Ahaha…did you survive that last chapter? Cool, because this one is shorter, but still really long. Yeah, I can annoy myself sometimes too, ha!
Anyway, perhaps you should set some time aside for a lengthy read! After all, I have new characters that I was looking to showcase! Well…ok, they're not new, but, we're going a little in-depth with them, as well as finding out what's going on with the heroes.
Oh, and to entice you into sticking around…the ending…should keep you reading. That's all, haha. Enjoy the latest!
...
[Chesnaught]
My eyes opened to the white world around me. I winced and squeezed them shut, blinded by how much brighter everything seemed. Slowly, I opened them again, squinting at the snow around me. Pain fired through my body, and I rolled to my side, groaning at the sting of both my soreness and the icy touch of the snow.
Forcing myself up a bit, too quickly, I fell back to the ground, in a crunchy, yet muffled, plop. Nothing lit up in heightened pain, so I imagined that I hadn't broken anything. Again, I rolled around and pushed myself from the floor, a little slower this time.
It turned out to be too quickly still; as I stood up, the world around me began spinning. I gripped my head and sank back to my knees, growling. Shutting my eyes again, I lifted myself back up again, and then slowly peeked out once more.
With a blink, I glanced down at my now dented armor. Bits of it were broken off in a few places, probably more from the crash landing than from Flygon's attack. Squinting, I noticed my silver shield in the distance. Unsteadily, I lumbered over to it, pushing my feet through the clumps of snow and ice.
If there was any doubt to the force of the…Hyper Beam, that would dissipate with one glance at the hole pierced through my shield. I lifted it from the snow and stared at its core, ripped clean open. Flipping it around, I gazed at the metal that hadn't blasted away, with select segments past the middle instead forced backwards and outwards.
Exhaling, I turned and stumbled, and sank to the ground with a yelp.
"Chesnaught!"
Greninja hurried over as I picked my head up. Gazing at him, I smiled; though his robes had been torn up a bit, he didn't have any signs of heavy damage either.
"H-hey…" My shoulders slumped and I couldn't help myself as my body swayed forward.
"Hang on!" Greninja caught me as I fell into his arms. Pushing me back up and steadying me, he started to look me over. "You've got some cuts and bruises in some openings of your armor. Nothing seems serious yet, but you definitely took the brunt of that attack."
"No, my shield did." Barely, I hoisted it up and heard a slight gasp escape Greninja. "That beam tore straight through and into me next."
He shook his head and studied the shield more carefully, with one hand still keeping me propped up as he crouched down. "It must have just barely passed through the shield in the end of its launch. Only the center is really ripped open, and even with the damage, it's not missing too much. Otherwise, the same would have cut through your armor and into you." He banged on my dented armor and nodded. "In fact, it might have just gotten started as the attack ended."
"That's a pretty picture."
"Hush." I chuckled even as he glared at me. "You still took a heavy force from that beam. And our landing definitely wasn't soft." He pulled his arm back, with part of the sleeve torn open. Slight scratches, one heavy bruise, but otherwise ok. Good. "I took a tumble, but you must have slammed down harder after me."
"Not on you, though, right?"
"No, you kept me behind your arm mostly." He sighed. "Thank you, by the way."
"You're welcome." I managed a grin. "I had to keep at least you safe."
He smiled and released the shield, then rubbed his hand against my cheek. His hand was much warmer than I expected it to be.
"Yikes, you're freezing," he murmured. That made more sense. "We need to find somewhere for you to warm up."
"Just…go get Delphox." I shuddered and sank lower into the snow. "He'll…w-warm me up."
"Um…I don't see him." Greninja glanced around us and shook his head. "This isn't where we were before. Chesnaught, we went flying back further than we realized. I don't see any signs of anyone else around us."
"Then we…n-need to get b-back." I tried to pick myself back up, but moaned and dropped back down. "Damn it."
"Easy, I've got you." Wrapping his arms around and under me, Greninja helped me up from the ground, keeping me steady as we stood up. "There you go."
"Thanks. Now…we need t-to find the others."
Again, Greninja shook his head. "That's unlikely, considering that we're lost. We need to find somewhere for you to rest and recover first."
"But—"
"Ah, no arguing." He bumped me up as he repositioned himself beneath me, taking my weight onto his back and one arm around his shoulders. "It's still snowing out here, heavier than before."
"Wait, r-really?" I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head a bit. As they opened again, I stared ahead and focused as the flurries of snowflakes came into view. "I c-couldn't even see those b-before."
"Good, maybe they're still light for now. But, we need to find somewhere in case it picks up into a real snowstorm." He scanned the environment around us, glancing at the larger rock and ice formations in the distance. "Hopefully, there's a cave that we can duck into. It might still be cold, but we'll be protected."
"Right." My forehead ached and I clutched it with my free hand. "Ugh."
"Are you ok enough to move?"
"Doesn't m-matter, does it?" I glanced at him, and my stomach lurched as his worried eyes. It makes me assume that I've taken more of a hit than I realized. "W-we need to find s-somewhere else to be, and I'm n-not going to g-get there w-with-without walking." I shrugged slightly. "Well, you c-could drag m-me, but that'll t-take longer. And I'm n-not too f-fond of the idea."
"Neither am I." He cupped his left arm around my waist and gripped at my right arm with his. "But I'll help you along. We'll get there together."
"Together," I faintly repeated.
We stepped forward, slowly, and it took more effort than either of us realized. Another step, still a challenge, still staggering onward.
After a bit, though, we gained momentum and trudged through the snow of the Frozen Fields. Somewhere, out in this vast white, I hoped that our friends were searching for us.
[Meanwhile]
A black and carmine burst lights up the sky in the distance. Delphox skids back against the snow, growling at his shattered barrier. Sliding to a halt, he drops to a knee and glances to the side, where Machamp pushes himself back up.
"This doesn't make sense," grumbles the four-armed knight.
"Which? The dragon practically dancing in the cold winds, or the fox not taking as much of a beating from your punches as he should be?"
"Both."
"Yeah, well…" Delphox turns back to the fight before him, as Zoroark flips away from a wild flurry of swipes from Golduck's sword. "They're not only holding their own, but they're taking us down bit by bit."
"And that damn dragon's beam separated us from the others." Machamp grits his teeth as he watches Zoroark spin and kick Golduck backwards. "Damn it."
"That's our cue to get back in."
Staff ablaze, Delphox surges forward, with the wind whipping against him as he charges. Zoroark glances at him through the corner of his eye and snickers, not budging.
Just as Delphox nears, he is knocked from his feet, flying back. Hitting the snow, he flops over and rolls around, forcing himself to a halt. Lifting his head, he glares as Flygon beats his wings, touching down beside Zoroark.
"Oh, this is such fun!" Zoroark claps excitedly and bounces around on his feet. "Can you believe Lucario was even worried about this being a challenge?"
"Well, we were supposed to face off with the whole army for a little longer," murmurs Flygon. "I don't understand why he had me use my Hyper Beam so early in the fight. It's exhausting to use that even just once."
"Clearly, he wanted this." Zoroark gestures at the fallen Empire Knights, some pushing themselves back up from the ground. "Six for us to play with, while he toys with the other six. And we've already incapacitated those extra two, so it's going perfectly thus far!"
"That's even weirder," notes Flygon. "The ninja and his knight were more of a hassle back at the tundra fortress."
"Oh, that was them?" Zoroark smile droops and he combs through his mane. "No wonder he wanted that attack launched out: Lucario probably wanted them out of the way first."
"Yet they weren't the reason that we needed to escape last time. That four-armed oaf was. Him and—"
Flygon yelps as an icy arrow shatters against his body. He shivers as he and Zoroark turn to glower at Weavile in the distance.
"Damn her," growls Flygon. "T-Those stupid arrows are g-getting colder."
"Then drink, baby! Drink!"
Zoroark races off from Flygon as the dragon digs past his breastplate. He pulls out a vial of a teal bluish liquid, and drinks from it. Blinking, his eyes widen as he notices the bottle is nearly empty.
"Uh-oh."
He glances as Delphox rushes at him again, and flies into the sky. Another ice arrow zips the sky, but Flygon bats it away with his tail.
Further away from him, Weavile gapes as the shattered bits of ice cascade from the sky, and the dragon remains undeterred.
