step ten
…In Your Own Way
Turning back to the two, Seve nodded grimly. The last of his joy and humor fell from his face as he took Lino's reigns from Ollie's mouth and wrapped them around his free arm. "The Sawmill was taken over by Sinister Woods, the mystery dungeon of a forest the—"
"Wait, a dungeon can't spread that fast—"
"Sobek, now is not the time for technicalities. We were attacked—the two of you—three?" Seve studied the Minun for a long moment, then his face broke out into his wide weaselly grin. "No, it can't be… Hah! It is!" The Minun grinned and nodded. Seve returned the nod then quickly looked behind the cart again, "Once again I find you on my cart from strange circumstances, my greetings—"
"Save your sales pitch for later, Sev," A voice shouted from the back of the cart, "If you've got that rescue team up front, send them back. If they're worth their salt they'd have orans, yeah?"
Seve laughed whimsically, "Apologies, we are having the small predicament by being pursued by a Ponyta carrying a small boarding party."
"What?" David scampered up on to the driver's seat and squinted behind them. A blazing horse stormed after them, its mane billowing at full strength and flowing into the massive dust cloud behind it, charring the dirt and the dust into a looming smoke cloud. "That's… not just a Ponyta, Seve."
"It's a Rapidash with that Monferno on its back and they both want our livers," the new voice grumbled again. David look down, then paled behind his skull as he met the Nidoran's eyes—one eye, the other was swollen shut. "Yours now included, Skully. At least put up more of a fight than we did, yeah? Can't say I'll avenge you though."
David glanced to the bruise over the Nidoran's other eye, then to back to the rear his fractured left hind leg at the wound oozing slightly around the protruding bone of the tibula, then the scorched fur and the third degree burns on the front of the leg. The four slashes along his side hit the ribs. They still bled, the blood more of a purplish color from his poison. But the wounds were nowhere near as bad as they once were judging by the stained planks of the cart all around the Nidoran. The least of his worries were the states of his ears, in tatters and yet held together by old scars. Still, he'll need an orchard of berries for him to get on his feet anytime soon—
"Fogo gelo—" Seve pulled hard on the reins but not in time for the right wheels of the cart to miss the boulder bursting out of the ground. The cart lurched and Seve crashed into David, losing his grip on the reins and David careened into the back, tumbling head over tail into a canvas bag. He slammed chest-first into the only thing in it and wheezed for air.
The cart slammed down on all four wheels and veered across the road, pulling on Lino's harness and sending the Girafarig into a further panic as he fought against the weight. A blue hue rose over the cart, but didn't focus into the solid shine—Lino couldn't grab ahold of the cart with his psychic powers.
Ollie had caught the reins in its mouth, but the reins had too much slack for Ollie's flailing to control Lino. The sentient tail looked desperately for someone to pass it off to.
Seve was sprawled across the driver's seat. He was conscious but in knocking David out of the way he had landed on his injured arm, pinning it between him and the driver's seat and shattering the cast of ice. It was taking a conscious effort for him not to move in a wrong way while gently breathing an icy breath on the arm.
Of the two Pokémon stunned on the floor of the driver's seat, the Minun recovered first. It didn't help either of them that Sobek had crashed into her and she accidentally shocked him out of panic. Rubbing the side of her head with an annoyed grimace, she glanced up to see Ollie trying desperately trying to loop the reins through Seve's injured hand.
Vaulting off Sobek's head as he still spun amongst the stars, she clambered up onto the seat and caught the loop of the reins. She slung it across her back, wrapped her arms in the leather, dug the claws of her feet into the wood, and leaned back with all her weight, pulling left and right, fighting beck Lino's panic.
With one final lurch, the cart stabilized and rolled straight.
From the back, a feeble voice called forward, "Mind… mind the potholes, Sev."
"That… that was a rock tomb from that Monferno!" Seve seethed loudly back to the Nidoran. With a few taps of his claw, he broke the ice off the driver's seat and pushed himself up. He panted several more breaths of ice onto his arm. "What was that… seven?" He glanced to the Minun, blinking for a moment before letting out a relieved sigh and giving light pat on her head with his good hand. He choked, "If we're in range of rock tomb then we'll be seeing fireballs shortly!"
A look of panic was shared between the two and the Minun ducked out of the reins as they were passed back to Seve.
"Ten," the lump under David meekly called out and moved out from under him. David shook the stars away, then realized someone was under the bag. "T-that's ten rock t-tombs. F-four in the forest—" the voice cut itself off as David pulled the canvas away. A small Shieldon ducked back, her eyes more on David's club than his face. "I-I'm not h-here right now. Don't tell let them know I'm here right now."
David raised the canvas a bit higher; the Shieldon's shield plate had the impression of a fist melted into it just above the brow, narrowly missing the skull. The impact and the heat had made the entire plate bow backwards along the length of her body, making it look more along the lines of an Electrike mane. Despite how shaken she was, she seemed mostly unharmed. Her scales were singed here and there, but the only real injury was the bleeding gash on the right foreleg and even that wasn't too serious.
She met his eyes for a long second, then ducked into the bag's opening.
