A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D
20 - Run
The Heretics scattered through what remained of their little town. Buildings blazed as flames consumed the wooden walls and thatched roofs. Winged shadows flitted about, dancing erratically over the rocky ground and hilltops. Screams filled the air, drumming against large ears as they warred with the high chirrups of the bat-like pokemon.
Echo shouted his commands, directing his swarm as they broke off, dropping burning branches onto the buildings that were yet to be destroyed. The Heretics didn't put up much of a fight. They knew they were in a losing battle. Their numbers were too few, and they had too many hatchlings to care for. The females had fled first, leaving the males behind to fight the noibat swarm. They fell quickly. Too many wings, claws and jaws to deal with. It had been pathetic, really.
Echo circled the largest building in the town. The one that he didn't want destroyed. It had stood out to him, being the only one built from stone. It reeked of dust, and the windows had been blocked up with flimsy wooden planks that had begun to rot around the iron thorns holding them in place. Trickles of rust ran down them, washed there by years of rain. The Heretics clearly didn't use it.
He had lead his swarm through three towns and villages before they'd found any hint of a library. This was the closest he'd come across, and he had a strong feeling it was what they were looking for.
The noibat swarm had chased what remained of the Heretics away, and Echo screeched out another command to part the swarm, sending a sizable number after them. Those that remained doubled back to join him, led by Rumble.
Echo dropped down to the ground, scrabbling on all-fours as he surveyed the walls and door for some way inside. The painted sign above the door was hard to read, faded from years and years of rain and sun. But it vaguely signalled that the building was indeed a library, or had been at some time. Had the Heretics boarded it up? Or had the Outcasts? If Echo were to guess, it would have been done to prevent the Darkness having somewhere to hide in their town. It had probably also been completely emptied, but he wasn't going to pass up a chance like that. If it was empty, he had a terrible feeling that it would take them ages to find another. Where else was he meant to find a book about the cocoon?
He lifted his head, keeping both eyes on the door before him. Huge planks of wood were nailed across it, preventing any means for them to open it without blasting through with their attacks. And that would probably destroy any information that was situated too close to the door.
"I need you all to circle this place," he said. "Find some way-"
The swarm flew into a panic and blades of wind skimmed his ears. It was followed by a grunt, and Echo was caught in a tight, hairy grip. His assailant bowled over him, and Echo dug his canines into a thick, shaggy neck. He lashed out with his wings and claws, drawing a pained roar from his assailant. The pair tumbled along the ground, each one trying to get the upper claw. The rest of the swarm rose up in a frenzy, ceasing their attacks for fear of catching their leader. All but one.
Rumble swooped down towards them, raking his claws along the larger pokemon's back. A blade of air followed, ripping up bloody fur. The large pokemon lashed out with one arm, knocking the noibat from the air. It was all the break Echo needed.
He tore free and opened his mouth wide, letting out a terrible screech. It amplified in his large ears, blowing the slaking away from him. The rest of the swarm swooped in, tearing at the Heretic while his guard was down. The sloth pokemon's cries soon ceased, and he fell into a motionless heap, his lips pulled back in an eternal sneer.
Echo stood hunched, his wings draped at his sides. He tried to catch his breath, to say something. But a sudden shock of pain spread down his spine and he dropped to the floor with a cry. The swarm rose into the air in a panic, but it soon stilled. They settled beneath the thatched roof of the library or circled in the sky, keeping a watchful eye on their downed captain.
The pain was only brief, but it felt like it lasted an eternity. Echo pushed himself back up on his wing-claws, trembling. A long tail swept through the dust behind him and he craned his neck back to examine it. His lips curled up in a smirk and he stood up taller. So he'd finally evolved?
He turned his eyes onto his swarm who were eyeing him with admiration. They then returned to their duty, rising up in a cloud and sweeping around the library to find an entry point. Something shuffled behind him and he turned sharply towards the slaking. Surely he wasn't still alive? Echo's wings drooped as he spotted another noivern standing over it, nudging the fallen pokemon with his foot. The dragon pokemon met Echo's eyes and a glimmer of amusement crossed his inferior's face.
