Grim: And because of that... we have to keep up with the replies.
Dalamar the Dark
ShadowedTactician: Heh heh heh, so glad you could agree.
ShadowAngelUmbreon
ShadowedTactician: Actually, I really don't mind the crazy old fogey much, but oh well.
Grim: What's with you going all 197?
ShadowedTactician: ...That's her Umbreon, dimwit.
Skyler
ShadowedTactician: Truthfully, I began writing a Codename: Kids Next Door random insanity work of fiction before I even saw an episode of it... but that's another story.
Psycho Sword Lady
ShadowedTactician: O...kay. Actually, for the sake of the original, I'm ditching the Pokémon dragonkin idea. (Sorry, naryugoddess.) Ninian does get Spinda in the cards, likewise with Sonia and Jynx as well as Fiora with Dodrio. Next... does Dorcas look lazy to you?
Grim: Certainly not my first impression.
ShadowedTactician: Erk does get a Psychic-type, but not in this fiction. In the cards he gets a Slowking and Noctowl (for the overnight studying) and a Mr. Mime (for the escorting... sort of). Your Alakazam idea is a brilliant one, though. Chimecho... isn't what I'd call pink, shiny or non-shiny. It appears to be more blue to me. Oswin's actually getting the Aron family since I think it suits him better. Matter of opinion, really. And yes, raising Pokémon from eggs really is better... I just don't really bother. Heh heh.
With the secrets of her past revealed in the words of two knights of Lycia Lyn heads west to meet her grandfather - to Lycia, and to her destiny. A mountain range separates the Sacae Plains from Bern. There are many bandits lurking here, the cruelest of which are the Taliver. They wreak havoc on both Sacae and Bern, and their savagery knows no bounds. On her tenth day away from the plains, Lyn witnesses their atrocities herself.
Our heroes, Lyn, Shadow, Kent and Sain had left Bulgar for about a week (with their Pokémon), and today they arrived at the foot of Taliver Mountain. The quickest road to Lycia, Kent had said, was through the mountain range between Sacae and Bern. However, when the four travellers had scaled over the last hill that led into the valley trail, everyone stopped in their tracks.
"This place... It's..." Lyn could not find any suitable words to say. The remains of a ravaged village lay around the mountain foot. Dilapidated houses and broken walls littered the area, and felled trees with the scars of axemarks completed the sorry scene.
"The entire area is in ruins," Sain finally managed to find his voice. "Why doesn't their marquess do anything to help?"
"Taliver Mountain is home to a gang of vicious, ruthless bandits. No marquess holds power here," Lyn replied softly. Shadow turned to face Lyn, who was slightly trembling in her speech. He remembered Lyn had once told him that the Taliver bandits were responsible for massacring her tribe.
"My village was near here, on the other side of the mountain," Lyn continued talking, snapping Shadow from his thoughts. "My people were... The Taliver bandits came at night. It took only one night. The survivors numbered less than ten... including me." She paused, clenching her fists. "They're soulless beasts," Lyn muttered harshly. "I will never forgive them. Never."
"Lyndis..." "..." Sain and Kent tried to comfort Lyn, but didn't know what to tell her.
"I am not running away," Lyn went on, speaking in a resolute tone. "I will be back someday. I'll be stronger. I will break their swords beneath me like twigs beneath a stallion's hooves. I will avenge my people. I'll do everything in my power."
"When the time comes," Sain interrupted, "bring me with you."
"Sain..."
"Don't forget me, either." Kent smiled.
"Kent..." Lyn felt a rush of complex emotions through her mind.
"And us!" Shadow grinned. "We'll be there to help you along!"
"Oh! You too, Shadow?" Lyn turned, as if suddenly noticing the tactician's presence. "Bulba!" Lyn's Bulbasaur nodded and smiled at its trainer. Grim, Ponyta and Stantler did nothing, but Lyn could tell from their eyes that the other Pokémon felt the same way. "I... You're... Thank you." She managed to say, blushing. Meanwhile...
"Wait right there, little lady!" A bandit wearing a tattered magenta shirt and red headband thundered, looming over a frail-looking girl with light purple hair who was accompanied with a white winged horse. A creature that resembled a boxer with red gloves and purple outfit stood beside the bandit, along with his associate. "What are you going to do to apologise? Huh?" barked the bandit. "Chan!" growled the humanoid beast.