David glanced behind him; Sobek finally vaulted into the back of the cart and noticed that the other canvas bags had disappeared. Aside from the Nidoran, who was biting into half of a pecha berry for some reason, the only other occupant was a Sableye sitting directly behind Seve against the running board. Her body was fluctuating between transparent and opaque as she fought to keep consciousness, a sign she had taken a beating. However, the blue ribbons on tied around her ears didn't fall through when she went transparent. Also, her eyes and gems still had a shine to them. They were glossy and unfocused, but a shine. Just battered and bruised, she'll recover quick enough. She could be woken if needed in a pinch.
But the Nidoran… his wounds had reopened from the cart's lurching and the protruding bone from his leg had taken a more awkward angle.
"Sobek, we found an oran in the cave, right?"
Sobek hesitated, looking past David to the approaching cloud. "I think we'll be needing it ourselves, David."
"The Nidoran has an open tibia fracture, third degree burns, widespread bruising, and four lacerations down to the ribs, nevermind whatever internal bleeding he might have—he's not going to make it if he keeps losing blood! Give him the oran! And take that pecha away from him. It's not doing anything—"
The Nidoran spat out the berry, "What it's doing is keeping me from doing their job for them. You know, not poisoning you lot, Skully."
David scowled and examined the canvas bag, "What? Pecha under the tongue? That doesn't do anything to your poison, it just makes it awkward for your poison gland to secrete it through your horn. But right now it's in overdrive because you're dying and that's why you are bleeding poison! Sobek, shove that oran down his throat before he opens the wounds any more by talking." He found a tear in the seam and tore the rest of the stitching with a claw, "I'll be right with him after we deal with the Monferno."
Sobek glanced back, "What do you mean—"
"Hey in there," David said calmly as he peered through the hole he'd made. "My name is David, what's yours?"
The Shieldon hesitated. David raised his helm and gave her a soft smile. It was surprising how easily he could fake it. Then, "Glessite."
"Glessite. That's a nice name, can I call you Glessy?" The Shieldon nodded.
The Nidoran scoffed. "Plenty of time for making friends when we're de—" Sobek silenced him with a half of an oran.
"We have a minute; if David's doing something odd, trust him on it." Sobek glanced out the back of the cart. He could make out head of the Monferno though the Rapidash's flames. It was saying something to the Rapidash, then seemed to grimace as it noticed Sobek.
Sobek grinned and waved. Then ducked down and shoved the other half of the oran into the Nidoran's jaw when he tried to make a comment.
"Alright, Glessy, the Nidoran is right, we don't have much time. If we're going to keep them off us we're going to need your help."
Glessy recoiled back further, "B-b-but I'm not p-part… I-I'm an a-apprentice! S-Seve's ap-prentice! I-I just help m-manage inventory f-for teams! I-I'm no good fighting."
"Glessy, I'm not asking you to fight. I'm asking you to defend."
"Huh?"
"You are a Shieldon, your kind knows protect straight out of the egg—"
"Mii-yaak!" The Minun screeched a warning cry. David looked up to see a fireball hit the rear of the cart, the embers spilling over the edge of the wood and into their faces before the wind carried them away. The Minun coughed as her and Seve's heads poked up over the running board. She hissed, "Fi-rah! Fi-rah!"
"We're on fire?" David asked no one, glancing as the back of the cart took alight. "Oh, that's good."
"Good?!" Seve snapped, "Tell me, how is my livelihood being on fire is good for us?"
David smirked. "Fire types can't see though smoke unless they're in it. I don't think they've seen me or Sobek yet."
"Oh they've seen me."
David rolled his eyes, "Right, you're bright blue against dark brown. You stick out like a sore—"
"I waved actually. I think the Monferno's the type that gets really mad when you taunt them. Neither is happy with us making a getaway at least."
"Nice! Good idea—"
"Mii-yaak!"
The cart veered right, sending its passengers in the back careening into the left side of the cart, Sobek barely managing to sink his claws into the wood before he ran into the Nidoran. David skidded along next to Glessy, ducking as the fireball exploded on their corner of the cart.
David settled his skull back on his head as he tossed a cautionary glance to the growing fire next to them. "Glessy, we don't have much time, I need you stay right here as close to the back as you can get. Yeah, right there. Stay there. Sobek, extinguish the fire, except this corner—except this half. In fact, help me fan it a bit; the smoke needs to be as dense as it can be here."
The Nidoran wheezed a scoff, "I see what you're doing. It'll jump through where the smoke is thickest to surprise us and it'll just ping right off Gless's barrier. And if that don't work—oh joy, the monkey lands on me. Eheh!" He grinned.
"Nick, it'll kill you this time!" Glessy gasped, shrinking away into the right wall of the cart, away from Sobek's water.
"Yeah?" Nick laughed, carefully moving his head to aim the horn at that back of the cart. "Well, I'll go out in a blaze of glory. Can't guarantee there'd be much left of me after it though."
Sobek scoffed the last bit of water onto the wood. "Nick, for someone half-dead you talk an awful lot."
"Pardon if old habits die slower than I do."
