A/N: Well... It's been a long wait. A full year...maybe even more.
Well...I apologize for the long wait...I won't however bother explaining myself...I don't think you want to hear my excuses anyway... So I'll just make it short:
To any returning readers I say welcome back...to any new I say welcome... and to both I'll add: I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story.
I will try to update more often...but no promises.
Now...on with the show.
Warning: Blood, Death, Angst and Gore in this chapter.
If at anytime you feel I should upgrade the story rating to M please tell me.
I want to keep it downgraded for as long as possible though.
:: Pidgey's to me!:: = pokéspeech
(((I am a pokédex))) = pokédex speech
Previously on Paradox:
Angry bird and scared human child stared into each others faces.
Like an eagle looking at a scared rabbit, the bird glared and screeched, obvious anger in its eyes...while the boy shivered and crawled a step back.
Oh, the little boy knew he shouldn't show fear... the academy teachers had told them that bit of advice again and again... but... seriously...how was he supposed to act fearless when he was about to be attacked and pecked to death by an overgrown enraged and extremely vicious, 3'11" tall Fearow. He was anything 'but' fearless. He was scared out of his mind.
Sweat falling from his face, his body overflowing with adrenaline, there was no way Ash could 'not' show some fear.
The next thing he knew, the Fearow screeched out and attacked. Screaming out in pure terror, Ash began to crawl away, ignoring the sudden wetness of his pants, in his desperate attempts to get away.
Slowly but surely, one strike of the Fearows wings later, then another, Ash's cover was destroyed as the Fearow moved forward to get closer to its prey. Faster than Ash could hope to crawl through the bushes the bird was upon him.
Was this his end? he wondered. Was it his fate to die, here, right now, in this very forest, just when he had finally become a trainer? he asked himself, tears of fright and horror falling from his face...
Then a large shadow covered him up.
Expecting the worst Ash closed his eyes and waited.
And now...the long awaited continuation:
PARA( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)DOX
First Encounter - Fearow Down
Ash waited!
Then waited some more.
It was not like he had any other options at that moment anyway.
Well, 'OK'...to be fair; he could have run, or at least, he could have tried to run. He could have tried to hide...he could even have tried to fight. Not that it would have done him much good. The bird behind him was simply faster than him...much stronger than him... and it was not like he could actually fight the blasted thing.
Well, at least not effectively.
That's the thing about humans:...
They are both; at the top...but also at the bottom half of the food chain, both at the same time.
A fully trained soldier, with powerful weapons and equally powerful technology to back him or her up; is probably most dangerous being you'll ever meet. However, an untrained fat, unfit civilian...or indeed a small child; is probably one of the easiest prey of all...
Unfortunately for Ash, he was just a child...and therefore, one of the easier prey.
He had therefore no illusions what so ever, that the angry bird, who's shadow was currently covering him, would somehow not attack him.
Ash knew... all the Fearow had to do was; lift its wing, aim for his neck and then bring it down in one viscous guillotine like strike.
It would all be over and as quick as that.
Game Over!
You Suck!
You Lose!...
Oh, and did I mention...You don't get to try again!...
Just thought I'd mention that too.
Unfortunately, unlike in games, there is no 'save' or 'let's try again' option in life.
There is no cheat code or indeed 'God Mode' to help you along once you get sick of losing too many times.
Life is not a game. As such, once your out, that's it. Your well and truly out!
At least, that's how it usually would be... unless of course you have a friendly God on your side, one who is somehow in the mood to give you another chance.
In this case they usually always want something in return for that said, 'second chance.'
But what are the chances of that happening? Not usually good to say the least.
For Ash, even at the tender age of ten, just like any other child his age in the pokémon world; he already fully understood that simple rule.
Life in the pokémon world, is fragile... Life in the pokémon world is precious..., it is dangerous...and sometimes, -if you were a... 'stupid,' and unprepared trainer,- also very, very short. So short in fact, that young children are taught the dangers of the world from the moments they are old enough to understand them. In fact, it was mandatory for schools to teach how to survive in the pokéworld wilderness.
The pokémon world, contrary to what many like to believe, is in fact a harsh place...
It had always been and everybody, from the old, to the young, had long ago accepted that.
It's for this very reason, why trainers; the 'protectors' of the pokémon world, were so respected by the ordinary folk. They risked their lives...daily, so that others may live in peace.
Ash, for his part, had also entered the forest, fully understanding the dangers waiting for him inside.
Indeed, unwilling to wait another year for the next batch of 'Starter' pokémon, as he should have done, he had entered the forest and the dangers inside, fully understanding that it may very well be the most stupid, not to mention the last stupid thing, he'd ever do.
Oh, of course, he had hoped he would be wrong. He had gambled...he had hoped he'd be lucky; to be able to capture a pokémon and get back home in one piece...or if need be with only a few scratches and maybe a bruise or two...
Unfortunately... that did not seem to be the case, and if the angry Fearow standing above him was any indication...he was now, well and truly, all out of luck.
Ash cursed himself for ever venturing out into the forest and for a brief second he released a strangled sob. If only he had listened and obeyed the rules. They were there for a reason. Oh, if only he had stayed in the safety of the town, like he was supposed to do.
He cursed his impatience...
At that very moment he swore to take his future studies and training seriously...or as seriously as he could. No more lazing around... no more skipping out from boring classes...
