Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Stardust

Chapter 14: Rage

A week after their encounter with Team Desolation, DJ and Katara are at Quake's farm, along with Jackson, assisting him with his...pest problem.

"Katara, behind you!" shouted DJ as he used force palm on an incoming Mightyena.

Katara quickly turned just in time to dodge the fangs of a Mightyena. She then launched a water pulse at the offending Mightyena, pushing it back.

"There are a lot more of them than last time." said Jackson as he blasted a Mightyena with dark pulse.

"Yep." said Quake as he slammed his two arms, that were glowing with energy, into two Mightyena (Hammer Arm). "I haven't seen this many before. But we're gonna have to hold 'em back."

The four of them continued to fight off the pack of Mightyena. Then one of the Mightyena slipped past them and charged at one of the Miltank.

"DJ!" shouted Jackson, alerting DJ to the problem.

DJ turned and saw the Mightyena heading towards the Miltank and nodded in understanding. DJ then used quick attack to run after the Mightyena. Seeing the approaching Mightyena, the Miltank ran in every direction. The Mightyena closed in on one of the stragglers and was about to bit it when its feet were swept out from under it. The Mightyena looked up in time to see a blue paw slam into its face.

"Damn, that was exhausting." said Katara.

They had been fighting for the past twenty minutes against the pack of Mightyena. They were all currently laying on the ground, breathing hard.

"You can say that again." said DJ

"Damn, that was exhausting." repeated Katara cheekily.

DJ gave her a halfhearted glare.

"Don't be a smart ass." said DJ, earning a laugh from the group.

"Well we should head back." said Jackson, stretching as he got up.

"Well, I can't thank y'all enough for the help." said Quake. "Them Mightyena won't be comin' around here for awhile. I'll be sure to call y'all if they come back."

The trio said their goodbyes to Quake and headed back to Miracle Town.

"Can we stop by that restaurant?" asked DJ. "I want waffles."

"*sigh* What is it with you and waffles?" asked Jackson.

"What can I say, I don't wake up early enough to get something for breakfast so I'm always hungry after our missions. Besides, waffles are amazing." said DJ, drooling sightly.

"You're weird. You know that right?" said Jackson.

"This coming from the one obsessed with the moon." said Katara with a smirk.

"Don't disrespect the moon!" shouted Jackson as he began to rant about the moon, much to the amusement of DJ and Katara, as they continued down the road.

Unbeknownst to the trio they were being watched be two Pokemon hiding in the shadows.

"Which one is my target?" asked one of the duo.

"The Froakie." said the other one as it stepped into the light, revealing itself as Shell. "I want her taken care of. Get the job done by tomorrow and your reward will be substantial."

"Consider it done." said the other Pokemon as it too stepped out of the shadow. As the Pokemon stepped into the light, the Pokemon was revealed as a Shiftry, a brown bipedal Pokemon with a long shaggy white mane that went down its back and covered its face, long ears, a pointed nose, and two fans, made out of leaves, in place of hands. "I swear upon the name of the Shiftry Gang, that the Froakie will be dead by tomorrow afternoon."

Later that same evening, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Katara sat alone in the guild lounge watching TV.

"Damn, Blitz." grumbled Katara as she flicked through the channels. "Tricking me into eating those Chesto berries. Now I can't sleep! I'm going to get him back for this if it is the la-"

Her rant was cut short by a loud knock from the door.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Katara asked herself as she got up and moved towards the door. When she opened the door there was no one in sight. Confused, she stepped outside and looked around for anyone. "What the heck? I could have sworn I-"

Whatever she was going to say next was cut off by a strong hit to the back of her head, sending her into unconsciousness.

Early the next morning, DJ awoke with a loud yawn.

"*yawn* Man I'm still tired." said DJ. He then looked at the clock and saw that it was only five and everyone didn't meet until six . "Damn, I woke up early. A well. At least I have time for breakfast."

DJ got up and tiptoed down the stairs, as to not awaken his still sleeping teammates. As he arrived downstairs he noticed the TV was still on. Chalking it up as Katara simply forgetting to turn it of, he shrugged and turned it off. He headed towards the kitchen with the intent of getting a bowl of cereal, when he noticed a note pinned to the door. Curious, DJ took the note and read it. When he read the note he became shocked, but soon that shock turned into anger and then into fury as he quickly ran out of the guild house, leaving the note on the floor.