David ripped out a swatch from the bag and tossed it onto the fire, then looked for a long second at the long, thin ribbon of canvas he had left. He shook his head. "Glessy, you can't move away from the fire. A little bit more… right there. Stay there. Get ready to cast protect on my signal. That's all you need to do, and the Rapidash is just a shooting gallery for Sobek." He spun on his heel to face the Totodile. "Sobek, make a show of looking out the back, are they catching up?"
"Was about to call that out, that thing is going to jump on any second now."
"Okay," David scampered to the front, "Seve, we need a small swerve, just sharp enough to make it look like you hit a rock or something. Sobek, make sure you lose your footing and land right next to Glessy—they're looking for an opening! A moment when the water- and ground-type can't just punt them off again! We're going to give them one. Once we've got rid of the Monferno give the reins back to the Minun, I'm going to need your ice for Nick. Seve, count down from five, then swerve. Make it believable, okay? Start now!"
David pushed himself away and joined Sobek at the back, looking at the Rapidash. Seve's eyes darted to the fire, then met the Minun's eyes. She crossed them and stuck out her tongue, pointing at David. Seve gave a weary sigh, "Five…."
"Glessy, on my signal. Sobek, make sure you fall, then put out the fire the moment you can. Get read—"
Seve jerked on the reins, pulling Lino in a sort of wobble that shook the cart. Sobek half jumped into the air, comically tossing himself head-first towards Glessy's side of the cart. David made a show of him losing his grip on this club and stumbling back.
"Glessy…" David paused, "The Rapidash is catching up... the Monferno is getting ready… now. Do it now."
The Shieldon nodded and flinched, her plate flashing a bright white. Around the three of them, a bright gold bubble of protection blinked into existence.
And then… nothing.
"No-no, keep holding it. My timing is just—"
A fiery fist burst through the smoke carried by a flaming figure, arcing through the air with eyes of murderous intent—boink. It faceplanted on the golden bubble, the fire enshrouding the Monferno extinguishing itself with the impact out of surprise.
David gave it a pleasant wave. The Monferno's blinked in confusion.
"Okay, Glessy, drop it. Sobek, a little help?"
"Is it okay if I pretend that's you? Just this once?"
"You get thirty bonus points if you trip up the Rapidash with it."
"Bonus points?" The golden bubble slowly started to fade. "Are these points redeemable? For prizes?"
"For fabulous prizes? Hmm." David tilted his head in thought. "Ten points, you get to punch me in the face. Twenty without the skull. If you have that many, I probably deserve it by then. Fifty, I'm thinking some spicy-fried Delibird drumsticks. That's what's been on my mind for the entire cave back then."
"That is a good thing to have on the mind," Sobek braced himself, grinning fiendishly up to the dazed and confused monkey. "Yeah... yeah, I like bonus points…!"
The Monferno tried to push itself away, but its hands shattered the bubble, the rest quickly dissolving in a yellow mist. Sobek roared a blast of water at the fire monkey, and blasted it off back off the cart and onto the road behind them. There was a shrieking of a horse and a break in the hoofbeats, but they continued the chase.
Continuing the gush, Sobek set about extinguishing the rest of the fire.
"There, that wasn't so bad now was it?" David grinned and patted Glessy's back. She smiled meekly, then sunk a little deeper into the floor of the cart. David ducked under Sobek's water, lightly cuffing the Totodile on the shoulder on his way by, "Nice. The Rapidash must have jumped over the monkey, but ten points all the same. Just don't forget about saving some water for the Rapidash. If you can't hit it, try tire it out before Lino does. Rapidash can sprint for a while, but not when it's dodging fire. I mean water. Nevermind."
Sobek coughed for a breath, "I take it Line-of-Sight kicking in for all of this?"
David hesitated, "I dunno. I'm running on instinct…." He took a sudden curiosity to the canvas ribbon he had been holding all this time. He had unconsciously wrapped it around his forearm, over one of the deeper scratches Seve had accidentally given him as well as his club somehow. It was bound to his forearm.
"Which one?" Sobek scoffed.
The scratch wasn't bleeding, not that canvas was all that absorbent anyway, but even without wrapping it tight it managed to cling to his arm easily. And tightening it… well, now he couldn't bend his arm all that well, his club pressed into the inside of his elbow awkwardly. At a slightly different angle—or-or if the club was further down his arm he wouldn't be able to bend his arm at all.
David's eyes shot to Nick's leg.
David seized the rest of the bag and bolted to the front of the cart. "Seve! You sharpened your claws, yeah?"
The Sneasel's eyes lowered in shame, "I needed to defend myself against—" He looked up to see the bag tossed at him.
"Cut this into strips! Like this—bandages!" David pulled at the wrapping on his arm and Seve nodded with a look of confusion on his face. "Pass the reins to the Minun and cut as many as you can out of it. I need them for Nick. Also, I'll need your ice. Also, where's your lute?"
And then Seve frowned, "Hidden away from bandits, I cannot imagine what—"
"Nevermind! I'll use my club!" David sprung away. He glanced out the back of the cart, just in time to see Sobek surge a burst of water into an incoming fireball and the Rapidash dodging the aftermath of smoke and steam. Sobek was holding it off, with the Rapidash running it was at a disadvantage on the fire-spewing. The cart was entering the forest again—there was a long stretch of woods, then the plains, then the less-taken road in the woods, and then straight on to the Square.
