Author's Note: We're almost nearing the end of the first arc of the story! Sorry it took so long to get the next chapter posted, I have a very busy schedule and I sometimes struggle to find time to type. I promise I have an idea of where the story is going to go though; I just have to get it down in a text document!
An uncharacteristically menacing smile spread across my face as I waited for the exact moment in his jump to make my move. As he travelled toward me I continued to wait, and saw the look in his eyes which seemed to read 'I've got you now!' and at the absolute last second before his claws and teeth would be upon me, I summoned up my newfound power granted from my scion blood to enhance both my reflexes and speed to almost impossible levels for an average Pokemon. The shock in his features was priceless as I moved in an instant behind him, inflicting a minor scratch to his side with my razor sharp claws in a mocking manner, as the damage I could've done was much greater. Redstripe obviously didn't realize this, and whirling around in anger at the insult I'd dealt to him, he let out a bloodcurdling snarl before advancing upon me once more. "I really don't think you want to fight with me this time, Redstripe, but I'll oblige if you insist. I'll be happy to bestow upon you death at my claws." I declared, examining my claws nonchalantly as he continued to charge toward me.
As he neared I jumped, jumping off of his back for distance. Whirling around in the air I used a series of dark energy slashes to create a scorched star mark in the dirt around Redstripe for style before finally directing a vertical slash to hit him directly. When the dust cleared, a sight that delighted me greatly awaited me. As I landed on the ground gracefully, I noticed Redstripe was greatly weakened by my attack (though only one energy slash hit him) and could barely stand. "What…trickery is this? This… isn't possible! You're cheating! This is… unreal!" He stammered; his eyes wide in a mix of disbelief and terror. "This is the end, Redstripe." I announced, and… and then I hesitated. My mind was caught in two directions: one was saying 'Kill him! Kill him for what he's done to you, he deserves to die. Make his blood paint the trees as a warning.' And the other was pleading 'Turn him in, like you agreed to do from the get go. You're a mercenary who believes in honour; give him the chance to pay his dues to those who suffered because of him. Use your badge to turn him in once and for all.'
I was obviously less than pleased that Weavile didn't want my help with Redstripe which left me paired with Gardevoir against Drapion. I could understand where she was coming from, with him almost killing her outright in their last meeting from what was supposed to be an easy hunt for some Poke. Though in the back of my mind I was still slightly concerned, as Redstripe obviously wasn't a Pokemon to play fair and honour does nobody any good when they're dead.
…And I didn't give a Rattata's buttock about Gardevoir. "You'd better not slow me down." I told her as I prepared a shadow ball for Drapion. "Likewise." She smiled politely, taking the same approach with a moonblast. It confused me at first why she would be using that kind of attack, as her power was at its weakest at this time of the day, but I soon recalled that Drapion have an affinity for darkness which would render any psy power she possessed useless. As a result, despite our advantage of numbers, Drapion would still likely be a tough opponent overall as I was in danger facing him as well. "Two versus one ain't fair! Ooough it just makes me so MAD! I ain't going easy on you, I'm telling you!" Drapion complained, shifting his gaze between the two of us as if he was picking a target.
Finally he settled, to my dismay, on me and made his way over at surprising speed for his size. "What?! Why me?" I shouted with disdain, dispersing the energy of my move before taking off in a run away from the marauding bug. "Well, you don't exactly present yourself as very strong. Plus, have you seen that scar you have?" Gardevoir laughed at the sight of my retreat from Drapion. 'She's just glad because she doesn't have a gigantic Drapion with a stinger chasing her.' I thought to myself, sparing the time to glance down at the jagged scar running diagonally down my body from one side to the other and roll my eyes before continuing my retreat. "He just didn't pick you because I have a battle scar. You don't get these from being weak; it's a sign of manliness. Obviously, I was the more worthy opponent." I explained proudly, and ironically. She snickered; the humor of the situation obviously wasn't lost to her, though I wasn't kidding. "Now both of ya calm down. I didn't pick ya because of your body art. I just don't fight pretty girlies. And you're kinda weak looking… kinda…poofy?" Drapion explained, stopping to think the last part over.
