"Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not."

"Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind," From As You Like It by William Shakespeare


A biting, cold, ferocious wind tore through the forest, buffeting Ampaw and Vince. They'd trekked East another half-day when this Westward blast had set in, halting their progress. At first, it had been a leisurely breeze that only reminded them of the cold winter, but it had grown, grown, and grown until walking any farther became impossible. They scurried behind the nearest tree and huddled together for warmth, casting the stone fragment temporarily to the side. The trees roared as the flurry shot through them, casting leaves, twigs, and branches aside indiscriminately, smashing them into the ground around the two.

"What's going on?" Vince asked, forced to shout to be anywhere near audible.

"I don't know, I've never seen wind this strong." Ampaw squeezed him tighter as a log fell next to them. Vince whimpered at the sound, though Ampaw had managed to at least keep it out of sight. "We're so close, too," Ampaw grumbled, sending a whole new wave of dread through Vince. He'd just gone along with Ampaw since his first failed escape, and now they were almost to the colony. Chris was probably looking for him, too. But he'd just kept walking.

Where was Chris? Vince had to this point just planned on going the opposite direction of Ampaw, but that might not get him any closer to Chris. What if I get lost in the forest? What if I run into a predator? What if I have to sleep alone? His mind spiraled down into what-ifs until a familiar stream started on its way down his cheeks, soaking into Ampaw's chest. Ampaw pulled him in tighter, squeezing several more sobs out of him until he couldn't hold it any longer and just started bawling.

"It's okay, I'm here," Ampaw cooed, holding him even tighter. The tears kept streaming down, whimpers and cries ebbing and flowing with no particular rhythm, just coming and coming with brief breaks in between. "It's okay, the wind's dying down, we're safe." His crying showed no sign of stopping, going on and on and even growing until Ampaw's face filled his blurry vision. "What's wrong?" Finally, his cries quelled just a bit.

Not because he felt any better, because he knew he couldn't tell Ampaw why. But he didn't have the fortitude to lie, either, and once a paw wiped his tears away, his defenses shattered. He looked at his feet and mumbled, "I miss Chris." A silence followed, but instead of the rage Vince expected to see come from Ampaw, he saw his pity deepen.

"Short Circuit," he started, seeming surprisingly hesitant, "He wasn't there when we woke up." Vince tilted his head. "We weren't where we were when we fainted." An inkling of understanding planted itself in Vince's mind, but he tried to ignore it. "We didn't walk to where we woke up." The insinuation became clear, and he shook his head slightly. "How do you think we got there?"

"No," Vince muttered, barely able to hear himself. He knew, knew, Ampaw was wrong. He knew Chris hadn't abandoned him, he knew there was some other reason Chris hadn't been there, that they'd woken up somewhere else. But he couldn't think of one. Chris was his best friend. Chris would never abandon him, would never carry him to some random spot in the forest and leave him there.

Ampaw pulled him into another hug. "Come on, the wind's died down. Let's go home." Vince felt his head bob up and down, eyes glazed over and vacant. His eyes floated over Ampaw's when the hug ended, vaguely noticing a notion of concern. They migrated over to his shoulder when he felt a firm paw put itself there. "I could be wrong, I don't know for sure. I didn't smell that he'd been there, I just don't know how else we got there."

Vince continued to nod along, eventually forcing a smile up at Ampaw. "Let's go." So, Ampaw picked up the stone with his right arm, wrapped his left around Vince, and the two continued their journey while Vince continued to wrestle with his mind.

The wind picked up a few more times, but never again to that insane extreme. They made good progress even with Vince's frequent requests for rest (that became more common as his stomach grew empty). "Is there anything to eat?" He asked, leaning against a tree while his tummy rumbled.

Ampaw didn't answer. His ears perked up to attention as he frequently sniffed at the air in every direction, scanning the horizon with his eyes. Before Vince could ask why, Ampaw clinched his teeth on his nape and dashed him over to a hole between tree roots. Vince, of course, squirmed and whined in protest, but stopped when Ampaw whisper-shouted, "Be quiet, don't move. Do not get out of here until I come get you, or you hear me tell you to run. Don't try to watch. Do not make a sound."