They weren't going anywhere near as fast as they were on their way out—then again, that was a good thing. David didn't think his heart (and Nick) could handle another million-miles-an-hour blitz down the road. It was still a long way back, and there were still quite a few turns to navigate. And even at the end of it, home would have to wait.
Wait a second.
David bounced back to the driver's seat, "Seve, why are we the only ones on the road?!"
Seve blinked, then rolled his eyes. "…today might have been the little Duke's birthday. The festivities planned for the Square are so egregious that I—"
"So everyone's there, not here. Road bandit's holiday. Got it. Orans?"
"Lino and Ollie had the bulk of them—"
"Right. Explains why he's in the best shape here. And the rest went to Nick?"
"And myself and Sadie, whom I believe you are standing on." Seve frowned at him, eyes incredulous. David glanced down. Sure enough, he had one foot on the Sableye's shoulder to boost him up to look over the back of the driver's seat. He then made no effort to move from it. She was actually mostly solid now. "Well, you standing on her at least bodes well for her health." He looked away and took a sad breath to speak—David grabbed the ribbon of bandage Seve was waving around with his good hand (his injured hand was doing the cutting), and bounced away again. With the reins and the road keeping her busy, the Minun opted for whistling a kooky tune to Seve to express her opinion of David. The Sneasel merely cast his eyes down, watching the fabric tear against his injured claw.
David skidded to a stop next to the Nidoran, "Nick—it is Nick, right?"
"Give it a minute and it will be 'was Nick,' Skully."
"David," the Cubone nodded, flipping up his helm to look more closely at the protruding bone. "Though personally, I'd give it ten, but I'm flexible when it comes to time of deaths. Would you go for five minutes? I'd go as low as four."
"Cubones…" Nick scoffed, David wincing with how the movement rippled through the Nidoran's body. "Should I consider myself flattered that you're appraising my leg while I'm still alive?"
David lightly bopped him on the head with the club before holding the bone alongside the flank of Nick's leg, trying to find the right angle. "You're making it hard to haggle your life if you keep talking, Nick." David stuck the club under his arm and stretched Seve's freshly-made bandage, it was his armspan and then some.
That might actually be too long.
Ah well, some bits to tie around Nick's mouth then.
With another swift bop on the head to keep Nick from talking for a few seconds longer, David quickly looped the bandage around the leg, wrapping it around the protruding bone gently a few times before planting his club against the side of the leg and wrapping it into the bandage. After the second loop over the makeshift splint, he began tightly wrapping the bandage around it.
The splint immobilizes the leg—he really could use another to make sure it wouldn't go anywhere but—he could use the other leg. No, that meant turning the Nidoran over or moving the injured leg. The orans had taken effect, the bleeding was just from the ambulance jostling around—it'll stop soon.
"Seve, get back here and ice this leg."
"I-is—can I do anything to help?"
David looked to the Shieldon. She was trembling still and her grey eyes worried. Nerves, not shock though. Her plate was ruined, the entire thing needed to be shed and grown anew. It could take months, if not, years for her to recover, depending on the diet.
Wait. No. That's Aron. Arons grow their steel from eaten iron. Shieldon are mostly herbivores with the occasional snack on stone pebbles. Years. It probably would affect her even after she evolved.
Still. With that much heat and that much force, the punch was thrown to kill. She was lucky, and she knew it too.
David snapped out of his trance, "Y-you're doing fine. Just stay on the lookout." He turned back to Nick to find Seve breathing ice onto Nick's leg. David's arms were also full of strips of canvas, somewhere along the way Seve shoved them into his arms.
The gashes on Nick's side were bleeding again. The bump the cart took from the rock tomb hadn't helped, and his breathing kept them oozing. And his breathing was slowing.
"Heh, use a bone to bind a bone," Nick mumbled, half-attempting to snicker but lacked the energy. David twirled a bandage around his hand. The ears needed to be taken care of before they become a nuisance though. "I guess I can use a loaner. Careful on the ears, they—"
"I know."
Though longer and wider, the ears of the male Nidoran are similar to their female counterpart in that that they both contain a collection of bristles of fur that are far more ridged and act like needles. While females tend to have two such areas, the most prominent on the tip of the ear, the male has a varying number depending on the region the specimen is from. The majority of these bristles, that is, the ones beyond the base of the ear, are harmless as far as poisoning goes.
Carefully grabbing the tip of the ear with the bandaged hand, David pulled down the spiral of wrappings with the other, the ear quickly being covered in the bindings.
"Huh, there's a neat trick. Where'd they teach you that anyway? Huh, Dave?"
"Don't call me Dave."
However, just like other their female counterpart, the lower bristles of the ear serve as an excretion point for an overflow of poison caught in the Nidoran's system, similar to the spins on the back of the Nidoran. Unlike the female, the poison gland of the male almost always produces poison at the same rate. As it is located in the sinuses, to avoid congestion the poison is then moved into the bloodstream, and then into lymphatic system.
