I might have been a bit hasty with my last upload. Or maybe I should say Hasty, with a capital H, since that's the nature the PMD quizzes always seem to label me with.
Oh? I've gone off-topic? Yeah, I do that sometimes. If you're a legacy reader, you're probably wondering what that whole spiel in the previous chapter was all about, and why that chapter was labelled 42 and this one's 41 and basically, I wrote the vast majority of this story back when I was fifteen and now, as a twenty-one-year-old, I've uncovered some more drafts from this story's ancient history so I figured why not spruce them up and upload them? I doubt there are still any readers out there waiting for the grand ending of this tale, but when I realized how close I was to actually finishing this story completely I decided to just go for it anyways. Bored with this intro yet? Skip it now, it doesn't get more interesting.
So, to clarify: most of this chapter was written by me five years ago. The reason I never uploaded it? I hated how I ended it. I thought it was cruel and stupid and I cried myself to sleep over it and subsequently had a very weird nightmare involving a visit to the therapist and an outrageous quantity of watermelons. The new ending was written today in one evening. Maybe little me wouldn't have wanted this, but current me does. I flipped a coin to decide her fate and everything.
Yes, this means I'll also be writing the rest of this story from scratch. Got any unanswered questions burning a hole in your skull? Have any theories you NEED to see me prove or disprove in the final 2-3 chapters? Drop me a review or PM and I'll see what I can do about them.
Leo idly scrolled through The Crypt of the Unown site, his computer screen looking too bright in the pitch-blackness of his room. He reached a hand into the tub of gummies on his desk and popped another one into his mouth.
Although the brief fall of rain had lasted only an hour, the sky had remained overcast late into the evening. Now it was nearly eleven o'clock at night, and Leo still couldn't see if the moon was out, though he supposed the view of the sky from either of his bedroom windows wasn't exactly a good one. He had written a few more articles throughout the night about Cherrybark forest to occupy himself, but his head was empty now. He was feeling tiredness drag at his body and he wanted nothing more than to just lay down on his bed and sleep.
But he was too worried to allow himself to just fall asleep. Tonight, there might be a battle, and Mike might need him. There wasn't much Leo could do in terms of help, though he could post some sort of warning post on his site for Ecruteak residents. Then again, if Mike was calling him, that meant it was too late to warn anyone.
With a sigh, he turned on his desk lamp. He squinted at the bright flash of light, and he could hear his spearow shuffling about irritably.
"Sorry," he whispered to it, reaching out and petting the bird pokémon's head. After a moment, it turned its head away to preen itself. Smiling, Leo turned back to the map of the Johto region that was now illuminated by the lamp and grabbed a pencil.
His tentative journey into Cherrybark Forest earlier that day had been a successful expedition. Though the rogue pokémon were vicious, they were easy for Arcanine to defeat. Leo had collected a plethora of interesting items, including odd, seemingly enchanted sticks and round orbs of various colours. For now, these objects sat on a cleared-out shelf in his closet and he planned to test them out at a later date, preferably on livestream for his followers.
Judging by the unusual variety of pokémon he had spotted within the dungeon, Leo also learned that part of Route 46 had been caught within the transformation zone. He had adjusted his map of mystery dungeons so that the circle around formerly-Route 27 now included the other route.
The most interesting thing he learned, however, was that it was possible to befriend the wild pokémon. A spearow that had gotten torched by Arcanine had weakly gotten up again and hopped over to Leo, looking up with curious eyes. It had followed him all the way through the rest of the dungeon and back, even fighting off other wild pokémon for him. In the end, he decided to bring it home and managed to convince his father to let him keep it. Now the spearow sat on his desk, nestled atop some loose papers, though it occasionally hopped over to the gummy tub to peck hopefully at the sour snakes.
Leo began working on his map, adding question marks over areas that seemed most likely to become mystery dungeons. Eventually, he got bored with that and shoved it aside. He crossed his arms on top of his desk and put his head down.
Please be okay, Mike, he thought, closing his eyes. And you, too, Julia. Don't get yourself hurt...
The forest was quiet as Julia stumbled through it, running along the twisted paths. She knew that her goal was just around the corner, if only she could figure out which corner it was. She slowed down as an open glade came into view and blinked in surprise. The whole glade was bathed in a mystical blue-green light, all emanating from a single spot. Shielding her eyes, Julia walked towards it. The closer she got, however, the harder it was to push her way forwards. It was as if a powerful wind was trying to push her back.
Then she looked up and noticed what was lighting up the glade. A fist-sized blue gear, encircled by a glowing green sigil, rotated slowly in the air above a stone pedestal.
I...know this...
She was suddenly filled with fear and she backed away quickly, and then she was falling through a black abyss, the light being swallowed up behind her, never to be seen again –
Julia awoke with a start, then rubbed her eyes. She was in her bed in the Pokémon Centre, Flame still sleeping peacefully beside her. Though all of the lights in the room were on, the world outside the windows was black.
"Yo, Jules!" Jordan greeted, waving at her from where he was sitting opposite Fluffy on her bed. "We were just gonna wake you!"
Rubbing at her eyes, Julia swung her legs off her bed and stood up blearily. "What time is it?"
Jordan checked his watch. "Uh, quarter to eleven. It's pretty late, I know, but the sky isn't supposed to clear up 'til, like, twelve. Kinda stupid that whether or not Jerome attacks is based on the weather, eh?"
Oh. Jerome. I forgot about that.
There was a level of unrealness to the idea that Jerome was coming to try to kill her. It didn't feel unpredictable enough. It hardly even sounded like a challenge. It sounded more like what Jordan used to threaten her with when they were still little kids.
"Wanna join us in a game of go fish?" Jordan offered, gesturing to the cards between him and Fluffy. Fluffy rolled her eyes.
"No way, man! She'll ruin it!" she protested. "Besides, you haven't even told me what to do when you have three of the same card!"
Jordan grinned at her, raising an eyebrow. "Have you got any eights?"
"Oh, fuck you," she growled, throwing the three cards at his face. "I don't want to play anymore. You're cheating."
"Correction, fluffykins: you are terrible at go fish," said Sir Majestic Tail, flicking his tail at her.
"Shut up, Fire-Butt!" Fluffy crossly stood up, putting her paws on her hips and marching off towards the door. "Ugh! See you jerks in about five minutes!" She stepped out into the hallway and slammed the door behind her.
At Julia's shocked face, Jordan laughed. "Aw, Jules, you should see yourself! Don't worry, she's been doing this all night. It's practically become a running gag."
Julia walked over and said amusedly, "So, it seems like you're all getting along."
"Jordan can be a tad brash at times," Sir Majestic Tail said, "but he is quite the entertainer. I haven't felt this lively in a while!"
"You slept like a brick through all the noise we were making," Jordan told her. "I bet you wouldn't have woken up if this entire building fell over!"
Before Julia could reply, there came the sound of an explosion outside. Julia exchanged horrified glances with the other two, then dashed over to the window. Dimly, she could see people running away as a house's roof went up in flames. Another explosion sounded and faint screams could be heard.
