Authors Note (Phantom SunsSong): Okay, the last of my finished chapters. Honestly, I'll tell you guys, I have no idea when I'll have the next part finished. I'm leaving all next week, my laptop is busted, and I've got school starting the Monday after next, and I've got a feeling that my Junior year is going to be a lot more difficult than my Sophomore one, just because of the classes I'm taking (and there's a lot of them...). One thing you guys can count on, though; I will finish this. I already know how I want to end it, and most of what happens between now and then. It won't be uber long, but it should be interesting. Anyway, I'll do what I can to get more written for you guys, and enjoy this last chapter while you can. I really do like this story a lot. I want to write the next part, because it's going to be a lot of fun (for me, anyway xD), but I don't know when.
Chapter Nine
"It, it broke the glass!" Al exclaimed, startled. Arrow was already diving down. He swooped past the jagged edges of broken glass, and disappeared into the shop. Meanwhile, the Munchlax was stuffing his face, eating the smashed pastries and occasionally flicking away shards of glass. He was covered in whipped cream, icing, and globs of cake, though he hardly seemed to care.
Just when I was beginning to wonder what exactly Arrow was doing in there, he flew into the munchlax, the force of his Take Down pushing them both out of the shop window. Some of the glass that the Munchlax had missed on his first jump through cut him now, leaving marks of red to add to those on his front that had already been covered by the smashed cakes and pies. Both he and Arrow hit the ground together, though the Munchlax took the brunt of it, with Arrow falling away in a daze. The Munchlax lifted itself to its feet, anger evident in its stance and eyes. It didn't take kindly to anyone who interrupted its meal. With a growl, it made to lunge at Arrow while he was recovering, but I was quicker.
I dashed forward, electricity glittering around my canines. I met him with force, my Thunder Fang penetrating the fur on his shoulder, sending jolts through him. He howled, though my attack only seemed to fuel his anger. He flicked me away with a powerful paw, and I was sent backwards to hit the ground.
"Shinx!" I heard Al cry, and I clambered quickly to my feet. "Wait, stop!" I looked up in time to see him walking towards the munchlax, but the pokemon wasn't in the mood for consoling. He scooped up a particularly gooey bit of pastry off his stomach, and threw it at Al in a Fling attack. His aim was true, and he hit the suit of armor just right. It splattered on the center of his forehead, and knocked the helmet clean off.
"Ahh! My head!" It clattered to the ground. He took a step back, only to trip over it and fall backwards. I did my best to hold back a laugh. It was a comical sight, even though I felt bad for Al, but I had to keep my mind on the fight.
By this time, Arrow had picked himself up and was back in flight. He circled once before turning sharply downward, his left wing beginning to glow brightly. The munchlax held his ground, and tried dodge the Wing Attack at the last minute. He'd mistimed it, though, and was too slow. He was struck and knocked backwards, nearly onto me, had I not sidestepped. Arrow gained altitude once more, and it was my turn for a hit.
I gave it a chance to sit up, and then I glared sharply at it, revealing my fangs and growling in what I hoped was a menacing manner. The munchlax was unperturbed by my Scary Face attack, and just stared back.
"You aren't scary," he informed me bluntly.
"Hey, at least I'm not covered in icing," I growled back, but I knew it was a pathetic comeback. He knew it as well, and he just grinned. My glare intensified.
"You can't beat us," I told him. "Just give up. It'll be easier for everyone."
"Can't I?" he replied. "I don't really care about you or your little friends. I just want some food. Leave me alone." He stood, and I realized that he was a fair bit taller than me. "If you don't, I'll make you." I hissed in reply, and jumped to tackle him. He just stuck out his tongue mockingly. I thought for sure he'd at least try to dodge, but he didn't. Instead, he waited, and when I was close enough, rather than letting me just attack, he Licked me. A shiver went down my spine, and I felt the slimy wet saliva peppered with bits of the pastry he'd been eating leave a trail across my cheek. I froze mid leap and fell, then shook myself. The feeling was disgusting. I tried to wipe it off with an azure paw, but it stuck to my fur. I heard the munchlax laughing at my plight, until he was cut off. I felt a burst of wind, and looked up in time to see Arrow flying up, a smile in his eyes. He'd hit the munchlax with an Aerial Ace before he could react.
"You'll pay for that!" I yowled, climbing to my feet as he did.
"We'll see about that," he replied. I half expected him to jump or attack or do something, but he just lifted his arms and stood there. Then, pointing one finger on each paw upward, he began to move his arms side to side. As he did, they began to glow, and a grin flashed across his face. My eyes widened, and I took several quick steps back.
He was using Metronome.
I tried to tell myself to run, since there was no way of knowing exactly what he'd do, and what kind of range it would have, but I wasn't quick enough. His paws stopped moving suddenly, and when they did, I felt a deep rumble beneath my own. That rumble grew in its intensity, becoming more and more frenzied, until I realized what he was doing. The Metronome had become Earthquake.