That is, if he somehow managed to survive through the next few moments. Something he, unfortunately, heavily doubted he would.
His mind plaguing him with terrible images of death; his own death to be precise, he desperately tried to calm his mind and 'take it like a man would'. An impossible task...but...it was all he had left. Then again...would taking it like a 'Man' make it any different?
And so he waited. He waited the final wait of the doomed... for the final strike to come...
Only... it never came.
It never came because, unknowingly to Ash, it was not yet his time.
Having just witnessed the human risk his own life, to save that of their, now former 'captain'... a trio of Pidgeys, having only just won their earlier battles against a few Spearows,...decided to intervene and attack the Fearow.
And so, in a classic misguided display of honour and extreme loyalty towards their captain, as well as suicidal cannon fodder-ish foolish bravery; to save their now 'former' captains new trainer; Ash was spared to live...
The only question was...
For how long!
It all happened in three split seconds.
The Fearow was just powering up its wing to deliver its favorite attack; a Steel Wing attack, in a crushing finishing blow to the humans neck,hoping to cleave it in two, when...suddenly, as if out of the blue, three Pidgey's... all that was left from the earlier 'scout wing' (besides the now captured, heavily injured Pidgeotto), tackled the Fearow, one after the other, knocking it to the side.
The first impact didn't hurt the Fearow much. Correction, besides a small sting, it didn't really hurt him at all. It did however redirect his strike, just enough to miss Ash's neck... by a mere half an inch.
The second impact, while still little more in terms of pain or damage than the first attack, was just enough to push the Fearow away from said boy, causing the Fearow to stumble back a step. It was however still nothing more than a small nuisance to the large bird, who gave out a rather irritated squawk to show his sudden displeasure to the situation.
The final attack however, hit the Fearow, in a 'bulls eye' direct hit, right in a certain soft side of its underbelly.
Now THAT the Fearow did feel.
His eyes bulging, briefly in severe pain and out of air by the sudden strike, gasping and coughing as he tried to recover from the strike, the Fearow turned his attention away from the cowering form of Ash, right towards the three attacking Pidgey's, where he then proceeded to give all three a very fierce angry glare.
A glare promising extreme hate fueled 'overkill' X rated retaliation.
The three answering gulps from the pidgey's were nearly audible. It was as if the Pidgey's had only just fully realised, just what it was, they had managed to piss off.
It was big...It was furious...
More importantly...if was out for their blood...and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Indeed, a few seconds later, the Fearows retaliation was decisively swift.
Enraged that he had, once again, been thwarted, by three weak Pidgeys no less, the much more powerful and way more experienced Fearow, flew straight into the air, then, engaged the three pidgey's in a short, fast, furious, decisive, one sided slaughter.
So out matched were the pidgey's, by the ferociousness and skill of the enraged, and out for blood, crazed Fearow, as he slashed first right, then left, then right again, that the whole encounter took little more than a few short seconds.
Heads were cut, then fell. Wings were plucked and shredded. Feathers were left to float to the wind and cries of panic filled the air. The Fearow, overcome with rage, kept on attacking the now lifeless corpses of three former poor Pidgey's. The Pidgey's, all barely above lvl 5, never held a ghost of a chance against the overwhelming power of the lvl 22 Fearow.
Those few precious seconds, however, were just enough time for Ash to realise that; 'yes,' his final moment had not come just yet... and that 'yes,' he really had just received a short moment of reprieve, just enough for him to make a hasty retreat.
Or at least that's what he should have done, were it not for the fact that he was not about to leave without his new all important -to him- pokémon.
Instead of running away, to live and fight for another day, as any sane person would have done, he ran, not to get away, but towards his pokéball and the all important pokémon inside instead.
By the time he had picked it up, the Fearow had finished 'executing' the Pidgey's.
Covered in feathers and fresh blood not his own, he was currently looking around for his 'other' prey once more.
A truly fearsome sight.
It was also at this moment that Ash realised just what had happened to the poor Pidgey's that had, just moments ago, saved his life.
Needless to say he was shocked.
Ash stared, eyes wide, at what had just happened to the pidgey's. All he did, at that moment, was stare at the numerous scattered remains of his dead, mutilated saviors.
Shock, grief, anger and extreme fear, flashed through him as he looked; from the Fearow, to the numerous parts of the dead Pidgey's, then back to the Fearow again. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't want to believe it.
Slowly he shock his head in denial... 'this couldn't be,' he thought. But it had.
Then, for the first time in his life, Ash felt something different.
For the first time in his life, he felt true pure...
Hate!
It was important to note that up until that very moment Ash had lived a somewhat fairly sheltered life. A life away from most harm...never allowed to do anything dangerous by his mother, never allowed to come to any real harm...
Up until this moment he had had no real reason to really dislike anything...besides maybe the constant nagging of his mother... especially not to such an extent that he actually wanted to kill it...
Until now...
At that moment, as he stared at the Fearow, and the remains of his saviors and the gloating Fearow near by, his fear was suddenly replaced by anger...and an overwhelming need for revenge.
At that moment, unable to think clearly, all he wanted was to end the blasted birds life.
At that very moment in the hall of origin
Arceus groaned as he suddenly felt a sudden slight pain and winced as he felt a sudden strong 'dark' feeling coming from the human realm.
