Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or have any rights to it.
Vander's body shuddered as he felt a foreign mind probing inside his own. It had felt less intrusive when Dusknoir had done it. Now it felt like something was drilling into him. He squirmed every time the pokémon spoke.
"I'm sure you recognize my kind."
Vander tried to glare at the apparition in front of him. "You're a lampent. Chandelure is your evolved form." His eyes drifted across the group in front of him. "I guess you're still working with the drowsee." He tried to sound calm, but his body was trembling.
"We're working together, yes." It floated closer to Vander's face. "You're interference has made business…less fulfilling."
"I didn't interfere! You're guys kidnapped me! It's your fault!"
"You killed my mother! I was there! I saw it! You used those poisonous stones to weaken her. She needed all the strength she could get to fight our enemies." The flame in Lampent's body burned brighter. "If she had eaten your soul, there might've been a chance! Now the Spirit World is out of our control and I blame you!"
"That's not fair! I didn't have any idea what was going on! I was just defending myself! Your people put me in danger and got one of MY friends killed!" Vander felt confidence building, fueled by righteous anger. "You deserve what you've got!" His courage slipped away as he felt Lampent's flames leaping closer to him. The intense heat was making him sweat. He was also aware of the drowsee watching him patiently. He started addressing them. "You guys are okay with this? Dusknoir worked for Chandelure and he killed Hypno!"
The drowsee just stared at Vander, completely unfazed by his words.
"These drowsee have no connection to Hypno. Off course a human wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Hypno's life was a worthy sacrifice to protect our livelihood. He knew the risk."
Vander thought back to when Dusknoir killed Hypno. It didn't look like Hypno had wanted to die. He distinctly remembered the surprise on Hypno's face when Dusknoir stuck his hand through his chest. In fact, Vander distinctly remembered the look of shock on Hypno's face. "So…who controls the Spirit World now?"
"We have no name for them." Lampent slowly floated back from Vander's face. "They shouldn't be of concern to you. Your life will end quite soon. When the moon is full, we will take you to be judged. Make peace with yourself human. Your life is over." Lampent turned away and faded into the shadows.
XXXOXXX
Luxio's x-ray vision let him see through the trees and into the nearby glade. He growled out confirmation that both Firebrand and Ironhide were still there. Several humans were guarding them. They were probably waiting for some vehicles to arrive. Those would be used to transport Firebrand and Ironhide, making it impossible to rescue them. Luxio's tail lashed about violently. He wanted to attack now and voiced his sentiment.
Cosmo chirped back in protest. He wasn;t sure they could take on all the humans. The three of them were not nearly as strong as Firebrand and Ironhide.
Luxio glared back at Cosmo. What was their alternative?
Cosmo detected the implicit question and wracked brain for an answer. He remembered a story he'd heard at Molly's house. Vander had repelled a large flock of murkrow by recruiting or tricking participation from wild pokémon in the forest. Cosmo's eyes lit and he started chattering with excitement.
Shell clapped her fins. It sounded like a great idea.
Luxio's eyes narrowed. He couldn't imagine it working. Different pokémon never worked together where he came from. Yet he decided to play along. He sniffed the air twice and then got Cosmo's attention before pointing deep into the forest. There was a zubat roost about a mile in that direction. He saw no point in going there.
Cosmo nodded and then asked Luxio to guide Shell to the drowsee's hideout. She could keep watch there in the relative safety while they rescued Firebrand and Ironhide.
Growling under his breath, Luxio leapt off the tree. He looked up and called for Shell to follow.
Shell naturally couldn't and shuddered at the thought climbing down the tree.
Shooting Luxio a glare, Cosmo began the laborious process of helping Shell down the tree by himself. Hee asked Luxio for help several times and got unhelpful answers. Apparently Luxio thought Shell could handle being dropped. Cosmo muttered to himself. Luxio was probably only helping them so he could join their team. Why did he want to? Why had he followed them so far?
