Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust
Chapter 10: Father Knows Best
It was dead silent as Katara stared at the Feraligatr.
"D-dad? Is that really you?" asked Katara.
"Yes." said the Feraligatr with a smile. "It's me."
Katara stared at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She then jumped at the Feraligatr and hugged him.
"Daddy!" she shouted in happiness, tears of joy falling from her eyes.
The Feraligatr smiled and returned her hug.
"It's been a while hasn't it Katara." said the Feraligatr.
Katara said nothing as she continued to cry into the Feraligatr's arms. Everyone else just stood around awkwardly as the two hugged. It wasn't until Tobias coughed that the two broke apart.
"Well I believe introductions are in order." said Tobias as he gestured to the slightly embarrassed Feraligatr. "This is Surge and as you might have guessed, he is Katara's father."
The Feraligatr bowed.
"Hello, it's nice to meet my daughter's teammates."
"The pleasure is ours." said Asura. "I am Asura. The Umbreon is Jackson and the Riolu is DJ."
"DJ?" said Surge, giving DJ a curious look. "That's an odd name for a Pokemon."
DJ shrunk back a little at the Feraligatr's gaze, not sure if he should tell him that he was human.
"Your eyes are not red like a normal Riolu's either, even stranger." he continued as he took a step closer to DJ.
DJ began to seriously freak out under his gaze, but thankfully, Katara jumped to DJ's aid.
"Dad." said Katara in a whining tone. "You're scaring him. He's my friend, leave him alone."
Surge backed up, giving a small chuckle.
"Sorry, sorry." said Feraligatr, raising his hands in a placating manner. "Riolu are just rare around these parts, especially with abnormal eyes."
He gave DJ one more curious look before returning his gaze on his daughter.
"Anyway I wanted to talk to you about something Katara, but first..." said Surge putting his hand on his stomach and smiling sheepishly. "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving!"
"Sure." said Katara happily. "Can my friends come with?"
Surge thought for a moment before answering.
"I don't see why not. Know any good places to eat around here, preferably one with meat?"
"I know a place." said Jackson. "Follow me. You coming Asura?"
"No thank you." said Asura. "I have somethings to discuss with my father."
"Well what are we waiting for?" said Surge. "Let's go."
A few minutes later, Surge, Katara, DJ, and Jackson find themselves outside the same restaurant that Jackson took Katara and DJ after their first mission. When they entered they were ushered into a booth, Katara, DJ, and Jackson on one side and Surge on the other, considering he was four times the size of the trio. After they all got situated, Surge ordered a steak, Jackson ordered eggs and bacon, Katara ordered a fruit salad, and DJ ordered waffles, which he devoured in under three minutes.
"Dang!" said Surge as he observed the little Riolu. "You eat faster than a starved Snorlax!"
DJ smiled sheepishly at Surge's comment, but said nothing.
"That's DJ for you. The living vacuum." said Katara.
DJ gave her a mock glare, to which Katara laughed at. Seeing the interaction between his daughter and DJ, Surge smiled. They continued to eat in silence, except for DJ, until Surge spoke up.
"So how did you two meet."
"Well, Katara actually saved me about twelve days ago." said DJ. "And since then I joined Team Stardust and we've been doing missions along with Jackson."
"Oh, so you're the one she saved from the Druddigon in that cave, when she should have been with a senior member." said Surge accusingly.
"Y-you heard about that?" asked Katara with a guilty expression.
"Yes, you're guild master contacted me when you were injured. That's actually what I'm here about." said Surge. "Me and your mother have been talking, and we think it would be best if you came home."
The table was silent for the longest time. Jackson, Katara, and DJ all stared at Surge with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"What?!" asked Katara angrily, breaking the silence. "You want me to quit Team Stardust?!"
"Not quit per-say." said trying to calm down his daughter. "Think of it more as a leave of absence. You can come back in a few years, but your mother and I don't think that you're ready to be part of a guild."
"Why?!" yelled Katara.
"Well after we heard about what happened from Tobias, we decided that you are still to young to be part of a guild."
"B-b-but," sputtered Katara. "There are others that are younger than me that are part of the guild! Why can't I stay?!"
"Because," said Surge forcefully. "Your mother and I think it's far to dangerous for you to be in a guild right now. You can come back once you evolve."