Something 'bad' had just happened...or was happening to one of his chosen ones. It was happening at that very moment.
Briefly turning some of his divine attention away from his efforts to keep his 'other half' out of said human realm, he wondered what could possibly have happened to cause such a shift of power from the light to the dark. What could cause such negative feelings in one of such purity?
Sighing to himself he decided against intervening at this time. He could not afford to do so again. At least not after just rescuing his other chosen one from the rockets. At least, not from the halls of origin.
If he were physically in the human realm it wouldn't have been a problem...but here...
Every time he did so, Arceus knew, 'He' would manage to briefly interact and influence something or someone in the human realm.
Who knows what 'he' would do if given half a chance.
Besides...he couldn't always be there for them. He had his children for that.
He'd just have to wait, hope and trust that his chosen ones were up to the challenge.
Besides...Mew was with Destiny...
He had placed Destiny close to Pallet town...and therefore close to Ash.
He'd just have to trust that everything would work out for the best.
'Yes...that would have to do,' he told himself as he refocused all of his attention on Suecra.
It was all he could do at the moment.
Back with Ash
All thoughts of escape were gone from his mind.
His fear was suddenly replaced by a sudden overwhelming need to 'kill' the Bird in front of him.
But how? The same problem as before remained.
What could he do against a bird like that? How could he possibly win?
Faced with a seemingly hopelessly impossible task, it was only the pidgey's sacrifice, the fact that they had helped him, that they had sacrificed themselves for 'Him,' that somehow gave him the necessary strength and courage he needed to face the blasted bird.
After all, if they could do it, then surely so could he.
Right?
He felt he owed them that much, didn't he? he thought to himself.
A few thoughts of doubt entered his mind, willing him to run, as he now realised he should have done a few minutes ago, but he soon ignored them.
Running would do no good now.
Not now. Not anymore.
The blasted bird was simply too fast for that.
NO!...
Running away now would do no good.
That left only one option...
To fight.
And fight he would! Even if the outcome was almost certain death, he would fight.
It was all he could do now anyway.
Looking at his pokéball in his hands, Ash deliberated with himself whether to bring his new pokémon out...to fight bird with bird, but discarded the idea almost as soon as it came to his mind.
It did not seem like a good idea.
He had seen what that Fearow had done to the Pidgotto earlier. He had seen the injuries his Pidgotto had received. He knew his new ally was in no shape to fight, or indeed win against the very same Fearow who had won, so easily, against it a few minutes ago.
Especially not when it already had a broken wing.
NO! He was on his own...at least for now, and that meant he would have to look for another way to fight. Another way to survive.
But what? What could he possibly do against...'that,' he wondered, fear returning to him quickly, as the Fearow took a deliberately slow step forward as if to say, 'I'm in no haste to kill you, it's not like you can escape anyway.' Something which, Ash realised, to his increasing dismay, was unfortunately all too true.
The blasted bird was right. There was no escape and Ash knew it too.
Not willing to simply give up, his heart speeding up to an almost impossible speed, Ash knew, he didn't have much time to think up a way to fight this thing. He needed to think of something...anything, quickly...
But once again the all important question displayed it's ugly annoying head...
What could he, a human child, possibly do against...that?
Suddenly Ash noticed a sharp, pointy stick on the ground. Unable to think of anything else that could possibly help him, and out of time to look for another, better solution, he quickly picked the stick up and brandished it like a weapon, waving it around, hoping and praying to anyone who'd listen, that it could somehow help him survive.
Alas, it was not to be. The Fearow, noticing the dinky little twig in his preys hands, smirked briefly, then, as quick as a flash to human eyes, reached out with its beak, plucked the stick right out of Ash's hands and tossed it aside, leaving Ash stick-less, with a sore, scraped hand to add to his troubles.
Stumbling back in shock at how easily he had been disarmed by the bird, Ash panicked, then tripped and fell.
His anger replaced almost completely by an overwhelming fear and a desperate need to get away, he quickly scrambling back to his feet, only to fall down again when the Fearows wing casually swiped him back off his feet, almost playfully.
The fearow took another predatory hop forward, prompting Ash to crawl away backwards in his haste to get away from the advancing bird. It seemed all hope was lost. Then, out of pure desperation, Ash picked up a small rock from the ground and blindly lobbed at the birds head.
His aim, however blind it may have been, was true...
The rock struck...
It hit hard...
Indeed...it was a direct hit...
The Fearow cried out in pain.
It wobbled...
It stumbled...
Then...
It fell.
Slowly the Fearows eyes closed and it laid still.
It seemed, against all odds, Ash had won.
Ash blinked.
He shook his head.
Amazed at what had just happened he blinked once more, his mouth open in astonishment at what he had just done. He simply couldn't believe his eyes.
Had that really just happened?
Had he actually won? he asked himself.
Had he really just won like David had against Goliath? By the power of a small rock? he asked himself, releasing a small elated, slightly crazed giggle at the mere thought.
Surprised, still unable to fully believe his luck, Ash got up and took a small hesitant step forward.
One more step, then another.
He had nearly reached the bird...
'This is too good to be true,' he thought,
'It can't possibly be this easy,' he said to himself, feeling somewhat dizzy.
He was right!
Suddenly... Ash only had a split second to blink, even less to cry out in alarm, before the Fearow suddenly opened it's eyes and swiped at him with the full force of its wings, smacking and knocking him back, head over heals into the air.
