Chapter 13
The sun was shining, the Pidove were chirping and the weather couldn't get any better even if it took self-help classes. For all intents and purposes the day was picture perfect and Black couldn't have asked for a better day for travel. If it weren't for the fact that he was pretty sure he was coming down with everything under the sun he'd be in a great mood. At the moment, he just wanted the sweltering heat between his ears to stop before his brain started oozing out his nose.
It had been at least a week since the near encounter with the League officials, and the teenager was starting to feel the stress of the situation. He had immediately and violently disposed of his pokedex when he remembered that it had been used to send a GPS signal, albeit an inaccurate one based on where he caught Robin. It was now just some very expensive pieces of scrap metal buried under a rock.
Fortunately they were almost to Wellspring at this point. At this point, the problem was finding it. He'd realized as soon as he managed to find his position on the paper map that his pace was far slower than planned, but his fever was making it difficult to move even when he was feeling at the top of his game.
He'd added detours and distractions to his route. It didn't take a genius to know that if he kept going in a straight line like he had been earlier that his pursuers would eventually catch on and just meet him at Wellspring. That hadn't been much of a concern when he'd been sure they'd investigate the areas south of Striaton with more scrutiny, but now they had an idea of where he was and that only complicated matters.
He still kept at least one of his pokemon out at all times. Xanatos was coming along fine and his burns, once so ugly as to be considered physically deforming, were almost all gone. The only trace of them still visible was the noticeable chunk still missing from the leaf star on the Snivy's tail. The starter never acknowledged the presence of the injuries in his healing, and often just plain chose to ignore the damage done to him as he would occasionally participate in the occasional wild pokemon encounter
Black also took the time to let Candy and Robin out more to get to know them. He'd been with Silver and Inspector for weeks already, so he already had a measure on what they were like, but the two newest females were still novices when it came to battling with a trainer. The two of them would occasionally do their own thing in battle, and while Black had no problem with that unlike some others, he did have a problem with insubordination. He could not have that if they ran into League enforcers again.
'When I run into them again, not 'if',' his traitorous mind provided in the dark of night, when he was the only one still awake.
Candy was honest in her effort to improve but Robin's response was surprisingly blase and not something he was expecting.
"It's not like my life is any more dangerous now than it was before, darling," she said, quite cheerily too, as he sat her down to talk. They were taking a quick break from the travelling so Black could work on healing the recent injuries with wild pokemon. "Do you know how often I'd get hurt trying to mooch off of people? Really, if anything it's even better! I have my own personal food dispenser now! Speaking of-"
"No." Black deadpanned, feeling an eye twitch starting to form. "You'll wait until dinner like everyone else."
"D'awwwww," the cat groaned, and then turned around to go sulk like the innocent little kitten she absolutely wasn't. Black didn't buy it for a second.
"Big Sis!" Silver shouted from where she was playing with Inspector. She had let go of the sock that Black had lent her to play tug-of-war with, causing the little Patrat to fall on his back. "Come play! Tory keeps beating me!"
"Coming dearie!" Robin called out. She turned back to him and said, "Darling, it's ok. I can take care of myself. I was doing just fine until you came along, and now I'm even better. Just believe in this ol' bird a little."
"You're a cat, though," Black couldn't help but point out.
"Besides," she continued, ignoring him with all the patience of a mother to her child, "you got Xanxan to trust you. I know I haven't been on the team that long but even I can tell he doesn't trust easily. I know you can take care of us." She then turned right around and went off to join the young ones.
Black stared at her, wondering what had prompted her to say that.
"She's right, y'know," Xanatos said suddenly from his side. Black forced himself not to react in surprise. "Of all of us, she's the one with the most experience. We've been talking," he said by way of an explanation at his trainer's curious glance.
Black shook his head. "She's mostly dealt with wild pokemon and gullible trainers." He turned to look at his Dark type cat, who was playfully tackling Inspector allowing Silver to win the game this time. "She never got in a fight she knew she couldn't win."
"Are you planning on sending her out in such a battle, trainer?" The question was so sharp Black could have sliced a finger on it. And was that a hint of protectiveness on the Grass types voice?
"No!" his reply was equally firm. "With any luck we'll never see another League official again."
Xanatos' tail whacked him on the arm. "I'm not paying you to dream, trainer."
