Gateon Port, Orre - 0956 hours local time - Day 131 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey
Ash normally wasn't one to worry once he got to a region. New region, new adventures, new friends and all that. It was only after meeting the local Team that he started to worry. Orre, of course, was proving to be the exception.
Pernon was missing. Normally, he would assume that he was in some meeting with the mayor to open up a factory or something, whatever he did. But it had been almost an hour and a half since they came here and there was no word.
That and Rin, through an earpiece Pernon gave him before they left the ship, was screaming her ass off about him not being where he was supposed to be. And he thought his romantic life was screwed up. Granted, he never intended to have one post-Altomere, but still. Rin was a tsundere who just channelled the tsun part of it towards protecting her boss/boyfriend.
"Why is it that I get the weird people?" he wondered aloud.
"Pika." 'You're the Chosen One. Goes with the territory.' Pikachu said as he walked beside his trainer, somewhat annoyed that he couldn't hitch a ride on Ash's shoulder. Cipher was well aware that Pikachu did that. No need to make their job at trying to kill ash easier.
"True, but still." the Pallet Town native said before seeing Surge and his trainers, all wearing different outfits while Surge… didn't look like himself.
He was wearing a black wig and had prosthetic warts and such on his face, he was hunched over and wearing different clothing… if it weren't for the TRio constantly giving him practice, he'd never know it was Surge!
"Hey," the soldier called out, gesturing Ash over with his hand, the young man tentatively walking over to the group, which looked more like an extended family around their grandfather…
'Oh. He's good. I mean, he's military, he's probably used to this,' Ash thought to himself. Family groups were easier to accept then random people.
"Where'd you run off to, sonny?" asked the disguised Lieutenant. "We were worried about you."
Ash sighed. So he was going to have to pretend to be Surge's grandson. If he wasn't prepared to do anything to take down Cipher, this would be embarrassing. "Sorry, 'granpa'." he muttered as Surge grabbed him by the ear rather painfully.
"Now listen here, sonny!" Surge said before dropping the vocal act. "We found a place to hunker down. But we gotta find rich boy or we're gonna have problems. His girl's preparin' that power armor of hers and the LAST thing we need is her going on a rampage and drawing attention!"
"I-OW! I don't know where to find him." Ash hissed in pain. "Would you mind letting go?!"
"Sorry, have to keep up the act." Surge replied with a grin. He was enjoying this. But the grin faded. "You're the best option. I know you don't have those aura powers your ancestor does, but you got that Riolu. He can track Pernon down."
Ash would've said he did have the same powers, given it was ancestral and all, but he had no idea what the hell he was doing. He had almost no Aura training and the one time he DID do something with it, he failed to save Lucario and swore off ever learning how to use it.
All Ash did was pull out his Pokedex as discreetly as he could and transfer in Riolu. He had a lot of making up to do.
Orre Forgeworks - Gateon Port - 0957 Hours Local Time
A Pidgey was pecking his head and it was pissing him off, almost as much as these 'freedom fighters' were.
"I am NOT with Cipher." Kyril spat, shaking the bird off his head. "I don't help them! Unless you count putting them in the grave, you mea-"
A thud on the earthen floor got his attention, as he saw a dented, damaged device. It was a radio frequency modulator, used mainly for tapping into encrypted radio transmissions or setting off explosives, depending on how it was set up. But what it was was unimportant at the moment.
Because it had 'produced by Pernon Industries Ltd' stamped on the side.
"We found this at a Cipher base last month." Robin spat. "And we're well-aware these sorts of things are only sold to military units. So either the successor states for the URN are completely incompetent or you're giving your toys to Cipher. And while we don't like Nihon very much, because they're responsible for this mess too, they're not incompetent enough to leave their gates wide open for someone to steal their almost irreplaceable equipment."
The blacksmith, working on a flat piece of metal and working it into a breastplate, stopped his work and put the metal aside to cool. "Anything to say in your defense? Or do I have to tell my Diglett to dig your grave so my Oddish can get rid of the evidence?" the man looked to Robin and her comrades. "Again."
"They never think to look in here. And you always give the armor back after 'refurbishing' it." Robin said to the balding man before he withdrew a small shovel, feeding the fire of his forge with charcoal.
"See what he knows before I have to dig a new grave first," the old man finally spat. "Do whatever you need to."
