"There is a ripple in the desert. The winds whisper of a storm. The sun rises slowly, while the nights are longer and colder. I hope my mind is playing tricks on me. I beg the spirits for our clan's safety."
-Alpha Garchomp of Clan Dragonblood.
Chapter XV: Endless Battles I
-Western Desert-
Lawrence and Mirari quickly picked themselves off the floor, both trying to get sand off their bodies and get ready for what was to come. Sundance formed ice around his claws, similar to knives, with both arms crossed in front of his head, his golden eyes staring straight ahead.
The sunlight was harsh in the sky, yet for the three pokémon, the sand all around them made it hard to see. But in any case, the creature in front of them was unmistakable.
Krookodile yawned, slowly moving her scaly limbs in seemingly random motions, they all could hear a loud scraping noise coming from her. Her tail. It was so heavy that it sounded like a rock pressing against the sandy floor.
"Well, well. I commend your dedication, finding me all the way here and interrupting my nap." She once more yawned, showing her huge maw, filled with sharp, shiny teeth, "but alas, you will die all the same."
The sand that resulted from the dune's explosion finally settled. Revealing the battlefield, a plain field of desert sand covered in many dunes, that seemed like small mountains to the dragon, fairy and ice-type pokémon.
It was probably used as a camp once, Sundance could tell. But due to the sand that fell from the sky, almost all of it was buried. Oddly enough, some of the sand between Krookodile and the trio of young pokémon was almost black in color, which formed a multicolored floor.
"Cocky words for a scumbag that only knows how to flee!" The ice/dark-type snarled. He opened his arms and dashed forward, ice immediately grew on his claws so that they were stabbing the ground as he ran straight for Krookodile. Strangely enough, the sand felt… liquid under his feet. Had it actually rained the night before or something?
Disregarding this strange detail, he kept his sprint. When he got closer to her, the sneasel jumped and shot the 'ice knives' on his claws like projectiles, which the large crocodile countered by turning around and slapping them away with her tail.
He followed up by targeting her as he fell down. He spun in the air, covering his right arm in a coat of ice. Sundance was about to hit her with the ice-punch, when a massive wave of sand suddenly threw him away, hitting his icy-arm head-on, causing the ice coat around it to break. Sundance noticed the sand wave that hit him came exactly from the same direction of the krookodile tail she had previously used to block his attack.
He bounced on the ground, but was able to to back flip multiple times, avoiding getting too damaged by the impact.
"What the- what did you…?" Sundance winced when his feet hit the ground for good, he felt blood come out of his right arm.
Her only reply was a smirk, showing him the bruises now present on her tail and chest.
"You got quite a lot of surprises yourself. You can cut deep, despite your size." Despite her words, her voice was monotone, mocking.
"Oh, you've got no idea just how deep I can cut. Just ask your underlings." He winced, getting back into his fighting pose, baring his claws and teeth.
"I'd rather have you go and chat with them, allow me to arrange a meeting." Krookodile crossed her arms and stomped on the ground, causing everything to shake for a moment.
He had to shut up when more of the water-like sand came towards him, blocking him from all fronts, threatening to swallow him whole.
The sneasel jumped up, only to see an even bigger wave of sand coming straight for him.
He could only cross his claws and prepare for the worse, but then a ball of light flew from behind him, hitting the wave and dispersing most of it, but before the rest could swallow the dark-type, a barrier covered his body, denying all damage and allowing him a widow to adjust his position and get back where he started.
Thankfully, the sand around Mirari and Lawrence was as solid as he remembered.
"A-Are you okay?"
"That was nothing. She just caught me by surprise."
The trio saw the red and black krookodile standing still in that same place. The cocky smirk still present on her huge jaws, while she kept stretching herself and yawning.
"Weren't you hunting her down? Doesn't that mean you should know what to expect when fighting her?" Mirari nudged the slim ice/dark pokémon, much to his annoyance.
"That is correct, but I never fought her directly. Few have." He grunted.
Lawrence touched Sundance's soft fur, a aqua blue light transferring energy from his stumpy hand to the taller pokémon. Sundance closed his eyes and sighed in relief. He felt most of the pain in his arm go away.
"Actually, many have." The booming, growly voice of the female interrupted them, "just none strong enough to tell the tale."
"That just means we're gonna be the first ones to report that! Oh man, that's gonna give us a lot of good stuff probably!" Mirari declared, almost as loud as Krokorok, "just imagine the rewards the local guild would give us if we said we defeated her, Lawrence! They could hand out like, three of those pendants of yours!"
The outlaw, the fairy and Sundance all stared at Mirari with different expressions, none of them pleased.
"They really don't make explorers like before..." Krokorok shrugged, shaking her head, "so pathetic, this new breed of 'heroes'."
Sundance closed his claws into fists and jumped high in the air, "Good thing I'm not an explorer."
He then created ice under his feet, freezing the very air around them, which he then used to launch himself straight at Krokorok once again, jumping across to avoid the strange black quicksand in between her and them.
As soon as he would use his claws to slash her face, she surprised him by dodging with surprising speed, forcing him to claw the ground. Which quickly attacked him back, covering his body in slime-like sand that held him firmly in place.
Lawrence and Mirari looked at each other, they both nodded without a word. She lowered her body to better match his. Lawrence climbed on top of her and the dragoness ran through a path avoiding the patches of dark sand in front of them.
"Not an explorer, you say? Interesting. Due to the headaches you've caused me, I would've guessed you're trying to settle a score or something." She took two slow steps to reach where the sneasel was being held at, her tone always the same cocky one to match her expression, no matter what. "But that would not do either. Foolish pokémon seeking revenge don't have that much skill, nor all of that excess bloodthirst of yours. That must mean you're… a hunter."
"The… hell… do you… care…" Sundance growled, desperately trying to struggle free from his bindings, which despite its mushy looks held him with a grip as hard as steel.
"I don't. But you know, it's always so much fun when I gut one of you 'hunters'. The flavor of a wannabe vigilante's insides is... exquisite." She licked her muzzle, before opening her jaws wide and chomping straight at Sundance's shoulder, causing him to cry out in agony. Her teeth painted the sands red as it pierced his flesh with violent glee.
She would rip out a chunk of his meat, but was quickly stopped by a blue fire that burnt her back, as well as a blue ball of light that almost hit her straight in the neck. She was forced to take three steps to the side to dodge, her bloody jaws leaking the blood of her foe.
