Chapter 34
"I see no difference." Siron murmured, looking from one of the black bands balanced on his right hand to the silver-tinted ones on his left.
"There is a difference." Dominus growled, "Don't be a Pidgey-minded fool, I don't want to have to get rid of you like those other two…"
The man smirked at the threat, "You haven't gotten rid of me for the longest time, why now of all times? Show me." He pushed the bands back at the wolf-creature and leered.
"Your Fearow, if you will."
The brown-plumed bird was released from her Pokeball with a caw. One of the black bands was around her neck and gave the side effect to her, the red eyes. With one sweep of his claws, Dominus removed the old band and paused for a moment before tossing the silvery version at her.
It opened up at the last moment and latched onto her neck at the same place. But after a moment, it was gone. "It's defective." Siron smirked, "She didn't change."
"Look again, nimrod." The faintest outline of a clear band could be seen in certain light, and as Siron squinted at it, he saw and his smirk turned into a full-blown smile. "No side effects." Dominus continued with a proud gleam in his eyes, which lasted for only a second before disappearing.
"But we have yet to test its effects on Pokemorphs and humans."
"That's her, that's her!" The Chikpea jumped up and down, pointing one of his wings in the general direction of the mansion's courtyard where a couple of small dots were, obviously one was struggling and the other one was trying to keep her still. And then a bright little flash showed up of a certain Vulpix flaming.
Natu watched this with concern, "Shouldn't we help her?"
"Do you think we can survive a fall like that?" Chikpea countered, looking down at the fifty-foot drop they would have to go through to hit the ground around the same area that Sara and Windrider where.
"You should have thought of that before, when you were leading me here."
"But where's the fun it that?"
"You're hopeless, and we can't glide. So, come on, at least we can try going around the long way…" He hopped over to an open door and beckoned to Chikpea before disappearing into the darkness beyond it.
"See, isn't this better then breaking our necks?" Natu asked in a furious whisper when they'd reached the courtyard in one piece and were beginning to head the way that they had thought that Windrider had taken her.
"But what about Saraaaaa?" Chikpea wailed, "She'll never make it now!"
"Dramatist." Was the reply he got as the two small birds continued on in silence, into Pájaro Mansion again, where the bright gold and red was blinding compared to the gray colors of the outside stone.
The Xatu continued to wait for the right time to come, it was so close yet that he could almost feel Sara right there in front of him. She was to be his greatest prize, the last possession he would take before going outside his old master's mansion walls to recruit more loyal followers.
He was the Mansion Master now though, everything and anyone there was his to control, and he did so by an iron wing. The filthy hybrid Windrider was just the first of a handful to fall to his will. It was his fault that the old master had been killed, from spite and had gotten what he justly deserved. A lifetime of service to Guardian, the Mansion Master.
The sound of scuffling came from afar, the eye that sighted the future in the Xatu showed Windrider struggling forward while holding a struggling Sara around her waist. "Ahh, finally, she shall come." He whispered, turning to face the stony door.
He was under the Shrine of Flying, in a secret compartment that was sheltered from view. It was carved from the same stone block as the Scyther above, a bombproof shelter that he had used many a time to keep himself from being noticed.
Guardian didn't have to wait long before they were there, Windrider tapping the stone door with what sounded like his foot. The door opened with a psychic flick of the Xatu's mind, and first a white Vulpix was kicked inside, falling to the ground where dust accumulated in her fur, and then Windrider entered, holding Sara to his chest where she kicked and struggled weakly.
Perfect. The Xatu thought as the door slid closed again from his doing. He hadn't seen the pair of tortured red eyes gazing upon him as the room was locked closed.
"She's not even trying." Drake murmured sourly, taking a sip of his drink with a bitter grimace. "Saladreth and Mellow are out there somewhere, and she's not even trying to contact them…"
"Give her time." Seadra sighed, "Even Sundav cannot do three things at once."
They were on the beach, Seadra bobbing up and down a little bit out to sea so that the waves wouldn't push him around, and Drake sat a little distance away from the tide. He looked put out by his Pokemon's calm. "Pride has been many a Kingdra's downfall." The sea horse continued.
