"Honey, I'm home. And I brought dinner!"

A Dragonite excitedly flaps his tiny wings while landing on the top of a mountain that must be his home.

Twisting his head and looking around he notices the one he was searching for, as another Dragonite walks out from behind a conveniently placed rock protruding from the solid ground of the mountain plateau.

"Took you long enough." She responds, walking up to her apparent husband who has just finished landing.

"But I think you're going to like this one." The male dragon bickers back before revealing what he was concealing in his claws.

"NO!" I cry in fear, immediately recognizing his prey as my kids which I set out to rescue. "DONT!" I continue to shout while my cries remain unheard, not causing either of the Dragons to slow down its pace or look in my direction.

"Are they dead?" The female dragon asks. "Because if they are, you know they won't eat them."

"Please, stop." I cry, starting to whimper and attempting to move, but noticing that all movement I try to perform is hindered by an invisible force, preventing me from even closing my eyes and forcing me to watch everything that is happening.

"Of course they're not." The first Dragonite responds. "I know that the younglings wouldn't touch them if they were dead. – Because unless you forgot: I was a Dragonair once, too."

The female rolls her eyes before she continues to speak. "I know. I know. I was just checking."

Walking up to her husband, she gives him a kiss on his forehead and welcomes him home.

"Oh Arceus." I bid any higher force that might head my plea to intervene. "Please make it stop. Don't make them do this!"

The two of them start moving off together and with every fiber of my being I hope that this would be the end of it. But my wish is denied, as the invisible force starts moving my apparently floating body through mid-air, continuously following the two walking dragons while preventing me from looking away for even a second.

"Wha-ha-ha-hay?" I sob. "Why are you letting this happen?"

The two creatures finally reach their destination where my worst fear is confirmed. A small pond is hidden just on the other side of the mountain, not visible from plain view and covered with a small protrusion of stone. It is filled with water and soft pillows of steam ascend from it, as I notice movement inside the liquid.

"Ahhh!" A cry for help distracts me from the horrendous image of what is about to happen. I immediately recognize it at Cari's voice, my own flesh and blood, shouting for help and hoping for me rescue her.

"CARI!" I shout from the deepest depth of my lungs, depriving me of all the oxygen it held only moments ago.

But my cry remains unheard as I notice tears falling of my snout directly in front of me. They are my tears. The tears of a father about to lose his kids without the ability to do anything about it.

"Shush!" The female dragon grumbles while facing the Cyndaquil, before turning towards her husband. "You call that unconscious?"

"I never said they were." He responds, denying his responsibility for Cari waking up. "I guess they were out until now because of the thin air."

The male dragon shrugs his shoulder while keeping a tight grasp on my kids. And after a short moment passes, the female Dragonite rolls her eyes one more time before responding. "I guess it's fine... in that case the younglings can get excited about getting to play with their food a bit while it's still squirming."

"No..." I whisper, desperately hoping that it was all a big misunderstanding or just a really bad joke. But there is no doubt left about what is going to happen next. And even though I manage to force myself into not believing this truth, a part of me knows that both Tolan and Cari are going to be the dinner for some snakes.

I try to look around, to see what it is that is holding me, hoping that I might be able to overcome the grasps of my captor and be able to rush to their rescue.

But just like before, I still find myself unable to move a muscle. With whatever it is that is holding me keeping too tight of a grasp on me to do anything about.

"Autsch!" The male dragon suddenly shouts, a statement I barely manage to hear while being distracted by the painfully strong beats of my heart pumping blood through my anxiety filled body.

A glimpse of hope overcomes me, as I realize what it is that he is shouting about.

Tolan somehow regained his consciousness as well. And while his sister took her chance to cry for help, he remained frozen and acted like he was still unconscious. That is: up until now, as I happily watch him successfully having wrestled his way out of the grasps of the Dragonite, while currently being in the process of freeing his sister.

"Yes!" I shout, with rivers of tears still running out of my eyes. "I believe in you, Tolan!"

"Aren't you a feisty little one." The Dragonite speaks to my son in a tone way too sweet to be appropriate for what he is planning to do.

"Get him Tolan!" I shout with the glimmer of hope still alive, trying to ignore the fact that the dragon doesn't even appear to be concerned about the Cyndaquil scratching at the claw holding his sister.

"Yes..." I say again, the word overflowing with hope while I know that it wouldn't reach the ears of anyone, but hoping that they would somehow manage to reach the minds of Tolan and Cari.

"Hang on a moment." The dragon states while his wife looks at the sight and giggles.

"No..." I whisper at what he does next, wanting to shout the words louder than anything I ever shouted, but somehow managing to end up with the emotional whisper that just left my mouth.

The dragon, in his unending cruelty, decided to let go of the struggling Cari. But not because Tolan managed to hit a weak spot between the strong scales surrounding the claws of the beast. The dragon threw her on purpose, with a trajectory sending her straight into the steaming hot tub filled with the young dragoney snakes all eager to take the first bite out of her young flesh.