"Uh... I... That is, I..." The girl could only stammer as she shivered in fear.
"Hey, she's quite a catch, eh Migal?" smirked the other man. "I bet the boss'd give us a pretty penny for her."
"Yeah," agreed the first brigand. "She roughed me up a bit, so I figure fair's fair. It's no more'n she deserves."
"I... I..." The girl's face turned whiter than a sheet. "What are gonna do with her flying mule?" asked the second bandit, making a gesture towards the pegasus behind the girl.
"Don't you dare touch her!" screamed the girl.
"What?" snarled the bandit. "You just watch your mouth, girlie!"
"Do what you will with me, just... let her go. Please, I beg of you!" pleaded the girl.
"Ha ha ha! Silly twit!" roared the brigand in magenta. "Pegasi can only be found in Ilia. They're rare beasts, worth more than you by far! We can sell it for a mountain of gold. Let it go? HA!" he snorted.
"No! You can't!..." The girl begged, but it was no use.
"C'mon!" The bandit signalled to his partners. "Let's move!"
By now, the voices of the bandits and girl had attracted the attention of Lyn and the others, who were peeking from behind a wall.
"What's this? Be on your guard, Lyndis; there seems to be some sort of commotion over there," Kent warned.
"That's... that's a pegasus," Lyn gasped. "Could it be...?" She walked over to where the brigands were. "Florina?" called Lyn. "Is that you, Florina?"
"Ah! Lyn?" exclaimed the girl.
"Florina!" Lyn shouted, feeling a sense of relief. "What are you doing in a place such as this?"
"Lyn!" Florina trembled as she stepped forward. "Is it really you? I... I..."
"Come now, no crying!" Lyn chided gently as she embraced Florina. "I'm sorry..." Florina mumbled in Lyn's arms.
"You are acquaintances?" asked Kent as he rode out on his Stantler.
"She's my friend." Lyn explained. "This is Florina, a pegasus knight in training from Ilia. She's a little uncomfortable around men." Turning to Florina, Lyn asked, "Tell me, Florina, what happened here?"
"Well... um..." Florina began uneasily. "When I heard that you had left... I decided to follow you. Then I saw this village... I flew down to ask if they had news of you. I didn't see these two, and... well..." Florina started to blush furiously.
"Did your pegasus land on them?" Lyn asked in a voice that sounded a bit like a sigh.
"Well, I... A little..." Florina said quietly as she looked down at her feet in embarrassment.
"A-ha! You heard her!" shouted Migal's buddy triumphantly, sending Florina scuttling behind Lyn. "She admits her fault! She stepped on my friend, and now she's got to pay!"
"Did you apologise, Florina?" questioned Lyn.
"Yes." Florina mumbled as tears stung her eyes. "I told them I was sorry many times over. They just wouldn't listen..."
"Don't cry. It's all right." Lyn said comfortingly.
"Lyn..." Florina gazed at her friend through teary eyes.
"Listen," Lyn addressed Migal's friend, "she's obviously sorry. Can't we just let this pass? You don't appear to be injured or anything."
"No chance. The girl goes with us - by force if need be!" growled Migal before he and his companions dashed off towards a small peak. "Hey!" yelled the bandit. "C'mon out now, boys! The men are fair game, but don't put a scratch on the girls!" As more bandits emerged from their hiding places, Migal ran to the base of another peak further away and stood guard there. Lyn quickly turned to her tactician. "Shadow! We've got to fight back!"
"Lyn... I..." Florina stammered.
"You're a pegasus knight, aren't you?" Lyn asked. "You can fight, can't you?"
"...Yes!" Florina managed to say.
"Okay, people, I've drawn out a very basic map of the area." Shadow unrolled a piece of paper. "Like Lyn said, these bandits may be underlings, but we can't take them too lightly... our strategy is the get them between the narrow part of the terrain where walls meet, over here." He pointed to a spot on the map where a wall stood perpendicular to another one but not touching it, creating a small gap in which only one man could go through at a time, motioning to Lyn, Sain and Kent.
"Lyn... Who's that?" Florina asked as she gently tapped Lyn on the shoulder.
"This is Shadow." Lyn introduced. "He's still an apprentice, but he's my tactician."
