Charmander

"Torchic!"

Sand had made seeing hard. While he and Torchic had started to trot to the back lines, they had been attacked by a group of Gabite. At that point, the sandstorm had already encased the battlefield in its blinding grasp. As he and Torchic fought the Gabite off, his vision became worse and worse. The Gabite, meanwhile, seemed almost used to the conditions of the storm. They had beaten the two of them roughly, but they had managed to get the upper hand. Torchic had disappeared into the sandstorm while Charmander began to run from the Gabite. Then, in a quick flash, Torchic had leapt out of the storm, her claws gleaming ever so slightly in the small amount of the sunlight the storm allowed to be visible. She'd cut the back of two of their heads open in one quick movement. The other one, taken by surprise, didn't even see Charmander coming. Charmander had run while curling himself into a ball, then breathed fire. His body caught, and he rolled forward, barreling into the Gabite's chest. It screamed as its stomach began to burn, and that was how they had left him.

But now Charmander was alone. Torchic had walked too fast for him to keep up, clearly wanting to get away from the battlefield as fast as she could. Now Charmander was wandering around, going in different directions, shouting for her. But his voice sounded faint in his ears, and he knew even as he continued to shout for her that she wouldn't be able to hear him. And if she hadn't noticed that he'd gotten lost, where was she now? Was she still moving in the same direction she had been previously? Where was he? He'd changed course so many times he had no idea.

But then, he saw it. A small shape in the distance. He could make out a beak similar to Torchic's in the shadows of the sand. He began to walk towards it, the wind only buffeting him slightly. As he continued, he realized that the shape was walking towards him as well. For an instant, he was happy. He didn't want to be left alone without Torchic, not in this storm.

Then, with dawning horror, he came to the realization that this wasn't Torchic. This figure was not as skinny as she was. Charmander also saw another figure beside the birdlike one. This one was crawling on all fours, and had the lanky look that made it seem like a walking corpse within the shadows. Charmander began to back away, but the figures were still gaining. He knew that there was no escape. He would have to accept it, to fight them off. He'd just taken out a Gabite; how hard could a few novices from another Nation be?

But apparently, the shadows were just as horrified as he was. They stepped out, staring at him cautiously. Charmander readied himself for battle, but the other two continued to approach. The larger one, the one with flippers instead of arms, put them up. "Ground Nation's turned against us," he said. "Do we really want a three-way battle to keep up?"

Charmander eyed them cautiously. What the hell were they planning on doing? The larger one stuck out his flipper. "Piplup," he said. "That's Froakie. We're just looking for my father, that's all. We'll be about our way now."

Charmander nodded, but as soon as he did, a shape from the air flew down and began to scratch at Froakie. Froakie screamed, and Piplup turned towards him. Charmander could see her, Torchic, clawing at Froakie's face, never stopping, never ending. Piplup turned back towards Charmander. "It could have gone another way," he said. That was when Charmander noticed that Piplup's left flipper was silver.

Piplup slashed at him, but Charmander managed to dodge it. "Torchic!" he shouted as Piplup tried to come after him. "Torchic stop!"

But his voice was too faint to be heard. Torchic continued to claw at Froakie. Froakie had put up his arms defensively, but they were getting scratched up. They were bleeding, but Torchic continued her onslaught of strikes. As Charmander continued towards her, he could see it, prevalent in her eyes. Anger and fear. He could also see that she was shaking. She hadn't planned this; she'd just seen them near him and had jumped into action completely out of the blue, even to herself, it seemed.

"Torchic! Stop! They're not gonna hurt us!"

Torchic looked at him reluctantly, but stopped nonetheless. Charmander turned around. Piplup was stalking towards him, his arm still metallic. Rage was in his eyes, rage that didn't seem to be completely directed towards Charmander and Torchic. Some kind of rage directed towards something that had happened prior to this moment, perhaps recently or perhaps long ago.

"She didn't know," Charmander explained. "She saw us, and she thought you were gonna attack us. We don't want any trouble, we just want to go home. That's it! We'll help you look for your father, if that's what it takes!"

But that didn't stop Piplup. Charmander crouched, readying himself to dodge whatever attack came. But what came next he wasn't expecting. Piplup jumped into the air above Charmander. For a moment, water surrounded him, and he jetted out for just a second. Then he landed, and his flipper pierced the neck of a Gabite that had been sneaking up on Charmander. Charmander turned, shocked enough for a small gasp to come out of his mouth. Piplup held his flipper in its neck as it crumped to the ground. Then, standing on its corpse, Piplup pulled his flipper out. Blood flowed down from its neck.

