'Sup bros and girls? Tropical here to bring from a long time, a new chapter! My computer crashed and lost my data but anyways, thank Orthodox for his god send skills. Stay sexy y'all!- TropicalAce
Chapter 11: Help from the Shadows
Whilst our duo's necks were on the line, their knight in shining armor was mere feet away, thinking of a rescue operation. Entering was a breeze; they slithered their way in like ghosts, unseen by the naked eye and blending in with the environment, taking a seat in the crowd.
"Kay, now what was it again, mate?" Lance whispered, his eyes scanning from one corner to the next, already spotting a red haired man watching them from a distance. Steven gulped hard, searching for a reasonable answer. He was never a person of planning ahead, nor would he ever be. Why would a seasoned thief need to plan? Shit just came naturally to him, so there wasn't a need for unnecessary deep thinking. So all he had to do was kick some ass, get the boy, and leave, as far as he was concerned.
"Fuck that, man," Steven smiled in a low tone. "You see that retard over there by the black door? 10 bucks says our man is in that room."
The nervous bird sighed, still glancing at the man watching him. But this time, he could have sworn that he moved a few tables towards them after the last time he looked. "10 bucks says you didn't think of anything, you mindless ape."
Steven chuckled. "I'll take that as complement. But anyways, I noticed you've been lookin' at the dude across the room. Any ideas, mate?"
"N-no," Lance stammered. "It's just that he's been watching for awhile. I think we sh-"
He was cut off by a hand in his face, slightly confused. The stunned Pokémon watched his trainer get up from his seat walking to the man in a mocking manner, the man doing the same.
The two walked up to each other, eye to eye. Eye to eye? More like eye to chest. Lighting shined over the man's muscular and towering physique, causing Steve to go weak in the knees. Height was the least of Steve's worries, but a 6'4" beast of a human being against 5'11" of a street thug? Surely he could win…right?
Bulging biceps rippled through the man's tight leather jacket, his face marked with blisters and cuts with light orange eyes to match his rough red hair.
"Oi, I noticed ya been staring at me and my chap for while, care to explain?" Steve asked, hiding his fear.
The punk smiled, revealing his gold plated K-9's. "What are you gonna do 'bout it?" The leathered man growled as if thunder rolled from his throat, shoving Steven a few steps back. "I dun think I've seen yo' face around here... who are ya?"
His furry scarf Abel hissed. "Hey! Watch where you put your hands," he screeched. "Do it the fuck again, I guarantee you'll be a few fingers short!" But his threats, without a translator, sounded like a mouse raging over a piece of cheese. Abel slightly uncoiled himself from around his trainer's neck, erecting to a height equal to that of the man and fumed, throwing profanities in his Poké-language.
Unbeknownst to trio, a crowd formed around them, sealing the exits and possibly their lives.
...
In the meantime, Dave was making negotiations under the barrel of a gun, trying to postpone any rash actions from his captor, Harvey. Ciara was pinned on the floor by the Zoroark, trying to breathe.
"So now, what shall I do with my new toys, hmm?" The lunatic questioned. Dave was still kneeling down, looking up at eyes filled with hate and blood lust. He remained silent for a few moments.
"Well I'm sure you want to play with us, yes? So before that, what if I told you that I have some information that may be useful to you?"
Harvey smiled widened, his eyes lit with excitement. "Is that so? Then talk, and maybe there's a chance you will walk out here alive."
Dave snickered. "No," he spouted coldly, utterly wiping the grin off Harvey's face. "Why don't tell your mutt to ease up off Ciara first? Looks she's seem having problems breathing between that case and filthy foot of a Pokémon. Do that, then we'll talk."
Harvey's expression went grim. He knew what Dave was thinking, but he was sure that the tranquilizer still had a good enough hold on him. So there was no harm no foul in his game…but there was one nasty surprise.
He raised a brow, for according to him, he knew full well what was going on. "What information could you possibly have though? I run this division, so there nothing I don't know."
"Oh?" Dave slurred in a persuasive tone. "Even if I said I saw certain VIP's face? Someone who starts with a letter G? And I know the exact location of this G-san?"
Harvey was caught off guard, stunned that such desirable information was locked within that boy's lips. "It can't be…." he quaked, gripping Dave by the collar, yanking him to his wobbly feet which was still numb from the toxin. "Tell me! Tell me where he is!" Harvey demanded, shaking him.
Dave banked his head to the side and laughed. "Ain't tellin' you shit, bro. Not until you tell that mutt to step off Ciara."
