Crystal Forest: Manifest Destiny.

Kira crawled low to the ground and followed Copper into the bushes, "Psssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst... What's going on? What do you see?"

The meowth turned to look at the Ninetales then peered back through the bushes.
"This was my destination. The residence of two dear friends of mine. But something's strange. I could swear I saw something flying above it a few moments ago..." He thought a moment. "I'm going to go assess the situation. Follow me if you wish or remain in the bushes." The meowth rose from his prone position and emerged from the bushes. "Mister Voltico? Miss Nadia?"

Kira peeks her head out of the bushes, "I'll just wait here, okay?"

Volt froze and spun around at Copper's voice. When he saw Meowvee standing in the clear, scratches and bruises covering his body, he felt relief flood through his body. "I should have known better than to worry about you, little Mutt," he said, smiling. To his side, Nadia breathed a sigh of relief. "But just what trouble have you gotten into, now? You look terrible. And who's your friend in the bushes?" Despite her attempts to conceal herself, the Ninetails' presence was patently obvious, at least to Volt's trained senses.

"Mister Voltico... Miss Nadia...", The cat said relievedly, ears perking up happily. "I'm so glad to see you both again. I've been on a bit of an adventure and I'm afraid I won't be able to remain here very long. While I was away from the manor to consult with you... there was an attack by a group of wild pokemon, rebels, it seems. A young servant, my friend Elian was..." He looked at the ground shamefully, eyes beginning to tear again. "It was my negligence that left her in danger. But now she's dead and I'm a fugitive of my country. The files you need are in your den, under a thin mound of dirt. As I brought them here, however, the humans followed me. Rather than let them discover your den, I let them take me away from the clearing. I was incarcerated for maybe 10 hours. That's where she came in." The meowth motioned toward the ninetales in the bush. "She orchestrated my escape. Not that I was in much of a rush to leave and make my punishment harsher, but I realized you would need someone to translate those files for you." The cat breathed violently, trying to catch his breath from the long journey and the subsequent tedious recounting of it all. "So, how was your day?"

"Oh, first I convinced a group of kids not to needlessly throw their lives away. But then I had to figure out some way to appease the war-minded among us, and so now, after leading said kids to Valley Haven, I have agreed to assemble a team of powerful pokemon capable of showing the humans that the forest is and always will be ours. Broken promises aside, I'd say I'm doing rather well."

Nadia nudged Volt warningly. "Bitter sarcasm may be well and fine in less serious times, but right now I think you'd better keep your head."

Sighing, Volt conceded. Turning back to Copper, he returned the conversation to important subjects. "Now, you said you would translate the human script on those documents for me?"

The cat stood there in shock. "Y-you..." The meowvee couldn't find any words to express his feelings at the moment. "Yes...", He said in a dull, almost monotone voice, "I'll do what I can for you, Mister Voltico..." The cat downtroddenly passed the two eeveelutions, entering the den to come face to face with a Flareon. "Um... Hello..." The cat said awkwardly, "You must be one of Voltico's rebels..."

"Hello," said Flare in response. His tone was warm and casual. "My name's Flare." He chuckled softly. "I don't know if I'd call myself a rebel. I'm just trying to keep the forest pokemon safe, and make sure the humans don't destroy our home. Anyways, your friend helped some of my friends find safety in a hidden valley some ways away, and in exchange, he wanted me to return to his den with him. He said he had something he needed to discuss. I'm guessing he's still outside?"

"Yes.", Said the cat, "My... colleague is still outside. More than likely waiting for the rest of your group." The cat wandered to the corner where he had buried the files and dug around a bit, "Would you mind telling me who else is with you?", he asked, not looking up from his work of unearthing the papers.

Flare nodded. "There's Lavender, an umbreon with wings. She's agreed to help us out. There was one other pokemon, a glaceon, who was traveling with us, but I haven't seen him recently. I wonder where he got off to..."

