Frontier Town Frontier Town Outskirts

[Ambyssin]

"So, that was his latest message to you?" Nova said to Archie. "Huh. Well, if shadows are tied to negative emotions, I can think of a number of 'em that'd give Powehi cause to tell us to stay the hell away from that place." Not that Nova had even gone there to begin with.

"Powehi, uhh, mention anyone else who might be trying to repel Cipher?"

 

[Tetra]

Koa shivered at the idea of Powehi. It was one thing that Seth had... defended himself. But the rest of it... Powehi didn't sound very friendly or benevolent. He wasn't sure what to think of his methods either.

He offered Archie a nod before speaking. "Archie is right. They did what they could. But if Powehi is the voice we've been hearing in our dreams he's been unclear and unhelpful. We're hardly going to let Cipher keep operating and now that we are here we don't exactly have a way home anyway. So I hope you can give us a better idea of how to stop them than he is." Not to mention there was the matter of Alex...

He considered his next words for a moment before asking, "Speaking of, have you ever heard of a Zweilous named Alex Xander?"

 

[HelloYellow17]

I dropped the first couple goons who came for her, but once she realised who I was, she split.

Wes should have figured. He really, really should have expected this answer. And yet, hearing those words from Seth hit like a set of powerful claws raking across his chest.

“So…she found out who you were and bailed?” he murmured weakly. “Just like that?”

He supposed his instincts to hide his identity from Rui had been right all along. A tiny voice somewhere in his mind whispered that the girl Seth met had been a different Rui, that they wouldn’t necessarily react the same…but he decided that didn’t matter. The hurt in Seth’s eyes as he’d spoken about her was enough to convince Wes: his Rui would never know. He would make sure of that.

He only wished such a conclusion didn’t leave him feeling so hollow, so…alone.

The others were all taking their turns talking, tossing questions at Seth left and right. Wes was only partially paying attention, his head spinning with everything he’d learned, weariness clouding his senses. He staggered, then sat back down in the sand a bit more heavily than he intended. The others could keep pressing the Wolf for answers. Wes was…done. Spent.

Though he did still find himself lucid enough to catch something Koa said. Who the hell was Alex Xander?

 

[Sinderella]

So their little shadowy voice had a real name now. Powehi. Truthfully, she liked how Beelzebub sounded more but that was neither here nor there. At least now they knew exactly what to refer to it as. She was momentarily caught on Seth pointing out Koa's beef with Wes--she'd noticed they weren't exactly being friendly, but had been too busy not to die to really take it in--and had a moment to mull it over. She thought she was friendly with both of them, but if they fucking hated each other...what kind of beef would someone like Wes have with a kid anyway? Did he steal Koa's lunch money or something?

Or maybe he did the standard "adult berates child for being a stupid child" thing. Yeah, the thing she knew would make a kid like Koa go fucking ballistic? Honestly, she had a much better time believing that.

Whatever. This was not the time to be dissecting the possible relationships between people she knew.

Seth going on about how Powehi was twisted about the fact that they were all here wasn't surprising. In fact, it might have been the least bit relaxing knowing his story was lining up with what she'd been told or implied to so far. Powehi was likely the one talking to everyone in their dreams, Powehi was likely the head of the organization that Alex Fuckheads was working for, and most of all, Betel was likely just as inexperienced as she'd surmised to Koa. Which was fucking great.

Our summoner must be the new unpaid intern, she thought. She wanted to say it aloud but she also wasn't keen on pissing Betel off either. Could Betel hear he thinking about it, though? Gods, she hoped not.

Koa asking about Alex had her pointing to him. "Yeah. Has his second head chained shut. Said some shit to us about 'working for an organization' that apparently has access to organic shadows and whatnot. Your Powehi and him might be butt buddies."

As she was talking, something else came to the forefront of her mind. The whole "a human criminal organization from a human world is bouncing back and forth between their world and Forlas for means of Shadow" was throwing her over all kinds of loops.

"So the reports over your little poster were saying you're wanted for physically assaulting other 'mon. Were those other 'mon all Cipher ops? Or just other fuckheads like us getting too close to your shallow grave?" she asked. She still didn't understand the point of guarding the grave. If the zoroark was buried deep enough, and others came look for him, they'd have a much harder time finding him without a cracked out lycanrock standing over it and biting anyone who got too close. He was practically giving himself away.

