So in case some of you didn't notice, I had edited in Hyato's part of Chapter 12. The reason why was because I was told by Du Mar to just post it anyway, and I did. And then he gives me the parts with Hyato later and I re-post the entire thing, since I couldn't find the already stored copy of it. I didn't mean to spam anyone's inbox, so please forgive me if that happened. ~Veloran
Don't forgive me, I made him do it. ~Du Mar
Chapter Thirteen: No Rest for the Weary
Shinryu yawned loudly as he opened his eyes, shielding them from the waxing light of the morning sun out of reflex. Looking down, he smiled at Night sleeping with her head on his chest, breathing peacefully while snuggling closer to him unconsciously. I still can't believe she can turn into an Anthropomorphic form. He mused silently, gently stroking the fur on Night's back and pulling her closer at the same time, causing Night to purr happily in her slumber.
Memories of the nights before finally brought a flush to Shinryu's cheeks. I'm still not used to being with her. The idea is logical, yes, that a Chosen and a Guardian would be mates. However... No, stop thinking like that. You know you love her deep down, and you always have. This feels right, and you won't trade it for anything in the world. With a smile, he hugged Night to him and kissed her forehead, somehow not even waking the Absol at all.
Carefully sliding out of the bed so as to not wake her, Shinryu went to his bag and collected a set of clothing for the day and slipped quietly into the bathroom, locking the door behind him after remembering how Night tried to pounce him in the shower. Turning the knobs, Shinryu waited for the water to heat up while he looked into the mirror again. If someone saw me like this... He trailed a finger along the Yin-Yang symbol on his cheek. They'd wonder what happened. Perhaps try to put me through testing to see what caused all of this. Sighing, he stepped into the shower and let the hot water cascade down his back while closing his eyes. Eventually, he started scrubbing his hair clean and rinsing it in the miniature waterfall. He stayed under the water until it started cooling down slightly.
Turning the water off, Shinryu stepped off of the shower flat.
Soon enough, the door opened and Shinryu stepped out of the bathroom while wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a white Tee.
"You locked the door." Night pouted, frowning at Shinryu from where she was laying on the bed.
"It was necessary." Shinryu countered softly, sitting next to Night and placing his hand on her side gently. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be getting out of here on time. I want to get to Skymarsh before tonight. So come on, we need to get ready."
With a sigh, Night nodded. She quickly sat up and wrapped her arms around Shinryu before he could stand, and nuzzled her cheek against the back of his neck affectionately before letting him go with a sigh.
"I love you too." Shinryu chuckled, smiling back at Night. "But there are more important things in life we need to attend to right now."
Night couldn't help but smile also, leaning against him and relishing the contact with Shinryu, who wrapped an arm around her absentmindedly.
They stayed like this for as long as they could, a slight contented smile on Shinryu's face as he stared down at the anthropomorphic Absol who had taken to lying down with her head on his lap, eyes closed and her breathing steady.
Shinryu placed his hand on Night's cheek, making her purr with the contact as he used the pad of his thumb to rub a small circle in her fur. He was about to lean down to kiss her when his PokeNav began to ring. Picking it up, he opened the device to shut his alarm off. "Alright, we've stayed in long enough."
"But I don't want to move..." Murmured Night, looking up out of the corner of her eye at Shinryu.
"Too bad, neither do I but unless we leave now we won't get to Skymarsh before nightfall." Shinryu argued, gently pushing Night into an upright position so he could stand up.
"Oh alright..." Night grumbled, her form shimmering as she began to revert back to her feral form.
Shinryu grinned, stretching to get the kinks from his shoulders and bending backwards as a loud popping sound comes from his back.
Night growled lightly at this. "I told you that's unbecoming."
"Give me another way to relieve the stress of adventuring." Shinryu says, standing up straight with a smirk. He picked up his bag, shrugging it into a comfortable position as he opened the door and the two walked out of their room. They walked down the steps towards the lobby of the PokeCenter, where Arthur and Rose happened to be waiting as well.
"There you are sleepyhead." Arthur joked, a grin on his face. "I was wondering if I'd have to come up there and drag you out of bed myself."
Hmm... And perhaps risk seeing Night lying on the bed in my place while I am in the shower? Perhaps not. "I was in a shower. The water was nice and warm, and I just didn't want to leave it." Shinryu countered without a hitch, walking up to the duo with a grin on his face. "So, we leave right away? There is a thirty minute buffer time from what I know of distances and the walking pace I tend to set after reading the map."
"Actually," Rose started, hooking her arm around Arthur's arm and bringing a blush to the Trainer. "I was thinking we could go get something to eat before we set off. If you don't mind?"
