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Chapter VII - A New Life, A New Face
My mind was sent into overdrive as the recognition of Somin's assault set in. I, in a split second reaction, tried jumping to the side, only for my legs to slide out from underneath me. I lay on my side, impending doom directly in front of me.
Frantic, I rolled to my right, unable to restabilize myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a set of claws connect with the ground, where I'd been not a moment before.
"Somin!? What are you doing!?" I yelled, getting back to my feet. One moment, the Zoroark had been placid, but in the next, was aggressive without warning or provocation. He was speaking about the start to his teaching of illusions, why was he attacking me? Did he snap for whatever reason?
He, in response, rose from his crouched position, staring at me menacingly with a single eye. I backed up slowly as to not agitate him further, giving a small glance towards where I imagined Victor and—
Something picked me up by the scruff, prompting me to wriggle in its grasp. It lifted me high in the air, before rotating me to stare it dead in the face.
"Number one use of illusions… Distract the enemy to dispatch them quickly."
I gawked oddly at the Zoroark pinching the skin on the back of my neck uncomfortably. I rolled my eyes when I pieced together the mental puzzle of his sudden aggression. As expected, the other, aggressive Zoroark had disappeared.. I sighed, the realization I'd been so easily tricked setting in
"Now you're dead," Somin then said lightheartedly, closing his eyes contentedly and touching the tip of another claw to the end of my nose. Narrowing my eyes, I growled, putting on as intimidating a show as I could.
Apparently, a tiny Zorua wasn't much for invoking trepidation, considering the Zoroark let out a laugh before setting me back on the ground.
I'd been traveling with the Zoroark for years on end. The fact I hadn't developed an immunity, or even a resistance to his illusions baffled me.
"Now," he said as I turned back towards him. "Two rules, really simple ones you're gonna have to follow."
"Just tell me," I said, sighing. The sooner we could get started, the better.
"I told you about the first," he explained. "Don't over-exert yourself… I don't wanna have to deal with trying to get you back to normal while you're depleted."
"Fair enough," I responded, inferring his hidden meaning. If I were to 'over-exert' myself, the consequence would be 'depletion'… What in the world did that mean?
"Second," he continued. "And this is a personal rule, and a little bit of an extra incentive to learn quickly."
Before he spoke again, I took note of my jaw going slack. For whatever, indescribable reason, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move my mouth.
"No talking. At all. Not a word until you figure out how to speak in here," he said, pointing at his head, and further, his mind.
He, out of nowhere, groaned and cringed as if a sudden twinge of pain shot through his head. He stopped a few seconds later, panting for breath. He threw an object, what I took to be an Oran Berry, into his mouth.
I struggled to make a sound, but all I could conjure was a few, feeble and muffled sounds, my mouth shut tight.
Between his heavy breathing, he spoke once more, "Don't even try… I gave that one enough juice for at least until tomorrow. They're hard as hell to conjure." He paused, "I have you to thank for training me sooo well, don't I? Couldn't've done it without ya, bud."
I internally screamed at the taunting smirk gracing the Zoroark's face. A whole slew of curses came to the tip of my tongue.
"Now…" he then said, ignoring my struggle completely.
"I'm a fair 'mon…" his voice reappeared in my head. "If you're not speaking, then neither will I. Either way, it would be bad to talk about how to use this kinda stuff around those two."
He gestured his head towards the spectators of the lesson. Victor was watching with a careful eye, and it seemed Jet had dozed off.
"This is the kinda stuff I never tell anyone," he continued. "It's just… not a thing you share with others. You guys are family and everything, but…"
He audibly sighed. "Secrets between species are hardly ever shared. It's why science knows so little about us and what we can do. I guess, though, that I know a lot of things most Zoroark don't. Just… Bottom line… Do me a favor and don't tell anyone how any of this works. Every species has its secrets, and this is ours. Only one I've ever told anything is Vita, and that's cause we're… well…"
He paused, scratching his head uncomfortably.
"Moving on, got a little carried away there," he redirected.
His spiel had caught my attention, to the point I'd stopped struggling to break through my speech impediment. Why had he gotten so uncomfortable near the end of his monologue?
"Ready to start?" he asked, hoping to change the subject. I decided to indulge him, spitefully nodding my head.
"Alrighty… Let's see… Where to start… Just… Focus on your core. You should still be feeling it."
I nodded again in confirmation, unable to affirm him in any other way.
"Okay. You'll figure out that the energy coming from your core is moldable. It's hard to explain, but if you imagine, for example, a pair of hands shaping your energy like clay, you can change it."
I was soon to become dumbstruck. What did this have to do with illusions?
"By extension, you can move it around and mold it inside you. In the beginning, when I was figuring out how to do this, I thought of it like I was building barriers inside me, blocking the energy from moving to certain parts of my body."
He turned behind him to find a tree stump. Shrugging his shoulders, he sat, back leaning against it, and beckoned me to join him. Still frustrated at his forceful silencing, I sat where I was, across from him. He continued without skipping a beat.
"At rest, your energy lies in your chest, as I'm sure you've figured out. Any move is initiated when you squeeze your power into the part of the body you want to use. For you, I'm gonna have you start with your destination right in your head, just to make it easy"
He sighed, realizing his explanation was confusing me greatly.
"Look… You can practice and experiment with this all you want when I'm done explaining. This entire thing needs to be done pretty fast, or else it fails. So, lemme run you through it, then you can try however you want, cool?"
Despite the headache rapidly forming from my confusion, I nodded.
"Okay… Once you feel you channeled enough power into your head, you want to shape it like a rope, one that you can throw. Then… You just… Well… Imagine you're throwing that rope, so it touches me. If you do it right, it'll connect, and the hard part's over."
I sighed, almost retaining no information from his explanation whatsoever.
"Lot harder than you thought, huh? Well, it becomes second nature really fast. You end up skipping a few steps after a bit of practice. You eventually get to the point where you don't even have to think about it anymore… Either way, try it out."
Contorting my face into a grimace, I complied, focusing on my 'core'. It pulsed steadily with the extra stimulus it was receiving, prompting me to shiver with the unfamiliarity.
