Ch.33: Balancing Act! Flee the Harbinger of Death!
"Hey Ella! Check this out!"
Ella opened one eye as she lay curled up on Abby's bed. The Medicham in question pulled back on a handmade slingshot with a pie loaded into it. On the other end of the room, Carrie and Cheri wore smocks and armed themselves with umbrellas. They covered the entire wall behind them with a protective sheet.
Abby pulled the slingshot back until it was at maximum tension. "I hope Faye likes the improvements I made on the slingshot. This'll give some real kick to our next show."
Ella flashed a lazy grin. "And what act requires a pie-loaded slingshot?"
"The kind that also includes the first row audience." Abby released the band and fired the pie into the girls.
They deployed their umbrellas and braced themselves. The pie splattered off, hitting some of the covered wall behind them. The impact caused Cheri to teeter on her heels and fall on her back.
"Ow," Cheri groaned. Some cream dripped off the ceiling and landed in her open mouth. She smacked her lips, then beamed. "Ooh! That tastes good!"
Abby rubbed her knuckles against her chest. "Brilliant engineer and even better baker! Add that to my impressive resume."
Carrie giggled. "Maybe you should takeover Faye's job."
"Oh please, there's nothing that could take her away from working the prop department. Though, I wouldn't mind working as an assistant." Abby picked up another pie and loaded it in. "Alright, let's test it again!"
Ella laughed and sat up to stretch. "You girls certainly know how to use your time wisely." She clambered off the bed and headed for the door. "I'm grabbing a drink. You three want anything?"
"We're good!" they exclaimed before Abby launched the second pie into the girls. This one threw both Cheri and Carrie to the ground. "Woohoo!"
Ella rolled her eyes and stepped out. She remembered doing stupid stuff like that with Wes and Flint. Perhaps not shooting pies at each other, but stupid stuff like getting into mini misadventures in their village before they started out treasure hunting. There was always some chaos to enjoy whenever the Ravenfield family was involved. It sucked everyone into the excitement like an inescapable black hole. There just wasn't a point to getting out of a Ravenfield fiasco.
Thinking about her two childhood friends, Ella frowned, feeling a fraction of the long separation from the team. She didn't bawl her eyes out the first night or anything, but it felt like something was removed from her and left behind a void until it was refilled. Beyond recent contact with Griffin, she had no way of confirming everyone else's safety. She had no reason to fear the worst, but it'd be nice to hear their voices for some reassurance.
She shook those thoughts aside and quickened her pace between trailers. They had a precious couple of days before they'll meet Seth, where Ella will obtain the Key of Darkness. Nervous as she was, she will dedicate her complete focus into completing Seth's trial and earning that key.
Ella closed in on the kitchen trailer and proceeded to open the door, but stopped as she sensed a psychic frequency coming from the rooftop behind her. So deep in thought she was, she just barely noticed that someone was on the roof. Curious, Ella levitated herself on top of the moving caravan to get a look.
Upon landing, she found Ava sitting in a meditative posture, staring back at the retreating road. She didn't seem to notice Ella even as her claws clicked against the metal roof. Ella approached Ava and waved her paw in front of her face. She snapped her digits a couple times, but didn't get a response from that either.
"Freaky," Ella mumbled. She grabbed Ava's shoulders and gently shook her. "Madame Ava, are you okay? Is this some sort of psychic training?"
It took a moment, but Ava eventually pulled from her trance and gasped. "W-What?" She faced Ella, then sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you."
"Sorry."
"It's alright." Ava stood up and rubbed her head. "Forgive me, I was…preoccupied."
Ella tilted her head. "I can tell. You've been acting off since yesterday. Is everything alright?"
"For once, I'm unsure, and that could be the source of my troubles." Ava glared. "You're familiar with a gut feeling, right? Something's about to go wrong, but everything seems normal."
Ella rolled her eyes. "Plenty of experiences with those. Why do you ask?"
"I didn't want to worry you over nothing, but I suppose I should explain. I had a particularly troubling conversation with Cheri yesterday. She said she sensed something following the caravan. Naturally, I tried to look into it with my third eye, but…" Ava bit her lip. "I…can't explain why, but I can't see anything."
Ella squinted. "What do you mean?"
"When I look at you, I can see a myriad of futures just fine. But when I focus in the distance, something's interfering with my senses. Cheri swears to sense something, but no effort of mine can detect a trace of malicious forces."
"Is that so?" Ella rubbed her chin for a moment, then gasped. "Wait, you said Cheri sensed this? Does that mean Cheri has magic?!"
"Given who her father is, it doesn't surprise me. I imagine the entirety of the Sapienti line is blessed with hyper-perceptive vision. Still, I can't shake this dark feeling that we're being followed. Cheri's young, but her observations can't be ignored, especially with this fault in my future telling."
Ella looked out at the road and glared. "You don't suppose it's a shadow, right?"
"Cheri confirmed as much from her observations, but I don't know how one's hiding a presence that strong. It should be obvious, right in my face."
Ella stepped closer to the edge, anchoring herself down with telekinesis. She glared down the road. "Well, I don't see anything. Maybe the trip's messing with you two."
Ava crossed her arms. "I don't know. Admittedly, I felt like I did see something yesterday, but it was so brief. And familiar. I think…I may have seen in back in your village the same day we arrived."
"We were there for days, though. Why wait to attack?"
"That's what has me on edge. I don't know what we're dealing with or if it's real. Whatever the case, if there's a shadow interfering with my senses, I won't be able to sense where it'll strike from."
Ella shrugged. "Well, I doubt it's anywhere close to us. The shadows may be shadows, but they're not subtle."
Ava bit her lip. "The Tribe of Shadows has been getting experimental with these creatures, though. What could they produce next that we haven't seen?"
Back inside the caravan, Angel and Nebula were enjoying each other's company in the dining trailer. Angel sipped on some juice while Nebula helped herself to a midmorning martini. She twirled the glass delicately in her flippers while listening to Angel's story.
"…I tell you, the effort I went through to drag Leroy out for a night on the town was more exhausting than raising two kids, and that's saying a lot. That man knew fun about as well as I knew how to stop being funny."
Nebula smirked. "Someone's being modest."
"What can I say? I could crack open a group of Exeggcute with my egg-cellent jokes."
