Chapter 77
Whisper, Tesla, Fate, Cal rethought his strategy for battling Farin as he walked the halls of the base, dark, bug and electric, and psychic. Three against six.
The odds were not in his favor, but it was the best he could gather. Each of the human Pokémon under his command would be stronger than Farin's twisted monsters, but it was the number of opponents he faced that would prove to be the real challenge of this battle. Farin commanded a full team of six and Cal only knew what half of them were.
Farin's Mightyena, Dusknoir and Crobat were opponents that he could plan for. Each member of his forces had a distinct advantage over at least one of them. Tesla, in particular, could make excellent use of his dual-typing and might even be capable of defeating all three of them.
Since their arrival, Cal knew of two battles that Farin had fought: once against the group that had invaded the base and a second time in the tournament above-ground. Both times he had led with the Mightyena and the Crobat. Cal suspected that Farin didn't even strategize against his opponents. He consistently relied on brute force and his unwavering confidence in his abominations to win his battles. There was no reason to think he would do anything different this time.
That would be Cal's advantage. If Farin did as he predicted it would be easy to exploit his weaknesses. Battles were not fought with brute strength. They were fought with skill and cunning. Cal would soon prove that to Farin. One, simple victory and Cal would command the entire base. From there he could correct Farin's mistakes and put him on trial to answer for what he had done.
Cal strode through the halls, building his confidence, with Fate and Whisper close behind. Fate was silent and obedient, as always, while Whisper whistled aloud, eager for another chance to kill an opponent. That was good. They were both ready. He just needed Lionel and Tesla now.
He made his way past the laboratories and up the stairs to the higher-level offices. Briefly, he considered stopping in the basement. The twisted creatures down there would be easy to control and could help round out his forces. But that would be wrong. Cal wanted to prove that Farin's beasts were inferior to true human Pokémon. Appearing with creatures that were even more beast-like would be the exact opposite.
Instead, he made his way back to his own office, where Lionel and Tesla waited.
He paused outside the door when he heard the conversation on the other side.
"-nowhere you can go?" he recognized Tesla's voice.
"They'd find me if I gave up and went home," Lionel's voice was faint, but Cal could make it out, "and I can't protect my family from these people."
"And your friend…Mark?"
"He said we aren't friends…if we ever were. No, they hate me, now."
"Alright…" Tesla was quiet for a moment, "I suppose, if we ran, I could buy you some time if we split up. They'll chase after me first and I'd be easier to find."
That was interesting.
The two were talking about escaping. They were going to dissert Team Deus and run for their lives. But Cal knew they couldn't. Just as they said, there was nowhere to run and wherever they hid, Team Deus would find them.
Cal smiled to himself. That was certainly information worth having. It told him that they were willing to work together. He could also easily control them both if he knew what they wanted. He would have to consider how best to use that later. For now, their willingness to fight Farin was all he needed.
He opened the door, and pretended not to care about the conversation he was interrupting. He stared down Lionel, who shifted uncomfortably in place. Cal also decided to never trust the boy with an important secret.
"Is he ready?" he nodded towards the human-Galvantula. Tesla was the stronger of the two, but Cal selectively ignored that fact. The more he pretended not to know, the more he could use against them when he needed it.
"Uh, yeah," Lionel nodded, "he's ready."
Cal looked over at Tesla. The human Galvantula's, solid blue eyes narrowed at him. Cal defiantly stared back, unaffected by Tesla's deformities. He had seen much worse than that.
"Alright," Cal nodded his approval, "follow us, then. We're ready."
"Wait, now?!" Lionel gasped.
"Yes, now," Cal rolled his eyes. It was unsettling that the most important piece of his strategy was under the control of this useless boy. "By now Farin will be finishing up his little tournament in the cafeteria. We beat him now, in front of the entire base, they won't even think about following him anymore."
"Well, okay…" Lionel stood up a little straighter. With the boy in tow, Cal turned and left.
Ready or not, this could be Cal's only chance. If he claimed a victory against Farin, then everyone in the base would follow him. If he failed…there was no telling what Farin might do.