Like Somin explained, I imagined 'squeezing' my power, hoping to redirect it to my brain. I smirked a small bit when I felt a steady trickle of warmth run up my spine and into my head.
Then it got complicated. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to shape the energy the way I wanted it without relinquishing control of where it went. Whenever I tried forming it into a rope or string, like Somin had explained, I had to tear my attention away from its movement, causing it to recede back into my chest.
I then got an idea. If Somin said I would learn to skip steps, then what would happen if I were to gloss over its molding?
I decided I would try it. Instead of letting the energy come to a rest within my head, I simply squeezed it even farther, and felt it leave my being altogether, expelled in Somin's direction.
Bad idea…
I groaned through closed lips as fatigue instantly traveled through my body, prompting me to lay my head on my paws in defeat.
"Well," Somin said nonchalantly. "Now you know what happens if you skip steps without practice. That wasn't an illusionary connection. It was more a simple power wave than anything. Just a waste of energy when it isn't formed and amassed properly."
I opened my eyes to find his eyes staring into my own.
"And don't use everything you have, unless you absolutely have to. We're taking baby steps here, simple illusions don't need that much force."
Thanks for telling me that before…
My own self-pity was interrupted when an Oran Berry entered my line of vision, already pierced and dripping.
"Drink up and try again. You're doing better than I did my first time."
He released his hold on my jaw long enough for me to take a drink. When I was done, however, I felt his influence promptly return to silence me.
I felt strong enough once more to sit up and try once more, exhaling through my nose in preparation.
I sat there for a few moments, creating a game plan as to how I would approach the task at hand.
A single memory crossed my mind, gaining my attention as if it were artificially placed. It came out of nowhere, and yet, it worked extremely effectively. I closed my eyes in thought.
I saw myself once more in Opelucid, facing my assailants. Mew's power had infiltrated my system, and my hand was raised at the ready.
I remembered…
The mysterious entity began to allow for the shift of the comforting heat within me. It felt like floodgates were closing and opening simultaneously, allowing for the sensation, what I took to be energy, amass in my outstretched hand while taking from the rest of my body.
Before I could object to what was happening, the pooled energy spiked one, final time, sending a harsh wave of air in every direction and sectioning the warmth in my hand off from that in my chest. My hair stood on end for a moment, as did the mens', before it passed.
A dot of light formed in my outstretched palm, slowly growing as I felt a portion of the warmth float up and permeate the skin of my fingers. I had no control over it as it began to become the size of a baseball, and still growing.
Separating it from the source… If I could shape my energy, what stopped me from cutting it into portions and shaping it from there? Would that prevent its recession back into my core?
I experimented, pooling a small amount of energy in my head. Taking a deep breath, I imagined running a knife cutting through the attachment to my core.
Much to my surprise, I succeeded in severing the connection, but instead of the energy remaining there consistently, it started diminishing, disappearing altogether before I could hope to start molding it.
I grunted in frustration, and not wasting any time, tried again, experimenting with a larger sample.
When I felt it start to shrink once more, I hastily thinned it out into a line and expelled a single end from my mind, eyes flying open, towards Somin without care.
His snout was faced towards the ground, eyes closed in what seemed to be a form of meditation. When I felt the other end of my power successfully connect with him, though, his eyes shot open, head risen to meet my face's struggle-laden grimace instantly.
"What?!" he said aloud, jumping up from his seat on the ground. "Holy crap! Feed it! Give it more juice!" he yelled, instantly overjoyed and obviously excited.
Panicking, I removed the partition separating the energy in my head and my core, allowing for the snake of warmth to travel up my spine once more and reconnect. The string connecting Somin and I didn't disappear, thankfully. Instead, it was reinforced; I could feel a steady stream of power connecting us.
"You did it!" he gasped, astonished, bouncing up and down giddily. "No goddamn way! You're not supposed to figure out how to figure it out that fast! How?! I didn't show you how to do this before, did I?!"
I shut my eyes tight once more, starting to feel the drag of energy leaving my body. I was getting more and more exhausted by the second.
"Okayokayokay," his voice reappeared in my head. "Don't lose concentration. The hard part's out of the way. Just… just… think of something to say, let the words appear in your mind, and imagine you're sending the sound through our connection. It's one of the easiest and most simple types of illusion, but try to do it fast. You'll fade out if you keep it up too long."
Taking in a shaky breath, I hardly had to think of what I had to say. By then, my whole body was shaking with the effort of feeding the connection, having kept it open throughout his entire explanation. I had to do this quickly.
I thought of how the words would sound if I'd said them aloud, focused on that alone, and depicted myself shoving the phrase through our connection, as if it were a tunnel. With one final heave, I sent it off, severing the rope and collapsing to the ground as soon as I was finished. My legs felt like putty, as if the energy infused with the muscles there was now completely drained.
A second passed… Two… Nothing happened. I was too exhausted to open my eyes and gauge Somin's reaction. All I heard were my own, feeble pants.
"That's what you chose to say?" his voice sounded in my head. "Well then," he continued, a tone of giddiness starting to shine throughout his words. "'Screw you' too."
I had no time to react as I felt both sets of Somin's claws fit under my arms. In a split second, I was being twirled about in the air by an uncontrollably laughing Zoroark.
"You did it!" or another exclamation along those lines, was all that exited his mouth between laughter for a solid thirty seconds. I felt my lower quarters flying about at will, suspended in the air. I needn't have opened my eyes to infer he was spinning in place, holding me above his head in praise and joviality. I didn't have the mind to protest his treatment of me as a smaller being.
Rarely did the Zoroark get this excited about anything. It felt good to know that he, too, was able to retain some hint of normalcy with everything that had happened.
His revelry was infectious; I felt the smallest of smirks hit my face before he calmed down. Noticing how tired I felt, he ruffled the tuft of hair atop my head for a moment before placing me in his mane. It felt much warmer than it had before. Exhaustedly content with myself, I shut my eyes and slept sound.
