Chapter Three: Standard of Infamy

---

“It was said long ago that Pokemon crawled out of the Abyss... Based upon the violence and cruelty I see in this day and age, I wonder if we have ever left it...

We are a species plagued by greed.

—Historian Frederick Floatzel

---

“Please cooperate... Come on, you can’t stay silent forever...” Hythal asked annoyedly. This prisoner had proved to be the most stubborn Pokémon he had ever met. Since earlier this month when the officers had dragged her in, she had made it her personal goal to make his job as hard as possible.

A thin air of desperation hung around the floating Reuniclus. His mind began to grow fearful at the prisoner’s steadfast silence. It was his duty to get her and the others implicated in the treason charges to talk, yet every attempt to coax her words out failed miserably. She was tenacious to the extreme and Hythal knew it would take a miracle to break her will.

Based on what her profile says, she’s special forces trained... Damnit... He thought while he uttered a quieted curse. His job could be done right now if the stiff-necked administrators of the prison would answer his requests for a Tier Three psychic, yet they refused to grant his wish. He opened his eyes and glanced at her. She, like Jack, was chained to the interrogation chair, however she was far less willing to spill her story. He floated up to her, the transparent, green cytoplasm inside him trembling with desperation.

“Please... Your execution date is coming up. If you decide to speak, the date might get postponed! ... A-And if your story has weight... Then the courts might overturn your...” Her head, which had hung low for the past several days slowly lifted. Her tired face became etched over with a knowing grin. “...Sentence...”

He waited, floating inches from her face, yet her words never came. Hythal let out a colorful swear against the gods.

“Girl! You will die! They will gladly execute you without hesitation! I’m trying to help you! I really am! But I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me!” He screamed, his fiery eyes staring into her apathetic glare. He sighed, nearly defeated. His body sagged in mid-air while his mind raced for a solution to their impasse. Suddenly, it clicked. There was something.

“Your partner is currently spilling his story. We just took a break actually, it’s coming along quite well... He knows what’s best for his life, you should do the sa—GAH!” His gelatinous neck suddenly constructed as a pair of razor-sharp claws sunk into it. For a moment, he was stunned, beyond the help of his limited mental abilities. The prisoner, somehow free of her bonds and standing on the table, hoisted him up to her face. Hythal had seen multitudes of expressions in his time as a jailer, but it would only be hers that struck the fear of the legends into him.

“Do. Not. Lie. To. Me...” She hissed through her disused vocal chords. Hythal nodded his organelle head furiously even while her claws dug in deeper to his membrane. “Jack ... Jack did not talk..”

“O-Okay! Okay! Okay! Let me go!” He screamed pathetically. However, her tired, bloodshot eyes showed little room for reasoning or mercy. She growled, lifted him above her head, and flung him to the ground. He slammed into the wall with a sickly splat. The tiny, underdeveloped body spread out within the malformed cytoplasm.

She leaped off the table, her claws drawn, and turned towards the fallen officer. Hythal couldn’t scream, mostly because his head was still rejoining with his body. Just before swung down her claws for a killing blow, she froze. Hythal shut his eyes as a shocking, yellow aura enveloped her body. The prisoner let out a feral-like screech and twisted upon her attackers.

Hythal couldn’t see the ensuing fight beyond the tipped interrogation desk, but by the time he had reformed and lifted himself into the air, it was over. Surrounded by six Magnemite and a Bisharp, she lay panting amid her hastily made restraints. Smoke drifted off her fur while the putrid odor of burnt hair filled the small, stone chamber.

Gripping her with their magnets, all of the Magnemite lifted her stubborn form, and muscled her back into the chair. Once they refastened the chains she had miraculously slipped through before, the droids radioed each other their success. On the other side of the room, the Bisharp officer approached a trembling Hythal.

“... Get back to the Golduck. This one is beyond your capabilities. I will have her reassigned to someone that is more adapt at interrogation,” He hissed, his voice cold and grated with irritation. Belittled and humiliated, Hythal’s body sagged in midair.

“Yessir...” As he floated past the chained traitor, he swore he saw her mouth curl into a curt smile.