Rumble…
Echo's entire body trembled with rage and he launched himself at the other noivern, ramming him up against a wooden wall. He wrapped his fangs around Rumble's neck, drawing a frightened squeak from the other dragon. Flames crackled around them both, and embers trickled down from the blazing thatch roof.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Echo's voice came out muffled by Rumble's fur. "There's only meant to be one noivern in this swarm, and it's me!"
Rumble flailed his wings as he struggled away, but Echo tightened his grip on his throat.
"Boomer never chose a successor!" Rumble choked.
Echo released the other noivern, and Rumble ducked away from him. He hunched over, cowering behind his wing as Echo towered over him, wings spread. Orange light danced over his dark fur, and his shadow drowned Rumble, making Echo look a lot bigger than he actually was.
Echo bared his bloody canines. "He was going to choose me."
A few excited shrieks came from the library, and Echo turned his head towards it. Noibat exploded from one of the windows, now void of its rotten barrier. Two of them carried something in their talons, their wings catching on one another as they struggled to carry it towards him. They dropped the book at his feet and one of them swept back beneath the library's roof. The other stood beside the book, winding his claws together.
Echo grabbed the book in his wing talons and scanned the worn cover. It wasn't damp, despite the library's exterior. The writing was somewhat archaic, but he could make out the title; 'Legends of Estellis'.
"This is just a book of hatchling tales," he muttered.
The small noibat nodded and raised a claw. "But it does have a picture of a cocoon near the end."
Echo raised an eyebrow at the noibat and flicked the book open at the end. It was mostly pictures, laced with text that was much too archaic for him to read. But from the looks of things it was a children's story. The last two pages depicted a black dragon being overcome by light, reducing it to a strange, jagged cocoon. The final page showed the cold season drawing in, and the cocoon lying amid a bed of snow.
"That's all well and good," Echo grumbled. "But it tells us nothing of where it is! If anything, it only makes me wonder if this is nothing more than a mere myth!"
He dropped the book back to the floor, and the noibat skittered backwards before it landed on his head.
"Search inside for some more information!" Echo commanded, stirring the swarm into action. "Anything! I don't want to have to continue this tedious search for a library!"
The smaller bat cleared his throat and wound his claws together, looking between the book and his leader. "But the snow… doesn't that… mean it could be somewhere cold?"
"Most of Estellis gets covered in snow during the cold season," Echo grumbled. "This could be nothing more than artistic symbolism."
"All but the south." Rumble's voice was hoarse and he rubbed his bloodied throat with his claws.
Echo fixed him with a sneer, but then a cruel idea lit up in his mind. He gave the other noivern a wicked grin and straightened, causing Rumble to flinch back from him.
"So that rules out the south then," said Echo. "What about the north? What if our fabled cocoon is buried somewhere at the very top of Estellis?""
"The Shadow Lands?" Rumble glanced away from him briefly. Only briefly, fearing a blind attack. "But we've already looked there."
"No. Further north." Echo waved a wing in the vague direction of the Shadow Lands. "Where it snows."
"The Shadow Mountain Peaks?" Rumble gasped.
Echo's grin broadened. "For starters."
Rumble gulped. "But it's too close to the Ice Continent. We'd freeze!"
Echo shrugged his wings. "Not if you find the cocoon first."
Rumble stood up straighter and gave Echo a dumbfounded look. "Me?"
"You want to lead this swarm so badly," said Echo. "So you take half and search the Shadow Mountain Peaks. I'll take the other half to search other areas prone to snow. The Rolling Hills, for example."
"Why should I go north?" Rumble scoffed. "You're the leader, so you take the frozen places!"
"Oh, so I'm the leader now?" Echo took a step closer to Rumble so they were nose to nose. Rumble cowered back from him, trembling. "You've always tried to one-up me, Rumble. If you're so desperate to prove you're better than me, then you'll go to those mountains. Maybe even head all the way to the Ice Continent?"
Rumble gulped audibly at that suggestion.
Echo stood back, letting Rumble right himself.
Rumble shook out his wings and flashed a canine. "All right then. But if I find that cocoon, I take leadership."
Echo gave him an unfriendly grin. "Fine by me."
Rumble turned to address the swarm. "Half of you, with me!"