Freighter Hulbury - 0959 hours local time
Setting up a suit of power armor was not as easy as you'd think. It wasn't something you could just strap on and go to war with.
That was your typical leather armor; old Nihon and (mythical) Ranseian armor used by samurai and steel armor used by Galaran and Kalosian knights were a tad bit more complicated, but doable with one person.
Power armor required being powered up first to actually move, then another person to deactivate locking mechanisms to allow basic movement before, by sequence, activating systems one by one, making sure they worked and wouldn't explode on you by accident.
Rin was doing all of this by herself, so while she wanted to murder whoever kidnapped her...whatever the term was, it was taking FOREVER.
"Why the hell does this have to be so damn complicated?!" she all but snarled as she finally got the suit's locks offline, allowing her to start moving.
"I hope that transponder you had stuck into your spine works, Kyril, otherwise you won't have to worry about them killing you." the redhead said before the power armored woman sprinted through the ship, heading for the cargo dock.
It wouldn't do for her to be spotted and her future victims to have warning, would it?
Streets of Gateon Port, northeastern side - 1003 hours local time
Riolu chastised Ash for not bringing him along more before doing as his trainer requested, tracking Pernon through the crowded port city.
'I know you feel guilty and all for what happened to the Lucario in the last timeline, but you can prevent that from happening this time!' the little jackal said, using aura to simulate telepathy. Something Ash was… all too familiar with.
"Will you stop that?" he quietly asked the Emination Pokemon. "I don't know how to do that and I can't exactly talk back in a crowd!" he was lucky no one noticed. A Cipher Peon gave him a look, but apparently his disguise worked.
'I'll show you once we have time.' the jackal replied mentally. 'It helps better communication with your Pokemon and I heard it can allow you to have a deeper relationship with your mate when-'
"Please. Stop." Ash begged. He wasn't planning on sleeping with anyone anytime soon, so he REALLY didn't want to know.
Thankfully, the jackal relented...for now, as he led them to a building that had seen better days, metal being plastered over with mud and clay with a chimney belching smoke out. And the sign read 'Orre Forgeworks'.
Ash knew he was good with spoken languages, learning Unovan, Kalosian and Alolan in a day, but written was another story. Apparently, the Ash from this timeline, the one whose mind he...absorbed, for lack of a better term, was better with written languages then spoken, as he remembered Serena giving him lessons. Or giving the other him lessons.
Ash needed to stop thinking about that before he had an existential crisis. He had girl problems and saving the world problems; he didn't need to question who he was.
Inside Ash's head, two beings were attempting just that. But as the King of Pokelantis was finding out, Arceus was very good at preventing him or his… comrade… from doing any real damage.
"The Creator made sure I couldn't suppress his ego again." the being taking the form of a darker, more regally dressed Ash mused. "His superego is not going to be crushed so easily. I've been trying to browbeat him for months."
The psionic being that was once Sabrina Natsume glared at him. For weeks, she'd been used as the king's personal 'stress relief'. She was thankful she wasn't in a physical body; walking would be almost impossible after what that bastard did. "You've practically hijacked his id, so that's no surprise." she noted, somewhat in disgust. The man was a pig.
"I've been trying to get him to give into his urges since I was trapped in here, you wretch." he retorted. "But he has too strong a will. He keeps his promises and that vow of his reinforces his superego, preventing me from doing anything but making suggestive hints."
He looked at her. "But maybe you can do something." he said.
"After what you did to me?!" She demanded, crossing her arms and legs, looking away from him. "You practically forced yourself on me to satisfy your base desires. Why the hell should I help YOU?"
"If you don't want to be stuck in here until the day he finally dies and both of us are consigned to the Distortion World, you will." he snapped. "Or maybe you WANT to be tortured by Giratina until it finally lets you into the cycle of reincarnation?"
Sabrina narrowed her eyes and scowled, but the pig had a point. Giratina would take sick pleasure in torturing her until there was nothing of her old self left and throw the scraps to the wind.
"Fine." she finally relented. "How?"
The King looked about. "The Creator is powerful, but not perfect." he explained. "There is always a loophole to exploit. We just have to find it."
Orrean Forgeworks, Gateon Port - 1004 hours local time
Kyril was ready for torture. He wasn't ready for the cruel and unusual option they had in mind.
"Leech Seed?" he all but yelled, the Oddish looking like it wanted to use it on him BADLY.
"Considering what you've been doing, aiding our enemy?" Robin asked, an eyebrow raised. "That's the least you deserve."