Harvey was boiling, he raised his fist and delivered a solid right hook to Dave's face. Blood drained from his mouth from the devastating blow, surely it had knock a tooth or two loose. "I said tell me! Tell me where he is, dammit!" He raged, throwing another blow to the stomach.
Ciara wanted jump in to help, but she had to had to follow the plan. Any unnecessary actions could bust the lid on their cover. She was amazed though, because even though he was getting the stuffing beat out of him, he was still relaying messages to her mind as calmly as ever.
"Can… you move….yet, Ciara?" he relayed to her as another hit landed on him. "Ugh, hurry up..will you? I think I'm gonna..pass out soon.."
"Just a few more seconds." she replied, shrugging her body slightly, showing that full mobility was almost regained. "But there is one problem, though...for the teleportation work, we need to be in some sort of physical contact."
Dave gave a faint smile, "Physical contact huh? Guess I'll have to fall on you then."
Just as Harvey pulled his fist back for another swing, Dave butted heads with Harvey, literally. The brute force sent him crumbling into heap on the ground. No one was expecting that, not even the Zoroark. The shock caused her to lighten her grip on her captive, who regained full mobility of her body. "Hah... I guess soccer does teach you some useful things..." Before he could lift a finger he got light headed, the world seeming to spin around him. Noises became distorted and distant, and with his vision getting blurred, he fell down for the count.
Ciara panicked, but something else was set ablaze inside her; it was Sunny. She forced herself out into reality, completely overthrowing Ciara who stood no chance against her iron will.
"Master!" she cried out, struggling to break free. "Let me go, please!"
"Never," the Zoroark growled, tightening her grip.
Sunny continued to resist, but she was too strong. "Please…I beg of you," she sobbed. "Just let me go..."
The Zoroark replied with a stronger grip as she watched her deranged trainer stumble to his feet, with the gun trained on Dave. "That was quite some move, brat." he spat, cocking the hammer. "Let it be your last."
"Nooooo-!"
"Boss!"
Blam!
The door slammed open, making Harvey miss his target by millimeters. "We've got problems!" A blue haired thug screamed out.
He turned his glare to the man, hearing shrieks of terror and what sounded like gunshots outside. "Can't you fucking handle it yourselves!?"
He recoiled back and quickly shook his head. Harvey furiously whipped the grunt's head with his gun.
"Son of a bitch!" he screamed, kicking Dave in the side. "Do I have to do everything around here? Where is the bastard!?"
...
He forced his way through the thick crowd, looking for the culprit. In the center of it all, there was one trainer and his Pokémon, standing next to a man curled up on the floor in undying pain.
The trainer in question was wearing a yellow hoodie with a complimenting dark orange t-shirt, along with a pair of tattered blue jeans. A Furret and Combusken hovered around their trainer, ready to protect him at a moment's notice.
Harvey stormed up to him. "Who the fuck are you, asshole?" he demanded.
Steven shrugged casually. "Nobody in particular," he replied. "I'm just looking for a friend. Tall, white shirt, blue jeans? Ring any bells?"
Harvey stared at his comrades bleeding out onto the floor. Some had their fingers detached or barely hanging on by a thread of flesh and bone. Others looked like they had been mauled to death. Blood was spread everywhere.
With a snap of his fingers, his loyal goons reached into their pockets, summoning whatever Pokémon they had at their disposal. Clearly outnumbered, Steven and his partner were put on high guard. A cocky smirk formed on Harvey's face, snickering at the group's seemingly futile efforts.
Lance hoisted his knee slightly upward, taking on the stance of a kick boxer, bracing his fists close to his chest. Abel uncoiled himself, slithering to ground and erecting a full four feet upright, bearing his razor sharp fangs. Steven stood between the two in a circle of defense, ready to give out commands at the drop of the hat.
"You're the bee's knees, aren't you?" Steven taunted. "You don't actually want a battle in this cramped excuse of a casino?"
"You think this a game, son?" Harvey retorted, pacing towards them. "It might as well be, 'cause here's this retard asking for a 'friend'." Steven's Pokémon nervously crept back, which Harvey quickly picked up on.
"See, your inbreeds are already making wise decisions," he sneered. "Why not follow their example?"
Steven completely lost it, blowing his voice of reason out of the water. "You what, mate!?"
The unstable man sprouted a laugh, filling the whole building. "Ha! Did you call me 'mate'? It's no wonder why you lot are a bunch of inbreeds."
Steven was boiling with pure rage, ready to tear his throat out. Abel quickly tried to calm him down. "Yo, before we start tearing up ass, might I add that I smell 4 other people in that room over there? They might be injured though, I smell blood."
