Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Shadows of Ganderosa
Chapter 29
A White Wasteland
Dillan walked into the snow-topped town. There were cheery pokemon on the street wearing smiles wherever Dillan seemed to walk. However, they eyed Dillan suspiciously whenever he passed them by, though they continued to smile through their suspicion. Dillan tried to be as friendly as possible, waving to anyone who gave him a wave, smile at anyone who smiled at him, that sort of stuff. However, he did have something on his mind.
Wonder where Hazel and Ryan are. We did have to attend some kind of Team Armageddon meeting today, but that was this morning. I must have missed it. So, where would they be?
"Hey, you!" a voice shouted to Dillan. The gabite turned around to find himself looking at a pokemon that was about as tall as he was; if not taller. Its entire body was covered in white fur. It had a small tail and smaller legs with a pair of grey talons for toes. It had long arms that came out to paws with red pads on them and another pair of long, grey talons. Its face was disturbing to say the least. It had big, round, bulging eyes with brown circles tracing them. A red tuft of hair stuck up on its forehead for reasons Dillan couldn't explain. Its brown lips were wide open with only a couple of teeth on the bottom and top gums. Dillan noticed the pokemon had a bandanna around his neck with an eroded "A" on it telling him that this pokemon was on Team Armageddon. Well, he thinks I'm with him, too.
"Hello," Dillan said cheerfully.
"Why you smiling at me?" the vigoroth demanded with a snarl. Dillan felt his heart begin to beat against his chest. His smile faded into a nervous frown.
"Uh..." he said. "Why did you call to me?"
"You're suppose to be at the meeting!" the vigoroth shouted.
"M-Meeting?" Dillan stuttered. I thought I missed that!
"Duh!" the pokemon yelled as he advanced towards Dillan's face. The gabite felt the breath from the pokemon hit the tip of his muzzle.
"Hey, buddy!" a familiar voice called out. Dillan gave a sigh of relief when he saw Hazel walking towards Dillan from behind the vigoroth.
The vigoroth turned around and faced Hazel. "What's your beef, lady?" the pokemon asked sharply.
"There you are!" Hazel shouted as she shoved the vigoroth out of the way. To the gabite's horror, she grabbed him by the arm and shook him visibly. "I thought I told you not to be late!"
"H-Hazel?" Dillan asked.
"What's your problem?!" the vigoroth shouted as he walked up to Hazel.
Hazel winked at Dillan, making him feel very confused. What's happening? Did I miss something? She turned to the vigoroth and glared at him. "Is there a problem, sir?" she asked sharply.
"Just who-" the vigoroth tried to continue. Hazel interrupted the pokemon as she advanced closely to him and glared at him straight in the eyes. The pokemon glared back, though Dillan thought he saw the vigoroth's lip twitching.
"Is." Hazel asked slowly. "There. A problem. Sir?"
The vigoroth looked at Hazel for a few seconds, not saying anything, before turning around. "No," he said flatly. The pokemon began walking off in the other direction.
Hazel turned to Dillan. She gave a concerned smile and hugged the gabite.
"H-hi?" Dillan stuttered, confused by what had just happened.
"Dillan," Hazel said. "I was so worried. Me and Ryan have been looking for hours. Where were you?"
"Uh..." Dillan said, thinking of what to say. "Well, I was just thinking outside of town."
"Ryan told me what you said," Hazel told the gabite. "I'm so sorry about Grace."
Dillan felt his heart sink at the mention of his sister's name. "It's..." he said slowly, trying to focus on the good feelings Grace brought. "I just don't want to talk about it, alright?"
"That's fine," Hazel said as she broke away from the hug.
"Where's Ryan?" the gabite asked, trying to sound cheerful.
"I was just going to meet him now when I saw you," Hazel told him. "This way." Hazel moved around Dillan and began leading him down the snowy path to the outskirts of town.
"Ryan!" Hazel called out as she and Dillan exited the town. She started waving her left arm in the air, causing her bag to swing back and forth. Ryan was standing in the middle of the road, shaking from the cold.
"Dillan!" Ryan called out. Dillan and Hazel stopped in front of the pachirisu. He walked up to Dillan and kicked him in the shin. Dillan might have grimaced under normal circumstances, but he found his legs were numb from the cold.
"What was that for?" Dillan asked.
"Running away," Ryan said flatly, not meeting Dillan's eyes. "And you were pretty cruel in the hotel."
"I'm sure he's sorry for worrying you," Hazel said with a smile.
"I wasn't..." Ryan said, trailing off at the last word.
"Ryan," Dillan said. "I'm sorry."
Ryan looked up at Dillan's eyes. He gave a sigh before saying, "Good." He looked at Hazel with a raised eyebrow. "Now, what did you want to tell us?"
"What?" Hazel asked. She looked up at the sky for a few seconds. "Right..." She took a deep breath and looked at her friends with a knitted brow-line. "We don't have much time left to finish our mission."
"What?" Ryan asked.
"Why?" Dillan asked Hazel.
"When I was at the Armageddon meeting this morning," Hazel began. "I found out that Team Armageddon is going to assault the main land in five days."
"That's not our issue," Ryan said. "It's the Guild's."
"It's not that simple," Hazel said as she looked at Ryan with a determined glare. "Team Armageddon's going to kill innocent pokemon while they're there; not just guildmembers, but civilians, too."
"What?" Dillan asked with a hanging jaw.
"T-That's absurd!" Ryan stuttered, looking wide-eyed at Hazel. "They wouldn't do that!"
"They will," Hazel said. "They're going to blame it on the Guild."
"How did you find that out?" Ryan asked.
"Hank Peterson told me."
"So he was our inside man?"
Hazel didn't answer. She began looking up into the sky.
"Hazel?" Dillan asked. "What happened?"
"Hank Peterson..." Hazel said slowly, "Isn't with the Guild."
Dillan didn't respond. But Judah told us he was on our side...
Ryan's upper lip curled as he looked at Hazel with wide eyes before saying sharply, "What?"
"He's with Team Armageddon," Hazel said.
"And he told you about Team Armageddon's plan?" Ryan asked.
"Did you tell him you were with the Guild?" Dillan asked, hoping that they could still fool Team Armageddon.
"One thing led to another..." Hazel said.
"Meaning?" Ryan asked.
"Uh..." Hazel said nervously. "Well... Peterson knows as well as Titus; by default, Molan probably knows as well."
Ryan didn't say anything. His upper lip twitched as he fell backwards into a sitting position.
Dillan looked at his teammates. Hazel looked away from her team, presumably ashamed, while Ryan looked as though he was in shock and disbelief. This is going horribly. We can't fight Team Armageddon like this; we'll be destroyed.
"We weren't trained for this," Ryan said flatly, staring at the snow. "We're going to get killed out here."
Hazel winced at what Ryan said. She turned away and looked downwards as well. Dillan looked at both his friend's expressions. They didn't seem willing to carry on like this.
At this rate, they'll just give up; I can't let that happen. There has to be a solution, but what? Maybe if we... "Guys," Dillan said. Ryan looked up at him while Hazel continued to downwards. "We're not going to die."
"How do you figure?" Ryan asked. "Our cover's blown. As soon as we get to the castle, we'll be killed on sight."
"Not necessarily," Dillan said. "I think if we move fast enough, we'll be in the clear."
"Why's that?" Ryan asked.
"If Team Armageddon found out this morning, at the least, they'll send a letter to Ignitus."
"How does moving quickly help us in any way?"
"If we move faster than that letter, Ignitus won't know we're not on his team. We'll still have our cover for the next few days no problem." Ryan put his paw to his chin as if he was thinking. "All we have to do is push on through."
"That might work..." Ryan said. "But we'd need to keep moving through the night, and I'm not sure if you can handle how cold it will be."
"I'll be alright," Dillan said. Hazel looked towards the gabite with shock. "I've handled a broken ankle and walked even further. It'll be fine."
"You sure?" Hazel asked.
