2-6
Heroes
For the briefest of moments, Konstantin's heart stopped.
A large broken sword had cut the monster's arms in twain.
One that Kon vaguely recognized from his dreams.
Luke fell to the ground, coughing before a pair of green arms reached up and pulled the pikachu down into the ground. Followed shortly by a masked lucario in strange armor pushing the yellow robed creature away with a smack from it's gloved paw.
Then the masked pokemon looked to Kon. "Well met, Konstantin."
"You." Konstantin hissed, regaining most of his strength. "I know you. But I do not." He punctuated this with a blast of his blunderbuss, the shot slamming into the Abomination.
"Given what Mia has explained to us, I am not surprised." The lucario pulled his sword out of the ground. "And worry not for the pikachu. Grovyle is keeping him safe and out of this… aberration resembling the Collector."
He nods in response, and the charmander rushes the Corrupted Mimikyu, viciously stabbing at it.
It screeched, moving away while seemingly looking around for where Luke went.
"X-Scissor!" The oshawott jumped out of the ground behind it, slicing it's back twice with her shell.
It screamed in pain, a hellish sound that would give most normal pokemon pause as it spun around to see who attacked it. But Konstantin did not relent, and he only flung himself onto it's back, unceasing in his brutality as he continued stabbing deep.
It continued to scream, even as the lucario rushed over and sliced down on it, missing Kon. The hatted oshawott slashed up it's front, her shell giving off a dark feeling energy.
Climbing upwards, Konstantin raised his dagger, and plunged it between the bars of the lit cage, into the 'head' of the horrible creature.
It froze up as soon as Kon did that. And started jittering as Konstantin pulled his dagger out and stabbed again and again and again.
Even when it fell, the stabbing continued.
At least until the green arm from before grabbed his arm. "Enough. It is dead and decaying." A stern voice spoke up.
He relents, shrugging them off.
Then, he is struck by an all-consuming compulsion, and he begins digging through the thing's corpse.
After a moment, he holds up his prize. A burlap bag, dripping blood and stained red. Nodding, he ties it to his waist.
"Ewww. Gross, Konny." The oshawott spoke up, walking closer before looking to the Lucario. "So Baldwin, Grovyle, what we do with the pikachu? I mean, he might try to claim he's part of our 'crime party' or 'time conspiracy' or something equally as ridiculous."
"Doesn't matter. I don't care." Konstantin gruffly interrupts. "I have come to bring you all back. Treasure Town is under siege by Brigands. And they have brought with them a war machine of terrible implication."
"I would assume it would be VVulf's pack, somehow having jumped worlds as we have, Konstantin." Baldwin responded.
He shrugs in response, before going over to check on Luke. "Probably. Nevertheless, you're all coming back with me to Treasure Town to help defend it."
"That may be a problem…" The oshawott muttered. "I mean, we've still got three more things to get so we can stop the World Paralysis from ever happening…"
Luke groaned a little. His fur was singed and dirty but outwardly, he looked fin in the grovyle's arms. "What? What's World Paralysis?"
"You don't have a choice!" Konstantin hissed at the three, tightening his grip on his blunderbuss. "We will need all the help we can gather, or else the Town will BURN and it's inhabitants all slaughtered!"
Baldwin had tilted his head low in thought before speaking. "I shall go with you to assist but Grovyle and Mia cannot go."
"And why is that? Are they lacking in spine?" The charmander says pointedly.
"No. It is because they need to continue their work to stop the World Paralysis or it won't matter if we stop VVulf's pack of runts."
"If it is that important, then so be it." He says, starting to walk back. "Let's go, Luke."
"But, what is World Paralysis?" Luke asked, shakily standing when Grovyle let him go.
"A theory about what would happen if Time were to ever freeze." A familiar female voice entered the charred clearing, and Rita floating in. "Not many really learn about it."
Baldwin, Grovyle, and Mia all tensed up, expecting a battle.
"Rita." Konstantin said simply. "I have employed this blue dog thing to help aid in the defense of the Town."
"Lucario." Grovyle corrected.
"Whatever." He muttered. "We were just on our way back."
"We also killed another Corrupted, as well." Kon added onto his last sentence. "It seemed to have a ...Collection of Chu heads. It targeted Luke, specifically as well."
"I saw when Baldwin saved him. Speaking of which…" Rita looked over to the corpse before her eyes glowed purple. And the corpse absolutely flattened by a psychic force before being torn to shreds. And then a lighting bolt hit the shreds.
Konstantin gave a nod of approval before Balwin spoke. "How long have you been observing the battle and us?"
"Well, I really just got here when you cut that thing's arms off and felt that I really didn't need to fight. Still, I could have stepped in easily." Rita tilted in the air slightly. "Which leads me to my question. Did you three steal the Time Gear from Treeshroud Forest?"
"... Yes." Grovyle answered honestly. He didn't see a point in lying to her.
"Hm, figures as much. So how'd you guys figure out that the World Paralysis was going to happen? Unless... " Rita floated over and picked up Luke.
"Unless what, Mom?"
"Kon and those three are from the future where time froze." Rita guessed. "Am I right?"
Grovyle shrugged. "Yes, we are."
"That's… But how…" Luke's mind was starting to fry from thinking about the implications. The other could practically see the smoke coming out the pikachu's ears.