Ash hardly had enough time to realise what had happened.
With a pang, he realised he had just been fooled.
No time to react, even less to defend himself, he suddenly found himself flying, then smash, into a near by tree, before he then landed on the hard unforgiving ground a few meters away, groaning in great pain.
Dazed, seeing stars, blackness threatening to overcome his vision, Ash slowly, sluggishly tried to pick himself up.
It was difficult. Overcome by pain he fell back to the ground. Even worse...as if the pain wasn't already enough, the blasted birds attack had somehow managed to paralyze him as well.
Feeling dizzy...and finding it suddenly very difficult, to move his limbs from the waist down, he began to panic. Realising the Fearow, was once again towering over him, it's beady eyes staring at him, like it would a juicy piece or meat.
Ash felt tears of despair and pain falling down his face, but chose to ignore them. Now was just not the time.
Once again he tried to move his legs, but somehow he just couldn't.
With a pang of terror he realised he suddenly couldn't feel feel his legs anymore...and to make things even worse...if that were possible... his left arm was broken as well.
Feeling completely helpless, Ash stared at the Fearow as it, once again, started to power up its finishing move.
Once again, he prepared himself for Death.
'This is it,' he thought. No escape now!
But...
Once again death did not come.
Ash watched in mesmerized, fearful, yet somehow accepting macabre curiosity, as the Fearows wings began to glow a bright silvery light and stared as it began to take shape.
Looking at it from his place on the ground, it briefly looked like the wing of an angel.
An angel coming to take him away...
'How strangely fitting,' he thought.
Though a fallen angel way be more accurate, he told himself.
Then, as if in slow motion, it began to fall for the second time that day.
Once again Ash began to close his eyes, unable to stare his death into the eye.
Once again he waited for death to claim him...
And once again... he was saved in a most miraculous, almost ridiculous way.
The moment the Fearow began to strike, Ash's Pidgotto, ejected himself from the false safety of his ball, just in time to block the Fearows attack.
Up to that moment the Pidgotto had waited, observed and had hoped, that the boy, his new trainer -he still didn't even know the boys name- would somehow get away from the Fearow, preferably with him as well.
He had been elated when the boy had run towards his ball and had not simply abandoned him - not that he would have blamed him if he had-...and then, miraculously, until a moment ago he had thought the boy could actually win against the larger bird.
Up to a few seconds ago, he had even celebrated briefly when the stone had seemingly killed the blasted bird, only to gasp and cry out in horror from the safety of his ball as his trainer was hit by the Fearow's attack.
It was simply not to be.
And now, out of time, he knew, he had no choice.
Seeing the attack come, the Pidgotto ejected himself from the ball and blocked the Fearows 'Steel Wing' attack with a 'Quick Attack' of his own. It was the only possible way to intercept the Fearows attack in time. The only way fast enough.
Unfortunately, the Pidgotto knew, it could also, most likely, also be his undoing too. But what different would that make at this point? The Fearow would surely kill him either way, so why not at least try. What did he have to lose!
A heavily injured, one winged Pidgotto vrs an enraged slightly injured, out for blood Fearow.
Never good odds.
For a second Ash watched as the Fearows wing began to fall towards his head...
All hope was seemingly lost.
Then, the next he watched in complete surprise as the glowing wing was intercepted by the body of a Pidgotto.
His Pidgeotto!
The power of steel vrs the power of hardened 'normal' flesh...
Alas...
Steel won!
It was all over in a split second.
With a loud pained scream of agony, the Fearows wings sliced right into the body of the Pidgeotto and out the other side.
Ash watched in horror as the Fearow removed its wing, now covered in the Pidgotto's blood, before it knocked the Pidgotto aside...discarded like rotten fruit.
The Pidgotto only had enough time to give Ash one last pleading look, before it went limp, fainted and collapsed to the ground.
The next moment a boys loud scream of horror rang through the forest.
"NOOOOOO!" Ash screamed when he realised what had just happened.
He had just seen his first and only pokémon get pierced and skewered, like a piece of barbecue meat, on to the Fearows wing, then discarded aside as it it were rotten.
It was more than his already abused and tormented mind could take.
At that moment something inside Ash snapped.
Then, all hell broke lose.
Pikachu, awoken from his own forced nap á la Fearow, had been watching the battle from the safety of a nearby bush in complete astonishment as the boy, who had only moments ago, risked his own life to save the Pidgotto's, now tried to fight against the same angry Fearow.
He couldn't believe what was happening.
The boy...a human boy... had risked his own life to save a pokémon's.
He didn't think it was possible.
This human had actually rushed out to catch and save a 'wild' pokémon.
No human until now, as far as he knew, had ever done that. Every human he had seen so far, had always let a wild pokémon fight on its own. If things became too dangerous they nearly always ran away. Never, as far as he knew, had a human ever tried to fight against another pokémon themselves to save another, at least not if said pokémon was not their own.
Then... a minute or so later the same boy did it again.
He could only shake his head at the boys stupidity.
Didn't he know he couldn't win against the Fearow? Even he, an electric pokémon, wouldn't want to go against 'that' bird, an elite 'FEAR' Fearow, especially as injured as he currently was.
It seems he did not.
Nobody would have thought any less of the boy had he run away the moment he had the chance. Least of all the Pidgotto he had rescued. It was what any sane pokémon would have done. It seemed 'sane' and human did not mix.
