25
We all camp on the out skirts, near, but not within sight of Abby. Quartzeon built a small den, digging a little and bringing materials for a makeshift roof, and they both finish it. Abby thanked him, and sent him off. Everyone came back to where Rachamim said camp was, as apparently, they planned to meet here until Abby could leave. Everyone being Serena and Draxik. Sakura had to leave on urgent ranger business, as an earthquake had struck near Pewter, and things weren't very well there. She had left a week earlier.
The next morning, I awaken first, and walk over to where Abby had the den built. Traditionally, the male in the couple is supposed to make a den, but since Markus was gone… she was happy to have anyone do it. I look at the small thing, almost like a make-shift tent. A small ditch-like hole is dug into the ground, and dried mud with sticks, leaves and other things make up the little roof. I walk up to its side and hear a sleight whimpering. I kneel down and peak inside and fall backwards in surprise, and fear.
Shimmer is lying down and whimpering next to Abby, who is lying on her side on the floor, with three red stripes sliced through her abdomen, blood leaking slowly on to the poor make-shift floor, almost soaking Shimmer's abdomen and chest completely. I reach in to pick her up, and Shimmer runs up and rubs her head against my side, crying. Then, I hear a sound from behind me, the sound of a pokémon being released from it's pokéball. And not from my belt.
I get out quickly and turn to face the one who released the pokémon, and find a normal dress Team Rocket member. He has a black cap, black T-shirt with a white, long sleeved undershirt, and black pants with black boots. The front of the shirt has a big, red "R" on it, representing Rocket. In front of him is an Arbok. I, feeling bad for having to leave Abby in the state she is in, dead or alive, release Veera and get ready for a fight.
"Now now, we don't want a fight, I'm here to bring you to my boss." Says the man, showing me his palms, as if to mean peace.
"Forgive me if I don't fucking believe you when a friend of mine is deathly hurt. Veera! Wing Attack!" I called out. With a furiously look in her face, she leaps forward, and before Arbok can even react, Veera's wing hits it straight on in the head, nothing held back. It goes flying backwards more than 30 feet, its head slamming into a tree, and going unconscious. Veera then hits the Rocket member with her other wing, but he gets his arms up to his head before he gets hit, and is knocked out cold, but not injured too badly.
"Abby, ABBY!" I yell into her den. "Don't worry, I'm getting you out. I'll get you to a pokécenter quick enough."
I pull her out, feeling more strength than I normally would again, and an odd feeling of anger. No, not again. How long will I do this before I start to feel some side effects?
She is breathing slowly and softly, and she whimpers as I pull her out. Raizu… Shimmer… she just woke up, she can't follow you if you run.
I nod, and show Abby an empty pokéball. She nods, and losses consciousness. I show Shimmer the pokéball, and bring it down to her height. "Please… just press your nose up against the button. You'll be safe, and you can see your mommy later."
She looks at it curiously, and looks at the button at its equator instantly. Must have recognized the word button… I think, as she slowly approached it, and pressed her nose against it. The pokéball opens and she is rushed inside the familiar red flash of light. The button glows red once, and shakes a little, but then stops. I sigh, and put the ball on my belt. "Veera, we go now. Could you fly me to the pokémon center? That would be faster."
I would need to know the move Fly, and I don't. I'm sorry, you'll have to run there. I'll fly ahead though and get help outside. I can privately speak with anyone you know.
I nod and say, "All right, hurry hurry go go!" I start to run, and Veera darts off into the sky in an instant. I hold Abby in my arms, almost as I did Markus when bringing him back to camp when he died. I run and dart through the woods, wishing I had more pokémon, so I could send one of them to wake the others. I must be some kind of trainer…
I keep running, for about four or five minutes, when a gust of wind blocks my movement. I keep running on the slick grass, but don't go forward. I stop eventually and am pushed back into a tree. I hear an odd sound, and realize that I am soaked with Abby's blood, down my entire front side. Oh god… I think, when I hear the ruffling of a robe.