And, just like in all poison types, the lymphatic system acts like an extended venom duct, collecting any excess poison in the body, foreign or otherwise, and excreting it in several specific areas over the body. For the male Nidoran, the primary excess excretion point is the spines along the back, followed by the base of the ears.
Remember that a critically injured male Nidoran would be producing excess venom to pump into its system fend off attackers. Its blood would be more far more venomous than the actual poison itself. And for each near-death experience the male has, its poison increases in potency. Always wrap the ears first when treating a male Nidoran, as it forces you to observe their state. The more scarred they are, the more losing fights the Nidoran has been in, the more toxic its poison. These are traits that the females lack and instead make up for in sheer numbers, as we covered last week before we had that accident.
That said, a friendly reminder. Both male or female Nidoran do not get stuffy noses! Nidoran are fairly resilient against head colds and any sort of respiratory infection would exist in the lungs because the high concentration of poison in the head area kills off anything that isn't immune to it. Any sort of nasal congestion is because of a Poisoned Apple, or the Snow White herself. Again, it's either a blocked venom duct, or a virus that would soon send the Nidoran into a coma and then to an untimely death.
David, tell me, why does the Snow White kill the Nidoran?
"Because it destroys the venom gland of the Nidoran. Like most poison types, the venom of a Nidoran acts as a part of its immune system, destroying bacteria and infected cells that are not immune to it. Without the venom, its actual immune system can't cope with infections. The Nidoran falls into a coma because Snow White swells the gland, then infects the sinuses and inflames them too and it keeps spreading. Eventually, this puts pressure on key arteries and the brain is starved of oxygen and—"
That's enough David. I'm glad to see you finally got around to doing last week's reading. Did you do this week's?
"Yes, sir. I did. And half of next week's too. I have notes and everything for you to check later, just like you said."
I trust you on that, David. No more accidents, okay? That goes for the entire class. Do the reading. Do the group work outside class. It takes time, and I know you're all busy with other classes as well, but this is a core class and you can't skimp out on this one.
Again, what happened last week was an accident. And accidents happen, some that we don't have any control over. But each and every one of you needs to learn how you react when those disasters to better yourselves. Now, I'm going to skip the rest of the lecture I gave before I sent you all home last time, but I want you all to remember how you did actually react last week and ask yourself, was that the right thing to do? If there was one thing you need to ingrain in your mind for the next time something happened, what would it be?
You're here to learn about saving lives, kiddos. And yeah, you're learning. But you still can save lives. Don't let last week get you down. Alright?
Okay. Let's move on and turn to page 1374 of—
"My apologies—!"
A swift jerk and a blaze of heat across his back snapped the world back in focus to find Seve's good arm across his front as the Sneasel cowered in front of him.
And everything beyond was filled with a smoky haze. And there was the lingering taste of pecha in his mouth.
It took David a moment to realize the Sneasel had used him as a shield from a fire attack, then another to realize he was fine and there was no need to panic, then one more to realize they were under attack again. It occurred to him to fall against the wood to find a small gap of clean air below.
"What is it?!" Glessy shouted.
"Cyndquil!" Sobek coughed and stuck his snout up, his nose just barely sticking out of the smog. "It was hidden in the 'dash's flames. Jumped on when I looked away after blasting it."
The driver's seat was shielding them from the wind, keeping the smoke trapped in the back of the cart. And fire-types can see through smoke when they're in it.
"David had it for a second," Nick grumbled. "Then he didn't."
"Where is it? Anyone see any fire?"
"Just the ones it spat at me. Apologies, I had to use David as a shield. He seems to be back with us now. I've hopped back into the front. It is all smoke from up here my friend. But excellent shot on the Rapidash, Sobek! It lacks flames to breathe at us and only chases to retrieve its ally!"
"Aaaand yet! …Iiiiiii see nothing! …but the vacant aaaaaashes around me…." A new voice whispered from somewhere. A light, breathy voice that hung in the air like the smoke itself and stabbed chills through David's soul.
"Oh hey," the Cubone half-laughed. "The, heh, Sableye's awake. Ummm… you okay?"
"…the flames ooooof the torchbearer… …have yet! …to be seeeeen…."
Nick scoffed, "Sadie always talks like this. She's fine. Sableye, ya know?"
David bit his lip. "…comforting."
A long second of silence passed.
Nick raised his head into the smog and broke it, "Glessi, you in front of me still?"
"Y-yeah? I-I haven't moved a claw."
"Dave?"
"David. I'm right here next to you."
"Sadie, where are you?"
"Whereeeee am I not!?"
"Course you are. Toady, you next to Glessy?"
"Um… I think I am? Glessy… hold on, Glessy were you wearing a scarf—AAAACK!"
A burst of red flashed through the smoke directly to David's left and the sounds of Sobek flailing and stumbling sounded through the smog.
"Found it." Nick smirked, lowering his bandaged ears and settling back into the wood.
Seve called from above, "Sadie, it is directly left of you its—it-it is up here in the driver's seat. Some help would be very much appreciated before its flames spread to us. Ollie? Lino…?!"
"Aaaand so!"