"You sure?" Steven asked.
"Positive."
He nodded. "Right, while these fuckers are distracted, I want you to go in there and do what you can."
Abel squatted down, vanishing from eye's view. He weaseled through the croud with grace and speed, his long, narrow body making it near impossible to see him on the ground below. Soon the army of human feet began to thin out bursting to an all stampede as Steven began yelling orders.
"Lance, Double Kick, go!" He shouted.
Lance flew into battle, quick on his feet as the first set of adversaries, an Electrike and a Shinx, came into reach. His kick of fury easily sent the Electrike's face plummeting below. Using it as a springboard, he dropped like a stone to give the final blow.
"Shinx, dodge then Thunder Fang!" It's trainer ordered from a distance.
The nimble critter jolted skyward towards the approaching Lance as its fangs began to crackle with electricity. But the bird's reflexes were too fast for the little one, and Lance forced his momentum into a front flip, grazing its paralyzing fangs.
After firmly grounding both his opponents, Lance was spearheaded, sprawling into a wall with his unknown attacker. His body cracked the solid concrete, sliding down a bit dazed.
Steven couldn't concern himself with Lance, though, because he had his own problems. He was surrounded by a group of men, four brothers, on all sides. They landed cheap punches and kicks, but with smart timing, he hit one square in the chest. He sailed to ground as oxygen exploded from his lungs, infuriating the remaining three.
While they weren't very bright, they had the clear advantage of height and strength, so they devised a quick battle plan. "Looks like the midget's got some skill." The green mullet man taunted along with his brothers. "C'mere, and let big brother teach you some new tricks!"
Steven ran full speed towards them, but they swiftly locked their arms together, clotheslining him to the hardwood floor.
With all commotion, no one saw Abel slip into the backroom, spotting his mission objectives. The Gardevoir was pinned and her trainer was out cold. Hiding in the shadows, he quickly tried to come to a decision, as the human wasn't looking too good. His face was badly bruised, and blood flowed freely from his nose and mouth. His shirt was permanently stained from the neck down, and his right hand was stretched out towards the Pokémon. Abel also spied a woman's body, although death had a strong grip on her once warm frame, the scent of her blood telling enough that she had just died.
He shuffled into a corner blocked by the love seats, observing his opponent. "Now, what to do about the human..." Abel thought to himself. "Wait, something's off about her. She has a...tail?" He shook his head. "Nevermind that, I'll worry about that later."
All types of scenarios played out in his head, so he narrowed it down. One: Get stomped on and die. Two: Get chopped up like a Tuesday sausage and die. Three: Scratch the living shit out of that woman and pray the Gardevoir helps.
Obviously choosing option number three, he made a mad dash for the woman's face. He hurled his claws at the woman's eyes, but right as he was about to make contact, his eyes went wide.
"Abel! What the hell are you doing?!" Steven cried out as he caught him. The raccoon-like Pokémon was speechless. His words got caught up in his throat and his body quivered. A wave of regret came crashing down on him.
"I- I'm so ...s-sorry…" he stammered, looking for words to say.
"Why would you do that? Couldn't you see it was me?"
He was tearing up. "I-I'm so sorry!"
Steven placed him on the ground and looked down on him. "Be more careful next time, ok?"
Abel bowed his head. "Y-yes, sir…"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Move!" The voice warned, "This isn't real!"
"W-what?" Abel thought, "Who the hell are you?"
"Never mind that!" the voice replied. "If you value your life, run!"
"What are you…?" Looking up, he saw that his master was surrounded in purple smoke, about to strike him. With a squeak of surprise, he bent his tubular body out of the way, avoiding a direct hit. "Steven's" skin began to dissolve, giving birth to the true form, a Zoroark.
She plunged her blade straight for his skull, but flexibility was on his side, and he easily dodged the blade tip as it was embedded into the sofa behind him. He used the opportunity to launch a counterattack, but she caught him in mid flight. A surge of strength and power coursed through her claws in an effort to snap the struggling Furret's neck, but he grinned widely as her razor sharp grip was child's play against his tough hide skin.
The Zoroark sent Able soaring across the room, skidding as he landed. He was panting and felt blood trickling down his left hind leg. The crippled pokemon was shocked as to how he got hit. He remembered dodging the blade all fine and well, so how did he get hit? Quite simply, it was all an illusion created in her image. His brain cooked up another solution; if pain made him see reality, maybe he should get hurt on purpose?
He looked up once more, only for his eyes to have dysfunctional grasp of truth and fantasy, the world around him seeming liked unfinished painting, with warping colors.
