Farrah has yet to return.
After one semi-lengthy talk to earn even the slightest trust from Eric, we now found ourselves waiting for what we knew was coming. Or who, in this case.
"I don't know if I can believe a Pokémon," he began, stealing glares down at me. "-even if you can talk."
I returned the glare. "I don't need you to believe me. As long as you do what's right for Farrah," I answered plainly, looking back to the gate where the narrow driveway began. "That's all I care about." I swear that nobody will hurt her again, not while I was around.
"...Her dad isn't the kind of person to just, let her go. I know he's not going to listen to me."
"Then why are you here?" I asked with clenched paws, meeting his eyes again. Eric hesitated. "I'm ready to fight for her; against the Elite Four if I have to!" He was startled when I unintentionally growled deep within my throat, ready for whatever came through that gate. I wasn't one-hundred percent comfortable with my abilities, and I was afraid, but I knew I'd hate myself for not trying.
"I'm just saying he'll probably have Pokémon with him," Eric quietly added. "Glad the kids don't have to see this…"
The dark-grey sky rumbled overhead as I closed my eyes in an attempt to calm myself, breathing in the cold air. I could only assume he would have Pokémon.
Minutes went by before a red truck pulled up to the closed gate, exactly when Eric predicted after the very brief phone call he had with Farrah's dad. From what I heard throughout that call, Eric didn't get to say much, to Leah's annoyance. She'd probably set both of them straight if she wasn't forced to go pick up her kids.
The screen door behind us opened with the noise of a worn spring. "A guest has arrived. Shall I…?" the butler asked politely with uncertainty, quickly earning Eric's answer.
"Yes."
I took another deep breath as the gate slowly opened, trying to ease my anxiety against the conflict that I knew was coming. Sure enough, Farrah's dad stared at me through a cracked windshield before parking furthest away from us.
"Where is she?" was the first thing he demanded once getting out of the worn truck. His aura was foul-looking, much like his expression. It was only after slamming the driver's door closed that he made to stand before us at a distance, staying within the safety I'm guessing he thought was his truck. Even his clothes were dirty and very unkept.
"Danny, we need to talk," Eric claimed, stepping off the porch. His nervousness wasn't helping me in the slightest; I could feel his tense emotions trying to overcome my own.
"Either you give her to me or I swear I'll go in and get her myself!" The man then pointed at me. "I know she's here because that thing is here… Farrah!"
A growl escaped my throat as I clenched my paws. If Eric couldn't see the wrong in letting Farrah go, then he was truly blind.
"Didn't you hear me over the phone? She's not back yet and I don't know where she went," Eric answered almost immediately, slightly intimidated by his brother. Surprisingly, he kept on his case. "Lucario told me what you did to her…"
At first, Farrah's dad was speechless, until he started to laugh. "Wha? Ha-hahahaha! Oh, I'm sorry oh great Pokémon whisperer. I didn't think you were stupid enough to believe those TV shows!"
"You're the delusional one," I stated after connecting a telepathic link between the three of us. "I won't let you treat Farrah that way again. Not while I'm here." The man froze on the spot, too shocked to react but I felt the frustration rapidly growing.
"I would never hurt my own daughter!" he yelled, focusing his glare on me before switching to Eric. "You believe this f-… thing?! What other lies has it told you?!" Eric hesitated and glanced back down at me, looking like he was second-guessing himself.
Unbelievable. I have never confronted anyone so committed to covering up his actions. It only caused a spark of anger in my heart. "What reason do I have to lie!?" I answered a little too intensely judging from the way they winced. "Farrah was the one who chose me. Maybe if you treated her right in the first place, she would have went back home!"
"Shut the hell up Pokémon!" he suddenly exclaimed, frantically going for his pockets before pulling three miniature Pokéballs in his bulky hands.
Eric quickly took notice and held up his hand to his brother. "Danny, don't!" He then placed his arm in front of me, thinking it was going to prevent the inevitable fight when I made to step off the porch.
"Nobody gets between me and my daughter! NO ONE!" he screamed, aiding to build anticipation in my heart as I readied myself for what I was about to face head-on. The three Pokéballs were enlarged and one by one, quickly released.
A houndoom was the first to materialize and before I even had the chance to see what the other two were, it locked eyes and sprinted at me with a loud bark. I gritted my teeth and readied myself, planting my feet into the concrete walkway below me. The earth shook suddenly from what I assumed was another one of those three Pokémon, causing the houndoom to lose its balance mid-sprint. I used the opportunity and secured a hold on its horns, using its momentum to throw it crashing into the side of the porch with a loud yelp, breaking the wood supports and part of the railing. By then, my heart was racing as I quickly glanced back toward the other two Pokémon. A tall onix fiercely roared, its large body easily crushing the ground beneath it. And next to the rock type, a seviper glared at me and hissed before slowly slithering in a stalk toward me.
"Get that thing! Put it down!"