Had he been the boy he would have fled the moment the Pidgeys had so foolishly distracted the Fearow... not rushed over to the pokéball.
Was the ball more important than his own life?
Had he run away he would have survived...
But no! Instead of fleeing, he had actually stood and faced the Fearow. He had actually tried to fight it.
Now...
That took great courage to do. That was something Pikachu could respect!
True...he had failed... as was expected...but even so...to actually stand up and fight against a Fearow...as a mere human child...
Pikachu never thought he'd actually see the day.
He thought humans were cowards, only allowing others to fight for them...
But to actually stand up and fight as well...especially when you knew you had no chance!
This might actually be a worthy human he thought, a thought which surprised him as he hated to be caught and trained by a human, any human.
Too bad he's about to die, Pikachu thought as he watched the boy get hit by the Fearows wing and get knocked into a tree.
Had he really thought that bird was defeated?
Foolish!
One of the most important rules of engagement when battling other pokémon... 'Never lower your guard and believe your opponent is dead or defeated until you are 150% sure of it.' If you must attack first, then attack some more later when your opponent is down, but never take a defeat for granted.
Rule of engagement number 12: 'There is no such thing as overkill!'
At least not in a one on one battle.
Well... OK...so he was young... but youth and innocence won't save him from that Fearow. Or any Fearow for that matter.
By the looks of it, this was his first fight.
Pikachu sighed and flinched as the boys Pidgeotto was struck by the Fearows wing.
Too bad it would also be his last, he thought, sadly.
Pikachu, knowing he was currently in no shape to fight himself, he himself could barely move, could do nothing but watch sadly as the Fearow prepared to execute a finishing attack.
When suddenly...
'It' happened.
Ash cried out in horror.
There could be no other word to describe it.
He couldn't...he didn't want to believe what had just happened.
'No! No! No!'... he said to himself.
'This can't be happening,' he thought in denial, as he stared at his hurt and dying 'first'.
Nearly in hysterics he watched as his Pidgotto's eyes closed, then became still.
It was at that moment he snapped.
Turning his head, furious, he glared at the Fearow who had 'done' it all...
If looks could kill the Fearow would be six thousand feet under, in the debts of hell.
"You...BASTARD!" he roared out, anguish and hate evident in his voice, his face contorted to show his displeasure.
Then suddenly his eyes seemed to glow yellow.
Followed shortly by the rest of his body.
Overwhelmed, by the horror of the loss, the hate towards the bird and his huge desire to 'end' the Fearows existence, he suddenly felt an ability, hidden deeply inside him, waiting to be released.
Normally this ability would have remained hidden inside him for many more years yet to come... at which point it would have deemed him ready to use it at its fullest extent... That is if it had activated at all. For most humans it would never activate, choosing to stay hidden and unused for their whole lives.
However, at that moment, the immense stress of seeing his first pokémon get hurt and seemingly die in front of him, combined with pure willpower to bring down revenge, to smite the Fearow in front of him, was just enough to force out and activate the 'locked away' ability for the first time.
It was an ability, known by all pokémon and humans alike, as...
Aura.
Aura; known by some by its alternate names of 'Chakra,' 'Magic'...or simply as; 'The Force,' is the life-energy which runs though every living being. It is what binds us together and gives us the needed energy which we need to live.
Life is not possible without Aura. Every living being has and uses some form of Aura. From the smallest microbe to the largest of titans, all use Aura in different amounts, for without Aura neither could exist.
However, strangely, for some unknown reason, only pokémon...and a select few humans have ever been known to fully use this majestic power to its full extent. At least in the pokémon world.
It is this power what makes pokémon into the special creatures they are. It is this energy source which allows pokémon to perform their elemental attacks.
Without Aura, pokémon would be just as dangerous as 'mundane' animals.
Normally only used by pokémon, only a few, low number of humans can use this power.
Ash just happened to be one of these few gifted, chosen few.
The Fearow watched, in open mouthed shock, as the human suddenly began to glow, then release a ball of white energy from his hands.
He didn't even have a second to blink before, suddenly, taken completely by surprise, he was hit by an attack so powerful, it lit up the whole area in a brief sudden flash of bright light. He could do nothing but watch in pain as he was picked up and catapulted away from said boy, like a stuffed rag doll, right into the waiting painful embrace of a nearby tree.
Releasing a shriek of pure agony, as his body struck the hard wood of the tree, the next thing the Fearow knew was pain, pain the likes he had never felt before in his whole short existence, as his wing was suddenly speared by one of the trees branches...before the branch snapped and he fell to the forest floor.
Feebly the Fearow tried to get back up and cried out in pain as it did so.
Grinding his beak together due to the pain he was feeling, he forced himself to remain still, then he glanced at his wing.
What followed next was a cry of complete despair as he noticed that his wing had a huge puncture wound, and that it had been well and truly ripped to shreds by his impact with the trees branch. The branch itself was still partly sticking out of his flesh and blood was now flowing freely from his wing.
With a pang, he realised he would never fly again. For a bird like a Fearow, it was a death sentence. Not that it would make much of a difference either way soon enough. If he didn't stop the blood flow any time soon, he'd die of blood loss first anyway.
