Chapter 27: Triple Trouble in the Gloomy Woods Part 1!
Ramon jumps to the side, the figure's bone ramming against the grass. He slides across the greens before the cloaked figure rushes towards him, swinging his arm with Force Palm.
Ramon's eyes widen, gritting his teeth. "Shoot!" He ducks under the yellow paw, eyes rumbling at the sight of it. So...fast. The fox rolls forward, crunches of twigs and leaves rise up in intensity. He stops and turns, the figure dashing right after him.
As the Zorua keeps dodging the figure's moves, Mesmeren remains still in place, trembling while her teeth clitter. She strokes her cheeks, eyes jittering left and right. What should I do? What should I do!? she thinks, pinning against a tree behind her.
. . .
Ada groans, sliding across the grass before clinging onto it with her claws. Courtney does the same thing, jabbing the ground with her sword. The two stare at the Exploud and Alakazam, the two Pokémon snarling at them. They move forward, the Exploud slamming its fist against the palm of its hand. The blue bipedal jumps in the air, its foot coating itself in white aura before jetting down to Courtney. The Lopunny yanks her sword out, blocking the Stomp in time.
Ada dashes towards the Alakazam, extending the length of her Enchantment Claws. The yellow humanoid's eyes glow blue, twirling its spoons around. The teen gasps, pausing in place before she's pushed back by the creature's Psychic. She claws the ground, gripping onto it. She winces, shaking her head. You'd think I've learned my lesson dealing with Psychic types by now… She sighs and extends her claw again, swinging it towards the Alakazam. The Alakazam simply lifts its spoon up, surrounding the teen's claw in a light pink aura. It pushes the claw back, staggering Ada. "GAH!"
The Exploud punches Courtney over and over, swinging its glowing white fists. Courtney blocks some of the attacks with her sword, grunting. "Never knew Explouds would be this fast!" she exclaims, dodging another Pound attack afterwards. She leaps to the side and swings her sword at the Defect, the Exploud using Protect in response. Protect, huh? Figured it'd be one of those strong abandoned Defects… She then receives a punch to the gut from the Defect, gasping heavily. She flies off and crashes all over the ground, colliding against a nearby tree. She groans, covering her stomach.
The teen looks behind her, seeing Courtney on the ground. She is about to aid her until multiple blobs of psychic energies form around her. "Huh!?" The Psyshock smashes into her, blasting her off towards the Lopunny. She yelps, sliding across the grass. "C-Crap…" She and Courtney then stand up, panting heavily as the Defects walk towards them. The Alakazam keeps swirling its spoons around while the Exploud cracks its knuckles, the two snarling with menace.
Courtney strokes the side of her arm, grinning. "These two are mighty strong alright...Just how I remember this wretched woods…"
"Keep your guards up." Ada summons her Enchantment Claws once more, steadying herself. "This may take awhile…"
. . .
Justin and Sylock have a stare off with the Greninjas, Sylock squinting his eyes as the Greninjas grips onto the tree branches. Soon, Defects leap off the branches, falling towards the two. "Here they come," Sylock signs with one hand before flames form from his fist.
Justin smirks, twirling his Sorcery Blades in place. "Good job dumbasses for jumping directly towards us," he says, him and Sylock jumping forward. Justin swings his blades at the Greninjas while Sylock uses Fire Punch on them. All three of the Defects disappear, the blades and fist only hitting green dinosaur-like plushies. "Hmm?" The two become confused by the Substitute dolls before the Greninjas reappear above them, casting Water Shurikens. "Oh...crap."
The Defects throw their projectiles at the two, crashing them to the ground. The two groan, with Sylock gritting his teeth in frustration. Ugh… he thinks, stroking the grass, painting some of them with his bleeding hand. He pants, looking over at a nearby long strain of leaf and grabbing it. As he wraps it around his hand, the Greninjas appear on top of the trees, their red eyes glittering within the shadows.