The swarm hesitated, chattering among themselves under their breath. A few popped up in the library's open window, squinting out at Rumble as he tried to stand taller than their leader.
Echo cut before Rumble and sneered at the noibat swarm. "Half of you are to go with Rumble! Now choose among yourselves, or I'll choose for you!"
The swarm rose into chaos, flocking into the sky. Every other noibat broke away, going in opposite directions. One flocked around Rumble, and the noivern lead his half of the swarm away from the burning village.
Echo turned to look down at the noibat still by his feet, clutching the book in his wings. "You. Follow him. And if he discovers so much as a rumour on this cocoon's location, report back to me immediately."
The noibat saluted and took off after Rumble, blending into the swarm.
...
Harbinger was beginning to question his sanity.
Something had called out to him in that burning Heretic building. A nagging voice. Something tearing at his conscience. Something he seriously didn't understand.
He raced through the shadows of the trees, clutching two bags in his jaws by the straps. They thumped against his chest as he bounded through the trees with Scratch and Claw in tow. One of the bags sported a Guild badge, the other had a horrid sharp toxic scent to it. He knew they belonged to those pokemon he saw the Heretics capture. They'd left without them during the panic. He'd assumed they belonged to the meowstic and whimsicott, but he'd assumed wrongly. That deadly scent belonged to none other than that zorua. The one they had in their custody.
His lips curled back with disgust and he choked on that rotten smell. The desire to drop them both and forget about them warred in his mind, sparring against whatever was urging him on. A deep feeling that he must return them. It confused him greatly. The scent of the pokemon they belonged to was fading beyond the smell of various poisons, but it was still there. Not washed away by rain… yet.
Scratch and Claw said nothing, not wanting to probe the absol. A wise move. He didn't have any answer for them. He didn't even have one for himself. But deep down, buried in his confusion, was the burning fear that what he was doing could only result in disaster.
Or that if he didn't do it, the disaster would be even greater…
...
Cleo stepped out into the courtyard and stretched, letting the sun warm her fur. The abbey had provided a safe place to sleep, sheltered from the outside. But it hadn't been warm. Drafts had swept in from the open window, and whistled through cracks in the mortar. She'd huddled together with Spark and Mischief for warmth, while Harlequin had curled up into a tight ball beneath the window.
Spark raised her paws above her head until her spine gave a little pop. "Ahh! I slept like a log!" She licked her lips and stood on tiptoe to stare across the courtyard. "I could really use some breakfast now, though."
"I think we all could," said Cleo rubbing her stomach. "But unfortunately we're still without our supplies."
Spark deflated and her tail hung limp behind her. "Don't remind my stomach of such a fate!" She paused and looked over her shoulder at Harlequin. "What? No nasty retort?"
The zorua wasn't listening. They pawed at the fallen leaves, uncovering a spray of colourful flowers. A sweet perfume rose up from them with every sweep of the zorua's paw.
Spark twitched her nose at them as she cautiously approached the zorua. "They're wildflowers."
"I know what they are," Harlequin scoffed. "It's just, they weren't here yesterday."
"Flowers do that," said Spark bluntly. "They pop up out of nowhere, splashing the world with brilliant colour!" The dedenne beamed with delight. "I love flowers. They're so spontaneous."
"And it doesn't bother you that it's almost the cold season?"
Spark shrugged and hopped up onto Cleo's shoulder. "Maybe they're a late blooming variety?"
"I find that hard to believe." Harlequin followed them across the courtyard. "It's been much too cold for flowers recently."
"We're more south than your home, Harlequin," Spark went on. "I've seen flowers in the cold season before now."
"Oh look!" Mischief pointed a paw towards a slender tree growing by the wall ahead of them. "Berries!"
With that, he was gone, drifting up into the branches. Cleo and Spark blinked with bewilderment. Adorning the branches were hundreds of red baubles glistening in the sun.
"Okay." Harlequin sat down beside Cleo and fixed a blue eye on Spark. The zorua's voice wavered slightly. "Cheri berries this time of year? Tell me that isn't strange."
"All right fine. You've got me there." Spark watched Mischief drift down to the floor to set the berries beneath the tree. "But I'm not gonna turn my nose up at them! This girl's hungry and cheri berries are my favourite!"