---

“Cloud-Breaker...” The wizened Ampharos gazed intently at the panting Golduck. They sat on opposite sides of the room with a dim shard of a Luminous Orb in between. “Do you know what this place is?”

Jack looked about the abandoned room. There seemed to be nothing of significance here: a few simple wooden stools and chairs, a pile of colored rugs, and several mixing bowls and utensils stacked on shelves. There wasn’t anything special here from what he could tell, yet he knew the eccentric Ampharos had a point to his question.

“I... I do not. What is this place?” The Ampharos sucked in a tired breath and pressed his paw to his forehead.

“So much you do not know... There is so much...” Jack remained silent, not wishing to object to the claim. He raised his head and stared at him, his eyes narrowing at the blue-feathered Pokémon. “Let us start from the beginning then. Do you know where you are right now? What is the name of this place?”

“Saltus Valley, ma’am— I mean, sir!” Jack quickly returned, fumbling over his words as his thoughts wandered to Kida. He wondered where the Zangoose could possibly be in this wide valley, or if she was even within it at all.

“Very good, Cloud-Breaker. But to be more precise, you are in the village of Caer Gfan within the southwest side of Saltus Valley. Now, Cloud-Breaker, you are of the Kingdom, are you not? Tell me, when was the last time you heard the humble name of this valley said in the lands beyond?” The Ampharos began digging in his worn satchel for something.

Jack wracked his thoughts. Saltus Valley, despite being the central focus of their original mission, was a new name to him. Not anywhere in the wide lands of Verus had he heard the name before.

“Your puzzled face says it all, Cloud-Breaker.” He shifted himself against the wall and pulled out a small, parchment map from his bag. With careful paws, he unrolled it and placed it in front of Jack. “It does not appear on most Kingdom maps. Anyone who does business with us already knows where we are and we have little need to leave. We make our own decisions about our lifestyle and simply pay the Kingdom’s taxes every year. We are little more than a splotch of land the king can glean for coins...” The Ampharos’s voice darkened. “Yet... They sent you here. Tell me, young Golduck. Why do you think that is? We have nothing here, much less anything that should cause this accursed winter...” He trailed off, rolling the map back up, and stowing it away.

The gears in Jack’s head turned while he tried to keep warm in the drafty house. Outside in the darkness, shuffling and scratches beat at the sturdy, clay walls and roars resounded across the frozen forest. Trying to keep his thoughts collected and calm, Jack forced himself to delve deeper into the question. If there was nothing here, then why were they here? The unnatural winter, of course, yet the cause behind it was something Kida hadn’t told them.

“I... I don’t know... What happened here? ... Sir?” Jack asked, stealing himself to hear what his mind already guessed.

“They did... The Kingdom...” The older Ampharos spat bitterly. “It started last year. Suddenly a group of foreigners came marching up here, waving a deed to the glaciered land to the east. No one lived up there, so we thought nothing of it when they dragged their covered supplies and machines through the towns...” He took a deep breath and lifted his paw over the darkening shards of light. A small bolt of electricity shot forth at the crystals, reigniting them into a furious, blue light.

“Cloud-Breaker, I would not expect you to know, but it was they who began this crisis. Through the months they were here, the stranger things became. Pokémon who once loved and respected each other were suddenly as cold and distant as the glaciers...” He brought his paw to his eyes, wiping away his weariness and sadness. Jack could only shiver as he took in the Ampharos’s claim. His head pressed against his knees and he whispered to himself that the story was false. Yet, even while the cold bit at his skin, he knew it was likely true.

“I hear your whispers, Cloud-Breaker. Yet, you know the truth. Do not defend your Kingdom, for they are the root of the evil curse here. They are the ones who poisoned Saltus Valley and the inhabitants within it... Filling them with artificial thoughts of greed and malice.” The Ampharos scratched his head. “I do not know exactly how they did this, but I saw its effects upon our good, innocent populace... And then, came the day...”

Jack’s bill quivered in the cold. Shaking badly from the chilled air, he scooted himself closer to the healer. He was slightly worried that he offended the mystic by getting closer, yet the Ampharos simply nodded and beckoned the Golduck to sit beside him.

