Author's Note: This chapter is both late, and oddly written. It was fun, but something of a chore at points. Hopefully it comes across well. The big thing here is me trying to make sure Red isn't one hundred percent some grand chosen one. In many ways, this arc is supposed to make comments on the idea of chosen ones.
Anyways, here's the chapter, hope you all like it.
PYJ
Tailwind is a great move. I've always had a love for the utility moves, the ones meant to control battlefield conditions to increase combat ability long-term, and Tailwind is a good example of that. It pushes allies to great heights in speed, giving them a critical edge when they need it. Imagine a constant gust around you, making all your movements that faster and more graceful.
In this case, it made us more than quick enough to simply outpace the beastmen. We left them behind as we flew through the air. My last sight of them was a bunch of bipedal monsters baying and howling in frustration in the forest below.
We didn't spend too much time flying. I had no idea if Circe had flying monsters, but bets were high, and I didn't want to end up facing harpies or something. Not yet anyways. We got to the edge of the village, and I hopped off of Zapdos. Superboy was let down from Latias, and Wonder Woman dropped Aqualad. I immediately put my head on a swivel.
The village in question had a very primitive feel to it. It was built from bricks, and there were small lots where I could see rows of dirt set aside for planting. Snow covered everything, and icicles hung from signs marked with oriental lettering. Chinese maybe. There were lights all over to illuminate the muddy snow on the roads, and massive amount of trash lay half buried in the ice. The streets were pretty empty, considering how cold the night was.
"Latias, you sense anything?"
My dragon looked around as well, closing her eyes after a moment. Only human minds. Not Circe or her animals.
"That doesn't mean anything." Wonder Woman noted. "Her beasts, when made from humans, can mask their thoughts, make them human. She did it after hearing of telepaths."
"What, she's crazy-prepared too?" I shook my head. "Well great, she's an ancient Harry Dresden."
"Who?" Superboy asked, confused.
"One of the best magic users in the multiverse." I answered blithely.
"Really?" Kaldur seemed intrigued. "I would like to hear about him."
"Yeah?" I looked over at him. I wasn't surprised he was so curious. Aqualad had revealed he was actually a pretty big nerd during our sessions with Batman. He had a real thirst for tactical knowledge of all kinds. And the thought of Aqualad with the magical expertise of Harry Dresden giving him a few tricks was enough to make me want to geek out like the nerd I was.
I pushed aside the thought to look over at Zapdos. I lifted my arms, still clad in the Shock Gloves, for it to look at. The Electric Pokemon rolled its eyes, but nodded. It released a short burst of lightning into each glove, recharging the batteries.
"All right. We need to get an idea of this village's resources. Most importantly, we need to start working on protecting the people." I stroked my chin thoughtfully, then stopped when I accidently shocked myself. Wincing, I dropped my hands again before looking over at Wonder Woman. "I'd prefer you be there for any meetings with the villagers. Having an internationally recognized superhero around should grease the wheels a bit. Latias will go with her to help her find each villager."
I reached for my Pokeballs. "While Wonder Woman and Latias deal with the populace, the rest of us will do recon, figure out if we can make this town defendable. In small groups probably."
After a moment of thought, I separated them into specializations. "Slowbro and Superboy," So Slowbro could support Superboy with his long range abilities. "Jirachi and Chansey," Jirachi would be able to zip around the field while Chansey dropped traps. "Zapdos in the sky," the badass bird of lightning would able to rain down hell anywhere in the field. "And Kaldur and Chesnaught." The two had great synergy, with Kaldur able to back Chesnaught sheer durability with speedy water blasts and sword slashes. "Keep in contact over the link."
Then I winced. "Also, sorry for being so bossy."
That comment got a laugh out of the others. Well, more chuckles then anything. I think we were all nervous.
Circe's opening move had been a Zerg Rush. Which was damn impressive, as opening moves go. With almost no time, she'd created an army, sent it out to test us, and came out without truly revealing anything about herself we didn't know.
"You guys know what to do." Jirachi, Slowbro, Chansey, and Chesnaught came out of their balls, leaving Heatran on my belt. "Break!"
The group of supernatural creatures and beings left in different ways, leaving me to my thoughts.