After several minutes, Como had brought Shell at the bottom of the tree. It was fortunate that Shell could crawl across the land because Luxio wasted no time ushering them on.
He would look back at the pair intermittently. Luxio frowned when he saw Cosmo tagging along. He could've been halfway to the zubat's roost by now. Was the fish really that weak? Did she really need Cosmo to babysit her the entire way? Why would Vander have such weak pokémon with him? Why would Vander accept such weak pokémon yet reject him? Didn't he want to have the strongest team possible? He had soon reached the stream and waited several minutes for the stragglers to arrive.
Shell looked and felt stronger when she hit the water. She took a moment to test the depth of the stream and then swam back and forth to loosen up her tail.
Luxio turned back to Cosmo and nodded. There was no reason for him to not leave for the zubat's roost.
Cosmo paused with a frown on his face. Could he really leave Shell alone with Luxio? Now that he thought about it, there was no proof that Luxio knew where to find Vander. How did he know Luxio wouldn't try eating Shell the moment he left?
A cruel grin appeared on Luxio's face. He walked up to Cosmo and growled. If he had wanted to hurt either of them he could've done it by now. Why would he need to wait for Cosmo to leave? Luxio narrowed his eyes and growled. His tail lashed back and forth impatiently.
Cosmo's ears drooped and he stepped back. He looked at Shell and called out a goodbye. Then he was bounding through the woods towards the zubat's roost. Cosmo had to stop several times to regain his bearings. He eventually heard creatures fluttering above him. His sharp eyes picked out several small wings flapping among the trees.
They didn't have feathers.
Gaining a second wind, Cosmo forged ahead at double the speed. He came to a small creek and leapt over it. By then he'd heard the chorus of zubats inside a cave. Cosmo found the cave's entrance in what looked deceptively like a large bush. Peering inside, he saw hundreds of bats hanging off the cave's ceiling. Luxio hadn't lied after all.
The bats were chattering to each other. They practically carpeted the ceiling.
Their voices collectively overwhelmed Cosmo's ears. After flattening his ears against his face, Cosmo crept into the cave. He called out to the zubats. His voice was lost in their chattering. Cosmo couldn't even hear his own voice as he tried to get their attention. The noise was soon too much for him. He crawled away from the cave to nurse his aching ears and think about what he would do next.
XXXOXXX
Several teenagers in dark outfits sat in a circle around a small fire. Another stood guard over the two unconscious pokémon. Firebrand and Ironhide had stayed unconscious for the past few hours. In that time, the leader had left with most of the injured.
"I can't believe we've been stuck here," complained one of the male grunts. "Proton-" he froze at the angry glare from a girl sitting across the fire. "Err...Commander Proton didn't even try to put them in poké balls." His rant had deflated with each word.
The girl narrowed her eyes. She was the group's leader. "There'd be no point. It's obvious that those two belong to someone. We'll need that machine to remove their poké ball signatures."
"What about those other two?" The grunt standing watch glanced back at the group. "People would pay a lot for that eevee and feebas," he said. "I don't think they've gotten far from here."
"They're not worth the trouble it would take to get them," replied the leader. "The boss values strong pokémon over rare ones. These two are rare in their own right, especially that charizard. It might even be wild-bred. Domestic charizard don't get that big." She trailed off a little as she appraised Firebrand.
Another young man switched places with the watcher.
"So...how long until the big stuff gets here," asked the complainer.
"Twelve hours from when the Commander made the call," replied another girl. She slid down one of her white gloves. According to my watch, we've got about ten and a half hours left."
The complainer groaned.
"Get over it," snapped the leader. "Jobs get much harder than this!"
As the group prattled on, none of them noticed the small feline that had crept into the glade.