A half hour later Asura came downstairs. He always woke up early to get breakfast and to organize the jobs that he picked from the previous evening. As he walked to the kitchen he stepped on a piece of paper. He picked it up and was about to through it away we he noticed writing. He read what was written and paled.

"EVERYONE, GET UP NOW! TEAM EMERGENCY!" yelled Asura, effectively waking up the remainder of the team.

Everyone hurried downstairs, disgruntled about being woken up early.

"What gives Asura?" asked Blitz, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "We still have thirty minutes until we have to meet."

Instead of answering he pushed the note into Blitz's hands. Blitz looked at the note and visibly paled.

"What is it?" asked Blade.

"I-i-it's a ransom note." said Blitz, causing the others to gasp. "It says, 'We have your little Froakie and if you ever want to see her alive again bring thirty thousand poke to the cave near Hedge Forest. Signed the Shiftry Gang."

"The Shiftry Gang?" asked Grace in a fearful tone. "You mean that group of grass type Pokemon lead by a Shiftry that have committed various thefts, kidnappings, and murders? That Shiftry Gang?!"

"It seems like it." said Asura.

"This is bad." said Drake.

"We have to rescue her!" said Bertha.

"We can't rush into things." said Asura calmly. "First we should alert my father then- Wait. Where's DJ?"

As he said this, everyone noticed that DJ was missing from their group.

"Is he still asleep?" asked Blitz.

"Go check." ordered Asura.

Blitz nodded and hurried upstairs in search of the missing Riolu.

"Why would they kidnap Katara?" asked Grace to no one in particular. "It just doesn't make any since. Shiftry's never gone after guild members before."

"I'm not sure." said Asura truthfully. "But we'll find out."

They all then heard the hurried footsteps of Blitz as he descended the stairs. When they all turned to look at him they saw that DJ was not with them.

"Where the hell is DJ?!" asked Asura.

"He's not there!" said Blitz, panic laced in his voice. "I checked his room and all of upstairs, but he's not there!"

"You don't think that he went after them already, do you?" asked Jackson.

"I'm afraid he probably did." said Asura. "Come on we have to go now!"

Cave near Hedge Forest:

"So what do you think of my hideout my dear?" Shiftry asked Katara.

Katara only glared at Shiftry. She had woken up tied up in this cave surrounded by several grass types. The cave she was in was clearly refurbished. It had chests of poke and other items, which she assumed were stolen, scattered everywhere. There was also a door that blocked this particular part of the cave from the other parts. As she continued to look around and saw that the Pokemon that guarded her were made up of two Pokemon that had brown bodies, pointed noses, light brown thighs, light brown faces, and a single leaf on the top of their heads (Nuzleaf), a completely green gecko-like Pokemon with big yellow eyes, a red stomach, and a huge dark green tail (Treecko), and Shiftry himself.

"Not very talkative are you?" asked Shiftry when he did not receive a reply.

"Why did you bring me here?" asked Katara.

"Well you see, I was hired to kill you." said Shiftry calmly as if it were an everyday occurrence.

Hearing this, Katara was completely shocked.

"W-who wants me dead?" asked Katara when she got over her shock.

"Sorry. That's confidential." said Shiftry with a smirk.

"B-but why didn't kill me earlier?" asked Katara, hoping to keep him talking until she could figure a way out this situation.

"I was going to, but then I got to thinking. I could use you as a hostage, get a lot of money from your team, and kill them as well as you. Isn't that an amazing plan?"

"Y-you plan on killing my team too?" asked Katara, clearly disgusted by this.

"Of course." said Shiftry as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The more the merrier I always say."