Ampaw dashed away, and Vince quivered in the hole, silent as he could manage. He didn't get time to wonder why before he heard a low, menacing growl that stopped his heart. Predator. Even the wind remained silent and still, leaving the soon to be battleground untainted. The air became so static that it began to pop with electricity. The predator and Ampaw began to growl in unison, their paws near-silently treading the ground.

Vince couldn't help a flinch and a whimper when they finally exchanged shouts and a shock blasted the air. The two kept trading smacks, shouts, whimpers, cries, almost one after the other. Ampaw would shout, the predator would whimper, the predator would shout, Ampaw would whimper, it went on and on, Vince cringing every time he heard Ampaw get hurt. As the battle went on, Ampaw's cries became more frequent than his shouts.

His breath was ragged. His shouts were growing weaker. His hits lost potency. He was losing.

Somehow, terror didn't consume Vince when he realized it. Perhaps fear had already reached its peak, but he began to desperately search for a way to help. Only a matter of time before Ampaw told him to run, he had to help turn the tide of the fight somehow. But he only knew one move, if you could even call it that. He knew how to release his electricity, struggled to control it, and mostly ended up hitting himself with it.

At least, he used to.

Running around and playing tag with Ampaw, he'd gradually managed to shock himself less and less, and even shoot off less electricity than he managed to produce. Be it marginally or otherwise, he could control it somewhat better. Another loud cry from Ampaw and Vince couldn't help himself; he sprung into action. Bounding out of the hole fast as he could, he turned to the fight and saw a massive, bipedal predator with white fur speckled in cuts and scorch-marks, darker fur on one ear and its front-paws—which held two massive claws each—as if they'd been stained with blood. What felt like an ancient memory told him Zangoose, but he didn't have time to ponder how he knew the creature's name.

The zangoose had several wounds across just what Vince could see, but they didn't remotely compare to Ampaw's. For every cut on the zangoose, there were two deeper on Ampaw. Worse, still was the look of abject horror that streaked across his face when he saw Vince.

But Vince couldn't let himself be daunted. The moment he stepped within range, he pressed his paws into the grass and started blasting the zangoose with every bit of electricity he had, pushing and squeezing and shouting as hard as he could, using all of his focus to make sure all of it hit its mark, even when he didn't feel like he had any left he kept on shooting, even managing to push on when he felt a massive, painful pop in his left patch, until it just stopped altogether. For the entire attack, the zangoose froze, jittering as the bolt shot from its head into the ground, its fur fraying as it filled with static.

Then the shocking stopped. Vince ran out. The zangoose didn't move. It stayed frozen, seizing in place every few moments. Enough hope filled Vince that he let himself collapse (at least, he told himself he'd let it happen, he hadn't actually had much of a choice). He'd used every bit of energy and could feel its absence, like his body had become hollow and weak, unable to hold even its own miniscule weight, and his left cheek ebbed with pain at every beat of his racing heart. But he'd done it, he'd defeated the zangoose! And he hadn't even shocked himself once!

Then the zangoose turned around.

In a blink, Ampaw appeared in front of Vince and the zangoose was now facing both of them, revealing the scar-like patterns on its torso and face as well as several new scorch marks. Now that he was closer, Vince noticed many of Ampaw's wounds dripped blood. The zangoose took a step forward and Ampaw flinched backwards. Vince should have felt terrified, should have immediately started running away, but he could barely keep his head up. He could only manage a whimper when the zangoose took another step forward, Ampaw standing his ground this time.

Just before they jumped at each other, another bolt of electricity engulfed the zangoose, completely freezing him in place. He jumped to the side the moment the bolt stopped to look behind him without completely losing sight of his prey. Before his paws hit the ground, a glowing, bolt-like shape smacked into his back, knocking him forward.