I had the dream… again. The one about the boy and the Zorua. Every tiny detail was exactly the same, no deviation from how I'd seen it the previous afternoon was present.
The Zorua still died in the boy's arms as he rushed to get help, I was forced to watch from the his point of view.
I still had no idea what it meant. No recollection of the event came to mind. In any case, I never remembered the events in the dream.
I groggily woke, blinking my eyes drearily. I seemed to be slowly conditioning to the fact I was a Zorua, considering the extent of my reaction was a simple start. I quickly calmed myself down, however.
It seemed I'd woken before anyone else. Sure, all I could see was a wall of flesh, most likely Vita's, but I couldn't hear any bustle in the cave around us. Even her own, steady breathing, and the way it rocked me back and forth betrayed the fact she was asleep as well.
For the first time in days, I actually had some time to myself. I didn't quite know how to feel about it. I thought I would've been appreciative of the silence.
I sighed. The pure awe of the fact I knew how to conjure a simple illusion aside, what were we to do? Of course, going to Icirrus would be dangerous, potentially deadly, even. But how was I supposed to get help on a mountainside? I surely doubted the extent of science into this field of… study… But who knew? Maybe someone would be of assistance.
As much as I hated the guy, maybe Brycen wouldn't blab about us to everyone if we were to go straight to him. Then again, I would probably an international criminal if they figured out, rather, when they figured out I was affiliated with the complete destruction of Mt. Chimney. If they already didn't know, that is.
Gym Leaders played a key role in government. Their role as the strongest trainer in town gave them major political standing. When they weren't handing out Gym Badges, most of their time was spent doing the jobs normal police task forces could not complete.
Maybe, though, if I were to seek out the help of a Gym leader I knew extremely well… Heading on the backside of the range to Mistralton was always an option to see Skyla, if she'd already returned there from Opelucid.
No, it was too risky…
There were too many factors influencing both sides of the argument. Maybe, when the team woke up, I could get their opini—
I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST, LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS!
Vita's breath hitched as the song played at an incredibly high volume, out of complete nothingness.
"What is that?" Axle's groggy voice called from across the cave.
TO CATCH THEM IS MY REAL TEST, TO TRAIN THEM IS MY CAUSE!
"Ray! I thought you changed this goddamn ringtone!" Somin shouted.
My Pokénav… I'd completely forgotten about it. Someone was calling… I wriggled out from the coil in which I slept to see Somin reaching into my backpack for it. He couldn't quite seem to get his arms at the right angle, however.
"I got it!" Vita offered, uncoiling and slithering forward while diving a vine into the bag to assist Somin.
I WILL TRAVEL ACROSS THE LAND, SEARCHING FAR AND WIDE!
The Serperior was quick to get a hold of the device, but a miscommunication caused for Somin to try and snatch it from her as she drew it from the pack. Vita lost her grip, causing for the plastic contraption to clatter against the stone floor before Somin could catch it. The ringtone instantly stopped, the cave sent into instant silence along with it.
A few seconds passed and nothing happened. No one dared move an inch.
"Ray?" a female voice sounded from the device. "You there? Your camera's blocked."
"Shiiiiiit," Axle seethed, stalking slowly forward to cancel the call.
"Ray?" the voice then said, starting to choke up. "Please, answer me."
I thought I'd recognized the voice, but blanched when my suspicion was affirmed. There was only one girl in the world, at present, who I knew well enough as to label her voice instantly.
Axle froze, seemingly recognizing who it was, as well.
"Oh… Arceus, damn it," Somin whispered, inching towards the device.
"Y-you're not in t-trouble, Ray…" the tearful voice resumed. "I know t-there's a reason to what you did. I k-know you're sca-scared, but please… If not in person, please talk to me here. I need to know you're alright…"
"What do we do?" I tried hissing, promptly before feeling Somin's illusionary influence keep the clamp on my mouth shut. All that resulted were a few mumbles. Had he never dropped it? Sure, he'd mentioned keeping it up for a day, but I'd thought he was joking.
"You're still not allowed to talk," he responded without turning to face me. He must have heard my muffled curses.
"Was that Somin?! Ray, are you there?!"
The Zoroark sighed, turning to ask Vita a question with his eyes. After a moment of mental deliberation, she nodded solemnly.
Somin looked forlornly at the ground, and shut his eyes in deep concentration. He sat down, crossing his legs and hanging his head, relaxing his spine.
"Ray. We need to know what's going on. We can't do that unless you talk to me. So ple—"
"I'm here, Skyla."
Needless to say, I was quite shocked to hear my own voice again. My human voice. Of course, I was struggling to break through Somin's illusion and open my mouth, but froze when I heard it.
My voice… It held a physical tone. I knew it wasn't only in my head. But how? Illusions weren't supposed to be able to travel through technology. There would be no way the Mistralton City Gym Leader could possibly hear my voice.
"Ray! Thank Arceus you're alright. What happened to you? Where are you?"
"I'm fine," my voice responded. "There's… a lot going on right now… I'm sorry, I just can't explain it here."
H-how are they talking to each other? This shouldn't be possible!
"Nonono, that's fine, just… Stay on the line, please. I've been trying to call you for days. Can you tell me where you are? I can come pick you up."
"Thanks, Skyla, but I can't… Maybe when things get sorted out, but right now…"
My voice paused, and left it at that.
"Can I at least see you? Make sure you're alright?"
Somin audibly sighed behind closed eyelids, and proceeded to grimace as his entire body became host to a pink light.
Not two seconds later, my human body stood where he sat.
'I' grabbed the Pokénav from the ground and held it up to 'my' face.
"There," my voice said.
"Oh, Ray… You look horrible… You look like you haven't eaten in weeks! Are you sure you're alright? Nothing's hurting you, is it?"
"No, I'm fine," Somin replied simply. My voice was starting to sound strained, but why? Illusions like this, at least in Somin's perspective, were easy to keep up.
"Damn it! No, you're not! I can tell… I can tell you're in a really deep hole right now, Ray. You might have a gun to your head for all I know! Are you alone? Where's your te—"
"Skyla, just stop… Please… You're gonna have to trust me on…"
I heard an audible grunt of effort, Somin's real voice, break through the illusion. The human's body standing before me wavered as if it were made of light.