"Pretty girlies?!" Gardevoir shouted with rage. "Poofy?!" I echoed her anger, and the two of us immediately retaliated on him, her moonblast and my sudden power surge in a shadow ball. The result was an explosion which sent Drapion skidding directly into the base of a nearby tree, literally leaving a shallow trench in the ground with the force. "I'm glad we could find common ground on something." Gardevoir remarked, dusting herself off. "Hardly." I retorted, waiting at the ready for the dust to clear around Drapion. "Uugh…" He groaned, hunched over in the ground in weakness at the damage that the attack had caused. Suddenly, I heard Redstripe shout nearby: "Drapion! We're getting out of here!" and he immediately picked himself up. "So long, suckers." He cackled before making a speedy retreat.
…Using my hesitation to his advantage, Redstripe began his retreat through the trees. "This isn't over, you hear me, merc? I'm going to make you regret this." He growled as he disappeared into a nearby berry bush. No sooner than he was gone, I heard footsteps as Gengar and Gardevoir walked up behind me and my power finally receded. "They got away." I stated to nobody in particular with a sigh. "They'll be back, scum like them tend to resurface at the most inconvenient times." Gardevoir chuckled, seemingly in good cheer after the last battle. "We'll get them for sure next time, they hardly stood a chance." Gengar affirmed, giving me a reassuring pat on the back.
But what they didn't know was that it wasn't their retreat that bothered me: it was my own actions during the battle. I genuinely wanted Redstripe dead, which was very unlike me. I was an advocate for live captures in outlaw requests, that everybody be given the chance to reform and only the worst at the most desperate of times should be put down. But in the moment I just… I just wanted to tear him to pieces. Fortunately, they didn't seem to notice what was going on during my side of the battle and wouldn't know what was bothering me. "You're right; we'll catch them and put them to justice for sure next time. We'd best get moving if we want to make it to Mistralton by nightfall." I told them as I straightened, pushing my concerns aside to keep a brave face for the others. I did promise I'd get Gengar to Mistralton and I was just in sight of being able to do so.
The rest of the way to Mistralton was rather uneventful, to our surprise. At first we had concerns about the mercenaries having heard our fight and making their presence known to cause problems however we didn't see a single soul as we walked through the much too quiet Berry Forest. Though, as we got closer, it seemed that Gengar got more nervous as he absentmindedly scratched at the brand on his hand.
"Is everything okay?" I finally asked him, pulling him aside from Gardevoir and walking behind her as the trees began to thin signaling the change of terrain to the Mistralton Coast. "I'm fine. I just… have a bad feeling about this. It's probably nothing, though… maybe nerves before the big thing where I make up with Mistralton. I mean, I never really thought of what I was going to do when I got there. Do I turn myself in? Apologize to everybody? I really don't know how they'll receive me, given that they've never been fond of ghosts to begin with and I may as well be a ghost supervillain in their eyes." He admitted, his brows furrowing with worry. "We'll have to see when we get there; after all we can't know how they'll act for sure. Regardless of what happens I'll be there to support you. I may have just promised to help you to Mistralton, but I'm going to see it through to the end." I told him reassuringly, though in truth I was worried too; Gardevoir's warnings in the past of Mistralton still rung in my mind. "Are…are you sure? They might want me dead for all we know. I wouldn't want to drag you into it." He warned, averting his gaze from mine.
"Well I promise you aren't dying whether they want it or not, but regardless we'll make amends somehow. You trust me, don't you?" I asked, though hoped I already knew the answer. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks… your words mean a lot." He nodded, meeting my gaze once again with his genuine words. "Of course! Now we'd better hurry up before Gardevoir thinks weird things again!" I remarked cheerfully but Gengar seemed to pause to think about my words. "…She thinks weird things about…? Oh my Arceus." He groaned to himself before catching back up with us.