"You're not paying me at all."
"Exactly."
Why did Black feel like he'd lost that particular bout? Regardless, Black decided to keep quiet on the subject and pounce on a different subject. "So, you've been talking, huh?" Black asked idly, watching as Candy appeared from nowhere and started wrestling with Silver. His head felt foggy as he watched them play around without a care in the world.
Black could practically feel the intensity in Xanatos' eyes on him, but he kept his face straight. He knew he wasn't all that perceptive at the best of times when it came to social interactions (one particular memory of him and Bianca being chewed out by Mrs. Cravan for calling Cheren an orphan when they were six came to mind), but he hadn't missed his first pokemon's blatant interest in Robin. "Yes, talking."
He let out a long low pondering hum as he supported his head in his palm and looked to the side in Xanatos' direction. "You sure?" he asked. Suddenly he sneezed, mucus spewing from his nose and ruining the look he was going for.
Xanatos' smug smile stung his pride but Black was too sick to care at this point. "Just talking, trainer. She's an interesting one."
Reaching into his bag for another set of tissues, Black pondered his starter's words. With Xanatos, interesting could mean any number of things, something Black was honestly a little irritated with; it could mean that the subject in question could be a passing fancy of questionable intelligence and worth, or a genuinely provocative individual whose value was clearly wasted as a member of a certain trainer's pokemon team. Black already had an idea of where he stood on that spectrum.
"How're the burns?" Black decided to change the subject. "Any residual pain or marks?"
"She wants to evolve." Xanatos replied, apropos of nothing. He apparently disagreed on the change in subject.
Black, still sniffling like a Donphan with hay fever, reached over flicked him in the forehead,
"Hey!" said the snake, gently rubbing at the spot.
"Reaction time's still a little slow," Black muttered to himself. He made a mental note to try and lay off on using Xanatos in battle for some time.
"Don't ignore me, trainer," Xanatos glared, but for once, Black didn't care. Whatever Black had been fearing the little starter for just seemed incredibly small compared to the fact that his most difficult partner so far had nearly paid a price far too high for someone he ostensibly didn't like all that much in the first place.
"Take it easy for a while," Black said instead, completely ignoring the squawk of indignation. Some part of him was feeling very vindicated at being the one in charge of the conversation for a change. "I'll use the others in battle for now. You're still not at full strength."
"Tsk! I shall remember this moment, mister future secretary," Xanatos avowed, "you will rue the day you made me sit on the sidelines."
"Riiiiiiiight," Black said, sarcasm clear, "why don't you return to your delusion and go play with the others."
The Snivy sniffed snobbishly. "I do not play, I plan. Right now I've got multiple contingencies in motion for the eventuality that you get us in trouble again."
"Your faith in me is astounding."
"Just calling it like it is, trainer," Xanatos said as he made a show of stretching his little arms out to limber up. "Now go be a good human and start making lunch."
Black's reply was interrupted by another sneezing fit. Part of him thought of it as nature's way of telling him to shut up.
Instead, he watched as the little Grass-type joined the rest of the team in the brawl that had become Silver and Inspector's game of tug-of-war. He observed as the Silver suddenly stood at attention at Xanatos' commands to his 'Number One', even with Candy's tail in her ferocious little jaw. Robin and Inspector joined them, with Robin suddenly mimicking everything Xanatos was saying, and Inspector deciding that there wasn't enough anarchy already and started kicking dirt and sand onto everyone.
"Number Two you will stop that this instant! Fall in line minion!" Xanatos commanded, even as his potential paramour echoed him right after, but this time with a high-pitched nasally twist to it.
And then Candy started using low-powered Water Gun, at which point it turned into a five-way mess that was damaging to Black's psyche with how disorganized it was. He watched for maybe a minute before he realized that they really hadn't had food yet.
Still, there was one thought in the back of his mind that began to settle in and take root. Black smiled as he imagined it in his mind's eye. An image of a Watchog, a Stoutland, a Simipour, a Liepard, and a Serperior superimposed on the scene in front of him, each doing the same thing as their unevolved counterparts.
And then he remembered the fire, the injured customers, and the Gym Leader who surely held a grudge for it all.
"So," Black said out of the blue, "evolution, huh?"