"How did you even figure out who was Cipher and who wasn't? Everyone here is a Pokemon, and unless you've lived here your whole life, I imagine it'd be kinda difficult to figure out who dropped in from another world and who's a native. Is there a specific point they all come in from? Do you tail your suspects for a while?" She hesitated. "Does Powehi tell you?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

“So…she found out who you were and bailed? Just like that?”

Seth shrugged. "Just like that. But fuck, what was I supposed to do, lie about it? I'm not a fuckin' idiot. I'd rather own who I am."

“The last thing Powehi said to me was not to return there. But I don’t know if that’s something that’s going to be possible… Our summoner is doing the best they can, but… they aren’t a master at this. So, any insights that you can convince Powehi to share with us, I’m sure we’d all appreciate it. We all want the same things, so we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”

"So, that was his latest message to you? Huh. Well, if shadows are tied to negative emotions, I can think of a number of 'em that'd give Powehi cause to tell us to stay the hell away from that place. Powehi, uhh, mention anyone else who might be trying to repel Cipher?"

"Archie is right. They did what they could. But if Powehi is the voice we've been hearing in our dreams he's been unclear and unhelpful. We're hardly going to let Cipher keep operating and now that we are here we don't exactly have a way home anyway. So I hope you can give us a better idea of how to stop them than he is. Speaking of, have you ever heard of a Zweilous named Alex Xander?"

"So the reports over your little poster were saying you're wanted for physically assaulting other 'mon. Were those other 'mon all Cipher ops? Or just other fuckheads like us getting too close to your shallow grave? How did you even figure out who was Cipher and who wasn't? Everyone here is a Pokemon, and unless you've lived here your whole life, I imagine it'd be kinda difficult to figure out who dropped in from another world and who's a native. Is there a specific point they all come in from? Do you tail your suspects for a while? Does Powehi tell you?"

Seth looked like he was considering braining himself with a sizeable rock there and then.

"Scorching sands, you guys sure can talk," he muttered. "And you don't really like taking 'no' for an answer, do you? Look, if you thought I was stubborn, you're gonna learn the real meaning of it if you try arguing with Powehi. His position? You should all fuck off back home, ASAP. 'Unclear and unhelpful', pfft. Why the fuck would he be clear and helpful if he thinks your continued existence is hastening the world falling to pieces? Gods alive. And, uh, no I've not met this Alex guy, no."

He shot a glare at Odette from under a forward-hanging shock of pale hair.

"Do you wanna know, or do you just feel better about getting your ass dropped when you insinuate I get my kicks beating up random fucking people? Shut your fucking mouth. I recognise half my targets from fighting them in my world, and the rest have non-Forlasan aura signatures Powehi can identify. Like yours."

The Lycanroc looked back at the exposed corpse with a hateful expression.

"You know Zoroark can use illusions to look like anyone? This piece of shit impersonated me and attacked random travellers. Either to make everyone terrified of me so I'd never have a safe place to shelter, or to draw me out to clear my rep, or just 'cause that's how he gets his rocks off, I don't fuckin' know. He was a scumbag back home, and fucking impossible to keep locked up. I'm fucking glad he's dead."

Seth was shaking again, taking rapid, thin breaths. Was he trying to persuade the Wayfarers, or himself?

 

[Ambyssin]

"If we could 'fuck off back home,' I'm sure some of us would've done that already. But we can't." Nova looked upward. As if Powehi was somewhere in the sky. "So, being vague and unhelpful only serves to keep us here longer." And make more it likely they'd have to kick his ass to force him into talking. Great.

At the very least, it sounded like neither Seth nor Powehi were aware of the Covenant, though. "Besides, it sounds like we have information that you're both lacking. I don't think shadows and Cipher are the only thing wrong with this place."

 

[Weazel]

“Uh, well… Among other things,” the Oshawott said, glancing back at Nova and folding his arms tighter over his chest. “But it’s like Nova said, we can’t go home even if we wanted to. Not until the job’s done. So if Powehi wants us gone, quickest and easiest way is going to have to involve cooperation.”

Or killing them all. But he’d rather not give the murderer any ideas.

“Well, Alex claimed he was also working for the source of organic shadow in this world, and he also said that he had no idea who you were,” Archie continued, “so, by the sound of it, Powehi is keeping you secret from each other.”