Tesla first, Cal went over his strategy one last time as he led his small group down the halls, if he's as strong as they say, he'll get at least two.
He could win. He knew he could. The Mightyena, Crobat and Dusknoir would be easy enough to defeat. But it was those three others that made him uneasy. They could be anything. And there was no telling how strong they were.
Cal heard Farin before he saw him.
"Congratulations to both of you!" Farin was standing on the far right of the cafeteria, his arms spread wide as he addressed the two champions of his small tournament, "you have both fought with skill and determination and will each have direct authority over one-half of the attacking forces! Good luck to you both as the fated day approaches!"
"You mean the fated day when you doom us all?!" Cal called out as he stepped forward into the auditorium-sized cafeteria. Though normally packed with tables and chairs, the room had been cleared to make room for the battles.
"Ah, Cal, so nice of you to join us," Farin immediately stopped paying any attention to his new commanders. That was Cal's first warning sign.
"And I see that you've brought troops of your own," Farin paused to look over Cal's companions, "one would've hoped for better, but a growing army will always welcome volunteers."
"We're not joining your army, Farin," Cal shot back, "this whole plan is insane and you know it is!"
"Is that so?" Farin kept his head down as he began to walk towards the rest of the agents, along the back wall, "perhaps you should ask your fellows if they agree with you." The Pokémon thieves turned soldiers began to whisper to each other. Cal still commanded some respect, but Farin was offering them the chance to be greater than petty thieves and kidnappers. They were torn between the two options, but Cal was clearly losing ground.
"Farin," Cal took a deep breath before beginning, "it takes more than just power to win in a Pokémon battle. Skill, strategy and the intelligence to back it up are far more important. You've seen true human Pokémon battle. They're far more intelligent than those…things, you fight with. Without that intelligence, we're just throwing useless brutes at our enemies. We'll be slaughtered."
He paused, looking around at the men and women he worked beside. Was he reaching any of them?
Cal glanced over at Lionel. The boy was a bit shaken, but his eyes looked determined enough. He would be first. Cal motioned for him to step forward. The boy moved up to the center of the room. The only thing between the boy and Farin was Tesla.
"Farin," Cal concluded his challenge, "we will show you just how insane your ideas are. Team Deus is not ready to start a war! We challenge you to a Pokémon battle for the right to lead this station!"
When Cal was finished, Farin's smile grew wider. That was the second warning Cal had been given. There wasn't a third until it was too late.
"Cal, my dear boy," Farin shook his head and sighed heavily, "I have been far too lenient with you. You question my judgment and undermine my authority right in front of my own troops." He waved back to them. "I suppose that there's no other option but to make an example of you."
That was when Cal realized the truth. His challenge had been expected, even welcomed. If Cal's group lost, then Farin's authority was guaranteed. His soldiers would obey him without question. Farin wanted this battle just as much as Cal did.
But he never anticipated what Farin did next.
"It's a shame, too," Farin went on, "you're a good hunter and quite skilled in battle. But…you must understand," he reached into the pockets of his suit. When he drew his hands back out, each one held three Pokéballs. "We are not going to fight Pokémon battles in this war."
Farin tossed all six of his Pokéballs onto the ground in front of him. With a bright flash, his entire team stood shoulder to shoulder no more than fifty feet away from Tesla. The Mightyena, Crobat and Dusknoir were there, but along with them were a Drapion, a Crawdaunt, and a Toxicroak.
Similar to Tesla, the twisted human Drapion had its own deformities. Several of its teeth were too big for its mouth and a total of four gleaming claws extended from the knuckle of the thumb and pinky finger of each hand. A segmented, scorpion-like tail thrashed behind it and the Drapion's extra limbs were now spiked extensions protruding from his elbows.
The Crawdaunt's hands were difficult to see underneath the large, lobster-claws that encased them. Another set of claws hung on the underside of its forearms. His legs were short and rather stubby and the lobster-tail seemed to hinder his movements even further. A pair of beady eyes with more menace than intelligence surveyed its opponents beneath a star-shaped emblem on its forehead.
