Act 68: A Sinister Presence

With the Grove no longer in the way and the noble rule having been done away with, it was time for the Republic to start actually working towards some developments to better everyone's lives. First Stic appointed some monks to govern certain parts of the Land of Sand, such as the former capital and Bleached Bastion. Stic is still the ruler of the republic as a whole but there is just no way for him to do everything himself. The former 'capital' is going to be going through a makeover in the future, and perhaps even get a new name as it is no longer the capital of the Sands, that being Sandstone now. Though not the entire land of Sand was within NSR's control, there is one spot that the war didn't manage to affect thanks to the advance of the Grove stopping at Sandstone. It is the town of Drywell, a few other smaller towns around it. Stic's plan on how to deal with that was trying to go for a peaceful solution, trying to negotiate their surrender...but as to be expected this is not being quite easy, the nobles there don't seem to be aware of all that happened at the capital just yet, so they aren't taking the republic serious. But it doesn't look like things are going to escalate to violence, perhaps with some time and political pressure they can be persuaded to accept to be absorbed into the NSR. 
But for now another 'odd' problem starts manifesting, mostly around Sandstone, there has been these new 'food items' being sold about, they have been affecting the populace in...less than savory ways. It's some sort of 'snow' that isn't cold, whoever eats it is provided with a rush of energy but there are also negative effects...such as a strong dependence on it. Stic got stumped on how to deal with this problem, so he asks the Avali for help regarding it...

"Yes, Stic. Is it... president now? Or Governor? Or have you selected some other sort of title for yourself? Khaako asks as he hologram appears in front of the familiar, now almost perpetually landed drone on his desk.

"I decided to go with 'president'." Stic said. "The word has a certain feel to it that I find appealing."

"Ah, good choice." Khaako smiles a toothy grin. "Anyway, how are things going? I haven't heard from you in quite some time."

"Yeah, I have been quite busy." He sighs. "But thankfully not as busy as I would have been if I didn't appoint those governors to lighten the load for me. Also there is something I've been wanting to talk with you about."

"Well, let's hear it then."

"There has been this 'food item' called 'snow' going around, it seems to have been the cause of some bad effects on mon, leaving them sick but they can't get enough of it...I'm not quite sure where it even comes from. I already sent some of it to Sandgun so they could have a look at it."

"hmm... tell me the symptoms." She scratches her chin in thought. "I think I know what you're talking about. Though then again it could be a number of things."

Well, it's at times like this that Stic is glad he got that Sanitarium build. "The doctor said that people that seem to have used this 'snow' have dilated pupils, loss of appetite, frequent sniffles and some were even having nosebleeds and nausea."

"Yup... sounds like you have a drug problem." Khaako replies. Anticipating a look of confusion and/or indignation, she quickly corrects herself. "Erm, your population I mean, not you personally. You haven't been trying any of it, have you?"

He does have a look of confusion in his face, but that's because 'drug' is a new word to him more than anything really. "No, I wasn't planning on it either."

"Okay good. I'm still not completely sure what type it is. It could be Terran Cocaine, it could be Moon Sugar, It could be ground-up Buffout, it could be Bigraxian Hellpowder, or any number of undiscovered homebrew drugs. Whatever, the point is that this isn't good." She thinks for a bit. "And you're sure this hasn't been a problem before?"

The Meowstic shakes his head. "No, I have never seen or even heard of anything like this before up until now."

"Hmmmm... You sure? I'm surprised with the amount of misery in the lower classes, that drugs would have been a go-to thing for relief?"

"Yes I am absolutely sure there hasn't been anything like this in the past." With how things are around here with pokémon being unable to invent things, 'revolutionary technology' like iron and such was only brought around by humans, so such refined chemical products of this level isn't something possible because pokémon haven't grasped chemistry yet. Stic sighs. "But yes, it is a problem, what should I do? put some laws to ban this 'snow'?" 

"Well, yes, but keep in mind that just outright banning it on its own doesn't do much, they'll move it underground and before you know it you'll have drug gangs all over the place. You're going to have to start a rehab program for addicts. And try not to get too harsh with the punishments for the users. It might be tempting to start a 'war on drugs', but from what we've seen, that never ends well. Focus on harm reduction instead of punishment. The idea should be to cut demand and find the source of it, not try to scare users out of it, because again, that rarely ever works."