"Sure, sure." Shinryu's grin was still present. He walked up to Arthur and genially punched the man's shoulder lightly. "Good job, now I don't have to deal with her." He winked at Rose, who glared at him while Night growled an affirmative.
"Whatever man. She's better than you think." Arthur grinned, wrapping his arm around Rose's waist as they left the PokeCenter with Shinryu leading the way.
"Mhmm... Sure. And I was the one who dated her before." Was Shinryu's comment over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.
"Umm... Speaking of which. You don't min-" Started Arthur.
Shinryu started laughing. "Certainly. I don't mind at all, you're in the clear man." He said, cutting Arthur off before he could finish his question. He smiled, looking around for a good place to have breakfast at. Spotting a place, he led the group inside and they found a table to sit at rather quickly.
After making their orders, not letting the waitress even leave a menu, Shinryu looked across at Arthur and Rose where they were sitting. His eyes narrowed slightly, catching on to the hesitance that Arthur was displaying with being close to Rose even though it was slim. The hell? What reason does he have to hesitate? I already gave him the all clear.
Arthur leaned down to pet Night, who was allowed to lay down at the foot of the table as long as she stayed there. She let out a soft purr, closing her eyes and just relaxing.
She doesn't mind him at all. Shinryu thought with a smile, pushing his thoughts back as he looked over to see the waitress bringing their orders. He had ordered a large chili-cheese omelet and hash browns and started digging into the confection the moment the waitress walked away.
The entire meal was silent, as all three of them just ate as quickly as they could without choking on their food. After they each paid for their respective meals, they stood up and left the restaurant and began making their way South for Skymarsh City.\
The bus rolled to a stop at the station, waking Hyato with a jerk as he slammed face first into the seat in front of him. He rubbed his nose to numb the pain as Lydia giggled at the display. "It's not as funny for me." Hyato said.
"It doesn't need to be," Lydia said as she took her things out from underneath the seat. Hyato followed, shambling slowly off the bus's cramped aisle. As they stepped down into the bright noon light Hyato stretched his arms wide and cheered to the sky.
Lydia looked at him with a puzzled expression. Hyato smiled and said, "I'm so glad, you know. To be off the bus." Hyato strode toward the exit gate to the station with Lydia in tow.
A large plateau rose up from a bed of thick marshland. Large hexagon shaped glass plates many yards thick stretch out from the natural rocky edge of the plateau on all sides. Supporting the extended plates stand huge steel columns that seem to go underground. Massive elegant glass buildings dot the top of the plateau and the wings around it, making up the city of Skymarsh. Hyato stood transfixed at the skyline as Lydia stood in line for a map of the town at a nearby kiosk.
The line at the kiosk was long, so Hyato wandered off to pass the time. A stray Glameow ran near, pausing to groom it's paw. "Where are you off to little kitty?" Hyato asked, leaning over to pet the Glameow. The Glameow used Scratch, and Hyato's hand was knocked away. "Hey, that's rude." Hyato said, but the Glameow ran off. Hyato gave chase, as the Glameow darted into an alleyway.
Hyato chased the Catty Pokemon through the alley, down the street, over a fence, through a courtyard, and into another street before it got away. Hyato came to a stop. "Hmm. It got away. Oh well, I may as well get back to Lydia." Hyato turned around, looking at the unfamiliar view. He looked around for something he recognized. "Well... Crap."The skyscrapers of the city rose high above Hyato on all sides. For a big city, there weren't many people around.
Hyato walked through the streets, hoping to find something he recognized, or at least someone he could talk to. Before long he arrived at a massive central Plaza. A large cube with tons of screen sat in the center of the Plaza, displaying information of all kinds. There were news channels, pokemon highlights, and shopping deals flashing all over the screen. "You know, they say Skymarsh Central is the biggest shopping center in the region." Hyato turned to see Lydia approach, holding out Hyato's bag for him to take.
"Biggest shoppng center in the area?" Hyato said as he donned his backpack. "Then why is there no one around?" They both looked around. The massive shopping center could fit at least a few thousand people, yet they were alone.
"Let's go find out." Lydia said after a minute of silence.
"Do we have to?" Hyato complained. "I just wanna go fight the Gym."
"Yes, we need to understand this. Skymarsh is supposed to be the second biggest attraction this side of the Wall." Lydia said, taking Hyato's wrist and dragging him along the nearest main road.
The roads were bare, not a single person was walking on them. Occasionally they passed another Trainer who had taken the bus, but they were just as confused as Hyato and Lydia. After a long time searching, they arrived before a massive skyscraper that stood taller than the rest.
"Skymarsh Pokemon Gym." Hyato said, reading the large sign on the front, "Well, here we are."
"Maybe the Gym Leader can tell us where everyone is." Lydia said, opening the door and stepping inside.