"But there's no telling when that could happen!" shouted Katara, tears in her eyes. "I've been on two outlaw missions and I've been fine! I'll be fine dad, please! Let me stay!"
"I'm sorry Katara, but our decision is finally. You are to accompany me back home tonight." said Surge.
"TONIGHT!" shouted Katara. "But...but..."
Katara tried to find the right words, but she could not think straight. With tears flowing down her face she looked down in defeat. Both Jackson and DJ looked at Katara with pained expressions. DJ felt her sorrow and helplessness and couldn't bare it anymore.
"I still don't see why she has to go." said DJ, gaining the attention off everyone at the table. "She'll have other members of Team Stardust with her on missions. She'll be completely safe."
"Sorry pup." said Surge. "It's not that I don't trust you team, but I would feel safer knowing that there was someone strong with her."
"But there will be." said DJ, thinking fast. "I'll be with her."
Everyone was stared at DJ. Jackson and Katara both had frowns on their faces, wondering why DJ was acting so cocky. There was more silence, until Surge burst out laughing.
"You?" said Surge between laughs. "No offense, but you're just a pup. There's no way that you can defend her against powerful enemies."
"Oh really." said DJ with a sly smirk. "Then how about we make a deal?"
"A deal?" asked Surge slightly interested. "What kind of deal."
"If I can beat you in a fight, Katara gets to stay with Team Stardust." said DJ.
Katara and Jackson stared at DJ in shock, while Surge seemed amused.
"And what do I get if I win?" asked Surge.
"Katara stays with you until you deem her ready to come back." said DJ.
Surge stroked his chin, as if thinking about DJ's offer, before smiling.
"Alright pup. You've got yourself a deal." said Surge, extending his hand. "But don't expect me to hold back just because you're a kid."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." said DJ as he shook Surge's hand.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" yelled Katara at DJ as she hit him over the top of his head. They were making their way down to the practice fields, where DJ would fight Surge. Surge himself had already gone on ahead to the practice fields and Jackson had headed over to the guild house to inform everyone else about what was happening, leaving DJ and Katara alone. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING CHALLENGING MY DAD?!"
"I WAS THINKING I WAS TRYING TO ALLOW YOU TO STAY ON TEAM STARDUST!" yelled DJ.
"SO YOU THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO CHALLENGE MY DAD, WHO HAS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE?!"
"WELL SORRY IF I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE YOU LEAVE!"
This statement caused Katara to pause and look at DJ in shock and confusion. Seeing the look on her face DJ continued.
"Look... you were the first one I met in this world, and not only that, you were also the first one to show me kindness." As he spoke, DJ's eyes became glossy with unshed tears. "I don't know if it's because of the bond or if it's my personality, but I don't want to see you upset."
"DJ..."
"Please... I need you to believe in me. Believe that I can do this."
The look in his eyes were desperate, as if Katara believing in him was the most important thing in the world to him, as if her belief would actually allow him to win. Seeing this look Katara sighed.
"OK. I believe in you."
"Thank you." said DJ, wiping his eyes. He then looked at her and smiled. "I promise you, that I will do everything in my power to keep you here."
Katara wanted more than anything to believe his words, but she knew that her father was to strong. Despite this, she still gave him a small smile.
When DJ and Katara arrived at the practice fields they spotted Surge and Alistair chatting nearby. As they made their way towards the duo they picked up on some of their conversation.
"...and then he went flying off the ledge and fell into the lake!" laughed Surge.
Alistair laughed as well as Surge finished his story.
"My, my. You've had some exciting adventures over the past ten years." said Alistair. Alistair then noticed DJ and Katara approaching. "DJ, Katara, it's good to see you. I was just having a lovely conversation with Katara's father here."
"You know Gramps?" DJ asked Surge.
"Gramps?!" asked Surge before bursting out in laughter. "You let him call you that?!"
"Unfortunately, when we first met I told him he could call me whatever he wanted and he called me Gramps." sighed Alistair.
This caused Surge to laugh even harder.
"Oh that is rich!" said Surge wiping a tear out of his eye. "Anyway, yes we know each other. We've gone on many missions together back in the day. I was a young Croconaw at the time and this old geezer was one of the older members on the team."
