Scot: Sadly I was unable to contact my co-author about this chapter, and I didn't want to delay posting it any longer. So without Unknownguy's epic comical skills I have been forced to stick with my own crappy humor and rushed writing. This chapter may be edited later on so without further ado here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Dragon Rising 2/2
As the sun slid behind the horizon and darkness fell over Viridian, a monstrous figure perched itself on a sturdy oak tree its dark-blue scaly reptilian face narrowed its sharp yellow pupils on a single structure. The scent of its prey was strong there.
The mother Garchomp let out a mournful roar it wouldn't be long before the other arrived. But that didn't matter to the Mother at this moment; its only concern for the moment was her child. The Garchomp folded her long arms around her body in preparation to strike at any moment, but for now she would observe…
Willow let out a weary sigh, why did bad things always happen to him. He violently smacked the vending machine that had stolen his money and was teasing him by dangling his selection mockingly (at least as mockingly as an inanimate object can get at least).
"Dammit Joe." He cursed out loud. "Why can't you buy some better garbage than this?"
"I would if you actually paid your rent." Joe hissed back at him, before turning back to her customers.
Karie, who had been employed at the bar following her trip to Unova, was also behind the counter serving drinks to many enthralled men whom had come simply to see her. Joe glanced at the young woman and smiled to herself, she was good for business, Joe made a mental note to increase her salary.
"Oi, Karie." Willow called to her without turning away from the vending machine and attempted to stick his arm up into the machine to grab the dangling chocolate bar. "How's your brat doing?"
"Andy is fine." Kaire huffed glaring at him. "And I would appreciate it if you stopped referring to him as a brat."
"Yeah, yeah…" Willow disregarded her as he tried and failed once again to retrieve his chocolate.
"Andy really admires you, you know." Karie smiled weakly. "It wouldn't hurt you to treat him a bit nicer."
"People around me tend to get themselves hurt quite frequently, idiots that they are. Andy wouldn't be safe." Willow grumbled as he struggled to withdraw his arm from the machine.
Karie raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you protect people by being hostile to them?"
"Not quite how I would have phrased it, but yes." Willow forcefully yanked his arm from the machine and gave it a frustrated kick. "It doesn't matter how many insults I fling at them, they just keep flocking to me… psychobitch and clueless idiot included."
Karie smiled warmly at him, although Willow deliberately ignored it. "People like you because, even though you detest them, you are incapable of turning away someone in need of help."
"I just turned someone away half an hour ago." Willow spat angrily as he gave the machine another vicious shake. "I left him upstairs for Mallori and Jean to deal with him."
Karie chuckled and continued serving some of the customers. "Aren't you helping him indirectly that way?"
"No, I'm just dumping all the work on my employees, employers do that all the time." Willow gave her a lazy wave. "Joe's doing it to you right now."
Joe slammed her hands down on the counter. "That's her job you lazy scum! You should try getting one! I need somebody to clean my toilets!"
"Request accepted." Willow droned. "I'll get Jean right on that…"
"KARIE!" Andy burst into the café, his school uniform covered in mud, screaming. "I saw a monster!"
"Andy!" Karie cried and rushed over to console him. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
Andy shook his head. "I-it was up in the trees… just glaring at me… I thought it was going to eat me…"
"I doubt it." Willow called over to him. "There's no meat to ya, it would probably go after the fat and ugly ones… like Karie."
Karie promptly smashed him over the head with her serving tray. Despite this she still had a bright smile on her face and spoke rather sweetly, despite her aggressive actions. "What did you say about me, Low-san?"
Willow sat up and rubbed his head, slightly irked by her nickname for him (He really despised Japanese honorisms). The chocolate bar in the vending machine finally fell from its position and into the collecting area. "OH HECK YES!" He cried and greedily grabbed the chocolate treat. "Anyways, I wouldn't be too worried about that dragon, it's after my client."
Andy immediately calmed down and sighed in relief.
"Isn't your client upstairs?" Karie smiled sweetly to him despite the fact her hands where trembling with rage.
Willow frowned. "I forgot about that."
Andy turned back to panic mode and grabbed his mother's leg. "B-but we're safe as long as you are here r-right?"
"Probably…" Willow muttered swaying slightly as he stood up. "But I'm not in a particularly good state of mind for fighting right now."