They were getting close to Wellspring, and it was getting late in the day. The sun was to his back, and he and Robin were traversing the prickly thorns and scratchy branches (many of which at face-height, he couldn't help but irritatedly notice). One reason trainers tended to stick to the main paths were just that they had been cleared of such minor distractions over the tread and pass of many others before them. It made travel both easier and more scenic for the less adventurous.
"Ah, Xanxan told you that, did he?" Robin replied, fluidly ducking under a low branch that would have left her fur with more pine needles than she needed. She seemed unsurprised by the question.
He was panting as he kept up with the uphill trudge. They had rounded north a little distance of the cave and decided to approach from the northeast. The area was very hilly and this gave Black the height advantage in case of any trackers on his immediate trail. "Was he not supposed to?"
He saw her shrug without breaking pace in the corner of his eye. "It wasn't exactly a secret, darling."
Black made a noncommittal noise as he focused on climbing on a human-sized rock jutting out from the ground. Fallen leaves littered the forest floor, and he made a motion to stop once more as he decided to catch a breath. There hadn't been many chances to hike back when studying with Professor Juniper and he was really regretting that now. The hill they were on seemed more like a mountain with its steep incline and rough terrain, with the occasional giant stone popping out to catch unwary travelers.
He imagined the tunnels of Wellspring Cave were right beneath him, and he could only wonder whether the denizens inside could hear their movement. Unlikely, considering they were under several feet of bedrock but it was an entertaining thought nevertheless.
Sitting down on the stone, Black let his legs hang over the edge as he looked down at the forest below. They had made good progress that day. He felt tempted to stop for the night already, but he focused on the goal. A few days at Wellspring, with its rumored water with healing properties, and he'd decide where to go next. Realistically he knew he'd have to find a way to stock up on supplies soon. He'd stretched his supply to the limit already and didn't think he'd be able to do much with just a handful of berries.
Robin sat down next to him, overlooking the forest. Unconsciously his hand went out and began to scratch her head, prompting her to begin purring once more. He took a moment to gather his thoughts to prompt his next question.
"Any reason why?" he asked. The concept of evolution was actually fascinating to him. He'd seen it happen twice in his training with Juniper. Both times it had been a Patrat into a Watchog, and though some would scoff at the thought of the commonplace pokemon, Black did not.
Inspector had proven to him that there was more to his species than first met the eye, and Black was sure there were many trainers out there who would say the same, even if they didn't have the helping hand his ability gave him. Patrat were naturally timid creatures, with a rare few being very motivated for things like battle. The evolution of a Patrat into a Watchog, according to his studies and the evidence he'd seen, was seen as much as a sign of physical maturity as it was of character. It was a tangible manifestation of will on their parts, to grow stronger, whether out of necessity, danger, or whatever.
Some pokemon seemed to revere the thought of evolution. There had been examples of minor cultures found throughout the world ritualizing the act, from groups of Larvestas enduring scorching damage to themselves in the desert in hopes of unlocking their species' potential, to the worshipful attitude some Clefairy held towards Moon Stones in the Kanto Region.
So it was with some curiosity that Black asked Robin that question. Her motives and such were still a mystery to him.
"Do you know how many of my species actually reach that level?" Robin finally replied, answering his question with one of her own.
Black was quiet as he recalled numbers and statistics, all too blurred in his memory to matter. He didn't need to remember to take an educated guess, "Not very many, if I remember correctly."
"Exactly. I don't want to be just a face in a crowd." Robin looked at him, for once uncharacteristically serious. "It's something of a pet dream of mine. To be bigger, faster, stronger..." The wonder in her voice was beautiful and almost brought a tear to his eyes. "…before you, the chances of that happening were dismally low, darling."
"Ah," was all he said.
He believed her. While one could find Purrloin by the dozen in some places, Liepard were rarer and generally more elusive in the wild. It was a combination of their natural speed and the simple fact that many Purrloin just broke along the way. Their advantages were great, but their weaknesses were terrifying ones that anyone could exploit in combat.
It took a lot of training to evolve, if Black recalled correctly. Something like months or even years of training in certain and specific ways to build up the energy inside that would trigger the process. Bianca, for all that Black could forgive her naivety for, had rushed her Oshawott's training to the point of never bothering to catch another pokemon. She had broken that unwritten rule that the Pokemon League had set for any newcomers to the League challenge, and Montana the now-Dewott had paid the price.