The revolution was clearly not going to be civilized. Then again, this was Orre. Other then the Ranger Union post-war, there was no region less amenable to basic human decency.
The blacksmith was forced to agree, as he cleaned off the soot and charcoal remains, revealing it to be a military issue entrenching tool. Kyril was aware of what that meant. This man was ex-military. And he had a weaponized shovel in hand. One with sharp edges.
"One thing at a time." he said. "Get all you can from him, then sic my Oddish on him. If he has anything we need to know, something worth listening to, we might spare him."
Kyril had enough of this shit. "I am NOT helping them!" he exclaimed, trying to get to his feet before Robin put a revolver to his head, cocking the hammer back to make it clear he wasn't going anywhere. "I don't supply these assholes, I fight them! I don't know-"
There was a knock at the door, forcing them to stop. "Hello?" came the voice of Ash Ketchum, making Kyril nearly jump out of his skin.
"Secure him in the back." ordered the old man, intending to check who it was before the door caved in.
The dust made all of them choke and cough, even as the old man grabbed what looked like a sword, but was a rough shape of metal. A blank?
"I'm only going to give you one warning." came the voice of his...partner from the Defender suit, emerging holding a light machine gun… for someone not in power armor. For someone in it, it was just an assault rifle. "Let my boss go. NOW!"
"Going to have to agree with her," Ash said as he, his Pikachu and Riolu followed, Pikachu sparking and Riolu's paws glowing with Aura, Ash himself holding some… bar in his hands? …that he pushed a button on, generating a beam of plasma shaped like a sword. "Let him go. We don't want to hurt you."
"You work for him?" the old man demanded before something under his shirt started glowing, getting all their attentions. "What in the name of the Tree of…" the blacksmith reached down his shirt, pulling out what appeared to be a necklace, hidden by all the soot covering his torso. "…This… can't…"
Ash deactivated the sword, staring at it. "That's a crystal from the Tree of Beginning. From one of the roots," he said, almost giving it a death glare. Pernon was getting concerned at the anger in Ash's voice. He had a family history of anger issues, but this was PERSONAL. And personal rage ended poorly.
"This only glows in the presence of… the blood," the smith trailed off, staring at Ash in shock. "This… this is impossible. They died. They BOTH died. I saw them die in Unova!"
"Apparently not." Kyril said smugly. "This is Ash Ketchum. Crown Prince of Rota. And he's the one that's going to hand Cipher their asses with my help!" he then looked at Robin, whose focus was more on Ash than on her gun. "That is, if you don't kill me first."
The smith then snapped out of his trance. "Get them in here," he finally said, looking at the resistance fighters. "Hide them in the tunnels; a Cipher patrol will be here to investigate the noise! Get them out of here!"
Ash had no idea why the guy with the shovel was practically pulling a one-eighty, but he wasn't complaining as they all were brought to the back of the shop. But Ash's biggest problem wasn't the smithy with the piece of the Tree.
It was the white-haired girl that was staring at him as her cell (was that the right term for a group of resistance fighters?) took them to the back. It was creepy.
"Is there a problem?" he asked her, as she continued to stare at him. "You've been eyeballing me the entire time and I'm wondering if I did something wrong."
She tilted her head in mild confusion. "No. I just… couldn't figure something out. I look at you and…" she trailed off. "It's not something that makes any sense. I don't know you, but… my heart… picked up for some reason."
'Oh, FUCK no.' he thought. This better not be what he thought it was!
"Pikapi!" 'You should've seen this coming, Ash,' Pikachu said smugly. "Pikachu~" 'Every region, there's always someone new!'
"Do NOT start," Ash demanded before they heard someone at the front, yelling about the noise, Ash ducking behind a wall to listen in.
"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" the smithy asked, as if nothing was wrong.
"What happened to your door?" one of the peons demanded. "It looks like it was kicked in by a Machoke."
"A customer was unhappy with the order. I had them tossed into the harbor," he lied smoothly, before turning to his bellows and beginning work on a plate of metal. "I'll have the door replaced."
"We'll check the rest of the shop if you don't mind." the other peon said, gesturing with his crude machine gun. "There were reports of insurgent activity around here. We want to make sure they aren't here."
The metalworker gave them a nod, Ash almost panicking before Robin stopped him, grabbing him by the hand to keep him from rushing in to knock them out. "Wait." she said, before noticing her hand on his and… blushing.