Where she once stood, there was a fairy mounting a dragoness. Mirari was coughing uncontrollably while smoke came out of her nostrils and mouth.
"Damn! I m-missed…"
"Do you… think she's… pissed…?" Mirari said, between more coughs.
They both could see the cocky smirk of the crocodile was substituted by a scowl.
"Y-Yeah, probably…"
"Good!" She laughed, causing the ground/dark-type to fume with more anger.
"Eager to die, are you? I love giving children what they want." She licked the blood from her muzzle, causing Lawrence's stomach to turn. He couldn't help but look away, while Mirari just leered at the big female.
Sundance used the opportunity to struggle free from the sand tomb, one claw covering the bleeding wound on his shoulder, "What are you two doing? Get the hell back!"
"That wound doesn't look good! Go heal yourself with an item! We'll distract this big meanie, so she won't be able to interrupt you!" Mirari stopped with her coughing and winked at Sundance. Lawrence just nodded, while he looked away from the sneasel's grievous wound to avoid getting sick.
"I am standing right here…" She leered at the two with a threatening rumble.
"Not for long! Hyaaaah!" The jangmo-o's throat bulged, and more smoke came out of her nostrils when she unleashed another draconic breath, aimed straight at the huge pokémon.
Lawrence soon followed up by putting both of his hands on his forehead, which caused a ball of rainbow energy to form, and soon enough, exploded in a wave of light that blinded krookodile, making her unable to dodge Mirari's Dragonbreath.
When the light of the dazzling gleam dissipated, it revealed minor bruises on Krokorok's scales. Looking like small burns from all sides.
"Not bad. You've managed to slightly annoy me." She grunted in mild discomfort at the sudden searing of her scaly flesh.
Before the two could celebrate, the floor under them started to shake, a massive wave of sand forming from the quicksand they tried so hard to avoid, coming to swallow them.
"M-Mirari, now!"
"Okay! Let's go, Lawrence!"
The togepi put his two hands on her neck and started channeling life dew repeatedly, boosting her stamina, which allowed her to run as fast as possible away from the wave.
Meanwhile Sundance watched from a distance, having to use the opportunity to mend his wounds with the sitrus berry he reserved for a situation like this. The big berry's taste was well-rounded, its refreshing juice recovered most of his energy and mended his wounds. In his mind, as he ate and healed, he was studying the patterns of krookodile's fighting style, trying to find a flaw he could exploit…
Mirari used all of her might to run towards a dune, avoiding getting swallowed by the wave. Yet she quickly had to run with even more speed, as she saw Krokorok stomping the ground with her mighty feet. Lawrence held on tight, his pendant bouncing about, much like Mirari's back, as they ran madly across the dunes that surrounded the battlefield, dodging multiple blasts of the sand, so heavy that they exploded on the normal sand of the dunes.
When he felt that Mirari had enough stamina, Lawrence used one hand to start firing weak focus blasts, they missed, but made it so that Krokorok couldn't stay idle.
Noticing that this interruption made her attacks less frequent, he started to fire more of the weak attacks, wanting to make sure she wouldn't stay still for long.
The jangmo-o, on the other hand, used her four legs to run across the dunes. "All of those times I played tag with myself really served for something! Take that, mama!" She giggled whilst dashing for her and her friend's life, "which reminds me, we gotta play tag again sometime! You suck at it, Lawry!"
"I-It's really n-not the time, M-Miri!"
Lawrence had to switch between firing at Krokorok to avoid giving her time to channel stronger attacks, as well as healing Mirari to not let exhaustion thwart their strategy.
"Aw, you finally gave me a nickname!"
"M-More like I a-abbreviated your long n-name so I can talk-" He was interrupted by a sand bomb that almost hit him, had he not ducked out of the way while bouncing up and down on Mirari's back, as well as holding on for dear life "-while trying my b-best n-not to fall to my death!"
"What? I only understood that you loved me to death!" She shouted back at him, loud rumbles and bangs overlapping her as she spoke, "again, we should try and do something about that stutter of yours!"
"I t-told y-you, I-I'M NERVOUS!"
They both were silenced when the dune they were currently in started to shake with even more force than before. Mirari felt the ground under her paws start to give in.
"Oh, crud! Hang on tight, Lawry!"
"Tighter t-than- AAAAH!"
The jangmo-o made a desperate jump, towards the dune right next to the one they were. Lawrence had his face pressed on her neck, hugging her as tight as he possibly could, his little pendant almost choked him as they flew.
Behind them, the place where they once stood exploded in a similar way as the one krookodile was sleeping in before the fight. Dark sand once more covered their surroundings.
Back on the center, the Krookodile had her clawed hand, as well as her foot, pointed where the dune once was, her arrogant expression mixed with one of boredom.
Mirari moaned in pain as she landed from the jump, her claws and paws sore, forcing her to take deep breaths and run slowly.
Before krookodile could capitalize on that, an aqua-blue healing light overtook the dragoness' scaly body. Giving her muscles some of their energy to sprint burst again. Lawrence took the opportunity to fire more weak blasts of energy at the enemy, hoping to at least force her to move.
"D-Do you think we can keep this up for long?"
"Sure we can!"
It was then that Mirari suddenly halted, the sand under her feet suddenly swallowing them. The quick change of speed surprised Lawrence, which was launched forward and fell face first on the ground. The shock and pain stunned the togepi, who couldn't react when the dark sand from underneath started to wrap around his and Mirari's bodies like tentacles.
"I'm afraid you can't." With that single sentence, both of them felt as if their bodies would be crushed before even being swallowed by the sand, the outlaw had one single claw pointing to the dune they were in, one of her feet slowly began to raise up, signaling an incoming dune-explosion.
Mirari desperately tried to free herself. She flailed her limbs madly, using her strength to try and overpower the sand that surrounded her. But her heart sank when she saw Lawrence almost completely covered in sand, his head barely out of the ground. The jangmo-o then stopped moving, and created a barrier around her friend, which momentarily gave him room to breathe and more.
Soon enough, the crushing pain around her limbs broke her focus, and she couldn't keep the protect up any longer. Both her and Lawrence return to the predicament they were in before.
"While I could indulge in your childish games for longer." The krookodile wiped some of the burn marks and scratches on her scales as her voice boomed through the otherwise silent desert. Her right foot was about to deliver one of its destructive stomps once more, "I think it's about time I put you two to sleep."