She digs another ice arrow from her quiver, her supply running low. Turning back, she readies it between her claw and the bowstring, but winces as Zoroark dashes up to her.
In a flash, Zoroark whips out his kris dagger. Taking the arrow away from her bow, Weavile lifts it to block the dark fox's first swipe.
"Stupid move, little weasel," snarls Zoroark as he brushes forward with the dagger again. It clangs against Weavile's bow, to which the fox grits his teeth at. "That won't save you in close quarters."
"Doesn't need to," mutters Weavile.
Pulling out her dagger, she stabs forward as Zoroark jumps back. He blinks as his grin disappears, while Weavile smirks.
"What? You thought you were the only one with a sharp little toy?"
Not answering, Zoroark dives forward at her, swinging his kris at her. Blocking it with dagger, she knocks the Mountains fox away and twirls around to swipe at him.
Slashing his arm, Zoroark yelps and kicks Weavile back. He clutches his arm and watches blood drip past his fur.
"Blasted…" Grumbling into mumbling, Zoroark recites a quick incantation to halt the blood from gushing out. The cut, however, remains. "At least they'll keep this fun."
Glancing up, Zoroark sidesteps a swinging nunchaku. He sweeps the ground as Politoed bounces up, with Zoroark only swiping the snow.
Quickly, Politoed follows up and bashes the nunchaku against Zoroark's stomach, and then quickly against his shoulder. Twirling it around, he pulls back to slam down against the illusion fox once more.
But Zoroark slashes forward with his kris dagger, forcing Politoed to block with his weapon instead. Weavile rushes forward and slashes at Zoroark again, hitting only armor this time.
Eyes glowing a light blue, Zoroark's twisted grin returns to his face. A crimson aura flows around his body and he lifts his arms up before slamming down to the ground.
Before either Empire knight can react, a pitch-black shockwave zips through the snow, blasting into Weavile and Politoed in a black and carmine flash.
Sailing backward across the frosty terrain, Weavile and Politoed crash down as dark sparks fizzle from their bodies. The two skid to a stop and hesitate before pushing back up from the ground. They look back to find Zoroark rushing back over to Flygon, who spirals through the air to evade pillars of fire and water.
"Ugh. I thought your cut would have thrown him off more," bemoans Politoed. "He shouldn't be so adept with both weapons and magic."
"Him, that jackal that's on their side, and even the dragon is both a brute force combined with special skills," assesses Weavile. "They're all annoying in that regard. But making him bleed proves that we can beat them."
Just as she gets the words out, the pair watches as Carracosta slams into Zoroark, bashing him down into the ground. Wiping his soggy fur, Zoroark recovers quickly and leers at the prototurtle.
"You're in my way," he snarls, his attention shifting between Carracosta and Flygon. "Move."
"Really? You're the one that started all of this," snapped Carracosta. He briefly glances back at Flygon and huffs. "You mean to tell me that you turn tail the second your boyfriend gets into trouble?"
"Running from a fight, you mean?" Zoroark snickers. "Not at all." He raises his blade and crouches into an attacking stance.
"Seems like it, if I'm not mistaken," taunts Carracosta. "Rushing over to the dragon mid-battle, leaving two opponents still standing, and not even looking to fight me? That's certainly not how you're meant to deal with enemies."
"And I suppose this is?!"
Lashing out, Zoroark twists his body around and swipes wildly at Carracosta. The prototurtle turns around and blocks the attacks using his shell.
In a spin, Carracosta slams his flipper down at Zoroark, who flips away from the tekko-powered attack. A burst of snow flies out around Carracosta and he backs away to defend against an oncoming attack.
To his surprise, however, Zoroark has instead run off and continues his way toward Flygon, who continues to dodge attacks from Golduck and Delphox. Though he pursues, Carracosta soon falls behind in the distance.
"Will you just stay still?!" Golduck pants after yelling at the dragon. He whips his tail around and launches another stream of water out at Flygon, who zips past him. "Damn you!"
"You stole my line!"
Barely, Golduck backs away from Zoroark cleaving at him with his kris. He moves his sword to block the dagger, with the dark fox snarling at him.
"Aw, you actually took time out to come defend your boyfriend," taunts Golduck. "How cute. Quaint, but I suppose that is cute."
"It's natural, you shallow fool," snapped Zoroark. "Now, if you don't mind—MOVE!"
Rearing back, Zoroark kicks forward with his leg, sending Golduck flying back. He grins, but gasps just as he turns around.
Machamp shouts and hammers his fists down at Zoroark, directly hitting him. The slam forces Zoroark back.
However, the illusion fox pops right back up and swipes at Machamp with his dagger, striking his armor. Gritting his teeth, Machamp backs away and evades Zoroark's unrelenting assault.
"This isn't possible!" Machamp pulls back and throws a punch forward, hitting Zoroark across the face. The fox spits, but turns back grinning. "How?!"
"You can't just punch away darkness, you know."
"We'll see about that!"
Quickly, Machamp throws a flurry of punches, only to watch Zoroark sidestep each attack. He backs away as the fox rushes him again.
Swiping up with his free hand, Zoroark scratches at Machamp, forcing the knight to stumble back. He pulls back with his kris dagger, slashing down at Machamp.
Stumbling slightly, Machamp yelps as the dagger grazes his shoulder. He grasps it and finds a cut forming.
Turning back as Zoroark slashes up with his dagger, a clang sounds out. A sword flips through the air and to the ground, while Delphox fumbles backwards.
"What?! Where did you…?!"
"You wanted me to stop hurting your precious dragon?" Delphox huffs as he twirls his stick around. "Fine. But now you get yours."
Jabbing it forward, a fireball flies from Delphox's wand. Zoroark raises his hand to counter it, but it's too quick and bursts over his hand. Yelling, Zoroark clutches his hand.
"How pathetic." Delphox readies another fireball and launches it out. "Burn quickly."
Instead of zipping over to the opposing fox, however, the mage gawks as a long green tail swats the fireball to the ground and into the snow. It sizzles as it's put out, and Flygon hisses.
"Both of you, huh?" Machamp scoops up his sword and points it forward. "Against both of us. Let's settle this."
"Just you two?" Golduck leaps at Flygon, who scoops Zoroark up and twirls away from the slash. The duck grumbles and backs away before the dragon can retaliate. "Three on two, because I could care less about even odds."
"That makes six of us, then."
An ice arrow crashes into Flygon's wing and he screeches as he flails in the air. Weavile, Politoed, and Carracosta rush up to join their allies as the dragon regains control of his flight pattern.
"Z-Zoroark, what do we do?" Flygon whimpers at the sight of all six. "I'm running out of my Yache Potion."
"Y…yeah, and my Chople one is running low too," groans Zoroark. "Though…I wish I had an Occa Potion instead." He meets Flygon's worried eye briefly. "I'm going to need a minute. Keep us airborne."
He mutters softly at his hand while Flygon soars into the sky, evading a volley of arrows and fire streams. Under a blue light, the burns weaken and fade slightly.
The six Empire knights watch the dragon carry the fox away from them and out of sight, flying off.
"Oh, blasted cowards." Carracosta sighs and lowers his flippers, shaking his head. "Well, no matter, they're not our primary objective."
"Forget that one too," quips Delphox. "My friends were sent sailing off from that dragon's destructive beam! We have to rescue them."
"Now's not the time," assesses Weavile, glancing at the sky before slightly lowering her bow.
"Of course it is!" Delphox folds his arms and frowns. "You can't seriously expect me to just wait for them to die, can you?"
"They might be, but I think they're tougher than that." Weavile shakes her head. "But that makes no difference. We can't go help them while those two are out of our sight. If we go looking for Chesnaught and Greninja now, we could be playing right into their trap."
"Or worse," adds Politoed, "we could end up finding Greninja and Chesnaught, only to have them get caught up in our fight too."
"But we can't just leave them," protests Delphox. "Not after those horror stories about loss and death out here, we can't!"
"Hey, I understand how you feel," soothes Politoed. "My brother and I would rather tear each other bit by bit, but…not even I can really stand being split up from him, not like this. He…he could really be in trouble." He swallows hard and briefly shakes his head wildly. "B-but knowing him, I'd imagine that he's probably fine. Anyway, my point is, we'll get to the rest, but we do need to follow what Weavile suggests and keep our focus here first."