Spark shot from Cleo's shoulder, leaving the meowstic and zorua to stare gob-smacked at the rapidly growing pile of cheris.
Cleo raised a paw. "Wait, Spark!"
The dedenne paused with a berry hovering by her wide-open mouth. She swivelled her eyes towards Cleo and her ears drooped.
Cleo turned to Harlequin and motioned towards the berries. "I think you should go first."
Harlequin's lips curled back from their canines and the fur rose along their hackles. But when Cleo didn't back down, Harlequin sighed and shook their head before moving towards the berries. The assassin gave them a quick sniff then snatched one up, swallowing it in two bites.
"They're fine," Harlequin mumbled before selecting another. "Great, actually."
Cleo nodded at Spark, and the dedenne tucked into her chosen berry with relish.
Cleo joined them beside Mischief. The berries were perfectly ripe, a delicious surprise at this time of year. Cleo found herself wondering why the tree had them, especially so many, while the days were growing shorter and colder. But, like Spark, she wasn't going to decline a good meal.
Once they'd had their fill, they searched the wall for a way out, not wanting to go back the way they'd come perchance the murkrow were still lurking. They came across an iron gate standing amid crumbling stone. The ivy had grown down around it, tangling through the ornate iron bars. Once the ivy was torn free, it took both Cleo and Mischief to shove it open. Small fragments of stone broke free from around it, raining down around them. The gate creaked loudly on its hinges, protesting at the sudden effort to be opened after many years.
Beyond the gate was a huge overgrown plain stretching off on all sides. Not quite a moor or a meadow, but something in between. Cleo blinked with surprise. She'd been expecting to see the forest continuing on, but this side of the abbey was like a whole new world. She'd never heard of it, let alone seen it. Without her map, she had no idea of working out where they even were.
The grass grew up to her waist, masking the stone path that lead from the gate. The cool stone on her paws was the only indication it was there. Berry trees and bushes poked through the meadow in a uniform fashion, their branches bare of any fruit. The razz and rawst bushes had gone out of control, tangling their way through the grass as they sought to overtake it.
"This looks like it once served as the abbey's orchard," said Cleo.
"Yeah." Spark stretched her neck out of Cleo's ruff for a better look. "Imagine what it must look like when it's in season?"
"One can only imagine," said Cleo. "It makes me question that cheri tree even more."
Harlequin shuffled beside them and glanced back at the abbey gate.
As curious as Cleo was about Harlequin's uncertainty, she didn't question it. Keeping her ears open, Cleo pressed on through the grass, her feet snagging over an unseen wiry plant that seemed insistent on weaving its way through the grass. Every now and then she spotted it poking up over the grass before vanishing back beyond the blades. The stems were sticky, and bristly green burrs clung to her fur whenever she passed it. She tried to swiped them off, but they only took over her paw instead, leaving her to bite them free and spit them back into the grass. After a while, she gave up.
"I'm going to miss that abbey," said Mischief sadly. "It felt welcoming and safe."
Spark nodded. "Despite falling to bits, it did feel oddly safe."
"I liked the stories," Mischief went on. "They made the world feel a little less dark for a while."
Cleo turned her head to look back at him. He trailed behind Harlequin out of harm's way, but he hadn't lost the spring in his step. Cleo felt a little lighter, and she wondered if he'd forgiven her for keeping back what she knew about him.
She turned back to where they were heading and focused on moving forward. As safe as the abbey seemed, this was an open grassland. There were less places to hide. In the dark it would be a whole lot more dangerous than within the trees.
Something caught her eye to her right and she looked up in time to see something large arcing through the air towards them.
"Scatter!" she yelped.
The group split off in all directions as whatever it was landed right where she'd been standing with a thump. Harlequin groaned and flipped themselves back onto their feet. Cleo pushed herself up and turned towards the object.
Bags… two of them. She did a small double-take. They couldn't be, surely?
Mischief was the first to examine them. He held up the strap of one and looked up at Cleo.
"I think this is yours," he said. "It has a Guild badge."
Cleo took it gingerly and flipped it open. Inside was a selection of berries, slightly bruised; the stone she'd taken off Harlequin; all her gold, and her rolled-up map. Nothing had been touched.