The interior room looked like the lobby of a large Hotel. Sitting at the desk was a man wearing a white suit. He looked up and facepalmed at the sight of Hyato and Lydia. "Excuse me." Lydia said, "Can you tell us what's going on outside?"
The man breathed a heavy sigh and straightened his mustache. "A few days ago a group of criminals came through and trashed multiple city blocks. Alot of people are scared to go outside, and half the town has already left to Auburn and Gateway."
"Team Chaos." Hyato said. "Bastards."
"That's right, they were called Team Chaos, I believe." The man behind the counter confirmed.
"So everyone is just staying home then?" Lydia said, "Well that can't be good."
"The people want to be certain that the threat of Team Chaos is taken care of before they return to normal." The man said, "That's why Skylar left to take care of them."
"Wait, so the gym Leader isn't here?!" Hyato exclaimed, slamming his hands on the counter.
"No, and he left suddenly this morning, so the substitute is unfortunately unable to arrive today. The Gym is closed." The man said.
"Where did he go?" Hyato asked, more of a demand than a question.
"A rumor that the Temple in the Skymarsh is a base for Team Chaos, is what he followed."
"Thank you." Hyato walked out of the building in a rush, Lydia following closely.
Lydia moved in front of Hyato. "We don't need to go after Skylar. He's a Gym Leader, he can handle himself."
"But, there's no point in not chasing him." Hyato said, "We're here to fight the Gym, and we need him. So if I go and get him, then we can fight the Gym sooner."
"Well, I'm not going. I don't want to have to go through another swamp." Lydia said.
"I understand." Hyato said, smiling. "I'll get him myself." Hyato continued on, Lydia followed. Before long they stood at the edge of the city, atop one of the massive artificial plates. A massive iron cable ran down into the swamp below, connected to a tower at the bottom. Hyato and Lydia were approached by a man when they reached the base of the cable tower.
"You looking to ride the Zipline?" He asked.
"Yeah, how much is it?" Hyato said.
"It's no charge. The Ziplines are run by the city." The man opened a steel chest and pulled out what looked like a harness and bike handles. Hyato donned the harness and was taken to the cable
"Well, time to go." Hyato said, looking back for a moment. Then he dropped off the side of the city, zipping towards the swamp at high speeds.
Shinryu walked ahead of the group, heading down the path with Rose and Arthur in tow behind him. I really need to talk with Azar about what I had him do. He thought suddenly, frowning slightly. His pace faltered slightly, before it returned to normal. Later, I definitely will later. He looked down at his PokéNav as he pulled it out.
Looking down at Night, Shinryu smiled as she kept pace with him easily enough. She looked up at him, her crimson eyes shining as they shared a look before Shinryu heard someone approaching from behind them, the sound of a bike's tires easily picked up by his heightened hearing. He looked over his shoulder automatically, seeing Amber biking towards them fairly quickly.
Huh. I didn't realize that she was on the way to Skymarsh also. Then again, it is only a matter of deducing what Badges that she would need. Shinryu thought as she rode up towards him. He saw her grin, and couldn't help but grin in return. "Hey." He said nonchalantly, giving her a two-fingered salute.
"Hey. Mind if I tag along? Lilly, Seth, and Kirk decided to head to Auburn City but I already got the badge from there." Amber asked towards Shinryu.
Shinryu looked at Night, Rose, and Arthur. However, he noticed that Arthur was gone. "Umm... Sure. Hey Rose, where did Arthur go?"
Rose looked back as well, her eyebrow raised in confusion as even Night did a doubletake as to where the wayward trainer could've gone. "I have no clue... He was just behind me..."
Shinryu looked worried then. "Ah crap... We need to find him before-"
"I'm just as worried about him as well Richard," Rose said, cutting Shinryu off. "However, we need to continue on our way to Skymarsh before it gets dark. Didn't you say that you wanted to get there before then?"
Shinryu nodded slowly. "Yeah, I was the one who said that wasn't I?" He sighed deeply. "Well, if he fell behind he can always backtrack to Tectra and take the bus towards Skymarsh."
"Well, I am sure he'll be okay." Amber said, folding up her bike and storing it away as the group of three humans and Absol started walking again. "He is a powerful Trainer after all from when we faced each other in the Cafe."
Shinryu nodded. "Yeah, you're right I guess. He isn't truly alone after all."
"Why are you so worried about him?" Amber asked curiously.
"Well... It's a long story." Shinryu countered, feeling slightly nervous. Night stared up at him, her eyes showing some concern at the tone in his voice.
"I believe we have a long walk ahead of us after all." Amber pointed out.
"Hey! Why am I being left out!"
Shinryu and Amber looked over at Rose, who exclaimed that rather loudly. They looked at each other and laughed. "Well, you aren't very active in the conversation anyway Rose." Shinryu pointed out as he avoided a rock that was jutting up from the ground that could be capable of tripping him.
