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The city of Greenwall. A large and prosperous city, and one that mayor Denton Kilmeade was more than proud to be the leader of. They had thriving industries. They had a bustling tourism sector. They had a state-of-the-art public transit system. They had a robust population, in the top 10 in the country, yet still had a clean and walkable city capable of accommodating them all. They had a diverse culture, celebrating Pokémorphs of all types and backgrounds, and civic rules favoring equal treatment that were widely respected and celebrated. Yes, Greenwall was the apple of Mayor Kilmeade's eye - he of course had been well predated by the city, but to have them choose him to lead was an honor, and he thanked every day he had the chance to be the face of it.

How cruel the thought was, then, that he feared it would all crumble before he saw the chance to ask for their permission to continue leading them.

It was late at night, on a cool and somewhat windy night. Far later than most civic meetings would take place...most were either asleep or at least preparing to bed down, the clocks almost ready to turn over to the new day. But sleep was the farthest thing on his mind as the Samurott arrived at his destination...it was certainly not City Hall, in fact it seemed the polar opposite, a nondescript office building that looked rundown, even a bit shady. Not something that set him at ease...secret meeting places were not the type of character that Denton wanted to be. But this time it was necessary, they absolutely had to make sure it was secret, and he couldn't be sure City Hall wasn't already compromised.

Inside he went, keeping his light coat pulled together. Secreted inside were his seamitars, something he would never be caught dead with normally - they were illegal to carry around like this, extensions of him that were nothing but threatening, and even if it wasn't he didn't WANT to be threatening when he was trying to win people over. So for him to have them on him, even hidden away, could only indicate just how frightened he was...thankfully, he hadn't had the need to use them, but he feared the days of his feeling comfortable might be at an end. Sure, it wasn't like danger was completely absent from Greenwall before - every big city had things like that to deal with, it was part of having a bustling society, you could never prevent all trouble from happening without being the trouble yourself. But it had never been so bad that Denton had truly feared for his safety...

He entered a deep room inside the office building, the only one with a light on inside. It seemed he was the last one to arrive...there were only a few others inside, but that was by design, they didn't want a lot of folks there to discuss this serious matter, only the ones who were most important and most trustworthy. Regina Meiks, an Audino, and Lacdon Jescollet, a Staraptor, the two most senior members of the city council and the ones Denton trusted most personally - he didn't think there were any bad apples on the council but there were some he only knew casually, these two he was close to in every way and he wanted them here over anyone; both had tense and serious expressions that were unlike their usual. Dryson Wroak, a Lucario and the chief of the city's peacekeeping division, who looked frustrated and agitated, tapping his finger on the table repeatedly. Coralina Strell, an Espathra, head of the investigative division, whose expression was as even as ever, rarely did she betray her emotions, but Denton figured she had to be disconcerted as well. And Kronus Quarr, a Chesnaught, comptroller of public safety, Dryson and Coralina's boss, and one of the toughest people Denton had ever met, sitting with grim resolve next to his subordinates. Denton took his seat across from him, giving him a nod as he did. "Thank you all for coming here tonight...not where we want to be, but where we need to be."

"Tell me this isn't about what I think it's about, Denton," stated Regina, with a note in her voice that suggested this was merely wishful thinking.

"I wish it wasn't, Regina. But it is. We have confirmation...the NEO Gang has set up in Greenwall."

"Gods help us," breathed Lacdon. "I'd heard rumors, but I thought they were just scare stories..."

Kronus shook his head solemnly. "I'm afraid not. I've had Coralina looking into the whisperings since they started several days back...our investigators had a time of it, but they were finally able to confirm the NEO Gang's presence. As far as we can tell, they haven't yet started their true machinations, but it's only a matter of time...most likely they're still feeling out our weaknesses."

"And I can't say I feel confident in how long we have before they start their abhorrent work." Denton wrung his hands absently. "Coralina...what do you know?"

"As much as most, I believe," reported the Espathra. "The NEO Gang, a gang of Eeveelutions, numbering one of every type. Eight in all, but rumor has it that one more calls the shots for all of them, though they haven't ever been seen. They originated in Koterra - a highly unusual place for a gang to form, they were a small town with little trouble of note. But once the NEO Gang got going, they usurped the power structure and caused a mass riot, resulting in dozens dead and most of Koterra demolished...it's now a ghost town."

"It's stunning to think a gang could do something like that," muttered Regina.