"Thought so. Explains why Kon acts so differently." Rita picked up Luke. "Well, we really don't have much time left. We should be getting back before Dusknoir gets suspicious."
The three pokemon from the future tensed up at Dusknoir's name. "Him…" Grovyle growled out.
"I'll flay the fucker alive and screaming, I swear it." The charmander hisses.
Of course, Luke was confused. "Um, what's wrong with Dusknoir? He's a good guy, isn't he?"
Rita just rubbed his head. "We'll get a more in depth answer later but honestly, I've had a bad vibe from him the moment I met him."
"Now~!" She picked up Baldwin and Kon with a Psychic. "We gotta go now~!"
Rita waved to Grovyle and Mia. "Goodbye. See you two later!"
"What!? Desist! Cease! Put me down!" Konstantin bellowed, flailing violently. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
Baldwin just sat there in the air, curious of the effect going on.
"Sorry, Kon. We gotta go fast!" And then, they were off, Rita racing through the trees on her tail, Kon screaming obscenities the entire time.
After they were gone, Mia voiced her thoughts. "Um, did we ever tell them where to meet us again?"
Swampert looked out at the forest, seeing the smoke even closer. He turned around, heading into a tent to get something important on, passing a few pokemon just talking about the future battle.
He sat down in the hut, hands shaking. Then, as he was getting ready, he heard someone arrive. And in a very entertaining way.
"eeeeeeEEEAAAAAAUUUGH-"
CRASH!
CRUNCH!
And lo, for a familiar armored charmander smashed through the roof of the hut, debris scattering in his wake!
As he lay there, face down, he began screaming obscenities into the dirt.
Swampert laughed a little before pulling the former human off the floor. "So, have fun riding Rita Express?"
Bones audibly cracking, Konstantin hauled himself out out of the mud fish's hand, and through his mask, shot Swampert a glare that would likely incinerate the weaker-willed.
The water type just laughed and rubbed Kon's head. "Now get back out there. I got to get my armor on."
The charmander responded by smashing his armored foot into Swampert's shin. Hard. Then he left the tent.
Swampert just rubbed his shin, grinning.
Baldwin looked around Treasure Town with interest as Rita escorted him via Psychic.
It had just been an offhand mention of his condition and suddenly Rita was levitating him and floating towards a building a touch aways from Treasure Town.
They entered, to the sight of Audino setting several medical supplies and some strangely brittle looking bottles out in the open. Then she turned to look at them, still holding a glass beaker.
"... So, I'm guessing he's friends with Konstantin. Did he cut open his skull by accident?" She asked, sounding tired. "I thought it would be harder for a steel type like him to do that."
"I have an affliction, very infectious and invariable kills those who contract it."
Audino sighed before looking to Rita. "Can you leave? If it's anything like Konstantin, he probably has an aversion to having his face seen."
Rita nodded. "I'll be right outside of you need me." She floated out of the building.
He hesitated, paw on his mask after Rita left.
"Boy, take that mask off." Audino ordered. "I have seen plenty of horrible things in my life."
Baldwin gave a sardonic chuckle. "I am 34 years of age."
She bonked him lightly on the head with the empty glass beaker. "I'm a year older, therefore you are a boy to me."
He didn't rub his head but did finally relent, letting the intoxicating air hit his face.
Audino recoiled slightly before the beaker shattered in her grip. "You… whatever doctors you went to before are complete and utter imbeciles!" She roared, turning away from Baldwin to go grab some of the liquids she had out.
"How in the darkest pits of the Void did they miss Leprosy long enough for it to progress that far?!" She ranted as she started mixing something up, Rita peeking in.
"I mean, from what those scientists said, humans are supposed to be technologically far ahead of us but they can't even spot a simple case of Leprosy and treat it in the early stages like a good fucking doctor!"
Audino shoved the beaker of strange liquid into Baldwin's paw. "Drink that, it should kill part of the Leprosy bacteria strain in your body. I can't give you this all the time, due to the fact that we can't kill all the bacteria in your body or else you would die."
"Well, there is some things I should explain about my world." Baldwin spoke up after drinking from the beaker.
Luke felt sore all over but approached the still seething Konstantin. "Kon. I'm sorry about almost dying back there."
"You just need to be ready, Luke." He grumbles back. "I will have to train you."
"Um, right now?" Luke glances at the dark sky, worried over the smoke that was ever closer.
"Later, of course." Konstantin says, hefting his blunderbuss. "Now, I must go rally the Militia."
"Well, not all of them will be here according to mom." Luke muttered, shuddering at the empty feeling of Treasure Town.
"I know, Luke. But those who stay here to defend Treasure Town will need a leader to keep them from panicking and running if things go badly."
He began walking off, with that.
"I intend to be that leader."
Luke looked at his paws, briefly thinking if he was even a good leader.
Any thoughts were cut off by sound of a cannon ball smashing into a building.
A/N
Whelp, this took way too long to make. I mean, I deleted half of it because there was way too much exposition.
Also, Baldwin joins the party!
Zara?
Zaravan : Now it is up to Konstantin's Militia and Rita's friends and allies to save Treasure Town. With staunch determination, victory is plausible, certainly.