"Oh, I see..." Florina shuffled in her shoes briefly. "Uh... Shadow?" she stammered. "I'm... pleased to meet you."
"Thanks, Florina. We're pleased to meet you too," smiled the tactician. "Kull!" Grim suddenly appeared from behind Shadow's head.
"Eeeek!" Florina screamed as she quickly hid behind her pegasus. Shadow sighed, then glared at his Duskull. "Okay... Sain, Kent, I want you to go over to the exact spot that I pointed out to you and fend off the bandits from there. Don't forget to take turns fighting so you can recover." "Right!" Sain nodded and confidently rode out to battle. "Sain!" yelled Kent as he tried to catch up. "Wait...!"
Shadow looked to his map once again. "Hmm... Lyn, do you see that group of red-roofed houses over there surrounded by a fence?"
"Yes..." Lyn peered into the distance. "It looks like a village to me."
"Mmhmm. But something about that village worries me... the main gates don't appear to be closed. The villagers could be in danger if the bandits decide to strike there." Shadow frowned. "I need you to warn the villagers over there about our battle, and tell them to lock their gates."
"Alright." Lyn and her Bulbasaur began to walk over to the village, while Shadow continued to pore over his map and Florina awaited orders. When Lyn went through the wooden gates, she was surprised at what she saw. The streets were completely deserted, and not a sound could be heard.
"...Is anyone there?" Lyn called out.
"Leave us alone, you thugs!" yelled a voice from behind a door.
"Go away! Go away! We've no more gold for you!" another voice shouted.
"No, wait! Please! We're not bandits!" Lyn tried to defend herself. "We want to help the village. Please listen!"
"Remain inside, everyone," came a third voice. Unlike the two voices earlier, this voice was calm and collected. "I'll go see what's happening." The door opened, revealing a teenage boy of around 17 years of age. He wore a suit of greenish-blue and had a quiver full of arrows strapped around his back as well as an iron bow in his hand. He had a fine crop of brown hair on his head and matching eyes that had a sort of cheerfulness in them.
"Not bandits, huh?" mused the stranger. "So, who are you?"
"My name is Lyn," Lyn started to explain. "My colleagues and I are just travelling through here... We saw some bandits about. We're going to deal with them, but... We need you to go and warn the villagers."
"Hey! Wait! The name's Wil. I'm a traveler of sorts too," the boy introduced. "Listen... these villagers have been kind to me. Mind if I fight with you?"
"Not at all. We need all the help we can get!" Lyn smiled as she shook Wil's hand. "Welcome aboard, Wil!"
"Shadow!" Lyn called as she brought Wil to meet him. "This is Wil. I found him in the village and he's willing to help. Wil, this is Shadow, our group's tactician."
"Hey! Nice to meet you, Shadow!" Wil flashed a cheery smile.
"Hmmm... Yeah, nice to meet you too." Shadow briefly muttered as he screened the area of the battlefield, his forehead creased from squinting too much. Kent and Sain were fighting the bandits in the alley with ease and didn't seem to have any problems. "An archer, and a pegasus knight." Shadow said to himself as he studied the new recruits. "Both of you wouldn't happen to have any Pokémon on you, would you?"
"I do!" Wil said brightly as he brought out a Pokéball from his pocket. "Cacnea, come out!" Out of Wil's Pokéball came a cactus-like Pokémon that Lyn and Shadow had seen earlier on in their journey.
"Cacnea! Cacnea!" Grinning, the Cacnea leapt up and brought its spiky arm down on Shadow's head. WHAM!
"Ahhhh... Cacnea's Needle Arm." Shadow murmured deliriously as he reeled from the force of the whack. "Sorry." Wil apologised sheepishly while twiddling his fingers. "That's Cacnea's way of greeting people... and I'm, er... not really good with handling Pokémon yet."
"You know, I think I could've told you that," Shadow muttered under his breath. "What about you, Florina?"
"M-Me? Well... I only have this... Mitch, come out." Florina nervously flung a Pokéball onto the floor, revealing a small brown bird with a light yellow chest and pinkish beak and feet. "Hm?" Lyn noticed that the Pokémon's left foot looked a little deformed. "Florina... isn't this the Pidgey that we found on the plains years ago?"