“Come close, Cloud-Breaker. We all must love each other now in these cold times. The warmth of our hearts is almost as good as any fire,” he said with a huff. Once Jack had settled himself next to the aged Pokémon, the story continued. “... It was that day, not long ago. It happened about a week after the great, twisted Rainbows of Hope returned to our skies. That day, a normal, peaceful day here, there was a flash. A brilliant beam of light shot forth from the eastern glaciers.” The mystic sucked in a ragged breath, cringing at the memory. Pressing his mouth shut, Jack placed a hand over the Ampharos’s. The healer instantly turned to face him, stubborn tears sliding down his face.

“... Your trust and comfort mean much to me, Cloud-Breaker, yet that alone will not free me of that day...” He coughed and straightened up, breathing freely. “... The air turned blue that day and a rumble quaked our feet. In an instant, a wave of ice covered the land. I was shielded, yet many among those were lost,” He chuckled suddenly. Jack gave him a bewildered look, wondering if the elder had given up his sanity.

“Fear not for me, Cloud-Breaker. I am just reminiscing. You remind me of myself ... If only at a younger time in my life...” He coughed and got up. Jack could hear his stiff joints pop with his moment and the orb on his tail flashed. The Ampharos knelt down and picked two small blankets. Inspecting them carefully, he tossed one towards the freezing soldier who snatched it out of the air as if it was a safety rope on a mountain slope.

“T-Thanks... S-Sir..” Jack replied through his chattering teeth. He groaned to himself, knowing none of his moves would do him any good at keeping away the cold. Wrapping the blanket around himself, he curled next to the Luminous Orb crystals in the center of the room.

“You do not have to call my anything formal, yet in lieu of knowing my name, you may call me ‘Sir’ if you wish, Cloud-Breaker,” The Ampharos smiled, seeming satisfied with the nickname he gained. With a small flourish of his stiff hands, Sir hung his blanket around his shoulders and leaned against the wall beside him. “And no, Golduck. We shall not call ourselves by name for now. Perhaps when this crisis is at its end, but not now... Also, you owe me your life from before. You will be taking the first watch. I will not ask you to go outside, but you must remain vigilant... But you are a soldier, are you not? I should not have to tell you this.” His chest expanded and contracted gently, signaling that the older Pokémon was settling into sleep.

“Until a short while, Cloud-Breaker... Pray for the morning. Pray as if the gods listened...” Sir muttered, turning on his side, and eventually falling silent aside from his light snores. Jack meanwhile shivered, counting on his clouded breath the second tick by in the bitter night. His heart, less fearful than before, still, however jumped at the maddening, guttural howls of the Frost-stricken monsters that roamed the land.

Seeing little else he could do, Jack bent his head against his paws. He searched through his memories, seeking for any prayer the Whiscash elder had taught him in his youth.

---

“So, you claim that King Nickolas authorized the placement of... Whatever caused the disaster in Saltus Valley?” Hythal roughly asked, grilling the Golduck once he finished this segment of his farfetched story.

The former soldier of Gold Squad lifted himself up in his chains. He gave the Reuniclus a fatigued stare, coughed, and spat a glob of phlegm onto the filthy, stone floor.

“Nickolas? ... No, not him. I don’t think he was part of this... No, the Senate... It was them who assigned us this suicide mission! It was the Chancellor! He delivered the mission personally to Ki—Commander Kalitka!” Jack thundered back, his chest heaving rapidly beneath his restraints. “Hythal, this is the truth! The Chancellor knew about the disaster!”

“Of course he did! It’s his job to know when a calamity strikes in the Kingdom! Yet here you are marking him as a traitor,” Hythal shot back, remaining a respectful distance away from the struggling Golduck while a ink-dipped quil scribbled notes down on a piece of parchment in the air beside the officer. “Prisoner appears to be experiencing acute paranoia and delusions of persecution. Recommend screening for mild schizophrenia before going further with interrogation.”

Jack’s sunken eyes shot open and he sat straight up in the wooden chair. His claws clutched at the splintery armrests while a subtle pool of water began to condense on his arms from the air.

“No! I’m not insane! You screened me before!” The former-corporal screamed, the water rippling along his chained arms. “This isn’t right! Let me finish my story! And you’ll see just how right I am!”