I look up and see a familiar descending figure. Dark Ambition. He floats on down from the sky as if on wires, and creates a wind beneath his feet, as if a movie was making special effects for him. He looks different though. The entire right side of his robe is burnt to ashes, and shows his body, a black training kimono apparently under his clothes, and a sword sheath on the back of his waist. His face cannot be seen. The hood is gone as well, all of it, but…
A mask covers his face. A white mask with an insane look on it, a few facial features painted red on it. His sword is unsheathed in his right hand, and it is enormous. It isn't just some long katana-like sword that Draxik has, but it doesn't fit its sheath. It is large and bulky at the tip, almost like an axe or javelin head, and the rest is narrow and thin, but looks just as sharp and dangerous.
After taking all of this in, I realize he is FLOATING down. He can fly? Does he have some kind of super power or something?
"Hehehehehe… Your Abby did a number on me before I could get a clear shot on her. I hear though, that she wasn't in the clearing and taken by wild animals. It appears her little Shimmer protected her through the night. A brave little pokémon." He said, his voice sounding like 3 altogether, each one echoing the other. None of the three were his original voice either.
"So… you did do this to Abby didn't you?" I say, anger overwhelming me, and I let it. If I want to have some kind of chance, I'll have to be strong. Whether or not I live.
I place her down onto a smooth, cool rock as Dark Ambition responds. "Of course. I knew if I hurt her, you would leave in a rush to get away, and that placing an obviously meaningless grunt would enrage you and send off Veera."
I look at him with pure anger when something catches my attention at ground level, in front of me, yet still behind Dark Ambition. I try not to look, and let my peripheral vision notice how Draxik had snuck up behind him. He shows my sword, and gets ready to throw it, probably waiting for me to do anything.
"So, what do you want?" I say to Dark Ambition.
"You to die of course. You think that'll change so fast?" He says smugly.
"I would. It has been a while before yesterday, and you don't seem to want to attack me directly." I edge forward a little.
Dark Ambition hardly even notices. "What are you going to do, jump at me? You can't harm me, you don't know how."
I don't pick up on any possible meaning behind that sentence, and just find it to be an arrogant statement. I do jump at him, with one arm out stretched. He flies out of the way quickly, and I find my sword tossed, sheathed still, into my outward hand. I unsheath it quickly and swing it up to block the down-coming slash from Dark Ambition. He is startled, and I strain my body to turn over and land on my feet. I am SO glad I am a morning person. I think as I land swiftly on my feet. Draxik comes out too. He takes his sword out promptly and takes a fighting stance, the sword pointing diagonally up ward from his waist, and my stance, where I hold the hilt near my head, and the rest of the sword pointing forward, and a little bit downward, toward my opponent.
Dark Ambition lands, looks at us surprised, and laughs. "Oh, this'll be fun." He runs forward, quickly, his sword behind him, ready to slash from any side or angle. Great.
I react, but not nearly as fast as Draxik, as his sword already meets Dark Ambition's before I move. Which is good, as it lets me get in a clear strike. I duck and dash at Dark's side and slash out at him, but he twists his sword so that it stops Draxik's still, and hits mine away effortlessly.
"You two think you can stop me?!" He yells. He pushes forward and knocks us both down. He jumps forward, and Draxik swings upward to hit Dark's sword, and his self, away over my head. I get up quickly, jumping from lying down to my feet, then turn around and look at Draxik, who's sword is now glowing black, tinted burgundy. His face shows apparent anger, and starts to look white, as a similar mask falls over his face, looking like Dark Ambitions, but only covering half. But the energy resonating from his sword is so large and engulfing, it looks as to be coming from his body. His voice also is now seeming to be more than one voice as he speaks.
"So… YOU are of the other cursed family!" Yells Draxik. "You're gonna die here!" He charges forward, and brings down his sword on Dark Ambition. He swings his flat side up and blocks Draxik, while stopping the movement with his other hand. Draxik jumps up and double jumps, and shoves one palm forward. "SHADOW BALL!" He screams, the sound echoing through the air and hitting my ears several times. The huge ball of black energy shoots out at Dark Ambition, and rushes at him.
He brings up his hand as well and calls out, "LIGHT SCREEN!" To block the attack, making it explode over him. While it causes no damage, it looks like that after the smoke clears, he got shoved into the ground several feet, the screen protecting him. He jumps up and puts a palm forward again, yelling, "FLAMETHROWER!" As such an attack shoots from his palm, a pillar of flame racing toward Draxik.