"Heh. I'm pretty sure Exeggcute are seeds, not eggs. Then again, a fish evolves into an octopus, an egg can turn into a palm tree." Nebula sipped her martini. "I'm amazing you gave your husband a second chance."
"He had his rough patches, and he could've done better to temper the waters after he left, but he made an honest effort." Angel frowned. "I hope he's doing alright."
"Where do you suppose he is?"
"When we last spoke, he promised me he would keep an eye on Tony." Angel looked down into her drink. "I worry about that boy. I hope he isn't getting into too much trouble."
Nebula shrugged. "Tony's a good kid at heart. He was raised by you, after all."
"Adding onto my modest ego?" Angel joked.
"I'll be generous and not share my actual views of your ego."
"Touché." Angel clinked her glass against Nebula's and sipped her juice.
Nebula rested her chin in her flipper and looked out the window. She held the martini glass up to her lips as she let her eyes mindlessly wander the passing hills and grass. She stopped, however, when a particular clicking sounded just outside the window. It sounded like hooves clacking off the ground, like the Tauros leading the caravan. But the trailer they sat in was too far away to hear such sounds.
Nebula leaned toward the window and tried to get a peek, but saw nothing beyond the passing earth. She shrugged and sat back in her seat. "Probably nothing." She resumed sipping her martini.
Click, click, click!
Nebula put her glass down, whipping her head the window. She definitely heard it that time. She set her glass down and unlatched the window. Angel put her juice down and scrunched her face at Nebula's irritable scowl.
"Something wrong?" Angel asked.
"I think someone's outside." She shook her sleeve a bit and produced three throwing knives into her flipper. "Can't be too careful."
She pushed the window up, then leaned her head out. The air rushed against the back of her head. Her ears flapped like flags on a breezy afternoon. She pushed them out of her face and looked around both sides of the caravan. Though the wind could drown out sound, the clicking sounded close by behind the closed window. Now, aside from the whistling wind, there was silence.
Nebula narrowed her eyes. "Hmm…"
Angel reached over the table and tugged on Nebula's sleeve. "Dear, you shouldn't be hanging your head out like that. You could get hurt."
"I'm fine," Nebula barked over the sailing air. She scanned the passing road a second time, her expression morphing into that of confusion. "I could've sworn I heard something. An equine Pokémon or something."
"It's been a long day," Angel said, trying to pull Nebula back in. "Now please come back inside."
Nebula sighed. "Well, I don't sense any immediate danger, so I guess—"
Click, click, click!
Nebula's eyes widened. The clicking sounds returned, and they came directly from her left. But that was impossible. There was no one outside. It couldn't be invisibility, either. The loud clicking indicated hearty stomps against the ground, yet there was no indication of disturbed earth despite how fast the caravan moved. How could she hear something that wasn't there?
"Nebula, what's wrong?" Angel asked, now becoming worried.
"I don't know, but I think we need to find Ava." Nebula started to pull herself back in, but stopped when she looked into the caravan's shadow.
The sun shined on the caravan's left side, thus creating a long shadow on the right side, where they were. Normally, this wouldn't matter at all to Nebula and be written off as nothing, but the last several months have kept her alert of the shade, almost to a paranoid obsession. If there's one thing she knew about shadows, they could mold and blend their bodies against any dark surface with ease.
When did shadows have hooves?
Nebula looked ahead at the open road, spotting the mountain range they'll be crossing in time. Somewhere with blind spots waiting to be ambushed from. If an enemy were following them, it'd be the perfect place to execute them.
"Angel," Nebula voiced cautiously, producing more knives from her sleeve. "Get Ava. Right now."
"W-Why?" Angel muttered.
"I sense an uneasy feeling in the air. I think we're—" Nebula looked back down the road.
Her heart stopped for a fraction of a second as a large, muscular arm coated in shadows emerged from the caravan wall, gripping a massive broadsword engulfed in a dark haze. The arm reared the sword back, then swung for the window.
"Angel, DOWN!" Nebula kicked off the wall and produced a bubble barrier.
The sword smashed into the wall and unleashed a torrent of black flames through the trailer. The girls screamed as everything became engulfed around them, save for the space behind the bubble barrier. Nebula's barrier redirected the flames into the ceiling, no doubt burning a hole clean through. Everything from furniture to carpet to lanterns burned away into ash. No heat produced from the flames, only pure destruction.
Ava and Ella whipped their heads around as the caravan jostled from a strong impact, followed by a whirlwind of black fire shooting out of a trailer four rooftops in front of them.
"What the?!" Ella cried.
Ava growled. "I knew it." She raced over to the trailer with Ella tagging close behind.
The flames let up after a few seconds, with nothing but blackened ash and a giant hole torn through both sides of the trailer. Nebula immediately grabbed Angel's hand and pulled her out the door, all while glaring at the menacing aura radiating from the other side of the wall.
What…is that thing?
They stepped out onto the interlocking bridge right as Ava and Ella jumped over. Ava stopped and looked down at them. "Are you okay?!"
"Barely!" Nebula barked. "There's a shadow hanging outside the trailer!"
Ava summoned her swords constructs. "Ella, tell Vince what's going on. We need to disconnect the trailer and reattach the rest."
"While we're moving?!" Ella gasped.
Ava bared her teeth. "I don't think we're in any position to stop. Nebula, inform the troupe to gather into the prop room! That's the safest trailer for right now!"
Nebula nodded. "I'll come back to help!" She pulled Angel through the unharmed trailer.
"What about you?" Ella asked.
Ava crossed her swords. "I'm going to kindly remove our unwanted guest." She jumped down into the burnt trailer.
Ella just sighed and raced to the front of the caravan. Be careful.
Once she landed, Ava stabbed through the walls and tore the singed wood off. She stood close to the edge and pointed into the shadows. "Don't bother hiding yourself, I know you're there. If you want to fight, I'll gladly be your opponent."
"Ava…Young."
A cold surge shot up through her body. The voice came not from in front of her, but behind her. She spun around, raising her swords, and glared up at the gargantuan figure staring her down. The upper torso of a knight assimilated to the back of a demonic horse, both wrapped in a layer of shadow. He possessed a broad frame, powerful muscles contained by its suit of armor. She felt his sinister eyes peering at her through his helmet grate.