Wait… if this was her bag, then-!
She dropped it and stood up straight, turning towards Harlequin. The zorua was two feet away from her, snarling at Mischief. The whimsicott stood just out of reach with the other bag hanging from his shoulder. Cleo hadn't seen or heard anything go down between the two, but at least Mischief had thought faster than she had.
Spark tutted as she frowned at Harlequin's bag. "I thought we'd lost that in the fire, but no! We just can't get rid of the ruddy thing!"
Cleo let out a sigh of relief and gathered her own belongings. "I thought the fire would have destroyed it, at least." She paused as she double-checked the contents of her bag. "It looks like everything is still in here."
Harlequin's ear twitched back towards her and the zorua turned to address Cleo.
"So?" said Harlequin. "Where is it?"
"Where's what?" Cleo asked.
"My pendant!"
"Oh." Cleo tapped her satchel, hesitating.
This only served to rile Harlequin further. The zorua took a step towards her, both ears pricked upright and trained on the meowstic.
"I want to know it's alright," Harlequin growled. "Now show me!"
Cleo met the zorua's striking blue eyes and they narrowed menacingly. Sharp canines poked from between black lips, and the fur bristled along the fox-like pokemon's spine.
"You enjoy this, don't you?!" Harlequin hissed. "Just give it back to me!"
Cleo stared back at the seething zorua, and a low growl formed in the back of Harlequin's throat. That strange pendant… why did it cause the zorua to react in such a way? When Harlequin had realised it had gone missing, they'd despaired. Those words… 'It was all I had left.'
When Cleo had fled her home, all she'd had was Spark. No memento of her family. Just memories of them. Some fond, some terrifying as they dropped her from a burning window to flee. Memories of howling flames burning up her home.
Then there was Harlequin, clutching onto a strange stone with some unknown, personal meaning. Was it really just a memento?
Cleo slipped her paw into her bag and dragged the stone out, letting it hang from her paw on its black thong. The sunlight reflected off its clear surface, showcasing the black and white coil within it. Harlequin's eyes immediately snapped to it, flashing blue flames. The zorua lunged towards Cleo, fastening their jaws around the gold ring that held the orb in place. Cleo let the string slide through her claws to hang limply from Harlequin's jaws.
The rage melted from Harlequin's face as confusion took over, and the stone hit the grass with a soft thud. The zorua looked between the stone and Cleo a few times before finally asking, "You're giving it back?"
Cleo shrugged. "It's yours, and it clearly means a lot to you."
"Yes…" Harlequin looked back down at it and placed a paw over the clear stone. "It does."
The zorua gave Cleo a cautious look then stooped to grab the thong in their jaws. They weaved their snout through it and the pendant hung down over their ruff, almost hidden in the thick, shaggy fur.
Harlequin looked away from her and mumbled, "Thank you."
Cleo felt a jolt of surprise, and beside her Spark choked on a berry she'd scavenged from their bag.
Cleo popped the dedenne back on her shoulder and glanced down at the fidgeting zorua. "You're welcome."
The meowstic cast another look around at the wide open plain. Far ahead of them stood a row of trees, marking the entrance to another stretch of woodland. How dense it was, Cleo couldn't tell from where they were. But it was as good a destination as any. She pressed on towards it, and a tug came from her bangle as Harlequin was forced to fall in step, lagging along behind them. They walked in silence for a while, their paws snagging on the snaking goosegrass as it wound its invisible path through the grass.
"I really don't know what it is." Harlequin's voice broke the silence and Cleo glanced down at them.
The zorua walked at her side, their head held low.
"The orb," Harlequin went on. "I don't know what it is. It's just a keep-sake. It belonged to a friend, so I keep it for memories. But if it's special like those pictures showed, I've no idea."
"That must be nice," said Mischief. "I don't have anything like that. Not even memories."
Harlequin opened their mouth to reply, but whatever it was died on their tongue. The zorua's ears twitched and they turned to look back as a conflicted look crossed their face. A strange combination of elation and terror. The former faded too quickly, and they took on a defencive posture - forelegs spread and head held low, ears trained on something in the distance. Prepared to fight or flee.
