The Battle for Hadleigh begins in earnest, as the dark ship The Oppression begins its assault...
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PREVIEW:
When the Oppression was sighted in the west by Lighris, the time to act was upon them. Teams Valiant, Phalanx, Plainsrunner and Storm rushed to get the townsfolk to where they would be out of reach by the Draco Meteor bombardment that was sure to come with the ship’s arrival. Some stubbornly refused to leave their homes, but were promptly set straight by Lady Cinnia, who joined in the rally.
Adding her voice to the mix – a voice the citizens knew well, soon the homes were being evacuated, following the roads to the highest point of the city and letting the Rescue Teams and the volunteers from the quarry do their work
The alleys were filled with ice walls by Ernoul and a few local ice types to keep smaller groups from flanking their positions. The ramp leading up from the quarry were blocked off by a wall of boulders and the gate at the top sealed from the other side, with the fliers above positioned to see if anyone attempted to breach.
Hadleigh had two direct routes that led through the city; one was the main road, cutting a path from the very bottom to the very top of the hill, the other was a side road that forked away from the main, heading to the marketplace before it rejoined the main just below the crest at the hill, at the intersection where the road went to the crest or toward the quarry ramp. The side road was sealed with another wall of ice, and now there was only one direct route through the city, heading straight into the battle line of the four Rescue Teams.
Team Phalanx and Valiant, being the more experienced band overall, took the lead, with Neilla and Ernoul's teams on the flanks ready to back them up if Phalanx couldn't hold the line. Their leaders were absent at that moment though as the others prepared; there was one last piece of business for them to deal with elsewhere.
When Volcan, Neilla and Luke appeared at Hageshi’s cell, the Greninja was staring off into the wall to the left of the cell bars, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he seemingly stared off into space. He didn’t turn to face the two of them until Luke had cleared his throat, turning his head slowly toward the two of them and glancing at them through narrowed eyes.
“...Come to reprimand me in person, have you?” He asked lowly to the two of them. “You sure took your time.”
“The Oppression is here,” Volcan stated, producing the keys to the cell and showing them to Hageshi “We need all the forces we can get, so we’re here with an offer. You can either stand with us and fight our way, or lie in here and hope a Draco Meteor doesn’t hit this place.”
The Greninja eyed the keys for a few moments, his tongue scarf flicking behind him idly before he turned to fully face the three of them, stepping closer to the bars, but still keeping out of arm’s reach.
“You do realize that even if you defeat their forces, they’ll just return at a later time to finish the job, or move their forces elsewhere to another location out of your reach…” He plainly pointed out. “And not every Rescue Team is as resourceful as you’ve shown to be...What do you plan to do then when they strike somewhere you cannot respond fast enough in time to…?”
Luke narrowed his eyes dangerously at the Greninja as he spoke. “They won’t. We plan to send that cursed ship to the bottom of the sea today.”
Again, Hageshi scoffed. “That’s it?” He asked coldly. “You think destroying one ship will cripple the enemy’s morale and cause them to back off? If anything, it will just make them realize how big of a threat to their plans you are, and cause them to start striking where you are most vulnerable.” He pointed out. “As I’ve said before, you want to defeat this evil, you deal with it permanently.”
“You may yet get your wish, but that is for the guilds to decide, not us,” stated Volcan as he readied the key. “It’s a yes or no question, Hageshi. Will you fight with us? Yes, I let you out, but you do exactly as we direct you. No, and you stay in there and hope that ceiling doesn’t fall on you.”
The Greninja scoffed once more, turning his gaze away as he considered his options. He didn’t like the idea of following orders, especially when faced with a threat he believed needed to be destroyed quickly. Though on the same token, even he couldn’t weather the ceiling collapsing on top of him even if he created a shield of ice to protect him from the falling debris. The element he wielded was versatile, but not durable.
After much thought, he finally let out a long sigh before he looked back to the three captains. “...Fine. I’ll play by your rules for the time being,” he reluctantly agreed.
Without another word, Volcan unlocked the cell, and then passed the keys to Neilla who moved on to the next one while he pulled the door open to let Hageshi out. “Your gear’s by the exit,” he said.