"Woopa!" Agreed a Pokemon that had just broken the surface of the water. Woop smiled and playfully splashed Drake with water salty enough to sting his eyes.
"You're not the only one on the beach today." Seadra seemed to grin at his spluttering trainer before he sunk into the water and out of sight.
"For once, the overgrown sea horse is right." Grumbled Fiendre, pushing his thin muzzle into Drake's cup of Coke and spluttering it right back out. "I don't know how you humans can drink that stuff… it's beyond me."
"You can have it now." The brown-haired boy scowled, all he'd heard were barks and snuffles from the Pokemon.
"Heh, you can't understand me." The Houndoom snickered, "Very good, indeed. If I told you that I'm far wiser than Solorite, what would you say? Nothing! But if you must know, that Absol-"
"-Is listening to every word you say." The Absol finished for him. "Drake, don't mind Fiendre, he's-not going to interrupt me-and isn't wise. So there, old hound."
"Equally old… creature." Fiendre nodded to Solorite mockingly before he got up and padded away without a backward glance. When he was a couple of feet away, however, he snorted and kicked at the sand.
Solorite watched him go with an amused look upon his face. "Drake," the Absol said, without turning to him. "We've almost gotten though to Sara." He finally gave the boy a knowing gaze, "So don't worry."
Sara's mind exploded with a burst of pain the second her eyes locked with those of the Xatu. She could hear his deep voice clearly, "It will hurt worse if you struggle." When she opened her mouth to say something, all that came out was a muted squeak.
Althea had gotten to her paws, and was quick to avoid Windrider's grasping hands. She bristled furiously, and sent another flame his direction, which hit its mark. The Scyther Pokemorph screeched as the flames caught his clothes and spread. The Vulpix turned her sight away from him the second he dropped to the ground to try and put the fire out, and glared at the Xatu, whose eyes had begun to glow a deep purple.
Opening her mouth, she aimed a Flamethrower at the motionless Pokemon. The blast of flame went flying towards its target with deadly accuracy, and at the last moment, it was flicked aside when the Xatu opened one wing and it hit against the head of the flame, knocking it over to hit harmlessly on the granite wall.
It was just enough of a distraction for Sara to be freed of the Xatu's grasp, and she saw the furious bird turn his head in the direction of the white Vulpix and a dark purple aura surround both him and her.
Althea was sent flying into the back wall, where she hit it with a dull thud and dropped to the ground, fainted. Right beside her, Windrider had recovered from his scorching, and was getting to his feet again.
This time, Sara got in a scream of fear before the Xatu's mind closed around hers. It was loud enough to echo, catch itself in the air and become a booming force whose voice was heard clearly outside the Shrine. A couple of seconds went by, in which Sara was brought to her knees and forced into a full-body bow to the Xatu, before a sharp gale of wind pounded against the nearly invisible door, shaking it fully.
Another gust hit the door with enough force to shake the whole shrine, and it rocked everything in the small room to one side. With the third blast, the door shuddered one final time before caving in, where a sheer blast escaped into their presence.
Standing there in the midst of the breeze was a shadowy form that was little more than a cloud. Its two burning red eyes were sunk into a face that was framed by a beak that was proportionally too big for its face. "There has been," it whispered, voice dangerous and low, "enough suffering."
From its misty heart came a flash of cold white that expanded slowly, finally taking on a solid form outside of its body to form a ring of glowing energy. All the heat in the room, mostly from Althea's fire, vanished all of a sudden, leaving a shell of cold behind it.
The ring expanded, and silently, did it's task as it was released from its bond from the creature and became a wave of energy that struck the Xatu dead in his chest. The blast also knocked Sara back, where she fell and the meager contents of her pockets slipped out, Windrider hit his head hard against the wall and fainted.
When Sara's vision stopped spinning, she managed to see that the blast had frozen the Xatu where he stood, his gaze still in the direction of the icy creature. It was then that she guessed what the attack was. Sheer Cold.
