A team of specialists is formed by the Guilds, building upon the idea originally put forward by Captain Cedaris (Arc 6). Pokemon with suitable talents are brought together to partake in a dangerous mission, and among them is Kage of Team Valiant. Now their first challenge is turning themselves into an effective team for the mission ahead, lest it be doomed to failure...

From the author:
Posting this in advance to let you all know we're still going! We've begun writing the final arc but the editing of the previous arcs is still underway! Hope you enjoy!

PREVIEW:___________________________________________________

Hadleigh…
It seemed to Kage as though Team Valiant kept finding itself coming here. Even though he had not been present for the first time, he was for the second outing - when Luke had served as a temporary Guild Councillor. During that, Kage had seen the city of art himself for the first time. Now, here he was again, about to take on one of the most important and likely dangerous missions of his entire life.
He was no stranger to dangerous tasks, though. During his younger years, he had faced dangers many times during his assassin training, and after he rebelled against the organization that trained him and worked on his own. It was what made him into the Greninja that he was this day, and while he had little idea on what to expect for this mission, he had already taken the time to mentally prepare himself during his journey to Hadleigh; preparing every contingency he could think of, and keeping an open mind for new developments that may arise during his time out in the field.
He followed the city’s main street to the council hall, where he was to meet his new team. Looking around he saw that much of Hadleigh had been rebuilt since the siege and the newly inflicted damage by Eberon, the Black Titan of Gladiator City, had also been successfully repaired. The people of Hadleigh were a resilient bunch - not something normally associated with artists, but they had proven themselves.
Now the city of art was the new central hub of the guilds. He wondered how long the city would hold onto its old ways, as a home to patrons or practitioners of art, while having found such a place in the world?
Reaching the council hall, he was directed by the guards to a separate room. He had expected to be in the main hall, but it seemed that the room was in use. He could hear the myriad of voices through the walls as he headed for the second floor. Two of the voices were unmistakably Romulus and Torolf – he had grown to know them well, but there were some that sounded rather new to him. Paying it no mind, he kept climbing to the second level, and found the room.
Opening the door, Kage found there was already one other occupant inside. A tall, lean-figured reptilian was already present in the room. He stood over by the window, arms folded behind his back as he stared out to the city. He turned at the sound of the door, his yellow eyes meeting the Greninja’s.
There was a long pause between the two as they stared at each other wordlessly, but it would be the taller lizard pokemon that broke the silence, turning to fully face Kage as he addressed him.
“I take it you’re our latest member of this task force.” He said in a studious tone, taking a moment to examine the Greninja fully before he stepped forward and offered his hand to Kage. “Agent Fisher. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“The pleasure is yours…” Kage returned abrasively, his eyes never tearing away from Fisher’s as he silently refused the handshake. “Let’s keep the pleasantries to a minimum. I’d prefer to get this mission over with as quickly as possible…”

“Hm. Straight to business then.” Fisher remarked, pulling his hand back and resting it on his hip. “Looks like Captain Cedaris was right about you… Stoic, calculating… He chose quite a specimen to take part in this assignment.” He added with a slight smirk before he turned his back to Kage. “Make yourself comfortable. The others will be here soon, and then we will commence the briefing.”
Kage made no reply, instead opting to find a spot to lean against as he waited for whoever else was chosen to partake in this mission. While he waited, he reached into his tongue scarf and pulled out a small necklace, with a locket around the chain. He quietly popped it open and gazed at the photo of his wife within, allowing a small, remorseful sigh to escape his mouth before closing it back up and hiding it back in his tongue scarf once more. This wasn’t the time for regrets or wishful thinking… He had to remain focused for the mission, or else he’d risk failing his objective and letting the Guilds down.