Ava stepped back, but remembered she had an inch of space between floor and fast-moving ground. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stare down the significantly taller monster.
"Know who I am?" Ava asked, tightening her grip.
"You are…marked for death," the knight stated in a whispery tone.
"Kind of figured. I must say, you're quite different to the other possessions I've faced. You actually look and sound…intelligent."
"Death is my name, and Death is my purpose." His eyes blazed through the helmet grate. "You have been marked. You will die by my hands only."
"Lovely," Ava growled. "May I offer a different proposal? Greater Agility!"
She sprung onto the ceiling, slashing through the nuckelavee knight's neck in an instant. She kicked off the ceiling and slammed her leg down on his head. Once she landed, she threw both fists into his chest plate and delivered a psychic shockwave that threw him through the torched roof.
"Gentle Step: Calm Breaker!" Ava thrusted her palm and struck the knight higher into the air with an invisible wave. She conjured a spear construct and reared it back. "Stay out of my caravan, you—"
Ava barely caught the blade swinging right into her peripheral vision. She dropped down, feeling the blade breeze over her head. However, she was wide open for a two-hooved kick to the side, throwing her across the trailer and smashing halfway through the wall.
She collapsed onto her knees and massaged her side. Upon looking up, she gasped as the nuckelavee knight approached her, wielding a broadsword in each hand. "W…What? But I sent you flying. I was looking right at you." She looked out of the trailer and saw a vague, black cloud dissipating in the air. "What…?"
Death charged and swung his swords down. Ava jumped out of the trailer as the sword tore into the wall. The shock through the trailer caused the remainder of the walls and ceiling to collapse, leaving only a charred floor to stand on. Ava landed on the connected trailer and backed away.
Was I fighting a clone? Can he teleport? What's going on? She narrowed her eyes to focus on the knight's aura, but something was wrong. Though he was clearly below her, her magic sense told her there was nothing there. He couldn't be suppressing his aura for no reason at the moment. There was just no point. In fact, she didn't sense anything when he attacked her. How is something with that much magic power not giving off a reading—
Ava cried out as two swords bashed into her exposed back and chucked her over the destroyed trailer, landing on the other side of the caravan. She gripped into the roof to keep from falling, then looked ahead to see the knight now on the opposing rooftop.
He was in my direct line of sight. How was he able to—
A hoof stomped down on her back and crushed her into the roof. Ava screamed as the hoof grinded into her spine, pressing all its weight down on her. The knight ambushed her yet again, except he was still standing where he was a second prior in clear view.
W-What? Ava blinked a couple times through involuntary tears, then the figure vanished, leaving only the one stepping on her. Are these illusions? What…is this thing? She spat blood onto the roof and panted. I can't tell…what it's doing.
Death grinded his hoof down on her back. "Death comes for all." He raised his broadswords, no doubt to cut her head off like a pair of scissors. Ava tried to summon a sword, but he merely pressed more weight down to break her concentration.
Right before he swung down, a flash of teal shot from ahead and sniped the knight's head. Ava looked up in time to see Ella flying over the caravan in a field of psychic energy. "Get your hoof off my teacher!"
She landed a powerful dropkick against his head, but his frame proved too rigid to budge, causing her to bounce off. She flipped through the air and fired a myriad of psychic bolts into him. Death remained unfazed and summoned a javelin, chucking it into Ella.
Ella casted a psychic bubble right as the javelin struck. It shattered the bubble and threw her across the rooftop. However, with the knight distracted, Ava called on her Guardian from below. "Remove this thing!" Ava commanded.
The Guardian threw an uppercut into the knight's chin, forcing him off of Ava. Once she rolled onto her feet, the Guardian pummeled the knight with a barrage of punches. He raised one arm to defend himself, then whistled. His steed neighed with a hideous cry and snorted black flames into the Guardian.
The Guardian jumped back, blocking the flames with its arms. Ava looked at her own as a heatless sizzling bubbled over on her skin. She looked back at her Guardian as its outer shell disintegrated into ashy chunks.
Ella raced over to Ava's side. "What is that thing?"
"I'm not sure, but it's nothing like the possessed Pokémon we've faced," Ava deduced. She glared at it. "This is the thing that's been messing with my senses. I'm looking right at it, but I can't see a magical aura, much less see a future pathway for it."
Ella glared. "Strange. I can sense its presence through the air currents in my fur. Maybe it's blocking magic?"
"One more thing," Ava grunted. "I'm not sure how, but this thing has instantaneous teleportation of some kind."
"Lovely."
Death glared between the two, his red eyes billowing with a flame like aura through his grate. He set his sights on Ella. "Ella…Cipher."
Ella grimaced. "Oh great, it knows my name."
"You will be marked for Death."
Ella pulled out Daybreak and transformed it into its staff form. "Can I take an IOU instead?" She rocketed forward and slammed her staff across Death's face. The air cracked with from a solid strike to the temple. She landed on the horse's head, spun the staff with her hindlegs, and cracked it across Death's neck. "I have you marked for a butt kicking—"
Death grabbed her neck and slammed her into the roof. Ella choked out drops of blood and dropped Daybreak over the roof, barely catching it in a weak telekinetic field. She clenched her teeth and scanned the knight. She realized something off about his appearance. Those attacks of hers could've snapped the neck of a weak possessed Pokémon, or seriously cripple the stronger ones.
This thing didn't have a single scratch on him. In fact, did her attacks even register? Did the actual impact do anything do this thing beyond gently pushing his head?
Ava was doing damage, wasn't she? What am I doing wrong?
Death sharpened his fingers into claws. "Death is the only certainty."
Ella sneered. "Listen edgelord, you can shove your medieval goth shtick right up your—" Her eyes widened as a red blaze burst from them. A reflection of his own. "W-What the—"
Death swung his claws down, but Ava finally caught her breath and intervened. She slashed Death's hand aside, then kicked him off of Ella. Death teetered against the edge of the caravan, but his massive hooves couldn't find ground and caused him to slip over the edge. Ava flinched as the whole caravan jostled, like they ran over a rock. Or a meaty leg.
She helped Ella back to her feet. "Are you okay?"
Ella rubbed her eyes and blinked a couple times. "What…was that about?"
"Did he hurt you?"