Luxio's body blended well with the shadows. He was an expert at avoiding the fire's light and managed a full circle around camp with out being seen. Part of him wanted to attack now. He could take out that mean girl; she looked like their alpha. One look at Ironhide's unconscious form dissuaded him. Perhaps it would be better to tell the others instead. Ten hours was their timetable. Luxio slunk back into the woods without making a sound.
XXXOXXX
Cosmo had been pacing back and forth. He could still hear the zubats chattering away. Every now and then, some would leave and others would enter the cave. Calling out to them wasn't any good. They just weren't interested in listening to him. How could he get their help if he couldn't even talk to them.
The answer came as a memory.
Cosmo had bee nervous about an excursion into the Viridian Forest. Though Vander knew the area, Cosmo had been on edge the entire time. It didn't help that they'd left Firebrand and Ironhide behind. Every sound had been a potential threat to him.
A zubat had fluttered past them on the trail. Its high-pitched screech had sent shiver down Cosmo's spine.
"A zubat. You don't see them often by day. There must be a roost nearby!" Vander had then insisted on searching for it. Their search would prove fruitless. The zubat's roost had been too well hidden. That was when Vander sprung the idea. "Zubats communicate with high-pitched sounds. If we can imitate that, we might be able to call them to us."
It hadn't worked that time, but Cosmo hadn't mastered his Echoed Voice back then. Cosmo puffed out his chest and he inflated his lungs. Then he spat out a shrill screech that carried far into the forest.
It didn't work. The zubats kept chattering in their cave.
He'd made it the wrong frequency. Cosmo prepared for another screech. This one's pitch would be higher. When he opened his mouth, the sound was so painful that Cosmo's ears went flat against his head on reflex. Yet there was still no response. Cosmo decided to go to the highest pitch he could muster. The result was just as loud, but his ears were mercifully less sensitive to it.
This time the cave went silent. There then came a chorus of angry chattering. A large mob of zubats poured out of the cave and spread out into the forest.
Cosmo's instincts told him to get away. He promptly leapt over the creak and bounded into the woods. Soon he was safely hidden in a bush. Peering out, he saw the swarm returning to the cave. It had worked. His throat was a bit sore now, but he could do it again. His plan still had a chance.
There was mayhem in the zubat's roost. Its inhabitants were chattering about their confusion.
With a big grin, Cosmo slipped back into the woods. He was moving towards the human camp. After going part of the distance, Cosmo stopped and found a safe hiding spot. Then he screeched again. It hurt his throat to make it so loud, but Cosmo managed to maintain the screech for a full minute.
The zubat swarm poured out of the cave again and homed in on Cosmo's location.
Cosmo ran through the woods and stopped when he'd reached a sufficient distance. Then he screeched again. He would repeat this process several times on his way to the camp. By then his throat ached like an overworked muscle.
Luxio intercepted Cosmo on the way. It only took him an instant to figure things out. He heard the zubats flocking towards them and gave Cosmo a strange look. He frowned when Cosmo gave him a smug grin and ran past him. Luxio quickly caught up and ran alongside Cosmo. The two quickly exchanged information on their way to the human camp.
At the camp, the rockets had changed watch again. It was now the complainer's turn to watch Firebrand and Ironhide. He was pacing back and forth restlessly. There was a strong urge to grumble, but he knew the leader would be on his case about it.
One of the girls yawned. "If you guys don't mind, I think I'm gonna take a nap." She looked to their leader and got a nod. As she got ready to lie down her sharp ears picked up what sounded like a chorus of chattering monkeys. "Does anyone else here something in the forest?"
The leader slowly stood up. "Yeah, and I think it's getting closer."
At that, all five rockets stood up. Each one reached for the single poké ball on their belt. As the sound grew louder, they formed a semicircle that faced where they thought it would come. Any drowsiness they'd had evaporated quickly. Their breaths hitched as they started hearing the trees rustling.