"Mm." Florina nodded. "After we nursed her back to health... I... I couldn't bear to release her, so I decided to keep it secretly." She turned to look down at the Pidgey. "Mitch's still having a bit of trouble on its left foot... I guess her foot never was quite the same after the accident with the Raticate. She's still shy around other people and Pokémon.."
"Alright." Shadow suddenly piped up. "I need to know what both of you can do, so..." He pointed to a sword-wielding mercenary behind a wall. "Wil, can you try attacking that swordsman from a distance away?"
"No problem! The master marksman is at your command!" Wil gave Shadow a thumbs up, and rushed to carry out his orders. "Master marksman?" Shadow's eyebrow twitched.
"Heads up!" Wil yelled as he started pulling arrows from his quiver. "Cacnea, jump and use Pin Missile!"
"Wha?" The swordsman turned around to find nobody, except a voice coming from the other side of the wall. "ACK!" he screamed as several arrows rained down on him, as well as a storm of sharp needles.
"Florina!" Shadow shouted. "Now go in and attack!"
"Um... right! Lyn, please take care of Mitch for me!" Florina quickly clambered onto her pegasus, who had started to flap its wings and soar into the sky. Flying over the village where Wil had come from, Florina spotted the mercenary and dove in to attack, closing her eyes tightly as she thrust her lance forward.
"UNGH! Urgh..." The swordsman fell in a limp pile. Suddenly, Florina spotted something that made her shriek. "Lyn!" she yelled. "What should I do? There's an archer!"
"What? Where!" Lyn turned around frantically at Florina's holler until she spotted Wil smiling and waving at her. "Oh. That's Wil!" She shouted back at Florina.
"Oh, hi!" Wil waved at Florina. "Are you one of Lyn's friends? I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet..."
"Um... ... ..." Florina trembled uneasily on her pegasus. "What... what is it?" Wil looked concerned. "Are you unwell?"
"I'm sorry, Wil." Lyn apologised as she ran up to the archer boy. "Her name's Florina. She's timid around men, and you... you've got a bow."
"Oh! No wonder she was so scared, being a pegasus knight and all." He turned to Florina, "I apologise for frightening you, but I do understand your fear of bows."
"I... um... I'm sorry... Even looking... at a... bow... frightens me ever so much..." Florina mumbled.
"Of course, I understand. But you should really fear the enemy archers, not your own." The pegasus knight nodded at Wil before taking to the skies again. "Mm?" Florina's eyes suddenly darted leftwards. "There's a village over there," she noted to herself. "It doesn't look like there's any bandits nearby, but... I should go and warn them." Once her pegasus had landed, she rode over to the open village gate. "Um... hello?"
"Yes?" A brown haired girl with freckles and a red dress came out.
"We're fighting a battle against some bandits. Please, we need you to close your gates so you can protect yourselves..."
"Oh, you came to help the village?" The girl smiled at Florina. "That's good. With so many bandits, I wasn't sure what to do..." Fishing a small bag of coins from her pocket, the girl pressed the heavy package into Florina's hand. "I..." Florina looked taken aback.
"It's not much, but please, take this money. There's an armoury southeast of this village. Equip yourself as you see fit, and please help us." Florina hesitated, then smiled her thanks before mounting her pegasus.
"TAKE DOWN!" Sain and Kent shouted simultaneously while brandishing their weapons. Their faithful steeds, Ponyta and Stantler, lunged themselves at the enemy and gored some of the bandits. The others, seeing how strong the two cavaliers were, decided to turn tail and run away.
"Nice work, you guys." Shadow, Lyn and Wil had managed to catch up with the two knights. "From what I just saw, there's only the lead bandit left hiding behind the ruins of that village over there, so we'll just overwhelm him by numbers." Shadow briefed the others. "Lyn!" A female voice came from above. It was Florina's.
"The people from the village over there gave me some gold for helping!" Florina announced happily as she gently landed in front of the rest. Receiving the bag of gold from Florina, Shadow paused a bit for thought.
"Alright. Lyn, Sain, Kent and Wil; the four of you will go and intercept the bandit behind the ruins. Florina and I will go to the armoury over there and buy an Iron Lance for her..."
"Eh!" Florina gasped. "You... Shadow, you don't... I..."
"As much as it is useful, I don't think that slim lance you're wielding can stand much more hits." Florina looked at her slim lance and saw that Shadow was right; already it seemed as if it had reached half its breaking point. "Besides, I doubt we can find any more armouries or shops in this mountain range. It's best if we stock up early on supplies."