Hythal shrugged, psychically folded up the parchment, and watched as it blinked out of existence.

“You have until the officials get here with the screeners to continue, Jack. Best make the most of it,” The blob of cellular material retorted, watching the Golduck seethe in his bonds.

“You—! Gah! Know what?! I’ll continue! You’ll see I’m right!”

---

Jack awoke to the sounds of the death of the world. All around him, from outside the tiny, cold hut, the dawn sun shone through the gaps of the mountains down upon the frozen valley. And from the light, he heard the creatures that stalked all around them the night before scream and hide. His tired, bloodshot eyes were held open by their terrible screeches.

He turned to his side, tossing the blanket away. His hand clutched his groaning stomach while he lay in the grey light. Sir slept soundly beside him, seemingly unaffected by the chores of Erebus’s demons wailing about their frail bastion. As his stomach growled angrily again, he slowly stumbled to his feet. Jack fumbled about his belt for anything that might be of sustenance.

For once, the uncaring gods smiled down upon him. His nearly-numb hands trembled, pulling on the tiny, drawstring pouch from his belt and dumped its contents into his cupped hand. A few pitifully-small, dried Cheri and Pecha raisins. Hardly enough to fill his stomach, yet it would do to drive hunger away for a small while longer.

I’ve certainly gone a lot longer with a lot less.” He shook the half a dozen berries in his hand before he tipped them into his maw, chewing them a few times for the dried flavor, and swallowing.

“Ah... So you are awake, Cloud-Breaker? Good, good...” Sir groaned, stirring from under the thin blanket and shaking off the layer of frost that accumulated over him. The Ampharos blinked and looked out the window. “Dawn’s far off yet, but it’s time we move. There is little time for us.”

As the dawn rose upon the forsaken place, Jack and the elder packed up their meager supplies and swiftly exited the desolate village. Around them, the stiff and silent forest only made the foreboding sense of dread worse and worse. When the fiery circle of light finally rose beyond the fractured clouds, Jack looked to the mountains. Their vast, innumerable faces sneered back.

---

Ice. It surrounded her, bit into her fur, and crept into her blood. Her lungs stung, the stale air only burning her throat with every breath she took. It had tortured her for so long, she had no idea how long she had been under its grasp. A haze drifted over her eyes and head. She tried to focus and concentrate her thoughts on freeing herself, but her body wouldn’t cooperate.

Kida shivered, a small whine escaping from her numb lips while her claws refused to move. She had fallen from the mountain. Fallen for a day and night, through the light and darkness and into the frozen hell of Erebus. Azelf kept her will burning bright in her heart, but it was not enough to thaw her wet, numb limbs. Somehow, she was not broken from her fall down the slope. Only bruised, frozen, and laying buried in a crevasse.

The Zangoose grunted, her stiff legs kicking against the tremendous weight of the powdery snow on top of her. Several clods of snow broke free and fell from the ceiling of her tiny air pocket. Immediately she ceased her efforts, trying to preserve what little air she had left. Kida slowly clenched her claws, bringing back what little feeling was left in them. Painfully, she drew her arms to her chest and attempted not to panic.

The Encourage Seed she had taken hours prior was all but exhausted from her body and she knew it. The insidious feelings of doubt snaked through her frigid head; her personal demons from Erebus hissing into her mind. The seed had dispelled them, but now they returned with greater force than ever before. Bent on destroying her impetus for surviving with their biting words and slashing chants. Kida shook her head and grit her teeth, unable to do much else to ease her fears in her icy coffin.

Vibrations. Gentle shudderings of the snow above her. Powder fell into her face, causing her to sputter and gag on the cold dust. Her body began to race, fighting back the demons wanting to chain her to her cold demise. Kida worked her claws down her chest through the layers of fallen snow. She bit her tongue from the intense chill that spread up her arms, but she dug through until she reached the leather belt around her waist. Grunting, she forced her trembling paws into the pouches.  

“C-come on! Come on!” Her weak words meant little to the weighted snow or the numbness making it difficult to move. She lay still for a moment, gathering her strength and feeling. The thumping vibrations were fading. A lightning strike of fear electrified her body. Whoever was up there was her only chance of making it out of here alive. She couldn’t let them leave.