Cleo followed the zorua's eyes as they wandered across the wide plain, searching for something unseen. Then Cleo heard it. A soft jingling just audible over the rustling grass. She'd never heard it herself before, but all Guild members needed to be aware of such a sound since it meant only one thing.
Enigma.
Cleo's heart began to race. Ordinarily the wise thing to do when being pursued by an assassin would be to flee. But flee where? Enigma was no ordinary assassin. Nothing that cast a shadow was safe. The trees, buildings… Cleo's eye wandered down to her own shadow, stretching back towards the abbey. Her entire mouth turned dry.
She twisted and turned, looking for somewhere - anywhere - to hide. But ghost-types were notorious. A solid object was no barrier. Currently their only option was to spot his movement then they'd turn and run the other way.
"Well, what do you know." The voice was like velvet, almost a purr. One that chilled Cleo straight to the very core. "I found you."
She turned her head slowly, back towards the orchard. Leaning against an oran tree, grinning like a cheshire cat, was a banette. He folded his arms across a heavy, black scarf and inclined his head on one side.
"Four little pokemon out in the open with nowhere to hide." A strange, playful glint reflected in his crimson eyes. "You make this too easy for me."
"What? Four?" Harlequin's ears drooped slightly. "Enigma, you've got the wrong idea! I'm not with them!"
"Really?" Enigma's grin dissolved and he leered at the zorua. "Then what exactly are you doing, Harle? Leading them to Hydreigon?" He waved a paw towards the distant trees. "Because you're going the wrong way."
"You don't understand!" Harlequin barked. "I'm not with them by choice!"
Enigma raised an eyebrow, and a fleeting thought crossed Cleo's mind. Say nothing. If he believes Harlequin is with them and takes them out, then that's just one less assassin to worry about. Let the zorua be a distraction.
But Cleo's mouth had other ideas, and she found herself saying, "We don't care for your presence either, Harlequin."
"Not remotely!" added Spark.
Enigma looked up at the dedenne perched on Cleo's shoulder.
"She's felt my electricity enough times already due to her stinking attitude!" Spark continued, a little too proudly.
Harlequin shot the dedenne a glare.
Enigma returned to the zorua and a smirk tugged at his lips. "Yet you've stuck by them all this way?"
"They forced me to!" Harlequin yelled. "It's this stinking collar-"
"Excuses."
Harlequin sank slightly and bared their canines.
This was it. While the pair were distracted, Cleo and her friends had their chance. Enigma was a ghost-type, which meant unlike most of the Darkness he didn't resist her psychic attacks. She, however, was weak against his attacks. She had to time this carefully.
"They really have captured me," Harlequin explained. "They're dragging me along. I haven't been able to escape."
Enigma's shoulders rose with a sigh.
"Come on, Enigma!" Harlequin went on. "You should know me better than this! We've been friends for years!"
Enigma's eyes flashed and he pushed back from the tree. "Enough!"
Harlequin leapt back a step and their ears swivelled back.
The banette chuckled and hid his face in a paw. "You're delusional. Whatever made you think we were friends?"
Harlequin's jaw dropped as they stuttered over a reply. Their blue eyes were wet with tears which they tried to blink back.
Enigma lowered his paw to continue jabbing at the zorua, the Outcasts seemingly ignored.
Cleo decided to take the chance. She unfurled her ears, but her psychic bubble imploded on thin air. Searing pain shot up her back as Enigma leapt out from the shadows behind her.
"Cleo!" Spark shouted.
The dedenne left her shoulder in a streak of electricity. Spark's whiskers crackled and she aimed a thunderbolt at the banette. Mischief pirouetted away from the ghost, sending an energy ball towards him. Enigma melted back into Cleo's shadow, and the two attacks collided where he'd been standing.
Spark yelped as he erupted from the ground below her, raking her with his claws. He followed it up with a flick of the wrist, and a shadow ball exploded off her tiny body. The dedenne rolled away into the grass, out of sight.