Reluctantly, Delphox nods. "…I don't like it. But…you're right."
"Believe us, Delphox, none of us want to be out here." Carracosta sighs as his shoulders slump. "We've heard and told enough stories to give us nightmares for months, and now we're out, lost, in the exact place that we've feared for the longest. I wouldn't claim that we're as good as dead, but it's not tipped in our favor."
"Bah, we'll get through it," insists Golduck. "Last thing I'm dealing with is dying with you lot stranded out here."
"Wow," deadpans Weavile. "Thanks."
"Oh please, I didn't mean it like that." Golduck rolls his eyes, waving his hand in front of his face. "Dying out in the middle of nowhere to those creeps? I refuse to go down with that as my legacy."
"…Honestly, I'd rather not die like this either," admits Carracosta. "Morbid and hopeless as it seems, those trembling tools shouldn't be how we die. We need to drag them back down from the skies and finish this."
"If we can get this over with already so we can regroup with our fellow knights, that'd be ideal." Machamp folds his lower arms, while one upper arm gingerly touches the side of his head. "Alakazam's thoughts have been racing and panicked every time I try to reach out to him."
"Wait." Delphox blinked and shook his head. "You can…do that?"
"Not too effectively, but yes." Machamp let his arm drop and shook his head. "Pairs that evolve in a trade evolution always have some kind of bond. It's different for everyone, but in our case, I can slightly sense Alakazam's thought patterns, and rarely, reach out to his mind. Likewise, he can sense my flow of energy, able to tell if I'm overexerting myself and the like."
"So, every time you get punched too hard, Alakazam can sense that," interrupts Golduck. Machamp glares as the duck huffs. "Figures. He's probably an absolute mess if he can actually tell how much you're getting beaten up."
"Like you're not?!"
"Yeah, I am, but I don't have my not-boyfriend feeling every bit of thrashing that I'm taking." He folds his arms and wins out against Machamp's glare, which subsides as the four-armed knight deflates. "If he really is able to tell how hard of a bashing you're taking, you either need to isolate yourself from this fight, or get it over with."
"What, do you think I'm not trying?" Machamp pounds his fists together. "They won't let up for a second, so I can't either. They'll soar back down any second, I'll bet. The sooner we get through this, the quicker we can start making our way back to the others. Then, we need to focus our efforts on rescuing Chesnaught and Greninja."
"Do you really think they can be found?" Weavile sighs. "Not to be the pessimist of our group, but it's going to be really difficult to bring them back home."
"It can be done if we really start to work together," asserts Delphox. "We're too broken up on how we're fighting right now, too spread out. What we need to do is concentrate less on saving our own hides and focus on protecting one another."
"That's not how it works up here," scoffs Golduck.
"Tough, that's what we need if we really want to pull through this," snaps Delphox. "I'm not suggesting that we disregard ourselves entirely, but we need to function as a cohesive unit. We're taking on those two pests one by one, or just with a single partner. That's not good enough." He pats his staff against his open palm and nods. "There are six of us, and I'll be damned if we actually lose to the likes of those two dastards."
"So," voices Politoed, "how do you suggest we work together, uh, better?"
"We fight together," declares Delphox. "If there's one thing that my former kingdom wanted us to do, it was to establish strong bonds with one another. Your emperor was impressed and pleased upon learning that Chesnaught and Greninja were in a relationship, and implied that it could be key in their survival out here." Delphox exhales and inhales. "We're not exactly perfect together, but we need to fight like a true team out here. Guard and attack with one another like you would your closest comrades. Picture how you'd fight with someone that matters and bring that ferocity forward." He smirks. "I know that we all have at least one person we'd fight our hardest for."
"Yeah?" Golduck folds his arms. "Who's yours?"
"My best friend." Delphox sighs and glances down. "If she were out here with me, I wouldn't let anyone come close to harming her." He jerks his head back up. "I know you all have someone that'd you do the same for."
Staring quietly, the other knights check with one another, waiting silently for opposition to the idea. Nothing comes.
"See?" Delphox tightens his fist and raises it. "We can redirect that ferocity, that protective instinct, and use it with one another." He frowns as the knights glance at one another, raising eyebrows or narrowing eyes. Sighing and shaking his head, Delphox taps his stick into his open palm. "I know you lot have worked together before. Now let's really test it."
"You Grass Fields geeks have the most farfetched plans, that's for sure," murmurs Golduck. He watches as the others turn to him, puffing out his cheek and waiting a moment. "Come on, who really thinks that we're not working together enough?"
"I don't," voices Machamp. Golduck lowers his eyes and rests his free hand on his hip. "Look, just because I've become good friends with the three newcomers doesn't make my opinion any less valid. They're right, we're not a cohesive unit."
"Chesnaught proved that," notes Weavile. The group shifts their attention to her as she folds her arms. "He helped us win against Abomasnow and the three bears with an easy tactic change. Machamp, Mienshao, and I would have never even thought of it, not because it was anything impossible, but because we didn't trust or understand one another." She picks her head up and smirks at Delphox, whose ears twitch in anticipation. "Delphox is spot on with this; we're not working together properly."
"Greninja also pointed out our lack of mercy in combat," recalls Carracosta, as he taps his flipper against his chin. "Being so hard on one another does nothing to strengthen teamwork. Perhaps we need to forgo what we're used to and follow through on this method."
"Then," Politoed glances around for a moment, looking at his allies again, "all we have to do is work together, like we're working with the ones that matter most to us?" He turns to Delphox, who smiles and nods. "…That seems easy enough."
"It should really be for one another, not someone else that isn't here," mutters Weavile, picking at her armor with a sullen frown.
"Well, let's be honest: we're not that attached to each other," clarifies Golduck. "This still doesn't seem like it'll work out, but if everyone is willing, we might as well try."
"Try as much as you like!"
Twisting around, the sextet watches as Flygon flies back into their view. Once low enough, Zoroark hops from his arms and slams down into a mound of snow, grinning wickedly. His arms have several bandages that wrap around his wounds.
"Your defeat is guaranteed either way."
"Quickly recovered from that burn I gave you?" Delphox folds his arms, a smirk concentrated on his opponents. "Not bad. And it's impressive that you two can handle some of your bigger weaknesses." He narrows his eyes as Flygon stores a pouch onto his belt. "If, of course, you're actually overcoming them."
"If we're still standing, I'd imagine we're surmounting whatever you're throwing at us."
"Oh?" Golduck sneers. "Let's see if that holds water, shall we?"
He runs forward as Weavile rapidly launches arrows past the duck and at their enemies. Another dark burst flows from Zoroark as he shatters the icy arrows, while Flygon surges to meet the duck.
Skidding to a halt, Golduck hesitates as Flygon swoops at him. The duck then steps aside with a smirk, as a ball of water quickly launches itself into the dragon.
Flygon screeches as Carracosta rams into his body, knocking the dragon to the ground. He squints, but then forces his eyes open as Golduck cleaves his sword down.
Watching Flygon roll away from the slice, Zoroark charges to him. Fireballs impede his route as he twists and turns to evade the barrage.
His advancement is stopped altogether as Machamp storms into the illusion fox's path. Alternating between sword sweeps and powerful punches, Machamp forces the fox further back still.
While Zoroark manages to avoid most of Machamp's strong blows, some graze him. Though he swings back with his dagger, the knight pulls his arms away fast enough to evade counterattacks.
Politoed hurries forward and lashes down with his nunchaku, whacking the back of Zoroark's head and forcing him down to the ground with a yelp. Snow bursts around him as the frog rears back to attack again.
Abruptly, a loud snarl erupts from Zoroark as dark waves blast his opponents back. Baring his teeth, Zoroark spirals around bursts of fire and spells from Delphox, who repeatedly slings out magical bursts that just miss the darker fox.
Glancing down, Delphox fires at it, with an eruption of snow smashing Zoroark to the ground. The dark fox lifts his head up slowly, staring ahead.
Though Flygon rises back from the ground, another set of ice arrows crash into him. He wails out and sweeps his tail to smash a wave of snow at Weavile.
Carracosta spins around in front of Weavile and lowers his head as the wave crashes against his shell. He glances past his shoulder and glares as Flygon flaps his wings, clutching his chest as he brushes off icy shards.