Andy's eyes widened in horror as he noticed the slightly glazed look in Willow's eyes. "You're drunk!"
"No, I'm not." Willow argued pointing a finger at him.
"Yes you are!" Andy screamed, "You're pointing at a table!"
"But Andy, don't you see? Your character is almost identical to that of a table." Willow explained, rather fluently to everyone's surprise.
"How is my personality similar to that of a table? !" Andy wailed. "You're just making stuff up again aren't you?"
"Well you see Andy." Willow started, although he was still gesturing to the table, much to everyone's amusement. "Tables have four limbs, much like humans, the table's purpose is to support people, it brings people together as folk can gather around it and have fun. A table itself doesn't have many uses, but it exists to allow others to meet and enjoy themselves. You can play monopoly on a table, similarly to how you can play it on your back."
"So are you're telling me I exist to bring people together?" Andy blinked in confusion.
"No," Willow snapped, again pointing at the table. "Didn't you listen to me, you exist to play monopoly."
Karie swiftly smashed him over the head again, and started to drag the barely conscious protagonist outside.
However the moment the blow landed it triggered a thought across Willow's mind. "Wait a second…"
Karie frowned and stopped dragging him, shooting him a irritated glance. "What is it now?"
"Protect people… by being hostile…" Willow scrunched up his forehead. "I think we've been looking at this the wrong way…"
Joe sighed. "Are you suggesting that the Dragon is protecting the idiot? I thought you said it attacked you."
Willow shook his head and leaned against the café wall to stabilise himself. "That's right, attacked "me" not Avery…" Willow's eyes lit up. "It's been chasing him around multiple regions scaring people so much that they won't help him… yet it never actually tried to get its egg back from him…"
Karie took a sharp intake of breath. "It's protecting him… by being hostile? B-but it attacked you!"
"It attacked me because I was an unexpected factor…" Willow theorised. "Avery has never received any form of outside help, he's been rejected and isolated out of fear… it may be because I actually helped him, that it attacked me… it never intended to do any harm to Avery in the first place."
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Andy cried out, clearly confused by the complexity of the situation.
"Yes it does." Willow glared at the table he thought was Andy, causing a stream of exasperated sighs. "But that just raises a bigger question…"
"What is that Garchomp protecting him from?" Joe finished grimly.
Willow stumbled forwards, slightly dizzy from the alcohol, "I'd better go warn them…"
"Willow." Joe stopped him. "The noise upstairs quietened an hour ago, I think they're already gone."
A brief moment of panic made its way to the surface of Willow's usually emotionless expression. "Why do bad things always happen when I'm drunk?"
Avery was standing in the middle of town, struggling to hold the young Gible in his arms as it flailed wildly to free itself.
In a nearby bush Mallori and Jean lay in wait, ready to rush to his aid when the Garchomp came to attack.
Behind them Green stared up at the night sky patiently, they had decided to enlist his help in this matter as a replacement for their ever so "lovable" protagonist. "It's getting late, we should probably wait until morning before we do this." He spoke, body tensed in a state of totally awareness.
"It might attack us in our sleep." Mallori replied, glancing over her shoulder at him. "We have to catch it on our terms."
Green frowned. "And why isn't your so called employer here?"
Mallori sighed. "He told us do take care of it because Avery didn't have enough money."
Green smirked. "And he calls me an asshole."
"Yes, quite frequently too." Jean added, causing Green's eye to twitch in frustration.
"Does he say anything else about me?" He asked calmly, although he looked like he was about to explode into a fit of uncontrollable rage.
Despite Mallori's desperate hand signals not to, Jean happily obliged, telling Green of all Willow's personal thoughts on the young gym leader. Needless to say, Green looked like he wanted to kill something (particularly someone).
His thought ended there. A warm blast of air tickled his neck causing his hair to stand on end. A foul odour invaded his nostrils and Green's eyes dilated in shock.
'Its behind me.'
Green's mind went into overdrive running over ever scenario, if he were to turn around and attack he would be killed for sure, his only hope was that one of Willow's lackeys wasn't as incompetent as him.
He was in luck, as Mallori leapt at the figure behind him letting out a fierce battle cry while waving her skateboard as a weapon. Green pivoted around just as Mallori's strike connected with the Garchomp's face and to his surprise the ten foot tall dragon went flying backwards. Even Sapphire, one of his fellow Dexholders, wasn't that strong.
