Chapter 26: Failure of Trust
Blade had only been walking for a few hours but he was starting to feel weak. He hadn't been properly resting and his body was ready to shut down. He stumbled forward, too blinded by his need to prevent further death to stop in his tracks. Despite his will to go on, his legs gave out and he fell forward hitting the ground face first. The moment he hit the ground his eyes shut and he was unconscious.
*With Shadow*
The pitch-black pokemon hovered in place as he looked at the humans and their pokemon. A few dozens, all ranging in various species of bug, fighting, and fairy types.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to Kadabra!" One human yelled.
Shadow chuckled at the human. "If you valued his health and well-being, you would not have sent him to do what he did. You have to have known who you were dealing with, so you knew full well that he'd likely die if I attacked him. He was lucky to walk away with what he had." Shadow chuckled again. "Hehehehehehe, oh my apologies, I'd nearly forgotten that I snapped his legs at the knees. Perhaps if he was not quite so weak, it would not have come to pass. That said, I will allow you this singular opportunity, leave now." Shadow folded his arms and closed his menacing red eye.
"Fuck that, get him!" The human ordered and the pokemon started advancing.
"Of course should you choose to spurn this offer," Shadow's eye shot open and the other pokemon froze. His eye began to glow a bright red and the sky around them darkened. "I will not hesitate to send you to the next life. And I shall send you screaming."
They turned tail and ran off leaving the humans alone with Shadow. The humans staggered away and turned to run. But then they were enveloped in darkness.
"Were I not in a hurry, I would stay to torture you personally, but I will instead let you experience your own personal look into the Distortion World." Shadow put them both to sleep, letting them fall into a nightmare.
*With Blade*
Blade sat up and looked around, vines and wood surrounded him.
"Finally, you're awake." A voice came to his ears. Soft and almost caring, and a dark blue face adorned with a large horn and pale white fur greeted him.
"Who?...who are you?" Blade leaned back a bit.
"Oh, you can call me Absol." The kind and sweet feminine voice spoke slowly. "A poor little cutie like you shouldn't be in such a condition. Why don't you let me take care of you for a while?"
"I can't." Blade was being very blunt with his response. "I have something I have to do. And someone that needs to pay."
"Come now, you should rest. A lone sneasel such as yourself. Just lay back and relax, don't worry yourself, nobody is important enough to push yourself that far."
Blade scowled at her, everything she said contradicted what he was doing. He didn't want to deal with someone that was against his decisions. "Look, I get it, revenge and all that isn't a good way to be, a lot of other pokemon have already told me that, so take your self righteous tauros shit and shove it."
"Now now, no reason for that kind of language." Absol spoke and sat down a bundle of assorted berries. "Tell you what, you stay right here, enjoy some berries and I'll be right outside. Get some rest, it isn't healthy for you to go so long without rest." She stood up and walked out through an opening in the wood and vines. After she was out of sight Blade sniffed the berries, they seemed fine aside from smelling vaguely like absol herself. Seeing them as relatively safe, he took one and started nibbling away at it slowly.
*With Shadow*
Something was wrong, and Shadow could feel it. He may have scared them off, but the very notion that someone was still after them put him in a foul mood. It meant quite a few things that Shadow did not like. He hadn't finished the job the first time around, his tactics hadn't been brutal or thorough enough, and the worst of all, Blade was still at risk.
Shadow decided he'd leave Blade alone for now, despite their separation, Shadow was in no rush to get back to him, Blade obviously needed space and time to think. And when they saw each other again it would be on far better terms than they had left on. Until then however, Shadow would keep watch over his future victim.
Down beneath the forest canopy sat a group of weavile and Sneasel all crowded together finishing off a small batch of eggs.
A sneasel was on his knees before the alpha and he began speaking. "Boss, we lost two on our last sweep. We missed an egg in the last batch and when we were checking for more…..another Sneasel stopped us, or tried to…"
"A rival pack?" One of the females by Cleave's side asked.
"Doubtful," Cleave spoke up "no pack would dispatch a single Sneasel to try to stop any of us, it would be absolutely stupid."
"But…..boss, he slaughtered them… one of them was carved up like some sort of human ornament, and the other…..his throat was crushed thin."
"That seems brutal, are you certain he was the one to do it?" Cleave looked intrigued.
"He was the only one there when we left, so I'm afraid he would be the only one who could have done it." The Sneasel spoke softly almost fearfully.
"Well, considering the danger, I think you deserve a reward." Cleave stood up and stepped before the Sneasel. "You may choose a mate." Cleave stepped aside, presenting the females to him. The Sneasel stood up, a wide overjoyed grin crossed his face, and he started to walk forward, only to find a claw stabbed into his throat the moment he moved. "I have no use for those who fail, and to have lost those two, is a major failure. So, you and everyone else who took part, are going to die." Cleave pulled his claws back and the Sneasel dropped to his knees again then fell flat on his face clutching his throat as he was left to bleed out. "Well, I suppose we need a good few replacements don't we my dears?" He sat down beside the female pokemon.