"I wish you would stop calling me old." sighed Alistair. "I'm only a couple years older than you.
"That's old in my book." said Surge.
"You two were on a team?" interrupted Katara.
"Yes we were." replied Alistair. "We were a four mon (AN: Not a typo instead of man I will use mon do to the fact that Pokemon are not human.) team called Team SATE. It was me, you're father, a Gardevoir named Ester, and your guild master."
"You were on a team with the guild master?" asked DJ. 'I'm starting to regret challenging him...'
"Yep. We were a force to be hold." said Surge cheerfully. "Then we all went our separate ways ten years ago."
Both Surge's and Alistair's expressions seemed to darken at Surge's last statement, as if they were remembering something unpleasant. Surge broke out of his stupor first and smiled.
"So how did you meet Alistair lil' pup?" asked Surge in an attempt to change the subject.
"Guild master actually called him to train me." said DJ, a little annoyed at the 'pup' comment.
"Oho!" said Surge as he looked from DJ to Alistair. "So you've been training him, aye Alistair? That should make this fight more interesting."
"Fight?" asked Alistair. "What fight?"
"You see, the pup here made a bet that if he could beat me in a battle."
"WHAT!" yelled Alistair, staring at DJ. "I'VE ONLY BEEN TRAINING YOU FOR FOUR DAYS! WHAT WOULD POSSESS YOU TO CHALLENGE HIM?!"
"He was going to force Katara to leave Team Stardust!" said DJ defensively. "I couldn't just stand by and let that happen!"
Alistair's expression softened at this and sighed.
"No, of course you couldn't."
Before anymore could be said, DJ was suddenly hit over the head with a bone.
"OWW!" shouted DJ, clutching his head. He then turned and saw a glaring Bertha holding her bone menacingly. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"
"FOR BEING AN IDIOT!" shouted Bertha as the rest of Team Stardust, and Tobias, made their way over to the group. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CHALLENGE KATARA'S DAD?!"
"I'M TRYING TO KEEP HIM FROM FORCING KATARA TO LEAVE!" shouted DJ, ignoring Bertha's death-glare.
"Even so, you shouldn't have made such a rash decision." said Grace sternly as she and everyone else reached the group.
"I don't see why you're making such a fuss about this." said Asura. "Surge said that he would allow her to return once she was stronger."
"Of course you wouldn't understand." DJ said to Asura venomously. "Anyway it's too late know. I made the bet and it's too late to back out now."
The others wanted to argue more, but Tobias cut them off.
"He's right." said Tobias. "He has made his choice, and he must live with the consequences."
"How troublesome." said Drake as he backed off.
The rest all nodded, reluctantly (except Asura) and backed off as well.
"Now that everyone's here, how about we get this show on the road?" asked DJ.
Surge laughed at this statement.
"You've got guts pup, but don't expect me to go easy on you." said Surge as he got into a battle stance.
"I would be insulted if you did." said DJ with a smile as he too got into a battle stance. And like that the battle begun.
DJ used quick attack to closed the distance between him and Surge and used force palm before Surge could react. The attack caused Surge to be pushed back a couple feat, but the attack did not seem to do that much damage. DJ then used quick attack and slammed into Surge, hoping that the attack would cause Surge to lose his balance and fall, but Surge barely moved. Seeing that his attack did very little, DJ used force palm again to push Surge away, then charged at him with quick attack while using force palm in hopes of doing more damage, but before he could land the attack Surge dodged with speeds that one would not expect for something so big. DJ skidded to a halt and quickly brought up his paws in a defensive manner, just in time to stop Surge from slashing him with glowing claws (Slash). Thankfully for DJ, Surge's claws hit the bones that were protruding from his paws. While not completely blocking the attack, the bones did greatly reduce the damage. Surge attempted to use slash again, DJ used force palm on the approaching claw, causing Surge's arm to jerk back leaving Surge wide open. Seeing an opening, DJ used force palm on Surge's unguarded chest. Surge stumbled back holding the spot that was hit, seeing this DJ charged, attempting another force palm, but just as he was about to connect, Surge lowered his head and bit DJ's paw, halting the attack. DJ cried out in pain as Surge's teeth penetrated his paw, and could only watch in horror as ice began to spread up his arm from where Surge's teeth touched his paw (Ice Fang). DJ tried get free, but he could not break out of Surge's jaws. Surge then tossed his head back, pulling DJ with it, and opened his mouth, sending DJ flying into the air. As DJ began to fall, Surge shot out a torrent of water from his mouth that hit DJ and sent him flying into a wall (Hydro Pump). DJ slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.
