Magna City Shining Congress – Main Lobby

[Namohysip]

"Your first objective should be to stop talking on their grounds," Mhynt murmured back. "The walls have ears. Surely, a Zoroark would know that."

Still, that he felt it safe enough to speak a little was some assurance. The pine needles on her tail quivered in the same way Owen usually thumped his tail on the ground to think.

"Would you mind meeting us again later?" she asked Gladius. "Perhaps we can speak more freely, if you have a location."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Gladius sniffed. "You think I don't know this place better than the back of my own paw?" he muttered. "But... sure, I guess. The knights' training field will do. We might not have long though, if your plan is going ahead like I think it is. Don't worry, I'm not warning anyone about it."

So, he had an inkling or so about the upcoming coup. At least it would come as a surprise to some, if he was truthful...

 

[Namohysip]

"...We'd need to know dates and times," Mhynt agreed, "and any schematics so we can get good positioning. I agree with halting the endgame... but when and how, and for what long-term outcomes, is still... abstract."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

"I intend to gather enough Radiance and Shadow to journey into the Astral Plains themselves, and wish for the perfect world I dream of.

At this, Kimiko had no response, her mind simply trying to fathom just what his plan was. Just how did he intend to gather a stockpile of Radiance and Shadow...? Surely, he had the Wayfarers in mind for their ability to wield them... but how far would he go, especially should they refuse to help? And what was this Astral Plane, and how would wishing for a solution create an answer? There was only one pokemon Kimiko could think of that granted wishes... But even then, this entire plan seemed like wishful thinking. Clearly, this was a bad idea.

But there was no polite way to say so; all she knew was that there was no chance in hell any of them were going to willingly help. In her mind, she was already preparing for an inevitable confrontation. And from the way Arthur's tone of voice seemed to fall at their less-than-enthusiastic reaction, he wouldn't need to be a psychic to come to the same conclusion. ...But on that note, he was a psychic, so there was no telling if he'd confirmed any of this already. If he could physically control another body - willing or otherwise - reading another's thoughts should be second nature.

"Y-yes, thank you for your time," she managed with an even voice as they began to filter out. "I hope we do get to speak further about this soon."

"You'd better not be seriously considering this shit.

If Kimiko still had eyebrows, she'd have raised them in surprise. "You have to ask?" She turned her head back down the hallway they'd just passed through, as if that would clue him in to what she was thinking...

"Your first objective should be to stop talking on their grounds," Mhynt murmured back. "The walls have ears. Surely, a Zoroark would know that."

"You think I don't know this place better than the back of my own paw?"

...but was beaten to voicing her concerns anyway. But seeing as it was Gladius, that didn't stop her from piling on. "Knowing the layout is one thing. But can you be sure he isn't in your head? Or ours? If he is, then all of this is moot anyway, but better not take that risk. We'll see you on the training grounds."

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Yeah, moot," Gladius scoffed – if Kimiko believed Arthur could get inside their heads right now, he'd already have done so. "I'll see whichever of you feel like a get-together tomorrow at high noon. Frontier-style, huh?"

He sniffed, and made to leave. "You all know the way out from here. Don't do anything stupid, and give your boss my regards."

Laura watched him go with her head tilted to one side. Was he making a play at flipping? Maybe she'd been right the whole time about destabilising the Covenant enough that dissenters started to defect... Or decide to 'go home'. What had Gladius left behind in his world that affected him so badly here?

"I need to talk to Gladion," she muttered.

One way or another, Gladius' work for Arthur was coming to a close.

<><><><><>​

 

[Jackie Cat]

When the Wayfarers arrived at the Congress' training grounds, late the following morning, Gladius was nowhere to be seen. He had never seemed the type to be tardy, but then, he was split half a dozen ways and overworked. A few Wayfarers raided the shed full of sporting equipment for a ball to kick around on the pitch, others sparred a little on the sandy battlefield area.

The sky was populated by low clouds, which greyed the open blue and threatened rain – or snow, if the frosty air and their soft whiteness were any indication. A crisp breeze chilled scale, fur and feather even further. For a brief period, solar noon brought a degree or two of warmth to the late winter air, and then it sank behind a cloud again, slowly turning from its height. Morning had turned to afternoon, high noon had passed.