Though Golduck throws an Ice Punch at the dragon, he misses and Flygon tackles him backward. Tumbling back, Golduck is caught by Carracosta, while Weavile fires another pair of arrows at Flygon.
They hit, and the dragon screeches from the pain. He grasps at his belt and opens the pouch, sliding out an empty vial. Popping it open, Flygon opens his mouth a bit and waves it, with nothing left to dribble out.
"Uh oh."
Turning, Flygon's eyes widen as he spots Zoroark struggling to fend off Machamp and Politoed. He rears back to fly over, but another arrow barrage crashes into him, sending him crashing back to the ground.
Writhing from his pain, Flygon jerks his head around as Golduck strolls over him. An icy mist swirls around his hand. Flygon's eyes waver as sweat drips down the side of his face. Pulling back, Golduck pauses at spotting the empty vial and smirks.
"Was it a potion the whole time?" He chuckles. "Pathetic. But, at least that explains it." Golduck focuses on Flygon, who tries to push himself away. "Now, let's see how much this actually hurts you."
Rearing back further, Golduck then drives forward and slams his frosty fist into Flygon, who screams in agony.
Another punch elicits another scream into the air, as Zoroark slams the ground and unleashes loose another dark burst. Machamp and Politoed back away as it rushes through the snow at them, unable to rush away.
Waiting for it to hit them, the pair blinks as bright wall appears and negates the brunt of the attack. They turn back as Delphox lowers his wand and nods.
Zoroark rushes to Flygon as Weavile nocks an arrow. She fires it out and watches as it shatters against Zoroark, but the illusion fox barely loses momentum.
Breathing in and out again, Weavile crafts another arrow and launches it. Again, it hits, but Zoroark surges forward still. She glances at Carracosta, who pulls back with the tekko on his flippers. Watching Zoroark near them, Weavile slides her hand to the dagger on her belt.
Both knights jump as they watch Politoed fly across the sky and slam Zoroark down. He springs away from the downed fox as Machamp steps over, slamming a fist into Zoroark as he pushes up.
With a grunt, Zoroark slips out a vial, and rolls away from Machamp's next punch. He takes a quick swig to empty the potion's remaining contents. Though Machamp lands another punch, Zoroark pushes himself from the ground.
"Again with this?!"
Machamp pulls back and throws another punch. Zoroark grabs and redirects the knight using his own power against him, throwing him to the ground. Growling, Zoroark lifts his kris dagger.
"I could end you in an instant," threatens the dark fox.
"Not happening." Zoroark flinches as the blade is zapped from his hand. He watches as the fox mage strolls over to him, wand ready. "Shame. Your blade lacks your Psychic resistance."
"You think that I need it?!" Zoroark raises his claw.
"No," interrupts Golduck. "But I know something you do need."
Jerking his head up, Zoroark spins around. His mouth falls open as his eyes trace a sword against Flygon's neck. Golduck lowers his eyes with a dark grin across his bill.
"What's wrong? Weren't you in the middle of an attack?" Golduck barely contains his bubbling laughter as Zoroark falters. "You're more than welcome to follow through. As am I, right?"
"Bastard!"
"Whoops, I think this blade is slipping." Zoroark gasps as Golduck laughs. "Come on, don't you want to see how strong your precious monster's scales are?"
"W-wait a second!" Zoroark lifts his hands into the air. "Easy…don't hurt the dragon, ok? Let's just take a breath," he steps forward, disarmingly, "I'll stop attacking…"
Tightening the grip on his blade, Golduck watches as Zoroark approaches. Carracosta rears back his flipper as Zoroark blitzes at the duck.
Throwing a punch, Zoroark knocks the blade away from Flygon's neck. He then throws another at Golduck as the dragon guards him from the prototurtle's attack.
Golduck fumbles back as his allies swarm the assailing pair. Latching his arms around Zoroark, the dragon leaps into the air, evading an onslaught from Machamp and Politoed.
"Give me a second while I give them a rumble," whispers Flygon to Zoroark.
"A what—?"
Zoroark doesn't finish as Flygon lobs him further into the sky. Exhaling, he sails down to the ground and stomps hard, launching an Earthquake across the snow.
Clouds of snow burst as the ground crackles and ripples toward the Iceberg Knights. Five of them fumble around as they attempt to get away from the oncoming quake.
However, Carracosta runs toward the cracking ground. He slams his flippers to the ground and raises them, along with several layers of ice that block each wave of the Earthquake's tremors.
Mouth agape, Flygon barely manages to lift his arms and catches the plummeting Zoroark.
"It's over," softly realizes Flygon.
As Zoroark climbs from his arms, Politoed leaps forward with an Ice Ball in hand. He slams it into the dragon, and Flygon yelps out as he crashes to the ground.
Shouting, Zoroark pulls his claw, but gasps as a heavy chop hits him in the back. Barely glancing past the corner of his eye, Zoroark manages to spot Machamp as the four-armed knight grabs the fox and throws him down, into the dragon.
"These…damned…frostbitten freaks," manages Zoroark. "We can't…lose…"
"Z-Zoroark." Flygon coughs between pants and Zoroark slides off of him, glancing back at the approaching sextet. "I…I can't…keep up." The dark fox inspects the green dragon's frost coated body, with shards of ice jutting from his shivering chest and droopy tail. "S-Sorry."
"Don't be." Zoroark helps Flygon from the ground as the knights surround them. He exhales and nods. "Let's get out of here."
Beating his wings, Flygon wraps his arms under Zoroark's arms, while he wraps his around Flygon's waist. The dragon bursts from the ground and rockets into the sky, soaring away from the knights.
Weavile pulls back and launches an arrow at the dragon, who manages to spiral away from it. She readies another and narrows her eyes.
"Forget it, Weavile." Delphox rests his hand on her shoulder. "We've won."
"Have we?" She sucks in her cheek and puffs it back out. "They still split us up from the others. We still didn't capture them. They ran us ragged."
"We're alive." Delphox smiles. "They're gone, at least for now. We can call it our win."
Hesitating, Weavile relents and nods, smirking at Delphox. "Yeah, I guess that's the important stuff. Good plan, by the way. Still needs work on our part, but it's a start."
"Yeah, we really came together! Oh, and that was a great Wide Guard you pulled off, Carracosta," compliments Machamp. He softly pats the prototurtle's shoulder and grins.
"Thanks. I forget that it actually has its uses sometimes," admits Carracosta, chuckling. "Glad we're just finally rid of those two cowardly fools."
"Me too," chimes in Politoed. "But I thought Golduck was really going to gut that dragon!"
"It was very tempting," confesses Golduck. "Either way, I enjoyed watching that wicked fox squirm."
"Do you think they were holding back, though?" Politoed folds his arms. "There were a few instances that I'm pretty sure that…Zoroark could have stabbed one of us and ended the fight like that. Even if they wanted to capture us, they didn't need to keep all of us alive." He glances around at his unnerved allies and tilts his head. "Is that a little too crazy? Am I over thinking it?"
"Truthfully, probably not." Machamp shrugs. "But, I'd rather not focus on that."
"He's right," agrees Delphox. "What's important now is that we work on finding the others as quickly as possible. Machamp?"
"Hm? Oh, right, Alakazam." Inhaling, Machamp raises one hand and lightly touches his head. Slowly, he exhales and shuts his eyes. "Give me a minute or two."
"Just tell your not boyfriend to hurry it up," grumbles Golduck, rubbing his cheek.
Weavile and Politoed sink to the ground and sigh. Carracosta and Delphox quietly exchange a nod before surveying the open, icy landscape around them.
[Elsewhere]
Snow crunches beneath the knights' feet as they wander across the Frozen Fields. Mienshao lets his sleeves drag against the ground a bit before lifting them back up, and Delibird wipes the snow tracks. Poliwrath glances around the area, spotting glaciers and icy walls in the distance around them.
Froslass floats up in front of the knight's face, interrupting his observation. "See anything you like?"
"Honestly, Froslass, I don't have time for trickery right now."
"That didn't answer my question."
"And you're not getting one."
"It doesn't take a lot to pay a female a nice compliment, you know," taunts the ghostly mage. "But fine, I'll leave you be. For now."
"Hope we can leave here soon." Quagsire yawns. "I'm a…little hungry, and getting sleepy again."