Black was well aware of the amount of training necessary to evolve a pokemon. He'd dreamt of the process for many days before he set out. So to hear that Robin's dream was to evolve under his training...more than a little daunting.
And slightly disheartening.
"Is that . . . all?"
"Yes, why? Should there be more?"
Black swirled the thought in his head for a bit. "It just seems a little . . . lame, I guess."
"Oh? What's so 'lame' about it." There was a small vibrato in her voice. It was warning and promising pain of the scratch-like variety if the next words out of his mouth didn't please her.
Crap. He hastily raised his hands up in what he hoped was an appeasing gesture. "Don't get me wrong!" Her eyes narrowed and Black felt like someone was stepping over his grave. "It just seems like such a small thing to want, for someone as fantastic as you!"
"Majestic, you mean."
"Yeah, majestic!" he corrected automatically as he stared into her heterochromatic eyes.
She stared back at him for several moments before she looked away, sighing. She meowed a sad defeated sound. "This is why I didn't want a trainer. You make us think too much."
"I'm sorry," Black said, not entirely sure what he was apologizing for but doing so anyway.
"Don't be. It's not your fault you're stupid."
The tone, the delivery, the deadpan . . . not even a master assassin could have landed such a perfect blow. Black's respect for Robin rose, even as his ego decided to go cry in the corner.
"I'll get you there," he said, the sting still there, "I'll help you evolve. You'll be the most amazing Purrloin there is, I promise."
Robin chuckled, her purring chest rumbling and sending feelings of warmth throughout his body. "I already am, darling."
He held her in his arms and stood up. Black could tell she believed it too. Part of him was jealous of his team, who were so self-assured in themselves that he questioned why they followed him in the first place. "Then how about this," he said, faking his eagerness even as he remembered his nebulous enemies in the League, "After we get to Wellspring, we'll get started on your training as soon as possible."
"Oh?" The tone was skeptic, even as she nuzzled into his chest.
"Yeah!" Huh, he was actually starting to get excited about this, who knew cheering his pokemon up would actually improve his mood. "Don't just aim to evolve. There are tons of Liepard out there! Aim to be the fastest, the strongest! Be better than all of them in everything they take pride in!"
"And you promise to help me get there, trainer?"
"Yes!"
It took a second but Black realized that he actually meant it now. He honestly could feel it. He could feel that childhood joy in his blood again, that little dream every child has to be the best, to save his world, to be the hero who saved next door's blonde princess. It pulsed through him, innocent and wonderful, and Black relished the memory. It gave him purpose, a drive to-
'Purpose,' Black thought suddenly, his whole body halting as some intrinsic part of him pounced on the word. Unbidden, he remembered Chili's and N's words.
'Why are you on your journey?' they had said.
He felt like a hole suddenly opened up in his chest. Something wasn't right, he thought. A chill settled upon him, and even though nothing changed, Black could have sworn that the shadows in the forest were suddenly longer, suddenly no longer empty. He could feel something watching him, something immense and at the same time immeasurable as it judged him, measured him, looked at his value as person and as a trainer and as something tiny and unworthy of its presence. Time slowed as he tried his hardest to remember, to remember that almost whimsical reason for going on his journey.
Had it been money? He blinked hard and rapidly. Those bills by his mother's side? Black ink on white paper, squiggles and lines that made recognizable characters blurred in in his vision as he pushed to remember.
Had it been his friends? His glasses-wearing friend who swore to be the best and prove his family wrong?
Or had it been something else? The urge to leave home? The need for independence?
This wasn't fear or terror, some part, some impossibly calm part of him realized. There was something stopping him from remembering.
Black pushed that something back. He pushed and shoved and began to think so hard he was forgetting to breathe. Everything was going dar-
Suddenly he was back in the real world and Robin was jumping from his arms
"I smell water!" Robin said excitedly as she landed in front of him.
He blinked, taking a moment to reorient himself. His head pounded violently behind his eyes and he blinked away the tears that had been building up from his vacant gaze into nothing.
"Hold on a second," Black heard himself say, "Let me release the others too."