"I see..." That's quite a few things to keep in mind to deal with this, but it doesn't feel impossible. "Alright, thank you for your advice, Khaako."

"Anytime, Stic." Just when it looks like she's about to leave, but just before she does, she remembers something else. "Oh, by the way, way off topic, and perhaps a bit personal, but... I remember that one 'Seer' girl from before. How's things with her working out?"

"Oh, things are going well." He smiles. He has a feeling that Seer has some intimate feelings for him, one day he wants to talk with her about that, in time in a place that fits well together. "Things are going really well. She and I have become quite inseparable." 

"Oooh, that's good to hear." Khaako coos. "Well, if there's nothing else at the moment, I'll be off. Though, I will say this: I do find it a bit odd that this drug problem has just started now. Usually new regimes inherit these kinds of drug problems, but yours it seems just seems to be starting theirs. I have to wonder if...." She shakes her head. "No, it's not likely."

"Hhhmmmm..." If it's even strange to the Avali then something is definitively up here... "Hopefully we find clues."

"Yes. Hopefully. This sounds a bit too sudden and coincidental to have sprung up on its own."

With Khaako's advice, Stic put in place something to raise awareness to the danger of using 'snow' too much and that young pokémon should absolutely not use it. He also invested in getting rehab at the sanitarium for those that are addicted to it. Finding the 'source' was not straight forward but it did gave some good information on the matter, it got into town because merchants brought it with them, as for where they got it, turns out someone sold it to them while they were on their way to Sandstone, it would also be worthy of note that all of these merchants were taking a specific route which lead them to coming into possession of this the drug. Overall it seems that this is working well.
Back on Drywell's territory, the Republic's tactic has been working well, some of the few surrounding towns were convinced to join the Republic, leaving Drywell with less territory without needing to have taken any violent approach to the matter. Word is that the nobles in Drywell are angry at this but are aware that trying to do something about it with violence is not going to end well for them, they might just let the New Sands Republic have what it wants...
One of the things that the president of the NSR made sure to do was take measures to stabilize the lands, patrols making sure the routes were safe and a better organized regiment of guards in towns made things very difficult for common thieves and brigands alike. So much so that the criminal elements of the sand started getting worried enough to put their differences aside to come together to meet up to decide on what to do.
Said meet up is taking place in a cave, where a small number of bandit leaders have gathered to talk about their shared problem: The New Sands Republic.
"Nnngaaahh! Those damn 'republic' SCUM!" A Tyranitar angrily headbutts a rather large stalagmite raising from the ground, it breaks like a toothpick against her head. "They got soldiers watching the damn roads all the time, how the hell are we supposed to rob those damn caravans?! All we can do is watch as all that juicy poké and food get to the damn towns!!"
"Yeah, I know..." A Lucario leaning against a wall said, far more calmer than the strong and loud female in the center. "The Nobles were nice and lazy, now we gotta ride like rattata in the dark...hmph...couldn't get a good piece of ass for a while now because of them."
Hiding in the shadows is a Sableye, though everyone knows he is here right now. "Hhmmmm, you know I kinda like the challenge they provide!" He giggles.
"Easy for you to say! All your people do is pick pockets like cowards!" The Tyranitar shouted, it seems like these two aren't on the same page at all.
"Oh but we did far more than just pick pockets in our time! You just neve heard of the things we took because we move in the shadows!~" There is more giggling from the darkness.
"Focus, you idiots!" The Lucario growled as he stepped forward. "We seriously need to do something about this, not get on each other's throats. We need a solution, I propose we join up together so we have the numbers needed if we want to stand a chance."
"Oooh, a threesome then! What fun! But who's going to lead?" The thief with gem eyes said, almost mockingly
The Armor Pokémon jumps at the opportunity to answer that question. "Me! It's gotta be me because i'm the strongest here! I'm more of male than you two can ever be!" And that's taking the fact that she is a female.
"Really? You?" The Lucario isn't on board with that, he feels like he is the only one here who has their head working right. "Please...you would just end up killing us all with some reckless stunt."

"Gentlemen, please." A gruff, yet gentle voice interrupts from the cave entrance. A large, hairy manky-like being with a long white coat with a front pocket walks into the cave. He is flanked by two similar beings that are dressed with some metallic, very heavy looking armor and wielding a pair of unknown weapons. Behind them is another pair of coat-wearing monkeys carrying some sort of large box. They set it down behind the first with a loud plop. "There is no need to be upset."