"Tr-trust me."
The other end of the line remained silent for a moment or two.
"I have no idea how you're making me see illusions through a Pokénav, Somin, but cut it out, alright? Let me talk to my nephew. Now."
The illusion fell, leaving behind an agitated Zoroark. He glared down at the screen as a growl rumbled in his throat.
"You caught me," he said aggressively; his voice ruptured the air, using the same kind of physical illusion as he conjured my voice with. "How's this… Leave us alone… We'll come back when we're damn well ready. Don't call us again."
Gripping the device in a single claw, he initiated a throw, aiming for the opposite end of the cave.
"Somin, wait! Is Ray okay?! They said you were with Mew! Is that true? Is she—"
I caught a glimpse of the screen as Somin catapulted the device forward with a yell. I saw what a miserable state the Gym Leader was in. Her red hair was unbrushed and clumsily done. Her large, blue eyes were red and puffy at the edges. She was obviously, if the previous conversation was of any indication, upset.
For a split second, I thought I saw those tear-riddled eyes focus dead on me.
The device went flying through the air at an incredible clip. I looked away, expecting to hear a loud smash as the plastic shattered against the rock wall.
Yet, when nothing happened, I turned to find Axle had caught it and severed the connection to the distraught Gym Leader.
Nobody moved. Thirty seconds must have passed in silence, the only deviation being Somin's labored breathing…
… Before he collapsed altogether.
The cave remained dead silent and unmoving, even as his body hit the ground with a hard thud.
I finally wriggled out of Vita's grasp with a grunt, instantly stumbling towards the grounded Zoroark as my paws hit the floor.
It took me a second to realize I couldn't ask whether or not he was okay, promoting a few, muffled words of frustration.
His breathing was shaky, rather than even; he was still conscious. His eyes were shut tight as if he were in pain.
I turned back towards Vita, giving her a command with my eyes alone. She shook her head quickly, as if to clear it of indecisiveness, before slithering forward.
She whispered a few words in the grounded Zoroark's ear, followed by the faintest of nods in return.
Taking note of his weak confirmation, she started using Synthesis without word. I turned away as she opened her mouth to breathe a soft coating bluish-green powder over the entirety of the Zoroark's body.
By then, I was glaring resolutely at the rest of the Pokémon present. Axle and Victor were frozen in place. They couldn't wrap their heads around Somin's rapid-setting fatigue.
Jet was still nowhere to be found. I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't even come back the previous night.
I snarled, mostly to myself, in mental preparation for what I was about to do.
Screw it…
If Somin was so dead-set on keeping my mouth shut, I would play by his rules.
As quickly as I could, wasting as little time and energy as possible, I let a significant amount of power fester in my mind, shifted it into the same 'rope' shape as the previous night, and shot the open end towards Axle, specifically.
I grit my teeth, instantly feeling fatigue start to work its way into my system.
"Snap out of it!" I yelled, shoving the words through our connection as fast as possible. "Go find some berries, and tell Victor to go help Vita with whatever she needs… Now!"
I severed the string, cringing when I felt the after-effects of my energy expenditure. Successful, however, even if it did take longer to establish my commands than speech alone, I commended myself.
I ignored the exchange presently occurring between Axle and Victor, trying to catch my breath. Even if I hadn't kept the connection open as long as I'd had with Somin the previous night, I was feeling woozy.
A sudden dizzy spell hit me, hard. I was faintly aware of my vision fading out for a moment, returning in the next from a different perspective.
It appeared I'd fallen, and pretty hard, at that. Clearing the stars in my vision with a rapid head shake, I tried recollecting my bearings.
Victor seemed ready to offer me some help as he walked past, but stopped when I weakly shook my head. All I needed was a minute or two of rest. I let my thoughts occupy me during the next few moments.
I… I actually did it. I was able to put up a front of confidence long enough to get Somin some help, and for that… I was content.
Of course, as with everything in my life up until that point, something went wrong.
"Ah, shit…"
At the utterance, I discovered the strength to get my legs back under me. I made sure to adopt a wide stance, as to not lose balance again.
The voice, Axle's, had come from the entrance of the cave. From where the team slept, considering how the cave bent, the Swampert was unseen.
Vita seemed to acknowledge Axle's concern with the lifting of her head, but got back to work after she saw me heading his direction.
More than once in the short walk over, I almost fell; my world had never stopped spinning. With one final push, however, I turned the corner and saw our predicament from Axle's perspective.
No! Goddamn it!
A world of white was what my vision met. A Winter Wonderland, so to speak. I spotted not one patch of grey rock or green grass beneath an unusually-thick layer of snow.
"No!" Axle exclaimed, "It's too early for snow! We should've had another month, at least!"
Narrowing my eyes, I sighed through my nose and proceeded to take a step into the harsh, outdoor climate. I would have to feign confidence a little bit longer.
I was the team leader once more. Nothing was going to stop me from my goal.
Yet, I didn't let my hopes get too high, either. Chances were most, if not all the berries in the grove were destroyed by frost.
I needed to know, though, for myself. If it were true, I would die, simple as that. What else was there for me to eat this far from civilization?
As soon as my paw came into contact with the snow, though, I regretted ever leaving the cave.
It was impossible to explain how much I loved snow as a human. Everything about it: pure entertainment for hours, the beauty it brought any landscape, or the struggle to get warm, they were incredible to me.
I'd never been forced to walk in it bare-footed before, without any jacket, or any clothes, for that matter, at all.
A small whine forced its way from my throat; I was successful in suppressing it just as quickly, though. No matter how much the cold stung, I had to keep going.
Making sure Axle was following, I half-walked, half-slid down the hillside towards the river, unable to find the walking path.
I ended up slipping altogether, and tumbled down the hill, directly into the…
Oh, thank Arceus…
I was sure I would have to deal once more with being drowned in the river, now considerably colder. I may as well have had a guardian angel, however, considering I now lay, on the water's surface, already halfway across.