It made sense, Black reasoned. Water meant pokemon, pokemon meant potential danger. And potential danger meant he had to respond with as much as overwhelming force as possible in case the 'potential' turned into 'active'.
He shook his head, clearing it of the foggy thoughts and stray words that had been planting themselves there. They were too close for him to start having second doubts about everything. There could easily be a group of League Enforcers up there, having somehow predicted his destination even with all his precautionary measures. It wouldn't do to get caught just because he was distracted.
And then, Black promised, once everything had died down, once the media forgot and the next idiot become Unova's newest famous anarchist, he'd go looking for N. The boy who'd surely know at least a little more about the situation.
And to punch the kid. Because it was partly his fault everything happened in the first place.
The light of the release mechanism lit up the hill they were now on. The sun had set, leaving them in early dusk, and the burnt orange sky behind him made for a beautiful view. A melancholic sensation settled upon him as he gazed up at where Robin was waiting. They still had a long way to go to reach the top.
His team released, they each let out a greeting as he gave the instructions. Xanatos, instead of joining the troops, decided to just climb on to Black's back and let him do the lifting.
Black's response was to aim a can of Repel right in his face.
Mumbling and grumbling, the little Snivy joined the rest of the mortals on the ground, and started walking uphill.
It took maybe ten minutes of walking, but they made it to the top. The footing at the edge was slippery, strangely slick with moist dirt and fresh leaves, and Black nearly fell back multiple times. Were it not for the roots growing out of the ground for him to grab on to, all his progress would have been (painfully) undone.
They cleared the edge, and came upon a peaceful picturesque view that wouldn't look out of place in a children's story book.
It was a wide-open glade, he could see. The grass was a healthy and shiny emerald in the light of the setting sun, with the occasional tall weed here and there. In the center of it, there was a small pond, maybe a little over a dozen feet long and probably not very deep considering their location. Around the pond were several pink creatures of about half his height, each with sky-blue eyes and cream colored floppy ears nominal to their species. Some were sitting, others were gathering water into their hands and bringing it back to the main group, while others were jumping around, singing sweetly.
It was a group of Audino. It was actually a group of Audino.
Black realized he was staring. And that it was starting to rain.
It wasn't the first time he'd seen an Audino. Juniper's training had covered a special section on Audino and how they were incredibly adaptive and could be found practically anywhere in Unova. They were some of the kindest and most receptive to humans of the pokemon world, often going out of their way to help any travelers they stumbled across. Even in battle, if the Audino wasn't terribly injured, they'd often go against all common sense and instead heal their enemies. Scientists had thought the few they'd seen do this had some kind of mental illness, but trial and error had shown that all Audino were nonviolent to the point of idiocy at times.
That wasn't what cause him to stare though.
In the arms of some of those Audino, were baby pokemon. Freshly Hatched baby pokemon.
The one exception to any Audino's nonviolence was to threaten the young and innocent. They were so protective that no one had any record of seeing an Audino conclave in person, no matter how much a trainer begged and pleaded. Even trainer-caught Audino didn't give up the information of where their former conclaves were.
It just wasn't something anyone had ever seen. Ever.
Black knew of people who'd give their life's savings to see this sight. While one could catch sight of Audino in the wild with pokemon Eggs, one never truly saw a group of them caring for the young. It was only through rigorous evidence and research into their methodology that people knew about it.
"Woah," he finally said. The drizzle felt gentle on his face.
Beside him, he could see his team doing the same. He didn't know how many of his team had ever met an Audino but it seemed that the scene struck some chord within all of them. Perhaps, even without knowledge of the rarity of this, some vestigial instinct recognized the sacredness of it all.
Xanatos was the first to speak up. "We should leave."
No flair, no drama.
"Yeah," Black said, still looking at the image, drinking in the scene for all it's worth. It reminded him of home. Of soft beds, and sneaking warm cookies before dinner. Of hot summer nights in a tent with Cheren, and warm winter fireplaces at home under the blankets Bianca. It reminded him of strong, yet thin arms holding him close in the dark and his mom saying "Everything'll be alright, Black."
It was with a pang in his heart that he realized he was homesick.
"Let's go."
His team turned to leave. Black tried. For some reason, his legs refused to move.
"Trainer," came Xanatos' voice. It was gentle, for once. "We should leave. This isn't something we should intrude upon."