At this the two Nuzleaf snickered sinisterly while the Treecko looked at Shiftry in disgust and contempt. The Treecko had only joined Shiftry because as a tribal Pokemon (Pokemon that live in the wild, but a sentient), when their Alpha is defeated, the members of that tribe are forced to follow the one who had defeated the Alpha. Shiftry had recently come to Hedge Forest, in search of a hideout, and encountered the Treecko's tribe, which was a fairly small tribe, consisting of seven Pokemon in total. Their tribe was a peaceful one and would not have fought Shiftry, but he killed several of Treecko's tribe including their Alpha, a Tropius (a large quadruped Pokemon with a long neck, a brown body wrapped in leaves on its chest and head, four large leafs on its back that resembled wings, and banana-like fruit that grew around its neck). Tropius was a kind leader who treated everyone nicely, even those from other tribes and civilized Pokemon, and though he welcomed Shiftry into their area, Shiftry killed him for the fun of it. The Treecko hated Shiftry, but do to the ancient laws of the tribal Pokemon, he was forced to join him. He truly felt sorry for Katara, who was silently crying in despair, and wished to help her, but couldn't do to his new 'Alpha's' orders. All of a sudden there was an explosion from outside the room that they were in.

Hearing this, Shiftry picked up a radio and called one of his guards that he had posted outside.

"Report! What's happening?!"

There was nothing except static for a few minutes then a someone picked up.

"We're under attack!" shouted the voice. "They've already taken out half of us!"

"How many of them are there?!" shouted Shiftry.

"Just one. He's a-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by another explosion and a scream.

There was silence. No one in the room made a sound. The two Nuzleaf were frightened, Shiftry was annoyed, the Treecko was impassive, and Katara was hopeful. Seeing Katara's hopeful expression, he spoke.

"Don't get your hopes up. Even if they get past my gang they still have to face those three." said Shiftry, indicating to the two Nuzleaf and the Treecko. "They're the strongest of my gang next to me. And if by some miracle they lose, your little friend will still have to fight me, so don't-"

Shiftry was cut off by a loud banging coming outside the door. Everyone turned and looked at the door in anticipation. There was another bang and the door shook and began to break. There was again silence then the door completely shattered. Then a single Pokemon walked in, covered in several cuts and bruises. And as they focused on the Pokemon that had just entered, Katara gasped as she recognized the Pokemon.

"DJ?!" gasped Katara.

DJ didn't respond, he just glared at Shiftry. Shiftry, on his part, was a little unnerved from the Riolu's glare and began to sweat a little. He then looked behind DJ and nearly gasped. What he saw was the rest of his gang either unconscious or injured to the point where they could not move. He was truly shocked that he was able to take out his entire gang, even though they were incredibly weak. In truth, the only reason he kept them around was to intimidate his enemies, but still. He didn't think that a single Pokemon could beat them all.

"I'm impressed." said Shiftry looking back the Riolu. "To beat that many Pokemon by yourself is truly an amazing defeat."

"I take it your the bastard that's in charge here." said DJ, his glare intensifying.

"That is correct young pup." said Shiftry, taking a mock bow. "I am Shiftry, leader of the Shiftry Gang. And you are?"

"I'm DJ of Team Stardust." said DJ. "And I'm hear to take Katara home and take you into custody!"

"Really?" asked Shiftry. "You think that you can beat me and my elite guards? HA! Don't make me laugh."

"If your so called 'elite guards' are anything like those other Pokemon they'll go down just as fast." said DJ.

"We shall see." said Shiftry. He then nodded towards his guards and the battle was on.

One of the Nuzleaf charged DJ in hopes of beating him himself. When it was three yards from DJ it disappeared and reappeared behind him then hit DJ in the back (Faint Attack). As DJ fell he sent energy into his leg and delivered a spinning low sweep to the Nuzleaf's gut. Do to the attack being super effective, the Nuzleaf to a lot of damage and fell on its knee, clutching its stomach. Not missing a beat, DJ got to his feet and used force palm on the Nuzleaf, effectively knocking it out. The other Nuzleaf launched a bunch of leaves at DJ (Razor Leaf). DJ saw the attack coming and dodged it before charging the Nuzleaf and using force palm with both of his hands. The impact of the force palms sent the Nuzleaf flying, but before it hit the ground DJ had used quick attack to appear above the still airborne Nuzleaf. He then launched a kick at the Nuzleaf, sending it crashing to the ground. DJ then fell towards the Nuzleaf and used force palm on the downed Nuzleaf, embedding it into the ground. Everyone was astonished by how quickly DJ dispatched to two Nuzleaf, even Katara.