"You okay?"
I looked up towards Axle, at the riverbank, hesitant to step forward. He experimented, placing a paw on the surface of the ice and applying some weight. It groaned under his pressure.
Damn it…
"Don't!" I broadcasted to him as quickly as possible, fatigue cutting down into me like an axe.
"We need those berries, Ray! What do you suggest I do, then?"
I highly doubted the Swampert could bridge the gap; he was just too heavy. The same went for Victor. And, if Vita was treating Somin…
"I'll find Jet," I shot back concisely.
"And if there's a feral?! Ray, as much as I hate to say it, you can't protect yourself!"
I grunted as I rose, paws slipping this way and that on the smooth, icy surface.
I sighed, making a decision.
Turning my back to him, I walked slowly across the remaining distance of the river.
"Ray! Come on! Please!"
I ignored him, continuing on in my endeavor. Within a few seconds, I'd made it to the other side.
What the hell was I doing? I knew, deep down, that I needed my team for protection. What were I to do if I ran into a feral? I would be obliterated, and probably would make a very feeble snack for a larger creature.
I knew I had an edge, though. I still hadn't forgotten. Even if I ran into a feral in this weather, which was unlikely…
I still had a certain legendary watching over me, or so she promised. If I was so important to her cause, she would save me if need be.
I ignored Axle's pleas as I stepped past the riverbank and into the grove.
I was instantly searching for Oran, Sitrus, or anything else that could help. Long, harsh stares around me revealed no bushes in sight not covered in snow.
I sighed through my nose. Maybe, if I got lucky, I would find a bush covered by a tree. Hopefully, the cold wouldn't have gotten to the exposed Berries.
It was worth a shot to continue searching. The grove was huge, there had to be something.
Within the first few minutes of my search, the entirety of my legs were numb. Even if I knew it to be detrimental, I was glad I was no longer forced to feel a sting in every step I took.
The snow was high, as I'd imagined, but considerably abnormal. I didn't remember a storm we'd had that dropped a worse load. This storm had just taken place overnight, and was gone by morning!
I found myself having to take a meandering path through the trees, afraid of being caught in sudden snow-drifts. On more occasions than one, an entire leg was buried deep in an innocent-looking layer of white.
At one point, I found myself, after gaining confidence that the worst of the accumulation was behind me, stopped taking tentative steps forward. Instead, worried about freezing to death before I could get some Berries, I charged onward at a faster pace.
Until, of course, both of my forelegs were under the surface of the snow, causing a very abrupt and very painful faceplant.
Everything came crashing down right then. I felt, in that instant, the frustration about my inability to do anything I enjoyed taking part in before, including even my ability to speak.
Who was I to blame? Mew, for her inability to protect me? Somin, for his lackadaisical nature even now? Vita, for being overprotective?
I screamed, or managed as best as I could, as I ripped my head out of the snow. Even when my mouth's restrictions didn't yield, I let it all out behind closed lips.
Obscenities, insults, anything that came to mind was said, however muffled. In my rage, I was thankfully able to wrench my paws free of the snowdrift.
Now, though, only fueling my fit, was the fact I was going to freeze to death, with no way to avoid what was coming for me.
I felt tears start to well up, but stopped them just as soon. I would allow myself to be angry, but would completely give up all pretense of confidence before I let myself show as even more pitiable.
I sniffled, shaking my head back and forth to rid it of clumps of snow.
Maybe I should just go back to the cave. I'm freezing, and Vita's gonna kill me, if the cold doesn't. I'd rather go back on my own than be rescued.
Right then, a sensation I was unfamiliar with took residence in my mind. For unknown reasons, I acquired the sudden urge to turn my head…
Berries… I found them. Thoughts of the odd sensation disappeared as I stumbled towards the untouched bush.
Yes! They were still edible! All the frustration I'd been feeling was shoved back into my subconscious.
Yet, as I came to a rest by the fruit, however, I stopped and pondered an important question…
How was I supposed to carry any of these back to the cave? My teeth were much too small to hold anything in my mouth, and it wasn't as if I could grab them using my hands, or lack thereof.
Maybe, though, I could use the swath of fur around my own neck like Somin had used his. Was the fur long enough to keep something solid within its grasp?
I tried lifting a paw to a single Oran, hoping to cause it to fall directly on my n—
"INTRUDER! HYAAAAAH!"
I yelped through closed lips as a small, blunt force careened into my side. I was able to discern, whatever it was, that it was only a tad bit larger than myself. From the direction it hit… Was it hiding in the bush, waiting to ambush me?
Yet, unlike the previous day with the Basculin, no instant fatigue was felt, replaced only by a blunt pain.
Whatever it was, it knocked me on my side. I slid for a small distance. Fearing further attack, I was quick to get back up.
Thoughts passing through my head at the time included self-reprimanding for going off, alone, foremost. I had no chances of winning any conflict I got into, considering I hardly knew how to walk, let alone fight.
The same creature knocked me down once more, before I could get a good look at it.
"Stay down!" it said in an obnoxious tone. "Do you know who I am?"
"Ow," I tried replying before getting up once more. The voice, if hard to discern, was female. Arrogance bounced energetically in every word she spoke.
I did get a good look at my assailant this time, but was somewhat shocked as to what I found.
An Axew, and a tiny one at that, was standing proudly before me. Tiny, as in only just over half the size of what one would expect to see from a regular Axew. She only stood almost one and a half times as tall as my kit body. Judging by her tone and pitch, however, she seemed almost fully grown.
The next thing I knew, though, she was upon me once more, prompting a hasty jump to the side.
She… She wasn't feral. She wouldn't be able to talk if she was. Why was she attacking me over territorial disputes, then?
She simply changed the route of her charge, grazing me in my dodge. I spun around with the blow before crashing back to the ground.
I was unable to get up before the Axew stood over me, holding me down to the ground with a foot.
"Haha!" her voice resounded.