The Dragon quickly recovered from Mallori's strike and before she could even touch the ground was poised to impale her with its claws. Green, by this time, was ready, and sent out his Charizard to fend off the large dragon and give his comrade some breathing space.
The two dragons crashed into each other with enormous power, after a brief clash Green's Charizard with its superior training easily over powered the Sinnohian dragon and threw it back.
Avery and Jean regrouped and sent out a couple of their Pokemon to help battle but Green stopped them.
"I haven't had a good battle in a while," He told them. "Don't interfere."
Willow frantically ran through Viridian, it felt like he was flying.
'Strange.' He thought to himself, 'Last time I ran like this I was tired out in no time, it seems easier than before. But why isn't my left arm moving?'
After a brief moment of reality, Willow realised he was lying on his side whilst still making running movements rendering his whole 'heroic run' scene pointless.
Willow sat up and sighed. He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes in the vain hope that it would sober him up. It was just as well his eyes where closed, since a massive shadow flew over him, its bright yellow reptilian eyes showing its lust for blood.
"Flamethrower." Green spat as his Charizard sprayed its opponent with a burst of fire. The Garchomp shrieked as the powerful flames covered its body.
"Enough." Green commanded and his Charizard obeyed cutting off its attack and allowing the injured dragon to collapse to the ground.
Green, Mallori, Jean and Avery slowly wandered over to the fallen dragon. The young Gible in Avery's arms eyeing the dragon with interest.
Avery gulped and walked forwards, placing the young dragon before its mother. "Umm… here's your baby back… err… sorry for the trouble."
The Garchomp stared at the Gible with wide eyes and with laboured movements crawled towards it. It extended an arm reaching out for its child.
"I can't believe I separated them for so long…" Avery mumbled. "I can't believe I was so blind."
Jean raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't blindness it was stupidity."
"You were supposed to say 'hey, at least things are better now' or something to cheer me up!" Avery snapped at him. "What's wrong with you people? !"
"Cereal." Jean replied in a sagely way, stroking a non-existent beard.
Willow stumbled through town and patches of red caught his eye, it was a man in a strange costume. Willow blinked and stared at him a few moments.
And stared…
And stared…
And stared until the man covered in red awkwardly turned around and walked away.
Willow stared after him for a few moments before his brain began to function again.
'O-Oi, wh-what's this? I-Is that guy a painter or something? Heh, yeah, that's what it is; red paint. It's definitely not blood or anything. I definitely didn't see a serial killer.'
Unfortunately, the painter that was pictured in his head wasn't using paint.
M-M-Maybe he's a-a butcher! Yeah! The blood from the meat got on him and he couldn't wash it out!
Unfortunately, the butcher that was pictured in his head wasn't butchering animals.
"GYAH! I'm too young to be butchered by a painter! Painted by a butcher! I'M TOO GOOD-LOOKING TO DIE! I'M THE PROTAGONIST!"
Moving away from Willow's deteriorating frame of mind…
Avery sat on a fallen tree and watched guiltily as the Garchomp nuzzled its child. Mallori silently sat down next to him and shot him a warm smile. "Hey listen, you shouldn't go about regretting the past. Enjoy the present."
"How can I?" Avery replied lowering his head into a droop. "I always blamed the Garchomp as the source of my problems and even other people. I felt… so secluded… and alone. Even my own family abandoned me." Avery hugged his knees. "I've caused so much trouble for so many people, I can't just forget that."
Mallori sighed and flexed one of her arms. "You might find it hard to believe, but I understand exactly how you feel. For a long time I was isolated by everyone I met. They were scared of what I could do." Her hand tightened into a fist. "I also blamed others for my isolation, they didn't try to understand my problem, they just pushed me away."
Avery watched as her face took on a reflective look and she continued. "I tried to show them I could do good things…" She lowered her head. "But that only made things worse…" She played with her hands and sighed. "People are… are cruel sometimes… if you can do something that no one else can they get jealous and discriminate against you." She turned to face him again; Avery noticed there was a terrible sadness in her eyes. "You don't understand why they scorn you so… and you can't help but feel that you are the root of the problem, nothing you will ever do will appease them, nothing you say shall stop their cold glares. And you know, deep down that their is nothing you can do to stop it."