"You didn't mess anything up," Dillan assured. "We'll be fine."
"Alright," Hazel nodded. She gave Dillan a warm smile. The gabite smiled back.
"Well," Ryan said as he stood up. "I don't like our odds, but you've convinced me." The pachirisu looked up, squinting at the sun. "If the sun's in the west..." he said pointing away from the town. "Then we need to go that way." Ryan looked over at the hills of snow ahead.
"Alright," Hazel said. "But first..." she put her bag on the ground and started digging through it. She pulled out two yellow berries and tossed one to Ryan. "For the road." Hazel held out the second one to Dillan who skewered it on his claw.
"Nice," Ryan said as he began munching on his berry. Hazel smiled as she pulled one more berry out and began munching.
"Let's eat and walk," Hazel said as she shouldered her bag. She began walking down the path towards the hills of snow in the distance. Dillan and Ryan followed, eating their berries. The path disappeared into the snow as the group continued walking.
Hours had went by. Team Rapture had been walking without rest to get to the border of their island with difficulty. The snow seemed very high, making it nearly impossible for Dillan and Hazel to get around. They ended up trudging through knee-high snow. It frightened Dillan that he couldn't feel anything in the lower-half of his body. Is this how Arlon feels all over? Ryan, however, seemed perfectly fine. He wasn't heavy enough to sink into the snow. That allowed him to walk along the surface, only sinking up to his toes.
The group had spent the last couple of hours in idle chatter. Hazel told them about tons of things, like when she, Haily, and Dean went into a forest to get some berries for the local pharmacy.
"And we went home," Hazel finished.
"C-cool," Ryan said with a shiver.
"S-So how about you, Ryan?" Dillan asked slowly.
"Good idea," Hazel said cheerfully, seemingly unaffected by the cold air. "Any childhood stories?"
"No, thank you," Ryan said.
"Come on," Hazel insisted with a smile. "It'll be fun."
"Nope," Ryan said. "I'd rather not."
"W-why not?" Dillan asked.
"I'm not good with stories," Ryan said. "I wouldn't know where to start."
"From the beginning," Hazel said.
Ryan didn't answer. The group just kept walking. The sun was just about to go down behind the hill ahead, painting the sky in pinks and oranges.
Hazel smiled for a second before looking into the sky and said, "Guess it's too much to ask, huh Dillan?" Ryan ignored the comment. "I mean, gosh Ryan. Dillan told me the other day that you were ready to take on any challenge. Guess he was wrong."
"No he didn't," Ryan said defiantly.
"Sure he did," Hazel insisted. "Right, Dillan?"
"Uh..." Dillan said. I don't remember saying that. He caught an insistent glare from Hazel. It made Dillan's heart sink. Is she mad at me?
"Right. Dillan?" Hazel asked again, stressing each word.
"Oh," Dillan said, realizing what Hazel was implying. "Right."
"Yeah," Ryan said with a scowl in Dillan's direction. "Very convincing."
"Oh, come on!" Hazel complained. "You can tell us one story, can't you? Just one?" Ryan didn't answer. "You have siblings. Tell us about them."
"They were jerks," Ryan said flatly. "Plain and simple. My older brother set the bar too high for my brother Luke, so he beat me up."
"You're telling me you didn't even have one happy moment with your brothers?" Hazel asked.
Ryan didn't answer. The group walked in silence for a few seconds before Ryan looked up at the sky and smiled. "You'd just laugh."
"No, we wouldn't," Dillan assured.
"You would," Ryan said with an accusing point at Hazel.
"When have I laughed at you?" Hazel asked.
"Back in Fericia Castle," Ryan told her. "You laughed when I couldn't knock on the door."
Hazel looked ahead and said. "Right..." She looked at Ryan and smiled. "But that was before I knew you. I wouldn't laugh at you now, would I?"
Ryan gave a sigh and continued to stare at the sky. The sun had disappeared behind the hills of snow, casting a shadow over the group. "Alright," Ryan said. "I'll tell you, but you can't laugh."
"I promise," Hazel assured.
"Me, too," Dillan agreed.
Ryan didn't turn towards his team. He didn't seem to want to take his eyes off of the sky.
"My older brother – Isaiah – came home to visit our family once," the pachirisu began. "Me, my siblings, and my parents went outside to greet him. He was a successful doctor, so he always had some kind of gift to give us when we saw him. He was really more like a fun uncle than a brother. Anyways, he gave me my gift and messed up my hair like he always did. That's when I opened the box and found a poem. I thought it was the stupidest gift ever. I was so disappointed.
"Well, a few hours passed and I was pouting while I watched my brother Luke play with some toy he'd gotten. That's when Isaiah came over to me and asked what was wrong. I told him I didn't like the gift. I said it belonged in the mud. He laughed at that. That made me confused.
"'Why are you laughing?' I asked him.
"'You didn't read it, did you?' he asks me. I shake my head. He then takes the poem from my hands and reads it out loud. 'Northern Sky to Southern Seas. Eastern Sun to Western Breeze. No matter how strange your new lands may be, Look up at the sky, for under it lies me.' Pretty dumb poem. Written by one of his girlfriends in school.
"I asked him, 'What does that mean?'
"Isaiah smiles at me and says, 'It's suppose to mean that however different your surroundings may be, the sky is never different. If you ever get lonely, just look up and remember that..." Ryan's voice cracked. Dillan looked at Ryan. The pachirisu had a lone tear fall from his right cheek. Ryan... "Remember that we're all under the same sky." Ryan stopped talking.
"Are you alright?" Hazel asked sympathetically.
Ryan didn't answer.
"Your brother seems nice," Dillan said, trying to cheer Ryan up.
"I..." Ryan said softly. He stopped walking. Dillan and Hazel stopped as well. Another tear fell from the white squirrel's cheek.
"It's fine, Ryan," Hazel said.
Ryan inhaled deeply. He put his paws up to his eyes and wiped his cheeks. "No, it isn't," the pachirisu said coldly. "My family isn't nice; none of them are. Not even Isaiah was cool for long. My family didn't want to deal with me anymore, so I left. You two know that."
Silence filled the air for minutes. Dillan and Hazel stood there, unsure of what to say. So, they waited for Ryan to say something, but he didn't. The sun light in the sky had faded. The moon was now on the horizon. Its light reflected off of the snow, lighting up the area ahead. The stars helped as well.
"How much longer do we have on this island?" Ryan asked.
"Ryan," Dillan said. Ryan looked at the gabite. "It doesn't matter if your family abandoned you. We're your family now, and that's that."
"He's right," Hazel said.
"Someone told me not to dwell on the bad in my life and look at the good."
Ryan looked at Dillan for a few seconds. He looked as though he wanted to say something. Instead, he turned away from Dillan and stared ahead. "Let's just keep moving," he said. The pachirisu started walking forwards. Dillan looked at Hazel who shrugged and followed the pachirisu. Dillan followed behind. It'll get better, Ryan. Trust me.
Two hours went by since they last stopped. The moon was high in the sky, shinning its light onto Team Rapture. Dillan was so tired, he felt like falling onto his face and sleeping. Even so, he wanted to keep on walking. He felt like he needed to continue. He could see that his friends were also starting to slow down. Hazel and Ryan weren't walking as fast as they were earlier. They seemed to be droning on, only walking for the sake of walking.
"How much further?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know..." Hazel said quietly.
"Are we at least off of the island, yet?"
"I-" Dillan tried to say. He grimaced from the pain in his jaw. The cold was getting to his muscles. Just moving his jaw to say, "I" made it feel as though it was going to fall off into the cold, white wasteland that stretched before the team in a seemingly endless path of hills and plains.
"No," Hazel said drowsily. "We aren't. We haven't even crossed the bridge yet."
"Let's take a break," Ryan said. He gave a yawn. "We're probably close to the bridge by now, right?"
"We can't stop, now... Lives are at stake."