The leader frowned. "I've heard that somewhere." She cupped her chin "It sounds like zu-"
The bat swarm poured into the glade, darkening it completely. Each was hungry and agitated. That screeching sound had been like a jackhammer to them. A few spotted the fallen pokémon and the group of humans holding them captive. That red 'R' on their chests was fast becoming infamous among wild pokémon.
There were five white flashes. Ratata appeared out of the first four. The last revealed a larger pokémon with a big mouth and round speaker-like ears.
"You four are on defense," barked the leader. "Loudred and I are on offense." She clenched her fist and swatted away the first attacking zubat. "Let's teach them not to mess with Team Rocket!"
More zubats swooped towards the rockets. They came from all angles, jaws wide open.
Loudred inhaled air and then spewed out a loud and deep bellow. The force of its breath knocked several zubat back.
The ratata fanned out, leaping and nipping at any swooping zubat. They easily leapt high enough to protect their trainers' faces. One of them intercepted a zubat, driving its large incisors into its wing.
Several other zubats mobbed the ratata, intent on saving their comrade. They pried it off in seconds. Other zubats were mobbing the rockets from all angles.
The rockets had to draw their batons. They formed a circled and swatted at the swooping zubat.
Cosmo crept into the glade. He glanced at the battle before continuing towards Ironhide. His mouth held the rock snake's poké ball. After dropping the ball near Ironhide's face, Cosmo reared up on his hind legs and tapped Ironhide's upper lip with his paws. It had roused Ironhide before, but now it was ineffective. Cosmo looked over at Firebrand.
Luxio was with her. He had brought her poké ball, and tried to rouse her by pawing her nose.
Firebrand's nose twitched as she felt Luxio's paws tapping it. She let out a pained groan. Her tail flame stayed as small as ever. It was like a gas stove at the lowest setting. There were two dark marks on her wings, where the weezing had shocked her.
Luxio turned to Cosmo and shook his head. Their heavy hitters were clearly too weak to move. They wouldn't be fighting any time soon.
Cosmo's ear's drooped. Firebrand and Ironhide couldn't even open their eyes. How was he going to feed them berries? More importantly, how could he save Vander from the drowsee without their raw power? That had been a crucial part of his plan. Now how were they going to save Vander?
Luxio promptly returned tapped Firebrand with her poké ball. Once she had disappeared, he turned to Cosmo and growled. Then he grabbed Firebrand's ball and crept back into the forest.
Cosmo followed suit with Ironhide.
"Hey!" One of the rockets had seen the white flashes. He pointed out Cosmo. "After it ratata!"
Cosmo rolled Ironhide's ball into a bush. Hearing the rocket's command, he turned to face the oncoming ratata. The hairs on his back stood up. The rodent's large incisors drew his gaze. Running was futile it would be on him in a moment.
The ratata evaded a swooping zubat and then leapt at Cosmo.
Puffing up his chest, Cosmo inhaled as much air as his lungs could hold. He spewed out a forceful sound wave. His eyes shut as he mentally prepared for the impending bite. There was a thumping sound and no pain followed. He opened his eyes and saw the ratata crumpled on the ground. He'd actually stopped it, knocking it out in one hit.
"Get up!" cried the rocket. It was futile. He soon had other problems as another zubat swooped at his back and bit into his shoulder. It had an ironclad grip. He looked silly, clawing at it with both hands.
Cosmo dashed into the bush and then moved further into the forest. Beating that ratata had giving him a second wind. Maybe they didn't need the larger pokémon to rescue Vander. Maybe they could beat the drowsee on their own. He shoved Ironhide's ball with gusto, reaching their home base before long.
Luxio had been waiting at the foot of the tree. Firebrand's ball was under one of his paws. He took note of Cosmo's new mood and inquired with a rough meow. The answer made Luxio grin. He put Cosmo down with a rough meow. He felt no pity for deflating egos. Beating a weak opponent was no accomplishment.
Cosmo sighed and his ears sagged.