"I don't know what he did to me, but it felt weird." She looked back to see where the nuckelavee was. "There's no way that killed him, though I'll sleep better if we ran over his neck."
Ava patted Ella off, but stopped when she noticed something hidden under her jacket, right on Ella's right shoulder. She pulled the jacket down, showing Ella off in her form-fitting black tank top. Ella gasped. "Hey, what are you—"
"Ella, did you always have that tattoo?"
"Tattoo?" Ella checked her shoulder and saw the black mark printed into her fur coat. An hourglass with skeletal batwings. "I've…never seen that before in my life." She rubbed her digit against it. "Ugh, my beautiful fur. Ruined by some ugly—"
Ava grabbed Ella's tank top and lurched her back, narrowly avoided a sword swipe that cut a few hairs off Ella's cheek. The girls tumbled across the rooftop, then looked up as Death loomed over them once again, looking no worse than before, like he wasn't trampled under thousands of pounds of cargo.
Ella's solid white pupil shrunk to the size of a pinprick. "W…What? I didn't even sense his presence. M-My fur can detect changes in the air. Teleportation sneak attacks should be impossible on me! H-How did he—"
"Death comes for all," the knight whispered as he approached the girls.
Ava felt an inkling of suspicion. "Marked…for death. Wait a minute!" She undid her robe and pulled the shoulder down. She stretched her shirt collar over her shoulder and saw, imbedded in her bare skin, was the same tattoo Ella was cursed with. "Oh. Oh shit."
"What?" Ella muttered, still keeping her eyes on the advancing monster.
"He marked us. He literally marked us with something."
"Oh great, good to know—marked us with what?!" Ella snapped.
Ava pushed herself up and scowled. "I'm not sure yet, but it definitely has something to do with our senses not working right. It's like he's completely invisible to anything beyond the five basic senses."
He must've marked me earlier. Was it in the village when I first saw him? But wait, if he marked both of us, why didn't he mark Cheri? She was the only other person detecting his presence. Maybe it's because she's a child, but she was watching him intensely the other day. None of the other magic users on board are experienced enough to detect from far ranges like me, so why not Cheri?
She couldn't spend much time dwelling on the thought as Death bent his hindlegs and catapulted forward at alarming speed. Ava called upon her Guardian and had it blocked the knight's swords. Ava summoned her own sword and sliced it across his helmet before jumping back.
Ella snapped out of her daze and summoned Daybreak back to her. She jumped and cracked the staff across the knight. However, unlike earlier where her attacks seem ineffective, they managed to knock the knight back with visible force. "What the—" Ella murmured before jumping away from a sword slash.
Death's horse flared up and exhaled black flames from its nostrils. Ava and Ella casted a psychic barrier and blocked the flames. They dispersed off the shield, but spread throughout the roof and ate it away like the previous trailer.
With a growl, Ava asked, "You told Vince what's going on, right?"
"Had to paraphrase, but yeah!" Ella yelled. "Do you know how we're going to detach the destroyed trailer and reattach the others?"
"With this thing breathing down on our necks, it'll be next to impossible—" Ava suddenly got a bad feeling when the knight stopped attacking. "Wait—" She turned at the last second and barely blocked a sword strike. It still caught her off guard and threw her through the barrier and into the effigy of Death, which crumbled to dust.
"Ava!" Ella cried out. She switched her focus onto Death and snarled. "You slippery bastard!" She rocketed up and kicked him right in the chin. "How do you like that? Psionic Blast!"
Ella's gem lit up and unleashed a concentrated burst of psychic energy into Death, throwing him across the caravan. Ella prepared her next attack, but a hoof came down on her head from above and smashed her back into the caravan.
Ava picked herself up just as a sword suddenly appeared in her line of vision. She barely deployed her Guardian's arm to sponge the hit, but it still threw her across the caravan. She tumbled over the edge, but grabbed the edge of a window in time.
Dust kicked up from the wheels and blew into her face. She pulled her robe of her mouth and coughed into it. "The shadows went all out with these things. These aren't just normal possessed Pokémon with quirky behaviors. These things were designed to be weapons."
Click, click, click!
Ava whipped her head around and saw Death galloping alongside the caravan. She pulled her legs up as the horse huffed black smoke at her feet. Death sheathed his broadswords and pulled out one of his lances. Ava could tell from its slender end and finely sharpened tip that one critical hit from that would splatter her guts inside and outside of her body.
Death thrusted the lance at her back. Ava put her strength through her arms and forced herself up enough to barely avoid impalement. It pierced through the window, even grazing her hand. With the dust and fragments in the air, she felt an unbearable stinging from the wound.
"I'm not letting you destroy any more of my home!" Still gripping to the window, she convulsed her body outward and kicked Death in the helmet. It staggered him enough to take a few steps away from the moving vehicle. Ava tensed her grip and arm strength to throw herself back onto the caravan rooftop before rushing to Ella.
The Espeon pulled her face out of the roof and shook her head. "What did my beautiful face deserve this for?" She dragged her forearm across her nose and revolted at the red smear left behind. "Ugh…"
Ava bent down and helped her up. "Ella, hang on. We need to get you inside—"
Ella happened to turn just in time to see Death fade into existence behind Ava. "Duck!" She hooked her foreleg around Ava and pulled her down just as Death's sword swung down. It missed Ava's neck, but tore through her back instead.
"AAAAHHH!" Ava cried.
Death thrusted his sword down, but Ella accelerated herself away with Ava in tow. They soared up the caravan and got about five carts away from him. Ella lay Ava on her stomach, then charged up her gem.
"Psy-Shriek!" Ella screamed, her voice crackling through the air with a psionic aura.
Death raced down the caravan, but stopped to block her mind-splitting shriek. Unfortunately for him, her intention wasn't to harm his body, but his balance. On a moving caravan like this, balance was important above all else. For a circus troupe, it was nothing. Of course, the eardrums served a vital purpose in that.
Death and his horse felt their ear canals exploding violently. The subtle shifts of the caravan's movement began to register as they tumbled around. The horse spread its legs to maintain a semblance of balance.
Seeing her chance to strike, Ella rocketed forward and charged herself a modest, but strong dose of psychic energy before torpedoing into the knight with an explosive dropkick. The air sparkled with a brief teal veil before Death went flying away.