"Yeah." His mouth was astonishingly dry. "I know. Just...give me a minute."
He drank it all in. Staring at each and every thing, burning it into his mind. He wanted to remember this forever, no matter what happened. Come what may, at least he'd have one good memory about his journey. He wanted to remember this moment, with his team, looking at this once-in-a-lifetime event. The rain on his skin, the dryness of his mouth, the pounding of his heart, and the shouts of the….Audino?
Thunder rumbled in the sky.
Something was wrong.
There was something happening in the group of Audino. At first, Black thought it a trick of the mind, a flicker of doubt from his usual cynicism. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment.
He really shouldn't have tempted fate.
One by one, the Audino not holding the young broke off from the group, walking at first, and then building up their pace as they got closer and closer until they were full out sprinting on their almost comically shaped legs. The rain started coming down harder, pounding the earth mercilessly.
A chill went down his back.
"Run," he said, hoarsely.
"What?"
"Run," he repeated again, throat constricting as the immense wrongness of the situation fell upon him. He made sure to speak above the sound of the rainfall. "Gods dammit, run! We need to run!"
His hand went to his belt, looking for their balls to return them but his hands, wet and slick, fumbled and suddenly all five pokeballs were rolling down the hill they'd just climbed up. Black was half-tempted to run down after them before he caught sight of the numerous shapes climbing the hill at a pace that could not be described as human. 'Dammit, how'd they get behind us?' he thought as his pokemon to started moving along the left edge of the glade.
Inspector and Silver were on all fours, picking up speed even as Black kept pace with them. Candy was in the trees, practically jumping between branches with her hands, feet, and tail. Xanatos, was the same, blurring within the tree leaves, but still keeping close to the group. Robin was on his right, side closest to the glade, and leaping rapidly.
It was with a crushing dismay that Black realized that he was the slowest among the group now. even with the adrenaline rushing through his veins, he was dead tired from the day's exertions, his illness, and his legs were about to give out on him. Electric fire screamed in the sky then, ripping from one end of the horizon to the next in one long continuous dash. His insides jiggled at the following roar from the heavens.
As if to prove him right, he stumbled. He fell but he rolled with the fall and soon he was back up without barely a break in speed. Except now his ankle was screaming bloody murder at the top of its nonexistent voice.
He couldn't take it. Black stopped and crouched down, prompting everyone to stop with him. He lifted his pant leg to take a look. He could see a dark blemish forming underneath the skin and he winced as the pain started to become worse as if acknowledging it was all it needed.
"Trainer, you have to keep moving!" Xanatos yelled from his position in the trees. On the ground, Black could see Silver and Inspector tensing up, readying for a fight.
"Keep going!" Black yelled at them, spittle flying and mixing with the rain, "Don't stop!"
They didn't move, each of them looking behind him and readying themselves. Black looked behind him. Shit, they were close. He could see the shine of their eyes, once thought of a brilliant and comforting sea blue, now sparkling with yet-to-come malice and madness. The ones chasing up the hill were farther away but still too close for comfort especially at the speed they were keeping.
Black cursed out loud and punched the ground, frustrations mounting and with no way to save himself. The punch went several inches into the soft ground, making a dull 'whump' noise.
Wild and insane inspiration struck.
He looked to his left, down at the hill he'd just climbed up. Their pursuers were coming from the direction they'd run from so they weren't directly beneath them. If they tried to just run down they'd be intercepted and unable to escape. But on the other hand…
He looked at the group, at least thirty, advancing on foot. No time to think.
"Fuck it."
Black threw himself down the hill.
His world was thrown into chaos as he went head over heels, and shoulder over shoulder multiple times, finally somehow settling onto his back and sliding down the incline like some mentally deranged bobsled rider. He passed over rocks and roots, each one banging into him and leaving their respective marks on his body. One branch in particular came out of nowhere and smacked him right in the face, busting his lip open.
Following right behind him, he could hear the terrified shrieks of Inspector and the unmistakable laughing of Candy as she relished the rough nature of his plan. The voice of both Xanatos and Robin were right behind, both cursing his name and his intelligence even they narrowly dodged trees and boulders.
They drew even with the Audino going up the hill, and Black swore he could see the gobsmacked look on their faces even as he passed them by.
It was a tall hill.