Dillan felt his leg seize up. It didn't move with the rest of his body, so he didn't have anything to catch him. The gabite fell forwards, face first. Ryan and Hazel didn't seem to notice the scrunching sound when he hit the snow. Dillan gave a muffled groan as a numbing burn shot up his leg and face.
"Dillan?" Hazel asked as she turned around to see her friend. She gasped when she saw he was in the snow.
"Hey!" Ryan called out when he saw the gabite. Dillan pushed his face out of the snow and took a shaky breath. "Are you alright?"
"W-We need to keep m-moving," Dillan said, tolerating the pain in his jaw as he stood up.
"You sure?" Hazel asked.
"No question," Dillan said. I won't sit by and let more pokemon suffer because of me; I won't make the same mistake that I did with Arlon's captives.
"You need to rest," Ryan said. "We all do. This trek is taking it out of us."
"I'm n-not stopping," Dillan insisted.
"Alright," Hazel nodded. She got next to Dillan and set his arm over her neck to support him. "But you need help." Hazel picked Dillan up out of the snow.
"Thanks," Dillan said, putting some weight on his legs, but still keeping some on Hazel.
"How are you holding up, Ryan?" Hazel asked.
"Fine and dandy," Ryan said sarcastically. "Although, I am a bit hot. Do you have some ices for that?"
Hazel laughed a little.
Dillan smiled. He felt nice knowing his friends could joke around in a time like this; still, he was worried. He could hardly move. If something bad were to happen, he didn't want to be dead weight. It'll be fine. You can still walk. You're fine.
Keeping that thought in mind, he continued walking with Hazel a few more feet before his leg seized up again. Once again, Dillan fell forwards, though this time, Hazel was there to help him. Dillan expected her to hold him up. He felt the charmeleon pull on him, but to his surprise, she went down with him.
The two pokemon fell into the snow. Hazel pushed herself up onto her knees and gave a yelp.
"M-man, that's c-c-cold!" she cried. She began shivering.
Dillan began pushing on the snow. His arms started shaking as he pushed himself up.
"Alright," Ryan said. "We're stopping here."
"We c-can't," Dillan said through a clattering jaw.
"You can't even walk," Ryan told him. "Besides, Hazel's too tired to help you and I can't, either for obvious reasons."
"B-but-"Dillan tried to protest.
"You can't save anyone tomorrow if you're too sick and tired from the cold to fight."
"Ryan-" Hazel tried to say.
"Be rational, Hazel!" Ryan shouted. "We're in the middle of a... 'winter wonderland' and Dillan can hardly stand! We haven't even reached the bridge to the main island, so we've got another four hours of walking in snow at the least – which mind you, keeps us from walking as fast as we could on actual ground – before we get to the Alkan Castle! On top of that, I'm freezing my tail off and I'm also sopping wet from all of this snow!" Ryan started panting.
Dillan and Hazel looked at Ryan with wide eyes. Dillan in particular was speechless. He wanted to argue that he could go further, but everything Ryan said was true. He didn't know if he could actually walk any more than he already had without some kind of extra help.
"U-um..." Hazel stuttered. "A-are you... alright?"
"Since you asked," Ryan said flatly. "No... No, I'm not." Ryan stood there for a few seconds before saying, "Just a short break... All I'm asking for is a few hours."
Hazel looked at Dillan for his answer. "Your call," she told him.
"A-alright," Dillan conceded, stuttering from a chilly breeze that seemed to sweep through the area. "B-but only for a f-few hours. Then, w-we leave."
"I'm fine with that," Hazel said.
"Alright," Ryan said.
The group sat there for a few minutes. Dillan waited for one of his teammates to do something, but they seemed to be waiting as well.
"Uh..." Dillan said. "A-are we waiting for s-something?"
Hazel smacked her free paw to her head and said, "Duh!" She took her bag off with one arm and tossed it to Ryan.
"What's this for?" Ryan asked.
"There's a tent in there," Hazel told the pachirisu. "We need to set it up."
"We have a tent?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah," Hazel said. "I picked one up in Palando after our first mission. We just hadn't used it because Dillan usually uses 'dig' to make a burrow for us, but he can't do that right now."
"Alright," Ryan said. He opened the bag and looked inside. He stared at the contents. After a few seconds he tilted his head as if trying to get a better angle.
Hazel gave a sigh. "Here," she said. The charmeleon walked over to Ryan and shooed him away. Ryan stepped to the side as Hazel took his place. She reached into the bag and grabbed at the inside. She pulled on the material and a new pouch emerged. Hazel reached into the new pouch and pulled out a roll of cloth accompanied by five, long, wooden sticks and some rope.
"Alright," Hazel said. She set the cloth at Ryan's feet. "You're going to help me set that up."
"Just tell me what to do," Ryan said.
"I can help," Dillan said.
"Again," Ryan said. "You can't stand alone." he smiled and said, "Just chill out."
"Really?" Hazel asked with a grin. "Ice puns? I expect that kind of thing from Bolt."
Ryan shrugged. "Whatever takes my mind off of the cold," he said.
As much as Dillan liked his teammates joking around, he hated feeling useless.
"He's right, though," Hazel said. "Just sit tight. We've got this."
"Alright..." Dillan said reluctantly.
Hazel began telling Ryan what to do with the materials she had taken from the bag. The two set up sticks, tied down rope, and put up the cloth. After about five minutes, plus about twenty or so spent trying to tell Ryan how to do certain tasks, both members messing their tasks up, and having to start completely from the beginning, the group had their own triangular tent supported by two sticks on either entrance tied to the snow by some rope. The tent was equipped with a blanketed inside so they didn't have to sleep on the snow.
"That's it?" Dillan asked.
"Until tomorrow..." Ryan said, sounding depressed. "Then, we take it all down..."
"It's better the second time around," Hazel told the pachirisu. "But enough about that. Let's just sleep."
"Sounds good to me," Ryan said.
Dillan didn't say anything. He was still bummed he couldn't be more of a help.
Dillan got into the tent first, followed by Ryan, then Hazel. Wait...
"Hazel," Dillan said.
"What is it?" Hazel asked as she shut the tarp at the front. The moonlight was blocked out, meaning the only source of light was Hazel's tail-flame.
"You're sleeping in here?" Dillan asked with a raised eyebrow. "With us?"
"Yeah," Hazel said.
"And you're comfortable with that?"
Hazel thought about how best to answer the question. "Well... No, not really. But this is a special circumstance. My flame's the only source of heat. You guys would freeze without it."
"Works for me," Ryan said, not seeming to care that a girl was going to sleep close to not just one, but two guys on a cold night. Dillan was – to say the least – uncomfortable. The pachirisu curled up, holding his tail close to his face like a child would do with a blanket, and said, "Good night."
"Hazel-" Dillan said.
"It's fine, Dillan," Hazel insisted with a smile. "Really." She stepped over Ryan's body and got close to Dillan. She sat down next to him and held her tail in front of her. She stared at the flame that seemingly danced on her tail's end. Dillan watched as it grew brighter. He felt as though it spread its warmth to the rest of the tent. "Just try and get some rest, alright?"
Dillan smiled at Hazel and said, "Thanks."
Hazel gave a cheery smile before dropping her tail and laying down on her side.
Despite the heat Hazel's tail was giving off, it didn't seem to ignite the blanket. Dillan, however, pushed that thought and his discomfort to the farthest reaches of his mind. He got down on the blanket. The moment he laid down, his eye-lids grew heavy and he closed them. Exhaustion took hold almost instantaneously, causing the world to disappear from Dillan as he fell asleep.
"Dillan!" a voice quietly demanded. The gabite felt himself rock back and forth. "Dillan, get up!"
"What?" Dillan asked groggily as he opened his eyes. He saw Hazel sitting next to him, shaking him in an attempt to get him up. She had knitted eye-brows as if she was worried. That made Dillan feel just as worried as her. "What's wrong?"