Cari hits the water and Tolan and I look at what is happening in shock while the male dragon takes the chance to grab him again.

"No..." I yap, not having taken another breath since my last word and failing to find the air necessary to form the words that nobody would be able to hear in any case.

"Cari." I begin whimpering, trying even harder to free myself from the force that is holding me.

"Cari-i-i-i..." I continue to sob, not even hearing my own words anymore while my mind is focused on my daughter wildly splashing around in the water.

It must be so horribly painful for her, not only because of being exposed to an environment that would kill her no matter what, but also because of what I continue being forced to look at.

I wish that my tears would blur my sight, but everything remains way too clear as I helplessly watch my one and only daughter getting torn to shreds by the rampaging and hungry mouths of the dozens of Dragonairs swarming her, first ripping of her arms, leaving her without the ability to keep her head above the surface and literally drowning her cries of pain and help, before moving onto her legs still paddling crazy in the hopes of somehow rescuing the body they are attached to.

"Cari..." I stammer, without the ability to grasp what is happening. Or rather not wanting to understand as the sight is just too horrendous.

Tolan is frozen and hasn't even noticed that the dragon is once again holding him by his arms, before the creature begins speaking a moment after the torso of Cari vanishes and the water of the pond has changed its color to a mild red.

"I like you..." The dragon exclaims, now talking to my son while my eyes continue to remain focused on tub of red water, still throwing small waves against the surrounding rocks from the battle for food that must still be taking place underwater.

Cari has yet to vanish from my vision, even though I know that what I see is no longer there. Yet she isn't the lovable Cyndaquil that I know her as. Her fire was extinguished, never to return and all that still remains of her are the chunks of meat getting ripped apart into smaller and smaller pieces before vanishing as they are swallowed by the snakes filling the pond.

And while I can't take my eyes of the spot I last saw her at, and continue to stammer the name of the soul that this vessel used to hold, the dragon unimpressedly continues talking to my son.

"As a matter of fact: I won't throw you in here." He continues, finally managing to grab my attention with the tiny sparkle of hope that I so desperately have been holding onto. - That maybe I would be able to at least rescue my son, now that there is the truth lingering of me being the father of only one Cyndaquil.

"What are you talking about?" The female dragon responds. "Look at the kids! They're hungry now."

"Don't worry." The Dragon retorts, now talking to his wife. "I made sure that whoever was with these two is on their way right now. I left a map detailing where they should go. Their supposed to bring poké and once they get where the map is leading them to, we can pick them off one by one. - So we'll be set for quite a while, if not forever."

The female dragon does what she does best and simply rolls her eyes while I couldn't care less about learning that the map is a trap.

Looking away from his wife and back at my son, the Dragonite starts whispering to him while still allowing me to understand his words just fine.

"...Because you're mine." He says while Tolan whimpers in fear from the beast and sorrow over the loss of his sister. "We're go'na have some fun together."

"Please no." I whisper before finding my voice and continuing to shout. "Arceues! Rescue him! Don't let THIS happen!"

But I receive no answer, nor did anything appear to have heard my words.

"Then let the games begin." The Dragon roars before dropping Tolan to both his and my surprise. But not to the surprise of his wife, who gets back to her job and walks off to get new water for the pond.

"RUN!" The Dragonite shouts at him, causing both me and the Cyndaquil to flinch.

"You Arceus-Damned Sick BASTARD!" I shout from the bottom of my lungs after realizing what the sick dragon is planning, putting as much anger and spite into the words as I can manage and once again leaving me gasping for air while I notice the tears falling off of my muzzle having returned.

Tolan understands and does as the dragon commanded him to do, dashing off in the hopes of escaping death. Maybe finding a cave he could hide in. Or maybe managing to get down the mountain and escape into the forest surrounding it. But while my hope is determined about his success, I still know that it isn't going to be easy for him, considering how thin the air must be this far up.

"Go Tolan!" I shout towards him, putting all the strength I have to spare into wishing my words would reach him. But with nothing in sight responding to any of them, I can only wish that might have heard them while not being able to do anything but to watch him running away.

The Dragonite decides that enough time has passed and jumps off the ground, letting his tiny wings do all the work while flying after the running Cyndaquil much faster than my son could have ever wished to run.

Like I should have expected and wouldn't have wanted any other way either, the invisible force still tightly holding me begins shifting again, causing me to head after them without letting a single moment pass during which I can't see both of the creatures.

"Yes!" I shout at Tolan. "You can do it!"

But the dragon doesn't show any weakness and continues to be faster than Tolan heading down the mountain, who thus far has managed not to trip and tumble the rest of the way, surely breaking his neck in the process. But I'm still helpless and forced to watch as the uncertainty of Tolan's success starts growing with every meter previously having kept him and the dragon apart vanishing as the dragon purposely takes his time and doesn't speed after my son with all the strength he could conjure up.