She didn't celebrate, however. She saw Death the moment he teleported behind Ava earlier. She noticed a strange pattern with his teleportation. Almost always, whenever he randomly appeared near them, he was always out of sight. Perhaps the marks she and Ava now bared were trackers for his teleportation, but he could only appear out of their line of vision. Ella must've only saw him fading in because he teleported to Ava's location. Ava didn't see him, but Ella could.
Could that also apply to omnidirectional senses? It's a secondary effect, then. It blocks supernatural senses, granting this behemoth teleportation powers for potential one-shot executions. Still, that didn't sound like the full extent of their purpose. They can do something else, she knew it, but what? And why go after a handful of targets who could fight back?
Regardless, Death's teleportation had a slight tell, she noticed. What was left behind wasn't a clone, but a haze in the vague shape of Death. A smoke cloud that kept its shape just long enough to throw off a target.
So, the moment she saw the flying nuckelavee's body unravel into smoke…
Ella casted a bubble shield and braced herself as two swords slammed down and bashed her through the roof. She landed in what she guessed was Ava and Vince's master bedroom on account of the pictures she landed on. She rolled away just before Death slammed down into the room.
He wasted no time throwing a spear into Ella's bubble, popping it and throwing her to the far wall. His horse scuffed its hooves and charged at her as he pulled out both his lances.
Ella closed her eyes and teleported out of the way, causing Death to skewer the wall. She reappeared behind him and fired a quick blast into his back before fleeing to the other side of the room, back pressed against the wall.
I bet he has to teleport within a certain range of me, too. If I limit where he can appear, I can counterattack.
Death pulled his lances free and faced Ella. His eyes blazed brighter. "Death comes for all."
"I've heard in a million times already," Ella growled. She clapped her paws and split Daybreak into seven batons. "Here's a new tune!" The batons rocketed at Death, propelling with psychic bursts.
Four battered into the knight, throwing him off balance. However, when the remaining three struck, they passed through his body. Ella's eyes immediately flew around the room for any sign of him, but nothing yet. He couldn't be below, and she couldn't hear him up top. That only left—
"Behind the wall!" Ella leapt forward, narrowly avoiding two broadswords cutting through the wall.
Death sliced and ripped the wall open, sending the pieces scattering into the passing road. His horse exhaled black flames through the room. Ella casted a forcefield in front of herself and watched half the room go up in flames. She tightened the bubble around herself to guarantee Death couldn't hit her with any surprise attacks.
Now I've got you!
When Death teleported, Ella pulled off a little sleight of hand, so to speak. Daybreak's batons flew through the hole in the ceiling and waited for Death to reveal his position. She focused all seven batons to bash Death from his right side and throw him off the caravan gap.
Death tipped over, but jammed his claws into the door frame to keep from falling. Shadows exploded from his palm, taking the shape of a large boomerang. Rearing his arm back, he chucked the weapon into the air, then conjured a spear.
Once the flames parted, Ella prepared her next attack. Death threw the spear, but Ella fired a psychic beam that rent the spear and blasted Death in the chest, throwing him against the next trailer.
Ella smirked. "Got you…now?" Her ears perked up to something approaching from outside. "Huh?" Her eyes widened as she caught the boomerang in the window flying toward her. "What the—"
She jumped back and narrowly avoided being cut in two. The boomerang sliced through the entire trailer. Not even like a perfect cut, but the kind that tore the surrounding matter to shreds. Bits of metal and wood flying through the air, splintery fragments sticking out from the cut frames, and a horrible grinding sound in one move.
Worst of all, with the trailer split in half, Ella's side steadily gained distance away from the other trailers as her side was the one still being pulled by the Tauros. The distance didn't bother Death as he formed a crossbow and aimed it at Ella.
She clenched her teeth and conjured energy from her gem. "Crap…"
Everyone gathered in the prop room felt the entire caravan shook from an attack. They huddled together and covered their heads with anything they could grab. Garland held on to the side of a cannon and cried, "I'm too pretty to die!"
Susan and Micah gripped onto each other, tears streaming from their eyes. "We don't want to die!" they cried.
Faye bent down and grabbed the electric pair. "No one's going to die, I promise! We'll be fine."
Nebula grunted as she tried to balance herself against a giant block. "Ava and Ella have been out there for Arceus knows how long. I'm not liking the way this is turning out."
Cheri kept close to her mom, Abby, Carrie, and Charlie, gripping her mom's dress for comfort. "I knew something bad was going to happen."
Angel, though in distress as well, gently rubbed her head while rocking Charlie in her other arm. "It'll be fine, Cheri. Have faith in Madame Ava and Ella."
Abby squinted, noticing something wrong subsequent to the loud crash. She knelt down and felt the floor. Her eyes widened. "Oh crap."
"What?" the Tranquil, Tucker, asked nervously.
"I…think we're slowing down."
"Slowing down?!" Garland gasped. "Did something happen to Vince?!"
"Dad?!" Carrie gasped.
Abby glared. "No, I think that crash we heard was the trailers getting disconnected. We're completely separated from our transport!"
Angel gasped. "Oh no!"
"We're going to die!" Garland cried.
Faye slapped the Simipour across the face. "Get it together, man! We're not going to die!"
"How are we going to get back on the road?! We're sitting ducks!"
Nebula's glare tightened. "Not entirely." She slid for the door. "Garland, Faye! You two set up propulsion glyphs and whatever we have to get this thing moving!"
"There's no way that's enough power to move this whole caravan!" Faye yelled.
"We don't need to move it far, just enough!" Nebula threw the door open. "I'm going to reattach the trailers!"
"How?!"
Nebula threw a smirk over her shoulder. "With a little tomfoolery." She slammed the door shut behind her.
Everyone stared at the door in confusion. Faye shook herself off first and grabbed Garland. "Well, you heard her! Help me set up the glyphs!" She pointed to the clown twins. "Micah, Susan! Grab the fireworks! Everyone else, sit tight!" Her team scattered around the prop room.
Carrie huddled up to Angel and sniffled. "I hope Mom and Dad are okay…"
"I'm sure they are," Angel assured, though she wasn't feeling too confident by her tone.