"There's someone outside the tent," Ryan told Dillan quietly. Dillan jumped upright to get a look at his friend. He needed to see Ryan's expression to confirm it, but he thought the pachirisu sounded scared. When he saw the tightened eyebrows above Ryan's wide-eyes, there was no mistaking it; whatever was outside, Ryan was frightened by it.
"What?" Dillan asked, more worry coming into his voice. "Who?"
"I don't know!" Hazel told Dillan.
Dillan listened for a noise from outside as he sat there. The wind blew by, whistling into the cracks of the tent. He sat there for a few more seconds hearing only his own heart pounding against his ribs. What's out there? Is something out there?
"I d-" Dillan was saying before he was interrupted by the scrunching of what sounded like snow being compacted. The gabite stopped talking, his jaw locking. He could feel his mouth go dry, unsure of if it was the chilly air that caused it or the pit of fear he felt growing in his stomach. There was another "scrunch" sound that was louder than the first.
Dillan tried to hear another scrunch, but he was stopped by a squeak coming from Hazel. He looked at his friend's face. Her face was pale as she stared widely at the tent's side. Dillan followed her gaze and found a massive shadow on the side of the tent.
It looked like a round creature that was about five-feet tall, not including the extra height gained with the massive horns sticking out of its head accompanied by a lightning bolt coming out of the ear. It had two arms that seemed to contradict each other. One was fat and stubby while the other one was thin, but wavy.
It was enough to send Dillan running for the hills, and he would have. Then he remembered his friends. He couldn't leave them behind; not like he did back in Poltress Town.
The shadow warped as it moved towards the front entrance of the tent. Hazel put her paw to her chest as if to see if her heart was still going. Ryan looked at the entrance with his wide eyes. His cheeks began to send small, blue sparks out into the air. Dillan got ready to rush out the door at any moment: to attack if needed, but mostly to run away.
"Rawr!" a voice shouted out. Dillan felt his heart jump from the volume of the shout. Hazel and Ryan seemed to jump as well.
"W-wait," Ryan said cautiously. "Rawr?"
"Rawr!" the voice called out again. This time, Dillan wasn't frightened. Instead, he was very confused. Come to think of it, it sounds somehow familiar. "Rawr!"
"Are you just going to keep shouting that?" a new voice asked. It sounded elegant, feminine, and also familiar.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ryan shouted as he stepped towards the exit of the tent.
Ryan tore open the cloth merging the outside air with the inside. Hazel and Dillan looked out at two figures; one was on the other's shoulders. The one on top was small and yellow while the one at the bottom was round and pink.
"Dang it, Addi!" Ryan shouted, half annoyed and half overjoyed to see his friend. The pachirisu stepped out of the tent and gave Adelina a hug which she returned.
"Well, hi to you, too!" Bolt announced with a smile. He jumped off of Adelina and stood next to her.
"That was you?!" Hazel shouted. Dillan watched as her expression became one between complete shock and frustration.
"Hey, beautiful," Bolt said with a wink at Hazel.
"D-don't call me that!" Hazel stuttered as her cheeks went scarlet.
Dillan felt his heart leap from joy. He didn't care if the two had scared him earlier. He was happy to see the familiar faces. "Hey Bolt!" he greeted. "Hi Adelina!"
"Hey, Slash," Bolt said. "How goes the mission?"
Ryan broke from Adelina's hug before turning to Bolt and saying, "What the heck was that for?!"
"Chill out, Sparky!" Bolt said with a grin. "It was just some fun."
"We were sleeping!" Ryan shouted.
"That's what made it fun." Bolt shrugged.
Ryan was about to protest Bolt's actions when Hazel cut in with, "It doesn't matter." She relaxed her muscles as she sat down on the blanketed ground. "How did you find us?"
"Here's a better question," Ryan said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you guys, but the Alkan Islands aren't in a very good position right now. Why are you guys here?"
"Garth sent us to help you three out," Adelina told the group. "I'm sorry for the scare. We really didn't mean to."
"I did," Bolt added.
"Garth sent you guys?" Ryan asked.
"Is it really a shock?" Bolt asked Ryan. He put his right arm across his chest, revealing a buff Dillan had overlooked. It was black with an eroded "A" in the middle of a white circle. Dillan looked at Adelina who seemed to have a black cloth tied around her neck. The gabite couldn't see the symbol because of the lickitung's tongue hanging over the cloth, but he thought it was safe to assume that she was also wearing Team Armageddon's symbol.
The pachirisu's face grew into a smile. "I mean, Judah did say he'd send you two to help, but... Wow. I didn't think he'd actually do it."
Adelina raised an eyebrow at Ryan. "Really?" she asked.
"Well..." Hazel began. "He was kind of a jerk when we met him..." she trailed off at the last syllable.
Adelina chuckled lightly. "He may be a little rough," she began.
"That's putting it lightly," Ryan interrupted. "The fat, overgrown-"
"Alright," Adelina said. "Very rough – but he means well. I've found he's always trying to do what's best for the kingdom. Granted, sometimes it doesn't feel like he cares. It might even feel like he's doing something wrong, but it's probably really hard to be a king. You need to remember that whatever Judah does, he does it in his own way to the best of his abilities." She let those words sink in. Maybe she's right. I mean, Ryan said this all feels wrong, and I agree, but maybe that's because we don't understand Judah's whole plan. "You don't agree?" Adelina asked, pointing her question with her eyes at Hazel.
Dillan looked towards his charmeleon friend. She seemed distraught. Her left paw was shaking next to her bag.
"Hazel?" Dillan asked. "Are you alright?"
Hazel took a deep breath and blinked her eyes twice before saying, "I'm fine." Her hand stopped shaking as she gave an assuring smile, though Dillan wasn't assured. Are you hiding something?
"I don't like Judah," Ryan said, oblivious to Hazel's behavior. "And you won't change my mind about him."
"Is that a challenge, Sparky?" Bolt asked playfully.
"No," Ryan said. "I just don't trust him."
"Well, you have to," Adelina said. "You took an oath to trust and obey the king."
"I know that," Ryan said. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."
"It really doesn't matter if Judah is right or not," Hazel said. "The cost is too high to give up."
"Too high?" Bolt asked. "What do you mean?"
Hazel looked down at the ground, not meeting Bolt's gaze.
"Team Armageddon's going to attack the mainland and kill civilians," Dillan said with a knitted brow line.
"What?" Bolt asked with shock.
"That's not good..." Adelina said slowly.
"Which is why we need to get to the Alkan Castle as soon as possible," Dillan said.
"Hang on," Ryan said. He looked at Dillan and said, "Can you move, yet?"
"Maybe," Dillan said as he began standing up in the tent. He found he was shaky on his way up. Hazel jumped up next to him and began helping him with his balance, but Dillan held up his claw. "I'm fine." he assured.
"What's wrong?" Adelina asked.
"Well, that would be a problem," Bolt said. "It's the cold, right? Is it getting to your body?"
"Yeah," Dillan sighed. "But I'm fine, now."
"Dillan..." Adelina said slowly.
"What is it?" Dillan asked. He looked at Adelina curiously. She was eyeing him with wonder and amazement. That started to worry him.
"Whoa," Bolt said with astonishment. "That's a neat trick."
"What?" Dillan repeated.
"Is your crystal suppose to do that?" Hazel asked with concern.
Dillan watched the pachirisu's face. It began turning a light tint of green. That's when Dillan realized everything was being bathed in a tint of green. He looked down at his crystal. It began shinning, casting a light that strained his eyes due to the sudden exposure to the green beams. He felt the crystal began to get heavier on his neck. It seemed to begin pulling him to the ground with a force that was barely noticeable.
"Uh..." Dillan stumbled.
"What is it with you and your crystals?" Ryan asked.
Dillan felt his crystal pull forwards. Do you want me to follow you? The gabite took a step forwards. The pull lessened, seemingly praising the gabite for walking. Dillan took a few more steps forwards, making his way around Bolt, Ryan, an Adelina as he exited the tent.
