//------------------------------// // All aboard the Death Train (Day 7) // Story: A New World, A New Conflict // by Evowizard25 //------------------------------// Sev had never before been so determined in his life. Okay, once. That was kind of under the same circumstances, but at least he knew where his sister was then. He had no idea where she was now. That just made him angry…er. Which was quite a feat that even impressed himself. He would certainly show the ones responsible the consequences of that accomplishment. Right now however, he still had to gather his army. He slithered back and forth across the whole of the train station several times. Several great soldiers, both his own and King Trotankhamun’s, stood triumphantly in front of him. Each and every one of them were in uniform, wielding weapons that could do the job and more. He had no doubt that with but a handful he could conquer the world. Sev didn’t want the world. He wanted his sister back. He wanted to slither on over to whatever oaf was stupid enough to lay a finger on his beloved sister and break them in every way possible. He was going to do it, Arceus willing. Between every few breaths, besides cursing his enemies names, he sent prayers to Arceus, hoping for him to keep Lia safe. Sev didn’t doubt the god would. “Where is everyone?!!” Sev shouted in rage, his tail lashing out in agitation. “Still preparing,” Ag said, trying to put her commander at ease. “Char’s recent raid stirred up a lot. I’ve been training even more soldiers then I thought I would and we had to fight them back almost literally when we decided to make this trip. We’ve kind of made a big impact.” “I don’t care about impacts,” Sev hissed. “Unless they are on my enemy.” General Pert gestured around himself. “Yes, I know hitting an opponent isn’t enough….” Pert tapped his head. “Of course, we shall outthink them. We are led by me, the great and powerful Commander Sev! I’m am the cleverest being alive.” Pert made a few more gestures. “Do not worry, my friend. We will be done by sundown and you shall have crushed many slaver heads.” Pert grinned. There was no real secret about General Pert. When he was young, a little Mudkip, he was owned by a rich human who took good care of him. Unfortunately, being rich had its drawbacks. A few humans wanted to use Pert to blackmail the human. During the heist, the old man died of a heart attack when they got a little too hasty.  With that bust, they sold him into the slave trade, more specifically those fight to the death tournaments. Pert was a spoiled brat, so he whined all the time….They cut out his vocal cords to shut him up, leaving that scar across his throat. Ever since then, he had been fighting in the arena. He soon become nigh unbeatable. He mellowed out as well, looking out for the others, even though he had to fight them sometimes. Sev had saved him and ever since then, Pert had been a steadfast ally. He was easily one of the strongest members. He even gave Ag a run for her money. Having him here, Sev was sure that the slavers would be broken. Pert showed slavers no mercy…Ever. “My lord!” Char ran up to them. His uniform was disheveled and his hat tilted sideways. He stopped and saluted before him. “I am present and ready for duty, sir.”  Sev sniffed the air and grinned. “You finally got her, I see.” Char blushed and Sev laughed. “Do not fret. You deserved it.” Char looked away. “No I don’t….but if she wants me, I’ll make her happy.” “Do not sell yourself so short,” Ag spoke up, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You’re a great kid and she’s lucky to have you.” “And I her,” Char smiled. “Are we ready to depart? My blades sing for the blood of heathens.” “Soon,” Sev grinned and then Gard teleported over with the rest of the soldiers. “Or rather, now.” He slithered over to his oldest friend. “Get them on the train. I want these villains dead by nightfall.” “It may take some time,” Gard said. “Hyena Dogs have intricate burrows. Flushing them out may take days.” “We don’t have days,” Sev hissed in anger. “I want her this day. I will have her.” Gard nodded. “You will, I assure you my friend. Until then, I and Joy will look after our remaining soldiers and such things here while you’re gone.” “You’re not coming with?” Gard frowned and bowed his head. “The locals, while warming up to us, would like nothing more