Hissing with frustration, her claws extended, and sliced through the leather straps holding the pouch in place. She instinctively grabbed the loose sack and brought it to her chest, spilling the few contents out on her snow-covered fur. The Zangoose panted as her sight grew hazy, her body trembling under the forces of asphyxiation. She knew Dialga was not on her side. Time was running thinner than the viable air in the small pocket beneath the ice.

Kida’s eyes narrowed, trying to see through the creeping tendrils of darkness. Her shaking paws brushed over the colorful seeds on her chest, the only keys to salvation. In her fading sight, she managed to find what she sought: a small, bright red seed. She hesitated in taking it—under normal circumstances, the seed was a risk to both self and others. Under these dire, close-quarter conditions, it was nothing short of suicide.

Be calm, Kida... Stay calm... You don’t need that seed to think. Take a breath and use your head, Kida...

However, the thumping footsteps of her potential rescuers grew more distant and her air less breathable with each passing second. There was no alternative other than a suffocating death. Taking what might have possibly been her last breath, she took the volatile seed in her paws, pressed it against the crumbling ceiling of snow, and snapped it in half.

At once, a great tongue of crimson fire erupted from the tiny kernel. It laughed and cackled, eager to be finally free of its shackles and eat away at the snow and fur. The explosion rattled the snow. Kida yelped weakly, pulling her paws away as the flames seared the fur on her arms. A torrent of lukewarm water rained down on her.

She kicked and struggled, trapped by the falling snow and meltwater caused by the Blast Seed’s fire. Kida screamed, only forcing more water down her stinging throat. Numbness froze her limbs and she could only twitch underneath the gurgling flood.

The vibrations returned in a fury, shaking the snow and water more than any earthquake. In a blinding instant, the thick iron claws of some huge creature clamped around her forearm. With a near-shoulder-dislocating lurch, Kida was pulled through several feet of half-melted snow and slush into the shaded surface. The moment she was free, she dropped to the ground, her legs instantly failing her. Kida gasped like a Magikarp on the shore, sputtering and heaving up lungfuls of water.

“Comman’r! Haya, o’er here! Found ‘er! Found Kalitka!” The contents of her stomach seared her throat alongside the taste of blood. Her lips trembled, matted with bile and blood while her burned paws clutched her stomach. The light, dim as it was, blinded her and she pulled her knees to her chest, shivering in the snow.

“Kal! Kal! Come on, Comman’r! Get up, ma’am!” After what seemed an eternity in the darkness, her mind flipped a small switch. The thickly accented voice slowly registered in her head to belong to Calur the Aggron. “Heyo! Efang! Get o’er here and help! ... Fer the love of Mew ... YES! Kalitka’s alive! No, I’m not see’n things!.... Oh gods... No! No! No! Efang, move! Gods!” Calur roared, making the snow vibrate under her prone body. A shadow loomed over her and a pair of huge, rough claws scooped her numb body from the frozen ground. She was pressed against the biting steel armor of the Aggron’s chest, but he didn’t let her go.

“D-Don’t worry, Comman’r... Ol’ Cal will git you outta this mess... I promise.” She couldn’t see much beyond her own paws and the giant Pokémon’s protective embrace. By the sudden lurches in momentum, she could tell that they were moving fast. “D-Don’t worry! I-I said n-not to worry, Kal! D-Don’t worry!”

As much as she was able, Kida was worrying. Calur was never one to panic. In all his years of service, even before she had joined Gold Squad, she’d never seen the veteran Aggron bat an eye at the worst war crimes and disadvantageous positions they’d been in. He was the literal rock on which she often steadied herself against, and now there was something she couldn’t see that had him scared out of his mind. For once, she was glad that she couldn’t see the threat.

Despite being in an openly hostile situation, the Zangoose was quickly losing the will to keep her eyes open. The jostlings of Calur’s movements only aided her desire to bury her wet and cold self into the Aggron’s arms and sleep. Even as she tucked her head into his armor she could still hear the panicked screams of the hardened soldier and the horrific host of feral roars that grew louder and louder with each passing second.