This was getting annoying remarkably fast. I took note of the way she held her foot on my chest, placing a considerable amount of weight on it. From the way I was laying down, I could…
I smirked with the plan I'd conceived. I'd wipe that stupid smile off her face. I doubted she was any semblance of a real threat, I'd might as well have a little fun.
"Well? What's it gonna be? Gonna fight ba—"
With a grunt, I rolled to my other side, bringing her foot with me. With the lack of balance, I internally cheered as she fell backwards with an abrupt shout.
I got up just as she recovered, and in a split-second reaction, jumped on her in attack as she rose.
What came next was pitiful as a fight, at best. We rolled on the ground for a short way, commencing in a miserable show of slapping and weakly punching one another.
I managed as best I could, but it didn't help the fact all my 'punches' had almost as little force as tapping my paw against her chest repeatedly.
I could only imagine how we looked from an outside perspective. It didn't seem as if she cared, focusing intently on fighting back.
Multiple times, one of us would try and stand, only to have the other knock us back down. She, often times, used her tail to knock my own legs out from under me.
At one point, I was on my back, unable to correct myself before she actually leaped on top of me. She was fairly heavy, so it came as a surprise when I was able to shove her off with a hard extension of my limbs.
I tried to think of how Somin used to fight as a Zorua, but all that came to mind were complicated maneuvers and dodges, none of which I could hope to perform.
One, simple question came to mind while in the fray, however. Why was the Axew opting not to use moves? Surely, a Pokémon her age would know how. Maybe she was trying to save energy?
"Okay okay okay, time out, truce," she grunted after we'd hit a stalemate. We were both exhausted, it seemed, but I, as opposed to her, was gulping for air.
"You don't know how to fight at all, do you?" she said after brushing herself off, staying exactly where she was. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head towards me skeptically.
I was thankful for the respite, even if annoyed with the instant interrogation. I entertained the thought of bolting then and there, but was doubtful I could keep up a pace faster than her's.
So, much to my annoyance, I would have to answer her questions. I shook my head no.
"Hmmph…" she chuckled. "You have any parents around here?"
I instinctively shook my head no before realizing my mistake. Maybe it would've been best to pretend the team acted as guardians, for now…
"Really? You? I don't have any up here either, but at least I'm strong enough to be on my own," she boasted.
The blatant pompousness of her demeanor made me roll my eyes. Though, it brought up an important question. What in the world was an Axew, and a fairly young one at that, highly susceptible to the cold, doing on Twist Mountain, alone?
"Well, uh… Do you talk?"
I sighed. It would be easier to explain, meaning I could leave quicker, if I fabricated the answer to this question. I shook my head.
"Wow! How've you survived up here? You can't do anything!"
Thanks for rubbing it in.
"That's okay! I'm strong enough to protect both of us! I'm gonna be a big, strong Haxorus one day!
Yeah… No thanks…
"We can't do anything right now, though. There's a monster nearby, and you've already proven you can't fight."
I gave her a stupid look, as if to question whether or not she was serious. She didn't seem to notice.
It's not like you're much better at fighting…
I didn't believe I had the mental fortitude, or the energy to back it, to conjure an illusion to excuse myself, so I got up and started walking away without sound.
"Wait! You'll get killed!"
I simply huffed as I ignored her calling. If she was so dead-set on protecting her Berries, I would continue searching elsewhere.
"Oh come on!" the Axew's rapidly approaching voice sounded. "I'm sorry for attacking you, but I thought you were a bad guy! How was I supposed to tell the difference?"
Why doesn't she just leave me alone?
"Oh! I get it! You're gonna go find the monster! I'll come with you! Then we can both kick its butt!"
I stopped dead turning to shoot the Axew one of the stupidest expressions I'd ever worn. Was she really this dense? I supposed I used to be the exact same way, but at least knew when to stop.
Maybe if I ignore her, she'll just leave.
I started plowing ahead at a quicker pace, less careful for thick areas of snow. I was unaware whether or not she was following me.
Great… That fight had gotten me all turned around. I believed I faintly recognized one of the trees up ahead, appearing to have a very odd twist in its trunk. I started walking in its direction, hoping I was traveling the right way.
"Let's have a rematch some time," she said aimlessly as I trudged along, affirming the fact she'd never left. "But once you can actually fight. It wouldn't be fair if you didn't."
Can you please just shut up?
A single paw got stuck in the snow. I was quick to wrench it out and continue on. I took a few more steps forward. Yes! I saw my own, tiny footprints in the deep blanket of snow. All I had to do was follow my own tracks back the the cave.
"Though, I don't think it'd be fair at all if you're so much younger than me. How old are you, a week? Two?"
Why are you still following me?
I stepped out of a row of trees, looking both ways down a makeshift path. Timber, trunks white with frost, bordered the walkway on either side. I took a second, shaking out a single paw, hoping to rekindle some semblance of warmth within it. I wasn't quite sure how much more of this numbing coldness I could take.
"It's kinda weird to see anything besides ferals up here. Did you get lost?"
I turned incredulously towards the sound of the Axew's voice, stepping into the clearing alongside me. Why was she so intent on following me? Huffing, I took off down the strait, stumbling every so often. My gait was more of a trot than anything else, still unsure about the prospect of running or jogging. Praying to Arceus she had stayed behind, I stopped, feeling the burn of exertion on my unconditioned muscles.
"Jeez, it's freezing out here… I can handle it, though, 'cause I'm on special training. My dad said—"
"Shut up! Just shut up!"
I gasped ecstatically when I realized I could move my mouth again. I'd been getting so frustrated with her constant nagging that I would've been content saying it through closed lips. I turned angrily in her direction, a glare marking my face.
The Axew didn't skip a beat as she continued, accusingly.
"Hey! So you can talk! Why didn't you before?"
"Oh Arceus' hooves please leave me alone. I'm just trying to find some berries for my friend and get back to my cave. Simple as that."
"Well there's no need to be snarky about it," she responded, narrowing her eyes. "You don't want me to beat you up again, do you?"
"Sorry," I said sarcastically. "Did you hear me wrong? Leave. Me. Alone. I don't need protection, I'm not going after a monster, and you did not beat me up."