'Is that really DJ?' Katara asked herself. 'His attacks were so... brutal. I've never seen him fight like that.'

"Those two are of no consequence." said Shiftry. He then turned to the Treecko. "You. Get rid of him."

The Treecko nodded reluctantly and charged DJ with quick attack, catching him off guard. DJ was pushed back by the quick attack, but didn't have time to recover as the Treecko had swung its overly large tail at DJ (Pound). DJ quickly jumped back to avoid the attack. He then quickly used low sweep in hope s of unbalancing the Treecko, however, the Treecko jumped over DJ's leg and shot seeds out of his mouth at a surprised DJ (Bullet Seed). DJ crossed his arms across his body to defend against the barrage of seeds. When the Treecko finally stopped his barrage of seeds, DJ was still standing. Treecko made to use bullet seed again, but DJ used quick attack to get right in front of him.

"Get out of my way!" shouted DJ as he slammed his palm into the Treecko's stomach. DJ then released the energy in his palm and sent the Treecko flying.

The Treecko hit the wall and slumped to the ground. It looked like he was down for the count until he shakily got to his feet, breathing hard. He was surprised at the ferocity of the Riolu's attack. When he looked in DJ's eyes all he saw was anger and it unsettled him.

"You are strong." said the Treecko. "But I'm afraid that I have to beat you."

DJ didn't respond, he only glared. Treecko lunged at DJ, attempting to use pound, but DJ caught Treecko's tail and slammed him into the ground. DJ then slammed his palm into the Treecko's stomach and used force palm. The Treecko gasped as the attack caused the air to leave his lungs. Before the Treecko could even react, DJ had kicked him in the side hard enough for him to be pushed back several feet. The Treecko just laid there in pain, unable to get up.

'This Riolu,' thought the Treecko as DJ approached his prone body . 'Is not normal!'

But before DJ could do anything a strong wind sent him and the Treecko flying into a wall, doing major damage. When they landed, the Treecko lost consciousness and DJ was trying to stand, his injuries from his previous battles and the damage done from the wind impeding his movements.

"I how'd you like my gust attack." said Shiftry as he walked towards DJ, a sadistic smile on his face. "Now, how about we have some fun."

DJ growled in defiance and charged the Shiftry. Shiftry only smirked and unleashed another gust attack, sending DJ flying into the air. He then jumped after DJ and slashed him with his leaf fans, which were glowing green (Leaf Blade). DJ cried out as he as the attack sliced through his flesh, blood spilling from his wounds. This made Shiftry smile almost hungrily as he blasted DJ back towards the ground with a green sphere of energy (Energy Ball). DJ slammed into the ground and gasped as the air left his lungs. Shiftry landed next to him and kicked DJ, who was completely under the mercy of Shiftry, into the air. As DJ soared through the air Shiftry launched a dark pulse at him. Though the dark pulse was not very effective, the force of the attack slammed DJ against the wall. DJ stuck to the wall for a few seconds before falling face first into the ground.

"DJ!" shouted Katara as she stared in horror at DJ's unmoving body.

"Such a shame." said Shiftry, turning away from DJ and walking off. "I was hoping he'd last longer."

Shiftry then heard a cough from behind him. He turned slowly and saw DJ trying to stand.

"I won't lose here." said DJ as he continued to struggle.

"I'm surprised that you survived. I have to say, I'm impressed" said Shiftry. His face then broke into a maniacal grin. "For impressing me I will give you an award."

At this both DJ and Katara looked at him in confusion. Shiftry's grin grew even wider at this.

"I will let you watch as I kill your friend." said Shiftry, slowly walking towards Katara, his grin never fading

At this Katara's eyes widened in fear as she struggled against her bonds.

"NO!" shouted DJ, trying desperately to stand. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

"You are not in any position to make demands." said Shiftry as he approached Katara. Shiftry towered over Katara, his grin stretching across his whole face. He raised his right arm and his leaf fan glowed green. "This is the end of you!"

Katara's eyes winded even more and tears of despair. Shiftry brought his arm down, intent on killing the Froakie.

