Heroes of Darkness

XV

HECTOR

"If there was one thing I've learned in battle is that there is no honor in war," Brandon Brightflame said as he and Hector stood on top of the undersea ship in the black of night. Not a star could be seen in the sky, and it smelled like it was about to rain. They said that Hoenn had always been this way since the Empress rose to power. "I can thank Starfall for that lesson. Deception is key. It had worked for him, and it will work for me."

Hector only vaguely remembered the traitor king. He had a Salamence, he recalled, with a savage appetite. "It's an excellent plan," he replied.

"I need to win first," Brandon said grimly. They were resting in a cove on the western shore of Hoenn. In front of them was a small beach, beyond that was a dense forest, and still further was the immense mountain range that contained the cavernous settlement of Meteor Falls. "But I'll admit that it is ironic. Starfall took my home, and now I'll take his."

They turned to the sound of oars hitting the water. There was a small wooden boat coming alongside them, ready to take the rightful King of Lavaridge to shore.

"It's time we made landfall, Your Grace," said one of the Odaran captains with a short cape on his armor. "Our entire force needs to be ashore before the morn."

Brandon nodded as well and shot a quick glimpse behind him. His Spirit Pokemon, the tall Blaziken was standing there, looking excitedly at the beach in the distance. He gestured to the Pokemon, and they walked side by side into the little boat. They were off instantly, and Hector heard him and the Captain discussing the days' and weeks' strategies to come.

Hector looked back behind him. Vaguely, against the horizon, he could see the outlines of the hundreds of ships pressed against the ink black sky. They were likely unloading their supplies and the rest of the army Brandon had been given from the Odaran Emperor now.

Hector felt a pang of homesickness sneak up on him. Less than a half mile away was home, the great island where he was born. He could smell Hoenn again, and taste the familiar salty air... but still he was homesick. He had not set foot on mainland Hoenn for over seventeen years, and now, Odara was his real home. He felt like an outsider.

As he looked back against the backs of the boats, he wondered if things went wrong if he would be able to head back home. Surely there is a contingency plan, Hector told himself, as he had in the months' voyage to Hoenn. Alicia, I will come back to you. For our family, for our future. But first, he had a debt to pay, a debt to an exiled King who had saved his life twice.

The first time was in the black cells under the Lavaridge Castle when the General named Starfall had engineered a coup that had overthrown Brandon Brightflame's family. If it wasn't for Brandon taking pity on him, he wouldn't have escaped that dungeon with the help of Brandon's lost younger brother. I wonder where they buried his bones, Hector thought sadly. More like they tossed them in the ocean.

He looked down at his arm, the scars were still deathly white, and he had no feeling in three of his fingers. The second time Brandon Brightflame had saved Hector's life, was when he was bleeding out into the sea the day the Empress awoke the beast Kyogre. He still felt a chill just thinking about it. If it wasn't for the exiled King, Hector would have died then and there, the victim of a Sootopolis Captain's Sharpedo.

I owe this time to him, and when we overthrow the Empress... He wanted to think that was when he would head home, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. They weren't just going to overthrow one Empire, they were going to establish another. The Odarans always had a price, and Brandon Brightflame was their means to the end of growing their own Empire. He put that thought out of his mind as he climbed back down into the aluminum vessel.