Thunder struck the moment Gareda landed, causing several green scarved bird Pokemon keeping watch over the platform to reel and ruffle their feathers. The Garchomp came to a running stop, her own scarf folded several times from the heavy wind on her way here.

Her sensors felt the tension in the air as she walked past the other Soldiers. They all kept their beaks shut and saluted with a wing. Gareda resisted the temptation to crack a smile. Even with the back of her head bandaged, no one showed any disrespect. After the past few weeks of missteps and disappointment, it was a sight for sore eyes. No disorder, not a suspicious motion of any kind, Just pure concentration from the Crest’s finest.

That kind of moral support would go a long way as today’s events kicked off. Queen Patrina had called Gareda and the other Lords towards Luminity City for a report. This was a regular occurance, yet Gareda had been dreading this meeting in particular. It’s hard to steel one’s nerves when meeting Patrina without good news to share. Let alone empty handed.

‘Vli, Luffy… you two better have thought long and hard about those excuses you’ve come up with, I swear to Arceus itself.’

She tugged on her scarf a few times as she was being escorted up to the upper floors of the keep. A growl escaped her throat on the way. No Crest scarf fit her well before this, but they always tightened their grip on her throat when times were difficult. At the Battle of Agate. Fighting Alliance guerillas or cells. Visiting that blasted village. Even the injury on her head yielded every so often. This scarf? Never. And she wasn’t allowed to take it off. Ever.

Grumbling silently to herself, all eyes were on her as she entered the meeting hall with its red carpets and stained glass windows, green silk banners bearing the Vined Crest hanging from the ceiling. In the center stood a table decked with crystalline plates and special utensils designed for each participant. Gareda’s was a shovel with a hilt that fit around her talon: It lay on the plate closest to her, a straight shot from the entrance. Opposite to her, who else but the queen herself, glaring at her as she took her seat?

“You are late.”

Gareda shrugged. “My apologies. Flying with an injury is difficult.”

“How unlike you,” the Queen answered, a black flicker going through her red eyes for a split second. Gareda forced a deadpan expression onto her face. This wasn’t the first time.

“Leave it to that Prince’s lackeys to go for cheap shots. I took care of the problem right afterwards.”

“Right…” Patrina’s body rose until her head loomed over her three guests. She had coiled her tail right underneath her to manage. “Then let’s get started. This should not take much time, and the cooks are not waiting on us. Lord Dritch, your report.”

The Metagross sitting to Gareda’s right propped herself up against the floor, each thud of her legs echoing through the room. An armoured Togekiss at the entrance held on tight to their weapon. Fairies and steel did not go together well.

“Mmm, yes. Whitiara and surroundings have held up nicely over these past few months. It is quiet as usual. Mount Tenebrous’ slumber continues unabated, and the ancient tombs are at peace. The people are managing fine. According to my own calculations, my territory´s happiness and prosperity is increasing steadily,” she monologued. She spoke with all the enthusiasm of a secretary with insomnia.

“And what of the traitors, Lord Dritch?” asked Patrina, her tongue flicking out to taste the air. The smell of cooked food was as distant as ever. Gareda turned her eyes away.

‘At least my sense of smell isn’t defective like hers. Little victories, Gareda. Little victories.’

Dritch nodded. “Affirmative. Little activity has been detected in the past few months. We believe that the Alliance presence in Whitiara to be negligible, as no attacks on our troops have been detected. Furthermore, their activity consists of little more than simple acts of vandalism or attempts to spread propaganda. But there are concerns. The Smaugus clan that lives in Whitiara remains uncooperative and focused on themselves. Though there has been no sign of Alliance allegiance among the clan, we do struggle to win over their support.”

Queen Patrina’s long, serpentine body leaned forwards over the table, until the head and vines unfurling from her neck loomed over the Metagross. The guards did not react, and neither did Dritch.

“Double your efforts to bring the Smaugus clan into the fold. They hold a piece of the Azure Flute, just like the Tomb does. We cannot allow any sort of fifth column to exist within Eravatian society. As long as this situation persists, this peace you’ve won in Whitiara is only temporary, Lord Dritch. The Smaugus may very well align themselves with the Alliance, and darkness will spread over Whitiara as well. Consider your Mystery Dungeon situation.”

“We have kept them under control for the most part,” Dritch answered.

“For the most part does not mean absolute,” the Queen replied, flicking the end of her tail out of her coil. “I expect better.”

Gareda tapped the tips of her talons against each other. She was shielding her face with the fins on her arms.

‘I expect better, she says. When does she not expect better?’

“Understood, your majesty.” Dritch said, falling silent afterwards. Patrina’s eyes turned to Gareda’s left. There sat an Arcanine.

“Well then, lord Cerben. What of the Ruby province and the rest of your command? Do enlighten us.

Cerben let out a deep sigh. “We’ve been doing well.”

“Not like this!” Patrina hissed. “I have no interest in hearing you whine about how much you miss your brothers for the fifteenth time, do you understand?”

The Arcanine raised his head into the light of the chandelier hanging over the table. There was a faint shimmer in his eyes.

“Yes, your majesty. I understand.”

“Good! Now hurry up! We are wasting time here!”