Cheri kept looking out where Nebula left with a worried grimace. She could sense the overwhelming power of their attacker in the distance, and nothing seemed to deter them. "Ella. Ms. Ava."
Thinking back, in the stress of the situation, she thought back to something Tony said to her a long time ago, when he left their old village.
"Now it's your turn to hold the torch. I'm trusting you to take care of Mom for me while I'm gone. You can take care of yourself, right?"
Cheri balled her fist, eyes glistening with tears. "Tony. I'll protect Mom, just like I promised. I'll…I'll protect everyone, just like how you'll protect us, no matter what."
Ella panted, quivering under the weight of her body as fatigue set in. Had she not trained her defensive abilities so feverishly, a number of injuries would've cropped up. Concussion, broken bones, caved skulled, organ rupture; any number of things that could've felled a normal Pokémon like her. No, instead, she opted for unbearable aches in her limbs, bruising, and the disgraceful disrespect dealt to her fur.
The arrows sticking out of her body didn't help much, either.
Her fight with Death found its way back onto the rooftops. Vince had only just stopped once he realized what happened, though couldn't do much but cower in his driver booth, knowing any interference on his part meant possible death. Thankfully for him, at least, Death focused his attention solely on Ella.
Ella forced the arrows out of her body with telekinesis and snapped them, dissolving back into shadows. Blood trickled from her wounds, staved off from worsening with psychic application. Of course, focusing on maintaining her wounds didn't leave a lot of options for concentration.
Ella backed away as Death advanced. "You know, you seemed interest in getting my and Madame Ava's attentions. I recommend a different approach to picking up women. Sure, some will swoon over the edgy or the goth, but you're taking this medieval torture theme to levels some masochists would call you out on."
"You quiver in the face of Death," Death stated coldly.
"It's less quivering and more self-preservation. Then again, I doubt you fully grasp the joys of being shot with arrows."
Death pulled out his broadsword. "In the name of my master, I shall strike you down."
"You really suck at this banter thing, don't you?"
Death raised his sword to strike, but stopped as Ava suddenly tackled him from behind and hooked his neck into a headlock. The horse neighed madly and tried to shake her off.
"Ava!" Ella gasped.
"I'm…fine!" Ava cried.
The jostling infuriated the wound to her back, but she pressed on as she summoned dagger constructs. She jabbed them through Death's throat and attempted to rip it open. She felt her leverage and foothold give way to a smokey substitution. She read the tell and blocked a downward stomp with a timed kick. The pressure radiating out canceled the downward momentum, safely throwing her out of Death's reach.
Death landed and glared at the two as they huddled together. "Death is inevitable. You can only run, but your fates are sealed, so says I."
"My Arceus, this guy's a broken record," Ella growled. "Have anything else to say that's worth our time, edgelord?!"
"…Does the unknown grip of fate strike fear into you?"
Ella groaned. "Oh great, he switched from death to philosophy. Just what I needed."
Ava summoned her swords. "We got other problems. With the trailers detached and this guy barely sweating, we're at an impasse. Or at least, I'm praying it's an impasse."
"What do we do?"
"First things first, we need to find a way to remove these marks. After that, we need to find some cover and formulate a strategy. We can't keep fighting this guy all day."
"Any idea how?"
"I don't think I can dispel the marks. We either need to kill him or somehow disrupt his senses so he can't track them."
"I'm not liking our chances."
Death clicked his hooves, almost purposefully slow, and raised both his swords. "The Tribe of Shadows promises not fate, but the escape from fate's wretched grip. I shall liberate those chained to the mortal coil, the lost souls who refuse to ascend into the darkness. Though we stand on opposite sides, I heed my purpose to you as a friend. I shall strip you of your flesh and send you to the great beyond, free of pain and suffering."
Ella grimaced. "How disturbingly poetic."
Death scuffed his hooves and assumed the charging position. However, right as he was about to advance, several knives flew from the distance and stabbed him through the gaps in his armor. He stood unfazed, but turned his sights away from his targets to spot out the Brionne hovering above on a large bubble.
Nebula balanced a knife on her flipper, then grinned down at the nuckelavee. "Remember me, jerk? You tried to torch me earlier. Not cool. Still ticked off, in fact."
Death glared. "I shall not concern myself with you, Brionne."
"That's fine. I'm not interested in you either. I just want to get my family out of danger, K?" Nebula stood up and flicked her sleeves, whipping out a myriad of throwing knives. Her carefree demeanor fell into a peeved, dangerously hostile scowl. "So, I'll make this immutably clear for a single-minded killing machine like you—"
Death just then noticed a dangerous cluster of bubbles floating around him. Ava and Ella took that as their cue to back away as Death distracted himself with the reflective spheres. Nebula tightened her stare, then chucked every knife dexterously into the bubbles.
"Piss off."
Knives flew out in droves from the dimensional bubbles, piercing into every open part on the knight and horse's body. Knives to the calves, the legs, the flank, the torso; anywhere that exposed shadow flesh. Nebula kept pulled knives from her sleeves and chucking them at complex angles to catch the knight off guard, though he seemed to stoically watch her as knives stabbed through him.
With Death momentarily distracted, Ava whispered to Ella, "Help Nebula deal with him. I'm going to check on Vince." Ella nodded and watched her run off.
Nebula stopped throwing knives and glared at the still knight. He didn't seem bothered by the knives, even plucking a few out. No effect?
"Your time will come," Death spoke, raising a broadsword. "But your day is not today." Bending his hindlegs, he catapulted through the air and swung at her.
"Nope!" Nebula sunk through her bubble and popped it the second she passed through. She popped out of another near Ella and rolled to a stop.
Ella saw Death's body fizzling out and tackled Nebula just before a sword came down and split through the roof. They nearly slipped of the edge, but caught themselves in time. Death pulled his sword free and swung again. Ella deflected it with a barrier, setting Nebula up to toss two knives into the helmet, nailing a direct shot on the eyes.
Unfortunately, it didn't impede him at all as he continued slicing into the roof. Ella grabbed Nebula and flew back with telekinesis. Nebula gripped a handful of knives and said, "I haven't met a lot of creatures that aren't at least incapacitated from getting hit in the eyes. What's going on with this thing?"