Rose grimaced, but went quiet with that.
"So," Amber started, looking over at Shinryu. "What happened?"
"I had just turned twelve when I went to Littleroot Town from my hometown of Fortree. Me and a friend were waiting in line for the doors of the Pokemon lab there to open so we could get our starter pokemon. While me and Arthur were conversing as to what starter we wanted, a kid mocked us and attacked without warning. He crushed my ribs, and hit Arthur hard enough to knock him into a coma." Shinryu started. "I awoke to find out that he was not looking good in terms of waking up anytime soon, but me and his parents firmly believed he would eventually recover and always pestered those who told them to pull the plug. That is the long story short."
"Did they ever catch the kid who did that?" Amber asked softly.
"No. They didn't. The strange thing is when I returned to the Lab a few years later we met again, and we fought. I found out he knew Martial Arts, and at the time I was being taught them as well so I was able to keep up with him. Up until my ribs, which hadn't healed fully, started acting up. He left me for dead out in the forest, and if it weren't for the help of some friendly pokemon I wouldn't be here at all."
"What kind of friendly pokemon?" Amber inquired curiously.
"A pack of Mightyena." Was Shinryu's answer. "A week later I woke up after blacking out." He started up again, continuing his story. "I was brought home by my brother, and turns out the next day was my sixteenth birthday. Heh... At first, I thought it was the worst day of my life. However..." He glanced down at Night who stared back up at him at the same time. "If it weren't for what happened to cause me to think that I don't think I would've encountered an Absol in need of help, that let me capture her without a fight after healing the wound on her side."
Amber nodded, as Night slightly glared at Shinryu from the way he said that. "So that is why she seems so calm around you. You've earned her trust correct?"
Shinryu chuckled. "You have no idea. But yeah, she trusts me and I trust her, along with every single Pokemon on my team."
Amber smiled. "That is good. Trust is a major key to being a successful trainer. Right Mr. Dragonsong?" She grinned wryly with that.
"Heheh." Was the only response Shinryu put forth.
After which, the group of three humans and one Absol continue walking in silence. But Night cannot help but wonder something as she walked...
There is something about Amber that feels familiar. Is she another Chosen as well?
(A while later...)
"Hey!" Amber called out from ahead, since she had gone ahead to keep a 'lookout' as she put it towards Shinryu when he asked what she was doing.
"What?!" Shinryu called up towards her.
"There is a small park up ahead where we can rest." Amber answered as they got level with her. "We can take about a half hour break and still make it into Skymarsh by dark."
Shinryu nodded as Amber started walking next to him again, Rose lagging behind and watching the two curiously. "I guess a small break wouldn't hurt." He responded. "And we can give our Pokémon a small break away from their Pokéballs while we are there."
"Oh of course." Amber says with a smile. "They need to be out in the open in my opinion, but most humans freak out if you bring one into a hotel."
Shinryu glanced at Amber from the corner of his eye as they turned onto the trail that led towards Amerdeen Park. Interesting.
"What?" Amber asked innocently when she caught his glance, staring at him from the side as Shinryu chuckled.
"Nothing." He said after a while, when she gave him a piercing glare. Once they came to the park proper, Shinryu tossed his Pokéballs into the air. "Come on out guys!" He shouted.
Freya, Phera, Kaira, Dusk, Syn, Flare, Azar, Taina, and Umbrax all appeared in a shower of multicolored lights. Everyone looked around their surroundings curiously.
"Alright guys!" Shinryu announced to them, assuming a commanding air. All of his Pokémon snapped to attention and stared at him with rapt attention. "I want you all to help train the two newest members of our team, Taina and Umbrax, so they aren't at a disadvantage here in Trema! You all know what to do!"
Shinryu's team exclaimed their affirmatives easily, however Azar kept staring at him as they moved off with the two baby Pokémon to begin training them.
Amber and Rose had moved off to their own spots of the mostly empty park as Azar walks closer to Shinryu.
Shinryu stared down at the vulpine Pokémon for a short amount of time before walking towards the other end of the park. He kept walking once they reached the edge, and stepped into the forest a small ways before turning to Azar.
"Alright, I owe you an apology." Shinryu started softly, kneeling down to stare Azar in the eyes. He flinched somewhat at the anger he saw in them. But he hardened his resolve. "I shouldn't have had you take that hit the way you did so I could win something as trivial as a Badge."
"No you shouldn't have!" Azar pretty much yelled. "I thought you were different from that person you rescued me from! And you turned around and DID EXACTLY WHAT HE DID! YOU USED ME!"