than to usurp our king and us. I must make sure that the country doesn’t tear itself apart during his majesty’s trip.” Sev nodded. “Yes…politics. I miss the days when we just did whatever we wanted.” “Indeed,” Gard said. “Sev….” Joy stepped out from behind him. She was wearing her old nurse outfit. No doubt made by the PLA’s dressmakers. “Please, be safe.” Sev hugged his mother. “I will and so will Lia.” Joy’s hug was strong and firm. She rubbed her tearing eyes into his scales. “I don’t want to let go….I…I know you’ll get in trouble, like you always do. I don’t want to have to patch you up again. It kills me when I see you like that.” “I’ll make it back in one piece,” Sev said in determination. He pulled back to look her in the eyes. “I shall be victorious.” Joy sniffed and sniffed. “I know,” she said. Sev kissed her head and then lowered his own for her to kiss. “I love you.” “I love you too,” Sev smiled and then moved to the train. “GET ON THE TRAIN, YOU WORTHLESS SPACE! I WILL TEAR THIS COUNTRY APART! DON’T BE APART OF THAT DESTRUCTION!....No, be a part of that destruction, but don’t get destroyed during my rampage, which will be magnificent…Just get on the train!” ‘I’m coming Lia,’ Sev thought as he watched the soldiers run into the train. “Don’t have to tell them twice, Sev.” Trotankhamun smirked as he walked up to him. “Yeah,” Lightning smiled, landing beside the Seviper. “Boy,  you’ve got a pair of lungs on you.” She playfully prodded her ears. Sev noticed that she was wearing some armor. “Why are you….?” “Coming?” Lightning smirked. “I couldn’t let you guys have all the action. Besides, we didn’t get to finish that date…not that I’m complaining, cause who would want to date an idiot.” She scowled, vainly looking away to hide her blush. “Just don’t flirt or anything. I don’t like you, okay.” Sev smirked and before she could do anything, he nuzzled her and kissed her forehead. “No promises,” he said, ducking from her strikes. He slithered into the train, laughing. “Get back her, you snake!” Lightning chased after him, ready to pummel him into submission. King Trot sighed. “This is going to be a long trip.” He quickly turned in surprise when Vapora jumped General Char. She was kissing him passionately, wearing a white dress. She was wishing him well in between kiss. Trot chuckled. "It'll be worth it though." _________________________________________________________________________________ Doctor Caballeron couldn’t help but feel happy. Oh yes, Loving Note was terrifying, not to mention Crowland and the threat of the zebra king. All of that was scary to consider, but that was behind him. He was in the clear. So, he just sat in one of his fancy cabins in a boat somewhere off shore. He took the opened himself up a bottle of wine and sniffed it longingly. ‘Three-hundred years old. Such a small number when compared to some of the other wines I’ve tasted, but no matter. It will do.’ This wine alone could’ve supported several families here in Zebrica. He didn’t give a thought to them. No, he instead poured himself a glass. The rich redness made him, for a split second, think of Thrist. Out of all of his accomplices in this, she was the only one he truly worried about. The Hyena Dogs? Already cleared. Yes, they’d turn their new weapons on him if they could, but he’d be long gone before they could. The zebra rebels? They were civil and had no idea Caballeron was working the Hyena Dogs nor about the Thirst. They’d kill him if they did. He was already on shaky ground with them for simply being a pony. They however were already done and the deal sealed. Thrist and her Thirst warriors? They were a wild card. He didn’t know what to make of her, other than her wish to take back the Griffin Empire for her own goals. He really didn’t care. As long as she didn’t sacrifice him, she could do what she wanted. He took a sip, savoring the flavor. “Ah, exquisite.” Caballeron did regret hurting that little girl pokemon so much, but he didn’t have a choice really. He was losing power. He needed to show others he was on top of his game. He was. He chuckled. ‘Soon, I’ll be richer than my wildest dreams.’ War was coming and war was profit. Yes, there wasn’t that much profit out of it these days, since there hadn’t been any major wars in hundreds of years. It was mostly just small skirmishes or the occasional monster/daemon. Now however….That was about to change. This nation was ripe with conflict. Soon, the rebels would pipe up. Caballeron knew it would be short. Not as short as it was before, with the pokemon and all, but they had his guns. They’d mince the loyalists to pieces. It was the Dogs that would give them pause. Both sides had his cannons. Both sides would want better cannons to beat the others. Caballeron would give them better weapons, the cycle would continue. Yes, life was looking good for him. All because someone didn’t like someone else. _____________________________________________________________________ “So,” Crowland Tempo glanced at his new companion. The three of them were sitting inside a small cave with a small fire lighting its way. Yes, it was daytime, but the sun could barely make it through the tree tops. That and the fire was a good deterrent to predators. Not perfect, but good enough. “What are you?” The big chameleon just said, “Kecleon.” Crowland sighed, knowing full well that’s pretty much all it could say. “Right, I really need to find a translator.” He grumbled. His last translator crystal was destroyed when he went hunting a rather vicious dragon on the outskirts of Equestria. The dragon had been terrorizing small towns and the local militia weren’t having the best time of warding it off. Thankfully, it wasn’t ‘that’ keen on killing ponies, so no real losses…so far. Crowland decided to play the part of the hero, while bagging an impressive kill. Not before the dragon destroyed his camp. He lost a lot of good stuff then, including his translator. “Hungry, little fella?” He asked, holding out some strips of bacon. The Kecleon nodded, moving closer. His scaly hands quickly gripped onto the meat and stuffed his face with it. Crowland grinned. “Knew you’d like it,” he scratched underneath Little Lady’s chin, causing her to coo in delight. “Little Lady here is a sucker for the stuff.” The Kecleon started to speak in its tongue with Little Lady. Crowland was content on just letting them talk for now. He had a lot on his mind. His quarry was being elusive, which was irksome. The large, two legged lizard-dragons shouldn’t have been hard to find. ‘Shouldn’t’ was a word he loosely used. A lot of his game was tricky in their own ways. He’d find them soon. What troubled him was how he was going to get out of the country. He wasn’t dealing with Caballeron anymore, not after their last venture together. As well, the locals weren’t too keen on him. He needed to get to Bridleton. The question was, could he do it before the country blew? Yes, there was no question about that. He was good at getting out of sticky situations. That’s when he felt it. His little tracker went off. The little pokemon gal was out of Caballeron’s hooves. The deal was off. Crowland smirked. “Well, looks like we’ve got a rescue mission on our hands.” He grabbed his crossbow. “Who likes doggy steaks?” __________________________________________________________________________________ Being a Kecleon can get you in some sticky situations. They’re sneaky, inquisitive, and tend to tempt fate. This Kecleon counted his lucky stars that this creature didn’t eat him. Whatever it was, it was clearly a predator. A very skilled one, not even mentioning the human equipment it had. ‘Perhaps it’s a human raised pokemon, or one the natives?’ Whatever it was, it couldn’t understand him, while he could understand it. Thankfully, the Spearow on his shoulder could translate. “You’re stupid,” the Spearow, Little Lady, said. “What?” The Kecleon was taken aback by her statement. “You tried to steal from a predator,” Little Lady stated. “A predator several times your size, mind you. I know he isn’t a pokemon, but he’s more than capable of killing one. He’d give any of us a run for our money.” “Then why are you staying with him if he’s so dangerous?” “Cause he’s nice,” Little Lady cooed as he rubbed underneath her chin and around her head. “You’ll see.” Maybe he would see. If what she said was true, that kind of made him her trainer. So…did that mean he was caught? ‘Well, dang.’ He was going to have to deal with it for now. His trainer looked like he was going somewhere, so he needed to be ready to defend him. “Well, looks like we’ve got a rescue mission on our hands,” the creature, Crowland, smirked and grabbed his strange gun. “Who likes doggy steaks?"