Imperials Vs. Sentinels- part 4- The Valiant and the Faithful

Part 3- Executing the plan

It had been days, and Shade was getting a little more than annoyed at the investigation's slow progress.
"If we don't catch this criminal soon, Verana will crumble!"
He shouted, making his anger evident.
"I know, Shade, but what more can we do? Verana is a large nation with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. We have to work with what we have."
Xavier tried to calm him.
"And what do we have, Xavier? A note that could have been written by anyone! That's what!"
Xavier shook his head.
"Not just anyone. It has to be someone who knew how to write.
Normally that's a sign of wealth, to be able to afford being taught. Either that or it could be an unhappy dignitary. Or-"
Shade cut him off.
"Alright, I get it! But still, that still leaves hundreds of possible Pokemon. It hardly helps us identify anyone specific."
Shade told Xavier, who nodded.
"Yes, I know."
Xavier got up from the table and looked out of the living room window.
"We'll catch them. It's just a matter of time. For now, we need to keep working."
Shade picked up his halberd from the weapon rack on the wall and opened the front door.
"I'm going out."
He told Xavier. He lifted a brow at the statement.
"Where are you going?"
He asked.
"Just for some air. I'll be back soon."
With that, Shade closed the door and left down a path to the countryside, where the only sign of tampering was a path eroded away over centuries.

In one of the many military camps in the south of the nation, two knights met under the cover of darkness.
"Did you bring it?"
One asked. The other nodded, handing him a box wrapped in cloth. In turn, the knight handed him a small bag of gold.
"You're sure this will do it?"
The deliverer nodded.
"Certainly. It can't and won't fail."
They replied. The other knight nodded, and the deliverer slipped away, into the woods with the darkness as cover. One step closer to the plan's completion... and to the downfall of Verana's 'respected' leader.

Over the next few days, no progress was made into the investigation, and the queen was beginning to anger.
"I'm rapidly losing faith in both of you. Your lack of progress disappoints and angers me! These so called revolutionaries want my head, and if you don't stop them, they'll soon acquire it!"
She told them.
"I know, my queen, and I'm sorry. We're working hard to catch this mysterious Pokemon, but he's evading our grasp."
Xavier replied.
The queen was no less angry.
"You work has given me nothing over the last week. My royal guard have been keeping patrols around the palace, for I fear my life is in danger. My bloodline has ruled this nation for centuries. I will not be the last queen in it!"
She defiantly told them.

Shade knew his dream told a different story.

The next morning, disaster struck. The knight camps in the south had fallen into chaos when an explosive had gone off in each camp. The origins of these explosives were unknown; the only similar connection was the remains of the boxes they were held in, wrapped with cloth.

All forty seven camps in the nation had been thrown into disorder, and the scattered forces of the garrison weren't enough to restore all of them. Knights in all of the camps were fighting each other, some rising against their allies, declaring that they were taking over the camps in the name of their leader. Knights still loyal to the queen could hardly believe what they were hearing.

Within hours, the southern camps and some of the central camps had fallen, with revolutionaries arresting any surviving resistors. The north camps were harder to 'liberate' considering the garrison's efforts. Luckily for the revolutionaries, they had expected such resistance, and were prepared for it. Reinforcements from the south also intervened, adding to the pressure on the garrison to maintain order.

With growing numbers and camps under their control, the revolutionaries soon seized the last camp in the nation. It was a lost battle for the old army.

Verana had fallen, and the queen now had no army to protect her from the onslaught.

Before continuing to the palace, the revolutionaries had two things to do. Firstly, they gathered all of the captured knights and led them to the centre of the nation, and secondly they united at that same point to attack the palace as one united force. While the revolutionaries made their way to the meeting point, the prisoners had also arrived. The revolutionary leader looked down on them all.
"You could have helped us. We could have all been allies. It would have certainly made this easier for us."
The leader told them.
"I'd never join you! We all know how evil you are after all you've done!"
One knight replied. The leader laughed at their statement.
"Good, evil, it's all about perspective. I mean, to us, you're evil. Think about that, because you know, you've nothing better to do."
The leader was then told by a knight that their force was fully accounted for.
"Wonderful. Proceed immediately."
The leader replied, having all revolutionaries move on the palace.

It wasn't a long march, and when they finally reached it, the royal guard was already posted in, out and around the palace. Their numbers didn't match those of the revolutionaries, however. In fact, they weren't even close. This would be the final battle of a very short yet successful revolution. Today, Verana would change forever.

As the two forces charged into battle, Xavier was inside the palace.
"Reinforce that door! Make sure it holds!"
He shouted as the guards put tables, chairs and other heavy objects behind the door.
"Where's Shade?"
Xavier asked.
"He was seen outside. He's probably  defending the palace outside."
Richard replied, busy at work with the door barricade.
"He'll die out there! We need to get him in here!"
Xavier told him.
"His sacrifice will be remembered."
Richard brushed off Xavier's concern.
Suddenly, there was a large bang at the door that echoed throughout the palace. The guards backed away as the doors continued to rattle with the bashes of the revolutionaries outside.
"Break it down! We will get inside!"
The leader replied, looking behind him. The last guard was killed by a revolutionary knight before they approached the door.

After several minutes, the door began to cave in.
"We're losing the door! They're getting in!"
A guard shouted. All knights inside the palace stopped and looked on at the door, knowing they had done all they could. With three more attempts, the door rattled more violently, and the next one after that broke right through. The right door opened and the left door fell to the ground, crushing all furniture below it with its weight. Xavier, Blaze and all of the knights inside the castle finally got a look at the revolutionary leader, the one that brought Verana down to its knees, and they couldn't be more shocked.
"No... it can't be..."
Blaze was speechless.
"But why... why would you do this?"
Xavier asked, shocked.

On the other side of the now empty doorway, with revolutionaries behind him, stood Shade, him and his halberd stained with the blood of knights he had killed.
"Surprise."
He said with a grin, walking into the palace.
"I played the part of angry investigator pretty well, didn't I? I have to say, I'm fairly proud. But now isn't the time for celebration. That comes after queen Blaze's death."
He told them. He stopped walking a few feet from Xavier, who was at the front of the palace.
"So here's your choice. Either the queen gives herself up and no more blood is shed..."
Shade held a paw up, and the army behind him readied their weapons.
"Or I give the command, you all die, and we get the queen anyway."
Shade grinned. The power was his.
"What's it going to be, knights?"
They didn't know what to do. They either had to betray the queen or face imminent death. No choice was pleasant, and despite this, it was the hardest decision they would ever have to make. It was also quite possibly the last.

OMG, it was Shade all along! Who would've known?! 😱
Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully the new one will be up soon. I had a lot of fun writing this one. Even planning it was exciting. Let me know what you think in the comments, and until next time, stay awesome.