The night sky was darker as if blocked by clouds that only allowed a sliver of moonlight onto the snowy ground. It wasn't very helpful considering the fact that it only allowed a few feet of visibility before the darkness consumed everything around them. The gabite felt a frigid breeze collide with his scales, but he was getting use to it. All he gave the cold was a small shiver before moving on.
He walked a few more feet away from the tent before his crystal started acting very strange. It grew brighter – casting a green hue into the surrounding area – and started pulling in what Dillan could only assume was every which way at once.
"What are you trying to tell me?" Dillan asked himself quietly.
"Where are you going?" Hazel asked as she and the rest of Dillan's friends walked out and away from the tent to meet the gabite.
"I don't know," Dillan said halfheartedly as he continued to wonder. What is it you're trying to tell me?
The group stood still for a few seconds as they waited for Dillan to do something. Bolt seemed confused, as did Adelina. Hazel seemed curious while Ryan had his ears perked up.
"Wha-" Bolt tried to say.
"Wait," Ryan interrupted. Bolt stopped talking and waited for Ryan to continue. "Do you hear that?"
Dillan's crystal started getting even brighter. It was as bright as a torch as it radiated green light on the group's faces.
"What is it?" Adelina asked worriedly.
"I hear it, too," Bolt said.
"Ryan," Hazel said. "What do you hear?"
"Who's there?" Ryan called out into the darkness. What?
"Ryan!" Hazel whispered forcefully in an attempt at getting him to tell her what was wrong.
Ryan didn't answer. He continued to look at the darkness. Dillan looked with worry as he saw Ryan's fist tighten into a ball as a look of anticipation flashed across his eyes. The pachirisu's cheeks sparked.
"Ready?" Ryan asked as his cheeks continued sending streaks of blue electricity into the air.
"On my mark," Bolt said, his face mirroring Ryan's while he sent his own yellow jolts of electricity into the air. They waited about three seconds before Bolt called out, "Now!"
The two pokemon shouted as blue and yellow electricity arced off of their bodies. It disappeared into the darkness, lighting up the surrounding area. Dillan looked on with an expression of fear as the electricity took on a shape in the darkness, creating an outline of a creature. He didn't get a very good look at it because of the electricity disappearing in a flash, but he did confirm one thing: something is out there in the darkness.
"What in Ganderosa was that?" Adelina asked with wide eyes.
"I applaud you," a confident, female voice called out from the darkness in front of the group. "Not many pokemon can hear me coming."
"We know where you are," Bolt shouted. "Come out and show yourself."
"I don't play my opponent's games," the voice stated.
"Opponent..?" Hazel said with a grimace.
"What are we facing?" Adelina whispered to Bolt.
"Can't tell," Bolt said. "There isn't enough light."
"Surrender now," the voice called out. "Or face the consequences."
"Lady," Bolt said, "Do you know who I am?"
"I just want the human," the voice said. Dillan felt his heart drop. Human? She know I'm human?
"The... what?" Bolt asked.
"Come now, Dillan," the voice said. "Don't make this difficult. Come with me and I'll spare your friends."
"You're after Dillan?" Hazel asked.
Dillan heard Ryan inhale through his teeth. "You won't get him!" the pachirisu shouted. Dillan looked at his friend. He was grimacing ever so slightly.
"Why should I trust you?" Dillan shouted into the darkness.
"You have no reason to believe me," the voice said. It sounded closer. Dillan heard the scrunching of the snow as if a heavy creature was walking towards them. The gabite watched as a figure emerged into the green light. Dillan felt like running as he stared at the creature standing before him.
It was a bipedal pokemon with a big body with tan markings on its chin, breast, and waist. The pokemon had a horn on its head and spikes jutting out of its spine as if they were small fins. The pokemon had small, pointed talons on its hands and feet. The pokemon also had a pair of big, mouse-like ears. Dillan recognized the pokemon. He had met her before.
"You were in Castellum Town," Dillan said as he tried to mask the fear present in his voice and face. "You're Thalia."
"You remember me," the nidoqueen said as she stared at Dillan with no emotion present in her face.
"She's the one who took Reya?" Hazel asked Dillan. "Does that mean she's with 'the Enemy'?"
"'The Enemy'?" Bolt asked.
Dillan remembered the nidoqueen carrying off his poisoned friend. He remembered Reya telling him to run. "Where is she?" he asked the nidoqueen.
"She isn't the issue any longer," Thalia said. "You are, human."
"Why do you keep saying that word?" Hazel questioned.
"Come with me now before I start killing your friends."
"Oh, yeah?" Bolt asked. "You want a fight, lady?"
"No," Thalia said.
Bolt looked like he was about to throw out some sort of witty counter to what Thalia said, but he just stood there with his mouth open for a few seconds before asking, "What?"
"I only fight when there is no other way."
"Really?" Ryan asked. "And why's that?"
"For honor," Thalia told Ryan flatly.
"Honor?" Ryan asked. His face went into a snarl.
"Where was the honor in taking Reya!" Dillan shouted.
"She left me no choice," Thalia said calmly. "Reya betrayed everything she stood for, and for what? So she could cure her guilty conscience?"
"Stood for?" Dillan asked. "Like morals?"
"That isn't important right now," Thalia stated. "All you need to know is that you're coming with me or your friends die where they stand."
"That simple?" Bolt asked with a smile. "Piece of cake."
"Bolt," Adelina warned, "Stop underestimating your opponents all the time."
Bolt shrugged. "Give me a reason to."
"Focus on the task," Hazel told the pikachu.
"Why?" Bolt asked. "She's only one pokemon. I mean, how hard can this really be?"
"Knock it off!" Ryan snapped. "Stay focused, now!"
Dillan watched the nidoqueen with anticipation and worry. What does she have planned? Why is she giving me a chance to give up? Why not just attack?
"Well?" Thalia asked with a finality in her voice. "Do you surrender the human?"
"What are you even talking about?" Hazel asked. Dillan winced at his friend's question.
"It doesn't matter," Bolt stated with a grin. He laughed. "She obviously wants Dillan." He took a step closer to Thalia. "You think we'd willingly give up one of our own to you: a lady who randomly showed up out of nowhere and made demands of us?"
Thalia's brow-line tightened as she gave a sigh. "I wanted to make this easy on you all. I wanted to give you a chance. I didn't want to have to kill you. Now, you've stretched my honor to its limits." She clasped her claws and snapped them together, sending the sound into the veil of darkness that surrounded them. Almost immediately, the sound of multiple feet stamping in the snow came from around the group. The emerald light from Dillan's crystal grew even brighter, illuminating three figures who stood around them.
One of the figures had a massive, spherical head that looked like it was also used as the body. Its head-body came out to the backside where it ended with a bump. Its red fur contrasted the green, making him look brown. Massive arms stretched off of the creature and ended at its boulder-like fists that the creature seemed to lean on for support. Its hind legs were small in comparison to its behemoth arms, yet normal when seen with Dillan's. It had three stripes on its chest where its orange skin could be seen. The fur didn't stretch over the eyes, creating a look as though the pokemon was wearing a mask around its eyes and slits-for-nostrils. The pokemon's beady eyes stared at Dillan as cold and as malicious as Arlon. Its massive, toothy grin complemented the shiftree as well, but on this creature, it looked natural. The one thing that stood out to Dillan was the fiery eye-brows that arched off of the pokemon's head, creating a low-light in the dark. The pokemon sneered at Dillan, though the gabite wondered if it was the only thing the darmanitan could do.
The second pokemon greatly disturbed Dillan. It had a spherical head that almost looked purple. It had small, white eyes that were only interrupted by the even-smaller pupils. The pokemon's massive, pink lips puckered as the creature stared at Dillan. Its bleached-blonde hair parted at its face and stretched down towards the middle where it touched the pokemon's silky, red dress that trailed behind. It had white arms coming off of it that ended at its purple hands. The creature winked at Dillan as if trying to seduce him. The gabite shuddered at the jynx.