---

Thirteen Days Prior:

Silver Coast Imperial Palace— Hall of the Kings

---

Silver glittered from the walls of the final stronghold of aristocracy. The muffled sounds of the town gently drifted through the multitudes of open windows on the private, royal promenade. A stranger walked among these privileged halls. Her commoner claws clacked against the elegant slabs of polished marble lining the floors. Paintings of czars, kings, and princes long dead to the world stared at her from atop their mountains of golden spoils.

“Lucario the Explorer... Michael Peace-Taker... Peter War-Changer... Alexandria Queen of Elysium....”  The Zangoose addressed each portrait of past monarchs of Verus out of respect. Each hard, cruel gaze of the Lucarios only hastened her walk through the wide hall. The disapproving glares of the royal line beat down upon her: a mere commoner in the house of virtual gods of the land.

It seemed to be only her in the magnificent, empty palace. There was no patter of servants’ feet hastening to indulge their master’s wishes. There was hardly a sound in this wing of the Imperial Palace, and the slightest tap of her claws was echoed off the expansive marble flooring. Ahead, barely noticeable in the lavish, silver-gilded mansion, a hushed conversation wafted through an open study door. Taking a deep breath, Kida tightened her belt and straightened her scarf and badge.  

“Alexei... You must understand...— can’t expect you to see the reason why for the execution, but.... — I’m sorry, my son...” Kida gulped, hearing the distinct, hard-but-genuine tone of the current Lucario king address the royal prince. Bottling up her timidness under the effects of her most recent Encourage Seed, she raised her paw to the cracked-open, wooden door and gave a few soft knocks.

“Ah! She’s right on time! Wait right there, Alexei,” Nickolas’s voice boomed from within the study just before the door swung outwards, revealing the stern, but pleased Lucario, adorned in his casual attire—a single shining-silver sash and a thin band of gold encircling his forehead.

“Come in, Commander Kalitka. My Senate informs me that your squad has accepted the mission?” He stated, it not being a question she was supposed to answer. With a nod of her head, Nickolas moved aside, motioning for her to enter the lavish, private chamber.

She gave a slight bow and swiftly straightened her back. With the discipline of the soldier she’d been trained to be, Kida walked inside. The door clicked shut behind her immediately afterwards and the regal Lucario strode back to the center of the room. Holding her silence, Kida quickly glanced about the ornate study. Silver trim glinted softly off the pure white walls while the sunlight streamed in through the paneled window.

“It is good of you to come. I would very much like to discuss a matter with you...” Nickolas began, sitting back in a stuffed, velvet chair. However, a smaller voice interrupted.

“Father...? I-Is that her?” Kida gasped slightly, breaking her focus on the king’s stern expression and twisting to her left. Standing there, timidly turning over a piece of paper in his paws, was a Riolu. The older Lucario nodded, poorly hiding an exasperated sigh.

“Yes. This is the commander I told you about that would be visiting the palace. Her squad is—”

“Gold Squad! Heroes of Arbok’s Ridge and many, many more places in Verus!” The boy stated excitedly, his voice revealing his youth and also his closeness to adulthood. “I’ve read all about your squad’s deeds in quelling the Sapphiria region and Sawgrass Town! Oh, I’m so happy to meet you in person, Commander!” The royal prince’s face beamed as he happily recounted her team’s most infamous missions to date. Alexei’s paws grabbed onto hers and shook in an enthusiastic greeting. Kida’s eyes shot to the king, who looked disapprovingly at the scene and gave a slight shake of his head to her.

“W-Well, it’s certainly an honor to meet you as well, Your Royal Highness. I and my squad were simply doing our job for the Kingdom.” There, that wasn’t hard at all. Just a simple, respectable response. The Riolu in monarchical attire didn’t need to know that her squad had simply murdered the previous king of the neighboring kingdom of Sapphiria and sent the region into anarchy. And as for Sawgrass Town, Kida desperately hoped that the prince had only heard the censored version instead of the horrid details in that hell.

“Oh, no! It’s truly great to meet you! I’ve wanted to talk to one of you...” The prince’s voice faded into silence at a wave of the king’s paw.