Vince looked at their savior to see the dark fur, curly ears, and long tail ending in a bolt of a raichu. The raichu didn't give the zangoose a moment's rest before unleashing another attack, dashing forward, leaping up to and gripping the zangoose's torso, becoming near motionless while he let out a low, steady growl. Right as the zangoose was about to bat him off, he let out an ear-splitting, "Chu!" and leapt backwards just as a bolt of lightning crashed down onto the zangoose. He froze, smoldering and seizing as he collapsed to the ground. The raichu went over to him, checking to make sure he was no longer a threat. "He feinted," the raichu said.

Vince let out a sigh he didn't realized he was holding, letting his eyes droop. Soon as his eyelids met, a massive, burning jolt shot through him, making him jump up and back as new energy coursed through him, the throbbing pain in his cheek going from painful to awful. He landed eye to eye with Ampaw who seethed with rage. "I told you to wait! I told you to stay hidden! How could you put yourself in danger like that?"

Vince cringed and stepped back, trying to escape the tirade, but Ampaw closed the distance step for step. A stray root tripped him, and he stumbled back into a sitting position, reflexively holding up his fore-paws and bracing for a blow. It never came. Instead, he heard Ampaw's ragged breath. He peaked his eyes open to see Ampaw clutching a particularly deep wound on his right side, wincing as he gasped for air. The raichu ran up to his side, frantically asking, "Are you all right?" as he looked him over.

While he wanted to check on Ampaw as well, Vince couldn't help but focus on his own pain. His left cheek continued to throb in pain, growing in intensity ever so slightly each time. He also felt strangely dizzy, as if his internal compass swiveled between North-West and North-East, making his head spin. He tried to shake it off, but only succeeded in making it exponentially worse. Without a solution, he just cradled his cheek and closed his eyes, hoping it would go away on its own.

"I can't believe you managed to find Short Circuit!" the raichu remarked. While Ampaw's voice was lower than Vince's, the raichu's was low. He couldn't tell if it was low as Peter's or Chris's, but at least it wasn't as painfully loud. It even had a bit of the same comforting air as Ampaw's. "What's wrong, buddy?" he asked, patting Vince on the head.

Squinting his right eye opened, he looked up at the raichu. "I feel dizzy, and my left cheek hurts." Even while he spoke, he couldn't help a small whimper every time it throbbed.

The raichu grabbed his head with both paws and turned it to the side, examining his cheek. "It's a little swollen, and your patch is purplish." He let go and Vince looked up at him, clutching his cheek again. "When did it start?"

"When I was shocking the zangoose, I felt it pop. It kept hurting after that, but it got a lot worse when Ampaw shocked me." When he mentioned Ampaw, he looked over to see him leaning against a tree, clutching his side while he took in ragged breaths. Vince grimaced at the sight.

The raichu stepped in front of him, blocking his vision. "He'll be all right, don't worry," he said, flashing a reassuring smile before going on to ask, "Did you start feeling dizzy around the same time?" Vince shook his head, immediately regretting it as it made his dizziness much worse. "Did it start after Ampaw shocked you?" He nodded. "Do you know how much electricity you used in the attack?"

"All of it," Vince admitted, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. "I used all my electricity and didn't shock myself at all!" He beamed with accomplishment for just a moment before his ailments reminded him he was in pain.

The raichu stifled his laugh to a chuckle, trying (and failing) to hide it behind his paw. "That's very impressive, but you have to be careful doing that." His tone held a light air of scolding to it. "You fried your left cheek." He pat Vince on the head and spread his amused smile wider. "You had a short circuit, Short Circuit!" he chuckled. Vince tried to laugh along, but his pain and the fact he wasn't actually Short Circuit kept the laugh from being very enthusiastic, coming off more hurt than amused. The raichu put away half his smile, scratching behind his ear. "Sorry, you're probably not in a joking mood. Think you can walk?" Vince nodded, pushing himself up. "All right, let's get back to the colony," he said, turning around.

"Wait," Vince interjected. The raichu turned halfway back around and tilted his head. "There's a stone I need to bring with me. I can carry it, I just need to go find it first." The raichu nodded, so Vince turned around and started his search for the stone. At least, he tried to, but within two steps, he'd bumped into something soft and furry that caught him when he fell backwards. He looked up to see the raichu looking down with mixed humor and concern.