But before the outlaw could perform the move, she was interrupted by two audible stabs on her back, followed by icy-cold claws tearing at her neck.
Before she could react, however, an orb was also pressed on her side. It shattered, releasing a shockwave so strong that made her muscles unable to move, forcing her to just stand there.
Climbing on her back was Sundance, which had thrusted two sharp icicles that ripped through her flesh. He used his claws to throttle her neck, causing her to instinctively flinch and attempt to remove the ice-type from her throat.
"While your gimmick with the dark sand seems quite powerful, don't think you can do much If you're paralysed." He whispered to her ear, slowly shifting each of his claws to cause her even more agony, "you're quite bad at multitasking as well, aren't you? It's why you allowed me to eat my fill on the back, while you played babysitter."
"Now you either let them go, or your shoulders will be missing a head." To illustrate his point, and to cause her even more gratuitous suffering, Sundance kicked the spikes lodged on her back, whilst using the motions to lacerate more of her hard neck scales.
She growled and gurgled, flicking her wrist. Sundance's eyes widened when he saw the two children get swallowed by the sand, into the dune.
"Make…" She grabbed both of his arms, using all of her might to struggle through the paralysis. Somehow, she still sounded cocky even in the situation she was in.
"Your…" He had no reaction, his eyes were focused where the two of them had seemingly vanished.
"Choice!" krookodile then removed his claws from her throat and threw Sundance to the ground in front of her. Instead of falling, he flipped in the air and fell on his feet.
He wiped some of the blood she left on his claws. The sneasel took a step towards her by instinct, but he forced himself to stop. He looked behind, towards the dune.
Sundance's eyes then looked at krookodile. She was on her knees, using the sand to remove the spikes that were penetrating her back. Whilst trying to cover the bleeding lacerations on her neck.
He prepared his claws, ready to finish her off for good. He took one more step towards the outlaw's direction.
But he stopped. His feet shook slightly. He took a second to look around. The wounded outlaw in front of him was not moving. He couldn't feel the wind, nor the hot desert sun. The only thing that was moving was himself.
Sundance realized that, somehow, time all around him was frozen.
He could feel the warm blood staining his claws. The dirty, foul blood of the pokémon right in front of him. How good it felt to give her but a fraction of the pain she caused. There was nothing quite like the high of allowing your claws to rip and tear on the flesh of the deserving. And considering how his own blood from the bite wound was still fresh on his fur, he knew krookodile had not suffered enough.
Sundance wanted nothing more than to run to that ground-type and finish her off. Slash her throat like he did with Krookorok. Pick off her teeth one by one like he did with that graveler. Inflict upon her the most excruciating-
The sneasel stopped his train of thought when he felt his bloody claws shake. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't contain them.
"Thanks for helping me and Mirari."
That voice… where did it come from? It was echoing all around him, yet it came from nowhere.
"T-Thanks for saving us from those monsters. Thanks f-for sheltering us, and for taking c-care of our wounds."
That was the togepi's- Lawrence's voice! But how? Was this some sort of trick employed by Krookodile? Was he hallucinating in the middle of a battle?
"You didn't have to help us… so t-thank you, mister Sneasel. I just… wanted to know the name of the h-hero that is helping us so much, and asking for nothing in return."
This had to be some sort of ploy! Was Krookodile able to perform illusions? Had he been poisoned? Maybe he was dead, and this was purgatory.
"I know I can be a bit much sometimes! It's just how I am. I don't like being negative, nor staying still."
Crap. As if one voice tormenting him wasn't enough…
"I like, never had the chance to meet a real-deal explorer like yourself. You're so cool and strong! My mother didn't let me even talk about being an explorer."
His entire arm was shaking. He was struggling to even take a step towards the krookodile.
"I… really wanna learn from you! I have so much to ask, so much to do! And tagging along with you on this little adventure feels like the first step, you know? The first step of finally chasing my dreams!"
Sundance kneeled on the ground. His arms were around the sides of his head. Trying to block the sounds.
That naivety they both had. The flame of innocence that refused to stop burning. The sincerity behind each word, the lack of malice. These qualities, unheard of the circles he frequented… they reminded him of…
From behind him, he saw a silhouette. A small pokémon that sprinted joyfully towards the plains, nimbly jumping as he ran. He hummed his favorite tune, while taking a bite out of one of the berries he carried, though he diligently preserved all the others.
"Little mister!"
That voice made him shiver. That feminine voice that echoed like the very breeze of the desert.
The small silhouette stopped their aimless dash. He looked towards the owner of the voice, a bigger shadow with a different, yet somewhat similar body shape.
"What did I tell you about picking from the fields?"
The smaller figure lowered his head, while the bigger one approached him, "you said that it's stealing… and it's wrong… b-but…"
"Mama, you're always giving me all the few berries we have! You must be hungry… I wanted to give those to you! You know, as a gift! As a way of... thanking you!"
The taller figure kneeled in front of the smaller one, her arms wrapped around the little figure. She nuzzled his forehead, and though it was a mere whisper, Sundance knew and heard each word.
"My little Sun, as lovely as your motives are… you must understand that the only thing I really care about is you. Berries, trinkets, gifts… as nice as those things can be, they mean nothing next to you." One of her claws gently stroked his cheek, "so if you want to thank me in any way, just be yourself! No need to steal from the clan's crops to please me. Be happy! Be good! Follow your heart. That's all I'll ever ask of you. My child, my star, my song, my Sundance…"
The two shadows embraced, but as soon as the sneasel tried to reach for them, they vanished like dust to the wind.
All that was left was the sneasel. All alone in this fleeting second, stuck in a world with no time. He was frozen in place, his claw still reaching out to where the shadows once were. It was then he saw just how bloody they really were.
And they would get even bloodier if he made the wrong choice. And it wouldn't be krookodile's blood.
"What the fuck am I doing?" He once more put both arms around his head. His eyes were closed shut.
A single tear fell from his left eye. When he opened them both, he had taken a step back from the krookodile, who was snarling and patching her wounds. She used the dark sand she created to form improvised bandages that slowly hardened around her wounds.
His heart was hammering painfully on his chest. He was no longer shaking, but the memory of that second that never was still repeated inside his mind.
