Chapter Eight: Challenge Her
Blinking once or twice from sleep, Apollo's eyes came into focus, and they took in a large green roof above him. From his back where he lay, he rolled over and stepped out of the grass but he was in. Strong night air greeted his nostrils as he inhaled, and the cool breeze ruffled his back hair.
A crunch of leaves made his ears twitch, and he turned around. Near him, Scarlett rested, and softly said, "How was your nap? I heard Tybalt put you to sleep, and that usually has a relaxing effect when you wake up."
Recalling his dreamless slumber, he remembered how he felt so at ease with himself upon waking, not stirring once during his lack of consciousness. He leaned forward, and said,"It was great, I don't think I've slept so soundly since… well, as long as I can remember."
"Why not? Insomnia?"
Deciding it would be best not to tell her about always being on edge because of his duty as a soldier, he responded, "Something like that."
"Alright then. I'll be sure to tour you around in the morning, why don't you go back to bed now?"
"Yes mom," Apollo joked, and scurried back into the hut to escape the death glare from the Vulpix.
Morning came, and with it, a tour of the village. It was large, but not large enough to be a town, and Scarlett made sure to point out a few individuals, as well as landmarks.
"These are the dueling grounds, where Pokémon can test their skills against others." ... "See that Charmander? Her name's Inga the village jerk, but only to people our ages. She wouldn't stand a chance against someone like Ashbel."
"What's her ability?"
"I wish it was limited to her unfriendliness, but unfortunately it doesn't. She has the ability to disintegrate non living tactile objects by touching them, within a certain size. For example, she could easily make a sword or a log disappear, but a tree is out of the question. Why do you ask, wanna fight her?"
"A fight would be good. I've had a bit of downtime, and I ready to show off."
"Alright then. We have some sparring weapons near here, shall we go see to them?"
"Let's," Apollo replied, and the Vulpix lead him off to a side area of the arena. They approached a wooden shed, which was open, and saw dozens of gleaming blades and shields and other arms, as well as armor. Apollo looked up at Scarlett and she nodded.
Apollo picked his way through the greatswords, polearms, daggers, and finally, the armor and short swords. He took a set of iron studded leather armor, and removed most of the pieces that would restrict his movement. The short sword was a bit longer than his old blade, which was one foot long, whereas the new one was a half foot longer. He grabbed the sheath, holstered his sword and walked back to Scarlett.
Upon giving him a once over, she commented, "Looking good! You head to the arena and I'll inform Inga you want to duel. Sorry, but I can't come watch, my dad has chores for me to do. Good luck!"
Apollo nodded and headed to the arena, where he stood at one end of a clear patch of sand, painted white, red and green to show the playing field. He bent down and scratched the ground a bit with his claw. The sand was not your average beach sand, but packed hard into the ground so that it wasn't easy to take or disfigure the arena.
The sound of crunching made Apollo look up, and seeing the unfriendly Charmander, Inga, he got prepared for a fight. Inga wore a chainmail chestpiece and carried a large metal shield. She stopped walking at the opposite edge of the arena, and snorted. "You're the one Scarlett told me wanted to fight? What a joke, but if you want it, I'll tell you something first. There are only two rules; no going outside the boundaries and no killing. Ready to fight, kit?"
Apollo only grunted and grabbed his blade with his mouth. He rushed towards his opponent, and brought his sword down on her shield, which resulted in a loud clang, but Inga did not seem to be affected.
This time, it was her turn to attack. She spun around and used her shield to bat away another incoming strike from Apollo, and her hand began to glow and emanate a black aura. She charged at the Jolteon and extended her hand. Apollo only barely dodged, but his relief was short lived when the Charmander swung her shield down into his ribs. He grunted in pain and rolled away, dropping his sword.
Apollo slowly sat up to see the fire-type running towards him, and his instinct kicked in: he ran. He ran in a circle, keeping Inga just out of reach, until he stopped, sidestepped, and jumped over her. He searched his body for the familiar feeling, and feeling it, charged up a lightning bolt, and fired it at Inga. She had turned just in the nick of time, for her shield blocked a bit of the lightning, but the rest hit her shoulder, disabling the glowing arm, and she tumbled back.
When she got up, Apollo saw hatred and rage in her eyes, and from out of nowhere, she pulled a rapier from her shield. Apollo scrambled over to where his sword was, and picked it up. No sooner had he turned back to face his opponent she fell on him with a flurry of attacks, some unblockable, and he got cuts all over.
Then something odd happened Inga raised her rapier up for an overhead attack, which made no sense because to rapier was a stabbing weapon. Nonetheless, he got on his hind legs to block the attack.
The rapier stopped in midair and Apollo suddenly recoiled from a brute kick between the legs. She tricked me! Fuck, that hurts! A second one followed up and then a third and Apollo was lying belly up on the ground clutching his testicles. His eyes leaked a few tears from the savage kicks she had inflicted on him. Between the excruciating pain, he heard a clinking noise.
His legs were suddenly grabbed, and Apollo looked up the see Inga binding him with a chain. She dragged him into the middle of the field, and growled, "Let this be a lesson, little kit. Don't cross paths with me again." She then pressed her heel into his ballsack, causing a cry of pain from Apollo.
He let out another help as she bathed her blade in the blood of a stomach wound. She moved to where Apollo couldn't see her, and he suddenly felt something sharp and wet poking his anus. Apollo screamed and tried to squirm but the chains and Inga held him tight. The tip of her rapier entered him, then so much a quarter, then a third until a trickle of blood began to leak out of his ass. Inga left the clearing without turning back.
The pain all over his body was intense as all the wrath of the gods, and Apollo felt himself begin to lose consciousness. Stupid… me… why did I challenge her…"
