Wow, I can't respond to reviews anymore… But I want everyone who does review to know that I still appreciate them so much! So if you have a question that you want answered please contact me via another way, and not by e-mail please. You can find me on Neopets under the username 'kittenfive', on Gaia Online I am 'Star-Bird Swellow', and if you click on my homepage and ask a question to 'Swellow' there, that's me as well. You don't need to join there, but you're encouraged to.
Well, I'm not all that happy with this chapter, as I've written it over and over again and can't seem to get everything just right… It's more of a filler, and before I spend another week remodeling it again, here's chapter 30!
Chapter 30
While Sara was out doing things, Star was having her problems with a certain lover-boy…"Go. Away." Star snapped, so upset she couldn't cause an explosion to rock the world of the Swellow trying to flirt with her.
"Why should I?" Mellow asked in his deepest tone, fluffing his feathers out stubbornly.
"Hey Chicky!" The female tweeted when Amber came walking under the tent top both she and Mellow were on. The Combusken raised her head and blinked questioningly. "Do you want a stalker? He's potty trained."
"I am?"
Amber snorted, "No thanks song bird, I've got enough problems."
"I'll even add in my food for a month!" Star squawked desperately.
"But we could share that!" Mellow said in the same desperate tone as he saw Amber turn around with a pondering look on her face.
"You've got a deal." She said finally, snagging Mellow by the tail feathers and yanking him away with her. Star breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him go and looked down at her belly thoughtfully before murmuring, "I really do need to lose some weight…" And with that she flew off in search of her trainer.
Squee and Meep giggled at the big dragon that was Sandsinger as she played tag with them. It was Puff's turn to be it, as he was the one she caught first. (They were faster than her, but Sandsinger was having a lot of fun, believe it or not.)
"Hey Sandsinger!" Sara bounced up to her Pokemon with a wide smile. The dragon put down Puff, beginning another game of tag, and turned around with a questioning look.
In the distance, Sandsinger could see Star-bird flying around freely, well at least without Mellow, and she wondered where he was. It seemed that Mellow was becoming more aggressively attached to her… for a moment the Flygon through back to Tarragon and sighed. "Trainer!" She bounced over to Sara joyfully, not letting any of her thoughts show.
"Come on, it's starting!" Sara replied, taking her Flygon by the arm and dragging her towards the stadium, "And where in the world is Star?"
"Over there." Sandsinger pointed backwards, where Star was coming in for a landing a bit awkwardly for her, and seemingly not seeing the kittens. The three of them, who were staring at her with wide eyes, tackled Star the second she touched the ground and proceeded to chew on her wings. Puff must have found her crest interesting tasting.
They turned around and saw this with Star not even making a motion to get rid of them. She looked up at Sara with a questioning look, "So, is it starting?" She asked, motioning to the stadium with one wing in a way not to disturb Squee.
"Uh…" Sara bit her lip at the strange scene, then shrugged, "Yeah, it is. Come on Star!"
"Alright!" Star did her old trick of taking off to shake off her three terrorist kittens and soared in the direction of the stadium.
"So you're saying this'll work?" Famulus murmured questioningly as he looked on at the rock field with one of his greasy eyebrows raised.
Adam nodded quickly, "Yeah, all that silver cat has to do is step right there," He pointed to a dark spot that could easily be mistaken for another rock. "And then we'll have her."
"Right… another one of your bright ideas. I wonder how long this one will last." The other man murmured as the crowd was hushed at the starting of the match between Sara and Drake.
"You're going down Drake!" Sara exclaimed over on her side of the field, Star adding her squawking note.
Their friends were split down the middle, Rena was sitting on Sara's side, Devon on Drake's, Pocky and Elvina were in the middle where nobody could tell which side they're on.
"Go Meep-Squee!" Squee squeaked from Rena's lap, and the kitten (now rolling around with Puff on the bleachers at Rena's feet) raised his head and squeaked back at her. The squeaking continued on until a horn was blown, and that caused the kittens to scatter.
A Solonfree exclaimed brightly from Sara's side of the bleachers when she released Karen, unknowingly going the first step in a plan to catch her. Sundav. Sara thought and shook her head as Drake's Dorovi appeared on the other side with a cry.
"Psybeam!"
"Water Gun!"
The two attacks hit in between, but it was the Psybeam that blasted through the water wall in its way and knocked Dorovi across the head. The dragon-like Pokemon stumbled for a second before charging at Karen with his mouth open, ready to bite.