Shinryu lowered his gaze from Azar, sitting on the ground and slumping slightly. He's right... I did use him to win... Wordlessly, Shinryu unclasped Azar's Pokéball from his belt. He raised it up to Azar's eye level, still in its shrunken form. "You're right Azar... I used you, and I shouldn't have." He set the Pokéball down on the ground in between them slowly. "So if you want to be released, just say so, and I'll let you go. If you feel like giving me another chance... I promise I won't do that ever again." With that, he leaned back against the tree that was behind him and closed his eyes after checking his PokeNav's watch.
Moments turn to minutes, and minutes pass by slowly for Shinryu. His ever calculating mind counted of the seconds as they ticked down repeatedly. He knew only twenty minutes had passed since they stopped at the park, he knew that out of those twenty he spent two explaining to Azar his own choices... But to him he also knew it felt like every minute was an hour, an excruciatingly painful hour.
"I'll give you another chance. But only one more."
Shinryu let out the breath he didn't know he was holding after Azar started speaking, slowly. He opened his eyes and stared at the dark crimson fox silently. Azar met his eyes as well, before slowly nodding once to Shinryu in confirmation to his questioning gaze. "Thank you." Shinryu whispered softly.
Azar nodded again, remaining silent as Amber called out.
"Hey Shinryu! It's almost time to go! Where are you?!"
"Well... Great talk." Shinryu muttered, standing up slowly after picking up Azar's Pokéball.
"I suppose. But I don't know why you can understand me." Azar said before Shinryu recalled him.
"I'll have to let the others know to tell him exactly why." Shinryu speculated under his breath as Amber's voice grew louder.
"Shinryu!" She called loudly, causing the Chosen Sentinel to wince as his sensitive hearing rung bells inside of his head.
"I'm coming!" Shinryu called back, stepping from the woods and walking right into Amber. "Oof!"
He tumbled forwards, his foot choosing to trip at that exact moment as he fell forward. Shinryu blinked his eyes open, having snapped them shut out of reflex.
"Well I'm flattered." Amber said dryly, bringing his attention to reality.
Shinryu looked up at the Ace Trainer, his face turning bright crimson as he quickly jumped up from his position between her legs. Ah shit! Ah shit! Ah shit! He thought to himself as he held his hand down to Amber to help her back up. He mentally blocked out what just happened and quickly regained control over the reaction that caused the reddening of his cheeks with a few mild meditative breaths.
"So anyway," Amber started, turning around to start walking back towards the path to Skymarsh City. "It's almost time to go. You said so yourself after all that you wanted to get there before dark."
"That I did." Shinryu said, completely void of emotion as the two walked towards Rose and the rest of his team who just came into view. "Let's not speak of that?" He muttered softly.
"Speak of what?" Amber asked in return to his question.
"I think I forgot." Shinryu answered tactfully before recalling his Pokémon as Rose stared clueless at the both of them, and Night tilted her head in curiosity.
"Three humans and one Absol are traveling down the path." Reported a man wearing a black mask and a high-tech looking suit, peering through a pair of military high-powered binoculars towards a group of people. His voice was soft, uncertain in a way and with a light hint of unlost innocence.
"Is the target confirmed?" Asked another man wearing a similar suit. His voice was rough and tenure, nearly baritone and held an edge that could cut steel.
"Affirmative." Stated a woman this time. She was sitting next to the man who reported the sighting. "Subject has white hair, lightly tan skin, and has the very same facial structure as our quarry. The Absol is also sticking closer to his side more often than the other humans, so that furthers our belief that he is the one we are to capture." She was calm, relaxed. Confident that she would get her prey.
"Quit your yapping you fools!" Snapped a fourth man, sitting high up in a tree. His face was partially exposed, blue eyes staring into the distance where the path was while the rest of him was hidden in shadow. "We don't want the Absol to know something is up. Remember, they have an uncanny ability to sense danger or disaster." His voice was strong, powerful and a deep bass that seemed strained somewhat to the trained ear. He growled his orders in a low tone as well, meant to carry a short ways in what a whisper couldn't do.
The three others of his group shut up and grew quiet as the first member of the team continued to peer through his binoculars at the fast approaching group of trainers.
"Soon... We will attack on my command." Stated a fifth voice within small communicators on each of the personnel staging the assault. "Await my signal..."
And the group seemed to blend into the very trees and foliage they were hidden behind.
(With Shinryu)
Shinryu sighed as his stomach growled near-silently to the human ear. He stared up at the sky, concentrating away from his hunger as he watched the clouds pass by while he and the others were walking.
The Hoenn native closed his eyes, sighing as he listened to the sounds of nature around him. Hunger is what you get for insisting on continuing without stopping again. He grumbled.
"Hey Shinryu." Asked Rose from behind him, keeping in step with his stride surprisingly. "When will we stop and eat?"