Justin gets up, brushing himself off. "Aren't y'all some sneaky son of a gun," he says, forming his blades once more. The Greninjas jumps off from the branches, falling towards the two. Justin frowns and jumps, swinging his blades. The Defects disappear, leaving behind Substitute dolls again as Justin hits them. "Bruh." One of the Greninjas gets beside him, hitting him with Water Shuriken. The boy shields the attack with his blades as Sylock jumps towards the Greninja, punching it in the face. It crashes to the ground afterwards. "Ayy, you got one!"
The frog ninja slides across the grass before vanishing into the bushes, the other two kicking Justin and Sylock away. The two grunts and lands on the grass swiftly, glaring. The Greninjas vanish into the shadows, Justin and Sylock's backs pinning against each other.
"Be. Careful." Sylock's non-bleeding fist catches on fire, the Blaziken snarling with caution. Silence and emptiness is all the two can hear and see, Justin gripping onto his blades firmly.
"Hmm...I got an idea." Justin twirls his blades, bits of winds forming on them. Sylock looks at the boy, raising his brow. Then a Greninja appears from behind a tree in front of the Blaziken, casting its big shuriken projectile. Sylock looks back and widens his eyes in shock. "Gotcha!" Justin exclaims, swinging his blades forward to blow winds at the Greninja. The frog ninja disappears in exchange for the Substitute doll. "Oh you have got to be ki-" the teen coughs up purple blood, groaning from another Greninja's dark shrouded body colliding against him: Feint Attack.
Justin blasts off towards the tree from earlier, groaning in pain. The Blaziken grits his teeth into frustration before getting hit by another Greninja's Water Shuriken, groaning and crashing against Justin. The boy tries to move afterwards, but screams, his body shrieking like a ton of needles piercing through him. The blades fade away in response, Justin slowly pushing Sylock off of him. Sh-Shit… Justin's eyes widen in place, three of the Greninjas appearing out of the darkness, readying their Water Shurikens. "SHIT!" Without a time to think, the boy pushes his arm forward, casting a huge blue shield around himself and Sylock.
The frog ninjas hit the shield before jumping back instantly, hopping on top of the tree branches. Soon, the Defects jump from one branch to the next, fading in and out due to their quick movements. Justin and Sylock gaze up, the teen gulping afterwards. "...Aight, I got a question for ya, Sylock." The Blaziken looks at the teen, grunting a bit in pain. "How the hell do we take these guys down?"
Sylock stares at the boy for a moment before sighing, looking up at the hopping amphibians.
. . .
Ramon continues swerving from the Bone Rush, his heart thumping and pumping with strenuous adrenaline. The destructive cloaked figure swings his bone at the fox, kicking him afterwards. Ramon widens his eyes and tries to use his Mystical Shield.
No! Nomar shouts in the Zorua's head.
"Hmm!?" Ramon is met with a knee to the face, yelping before sliding across the grass. "Gah!" The Zorua stops himself, gripping onto the ground. What do you mean no, Nomar!? Ramon grits his teeth angrily, his nose leaking purple blood. In fact, you told me no yesterday when I tried to help Justin and Ada protect Forest's home!
The cloaked individual dashes towards the Zorua, forming two bones and spinning them around. I don't want anyone to know that you have Magic moves! Nomar states in a concerned manner.
The figure throws his Bone Rush at Ramon as he jumps over it, casting a dark ball of energy. Why does it matter!? He flings his Dark Pulse at the figure as he slashes it in half. Ramon lands on the ground afterwards. Justin and Ada already know I have Magic moves, so why try to hide it!? The cloaked individual throws another Bone Rush at Ramon, the Zorua dashing out of the way and hitting the figure with Sucker Punch. He pushes the individual back with his shadowy paws and steps back.
I just...don't want others to find out. Not even your Drowzee friend, who I'm 100% uncertain about her motive.
Mesmeren? She's learning about this Magic type stuff as I am! The red Zorua then gasps and widens his eyes, the destructive cloaked figure punching him in the face without warning. "AH!" He fumbles all over the ground before crashing against a tree near Mesmeren, the Drowzee jumping in response.