Avery frowned. She understood how he felt perfectly, it never occurred to him that Mallori, one of the kindest souls he had ever met (when she isn't beating someone), had suffered in her community. "So how do get rid of this feeling?" Avery grasped his chest. "This terrible sinking feeling, I mean."
Mallori smiled warmly at him, the sadness in her eyes gone. "A friend of mine once said, 'If you have time to think of how terrible your life is, then why not use that time instead to live life beautifully?'"
Avery paused, "Did… Willow say that?" Avery thought back to the ignorant and lazy person who dumped his problems on his friends to get drunk. "He doesn't seem like the sort to think like that."
"Willow is different." Mallori chuckled. "Sure, he acts like a complete moron, talks big about himself and seems completely hopeless. But he can see the good in people's hearts and he always comes through for you… at the last minute."
"Sounds like you trust him." Avery smiled weakly. "I wish I had a person like that I could trust."
"Life has its ways of screwing with you." Mallori laughed giving him a powerful pat on the back that knocked the air from his lungs. "You just have to take the crap it throws at you bit by bit."
Avery smiled to himself and stood up. "Alright! No more moping around! I'm free and don't have to keep looking over my shoulder anymore! I should be celebrating!"
Jean rushed over with a can of whipped cream. "Whipped cream partay! !"
Mallori noticed Green was staring up at the night sky with a wary glare. "Something wrong Green?"
Green shuddered violently just as Mallori herself felt a terrible chill run down her spine.
"Something is coming…" He trembled. "And it's powerful… very powerful…"
Avery and Jean had stopped messing around, aware that something was very wrong.
The hairs on Mallori's neck stood up on end. Her heightened senses screaming to flee, to hide, to scream in absolute terror. "Do you feel that intense pressure all of a sudden? It feels like I'm being crushed…"
Jean hugged his body. "Why do I suddenly feel constipated?"
Avery was trembling. "I've felt like this before… every time that Garchomp attacked me I felt just like this…"
A terrible silence gripped them; overwhelmed by the sudden atmosphere of terror as they shook violently and searched desperately for the source of such dread. A true monster stalked slowly towards them, its enormous body shrouded by darkness. The foul scent of death assaulted their nostrils getting stronger and stronger as it drew near. Its bright yellow eyes, that could paralyze even bravest in fear with such killing intent, cut through the darkness observing them as it licked its lips. It opened its mouth slightly as if it were tasting the fear-filled air itself, the stench of blood escaped its lips as it did so, before it closed it again, satisfied. An array of brutal scars marked its body and a number of sharpened spikes protruded from its intimidating frame, each spike covered with a pelt of a creature it has slain, some spikes even had rotting corpses dangling from them.
The Mother Garchomp weakly hissed and took a defensive position around its horror-stricken child, despite this defiant act even the mother looked terrified of the horror that stood before them.
"W-what is that thing…?" Avery managed to let the words leave his mouth.
Even the stout Green seemed disturbed by such a creature. The way he said his words made them realize just how dangerous the creature before them was.
"I-it's a Prime…" He muttered and retreated back a step. "I heard about them in legends… I never thought they truly existed… A Garchomp Prime." Green shook his head in denial. "Dragon Pokemon live for a very long time… but most die out after a century or two, but some…" Green almost stuttered but caught himself. "…Some live for millennia, hunting and killing only the strongest until it is the only one left. They are creatures so powerful that they are as strong as deities themselves."
Avery gulped audibly. "W-why is it here?"
Green shook his head and slowly reached for his belt. "I don't know… but I'm telling you now, that this creature fights to kill."
The Garchomp Prime eyed the four humans greedily before swinging a mutilated corpse from one of its spikes into its waiting mouth and with a sickening crunch, crushed it in its jaws. Bones and all. It swallowed the remains whole and tilted its head to the side with what seemed to be a mocking smile.
And just when things seemed bad, it got worse.
"Oi, ugly." A slurred voice spoke. Willow staggered up next to Green with a confident smirk. He seemed to be oblivious to the danger of the situation and was without a doubt heavily intoxicated.
"Don't you know you'll get a stitch if you eat before a fight?"