At first they thought this voice belonged to some other notable outlaw boss like them, after all this was what this meeting is for. But when all the pokémon present noticed that who arrived didn't look like anything they expected they were left in silence, staring in surprise at these individuals in armor. The only one who breaks the silence is the Sableye thief who shows up from behind the Tyranitar. "Ooooh they look like they are dressed in some shiny stuff, and the others are in white? What a choice of color." 
The Tyranitar is stupid, but she is not THAT stupid, she can already tell that there is something up with these strangers but she doesn't know what. "Do I look upset?!" Yes, yes she does. 
"Alright Big Nitar, that's enough..." The Lucario says to shut her up as he steps forward to talk with these people. "Well, i can say i heard of any other bandit groups that look like you, so you most likely aren't that." Not to mention he never saw species quite like this before, he knows about Infernape but these don't have fire on top of their heads nor does the color of their fur match that of an Infernape's. "Care to enlighten me about who you are?"

"Who we are..." The monkey-person replies in as calm and confident of a tone as one can hope to achieve "... Is of little consequence to you fine gentlemen. Suffice it to say that we are indeed your friends in this, as we too wish to see this... 'NSR', as you are calling it, fail."

"Heh. You are telling me, i don't know one outlaw mon who wouldn't want them out of the picture these days." He crosses his arms. "I don't usually accept friends so fast, unless there are benefits of course."

"Ah, I see you are suspicious of our intent. Understandable." The well-dressed ape says with a smile. "In that case, allow us to prove our intents with this gift." He steps off to the side while gesturing towards the box with both of his open palmed hands. "I believe you'll find all the 'benefit' you need in this box. A gift of our esteem."

"How is a box going to help us!?" The Tyranitar asked. Could she really be THAT shortsighted? 
"I think he meant IN the box, pebble brain~" The Sableye teased, he doesn't seem to be afraid to talk like this to a pokémon much larger than him, and violent. 
"Same difference! It's still just a single box!" Well, maybe she doesn't lack that much intelligence. 
Yes, it is just a box, but they won't get anywhere but just letting it be just that. Deciding to not waste his breath with those two for now, the Lucario approaches the box and tries to open it to see what is inside.

The box opens easily, and inside, are a bunch of odd looking metallic weapons. They look... well, vaguely similar to a crossbow without any of the strings, and a long barrel and complicated mechanisms and no place for bolts. "Now, do not worry, you will receive a briefing on how to use these. The last time we.. allowed... one of you fine people to have one it was... shall we say, rather disappointing. This time however we've agreed to teach you how to properly use them."

The Blue Jackal picks up a assault rifle, not knowing very what it is, he holds it in his paws and tilts his head to the side a little. One thing is for sure though, those look like they are made of iron, whatever these are. "Really now...? Alright you got me interested here, i'm eager to see what these can do once you teach me to use them." 
For once Big Nitar is not speaking at a high volume, she is very curious about these too. "What very strange items! I don't know what they are but they certainly look...valuable just look like they are made of metal~" The smallest of the trio comments.

"Quite so. And do remember that we are the only ones who can give these to you, and the ammunition necessary to operate them." A grin appears on his lips. "Ah, but I suspect what you really need right now is a demonstration." He nods towards one of the guards. The guard wordlessly puts his own gun over his shoulder in a sling, and picks up one of the bullpup rifles from the box. He takes aim at a large stalagmite.
 RATATATATAT 
The rock is completely obliterated by the hail of bullets. The suited monkey looks back at the group of bandits, with a smug grin on his face. 
"Are you convinced now? As they say, seeing is believing after all."

All the three pokémon are looking at it in awe, the Tyranitar and the Sableye have no bashful words or snarky remarks, they are trying to wrap their head around what just happened! It was like that thing spat destruction upon that stalagmite while making quite some noise. The Lucario looks down at a rifle he is holding him his paws, and he begins to smile at the thought of what they would be able to do with weapons like these. "Yes, yes this could be just what we need. You can consider me your friend."

"Very good." The suited ape says as the armored one puts the gun back into the box and takes his own rifle back out. "All of these are yours, and we will spend the next hour or so teaching you how to use and maintain them. Of course, they do come with a price. We do expect a portion of the valuables you gain from these. weapons. However, we will also take payment in captives. This particular crate is on the house of course. An... investment, let us call it." One of the other suited monkeys gives a grunt, but the two guards remain as robotic as ever.