Sundance's golden eyes widened, as he turned around and saw a single flash of light coming from the middle of the dune. He didn't think twice.
The sneasel turned his back to the outlaw entirely, holding his explorer bag close to his chest, already searching for something that would help as he sprinted with all of his might.
He finally reached the point where a small ray of rainbow light was coming from. He knew this was it.
"C'mon… c'mon…" Sundance frantically searched for anything that would help the situation. "Don't you two dweebs die on me."
"Urgh, fuck this." He threw the bag aside, but had enough foresight to pick two oran berries and place them on his mouth, being careful not to bite them too hard, to preserve the healing juices.
He kneeled and covered his arms in that same coat of ice as before. He took a deep breath, before beginning to dig.
In quick, yet calculated motions, he began digging out as much as he could. Using his ice-covered claws to rip through the sand, until finally, he reached the source of the light.
He grabbed the togepi's pendant and unearthed him. Not long after, he freed the jangmo-o as well, using her bag to pull her to safety.
With both of them freed, Sundance pressed his head on their chests, hearing faint heartbeat on them both, but barely any breathing. Not only that, their bodies were battered and bruised, in Lawrence's case even burnt by the hot sands that entombed him.
"Crap." He muttered and immediately punched Mirari's chest. When that failed, he put both of his paws on her scaly chest, and used all of his might to press against it. With careful motions, he tried to force her to spit out whatever was making so that she couldn't breathe properly.
Much to his relief, she coughed and gagged, then spat out a worrying amount of sand. Her eyes opened and despite looking groggy, she was otherwise awake.
"Ugh… why do I feel like I was under a golem?" Mirari wheezed, shaking her head.
Ignoring her, Sundance moved to help Lawrence, seeing the state he was in. Unlike her, the little togepi could barely breathe, and the sneasel struggled to feel a heartbeat coming from him.
Both his and Mirari's eyes widened. Sundance first tried to repeat the process he had done to the dragoness, but the little egg-armor, somehow, refused to let him reach his chest to massage it.
He then started to mash the berry in between his claws, Mirari ran to his side, tail and scales frantically moving. Her breathing was quick and chaotic, she had all but forgotten her sore muscles and even her dizziness.
"Lawrence! Lawry! Don't do this again!" She shouted, starting to shake, her claws desperately trying to awake the fairy, "Mister Sneasel, we gotta-"
It was then that they felt another tremor. Both of them knew what it meant. Mirari bit Lawrence's shell armor, while Sundance rolled to pick up his bag.
Then, right before a loud BOOOM deafened them both. Luckily, they had jumped out of the dune, but the explosion's shockwave threw them away with even more force.
This time, Sundance had to roll on the floor to make up for the sloppy jump he had made, causing him to bruise his furred body. He had to remain kneeled once he reached the floor, whilst taking heavy breaths.
Mirari meanwhile, hugged Lawrence and fell on her back. She lost all the air she had in her lungs, and felt a sharp pain all over her body. The togepi, thankfully, was safe in between her paws. Yet he still couldn't breathe. The sand that was now raining down from the dune's destruction only made it harder for her to do something.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Came the loud, yet more coarse voice of krookodile.
"Arceus-damn-it. I already wish I had just decapitated you." He spat, slowly picking himself up.
Not long after, the sand started to disperse. In the middle of it, krookodile stood. She had a thick coat of sand on her neck, stained with blood. Her back had a similarly protective shell patching her wounds.
"Guess I'll just have to finish what I started." Sundance grunted, getting back in his battle stance.
"Funny for you to assume I'll give you another chance." The ground-type cracked her neck, and spat some blood to the side.
"Lawry! Don't worry, you'll be fine! I made a promise, and I'm not breaking it!" Mirari set her friend on the ground, his chest up. She tried to find his pulse, to no avail, "this is bad! This is very, very bad!"
"Listen. Mirari." He looked back towards her, only to see the dragon desperately searching her bag for any healing items, he extended his paw, that held an oran berry, "here have this."
The jangmo-o smiled brightly as hope returned to her. She reached out to him, "Thanks! Lawry and I used everything we had on those guys back there. Just gotta be careful not to squish it!"
"You'll be fine. Just make sure that he drinks all the juic-"
He was cut short when a wave of sand threatened to blast the two children, only being stopped by Sundance's icicle projectiles, that dispersed it.
Some more small blasts came their direction, but the older pokémon slashed them away with his claws.
After that, he noticed that no longer he had a berry in his claws.
It was carried by the dark sands that now covered most of the floor underneath them. And they took it right towards krookodile, who smirked.
"Whoops. Guess you won't be needing this any longer." She swallowed the berry in a single motion, frowning and shrugging, "if only it was a sitrus…"
"You bitch." Sundance growled, "that was my last one…" He clenched his claws into fists;
"N-NO!" Mirari gasped, her expression of shock turned into anger, "you'll pay for that!"
The jangmo-o got up, snarling in pure anger and was ready to dash at the foe, but a dark-furred arm extended in front of her, halting her.
"No. Take care of him. She's mine."
"But-!"
"No buts. He needs you more than I do." Sundance looked down at her, his yellow eyes leering into her very soul, "don't leave someone you love behind if you know you'll regret it."
"But I don't know how- I'm not Pichu! I didn't really study anything related to first-aid."
"You'll figure something out. You're good at that." He turned to the outlaw, who had her arms crossed, allowing the healing fruit to recover some of her energy.
Mirari lowered her head, and complied. She returned to Lawrence's side, mind adrift, trying to find a solution before it was too late.
"As if I would let you-"
"You have no choice!" Sundance kicked krookodile in the face, right before she could try and attack the dragon-type once again.
Mirari's crimson eyes examined Lawrence's body. Her breathing was heavy and nervous, but she wasn't gonna let that stop her.
She would find a solution, before it was too late.
…
… ...
… … …
… … … He was floating.
Drifting like a feather upon the wind.
Through the endless nothing, he just… was.
His surroundings were bright. He could tell even though his eyes were closed.
He felt… at pea-
"Oh, not this again!" He mentally sighed, trying to force his body to move, but he felt like he was numb all over.
"C'mon, just gotta… c'mon…!" He frowned, attempting to wiggle free of whatever was forcing him to stay still.
"Finally!" A calm and ghostly voice interjected. He knew that voice.
