Puddles exploded under the stomping of heavy boots. The individual was sprinting for his life, panting in exhaustion and fear as he sprinted through the labyrinth that was Chiaris Forest. Falor was being chased down by Shadow Blades, there was no doubt about it now. His past experience with the dreaded rogues had cost him an eye and several fingers. Falor made the mistake of blowing his cover, trying to listen in on the enemy's intel, now he was paying the price with his life.

No, he wasn't going to die. There was no way he would allow it. He would fool them again and walk a free man, living to serve Rebirth another day. If he could just make it past this forest, Falor would make it to the village in no time, and escape the clutches of the nefarious Shadow Blades once more.

The twang of a bow made Falor's stomach jump to his throat. The overwhelming pain that followed consumed his ability to scream and forced him to fall to the ground into a heap of leaves. Through the agonizing pain that crawled up his leg like acid, Falor quickly realized where he had fallen upon and paled. He had been caught in a trap like an animal.

The sharp crack of rope echoed through the eerie trees of the Chiaris Forest before the trap sprung. A rope found its way around Falor's throat before it quickly tightened around it like a vice. Falor was instantly yanked up by the neck, stopping just shy off the leaves of the tree in front of him. His heart beat in his ears as he choked and sputtered against his noose, swinging his legs in panic.

Through his hazy vision, Falor made out the team of four who had been hunting him down for the past ten minutes. It was over. Falor knew he was going to die. 'I was so close.'

The one who appeared to be the leader of the squad stepped up to gaze in Falor's dying eye. He spoke words that could hardly be heard through the booming in the dying man's ears. Nevertheless, his short speech was still heard.

"Now you will die for the sins you and your brothers have committed after all these treacherous years. You are not the last one who will fall by our hand. May Giratina have mercy on your tainted soul..."

Falor could only sputter in protest as he watched the small group walk away, leaving him to die an agonizingly slow death. The four could still hear the ratcheting sound of the man struggling on his noose as they walked away.
_______________________________

The four took their time walking out of the leafy foliage if Chiaris' maze. Their way out was peaceful and silent, only the faint sounds of pidgeys chirping in the distance. This blissful moment of silence was, of course, cut short by the idiotic one of the four, Jarek.

"I'll return in a moment," he said, turning back the way they came.

Daelus, the leader couldn't help but drop his head into his palm. "You're going back for your arrow aren't you."

"Correct, apologies for not doing it sooner."

"For Arceus' sake, can't you disregard the loss of one measly arrow!"

Jarek quickly stepped into that ridiculous pose that the other three dreaded so much. "Those arrows were handcrafted from the feathers of the marvelous Ho-Oh herself-"

"-forged by the hands of Lycos the Brave, and passed down in your family from generation to generation. We've listened to your story dozens of times!" the irritated Daelus was ranting now.

"Then why do you keep questioning my belief in the power of Ho-Oh's arrows?"

"Just because we choose to hear your story does not mean we actually believe that ludicrous tale!"

The only non-talkative members of the team could only watch as the idiot and the captain argued over something so insignificant, laughing to themselves as the two ranted on and on. Tiryul and Abel never stepped between the two because of how common of an occurrence the arguments between the two were, instead deciding to let the two yell at each other until their fuses burned out or they reached a stalemate (which was highly unlikely).

This time, they merely allowed them to continue bickering, chuckling to themselves as Daelus complained over the smallest things and Jarek argued against him.

Eventually, the two dropped the useless topic and Jarek left for his ammunition. Daelus was still mumbling to himself as the three split away from Jarek and made for the nearest inns. Tiryul and Abel smirked to themselves as Daelus mumbled obscenities about the archer, things that one would hear coming from children. The way Daelus regarded pet peeves it would seem he was a child.

As they arrived to the first inn, each broke off to separate directions. They decided they didn't want to attract too much attention by staying in a group so they each went to different locations to stay for the night.

As Daelus trudged into a small inn, curiously named The Old Murkrow, everyone inside snapped to attention. Upon seeing the two blades sheathed at his waist, the people fell quiet. Daelus paid no mind to it, walking up to the clerk despite the suspicious looks he received. "I simply need a room to rest for the night," he said, dropping a small fortune on the table.

