Chapter two:
Rain thundered down on the hard dirt ground outside of the cave. Zap woke up with a start. His ears twitched as he shuddered and drew closer to Sparks, Sparker, and Zapper.
"Whoa, getting cold.." He said, getting up slowly and stretching out each leg at a time. He looked up and went to the back corner of the nursery, where the extra moss lay in case anyone got cold. "I know winter is nearing..but I never expected to be this cold!" He whispered to himself as he took a blanket of extra moss and walked back to Sparks, walking around all the other sleeping Pikachu and their babies. He lay down next to Sparks and lay the big blanket across them both, covering the two sleeping Pichu that were huddled in the middle between them.
A few minutes later, Zap fell into a deep sleep. But, little did he know, the two Pichu were awake..
"..Pi.." Sparkers said weakly as he huddled closer to his brother.
"Pichuuu!" Zappers called out as he kicked and squirmed his way out of the middle. Sparkers blindly followed his movements and, pretty soon, they were both on the ground beside the bed.
"Pi..chuuu" Sparkers toppled over his brother and landed on the cold hard ground.
"Pi!" Zappers tried to get up, but failed miserably. Sparkers crawled up to his brother and leaned against him. The other grown ups couldn't here there suffering, for their shouts only appeared as little whispers coming from the wind.
"Pi..cha" Zappers gave a weak cry as he started crawling toward the direction of the den entrance. Sparkers followed his movements and started crawling too.
After about half an hour of tumbling, squirming, and giving out shivered squeaks, they got to the entrance of the nursery. Both Pichu's ears twitched and folded down from the cold as a cold breeze blew in from the cave entrance.
But, the strange thing was, they didn't start to feel weaker. In fact, they seemed to be getting stronger by the second.
"Pi..chaa" Sparkers leaned against the cave wall and held himself up on all fours. Zappers stumbled a bit, but then got up close to his brother and leaned against him for support this time, their soft fur bristling against one another's. Slowly, but steadily, they made their way to the cave entrance and went outside.
Once they did though, there was no wall which they could use for support, so they immediately fell to the ground once more.
"Picha!" Both gave protests as they stumbled on their sore paws to get up once more. Their eyes were closed tight, so they couldn't see anything. After a couple of minutes, both got up weakly, panting from the hard effort it took.
Both started to walk forward, stumbling a little, and almost falling again, but they stayed strong. Their fur bushed against each other as they walked, bristling it up from the cold.
Then, almost when they thought they were safe, something happened. They started picking up speed. Their legs collapsed and they started to roll down something hard. They both grabbed onto each other for dear life as they picked up speed, hitting hard into rock solid trees and rocks. The twigs and underbrush scraped against their soft fur, giving them deep wounds that bled dangerously.
"PICHAAA!" Both gave out a now strong squeak of protest as they pick up even more speed, bumping against flat ground, then rolling once more.
"pichauu"
Somewhere out in the distance, most likely on top of the cave on guarding duties, a Pikachu warrior's ears perked when the sound of struggling Pichu reached them. Swift and at the speed of light, he dashed down the mountains and followed the sound silently, his chipped tail swishing at his side.
"Pi..chuu.." Both Pichu's cheeks lit up, but not strong enough to create sparks.
The male Pikachu warrior spotted two Pichu brothers rolling at incredible speed down the mountain side. He saw them light up almost after he spotted them.
His dark eyes blazed with determination as his ears and tail instinctively went down and charged after them. Once he got only a tail length away, he shifted and grabbed a hold of Sparkers back the back of his neck, and skidded, kicking up dirt and leaves. Zappers, who was holding desperately onto Sparkers, gave out a final cry as his grip weakened and he plummeted down the mountain side.
"Shit!" The Pikachu said out of agitation and he tried desperately to catch up to Zappers. He ran down the hill, trying to keep his balance while still holding the one baby Pichu.