"O...okay." Florina blushed. "Thanks."
"We're off then!" Sain punched the air in enthusiasm. "Don't worry about a thing; we'll take care of that meanie!" The cavalier winked at Florina before riding away, making her face turn a bright crimson.
"Oh, um... Shadow?" Lyn approached her tactician. "Could you hold Mitch instead? I can't fight while -"
"I get the idea." Shadow took the Pidgey from Lyn. "Just leave her to me and Grim; she'll be fine."
"Right! I'll see you later!" Lyn waved at Shadow before running to join the other fighters...
"Draw your swords!" Migal snarled as Lyn and her comrades came into view. "We're not listening to any of your stinking apologies!" "Mon-chan!" The Punching Pokémon beside him flexed its muscles.
"Hey, listen!" Lyn shouted. "There's something I wanted to ask you..."
"Begging for your life so soon, wench?" sneered Migal.
"Are you... Taliver bandits?" Lyn asked.
"Taliver? Those greedy monsters?" Migal snorted. "We're nothing like them! Those fiends will even kill women and children! We're from Ganelon, and we know a little something of honour. We don't harm women, for one thing. After all," he sniggered, "Why kill what you can sell? Heh heh heh..."
"If you're not Taliver..." Lyn's expression softened a little, "then there's no reason for you to die here today. If you would like to tuck your tails and flee, do so now."
"You... you..." Migal shook with rage, "No more courtesies! You're going to learn to watch your tongue!"
"I think you'll be learning to watch your temper!" Sain yelled as he charged, sword in hand. "Yaaaaaa!"
"Haaaa!" Kent charged along with his friend.
"Nggh!" Migal parried the blows with his axe. "Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!"
"Chan!" The fighter Pokémon dashed across the ground, and in the blink of an eye, it had quickly dismounted the two cavaliers, who fell to the ground with hard thuds. "Oof!"
"Comet Punch, now!" Hitmonchan leapt into the air and came down like a meteor, its gloved fists flying around, battering Ponyta and Stantler into sumbission.
"He's too powerful... Wil, let's try getting him from a distance!" Lyn suggested.
"Alright!" Wil agreed as he pulled out more arrows from his quiver. "Cacnea, Poison Sting!" He shouted as he opened fire.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!" Lyn ordered. The two Grass Pokémon fired a barrage of leaves and stingers that combined with the arrows to form a killer storm of sharp projectiles.
"Hitmonchan! Use your Fire Punch!" Hitmonchan nodded, its gloves starting to burst into flame. Suddenly, without warning, it threw out two huge fireballs that collided with the incoming missiles, and disintegrated the lot.
"Wha?" Lyn and Wil gasped.
"Hahaha! Surprised?" Migal smirked. "That's the attack Hitmonchan and I dreamt up! We've lived for a long time in these harsh conditions, and we've got a strong will to survive! Hitmonchan and I have been working for years to perfect that long-range technique, so Hitmonchan isn't so vulnerable from a distance!"
"Sand-Attack, Cacnea!" Wil commanded. The cactus Pokémon jumped, then started to spin as it landed on the ground, throwing blinding sand at Hitmonchan and Migal and covering them in a sandstorm.
"Do you really think that's going to help you!" Migal laughed. "Ice Punch!" Two huge balls of ice flew out of the storm, both smashing on Cacnea. "CAC!" Cacnea fell back from the impact. "Cacnea!" Wil cried.
"Hitmonchan's Keen Eye ability prevents all attempts to reduce its accuracy! Your weak gusts of dirt won't affect him at all!" Migal raised his hand, "Hailstorm Punch!" Hitmonchan started to spin on its toes, while its gloves kept generating balls of ice that flew at Lyn, Wil and their Pokémon.
"ARGH! Uhhh..." Lyn and Wil tried to stand up, but they were far too injured to do so.
"Lyn!" Florina's voice rang out as her pegasus emerged from the horizon. She held her new iron lance in her right hand, while Shadow followed up with Mitch in his arms and Grim floating beside him. "Um... excuse me..."
"You!" Migal turned to see Florina hovering over him. "So, you changed your mind about coming with us, eh?"