Luxio spun around to slap Cosmo's face with his tail. He growled and meowed while fixing Cosmo with a sharp glare. There was no time for moping. Then he started rolling Firebrand's ball into a bush. He checked from all angles to make sure it was well hidden.
Cosmo did the same. His cheek was stinging from Luxio's hit. At least the pain kept him moving, Cosmo told himself. He still felt smaller and weaker as he followed Luxio. He also felt stupid. Off course that ratata was a weakling. It went down in one attack and it was his attack. Such thoughts slowed him down as he followed Luxio.
Upon reaching the river, Luxio moved back into the bushes. He moved more slowly, eyeing the river through the trees. Glancing behind him, he saw that Cosmo was following his lead. His ears started twitched a few minutes later. He could faintly hear a familiar chanting ahead of him. Luxio frowned and crouched low. He looked back to check that Cosmo had done the same.
The chanting soon faded.
Cosmo waited for Luxio to straighten out to make sure it was safe. He was content to follow a short distance behind. There was suddenly a high-pitched shriek that prickled his ears. His eyes widened when he realized it was Shell's. His heart raced as he dashed ahead of Luxio and leapt out onto the riverbank. First he saw the cave entrance on the other side. Then he glanced across the empty riverbank. Where was she? Cosmo cried out.
"…Ba-aah!"
Shell's response was faint, but Cosmo's ears easily picked it up. He ran straight over the log lying across the river and into the cave's entrance at the other end. His sharp eyes easily picked out Shells form on the cave floor. Cosmo shuddered when he smelt the large burn mark on her side.
Something darkened the cave's entrance.
Cosmo turned around with a start. He relaxed. It was only Luxio.
Luxio looked down at Shell. His eyes softened slightly. Seeing Cosmo fret over Shell reminded him of something. He shook the memory from his head and growled to get Cosmo's attention. They would have to return Shell to her ball and save Vander on their own.
Cosmo nodded and started dragging Shell out of the cave. He dragged her into a bush near the river and waited there for Luxio to return with Shell's ball. They then returned to their homebase to hide Shell's ball with the others.
Luxio immediately tried to sniff out the drowsee.
Cosmo thought back to the marks on her body. Her scales had been burned. Could the drowsee have done that? He asked Luxio if he had seen something else with the drowsee.
Luxio shook his head. He'd only seen drowsee and was just as dumbfounded by Shell's burn marks. As he sniffed the air, he caught a faint burning scent in the breeze. It was subtly different than that of a campfire. Turning back to Cosmo, he nodded. They had to move immediately in case the drowsee were planning to kill Vander.
Cosmo nodded without thinking. He started following Luxio. A sound then pricked his ears. There was a voice. Someone was coming. He instinctively ran into a bush and heard Luxio do the same.
"Are you sure they went this way?" It was the leader of teenage rockets. She was walking with the man who had tried to attack Cosmo. "They've probably gone deeper into the forest by now."
The boy winced with each step as he walked next to her. Unlike the leader, he'd failed at keeping the zubat's fangs from him. Puncture marks lined his shoulders and upper back. "…So what now?"
The pair stopped, right next to the bush with the hidden poké balls.
Cosmo gulped and felt his pulse quicken. What if they decided to search the bushes? His team mates where all lying there helplessly. He glanced up at where Vander's backpack sat among the branches. What if it fell on them? In that moment, Cosmo wished he were stronger. He'd wanted it before, but the feeling was stronger now. Vander and his fellow pokémon were helpless. Then there was Luxio. Cosmo couldn't see him from he was, and he hoped it stayed that way until the rockets decided to leave.
For Luxio it was like having an itch that he couldn't scratch. He was sure he could at least dispatch the girl. Her neck was exposed and well within leaping distance. One bite, that's all it would take. Luxio licked his lips at the thought of how it would taste. The only thing keeping him in that bush was the knowledge that she had allies.
The two teens had been talking over ideas about how to find the lost pokémon.