"Here, lean on me and I'll help you find it." Before he could agree, he was already walking while leaning on the raichu's side. He described the orb and could have sworn they started walking around in a very small circle even though they didn't once turn. "Is that it?" Vince tried to look in the direction the raichu pointed but couldn't see the orb or the paw the raichu used to point with. After a few more circles forward, Vince looked at the stone held in front of him. "Is this it?"

He nodded, grabbed it, and the two turned around. After several circles, Ampaw appeared in front of them. His breathing had steadied, and even his deepest wounds had stopped dripping. Vince shivered. Ampaw had been his main source of comfort for the past few days, seeing him so hurt made Vince realize what serious danger they'd been in. That he'd put himself in. Without the raichu, they might be meals by now.

The raichu bent over to help Ampaw up, but Ampaw shook his head and started pulling himself up with the tree. "I'm all right," he claimed, wincing once he managed to put weight on his left hind-paw.

"No, you aren't," the raichu commanded, forcibly helping him up.

Ampaw reluctantly submitted to the assistance, letting at least half his weight rest on the raichu. "Thanks, Volt," he sighed, tilting his head forward to get a look at Vince. "Are you okay?"

He tried to look over and face Ampaw, but instead only saw trees, grass and bushes. "He's all right, but he fried his cheek with his attack, so his sense of direction's off. Right, bud?" Vince felt his head get turned suddenly in the opposite direction and was now facing both Volt and Ampaw. He just nodded his head, but he couldn't help wondering what the connection between his cheek and being disoriented was.

"Why does my cheek hurting make me dizzy?" he asked, looking once again in the wrong direction.

"Our electricity is where we get our sense of direction," Volt began to explain, "So hurting a place as important as your cheek, then only having someone else's charge, of course it'd be disorienting."

Of course, Vince echoed in his thoughts, adding sarcasm to the quote. Volt started tugging them forward (at least, Vince assumed it was forward) and they headed on their way. As they walked, Vince quickly grew accustomed to having his neck lightly tugged in what he could have sworn were different directions every time.

Such tugs gradually became less common as Vince regained his concept of forward. The difference between left and right still somewhat eluded him, but he could at least move forward. As the three progressed, Ampaw's breath grew ragged once again, whimpers growing steadily in frequency until he finally asked, "Can we stop for a bit?" between gasps.

Volt quickly agreed, leaning Ampaw up against the nearest tree and Vince went over to sit next to him. At this, Ampaw smiled, wrapping the arm that wasn't clutching his side around Vince. Vince let go of the orb so he could hug Ampaw with both arms. He felt Ampaw's breath, listened to his heartbeat, and felt both steady while they embraced. Vince looked up and saw the pain he knew Ampaw felt didn't show on his face at all, only pure joy.

These embraces had been a constant comfort for Vince these past few days, helping him any time he felt scared or sad on the journey, rejuvenating him when he was exhausted, and for the first time he realized how much relief they brought Ampaw. He scooted even closer, lightly squeezing Ampaw as he did so. Resting his head on Ampaw's shoulder, he felt some drowsiness creep over his eyes.

His eyes fluttered closed, and he began to let his mind wander, a content smile creasing its way across his face. He couldn't tell exactly when he'd fallen asleep, or that he even had until his eyes peeled open to reveal the trees, grass, Ampaw, and Volt had disappeared, replaced by a four-walled den filled with pichu.

Rolling into a sitting position, he rubbed his drowsy eyes awake, feeling his ears brush up against the ceiling. Looking over all the pointed ears, rounded cheeks, jagged tails, he felt his heartbeat quicken. So many pichu. Joyous visions of running carelessly around, shocking, tackling, playing were countered by a familiar feeling of fear that filled him when less optimistic visions began to take their place.

Running in endless pursuit, perpetually "it" because of his inability to tag; getting tackled again and again, forced to the ground because he was too weak to fight back; beaten down one "play-fight" after another. He worked himself up so much, he couldn't help a shriek when he heard someone behind him squeak, "Short Circuit?"

