Yeah... sorry this took forever. And for the whole soul-crushing I'm about to do.
Not really much else I can say, other than this was really hard to write. I get attached to characters way too easy.
Tales of Flame - Side Stories
Hazel - A Mother's Will
The storm had hit right on cue, driving Hazel and the kits back into the den as the sun started to set. Thankfully Hazel had managed to shore up her home's canopy with grass, dirt and leaves, welding them into place with superheated saliva if neccessary, so the roof was more than capable of withstanding the torrential rain. The Eevee twins had curled up to their mother and fallen asleep almost immediately, exhausted from a long day of exploring and getting into mischief. Neither of them so much as stirred at the occasional rumble of thunder from overhead. Hazel had soon joined the two in sleep, letting them both draw from the warmth in her fur, only to find herself stirring again some time later.
She blinked in the darkness, bringing herself back to full alertless. She didn't know what had made her rouse from her sleep so suddenly, she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Although that wasn't saying much with a storm raging overhead. Still the Flareon paused, breathing out the tiniest sparks to make just enough light to see in the den. She made sure to aim them well above her kits, the two of them cuddling up against the white fur of her chest without a care in the world. They certainly didn't seem to think anything was wrong and Hazel was more than tempted to lay her head back down and go back to some much needed rest.
But something wasn't feeling right. She didn't know what, or even how she knew, but there was just a feeling running through her that gave her a sense of unease. Thankfully the fur on her chest was thick enough that her little ones couldn't feel the slow increase in her heart as she strained her hearing. Still nothing, nothing but the drumming of rain and the rumble of thunder. All she could smell was wet grass and dust, no help there, so that left her with only one option left. Actually going out to see for herself. She groaned quietly to herself, slowly shifting and shuffling her way free of the two Eevee twins without waking them.
It took only a few seconds for them to whimper in their sleep, noticing the sudden lack of their mother's warmth. She gently nudged the two of them together, hoping that would buy her at least a few minutes to go outside and investigate. Smiling down at the two brown and white bundles of fur that coiled around eachother, clutching at their tails, Hazel gave them both a quick nuzzle.
"No getting into trouble while I'm gone," she whispered, chuckling to herself as she quietly stepped over the two and towards the exit to the den. Thankfully years of practice at sneaking up on Vapor when they were kits had left her with quite a knack for moving quietly, the kits didn't so much as stir as she made her way out into the storm.
It wasn't as bad as it had been when it had first broke, but the rain still soaked through her fur and sending a chill straight to the bone almost immediatly the moment she stuck her head out into the open air. She sighed to herself, ignoring the cold for the moment. She could raise her body temperature using her fire abilities, but there wasn't much point if she was going to have to walk out into the storm. And, with no immediate sign of the cause of her unease, it certainly seemed like that was going to be the case. The years of living on her own had taught her caution, however, and she paused at the entrance to take another listen, sniffing the air once more. Still nothing, so she stepped out into the rain.
Thankfully the intermittent flashes of lightning were doing wonders to help her see even with the moon and stars hidden behind black clouds. The Flareon cast her gaze in every direction as she stepped out into the open, fur rapidly becoming completely soaked through. She bit back the discomfort, focusing on looking for any sign, anything out of place. And eventually she spotted one. As lightning flashed over head, she saw a glint of light reflecting off of something in the corner of her eye, coming from the bushes that hid her den from the road into Cerulean City. Something that most definitely had not been there earlier. She crouched low, ignoring the mud staining her sodden fur, sneaking towards the strange thing with a burst of fire ready at a moment's notice.
Silently she approached, keeping to the tall grass as much as she could until she was as close as she dared get. Hazel took a deep breath to steady herself, peering out of her hiding place and getting her first good look at the strange thing as another lightning flash lit up the sky. It was a small round disc, made of some kind of polished stone. There was a thread running through a hole in its center, tying the strange object to a branch. Hazel had never seen anything like it before, it didn't look like anything a Human would leave around... Part of her wanted to investigate further but another was telling her it was clearly nothing that couldn't wait until morning. She tilted her head, mimicking her brother for a moment as she started to weigh up her options. When a sudden rustling in the grass snapped her out of her thoughts. She spun around to face this strange noise only for a tan blur to slam into her side and pin her to the muddy ground.