He knew, only a trainer could save him and his wing now. Their medicines and healing powers were legendary in the eyes of pokémon. They were able to even heal the most grievous of wounds. However, while another pokémon might have gladly surrendered themselves to the humans, so that they could be healed, even if it meant becoming a 'caught' pokémon, he, however, would be damned before he let a human capture him.
Realising that he was 'done for,' no matter what he did, he let out a loud cry of despair, a cry which halfway turned into a battle-cry of hate.
He then looked around for the one who had done 'it' to him.
Only one thing, one last wish was left in the Fearows mind:
To find and annihilate the one who had injured him...
Only then would he allow himself to die.
Not that far away
Destiny, having recovered from her latest encounter and subsequent escape from the Fearows, was once again traveling though the forest, looking for a human settlement.
Not just any human settlement, but for the -for her- elusive town of Pallet.
Oh, she knew 'it' was somewhere near by.
It had to be.
Or rather... she hoped it was.
Those few friendly pokémon she had asked for directions at least, had seemed fairly certain.
What else could they have meant by; 'the huge human burrow where the kind gray furred man, with numerous scary pokémon lived'...
Rightfully thinking that the 'gray fur' meant 'gray hair' and that the numerous scary pokémon were actually captured trained pokémon, Destiny hoped that the kind gray furred man was in fact Professor Oak and that the huge burrow was actually his laboratory.
Destiny was hovering alongside a small dirt road, careful to not be seen by any passing trainers, -not that there were many foolish enough to travel through the forest as of late,- when she suddenly heard something cry out in pain in the distance.
Destiny stopped hovering and listened.
She could now clearly hear the sounds of a battle in the distance, several kilometers away. Something which was sadly very common these days.
'Just some more Pidgey's vrs Spearows...the usual troublesome troublemakers,' she thought sadly.
When would they ever stop? This is getting ridiculous. Do they even know why they are fighting?
"The sooner I get out of this blasted forest the better," she said to herself.
She was so sick and tired of the forest and its warring bird factions, she was more than ready to leave the forest and never come back.
It reminded her far too much of the warring gangs back in her old world, back when she was still a human.
Already she was starting to move away from the sounds, moving in the opposite direction. She didn't feel like getting involved in another fight. Not so soon after having only just survived her last one. Especially not when she couldn't fight anyway.
Suddenly, she heard another cry.
It was a sharp cry of pain, just like before.
Now, cries of pain were to be expected. Nothing wrong with that...well..besides the obvious of course.
This cry however, was somewhat different.
For some unknown frightening reason, this one was followed, just as suddenly, by a sudden unexpected brief sharp pain in her left shoulder and then another, second pain, equally as painful, in her lower right back area.
Briefly, it was as if she lost all movement. It was as if she couldn't move anymore and never would again. Thankfully however it didn't last for long and she could soon move again.
"What the hell was that?" she wondered, alarmed, speaking out load, turning her full attention towards her sudden pain and any reasons behind it.
The pain, hadn't last long, only a short second to be exact, before it was gone again. It was however more than enough to make her stop in alarm.
Quickly she looked around, checking her surroundings for danger. Finding none, she next looked at her shoulder. Staring at her left shoulder, she searched for a wound, anything which could explain the sudden unexplained pain she had just felt.
Once again she found nothing.
'What was that?...What's wrong with my arm?' she asked herself, fearfully, eyes widening. 'Why was I suddenly unable to move?'
A feeling of such sudden pain did not come for no reason... and when you did feel pain, any sort of pain, you did not just ignore it. Especially not in the wilderness of the pokémon world, where a sharp pain could be poison which was just injected into you.
'Come to think of it... that cry didn't sound like a pokémon...that sounded...human," she told herself a second later, briefly glancing towards the source of the cries.
"Not just any human...but..."
Suddenly her eyes widening slightly.
Whirling around she faced the direction the sounds were coming from.
It sounded familiar.
It sounded frighteningly familiar!
She was sure she had heard that cry before...somewhere.
And then there was the pain...the sudden strange pain she had felt when she had heard the cry.
Was there a connection? If yes...why? More importantly...how?
Another sharp cry of pain rang out through the forest, coming from the same area.
Once again she felt a small very brief pain... this time, is was more like a small pinch.
Once again Destiny examined herself for an attack. Any sort of an attack.
It certainly seemed more and more, as if there was a connection. If so, then this was very bad.
Psychic or ghost attacks, for one were one of the most difficult attacks to defend oneself from...unless of course you were immune towards them
Feeling pain after hearing a cry of pain not your own, pointed towards an attack like a destiny bound...
This, as you can understand, worried her, greatly.
Once again she heard another cry of pain.
Once again, it was a cry of extreme pain...
This one however, she thankfully didn't feel. Also, this one was a cry of a bird...
Worse, This one was the pained cry of defeat...not just any old cry of defeat...but the worst kind...the final kind...
It was a cry of imminent expected death!
It brought an immediate shiver of dread down her spine and she briefly closed her eyes and bowed her head in respect for the defeated.
To make matter even worse, for some reason, it also brought along a strong feeling of horror...sorrow...and ... anger as well.
It was as if she was suddenly feeling the horror and the anger herself.
It was nearly as if these feeling were her own.
But why...
Another mystery she didn't need, nor indeed want.
Why was she suddenly feeling these feelings?
Ok...logically, whatever had happened was probably...no...not probably, but most definitely horrible...death was always horrible...