"I might have hoped for that to be an anomaly. But the NEO Gang reappeared in a larger town, Catacan, and started their disruption all over again. It took a little bit longer, but they managed to create a massive rift between the university and the residents, and when the mayor attempted to shut down the university in response, the student uprising sent things into complete chaos. Hundreds dead, Catacan half-razed. The university folded, and Catacan's population is about a third of what it was, with a massive employment problem because their businesses relied on the student population for workers."

"And the NEO Gang was never held accountable?" asked Denton.

"No one ever even looked at them then. But they did when they arrived in Nifston...a good-sized city, smaller than Greenwall but significantly larger than Catacan. When trouble started brewing, the authorities in Nifston zeroed in on the NEO Gang, trying to interfere with them as they went about destabilizing the city, turning communities against each other, breaking apart social structures. But for some reason, the efforts to counteract the NEO Gang ended up furthering their intentions, as the power structures started to target communities themselves, using their power to further rifts and attack people they accused of being in cahoots with the NEO Gang. The mayor, who had been level-headed and not notable beforehand, started making edicts and instilling rules by fiat, usurping the powers of the council, provoking outrage by people who were targeted and oppressed by them. Then came the flash point...sixteen bombs went off around Nifston, allegedly planted by the peacekeepers to 'purify' the city, and there was an enormous citizen uprising. Thousands dead, most of Nifston ruined, and the NEO Gang vanished without so much as a strand of fur out of place. Nifston is now begging for help from the central government for rebuilding, the new mayor revoked all the old mayor's rules but only about 20% of the population is still there, and it's not clear that they'll be able to rebuild."

"How is this shit even possible?" growled Dryson. "These aren't superbeings! They shouldn't be capable of twisting people into caricatures of themselves!"

Coralina shook her head. "Superbeings, no, but they have an operation. I don't know everything that they did, but we got some insight from one of the few peacekeepers to survive the Nifston Riots. He heard something about 'tainted water'...it's possible that chemicals introduced into the water supply affected the behavior of the residents. And there was a period of a couple days where no one knew where the mayor was...and the NEO Gang allegedly has an expert in torture among them, as well as an Espeon, capable of using mind manipulation powers...he believes that the mayor's change was due to his mind being broken and induced to act in a way that was in line with the NEO Gang's interests. Some of the peacekeepers may have been similarly compromised."

"And we're just supposed to sit by while they do this shit in OUR city? We know they're here! Let me take the HARM unit in, we'll wipe them off the map!"

"Do you really think it'll just be as simple as that?" admonished Kronus severely. "What do you think will happen when people see us attempt to murder those who haven't even been accused of a crime? What we know about them is undoubtedly true, yet they have never been charged with anything...they've done a good job keeping at arm's length of the actual trouble. We can't just go commando and expect anyone to think we're doing the right thing, when most don't have any idea what the NEO Gang has done - and us proclaiming so after the fact will merely look like making excuses. We might end up doing their job for them!"

"And that's assuming you even succeeded - which, given that they have a psychic on their team, you might not anyway," pointed out Regina.

Dryson growled, pounding his fist on the table. "Dammit! I can't just sit here and do NOTHING!"

"Dryson. Your emotions are out of control." Coralina spoke curtly but without much severity, but it was enough to get Dryson shrinking away. "I must remind you, deviating from your usual behavior will only make you one of the compromised, whether they induce it or not."

Dryson looked down at the table, taking deep breaths. It was definitely unlike him to be so aggressive, but Denton wasn't sure he could blame him - what they were up against was a threat unlike any they ever would have expected, and they weren't at all prepared for it. But there were still things he didn't understand. "Coralina, do you have any idea WHY they're doing this? What is it they want? Are they seeking some kind of ransom, political power, what would lead them to turn entire cities to dust? Anything we can...at least try to negotiate with them on, at least while we try to find a way to stop them, maybe something that will slow them down?"

Coralina shook her head. "I'm afraid, Mayor, that such a thing is out of the question. This IS the goal."

"...What?"

"Nifston's intelligence was able to provide bits and pieces to us. One of them was someone who worked for the NEO Gang and had bought into them fully. What knowledge they provided was chilling. NEO stands for "New Existential Order." Their goal is nothing less than the eradication of society as it exists today, which they deem to be irredeemably tainted...to be reformatted and replaced with a society as dictated by those who are 'worthy of being the builders' - and while it wasn't said who those builders were supposed to be, I don't think we need to wonder very hard who they have in mind."