A sudden intense pain raced along her left flank, matched only by the cold sensation of liquid not from the storm starting to run down her hind leg as her attacker crashed her into the ground. Whatever it was, it was far bigger than her. There was no way she was going to shake it off, not when it's jaws clamped tight on the back of her neck, keeping her unable to turn and roast it with fire. Hazel gritted her teeth, a sudden rage she had never felt before taking over. She couldn't let this thing win, not when her two Eevee were so vulnerable. It might have her pinned, she might not be able to fry it. But she was a Flareon, an Eon of fire. Simply pinning her down wasn't going to stop her.
She could feel it, even behind the lancing agony in her side, a burst of heat inside. And so she concentrated, stoking the fire; rage and adrenaline fueling it higher and higher in a matter of seconds. And with it went her body temperature, soaring far past what would be safe for a non-fire type, until the water soaking her fur started to boil and her attacker found itself inside a cloud of steam. It recoiled from the sudden scalding vapour engulfing its head and paws, losing its grip. And that was all Hazel needed. She rolled onto her back, looking through the steam and still falling rain. A flash of lightning illuminated the seared and startled gaze of a Persian.
And then there was another source of light entirely. Hazel's maw filled with fire as she launched upwards and clamped superheated teeth into the beast's shoulder. She heard it yelp as fire roasted the new puncture wounds further, burning through flesh and muscle. She didn't care, glaring up at the thing with a fury only a mother knows. It managed to clock her around the head with a paw. Its claws opening another scratch but her grip didn't weaken as stars danced in her eyes. Eventually the Persian tore itself free, launching backwards on three legs, trying to shield the blackened and burned limb from further punishment from the Flareon whose fur was still glowing red hot.
Hazel got back to her feet, watching the Persian all the while. Her glare didn't even waver as she felt her wounded leg nearly give out underneath her weight, she didn't flinch as the movement opened the slice along her side even deeper. Pain wasn't going to stop her, not while that thing was standing so close to her den and the little ones inside. She let her body temperature drop back down a little, thinning the cloud of steam around her enough to be able to aim as she redirected that heat to build a blast of fire. No matter how powerful the storm, it was not going to stop a maternal-instinct powered Flamethrower. And the Persian knew it, the light from the fire leaking from between her teeth illuminating a look of fear as it started to backpeddle as quick as it could on three legs.
The was only one thing that made her pause. Mere moments before roasting the feline with every spark she could muster, she spotted its gaze flick away from her. Away from the Flareon about to blast it, to something behind her, back where she'd seen that pendant. Whatever it had seen had somehow erased the fear from seconds before. It was a temporary thing though, the look of terror in its eye returning in a flash as a lick of flame burnt along its flank. Hazel had held back half of the Flamethrower as she spun around, ignoring the lancing agony in her side and leg that had her head swimming as she unleashed the remaining blast straight at the larger, looming figure plucking the strange disk from the branches.
In the half second before impact, she saw yellow and brown fur lit up by the approaching inferno. She saw a crooked nose hiding what looked to be a faint smile as the creature held the pendant out in front of it, a cold purple glint shining through the red and yellows of the fire as it, somehow, was redirected. Hazel bit back the fear and sudden wave of dread as she let the stream of fire fade away, revealing the strange Pokemon unharmed. The grasses and undergrowth around it had not been so lucky, the rain throwing up thick clouds of steam as it extinquished the burning plantation. Said clouds being waved away and dispersed by another effortless wave of the silvery pendant.