"Pika." 'Another one to add to your collection,' Pikachu said with a smirk.
'That is NOT what I would call it!' Ash said, radiating anger at that comment. 'They don't belong to me! The only ones they belong to are themselves!'
"Pi." 'It was a JOKE.' Pikachu said, as if… oh. Ash must've used the Aura telepathy thing without trying. Typical.
The peons began moving towards them before the smith pulled out a knife, pointing it at the lead Peon before it… launched out of his hands and embedded in the man's neck? That was new.
The other saw the knife in the back of his comrade's neck and turned to face the smithy before the man swung the shovel at the Peon's neck, hacking it open, blood spewing out of the gash, only to stop in midair.
"Espe." 'Psychics are best when it comes to this.' said an Espeon that came out of the stairway they were heading for. "Eon." 'At least he won't need a new shirt.'
"With that soot, I don't think anyone would notice." Ash quipped, Espeon looking at him in shock, the blood falling to the ground as her psychic power faded. the blood falling to the earthen floor.
"Espeon?" 'Did… did you actually understand that?' the Eeveelution asked… before getting shocked by Pikachu. "On!" 'Ow! What was-'
Pikachu scowled, shutting the psychic up. "Pika.' 'I said I'd shock the next person that asked that.' he explained. "Chu." 'And I have.'
Ash sighed as the man dragged the bodies towards the side room, likely to dispose of them. "Yes, Espeon, I understood what you said." he said.
"Esp." 'Lucky guess. Perhaps you can explain why my trainer is suddenly blushing.' the cat-like Pokemon said.
"If I knew why, Espeon, I'd try to make it stop." he said exasperatedly. He was getting tired of this track record. He already had four people after him (Janine was up in the air, given everything) he didn't need someone new!
"Esspeeon." 'Holy fucking Arceus, he CAN understand me properly,' the lavender cat said in shock before the smith gestured to them that it was safe to come back in, Ash pointedly avoiding looking at the room with the bodies before he did.
The man stared at him. "The resemblance is uncanny." he admitted after a moment. "You look like Sir Aaron. I've seen his younger portraits; you look exactly like him."
"Rio!" 'That's awesome! We know what you'll look like when you're older!' Riolu said with an eyesmile.
The man looked at the glowing pendant hanging from his neck. "And this only glows in the presence of the Royal Family. They have shared aura with the Tree. It flows in them. Marks them. You are of the blood."
With that, the man took to one knee, kneeling before the 14 year old. "What the-" Ash exclaimed, surprised as all hell.
"I was once of the Royal Guard, your highness." he said, head looking at the ground. "I failed your grandfather and went into exile as penance. Cipher forced me into their service as a blacksmith." he then looked into Ash's eyes. "They forced me to endure the Chancey treatments, refusing to let me die. Now I have a reason to live. I failed your grandfather. I will NOT fail you."
Ash dumbly stared at him. "Uh…" he finally said. "Could you stop bowing? And replace that door? We don't want more Cipher Peons coming in and making life hard."
The smith considered this before rising. "I will explain more after, my lord." the man said before gesturing to a corner, where a Diglett was resting, the mole Pokemon waking up. "We'll replace the door."
Five minutes later
Pernon was released, per her surrogate grandfather/commander's orders, but Robin was still focused on Ash Ketchum.
The young man was… confusing. She felt… warm, around him, and not in a way related to actual temperatures. And her heart beat faster whenever she saw him. She didn't know what was going on.
He was… she didn't get it. Why was she acting like this?
Her grandmother, Rui, came to mind. How was she able to see the Shadow Pokemon aura? Would that give her the answer?
The old man was from Rota. Maybe he would have answers. Rota had more knowledge of Aura users then anyone else outside the Lucario line.
"Gah," said Pernon as he rubbed his head, glaring at Robin. "Believe me now?"
The white haired girl snorted. "I remain unconvinced," she said. "Cipher would not get their hands on something like that so easily."
Ash gave her a disarming look. "I wouldn't've gotten here without him. If he was working with Cipher, he would've killed me back in Kanto." he explained gently. "He's on your side."
She flinched away, feeling heat on her cheeks before the smithy came into the tunnels. "Your highness." he greeted Ash with a nod.
The young man looked away from the address. "Just… Call me Ash." he said. "I'm not used to being called that."
"But why? Surely you were raised in Rota." the forgemaster stated, confused.