He brings down his sword to cut the pillar as he falls down, and then makes another midair jump and comes above Dark's head. "SHADOW CLAW!" He yells out, and swings his sword. A huge wave of dark energy slices downward, the wave hitting farther than I can make out through the forest. It hits Dark Ambition head on, and sends him reeling to the ground. I can't see through the smoke, but don't like the position I am in. I walk backwards quickly, urgently wanting to get out with Abby. She's bleeding, and slowly dying, if not gone already…
As I am about to reach a tree, the smoke clears in one small area as Dark Ambition jumps at me, flying straight across the ground as if hovering. His sword is pointing at me for a stab. I take my stance and quickly, just before he reaches me, swing the sword around my body, as if wrapping myself in some kind of roll of paper, and hit his attack away, and keep spinning, intending to land a direct hit on Dark Ambition. I find though that he continued to fly off in the direction I hit him away in. He lands on the ground, sliding on the muddy forest floor several feet, before running toward me. I stand my ground, and lean back a little, putting more weight on my right leg and less on my left, so that one goes forward and lower.
He reaches me, and swings out at me, and I bring my sword to his swiftly. We exchange clashes for what seems like an hour, but may be only several seconds. I can't get to him, and am barely evading getting cut down. Where are you Draxik!?
We keep fighting, and my anger seems to subside, as if it tires as much as I. Sweat starts to fall down my cheeks, and I can feel it getting harder to block Dark Ambition's strikes. He can feel this, and lets up, in order to talk. "So. You had enough?"
"Why are you talking to me!?" I yell, and swing at him, but before I touch him, I find his sword in my side. He slashed out at me, and cut a straight cut a few inches deep. I yell out and fall down. "Why do you want me dead? We both have the same father don't we!?"
"So, that easy to figure out? Yes, we do, but I don't want YOU to get your grubby little hands on Team Rocket. An idiot like you wouldn't be useful for anything." He looked at me with a sneer, and brings up his sword, ready to execute me.
NOT NOW! I scream in my own head, and put one palm forward. As I do, a burst of energy shoots forward. Electrical energy. The attack seemed to be some kind of thunderbolt, and I wasn't sure how I did it. But, it hit Dark Ambition full on. He falls to his knees, trying to move his body with his own will, but his muscles are locked tight.
I get up slowly, placing my free hand over the wound, and walk to him slowly. "If you want to kill me, kill ME. Don't attack my friends." I turn around and got to Abby, intending to get her to the pokémon center still, and not wanting to finish off Dark Ambition.
As I approach the end of the clearing, I see Serena, Rachamim, and Draxik come out of the woods. He went to get help. He looks at Dark Ambition and dashes over to him, and I turn back to Abby before I see what happens. Abby had started to bleed a lot less, and she wasn't as warm as she had been when holding her earlier. She felt like she had normal body temperature of a human, and for a fire pokémon, that was deathly bad. I try to summon up the anger in my body again, intending to use its strength to get me to the pokémon center. I think of my Father, how he left me. I think of how I was shunned by everyone when I was small, that being a source of all my seemingly uninspired arrogance. I think of how Markus died to someone who wanted a tiny bit of pay back from some stupid wild pokémon.
I think of what may happen to Abby if I don't get her to safety in time.
I feel the energy pump through me again, and I dash. I make huge jumps, clearing 30 feet almost with each one, and come to the city in mere seconds. As I run toward the eastern side of town where the center is, I find a Nurse Joy running about, and two officers, along with Veera hovering over them with her wings. Joy sees me first, and dashes over, bringing a portable hospital bed and officers with her. I place Abby on the bed quickly and softly, and the three dart off without regards for me. Veera comes up to me and cries out, Raizu… What happened?!
I feel a shock of pain rise through me, from the wound, but all through my body. I feel the black pain, as it shoots up and into every cell that makes my body, and it says I am going to feel pure, concentrated, horror. I scream, so loud that I cease to hear it after a full second, and am pretty sure it lasts for longer than that. I fall to the ground, but manage to get one thought out as I lose consciousness. A bad trainer happened Veera.