I had seconds. The onix was the biggest threat, to us, and Eric's property. If I wasn't careful, his family was going to return to a destroyed home, and Eric knew that. Distance was my strategy.
The seviper pounced first, launching itself at me with menacing fangs I had to avoid. Once it jumped, I immediately dove further away from the house, avoiding its bite. I had little time to find my footing again before I was forced to jump away from the onix's attempt to crush me with its body. My heart was rapidly beating as I finally stood and went on the offensive. I narrowed my eyes at the rock type and rapidly charged an Aura Sphere which floated between my paws. Seconds before I moved to launch the attack, the seviper caught me by surprise when it leapt over the onix's body, placing panic into my mind. I made a split-second decision and fired the Aura Sphere at the snake instead. The attack exploded on contact, sending the seviper back behind the onix where I couldn't see.
It wasn't a moment later that something collided with me, hard, which sent me bouncing off the grass a few times before sliding to a stop. I groaned at the aches and dizziness as I quickly looked up, realizing the onix used the opening to slam me with its tail. The rock type roared again when I got back up. These Pokémon weren't battling with their abilities; they were recklessly attacking me.
The two men were yelling at each other in an argument I couldn't understand with my mind in a daze. I held my head with a paw while trying to focus my fuzzy eyesight on the onix. There was a quick series of padding and a fierce growl that forced my attention to my right a second before the houndoom pounced, forcing me to hold out my paws instinctively in a defensive guard as it knocked me to the ground. I went wide-eyed when I realized the spikes on my paws had become a Metal Claw attack that was jammed in the fire type's maw, effectively guarding me against a series of attempted bites.
I gritted my teeth, getting frustrated by the second as I held the houndoom off before going for a counter-attack. With one of my temporary metallic claws still wedged in its teeth, I forcefully slid the other out, creating a narrow gash inside its mouth, before surging aura through that free paw. I yelled out my anger, thrusting the Force Palm into the houndoom's chest, sending it airborne with a yelp before I lined up both my feet and kicked it away once it fell back down, the spikes in my paws returning to normal.
I failed to see onix's tail falling from above me…
For a split second, my heart jolted in fear as I crossed my arms to shield myself in panic. It slammed down on me, knocking the air out of my lungs as I struggled to breathe with half my consciousness taken away. My vision pulsed black and remained that way even after the tail was lifted, leaving me lying there, helpless and gasping for air. It was when the onix wrapped its tail around me that shock slightly subsided and pain flashed across my body in intense ache. I screamed in agony when the onix lifted me into the air and squeezed. My arms were pinned against my sides; I couldn't do anything.
Eric yelled out in terror but I couldn't understand what he was saying. Its hold tightened. I couldn't breathe. My vision darkened further and my consciousness was slipping.
The onix suddenly cried out in agony as I felt a wave of coolness splash around me before being dropped onto my side across the ground. There was a roar that was louder than onix's before more water and mist scattered around me, seemingly from a large water attack. I dug my claws into the mixture of dirt and grass, trying to find my breath as I forced myself to look up. A gyarados put itself between me and the now downed rock serpent which was further across the yard. Zeke…
"Cyan!"
That voice. I knew that voice…
My body was gently turned over and held slightly upwards as I looked into Farrah's blue, teary eyes that stared back in worry.
I weakly lifted a paw and touched her cheek which she leaned into, unable to find the mental strength to use telepathy. There weren't any words to describe how relieved and glad I was to see her. She suddenly lifted her head and glared ahead in resentment at her father.
"Farrah! Leave that thing and get in the truck! Right. Now."
Please Farrah, don't go…
There was a reserved look of hatred she had for him, but it disappeared when she looked back down at me, afraid. I closed my blurry eyes when she softly lowered herself to kiss my forehead before opening them again the moment she released the gesture. "I'm sorry," she whispered to me, trying her best to suppress any crying before glancing over to the house. "Uncle!" Eric had rushed over and knelt beside her. "Please, help him."
He nodded as my heart felt like it was being ripped out. "I will. Don't worry," Eric answered, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
No… Please, not like this. Don't leave.
"Farrah!" her dad yelled again.
Watching her get up in tears and walk away hurt more than getting attacked by those three Pokémon. There was a series of Pokéballs recalling those around me before I tried getting up but failing miserably. I cursed myself for not being strong enough.
"Farrah, no." The instant I forced a connection and spoke that into her mind, felt like a million needles pierced through my head, making me clench it from the pain and growl as a result.
She was halfway to the truck when I noticed her stop and turn back half-way, not bothering to look me in the eyes. "Go home Cyan…"
My soul froze as I stopped any struggle to move, not believing what she said. A couple of tears streaked down into my fur while I helplessly watched her proceed to get into the vehicle before it drove away. I closed my eyes tight and dug my claws into the dirt in frustration, the sound of the engine gradually getting quieter until it was completely silent. I failed. I was too weak...
I was a failure of a Pokémon, and a friend.