Chapter 18

"Welcome to the show, everyone." Lady Venus' voice had changed for the worst. The quirky squeak that had greeted everyone with annoying kindness was now a dark mumble that onlookers had to lean in to hear. If they weren't leaning in already from, you know, the image of me being pinned down by Suicune. "Miss Rui Yurika is going to demonstrate how one purifies a pokemon, are you not?" Coward. If I was trying to keep her Shadow Pokemon off my neck, I would've answered. "Good, good. Let the show begin!"

Suicune roared to the liking of an angered beartic. If it wasn't for my sword, which kept her at bay, she would've already had me. But luckily she knew better to touch it, let alone draw too close. Her head worked this way and that to try and get around it. Utterly terrified, I kept bringing it closer and closer to my face, which was probably a bad idea because I was just giving her more leeway to bite me. There were a few moments where the sword grazed her scaly blue flesh, but she was so consumed by the Haze it didn't seem to do much. She was deeper under than Entei, that was for sure.

"Suicune," I whispered. "Just let me get you back to the way you were." Her red eyes glowed in hostility. She did take a pause to listen to me, however. "I just need you to hold still while I use this sword." I used my eyes to show her what I was talking about. "It'll take five minutes, max." She pressed her crown-like forehead against mine, inhaling deeply.

Oh shit.

I rolled to the left right as a deathly spray of water escaped her in a roar that could only be matched by an exploud. The cement floor where she had struck cracked from the pressure. When the water had sunk into the ground there was a crater in her wake. Her enormous head swung in my direction, lips curled tightly over her gums in a malicious snarl. This wasn't going to be pretty.

There was something peculiar about this whole situation I noticed right about then. Venus had stepped away from Suicune as soon as she had released her onto the battlefield. Now she was behind that counter that her friend Sam sat at to give the news. Suicune seemed to be acting on her own as well, there was no instruction given by her owner.

Was Suicune so unstable that she might attack her trainer as well?

That must be it. Entei defended Dakim, but if it came to the choice, that pokemon would've roared and sacrificed him as well. The legendary dog pokemon were powerful, yes. But even more than that, these things were almost uncontrollable.

I could use that to my advantage. Or at least I hoped.

Suicune leapt towards me with the intent to kill. The instant before she struck my blade was at the ready. She ran full-force into it, nearly halving her nose. A yelp escaped her and she bounded backwards, pawing at it with bleary eyes. The Haze softened even if it were for just an instant.

"What are you doing?!" Venus hollered. "Get back in there and kill her!" The legendary water type turned back to her trainer and growled. Wow, maybe I didn't even need to provoke her. Venus was doing all the work for me.

Regardless that her trainer had no appreciation for her work, Suicune looked back to me and adjusted her stance. Her mane was flatter than Entei's and the streamers that had once flowered so gracefully dragged across the floor to collect dirt. She looked diseased and unhappy it's no wonder she hated her trainer so much.

She charged, front claws extended and ready to shred. I ducked just as she sailed overhead, slicing just the last two feet of her stomach before she landed. Her eyes flashed an ocean blue. For a brief moment, her mane inflated then deflated. Yes, she was beginning to feel the effects of the feather.

"Use Hydro Pump!" Venus shouted. Suicune whirled around again, barking with slobber dripping off her jaws. The idiot trainer pouted. "Oh, shut up. I was just trying to help! Focus on her, she's the one who wants to kill you." That made Suicune pause. Barely able to see to her full extent, she looked back at me, almost like she was asking me if I would do such a thing.

In response, I set the sword down at my feet and raised my hands for her to see. The legendary seemed like she was going to change her mind and just attack me while I was down, but there was something about her that knew better: an instinct that Suicune couldn't shake even when she had been tainted. And now that my sword had touched her flesh, that instinct was stronger than ever.

She wheeled around to meet Venus. The trainer backed away slowly. Though she was fearful, her face portrayed nothing but anger. "What are you doing?!" she shouted. "I'm the one who's been taking care of you! Get her! Get Rui!"

"That's Yurika to you." My blade glimmered dangerously. "Suicune, you know what to do."