I squeaked in terror as he stomped one foot forward, and a crack split the pavement. I was frozen to the spot, my mind screaming at me to move, but my paws wouldn't answer. It grew bigger the closer it came, until I knew it would swallow me under the ground-
And then once again, I was saved by a flash of gray and a clanking of metal against metal. Cold hands gripped me, and suddenly I was rolling away, out of reach of the cavernous split. The world spun, and then stopped abruptly, when Al landed on his feet.
"Shinx! Are you okay?" I looked up into his glowing red eyes, the front of his helmet still smeared with cake.
"Y-yes!" I said a little shakily, and though I knew he didn't understand me, he knew what I meant. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he replied, as polite as always, and then we both looked out to the fight.
Arrow had taken the opportunity to attack again. The Earthquake was useless against him, seeing as he was a flying type. He flapped his wings powerfully, shaping the air and whipping up a Whirlwind. A tiny tornado formed around the munchlax, who bent to try and grip the ground, and managed to work his paws into a crack from his Earthquake. Just in time, too, because the Whirlwind wrenched his feet out from under him. Finally, even that hold gave out, and he was picked up and flung, along with dust and debris, back onto the street.
I wriggled quickly out of Al's arms. This munchlax had made a fool of me, in front of them both. I couldn't be weak, not now and not here. There was too much at stake. I had to pull my own weight without depending on Al and Arrow for help. I'd done that enough already.
I growled lowly to myself as I neared where he had fallen, revenge urging my movements, and just when he had picked himself up and looked my way, I struck.
My fangs dug deep into his shoulder in a powerful Crunch. I heard him whimper in pain, but I didn't relinquish my hold, not until I began, with a terrified jolt, to taste his blood in my mouth. I stepped back, and saw the red holes where my teeth had punctured him.
I was suddenly horrified with myself. What had I done? Was I still just fighting? For a second, I remembered the feral ferocity, and just backed away.
I'd tasted blood. I hadn't killed him, but could I have? Could I have? That thought scared me more than anything. I didn't want to be like Sirene. I didn't want to kill.
The munchlax didn't move. He just laid there. For a second, I had the horrible thought that I had killed him, but he was still breathing.
"Tasha!" Arrow called from above. "Tasha, what's wrong?"
"Shinx?" There was a tone of worry in Al's voice, but I barely heard it. Slowly, I came back to myself. I tried to reassure my mind that I wouldn't have killed him. I couldn't have killed him, but there was that little voice in the back of my head. That little doubt that disagreed.
Al gave me a worried look, but then he quickly took out a piece of white chalk from a pocket on his apron. With quick, steady strokes, he drew a strange circle design around the munchlax, then slapped his hands to it. In a flash of light, the ground began to lift and move, just like when Ed clapped his hands. I could see the bars of a cage beginning to form.
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It didn't take Ed long to get fed up with the search. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of the chimera anywhere, and he was beginning to wonder if it all might just be a wild goose chase. Like he hadn't already had enough of them to last him a lifetime. But when he heard a noise from above him, on the roof of one of the buildings, all thoughts of abandoning the search flew out of his mind. It sure sounded like there was something bigger than a pigeon up there.
He took a cursory glance of his surroundings, and was glad to see there weren't any people around. It was still a bit early, and this part of town wasn't very busy to begin with. Then, his gaze went up, in time to see black fur and a long tail with a star at its tip. He hadn't remembered the star from when he'd fought the creature before, but it was too big to be Shinx. Without thinking, he yelled out, "Chimera!" and clapped his hands. He slapped his palms to the brick wall, watching with satisfaction as the chimera stopped and turned to look over the edge. As it did, alchemical sparks shot over the surface of the building, bulging out in a number of tentacles. Several wrapped themselves around the chimera, restraining it. The problem was, the material for the tentacles had to come from somewhere. The roof of the building receded, right out from under another creature, this one small and yellow, with big ears. Ed's eyes widened a bit when it fell, and landed right on his face. Completely startled, he reeled back but managed to keep his balance, all the while looking directly into a pair of large black eyes.
"Pichu!" The little creature said urgently, its voice high and gratingly cute. Finally, Ed's own voice came back to him.
"Wha-what the hell?" The distraction was enough to give the larger chimera enough time to wriggle out of its now-immobile stone restraints. Ed heard the angry growl, and quickly stepped to the side, peeling the little yellow mouse thing off his face as he did. Black paws hit the pavement where he had been only seconds before. The bi-colored lion turned to face him, amber eyes fiercely angry.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath as the little chimera scrabbled to get free of his grasp of its stomach. He'd let the lion get too close, and now he'd lost the element of surprise, too. Top that off with this little mouse creature, and things weren't looking good. He took a step back, weighing his options for a brief moment. Finally, he turned and ran, lifting the mouse to cling to his shoulder as he did to keep his hands free. He heard the chimera give chase with a snarl of disgust, and he grinned.