"I don't think there's much we can do," the leader finally said. "The others would have contacted Commander Proton by now. He'll know what to do." She sighed. "Let's go back and wait for now."
Luxio emerged from his bush when he was sure the rockets were far enough away. He resumed sniffing the air and quickly found the burning scent from earlier. After growling for Cosmo to follow, he dashed off towards the scent.
Cosmo followed, but paused when he saw something flutter to the ground in front of him. He plodded towards it and quickly recognized it as a large black feather. Sniffing it, he found that its scent was completely alien to him. When he looked up, Cosmo didn't see anything. With a shrug, he continued after Luxio.
XXXOXXX
Vander had been in a daze for several minutes. There had been a commotion outside the cave when drowsee hypnotized him. His eyes fluttered as he marched among them. As the spell wore off, Vander vaguely remembered a shriek. The voice was familiar, but his memory was too dull to pinpoint it. When he finally awoke completely, Vander saw a ring of drowsee all around him. He was on a small hill in a wide clearing. An unsettling chanting filled his ears, but the drowsee sounded warped to him. The way their voices echoed together rattled his stomach and chilled his bones.
A purple aura enveloped the circle of drowsee. It rose above them, forming a tall purple wall of light. As the light grew taller, it started receding at the bottom. Soon it was completely unattached to the drowsee. It was floating above them and looked like an eerie purple halo.
Lampent faded into view. He saw that Vander was wide-awake and floated over to the boy's face. "I was thinking of keeping you hypnotized so you wouldn't be conscious for this. However, since you doomed my mother, I've decided that you deserve to be feel all of it."
Vander glared at Lampent, but then spied a rocky orb floating nearby. He didn't recognize it, but knew that it had to mean something.
Lampent floated up into the center of the halo. He brought the stone with him and moved it to the halo's center point. His eyes glow dark purple and purple flames flew from his body and onto the stone. When the stone started glowing, Lampent floated down below the halo, but kept pumping the orb with his energy.
The orb's light swelled until it reached the ends of the halo. Now it was more like a dark purple disk with a lighter purple ring around it. The stone was completely obscured by the light.
Vander recognized it as a portal. "Are you going to throw me into the Spirit World?"
"No," echoed Lampent's voice. "We can open several kinds of portals with that stone you saw. Right now we're trying to bring someone over to our side. You are about to meet a god. It will judge and punish you."
Vander's body shuddered as felt the air getting colder around him. He could even see his breath. Looking up, he saw the portal go dark. It looked like something huge was flying over it. At that point he decided to test his binds. Though his arms were bound tight, his legs were completely free.
Lampent didn't notice what Vander was doing. He had turned away and was too focused on the portal above him. His eyes were wide with wonder and excitement as the portal turned dark.
A pair glowing slits appeared in the portal. A loud roar resonated on the other side. Then a dark blob oozed down from the portal. It touched the ground to Vander's right and formed a large puddle. The puddle settled for a moment. Then a dark blob oozed up and formed a towering dark mass. A pair of glowing eyes opened up near the top. Wings emerged from its back. The mass arched over the ground and six stumpy limbs emerged from it. There was a thump as the creature touched the ground.
Vander soon made out fine details on the creature's body.
The creature's body was segmented. Its wings resembled shadowy rags. Three red spikes were attached to each wing. There were several golden projections on the creature's body. Its legs had golden toes. Its head had a golden samurai-esque helmet. There were also six golden ribs on its neck.
Vander gasped and instinctively stepped away from it. He couldn't help shivering under the sudden chill.
The creature looked around at the drowsee who were maintaining its portal. "Why have you called me into your world?" It turned to look Lampent in the eye. "Where is your mother? I told her that only she could call me!"
"Dead," Lampent replied. "My mother's dead. It's that boy's fault." Lampent bowed to the creature. "Master. Won't you please deliver judgement on him?"