Of the three, the Toxicroak appeared to be the least animal-like. However, when Cal looked closely, he could tell there was purple webbing stretching between his fingers. It looked out with a Toxicroak's characteristic sneer.
"Kill them," Farin ordered matter-of-factly.
What followed was over in moments. It wasn't a Pokémon battle. It was chaos.
Whisper was the first to move. Eager to face so many opponents at once, he shot forward with his Suckerpunch and knocked the human Crobat from the air. He did it so quickly that most of Farin's forces took no notice at all.
Fate was rushing forward to lend support to Tesla, but she was too slow. The human Toxicroak appeared in her path and punched her cheek as it finished its own SuckerPunch. Her head twisted to the side and a spattering of blood hit the floor. A moment later, the Dusknoir appeared next to her and knocked her back in the other direction as it completed its Shadow Sneak.
Gasping for breath and her mouth filled with blood, Fate dropped to one knee. She had no choice but to abandon Tesla to whatever it was he was facing in the center of the room. She concentrated her psychic abilities and extended an open palm at the Toxicroak. There were no visual cues to accompany her Psychic attack, but the result was immediate and devastating. The Toxicroak's eyes widened and then glazed over as he struggled to keep his balance. Tiny rivers of blood flowed from both of his nostrils. A split second later, he pitched forward and collapsed in front of Fate.
But her wounds were already too much for the fragile psychic-type. Fearing that she might never find her opportunity to kill Aroma on Cal's behalf, she had no choice but to let her eyes close and fall unconscious on the floor.
As Fate was being brought to her knees, Tesla struggled to stay on his feet and protect Lionel at the same time. The Mightyena, Crawdaunt and Drapion all rushed him simultaneously. There was no way he could defeat them all. But he could certainly hurt them just as much as they would hurt him.
Tesla had no time to warn Lionel, he simply acted. He opened his mouth and let out a high-pitched cacophony of insect-like buzzing noises. The Crawdaunt and the Drapion each hesitated, but the true target was the Mightyena. Tesla focused his Bug Buzz at the twisted dog-like human Pokémon. Its furry hands, so close to being paws, came up and clutched his ears, trying in vain to shut the noise out. But there was no way to stop it and blood began to flow in between his fingers. He collapsed a moment later, leaving Tesla with two opponents.
The human Drapion reached him first. The claws extending from his knuckles began to ooze a thick, purple poison as it slashed at him. Tesla had no time to dodge as the attack raked across his chest, ripping his shirt and causing enough damage to draw a thin line of blood.
His head spinning from the pain, Tesla noticed the Crawdaunt raising its clawed fist in what must have been a Crabhammer. Unable to dodge, he realized that he wouldn't be able to survive another attack.
But the Crabhammer hit nothing but air as Tesla felt himself being pulled backwards, just beyond the reach of his opponent.
At the final moment, Lionel had grabbed his arm and hauled him backwards with as much strength as he could muster. It wasn't much, but Tesla had to stare at the boy, in shock, for a moment.
Cal gaped at the madness as his plan fell to pieces. Two of Farin's twisted creations were down, but so was Fate. Tesla was wounded and surrounded by enemies and Whisper was focused solely on his Crobat. There was already nothing he could do. They had lost.
Whisper cackled in sheer delight as he hit the human Crobat at his feet with a Night Daze. The thing screeched in pain and desperately beat its thin wings against his legs, but he would never let go of it. He had it pinned to the ground with one knee slammed into its stomach. If he let it get away and take to the air, it would be much harder to deal with. No, Whisper was quite happy with the amount of control he currently had.
But the Crobat would not give in so easily. At close range, it spat a thick glob of purple ooze straight at Whisper's chest. The Sludge Bomb exploded across Whisper, who grimaced against the pain, but kept his grip on the Crobat firm.
His face filled with rage as he looked down at the pathetic, twisted creature. It was time to put it out of its misery.