Perhaps he'd just been waylaid. Or perhaps he didn't take this seriously. Or perhaps...

Perhaps something had gone wrong.

"It's been fifteen minutes," muttered Laura, eyeing the clock mounted to the gear shed. "Are we worried?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

While the Wayfarers kept themselves busy waiting for Gladius's arrival... something else appeared from the shadows. With silent hooves, a spectral horse stepped through the wall of the congress, lingering nosily behind the closest Wayfarer while their back was turned.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt was present, arms crossed, murmuring a few things to Zena thoughtfully. That was when Owen shifted within Mhynt's shadow and conveyed something that he spotted with his Perceive.

"I think we have some company," Mhynt murmured to herself, not letting her body language betray anything just yet.

Zena, meanwhile, continued to channel her water just to be sure she was in good physical form. "Do we have recourse?" she asked the others. "If he does not appear."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Spectrier was content to nose curiously at Mhynt's shadow for a bit, although his ears flicked forward with interest when Zena spoke.

"Ohh, you're meeting with Ser Iridium aren't you?" the shade horse piped up. "Or... should I call him Neo? He has so many names, I lose track. I think I saw him earlier...?" He cast a slow glance around the training pitch (which presently didn't seem to contain any of Gladius's various illusory identities) before looking back down at the ground.

"I saw you at the meeting with Arthur. Why are you a shadow?" Spectrier asked softly.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen considered his options and ultimately decided there was no point in hiding. He emerged slightly like a Feraligatr in a swamp. "I, uh... died. Sceptile's anchoring me." Good enough, and technically the truth.

"We intended to meet here, but... it seems someone is running late," Zena remarked.

 

[Tetra]

'Wake up babe, we're going to go hang out with the guy who tried to blast us to bits and works for the enemy we're fighting' - was not really how he wanted to begin his morning. Afternoon. Whatever. He'd lost track of time in few short days following that hellish fight against the beast (all that and he still hadn't evolved) and he'd slept through more of the morning than he liked.

Gladius was the enemy. Why were they buddying up to the guy who'd kept Betel prisoner, probably Starr and Jesse too and orchestrated the attack on the mesa? It was absurd. They couldn't trust him. Biting his tongue to stop himself muttering under his breath, he pushed down his frustration. Pushed it down with the torrent of other thoughts threatening to overwhelm him. Mostly thoughts about Arthur.

Arthur sounded insane. Was insane. Unnervingly like Him, bending the world to his will. Arthur was wrong and his plan was bad and dangerous and wrong. Except you thought he had a point. He supposed if stopping Arthur meant hearing out Gladius then fine, he'd avoid knocking the guys lights out. For now.

The emergence of Spectrier startled him from his thoughts. Briefly he wondered if the legend could be spying, perhaps inadvertently. Hopefully not. He waved to him.

---

"Are we even certain we can trust him?" Anubis remarked to Laura, returning from sniffing around the training grounds in hopes of detecting this 'Gladius'. He kept one eye one his trainer and the odd horse as he spoke. "Perhaps this was simply a one of his schemes."

 

[canisaries]

To bend reality to one's will. Andre couldn't deny such a power would have called to him in the past, but considering he'd recently come to the conclusion that he shouldn't have power over other people's lives, he'd have deserved godhood even less.

Was there actually anyone who could be trusted with such absolute power? Andre supposed that question wasn't burning as long as he knew Arthur couldn't be. Not only had the Wayfarers only recently met him, the way the others had spoken about him wasn't favourable. Not even his previously loyal Gladius liked his plan. That was a warning sign.

That, and the fact that even with the purest of intentions, sticking one's fingers in the fabric of the universe was bound to cause problems...

---

While the appearance of the Spectrier of legend was certainly something, Ben had to focus. He didn't know so much about all this reality-warping stuff, but he did know that Andre had invited himself, and that meant Ben had to be there to make sure no one would accidentally make the mistake of trusting the human-turned-deerling too much.

Though it also sounded like Andre's wasn't presence wasn't the only wrinkle in their plan...

Ben had to hope it would all work out.