He likes the sound of that, if he could arm more of his trusted mons with these then this could be good. "Oh don't worry I will get you what you want." Though he also is thinking about trying to negotiate a little right now, if these people want valuables and they have these powerful weapons. "A price huh? How much? we could pay for a few more of these."

"As I said, we also take payment in... well, 'slaves' is such a dirty word. Let us just call them... 'conscripted test volunteers'. As for what valuables... Well, let us see what you have for the moment. I doubt you have what we are looking for, but it's always worth looking, no? You'll find we have a... particular taste of items. Ones that may not be of particular use to your kind, but are of great scientific value to us. But mostly, causing trouble for the NSR and their... friends... is more than enough for the moment."

"Well that won't be an issue, we will give you all the pokémon we get our paws on if that let us have more of these..." The Lucario looks at the rifle he is holding once more. "...Do these things have a particular name?"

"Firearms. IRON-throwers. Slug-Launchers. Guns." The suited ape replies with a bored sneer as he waves his hand in a circle with bored disinterest. "Call them what you will. It makes no difference to us."

"Alright then. So, all that's left is for you to teach us how to properly use them." They do look a bit complex, but he is not going to pass up the chance of using such a good killing tool. He then looks to the other two outlaws with him. "So...what shall it be? Shall we do this now that we got something to even the odds against that cat's republic?" 
"...I want one! Give me one!" The Tyranitar said as she approached to pick up one of the weapons from the box, one of the shotguns. "Yes this one looks big!" "Hehe, okay i will play along!~" The Sableye wishes these weren't so big, but he settles for picking up one of the submachines, how is he NOT one to have one of these after seeing what they can do?

"Very good. Now... gather around. Now, first things first, the last... gentleman we gave this too could not figure out that eventually these things run out of ammo. How many shots it has depends on the clip side. The clip being that long item sticking out of the bottom. Now to remove it..." 
The ape spends the next half hour to an hour teaching them the finer points on how to reload their weapon, even how to maintain it on a small level, cleaning them off, unjamming them, basic aiming, that sort of thing. 
Definitely not soldier-level training, but enough for the bandits to get started. "... And that should be it."

Now handling the rifle correctly rather than simply holding it like some mysterious item like he was doing before, the Lucario nods to the Ape and looks to his fellow Outlaw. "You guys got all that too, right?"
"Yes! If I feed them..." Big Nitar holds up some shotgun shells. "To my IRON-throwers it will spit death at my enemies!"
'Mmm-mmm..." That sounds good enough for him.

"Now remember, I'm sure you'll all want to run around spraying everything with IRON, but there is a limited supply of the ammo, and we're the only ones who provide it to you. And we will supply you at the end of the month." The Ape grins. "And if you do a good enough job for our tastes, we might even give you some heavier weapons than these."

"Yes, of course. Trigger discipline like you taught us. "The Lucario said to the Ape. "Now if that will be all for now, we will get to work right away in planning some raids and capturing some pokémon for you."

"Of course. We'll take our leave now, gentlemen. We... Look forward to your continued cooperation." He nods to them, and then turns towards his guards and helpers and motions with his head towards the entrance. They all turn, and head out.

After they left, the trio of outlaw bosses began splitting the weapons and ammo amongst themselves, this is good but it might get messy if someone decides to start backstabbing......but for now they all have a good reason to work together. This took some time until they were all on an agreement on how to split these weapons.
The Lucario heard someone approaching from behind, so he turned around to see...another one of those people? It kinda looks like it but they are mostly hairless and are dressed in black instead of white. "Huh? You people again? What is it this time?"
Jovanny is not amused by what he just got compared to. "No, I am not one of those people." He deadpans. "How dare you even compare me to those things that look like my evolutionary lesser form?"
"Really?" That was not the response he was expecting. He points his rifle at this person, and his other two friends aim their weapons at him too. "Who are you then?"
He isn't intimidated by these armed pokémon aiming at him though. "Oh i just want to be your friend too, don't worry i already brought the benefits!" He happily reaches into his pockets and pulls out a small gem that shines with the colors of the rainbow. "Trust me, you will like this...perhaps a little too much~"