The third pokemon slithered through the air and onto the ground like a flying snake. Its navy-blue, serpentine body gracefully slid into a standing position where it rested on two small, fin-like feet. Its underbelly was the color of a vanilla cream. It had a yellow spot around its eyes with two coming off of its head. If Dillan thought that jynx's lips were massive, he changed his mind. This creature had lips that were as big as its head, making its body like a hollowed cylinder with a tail. The lips had four razor-sharp teeth lining the outside of its lips. It had a fin coming off of its head like a fish. Another fin trailed the end of its back and ended at the tail. The creature's red eyes stared at Dillan without mercy. Its arms came off of its body and grew at its rounded hands. It had three claws coming off of the hands. They had a big, yellow spot on the back and palm. It also had a lightning-bolt pattern shooting from another circle on its arms. That made Dillan wonder if the eelektross before him was an electric type.
The three creatures created a ring around the team.
"Is that all?" Bolt scoffed. "An eel, a monkey, and a... whatever you are..?" The jynx scowled at Bolt for his comment. The pikachu didn't seem to care. "No problem!"
"Bolt!" Adelina warned. "Stop taking this lightly!"
Bolt laughed. "This'll be easy, C. A."
"Bolt!" Ryan snapped. "Stop it!"
Bolt looked at Ryan with confusion. "What?"
"Stop acting like this is going to be the easiest battle you've ever fought! Pokemon die that way! Focus on the task at hand right now, or I'll kick your sorry tail into shape for you!"
"Uh..." Adelina said. "Ryan? Are you alright?"
"Is this really the time?" Hazel asked.
"Y-you're right," Adelina said as she put her focus back into the fight. "I'm sorry."
"You think this is going to be hard?" Bolt sneered. He got down on all fours as if ready to dart.
Hazel looked at the pikachu with confusion before realizing what he was going to do. Dillan grimaced. "Bolt-" he began.
The pikachu darted off towards the darmanitan, a trail of white light tracing wherever he stepped. The darmanitan raised his fist as if he was going to smash Bolt before he got too close. The darmanitan slammed its fist into the snow where Bolt would have been, but the pikachu rolled to the side; he started running circles around the pokemon.
"I've got this guy!" Bolt shouted gleefully. The darmanitan swatted at Bolt. The pikachu leapt over the attack before continuing to run circles.
"Dillan, look out!" Hazel shouted. Dillan felt his heart sink. He looked around quickly and realized he was the only one left standing in the use-to-be circle-of-friends. Everyone else had run off, and for good reason. A blast of white particles was racing towards him. Dillan looked at the attack with horror and instinctually lunged at the ground. He quickly began shoveling snow as he descended. After about three feet of digging, he looked up. The blast flew past his hole, but a cold breeze followed the gabite making him shiver.
Once the attack stopped. Dillan risked a peek. He slowly ascended the hole and looked out into the world. He saw Bolt was still fighting with the darmanitan, though it looked as though he was screwing with the big ape more than fighting. He let the darmanitan attack several times, but it seemed as though the ape was too big for his own good.
Dillan looked around again. He saw Ryan and Thalia confronting one another. They seemed to be arguing while attacking each other, which confused Dillan. She's still trying to reason with us? It disturbed him to think about how much the nidoqueen wanted him.
Adelina was with Hazel confronting the jynx. That left him and... Oh, no.
"All alone," the eelektross said from behind Dillan. The gabite looked around quickly to see his opponent staring at him. "No one to help you."
Dillan dove downwards and quickly plowed through the snow until he hit the dirt, which he began digging through as well. He realized his miracle sense let him see everything going on above him. Duh! Why did I forget that? That's when he sensed something; a blast of some sorts was rubbing against the walls behind the gabite as it made its way towards him at a greater speed than he could dig. Dillan looked back without stopping. He saw a glowing, white blast making its way towards him. It seemed to use the hole as a path that led straight to the gabite. He had mere seconds before the blast hit him. Dillan began digging upwards as fast as he could.
The gabite breached the snow and dove to the side. The "hyper beam" that once raged behind him shot out like a geyser of snow and pure energy that illuminated the surrounding area. The gabite stood up quickly. He was feet from his opponent. The eelektross looked at him with a scowling gaze. Dillan was shocked to see the creature's claws began glowing blue and extended. The pokemon looked at the gabite with confidence. It jumped into the air and began slithering above the ground. Dillan looked at the creature with fear.
Something inside told Dillan what was about to happen was not good. The eelektross lunged through the air to strike the gabite. He swiped his paw, leaving a trail of blue light in the air as he attacked. Dillan jumped to the left out of the pokemon's way. The attack missed as the creature drifted through the air past its target. Dillan took shallow breaths as he felt the ice and snow start to take hold. He began thinking about the situation. That's a dragon claw attack... He took a gulp. Something inside of him told him that that attack was something he absolutely did not want to get hit by. I need to think fast! What would Ryan do?
The eelektross didn't give Dillan any time to think. He rushed back at Dillan. The pokemon gave a battle-cry before slashing once more at the gabite. Dillan tried to dodge left, but he felt his leg start to seize up, crippling his ability to move. Dillan's dodge was ruined. He had no time to do anything. He could only watch as his opponent's claws dug deep into his scales. He felt the claws drag through him and come out. Dillan gave a cry of pain as he fell backwards onto his back. His back-fin didn't help with the impact as it folded underneath his weight.
"Dillan!" Hazel called out, taking her mind off of her fight. She didn't notice the attack coming towards her. The jynx fired a massive beam of white energy towards Hazel. Adelina saw what was about to happen. She jumped in the way and pulled two of her orange swords out of thin air. She set them into the ground, sending snow into the air, and a clear wall appeared in front of the two pokemon. The blast impacted the shield and exploded. Snow went flying in different directions, pelting the pokemon in its vicinity. Adelina's shield, however, stayed intact. She turned to Hazel, dividing her focus between the charmeleon and the wall, and said, "Stay focused on your surroundings! You can't help Dillan if you're dead!"
"I'm going to help him!" Hazel shouted as she ran around the "protect". Almost immediately, a new beam of white light smashed into the ground in front of Hazel. It sent her flying backwards and into Adelina. Hazel's force pushed Adelina into the snow and the two struggled to their feet: Hazel because of the pain she endured from that attack and Adelina because she had to split her focus between getting up, Hazel, and her "protect" attack.
Hazel was about to run again towards Dillan when Adelina grabbed her by the arm. "We're pinned!" she shouted, obviously strained by trying to hold her protect in place. "You can't help him right now!"
"But-" Hazel tried to argue.
"Focus on this, first!" Adelina shouted, frustrated by Hazel. "Don't make Dillan deal with two opponents at the same time!"
Hazel wanted to protest. She wanted to help Dillan. From the look of things, he needed it.
"Hazel!" Adelina shouted. One final blast shook the force-field. The barrier collapsed, leaving Adelina exhausted.
"Alright!" Hazel said. She would have to help Dillan later. She used her worry and fear to fuel a massive burst of fire that arched forth and blasted towards the jynx.
Dillan, after getting slammed with the eelektross' attack, looked at his chest. Blood was seeping out of three marks across his chest, leaving a trail down into the cold didn't help with the burning sensation, but he couldn't focus on that right now. The gabite began standing up. He looked towards the eelektross as it slithered towards him.
"Raymond!" Thalia shouted as she dodged one of Ryan's bites. "We need him alive!"
"I know!" the eelektross shouted back. It still had its claws extended.
Dillan stood up as fast as he could, but he felt as though he was going to fall over at any second. Alright: focus. There's no point in moving; I'd be in the snow again, leaving me vulnerable. That leaves one option... The gabite took a hard gulp. A drop of sweat fell from his forehead. He didn't trust himself whatsoever to make it out of this. He felt very nervous. But, regardless of all of the emotions of doubt and fear he had swelling up inside of him, he needed to try. His fins began glowing blue. They extended as they always did into a dragon claw attack. My only option... to fight where I stand.