"I thought we would never have the chance!" It was masculine, but it had a slight hint of femininity. The way he spoke was soothing, and reminded him of the depiction of how a stereotypical butler would speak.
Lawrence tried to speak, but couldn't really move his mouth. Or move at all. He had an idea.
"Um… hello? Does this work?" He tried.
"Greetings, human!" The voice somehow sounded more femine now, yet it was recognizable as belonging to the same individual.
"Hi. Erm. Sir? Wait, how'd you know I'm-"
"Please, no need for formalities! I am overjoyed that we finally have a chance to properly speak, human!"
"Um. I'm Lawrence. Who are you?"
"Why, I know who you are, human! Ah, that is right, it is your first time, is it not? Actually, it is your second, but the other one was different so- Ah, let me just…"
Lawrence then felt something touch his hand. It was so gentle, that his numb body couldn't help but shiver at the pleasant feeling.
It then guided him. Helped him. It was hard to describe, but Lawrence felt as if the figure had taken him off a drifting river and place his feet back on the ground.
"And…" Lawrence felt his body start to… feel again. He breathed, he moved, he… felt.
And then his eyes opened, being assaulted by the intense white/rainbow shine that was the world all around him, "There!"
When his vision adapted to the intensity, he finally saw who the voice belonged to.
He remembered that pokémon! It was a mawile!
"I assume it must be much easier to talk like this, rather than just mentally!" He smiled down at Lawrence, who could only stare at his surroundings, dumbfooled.
"Where… are we? Who are you?" He almost jumped when he recollected what had happened just moments before, "Mirari! She's in trouble- where-?"
Lawrence was hyperventilating, looking around for any signs of his friend, finding only the shapeless, endless nowhere.
"Calm down, human, She is safe. It is you who's in trouble, technically speaking." The other fairy pokémon seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of the togepi.
"Wha- wait, am I dead again!?"
"Not really. Thankfully, you are not in the entity's domain." He casually explained, "so your soul is safe, if that's your concern."
"Wait… so that means I can't die at all…?" Lawrence tilted his head and scratched fidgeted the pendant on his neck.
"I never said that. I merely said that your soul is protected, until your body is in better shape." Mawile stared at the pendant the togepi was playing with, his expression softened, "I suppose you really are quite unaware of the real properties of the item in your possession, my little chosen…"
"What… Oh, you mean this?" He showed the beautiful necklace neatly around his neck, "I think I heard a little bit about it… and um, it certainly is pretty special, right?"
Mawile put one hand on his own cheek and giggled, his eyes closed, "While it is quite the understatement, you can say that it is a 'pretty special' item indeed!"
"I see… but who are you? I don't get it… What is this place? Where are we?"
"You may call me Mawile. I am… but a guide. We are… in a safe place."
"A guide? A guide for what?"
Mawile seemed to think for a moment, but quickly answered, "It is my duty to guide whoever is summoned here. So in this case, you."
"My guide, then huh? And what is… this 'safe place' exactly?"
"It is… a realm in which only a special few have the honor of witnessing, let alone actively entering, much like yourself." Mawile said, staring into the togepi's pendant.
"... Is it something related to this?" He showed the pendant to the older pokémon.
"Correct." Mawile nodded and looked around, "and yet, it is not like it once was. You can say it is a unique in-between your world, and mine."
"And here I thought that things wouldn't get weirder…" Lawrence half-expected a headache to follow after so much cryptic information was shot his way, yet strangely it wasn't.
"Believe me when I say it is never easy to absorb all of this information at once." Mawile touched his shoulder, petting it respectfully, whilst trying to comfort the togepi, "and assuming you were once human, it must be at twice as hard."
"That reminds me… how do you know I'm human in the first place?" Lawrence's widened.
Mawile shifted and looked around with an unreadable expression, "I know… much about you, human. And about your 'special item' as well."
"Wait… I think I know where I recognized your voice from…" Their bright surroundings started losing their shine.
"It was when… I was drowning… when I was…. when I was…-" Suddenly, the lights around them faded, yet they both could see clearly. The area surrounding them both turned into dark water, and they both were submerged deep down.
"When I heard that thing… that presence… I was… I was dyi-"
Lawrence stopped when a hand touched his forehead, a burst of rainbow energy blinded and stunned the child, whose train of thought was rudely interrupted.
In his mind, an image of Mirari flashed. It was back when they both were recovering from their fight with sableye. They were bandaged and their bodies were bruised, yet they were both laughing.
Lawrence coughed, then forced his voice to sound both deep, and obnoxiously loud, "Hello, child! I have something special for you right… here!" He picked one of the random things they had laying around next to the nest, this one being a single strand of straw that had fallen, "Ah-hah! The super straw-79! It is said that only the most adept pokémon could ever wield this precious, indestructible artifact! Premium edition too- it's thrice as strong, thrice as beautiful and at least seventy-nine times as useful as any other straw!"
Mirari opened her mouth and blew a very small quantity of her dragon fire, causing the straw to burn in the togepi's hand, "Ah yes! See, it even acts as a heater! Y-Yes, 100% working as intended! All of this just w-works…" the togepi feigned nervousness, slapping the fire until it was gone, making it so that only half of the straw was left after.
"...And now, for a limited time, it's 50% off too! Any bids?" He concluded, hiding the item behind his back.
Mirari's cackles echoed through the room, she was laughing so much that her breathing was chaotic as a result, Lawrence couldn't help but giggle as well, "Another one! Another one! Anooooother ooooone!~ " Said the jangmo-o between her loud giggles, who was laying down on her straw nest, staring directly at Lawrence.
"Okay, o-okay… sheesh, you'll make my throat sore if y-you keep making me do this!" Smiled the togepi, who was laying in front of her, in the same nest-bed.
"Then no more Kecleon! This time, mimic mama again! Please, it's sooooo funny!" She giggled loudly.
"Yeah, y-yeah… l-let's see..." He opened his mouth to speak-
"Children, it is time to rest! You may continue to slander the village pokémon tomorrow, it is your past bedtime!"
They both stared at each other, and without another word, they cackled so loud that Miss Kommo-o had to check to see if they were alright.
Lawrence then suddenly saw the white void they were again. The memory fading as quickly as it came.
"What…"
"Had I not done that, something bad could have happened." Mawile saw as the color returned to the void around them, now back at the gentle rainbow shine.