Jordan and Julia stared at each other, as if communicating their jumbled, terrified thoughts to each other. Then Julia ran back to her bed and shook Flame.
"Get up right now!" she yelled at her. Flame blinked up at her, confused.
"Julia? What's – "
She was interrupted by the ground suddenly heaving as if it were an ocean tsunami. Then the room began to shake violently. Julia and Flame hugged each other tightly and ducked down to the floor, waiting for the earthquake to pass. Julia was dimly aware of Jordan yelling at her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.
Eventually, the rumbling stopped. The moment it did, Julia let go of Flame and went to the door to tug on her shoes. Jordan did so, too.
Just as Julia was about to open the door, it was wrenched open by a wide-eyed Fluffy. She was breathing hard and looking both disbelieving and furious.
"It's Team Fury," she gasped out. "And they're fucking everywhere."
"Those bastards!" Flame growled, coming over to the door. "They made it sound like it would be one-on-one!"
The five of them quickly ran out of the building but stopped once they saw what was happening. A few houses blazed, but what looked like hundreds of Team Fury members were swarming the city, striking out at people with different elemental attacks. Some of the citizens had turned and were commanding their pokémon to attack, but there were few of them and they were getting mowed down quickly.
"Oh, what the hell," Julia murmured, her eyes wide. "They're...attacking the city."
Fluffy was shaking, holding her paws to her head. "No...this is wrong..."
"I bet that fucking Jerome isn't even here!" Flame spat.
"Aw, do you really have no faith in me? I just wanted to make the battle a little more interesting."
Julia whirled in the direction of the voice and found herself standing nearly eye-to-eye with Jerome. His dark face was twisted in a grin. "Good of you that you got some sleep. At least you might have enough energy to – gah!"
Flame had used Flame Wheel on him to send him stumbling back and was now attacking furiously with her claws. Chuckling, Jerome psychically lifted her away.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, bitch..." He tightened his psychic grip on her and she gnashed her teeth in pain. "...and don't interrupt me."
Jerome flung her to the pavement near where Fluffy had collapsed, still gripping at her head with her eyes tightly shut. Julia couldn't pay attention to the flaaffy, however, with Jerome standing so near to her. "As I was saying," he continued with a hint of annoyance, "you'll at least be able to keep yourself from dying for a little while during our battle. Now, without further ado, let's – "
He was interrupted once again by a blast from Water Gun. Jordan yelped when he noticed that McMister had emerged from his Poké Ball uncalled.
"Hey, bad McMister!" he shouted, mashing the centre button of the ball. "Don't come out unless I tell you!"
The quagsire ignored him and shot muddy water at Jerome. The psychic type snarled and teleported out of the way, then struck him with Psycho Cut, the many blades slashing at McMister enough to draw blood. Jordan's expression changed from shock to anger.
"Don't you dare hurt my pokémon!" he yelled. He ran towards Jerome, his eyes blazing. Although he was moving quickly, Julia could pick up on a ball of light growing in Jordan's hands. An instant later, Jordan hurled it at Jerome, who cried out as electricity ran through his body.
No way! Jordan can use attacks?!
Flame had now joined in on the attack against Jerome, her head and rump ablaze as she struck out at him with claw and fang. Julia's legs felt weak and she was grateful when Sir Majestic Tail came up from behind her to support her. She could do nothing but watch as Jerome clashed with Flame and Jordan, attacks meeting in the middle and dissipating into puffs of energy. What could she do, anyways? She had no way to control her electrical powers, and she wasn't physically strong enough to be able to do any damage by attacking with fists.
Then a bolt of electricity hit her and she stumbled sideways, reeling from the attack. She looked around, trying to spot the Team Fury member who had done that, but was struck again before she could find anyone.
"Fluffy, what on earth are you doing?!" Sir Majestic Tail whinnied in alarm. He dashed over to the flaaffy, who stood nearby, crackling with electricity, and stepped in front of her to block her path. Fluffy shoved him aside and shot another bolt at Julia.
Gritting her teeth, Julia yelled, "Stop it, that hurts!" Fluffy ignored her and spun, smashing her tail-tip against Julia's shin, causing Julia to buckle.
"It hurts, does it?" Fluffy's voice was oddly soft as she stood over her. "Am I making you feel pain?" Slowly, her mouth curved up into a smile. "Good."
She raised a paw crackling with electricity, then thrust it towards Julia's neck. Before the attack could connect, however, a ball of fire smashed into her side. Flame was suddenly on top of Fluffy, trying to dig her claws into her skin, but Fluffy rolled over so that she was now on top and repeatedly shocked her with electricity.
"What's happening?!" Julia cried out, struggling to back away. Something grabbed her and lifted her up, but she couldn't see anyone near her.
"She's with us," a silky voice whispered in her ear. Julia thrashed against the psychic bonds as Jerome came into sight, stepping in front of her. "She has been for quite some time, and she will fight this battle on Team Fury's side."
Julia stared at him, trying to shake her head. "N-no...not Fluffy..."
"Did you wonder how your precious ponyta ended up falling into the hole in Burned Tower?" Jerome went on. "Did it ever cross your mind that she wasn't completely loyal to you?"
Suddenly, his face contorted in pain and he fell forwards at the same time that the psychic grip on Julia dissipated, causing her to fall. Sir Majestic Tail, who had been behind Jerome, lowered his hind legs from a buck and snorted.
"What an impolite bastard!"
Julia whipped her head around until she spotted Flame and Fluffy in the darkness, still grappling with each other. Ignoring Jerome's unconscious figure, she stumbled to her feet and ran over to them.
"S-stop it!" she cried out. "Stop fighting with each other!" Flame's head shot up and she was distracted for just long enough for Fluffy to kick her away with her hind legs. Fluffy was bleeding but she got up and stood triumphantly over Flame, who was wheezing.
"Give up already. You know I've won."
Flame glared up at her, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "You'll never win against me, you...you bitch," she spat, struggling to get up. Julia took that opportunity to run in between them, holding out her palms defensively.
"Stop it for just a moment! What the hell is going on here?!" She looked at Fluffy, who was wearing a smirk. "What's gotten into you, Fluffy? Why are you attacking us?!"
Fluffy laughed coldly. "What do you think, you nitwit? Because I'm on Team Fury's side, of course! I decided that I wouldn't let myself be forever ruled by some stupid trainer! I'm my own pokémon!" She snarled at Julia. "And my first action as a free flaaffy will be to end your pathetic lives!" She jabbed her in the stomach with an electrified paw and the most intense pain Julia could have imagined coursed through her body.
She numbly fell backwards and found that her body couldn't move. Fluffy readied another attack, what Julia supposed would be a finishing blow, but was blasted back by a swirling inferno. Flame got back up to her hind paws, growling.
"Get your filthy paws off my friend!" she snarled. Fluffy jumped back towards Flame, but Flame grabbed her paws in her claws. The two staggered backwards and forwards, their eyes trained on each other, each trying to shove the other back.