About an hour later of walking, Mistralton finally came into view, and I know it wasn't what any of us expected we'd see. As we neared the archway signifying the entrance to town, it was obvious that the town was in shambles. A sign right outside of town read: 'Danger, keep out – Magnezone Crime Prevention', or at least that's what it seemed through the numerous scribbles which had been drawn on the sign. A number of bouquets and wildflowers lay under the sign, likely in tribute to the victims of the invasion. The archway, which had previously been a welcome to visitors, read: 'Welcome to Ghost Town' as Mistralton was crossed out and followed with numerous 'kehehehe's' having been added as an afterthought of the writer. No sooner than we'd finished our initial inspection, a group of Shuppet and Misdreavus rose above the town. They seemed to giggle mockingly at the sight of us before receding back below the houseline. One even stuck out its tongue. I glanced at Gengar, who put a new meaning to 'as pale as a ghost'. "So, what now?" Gardevoir asked nobody in particular, though she didn't sound completely surprised at the sight that lay before us. Gengar promptly ran to the nearby tree and vomited. I followed behind, rubbing his back. "It's okay, we'll make this right." I told him soothingly, and suddenly I noticed something on the hand that he supported himself on the tree with. His brand had shown itself and began to glow fiercely.
When we'd finally sorted ourselves out, Gengar rose, standing in front of us as if he were about to say something. "I have a feeling I know why this happened. I had a close supporter I guess you could call it, a second hand, when I organized our protest in front of Mistralton. She was a lot more radical about it than I was, I guess her enthusiasm about 'ghost rights' egged me on a bit and our protest went much further than it should have. When you and the others had me cornered, Gardevoir, I have a feeling it was her that rallied the others to continue their attack… I never thought we'd have enough strength to cause this much damage regardless of what happened. I have a feeling it's her who we're going to have to find and take down… and do what we can to restore Mistralton to what it was before my stupid mistake." He explained with a newfound determination, his brand burning ever brightly on his hand. "Are you with me?" He asked the both of us, and we shared a glance before nodding. "I already told you I'm with you to the end." I reminded him, giving him a determined smile and put my paw out in front of me. "I go where Weavile goes." Gardevoir shrugged, covering my paw with her hand. "So be it." Gengar affirmed, adding his hand to ours with team spirit. "Hurray!" I shouted, raising my paw to the sky and earning confused looks from both Gengar and Gardevoir who hadn't moved from position. "What? I thought we were going to do a cheer." I slowly lowered my paw, an embarrassed blush coloring my cheeks.
"So who, may I ask, is this ghost you keep talking about? It might be beneficial for us to know who we're going up against beforehand." Gardevoir cleared her throat, changing the subject mercifully for me. "Well… she called herself Banette and she had this stone unlike anything I'd ever seen. I don't really know how to describe it, but when she used it, it changed her appearance. You'll probably see what I mean when we get there." Gengar explained thoughtfully. "Do you know if it does anything relevant to when we fight her?" Gardevoir pressed him for information. "I don't know any better than you do. I didn't see her fight; I was kind of busy trying not to die." He scowled at Gardevoir meaningfully. "So what you're saying is you really don't know anything of value other than that she has an interesting outfit and a good taste in jewelry?" Gardevoir smirked at the idea. "Pretty much." Gengar shrugged. "Sounds like my type of girl." She giggled earning pointed glances in both directions. "What? Can't I appreciate a Pokemon with a good sense of style?" She sighed, shaking her head. "We'll see if she truly has a good sense of style when we get there, Gardevoir. Then maybe we can take her out shopping after a good beat down." I remarked optimistically, and the two of us began to walk arm and arm into the condemned town of Mistralton as we found common ground in the latest fashion hits. "Girls…" Gengar rolled his eyes before following along behind us. 'It's ridiculous that they can walk into a town with danger at every corner and fighting ahead while talking about fashion.'