Shinryu smiled slightly. For once we were thinking of the same thing. Ha... That's rich. "Well, we can stop here I guess." He opened his eyes and looked around the large clearing they had come to on the side of the road. How I do this, I have no clue. Intuition?
"Woo, I'm starving!" Amber exclaimed as she hopped off the dirt road and into the clearing, finding a good spot to sit down and dig into her bag while Rose leisurely walked over as well.
Shinryu on the other hand was suddenly looking around everywhere, along with Night, on high alert. What was that? He wondered immediately, his senses picking up something that he couldn't see. He turned away from the two humans, who were getting themselves busy eating their already prepared meals, and scanned the woods, releasing some of his true power centered on his eyes.
Night was looking in the same direction as well. And she was growling darkly.
Shinryu didn't see anything at first, but as he scanned over again he caught a brief flash of movement before his reflexes activated on pure martial instinct.
He jumped backwards, avoiding a net that had shot from his left side. Flipping around in midair, Shinryu landed in a battle-ready crouch as four beings formed into existence wearing SpecOps uniforms without any identifying markers.
"Shinryu/Richard!" Both Amber and Rose called out, getting up quickly and pulling out their pokeballs as fast as they could from their respective bags.
"Tsk tsk. Loxa, you missed your prey." Growled the man to Shinryu's left. His voice held quite a bit of power to it, causing Shinryu to stare at him immediately. "You should aim better next time."
"Oh shut up Rho!" Snapped the woman, pulling out a katana. She charged at Shinryu, hoping to get a swing in at his leg and hamstring him so that he could be easier to capture. But she didn't expect something...
Shinryu snapped his right arm towards her, spinning on several patches of ground as he maneuvered his body to avoid both the strike to his leg and grab her arm, pinning it behind her as he stood behind the one known as Loxa within seconds. "Nch. Gotta be quicker hun." Shinryu growled darkly, his hair hanging in front of his eyes and hiding that they were now completely crimson with black irises.
Rho smirked, though his face was hidden by a mask as he stared at Shinryu. "Not bad. I have to admit, I expected no less from one who provided Hunter J with such a harsh reality that she cannot get everyone she targets. Daemos, Rhal! Take those girls out of the picture. Nonlethal force only." He ordered quickly.
The two other men who were simply standing nearby vanished in a blur of movement. They appeared behind Amber and Rose respectively, hitting them in the back of their necks with a chop and sending them to the ground unconscious before they could have managed to get their pokeballs from their bags.
Shinryu glanced over at the unconscious girls as he smirked slightly. "Well then." He spun quickly, throwing Loxa over his shoulder as he Judo-threw her to the ground before he charged at Rho, who's smirk vanished instantly as he dodged a ferocious punch aimed at his head. "Four versus one doesn't seem that fair now does it?" Shinryu asked as he aimed a kick in the direction Rho dodged in, catching him off-guard from the unexpected move.
"Agh!" He exclaimed, doubling over as the kick caught him in the solar plexus while Daemos ran at Shinryu.
Shinryu swept his leg as he bent down to sweep Daemos's legs out from underneath him and sending the man backwards onto his ass while he maneuvered back into a standing position.
Loxa had already gotten up as he was doing so, and had tossed a few shuriken at the Trainer who turned and simply caught each one in between his fingers. "Tsk tsk." He said.
Rhal was busy trying to keep away from Night, who was unleashing hell on the human for even trying to come near her. "Holy fuck!" He shouted, his left arm being bit by Night's fangs deeply.
Shinryu remained calm, surrounded by the three other members of the group attacking them. His hands were in his pockets, an intentional psychological gesture saying that they weren't good enough for him to use his full strength.
"Daemos, go help Rhal. Loxa, take the target out. Orders be damned, use lethal force if you have to but try to keep him alive." Ordered Rho.
Shinryu grinned slightly, shifting his gaze to Loxa as Daemos started rushing towards Rhal. "I don't think so." He said, flicking his wrist backwards towards the man as the shuriken he had caught flew towards him.
"GAH!" The man shouted loudly in pain as he collapsed to the ground, the shuriken sticking from both his legs and his lower back.
"Down to three. Two if Rhal doesn't get any help." Shinryu stated calmly, watching Loxa as Rho slowly and steadily walked up behind Shinryu.
"YOU ASSHOLE!" Loxa shouted, throwing a kunai at Shinryu who merely tilted his body to spin on the spot, grabbing the kunai and placing it at the throat of Rho who immediately stopped in his tracks.
"Well well. I was just going to throw you over my shoulder at her, but I have a better ide-"
"Should have dropped it buddy." Loxa stated with a victorious air. She pressed a button on her wrist, a *beep* being heard from the bracer she wore.