“Yes, Alexei has often told me of his desire to see a squad leader. He admires you all so much...” Nickolas commented, overriding his son’s own statements while Kida remained respectfully silent. It would be utter insanity on her part to dare speak out against the Lucario.
“At any rate, thank you for indulging his curiosities. Perhaps you both may talk more another time...”

Alexei’s large eyes widened with the hope of another time. There was a small pause in the talk before the king waved his paw towards the door. With a resigned nod, the Riolu began to slowly walk out of the room. Part of Kida’s heart, which was trained to resist such emotional weaknesses, pained to see the eager prince forced from the chamber. He was almost old enough to be considered an adult and, in her opinion, he carried himself in such a manner— except for that childlike eagerness. He deserved something; he needed a memento to keep.

Thinking fast, Kida looked down at the weathered satchel on her shoulder. The brown, leather bag was among the thousands of others used by explorers the world over, yet this one carried the seal of the Kingdom embroidered with silver thread on the flap. She hadn’t packed it heavily— in fact, it was nearly empty from after her last mission. There was nothing of value left in it, maybe a few seeds, coins, and rope, but nothing more. With a shrug, she shook off the strap and held it in his direction, blocking his exit.

“W-Wha...?” He inquired, reeling from the sudden object in front of him. Trying to ignore the burning gaze of the king, she only jiggled the bag in front of him. His eyes looked to hers, asking without words if he could accept. She nodded.

“Take it. Go find your own adventures with it.” She smiled as the Riolu snatched the battered bag and clutched it to his chest protectively. He gave a rapid bow to her before nearly sprinting from the room. The instant the study door closed behind him, the king spoke up.

“... Normally, I would have not allowed that. My son should not be encouraged to crawl through some dungeon when he needs to be learning how to rule...” Kida cringed. This meeting was going downhill very fast. She needed to turn it around fast before she further insulted the ruler. “...But, I have not felt his happiness soar so high in a long time... Only his mother was capable of that... So, this time, I will allow him to keep the gift, Commander.”

A genuine thanks from the king was not something given every day. Bowing her head lightly, Kida stammered a hurried response. The tall Lucario shifted in his seat, placing one leg over the other. With a sweeping wave of his paw, he directed her to sit down on the plush couch opposite him. There was no hesitation on her part. He cleared his throat with a cough.

“... Now that we are alone, I wish to discuss with you the mission to Saltus Valley you accepted from my Senate...” Nickolas said, holding his paws together and staring at her. His striking, blue eyes commanded her complete attention. “You are aware that a disaster has occurred there, I assume. However, Kalitka, do you know that the leaders of Platinum, Diamond, and Silver Squads all rejected the mission?”

“... That is news to me, Your Majesty...” Kida replied calmly, but behind her stony face held a sudden flood of doubt. The Chancellor had not told her this when she accepted. The Scyther only gave her a cold smile and a curt nod while her pawprint and badge number were stamped the mission papers. “... Chancellor Darnéy did not inform me of that.”

Nickolas sighed and shook his head, however, not in disappointment. Kida couldn’t place the emotion, but the unbreaking gaze seemed to call out to her that she made a grave mistake.

“... Nothing can be done if you signed the papers. Backing out now is treason... While reversal is no longer an option, I want to take this chance in private conversation to tell you that the incident in Saltus Valley is not a mere rescue mission as the papers state.” The Lucario paused to undo his position, lean forward, and pour himself a small cup of Oran tea from an ornate pitcher to a glass cup. The liquid was no longer steaming, most likely several hours cold, but Nickolas seemed not to care. He raised it to his muzzle and drank in slow, measured sips.

“Your squad will face a great danger there, from what my sources tell me. Something horrible has happened there, and I, no, all of the Kingdom is relying on you to find the truth and destroy it,” His stern voice stated after he finished off the tea, placing the cup back on the saucer.

Kida simply sat there on the exquisite couch. Her paws pressed into the fabric while she listened and with his final statement, her claws extended, ripping into the stuffing. She wouldn’t act like she didn’t know what he meant. She had long been privy to the Kingdom’s orders to destroy any and all incriminating evidence of their mission and only leaving behind the praiseworthy details. However, the king had asked her to do something completely opposite of Senate’s mission.