Few could suppress their emotions to such a degree that they would be completely indifferent to it, after hearing such a sound...
Nearly all felt at least some form of sorrow for the poor defeated being... Few were so cold hearted and used to death that they didn't feel anything anymore.
Even ghost pokémon felt something for the newly deceased...
But surely it had nothing to do with her, did it?...
At least not enough to make the feelings as strong as they currently were.
As if they were somehow connected... nearly her own.
So why was she feeling it as if it did...have something to do with her.
It didn't make any sense.
Or did it?
Why would she feel pain...or anger, if it didn't concern her? she frantically asked herself, as she stared towards the area of her dilemma.
Quickly, suddenly feeling a sudden sense of urgency, an urgency she had not felt before, she decided to trust her instincts and started to move towards the sounds and cries.
Destiny quickly estimated the distance left to travel. It was still quite far away. It would take her several more minutes at her current speed, to arrive to help whatever was in trouble. She would have teleported, however she didn't know the area. To teleport somewhere you had have been there before...or you had to be able to see your destination; a photo or a memory - if clear enough-, but not a picture, of the destination would do. As it was, she had not been there yet...nor did she have a photo, or memory of the area...and even if she had, only a fool would have teleported into the middle of a battlefield without having at least some idea of what to expect. As such, it would take her a while to get there. She only hoped she would not be too late.
Her heart hammering in her chest, Destiny heard the human voice scream again, only this time it was a cry of despair and anger, followed almost immediately by a huge white light, a light which lit up in the distance, before a loud crash rang though the area.
Taken by surprise Destiny fell over, her eyes widened in alarm.
'What was that?' she wondered, alarmed.
That was no normal pokémon attack. That much was obvious.
It was different... it even felt different...
It felt pure...
It felt...like...
Aura!
Pure, undiluted Aura!
Not the usual diluted stuff most pokémon used. But the pure stuff.
Destiny shook her head.
That can't be right...as far as she knew there were no pure aura using pokémon in this region.
The elemental attacks pokémon used were not actually pure aura.
'It could be a trained, caught pokémon though,' she reminded herself.
Which would also explain the human cries she was hearing.
But something told her it was not so.
Shaking her head, she resumed her hover towards her destination.
It was another kilometer later, closer to whatever was happening, when she heard the human voice cry out.
"WHY!"...followed by a: "Why do you continue to try to attack me?"
It was at this very moment that her eyes widened and she finally understood.
Her eyes widening even further as she paled and pure adrenaline poring through ever inch of her body.
'NO!' she shouted mentally as she suddenly realised why the voice had been so familiar to her.
That was no Aura using pokémon...
That was...
"ASH!" she screamed out, hovering with all her might towards her destination.
Back with Ash, a few minutes earlier.
Ash, feeling suddenly weakened and somewhat dizzy, stared at his hands.
What had just happened? he wondered in disbelief and a rather large amount of amazement.
Had he just done that? he asked himself, alarmed.
Shocked, at what 'he' had seemingly done; he had, after all, seen the ball of white energy leave his hands, he looked at the damage, the ball of light...his 'attack,' had wrought onto the surrounding area.
Like a small miniature meteor, all that remained of the spot, where the Fearow had once stood, was a small trench where it had smashed into the ground.
'I wonder what happened to the Fearow?' he wondered, as he searched the immediate area for the bird, tracing the path of destruction the 'ball' had created...right up to a nearby tree, which was somehow, incredibly, still standing.
It was there, at the bottom of the tree, that he saw the Fearow.
It truly was a pitiful sight now. A mere shadow of the once majestic former bird self it had once been.
It had cuts in multiple places... It had bald areas where its feathers had been plucked, straight from its body...and the few feather's it did have, were soaked red with blood, a lot of which Ash was sure, wasn't even its own.
It clearly had problems moving without feeling some sort of pain...
Blood was freely oozing out of it's many wounds, losing blood at a slow but steady pace... and its right wing... at least that what was left of its wing...had been completely mangled and torn to shreds.
In fact, one would be more accurate at saying that the bird only had one wing left.
It's right wing, the parts of it that were left, were now trailing behind it, as it slowly moved towards Ash.
'That' was probably the part which frightened Ash the most.
Even now, even with all of the pain it must be feeling and all of its many injuries, it was still moving towards him.
Shocked out of his wits, Ash could only watch in stunned, horrified amazement, as the bird systematically dragged itself towards him, inch by inch, using it's remaining wing and beak to grapple itself across the ground.
Slowly it came closer and closer, leaving a smear of blood along the path it traveled.
'No...this can't be happening,' Ash thought.
'Why...why would it do that'? Ash wondered, horrified, staring at the advancing bird with fear filled amazement.
Each passing second the bird clearly became weaker and weaker as it lost more and more blood.
Still it didn't give up.
'I don't understand...why does it continue to fight?' Ash asked himself. He couldn't understand what was happening.
'What was its reason?'
'Why can't it simply leave me alone?'
'Why does it hate me so much? Enough to want to hurt me, even after it was already so badly hurt itself.'
'Doesn't it realise it will die if it doesn't seek help?'
'What did I do to deserve this?' he asked himself.
Something wasn't right here.
Would a bird normally do this?
Does a bird normally really behave like this?