"Who are you?" Hazel called out, flinching slightly as lightning lit up the surreal figure that towered over her. She could hear the Persian taking advantage of the situation to retreat away from her and the den. But she still didn't dare back up despite that it was every instinct she possessed was telling her to do. She couldn't show weakness, not until she knew what she was up against. And it would take a little while for her to build another Flamethrower, faking bravado and stalling seemed the way to go.
If the Pokemon knew she was faking, or even cared, he didn't show it. He simply stood before her, the silver pendant hanging perfectly still on its thread undeterred by the winds as it replied in a distinctly male voice, "people just call me Hypno."
The voice of this strange, threatening figure sent an unnatural chill through Hazel that had nothing to do with her deep wounds. Despite the fact that she'd practically had to yell to be heard over the torrential rain, the other Pokemon hadn't even raised his voice, and yet she still heard it as though he were right next to her. And there was something in his eyes, the deep spheres reflecting the flashes of lightning above that gave his gaze a powerful piercing quality that just set the Flareon mother even further on edge. She wanted to run, her survival instinct screaming at her to leave as fast as she could and just maybe she'd get out of this in one piece. But her maternal instincts demanded she stay put, between this thing and her children no matter the danger. And the latter desire was a hundredfold stronger.
Hypno, if he saw her determination at all, seemed to find it more amusing than impressive, clearly laughing as he fiddled with the silver pendant that started to give off an illuminating glow.
"Cute. Believing you can stand up against a psychic that could beat you in a battle with ease." He grinned, every movement somehow setting Hazel further and further on edge. "Although there is one other thing you seemed to have missed."
"Really?" She growled back, happy to let this thing talk while she built up her fire again.
"I don't need to waste the energy fighting you. I sent the Persian to kill you, after all. You might have thrown it off but, well, you seem to be losing a lot of blood from that leg there."
The moment he said it, the moment she had her attention focused on it, the pain in her side multiplied a hundredfold. She couldn't fight the hiss of pain as she felt the burning mixed with the feeling of blood running down her flank. The Hypno was, unfortunately, correct. She didn't need to look to know that was a lot of blood. Burning the wound shut was out, her ability to absorb fire saw to that, so she had no way to stop it quickly. Not while this thing was around. And with that realisation came a sudden loss of strength, her wounded leg almost giving out under her as the burning agony slowly turned into an almost numb throb. And she was only going to get weaker as time drew on.
"All I need to do is wait." Hypno laughed, a cruel condencing chuckle. "And then I can walk away with your kits."
"You won't touch them!" Hazel practically screamed at the psychic, slamming her bad foot into the ground to try and get better footing and lock her leg in place, no matter how unsteady she was feeling.
"It's a shame really," Hypno sighed, not looking even remotely concerned at the Flareon snarling at him with pure hate in her eyes, "if you hadn't evolved into a Flareon, I could have used you instead and left them alone. But, alas, you and your brother are useless to me. Your kits, however... give them a few weeks and they'll be perfe-"
Whatever the Hypno had been about to say was hidden behind a roar of fire, Hazel unleashing a second Flamethrower straight at it with everything she had. The blast was about as effective as the first, both the flames and the steam being casually waved away by a smug, malicious psychic. And his smile only got bigger when the inevitable happened and Hazel's leg finally gave out, sending her slamming straight into the mud. She tried to fight the dizziness that she just couldn't seem to shake off, even as her side continued to burn, although the pain seemed to be rapidly fading along with what little strength she still had. No matter how hard she struggled, how many times she tried to push herself back up onto her feet, she just ended up back in the mud.
"Just give up. You're already dying and powerless, why drag this out any longer?"
"I won't give up. I won't let you hurt them." Her voice was shaking, not even audible over the storm anymore. It didn't matter, the Hypno heard her anyway, giving that evil grin once more as he raised a foot to step forward...
Only to stop in mid-motion as his attention was suddenly taken away, his pendant's glow almost entirely winking out as he turned to look up the road to Mt Moon. Every hint of that maliciousness joy vanishing from his face to be replaced with sheer annoyance and, Hazel managed to note through the dizziness and fog eating at her mind, a tiny amount of fear.