Gareda tilted her head back and forth a few degrees. It was subtle enough to resemble boredom, rather than the world’s most pathetic headshake.

’Old dog doesn’t have much left in him. Fur’s all tangled, I haven’t seen anything except a frown on his face for years now… but of course she doesn’t care. Who in the world would ever care about family when you have power, after all…’

Cerben breathed in deep through his nose. For a moment, the frown weakened, but it was still there. “The Ruby province and the surrounding provinces under my supervision have been doing well. There is no sign of disloyalty among the biggest presences in society. The liveliness and trust central to our culture still remain, though everyone remains on their guard for potential Alliance infiltration. We have seen an increasing number of incidents, however, though nothing major has occurred. The Mystery Dungeon situation remains unchanged, there have been a handful of Anomaly outbreaks over the past year, though they have been contained each time.”

Patrina tilted her head. “And what of the tribes? Have they remained loyal?”

Cerben nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes they have been. Their piece of the Azure Flute remains secure.”

“Good, good.” The Serperior’s eyes fell upon Gareda at last. Glad to see her, they were not. “You.”

“Yes, your majesty?” Gareda tried her damndest not to growl while she spoke. ‘Here it comes. The beginning of the end. I should be able to slash my way through the guards if she loses her mind. Then it’s just a matter of getting home…’

“Where is he?”

The Garchomp buried her freshly emerged teeth under her talons. “Taken by the Alliance by force. We tried our damndest to get him back, but they were savvy enough to escape.”

“And the flute piece?”

“Lost in a similar fashion.”

Patrina hissed. “And you LET it happen?!”

“No, I didn’t let it happen, the Alliance put-”

“Excuses! Nothing but excuses! You utter SHAM of a Garchomp, you!!”

The sheer amount of venom in the Seperior’s eyes were enough to kill most poison types. Gareda’s scowl returned at the worst possible moment. She struggled to tell the difference.

“Listen, I’ve tried my damndest to get the situation under control, you hear? I spent years elsewhere in Eravate to get the situation under control there and got you results, and you admitted yourself that the Agate sector was a colossal mess when-”

Patrina’s eyes glowed an inklike purple as she lashed her side of the table with the lower half of her body. A thunderous crack rocked the room. Arcanine Cerben gasped and took a step back. Metagross Dritch did nothing and said nothing.

“This is not a damned game, lord GAREDA! We can not afford failure of this magnitude! That flute and that boy are our lifeline here! Remember what that flute is capable of! If the Seal is broken, Eravate is doomed! That power running amok will destroy civilization as we know it, and you know this better than anyone!”

Gareda sucked in a breath through her clenched teeth. “Yes, you’ve told me before. But I tell you that getting the situation-”

“Bah! Excuses once again!” Patrina’s tongue spattered blackened saliva all over her plate. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve had to sacrifice in order to keep ORDER? Do you know of the BURDEN that slumbers within me?”

“...yes,” was all Gareda uttered. ‘Nothing but power for yourself, what a harsh burden. We are in awe of you, your majesty.’

“Then look at me, and pay attention!” Patrina pulled herself away from the table, which now had a noticeable dent in it. Her eyes went back to their typical serpentine glare.

“You might have a myriad of accomplishments to your name, from squashing Alliance uprisings to breaking their grip over the North and the Dragonspine, but that was then. And we need you NOW. You know full well what will happen if the Alliance continues to have success. And what that will mean to you.”

Gareda said nothing. Her talons were anxiously tipping against her legs under the level of the table.

‘You wouldn’t dare…’

“You value this world. You value them. Do not falter from here on. Is that clear?”

“Perfectly clear, your majesty.” ‘Perfectly clear..’

Patrina nodded. “Good. Well then, let’s eat.”

* * *

An hour later, the now weary Garchomp sauntered her way through the busy, dreary streets of Luminity City, watching her step for any bundles of wires running through the streets. Two Soldiers went out with a stretcher over a busy intersection. On it lay a jittering Prinplup with a strong roasted smell coming off them. Gareda shook her head.

‘Luminity, not even once. Imagine if we actually bothered to fix up damaged wiring when it broke. Or better yet, put it out of reach so kids can’t touch it. Ugh… this damned city. Sooner I’m out of here to fortify home, the better.’

She tried to go across the city as inconspicuous as possible; easier said than done for a Garchomp of her size and stature. Nevertheless, she made her way to the cathedral to Arceus, the spire of which was like a beacon of hope in the narrow and crowded streets. This time, Luffy and Vli weren’t here to bother her. She’d told them to stay put for new orders, of which Patrina had given her plenty over dinner. Find out more about Alliance positions, then eliminate them, for the most part. That meant an awful lot of interrogating. A lot of hard rework for a reward that shouldn’t be a reward to begin with.

The Garchomp said a prayer at the cathedral before leaving for one last stop in the city. In all likelihood, it wasn’t a good idea to go there, especially not with a shroud she’d taken from the Cathedral under false pretences. Not for flying, not for her stop on the way back to Agate Township, let alone Agate Township itself.

Keeping a cool head in these times required sacrifices, alas.

“Yeah, what’ll it be?”

“One bottle of the best stuff you have. That’s all.”