“D-Destroy it? ... Sir, begging your pardon, but the mission told me to recover any artifacts found there...” Kida ventured, her face exuding confusion through her stoic persona. Nickolas nodded in affirmation.

“... Kalitka? Do forgive me, but I wish to share another topic with you briefly. Do you know your archaic mythology? Specifically from the very beginning of the Abysmal Eras before the Kingdom’s founding by Lucario the Explorer?” The Lucario asked, almost off-handedly, seemingly more concerned with flipping through a small, leather book he picked up from the table beside his tea cup.

“I do, Your Highness. It was part of my training to learn about the history of Verus... And I took great interest in the Abyssmal Eras literatures. I...” She trailed off, silenced by a wave of his paw.

“Good, good. Well, allow me to share a tale you may have heard before, then. I do hope you’ll indulge me and listen attentively, Commander.” Kida nodded immediately. There was no way she was going to show any signs of resisting him, however subtle they were. Nickolas held the power to sack her position on a whim, so she stayed silent for his tale.

“The Legend of the Marble King states that eons ago, before the Kingdom, there was a king who ruled a mighty state— truly a kingdom to rival all kingdoms, even this Kingdom. If the legends are to be believed, I only rule a fraction of his mighty empire...” He coughed once, flipping a few pages in the book. “There was great turmoil in his land. War was rampant, famine starving the world, and the death toll mounting... By his own hand, he crafted a way to end the war and begin the First Abysmal Era. A power so great that the resulting peace lasted for three thousand years...” He paused for a moment, glancing up at her. Kida straightened in her seat and perked her ears up.

“But in between the moment the war ended and the long peace, the king was driven from his city by his enemies. His kingdom broken down and destroyed—never to be recovered. It is claimed that as he fought to protect his city of light with all his might. Legend has it that on the day the siege broke, the king leapt up on the walls and tore away his royal attire and crown. He yelled to his soldiers that the he would not fall while breath remained in his body and fought among them as the walls fell.”

Kida patiently waited for the king to continue. She had heard this tale dozens of times before. It was among the most well-known legends of that age. Many politicians she and her squad spied and assassinated were fond of using it in their speeches to signify unwavering leadership. It was a huge, almost-sickening load of jingoism for whatever nation said Pokémon was from. However, instead of ending the tale where it usually did, in the famous last words and death, Nickolas continued.

“The enemies never found his body among the slain. According to the ancient accounts, an angel— some scholars say Cresselia, and I am inclined to agree— rescued him at the last moment. To spare his life, she spirited him away to the bitterly cold mountains in this very lands, just beyond Saltus Valley, or so they say. There, Cresselia froze him into marble, so that he would remain until he was awakened to reclaim his empire.”

Kida was still as a statue while the Lucario finished off his story. That had been a version she’d never heard before. She always thought the name “The Marble King” signified the ancient king’s resolute leadership and was not actually literal. A fancy analogy for politicians to use, nothing more.

Nickolas put down his book and looked into her with his piercing, blue eyes. For an instant, she was frozen where she sat.

“Commander Kalitka. Since you go into Saltus Valley, I urge you to listen to the myth’s advice. Do not wake the Marble King from his slumber. This world is not yet ready to face his wrath...”

With that, the meeting was over. Nickolas said nothing more to her. He ushered her to the door and within moments, Kida found herself standing outside the palace gates, somewhat dazed and bewildered at the whirlwind of events. He only wanted to tell her a story. A simple story. No vital information, no tips on how to tackle the mission, only a fairy tale.

She faced her waiting squad minus one exploration bag, a great deal of patience, and time they could not spare.

“Let’s go. We’ve got a lot of ground to over, boys...”

---

“My liege, these are very tenuous times... Gold Squad has failed in their objective. So, rather than endangering more lives, experts must be called in. Covert operations, sir. There is no alternative,” The mantis reported, a hiss ending his dialogue.

“... As much as I loathe the idea, it seems we have no other options.” The lupine figure slumped in his favorite ornate chairs, yet it brought him little comfort. Across from him, the creature he had come to call his rival glared back at him and nodded.

The future was sealed and a fresh shadow fell across the room. And the world.

---

End Chapter 3

---