Then Flame began to glow, her shape growing taller. Fluffy didn't seem to realize what was happening until she found herself staring into the crimson eyes of a typhlosion.
With a roar, Flame threw Fluffy back, easily overpowering her. Fluffy scrabbled back, then turned tail and fled into the fray of more humans and pokémon battling. After staring after Fluffy for a moment, Flame turned back to Julia.
It was hard for Julia to absorb what she was seeing. Flame seemed to tower over her now and her body was powerfully built, with muscular limbs and long, hooked claws. The flames around her neck sputtered and went out and she crouched down to stare at her trainer in concern.
"Julia, are you okay?" she asked in a rougher, scratchier voice than Julia was used to.
This can't be Flame, Julia thought, confusion leading to terror. She doesn't sound like Flame. She doesn't look like Flame. She looks like some kind of monster.
Flame's ears pinned back and her eyes went wide. "J-Julia, why are you staring at me like that?" She reached down and took Julia's hand with a paw and in that instant, warmth flooded through her. Flame's paw was soft, lined with short, stiff fur, and the strength in her grip felt comforting, like a promise of safety. And there was a familiarity in the very action of gripping Flame's paw.
Putting her other paw behind Julia's back, Flame lifted her up to her feet. Julia's body was still throbbing with pain, but she forced herself to remain standing. She looked up at Flame's face, trying desperately to recognize her features. Her pinned ears were a bit thinner and longer than before and her muzzle was a bit elongated, but otherwise, she looked the same, right down to her crimson eyes, which were staring at her in confusion and hurt.
"I evolved, Julia," she said quietly. "That's all that happened. I'm still the same."
Julia's face flushed hot with shame as she realized that her horror must have been apparent in her expression. She tried to give Flame some reassurance that she didn't think any less of her now, but a spasm of pain caused her to cry out and she couldn't say a word. Flame picked her up easily as though she weighed nothing, holding her from underneath in both arms, and began to carry her away.
"You're badly hurt, aren't you? I'm going to take you to Jordan. You'll be safe with him." It sounded like she was talking to distract herself and in the light of the distant flames, Julia could see tears trickling down her face. "You'll be fine, Julia, I promise. I promise to protect you, no matter what."
"I..." Julia painfully swallowed back the lump in her throat. "I love you, Flame."
Flame stopped dead, staring down at her and blinking hard.
"I don't care how you look," she continued, her voice coming out as a weak croak. "You're one of my best friends...and nothing can change that. Please...don't be mad at me..."
"Of course I'm not mad at you!" Flame yelled, then lowered her voice. "You're my best friend!"
She continued walking towards Jordan, where he was commanding McMister to attack a Team Fury grunt. "Jordan! Julia got really hurt!" she called out to him.
He turned and gasped. "Whoa, Flame, is that you? Looking good!"
Again, Julia was filled with shame. That was how she should have reacted. She shouldn't have been afraid of her for even one second. She should have felt proud.
Flame gently set her down beside Jordan, who quickly looked her over. "What happened?"
"Fluffy...she..." Julia clenched her teeth as another spasm wracked her body. Was it a spasm, or was she coursing with electricity? "Everything hurts," she whimpered.
Jordan looked up at Flame, who shook her head. "I'm going to find Fluffy," she said in a growl. "And I'm gonna make her pay."
"Don't," Julia choked out, gripping one of Jordan's arms tightly. "Please, don't hurt her. She's...she's our friend, too..."
Flame's gaze softened and she nodded. "I understand," she said. "I'll try to slap some sense into her, then."
"I shall come with you, Flame." Sir Majestic Tail trotted over, his head bowed and his flames burning low.
"You knew, didn't you?" Julia asked him. He nodded miserably, not meeting her gaze.
"The two of us had been following Jerome some time back and when he spotted us, Fluffy, clever as she is, fooled him into believing that we would work with Team Fury and do their bidding. She confided in me about two weeks ago, after she pushed me into the hole in Burned Tower." He paused, as if waiting for Julia to gasp in surprise, but she just nodded grimly. "She told me she feared that she was going mad, Julia. After that, she returned to normal, but now..." He shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. "I cannot allow something terrible to happen to her out there! I must find her!"
"What happened to Jerome?" Jordan asked, frowning.
"He...teleported away," admitted Sir Majestic Tail. "But he was badly injured. I believe he will not be returning any time soon."
Another explosion sounded, further off, but Julia wasn't in a good position to see it and she didn't want to move her body to look. She was still in pain.
Why do I have to be this weak? she thought frustratedly. I want to be helping Flame, but I'm nothing but a burden.
"Be careful, Flame," she urged. "And please...bring Fluffy back safely."
Flame nodded understandingly and turned to Sir Majestic Tail. "Let's go."
She dropped to all fours and ran off. Sir Majestic Tail, shooting a quick, sympathetic glance back, galloped after her.
Julia sat there on the ground, biting her lip and trying not to cry in frustration. She was grateful that Jordan had stayed near the Pokémon Centre, which was near the edge of the city and therefore away from most of the fighting, but she felt like a helpless lump. Why had Fluffy's attack impacted her like this? Why did it hurt even to talk?
"Aw, Jules, don't make that face," Jordan said to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure there's something we can do for you! Let's see..." He dug through his bag, then pulled out a small yellow bottle.
"That's..." she began, but he had already taken off the cap and was spraying her. Instantly, Julia felt her muscles relax and the pain eased. Once he had finished spraying her legs, she shakily stood up. She could still feel pain where she had been injured before, but the effects of Fluffy's attack were completely gone.
"So that's what it was!" Jordan grinned at her, shaking the bottle. "You got paralyzed!"
"And all it took to get rid of it was a Paralyze Heal," Julia murmured. "Am I a pokémon or something? Why did that work?"
Jordan shrugged at her, pocketing the now-empty bottle. "Pokémon stuff sometimes works on humans when it comes to attack-related maladies. Remember that time I tasted a Rare Candy?" He closed his eyes, smiling faintly as he remembered. "Good times, eh? After that, I tested a bunch of the other products. Awakenings don't do anything, but that's about it."
Julia was looking out in the direction Flame and Sir Majestic Tail had gone. She wanted to go after them, but she knew that she would never catch up. On top of that, she was defenceless. She had no way to fight back if she was attacked.
A figure in the gloom caught her eye. He had red hair and was wearing the purple suit of Team Fury, but he wasn't running around like the others were. He was standing nearly motionless, staring up at the clouds. Julia looked up and noticed that the clouds were beginning to part, and a sliver of the moon was becoming visible.
What's going to happen when the moon comes out? she wondered dimly. That's when Jerome said he'd attack. Is that going to be the time when he slinks over to slit my throat? Or when Team Fury decides to really go crazy?