Nadia slowly padded into the den after Copper. Coming up beside him, she whispered to him. "Copper, are you alright? I... you shouldn't blame Volt. He did what he thought he had to. When he saw all those children ready to throw their lives away..." She began to choke up, tears tumbling down her slick snout.

at hearing her name kira slowly moved out of the bushes and laid down next to copper her tails coiled around herself

Copper pulled the thick manilla folder from the earth and brushed it off with his paw, dust scattering through the air around him. He turned and walked past Nadia to a well-lit corner of the chamber, setting it down and flipping it open. "Miss Nadia," Copper began, simultaneously skimming the pages of the long file, "As long as I've known your husband, he's been a source of sage wisdom and inspiration to me. And yet. Did it ever occur to him that as the humans see the forest now, it is an obstruction to the empire. For now, all they want is the land. But when the forest attacks back, do you know what it will be? An enemy. And the humans will no longer just be tearing down the trees and building new homes and fortifications. They will be burning the forest, killing its inhabitants, and all because they FEAR." The cat slammed the file shut. "Get your husband in here, we'll need to examine him."

Nadia hurried out of the den, tears dripping at her feet. Volt shortly made his way in through the small entrance. He stopped in front of Copper, fur bristling. He pushed the Meowvee up against the dirt wall and glared at him. "You have every right to be angry with me," he barked, "But if you ever upset Nadia again, I will drop you where you stand."

"Don't you touch me!", The cat shouted. "As far as I'm concerned, today you may have destroyed the whole forest! And for what? Revenge? Solace? The humans have everything you do and more. They've colonized nearly every continent, control nearly element in some way. They have machines that can capture us against our wills and contain us for eternity and you want to AGGREVATE them?!" His tone softened, "Nadia is a grown-up, Voltico. I have nothing but the utmost respect for her, which is why I won't sugarcoat the situation."

Volt spat on the ground. The expectorate was thick and tarry. "Then leave," he hissed. "Go kowtow to those murdering bastards." He had never felt this level of rage, not even when his son was taken from him. He was conflicted and upset, and that only made him angrier.

"You trapped me, Copper," he rasped, his voice now barely a whisper. "You asked me to do something impossible. The only way the fighting will stop is if one side gives up, and everyone knows that won't happen." He looked gloomily at Copper. "But how could you expect me to refuse you? You were like a son to me after Uriel died. So what now? What do you want from me now that your childish dreams of peace have been brought crashing down around your head?"

The cat scowled, "Murderers! Brutes! Savages! Is that all you know now?! You act as if they don't exist among this forest's pokemon as well! 20 pokemon raiding our manor, and none of them had enough a shred of decency to spare the life of a young Buneary only fearing for her life!" The meowvee looked down sadly, "Mister Voltico, since I was a kitten you've been guiding me and teaching me. You taught me morality and the ways of nature. I love you like a father, Nadia like a mother, and I loved Uriel like a brother." The tears began to fall, "But I never blamed anyone for his death. Yes, the poachers and their rhyhorns were at fault, but I never took that out on the entire species. You haven't lived my life, you haven't seen the good humans who have no business in the forest. But that's fine. If you want me to leave then I will. I don't want to cause you or Nadia any more distress. I'll surely be killed on sight by my nation, but I'm sure I'll make it somewhere." Copper brushed past the Jolteon and gathered his vest and rapier. As he approached the den door he stopped. "...It is revenge you want, isn't it?" He turned to the Jolteon, "What if I told you I could find the bastards who did this to Uriel? What if you could end their lives? Maybe then you'd see the emptiness vengeance leaves."

Nadia stood, blocking Copper's exit from the den, scowling through tears at her mate. Volt didn't even notice her. "Maybe," he remarked. "Or maybe I could finally sleep soundly without seeing my son's mangled corpse every time I close my eyes. Maybe I could finally be convinced that some good is left in the outside world."

Copper looked up at Nadia, "I'm sorry, Miss Nadia. For all the trouble I've done you." He looked back at Voltico, "I'll deal with them then, if it will finally put you at peace. Their rhyhorns too, I won't leave a being alive. They'll hurt no one again. But your place is here with your wife. There's no use in destroying another life when mine is already ruined." The meowvee looked ahead again. "Excuse me, Nadia."

Nadia stepped to the side, allowing Copper to leave. When he had gone, she turned to Volt. "What the hell is your problem!?" she shouted. "He's hardly an adult yet! You really have no idea how alike you two are. He sees it, why can't you?"

"Nadia, I-" he tried to say.