The creature eyed Vander with a hint of curiosity. It then plodded over to him and leaned in for a closer look. "This boy caused her death?" Its eyes narrowed. "Is this a joke? How? How could this puny little brat hurt her? Was I mistaken in granting her dominion over the Spirit World?"
Vander squirmed under the creature's gaze. It was so cold that his teeth felt like chattering. He wanted to run, but knew it would be pointless.
Lampent was also feeling the pressure. "Uh...he tricked us. He used those blue rocks to hurt her before she could devour his soul. She was weakened and couldn't survive when some enemies came to fight her."
The creature's neck turned so it was looking straight at Lampent. "There's more to your story. Tell me everything."
"I...we...lost control of the Spirit World." Lampent's flames withered under the creature's glare. "I-It was his fault. My mother wouldn't have lost if he hadn't wounded her."
Rearing back, the creature stared at Lampent for a moment before breaking out in laughter. It was a cruel laugh. "You're such a child!" The creature's wings suddenly spread wide. "Let me get this straight! You brought this boy into your realm, and through your own stupidity he weakened you! Your enemies took advantage of that and now you want me to punish this boy…for your mistake?" It leaned over to look Lampent in the eye. "Perhaps you should have called me after you caught the people who drove you out!"
"But..." Lampent could barely speak under the creature's gaze.
"I will have no part in punishing this boy!" The creature flapped its wings, pushing its body up towards the portal. "If you want this boy dead, kill him yourself! Your mother earned my recognition, and I expect the same from you! Don't ever try to call me until you have regained control of the Spirit World!" With that, the creature flew back into the portal.
The portal faded a second later. The stone at its heart dropped to the ground near Vander's feet. Exhausted from the effort to maintain it, the drowsee collapsed.
Vander's eyes immediately went to Lampent. He got ready to run when he saw that the ghost was turned away from him. He moved and then froze when Lampent suddenly floated in front of him. The air had shifted from chilling cold to blistering heat. Vander was sweating as he stepped back from the ghost.
"You're not going anywhere!" Lampent's eyes were glowing bright blue. The flames on its body were swelling up. "I will earn master Giratina's respect! You must die to me!" He started forming a fireball over his head.
A lithe figure charged into the clearing. He leapt over the drowsee circle and collided with Lampent. His jaws clamped onto the ghost's body.
Lampent screamed as the figure dragged him to the ground.
"You've got to be kidding me," Vander muttered when he saw that it was Luxio. He felt something nudge his leg and looked down. His face brightened up immedaitely. "Cosmo!" He looked back at Luxio and raised an eyebrow. "Are you two…working together?"
Cosmo said nothing and instead climbed up Vander's leg. He was soon nibbling through vines that bound Vander's wrists. It took a few seconds. After chewing through them, Cosmo tugged on Vander's pant leg, urging him to flee.
Vander nodded, but then turned to scoop up the fallen stone. He examined it for a few seconds. It didn't look natural, but there weren't any discernable marks pointing to human hands. He promptly stuffed the rock into his hoodie's front pocket. Looking around he saw the drowsee slowly regaining their strength. They had him surrounded. He turned around and saw Luxio hanging onto Lampent by his jaws. "Cosmo! We need to attack these drowsee before they recover! Otherwise they might come after us." He ran up to a drowsee and kicked it in the face.
The drowsee had been winded and was nursing a headache. It wailed in pain when Vander's foot made contact and fell into the fetal position. Others would follow as Vander moved down the line, kicking in the drowsee's faces while they were vulnerable.
At first Cosmo didn't feel like attacking. The wails of the pained drowsee were unsettling to his sensitive ears. After a few minutes he decided to halfheartedly screech at them. To his shock, a few drowsee actually fell to his attack. It made him wonder what condition they had to be in. Were they really a threat? He watched Vander for a moment and then continued with his own attacks.