The Espeon rolled to the side of the Bite attack, going closer to an odd rock, before dodging yet another attempted bite. Dorovi knocked her back farther and farther until the ground under Karen seemed to shudder for a second.
An explosion from the area there slammed into Dorovi, causing him to bounce hard on his head and abruptly faint as his opponent roared out a cry. "Karen!" Sara exclaimed when the dust settled, showing her Espeon in a steel cage that glinted in the sunshine. A couple of ropes were bringing her in from above, and on the other side of them were Famulus and Adam standing on top of Famulus's Aerodactyl.
"Surprised to see us kid?" Famulus asked mockingly when she tensed up. "Well, we've got a surprise for you!"
The man tossed a Pokeball, just as Aero back winged and set off for the other direction. The ball exploded in a burst of light, and yet another flyer took to the air with a roar of the name of a Pokemon he appeared to be. "Zapdos?" Someone from the crowd questioned when the massive bird let off another roar and sparked from his body.
"Karen!" Sara cried, totally ignoring the new Pokemon as she sent Sandsinger out on the field and shot off after the fast flying creature. She passed the Zapdos without a scratch as well, yet a slight electrical shock followed her Flygon that was ignored.
The posing-Solonfree looked up and began to glare suspiciously at the Pokemon that was circling above the battlefield with his body sparking. She finally said, "That is no Zapdos."
It was then that Rikeren looked down long enough for Drake and the rest to pick out the black, pupil-less eyes of the bird, only with the slight slits of red as any color in them. The Zapdos-impersonator finally let loose his electrical attack, sending a bolt of scarlet down to earth aimed at Drake.
"Woopa!" Woop exclaimed dramatically as it took the attack with virtually no damage. Pocky was standing and had thrown it in the way.
Dorovi snapped awake again as Rikeren stopped in mid-air and laughed aloud, "So I see that you human think you are clever!" He growled, "There is nothing clever about a-"
He stopped when his tail feathers caught fire from a poorly aimed blast of fire. Sundav, standing were Sara used to be, had her beak open and was charging another Fire Blast.
Rikeren snickered evilly at the Ho-oh as he generated another bolt that rained down on her this time. Sundav's body went rigid from shock and shuddered when the blast was finished, suffering from the aftereffects of paralization. It was then that the electrified bird was hit and soaked with water.
"You are not welcome here." Dorovi stated the obvious as he crouched with teeth bared and his tiny crest rose. All the dragon's statement got was another squawking laugh from Rikeren though…
"I see I am not, since there is only weaklings like you." He said, looking at Sundav, who was still shaking furiously, to Dorovi. He could squash the little dragon like a bug if he wanted! This was what he was created for, being impossibly strong. It was he that was the oldest here, far surpassing the Ho-oh in age, and skill!
Dorovi took a full-on Thunder attack in the same battle pose he was in, crying furiously. The dragon's cry of anger soon turned to that of pain as he scales were seared and began to split, his life zapping away with the seconds that passed. I can't… He thought desperately, looking to Sundav in hopes that she could help.
The Ho-oh remained still; stone still, as she watched what she knew was the end. "May the great Mew be with you." She murmured.
Rikeren cried with pleasure at the burned body that lay under him. "Just as it should be." He stated, licking his beak with obvious longing, he'd be having fried dragon tonight…
Drake… Dorovi used the last of his ebbing strength to glance at his trainer. The curly-haired boy's face was set, knowing spreading across his features. "Dorovi, no…" He murmured, but the dragon only nodded. I've failed Drake.
Drake, the human he had always given such a hard time to… the boy he'd been stuck with since he was a little hatchling. Dorovi was stuck in the past, his eyes misty, as his body began to change…
It had been a rainy day when Drake's father, who was only just a tall version of his trainer, had brought the baby version of himself in by the tail. "Treat him well son." The man had said when Drake accepted him, his eyes wide. And of course the first thing he had done was bite the young boy's hand…
They had trained for a while, making new friends and many enemies as well. Drake had caught a Horsea after the fifteenth day they were together, and when he was faced with a scrawny little Taillow he ran her over with ease. He hadn't even known he evolved… "Dorovi." Drake said, and it was in a much different tone this time. Dorovi thought back, it was the same shocked word that his trainer had said when he had evolved. What was wrong with him? Dorovi wondered as he realized his head would turn, and he looked around to Sundav.