"You were having a bad memory, just needed to counteract it with a good one." He explained further, "again, I know a lot about you, human. Perhaps more than I should."
Lawrence still found himself unnerved, despite the pleasant memory, the bubbling feelings of negativity were present in him. But then, he realized something.
"Wait… if what you've told me is true… then not only you know about what is this-" He looked down to the item around his neck, then back at Mawile, "and about what's happening to me? How I became a pokémon and such…?! Can you tell me who I am? Can you say what I need to do!?"
For a second, Mawile was quiet.
"Please don't say you have to withhold information…"
"Very well. I will not say it."
"So can you tell me what you know…?"
"I never said that." He frowned, "I'm afraid that's simply not possible."
"DAMN IT!" The togepi surprised even himself at how loud he shouted, causing their surroundings to shake like a city would with an earthquake.
"I've spent almost a month in the middle of a desert, in a world I know nothing off, in a body that isn't even my own… having to try and ignore the questions that keep me awake at night!" He turned to look at Mawile straight in the eyes.
"And then when I, through some hocus-pocus magic, finally meet somebody who can give me closure, they say-" Lawrence pointed to the taller fairy.
"I am sorry. I cannot. It is dangerous…"
"I don't CARE. UGH, why am I even here!? I gotta help my stupid lizard friend who's probably worried sick right now, If I'm in a coma!" He spat, turning around to walk away, only to be face-to-face again with the other fairy.
"Just take me back to the desert. At least there I can be worthless and confused with someone that's honest with me." Lawrence shouted, but his voice grew more and more quiet as he kept speaking, "Do you know what's like to feel worthless? To feel like you can't do ANYTHING right?"
"Yes."
"Huh?"
"Yes. I do relate to the feeling." Mawile was sitting on his side, once more Lawrence failed to understand how he phased from place to place. His tone was contemplative, whilst looking to the endless horizon.
Lawrence sat on his side, looking down. Unbeknownst to the togepi, their rainbow-white surroundings were now a very deep blue. Sounds of raindrops could be heard, but with no sign of actual rain.
"Then you know what I am feeling at the moment." He lowered his head, "I don't know my mother's name. I don't remember her face. I don't know if I have a mother, for god's sake! I can't remember so much about me… it tortures me! Everything is so wrong around me, and no matter how hard I try, I always fail at anything I try doing…"
Mawile just quietly observed the child, hearing loud roars of thunder coming from far away.
"I just… I just wanted to understand what's going on. I know it's stupid, but maybe if I had some guidance, maybe I could stop being so worthless… maybe I could stop just going with the flow and pretending nothing is wrong…" He had to fight the urge to cry, if only to pretend he wasn't a total crybaby.
"It is not that bad. You have your friend in Mirari, do you not?"
"Yeah but… I feel like even she doesn't like me all that much…"
"Is that so?"
"Mhm… I know it must be crazy for her to believe it but, she still doesn't think I'm human… even after all this time..."
"And why doesn't she?"
"I dunno. She said it had something to do with me not being good enough to even be one…"
"That is quite rude of her."
"She can be like that. I know she doesn't mean any harm by it, but still… I like her a lot… I guess that's why that stings. Even her mother seems to accept I'm human, and I didn't even tell her!"
"If it is any consolation, I obviously do know you're human, human."
"Thanks. I guess." He looked to the mawile on his side, "are you even real though? Or am I pathetic to the point where I'm talking to myself?"
"I am as real as you believe me to be, human."
"Great. I have an imaginary friend now…"
"Not entirely imaginary. But I can certainly be your friend." Mawile smiled, "though I do suppose you deserve to know a few things…"
Lawrence got up, and ran to face Mawile, "Really? You'd tell me? I have so many questions!"
He raised both of his hands defensively, "I'm afraid I cannot tell you everything. It is risky. You are… incomplete."
"What…?"
"What happens with a machine that's missing important pieces? Perhaps you can answer this question, human?"
"Um… It doesn't work?"
"Correct. And not only that, if you force an incomplete machine to do heavy tasks…"
"It breaks?"
"I assume you can understand where I am going with this metaphor."
"Guess I'm a broken machine, then. Thanks..." The sounds of rain in the background got more intense, with more thunderous noises to accompany them.
"Everything can be mended, little one. Give it time."
"I feel like I don't have that much time. I almost died at least three times by now…"
"And yet you haven't, have you?"
"I was saved, time after time. I always faint or have to be saved…" The sounds in the background were so intense that it was like a river was being formed by the inexistent raindrops that caused the sounds.
"Your memory is quite selective, then." Once more, Mawile looked around, his yellow eyes scanning what was seemingly nothing, before he lowered his head and scratched his forehead, "Ah, drats. Very well, if it would help, I can show yo-" Mawile was quickly cut when Lawrence put his hands around his head and started to scream in pain.
Then their surroundings cracked.
Like if they were surrounded by mirrors, it all started to crack and break.
Then out of nowhere, his eyes were not his own. No more did he see the mawile in the rainbow voice, now he was in complete darkness, seeing only faint magenta glow from around him.
"Little one, Left! Then go right!" That was… Miss Kommo-o? "Careful, he'll try an aerial attack!"
Lawrence could hear the sound of metal swishing through the air, sometimes hitting a hard surface.
His 'point of view' was moving and dodging with extreme precision and speed from something unseen to him. He could detect the stinging of wounds all around whoever this was.
"You little… I'm gonna get'cha!"A tough, raspy voice interjected.
Lawrence's eyes were closed, and somehow, he could feel and hear whatever this pokémon was feeling or hearing, like they were one, yet he knew he was only a watcher.
"Take… this!" The owner of the eyes Lawrence was looking through spoke, before covering herself in a sparking aura of bright blue electricity, firing at the enemy and illuminating the cave she was in.
"Pichu! You're safe! Oh my gosh!" He (tried) to say, not getting any meaningful response from her.
"Where are you? Pichu? What's going on?" Lawrence once more tried to talk to her, but she apparently didn't listen.
"Go left again!" Miss Kommo's voice shouted from a distance, and Pichu went to the right instead, which made her get wounded by something sharp.
"Pichu! Pichu, hang on! I'll… I'll do something, I promise!" He shouted, desperately trying to move or do something. Anything. But he was completely unable to.
"I expected to be able to talk to you more before something like this happened. But I suppose your bonds are this strong." The now-familiar voice of Mawile chimed in, seeming to come from all-around.