"I have had enough of you!" Whisper snarled. He planted his foot on the Crobat's chest. He grasped hold of each wing at the shoulder, right above where they connected into its back. They twitched quickly in his grasp, but the struggling was pointless.
Keeping the Crobat pinned to the ground with his left leg, Whisper stood up and pulled at the wings. At first, nothing happened, but Whisper continued to strain himself until he felt what he wanted. After another moment, there was a soft popping sound as the bones of each wing disconnected from the shoulder. Then, skin and sinew tore loose as the wings themselves began to tear off. Whisper tossed them aside as he claimed his first kill in far too long.
He didn't notice Farin smiling at his brutality.
Two, just two, Tesla thought for just a moment. But two became three as a blow to the head made him see stars for a split second. A Dusknoir had appeared to help its comrades.
"Lionel, get back," he ordered the boy behind him.
"What are you-?"
"Just do it!"
No matter what, Tesla would never let another human be hurt by his electricity.
His body began to spark and even make sizzling noises as he gathered the energy. The Crawdaunt and the Drapion hesitated, giving him the key moments he needed to get it ready. They would come together, so he could only get one. He aimed for the Crawdaunt.
When they leapt at him, Tesla released all of his electricity in a column of glowing bluish-yellow lightning. A thunderclap echoed throughout the room as Tesla's Thunder shot forward and lifted the Crawdaunt off of its feet. It rocketed straight across the room and slammed into the wall, before crumpling in a heap. Its body began to spasm, but unlike Whisper, Tesla had no wish to kill his opponent.
Two opponents had fallen to him. It was the best he could've hoped for in such a horrific battle. He hardly felt the claws of the human Drapion slash across his chest. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
"Dammit!" Whisper cursed when he turned to look behind him, "Do I have to do everything myself?" He studied the Drapion and the Dusknoir. Neither was hurt and both of them looked just as strong as the Crobat. The Dusknoir would be easy alone, but with the Drapion alongside it…
"Stop," Farin held up his hand as he looked at the devastation.
"What?" Cal called out, shocked by the command.
"I will give you this last chance, Cal," Farin spoke calmly, "you've lost. Stop now and I'll let you live. If not…none of you will leave this room."
"Hey!" Whisper yelled to be heard, "he doesn't control me! No one does! He lost! I didn't! We are not done!"
Farin considered the Zoroark. He had heard that Zoroark could shape-change, but this one hadn't. He thought that was rather curious. What was even more interesting was how he was willing to keep fighting to his inevitable death. Even more interesting than that was how much he had enjoyed murdering the Crobat. This was the kind of soldier Farin wanted in his army.
"What is your name?" Farin ignored Cal and talked directly to the Zoroark.
"Whisper," he told him, "what of it?"
"Do you like being on the winning side, Whisper?" Farin asked him.
"Doesn't everyone?"
"Heheh, good answer…" Farin grinned deeply, "You see, I need strong, motivated soldiers, like yourself. It'd be a shame if I have to make an example of you, as well."
Whisper considered the offer. If he fought, he'd die for something he didn't care about. More than that, there was a long list of people he had promised revenge on that wouldn't get it. He was also about to join up with someone who was just as crazy as he was. He liked that idea.
"Alright," Whisper agreed, "I got the kill I was promised. Just don't try to put me back into a Pokéball. I belong to no one but myself."
"Very well," Farin nodded, "welcome aboard, Whisper." He recalled all of his human Pokémon; all but the body of the Crobat that now lay in a broken, bloody heap.
"Cal!" Farin called out. The defeated hunter jerked as he was called to attention. "Clean this up and get back to work. I hope you learned your lesson. War is not a Pokémon battle. I am not challenging them to a fair fight. In three days, I will unleash Hell upon that tournament!"
AN: hmm…can't think of anything to add…
oh, and sorry if i haven't been able to respond to messages and such. work may go nuts again soon, so, keep your fingers crossed. hopefully Day 6 will be over by the time the story's two-year anniversary comes around. yay.
Anyways, thanks for reading!