The unseen enemy impossibly appeared out of thin air, swinging its blade for his vitals. Like clockwork he avoided it, but something was odd, for when she swung at him, she'd go right and he went left. Insanely enough, she went at him, slanting the blade slightly sideways as she went right and he dodged. She then made a hasty retreat and waited and so did he, squaring it off. His neck got itchy and irritated, and blood began to escape from an unknown opening. Naturally, he placed a paw over it to stop the bleeding, but it erupted into a rain of crimson red. Bathing in his own life force, the Furret's breathing was short and scarce. It felt like his heart was about to jump out of chest from beating so hard. And now bowed on his knees looking at his killer, a shadow zoomed passed the two and detonated.
The blast sent both the Zoroark and him flying, throwing them to a painful end. Expecting to be splattered across the wall, he closed his eyes and waited, but... nothing. He opened his eyes again to a Gardevoir standing over him with a human slumped on her back.
"The hell are you pissing around for!? You ain't dead yet!"
...
The building rumbled from the blast, tripping it's sprinklers and showering everyone in a cold bath. Time stopped for the brawling party of humans as they saw a Gardevoir emerging from the smoldering door with a man and Pokémon in hand. Using her Psychic powers, she had both of them in tow like puppets following her every command. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she brought her trainer to rest on the cold shrapnel filled floor, watching his sealed lids. All watched in awe, including Harvey, with his jaw agape. She caressed her master's face down to his neck and felt a pumping motion, she bawled even harder, for that she knew that's what humans do with their necks means they're about to die...right?
"The fuck are you dipshits doing!?" Harvey barked. " Get 'er!"
The room remained silent. No one dared to move a muscle. It was as if they were under a sandman's spell, forever frozen. A eerie feeling filled the atmosphere, and many of the Pokémon began to whine and quake in fear as her emotions were sent out like radio waves, warning them not to come near. On the human's end, everything seemed well, normal. They couldn't feel what their Pokémon felt, for what they felt down to their bones was a true sense of fear.
Lance broke free of his attacker without even putting up fight, as they were too caught up watching Psychic sitting there, silently crying to herself. The flightless bird sneaked his way into the back room, only to stumble across what looked like a murder scene. Fresh blood painted the walls and the love seats, with trails leading straight to its unfortunate victim. The still pouring water clouded his vision, but he could still clearly see a badly battered Zoroark laying on the destroyed sofas, wood shattered everywhere, and cotton stuffing spat high above, making the crime scene looked like had snowed feathers stained with blood. The upper left half of her face was severely burned, to point where it had seared off her facial hair, including a portion of the scalp, leaving that spot permanently bald.
He gave a quick shake to gather his wits and proceeded to search for one common goal most thieves had: money. It didn't take long for the crooked bird to find what he was looking for, which was a total of four cases laying dormant under the Zoroark's body, ripe for the taking. Was he really going to steal from a person's death bed?
He rolled his eyes. "You bet your ass I will."
He flopped the corpse over. Wait, corpse? Why did it have a pulse?
The body rose up slowly, but it hissed and fell back, as it was too painful for it to move. It stared into Lance devastated orbs. He was about to shit bricks.
"The hell are you!?" Lance squealed like school girl, swooping a case from under her back and bouncing back in the process, disappearing like nobody's business. He left the poor creature to wallow in pain with her silent cries of pain landing on deaf ears.
Lance went into a dead sprint, crashing right into the speechless Gardevoir, throwing her off balance. Her pupils shrank to a fraction of their regular size. A Shadow Ball quickly spawned in her left arm, but dissipated as an injured Furret nodded to her that he was friendly.
She picked up her beloved trainer and politely levitated to the exit, with Steven and co. following close behind. The men gave way, creating a clear ally for her exit.
Harvey was dumbfounded. Never in his life had he seen anything like this happen. He wanted to charge after them, but the whining of sirens told him that it was time to go. He ordered his men to evacuate, and they quickly rushed outside, abandoning the building.
Sunny quickly got into the car, Samantha nervously waiting for her. She wanted to lay down some questions, but the approaching squad cars gave no time. Glaring and nodding at Steven, he eagerly hopped inside along with Lance, tossing his cargo inside. Revving the engine, they made their way onto the main road, barely escaping the hands of the law.
Samantha gave Sunny and her partner a quick look. "You two are gonna have a lot of explaining to do…"
...
It looks alike a new member has joined the party but, will Ciara and Sunny's view on the human body ever change? Stay tuned for chapter 12!- TropicalAce