Mesmeren turns to the figure gradually, her eyes shaking to its core. The figure rubs his paws while walking towards the two, glaring at them. Mesmeren's heart pounds like no tomorrow, the Drowzee stroking the tree and trembling in place. H-H-He's much...more scary when face to face. Tears begin to cloud her vision. I'm going to die. I'm going to die to this strong guy because I'm...I'm...I'm so pathe-
"H-Hey!" Ramon shouts, snapping Mesmeren out of her dread zone. She looks at him. "Help me take him down, please." The Zorua grunts, shaking himself before glaring back at the figure.
Mesmeren stares at the Zorua for a brief moment, lost in thoughts and words on the situation. She then nods meekly, moving forward a bit and lifting her hands up. "R-Right."
The cloaked individual stops for a moment, closing his eyes. "Despite knowing that you'll die to me at any given moment, you still have the willpower to fight back." He opens his eyes, his paws shrouding in yellow auras. "Perhaps that's why Xander chose you."
Ramon and Mesmeren raise their brows. "Chose me? ...For what?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Considering you were involved in the incident, too."
Ramon grits his teeth into frustration, slamming his paw down. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT I DON'T KNOW!?" He snarls. "I don't know who Xander Yvonne is! Nor this incident, how I was involved in it, and what I 'did' to cause it!" He frowns. "How about explaining all of this to me instead of constantly going after my throat!? Because frankly, I'm sick of you hunting me down."
Xander Yvonne, huh? This cloak wearing fella s-sure has a strong attachment to him, Mesmeren thinks. I wonder why.
"Hmph...Nice performance."
Ramon lowers his ears, blinking within utter confusion. "...What?"
The unknown figure folds his arms. "I know how your kind works, Zorua. Filled with top notch lying techniques and performances. And in this instance, you're pretending to have amnesia so that you can avoid the sins you've caused at the Prospective Institute." He cracks his fists.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Ramon's paws become shrouded in dark energy.
"Your lies may have worked on your friends. But it won't work on me." The figure crouches down. "You know what you've done. And I'll kill you for it." He dashes towards the two, paws out and ready.
Mesmeren's hands glow red as she yelps, sweating a bit. O-Oh dear!
The individual slams his Force Palm between the two, both jumping to the side. Ramon pounces against him with Sucker Punch, pushing him back. The individual grunts before getting Wake-Up Slapped by Mesmeren, rolling off to the side. Mesmeren looks at Ramon sternly, sighing afterwards.
"Whoa! Nice combo we did there, Mesmeren!" Ramon says, wagging his tail while smiling.
The Drowzee blinks for a moment before hiding her face, blushing. "O-Oh. U-Um, thank you!"
"Watch out!" The Zorua gets in front of the ribbon wearing Drowzee, colliding his dark paw with the figure's yellow one. A strong wind exerts itself from the collision, the two grunting in response.
"Eek!" Mesmeren backs away, shaking from the intensity of it all. Ramon and the figure jump back from each other, both panting heavily.
"...Not bad. I see that you've gotten better at fighting back, despite having a partner helping you," the cloaked individual says, forming a bone once again.
"Considering our previous encounters, hearing a compliment from you is the least thing I expected," Ramon comments.
"Hmph." The figure throws his Bone Rush at the Zorua, leading him to jump over it. "Gotcha."
"What the-"
The figure is about to hit the Zorua with Force Palm until the Drowzee pushes him back with Psybeam, groaning from the pink strands. "You son of a…" He growls and glares at Mesmeren, Ramon landing on the ground with grace.
"H-He said he doesn't know anything about th-the incident!" Mesmeren lifts her hands up, preparing another DNA-like strand. "Le-Leave him alone!"
"Hmm…Were you the one that helped him in that alley? Behind the dumpster?"