"Mawile? What's happening?" Lawrence shrieked, "my friend's in trouble! I need to do something! Please!"
After a moment of silence, the other fairy's voice once more echoed through, "Very well. Allow me to give you your first lesson, early. "
-Shadow Gallery-
Floor: 9
Weather: miasma
"Go left again!" Shahrazad shouted again, but that voice was overlapped by another that sounded exactly the same, "Right, quickly Pichu!"
Unsure which to follow, she went right. Which resulted in her paw getting bruised by the sharp sword-like claws of the Perrserker she couldn't even see.
She reacted quickly, dodging the other hits to try and avoid further damage to herself, moving her limbs as fast as the enemy swiped, she had to use her ears to detect whatever movement he would do next.
Which meant that whatever little mistake she made, the cost was high.
"Ah!" She shrieked as two hits landed on her chest and on her left cheek, followed by a punch to her right one that sent her flying backwards.
Pichu bounced on the hard floor, and tried to quickly get up to avoid giving more easy hits to the steel-type.
"Look out for an aerial attack! Aim up!"
"No, he's sneaking in front of you!"
Once more, Zarina was unsure which of the voices to follow. She charged her blue electricity around her, and fired upwards.
The bolts pierced through the mist-like darkness, revealing the blind Perrserker, and shocking him right out of the sky and crashing on the rocky floor.
But as quickly as the light from her powers came, it just as quickly went away, swallowed by the blinding darkness.
The electric-type fell on her knees, panting loudly. Her body felt sore, the more energy she used the more it hurt.
Pichu had various cuts and bruises throughout her body as well. The one who was leaking the most blood was the one on her forehead. She was sure that, even if she could somehow see in the dark, her vision would still be hindered by the blood that kept falling in her eyes.
From behind her, Shahrazad tried her best to help whichever way she could, her blue eyes glowed even in the darkness.
"Little one, you can't sustain more damage!" She had an idea, perhaps there was a way of making it so that Pichu wouldn't mistake her voice from the fake one, "Try to identify my voice! Focus on my words! There has to be some difference between the false ones and mine! I know you can do it!"
"Can you really? Are you able to, though?" Came the exact copy of Kommo-o's voice, "You and I both know you want nothing more than to… get on your knees and just get this over with."
"Screw… you…" Pichu spat, shaking her head and trying to catch her breath, "go ahead… underestimate me. I'll show you… what mistake that is…"
She whimpered in pain, her body shivering without her consent.
A loud SWISH sound could be heard-
"Pichu, he's coming left!"
"Little one, dodge left!"
She dodged left, and heard a loud clang to the right.
"Careful, he'll attack right!"
"Dodge to the right, now!"
Zarina ducked and rolled to the right and narrowly escaped another swipe.
"Jump forward, quickly!"
"Zarina, he'll rush you from your front!"
SWOOOSH! PANG! Pichu heard his metallic claws get stuck on the floor as she sidestepped his charge. Immediately, she countered with an electrified quick-attack on his side.
"You… Hrrrr… Damn you…" The Perrserker started to pant loudly, his loud breathing giving away his location.
"Excellent work little one! Keep at it, he's almost done for!" Kommo-o cheered. Even though neither of them could see it, Pichu smiled despite her battered and tired self.
"It seems you have learned my pattern." The false Kommo-o said, echoing through the cave, the voice quickly distorted until it was no longer recognizable as even being a pokémon's, "I congratulate you for that."
Kommo-o felt her arm get grabbed from behind by something sticky, followed by something else wrapped around her leg.
When she turned around, she saw three giant ooze-like creatures, all purple in color. It was impossible to detect any sign of life with her aura-sense, their forms were similar to the silicobras from before, but bigger, thicker and, obviously, ooze-like.
Two of them were using their tentacle-like tails to hold her limbs in place, whilst the last one started to rip off its own skin, producing sounds that were similar to a rotten berry being squished. It created an opening on its amorphous neck that was similar to a jaw, and it unhinged it to the point where it ripped off even more of its 'skin', from the inside, a large magenta crystal formed, similar to a spear that was about to be hurled. It was pointed straight at Shahrazad.
"But alas, guess it's time to switch tactics." The loud, distorted voice echoed through the halls of the cave once more, cackling in a deep tone.
The voice made Perrserker stop his advance, for some reason. Zarina desperately looked back to the magenta crystals that blocked Kommo-o from reaching where she was.
"Miss Kommo-o! Hang on-" She was quickly interrupted by a swipe to her back, causing her to shriek in agony and fall face first to the floor.
From behind her, she could hear the sounds of Perrserker's claws slashing madly the air around him, sometimes colliding with the floor of the cave, thus creating sparks and for a millisecond illuminated the battlefield.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He snarled, repeating himself frantically with each pointless swipe of his sword-like claws.
Zarina groans and crawls away from the berserk steel-type, until she was sure she was out of his reach.
"Perrserker! Don't you get it? Whatever that voice is, it's manipulating you! It wants you to fight us, but we're on the same side!" Pichu shouted.
"Fuck you! You KILL my crew, you HUMILIATE me, you take my VISION away... and yet still ya try and make me surrender!? Make me JOIN you!? I will NEVER stop fighting! I will never yield! No matter if you impersonate my mate, my brother or three hundred other sorry-sounding children, I won't back down!" He roared like pyroar, and thrusted both of his claws in Pichu's direction in a breakneck charge, missing by an inch. Zarina was sure she heard the sound of the stone walls of the cave breaking down after the vicious attack.
"Please, listen to me! I don't know what happened, me and my… guardian are both in this mess because I was stupid! Because I wanted to learn more things about what was going on and… well, I guilt-tripped her into coming here! Please, help us! You're being deceived, but not by me!" She had to shout again, whilst going away from the steel-type pokémon.
"Grrr… Liar! No one knows of this place! We only had access because that scummy Lycanroc pointed us in the right direction! No child and their parents would stumble in here by accident! This hellhole wants you to enter!" For a moment, he seemed to stop, "It's why… It's why I'm stuck here! This thing wants to milk me dry off my essence, my feelings… my hope! But it won't! YOU won't! I won't let my friends' deaths go unaccounted for!"
He started to sniff the air around him, the stitches in his eyes started to glow whenever he looked in Pichu's direction, but even they were quickly hidden by the darkness. She tried to hide her breathing, as well as her loud heart.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Came the loud sounds from where Kommo-o was.