"No sleeping out here," orders Poliwrath. "We don't want to freeze. Or, more likely, get lost…forever."
"And I thought it was between Weavile and Carracosta for the bleakest knight," mutters Mienshao.
"Delibird, don't you know your way around most places?" Froslass sways over to the short penguin. "You are the one that delivers most messages for us."
"When I explore known routes, yes," corrects Delibird, twisting his bag-like tail around. "We're out in these fields; I don't know backwards from forwards out here."
"Couldn't you…figure it out?" Quagsire yawns again. "You're also pretty…good at that. Plotting…new paths…"
"Right, but again, that's when I'm familiar with the environment. The Frozen Fields are uncharted and specifically left alone."
"Let's not focus too much on not knowing this place," suggests Mienshao. "We're here now, so we are literally in the unknown. We might as well make the best of it and make sure we complete our mission."
"She's right!" Poliwrath places his hands on his hips and nods. He pauses as Mienshao darkly glares at him. "That is…uh…he's right!" A nervous chuckle escapes him. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," grumbles Mienshao. "That's only the fourth or fifth time this week alone. I'm already losing track of it myself."
"Um…doubly sorry."
"Again, I'm used to it." Mienshao sharply exhales and shrugs. "At least I have a friend that can relate to that now."
"So…let's go find that prophet!" Froslass twirls around. "Or…uh…a way out? …Which is our main objective?"
"What we need to do is get back with our group already!"
The others halt and turn back to Alakazam, who hastily brushes his mustache as he paces. They exchange expressions of apprehension and bafflement with one another before returning to watching him.
"Uh…Alakazam?" Poliwrath steps forward a bit. "You ok? You seem a little…jumpy."
"Do I?!" The mage yanks on his mustache and grits his teeth. "None of you seem as concerned about this."
"We are, just…staying focused." Poliwrath shrugs. "It's not like we're not worried about the others. I, uh, I may not be my brother's best friend, but…I don't like being totally cut off from him, especially in this kind of environment."
"You don't understand!" Alakazam shakes his head. "I can feel Machamp taking more hits than he should be, and he's grown more exhausted the longer we've stayed apart. The others are definitely in need of our help!"
"Uh…you can what?"
"They're connected from their trade evolution," explains Froslass. "Trade evolutions share bonded traits with one another, in some capacity or another. Depending upon relations between the pair, they can have just a brief bond, or one that changes them for life." She smiles softly. "I don't think we need to go over which one Alakazam falls under, do we?"
"Never got trades," mutters Poliwrath. "Guess that never helped with Politoed…"
"So then," intervenes Mienshao, "can you use that to guide Machamp back to us? A leaf guided by the wind, ah…ok, I can't really think of a clever little proverb right now, but it would be great if you could."
"That's what I'm trying to do!" Alakazam wildly scratches his head, and then slowly drags his hands down over his face. "But I can't keep a long enough connection with him, and every time he takes one hit too many, his ruptured energy bursts interrupt my concentration and we can't properly establish a link! And this just keeps happening, so they are clearly in dire need of our help!"
"Yikes, calm down, Alakazam," urges Delibird, against Alakazam's protesting groans. "I'm sure they're fine. Golduck is with them, along with Delphox and Carracosta. If anything, I'd be more worried about us."
"Well, on that much, I can agree."
Halting, the sextet exchange unnerved expressions with one another. They turn their gaze upon the fields around them, only finding that there are mounds of snow, walls of ice, and glaciers in scattered positions around them.
Laughter rings out all around them. "Sorry, I'm sorry…this is just so terribly enjoyable, watching everyone freak out."
Touching his head lightly, Alakazam turns and scans the area around them. His eyes glow briefly, but soon fade. "Glacier to the right, he's behind it."
"Oh boo, are you a Psychic?" Lucario emerges from behind the glacier that Alakazam called out. "And that much more of a head case than the fox mage, no less."
"Why don't we find out who the real headache is?" Alakazam slides out his spoons and narrows his gaze to the opposing warrior.
"Alakazam, hold," interrupts Mienshao. "Perhaps he can still be reasoned with."
"Yeah, Alakazam," laughs Lucario. "Listen to the lady, will you?"
"…I take it back." Mienshao flipped his sleeves up, revealing his kabutowari. "Let's bury him once and for all."
"Do try."
Together, Mienshao and Alakazam charge forward. Waiting, Lucario smirks and raises his hand.
A pillar of snow bursts up and blasts Alakazam skyward. Mienshao skids to a halt and rolls aside, dodging the next snow geyser.
Undeterred, Lucario waves his hand, causing snow to quickly drift from under Mienshao. The ermine falls over and slams into the ground, groaning.
"Cute tricks, but that's nothing." Lucario turns to find Froslass drift up to him. "Ready for a real magic show?"
"Now, now," taunts Lucario. "A good magician saves his best tricks up for a proper finale." He catches sight of her icicle staff and laughs. "And look at you, still channeling magic through a wand. Adorable."
"Oh, it's not for lack of experience," giggles Froslass. Her eyes darken as she lowers the staff. "It's to balance my strength."
Raising her hand, a purple spell forms as she swirls it around. Lucario rolls his eyes, but soon glances down to find the snow freezing around his legs.
"…Well played."
Froslass jabs her fist forward, and the spell sails at Lucario. He dips his body sideways, evading her attack.
Frowning, she spins her specter around and floats closer to Lucario. He winks at her, a fireball in hand.
"Just not well enough, huh?"
Blasting the ice around his legs, Lucario tumbles away and launches an Aura Sphere at Froslass, knocking her away.
Still on the ground, Lucario gazes up to see a sai stabbing down at him. He rolls aside and sweeps at Poliwrath's legs, knocking the frog to his level.
"Feeling down, are you?" Lucario smirks as he rises. "How unfortunate."
Constructing a bone-shaped club, Lucario spins it around and whacks Poliwrath head-on. The frog drops his sai and clutches his body with a wheezing grunt.
"Gracious, you'd better get that checked out."
"Well, I think I've got just the thing!"
Blinking, Lucario turns around as a glowing white orb lands into one of his hands. He tilts his head before the ball bursts and blasts him away, into an iceberg.
Delibird shuffles forward and readies another Present as Lucario slides back to the ground with a growl.
"Do you need some yourself?" He lifts the orb with a grin. "Because I've got plenty right here."
"That façade is unlikely to fool anyone, you realize."
"Ha, you think—"
Before Delibird can even collect his thoughts, Lucario zips over with his club. The penguin stumbles back as Lucario quickly hammers the club over his opponent's head.
Wailing, Delibird drops his Present and clutches his head. Spinning around him, Lucario lifts the club back and slams it into Delibird's back, launching him at the same iceberg the jackal hit.
Slipping down from it, Delibird moans and drops his head. He gawks upon spotting his Present, which explodes and buries the penguin into the iceberg.
"Huh. A charming bonus," notes Lucario, resting a hand on his hip. "Now, where was I…?"
"Hmm…six feet under."
Glancing over his shoulder, Lucario spirals around to dodge Quagsire's katars, but takes a harsh blow from the knight's tail.
Skidding back, Lucario back flips away from another katar swipe. He raises an eyebrow as the salamander follows through with the attack and buries his blade into the ground.
"…Oh, you're trying to launch an Earthquake, I get it now." Lucario chuckles. "Clever, aren't you?"
"On a good day."
"Guess this wouldn't be one."
Digging his bone into the ground, Lucario vaults himself into the air and twirls over Quagsire. Halting his attack, Quagsire turns around in time to watch an Aura Sphere hit him directly.
Bouncing off of a wall, Lucario lands and rolls along the ground. Snow splashes up as Quagsire falls over, as Lucario dives on top of him.
He punches the salamander across the face three times, each blow with more strength than the last. Kicking off from Quagsire, Lucario blasts him again with an Aura Sphere, burying the knight into the ground.
"Next time, you'll need to properly back up your back talk."
A white glow coats Lucario's hand as he waves it back and forth. The ground crumples around Quagsire as he the snow and ice buries him beneath the earth.
Squinting, Lucario seals the snow and ice around Quagsire, leaving just a small hole open near his face.
"Sporting chance," mocks Lucario.
"Oh, yours?"
Heavily sighing, Lucario sidesteps Mienshao's swipe with his kabutowari. Quickly, Lucario strikes Mienshao's arm, forcing the ermine to drop his weapon.