The legendary beast roared. Her legs worked so hard to jump forward that for a brief moment it was like her legs were nothing but muscles and veins under a thin layer of flesh. Her teeth dripped pink drool all the way to Lady Venus. It was satisfying to see my enemy prepare herself to be torn apart, but I couldn't let that happen, no matter how annoying and evil she was. So I lifted my sword and slashed Suicune from behind, once, twice, five times before she reached her trainer. The second legendary dog landed on top of Venus, but her claws were sheathed and her teeth were hidden. It had only taken a fraction of a second.

Suicune was pure once again.

Lady Venus wasn't aware of this when she landed on her. She screamed and squealed from under the pokemon's paws like her flesh was already being torn apart. Suicune watched with curious eyes as the evil trainer. Annoyed, she placed her paw on her mouth to shut her up. Surprisingly, it worked.

Lady Venus paused. Then, "CUT THE CAMERA! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!" Sam and the cameramen worked to switch off every live camera and turn them the other way. Some of the Ciphers in the room were so frightened by what happened that they fled as soon as they were no longer needed, toppling expensive gear and scattering papers on their way out the door.

Suicune met gazes with every person left in the room. I was last on her list. When I caught her eye, she stepped off Lady Venus, who was too paralyzed to get to her feet, and over to me. The sword had worked wonders on her. No more dirt, no more scars, no more evil look to her. She was fully healed and happy, but at the moment there was nothing but seriousness in her posture.

Her front knees bent into a kneel. Taking the hint, I climbed atop of her. When I was safely secured, she hopped over to Wes. He had watched the whole thing with helpless eyes. Even now, as Suicune cut him free with her razor-sharp claws, it looked to him as if I had lost the battle and died. I pulled him onto Suicune and behind me, where it was finally my turn to ride up front. His warms arms held onto me tightly, making my heart race in excitement.

"We're ready," I told her. She nodded and leaped away from the bench, across the set, and out the door. Behind us, Lady Venus watched with agonized eyes. She had lost the battle, her pokemon, and her man. It was absolutely awesome to see.

Outside the news station, the entire population of the Under was waiting for us. The UFO was nowhere in sight. It had probably collapsed from trying to carry so many people from the platform to the next in a hurry. The thought of how many people were sitting at the bottom, stuck and unable to reach, was not pleasant. Wes and I watched as the people of the Under tried pressing button after button to summon it when they knew it wouldn't come.

Her steps as swift and soft as falling leaves, Suicune jumped off the platform and across the trench where the Stadium stood tall and proud. The door had been knocked open and broken at the hinges, giving her just enough room to dart inside. The people inside were already running away and down the stairs, arms flapping in the air, panicked. We ignored them and entered an elevator that had already broken, again, from people who were trying to flee us. She took a moment to estimate how much room she had and how high it was before leaping straight upwards and running up the walls like an overactive lizard. Wes and I had to lean forward and grab on as tightly as possible in order to keep from falling off.

Daylight suddenly flooded the dark tunnel. Suicune used her massive horn to break and sweep aside the metal gates that kept the elevator in place. The area was clear, free of both people and pokemon. It was there, a short walk in the distance, was Pyrite Town as well as Wes' bike.

We climbed off her and onto the sand that had been upturned by people running away. It was much warmer out here than it was down in the Under, but the sun was beginning to fade and the sky beginning to darken. Rock and ground pokemon were burrowing into the sand to start keeping warm before the cool desert air chilled them to their bones. Suicune looked to the two of us calmly.

"You know where Entei is?" I asked. She blinked in what I assumed was a yes. Her head bowed and she gently grazed her giant horn against my forehead. I returned the gesture though it wasn't anywhere near as majestic. Her smile was soft and mysterious. Then, leaving wet stains on the sand as she galloped, she disappeared into the setting sun.

"Thank goodness you guys distracted them when you did," Silva said with a mouth full of crackers. "Duking came down right when everyone was away and busted down the fence like it was paper mache." I smiled nervously. At least he didn't think that we abandoned him. To be honest, I'd totally forgotten he was down there. Thank Arceus for Duking.