Ash looked away sheepishly, his Pikachu chuckling. "Actually… I wasn't." the Kantoan trainer sat down on the dirt, rubbing the back of his head. "I was born and raised in Pallet Town. I didn't even know I was Aaron's descendant until six months ago."
The former Royal Guard's eyes widened in horror, green irises boring on Ash. "What? Oh, beloved Arceus, we are so FUCKED!" he exclaimed, pacing back and forth. "This is horrible. If you don't get there soon, we're all DEAD!"
Pernon, assisted by the woman in the armor suit, stood up and looked at the man, who never really gave them his name. "HOW are we 'fucked'?" he asked, quoting the one exclaiming doom and gloom. Robin was just as clueless.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You know WHY Rota still exists as a Kingdom, yes?" the metalworker asked. "Why it hasn't been turned into a republic or a province of the URN?"
"No." Robin said. She had no idea why the Kingdom of Rota still existed. Monarchies were grossly inefficient. Rota enforced high competency in their rulers, but the last two kings weren't exactly stellar performers. One of them laid the seeds for the Cipher War and the other was stupid enough to think he was Sir Aaron reborn, leading a counterstrike in Unova against a horde of Cipher Peons and their Shadow Pokemon with his son.
As there hadn't been a monarch since Jaemon's death, things weren't exactly looking well for the future of the monarchy, yet the regents refused to choose a new royal family. Or abolish the monarchy and recreate a democratic government. It didn't make sense. And while Robin wasn't familiar with politics outside of Orre, it made no sense to continue a system without a new figurehead.
The smithy sighed, gesturing to the rises of heat-cooked mud acting as chairs, sitting on one of them. "When King Rota founded the kingdom that now bears his name, he shared Aura with the Tree." he explained. "It wasn't known at the time, but this created a symbiotic relationship with the Tree. It wasn't known until a century later, when everything started to slowly die. The King at the time realized this and went to the core of the Tree of Beginning itself, sharing Aura with the massive organism. Life...returned."
Pernon sighed. "Mystic mambo-jumbo." he said. "There's no evidence-"
"He's telling the truth." Ash said, sounding haunted. "I've met the Mew at the heart of the Tree. I've seen what happens when the energy at its' core is corrupted." Everyone, including Robin, looked at him in confusion. He looked away "It's a very long story. One that I do not want to recall."
The girl could feel that he was telling the truth. Just… feel. It made no sense.
The ironworker sighed. "Then you can imagine the very slow death for the entire planet." he informed. "The roots of the Tree are not limited to Kanto. They are GLOBAL. What affects Rota affects the planet. If the tree dies, EVERYONE dies. And we have less than ten years until it starts."
Ash sighed, annoyance in his tone. "As if this timeline couldn't get any WORSE." he said, getting looks from all the Orreans and some of the foreign trainers. "I guess we have to take out Cipher quickly then. Unless anyone has any objections?"
Robin tilted her head in confusion. For some reason, that was… appealing to her?
"I have none, your majesty," the smith affirmed. "Our cell stands with you. Shall we begin?"
Ketchum Residence - Pallet Town, Kanto - 2130 Hours Local Time
Misty opened her eyes and nearly jumped off the bed she was on, sitting upright in terror.
"Good. You're awake." said Janine, who was reading a book on care for poison-types while sitting in a chair at the foot of her bed. "At least that's something."
The redhead looked at Janine, rubbing the back of her neck. "How long was I out?" she asked, even as Psyduck and Poliwag approached their trainer's bed.
"Two weeks." the kunoichi answered before flipping a page in her book. "Ash went to Orre ahead of us to deal with Cipher. Soften them up, as it were."
Misty's mind raced. He was in Orre? The only thing keeping her anchored was-
'Calm down, girl.' said her astral self, who just… appeared at the foot of her bed. 'He probably went just to keep us safe. And I think he's well aware that we're going to be charging after him. But you're in no shape for a Gyarados-assisted oceanic crossing.'
None of them were. Serena was bit by a poisonous snake and was still suffering the effects of the neurotoxin, Iris was concussed and broke a leg, not to mention five ribs, Anabel broke her collarbone and also had head trauma. Misty was the lesser affected of them.
Which brought them to Janine. "Why are you still here?" Misty asked, removing her bed covers before revealing she was… nude. At least Ash and Kyoji weren't here for that.