"I have to say I'm disappointed." said Surge with a sigh. "You only know two moves and you expect to beat me?"
"Yep." said DJ with a groan as he slowly got up. "Besides, it's not my fault I only know two moves. Alistair hasn't taught me any!" said DJ pointing at Alistair, who had the decency to look slightly sheepish.
This caused Surge to laugh out loud.
"I like you pup. You've got guts!" said Surge.
"I don't suppose this means you'll let Katara stay?" said DJ.
"Nice try kid, but no." said Surge.
"Can't blame a guy for trying." said DJ as he charged Surge, ignoring the pain and his frozen paw.
As DJ approached, Surge swung his arm, using slash, at DJ. DJ, thinking quickly brought up his frozen paw and not only blocked the attack, but also broke the ice that surrounded his paw. DJ then used his other paw and hit Surge with force palm. As Surge stumbled back, he was hit in the jaw by another force palm, causing him to stumble even more. Seeing him off balance, DJ unleashed a barrage of force palms, only to have more than half of them to be either dodged or blocked. As he continued to use force palm, DJ began to tire out. Using so many attacks one after the other slowly began to take its toll on DJ as his attacks became slower and slower. Just as DJ was about to use another force palm, Surge caught his paw and threw him away. DJ pirouetted in midair and landed in crouch, breathing hard.
'Damn!' thought DJ. 'I've hit him like twenty times, but he keeps shrugging off my attacks. If this keeps up, I'll lose for sure! But I can't give up. Katara's counting on me!'
Surge regarded the little Riolu with a calculating look, before sighing.
"I take back my previous statement. Even though you only know two moves you are strong." said Surge with a smile. "I can tell you're gonna go far pup."
DJ couldn't help but smile at the compliment.
"However." said Surge. "You are clearly outclassed, but I can tell from the look in your eyes that you won't give up. So unfortunately I have to end this now."
As soon as he said this, his whole body tensed. Surge's body became covered in a light blue aura which seemed to cause his muscles to bulge and grow (Superpower). He then launched himself at DJ with startling speed and punched DJ in the stomach. The hit was strong enough to knock the wind out of DJ and send him flying back a couple of yards. Before DJ could catch his breath Surge was upon him. Surge then kicked him up into the air and jumped after him. As DJ reached the apex of his ascent Surge appeared above him, grabbed DJ by his ankles, and threw him face first into the ground, cracking the ground on impact. As Surge began to fall he brought his hands together and smashed them into DJ's back, pushing him further into the ground. DJ cried out n pain and went still.
"DJ!" shouted Katara as she, and everyone else, watched in horror at the brutal events that just occurred.
Surge straightened up and looked at DJ's downed body and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"I might have over done that a little." said Surge as he began to walk towards the others.
"You went too far." said Alistair angrily. "You could have killed him!"
"Well sorry!" said Surge. "He wouldn't give up so I had to finish him off. At least it's over no-"
"No." said a voice from behind Surge.
Everyone looked at where the voice came from and were shocked to see it came from DJ, who was, shakily, rising.
"No." he repeated as he painfully attempted to get up. "It's not over yet."
"Kid it's over." said Surge, getting over his shock. "I commend you for you're determination, but look at yourself. You can barely stand. You can't beat me."
Despite these words, DJ continued to attempt to rise to his feet. Surge was amazed at DJ's determination. He was also concerned that if he continued to fight, DJ could permanently hurt himself.
"Kid you need to give up!" said Surge. When DJ refused to listen, Surge spoke again. "Why? Why are you trying so hard?! You just met my daughter. Why are you trying so hard to keep her here?!"
"Because I made a promise." said DJ, finally rising to his feet. "I promised her that I would do everything in my power to keep her on the team. That's why... I will never give up!"
As he said this, DJ instinctively brought his paws together and blue energy became to form in between his paws. The energy then stabilized and formed a glowing blue sphere.