Piplup turned towards Charmander. "There," he spat. "You can trust me. Now, show me I can trust you. Help us search for me father."

Charmander looked down at Torchic, who was eyeing Piplup suspiciously. "Why should we help you?" she asked.

"Ground Nation's fighting against both of us," he said. "They ambushed Water Nation. I saw Senator Garchomp attack my father."

"So did we," Charmander said. Piplup's eyes widened, and a spark of hope dwindled in them. "We don't know if he lived though. We just saw Fire Nation soldiers surround him." Piplup's gaze dropped disappointedly.

"Well," he continued, "let's make a deal. You help us find my father, you can go. Or, we can kill you where you stand. Right, Froakie?"

Charmander looked back at Torchic. She had turned toward Froakie, who had stood. He was rubbing his arms, which were cut up and bleeding. "Right," Froakie said reluctantly. Charmander had a feeling that, if anyone were to kill them for disagreeing, it would be Piplup and Piplup alone.

"Glad we're in agreement," Piplup said, though his face was hard as a stone. He walked over to Charmander. "Let's try this again," he said, sticking his flipper out. Charmander noticed that the metal on it had faded away, and it was normal once more. "I'm Piplup, that's Froakie."

Charmander stared at Piplup's flipper for what felt like a long time, but was truly only seconds. It was either shake or risk death, and Charmander didn't feel like dying today. More importantly, though, Torchic was shook enough already by the battle. There was no need to add to that with the risk of death. Charmander stuck out his own claw, and shook Piplup's flipper, reluctantly yet firm.

When they released Piplup nodded. "Alright," he said, turning his back on Charmander. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Torchic asked. "I can barely see ten feet in front of me, how the hell are we going to find Empoleon?"

Piplup turned back to her. "We will find him," he said sternly. "We have to. Come on, let's go this way."

Piplup turned left and began to walk. Charmander followed, as did Torchic and Froakie. He caught up to Piplup, and realized that the wind was beginning to die down. He walked next to Piplup for a few seconds before deciding to speak. They may as well get to know their enemies if they were stuck with them for the next few hours. "Why did Water Nation ally with Ground in the first place?" he asked.

"Stupidity and revenge," Piplup said. "Garchomp's the best warrior there is. I doubt even you can deny that. I even said so myself, right in front of everyone; this was the dumbest, shittiest idea anyone had ever had. Ally with the Ground Nation, apparently so we could turn against them by killing Garchomp. Weaken them by killing the best warrior any Nation's ever had. I had a little 'talk' with Senator Feraligatr about my doubts, and he even admitted that the pan had holes in it. Stupid bastard's probably dead by now."

Piplup looked sidelong at Charmander. "I shouldn't be telling you this, you know," he said. "It's pretty much a betrayal of whatever secrecy the Water Nation has, whatever mysteries they keep hidden from the rest of the Nations. If I weren't a Senator's son, they'd probably kill me for treason and kill you for knowing. Lucky for you, I don't really give a shit anymore."

Charmander nodded. "I can see why. It-"

"Hold on!" Piplup shouted. Charmander turned around. Torchic and Froakie were only a few feet away, and they stopped. With the wind slowly beginning to die down, the storm was coming to a close. Now sound was able to travel normally instead of being nothing but muffled nothingness unless you were close to someone's ear. They stopped, a quizzical look on Torchic's face.

Charmander turned around to see that Piplup was facing them. "I want all of you to make a line," he said. "Across, on either side of me. And face the way I'm facing. Go!"

They scrambled and did so. Froakie got on Piplup's left side, while Charmander stood on his right side, with Torchic standing next to him. They stared out into the sandy desert, Charmander unsure of what they were supposed to be seeing. Torchic leaned in, close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. "Does it ever end?" she asked.

Charmander shook his head. No, it seemed. No, it never ended.

They stayed that way for a few seconds before Charmander noticed it. A shadow was walking towards them, one that had the distinct features of a Gabite. Charmander tensed, readying to jump up and latch his teeth onto its throat. Everyone else had tensed as well. Piplup continued to stare at the approaching shadow as he spoke. "I'll go for the throat," he explained. "Froakie, go try and slip behind it. If it sees you, we'll know. You'll be fine. Charmander, Torchic, you're backup in case we fail."

Charmander nodded, then turned toward Torchic. She nodded at him as well, but he could see fear in her eyes, and he knew that soon, she would start to shake again. Charmander turned back to the shadow. "Got it," he said.