Cleo wailed, stretching out a paw towards her companion. She tried to stand, but her back complained with the effort. One of Mischief's energy balls soared past her ears to explode against a pecha tree, tearing away the bark. Cleo managed to stagger to her feet, her ears humming. She turned towards the battle, and Enigma, noticing her back on her feet, leapt backwards from her and tossed a shadow ball, striking her in the stomach at point-blank range. Cleo landed hard on her back with a grunt. She felt a heavy weight land on top of her, and she opened her eyes to find the banette grinning down at her. Her arms were pinned to the floor by his knees, and he let out a sinister chuckle.
"I've always been told there's more than one way to skin a cat," he purred, examining his claws. "I wonder how many there are, really? I mean, I was only told to bring the whimsicott back alive, so I might as well experiment a little."
Cleo's heart leapt into her throat, and psychic energy hummed in her ears. She unfurled them, but Enigma was fast. He grabbed both her ears and held them shut, blocking her attack. Cleo flinched and her eyes widened as the hum intensified, reverberating throughout her head. Each pulsing hum caused her head to throb with pain. A loud, feline wail left her throat and she tried to wriggle free as her entire body flew into a blind panic.
He released her suddenly, and her ears flew open, sending an explosion of psychic energy into the air that missed Enigma by a hair's breadth. Enigma lurched back from her as two brown arms latched around his shoulders. The banette turned translucent and slipped free, pirouetting and lashing with his claws. Mischief skipped back from him, nimbly dodging, but he didn't take his eyes off the assassin. The whimsicott's expression was livid. His paws lit up green and he flicked them at Enigma. The banette vanished into the ground, and Mischief's energy ball soared harmlessly through the air where he'd been standing. The whimsicott turned his eyes to the floor to try and spot the assassin, and a yell left his throat as Enigma leapt up behind him. But Mischief didn't fall. He followed the banette with his strange trademark flurry of dazzling light. Enigma strafed aside just in time and launched a shadow ball at the whimsicott, bowling Mischief head over tail into a tangle of brambles.
No… they were dropping like flies. At this rate…
Cleo readied a psychic attack, but her head pulsed with the effort. She placed a paw beneath her right ear and staggered sideways into a tree. Enigma's eyes lit up with amusement, and he flicked his paw, sending another shadow ball her way. Cleo didn't have the strength to dodge. It struck her in the stomach and she crumpled into the grass.
Enigma turned to Harlequin and all amusement left his face. The zorua took a step back. They'd watched the whole thing unfold, not sure where to go or how to act. Harlequin cast a glance around at the fallen Outcasts then turned to run away, but as soon as the zorua reached the end of their confines their back feet raced out from beneath them and they landed flat on their back.
In an instant Enigma was on Harlequin, pinning the zorua to the floor.
"Enigma, no!" Harlequin wailed, kicking out with their back legs. "I'm not your enemy!"
Enigma's claws wound into the thick ruff around Harlequin's neck, and the zorua's eyes turned frantic. Harlequin opened their mouth to fire a dark pulse, failing. Instead, they let out a desperate wail.
"Get off me!"
Harlequin landed three consecutive kicks to Enigma's gut, and the banette grunted. But he didn't fall back. Instead, he latched onto the collar with his claws and tugged, jerking Harlequin's head from the grass.
Harlequin's frantic eyes snapped open, fixing on his. "Wh-what are you doing? Let me go!"
The zorua struck him with another kick, and Enigma flinched. He gave the zorua's collar a firm shake, drawing their eyes back to his.
"Cut that out! I'm trying to free you!" Enigma spat as he twisted the collar in his paws. His face distorted with confusion and he gave the collar another hefty tug.
Harlequin yelped as they were once again yanked from the floor. "You can't. Only the meowstic can remove it."
Enigma tutted and cast the unconscious Cleo a sideways glance.
"Then brace yourself, Harle." Enigma released the zorua and stood back. His claws radiated an eerie shadowy energy and he stared down at Harlequin. "I'm going to have to destroy it."
Harlequin screwed their eyes shut, bracing themselves for the inevitable impact.
A shrill shriek rent the air and Harlequin snapped their eyes back open as a fuzzy cannonball collided with Enigma's back. The pair went soaring overhead, landing with a thud in the long grass. Harlequin flipped themselves onto their feet and stared in horror as Mischief pinned Enigma to the floor, beating at him with his paws. Enigma tried to wrestle the maniacal whimsicott off, but the grass-type fought back, an unmoving force that seemed oblivious to Enigma's raking, shadowy claws. If anything, the attacks only made Mischief more insistent.