"PICHAAAaaa" Zappers cried out as he tumbled down the mountain. His dry faded as he got further and further away from the Pikachu and Sparkers.
"Pichuuu!" Sparkers cried out toward the direction of Zappers, then suddenly, fell unconscious..
Zappers continued rolling at the speed of light down the mountain side. His energy was draining fast, and he was completely helpless in this state. He had deep wounds and scratches all over his body, blood matted his once pale yellow fur.
Nearby, running down and across the mountain, a large stream could be heard, water crashing on the rocky banks that lined it. Zapper was unaware of it, and continued to get nearer and nearer to it by the second.
"Pi…" Zappers whispered weakly when he felt his body hit hard stone. He bounced once, then went crashing into the freezing dark water.
"Piiii.." Zappers shivered against it, not having enough energy left to shout out or to even stay above the water. Zappers felt his oxygen being sucked away, along with his energy, as he went down under. Zappers cough once, then also fell unconscious..
The male Pikachu warrior ran up the mountain, carrying Sparkers between his teeth. He reached the cave and ran up to Scar's den, sweat matting his yellow fur. He entered Scar's den to find him still awake on his nest.
'Good' The Pikachu thought as he gently placed the unconscious Sparkers down in front of Scar. Scar looked down at him in shock.
"What's this, Rusty? What happened to the newborn?" Scar demanded, getting up and bending down to nuzzle the unconscious Sparkers.
"I heard two newborn's screams. They came from down the mountain. They must've escaped the nursery. I didn't see it happen, I swear!" Rusty said desperately.
"Calm down!" Scar ordered. Rusty sat upright immediately. "He's still breathing; this one should be fine but he needs critical care instantly." In a flash, Scar was gone. Rusty knew where he was going. A few moments later, Scar and a petite little Pikachu came back. The little Pikachu was wearing a white nurse's hat that she gotten from Viridian. "Yellowfur, I want you to take this newborn to the CCU section of the hospital den, immediately!" With that said, Yellowfur took a hold of Sparkers gently by the fur. Her small paw padded lightly on the hard ground as she carried him off to the den right next to Scar's; the hospital den for the weak or injured. Once she was out of sight, Scar turned to Rusty. "What about the other?" He asked, half knowing what the answer might be.
Rusty let out a pained sigh. "I grabbed the one, but the other.. the other…" Rusty trailed off. Scar walked over to his nest and sat down.
"I..know what your going to say" He said, a hurt expression on his face. Rusty looked up then quickly brushed the fur on his back with his tongue. He looked up again to see Scar staring up at the sky through the hole on the side of his den. The trees blew with the wind. "We've..already lost tow of the apprentices..now its three.." Rusty looked confused.
"What happened.. To the other two? He asked slowly, not wanting to sound to curious.
"I hate to admit it but.. None of us know. The other two were victims to the same thing. Their scents have lead to the same area, then lead to the river and.. Vanished" He looked down at Rusty.
'Vanished? But how?'
"I don't know, Rusty.. it's a mystery that none of us can solve.."
In the dark forest of Viridian, a lone Mightyena sat quietly in the shadows and watched Rusty rescue Sparkers while Zappers fell into the cold rushing river he was standing over now. With fire in his eyes, the Mightyena took a mighty leap into the river. The water repelled off his fur as he swum strongly to the bottom of the river, downstream a bit. When he felt his big paws touch the sandy bottom of the river the Mightyena opened his eyes and spotted Zappers a few feet away from him, a large rock keeping him from going any further down the river, although he was slipping quickly.
The Mightyena lunged forward and took hold of Zapper's in his mouth, careful not to damage him. The Mightyena leaped up and out of the water and, as soon as he did, threw Zappers harshly to the bank of it.
Gasping for air, the Mightyena trudged out of the water and shook his fur. He glared down at the unconscious Zappers and smirked evilly. 'Heh.. Your with us now, kid' He thought bitterly as he stretched and took a rough hold of the young Pichu as he ran off in the forest..