His eyes widen upon spotting a menacing smile from Mienshao, as if releasing the weapon had been his plan.
Pulling his arm back, Mienshao whips Lucario harshly across the face. He follows up immediately with his other hand, whipping Lucario in the stomach and forcing the warrior to double over.
"My, my," laughs Mienshao. "And here I thought I had a delicate touch."
He pulls his arms back once again and hammers forward with his long whip-like fur, striking Lucario to the ground.
"Alakazam, go!"
Forcing his eyes open, Lucario struggles to rise back up. Alakazam teleports behind him as his eyes glow a soft blue.
"Guess I really am the headache." He lightly touches his head, and Lucario shouts out. Telepathically, he adds in, That makes you the head case, however.
Lucario howls as he clouds his head with aura, to no avail. He blinks and stares at a tall reptilian figure with green, armor-like skin.
"Use whatever means necessary, Lucario," rings out a sturdy, yet feminine voice.
"You know that I will," agrees Lucario's voice, "but only by my hand, madam. With proper restraint."
"Restraint like yours needs to be unshackled. You could be a true leader that way."
Alakazam chuckles. The Mountains Queen herself, huh?
"Stay away from my mind!"
Growling, Lucario swipes behind him with his club, to which Alakazam easily sidesteps. He bends one of his spoons over Lucario and digs it into the aura around the jackal's head, taking a bit of it away.
"She sent you on a mission here, and big surprise, it is related to the prophet."
"You know nothing!"
No…it appears that you don't.
"May we have more information, My Queen?" Lucario's voice is slightly unsteady. "We could find it useful. More than just a meager box would be helpful."
"Everything you need to know has already been discussed," reminds the Queen's voice.
"Get out of my head, sorcerer!"
Lucario growls and shakes his head wildly about, his eyes aglow bright blue. Alakazam flinches as he continues to concentrate on Lucario's mind.
"My, my, she hasn't explained much of anything to you, has she?" Alakazam wags his finger disapprovingly. "Such a shame. I would have thought she would have explained this whole debacle through properly."
"She did, or what we needed…hey! Get out!"
Lighting his hand, Lucario slings a spell back and fires it at Alakazam. The mage leaps aside, but loses his concentration.
"Mienshao!"
"On it!"
Spiraling around in a twisted leap, Mienshao whips his arms around and slams down at Lucario.
Rolling away, Lucario manages to evade the first strike. However, as the second comes crashing down, he jumps up and latches onto it.
"Wait, what?!"
"Ooh, these are nice and soft," purrs Lucario. "A pity."
He tugs Mienshao forward, forcing the knight into a stumble. Lucario releases one hand from the fur and fires another spell back at Alakazam, who catches it with his spoons.
"Taking far too long, my good sire," jeers Lucario.
Turning back to the struggling Mienshao, Lucario's arms glow in an orange light as he lifts his opponent into the air. Quickly, he pulls down, slamming Mienshao into the ground, with a burst of snow erupting around him.
"Easily managed." Lucario steps around and readies to block a spell. He lowers his hand and backs up a step as Poliwrath and Froslass guard Alakazam. "…Ah."
"Ugh, even he needs to learn how to really compliment a lady," grumbles Froslass. "Honestly, doesn't anyone teach a knight etiquette anymore?"
"…Technically, I'm not a knight," corrects Lucario.
"We apologize," mocks Poliwrath, pounding his fist into his palm. "In a second, though, you'll be even less than nothing."
He pulls back his fist as Lucario rapidly unsheathes his sword. Poliwrath winks as the jackal stumbles back again.
A purple spell blasts the warrior back and crashing against the snow on the ground. He skids to a stop as Froslass jabs her rod forward, with a dark purple wind billowing from behind her and into Lucario.
Each gust of wind strikes Lucario and knocks him back further, forcing him to slice aimlessly with his sword to propel himself forward again. Reaching the ghostly mage, he strikes down with his blade, which she guards with her staff.
"Admirable, but pointless."
"Um…that was my line," mutters Lucario.
Abruptly, a sharp pain rises as he is flung back and away from Froslass. Staggering back, Lucario manages to look up as Poliwrath hammers forward with his heavy fist again, smashing the jackal back and into a wall again.
"Should I keep going?"
"As much as I'd enjoy allowing it, I must implore you to desist." Alakazam stepped forward. Straightening up, he turns to Poliwrath. "Um, that means you stop."
"Yeah, I know," snaps Poliwrath. "I'm tough, not stupid."
"Oh, right, of course." Alakazam clears his throat. "Excuse me."
Tapping his hands to his head, the mage's eyes glow blue once again, and Lucario howls once more as he grasps his head.
"N-no, get away from there!"
"Beg pardon, but I am far too curious about your motivation." Alakazam tapped into Lucario's mind once more, with a soft glow over both of their eyes. "Just what is it that makes you so…?"
A scream rings out, and for a moment, only Alakazam and Lucario stand around. Alakazam blinks and suddenly finds himself in a craggy environment, with gray and brown stones surrounding him. A small village burns behind Lucario as the jackal grabs at his ears.
"What the…?"
Softly, a silver bell drops in front of Lucario, letting out a soft ring. He gasps and grabs at it, unable to pick it up from the ground.
"No…no…please…!"
Blinking, Alakazam backs away as Lucario lifts his head, scowling directly at the mage. Tugging on his mustache, Alakazam glances around at his comrades in the frosty fields once again, who tilt their heads in confusion at their astonished ally.
"Just what—?"
"Never. AGAIN!"
Lucario dives forward and tackles Alakazam into the ground. He raises a fireball above his head and launches it down as they slide back, missing Alakazam's head.
"Blasted telepaths like you deserve no mercy for trifling like that!"
Consumed with a raging aura, blue flames burst from around Lucario as Alakazam stops skidding and backs away.
"You should die…you deserve it…you do…!"
"…Then what are you waiting for?"
Panting, Lucario fixates his glare on Alakazam, who observes the warrior. A spell materializes in his hand as he pulls it back.
A icy gust blows over Lucario's hand, which drops behind him in a case of ice. Fumbling, Lucario falls back as the enraged aura around him dissipates.
"Poliwrath, end it."
An Ice Ball in hand, Poliwrath slams down and punches it through Lucario. The ball shatters and Lucario gasps as the punch follows through into his gut.
Pulling back his fist again, Poliwrath prepares to hammer down once more, but Lucario grasps his blade. Jabbing back, he punches the hilt into Poliwrath, forcing the knight to stagger back.
Froslass floats over and aims her staff as Alakazam rises with his spoons. Quickly, Lucario launches himself up with a burst of snow, jumping back and spinning around.
He swings at Froslass, which she blocks the blow. However, Lucario quickly jumps off from his attack and strikes at her again, swinging up and knocking her back.
With his free hand, Lucario creates a red ball of magic and presses it into Froslass. She wheezes as it bursts, and Froslass flies back from the warrior, who dives away from Alakazam's Psybeam.
Heavily breathing, Lucario hesitates and glares at Alakazam. The mage pauses as well, before straightening up again.
"So, it's answers that you seek," muses Alakazam. "And your Queen keeps those from you."
"She's not 'my' Queen," snarls Lucario. "And you know nothing."
"I know that you're in pain." Alakazam lowers his arms and slides his spoons behind his waist garments. "Please, I'm certain that we can—"
"Don't!" Lucario fires a spell, which sails past Alakazam and crashes into an iceberg behind him, shattering it. "Stay away from me…!"
"You can't run from that, Lucario."
"I'm not running."
"But you want—"
"What I want is for you to stay out of my head, and either fight me, or let me go."
"Please, I understand the agony that you're—"
"Choose!"
Lucario points his blade forward, waiting for Alakazam to strike. The mage waits, lowering his shoulders.
Swiftly, Lucario spins around and blocks a swing from Froslass's staff. Poliwrath punches at him again, which Lucario barely blocks and skids back from.
Glancing back once more at Alakazam, the warrior blasts the ground around him, with a burst of snow and ice splashing away from him. Alakazam barely makes out the sight of the jackal launching himself into the air and onto a cliff above a tall wall, running across it and away from the field.
"What did you see, Alakazam?" Froslass glides over to him, swaying lightly as she fixates on him. "His mind, what did he know?"