Gems melted through the bottom of the driver's seat, followed by a puddle of shadow that sprung up into the dark form of a Sableye, the gemstone teeth cracking a malicious grin as she sent shadows crawling along the wood towards the Cyndaquil. Ollie snapped its teeth at it, but the intruder stood just out of reach.
The Cyndaquil calmly spat smoke in Sadie's eyes. Then, with a huff, ignited its back into a fiery blaze. The wood around it slowly ignited into fire as David pulled himself up to peer over the driver's seat. An arm went back to his club except it was on Nick's leg. And his gravelrock bag was on the floor of the driver's seat, along with Sobek's.
"I think you are scaring me more than you're scaring it," David mumbled as Sadie shook away the smog.
The Cyndaquil looked at David, its squinted eyes locking with his for a quick second. Its head tilted in curiosity.
The Minun shoved Sadie aside and blitzed forward. With a blunt kick, the Cyndaquil was off its feet and off the cart. Its flames flared as it fell through the air, smoke billowing from its mouth to spit fire—a tree slammed into it, instantly stopping the Cyndaquil and knocking it out cold.
Victorious, the Minun turned, hands raised, "Da-daaaaa!" She gave one long glare to Sadie, Seve, and David, then hopped to see if she can toss an insult to Sobek but couldn't find him in the smog. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the reins back from Seve.
David sighed, "Okay. Minun. I apologize for anything I said to you."
"Ya-ya."
Sobek's snout popped out of the smog, "What happened?"
David looked over his shoulder, half-laughing at how silly the spec of blue was in the mass of black. "She punted it off the cart when Sadie's scare tactics didn't work."
"So wait. We're good? We won!?" The snout bobbed its way to the rear of the cart and Sobek's head popped up to look behind. A black scarf was tied around his arm, probably pulled off of the Cyndaquil when he startled it. The Rapidash had stopped at where the Cyndaquil hit the tree, shrinking rapidly away. Sobek looked forward, "Heh. We won! We got away!"
David grinned, "Yeah we—GLESSY—PROTECT!"
From the forest a flaming red blur rocketed up into the air. The golden bubble shot up out of the smoke as the Monferno stabbed a glowing white karate chop into it.
The force field shattered like glass, and the Monferno descended into the smoke led by its fist. The cart shook with a loud crash, the impact breaking off the charred boards of the sides and bottom of the cart.
The Minun wrestled with the reins as Lino panicked again, sending the cart into a swerve. David lost his grip and fell into the smoke. With the siding gone, the smog quickly dissipated.
The Monferno had Glessy pinned down by the head. Her eyes quivered and met David's; they were glassy, crying, afraid, begging for help. The Monferno snapped her neck, then stomped the body down through the charred wood and down onto the road beneath. The limp yellow form of Glessy bounced twice along the dirt road and shrank away behind the cart.
Snorting with satisfaction, it stood, twice as tall as David and infinite more fighting experience than him. It panted with exhaustion, its eyes were still enraged. The flame on its tail flickered, fighting to maintain the blaze it held. Still, it traced a line on the back wall of the cart, again igniting a fire.
It took a moment to resettle the loop of the pouch it wore across its back and to make sure a smaller pouch that sat on the strap across its chest was secure, then it locked eyes with David and its face twisted into a snarl.
Sobek latched onto its neck from behind—the Monferno quickly seized the Totodile's maw and threw him into Nick. It was aiming for the horn, but Sobek hit the spines. Gashes were torn down the Totodile's side and he crashed into the driver's seat. He immediately started to convulse as poison took hold.
The Monferno took a step forward towards David. The first time he caught it off guard was just a fluke, a lucky break. It's in the cart now, the water-type was dying—the cart swerved and it stumbled. Without the heavy weight of a Shieldon to balance it, the cart jolted from side to side as the Minun fought to regain control.
In the confusion, the shadow of the Monferno split into an ever-too-wide grin of gemstone teeth, the maw quickly frowning and gems popped out of the wood as a new dark form took place.
The cart hit a dip in the road, sending the Monferno tumbling into the form as it scrambled for a foothold. Seeing its luck, the Monferno snickered and grinned wider than the Sableye.
It quickly pulled out a clear scale from the pouch on its front and slammed it against the Sadie's forehead.
The Sableye went ridged, her face locked in a silent scream.
The Monferno laughed in a surprised, yet snide, female tone, "Huh, this is easy."
Without looking, she caught David's tail as he spun it into her face. With one final shove to imprint the scale onto Sadie's forehead, the Monferno stood, holding David upside down by the tail.
And now she had him too. Unarmed. At her mercy. She hoisted him up and leaned down as close to his eye level as she could. She sneering, eyes burning with murderous intent, "Not so much of a bully once your goons are g-aaack!"
She dropped him, stumbling backwards, hands to her nose.
David twisted in the air to land on his front and quickly hopped back to his feet, his skull off his head and in hands. A shield is also a weapon. A shield is also a weapon, hunter!
He took a four step wind-up and slammed the skull into the back of the Monferno's shins.