Or one or both of them was lying. Which was frustratingly plausible, and he lacked any evidence to prove anyway. But… Seth was shaking really bad again. Was he hyperventilating? Not getting enough air? The Oshawott stepped up, and put his paw on the red Lycanroc’s shoulder.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, trying to look the Lycanroc in the eyes. Was this a normal amount of red for him, or were they bloodshot? Or worse, was he sinking back into the shadow corruption? “Do you need to stop and rest?”

Were they pushing him too hard? He was pretty badly corrupted by his own admission. Maybe they shouldn’t push him too hard? He glanced from the Lycanroc back to the others.

“Try to go easy on him, guys,” he said.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Well... Some heroic spirits actually have fucked off back home.

I suppose not every soul is compatible with this world, in the end...​

 

[Ambyssin]

A bit of spit went down Nova's windpipe and he coughed into his mask.

"The hell? Do I need to find where you're hiding and wash your mouth out with soap? You're too young to talk like that!"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Seth made a face at Archie. "I'm fine, Fedora, lay off."

It seemed that Seth's aura hadn't recovered enough in the short space of time since the fight to generate more than trace Shadow – not to mention Seth was a deeply prideful fellow. But there was a kind of appreciation buried in the snarky response. 'Fedora' was better than 'asshole', surely!

The Lycanroc raised a brow at Nova's coughing fit. "You okay there, champ?"

I am not sure I have a mouth...

Anyway, I am not sure it really matters? I am tapped into the Forlasan noosphere and have a full understanding of all languages. As such, I know over seventy-two thousand curse words.​

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven had hung back ever since he'd had help extricating himself from the crack in the valley wall. No need to call further attention to it. It was embarrassing enough that he'd gotten stuck, let alone why he was stuck there. Still, he gave Leaf a thankful nod, and Archie a reassuring smile.

Keeping a wary distance from Wes, he watched the scene unfold. When they uncovered the body, he kept an even healthier distance from Seth.

Despite that, Steven couldn't help the pang of sorrow as Seth finally spilled his story. He'd been through so much. He'd been tortured. Had his pokemon taken from him. Shadowed. He'd been shadowed. It was no surprise Seth was bitter and combative. It was also no surprise he wasn't interested in pity or mercy.

What was a surprise though, was something Seth said.

"Wait, did you say this Cipher has a portal machine?" He piped up from the back of the group. "As in, there is a way for Cipher to have a constant stream of people in and out of Forlas at will?"

 

[Sinderella]

"Do you wanna know, or do you just feel better about getting your ass dropped when you insinuate I get my kicks beating up random fucking people? Shut your fucking mouth. I recognise half my targets from fighting them in my world, and the rest have non-Forlasan aura signatures Powehi can identify. Like yours."

You know what? Never fucking mind. We should kill him and call it a night.

Her expression didn’t change, but her fingers twitched for the gun hiding in the backside of her garterbelt.

No! We’re not fucking killing anyone here. Gods, she’d already gotten the sidelong glares and pointed commentary for screaming at the drapion, but imagine if she just hauled off and shot this guy between the eyes? She didn’t want to think about it.

She licked her teeth, having half a mind to point out that he was the one who’d gotten “dropped” by her in the end, but she both didn’t have the energy to argue with the idiot herself, and didn’t want to risk getting him to shadow up again. Archie was standing next to him, and she wasn’t going to contribute to almost getting someone killed because she flared up again.

“I just wanted to know; I wasn’t insinuating anything by it. Just trying to piece things together.” She shot a glance at the zoroark, his explanation on that further answering her suspicions. It was there to frame him? That…sucked. She wanted to say something along the lines of “He deserved what he got, then,” but judging by Seth’s inflection as he finished off his explanation, she was willing to bet that wouldn’t go over well with him. Or anyone here, really.

“Thanks for answering.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Seth kept his haunted gaze on the corpse. Until recently, it had looked like his own face, hadn't it...?

"Yeah. There's a limit to it, though. It can't be cheap to run something like that, right? Loked like it used a ton of energy. Plus, I may have, uh... thrown a spanner in the works on my way out. And concussed some egghead goons working on it."

He shot a dark look at the Wayfarers.

"Don't go feeling sorry for those shitstains, either. They're all in on the shit they do to make Shadows."

 

[Ambyssin]

Everything Seth said about this Cipher group spat in the face of the Coven’s beliefs. Something something "humans are the real monsters" and all that jazz.