The Ho-oh remained in the same pose she had struck, but it was much different this time at what she said. "Stop laying around boy, you know what to do, so do it." She said with a tone of seriousness. Again Dorovi had to wonder what was wrong with her, and him as well. But perhaps she wanted him to die like he was supposed to?
"…Saladreth…" The name was repeated over and over again as the crowd began to repeat that name over and over, raising their voices in an intense clatter.
"Who's Saladreth?" Dorovi asked, confusion in his tone as he snapped his jaw closed in slight shock. His voice had turned deep and had a fine growl to it, something that was new for it.
Drake held his breath as the huge dragon turned his gaze back to him, "Go on Dor-Saladreth!" He exclaimed with a motion to the sky. He had heard of the beauty of a Saladreth, but never had seen it until today. He was absolutely huge! The dragon's scales glittered sapphire, with emerald dotting it every once and a while. On his massive forearms were claws that all looked to be about the size of a small sword, and sharp as one.
Saladreth finally looked down at himself, to the giant wings that had grown in, to his fully-grown spines and lengthy, whip-like tail. And the look of his purple-speckled eyes said that he finally understood.
The dragon got up with ease and spread his wings. While Dorovi could never take that attack, Saladreth had absorbed the damage he'd taken and was still ready for more. Rikeren had stopped cheering for himself and was watching with shocked horror as Saladreth kicked off the ground and took flight with one heavy flap of his wings.
He found that flying was easier than it looked; Saladreth flapped his wings again and gained enough altitude to be on level with Rikeren. "Now whose the biggest fish in the sea?" He cackled teasingly as the bird shot another electrical attack at him. The shiny scales covering Saladreth's hide did not conduct the electricity, he barely was scathed.
It appeared that Rikeren was finally afraid as his attack did almost nothing to his opponent. He operated on weakness only, and there was no weakness in the purple fire of Saladreth's eyes. His crest was raised and mouth open, in between the shining silver teeth was an orange globe starting to form.
"I will be avenged!" Roared Rikeren as his voice was heard for the last time. The Hyper Beam was shot, and it hit the nightmare creature through his dark heart. His eyes rolled back and as the bird fell, his form was reduced to smoky blackness that vanished in the wind before it even hit the ground. The fallen legendary had lost for the last time.
Sara thought she saw a plume of smoke in the distance, but wasn't completely sure. "Should we turn back?" Sandsinger questioned as her gaze followed that of her trainer's.
"No way! We have to find them…" She replied furiously, angry that her Pokemon would even think of asking a question like that. "Karen's probably been muffled by now, but you can still follow their scent!"
Neither of them wanted to admit they were lost, nor that Karen would still cry out psychically. The Espeon's voice had died away long ago, and there was nothing else to follow as Sandsinger sniffed the air and shrugged helplessly.
"Kitty-san! If you can still hear me, say something!" Sandsinger cried desperately, using the nickname she'd given to Karen herself.
"She's over here!" Star, who had been sent to fly patrol since she was faster than Sandsinger, returned and landed on the Flygon's neck with her wing pointing to the direction that they were headed.
Just ahead was an old, abandoned-looking cabin that, when they were closer, had a psychic air to it that gave Sara the feeling that she was just recovering from a migraine. This must be Karen's distress signal. She thought to herself as Sandsinger landed just outside the cabin and tapped on the door lightly.
It opened just a crack, and Dominus's voice came out, "You've finally got her eh? And I guess you suspect that I'll keep your lives for this?"
His tone was more chilly than usual, and Sara shuddered slightly as she put her ear to the door to hear it better. "Y-yes sir, that's what we suspect."
"Shall we pay them a visit?" Sara whispered to her two Pokemon, who both nodded, Sandsinger eager, Star half-hearted. She kicked the door open and was greeted by a sight that the ten year-old would call strange.
Dominus, with Catastrofate standing behind him, was cackling over the two kneeling forms of Famulus and Adam. They were so wrapped up in the scene that none noticed the three standing at the door, except for the stupid werewolf-like creature, which howled at the sight of Sara.
"Hmm…" Dominus had a hungry glaze to his eyes as he looked up and smirked at them. "Lady Sara, how good of you to join us."
Sandsinger hissed as he began to cackle again, "I think you should shove it Dominus." Star tweeted sassily.
Karen was still in the steel cage at the corner of the cabin, growling and hitting her full weight against the cage, cried out angrily when Dominus took his full Pokemorph form as well.