She stumbled, then collapsed to a knee with the next swerve of the cart. Keeping his footing, David charged—the Monferno twirled, spinning a fist into his gut. His skull was knocked clear of his hands and he slammed face-first into Sadie, sending the two into the burning side of the cart.
David pulled the Sableye out away from the fire. Her body was fluctuating again, turning transparent and opaque with frightening frequency.
Wham—the world blurred and he fell to the floor of the cart.
Bristling with adrenaline and fatigue, the Monferno giggled with bile fascination as she looked over the skull in her hands. With a finger through the eye-hole, she spun it. "Hitting a Cubone with his own skull. I don't think there's anything more I can do to add to the insult. Except killing a Cubone with his own skull." She looked up, shooting narrowed eyes at Seve as he cowered behind the driver's seat. "What do you think, Sneasel?"
Seve's words were stuck in his throat and he hid lower behind the driver's seat. The Monferno laughed. The world was her Clamperl to take apart at her leisure.
"You know what I think?" Nick grumbled. The Monferno turned to see the Nidoran standing next to her. He was taking quick, rapid breaths and was unsteady on his three remaining feet, the broken forth dragging along. Blood and poison oozed down from his hide. "I think I liked Glessy. Almost like a little sister."
With the last of his strength Nick jumped forward, his horn scraping open a gash on the Monferno's leg as she jumped to the side, abandoning David's helm. She landed in on the burning boards, eyes in wide panic as she watched the take effect.
Her leg buckled under her weight, and she crashed down onto the burning wood.
Finally, an opening! Seve surged forward, his claws at the Monferno's throat in an instant.
"And now let me tell you what I think," he spoke calmly, then slashed at the monkey's palm as it started to move. "First, I think I might have ran my claws through the Nidoran's fur as I jumped over him. So I do believe I've further poisoned your body. So please. Make further attempts to resist. Just know that I have so much to say to you, and it's in your best interest to hear it, but you only so much time left.
"But now, I tell you what I know. I know, for one, the Shieldon was my apprentice, a small orphan I took off the streets of the Square; it is the Boasorte way to give others a second chance, you see? And you've killed her in front of my eyes. Second, I know the two teams you bandits have butchered were my friends, the most trustworthy ones I can ever have in the Square, investigating the cause of a slaughter. And now you've slaughtered them. Lastly, I know I am Severino Odilon Boasorte, Tapio's Embassy Minister for the Square. Moreover, I know your friends know that fact, and yet they sent you anyway to kill me.
"I can guarantee you I will pass word forward to the Armada and your kind best be gone in the time it takes them to arrive else they face the Admirals' sword. But you…no you? Oh you suffer. You feel the poison seeping through your body. You will cry out in pain, beg for mercy, for help, for aid. But you will find that you have no voice and that no travelers will stumble upon you today.
"Moment by moment will slip away from you. You will try to think back upon your life, but find that your mind is going. Your childhood? Your parents? Brothers? Sisters? Family? Friends? Gone. To you, they will no longer be, because your mind would be shutting down. Yes, it will be your memory that goes first, then your sense of touch. No longer will you feel that sunshine you covet so much, to you, it will no longer exist, and you would never ever remember that you could ever feel it. And then, your sense of self will shut down. Down and down and down until all you know is that you were once something, but now you are not. You will wonder what you were, wonder who you were. Wonder why you are dying. And wonder if there was a time you were not dying, because that is what all you would have left. The only thing you would have is the knowledge that, for all of your existence, you were dying. And then, right there, on the precipice of the afterlife, you remember everything and you scream.
"You will scream because you have lived without any of it for all that you remember, and now that you know you don't want to give it up. You will scream because you will be afraid of what lies beyond the shroud of death. You will scream because you want to live.
"But you cannot create a single word. Instead, you die. Like a flame in the wind, your life has gone to waste. A pity.
"You could have had a future, a mate, children, happiness. If only you truly saw what was important. Alas, you never will be able to. Ahhh but it is the Boasorte way to give others a second chance, yes? Yours was when you were knocked off the cart the first time. Now, you die. A slow, agonizing death. And when your friends find your corpse on the road, butcher, I hope they feel a mere fraction of the anguish of what I feel right now. So, you ask me what I think. You truly wish to know what I wish to express. Here, then, is my answer: your death is far too merciful for the deeds you have done."
With a flourish, he slashed her across the face, looped his claws through the loop of her rutsack to throw it behind him, and kicked her through the flaming boards. The back wall of the cart gave way, pulling most of the flaming wood with it. The remaining fire was extinguished in the winds.
The Monferno bounced along the dirt path, rolling, rolling, and finally, stopping, face up in the sun, spread over the road, the poison ticking away in her veins.
With a deep breath of sorrow, Seve turned. "Lino!" He called forward. "Lino! … ir devagar… time is with us no longer. …Minnie, check the bag Sobek left up there. He is in desperate need of a pecha berry."
The Totodile groaned, "I-I'm fine. There was… a scrap of one over here. …it still would be much appreciated though."
The cart slowed. Up front, the Minun let out a loud sigh and sat down on the bench.
"S… Seve," Nick wheezed. "That… that was the most beautiful thing you've ever said. C-can I ask you to give the speech at my funereal?"