"How? How is it possible? That lizard was buried under rubble! How can he possibly have gotten out?" The psychic was muttering to himself, barely even registering as the Persian stepped up beside it.
Said Persian was watching its master carefuly, only glancing at Hazel out of the corner of its eye, which gave her all the chance she needed. She ignored the dizziness, ignored the ever growning weakness, ignored the horrible numbness now running along her side. Thinking only of her family, letting the thoughts of them fuel her fire, the desire to defend them lending her the strength and focus to aim and release one more blast of flames. Straight at the distracted Pokemon. The Persian managed to react quick enough, stepping into the middle of the blast and protecting the Hypno from the brunt of the roaring inferno that made her earlier attacks look like mere embers. It's howls of pain drowning out even the storm itself as the psychic it was protecting scrambled out of the way of the flames.
The Flamethrower died down, Hazel unable to raise her head anymore, cheek in the mud as she weakly panted for breath. She watched the Persian stagger away back from where ever it had come from, crying and wimpering as it limped off with its side seared black. And she smiled, her gaze flicking to the Hypno that was looking down at the feline slowly crawling away. He glared back, the smug confidence replaced by anger as he raised his hand to blast the weakened Flareon for daring to attack him. Only for nothing to happen. The Hypno looked straight at his hand, seeming puzzled, until his expression turned to one of horror as he noticed that all he was holding was a burned piece of string. On the ground, amongst the burnt grass, as a half-melted and usless lump of metal.
"Who is powerless now, psychic?" Hazel managed to spit out.
"No matter." Venom dripped from his voice, even as he stepped further away from the Flareon, staying out of her firing line. "I can find a replacement soon enough, you'll be dead and I will come and take what's mine."
"You'll get a beating. I promise you that."
"From who? You can't move, no one will find you before I can come back. In the end, you changed nothing!" The Hypno spat, before crossing over the path leading to Cerulean City and vanishing into the undergrowth after the Persian.
Leaving a very, very weak Flareon laying in the dirt. With only one thought on her mind. She had to find a way to keep her kits safe. She was their mother, she had to find some way to protect them even if she couldn't do it herself. Even if she was dying, even if every second it was harder and harder just to stay awake, she had to do something. And what that Hypno had said, what had got it distracted, that seemed to be the best chance she had. It had looked up the path from the mountain, speaking of someone that it had evidently ran into before, someone that seemed to be heading this way... it was a long shot. But there was no way she was going to last much longer, getting them to Vapor was just not possible...
So she did what she had to. She couldn't stand anymore, so she crawled. Pulling herself through the mud, fighting her numb and heavy limbs every inch of the way even as mud stained her coat. Every second she felt herself get slower, every movement harder, but still she willed herself onward towards the road. She was going to be gone in minutes, there was no escaping that... but if she died in the undergrowth, no one would see her in the darkness of the storm. She had to be found and maybe, just maybe, whoever it was that gave that Hypno pause would look around and find her kits. She didn't have the strength to dwell on how farfetched that thought sounded, every scrap of power she had going into pulling herself through the grasses.
Until, after a few minutes of struggle, the inevitable happened. Her limbs just refused to move anymore, just inches away from the dirt path from the mountain. She couldn't raise her head, her eyes swimming in and out of focus as her breathing slowed. But, before her vision faded completely, she saw it. A flickering light off in the distance, a tiny flame in the middle of the storm. On the path, heading towards her.
"Please." Hazel asked as consciousness started to slip away from her one last time, "Please find them. Please protect them. My little ones."
"Please."
Then she was gone.
So she had no way of knowing about how a certain fire lizard came hurtling through the rain. He skidded to a halt by a hedge, a strange sense of unease almost overwhelming as he brushed off his turtle friend. He found the burnt undergrowth, he found the Flareon laying amongst it, and he went on to do everything she had asked of him.
And they both taught Hypno a valuble lesson. Never underestimate a fire type. Especially one that's a mother.