Froakie slipped into the sandstorm, nothing more but a shadow on the wind. Charmander could feel his heart pumping faster as he continued to stare at the shadow. It was gaining. Then, without warning, Piplup darted forward. Charmander felt the instinct to do so as well, but instead, he remained where he was. There was the sound of flesh being sliced, followed by a sickening gurgle. He watched as the two smaller shadows detached from the larger one, which fell to the ground.

Charmander could hear Froakie's voice on the wind, something about "first kill," and blubbering.

He saw Piplup put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and heard something about him doing fine, and something else about Froakie's father. At last, the two of them returned. Froakie had droplets of blood peppered on his face, while Piplup's body was streaked in it. "It's not ours," he explained. "Come on, let's go."

Charmander looked at Torchic, who seemed relieved that she didn't have to do any killing then. Charmander was also relieved, though he knew that, before they found Empoleon, they would have to kill again.

But he was wrong. The sandstorm slowly began to lift, and the battlefield was viewable once again. Thirty minutes after Piplup and Froakie had taken out the Gabite, the battlefield was visible again. It was not a pretty sight. Fire, Water, and Ground were still fighting, though this time, there were small skirmishes everywhere across the desert. Charmander searched for any sign of his father or Blaziken, but could find none.

Piplup had better luck than him. Piplup pointed with his flipper. "Over there!" he shouted. He broke into a trot, and Froakie followed, almost magnetized to his friend. Charmander and Torchic followed as well, but they glanced at each other, both of them reading each other's eyes. If they wanted to, they could kill Piplup and Froakie while they were running. But Charmander saw reluctance in Torchic's eyes. "We won't," he promised. The reluctance faded.

The mound that was crumpled on the ground made Charmander fearful of who had done it to him. Garchomp, he thought. He could easily see why he was hailed as the best warrior of any of the Nations, and why he was feared by many. Empoleon's body was covered in scrapes and bruises. He was lucky to be alive, and it was probably only because they were surrounded by the distracting regiment of Fire Nation soldiers that lay dead in a circle around him that he lived. His worst wound was one on his flipper. Blood was still coming out of it, causing Empoleon's face to become much lighter than it once was.

"Son?" Empoleon said drowsily, lifting his head. He looked down at his feet. "Feet, broken," he explained choppily. "Move them, can't. Stomach, hurts."

That was when Charmander noticed the large slice that had been traced across Empoleon's belly. It too was bleeding, and it looked deep. Piplup leaned into his father, his tears showing, his eyes filled with grief and rage. "You can't die," Piplup said. "We'll save you, we promise."

Empoleon looked up, his eyes meeting Charmander's. Charmander felt his face become hot. He suddenly felt awkward and embarrassed for being where he was. "Fire Nation?" Empoleon asked. Then he passed out.

"Dad!" Piplup screamed. He turned towards the others, all of them looking at him in shock and sorrow. "Well, don't just stand there!" he yelled. "Get him to a transport vehicle!"

They nodded. Charmander suddenly had an idea. "Torchic," he said. "I need you to go get Flareon."

"No!" Piplup shouted. "We're not going to be indebted with the Fire Nation!"

"Flareon's had over fourty years of medical experience," Charmander said. "He's here, he has to be, but he doesn't like it. He hates the war, and if he had it his way, we would all hold hands and sing songs. He's the best chance we have of your father making it." Everything Charmander had said was true.

But Piplup shook his head. "No way," he said. "Froakie, go find Simipour."

"I don't know," Froakie said. "She only has a few months' experience. We've never had something this bad before in the time she's been a medic."

"Fine!" Piplup shouted. "Go get your medic!"

Torchic nodded, then hurriedly ran off to find Flareon. Charmander hoped that the medic would be kind enough to help. He turned back to see Piplup was glaring at him. Charmander hurriedly picked up Empoleon. He was heavy, and he knew there was no way they were going to get him to an empty transport vehicle without him falling eventually. But they would have to try.

"There's one just up ahead," Piplup said. "About fifty yards. We can make it."

They walked to the doors without conflict. But Charmander's mind was in turmoil. Where was Torchic? She wouldn't be back by now, sure, but he was still worried for her safety. As they lowered Empoleon at the back of the transport vehicle, he looked up at them. "I'll go find Torchic," he said.

"I'll go," Froakie offered. Charmander looked at him, suspicion still crawling in his brain. "Trust, I get it," Froakie continued. "But if the two of you stay here, then there's no chance of us moving and you'll be able to find us. Trust."

Piplup looked at Froakie as though he'd gone crazy. Before either of them could protest, Froakie had run off into the chaos of the battle that stretched out behind them. Piplup opened the doors of the transport vehicle, then glared at Charmander for a moment. "Help me with him," he ordered.

Charmander did, all the while thinking about Torchic, hoping she would come back safe.