The Olympians had sent us here. And yet, none of them had done anything afterwards. I'd expected more interaction with them. So why weren't they doing anything?
Pushing away that worry, I walked into the village.
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Slowbro
Superboy landed on the ground with a crash. As he did, Slowbro popped out of the earth, looking around curiously. While he wasn't an Ice-type Pokemon, he still enjoyed the snow around them. The Pokemon looked over at Superboy.
"Slow?"
"No, I haven't seen anyone." While Superboy couldn't understand the Pokemon like Red could, Slowbro could send waves of psychic emotion to convey his meaning well enough. "I'm going up again."
Slowbro nodded. The Teen of Steel bent his legs before blasting off into the sky once more. The pink cat was going to dive into the earth, when he frowned.
It was a little known fact that the Shellder that hung on a Slowbro's tail was fully functional. Its eyes, ears, and mind were all joined to the Slowpoke it had bitten, strengthening its host in a display of symbiotic relationship. So when Slowbro sensed the new presence it was moments faster than the presence expected.
Slowbro pulled on the rage that was his power. He spun around and unleashed an Ice Beam. The laser-like blue beam refroze the melting snow as it passed, and it's light illuminated the dark streets in aqua-colored illumination.
The beam slamming into a palm with no effect was rather anti-climactic.
"Impressive." The being turned his hand around to gaze at his palm, eyes crinkling in curiosity. "A mortal would have been gravely injured by that." The being laughed, red eyes flashing within the darkness that his helmet turned the rest of his face into. "Does your master know you have such a violent streak within you?"
He did. Red had once spoken to Slowbro, trying to see if there was some deep secret to his anger. But Slowbro had explained things to his master/teacher/friend. Anger was simply his life. Other Slowbro were calm and placid. But Slowbro was always angry, and he loved his life that way. Red accepted it, and cared for Slowbro regardless, rather than turning him into something he was not.
Slowbro explained this, in the language of Pokemon. Not just the repetition of his name, but the subtler gestures, growls, and mental messages Red could translate.
The spiky armored not-human seemed to understand perfectly.
"…It seems I misjudged these mortals." He said, voice echoing in the shadows. Slowbro felt the voice touch at his anger, pull at it, put weathered the storm with long practice. "The Kryptonian fights with the relish of my greatest warriors. You and the Green Knight show similar skill. And even your master has the feel of a fighter, for all that he is one of my sister's generals."
The being crossed his arms. "So tell me Water Demon. Why should I support your master? Circe has promised me much. She has offered me the days of old. Generals from across the world bowing at my will, wars capable of fueling me for millennia, and wenches to please the appetites of the most spoiled of lechers. What has your master, which the Witch of Legend cannot offer?"
Slowbro stared at the spiky armored not-human. On some level, he had understood the situation. As much as he loved combat, his master had taken time to teach him that combat without purpose was insanity. Food, safety, protection, these were things a sane creature fought for. Love for combat was fine, but direction and purpose had long elevated Slowbro to heights beyond other Slowbro, to the very echelons of Mega-Evolution. Even now, as he faced this being, he could feel the Slowbronite on its sling, the link between himself and his master that allowed to challenge even the greatest Pokemon in history.
With the concept of purpose driving forward anger, he had listened when the situation had been explained, if only partially (In his defense, Jirachi had been cutely excitable in her explanation). Master and the Fairy-type human were in competition. The prize was new friends, the not-humans who were the Legendaries of humans. But the Fairy-type human would not treat her new friends well. They were more powerful than her, but she could trick them into doing evil things, the way many humans in his home universe could do to even the smartest Pokemon.
Master did not care about power. He'd explained that with his knowledge, he could make himself as strong as a Machamp, or fast as a Rapidash. But he needed to keep power from the Fairy-type human. She was like the other bad people, using Pokemon to try and control the world, or the ones here who used their powers the same way.
So this spiky armored not-human wanted to know why following master would be good. When master won, having a new friend who would listen would be good. Master could probably convince him with lots of walks and Poke Puffs, but Slowbro decided to show the being before him his point of view.
Slowbro focused his mind and Shellder's towards the task, conveying his emotions, feeling, and memories to try and make the being understand how Red worked, how he treated not just his Pokemon, but his enemies and allies.