As she watched him, she noticed movement among the shadows. People were stepping out of the dark, calm as the Team Fury boy. One of them that was near enough for Julia to make out her features looked like an old woman with her greying hair pinned up. She was wearing what appeared to be a white kimono and was holding a long, unlit candle. Several more old women were creeping out as well, their eyes trained forwards on where most of the fighting was taking place.
The moon was now nearly out fully. One by one, the old women lit their candles. The small dots of light almost looked like volbeats in the darkness. The red-haired boy raised an arm, lowering his head and staring at the fray as well. Now that it was brighter, Julia could make out his face more clearly.
Is that...Noah?
But she didn't get any time to think about it. The moon slid out from behind its cloud, and at that moment, the boy's arm dropped.
Attacks danced in the blackness like colourful lights. Flame shot a ball of fire at a Team Fury grunt as she ran past, but paid him no attention. In the jumbled mess of the main city area, it was impossible to pick up Fluffy's scent, and even more impossible to try to pick her out from the bodies writhing and attacking and falling. Sir Majestic Tail ran silently next to her, tears dribbling down his face. Flame couldn't blame him – there was a higher chance of them finding Fluffy dead than alive here, and there was no chance of finding her sane. She was itching to dig her claws into her and teach her a lesson for hurting Julia as badly as she did, but she reminded herself that Fluffy was a friend to all of them, even if she was an idiot.
Julia... The image of the look of terror on Julia's face when Flame had asked her if she was okay was burned into her vision and she couldn't shake it off. Julia had tried to assure Flame that she didn't care how she looked, but that had only made Flame feel worse. Back when I first evolved into quilava, I was afraid that I wouldn't look cute anymore. But now, I'm afraid that I don't look like a friend anymore.
Flame was painfully aware of her increased size and she felt her claws scraping against the cobbled roads with each bound. She didn't know how exactly she looked, but she was filled with dread.
"Flame, there!"
Sir Majestic Tail's whinny snapped Flame out of her thoughts. She followed Sir Majestic Tail's line of sight and spotted Fluffy a little ways off, repeatedly shocking a teenage boy with electricity. Flame sped up and leaped at her, bowling her over before she could kill him. Fluffy screeched at her and tried to electrocute her, but Flame felt nothing through her thick skin. She pinned the flaaffy down easily and leaned over her, growling.
"What kind of beast didja turn into?" Fluffy asked, sneering. "You look like a big ol' quilava who got dentures two sizes too big!"
"You're the beast!" snapped Flame in retaliation. "You attacked your trainer and now you're beating up defenceless humans! You're not the Fluffy I was friends with."
Fluffy snickered at her. "Oh, don't be so dramatic! I just need ta let off a bit of steam, and why not do it on people who are kinda useless, anyways?"
Flame let go of her and sat back on her haunches, her eyes wide. She sounded like she always did, with the exception of her homicidal ideas and perhaps a slight slur in her speech. How was Flame supposed to even think of hurting her?
Taking the opportunity, Fluffy stood up and fluffed out her neck wool. "I guess you look sorta charming now," she added to Flame, looking her over. "In a brutish way, but still. I might even flirt with you if I get the chance."
Looking hurt, Sir Majestic Tail walked over to her side. "You do remember us, don't you, Fluffykins?"
She didn't even glance at him. "Whaddaya think, moron? 'Course I do! And you're that guy that I had so much fun leading on! It was hilarious, seein' you think you had any chance with someone like me." Fluffy tapped him on the nose. "But hey, the game's gotta end sometime, right?"
"Y-you..." Sir Majestic Tail turned his head away, more tears running down his face. "You cannot possibly mean that, can you?"
"Whaddaya want me to do, you dumb horse? Lead you on some more?" She grinned up at Flame, and in that moment, Flame realized that her eyes looked wrong. She had a crazed look in them despite her calm composure, but they also looked distant, almost as if she were caught in a daydream.
Flame grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her firmly. "Snap out of it!" she growled. "Can't you see that this isn't you?! This isn't what you're like!"
"Oh, but this is exactly what I'm like." Fluffy batted her eyes at Flame. "Sarcastic, charming, n' bitchy. Isn't that right?"
"No!" Flame's voice was raised to a yell now. "You can be a jerk sometimes, but you're not a bad person! You're our friend!"
"If you think I was ever your pal, you're dumber than grass. And grass is all the way dumb."
Flame, trying to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes, slapped her hard across the face. Fluffy winced, but raised her head again, grinning. "What was that supposed to do? Make me like you more?"
"Leave her, Flame," Sir Majestic Tail said quietly, turning away. His flames were burning low again. Flame looked at him in disbelief.
"What, are you saying that we're just gonna give up on her?!" she growled. Sir Majestic Tail didn't even flinch.
"Yes."
Flame's ears drooped, but she took a step away from Fluffy. The flaaffy had gone to a place mentally where Flame couldn't follow her, and if she wasn't attacking them and they couldn't bring themselves to fight her, they were at an impasse. There was nothing more they could do.
"I guess that's it, then. Goodbye, Fluffy. We'll miss you."
"See ya," Fluffy replied, waving, then trotted off. Flame blinked a few times to keep herself from crying and turned away from her.
I guess we can't tell Julia that we didn't try, Flame thought miserably, but Fluffy is gone. It's like we've lost an important part of our team.
She put a paw on Sir Majestic Tail's back, but he stepped to the side, away from her. "I would rather you didn't show me any sympathy," he said, his voice strained. "I no longer care about her. She is nothing to me."
"You are a dumb horse," Flame said quietly and hugged him as best she could. After a moment, he began to cry again, his flames nearly extinguishing altogether. Around them were the sounds of battle and screaming and the air was thick with the scent of blood. Flame stared up at the cloudy sky, feeling the full weight of what had just happened.
Arceus, how can you be so cruel? she wondered bitterly.
A full moon peeked out from behind the clouds, shining like a beacon. The moon didn't deserve to be out on a night like this, where helpless people were slaughtered like sacrificial mareeps.
Suddenly, a white-pink line of light shot up from somewhere near the edge of the city, climbing into the sky until it almost touched the moon, then rained down upon the city. Flame cried out in alarm and tried to duck away, but the countless individual streams of light seemed to be guided, striking predetermined targets. Flame looked up and saw, to her amazement, Team Fury grunts falling over or crying out as they were hit.
Was that a Moonblast attack? Flame wondered, her gaze whipping around. But who could have fired it?
Then, what looked like a dark purple mist descended upon the city. Sir Majestic Tail scrambled out of Flame's grip to get a better look. "Wh-why, those are ghost pokémon!" he exclaimed, his mouth hanging open. "Goodness, there are so many of them!"
When Flame focussed on the purplish shapes, she realized that he was right. All sorts of ghosts flew down, striking at the purple-suited attackers. A misdreavus nearby was tormenting a Team Fury girl by ducking in and out of shadows, attacking whenever it surfaced. Elsewhere, a pumpkaboo was slowly wrapping up a boy in thick, ghostly vines. Flame couldn't even recognize all of the pokémon that appeared. They were probably pokémon from all the different regions.