"No!" Harlequin cried. "Get off him! Leave him alone!"
Enigma grabbed Mischief by the horns and dragged him sideways. The pair rolled through the grass until Mischief took control once more. He let out an explosion of high-pitched, maniacal laughter and continued his assault. Enigma's last-ditch effort was to reduce his density and slip away.
But it failed.
He was trapped beneath the crazed whimsicott's body.
Harlequin shook their head slowly, taking a step towards them. The collar tugged and Harlequin swore under their breath. They turned back towards the fallen meowstic and closed their eyes briefly.
"Oi! Get up!" Harlequin demanded, rushing to Cleo's side. "He's going to kill him!"
No response. Harlequin's cries had fallen on deaf ears. Harlequin turned and ran in the direction they'd seen Spark fall, but once again they were forced to stop, and Harlequin almost landed flat on their face.
"Spark!" Harlequin wailed. "Get up! Paralyse him! Do something!"
Harlequin lifted their head towards the battle. Mischief still had the upper paw, laughing with each strike of his bloody paws. Enigma flailed helplessly, weakly.
He was giving up.
Harlequin leapt back to their feet and raced back towards Cleo, tears stinging their eyes.
"Cleo!" Harlequin gasped, coming to a stop by the meowstic's head. "Do something! Help him!"
Cleo didn't so much as twitch a whisker.
Harlequin sat heavily, closing their blue eyes. Tears trickled over their black fur. "Please… I can't lose him too…"
A flash of light made Harlequin look back up. Cleo lay propped on one elbow, her ears unfurled and humming with energy. Mischief wailed with protest as he hovered several feet above Enigma's beaten body.
Enigma pushed himself up, grimacing with the effort, and looked between the frantic whimsicott and Cleo's glowing eyes.
Cleo took a deep, steadying breath and met the banette's confused stare. "Run."
Enigma pushed himself to his feet, and with one last look at the enraged whimsicott, he turned and ran. After a few feet, he vanished into thin air.
Cleo knew she couldn't hold Mischief for long. Her strength was rapidly failing. She waited a few more seconds until all strength left her, and she flopped back to the ground, her head spinning.
An enraged shriek spread across the grasslands as Cleo lost consciousness.
...
Harbinger had watched everything.
His plan had been to move around the edge of the plain, keeping his nose on Harlequin's trail. He'd expected all of them to lose to Enigma. He hadn't expected the whimsicott to fly into a blind fury. Nor had he expected Enigma to come out of that alive. For some reason, the meowstic had spared the assassin. In his state, he'd be easy to pick off.
But now the whimsicott had its eyes on its allies. An enraged, screeching ball of fury.
There was madness in its eyes. Madness Harbinger recognised. It was the same as that tyranitar. Project B.
Harbinger recalled Rio's words. A desire to make a start on 'Project C'. The whimsicott.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to free all those captives? He hadn't expected them to pose this level of threat.
The zorua stood between the meowstic and the crazed pokemon, baring their canines. An unmoving barrier, bristling with fear and rage.
So the zorua was willing to give their live for an Outcast? Giving one's life at all was noble for an assassin. But this?
Surely the zorua would die, and then the whimsicott would be free to savage those who called him a friend. Harbinger could not allow that. The thought of the whimsicott killing Harlequin before Harbinger had the chance made his blood boil.
So far, from what Harbinger had seen, the whimsicott was still in control of its faculties. If the madness would wear off like it had previously, then all it needed was a little distraction.
Harbinger bared his own canines and crept through the tall grass towards the group. His paws made barely a sound over the grass, not that he could have been heard over the racket. Once he was within range, Harbinger opened his jaws and fired a dark pulse right at the back of the whimsicott's head.
The enraged pokemon twisted his neck towards Harbinger. The absol made sure he was spotted and bolted, drawing the whimsicott away from the Outcasts and the unfortunate assassin.
Whether or not Harlequin had seen him, he'd deal with that later. For now, he had to outrun the crazed pokemon hot on his tail.
...
Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D