The girl was staring as she blindly grabbed her Pokedex and shoved it back into her back pocket and felt around for the firestone shard. The creature did not look her way for a while, instead it went over to the frozen bird and scanned it, "He is not dead." Sara tried to identify its gender from its voice, and guessed it was female, even though she was not quite sure with the deep, growling tone.
She shuddered slightly, "Uhh… that's good." Sara replied, and was surprised when the creature's head snapped around.
"It is not good!" It screeched, exciting a whimper from the girl. "You cannot say that of this…"
Sara would have said something in reply to that, but her voice was cut off again when the creature raised one misty wing and continued, "Lady Sara of the Day, your lacking the one trait that you need, and that's dominance. Without it, you're as good as useless." It turned away from her sharply by the end, muttering to itself.
Finally, she managed to look away from the strange creature and saw that the firestone shard was lying on her fainted Vulpix's fur, where it glimmered slightly. Sara blinked at it, about to take it back up, when she noticed the snowy fur around the shard had turned a very light tint of rusty red again.
"I'm not one to enjoy being ignored." Sara started when it spoke again, this time looking at the frozen Pokemon, and not her. "If he is let alone and is still alive, his hold on the others here will still be intact. Actually, it's still intact now. If that Scyther half-breed was to wake up right now…"
It shrugged for effect. "So… why don't you just kill it…?" She asked.
"And end all the suffering it is causing." The creature continued, "Because then that would be taking a life. Do you see why that would be wrong?" And without waiting for an answer, it kept on talking, "Yes, there is the obvious. And then you must consider the lives of those he is effecting."
It seemed to smile before turning to the Xatu, its red eyes glowing icy white for a moment, before the ice melted a little bit, and reformed into a new shape, where the ice was encircling him tightly. "I have decided." It verified, "Now follow me, before anything else happens."
Sara got to her feet, thinking it better to humor the creature than get it angry. She picked up Althea and the firestone shard before following after the misty creature, looking slightly dazed.
"Lady Sara, it appears you have friends." The creature said, and Sara looked over it to see that her Chikpea friend and a Natu were rushing over there as fast as their little legs would carry them.
Upon getting closer, the two birds avoided the creature with a wide loop around it, and chirruped at Sara's feet as if they were surprised she was still there. "What are they saying?" She asked.
"They're both apologizing for being late, blaming their inability to fly for it. And the Chikpea wants you to pick him up. The rest of what he has to say is nonsense."
"And is that Xatu dead now?" The question was calm enough, but the look on Sara's face was quite serious, which was a bit new for the ten year-old.
"Yes." It replied. "He is dead. It was for the better to give mercy…" A pained look crossed the visible features of its mostly shadowed face.
Sara had a Chikpea in one arm by then, and was holding Althea as steadily as she could with the other. It was times like this that she wished there was a way for her to recall Althea, but without Pokeballs it was impossible. "And… and one last question. Who are you?"
"I?" It replied, giving a short laugh, "I am Blatos, the nightmare of ice."
Now, Sara had been okay until the creature had said that. Her insides turned to ice the second she digested the words, and she swallowed hard. Blatos was one of the fallen legendaries that she'd heard murmurs about, mentioned with Rikeren and Oxren. "You-you're-"
"Blatos." The Pokemon replied, "Yes, that is me. Don't run, I'll be on my way soon enough." It fixed Sara with a level gaze, "You've inherited a mess, Sara, Lady of the Day Sara, but you can't let yourself fall into positions like this again. If you die, then you're giving over what your enemies want badly. And that's it, that's all I have to say. You were lucky this time Lady, but next time this demon bird probably won't be around to help you, nor anything else."
Spreading its two misty wings, Blatos gave Sara one last look before adding, "Goodbye Lady Sara, may we see each other again some day, perhaps on more friendly terms." And then without another word, the bird-like creature jumped, flapped her wings, and vanished over the mansion wall.
Casting one last look behind her at the Shrine of Flying, Sara finally said, more to herself, "Let's get out of here." And she walked away from the scene, a Natu following at her feet, a Chikpea clinging to her forearm, and a white-tinted Vulpix in her arms. Her Pokemon adventure had become quite strange…