"Well... no... But... this really is... my fault... Really... So, can we -"
"What!" Migal was infuriated with Florina's stuttering. "C'mon lass, out with it!"
"I'm sorry." She trembled. "Can we... can we just stop fighting now?"
"You've got to be kidding. After I've been made to look like a fool? No way!" growled Migal. "You're coming with us! I promise you that!"
"EEEK!" Florina screamed as Migal jumped up, trying to aim a blow on her. Quickly, she pulled the reins on her pegasus, making it go up higher. "Are you thinking that you can escape my clutches just by flying!" Migal signalled to Hitmonchan. "Sky Uppercut, Hitmonchan!"
"Hitmon-chan!" The Punching Pokémon tensed, then jumped, its fist ready to strike...
"Ahhhhh!" Florina held her arms in a cross, desperately trying to defend herself.
"Koo kroo! Koo kroo!" Mitch saw what was about to happen, and tried to struggle free, but Shadow's hold was firm. "KOO!" It pecked on Shadow's fingers, hard.
"Ouch!" Shadow yelped in pain, loosening his grip in the process and releasing the Pidgey. "Mitch, no!" The tactician cried as he saw Mitch flying away. It charged with lightning speed at Hitmonchan, just as it was about to punch Florina...
"CHAN!" Hitmonchan fell back. Something had hit its glove! "Ah!" Florina gasped. "Mitch!"
"What!" Migal exclaimed. "Quick Attack..." He glared at Florina. "You must be joking if you think this puny Pokémon can stop me! Hitmonchan, Thunderpunch!" At Migal's order, Hitmonchan's gloves began to glow once again, but this time with electricity. Two bolts of lightning flew from its gloves, headed for Mitch.
"Mitch, try Agility!" Using super speed, the Pidgey zoomed about, managing to dodge the electric shocks just in time. Hitmonchan continued to fire its thunderbolts, but couldn't land an attack on the speedy Pokémon.
"Mind Reader!" Hitmonchan stopped its attacks, and squinted at the flying Pokémon. "Mind Reader!" Florina put her hand to her mouth in shock. "...That's the technique that ensures the next attack hits for sure!"
"Launch the final Thunderpunch, Hitmonchan!" shouted Migal. Hitmonchan flexed its muscles as its gloves brimmed with electricity. "NOW!" Two powerful bolts of electricity shot through the air, aimed at Mitch...
"NO!" Florina yelled. She knew what she had to do, she had to save her Pidgey!
"Florina! Don't do it!" Shadow hollered as he realised what Florina was going to attempt. Too late! Florina flew on her pegasus, right in front of Mitch, just as the electric bolts struck. "KYAAAAAA!" she screamed as the electricity passed through her iron lance and coursed through her body.
"Fool..." Migal sighed. "I guess I'll just have shock you until you agree to come with us!"
"Koo..." Mitch stared. "It's alright... Mitch..." Florina tried to speak, even though it felt painful. Her hair was standing in a frightful mess from the electricity. "I... promised that I... would never... let anything happen... to you... nggh..." Florina grimaced from the agony of the shock. Mitch felt her eyes begin to water. Suddenly, Mitch let loose a terrifying cry, "KROOOOOOO!"
"Wha, what's happening?" From below, Lyn, Shadow and the rest could see that Mitch was beginning to shine with a blistering white light that enveloped the area. "Mitch... Mitch is..." Before Shadow could get the words out, the light had faded. Mitch was still there, but it looked nothing like a Pidgey. Mitch now had grown at least two feet in height, and had much more developed wings and feet, along with some red hair flowing from its head and a tail with five feathers. Even its limp had healed. Within its eyes it seemed to hold a sense of fury.
"Mitch has evolved into Pidgeotto!" Shadow exclaimed.
"Pidgeot!" Mitch suddenly began to dive, straight at Hitmonchan, while glowing in a bright orange light... WHAM! Mitch collided with Hitmonchan straight on, throwing it a few metres backwards into Migal. "Ugh... Sky Attack!" Migal could not believe his eyes. With the electric attack from Hitmonchan gone, Florina could now fly forwards, and strike...
"Aaaaaaaah!" Florina screamed as she smashed her lance onto Migal, wielding it like an axe.
"YARGH!" Migal suddenly felt as if a million needles were jabbing into him as a powerful surge of electricity shot through him. "H... How..."