A pause. The air was dead silent for the first time in minutes.
"Yes I did."
"Augggh!" I screamed, turning to leave. "Go back and protect your all-important Berry bush, or whatever you were doing. I'm leaving."
I turned and walked away, in the direction I hoped the cave lied.
Yet, I froze when I heard chuckles sound behind me. The anger that came with the sound trickled slowly up my spine, promoting a shiver.
"You're funny," the Axew said sneeringly after she'd calmed down. "I never thought I'd see a kit with such a temper. It's pretty hilarious to see you get angry."
Before I first spoke, I believed, even if I didn't acknowledge the fact, she wasn't trying to be offensive with her spontaneous and touchy questions. Yet, the pure taunt she'd just sent in my direction, coupled with that vile, satisfied smirk, I was sent over the edge. A snarl creeping its way on my mouth, I turned back to her slowly.
"Who asked you what you thought?!" I shouted, starting to approach her against my better judgement. "You wanna fight? Fine! Hell, I hardly know you, I met you, what, five minutes ago? I didn't think it was possible to hate someone that much in such a short period of time. But, here I am, with the most insufferable, egocentric, annoying attention whore I've ever met!"
She tilted her head to the side, as if clueless. "What's a whore?"
With an enraged yell, and giving no mind to any potential consequences, I charged forward, yelling. Much to my immediate joy, I rammed her dead in the chest with my head.
Only to have that joy instantly shatter as a splitting headache tore my head wide open. I fell to the ground in a daze. Why did her hide have to be so tough?
"Is that it?" she heckled. "Even for a kit, I thought you'd do better than that."
I growled as deeply as I could, causing the Axew to snort in laughter. Apparently, I didn't sound very intimidating.
My head was still spinning, vision blurry and clouded, but I thought I could make out a green leg directly in front of my mouth.
Rage clouded my judgement, I made the quick decision to fight dirty. I proceeded to lunge forward from my position on the ground and chomp down around the limb. It took me a few seconds of dead silence to remember how minuscule my teeth actually were, and their even more diminutive chances at piercing something something that tough.
"Ppfff," she squeaked, struggling to hold in full-blown laughter. "You're not serious, right? You're kidding."
She jerked her foot, causing my jaws to yank off painfully.
"I'm not a bully," she said condescendingly, "but I'm not a wimp, either. Keep that in mind, shortstack."
Shortstack…
Despite the stars floating across my vision, I subtly positioned my legs under me and pushed, propelling myself into her unready body.
With a small yelp, she stumbled, granting me great gratification when she fell over altogether.
Cue another pitiful fight, looking, once more like the flailing of limbs than anything.
"What's your problem?" I grunted in between dodging her counterassault.
"What's my problem?" she responded, pushing me away from my following charge. I was back, trying my best to land a hit, in an instant. "You're the one who keeps attacking me!"
"You're an asshole!"
"You're a sore loser!"
"I didn't lose!"
"Yes you did!"
I screamed in frustration, jumping on top of her in a tackle. Her and I tumbled together for a few feet before she kicked me off. She stood as I struggled to get back up.
For the first time since meeting her, I actually felt fear as I saw what she was preparing.
Her right hand was glowing an ethereal white. I knew instantly that this, unlike her other 'attacks', was to be legitimate move. My mind flashed back to what Somin had said the previous day. What he'd said about my endurance.
"Your stores start out extremely small, but end up growing and strengthening with time and training. As you were right now, I doubt you'd be able to take an attack without being knocked out."
The Basculin's attack yesterday had proven his suspicion. What would happen if she were to knock me unconscious here? Panicked, I grunted, rolling as far away from the Axew as possible.
I barely got on my feet as she lunged forwards, hand-first. I strafed wildly, hoping to sidestep her onslaught. However, it proved ineffective. Her attack hit me nearly dead-on. My dodge, more than anything, was a blind attempt to get out of the way. I fell to the ground, groaning.
I felt the fatigue I'd associated with loss of energy before I even felt the physical lashing of her attack. Yet, much to my surprise, it wasn't as strong as I'd thought it'd be. Still, I found it to be multiple times harder, after I succeeded, in trying to stand.
I hissed as I felt a burning feeling rise from where she'd made contact with my shoulder. A short look in that direction revealed my fur to be parted and my skin pierced. Thankfully, the wound didn't seem to be deep, considering no blood was shed as a result. I found, however, I was unable to stand on the limb.
She jumped back, leaving me to stand, legs quivering in fatigue. The wide smirk she bore in between heavy, ladened breaths prompted a thought to cross my mind. Of course, everything I thought was inference, but it made sense.
I beckoned my energy, or whatever was left of it, to flood my mind. Quickly giving it shape, I slung it in her direction.
Yet, instead of words, and working off of my hypothesis alone, I tried pushing the thought of the pain I felt through our connection.
It appeared evident, however, my body did not appreciate my wastefulness of my power, considering, the next thing I knew, I was slumped, face-first, in the snow.
She hadn't reacted to my illusion in any way, disproving my hypothesis. The pure disappointment following the realization I'd completely wasted energy for no reason erased any desire to stay conscious.
"Ah, crap."
The Axew stared, panting, at the unconscious Zorua before her. She hadn't meant to knock him unconscious, but her annoyance at the kit's unkind remarks had clouded her restriction of power into the Scratch.
She almost felt bad for the young Pokémon, but didn't regret her not holding back. If the pompous little creature was to attack her, she'd simply defend herself.
But, something at the pit of her stomach made her turn back towards the unconscious figure. Some odd feeling, causing her to look pitifully in his direction. Did she feel… Guilty?
No, of course not. Her actions were completely called for. But, it was a child, she considered. Not only was he not properly able to defend himself, but if she was to leave him here, he would surely die.
Maybe he deserves it…
Making up her mind, she suppressed the guilt she felt before it could manifest itself even further, and turned to leave. She would freeze to death herself if she were to help the Zorua. Big, strong dragons like her weren't made for the cold. Yet, that was part of the reason she was up there in the first place.