Ella glared suspiciously. "Funny. My attacks weren't working on him earlier, either, but now they are. I wonder…"
"We need to get rid of him and connect the other trailers," Nebula reminded. "I need you to stall him while I create a bubble portal."
"And how do we keep him from following?"
"I don't know! I'm a performer, not a wizard!" Nebula slipped from Ella's hold and backflip to the end of the caravan. "Just keep him busy!" she yelled before beginning to blow a bubble.
Ella huffed and spun her staff. "Sure. Why not?" She glared as Death came charging at her. "Bring it, tough guy!"
Ava reached the end of the caravan and jumped down into the driver's seat, spooking Vince from his hiding place. "Don't kill me!" He opened one eye, then sighed. "Oh. Ava, it's just you." He frowned. "Are the kids okay?"
"They're hiding with the others." She looked at the Tauros, who appeared as distressed as her husband. "Listen, I need you to get back on the reins and wait for our signal."
"Signal?"
"Nebula's helping Ella right now. Knowing her, she has a plan to get all of us out of here. I just need you and the boys to be ready for a hasty escape."
"But where do we go?"
Ava pointed toward the mountain range. "That's our best bet of finding cover. We need to put as much distance between us and that monster as possible. Think you can do that?"
Vince picked himself up and adjusted his top hat. "Ooh, I don't like this, but…I do whatever I can."
Ava smiled. "Good. Wish me luck." She jumped back onto the roof and raced back to the others.
"Stay safe," Vince muttered with a cracked voice.
"AAAHH!" Ella screamed, taking a hit to the stomach and flying across the roof. She rolled out of a stomp and fire a psychic blast into Death's face, but he pushed through it and kicked along the trailers. "Agh!"
"None can stand against me," Death stated, taking his time to approach her. He dragged his sword along the roof in a trail of sparks. "I am the inevitable."
Ella tried to stand, but coughed up blood and collapsed. Her vision blurred, and she progressively became lightheaded. The disgusting, metal taste of blood tainted her mouth. Hurry up, Nebula.
Death stopped and loomed over the Espeon. "Though you are not the primary target, just an insignificant creature teamed with gods, I will make your death painless."
"Go…to Hell, bastard," Ella wheezed.
"Pitiful last words." Death raised his sword and—
"Gentle Step: Serene Burst!"
A hole punched open in the knight's chest. He growled and clambered backwards. He looked up right as Ava came flying onto the scene. He blocked her kick and threw her down by the ankle.
Ava caught herself by the hands and summoned her Guardian to bash the knight's head. With him dazed, Ava launched into a rising kick, snapping his head backwards in one swift motion. She then grabbed his head and attempted to snap it, but Death caught her wrists and threw her down. She got up before he crushed her under his front hooves.
"I won't let you kill my student!" Ava yelled, summoning her swords. "I'll protect Team Ravenfield, even if it kills me!"
Death glared. "Your will…is strong."
"You don't know half of what I'm capable of." She glanced past Death and saw the giant film of bubble forming. Nebula's almost done. Now I need to figure out how to stall this guy for an escape. Ella's on her last leg, and I'm barely holding on myself. We can't stall this out any longer.
Ava sprinted and clashed swords with Death. Ava flipped around the nuckelavee knight as they continued trading blows, sparks flying off with each impact. Death got a heavy swing off and threw Ava back before teleporting behind her. Anticipating this, Ava conjured a barrier right as he struck her back. She kicked off the roof upon landing and threw a sharp bicycle kick into the horse's neck. She thrusted her knee deep into its flesh until she heard a crack.
She avoided Death's downward retaliation and delivered a psychic burst punch to the shoulder, shaving off an inch of corrupted flesh. Death came in with a fast swing, but Ava's Guardian caught and disarmed him of his sword, setting Ava up to kick him across the neck.
She checked back quickly and saw Nebula finishing up the portal. Act fast, Ava! We need to lose this guy!
She flipped off Death's shoulders and bashed her knee against the back of his head, then slammed her palms into it. "Gentle Step: Serene—"
Death's entire torso, despite being attached to an evil horse, spun one-hundred-eighty degrees around and hooked her with a brutal lariat to the stomach. "No more of that." He threw her down, hard enough to bounce off the roof, then produced his other sword. "This ends now."
Ava scrambled to her feet and tried to move, but she hit her head when she was thrown down, causing her to stumble. She avoided a fatal bisection, but couldn't avoid getting butchered through her right side. The blade swung through, sending a wave of blood splattering onto the roof.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Ava screamed, losing her footing and collapsing onto her stomach. Her blood spilled out into a puddle while her aura weakly crackled around her, flickering with barely a shred of energy.
Death stomped up to her and raised his hooves. "Goodbye, Ava Young."
Move. Ava's fingers twitched, but she couldn't move her arms. Move! Her legs weren't responding, either. The shock of the pain paralyzed her entire body. No matter how much she screamed or concentrated, her body wouldn't obey her commands. Tears fell from her eyes. I said move, dammit!
Death steeled himself, raising himself to full height, and thrusted the whole weight of his muscular hooves onto—
PANG!
Death spread his forelegs and stomped on the bare sides around Ava, sparing her the crushing execution. A pebble had struck his helmet. He gazed ahead at the end of the trailers and saw a small, shivering Pikachu with an armful of rocks nestled in her arms.
Sparks shot from her cheeks, but it compared not to the pale blue aura emanating around her body and her eyes. She grabbed another pebble and yelled, "G…Get away from them!"
"Cheri? Cheri?!" Angel cried out. She took her eyes off the Pikachu for one second and completely vanished. "Cheri, where are you?!"
Faye poked her head inside the trailer and yelled, "Garland and I have everything set up, and Nebula gave us the okay. Prepare to launch!"
Everyone settled down and braced themselves, but Angel frantically looked around for her daughter. "Cheri, I swear…!" She handed Charlie over to Abby and searched the prop room in haste before the launch.
Death stared down the cowering Pikachu with the same stoicism as before. Just by her weak aura and shivering demeanor, he didn't perceive her as a threat. Although, the aura looked familiar to him. "You're the little scout that has been spying on me."
Tears streamed down Cheri's face. "Don't…hurt them. I'll stop you, you big jerk!"
Ava forced her head up, struggling to face their unfortunate savior. "C-Cheri…get out of here…"
Ella, collapsed on her side, barely managed to grit her teeth. "Stupid kid, what are…you thinking?"