Horror filled him as he watched each and every eye pop open to look at him. They all quickly surrounded him, sniffing him, flooding his ears with questions that all flowed together into a frantic buzz. His eyes bounced over every face, hoping against hope that a way out of there would be written on one of their foreheads. His growing panic must have shown, because they all began to ask, "What's wrong?" one after the other.

Finally, an opportunity for relief grumbled from his stomach. "I'm hungry," he blurted out, shifting onto his paws and struggling through the mass of pichu towards the nearest opening. He finally reached the exit from which a sliver of dim light slipped through. The hole was plenty big enough for him and two other pichu to squeeze out at the same time.

A decently sized field sprawled out before him, with various pikachu poking their heads out of the many dunes that speckled the clearing in all directions. A number of them came over to the torrent of pichu that were now flooding up to the surface, some joining in the play and others just standing by. Vince scanned their numbers for Ampaw but didn't recognize anyone. Pushing onto his hind-paws didn't help much either, just giving him a higher vantage point to watch the pikachu stroll through the colony.

One nearby pikachu, noticing his lost expression, came over. "What's wrong? Are you looking for someone?"

His cheeks sparked nervously as he shifted his gaze to his paws. Nervousness clamped down on his tongue while his mind raced to find the right words. Another turning in his empty stomach pulled his mind back in action. "I'm hungry, where's Ampaw?" he asked, managing to look up.

The pikachu smiled and answered. "You must be Short Circuit!" Vince nodded along. "Your dad's resting in your borough." He just kept nodding along, trying not to wince at the word, "dad," waiting for her to point him in the direction of Ampaw.

When she didn't, he realized she must have assumed he knew where to find his own borough. "Where's that?" he mumbled, more sparks bouncing down his cheeks.

"It's that way," she pointed, "Do you want me to take you there?" Not a hint of the scorn or confusion Vince had expected came across in her voice, just a jovial desire to help. He nodded, following her lead as she turned around and dropped to all fours. The two weaved through the many pikachu going to and fro, some carrying nuts, berries, fruits, seeds (all of which made Vince's mouth water), some alone, some talking to other chus, some giving Vince a smile and a pat as they passed, until they eventually stopped in front of a den that held a familiar scent. "Here it is!" she beamed, giving him a pat on the head. "He's still resting up, so don't be too rowdy with him, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. She smiled at him one more time before heading back to where they came. He descended into the hole, making sure to tread lightly so as not to disturb Ampaw in case he slept. After a few steps, the hole expanded into a modest borough, with a pile of a few (mostly oran) berries, nuts, and fruits, Ampaw lying atop a decently sized patch of fluffy, dried grass, and the orb-half opposite the berries. The orb. Ampaw was asleep. It was morning. He had plenty of time to get out of the forest before night rolled along. Escape finally came within his grasp!

"Short Circuit?" The tired mumble was just barely loud enough to pull Vince out of his scheming. Vince looked over to see Ampaw's eyes half-shut, straining to open as he rubbed them and rolled onto his paws. "Here, I saved something for you!" He frantically limped over to the pile of fruits, and Vince dashed over as the chu turned around, trying to prevent any further limping. Ampaw raised up a shining apple with a glowing smile. "Someone brought me an apple! Your favorite!"

Instead of being infatuated with the shiny, mouth-watering apple, Vince couldn't stop himself from looking at Ampaw. Ampaw, beaten, battered, cut, scratched, maimed to the point he couldn't walk properly, had saved him an apple. Ampaw, who had endured every slash, bite, and swipe in that losing battle to protect him, knew and cared enough about his favorite fruit enough to keep it for him. "Short Circuit?"

Vince couldn't even see the apple or Ampaw through the tears welling up in his eyes. Nevertheless, he tilted his head to look up at Ampaw before throwing his arms around the chu, knocking the apple to the ground. He knew he needed to escape, knew he had family at home, knew he had his humanity to get back.

But how could he leave Ampaw?


A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm trying to make chapters longer to help with the pacing, hope that's coming through. Let me know what you think, be it about that or whatever you thought was noteworthy. Reviews are super helpful and mean a lot to me, I really appreciate your input.