Awestruck, she walked forwards on her strong hind legs, craning her neck to look at each new pokémon. Sir Majestic Tail looked more terrified than impressed and he walked with his now-reignited tail tucked between his legs.
What amazed Flame the most about this ghostly attack was the fact that none of the ghosts seemed interested in adding to their ranks and allowed terrified Team Fury members to run away instead of killing them. It looked coordinated, as though this attack had been planned for weeks in advance.
Then, in the middle of it all, Flame spotted a dusknoir, whose rounded yellow antenna glowed faintly. Flame dimly recalled hearing somewhere that a dusknoir had the power to communicate with the dead using the antenna atop its head.
So that's how all the ghosts know what to do, she realized.
Beside the dusknoir stood two humans. One was a blond that Flame didn't recognize, dressed in violet garb with a long, flowing scarf around his neck. The other boy had tanned skin, red hair, and wore a tank top and shorts.
That's Mike!
She marched in his direction, determined to get some answers at last.
"F-Flame, don't be hasty!" Sir Majestic Tail called fearfully after her, but she didn't listen.
"You!" she addressed, marching right up to him. Mike looked over in her direction, his arms crossed.
"Do I know you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're the one who took my trainer's Pokégear without asking about a week ago!"
He frowned for a moment, then, seeming to remember, groaned. "What, you still mad about that or something?" he asked. "Come on, dude, why don't you take a look at what I've done for you that wouldn't have been possible otherwise?"
Flame blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Your trainer's friend gave me a call earlier today and told me about how she was challenged by some TF dude, which we of course knew meant there'd probably be an all-out attack, so I dragged Deadbones here – " He jabbed a thumb at the blond, who bristled at the nickname. " – out of his bomb shelter and organized an attack with him, just in case shit happened."
"It is not a bomb shelter," insisted the man, giving Mike a pointed look. "It is a safe house intended for people in my family when danger lurks."
"Whatever, Deadbones. You see, Typhlosion? I just saved all of your butts." He recrossed his arms and jerked his head behind him. "Now, if you've got nothing better to do, run back to your trainer and tell her what a good boy I am and let Duskie focus on his work."
"My name is Flame," Flame growled. Mike shrugged.
"Didn't catch that, don't care. Now scram before we send a shuppet after your butt."
Glowering, Flame stalked past him in the direction of the Pokémon Centre. She could hear Sir Majestic Tail apologizing profusely on her behalf, but she only glanced back when she heard him let out a whinny of surprise.
Five girls wearing ornate kimonos were walking towards 'Deadbones' and Mike, looking calm. Flame realized they were the same girls that had challenged Julia to a battle earlier. They began to talk with the two of them and Mike shooed Sir Majestic Tail away.
"Why, I never!" he exclaimed as he reached Flame. "What a rude boy that one was! And those girls were talking about you and Julia!"
Flame glowered back at them, narrowing her eyes. Mike now had his hands shoved into his pockets and was nodding along with what the kimono girls said. Once or twice, he turned his head back to glance at Flame, but he eventually seemed to lose interest and went back to watching his dusknoir as the girls moved on to converse with the purple-clad boy.
"Come on, let's go back to Julia," Flame muttered. "Those dressy chicks weird me out."
"Agreed," Sir Majestic Tail agreed, shaking his muzzle. Although he wasn't as completely cheery as he usually was, Flame was relieved that he wasn't visibly upset about Fluffy anymore.
When she found Julia, the girl was sitting on a bench alone, watching some ghost types chase off Team Fury members further down the road. The barrage of ghosts was unnerving, but credit where it was due, it had rapidly deescalated the violence the way nothing else could.
"Hey, we're back," Flame called out. Julia looked over, smiling at first at her and Sir Majestic Tail, but when her searching gaze didn't find Fluffy, her smile melted.
"What happened to Fluffy?" she asked, looking up nervously.
"She wouldn't listen to reason," Flame replied. "We couldn't convince her to come back with us."
"Good riddance!" Sir Majestic Tail stomped his hoof in anger.
Flame noticed that Jordan and McMister were nowhere in sight. "Where did your cousin run off to?" she asked.
"He went to fight the fires," said Julia. "Said it was a ranger's duty or something like that." Her voice seemed oddly flat and Flame realized that she was deliberately looking away from her. In a swift, decided motion, Flame bent down and picked Julia up in a hug.
"I'm so happy you didn't get hurt!" She nuzzled the top of the girl's hair and felt a glimmer of satisfaction when Julia wrapped her arms around her. When she set her back down, Julia was smiling up at her.
"You know you don't need to do that," she said, laughing lightly. Then she seemed to remember something and her expression became a bit more serious. "You saw that first attack that happened when the moon came out, right?" At Flame's confused nod, she went on, "I saw the guy who used it, and...I think it was Noah."
"Noah?!" The last time Flame had seen that boy, he was wearing a Team Fury outfit and was hanging out with Jerome and Tory. Then again, in that battle, he hadn't joined in at all against Julia and her pokémon.
"Do you mean to say that he has fairy type capabilities?!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed, looking bewildered.
Julia nodded. "I think so. But I didn't expect to see him leading the attack against Team Fury!"
Snorting, Flame said, "I've got a better one for you. You remember Mike, that guy who contacted Leo? He said he organized the whole attack!"
"Then that would mean he's in contact with Noah," Julia pointed out. Flame paused and considered that.
That's kind of a weird coincidence, she thought. But it makes sense, seeing as they're both total jerks!
"Let's head back to the Pokémon Centre for now," Julia suggested, glancing back at the building. "Jordan might be a while before he returns, and I'm exhausted." Now that Julia said it, Flame was also feeling a bit tired, and though Sir Majestic Tail had stopped bleeding, he could use a rejuvenation at the Pokémon Centre.
After going in and healing up Sir Majestic Tail, the three headed back to their room. It felt a little empty without Fluffy, but Sir Majestic Tail resignedly lay down on the bed alone. The playing cards from before were still there, albeit more scattered than before due to the earthquake.
Julia was about to climb into the bed, but paused and looked back at Flame. Flame knew what she was thinking. As a quilava, there had been plenty of room for both of them on the bed, but it would be a bit cramped if they both slept on it now. As well, Flame had more mass now and she suspected that she would be a bit heavier. Would the bed even hold the two of them?
If those fatties Fire-Butt and Fluffy could sleep on the same bed without falling through, so can I!
"We can try it," Flame suggested to Julia. Julia nodded tentatively. Flame crept in first, laying on top of the covers, then Julia crawled after her. The bedframe creaked a little bit under them, but it held firm. After they settled in, trying to get comfortable, the two said their good-nights and closed their eyes. Flame opened them again almost right away, noticing how empty her paws felt. She had gotten so used to sleeping with her paws clasped in Julia's hands that it felt odd not to.