He didn't have to run far before he came to an alley that would do nicely. He turned quickly, nearly tripping in the process. There was a metal fire escape going up the side of a building, which he took advantage of. As he clapped his hands and pressed them to the slightly rusted iron, he realized that the mouse chimera wasn't on his shoulder anymore; it was on his head, clinging to his hair. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and completed the transmutation. By the time he was done, he had created a weapon. It was a long staff, easily as tall as he was, with a straight blade at the top, held in place by a decorative dragon coiled around both it and the staff. It was a weapon he was familiar with, and one that gave him more of a range in a fight. He whirled and turned it with the blade forward, just in time for the lion chimera's approach.
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Her name. Somehow, this human knew her name. All the while the boy that had caught her and ran from the luxray, it was all she could think about. True, she preferred to be called Mera-it was much less formal-but even just him knowing her full name seemed mind-blowing. It wasn't like Chimera was a popular name, either. Could it be a coincidence? Or could he be meant to be her trainer? It sounded a bit too good to be true, but Mera had always been hopeful, not to mention a bit of a romantic.
And then, somehow, he used lightning to make a weapon to fight the luxray from some metal steps. She'd never seen another pokemon do that before, let alone a human. This boy seemed to have many surprises.
The lion was apparently trying to play it safe. She walked forward carefully, eyeing the boy's weapon, and he turned slightly, keeping it between him and her. Neither gave an inch. Finally, electricity began to build in her fur, and she released it in a weak Spark attack. It didn't seem like it would do more than possibly paralyze the boy, but he pulled the weapon up and took several steps back, buying Mera enough time to counter it. Lightning pulsed in her pink cheeks, and lashed out, forming a Thunder Wave that negated the Luxray's attack.
The boy started, lifting his hand slightly as though to remove her, then stopped. Instead, he growled, "Great, another one of you that generates electricity." Another?! She thought indignantly. She wasn't just another pichu, thank you very much! She'd been working on her electrical attacks for a long time, and had even stopped shocking herself for the most part.
The luxray backed up a bit as well, rethinking her strategy. The human took the initiative, charging forward with the metal stick. He hacked up with it at an angle, the lion just barely getting out of the way in time to miss getting her front leg sliced. It left his right side open, though, and the luxray dove for it. Mera could tell that she wasn't aiming for the boy at all; she was aiming for her. Before the lion could get there, the boy lifted his arm and elbowed the larger Pokemon's chest, then stepped out from under her as she fell to the pavement, wheezing slightly. He set the lance to one side and tried to clap his hands, presumably to summon more of that strange lighting he'd had before, but as soon as the luxray saw what he was doing, she got to her feet and lunged once more. The boy ducked, but not low enough. Mera saw the luxray grin as she aimed a paw for her, to knock the pichu clean off his head. Mera didn't have much time to react. She leaped up, away from them both, and just barely managed to clamber up onto a metal ledge above, on the thing the human had used to make his metal stick.
She wasn't expecting the luxray to follow her, though. The lion dodged around the boy, and started climbing what was left of the stairs. Before the pichu could move, she reached her and bit down hard on her black tail.
"Owowowowowow!" Mera yelped, and sent a pulse of electricity through into the luxray. It didn't affect the large cat at all; it was too weak to do any real damage. Then the boy, his metal stick again in hand, whacked her over the head. Her jaws loosened, and she fell backwards in a daze. The human then tossed his stick aside and climbed up the metal steps as well, grabbing Mera along the way, her tail still in pain.
"Time to cut our losses," he said lowly, and since Mera had no idea what he was talking about, she assumed he was just talking to himself. He climbed the rest of the way up, until they were on the roof. As soon as he hit the top, he started running. And with good reason, Mera noted when she looked over his shoulder. As soon as they reached the end of the roof, the luxray had climbed up and was already following them. She'd recovered fairly quickly. They left the roof behind, though, when the boy leaped forward, and landed nimbly on the next. Mera was clinging to him for dear life now; jumps over long falls had never been something she'd enjoyed.
They ran for several minutes, and though her new trainer was fast, this luxray was faster. She was gaining, and Mera knew it. Something would have to be done quickly, if they wanted to make it out of there alive. Finally, the boy stopped and turned, lifting Mera up to cling to his shoulder yet again. She grabbed a hold of his hair, almost fearfully, and the luxray advanced.
Both the boy and the luxray were breathing heavily now. The boy moved his hands to clap, but the luxray wasn't giving him another chance. Electricity sparked around her mane, and she growled as it shot out in all directions in a Discharge. The boy dodged backwards, but Mera wasn't ready for the sudden movement. Her paws lost their grip on his braid, and she found herself drifting backward through the air. She gave a squeak of surprise as she fell over the edge.
Air rushed past her in her freefall. She was facing up, and she didn't dare look down. Hitting the ground would hurt a lot, provided she even survived impact. It was just as well that she looked up. She saw the blonde boy look over the side in shock, and then clap his hands and press them to the wall. That strange blue lightning lit up the stone again, and it seemed to convulse. She heard it moving below her, but she still didn't look down, because then the luxray leaped over the edge, her claws outstretched to catch the pichu as well.