"What're you all doing?" Lampent wailed to the drowsee as he hovered in the air with Luxio hanging on. "Fight back!" He cringed as Luxio's grip tightened. His body shuddered and floated down when Luxio started pumping it with electricity.
When Luxio felt the ground under his back paws, he dug in his claws and started pulling Lampent down. He could feel the heat rising as his opponent tried to burn him off. Luxio poured more electricity in the ghost. For some reason it felt marginally more strenuous than usual, but he didn't know why.
Lampent felt his focus wavering with each jolt of electricity. His opponent was also physically forcing him to the ground. His body was soon on the grass. Luxio had him pinned. He couldn't become intangible with the feline's jaws clamped on. Lampent's face hit the ground, but that gave him an idea. Though he couldn't focus his fire, his body had heated up. The grass felt dry beneath him. He poured the heat from his body into the ground.
Vander was making steady progress down the drowsee circle. In a few minutes he had disabled over half of them. There was no pity in him as he inflicted severe pain on the drowsee. They deserved it! In fact, part of him felt satisfaction each time he kicked their faces in.
The grass around Lampent's body started smoking.
Luxio instinctively let go. He leapt off Lampent's body and immediately regretted it.
Lampent promptly shot several fireballs at Luxio. His blasts ignited the grass on impact.
Luxio easily evaded the blasts, but quickly noticed the ground catching fire. The entire clearing could soon be on fire and that could attract the rockets.
Lampent fired a jet of blue fire.
Turning on his opponent, Luxio charged towards the oncoming fire. He swerved to evade the flames by a tiny margin. Then he leapt straight at Lampent.
Lampent swerved aside and nailed Luxio with a fireball.
Luxio winced as he landed on the ground. His fur had been singed and there was a large smoking black spot on his side. He leapt to evade another fireball, but the pain from his burns slowed him down.
"You'll pay for interfering!" Lampent prepared to launch another fireball. A clump of dirt seemed to come out of nowhere. It hit the side of his face and the dust spread to both his eyes. Lampent screeched in fury. Temporarily blinded, he floated aimlessly, screeching profanities in his native tongue. His body flames swelled in size, but he couldn't focus them into attacks.
"He's all yours," Vander said, dusting the dirt from his hands.
Luxio acknowledged Vander with a nod. He then leapt onto Lampent and sank his teeth into the ghost's face. Ignoring his searing pain and seeping strength, Luxio held on. He dug in with his paws. His body glowed bright yellow as he pumped Lampent with electricity.
Lampent's horrific screeching carried far through the forest. It lasted only a few minutes. Lampent collapsed. All light faded from his body.
Luxio stepped away from the ghost and briefly surveyed the clearing. The drowsee were out and Cosmo was helping Vander put out the last of Lampent's fires. He sniffed the air, but the smell of smoke masked almost everything. His instincts told him that the rockets were on their way. They had to leave now!
"We should leave now before they wake up," Vander said as he looked around. He looked back at Luxio with quizzical expression. "Um…Thanks…you should probably come with us…we can compare notes later." He turned and followed Cosmo into the bushes.
Luxio tried to follow, but a sudden pang of fatigue brought him down. Where had it come from? How could he have spent so much energy? It didn't make any sense, but he too weak to move. On top that his body still stung from the burns.
Vander noticed that Luxio hadn't followed. When he saw Luxio collapsed in the clearing Vander immedaitely went to pick him up. Something had happened while he was captive. He could tell. Why hadn't Firebrand or Ironhide come to save him? Where were they? Vander wouldn't abandon Luxio until all the facts came out. As he followed Cosmo through the forest, a strange feeling crept into him. It felt like something important would happen. He wanted to shrug it off as nerves, but the feeling lingered like a stubborn itch.
It probably seems like I'm just throwing in villains only to gloss over them. However, the villains are really as important to this arc as the toll they're collectively taking on Vander's team. I'll focus more on that in the next chapter though. To anyone reading, I hope you're enjoying it so far.