
: Is that RYŪJIN?!
: Oh. Well. Whaddaya know, the water dragon decided to show up after all.
: This is no time to be nonchalant, Bon, we must make haste onto the battlefield!
: And what, get us all killed in the process? Sorry, but I like my skin right where it is. Let’s come up with a plan first before we charge in--
: Hey, you guys, over here!
: And there’s our plan.
: (waving at them from the base of the hill, just at the entrance to the town) C’mon, we’re heading down to the battlefield!
: “We”? (realizing that there are many other Pokémon with Hoori, one of whom is annoying familiar to him) … Oh boy, this isn’t good.
Nicholas, Kamen, Kaito, and the Aetherians hurry down the hill, leaving Bon to catch up to them -- but the second they reach Hoori and his group of Pokémon, an earthquake suddenly seizes the land, the island bucking under everyone’s feet.
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| Mission 10 - Landfall | Meanwhile... Dream Therapy | |