"NOOO!" screamed Katara in fear as the leaf blade came down upon her. She closed her eyes, for what she thought would be the last time, but she never felt anything. When she didn't feel the leaf blade hit her, she opened one of her eyes and saw that the glowing blade had stopped an inch from her face. She looked up at Shiftry and saw that he was looking at something behind him, fear etched into his face. When she looked around Shiftry she saw something that nearly stopped her heart. "DJ..."

Shiftry, as he was about to kill Katara, had looked at DJ to see his expression as he killed his friend. What he saw was a dark blue aura began to surround DJ. Not only that, but a strange feeling of dread and anger seemed to emanate from the Riolu, which caused him to halt in his 'execution'. DJ then stood as if he had no injuries and growled at Shiftry. Seeing this surprised both Katara and Shiftry, though Shiftry didn't show it.

"Well this is a surprise." said Shiftry, attempting to hide his fear. "If you think that this will help you, you are sorely mista-"

Shiftry was interrupted by DJ appearing in front of Shiftry and using force palm on Shiftry, sending Shiftry flying. Shiftry slammed into a wall and fell to his knees. He looked up, shock written all over his face, and gazed at DJ in shock. DJ growled and slowly walked towards, like a predator stalking its prey. Shiftry got to his feat and shot an energy ball at DJ. DJ just stared at the approaching ball of energy and when it got close enough he batted it away with his paw, surprising both Katara and Shiftry.

"H-how." stuttered Shiftry.

Instead of answering, DJ charged Shiftry with quick attack and slammed Shiftry into the wall. Shiftry quickly recovered and dodged a force palm that destroyed part of the wall. Shiftry got behind DJ and blasted him with dark pulse. The attack hit DJ directly and exploded, throwing up dust and debris. Shiftry grinned, confident that he had finally beaten the Riolu, but his grin quickly disappeared when the dust cleared, revealing a severely pissed off DJ. Quickly getting over his shock, Shiftry swung his fans creating a gust that hit DJ dead on. Shiftry kept up the gust, intent on blowing DJ away, but DJ did not budge from his spot. DJ then growled at Shiftry and formed an aura sphere in his paw, shocking Shiftry. DJ then held up his paw and shot the aura sphere at Shiftry. Shiftry tried to increase the intensity of his gust, but the aura sphere cut through the winds and slammed into Shiftry, pushing him into the wall and then exploding. When the smoke cleared Shiftry was on the ground, barely conscious. Katara looked at DJ in shock as he stalked towards the downed Shiftry.

'Since when can DJ launch an aura sphere?' thought Katara. 'This DJ...is not the DJ I know."

Seeing DJ approaching, Shiftry began to cower in fear, attempting to flee, but unable to do to his injuries.

"W-hat are you?" asked a fearful Shiftry.

DJ didn't answer. He only growled and used force palm on Shiftry, pushing him into the ground and knocking him out. DJ then presided to use force palm after force palm on Shiftry, pushing him further into the ground. Seeing this display of brutality, made Katara slightly sick. After a few more seconds of this, Katara couldn't stand it anymore.

"DJ! Stop!" shouted Katara, tears in her eyes.

DJ stopped and turned to look at Katara, his eyes still full of hatred and anger. He then slowly began to approach Katara, who began to fear for her life. Then suddenly the aura that surrounded DJ dissipated and DJ collapsed. Katara just stared at DJ's unconscious body, incapable of doing anything to help as she was tied up. She then heard hurried footsteps come from outside the room and when she looked towards the entrance she saw the rest of Team Stardust, Tobias, and Alistair. When they entered Grace and Blade rushed to Katara's side and cut her free, Blitz and Jackson went to check on DJ, and everyone else surveyed the destruction.

"Katara." said Tobias, with a sense of urgency in his voice. "What happened here?"

"D-DJ." stuttered Katara, still in shock over what she had just witnessed. "H-h-he beat them all."

Everyone's eyes widened at this and they all gazed at DJ's prone form.

"He did all this?" asked Alistair.

Katara merely nodded as she was helped to her feat. Tobias and Alistair shared a look, before Alistair picked up DJ and carried him out of the cave. Everyone else followed a short distance behind him, all of them wondering what DJ was truly capable of.