"Well, it’s a lot to digest," Nova said. "And we really ought to start heading back." He looked skyward again. "That’s going to have to include you, too. At least until Frontier Town has its election. There’s a chance whoever the new mayor is offers leniency if we explain things. And say you’re cooperating with us."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Seth stiffened, his eyes still on the corpse.

"Leniency, huh?"

 

[Weazel]

Archie snickered at The Wolf. For all his attempts to act belligerent, Seth definitely had what the Oshawott would consider the standard tough guy act sort of response to expressions of concern. And, well, if he still had it in him to act put upon by Archie’s concern, he probably was in a decent enough headspace, at least, that any sort of shadow resurgence was unlikely. For now, at least. Still, he shot Odette an appreciative grin, as well, glad she, at least, seemed to be taking his request to go easy on the red Lycanroc seriously.

And then Nova said they were taking him back to Frontier Town.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Archie challenged. “He’s got the second highest bounty of any I’m aware of right now, I don’t think the townsfolk are going to be particularly interested in hearing us out. They’ll put him in irons at best. He needs a doctor, not a jail cell.”

 

[HelloYellow17]

Seth shrugged. "Just like that. But fuck, what was I supposed to do, lie about it? I'm not a fuckin' idiot. I'd rather own who I am."

Ha. If Wes had the energy, he might have scoffed at this response. There was a time and a place for owning up to who you were, and it sounded like Seth had only managed to make his life harder by choosing to be transparent. So what if choosing to hide meant he was taking the coward’s way out? Honesty had never helped him before, and it wasn’t going to now.

He managed a tiny, weary smile at Archie showing his concern for the Wolf. Good to know that the Oshawott was still…himself, especially after the night they’d all had.

He snapped at attention though once Nova mentioned heading back to town, not missing the way Seth tensed at the idea. Was there even a Snorunt’s chance in hell that he would willingly come with them? Wes doubted it, but…did they have a choice?

“Are we sure we can trust that this new mayor is gonna be willing to hear him out?” Wes growled. Seriously, why was everyone so quick to trust that guy? Were they forgetting who his father was, and how much he’d profited in both wealth and station thanks to that? “You do realize Frontier Town has had an inconsistent definition of justice up till now, right? What makes you think this mayor is any different from the last one?”

His lip curled. “I’m not a sellout. And I’m sure as hell not gonna hand over anybody to Lucien just because he asks me to.”

 

[Tetra]

Despite Koa's attempt to stay calm it was impossible to resist shooting Wes a disdainful and scathing glare. Blinking, he looked away again, quelling the snarl in his throat.

"Lucien is nothing like his father." He couldn't keep the icy edge from his voice. With some difficulty he turned his gaze on Seth, forcing his voice to stay even as he addressed him. "The real danger is your team. And Cipher finding out who you are." There was genuine concern in his tone, if not for Seth at least for his pokemon.

"If you come back with us, even when you got a fair trial everyone would know who you are, and Cipher would definitely know. We can't risk exposing you for no reason until we try to stop them. They're the real enemy. We have to figure out a plan."

 

[Ambyssin]

“Lucien’s not on the ballot,” Nova said. “Feel free to tell anyone who will listen not to write him in. He doesn’t really want the job.”

He shrugged. “You don’t get real medical attention out here. And it’s not like a large group of us can arrange to keep meeting with you without someone finding out.” There was no magic solution to this. “I’d sooner lie and say it was justified self-defense against a zoroark who’d been impersonating you and then tried to kill you.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Lucin never asked us to hand anyone over to him," Steven said, maybe a little too sharply. His eye snapped towards Wes in an unwavering stare, until he realized what he was doing and backed away, tilting his gaze down and away. His voice was more submissive when he spoke again.

"He may be the Marshal of the town as well as the one who asked us to check on the Wolf's activity, but he asked us to come here on an investigation, not an apprehension."

He hazarded a glance towards Seth.

"If all Lucien was interested in was claiming a bounty and locking up a criminal, he'd have sent as many hunters as he could to track the Wolf down."

Steven's mind drifted back to their meeting prior. Lucien trusted the Wayfarers; the first time anyone has spoken to him as anything other than a figure of authority. He nodded to himself, giving Seth a longer look this time. "More than anything else, I think Lucien is interested in the truth. And if the truth is the Wolf is an ally and not a threat to the town's safety as Cipher would have them believe, that's truth enough for me."