Under normal circumstances Ash would have been impressed by the birds amazing will power, were it not been for the one simple fact, that it was coming far too close to him for comfort.
Frustrated, dazed and in complete disbelief at what he was seeing, Ash tried to move away as well. However, unlike the bird, he was not able to.
Whereas the bird was somehow able to bypass its pain and keep on moving, as incredible as it was in its current state, Ash, for his part, simply could not do so.
Each time he tried to move, he found he simply couldn't replicate the feat. He simply was not able to do so.
He was paralyzed by the birds former attack.
Whenever Ash did seem to have enough willpower to try to move, he barely managed to drag his limp body a few inches across the ground, before, overwhelmed by the pain of his broken arm and unresponsive legs, he'd collapse once more, into a pitiful quivering heap.
He never felt to helpless...and defeated before.
Soon bird and human were staring themselves, into each others eyes once more.
Soon only a meter or two remained between the two mortal enemies.
Now very tired and very weak the Fearow tried to get up.
Ash could clearly see the pain in the birds eyes, yet that didn't seem to stop it.
Still it didn't give up. Still it stubbornly tried to move... to finish him off.
Soon, very slowly, it managed to move itself up into an upright position.
Once again, Ash tried to get up himself, only to fail. His legs, or anything below his waist, simply refused to co-operate.
Tears of frustration and pain fell from his eyes and ran down his face as he watched the bird, raise it's one lone remaining wing, only for it to fall down again, once, then twice, then a third time, still, just like before, it never once looked like giving up.
Each time it got weaker and weaker. Ash could literally see it happen by the second, yet the bird would always try again.
It was at this moment that Ash realised the bird wouldn't be able to succeed.
Or at least he hoped it wouldn't.
It seemed, it was now simply too weak to succeed.
Yet, still the bird didn't give up. It was, in short, aggravating, to say the very least.
Still it tried to attack, only to fail.
"WHY!"...Ash suddenly shouted out.
"Why do you continue to try to attack me?" he asked, from where he lay.
Exasperated and seriously unnerved by the birds attempts, he watched the birds feeble attempts to harm him. It was now clear that the Fearow didn't have much strength left to do it. It had reached its limit.
Yet it still tried to continue it's futile endeavor.
Weakly the Fearow managed to release a quiet weak screech as a reply, before it tried once again to move.
"Why? What did I do to you to deserve this...hate?" Ash asked it, tears falling from his eyes.
This time however the bird didn't answer.
It seemed all that needed to be said, had been said.
Deciding evidently to use the last of its remaining strength, for one last attempt to attack the boy it seemingly hated so much, the Fearow began to raise its last remaining wing one more time.
This time, much to Ash's horror, it seemed to succeed.
Slowly, the Fearow's wing began to rise.
The Fearows attempts became more and more laboured...yet it still managed to somehow raise that one all important wing.
It was like watching the scythe of death itself, Ash could do nothing else but stare silently as the bird slowly raised its wing for the last time.
Then it began to glow.
Ash knew he had to move... He knew he had to do so now.
Oh, how he tried to move...to get away...but the few inches he did manage just were not enough.
Ash began to panic.
'This can't be happening. Not now... Not after all that!' he thought panicking.
"No!...Get away from me!'' he shouted hysterically as he watched the wing light up a weak gray, silver colour. It flickered, once, then twice, before finally becoming stable.
It seemed he only had a few short seconds left to live. He had no illusions of what that wing...or rather wing turned blade, would do to him if it managed to hit him.
Then it happened...
The last of its strength spent, the bird finally faltered...
Ash, only had one small fleeting second left to look into the Fearows eyes. One last fleeting vision as the birds eyes began to slowly grow milky, as death slowly began to take over.
"Why?" Ash managed to croak out one last time, staring the bird into it's slowly closing eyes.
Slowly he watched as the once lively and ferocious bird moved for the very last time, then, with one last weak defiant screech, Ash watched quietly as the last remaining colour literally began to drain from it's eyes.
Ash could do nothing but watch. It was a truly horrific moment.
For one brief unreal second, Ash looked into two yellow, glowing defiant eyes of hate..., these same eyes then suddenly changed... changed from two glowing yellow orbs, into two eyes of dull lifeless brown, a brown filled with first, confusion, then remorse...then finally into acceptance...followed by an acute longing for forgiveness.
It's screech once defiant and harsh, turned into one of confusion... at the very last second of its life.
It was a sight which would haunt Ash for a long time to come and which he would never truly be able to forget.
Ash stared in horror as it's eyes began to close for ever...and then, slowly ...with the closing of the birds eyes...as if in slow motion, the wing began to fall.
It began to fall towards him.
The wing fell!
Ash saw it but, like before, could do nothing to stop it.
Seeing it descend; like a guillotine towards a French nobles head, he closed his eyes.
He knew the time had come...and this time nothing would be there to save him. Or so he thought.
He waited for death to claim him.
He was sure it would.
He heard a loud screech...
Followed by a loud...
*CLANG*
The sweet, harsh scraping sound of metal meeting metal.
But to Ash it meant nothing. Nothing... but death.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it was all over...
Yet he felt no pain...
The wing had hit!
It's aim was true!
But to Ash that meant nothing.
Nothing at all.
For Ash, all went dark...
And then Ash knew no more.
A/N: :-P... Once again a good place to stop.
Hate me all you want!
Until next time.
I have already started it.