"No, nothing you can say will make up for what you just did to that poor boy. You were his life for so long, and you just threw him out, ordered him to kill for you. You're being no better than the humans." His head dropped. He knew she was right. He was being a miserly old man about things, and it was helping no one.

"I need some time alone," he said, and left the den, walking off into the forest. Nadia stood at the entrance and watched him go.

Copper walked briskly through the heavy brush, back to the human civilization. It was a few weeks ago that he had discovered the headquarters of the poachers on a routine patrol as a member of the city guard. Not far from the border of the forest sat a delapitated hut, ruined by time and abuse of its inhabitants. The building had recieved no capital from the state, poaching being an illegal operation and having not been shut down due to exploited loopholes and underground corruption of the government. The cat's expression saddened at the sight of several scattered humans lying around the rusted barbed fence surrounding the hut. Picket signs at their sides, the humans were resting for the night, using their free days without work to protest the cruel and unjust murder of pokemon for their resources.
"If only Voltico could see this part of humanity...", Copper whimpered.
The meowvee crept around the sleeping people, nearly jumping as he felt his tail grabbed softly. Turning, he saw a young girl, possibly 6 or 7 years of age, having grabbed and hugged his fluffy tail in her slumber. Copper breathed a sigh of relief at having not been caught and gently pulled his tail away from her, quietly walking to the gate. He took hold of the metal partition and began to pull himself up and over, onto the poachers' premesis.


[CONTINUE LATER]

Flare stood back in silence. The argument that had just taken place had left him with several questions, but he figured now would not be an appropriate time to ask them. From what he could gather though, both the pokemon that had been arguing had experienced many tragedies in their lifetime. Unable to think of anything to say in response, Flare simply walked slowly towards the jolteon and vaporeon, wondering what to expect next.

Nadia sighed and turned to Flare. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Volt should be back soon. He's a stubborn one, but he always comes around." She sighed again and stared absently in the direction Volt had gone. "After that fight, well... now he'll do anything in his power to make it up to Copper. Anything." She sounded sad as she repeated the last word. She was afraid that whatever had taken root in Volt's body might cloud his judgement and make him do something rash in his attempts to make Copper happy.

The black night masked the cat's movement as he padded briskly toward the dilapidated shack. He stood with his back to the wall and peered through the window to his left. The glass was crusted over with a brown that hid the insides, but a light illuminating the panel told him someone was in there, and awake. Sticking to the wall, the cat made his way around the southern face of the shack, finding a window lying open for ventilation. Copper peered inside, and satisfied with the room's vacancy, quietly hopped up on the windowsill, climbing down inside.
He knelt close to the ground, examining the room he had entered, it was a filthy chamber, rust and grime covering the floor and coating the walls. Candlelight shone down the corridor, indicating the presence of another in the nearby room. Copper drew his rapier silently.
<"These people have rhyhorns...">, He thought, <"The only way I'll stand a chance against them is with a water or grass type attack... Or by preventing them from coming out of their pokeballs..."> The cat eyed a shelf covered in pokeballs, each labeled a different species, apart from two labeled "Rhyhorn". <"I don't want to make a mistake in this... I need evidence that these were the ones that hurt Uriel... but I don't have time..."> At his feet he suddenly noticed an ursaring-skin rug. <"Perhaps it's best I don't take chances...">
Copper crept down the corridor, to find a rough-looking man sitting at a desk, scribbling on a piece of parchment. Records of their endeavors, no doubt. These scrolls filled the walls, one for nearly every day in the past 4 human years. These records could prove useful in determining who was responsible for that incident.

Outside the shack, a blaziken, clad in a human city guard uniform stood amongst a small army of growlithe and houndour. "We've received word of the presence of the traitor here. His training and knowledge of our inner circle make him a deadly enemy and threat to our nation. He is wanted dead or alive, and if taken alive, he will arrive dead." A chorus of whimpers and objections rang out from the crowd. "You have your orders.", The blaziken barked, "Confirm the presence of the traitor, and burn him to cinders. Any casualties can be written off as collateral damage. Move out."

Flare's looked down at the ground. "I see..." he said, his tone soft. "Well, I never really got much of a chance to speak with Copper, but he I can tell how important he is to you both. If there's anything I can do to help you or your husband, just let me know. I'm still in debt to you both for your aid in getting my friends to safety."