"I get it!" Shadow realised, "Florina just returned the electricity built up in her body and her pegasus through her iron lance to Migal!"
"Urgh..." Migal collapsed. Unlike Florina, he had less resistance to such attacks, and he had received a great deal of damage. A fatal deal of damage, in fact. "You'll live to regret this... My brothers... The Ganelon bandits will not let this stand..." He said as he breathed his last.
"Uh..." Florina sighed as she fainted. It had all been too much on her.
"Florina!" Seeing her friend fall, Lyn found the strength to stand up, rush over, and grab Florina before she fell headfirst onto the ground. Florina's pegasus managed to collapse on its knees without injuring itself, but it was completely bushed. "Florina!" Lyn cried. "Speak to me!"
"Lyn..." Florina murmured as she gazed at her friend. "Is... Mitch okay?"
"She's fine. Mitch is fine." Lyn heaved a sigh of relief as the Pidgeotto flew down and looked at its trainer with worry in its eyes. "You're going to be fine too."
"I think we all need to take a rest before heading out." Shadow noted. "It's been a long day, and we need time to nurse ourselves." Everyone else, people and Pokémon alike, nodded in agreement.
"So... Florina... why did you follow me?" Lyn asked Florina after the group had set up camp. "It's so dangerous."
"Do you remember the knighting ceremony of the Pegasus Knights of Ilia?"
"Yes, you join a band of freelance soldiers to further your training," Lyn recalled. "Is that what brought you here, Florina?"
"Uh-huh. I wanted to talk to you before I set out..." Florina shuffled. "But when I went to Sacae, I heard that you had left with some strangers, and..."
"You were worried about me? Thank you, but I'm more worried about you," Lyn frowned.
"Me?"
"Listen, most mercenaries are men, right? Bands of men? I can't imagine you being at all comfortable around them."
"I know, I know." Florina sighed. "It's just... I've always dreamt of being a pegasus knight. I imagined I would just... work it out. Somehow. After today, I'm not so sure..." Florina felt tears well up in her eyes, "Maybe I should just... give up..."
"Florina... Don't cry..." Lyn consoled.
"Yes! There's no reason to give up your dream!"
"Hm?" Lyn turned to see Sain walk up to them. "Lovely Florina! I have the most brilliant idea!"
"Sain!" Kent barked. He had already guessed what was going to happen...
"You should come with us!" Sain voiced out his suggestion. "With the addition of Wil here, we're a fine group of soldiers, and freelance to boot!"
"Wait... did you just include me?" Wil asked.
"Of course! We were destined to meet here! It's fate! Come now, Lyn's band of mercenaries is as good a training group as you will find anywhere!"
"Sain..." Kent shook his partner. "This is no joking matter!"
"Lyndis?" Florina looked confused. "Um, Lyn? Mercenaries?"
"I can give you details later. This is all a bit rushed." Lyn looked back at Sain who looked as if he was going to go down on his knees and beg if necessary. "However, Sain is right. Will you come with us, Florina?"
"Travel with you, Lyn? Truly?" Florina brightened up. "I would be so... so happy!"
"Fantastic!" Sain cheered as he stepped forward and held Florina's hand in his. "Beatueous Florina! I am a knight of Caelin. My name is Sain..." The lovesick knight started to ramble.
"Eeek!" Florina squealed as she hid behind Lyn. "Stay back! Don't get so close..."
"Ah..." Sain sighed. "Beautiful, and yet so modest!"
"I beg your forgiveness." Kent began. "Calling us mercenaries..."
"No, I approve. We can't leave Florina on her own." Lyn paused. "She requires special attention, though... Can I count on you, Kent?"
"Yes, milady." The red knight bowed. "You have but to ask."
"So... Is it really alright if I travel with you?" Wil asked.
"Oh, yes. Of course! If you're willing, Wil..." Lyn smiled.
"Actually, I'm very grateful." Wil thanked the nomad girl. "Truth be told, all of my money was stolen, and I'm... at a bit of crossroads. I would be honoured to count myself as one of Lyndis' Legion!"
"Lyndis' Legion?" Lyn stared at her tactician standing nearby. "...This is getting stranger with every day, Shadow." The young man in the green cloak only shrugged.
To be continued...
ShadowedTactician: ...Hopefully, that battle scene was scientifically possible at least.
Grim: Review...