"Not what I expected," murmurs Alakazam. He rubs his head and shakes it. "There's a box that belongs to the prophet, Lucario has a shaky tie to the Mountains Monarchy, or uh, Queendom, and they were sent to do more than just capture the prophet for themselves, but…" He sighs. "Not even Lucario is completely aware of it. And according to his own mind, he's the one on top of their mission."
"So…who cares?" Poliwrath shrugs. "That doesn't seem to help us out much, and he still tried to kill you, right?"
"I…" Alakazam scratches his head and tugs on his mustache. "Well, yes…"
"Worry not, Alakazam." The mage perks up and turns to Mienshao, who guides Delibird to a hole in the ground. "You just discovered a lot at once. He's not one to be trusted, being the enemy."
"No. He could kill." Alakazam nods. "The strength and resolve were definitely in him."
"We just didn't him the chance," murmurs Delibird as he pulls out another Present. "Good on us."
Plopping it down, he and Mienshao back away as the orb blows up, knocking the snow away. Quagsire flails his arms around, throwing away piles of snow that he was digging at.
"Is it…already over?"
"For now," confirms Poliwrath. "I imagine this still isn't the last we'll see of that lunatic, though."
"Definitely not," agrees Alakazam. "And…" He pauses and grasps at his head, wordless muttering to himself. Picking up, he beams and glances back to his friends. "It's Machamp! I can hear him! He's ok!"
"Perfect!" Mienshao applauds with his floppy arms. "And the others?"
"H-hang on, I…I'll see if we can keep our connection. It won't last long, but…I've got it."
Tightly, Alakazam clings to his head, while Froslass pats Poliwrath. Mienshao and Delibird help Quagsire from the hole, as the salamander yawns.
[Afterwards]
Flygon soars across the chilling sky, shivering as the cold air hits across his body. He spits of a fireball into the sky, letting it sail off.
Zoroark rubs the dragon's back as he descends, landing in the middle of several sharp icebergs. Groaning, Flygon's arms slip away from Zoroark as he sinks to the ground.
"Are you going to make it, baby?" Zoroark lightly pats the dragon, pulling out and flipping through a crimson tome.
"Maybe. I didn't think we'd be out here this long." Flygon shakes as he folds his arms and wraps his tail around his waist. "This was supposed to be much easier, dealing with them."
"True, and yet, we did manage, in spite of the odds." Zoroark backs into Flygon, pushing his mane into the dragon. "Any good?"
"A little. Thank you."
"My pleasure." Zoroark winks, shuts his tome, and backs closer into Flygon. "Perhaps Lucario is still handling his targets."
"Do you think he could even see the flare?" Flygon shudders, gripping at Zoroark's mane. "I'm not sure that was the best idea in meeting up."
"Remember that he has a tracing spell on our equipment." He smirks and tugs Flygon closer into him. "The Queen and our mages made sure we come back together, at the least."
"At least they prepared us for that," mumbles Flygon. "I wish someone else was in charge of intelligence on them, too. It was a lot for us to undertake." He nuzzles Zoroark, pushing past the mane and against the fox's head. "You must have been lonely, working your way up there."
"All better now," whispers Zoroark, sliding his hands back across Flygon's waist. "Maybe Lucario will take some time finding us. And we do need to warm you up."
"Yes please."
"So, let's." Zoroark grins and turns to Flygon, sliding his hands up from the dragon's waist, slowly guiding them back down. "Ready for me?"
Smirking, Flygon slides his tail past Zoroark and rubs it behind the fox. He pulls Zoroark closer and his smile broadens. "Always."
"None of that now, boys."
Rolling his eyes and huffing, Zoroark slips his hands away from Flygon as the dragon burrows his face into the fox's mane. Lucario strolls between the icebergs, squeezing into the circle with his allies.
"Did you manage to get anything from them?" Zoroark's grin drops as Lucario stares quietly at him. "No, huh?"
"You have a few candidates for who you want to use." Lucario shrugs and leans back against the nearest glacier. "Though, I take it you found one of your own as well."
"They have a fox mage, so that should be a clear fit." Zoroark sighs and shakes his head. "But that damned duck…do you know that he actually threatened Flygon's life? What kind of a sick monster actually does that?"
"A kind that gets the job done." Lucario watches as Zoroark scowls at him. "Oh, what? You expected me to sympathize more?"
"Just a tiny bit, yes," snaps Zoroark. "They held a sword to his neck and everything."
"War isn't pretty, Zoroark."
"Yes, but…he did it because he knew it would…"
"Get to you?"
"…Right."
"Again—"
"Same thing, it's war, I got it." Zoroark turns back to Flygon, who still quivers from the cold air. "We finished our potions, so…can we at least get out of here?"
"Certainly." Lucario nods and pushes away from the glacier. "That tracing spell combined with my aura will run out in another few hours, so we'll need to move quickly."
"Does…do I have to fly again?" Flygon droops and shivers harder. "I-I don't know if I can, honestly."
"Actually, it shouldn't be too far, since the glow gets brighter when we're closer." Lucario digs past his armor and pulls out a soundless silver bell on a necklace. A soft green light glows around it. "See? It's brighter as we near it." He pulls out a pouch, which has a much brighter orange glow to it. "That one led me back to you two."
"Wait, you…used the bell?" Flygon shook his head. "You even brought the bell?"
"It goes everywhere with me," murmurs Lucario. "And I would never let it out of my sight."
"Of course, it's a perfect choice, just…well, I, uh," stammers the dragon. "I-I didn't really expect you to actually…use it for this."
"This bell is precious, not without uses," amends Lucario. "I knew we needed to bring things that we wouldn't lose." His comrades nod, but wait silently for a minute. Another minute passes before Flygon sneezes. "That should be our cue to get moving."
"Lucario?"
"Answer's still no." He turns and checks the bell, waiting for the glow to pick up slightly. "Let's move. We need to report to the Queen."
"We were going to ask why you're still doing all of this," interrupts Zoroark. "We're not exactly the Queen's knights, but…you make that point very clear to everyone."
"You already know that I'm not good with being tethered."
"So why—?"
"That's also not being explored, pal." Lucario glances back to the couple. "Are we going to wait until this runs out, or are we moving?"
Flygon and Zoroark exchange pitful expressions with one another before rising and following Lucario from the glacier circle. They watch as he shakes the bell slightly, intentionally, as he points it around, guiding them from the Frozen Fields.
A tear escapes Lucario's eye as foreign, ancient laughter echoes in his mind.
[Greninja]
The sun had disappeared over an hour ago, as storm clouds had rolled in. At first, just a few more flakes than before began to cascade down lightly. After that, however, a blizzard of flurries rolled in and obscured the world around us.
A surge of snow billows in a swirl of wind and buffets my face, as I stagger back a bit. Chesnuaght groans, his body icy from the climate, and mine no better. He was relying on me at this point, barely walking as I guided him around, most of his body draped across my back.
Wiping my face, I stepped forward, but Chesnaught slipped down my back slightly. Bumping him up, I tried again, but again, he slid down, anchoring me with him.
"Come on, Chesnaught," I urged. "Just a little more. You can rest later, I'm sure we'll find somewhere in just a few minutes."
"Too…c-cold…" His weight dragged me lower to the ground. "C-C-Can't…so-sorry…"
His breath slowed and he sank down, pulling us down. He slumped over and I tugged at him, to no avail.
Touching at his chest past his armor, I panicked over the lacking response. I gripped my hand around his wrist and waited.
First, I was left with nothing. Then, a soft, steady pulse briefly calmed me.
Shooting up, I cupped my hands around my mouth. As loud as I could muster, I bellowed out, "Someone! If you're out there, please! HELP!"
A coughing fit overtook me and I sank back down beside Chesnaught. Glancing around the Frozen Fields, all I could see was the blizzard billow around us, with just snow to make up the ground that was near and visible.
It was delusional to think any of my friends could hear that. They were far from us, and we had drifted even further away trying to make our way for shelter. No one else would be out here, as anyone foolish enough to stray this far would likely be dead. And the crushing realization swept in:
We would die here.
Turning, I glanced at Chesnaught, who was completely still. Was he already leaving? I wrapped myself around him. This wasn't even close to my mind on how we would end our journey. Would he even hear me whisper my last words of love to him?