A part of Black cheered inside as they cleared the 'finish line'. His body didn't stop though, it just kept going and soon he was severely regretting the plan as he found himself facing a wide tree-trunk just three feet from his body.
He jerked his body to the side, ruining his momentum but avoiding the full-on collision he surely would have lost. The trunk clipped his arm, and for a single life-defining moment, Black knew nothing but the crack of his bone and sound of electricity running across the sky.
And then the pain came.
He didn't scream. He didn't have the breath to scream. All he could do was cradle his now useless limb as he anguished silently over it.
"Darling/Trainer/High One/Boss!" came the voices of his team. Something was off though.
He looked up at them, eyes un. That strangely analytical part of him noted that the Audino weren't in pursuit down the hill anymore. He tried to speak, but found that his mouth wouldn't move as he wanted to, because bytheStormohgodithurtsomuch-
"S-Silver," he gasped out, panic knocking him out of his stupor.
His team looked taken aback and then at each other. He could see in slow motion as realization dawned that their youngest member was missing.
"She's still up there!" Xanatos looked up at the top of the hill. It looked so far away now, had they really just slid down that thing? Black couldn't hear anything over the rush of the rain but he could just imagine her growls and barks.
'She's too young,' Black thought, despair settling in. 'I have to-'
His arm grabbed his attention once again, quite violently, by reminding him that his body was barely able to do anything much less climb that momentous mound of dirt between him and his Lillipup.
"Oh honestly!" Robin suddenly growled, fur on end as her tail swished back and forth. The rain had matted her fur down and the mud was everywhere in dark ugly splotches. "Do I have to do everything?"
She closed her eyes and Black could tell she was concentrating. Her tail glowed the same light from their first meeting, when she tried her final sneak attack.
"It'll do," Robin said suddenly, eyes opening and focused up high.
Her tail, still glowing, split in two and then elongated. When it was over, long prehensile vines had replaced her tail.
"I'll be right back."
She took off back up the hill. Black knew she had been taking it easy earlier to keep pace with him and not head to far off ahead, but the speed and agility she showed then, even climbing upwards, was astonishing. Whenever she seemed to get stuck in the mud now running down her vines, Xanatos' own Vine Whip, would reach up and grab a branch to pull her out. She swung up there as much as she ran and she was at the top within seconds. As soon as she reached the top she went over the edge and out of sight.
For a second Black and the rest of his team just stared at the place they'd last seen her. No one said anything, even as Black's arm made him whimper. The rain kept coming down, a flurry of water and nature's rage combined.
Then, Black heard something from up top. It started faint but started growing louder. It was the tumble and rumble of a body rolling down the hill. He realized then that the source of the sound was getting closer, not louder.
Black searched the slope for any moving shapes, and his effort was rewarded with the sight of what was clearly Silver's body sliding ungracefully down towards them.
She came to a stop right in front of them, on her face. With a wiggle and a kick, she righted herself, looked around, saw them, and then happily barked, "Again!"
He may have choked out a laugh at that but he didn't care. She was ok.
"Robin, that was amazing! I-"
Black noticed something very important. Robin was nowhere to be found. She hadn't followed Silver and there was no sign of her coming down even now.
"Robin?"
The rain began to die down.
When asked later how he managed it, Black would say he had no idea. One minute he's down and away from the murderous group of Audino and the next he's climbing that monster hill with his one good arm, already at the top. He took a microsecond to catch his breath and survey the glade.
He how managed it didn't matter, because in that glade, all-arranged in a semi-circle were the Audino. The young baby pokemon were nowhere to be seen, seemingly carried away by the non-homicidal members of the species.
They were gathered around a shape. It was small and purple and covered in many muddy splotches. It was also not moving.
The Audino looked up. They saw him and narrowed their eyes once more.
He didn't care. It took him no time to see that the muddy brown was in fact a red turned dark mixed with the dirt and rain.
That evil gleam returned to the Audinos' eyes.
That's when Xanatos and Silver started to evolve.
End Chapter
Author Notes: Let's play count the death flags, eh?
RIP Robin, Lvl 6 - Lvl 13
Things to note: Evolution, Black's 'purpose', and how the Audino are acting.
To those who reviewed anonymously: thank you for your kind words. Hopefully everyone likes the direction the story is headed.