Carefully, she reached her paws forwards and took the human's hands in her own. Julia blinked up at her in surprise, then realized what she was doing and let her hands go limp. As a typhlosion, Flame's paws were almost like hands, though her fingers were stubbier and each of them ended in a claw, and she easily slid her fingers in between Julia's. The position was so comforting and familiar that Flame fell asleep almost right away.
She awoke into the similarly familiar dream of looking for something. However, she knew what she was looking for now. She had seen it on the computer screen earlier that day – or was it now yesterday? – and she dashed through the labyrinth of limestone caverns with its image in her mind. When she saw it floating in the cavern filled with light, she boldly walked forwards, ignoring the unseen force that pushed her back. In her last sleep, she had been unable to reach the blue gear, awoken too early, but now she knew that she could reach it.
She stretched out a paw, certain she could reach it with her claw-tip, but her paw felt too small, too short. Even when she stretched out on her hind legs, she felt no taller and was no closer to reaching it. It was as though she had returned to her tiny cyndaquil body.
"Flame!"
No! she thought desperately as the winds became even stronger and pushed her back further. Don't wake me yet, not when I'm this close! I need to grab it!
"Flame, wake up!"
She wailed in protest as she was pushed back entirely. Then her eyes blinked open into darkness.
"Flame, are you awake yet?" Julia hissed at her.
"What do you want?" Flame growled. "I was this close to touching that gear thingy!"
If Julia was surprised to hear her say that, she didn't show it. Instead, she fell silent, raising a finger to her lips for Flame to be quiet. For some reason, the fact that Julia had left her other hand intertwined with Flame's fingers made the typhlosion feel a small bit of happiness.
Then she heard what Julia had woken her up for. There was a tinny knocking at their window, each knock slow and light. Julia's eyes were firm but they betrayed the fear that she was feeling. Flame nodded at her and let go of Julia's other hand to let her shimmy out of the bed. Flame climbed off the bed, wincing at the squeak, and carefully walked over to the window; in the darkness, Flame could just make out shades drawn over it. Had they done that before they went to bed? She couldn't remember now, but that, along with the knocking, was not making her feel good.
Feeling Julia's comforting presence at her side, Flame grabbed the bottom of the shade and quickly pulled it up. Outside, still knocking, was Fluffy, looking up at them with an innocent-looking smile. Flame drew her lip back in a growl. Fluffy wasn't doing this just to mess with them, that was for certain. There was a reason for it.
As the window wasn't openable, Flame nodded her head to the side, communicating through the glass that they would meet at the front of the building, then dropped the shade. "I'll wake up Fire-Butt, and you put on your shoes. Whatever she wants, we're gonna meet her."
"But you said you couldn't make her come to her senses," Julia reminded her. "Does that mean she's still insane?"
"Yeah." Flame sighed, shooting a glance at the still-sleeping Sir Majestic Tail. "But it's like what you said with Jerome – it's better to end it than have her stalk us for who-knows-how-long."
"Right." Julia nodded firmly and went to put on her shoes and grab her bag while Flame shook Sir Majestic Tail awake.
"Goodness," he muttered sleepily after Flame had explained what was going on, "she is rude enough to awaken us at this hour? What could she possibly want that is so important?" Flame could see hope glimmering faintly in his eyes, but decided to keep her own expectations low. Fluffy had looked far too cheerful to not be out of her mind.
They emerged from the Pokémon Centre, but Fluffy wasn't waiting for them there. She was instead walking away down the road, her paws clasped behind her back. The sky was still dark, but by now, the fires in the city were extinguished and only police officers continued patrolling the streets.
"Hey, Fluffy!" Flame yelled after her retreating figure. "Where do you think you're going? Come back here and tell us what you wanted to say!"
Fluffy glanced back, then stuck out her tongue and kept walking. Lashing the stubby tail that Flame hadn't realized she had, she stomped after Fluffy, Julia and Sir Majestic Tail following behind.
Fluffy's pace increased little by little until she was running away from them. The other three had little choice but to run after her.
"I don't like this," Julia panted to Flame. "This feels like we're running towards a trap."
"Reeks of it," Flame agreed grimly.
We have to finish it, she told herself. It doesn't matter if something bad happens, but we need to end this.
Fluffy's chase led them out of the city and out onto Route 37, which was lined with trees and private residences and full of thick patches of tall grass. Eventually, the flaaffy slowed down and came to a stop. The three others warily stopped a few metres behind her, breathing heavily. Flame scanned the area for a flash of purple behind a tree or bush, but she saw nothing in the darkness. She became aware of the sky not being as dark as it was previously; morning was on its way.
"Whaddaya want?" growled Flame, taking a defensive battle stance beside Julia. Fluffy only smiled again, her distant eyes half-focussing on the three of them.
"You ta die," she replied simply. Her slur had grown more pronounced, and it took Flame a moment to understand what had been said.
But before she could form a response, a barrage of blades made of psychic energy flew at them from behind. Julia shrieked and fell to the ground while Flame and Sir Majestic Tail spun to face their attacker. But no sooner had they turned than they were again struck from behind by another attack. Sir Majestic Tail bucked reflexively but his legs were caught by psychic energy and he was flipped roughly onto his back.
Flame turned again and only saw Jerome's purple uniform for a moment before being lifted and flipped upside-down herself. When she was dropped, she landed on the back of her neck and couldn't get up for a moment due to the intense pain. Jerome shot several more Psycho Cuts at her soft, exposed underbelly and she cried out, trying desperately to flip herself over and curl up protectively.
"What a sorry bunch you are!" Jerome sneered, crossing his arms. "First you run right into what you know is a trap, then you fall to my initial, surprise attack! You really are stupid little shits, aren't you?"
He readied a ball of psychic energy, tossing it in his hand like a basketball as he waited for the three to get up. Flame took Julia by the arm to help her up. The girl's cuts were shallow, but they were numerous and most were dangerously close to her spinal cord. Flame was already bleeding down her front, though her injuries also weren't severe. Sir Majestic Tail seemed to have been battered the worst; one of his hind legs was twisted badly and he held it a little off the ground, as if it hurt too much to set it down.
"Took you long enough to get up!" Jerome hurled the ball of energy at Sir Majestic Tail, who dodged too slow and was struck on the side of the neck. "Are you going to entertain me, or will you all go down like paper boats?"
"You bastard!" Flame roared, clenching her fists. Fire sputtered from the corners of her mouth and she used Flamethrower on Jerome. However, he simply diverted and dissipated the attack with a flick of the wrist.
"Is that the best you got?" he taunted. Flame wasted no time getting into her next attack and used Flame Wheel, rolling at him with more power and speed than she had ever before been capable of. The next thing she knew, however, she was being thrown through the air towards Julia, who quickly leaped out of the way. Flame landed hard on the ground and was winded. As she struggled to get up, she heard the sounds of more attacking and the cries of Julia and Sir Majestic Tail as they were battered.
"Can't you stop him, Fluffy?" yelled Flame, looking at her desperately. The flaaffy grinned and shook her head enthusiastically.
"Watchin' y'all fly all over the place is fun!"