The door shut with an audible crash behind Sara. "So you got past Rikeren, eh?" Famulus asked, but was silenced from a glance from his master. Sandsinger tried to open the door discretely with her tail, and found it impossible.
"Since everyone except myself and Dominus are going to die, I guess I can let you in on a little secret." Dominus said with a smirk, pausing for effect to see the different reactions that they all would have to the way he phrased that. "I am not Dominus."
Catastrofate, who was drooling lazily as he watched a fly buzz around, finally raised his gaze and smirked widely at them. His face seemed transformed at the moment he used normal speech fluently in saying," But I am." His voice strangely different from that of the other Pokemon that appeared to be like him.
"Wha-?" They both laughed, as those in the room with them were all quite confused-looking at their statements.
"You're not Dominus, but you are?" Adam pointed to each in turn and blinked. "So if you're not Dominus but Catastrofate is Dominus, then who are you?"
"I am Siron." The human Dominus returned to his normal form and smirked innocently. "A weakling in comparison, and you all believed it this whole time. My, we must be good actors."
"Quite." The real Dominus smirked, "And I guess you'll want an explanation too, eh? Well let's just say that I decided to repeat what Sundav did, and separate my powers. So with Siron as a decoy, I could collect my powers while acting stupid." He cackled, "So easily fooled, you humans and simple-minded Pokemon are."
"But-but-but…" Sara stared at Dominus, the real one, with her mouth open. "But your voice…"
"Doesn't ooze with darkness." He finished for her, "That's why you never saw a threat in me. Now guess what? Prepare to die, little girl."
The wolf-creature's eyes narrowed as he lifted a hand and clenched it. Invisible tendrils of darkness clamped around Sara's throat, squeezing down on it. "Dominus!" Sundav, in the form of a miniature Ho-oh, appeared through the door. Her movements where slow and weak, as if she'd been shocked hard by something.
Sara couldn't breathe, couldn't make a sound other that choked coughs as dark shadows began to creep across her eyes. She scratched at the invisible force around her, thrashing against the air around her that was so full of darkness that it could be cut with a knife. Sundav turned her head and squawked, or was that Star? Sounds and sights blurred together, becoming a tangled mass of color and noise that couldn't be comprehended.
And then everything went black for Sara.
"Since Sara Wellington is not here, I guess the match automatically goes to Drake Drencos of Elemental Ridge." The announcer said, uncertainty in his tone as he turned to the boy standing with the massive form of Saladreth looming over him. The dragon had been the same old, affectionate creature… and was still a lazy lump. Just how Drake wanted it to be, and secretly Saladreth wanted it that way too.
"Give her some more time!" Elvina said worriedly as she held on to Meep and Squee, the two of them being big handfuls for her. Two flying forms returned quickly afterwards, Gryff to her pacing trainer, and Mellow to report that he saw nothing of his own female. The male Swellow seemed to give Rena a wide space in between for some reason, and was very interested in hiding in the crook of Saladreth's right wing.
Gryff, however, had more important news to deliver. (Other than the fact that she'd beaten Mellow on the race back to the stadium.) "I saw them going towards this old house up on the next route by the sea." She reported to her trainer, who stopped pacing and repeated the information to those that couldn't understand, "But that was when this mist settled around them, Sandsinger didn't hear my shouting. It was impossible to follow."
"You did well." Rena murmured, returning her Pokemon to her well-earned rest. "I suppose we're going on a rescue mission, then?" She asked.
"There is no need for that." Sundav returned, her massive red eyes full of sorrow. The Ho-oh stiffly sat down, drawing a perfect circle in the dirt of the rock field so she wouldn't have to continue and say what was inevitably the biggest failure of her life. A single tear welled up in the corner of her eye and fell to the edge of the circle, wetting it and staying there like a little imperfection in the thing that went on forever, the one blemish that would pause and disrupt.
She didn't even look up when Squee squirmed out of Elvina's grasp and padded up to her, "What's wrong?" The kitten mewed, pawing at her beak fearlessly.
"I have lost her."
Sundav moved her head so that her eyes were more on level with Squee's. The kitten blinked, showing how much she understood the statement with the way her head was cocked to the side. "You have lost no one yet." Another walked up to the group, smiling mysteriously. "Or do you think I can't tell when my own sister is dead?"
A/N: Yeah, I'm actually commenting at the bottom of the page for once. I thank you for getting through the pretty uneventful filler-ness chapter without hitting the backspace button, and for that you get a cookie! -offers plate of cookies to readers- The next chapter is going to be more interesting, I promise!