Shinryu immediately howled in pain, electricity arcing from his body. "YOU BITCH!" He shouted, causing Rho and Loxa to back away in surprise.
"Holy crap!" They both exclaimed. "He shouldn't be able to talk at all!"
Shinryu growled, the electric current flowing through his body being slowly mitigated by his body's new abilities as he slowly began to turn towards Loxa. "Surprise." He growled, his eyes darkening as he lowered his head and then tossed the kunai at her with his full strength.
The deadly knife buried into her right shoulder. And then she screamed in pain as the electricity that was running through Shinryu just moments before began to disable her nervous system enough to prevent movement.
"Y-y-you're not human!" Rho said, backing away from Shinryu.
Shinryu didn't respond, turning around to start walking towards Rho.
"That's far enough big guy." Stated a new voice from nearby.
Shinryu stopped walking and turned to look in the direction the voice came from. "Oh really?"
Now standing at the edge of the woods was a man wearing similar tech-suits as the four members of the team. "Well done. I have to admit, you made Team Alpha look like wimps." He said, pointing his gun at Shinryu as he began walking towards him. His mask covered his face and artificially altered his voice.
Electronic alteration... Respirator function. Triple filtering too from the sounds of the vocal algorithm. Shinryu thought as he stared at the man. Not moving as his mind flashed back to many years ago when he first saw a gun pointed at him before returning to the present. "Really now? I was under the impression that they were simply Hunters working together. But now I see that Team dynamic."
"You're indeed a sharp one Richard Maxwell, aka Shinryu the Dragonsong. We pulled your files, and your IQ is off the charts compared to most Trainers or even Champions for that matter. Why haven't you settled into something more fitting for your mental ability?" The new man asked, stopping well within Shinryu's threat range should he want to disarm him... But he didn't know that.
"My IQ is a product of a flawed mental analysis by the Pokemon College." Shinryu said idly. "In reality, IQ is only used to determine how well you'd do in College. It has nothing to do with how smart you are or how powerful your imagination really is, which is what truly matters. Without an imagination how could most technology be as it is? Most things are stolen anyways. The Master Ball is considered property of Silph Co., for example. My father, Assimir Maxwell, was one of the original founders of the project in concordance with Triam Inc. They stole his final plans when he left them and used those to get the Master Ball project in their name."
"Well well. Not a bad philosophy, nor bad information to blackmail Silph with. But you fail to realize that you are in danger right now. Why aren't you scared to have a .45 caliber Dragonite Revolver pointed at your face?" The man asked, genuinely curious. "I know you have great fighting skill. But even you couldn't dodge a bullet."
Shinryu shrugged. "Death is inevitable. It is something that people fear because they think there is nothing left for them. I've made my peace years ago with the death of someone very important to me, plain and simple. And in reference to your claim that I couldn't dodge a bullet..." He grinned slowly. "You wouldn't shoot me. I'm too important if you came out to deal with me. Obviously YOU are more skilled than these morons, otherwise Rho here wouldn't be meekly bowing behind me." He jerked his hand over his shoulder to indicate the bowing Rho who was being rather servitive towards the newcomer.
"Hey! This is the Great Agent Onyx! He is a Legend in our Agency, and has probably seen more-Mmph!" Shinryu had reached back, silencing Rho by covering his mouth and lifting him into the air behind him without even looking back at him.
"I'll have to thank you for that." The now indicated Onyx said, staring at Rho through his sights. "He is quite annoying."
"That isn't why I did it." Shinryu said calmly, a slowly quickening pulse of energy forming in his left hand that wasn't raised up and barely out of Onyx's sight. A Shadow Ball began forming in his hand, and Rho noticed it to start struggling to escape Shinryu's iron-grip in order to warn his boss.
"You're pretty strong to be able to hold someone who weighs 300 pounds of pure muscle for as long as you are, even if they are struggling. What is your secret? Steroids?"
Shinryu chuckled. "No. Steroids would actually not do a thing for me at all. Night, Shadow Ball!"
Night opened her maw as best as she could and sent her attack towards Shinryu who had released his Shadow Ball towards hers. They collided, exploding in a burst of energy that kicked up a dirt-cloud, surrounding both Shinryu and Rho in the vortex of it.
"Clever. But," Onyx fired a shot into the darkest cluster of the dirt-cloud. "You didn't move."
As the dust cleared away, Rho stood panting in the center of a small crater. He looked up at Onyx, blood trailing down his chin with a glazed look in his eyes. "Why?" He asked weakly, his chest heaving with pain as crimson liquid poured from a decent sized hole in his chest. A few more breaths were taken before he falls over in shock.
"What?!" Onyx exclaimed, looking around. "How could he have moved so quickly?!"
"Behind YOU!"