Especially his enemies. Because in the end, Slowbro remembered the battles more than anything else, with the fondness of a child towards a favored toy.
Ares smiled suddenly at the flood of information entering his mind, eyes widening as the mere memory of the battles gave him power. "Interesting.
PYJ
Kaldur
Kaldur cracked his neck as he walked. He frowned at the area around him. He'd seen snow a few times in his life. It didn't exist in Atlantis, precipitation being nonexistent at the bottom of the ocean, so he often found things surface-dwellers took for granted, like rain and snow, interesting.
Not this snow. This was muddy, smelled of trash and rotting food, and made him wish he wore shoes rather than wade through the disgusting stuff.
He looked over at Chesnaught. The massive bear looked very odd in this tiny village. He stood as tall as a single story, and his pristine white fur and green armor glittered in the night. He popped out against the landscape like a sore thumb, as surface dwellers said (For reasons Kaldur didn't understand.) As they walked, Chesnaught massive paws swung through the air, and his animal eyes narrowed at the world around him. Red had once shown Kaldur images of honey badgers, a predatory animal of small size, but incredible ferocity, and revealed the similarities between Chesnaught and the tiny mammal.
Times like this, when Chesnaught stood out amongst the background, the ferocity of his distant relative was obvious just under the surface.
"Anything?"
"Naught." Chesnaught took a whiff of the air to demonstrate, and shook his head. Then he pointed at the trees around him. "Chesnaught."
No scents, and the plant-life around them weren't 'telling' him anything. Kaldur suddenly frowned, realizing something.
Red, can you hear me? Nothing. Chesnaught, are you reading? The Pokemon didn't react at all.
"The link is gone." Kaldur said, hiding his nervousness under professionalism with ease. Fear was essential to survival, but only when controlled. He pressed the insignia on his belt to activate his electronic communications, only to get nothing but static. "Radio is out as well. Circe must have shut them down."
"Ches?" The massive Pokemon said, sounding shocked. Then he started, spinning his head around. At the same time, Kaldur looked at his right when his instincts screamed at him.
There, Kaldur saw a pond, sitting placidly in-between two brick buildings. It was around twelve meters around, iced over, and bits of trash were half-buried in the frozen water. As he watched however, the ice began to melt. Kaldur reached back for his water bearers, prepared to lash out.
Slowly, a blue glow took over the pond, stopping at the edges. The ice cracked like glass, turning into water once more. The trash littered in the water, chip bags and soda bottles, evaporated into dust, leaving crystal clear water behind. As Kaldur watched, the smell of sea salt sent a slight pang of homesickness through him.
Then three metal blades the color of sapphires rose from the pond. They rose, revealing that the spikes met at a golden shaft to become a trident. At the same time, the hand holding the trident followed. It was a powerful looking hand, tanned and youthful. As the owner of trident and hand rose from the water, he stood on the surface of the now clean pond as though it were solid ground.
"Lord Poseidon." Kaldur whispered. The fear was still controlled, but he couldn't help tightening his grip on the water bearers.
"Hmf. Calling me 'lord', as though your master hasn't treated me as an enemy ever since he cursed the seas with his presence." Pain shot through Kaldur as the sheer anger coming from the Olympian seemed to cut into him like the salt of the ocean slashing into skin. The tall sea elemental turned to look behind Kaldur. "And you Green Knight? What say you?"
Kaldur turned to look over his shoulder, thinking Poseidon was speaking to Chesnaught. Instead, he saw a man even taller than Chesnaught, and formed from green vines that gave him the look an enormously muscular man, step out of a tree. Swamp Thing.
"I AM HERE AS A PRECAUTION." Swamp Thing intoned deeply, his voice echoing almost soothingly. "THOSE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD ARE NOW SPEAKING TO MORTALS ONCE MORE. THE CHANGE THAT HAS COME WILL RESONATE, THAT MUCH IS CLEAR. IF THAT THREAT EXTENDS TO THE GREEN, THEN I AM HERE TO DEFEND IT."
As he spoke, Kaldur noticed the two beings were having an unnatural effect on the world around them. Trees, flowers, and bushes, once dead and covered in snow, were sprouting new leaves, growing larger and more vibrant. The flowers began to turn the once disgusting landscape into a riot of colors, reds, blues, purples, orange, all sprouting around the area.