"Tainted how?" asked Lacdon.

"Curiously, there were no details provided on that point. I have to wonder if they truly have any specific gripes, or if it's merely dissatisfaction that they do not rule the world. Which, if it is the latter, would provide no avenue towards resolving their issues."

"So no negotiating with them, no trying to placate them, and we haven't got any justification for arresting them, or worse..." Regina rubbed her head. "All of this stuff that we can't do. What CAN we do?"

"I'm trying to figure that out, but it's...difficult," sighed Kronus. "The NEO Gang is very hard to pin down, its members make deliberate efforts to stay out of sight of anyone who might report on them. Our intelligence struggled to even ascertain they were here, much less where they are and what they're doing. Judging from what's been talked about with the Nifston Riots, they almost certainly know how to intercept communications and use that to mislead people. If we try to aggress on them without being able to lock them down completely, they'll turn that back on us in an instant, I have little doubt. I've had people collecting water samples to try to check for anything unusual getting in, but we can't just turn off the city's water supply, either...that itself would be catastrophic."

"...All of which sounds to me like we can't do anything useful."

"...We're trying to figure it out. But...we're in a lot of binds. These are sadistic folks who think nothing of wasting other people's lives in their quest for destruction. We're trying to be the good guys who do the right thing by the rule of law, because that's what we're supposed to be, and they know this and they're abusing that fact to advance their own cause...anything we do that strays from that only empowers them, turns people against us and makes them easier for them to manipulate."

"We can't just...do nothing," Denton said despairingly. "If we do nothing, Greenwall falls all the same."

Silence around the table, as no one really had a good answer to that. It was clear none of them liked the state they were in, a feeling where operating within the rules was a weakness and breaking them would be a disaster, leaving them with virtually no recourse against a gang whose only goal was to see Greenwall left a smoking crater with countless bodies. Denton felt his heart sinking - these were the people he trusted to have answers, and they didn't...if they didn't, who possibly could?

The answer came out of nowhere, almost literally. "Heh...sure sounds like you pols have your pricks in a pickle, don't you?"

"What the-?!" Everyone leapt up, looking around. Denton was almost in a lather. "Who said that?! Show yourself!"

"Aw, is the widdle mayor spooked? Maybe you shoulda had a Dark-type around if you didn't want your secrets being overheard." It was enough words for the sextet to zero in on the source of the voice - over in the dark, shadowy corner of the room, a smirking Zoroark had revealed himself. Tall, broad, muscular for his frame, and devoid of any clothing, he seemed perfectly at ease despite being outnumbered and at a type disadvantage to at least two of the morphs in there.

"You..." Lacdon's voice was shaky. "You're...you're one of those Shadowstahl, aren't you?"

"Shadowstahl?" Denton's eyes widened. The Shadowstahl were a gang, but one he knew much better than the NEO Gang...they had been part of Greenwall for decades. Every city had its seedy side, even one that tried to be as bright and attentive as Greenwall, and Shadowstahl was the main force of that seedy side. They were a gang that was predominantly Dark-type morphs, at least in power - they had numerous morphs of other types in their ranks, but they were typically subordinates. And deviance was their game...they were the ones behind a good bit of the illicit activity that went on in Greenwall. The black market, illegal fighting rings, exotic and unsafe drugs, unlicensed sex dens catering to risky fetishes, smuggling activities, things along those lines that introduced unnecessary risks and nastiness into the city. They had one big tell above all else: members of Shadowstahl were outright forbidden from wearing clothing, nudism was their strictest bylaw and those who were part of it wore that proudly. Sometimes you'd see one wearing an accessory like jewelry or an armband or kerchief, but it had to barely provide any coverage and especially not cover anything 'important.' Everyone in the room had been at odds with Shadowstahl for their entire time in their positions, but they were good at hiding in the shadows and every time they got to one enterprise another was able to pop up and go undetected for a long time. And yet...now here was one of them, standing unafraid before them, despite the fact that he could have been arrested right then and there for indecency.

"The very same." The Zoroark snickered as he eyed them. "Call me Dupiet. Seems to me you might have bigger things to worry about than us right now, though, don't you?"

"What kind of game are you trying to play?" Kronus questioned, voice full of suspicion.