Feeling the pressure, Dillan watched the eelektross' movements carefully. The eelektross slashed its right hand at the gabite. Dillan raised his left arm and blocked the slash with the blunt side of his fin. Dillan watched as the eelekrtross' left arm jabbed at his chest. The gabite intercepted the attack with his right fin and once more blocked the eelektross' attack. Dillan then slashed with his left fin. The eelektross had barely enough time to react. It bent its back backwards creating a sizeable gap between Dillan's slash and its body.
The yellow spots on the eelektross began glowing. Its claws retracted back to normal as it snaked its way through the air towards Dillan. Dillan slashed again, but the eelektross dove underneath his strike. It then wrapped itself around Dillan's body in a second. Fear took hold of Dillan. He could feel his opponent's scales rub against his own in a very uncomfortable fashion. The eelektross restrained Dillan with its own body. It stared the gabite in the eyes. Dillan could smell the horrid stench of its breath hitting his face. He looked into the abyss present in the pokemon's mouth. He watched as a beam of purple light began to grow bright from inside of the eelektross. It grew in brightness until Dillan could see the source. A giant ball of purple energy was growing from inside of the pokemon's throat.
Do something fast! Dillan shouted at himself internally. He felt as though his heart had left the rest of his body to die. If he didn't think of something fast, that purple loogie would mean the end of him.
Then, he felt something deep inside of him, though it didn't feel like something bad. It was hard to describe. It was like some primal instinct was guiding him to what to do. It wasn't like the crystal. That seemed to be less specific and led him subtly. This seemed to urge his very movements.
Dillan seemed to feel what he needed to do. He lifted his foot and stamped it into the ground. Immediately, a boulder broke from the ground and shot up inches from where Dillan stood. The eelektross wasn't so lucky. The rock came up from below the elektross' body and slammed into it with great speed and force, ripping the creature from Dillan and sending the gabite onto his fin once more. Dillan gave a grimace of pain as he got off of his fin and stood up. The eelektross flew through the sky and landed in the snow. Flakes shot up from the impact. The pokemon stood up quickly and stared at Dillan with annoyance.
"Now you're ticking me off!" the pokemon snarled.
Dillan felt that instinct inside of him again. It made him look back to where the boulder had been. To his surprise, it was floating in thin air. Dillan felt the need to do something with it. He felt the urge to run up to it, so he did. Dillan leapt at the boulder and back-handed it with his arm-fin. The rock flew towards his opponent. The eelektross snaked its way around the rock and began slithering towards Dillan. The gabite slammed his foot into the ground again, a new boulder breaking from the earth and coming in front of him. Dillan whacked the new boulder, sending it flying towards his enemy. The eelektross dodged the attack once again. That gives me an idea.
Dillan thumped his foot against the ground two times. This time, two stones floated in the air. He grinned. The gabite smashed the two stones and they raced through the air towards their target. The pokemon snaked its way between the stones.
"You think that's going to-" the eelektross was cut off when he realized his mistake. Dillan had sent two stones towards the eelektross not to hit the pokemon, but to force it into a position that the gabite wanted.
Dillan lunged forwards towards the eelektross. He focused on his fins. They extended into blue, glowing blades. He slashed at the eelektross who was on a collision course with his fins. The pokemon tried to evade, but its earlier dodge made this one impossible due to its forward motion. Dillan's fins sunk into his opponent's scales, slashing its body. The eelektross gave a cry of pain before falling to the ground. Dillan looked at the opponent with a nervous scowl, hoping it wouldn't get up. The eelektross didn't move. It just lied there in the snow, breathing harshly. Dillan decided it couldn't do any more harm. He turned towards the rest of the battle.
By the look of things, Bolt had stopped toying with his opponent a while ago. Now, he was fighting the darmanitan head-on. The two seemed to be going at it. Bolt hit his opponent with different attacks, yet it didn't seem to truly affect the battle. It seemed like he was more annoying the beast than anything.
Dillan found Hazel and Adelina were seeming to be handling themselves just fine. They looked roughed up by their fight, but they seemed to be on the offensive now. They were attacking the jynx from two different angles, keeping their opponent on its toes.
Ryan and Thalia just stopped attacking. They looked as though they had gotten a few hits in on one another. Dillan, ignoring the stretching pain of his bloody scales, ran up to the panting Ryan.
"Stop playing games," Thalia said. "Stop toying with your opponents."
"Ryan!" Dilan shouted as he came up to his friend's side.
Ryan looked at Dillan for a second before turning his gaze back to Thalia. "I'm not toying with anyone!" he shouted.
Thalia stood there for a few seconds. She looked at the battlefield with a scowl. "Do you believe you are the one in the prophecy?"
"Prophecy?" Dillan asked.
"You were in Castellum Town," Thalia stated. "Surely Reya told you the prophecy." Dillan remembered it, now. Reya told him right before Arlon had come in and attacked them. "Everyone in my organization knows it by heart." She turned to face the group of two. "Do you believe it?"
Dillan didn't answer. He had no intention to. She has to be asking for some reason I can't see. I'm not playing her game.
Ryan grimaced at Thalia. "Fight me or shut it!" Ryan shouted.
Thalia closed her eyes and sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter whether you believe it or not." She opened her eyes and glared at them. "Because if you don't make sure your job is finished, human, I will complete mine." Thalia continued to look at them while she called, "Blake! Celia!"
Dillan was confused by those names. Suddenly, he saw the darmanitan and jynx running from both sides to meet with Thalia. They got infront of her and bowed.
"Yes, mistress," they said in unison.
"Get Raymond. We're leaving."
"Leaving?" Dillan asked with wide eyes.
"What do you mean, 'leaving'?" Bolt asked. Dillan looked to his left and watched the pikachu come up beside him. Adelina and Hazel walked up as well. "Do you mean, 'we'll meet again' leaving, or do you mean, 'they're too strong for us' leaving?"
"This fight is a waste of energy," Thalia said. "You've already defeated one of my soldiers. You will just help each other until I am forced to take all of you alone. There is no reason to continue."
"So, you're retreating?" Hazel asked.
Thalia snapped her claws together. The darmanitan broke from the group and went for the eelektross. "Yes," the nidoqueen said.
"What makes you think we'll just let you go?" Bolt asked.
"You already have an injured party member," she gestured to Dillan and his bloody chest. "Would you like to jeopardize his safety for a fight? Would you like to see how much worse you'll all be just to capture me?"
Bolt didn't say anything. He just stood up straight and crossed his arms. The darmanitan walked to Thalia with the fainted eelektross slung over his shoulder.
"The next we meet," Thalia began again, "You will not have the chance to surrender." The nidoqueen turned away from the group and walked off into the darkness followed by the darmanitan and jynx.
"Surrender?" Bolt asked. He turned to Adelina and smiled. "I don't think so."
"And why's that?" Hazel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It was so easy I toyed with my opponent."
"Whoopdy-freaking-do for you!" Adelina shouted. Dillan looked at the lickitung. She looked as though she was about to burst a vein.
Bolt looked at Adelina with shock. "C. A?" he asked nervously.
"Me and Hazel were off fighting for our lives!" Adelina shouted. "You could have at least beaten your guy and helped us!"
"H-hey!" Bolt pleaded. "I thought you guys had it taken care of!"
"Fine!" Adelina said. "But the next time you think I have it covered, remember that I cook your food!"
Bolt looked at Adelina worriedly. "I'm sorry," he said honestly. "I thought you guys had it covered."
Adelina crossed her arms for a few seconds while looking at Bolt. She stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and dropping her scowl. "Alright," she said. "It's fine. I guess we got out alright, anyways."
"Dillan!" Hazel gasped. Dillan looked at Hazel with confusion. Hazel responded to that look with, "Your chest is bleeding!"
"Oh," Dillan said. He looked down at his blood-soaked chest. As the adrenaline left his body, it started hurting a little more.