How can I possibly make this count?
…His body shuddered and rose up. My eyes widened, and I was afraid that I would be too late. It lowered as he let out a chilled breath, still shaking.
Waiting a minute, tears welled up in my eyes. His body rose again, paused, and then fell again.
No. I refuse to let him die like this.
Forcing myself to my knees, I picked Chesnaught up and wrapped him around my back. Taking all of his weight up was difficult, but as my knees buckled, I gripped tightly to him and stood back on my feet.
"Not yet," I whispered to him. "Just stay with me, a little longer at least."
Another breath came from him, and sent a chill down my spine. We're still alive.
Stomping forward, his weight dragged me down once again. I groaned and quaked beneath him, but grunted and stood back up. Again, I stepped forward, carrying him. Another step, followed by another, and one more…
Soon, I was able to keep walking, half carrying and half dragging Chesnaught with me. And I chanted to myself, I can do this. I know I can.
But after another minute of staggering forward, Chesnaught slipped from behind me. I tried to bump him back up, but his weight pulled me back to the ground, harder this time.
Even with myself tangled up, even with Chesnaught around me, I shuddered and quaked. Chesnaught's breathing had weakened, and his latest breath barely brushed against me.
He's dying. We're dying.
Such a thought should have given me the strength to rise again, but I couldn't. Every part of my mind screamed, Stand up! Save him! Save yourself!
…But I couldn't. My own body was too heavy to lift anymore. The wind howled and the blizzard kicked up, with the snowfall increasing in volume.
It would bury us. We were literally prepared for our graves, out here in this blizzard. Out in the cold, frozen world, this…this would be it for us.
And I turned to Chesnaught, with my mouth opened. I leaned in and forced my lips against his forehead. Not really a kiss, not the passion I wanted, but…it beat leaving him with nothing.
…This…would be…it.
My shoulders…sank. My vision…failed. I curled into…Chesnaught…once more. I wanted to…believe that…we weren't dying out…in the cold. Just…watching…a new snowfall. Peace…fully…together. And…he's tired…so he fell…fast asleep. And I…am sleepy too.
The world…dims around me. I catch a…white…it's snow…but that's…approaching…? Walk…it's walking? Or…drifting…
It's…some…cloaked…hand…reaching…
My eyes snapped open from the darkness and I gasped. I stared forward at a cackling fire before me.
Impossible.
Touching myself, my skin was still chilled, but had warmed up significantly from earlier. Was…was it still earlier? …Was I even alive?
Blinking, I stared around me. Cavern. The walls were jagged, icy covered rocks, but they surrounded us. Further ahead was the mouth of the cave, and the storm raged on. I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. Forcing them open, I was met with the same view.
Whirling around, I spotted Chesnaught immediately next to me. My hands flew out to touch him, patting around him. Real. Solid. But was he…?
"Chesnaught?" I shook him. "Chesnaught, please."
Nothing. Eyes wavering, I shook him harder, more forcefully.
"Please, just get up already…!"
"…Five…more…minutes…"
He groaned and rolled a bit. Throwing myself into him, I wrapped my arms around him, tightly embracing him, and kissed at his head. His body rumbled with a soft laughter and he leaned into me.
"What'd I do to earn that wake up call?" He yawned and I squeezed tighter. "Greninja?"
"You're alive." I nearly sobbed. "I thought…I thought we wouldn't…"
"W-wait." He pulled back and stared at me. "You mean that really…" Shaking his head, he gazed past me, then up, and around. "…Where are we? Did you find this place?"
"No, it…it wasn't me." I shook my head slowly. "Not unless I can suddenly sleepwalk and masterfully explore the terrain with my eyes closed."
"Then you…we both…Greninja, I'm sorry." He wrapped himself around me again. "You could have died too…that would have been my fault."
"This isn't even close to being your fault," I reassured as I pulled back from him, still with my arms around his sides. "I'm just glad that we made it…"
"But…who…how—?"
"Oh, you are both awake!"
Jumping, we whirled around to the cave's entrance, where a white-cloaked figure appeared before us. He took a few steps into the cave, and flipped off his cowl, revealing a grayish white head with…odd shaped ears, purple eyes, and a feline-like face, seemingly pleased at our recovery judging by the soft smile. Behind him was a long, purple tail that flowed leisurely, back and forth. Someone the likes of that I've never seen before, certainly.
"My apologies for leaving you two alone," murmured the hoodless figure. "I was unsure of when you would wake, so I imagined I had more time to myself."
"Who…who are you?"
"I am…not certain, of what my name was supposed to be, in all honesty," he admitted. "What I was called and the only name I know myself by is Mewtwo."
Chesnaught and I exchanged shocked expressions before turning back to the patient Mewtwo. The wind howled outside behind where he stood, as the blizzard raged on.
...
Whoo, exciting reveal! Hopefully, you didn't see that coming! …Especially since my hints were absolute garbage earlier, so I'd imagine no one really considered this.
Uh…where to begin? Well, first, not much Sneakpast or romantic fluff for this chapter, because it was action packed and full of drama. But there was a little bit of fluff with them, and some…other…stuff with Flygon and Zoroark. Which is apparently called…MysticIllusionShipping! Totally rolls off the tongue, right?
Anyway, let's see…well, Greninja and Chesnaught survived their separation from the rest of the group. Hooray! Because, you know, we were totally worried. Were you? I was(not). But how cool, they were rescued by Mewtwo! Such a strange character, this prophet. Ehehe. Though, he seems pretty nice, based on his rescue of the two, right? Hmm.
Meanwhile, Delphox did the thing and got everyone to cooperate with his group, managing to defeat both Flygon and Zoroark with Machamp, Politoed, and the others. It was fun and exciting to write back in the present tense, since it makes things less obvious about what's going to happen. Oh, and neutral perspectives let you know even less, so that's always cool too! But yes, Flygon and Zoroark used potions to resist their weaknesses. Clever, but things didn't seem to work in their favor. What a pity. (Not really, go heroes, lol.)
And then there was the fight against Lucario! I did want him to hold his own fairly well against six fighters, which he…kind of managed? Idk, he made Delibird and Quagsire look like they were nothing. And the amount of sass thrown around in this fight, my gosh! But, Alakazam had his mind games going, peering into the surface of what makes Lucario tick. So, what does that make this warrior? He's not a knight, apparently not totally on board with the Mountains Queen, and yet he's clearly in this for…something. He has a lethal ferocity, so Alakazam's lucky to be alive, huh? And…that bell is quite a strange little trinket too…oh well!
Other stuff? Hopefully, Golduck was less of a jerk this time, or at least, gained like, uh, one point of redemption. Yeah? Nah? Cool. Poliwrath and Politoed really don't hate each other completely forever! Go, "Aww." Come on, you know you want to. Machamp and Alakazam have the best separation anxiety issues from each other, and they're not even dating…this somehow gives me life. Weavile is more than just arrows, and Froslass is more than just giggles! And Carracosta has a really fun utility with that Wide Guard, right? …Please say yes; he's doing his best.
Writing things…I already mentioned fun with the present tense and neutral perspectives. This was the first time that I did that three times though. Crazy! But yeah, enjoyable. Uh…idk if my fight write is any good, but I tried once again. Oh, and I wrote a character's thoughts as they lay dying…totally legit. Not like they were actually going to bite it, but hey, crazy stuff! …Come on, I didn't fool anyone with that one? Geez…you guys are too smart for me.
Anyway, what really gives me life and motivation is feedback! …And I really, really appreciate it, so yeah. Reviews or messages are great, with either comments, criticisms, questions, or anything else you can think of. With an account or without, on this website or another, I'd love to hear back from my readers!
That's all for this part of the prophet arc. How will the next chapter unfold, with his debut? (Yeah, I know, genderless, but as I mentioned with Golurk, that gets thrown at the window. Along with a lot of Pokedex nonsense, which can be ignored frequently by fans.) Just what will Greninja and Chesnaught learn, or perhaps, reveal? And will they ever be able to get back with their allies again, who are still splintered themselves? We'll find out next time! Thank you again for reading through my brutally long chapters! I'd comfort you and mention that they'd get shorter, but I'm probably lying by this point. Oh well, I know that some of you guys enjoy these chapters long, so yeah, there you go! Thanks again for reading!