Shadow had seen enough, Cleave was beyond detestable. That Sneasel had no control over the situation, he wasn't there, and yet still Cleave held him responsible in such a way, and killed him. Shadow had killed for much less than that, but even so, he never would have killed someone that he didn't feel could be held properly accountable. And so he turned away floating off before he felt the need to slaughter them where they stood.
*With Blade*
Absol had been leading him around for almost an hour showing him what he had at his disposal in the area. A small spring of water surrounded by small berry trees, an open meadow to bask in the sunlight, and an ominously dark cave. Absol had been nothing short of saintly toward Blade since they met and it seemed strange to Blade, but any sort of positive interaction was good enough for him.
"So how are you feeling? You look better than when I found you, but how are you holding up?" She had an almost motherly tone to her voice.
"I'm fine…..um, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, I was just worried I wouldn't be able to trust you." Blade e lowered his head giving her an apologetic bow. He hadn't done it himself, but he'd seen Shadow now to most pokemon he hadn't outright murdered, it seemed respectful in a way and Blade felt it appropriate given the circumstances. "I was very rude to you, and I'm sorry."
"Oh, don't you worry your cute little head, I always like to help those in need." She was almost too polite, but Blade didn't notice. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him then to a taller tree. "Oh, look! Those apples are rather large aren't they?"
Blade glanced up noticing the hanging fruit. "Bigger than any I've seen before."
"Could you be a dear and climb up to grab a few please? I'd do it myself, but my claws are very blunt and can't grip on well."
Blade stepped up to the tree and stabbed his claws in beginning his ascent. One claw after the other he pulled himself up quickly until he found a foothold on a thick branch. He slowly made his way to two low hanging apples and cut them from the tree letting them fall into his claws. He dropped one to Absol and sat down on the branch hooking his legs to around it and leaning back holding himself up by his legs. Then digging one claw into the apple he gripped the branch with his free claw and dropped himself down.
Absol was already digging into the apple before he got down. Blade landed just beside her and began to eat his apple as well. Within a few minutes they had finished the apples and pressed on.
"Do you know if your partner is even looking for you right now?" Absol asked, breaking the silence.
It was a strange question. Blade hadn't mentioned a partner, not from what he recalled. "I don't remember saying I had one."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I assumed you at least had a partner. It's plainly obvious you don't have a pack, or at least you aren't part of the one that passed through recently." Absol spoke with a tinge of sadness to her voice. "I'm sorry. I've overstepped."
Blade noticed at this moment that something was off. Absol's polite nature was starting to make Blade's fur stand on end.
"You seem tense" Absol noticed this sudden shift in his comfort. "Are you alright?"
Blade turned around to speak. "Sorry, I guess I'm still just a little uncertain about you…." As he faced back Absol's sharp horn was coming close in a slashing motion. He stepped back feeling the horn cut into his side far more deeply than expected. He stumbled away clutching the large gash in his side. Before he could collect his thoughts Absol rushed him swinging her horn back the other way, tearing into the wound again opening it further. Blade finally took a swipe with his claws, but upon turning his body the pain brought him to his knees. Clutching the wound he felt the blood draining from it. He was already fading in and out of consciousness.
"Well, I don't know if he wanted you alive or not, but I suppose what that Weavile doesn't know won't hurt him." Absol smirked "I'm afraid I was going to take you to that pack I was talking about earlier. You started to catch on I could tell. And besides, I felt that you would be the cause of some great calamity." Blade fell forward and collapsed into unconsciousness. Absol wiped her blood covered horn off onto Blade's back. And she turned to leave. "Well, I suppose I should finish the job." She turned back and saw that Blade was no longer alone. The sight that greeted her was that of a single glowing red eye. "Oh, hello, are you his friend. He was just attacked, I was going to find help, but I guess you showed up and…"
Absol was cut off by a pitch-black claw gripping her face. "Even if I had not just watched you attempt to kill him, your ability to lie is laughable. But, since you had to strike from behind, perhaps I should show you the same kindness." Shadow kept his grip tight on her face as he floated behind her and stabbed each of his finger claws into her back. He pushed the claws farther and farther until he was able to move the finger claws inside. Then taking a grip of the spinal cord, the darkrai began to pull. Absol's scream was muffled as he squeezed her maw shut and pulled at her spine. Finally after a few more moments, it came through the fur and flesh with a sickening ripping sound. Shadow had pulled Absol's spine out into the open, and quickly snapped it from the rest of her body. He dropped her mere moments later and held her spine up to his face. "Admittedly, I did not believe you had one. All things considered, you were better off fighting and losing to Blade properly, you at least would have survived." Shadow broke off a column of the spine until it was jagged and sharp, then without hesitation he jammed the bone shard into her skull. "If you're still alive, you won't be for long. Die in peace, it's better than you deserve."
The darkrai floated to Blade lifting the injured Sneasel. And without a moment's hesitation Shadow teleported them away.