SPECTRE, cassius wolfe

cassius wolfe

I USED TO TRUST THE MEDIA TO TELL ME THE TRUTH

It begins, as do many things in his life, with a fight. Someone calls his mother a whore and before Cassius really even knows what's going on, he's rolling in the dirt with some girl who's twice his size and they're both punching and kicking and screeching like the world is going to end. Some high-browed lady complains about the noise, and right before he lands in a good punch-- can't badmouth my mother when you're missing a few teeth-- the two are pulled apart by a burly soldier and marched home.

While the man tells his mother what's happened and she rubs at her tired eyes, Cas stares at his feet and tries not to bristle at the leer the man gives her. He's a customer, after all-- but he grinds his teeth and swears that someday, no one will be left to hungry dogs the way his family has.

&&

You're not too shabby, she tells him the next day, still sporting a black eye and flanked by a handful of dirty urchins, why don't you run with us?

And he does.

&&

One fine afternoon, Cassius walks with his arms full of stolen bread, whistling as he takes a shortcut through the estate of a local noble family-- and then he stops. Because for once, he hears a high, clear sound, so sweet that he drops his meal and clambers up a tree to get a better look. Through the open window he sees a boy his age, studiously plunking away at an instrument Cassius has never seen before, and a young girl gleefully clapping her hands off-rhythm to it. Fascination brings him back the next day. And the next. And the next.

If the gang notices that some of their targets produce paper and ink instead of food, they don't say anything. It's only Birdy, Birdy who was always more clever than anyone gave her credit for, who meets his eyes and looks at him with something akin to sadness.

&&

There comes a day where he is caught-- by the same soldier who once pulled him and Birdy apart, no less. This must be where it all ends, he thinks, curling into a ball as the man's Growlithe bites at him and he tries not to cry out. This is how it ends, this is how it ends--

--except it doesn't. When the blows stop raining down he peeks through his hands, wondering if he is dead after all. But he isn't, and there, offering his hand with concern in his eyes, is the boy.

Hello, there, he says with a smile, it's good to finally meet you.

My name is Adrian Lyons.

And with that, life changes.

&&

Adrian and his sister Victoria take him under their wing. They sweep up his time, tugging him to lessons and to fittings, placing him under the tutelage of their bustling team of maids and manservants. Sometimes at night they curl around him like he's some big teddy bear and he feels, as he rarely ever does, like he belongs. In a matter of years they mold him into a creature he doesn't recognize-- it is only briefly, the day before he is shipped off to the academy with Adrian to be his companion, that he looks in the mirror and thinks of Birdy and the others he left behind, and wonders what life could have been.

He asks once, in those early days, where their parents are, but the silence tells him everything he needs to know.

&&

He is scorned at the academy. The crowds in which Adrian mingles adore him, but spurn his baseborn companion. The common rank-and-file think of him as a brown-nosing traitor. Stuck in this strange limbo, Cassius instead turns to his studies and his music, hoping to fade into obscurity. His hope is that he will be sent back home to mind the estate once Adrian and Victoria complete their military training, and at night he dreams of a life of peace and prosperity, idling his days away at the keys and giving his mother the life she deserves.

Instead, he gains unwanted attention with his defeat of a powerful, highborn cadet-- a fluke, every calls it.

A fluke, he hopes.

Except it isn't, and victory after victory makes his name feared and revered at the academy. At graduation, Adrian throws an arm around his shoulder and brags about their superiority in doubles, declares that he will purchase Cassius' commission himself-- it is all he can do not to smile when Adrian looks at him and asks if something is wrong. You've brought my house great honor, my good man, Adrian laughs.

Yes, honor.

&&

You want to what?

I'm going to Newhaven, Adrian.

And what? Protest the emperor? Are you mad? That's treason!

They are my friends. They need me, and... and I'm tired of living like this. Afraid.

So that's what it is. What I've-- What Victoria has done for you, you're just going to throw that away?

No, wait, I--

Enough. You can't leave the estate until this blows over.

Is that an order?

...

&&

Escaping from the manor isn't hard. Neither of the siblings expects him to actually act. It is at Newhaven where everything changes.

Newhaven.

One minute he is rallying the crowd, his heart pounding and his blood hot with revolutionary fervor-- yes, this is where everything begins-- and the next there are screams, the iron taste of that blood on his tongue. He and his pokemon put up as best a fight as they are able, but they are outnumbered and disorganized, and the sword of the Empire cuts through civilian and 'rebel' alike. It is all he can do to get out of there, wounded and disillusioned.

&&

Later, his head bandaged and hate burning in his eyes, he stands before the broken and beaten.

What will we do now?





Patience. His voice rises above the rest, and they turn to face him. This is only the beginning-- patience, patience--

And then we burn their house down.



Name Thane
Species Zoroark
Gender Male
Ability Illusion
Moveset Night Daze | Foul Play | Agility | Night Slash
Origin Obtained as a Zorua from the Lyons as a graduation gift.
Personality Though far from the most outwardly affectionate of Cassius' pokemon, Thane is perhaps the most devoted to his master and the most similar in personality. Fiercely intelligent, aloof, and given that he, like others of his species, is capable of speech when in the guise of a human, one of the few that Cassius confides his fears to. However, considering the covert nature of most of his work, not very many people even know his true nature/form.


Name Legion
Species Lucario
Gender Female
Ability Justified
Moveset Close Combat | Dragon Pulse | Metal Claw | Extreme Speed
Origin Assigned to Cassius at graduation and later evolved.
Personality The defacto "leader" and the most widely-recognized of Cassius' pokemon. Legion's behavior is vaguely reminiscent of an army captain-- and for good reason. She is the most experienced in direct combat of any of them, and is generally his go-to for a typical combat encounter. Tough, loyal, and arguably the most honorable of the lot, Legion is at times wary of Thane and the two have little more than a grudging, mutual respect for one another.


Name Aquila
Species Talonflame
Gender Male
Ability Flame Body
Moveset Brave Bird | Flare Blitz | Acrobatics | Steel Wing
Origin Stolen from Lyons family prior to Newhaven and evolved.
Personality Flashy and vain, Aquila loves nothing more than to show off. He's quick, bold, and more than a little roguish. He is nothing if not dramatic; after all, what's life without a little flair? Though he and Cassius suffered no small amount of tension in the beginning, as Aquila was a Fletchinder in training to serve as security for the Lyons family at the time he was stolen, their time together has eased it some.


Name Rex
Species Marshtomp
Gender Male
Ability Torrent
Moveset Mud Shot | Ice Beam | Rock Slide | Water Gun
Origin Stolen from imperial training facility.
Personality Silly, young, and a little rash. Rex is slowly being brought into line by his older teammates, but he breathes a bit of life into the group. He has all of Cassius' charm and none of his tact, yet he's lovable all the same. While he has seen enough combat to have evolved, he has yet to reach his full potential at the end of his evolutionary line and can still be a tad naive at times.


Name Idunn
Species Chansey
Gender Female
Ability Natural Cure
Moveset Healing Pulse | Sing | Dazzling Gleam | Soft-Boiled
Origin Stolen from imperial training facility and later traded to Cassius, as he sought a healer for his team.
Personality Though initially shy and skittish following the trade, Idunn has blossomed into a bubbly and benevolent creature, if not a little overprotective of the others-- in particular, Rex. She is generally a noncombatant, but not necessarily defenseless, as some have discovered. Though he doesn't admit it, Cassius tends to dote on her; she has him wrapped around her finger.

[b]TOUKEN RANBU, ookurikara[/b] as [i]cassius wolfe[/i]