"Huh?" Onyx turned around in seemingly slow motion, just in time to see Shinryu's foot connect with his jaw and the force of it send him flying into the air.
Shinryu followed through with his attack, pushing his now touching wrists with palms outward to hit Onyx in the chest hard as he came down and sending him backwards while in mid-air. He didn't stop there, as Onyx landed on the ground he had jumped on top of him, landing over the Agent and starting to put him into an armbar. "You're a fool Onyx! I was trained in Martial Arts long before you ever joined your small Agency you work for. I can tell by your voice and stance you are younger than I am despite the fact it is filtered by a three-stage electronic vocal alteration. One more stage and I wouldn't figure tha-" He stopped as he was lifted into the air by Onyx.
"Shut up!" The Agent growled, swinging Shinryu down on his other side and crashing him into the dirt hard.
"Gah!" Shinryu exclaimed at the hit, letting him go as he rolled away. "Oww! That one actually hurt. You are stronger than you let on, or is that the armor?" He asked, jumping back up into a stance.
Onyx stood back up as well, entering a calm stance with one arm overhead and his feet spread by three paces. "Tch... No, that is all me!" He shouted, rushing towards Shinryu who enacted another of his faithful spins by clipping Onyx's foot with his own and twirling around him.
Shinryu grabbed the Agent around his torso, pinning his arms and with a grunt he heaved him over by twisting his torso to toss Onyx onto the ground where he rolled as well to get away and back into position.
"Gah..." He pressed his left hand to the side of his helmet. "This is Agent Onyx! We have been overrun. Requesting evac protocol!"
"Running so soon?" Shinryu asked, walking towards Onyx who threw a pellet at the ground and a cloud of foul-smelling black smoke surrounded him. Clouds popped up around his teammates who were still living as well and when the smoke cleared they were all gone.
Shinryu's eyebrow ticked, before he sighed and sat down on the ground. "Damnit... I was hoping to figure out who he was." The young trainer sighed again as Night walked over to him with a slight limp. "You okay girl?" He asked softly, petting her side as she collapsed against him and rested her head in his lap.
"Exhausted..." She groaned, looking up at him forlornly. "How about you? You alright?"
Shinryu nodded, smiling somewhat at her. "Yeah, I'm okay."
Night smiled back up at him, before her nose caught the scent of blood. "No, you aren't!" She exclaimed, looking up at him with fear.
"It's only a scratch." Shinryu said as he looked at his arm, but frowned at what he saw. "Guess not..." He noticed that his arm had a decent sized gouge in it, a large amount of flesh torn away from a high-caliber weapon. "Damn, that guy actually shot me when I thought he didn't." He went to stand up, but swayed and sat back down. "I'm feeling lightheaded..."
Night looked panicked as Shinryu sat back down, looking around for his bag. She spotted it and vanished in a blur, appearing next to it and digging through it looking for something.
She's looking for the First Aid Kit. Shinryu thought as he covered the wound with his hand, wincing slightly as his nerves burned. Gah... Holy shit. What was in that bullet? He wondered, watching as Night kept digging through his bag without changing into her anthro form to make it easier.
Night eventually found the kit, grabbing it with her teeth and rushing back over towards Shinryu who watched her carefully while she tried to open it.
Shinryu then decided to reach out and take the kit, opening it with one hand easily and lifting the lid. Grabbing the disinfectant spray, he spritzed his arm and hissed slightly in pain but mostly ignored it while he set it down and grabbed a roll of bandages next. He spent a while carefully rolling the bandage around his arm, before having Night carefully slash the excess off where he then sealed the bandage to his arm with a clip.
Night still looked worried. "Shinryu, we need to get you to the Hospital soon."
"I know. The bullet is still in my arm, and I don't know if it clipped an artery."
Amber groaned before slowly picking herself up off of the ground. "Oh my head... What happened?"
Shinryu looked up at Amber from where he sat. "We got ambushed by people. Are you okay? The one who knocked you and Rose out hit you two pretty hard."
Amber nods, waving her hand as she shakes her head. "I'm fine, really." She shakily stands up after saying this to look around.
Rose stands as well. "I'm okay, but I have a headache." She gasps when she sees Shinryu working on bandaging up his arm. "Oh Arceus! Are you okay?!"
Shinryu chuckles. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got grazed by a knife, merely need to patch it up and make sure it heals right." He says as he finishes the work and stands up effortlessly. "Anyways, lets get on to Skymarsh City before nightfall."
Amber and Rose nod firmly as Night sticks close to Shinryu while they all walk towards their destination, the bloody crater that housed the body of Rho long forgotten and ignored... As a figure appears and vanishes with the body.
So sorry for the delays. Here is the next Chappy, but I do have to admit delays will be inevitable for more updates. ~Veloran