"The best kind of game, one where we hold all the cards." Dupiet straightened up, arms folded, looking between them all. "You have a problem, don't you? You can't do what you'd need to do to fight this NEO Gang. Try to act in any way that would even possibly solve the problem, and you create trouble for people and make them easy targets for manipulation. Try to act within the rules, and they'll run you over without a second thought. You need to break the rules, but you can't break the rules." Dupiet's grin widened. "But...no one said anything about subcontracting."

Carolina blinked. "You...are...suggesting we use YOU?"

"Smart chick. Shadowstahl doesn't have to worry about playing within the lines that you guys do. Seems like a good option, no? You don't have to sully your hands, and we LIKE playing dirty."

"What makes you think we'd even THINK about something like that?!" snarled Dryson. "How do we know YOU'RE not working for them right now?! We should be discussing whether we even let you leave here alive!"

Dupiet merely snickered, unfazed by the outburst. "Comptroller, I think you need to rein in your attack dog. The city wouldn't be okay with letting such a, ah, temperamental soul be in charge of their peacekeeping force, would they?"

"That is a discussion for another time." Kronus gave Dryson a look, and the Lucario kept his mouth shut, though he was still glaring at Dupiet. "That said, he raises a valid point. How can we trust you? Shadowstahl has not been any friend of ours, and I can't imagine you'd do this out of the goodness of your heart."

"Well, a subcontractor needs to get paid, doesn't it? We'd of course have our costs...and don't think that I'm talking money, OUR price is much more valuable to us. But I suppose you're more interested in our motives...they're quite simple, comptroller." Dupiet's eye glinted malevolently. "We don't LIKE this NEO Gang. This is OUR city, OUR home, and these clods want to waltz in and turn it to rubble...Shadowstahl doesn't play that game. The boss, he's already got a plan, and it won't be long before it's in motion...the NEO Gang will never see us coming. The only question is, do you work with us, or do you have a mess on your hands afterwards?"

Denton wasn't sure he liked the calculus on that...from a position of serious disadvantage, this 'deal' was beyond a doubt a form of strong-arming. And yet...there was a reason Shadowstahl had such an advantage, they had the means to do what Denton and his allies couldn't. And with stakes as high as this, there was a good chance that a deal with the devil was the only viable solution - provided it didn't make things worse. "Say we were to consider this. What is it you want out of this?"

Dupiet's eyes gleamed as he leaned forward a bit into the light. "Mayor's got a head on his shoulders after all. I'll make this nice and simple. One: we want latitude. We do this for you, you stay out of our business, no matter how many of your regulations don't like it. Two: abolish the nudity laws. We wanna be as the gods made us, that's our call, and no one else's. Three: you create a position for one of us. So that we get to be nice and close to the ear of power, and we get to have a say in how things go. You do all that after we take care of this problem for you, and everything gets wrapped up nice and neat. You don't, and we'll make sure to stir up some trouble of our own that you won't like to have to deal with...might even make your lives harder than they need to be."

"Threatening us doesn't really inspire that much trust," countered Regina stiffly.

"Ain't a threat, just a warning. The wheels are turning whether you're on the train or not. I'm just giving you a chance to get on."

"This is insane..." mumbled Dryson, hands clenched into fists. "This is blackmail..."

But Denton had heard enough. "This is what we have to do. All right, Dupiet, you have your deal. If the NEO Gang is truly finished by your group, then you'll get what you seek. I'll of course need satisfactory proof that this has been accomplished before I can grant you any of it."

"You'll have it, mayor, and I guarantee you'll be convinced." Dupiet gave a little wave. "I'll let the boss know. Don't forget your end..." With that, the Zoroark exited the room...and just as the door was shutting, the image of him vanished into thin air, his Illusion making it appear like he was never even there.

Kronus turned towards Denton. "Mayor...I would have appreciated a bit more consultation before agreeing to such a decision."

"There's nothing to consult over, Kronus," replied Denton wearily. "If this turns into a mess, better it fall on my head alone than all of ours. But if the only price to pay for Greenwall's salvation is accepting another degree of seediness, it's a price worth paying. I want you still working on backup plans, just in case they can't pull it off...but if they're stopped here..."

"They'll take the credit for stopping it, you realize," pointed out Lacdon.

"No doubt. They would either way...if this is the only measure of control we retain, I might as well try to retain it. Everyone, you're dismissed...hopefully, next time we meet, it will be under happier circumstances."