The various irrigation channels and water ways suddenly seemed to flow with massive amounts of water. Despite the smell of salt, Kaldur could sense the water was as clear as though it had come from the sky. The trash and filth that clogged the channels evaporated, and snow melted off the city streets to join the water flowing past.
In seconds, the small village street had become a jungle. Even as the growth continued, Chesnaught and Kaldur listened to the powerful beings speak.
"This is about more than the damn Green!" Poseidon spat out, the bottom of his trident's shaft coming inches from slamming into the ground. Kaldur watched it warily, remembering that the trident had the power to create earthquakes. "These mortals wouldn't be alive if it weren't for us! We brought them out of nothing, gifting them with life, and asked for naught but their thankfulness! And what do they do!?"
Chesnaught and Kaldur suddenly fell to their knees when Poseidon's cutting voice become a razor blade in their minds.
"They attack us, insult us, and worse…" His voice saddened, becoming melancholy. "They forget us… I was once worshipped Green Knight. I protected the few sailors willing to brave the seas of my time, aided in giving them the bounty of my seas. I have fought titans, giants, and monsters from the deeps. And my reward is to be forgotten? To have that blowhard Neptune become worshipped in my place."
He clenched his fist. The simple motion sent the air shaking. "And now, I am to give my allegiance to a mortal. To fight at the side of one who doesn't even worship the gods. One whose ally," Poseidon glared at Kaldur, and Kaldur felt himself tighten his grips on his water bearers. "Is one of the very worshippers of Neptune. Why? As the River Styx flows, what is the reason I have been forgotten except as a legend, only to be told I must once bow to a mortal?"
The area was silent. Poseidon's words should have sounded almost pathetic. Instead, they sounded dangerous. Like standing within the calm of the hurricane, knowing this place of safety had danger all around.
"…YOU ARE RIGHT." Swamp Thing's voice seemed to echo off the newly grown leaves around them. "THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN THE GREEN. MORE THAN THE RED, THE OLYMPIANS, OR THE MORTALS. I FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING PULLED INTO A CONFLICT THAT WILL SPAN THE UNIVERSE. THIS MORTAL IS BUT A SMALL PIECE IN ALL OF IT."
"What do you mean?" Kaldur asked. The powerful beings stared down at him. Somehow he knew despite ignoring him, they hadn't forgotten him. "Trainer Red is not important in all this?"
"HE IS. BUT ONLY BECAUSE, LIKE THE HEROES OF AGES PAST, HE HAS CHOSEN TO STEP FORWARD." Swamp Thing said. "MUCH LIKE THE BATMAN, WHO IS INVOLVED IN EVENTS GREATER THAN HIMSELF, OR YOU, WHO CHOOSE TO COME HERE RATHER THAN STAY IN ATLANTIS." Swamp Thing looked at Poseidon. "THESE MORTALS ARE NOT ASKING YOU TO BOW. LOOK PAST YOUR ANGER POSEIDON. THEY HAVE STEPPED FORWARD, UNKNOWING OF THE DANGERS, AND CHOOSE TO STAND AGAINST THE COMING DANGERS. I DO NOT INTERFERE IN THE WORKS OF MORTAL MAN, YOU KNOW THIS. AND YET, THE COMING BATTLES CALL FOR ME TO STEP FORWARD AS WELL."
"What is coming?" Despite his voice not echoing the way Swamp Things did, Poseidon's carried no less power. "What could require you, the Green Knight who refuses to leave his swamps, to step into the light?"
"THE ROT." Swamp Thing said slowly. "JUST THIS THREAT IS ENOUGH. BUT IF THE REST ARE DANGEROUS TO BE MENTIONED IN THE SAME BREATH… IT MAY BE TIME TO STEP FROM THE SWAMPS."
Kaldur sucked in a breath. "May I speak, my Lord Poseidon?"
Poseidon flicked his eyes towards Kaldur. Aqualad felt the weight of his gaze, but simply flexed his knees to take the load. After a moment, Poseidon nodded.
