"Even in your last moments you don't disappoint, Red." Archer was clutching half of his face, hopelessly trying to cling to the burnt flesh that remained there. He had foolishly relaxed his guard and hadn't noticed Red's hidden Charizard until it was too late. It was dead now, along with Red's Snorlax, Venusaur, and Glaceon. Pikachu was hanging on by a thread, and Red's Aerodactyl still stood tall. Red himself was almost at death's door. He just needed a final push. Lucky for him, Archer was incredibly angered at the loss of his beauty. He was more than eager to offer that final nudge into Sweet Peace.
Marcus was wondering whether his new eyes were playing tricks on him. After exiting Arisis and walking through a mere five minutes of former-forest, one would find oneself at the foot of the wooden bridge that lead to Taurisis. That was not the case. They had been walking incessantly for half an hour, seemingly going nowhere at all. Even though Marcus could feel his feet move his body forward, his surroundings only flickered and reappeared the exact same position from him they had been a step before. Marcus also noticed tiny lights at the edge of his vision. Even with enhanced eyes, he couldn't focus on them. Almost an hour later, Raziel stomped a foot down.
"This is completely insane," she breathed. She wiped a delicate hand across her forehead. They had all worked up a sweat, and it had become unusually humid. "We shouldn't be walking in circles if we aren't even turning." Lance had stopped beside Raziel, and was watching Marcus for an answer, his brow raised as if to say "well?" Marcus stopped and thought to himself a minute. Going in circles would mean constantly reoccurring surroundings. Their situation was more complex, or less, depending on how you saw it. It was as if they had been walking on a treadmill with the same backdrop all around them. Marcus tapped his foot in frustration. When had he first noticed? Surely one couldn't walk an hour in place and not realize it. Not only that, the humidity seemed almost tangible, like a real thing that was slowly draining their energy. Marcus looked at Lance.
"Something's up," He said, keeping his voice cool. "We haven't moved at all. Someone or something is toying with us." Lance's other brow raised to join the first in a look of astonishment. Raziel sat down on a rotted log. Her eyes glowed briefly before she spoke. "Something's blocking my powers, but that can only mean we're being followed." She unsheathed her spoons. "Or watched." Marcus raised his hand and whispered Shadow Ball before letting loose a huge ball of dark energy straight ahead of him. After a few feet it disappeared. Poof; into thin air. Lance's jaw dropped. Raziel only stared.
"What the hell was that?" Lance asked, his hands shaking. At first Marcus thought the little demonstration had scared him, but he saw that Lance was only shaking from fatigue. It was clear that even standing was taking a lot out of him. Raziel looked as bad, and would probably need help getting off the log, but Marcus could practically hear Raziel working it out in her head. She was a step ahead of him in figuring it out. "Trick Room" she said. She jumped up off the log, teetering on her feet before catching herself. Her eyes were blazing a brilliant purple. After a few seconds, their surroundings shattered like glass, falling in fragments and disappearing into the ground, revealing the exact same scenery that lie behind. The whole deal was a trippy experience. Poor Lance's jaw was bound to pop off at one more surprise.
Turns out he had another coming. As the last of the shards of the illusion fell away from reality, the lights that had been dancing out of view came into sudden focus. Tiny, purple, candle-like flames flickered above candle-like Pokémon floating here and there among the trees. Marcus narrowed his eyes at the sight of them. "Litwick. I should have guessed." Lance was backing away as they floated closer, surrounding them, Marcus noted. In a flash, his faced ripped into his devilish grin that meant Haunter mode. Dark energy gathered in his hands, preparing to be launched and dispatch a few of these... these leeches. But before he could act, the shadows seemed to twist as a figure stepped out, seemingly made of darkness. It formed into a tall and muscular man, all shoulders and chest with black hair done in a tight pony tail that ended in dark waves. His face was surprisingly plain, and almost square in shape. He had the presence of a drill sergeant. The most prominent feature that stood out was the Dagger symbol that was tattooed onto one of his huge biceps; the other arm held a tattoo of purple flames that circled his entire right arm. Marcus hated the man instantly. The Litwick gathered around him, bathing him in flickering purple light.
"Well look what we have here. I haven't even seen any Shield agents since the Rise of Dagger, and now three of 'em wander right into Dagger Country." The man sounded amused. He chuckled. "It's a miracle." Behind him, Marcus could feel Raziel bracing her entire body, readying an attack. The man didn't seem to notice. He just continued chatting as if they were friends. "You know," he said, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm glad for the distraction. I've been bored out of my mind lately."
"If you think these little parasites are gonna be enough to stop me," Marcus began, his voice low and threatening, "You're not going to like what happens next." Marcus sank into the ground and rushed through the ground behind the huge man, jumping out of his shadow. The man didn't so much as even flinch; he must be all talk. Just as Marcus was about to sink his claws into his back and slice his heart, the man's right arm stretched out like a snake and wrapped itself around Marcus before he could jump back. He brought Marcus around to face him.
"Kid, I was training ghost types since before you could even say 'Pokémon'." He reared back and threw Marcus high into the air. Marcus flipped and prepared to counter with a Shadow ball, until a huge hand came up and grabbed his whole face. Blinded, Marcus felt himself pulled towards the ground at a frightening speed. His body blossomed with a pain unlike any he'd felt in the past, then he lost himself in darkness.
Raziel swallowed a gasp as the huge punk, who'd just reached up twenty feet and slammed Marcus into the ground head-first, kicked his unmoving body, shaking his fist as he did so. "Damn," he laughed. "I probably overdid that a bit." He cracked his knuckles before turning his attention to Raziel. He grinned at her, a move that made her stomach sink. "You're next, Cupcake."
Raziel ran at the guy full speed. She figured he would be thrown off at her brave move and hesitate, giving her just enough time to hit him with hypnosis. Raziel came up knee-first, expecting to knock the wind out of him. Moving even faster than she did, the man side stepped her and slammed his huge fist into her back. She slammed into the ground face-first and didn't get up. The man laughed even harder to himself. "I'm General Braddock, girl. You won't defeat me with your poor strength." He swiveled his head, searching for Lance. "I guess the other one wised up and split. He whistled, and soon four team Dagger scouts emerged from hiding beyond the circle of Litwick.
"Comb the area in between here and Taurisis for the third punk. Take him alive, but do what you have to if he puts up a fight." They nodded and headed off in different directions, followed by the Litwick, for light. Braddock turned back to the first two kids, both still in motionless heaps. "Axis is gonna definitely promote me to a Commander when he sees the prizes I've collected for him." He grabbed Raziel by her waist and threw her over his shoulder. A spoon slid out of her pocket, but he disregarded it. He walked to Marcus and grabbed him by his hair. He made a soft grunt of pain, but quickly fell silent again.
"Alright Lampent, let's get back to HQ so I can contact the boss." Braddock's tattoo shimmered before the air around him did. He stepped into darkness and was swallowed by it.