"That's impossible." said Tobias, his eyes wide. "That's-"
"Aura sphere." finished Alistair as he too stared at the glowing sphere.
DJ unleashed a primal roar and fired the aura sphere at Surge, who was standing there gobsmacked. When the sphere hit Surge the ensuing explosion rocketed Surge towards the group, who had to dive to the side to avoid being hit by Surge's body. Surge then slammed into the wall, which crumbled and buried him. DJ smiled weakly and fell to a knee, completely exhausted.
"I did it." he said as he surveyed the wreckage.
However his euphoria was short lived as Surge emerged from the wreckage, looking at DJ with an unreadable gaze. DJ tried to move, but he found that he didn't have the strength to lift a paw. Surge walked towards DJ leisurely, with the same unreadable look in his eyes, until he was standing over DJ.
"I have to admit, that actually hurt." said Surge looking down at DJ. He then raised his clawed hand, as if about to attack. DJ closed his eyes and braced himself for pain, however, what he felt was a hand patting his head. DJ opened his eyes in surprise and saw Surge smiling at him. "You truly are strong lil' pup. I can see that my daughter is in good hands."
"Does that mean..." said DJ looking at Surge hopefully.
"Yes, she can stay." said Surge. "Seeing you're willingness to fight for my daughter, I've decided that she can stay. Truthfully, I decided that she could stay after you challenged me to a restaurant.
"WHAT!" shouted Katara, as she and everyone else had approached the two after they had seen Surge pat DJ on the head and heard what Surge had said. Surge turned and saw his daughter seething with rage. "So you mean to tell me, that you put DJ through all of that, and you were going to let me stay anyway?!"
Surge was beginning to sweat at his daughter's glare.
"W-well yes. I wanted to see how far he would go for a teammate..." said Surge nervously. Seeing Katara's glare had not diminished, he quickly changed the subject. "A-anyway you should probably get the pup back to the guild house before he collapses."
"I'm not going to collapse." slurred DJ as the adrenaline that had been keeping him conscious finally faded and he fell onto the ground unconscious.
"Wah, DJ!" cried Katara as she ran to his side, not noticing her father sigh in relief.
"You all should take him back to your guild house." said Surge, indicating to the rest of Team Stardust. "I need to talk to your guild master."
Team Stardust nodded, and Jackson used psychic to lift DJ so his body and he Team Stardust headed back to their guild house. As soon as they were gone Surge turned to Tobias and Alistair, suddenly dead serious.
"OK, what's up with that Riolu?" asked Surge. "How the hell is he able to use aura sphere."
"I'm not sure." said Alistair truthfully. "I was not aware that he could do that."
"I did." said Tobias, gaining startled looks from the other two. "When I rescued him and Katara from the cave, I arrived just in time to see DJ launch an aura sphere at the Druddigon. It was so powerful that it actually knocked out the Druddigon."
"Seriously?!" asked Surge. "Damn, I knew there was something off about him. I'm starting to regret letting Katara stay."
"I can assure you that she will be perfectly safe around him." said Tobias.
"Can you? Can you really assure me that?" When he didn't receive a response, Surge sighed. "I didn't think so."
"Look I'll be training him." said Alistair. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen again."
"Cause you did such a good job last time." said Surge bitterly.
"Guys!" interrupted Tobias. "We'll just have to watch him to make sure nothing happens. And above all, we must make sure he doesn't find out about DJ."
"Agreed." said both Alistair and Surge.
Meanwhile, DJ was being patched up by Grace in his room.
"That was reckless." scolded Grace as she finished bandaging DJ. "You could have been seriously hurt."
"I know, but I couldn't just stand by and do nothing." said DJ, wincing slightly from his injuries.
Grace just sighed and mumbled 'stubborn' as she left the room. As soon as she left Katara entered looking sheepish.
"Hey." said Katara, not making eye-contact.
"Hey." said DJ.
"I just wanted to... to thank you for fighting for me to stay."
"Hey we're teammates. It's what we do." said DJ with a smile. "Any one of us would have fought for you, except maybe Asura."
At this, both of them laughed.
"I'm happy that I get to stay here." said Katara.
"I'm happy too." said DJ as he slowly lost consciousness and fell asleep.
Katara looked at DJ's sleeping form and smiled.
"Thank you DJ."