Death, knowing nothing could stop him, did something that neither opponent nor impromptu savior expected: he laughed. A soulless, emotionless laugh heard only in the most desolate of realms, like an overgrown graveyard withered away from lack of care, or a crumbling mansion haunted by murderous spirits. A laugh like that, in a deep bellowing tone, could put a pipe organ to shame.
He trotted up to Cheri, who backed toward the edge with chattering teeth. "You are not marked for death. You are not ready to pass on." Death's eyes brightened into a sinister blood red. "But I will bring you to the edge of Death. Both living, but begging for the end."
"S-Stop!" Ava screamed, spewing out blood. "She's just a child!"
"Death is not merciful. Death doesn't choose who suffers or dies. Death only follows what must be done."
Ava forced herself to rise, but the gash in her side made it impossible to stand. She could try using Greater Agility. One burst of speed to push Cheri out of the way and take the hit. Best case, Cheri lives and Ava uses up the last of her stamina. Worst case, Cheri gets tortured and Ava is cut clean in half. Neither option looked good for her, but Cheri's survival trumped all that.
Cheri couldn't back away more and teared up a waterfall, dropping her ammunition. Death didn't hold a weapon. Instead, he bent down and reached for her head.
"I shall reprimand you for your assault. I shall crumble your skull to dust."
Cheri hyperventilated as his hand reached closer. T-Tony…I'm scared. I don't know what to do. Her pale blue aura flared up, sensing the imminent danger approaching her. You always come and save me. You always save your family. Please, why aren't you swooping in and saving us? W-Where are you? I…I…
Magic channeled through her hands as her eyes lit up brighter, expelling flame-like wisps. She could feel his fingers brushing against her fur, ready to clamp down and squeeze her like a grapefruit. She hadn't felt this afraid since she was attacked by the spooky shadow mummy. Ava and Morgan were the ones that stopped it. What can she do against this thing?
She was terrified. She never felt scared when she knew Tony would be there to protect her. He always saved the day. Why can't she?
I…I want my…I want my…!
"Cheri!" Ella and Ava cried out, desperately rising to their feet.
Death wrapped his fingers around Cheri's head. "You won't die, but you will suffer for your actions. Now, perish for your transgressions—"
"I WANT MY BIG BROTHER!" Cheri screamed, throwing her hands out and blasting Death in the face with a pale blue light.
"AAAHHH!"
Ella and Ava gasped as Death actually recoiled from the blast. He covered his face and stumbled around in a frenzy. Cheri ran around Death, sobbing her heart out, and bolted into Ava's awaiting arms, while the Medicham watched Death staggering about in disbelief.
"How…How did she—"
"Ava Young! Ella Cipher!" Death roared, grabbing his swords and swiping at the air furiously. "Where are you?!"
"Where…are we?" Ella muttered. She squinted and noticed something off about Death and his horse's eyes. No longer did they glow red, but pure white. "Is he…blind?"
Ava narrowed her eyes. "Cheri comes from a long line of Storm magic users. Is this…did she use some kind of Storm spell?"
"Where are you?!" Death roared, slashing frantically into the roof. "Where are you and that brat?!" Cheri huddled closer into Ava's arms, quieting her sobs into her robe.
Ava looked at her death mark again. Though still there, she could now sense the magic coming off it. "I think Cheri accidentally disrupted that spell of his. That must mean he can't track his beacons anymore."
Death stomped his hooves and faced in their general direction. "I'll destroy everything on this shithole until I feel your flesh to my blades!"
"He suddenly got more violent," Ella muttered.
However, before Death charged them, knives pierced into his horse's flank. He looked around furiously for the attacker, only to take one to the eye. Though unaffected, the action infuriated him more. "Where are you, wench?!"
Nebula, floating on a bubble above him, smirked. "Better question, what am I doing? Answer: boarding our passengers. The train will be leaving in three, two—"
"Now!" Faye ordered, lighting the fireworks.
Garland slammed his hands on the launch glyphs and grabbed hold of the caravan. They both braced themselves as an explosive force rocketed out from the caboose and pushed the multiple carts through the bubble portal.
"—one!" Nebula hopped off her bubble.
The trailer carts rammed through the bubble portal and into the back of the main convoy. Nebula landed in between the carts and hooked them together.
The second he felt the impact to the caravan, Vince jumped into his seat and whipped the reins. "Kick it into high gear, boys!"
"Sir, yes sir!" the Tauros roared. They stomped their hooves and broke into a mad charge forward.
Between the crash and the sudden acceleration, Death teetered around dizzily along the roof, unable to get his footing in order. "You cannot escape Death! I cannot be prolonged!"
"Haven't you heard?" Nebula flew out of a bubble and tackled Death with her full weight. "Our merry band of weirdos denies the inevitable!"
Her tackle delivered the force necessary to knock Death off the roof as the caravan started picking up speed. Death tried to claw into the edge, but Ella managed one last, albeit weak psychic blast into his fingers, enough to stave off his last ditch effort. Death crashed into the ground and tumbled away from the rapidly retreating caravan.
Nebula slid over to the others and formed a bubble portal. "Where to, boss?"
Ava pushed herself up, panting exhaustively. "I told Vince…to hide us out in the mountains…until we figure out what to do. That's not going to stop that walking nightmare for long."
Nebula nodded. "We'll figure something out. Get through the portal, now."
Ava took Cheri under her arm and pulled herself into the portal, followed by Ella. Nebula looked back at Death's limp body, then followed them through, popping the portal behind her.
Death pushed himself up and shook his head. Stripped of his vision and unable to sense his trackers, he listened to the caravan as it moved farther from his position. He rubbed his face, then stood up, facing in the direction the caravan was going.
"I lost my composure. An oversight contributing to my loss." He dusted his armor off. "I was created to bring Death to the master's enemies. Well played, Team Ravenfield. I shall remember this loss and continue with my hunt. This spell will eventually wear off, but I will not stop in my pursuit, not as long as there remains someone who opposes my master."
Blind but not out, Death began his steady trot after the caravan. With his two targets hanging on their deathbeds, all that stood before him were a pack of clowns and freaks.
"I congratulate you both. This hunt is slowly becoming…entertaining."