Mesmeren's eyes shake from the questions, her heart feeling as though it has stopped beating. "I...How did you-"
"Figured that was the case since I've seen you follow this Zorua and his friends before." The individual gets in front of the Drowzee within a flash, her looking up at him with sheer terror, trembling in place. He then smacks her towards the side, the Drowzee yelping in pain as she rolls around the grass. "Keep butting in and I'll kill you, too."
"Mesmeren!" Ramon shouts before being lifted off the ground, wailing from the figure's kick. He flies off and slams into a large boulder far from Mesmeren and the figure. A crack forms behind the Zorua as he coughs out blood, eyes shifting from side to side. C-Crud… He falls to the ground, jittering in place. He's...so...powerful…
The cloaked individual glances at the Zorua, his paws shrouded in yellow aura again. He walks towards him, readying his Force Palm before receiving a small rock to the head. "Hmm…" The individual turns around, Mesmeren's eyes glowing light blue as tears run down from them.
"I-I said leave him alone!" The Drowzee pleads. "Please…"
The figure glares before moving his paw up, Mesmeren's body being surrounded in a light pink aura. His eyes glow blue before he pushes the Drowzee forward with Psychic, crashing her into the same boulder. "I guess you can die with him, too."
Mesmeren coughs up purple blood, gasping from the immense strength. OH GOSH! It...Ugh! She falls to the ground, whimpering and tearing up as she coughs out more blood, painting the grass. It hurts! It hurts so much! Pl-Please just...make it stop. She strokes the grass, closing her eyes as tears drip down like a waterfall.
Ramon gazes at Mesmeren, eyes widening in pure shock. He then looks at the figure, lowering his brows and gritting his teeth into frustration. "You...You didn't have to do that!" He snarls before dashing towards the figure. "WHY DON'T YOU STOP HARASSING ME AND MY FRIENDS!" He soon starts glowing white, growing in size.
The cloaked figure blinks in response, stopping in his path. Hmm?
Ramon jumps in the air while still growing and glowing, the back of his head extending itself to what appears to be hair. His forelegs have transformed into arms, with claws forming at the end of his paws. And his backlegs become more bipedal-like, the Pokémon landing directly onto the figure, pinning him down. The figure growls as Ramon stops glowing, looking like a bipedal fox-like creature with a large red hair and black ruff on his chest. There's also a tuft of hair covering his left eye.
Mesmeren looks up at the now Zoroark in a weak manner. Wh-Whoa…
Ramon growls back in a low tone, his claws glowing white. The fox's eyes widen with rage, slashing the figure's cloak left and right. The figure growls in pain, shielding himself with his arms. "You've been a real pain! Honestly!" Ramon shouts, his voice sounding lower than his Zorua self. "Harassing me over and over! I'm so sick of you!" He continues shredding the cloak with Fury Swipes, gritting his sharp teeth and snarling. "I tried reasoning with you by wanting answers about my past! But all you've ever given me was a deadly game of tag!"
Ramon then claws at the individual's face, the top of his cloak leaving him as his identity unravels. "GAH!" The blue canine-like creature yelps, blood spewing from the claw marks as the rest splatters onto the grass. His black snout twitches before he glances at the Zoroark, red eyes filled with fuming volcanos. "You bitch."
Ramon is about to claw at the Lucario until his arm is grabbed. He tries his other claw, but that one gets grabbed as well. The claw mark Lucario then headbutts the Zoroark, Ramon yelping in response. After he gets off, the blue canine tackles Ramon, screaming loudly. He slams him against the same boulder, a loud crack snaps its way from the collision. Mesmeren cowers and whimpers from the collision, trembling in place.
Ramon coughs from the slamming, being pinned by the Lucario's arm. The two pants, the Zoroark's light blue eyes staring into the opponent's. "Ugh..." He grunts, glancing. "Who...even are you? I never got your name, come to think of it…" He spits blood onto the grass, keeping his gaze onto the Lucario.
The black cloak now looks more deteriorated than before, barely holding onto the Lucario. As blood drops from his left side, he speaks, "My name...is Travis."