"I do not claim to know the full details of the threats to come." Kaldur looked back at Chesnaught. At his nod, Kaldur continued. "However, King Orin once spoke of the gathering of the Justice League. That to combat a greater threat, he and others joined forces, and continue to do so." He shook his head. "I can't help but believe that that example is worth following. I have read the legends of heroes like the Justice Society, and those of the ancient past like the Argonauts. My own team was brought together for similar purposes. We are a team, my Lord Poseidon. We work together to put down a threat we cannot take on alone. That, at its heart, is what I believe the prophecy is promising. Not servitude, but something more."
Poseidon did not respond. He stared at Kaldur. At that moment, staring into the eyes of Poseidon, Aqualad understood the difference between a mortal, and a being thousands of times greater. That gaze held more than the simple weight of emotion and thought. If he had been naked and paralyzed in a storm whose winds and raindrops were made of the sharpest blades, Kaldur could not have felt more vulnerable, more powerless. He stared into those eyes, and saw the eternity of the ocean.
King Orin had fought this? Had met eyes with it, and still had the strength to not only fight, but win? He felt a flood of warmth and awe towards his king and mentor.
Suddenly, Poseidon was gone. Kaldur frowned just a bit, but simply nodded once he was sure the weight of that powerful insane presence was gone.
"I do not believe I have convinced him of anything." Kaldur admitted. Something in that gaze said, with the surety of existence itself, that Poseidon had not been moved.
"NOTHING WOULD HAVE CHANGED HIS MIND." Swamp Thing said simple. "EVEN IF TRAINER RED WINS, THERE WILL BE THOSE WHO NEVER TRULY LISTEN TO HIM. IT IS A CHALLENGE YOU AND YOUR COMPATRIOTS WILL HAVE TO FACE."
"I… understand." Kaldur sighed in frustration, but nodded. "Regardless, I feel I must thank you for your support Swamp Thing. I cannot claim to understand your situation, but the fact you are aiding us is a blessing."
At least, Kaldur assumed it was. He had little knowledge on Swamp Things true power, as he was one of the beings in the world who was both notable enough to have a file in the League records, yet obscure enough that there was little mention of him. But the power he had demonstrated, bringing life to the plants with his mere arrival, was enough to show just what sort of being he was. Combined with Chesnaught's prior displays of the sort of power a plant-use could bring to bear, Kaldur felt confident in saying having Swamp Thing aiding them would be good.
"I CANNOT TRULY AID YOU." Kaldur blinked in surprise. "I WAS ONCE HUMAN, SO I UNDERSTAND A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU ARE FEELING. I KNOW YOU WISH ME TO STAND AT THE SIDE OF HEROES, HELPING IN MATTERS BOTH PETTY AND LARGE. BUT I WILL NOT BE JOINING YOUR TEAM. I WILL COME WHEN I AM NEEDED. AND I WILL DECIDE WHEN THAT IS." Swamp Thing stretched upwards, his full height towering over the others before him. "I AM NATURE'S. AND NATURE ONLY MOVES BY ITS OWN WILL. CHESNAUGHT."
The Pokemon cocked his head to the side.
"REMEMBER WHAT I HAVE TOLD YOU. THE GREEN IS A FORCE OF GREAT POWER. BUT IT MUST BE PROTECTED. THE LESSONS I IMPARTED MUST BE PASSED ON, IF WE ARE TO HAVE A CHANCE." He turned to Kaldur next. "PREPARE. IF CIRCE WINS, I WILL STILL AID YOU. BUT THE OLYMPIANS ARE TREATING THIS BATTLE AS MORE THAN A SIMPLE SKIRMISH. THE ACTIONS OF YOU ALL ARE BEING JUDGED. EVEN IF YOU WIN, THERE WILL BE THOSE LIKE POSEIDON WHO WILL REFUSE TO TRULY ADKNOWLEDGE YOU. YOU MUST SILENCE THEM. AND ONLY POWER WILL DO THAT." The massive green form of Swamp Thing stilled. The once emerald vines making up his body began to lose color, and the intense feeling of pressure on Kaldur's skin started to fade.
Once the now lifeless form of Swamp Thing slumped down, Kaldur took a breath.