Another Psycho Cut attack at Flame caused her to cry out as the blades cut through her skin. She dropped to all fours and backed away, trying to assess how Julia and Sir Majestic Tail were doing. The ponyta had fainted, his chest covered with multiple gashes. Julia was hardly any better – she was sitting back, trying to catch her breath. Her shirt was stained with splashes of blood.
"Is that it?" Jerome sounded almost disappointed. "I expected so much better from you."
This isn't going to work if we attack one by one! Flame thought. We have to form a plan... Her thoughts trailed off when she remembered that Julia couldn't attack and that Sir Majestic Tail was out of commission. Having no better options, Flame crept in front of Julia to defend her. Jerome looked almost disappointed.
"You really are giving up, aren't you?"
"Shut up!" Flame roared. "We'll never give up! Not to some bastard like you!"
Jerome smirked, as if that was precisely what he wanted to hear. "Then don't." He bowed. "I give up."
Flame stared at him in confusion until Fluffy stepped forwards at last. "I get ta finish y'off," she said, almost proudly.
She blasted all three of them with a powerful discharge of electricity. The crackling energy aggravated Flame's cuts, sending fresh searing pain coursing through her body. When Fluffy let up, Flame collapsed onto the grass, unable to hold herself up any longer. Julia, behind her, was whimpering. Sir Majestic Tail was motionless, lying with his back to Flame.
Oh, Arceus... Did she kill him?!
Another agonizing blast of electricity struck Flame that left her too weak to even hold her head up. She closed her eyes, focussing on breathing.
"Hold on...Flame." Julia's voice was strangled but had an edge of determination to it. "We won't fall...to our friend..."
Tears filled Flame's eyes and, taking in a shaky breath, responded, "She isn't our friend anymore. Fluffy...is gone."
Fluffy bleated her smug disagreement, almost too fragmented for Flame to comprehend her meaning. It was as though she was giving up on language altogether.
Like those feral pokémon in mystery dungeons, Flame thought dimly. That's exactly what she's become, isn't it?
"Fluffy..."
Sir Majestic Tail's weak voice startled Flame and she stared at him as he raised his head. There was a fire burning in his eyes.
Fluffy seemed surprised to see him still alive and she walked over to him to nudge his head with a foot. "Still kickin'?" she slurred, tilting her head curiously. "Huh, lame."
"I know...that you aren't gone yet." It sounded as though each word Sir Majestic Tail spoke took a monumental effort, and he had to take a break to take in thin, quavering breaths. "You're...you're still in there, aren't you."
His words, while phrased like a question, were so resolute and certain that they gave Fluffy pause. Behind her, Jerome tapped his foot impatiently.
"Come on, now, Flaaffy," he said, "hold yourself together long enough to finish the job or I'll have to step in and take your fun from you. Is that really what you want?"
"No way!" Fluffy responded, and stepped back into an offensive position. The orb on the end of her tail lit up, crackling with electricity. Panic took a hold of Flame and she struggled to get to her paws, but Sir Majestic Tail beat her to the punch, startling both her and Fluffy into inaction.
"We both know this...this isn't what you want, Fluffy," Sir Majestic Tail huffed, wobbling on his three good legs like a newborn. "What awaits you down this road, do you think?"
"Alright, now," Jerome began, stepping forward, but Fluffy shooshed him.
"Wait, this is funny," she said, waving him off. Jerome scowled and crossed his arms, glancing off in the direction of the rising sun.
"You're testing my patience."
Flame lay still, all of her muscles bunched with tension. Her strength was beginning to return to her but in an effort to prevent Jerome from learning this she drowned out any thought of that by focussing on Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail. If the latter kept stalling, she might have a chance at beating Fluffy before she killed them all.
"What's fun, what isn't fun…" Sir Majestic Tail went on. "You want to toss aside all your ambition and live your life as — ah!"
His legs gave out under him and he staggered back to the ground. His lowly-simmering flames seemed to pulse with each shallow breath he took, but he kept his eyes stubbornly trained on Fluffy.
"Is reverting to just another feral really how you wish to spend the rest of your life? Throwing aside all ambition, living for meaningless battle against more highly-intelligent lifeforms?"
Fluffy made an angry noise of protest and zapped him — not a powerful shock meant to incapacitate, Flame noticed, but more of a reprimanding zap. Flame didn't dare hope this somehow meant Sir Majestic Tail was getting through to her.
Despite the non-lethal strength of the attack, it still seemed to cause Sir Majestic Tail so much pain he couldn't resume talking for a few moments. Then he wearily raised his head again and chuckled.
"You seem to have...forgotten how to speak," he managed, wincing. "Do you remember words, Fluffykins? You used to love words. Crass words, if I recall correctly. 'Bitch' was a favourite, wasn't it? And 'fuck'. Don't you remember 'fuck'?"
Something about Fluffy's expression changed. The teasing appeared to be getting to her and she looked both angry and confused, like Sir Majestic Tail was telling a joke everyone but her understood.
"You…" she growled, wool doubling in size as it crackled with sparks. "Ponyta…"
That got a weak laugh out of Sir Majestic Tail. "Ponyta? Why the form...formality? Please," he said, and made an approximation of a bow as best he could, "call me Fire-Butt."
The sparks grew brighter, more frenzied, to the point that it became difficult to keep looking at Fluffy. "Fire-Butt?" she said, and then repeated, "Fire-Butt?!"
The certainty had drained out of Sir Majestic Tail's expression. "Don't wear it out too quickly, now…"
"Flame," Julia croaked, crawling up onto her hands and knees, "do something! If you don't, Fluffy will — !"
By this point, Jerome seemed to have finally tired of waiting and he strode forwards. "Fine, if you're going to insist on prolonging this job, I'll just take over from you and do it right."
He'd scarcely gotten the last word out of his mouth when Fluffy suddenly whirled around and grabbed him by both wrists. Then Flame's vision was drowned in white.
Over the course of the few weeks Flame had spent under Julia's care, she had been electrocuted many times. Sure, the majority of those times had been playful — or not-so-playful — shocks from Fluffy, but she'd endured a good deal of attacks that would have been enough to put a grown human out of commission for the next half a year. By now, she figured she knew enough about how electric attacks worked to put even the most seasoned meteorologist out of a job.
Clearly, she'd figured incorrectly.
The only way she could feasibly describe the attack would be that it was as if a massive snow-covered mountain that had been travelling downwards at terminal velocity had just crashed down right in front of them. The resulting shockwave threw Flame backwards into Julia — she'd have the opportunity to fret over whether the collision had severely damaged her fragile human trainer a few moments later when she'd somewhat regained her senses — and the explosively loud blast seemed to rip her eardrums straight from her head. Vaguely, she was aware of sparks scattering over her like falling hail.