But as Hageshi stepped out, he saw the cell Neilla was opening, and stopped in his tracks as he saw Jora stepping out into the corridor. His pupils constricted into small beads when he saw the Salazzle stepping out of her cell, his webbed hands clenching tight at his sides as he stared on at her.
“...Why is she being released?” He glowered angrily.
“Jora has been very cooperatiive,” Luke informed the Greninja. “She surrendered to us willingly in the end and gave us valuable information; I have no intention of leaving her where Calhoun can find her.”
“Surrendered?” Hageshi echoed. “She ran from me the moment I confronted her.”
“Perhaps because you had a blade drawn on her?” Volcan retorted scornfully. “Furthermore she had a child with her; her actions at that moment were to get that child away from you; she was protecting him, like any mother would. Once she surrendered, so did the rest of her clan; they've earned the right to get to safety.”
“How do you know she won’t turn on us?” The Greninja asked plainly, still glaring dangerously at the Salazzle.
“She won’t,” Luke answered with a tone of finality. “Jora is not an ally of Calhoun; she was a victim of circumstance.” He stepped up to the Greninja, glaring into his eyes. “And if you so much as even think of pointing your blade in her direction, I’ll have you properly charged for attempted murder of an innocent life, and you’ll spend all of eternity rotting away in the Siphon Prison… Understand?”
Hageshi stared back into Luke’s eyes, unflinching despite his threat and his admittedly unexpected change of demeanour. “...For your own sake, you better be right.” He said before he pushed past Luke abruptly, heading to grab his equipment before storming out of the jailhouse.
“Last thing,” Volcan called after him. “We have a specific mission for you.”
He stopped just as he finished equipping his weapons, and was just about to grab his cloak when Volcan addressed him. “Do you now..?” He asked, glancing over his shoulder to Volcan. “What might that be?”
“The enemy leader,” Volcan explained. “A midnight Lycanroc called Asya - bipedal, crimson fur, white undertones and red eyes. If she makes an appearance in the battle, you and Lashanne - who will be working with you on this - are to capture her at all costs. Her disappearance from the battle will leave the enemy force leaderless, and,” he paused for a moment to make sure he was especially clear on his next point, “when the siege is over, she’ll go to the guild hall in Lindenburg for interrogation, from which we will learn where Calhoun and his remaining lieutenants are.”
Even Hageshi could not deny the logic of that plan. A dead Pokémon could not provide information, and capturing her would serve two causes at once - to leave the enemy leaderless, and to possibly find out more about the enemy’s intentions. Without another word, he gave the Blaziken a small nod to let him know he understood his orders, then slipped his cloak over his body, adjusting his hood as he departed from the jailhouse.
Luke cast a wary glance up at Volcan after Hageshi left. “...You sure he’ll follow your instructions to the letter?” He asked softly. “The fact he was willing to attack an ally just to get at his target makes him a loose cannon.”
Volcan let out a low groan, making his exasperation clear. “Without Kage, there’s nobody else qualified to slip behind the enemy lines to get to Asya,” he said. “For all I know he’ll take her out the first chance he gets, but I can’t worry about that.” He looked at Luke. “It’s a gamble we have to take. We’ll have our hands full with the army, and then with whatever creature the Oppression is carrying in its hold.”
Luke sighed, not exactly liking what he was hearing, but nodding nonetheless in understanding. “I suppose we’ll just have to hope he doesn’t go overboard,” he finally muttered after a small silence, then motioned for the exit. “C’mon. Let’s go regroup with the others.” He suggested.
“What am I to do?” Jora asked, concerned.
Volcan looked at her. “We won’t force you to join us in the battle,” he said. “You can go stand with the civilians. If you’re truly worthy of the trust Luke has put in you, you won’t betray us and you’ll keep your clan in line.”
Jora swallowed, but she nodded to him in understanding.
“I really hope you two know what you’re doing,” Neilla said lowly to Luke as she passed, and without waiting for an answer headed to unlock the cells containing Jora’s clan of Salandit.
‘So do I…’ Luke thought to himself before he walked past Neilla and headed back outside to join the other teams preparing for the imminent assault.