"The doctors had you stripped to make sure they could make it easier to sponge-bathe you." the ninja said. "You couldn't exactly take a proper bath. As for why I'm here…" she closed the book, sighing. "Kyoji was recalled to Ransei and Ash didn't want to leave you unguarded. And as I am sworn to his service-"
Misty snorted, stumbling to the floor, then picking herself up off it. "You'd be in his bed if he ordered it." she accused, somewhat heatedly.
"You are right. You're aware of the vow I made." Janine replied. Misty was. It was basically a one-sided marriage vow. If Ash wanted to bed her, she would comply as if it were nothing. At least Ash wouldn't abuse it. Half the reason she made it. The other half being the fact that he was Arceus' Chosen. That was not exactly a light title to carry. So anything to lighten the load.
"I am," her redheaded cousin replied. "I'm going to get dressed. And then I'm heading to Orre."
"I suggest we wait for the other reinforcements." Janine recommended as she got up.
Misty double-taked, looking at her cousin. "What reinforcements?" she demanded.
Indigo Plateau - 2135 hours local time
"Convincing the local officials that Patel isn't going to take advantage of our absence is like herding Skitty." Lance groused. Politics sucked. Such was the life of the Grand Champion of Johto and Kanto.
He had to give the local idiots in charge of the towns, cities and villages of the two regions his word that nothing would happen. Even though he would have personally rather have opened a portal into the Distortion Realm and fed them to the Lord of the Dead.
Better Giratina then him.
"At least you can herd Skitty with ample threats of spending time with a Wailord." Ariana quipped before pausing and thinking. "Who was insane enough to even TRY that in the first place?"
"A very sick, very demented man." Lance answered. "At least your men will attempt to hold the fort while I'm gone. On that note, congratulations. Welcome to the Elite Four."
The newest member of the Johto E4 smirked. "Thank you." she said.
"Try not to fuck up my regions any more than they already are." the champion said as he left her in the office, going to meet with Cynthia and Steven to organize… more firepower.
As he walked through the halls of the admin building, he realized he… missed this. In Johto, he was effectively a warlord, ruler of the eastern half of the region from Blackthorn to the Lake of Rage to Azalea. The region was still fractured to hell and back, basically a pocket-sized Sengoku Jidai, for measure of 'pocket', given that Johto was nearly half again the size of Kanto. He...missed warfare.
Did that make him a bad person?
"No." Lance stopped at the sound of Samual Oak's voice as he walked up behind him. "My apologies, Lance. I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's fine, sensei. I was in thought." the champion replied. "But what-"
"You were wondering if war made you a bad person. It's written all over your face." the old man replied. "The answer is no. war is familiar to you. Johto is fractured and broken, constantly at war with itself. Save Goldenrod, of course."
Lance chuckled. "Whitney and her unholy Miltank." he said. "Cross her and you die. Unless you're me."
"Yes, because you're engaged to her. Arranged marriages are never easy." Oak said, nodding. "But back to my point. You are used to war. You're not a peacetime ruler, even as effective as you are. You are a warrior. It's finding the balance that is difficult."
Lance nodded, silently thanking the professor for his wisdom before heading to the conference room, which was still in ruins after the Cipher attack. Having a Type-36 airship crash into the building didn't help.
Steven and Cynthia got along like a duck and water. But as Cynthia was married and had a daughter, the Hoennic champion did not have a chance in hell and he knew it.
"The Arceus' Hammer, Giratina's Scythe and Palkia's Fist will be at Cinnabar in a few days." Steven said as Lance came in, not noticing the Blackthorn ative. "Nothing Orre has can handle the largest battleships ever built."
"If they don't have anti-ship missiles." Cynthia retorted. "That airship was built by Ferrum. The damned communists are up to something. Again."
"It's not like we can hit them with economic sanctions, Cynthia." Lance piped in, getting their attention. "We rely on them for most of our less then critical products. We're still rebuilding half the factories that were destroyed during the Cipher War and the other half that are still around, less then half of those are able to start production of anything."
"Alright, we deal with Cipher and Orre first, then figure out if the Ferrians are up to something." Cynthia stated. "Let's focus on the bigger threat before doing spy work."
"I suspect someone's already up to the 'spy work', Cynthia," Lance said, equally distasteful of shadow warfare. "Ash Ketchum has friends. Sabrina disappeared a few days ago along with her boyfriend. I think he's involved with Ferrum somehow. Only question is 'how'."