"It was a chain link fence," the giant answered, putting some more spray cheese on the pile of crackers on his plate. His meaty fists were too strong to pick up one at a time so he had resorted to getting them in a messy pile then scooping them off the table into his hand before shoving the whole thing in his mouth. It was quite the sight, I can assure you. "What did you expect it to be made of? Titanium?"

"The Under must be empty by now," Wes guessed, sipping at some cold soda. "They've been discovered, so there's no way anyone would sit and wait to be arrested." That's true. All of them were probably gone. It made me wonder what they would do with that tiny town. Make it just another spot on the map for tourists? It wasn't my problem, though.

I had bigger things to worry about.

"Are you guys going to spend the night here?" Silva asked. "You still have to explain what happened before and after you last saw us."

"I suppose we do." Wes glanced at me. "Want to help me explain?"

"Not tonight," I said. The others watched with puzzled eyes as I stood up, leaving the plate of crackers they had given me untouched. Duking's place was nice and the food was probably good, but my stomach was too upset to take it all in. "I'm going to bed. Today was exhausting." Silva looked like he was going to ask me to stay but I was already out of the room and towards the back where Duking kept a spare king bed. No one cared to follow me but they waited until I was out of earshot to talk again.

The back room was clean by Pyrite standards. No dust on the floor, minimal rust stains on the wall, and a good amount of care put into making sure the bed wasn't littered with paint chips. It looked soft and comfortable with freshly washed sheets and comforters, but it wasn't attractive enough to get me to lie down. The window, however, looked more my area to sit and think. So I sat crisscross in front of the short window, propped my elbows up on the sill, and stared at the night sky.

My poor dratini was now the queen of the Shadow Pokemon. One would think I'd be the one to save her because I had this golden sword with me all the time, but that didn't work. The feather was supposed to slice her and it bounced off instead. My hands were still a bit sore from trying to hold onto it. Thank god the feather hadn't broken. I don't know what I'd do without my weapon. I had to be more careful with it. Another stunt with Serenity and it could break. And who in Orre could fix a skarmory feather? No one that Wes would know, I'm pretty sure.

Wes could've been in big trouble today. If I'd lost the battle with Lady Venus he'd more than likely be stuck with her. Like, forever. I can't imagine how he'd deal with that. Had he ever had to do that before? No, picturing him with a girl like her wasn't possible. Either way, it wouldn't matter now. She was gone, probably running across the desert right now in her high heels and gaudy dress. I wondered if she was here in town. Feh, what a stupid thought.

Something glimmered outside. I blinked. Was someone walking around here at three am with a flashlight? What an idiot, didn't they know that this town, regardless of how many Ciphers had been chased out, was still dangerous? They were bound to get mugged sooner or later. Not my problem. I didn't have time for petty thievery.

The glimmer came again. Ok, so it wasn't bright enough to be a flashlight. Maybe someone was checking their phone with the brightness turned all up all the way. You hardly see anyone with a phone that shone bright gold, however.

I leaned out the window. There it was: in the alley that lead to Team Cipher's hideout. It wasn't blinking in and out anymore. It was solid and brighter than before. I knew what it was.

Ho-oh's feather.

Wes and them were still talking in the main room. If I shouted for him to follow me, I'd scare away whoever had stolen it. That was it: it was go now or never, and there was no way we could lose something so valuable.

I slung my sword over my shoulder and nimbly jumped out the window. The night was quiet all except for the beating of my anxious heart. I was used to stifling my breathing while on the run from my parents and the overly attached pokemon. The only thing that would be hard to cover up was the crunching of my boots against the sand. I slipped them off, praying that there wouldn't be any broken glass in my path, and started off after them.

The feather hadn't moved since I'd last seen it. Thinking that they were just standing there trying to figure out how to get into the base, I stepped out of their line of sight and approached them from the right. They still didn't move. It was like they were just standing there, waiting. Could they not figure out how to get inside? Now that I was against the building nearest to the ally, I paused to listen.

Breathing. They were out of breath. They were running their hands along the wall, desperately looking for the keyhole. This was my chance. They were cornered.

"Stop right there." The cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of my head. "What do you think you're doing out so late, young lady?"

Suicune Was Purified!

Suicune Ran Away!

Rui Is Paralyzed!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!