She hadn't made it ten feet away before she heard footsteps. Something big was approaching, and judging by the fact she'd even heard it, the creature was close.
Panicked, she turned back in its direction, and blanched at what she saw.
"Monster," she whimpered, preparing to run. She'd hoped the creature would have left her domain by then, but it appeared not so. She promised herself, after seeing it devour that feral Deerling not two days prior, that she'd defeat the beast when she next saw it.
But simply looking upon how unnaturally big it seemed caused her to freeze.
The monster didn't seem to notice them, but was lumbering in their direction. Its coat of white fur caused it to blend in quite well with its surroundings.
This was her chance! It was right here, she could attack it without anything blocking her! Yet, for whatever reason, some primal desire directed her away. She knew, deep down, no matter how hard she denied it, that she would be almost instantly killed if she agitated the beast.
It was getting closer now. She turned to run. Maybe she could make it back to her hole before it found her.
She started running, back in the direction the Zorua and her had come originally.
Wait… The Zorua…
She froze again. Why was she hesitant to leave now? She was perfectly willing to leave the Zorua to die. What changed? Was it the fact that there was a difference, at least in her mind, between simply leaving one to die and actually sentencing them to death?
Or were they the exact same thing?
No, they weren't. She promised herself, when this whole ordeal started, that when her father came back for her, she'd be a hero, something he could be proud of. Being a hero meant protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.
"Oh, damn it."
She sprinted back into the clearing. The beast loomed dangerously close now, and had seemed to notice the kit. Still, it lumbered forward at the same pace.
Panicked, the Axew dashed forwards and wrapped her arms under the Zorua's front limbs. In the process, she spotted the part of his shoulder in which she'd cut with her Scratch. The idiot was lucky he'd partially dodged it.
The monster noticed her too, now, and a look in its direction, much to her chagrin, revealed it was approaching them, quicker now.
With a yell, she backpedaled, dragging the Zorua behind her. Thankfully, there was a bush off to the side, in the direction of where she'd first met the Zorua.
The snow proved vital in hindering her progress. She realized, with much fear, she wouldn't be able to hide herself and the Zorua in time.
Another, panicked look at the monster revealed it would be upon them in only a few steps… It was too late. Could she still save herself? The monster outstretched a claw in their direction, with every intention of skinning them alive.
Time slowed to a crawl in the few seconds that followed. With the threat of imminent death, she felt nauseous, as if she would vomit at any time. Crippling fear overtook her completely.
She'd failed the task her father had given her… She really was worthless.
Yet, against all odds, something akin to a miracle took place.
Pink flooded her vision as a large crash was heard. Her mouth went slack as, with a grunt, the monster reeled back from the impact. Was that a forcefield? Where did it come from? How was it so powerful?
The monster was given no time to react as a spire of pink energy amassed itself from the center of the barrier. It, without delay, rushed forward and pierced the monster directly in the skull before it could recover.
No… The Axew could watch no longer. She turned her head and retched, no longer able to hold in her nausea completely. The fact she couldn't escape the sound of the wet 'SHHHLK', originating from the attack's retraction from the creature's brain didn't go to help.
As soon as it started, it was over. The monster's body fell to the ground with a thud.
Was it thirty seconds that passed? A minute? She wasn't quite sure, but after some time, she felt as if she'd vomited everything she'd had in stock. Reluctantly, she turned towards the creature's body.
It was just as she'd imagined. It lay face-down in the snow, a gaping hope showing in the back of its head. The snow, in a wide radius around the creature, was tainted red.
She took note of the shakiness in her breathing. She choked a few times, trying to hold the fearful tears from coming.
What kind of thing is able to do something like that?! To take down a monster so easily!
FWOOSH
She screamed as a second monster, this one much smaller, swooped in from the sky, landing directly in front of her. This one was a flying type, she discerned, on account of the brief view she obtained of feathers and wings. She doubted her secret savior, or whatever else had conjured that barrier, would return to save her this time.
She shut her eyes tight and looked away, savoring the last, beautiful moments of life.
"Hmm… Beartic… Vita's gonna be pissed."
Relaxing ever so slightly, she squinted her eyes as she stared up at the new monster.
It looked calm, if not slightly annoyed. Its gaze wasn't even focused on her, instead, on the Zorua she was trying to save.
"Y-you can talk?" she squeaked. "You… You're not feral?"
It seemed that the larger creature noticed her for the first time.
"No, I'm not feral," he said in a nonchalant tone, distinctly male. "And I'm guessing you didn't do this?"
He gestured with a wing towards the fallen monster.
"N-no," she admitted, shrinking away. "A pink… thing… did it. I don't know what it was, I swear!"
The bird sighed, turning back towards the Zorua.
"A-are you here to hurt us?" the Axew asked tentatively.
"Me? Nah," the bird responded, softly chortling. He gave a look around, as if he were gauging his position or checking for more danger.
"This Beartic didn't hurt either of you, did it?" he then asked, turning back towards the Axew.
"N-no. Is that what it's called?"
The bird looked at the Axew skeptically, as if judging her. Was she supposed to know what the dead monster was named?
"Name's Jet," he said simply, ignoring her question and wiping his face of all emotion. "And this," he continued, gesturing towards the Zorua, "is Ray. Your's?"
"My n-name? M-m-miseri," she trailed off, clearing her throat before finishing.
"Miseri-what?"
"N-no! I'm Misa. Misa."
"Well, Misa," Jet responded, nodding his head in a half-greeting. "Do me a huge favor and go back to your parents. Never tell anyone about what you saw here, or about the fact you even met this Zorua at all. I may be nice now, but…"
He flexed his talons, causing them to shine in the sunlight. Misa shuddered.
"You get the idea."
He then, without word, grabbed the Zorua with both talons and flew off in a single direction before Misa could respond. Within seconds, she was alone, left with the still-bleeding corpse of the monster.
OLD A/N FOR THIS CHAPTER:
And, on a more jovial tone, this story (somehow) got a piece of fanart! I have no idea how or why, but it's amazing through and through, so go show the artist some love! (There's a link on my profile).