"Here." Hazel set her bag on the floor and pulled out some white bandages and sitrus berries. She squeezed the berries in one of the bandages, soaking it with the juices. She put the bandage to Dillan's chest. The gabite grimaced from the stinging pain of the berries. Hazel took the rest of the bandages and wrapped them around Dillan's body, covering up the wound.
"Thanks," Dillan said.
"It should be fine for now," Hazel told the gabite. "But I'm not sure how much longer it will stay that way."
Dillan didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?" he asked nervously.
"It's just that we're going to be moving around a lot," Hazel said. "You're suppose to be resting when you get a cut like this so you don't stretch out the wound. Since we need to get to the Alkan Guild in a few hours, that's not possible."
"So I'll be careful," Dillan compromised.
Hazel looked at him with concern. She sighed and said, "I guess there's nothing more we can do except hope the berries do their magic."
"Ryan?" Adelina asked. Dillan looked over at his friend. He was scowling at the darkness where Thalia had disappeared. "Are you alright?"
Ryan didn't answer. He just kept staring. Adelina walked up to the pachirisu and sat down next to him so they would be closer to eye-level.
"He's probably shaken up from fighting," Hazel said.
"That's one explanation," Bolt said, "But I don't think that's it." Dillan and Hazel looked at Bolt. "Ryan's too tough to be shaken up that easily. The only way that could happen is if that nidoqueen got into his head by saying something."
Hazel hummed to herself as if contemplating. She looked a Dillan who stared back. Seconds went by. Dillan was starting to feel uncomfortable with the situation.
"What?" Dillan asked.
"Thalia called you something, right?" Hazel asked.
Dillan felt his neck beginning to get hot. "W-what?" he stuttered.
"She said 'give me the human or die'," Bolt said in a mocking tone. "Well, more or less."
"Human!" Hazel said as she snapped her claws. "That's what she said!" She pointed at Dillan. "She called you 'human'!"
"Sh-she did?" Dillan asked with a nervous smile. Stop digging! Please stop digging!
"Why did she call you that?"
"I-I don't know," Dillan said with a shrug.
Hazel scowled at him. "Dillan," she said.
"W-what?"
"You know what she meant, don't you?"
Dillan didn't answer. This is getting worse by the minute.
"Aren't you guys suppose to trust each other?" Bolt asked.
Hazel froze. Dillan watched as her scales in her cheeks went crimson. She's embarrassed?
"Yeah..." Hazel said, though she sounded as if she was worried.
"Wait a minute," Bolt said, dropping his joyful attitude. He sounded confused. "You guys are hiding things from each other?" Neither Dillan or Hazel answered. Bolt's eyes grew wider. "You are?!"
"What?" Hazel asked.
"You guys are a team and you're keeping secrets from each other? I thought you guys were close!"
"We are!" Hazel said.
"No, you aren't," Bolt said, shaking his head. "Koa and I shared everything with each other. That's what made us such great friends. We trusted each other on such a level that it didn't matter what happened. We knew we wouldn't judge each other."
"Your point is?"
"Keeping secrets creates animosity towards each other because it makes you afraid of what the other pokemon might think of you if they were to find out. Keeping secrets doesn't work on a team because a team needs to trust each other no matter what."
"I do trust my team no matter what," Dillan said.
"And you keep secrets?" Bolt asked.
Dillan thought about how best to answer it. "It's..."
"Complicated?"
"Difficult," Dillan finished. "If I tell you, someone gets hurt, and I can't do that to her." Saying those words left a bad taste in his mouth. It's the truth! That made the taste even worse. I can't tell Hazel! Reya might get hurt as a result!
Hazel and Bolt looked at Dillan with confusion. "Her?" Bolt asked. "You have a girlfriend?"
"What?!" Dillan asked, taken aback by the question. "No!" he said sternly. "It's not like that! I just can't say or someone gets hurt! There isn't anything I can do about it, alright?" Dillan looked at Hazel. "If I could tell you, I would; but I can't." Dillan felt a pit grow in his stomach. I can't! He pleaded internally.
Hazel looked at Dillan with confusion. "So, you can't tell me because if you do, someone gets hurt?" she asked.
"Basically," Dillan acknowledged.
"A-alright," Hazel said. She still looked confused. That made Dillan feel even worse than before. I can't tell her!
"So, what about you?" Bolt asked Hazel. Hazel's face turned even redder than it was before. "What's your secret?"
"Bolt, leave them alone," Adelina sighed. "If Hazel doesn't feel comfortable sharing her secrets right now, then let her do it on her own time."
Bolt looked at Adelina with a raised eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Adelina insisted. "Besides, we're moving out."
"Is Ryan alright?" Dillan asked, trying to take his mind off of the feeling of, what he could only be described as, guilt lingering in his chest. He looked at the pachirisu who was still looking out at the darkness.
"Yeah," Adelina said. "He'll be fine."
"What was wrong?" Hazel asked quickly as if trying to push the conversation off of her, even though it had already drifted to Ryan.
"He's just shaken up from that nidoqueen," Adelina said. She turned and looked at Ryan. "Something she said is really getting to him."
"Let's go," Ryan said calmly, not meeting his team's eyes. Dillan thought he sounded a little sad. The pachirisu turned towards the group and walked between them. He then started leading the way.
"Okay..." Hazel said slowly, worry present in her voice.
"Give him a few hours," Adelina told the charmeleon. "He'll be alright by then."
"Alright..." Dillan said halfheartedly. He was starting worry about his friend. The pachirisu was normally very outgoing. Now, he seemed depressed and secluded. Dillan wanted to do something to help, but he didn't know what. I wonder if Ryan has something he's been wanting to do... something fun. Maybe that would cheer him up.
As Dillan thought of some way to cheer up his friend, the group began moving. They had no idea what was to come; whether it was going to spring into existence before them or linger in the shadows while it waited for a time to strike. Dillan didn't care. All he wanted to do now was cheer up his friend.
(Author's Notes)
So... I mentioned the prophecy in Chapter 28, and from the two reviews I got from some of you guys, it seems like I haven't mentioned it in too long. Well, I just wanted to let you know that it has been revealed... shown... whatever the word is. Anyways, Reya explains it, and I quote,
"A great shadow will come and engulph the world. It will consume everything and replace it with hate and death. The world will be on the verge of collapsing. One pokemon will be the decider of the fate of everything. It will decide whether the world lives or falls. That single pokemon will form a team of four: The one who will see the future, the leader of an army, the deciever, and the one who will bring an end to everything that exists." (Check for yourself! (Chapter 17! (Yeah... 12 Chapters ago (has it really been that long?)))) So, yeah! There is a prophecy and it has been mentioned! Now, I admit that it isn't as memorable as I should have made it, seeing as Arlon comes out of nowhere right after Reya tells Dillan the prophecy, so that's my bad. But, here it is! Remember it (or don't. It's your mind, after all)
There are no new followers, so I would actually like to give a shout-out to the guest (not sure if you called yourself this or what, but here goes), "GeniericGuest83" for the review he/she gave to the story! I loved the review and it was hard to make the decision, but you posted the review to Chapter 1 about stuff from Chapter 28 so (and I'm really sorry!) I had to deny the review. Anyways, I loved the review, so I thought I'd post it here for people to read. "GeniericGuest83" writes,
"Welp, the kings a backstabber it seems. It seems like Dylan will have a better performance next chapter as well. I don't remember this prophecy being mentioned very much, but most prophecies in stories end up being fake. I'm going to assume this one isn't. And remember when Jake showed Valery to Dillan all those chapters back? I have a feeling that all of these come together signify one thing: S***'s happening in the next few chapters."
Thanks again for the review! If you want to repost the review to chapter 28, I would LOVE that!
Anyways, thanks to everyone who's still reading the story! I went back to a previous chapter (Chapter 17) and am appalled by the lack of description (Yeah... I'll try to work on it...), but it's cool to see that you guys still stuck around, anyways! So, thanks to everyone! I'll see you all next week!