'That sick beast is enjoying this.' I think to myself before shouting at the dragon. "How can you enjoy this, you sicko?!"

But with no response I'm forced to continue watching the dragon starting to charge his elemental core, readying himself to release the energy and kill his prey.

"Please." I start bidding again, knowing that not much more time remains before it would be too late to save this last remaining light still flickering its fire in the dark corridor of my memories which was once brightly lit by the eternal flames of those I held close to my heart.

"Please." I keep trying to persuade my captor into releasing me, or at least give me any respond at all. "Let go of me. - I'll do anything."

But the invisible force remains strong, silent and unwilling to grant me even a paw's length of wiggle room. And I am just as helpless as I ever was while nothing has changed and I'm forced to watch the dragon fire the beam he was charging.

The beam of pure, destructive energy connects, hitting Tolan in the center of his back and robbing me of any words I could cry, but not making any difference as nobody would have been there to hear them in any case.

Tolan's legs stop moving and his momentum causes him to lose control as his body starts tumbling down the mountain side.

Tears flow out of my eyes and I immediately fell the loneliness of being the last remaining fire still burning, surrounded by darkness and dead candles without the ability to see further than an arm's length.

Small speckles of red start covering the rocky surface as the Cyndaquil continues to tumble downwards, closely followed by the dragon rushing after him.

The world feels cold. Something I couldn't have put in words if it wasn't for my encounter with fizzing. But the coldness is different, unnatural. And even though feeling could wouldn't be natural for me in any case, this feeling of cold is different. This is a coldness that shouldn't exist. - A coldness so alien that I have to wonder if it was created just for me and this moment alone.

But without the ability to stop it encumbering me while Tolan finally comes to a stop as he head-first crushes into a protruding rock stopping him in his tracks, I realize that I felt this coldness before. - That coldness is something I tries to hard to forget; so hard to push aside and never dare to touch it again. - But it is back and stronger than ever.

After realizing that his prey is no longer moving, the dragon takes his time to catch up while I feel like I'll never be able to speak again. - With words still not coming to me alongside the inability to express my emotions or ever open my mouth at all.

I'm forced to notice the red juice of life flowing out of a big cut in my son's forehead, courtesy of him using it to stop his fall.

The cold only continues to spread throughout every fiber of my being while everything surrounding me starts resonating that cold.

A small gust of air blows through my son's fur as I wish I was allowed to reach out and touch him. But like every other of my wishes, this one isn't granted either. And as painful as seeing my own son lying dead on a mountain side is, it's even more painful knowing that a carnivore, who is surely not going to honor him by burying his body, is only moments away from claiming the flesh of his prey.

I wish the moment, as painful as it is, would last forever as I know that what is to come cannot be described in words. But the universe continues to be bent on opposing any and all of my wishes as the Dragon arrives, looking at his dead meal before picking up the vessel that once housed a 'mon I couldn't have cared for more.

"This was fun!" The heartless beast exclaims while picking up the limb body. "Too bad you're dead, because otherwise we could do this again."

I want to feel hatred for the indignity of how he treats the fallen. But all I can feel is the sorrow of losing not one, but both of my kids to this heartless monster.

And without wasting any more time, the Dragonite drops the corpse of my son into his maw while not even noticing that one of its broken legs is still hanging out the side of his maw.

He bites down, detaching the limb while I'm yet again forced to watch.

"How much longer... until you stop this cruelty." I finally manage to sob again, while the Dragon continues to feast on Tolan's dead body. "How much longer until it's over."

"I don't want to watch anymore." I continues to plead my case, having long lost the ability to cry the words as loud as I would like to.

"Please. I just want to..."

-

"Wake up!" Treek yells at me, doing his shake me awake without burning his paws as he manages to roll me from side to side.

Small burn marks still result from him doing so and are covering the tips of his paws, something he doesn't even seem to care about.

"Wake up!" He continues, as I realize that I was sleeping and the picture of the Dragon spitting out of the chew off bones of my son vanishes.

"You're having a nightmare!"

I spring open my eyes and gasp for air, as the dream left me with an empty lung.

"It's OK." Treek immediately responds after noticing the signs of me having woken up. "We're all here."

His statement fills me with hope and I waste no breath before responding.

"The kids?" I ask, hoping that more of what happened was just a dream.

I don't get my answer at once as my eyes adjust to the brightness surrounding me, but after a moment Treek finally responds. "They'll be fine. That's why we're here. - We'll be saving them today."

Everything finally comes rushing back to me, and looking past the Treecko and a Zorua standing behind him, I can see the light of a new day's sun shining through the canopy of the forest surrounding us, reaching the the ground where it slowly crawls into the make-shift tent that Treek had set up.