He'd learned more about this conflict than Poseidon may have wanted. More and more, he was starting to understand that to the Olympians, this battle was part of greater one. Poseidon represented those who were insulted at the very idea of working with mortals. Swamp Thing seemed more willing to aid them, not as prideful as Poseidon. The two were most likely reflective of the current split of opinion for the various powers.
And yet, there was also the fact that Kaldur was getting the sense they were all being used as part of this opinion. In the end, the difference between the minds of mortals and immortals, that yawning gap that made such beings hard to decipher, made understanding what the thought-process of the gods problematic.
"Ches." Kaldur looked over at Chesnaught. The Pokemon nodded forward, eyes filled with determination. "Chesnaught."
Apparently he wanted to move on. Kaldur nodded back. While Chesnaught clearly understood that whatever had just happened was of some import, Kaldur had to agree. The current battle was what mattered.
The building next to him exploded. Aqualad turned, eyes narrowing as a monster the size of an orca whale came out of the large brick house like something from a nightmare, snorting in rage. If it wasn't for meeting Poseidon and Swamp Thing, the horn on its nose might have slammed into him.
But the encounter with the two beings, despite having no violence, had been tenser than even the greatest battles Kaldur had been in. His instincts had been on high alert, and he leaped upward as the creature charged, letting the gray being go under him as flipped over it.
Kaldur took stock of the beast as he came down into a landing. The beast was larger than Chesnaught by a few centimeters. It had thick grey skin that seemed to overlap into plates, and wore tattered rags. A massive horn sat on its face, revealing it to be a rhino beastman.
At the same time, another beastman charged Chesnaught, this one shaped like a pig. Chesnaught roared, charging right back at the squealing porcine beastman. Kaldur simply stilled his mind, reaching out to the water around him, and slashing out at the rhino with a scimitar shaped blade.
PYJ
Jirachi
Chansey was soooo slow. She was still faster than humans, but her funny walk made her so hard to go places with!
Jirachi pouted, her cheeks ballooning with air as she floated above her friend. Come on, Chansey! Master wants us to hurry!
Chansey cocked an eyebrow, striding steadily down the alleyway they were in. "Chans."
Okay, he didn't say that, but don't you want to finish quickly!? Jirachi wiggled in place, eyes widening at the agonizing pace her friend was taking.
"Chansey." The motherly Pokemon waved at Jirachi, indicating she could continue.
Jirachi sighed in response. Honestly, she was bored. The battle earlier was fun, and there were sooo many things to fight! They were dumb, but they made nice crunchy noises when they broke, and she really liked that! Even Master fought, and that was funny to watch, because he did it with electric powers. And Kaldur used his swords, and Wonder Woman was flying around so beautifully!
Jirachi wiggled in place happily at the memory of the fun.
But now they were doing boring things. Important things were almost always boring. Why couldn't things like snacks and video games and fighting and theoretical physics be important all the time?
Still, they hads to do it, so Jirachi waited for her friend to finish walking.
At that moment, the minds of the others were gone.
Huh? Jirachi looked around, surprised. The link had been shut down. Latias, Master, Kaldur, she couldn't sense them. In fact, she couldn't sense anything. Chansey?
Nothing. Chansey was mere feet from her, and she couldn't feel her.
Jirachi panicked. She'd never felt this before. Even when she'd fought Dark-Types, she'd had her link. That comforting warmth of another mind pressed against hers. To her, telepathy was the same as sight or hearing.
Master! The scream of her voice went unheard. She couldn't feel anyone. She couldn't even be heard.
Jirachi was alone again.
Chansey stared in shock as Jirachi began to cry out.
"Jirachi! Jirachi!" The tiny Pokemon, normally so full of joy, seemed scream in fear and rage. Her eyes turned white. The psychic power inside her flowed outwards like a water released from a dam, filling the air around her with a kaleidoscope of energy. Chansey rushed forward, ignoring the danger of the psychic waves of power slamming into her. She wrapped her arms around her smaller friend, not even wincing as the massive power within Jirachi began to press against her skin.
"Chansey." The pink nurse said softly. "Chansey."
Jirachi hugged Chansey back, crying out in fear and anger at the sudden loss of sensation, at the feel of the people closest to her suddenly being ripped away. And Chansey simply held her close.