The clerk eyed the Daelus's two weapons, it seemed that people who owned weapons weren't regarded as much in Chiaris. Before handing Daelus a key to a room, the man quickly questioned Daelus. "Will there be any problems with your stay?"

"Not unless someone else starts one," he quickly assured the owner.

Somewhat reluctantly, the clerk handed Daelus the key to an upstairs bedroom. Daelus snatched the keys without a thought and trudged up the stairs, oblivious to the leering gazes of other people.

The night was tolerable, only the occasional bang of boisterous neighbors cutting through the silence. Through the darkness, Daelus' eyes stayed wide open. His mind was running at a thousand miles per second, it was always thinking, always calculating. Daelus had a rare case of active insomnia. Sleep for him was nearly impossible.

Despite what most people thought, his condition was actually very beneficial: it had saved him on more than one occasion. A sleepless mind kept him wide awake, allowing for him to be alert and prepared for attacks. The only real drawback to this was, on a bad day, he was more sluggish than normal. Not a good disadvantage to have as an assassin.

Even though the others hated Daelus' sleep-deprived state (mostly because of his short fuse), Daelus didn't think it bothered him.

"Sleep is a hunter's noose, knowledge is a hunter's blade," he would always say. They still argued with him about his inability to sleep, not knowing it was a chronic problem.

In his bed, time sailed by, minutes stretched into hours and in no-time flat, it was morning. Birds could be heard from outside the window, chirping and tweeting within the sunlight that bathed Daelus' room. Diurnal animals scurried out off their hiding spots, roaming about the open field of Chiaris village. Dew glistened off the petals of blooming flowers, dowsing the land with vibrant reds, yellows, and blues. The morning was a beautiful creature.

Daelus threw the blankets aside and prepared to regroup with his team.



"Well, you look mighty giddy this morning! Were you finally able to get some shut-eye?"

The group had converged to a clear plain bordering the forest of Chiaris. Their position was clear of wandering eyes, the only exception being wild pokémon within Chiaris Forest. The group ignored them, as did the creatures.

Daelus ignored Tiryul's subtle jab. "Are you still nagging to me about that? My, I never would have known that you, one so endeared with women, would be so attentive towards men," he scoffed, adding a little jab of his own.

"Bah, don't get too excited with yourself. I won't be turning anytime soon."

"Thanks for reassuring me," Daelus smirked.

"Well, if you two ladies are done bickering with each other, I'd like to announce that The Triad has given us two more assignments to complete by the end of this month," Abel broke in to redirect the conversation. "They have agreed to give us a leave for a maximum of three weeks. Since we are their most valuable asset, we can't afford any extended leaves of absence."

Jarek finally spoke. "You'd think The Triad would give their most valuable assets more time to relax from all their hard work."

Daelus clutched his face with an open hand. "They can't give us any extended rest because we are the best at what we do, you idiot! If they were to lose us, their hold on the war would shift over to Rebirth!"

"No need to get edgy."

"Then enough with your ridiculous statements!"

"Calm down! Now is not the time for another one of your arguments," Tiryul broke in. "Honestly, you two bicker like women," he muttered quietly.

"Fine," Daelus sighed before focusing on the task at hand. "Abel, our targets and their current ranks in Rebirth, if you will."

Abel revealed a small scroll from a side pouch, before he unwrapped it and read it out loud. "Igor Balodan, 2nd Chief Warrant officer and David Strais, Second Lieutenant."

Jarek whistled in surprise.

"Wow. They've achieved very high in the social pyramid, Daelus said. "Why have they been targeted?"

Abel looked at the scroll once more. "Balodan has been targeted for leading a covert attack on a small village outside of Beun county. Strais, for the enslavement of nearly thirty percent of all Rebirth's pokémon drive." He then turned the paper to reveal brief illustrations of both individuals.

Daelus looked closely at the death warrant before him, staring at the face of David Strais and Igor Balodan in disgust. "It seems we need to decide on which shall be our first hit. What say you, gentlemen?"

The three immediately understood this professional gesture and let their opinions be known. "Strais!"

Daelus let out a devious smirk. "Strais it is."