"MISS KOMMO-O! NO!"
She was surprised by a vicious swipe that, once more, just didn't outright end her because it was apparently meant for a taller opponent. She could hear him struggle to remove the claw from the wall, which it got stuck on thanks to his reckless attack.
Now she had a large, gaping wound on both her back and chest, as well as many other smaller lacerations throughout her. Her energies were running low, but Zarina couldn't hear anything coming from Shahrazad. And that was reason enough to make her create her stand on her feet and refuse to fall.
"If you refuse to listen to reason…" Her body started to get covered in her electricity once again, though this time it wasn't at all focused, bolts of lightning and sparks were scattering around everywhere. The aura grew like a fire around her.
The energy was so intense that it illuminated the cave, despite the darkness's attempts to devour the light it created. Zarina looked up towards the Perrserker's bruised, messy and seared face. She
"Then…" She grunted her teeth, ignoring the pain that overtook every cell of her body.
The pichu jumped on the Perrserker's claw, running on it before he could free it or even react, running through his paw, then his arm, and finally reaching his shoulder.
"...GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Pichu landed a blow right on his cheek, from her paw, electricity started to cover his body and further damage him.
Perrserker was launched backwards, he grunted to get back on his footing, but then he saw a flash of lightning coming his way. He blocked it with his claws, but the sparks that came out of it still ran through his body.
And then came another bolt. And another. And three more.
With each blast, a thunderous noise was produced, which further staggered the steel-type pokémon.
In the center of the thunder-shower, Pichu was screaming with all of her lungs, echoing through the cave.
She shot another thunderbolt. And another. And another. And yet another.
She only stopped when her own body was so weak she couldn't even scream anymore. The last thing she saw before the light she produced died was Perrserker on the floor, smoke and blue electricity coming out of his body.
Pichu panted. Her shoulders were leaned forward, her ears and tail were down. Her eyes were half closed. Her breathing was heavy and painful.
Without muttering a single sound, she turned around and started to stumble her way towards the crystals that still separated Kommo-o from her.
"You're a failure! You just can't do anything right, can you?" Came a loud, masculine voice from behind her. It was ethereal, ghostly. It sent shivers down her spine.
"W-What…"
"I told you time and time again, and you still can't create a spark! A single spark is all I ask you! Arceus, that's ALL I ask of YOU, and yet you still FAIL!"
Pichu was frozen. Her breathing was even louder, her body was shivering as if she was in the middle of a snowstorm.
"I guess I was wrong about you. You're not just a failure… a 'failure' would imply you at least had a shot at success. No, you're just a complete and utter embarrassment." The voice spat.
"S-Stop…"
"I guess letting you rot in here would be doing the world a service. This family doesn't need a worthless female that can't even create a single spark." Loud footsteps came from behind her. She dared not look. No longer was the voice ghostly like a memory. It was as real as hers, and it was coming.
"S-Shut up… S-Shut u-up!"
"Shut up? Shut up?" That voice never shouted. It didn't need to. What was the point? "You mock your heritage. You disappoint me and every pokémon around you, and yet is it me that has to shut up?"
"Please…" Pichu whispered, her eyes starting to tear up.
"You have everything to succeed. The best genes, the best creation, the best training… and yet, you are too much of a loser to utilize your gifts."
"I told you!" Her words left her mouth without her even meaning to, "It hurts! It hurts so much! I'm sorry, but I can't! Whenever I use a move I-I just… I can't!"
"Pain begets power. And power…" The steps stopped. She could feel an overwhelming presence right behind her. She could only cover her eyes with her paws, "is everything."
"Allow me to show you what true pain feels like. Perhaps then you won't be so much of a wimp." The voice pretty much shouted in repeat in her ears. Her legs got weak, and she kneeled on the floor.
Pichu had to put both of her paws on her ears to try and muffle that overwhelming voice, to no avail. So distracted she was, that the electric rodent was unable to dodge the incoming blow on her chest. So mighty it was that it didn't allow her to breathe.
"Die you piece of-" She grabbed his paw with both of hers, locking them together.
Pichu tried to unleash more energy, but she simply didn't have any. Her electricity refused to come out. Much like in the memory she just relieved.
Perrserker grabbed her by the neck, squeezing it tight, to the point where she was gagging and gasping for air.
Slowly, he lifted her from the floor. The only thing she saw were those stitches, which were shining bright, the more blurry her vision got.
Yet despite that, in her mind, she saw another creature strangling her altogether. One which haunted her memories, the one that haunted her just seconds before…
"You really are a weakling. Even in death, you disappoint me. My weak, pathetic Zerah."
She was about to go. The darkness that blinded was about to take her away.
Zerah, or Zarina or even Pichu knew, deep down, that voice was right. No matter the way others referred to her, she was the same.
A single tear fell from her eye. It splashed on the cold, hard floor.
She was a weakling. To the end.
Pichu closed her eyes, her neck was soon to crack. Her lungs were empty of air.
She couldn't achieve anything. She was a disappointment.
A failure.
…
….
What was this warm feeling on her chest?
What was this energy that was overtaking every inch of her broken body?
Was that... light? It had to be.
There was light on top of the dark battlefield, just behind Perrserker.
Yet somehow, Despite its glimmer, she felt like only she could see it.
It was egg-shaped. An egg-shaped ball of pure white. Not something she would expect from this place, that was for sure.
"You are not a failure!"
That voice… It was…
The ball of light then flew down towards her, and in a flash, it slammed on Perrserker's back, making him drop her and fly forward.
Pichu was launched by the impact too, but unlike the steel-type, she found herself cradled gently in between arms that were not much bigger than her own.
Her eyes were blinded by both the blood that fell on them, as well as the intense light that emanated from her savior.
Slowly he flew down, gently carrying her. On top of his long neck, his brownish-yellow eyes stared down at her, examining the poor state in which she found herself in.
With one of his hands, he wiped the blood off her eyes, and tried to clean some of her fur.
Now, she could see the angelic pokémon more clearly. Her eyes widened once they adjusted to the light he produced. His wings stopped beating once his feet touched the floor, carrying her still. Her heart skipped a beat. A tear formed in each of her eyes.
"L-Lawrence….!"
Lawrence the togetic smiled, and caressed her cheek.