Flame's sight was the first sense to return to her, though at first pulsating spots eddied around her field of view, making it difficult to make sense of what she was actually supposed to be seeing. But then the spots began to shrink and blink out of existence and what she was left with was a pair of equally scorched figures — Jerome and Fluffy — standing before her, grappling each other like two skyscraper buildings that had collided with each other on their way down. In her bleary daze, Flame saw Jerome's lips moving as he spoke, but the ringing in her ears blocked out all other sound. It was impossible to tell anything about what he was saying, other than the fact that he looked displeased.
Fluffy, on the other hand, was easier to understand. Her tail was once again lit up, thrashing from side to side like a wrecking ball, and electricity raced across her fur. Her paws, grasping Jerome's hands, were clenched so tight Flame wouldn't have been surprised if his bones were broken into dust by now.
And then there was her expression. The glassy-eyed look she'd previously been wearing had shattered completely, leaving her with nothing but unfiltered fury. There was no doubt her stupor had been thoroughly broken. The sheep had been unleashed.
For her part, there was little Flame could do. Her hearing was gradually coming back to her, the ringing ebbing away bit by bit, but she was still a little too dazed to think clearly. Running on instinct, she scooped up Julia in an arm and scampered a short distance away towards the treeline. Her first priority was protecting her trainer from further harm.
Just as Flame set Julia down next to a tree and was about to run back for Sir Majestic Tail, she felt a tug on her arm. She glanced down at Julia and noticed she was trying to give her something. Two Poké Balls, belonging to Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy.
Julia was trying to say something, but Flame didn't need to hear it to understand what she was meant to do. She took the Balls, gave a quick nod, and rushed back to the scene of the battle. Jerome and Fluffy had by now broken their deadlock and they were using their respective preferred methods of movement to circle around each other, trading blows. It seemed, for the moment, that Jerome had forgotten about the others he'd been fighting.
When Flame held up the Poké Ball belonging to Sir Majestic Tail, the ponyta for a moment made hurried protests that only just barely graced Flame's ears.
Maybe I should ask Fluffy to deafen me more often, Flame thought as she nevertheless returned Sir Majestic Tail to the safety of the capsule. I could use a break from Sir Majestic Tail's babbling every now and then.
But after she'd rolled the Poké Ball backwards in Julia's direction, she was faced with a dilemma. Fluffy, in her awakened rage, appeared to be at least matching Jerome's attacks. She was bleeding from her flank and cheek, but Jerome too was starting to look battered and his teleportations were growing less frequent. If Flame recalled Fluffy now, Jerome might get a chance to recover, and Flame and Julia were certainly in no state to fight him off. But the longer the battle continued, the higher the probability that Jerome would land a fatal blow on Fluffy. Lost on what to do, with the tinnitus in her brain still drowning out most discernible sounds, Flame stood paralyzed, only able to continue staring at the combatants.
Then, out of the corner of her vision, she spotted a flick of red hair among the trees. She turned her head to the side and she gasped inwardly when her eyes met those of her former trainer. Noah stood half-hidden behind a nearby tree, caught in the act of slinking closer to the site of the battle. Mixed emotions of fear and relief swept through Flame and she almost didn't realize that he was gesturing at the Poké Ball she held in her paw. She looked down at it, then held it up slightly and gave him a look as if to ask, 'This one?'
Noah nodded, then both looked and pointed towards Fluffy, who was currently striking back at Jerome's psychic parries with electrified punches. Flame stared at her, then looked back at the Poké Ball.
Is he trying to tell me to ball her? But why should I trust him of all people when —
But then she remembered what Julia had told her last night, about how Noah appeared to have led the resistance against Team Fury, and she forcibly shoved aside all of her misgivings. There might not be much time to get the maximum number of people out of this situation alive and Noah at least seemed to have some kind of plan. She could question how he knew to come out here in the first place later. Without giving herself a chance to reconsider, Flame lifted her arm and returned Fluffy to her Poké Ball.
Time stood still. Noah's red hair flashed back out of sight, leaving Jerome the only person in Flame's field of vision. He was paused in mid-Psycho Cut, staring blankly at the spot Fluffy had just occupied. His clothes were a torn, singed mess, and he stood hunched over, breathing hard. It was a wonder he was even still standing. Flame was sure she wouldn't have been able to take that Thunder attack Fluffy had landed on him.
Slowly, Jerome's gaze rose to meet Flame and he looked around, noticing for the first time that everyone else had left. After a moment, he began to chuckle.
"You must think you're such a clever girl," he said. His dry croak of a voice was clearly audible despite the lingering tinnitus. Flame sorely wished she didn't have to listen to it.
He went on, "Recalling your friend before either of us could finish off the other. It must make you think so highly of yourself."
Flame held her ground, bristling. She didn't know if Julia was watching them from the trees, or if she'd done the smart thing and hidden herself from view. Not that it mattered when the enemy was capable of reading your thoughts. Flame had just unwittingly told him exactly where to look.
"I'll certainly handle her in a moment," Jerome confirmed, taking a shambling step forwards, "but let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?"
For each step Jerome took towards Flame, she took a step back. Her body ached all over and she felt woozy from blood loss. If it came to it, she'd fight, but she didn't know how long she'd last.
Keep focussing on the pain, she told herself, keeping her gaze fixed on Jerome. Focus on Jerome. Don't give him any more information than you have to.
"I'm afraid, my dear, that whatever tricks you think you have up your sleeve are out of reach." Jerome was raising his hands now and they began to glow with a faint magenta aura. "Set down the Poké Ball, who don't you? Let's play. Your life for your trainer's safety. Does that sound fun to you?"
"Not gonna lie," Flame said as she felt psychic blades materialize right behind her, their sharp edges pressing into her back and preventing her from continuing to move away, "it sounds like a real shitty game."
Jerome barked out a laugh, a frenzied expression twisting his facial features. "That's what I thought you'd say, you limp-dicked —"
Fortunately, Flame didn't have to suffer through the rest of his insult. A pair of hands reached up from behind Jerome's neck and gently laid themselves on either side of his face. Jerome only looked surprised for a second before his head was sharply twisted to the side, accompanied by a cracking sound. The blades behind Flame dissipated as Jerome's body toppled to the ground. Standing now in the place where Jerome had stood was Noah, face as impassive as ever. Flame stared, still trying to process what had just happened.
"Hmph."
Noah looked down at the body and for a moment he looked disgusted.
"All that bravado and prejudice, and your life is ended by a simple normal-type attack."
Flame blinked at Jerome, then looked up at Noah. "What…" she began hesitantly. "...what normal-type attack?"
Noah didn't respond immediately, instead reaching into his pants pocket to retrieve a Poké Ball. That was when Flame noticed two things: for one thing, Noah had traded his Team Fury garb for a pair of simple grey jeans and a rust-coloured zip-up hoodie. Like this, he just looked like a normal trainer again, which was a bit reassuring.
The other thing she noticed was that the Poké Ball Noah held was hers. That was markedly less reassuring.
"It's called snapping a douche's neck," Noah said and pressed the button on the Poké Ball. Flame remembered dropping Fluffy's Ball and her vision filling with red, and then there was nothing.