"We both know that you'll last until the Square, Nick," Seve shook his head solemnly. His eyes were humored, but world-weary. He looked out the back of the cart. "…but not long enough for us to retrieve Glessite. My… deepest apologies… little one…." Slowly, he reached up for his hat and, gently, let it fall through his claws. The wind took the straw hat and it tumbled down the road behind them.
Seve let out a ragged sigh, then slowly kneeled next to Nick. "You thought of her as a little sister?"
"Maybe more of a niece. Sister came out first. She was doing a good job managing everything at the Sawmill. Bit of a klutz, but she had heart. Everyone liked the little runt—er…"
Seve waved it off, the faintest of smiles returning to his face. "It… eases my heart."
"H… a… help over… here…."
Seve snapped up straight, "Sadie!" His eyes flew over to David, he was on the edge of consciousness, fighting to keep his strength as he held onto Sadie's arm. The rest of the Sableye had fallen through the wood, completely transparent. The arm was the last opaque part of her, but it slowly faded away more and more slipped through David's claws. Seve quickly stepped over. "It's that scale. I don't know what it does, but it's killing her. Here I…" He went to reach for the arm with his claws. "…I have claws—Sobek! Minnie! I need hands!"
The Minun popped her head over the seat, "Sabby? …euuughhhh. 'ecka."
"I-I'm fine—help S-s-s-s—"
"Ya-ya," Minnie nodded. "Ollie!" She tossed the reins into the tail's maw.
observe the scene
In another instant, she was pulling the arm out of David's grasp. She gave the Cubone a worried glance, "Dav-vey?"
"The… the scene is safe."
"Que?"
check for consciousness
Seve grimaced, "That blasted Monferno must have hit him harder than I thought. Minnie! Bring her over to the edge—the scale is making her a true ghost. I am dark-type. I can still touch her when she's ghosting. A little more. Once I get her up. I'll need to get that scale off her. I… I don't know if she'll make it."
"Are… are you… okay?"
"Errr, Dav-vey?"
"..are you… okay?"
"Errrr?"
"He's delirious, Minnie. Ignore him for now."
there is no response
"Closer, Minnie. Closer. Hurry! If you drop her… I don't know what will happen to her!"
have someone call for help
"I almost… I got her! I got her! Okay. Okay. Careful. Careful…. Okay. I have her."
"Ehhh?"
"She's…. she's… unconscious….."
"Yes, I know you cannot see her. She's fully invisible. I do not know how the scale works; it is like it destroys her ties to this earth. …when we found her the first time she was at least visible, but now… …it was on the forehead. But where is the forehead?"
"…call…."
there is no response
have someone call for aid
"…that's the arm, the shoulder…"
"Hey… um, Minnie? C-can you get me t-that Pecha?"
"She's…. she's…. unconscious… call…."
David? David are you here?
"You… won't happen to have another oran in there, Toady?"
there is no response
"If there was… I'd give it to you."
have someone call for [help]
"What…? How can... a rescue team go to a dungeon without orans?!"
"We're not a… oh thank you. …oh thank you… …ughhh, Minnie, you're okay. But… we're not a rescue team, Nick. The Duchess just thinks we're one."
David? David are you here?
"She's…. she's….. call…."
"That's… some trick. How do you pull that off?"
David? David! David, is that you?!
"Trust me… you won't believe it."
there is no response
"Try me—epp!"
"Eya! Abba-akka-yabba. Nnn-uhh! Tut-tut."
"Heh, I think that's a doctor's order of not to speak, Nick. Zap—um! I don't need it! …hey, speaking of doctor…."
there is no response
have someone call for [HELP]
"…call… call…"
David? David are you here?
"...Arceus, he's out of it. Does anyone understand what he's saying? …Seve?"
"Gibberish. …left ear, right ear. Back of head. Forehead. It should be right here…? Ha! Found it! Minni! Get something for me to put this on—not from my…my… cart…."
David what happened to you?
David, are you okay!?
there is no response
"Um, Seve, I hate to say it, but your cart might be totaled."
"…truly, I should not be so saddened about this measly cart when so many lives have been taken to ensure it merely rolls into the square. Okay, the scale. ….wrap it up in one of the bandage strips and put it by the lute. You remember where it is, yes?"
"Up-up!"
check for consciousness
David, are you okay!?
"…how do you know Minnie anyway, Seve?"
"From no doubt the same way you know her, from her kicking your ankle far too many times."
there is no response
have someone call for [HELP!]
David what happened to you?!
"J… J… J…. call…s-someone call …"
"…Seve, I don't think David's okay. The last time he was out of it like this he at least seemed okay, even if he just said gibberish."
"Eghnn… yeah. Look at his eyes, Seve. That stupid monkey really hit him hard."
David, are you okay?
Are you okay?
"…oh no... David? David, can you hear me?"
David, are you okay?
Are you okay?
"Come on, say no, David. …David? David seriously. Snap out of it!"
Are you okay?
Are you okay?
there is no response
"…Minnie, get back on the reins. Lino, Ollie, sinto muito, mas é necessário velocidade. Agora! David…? David…? Where is his skull…?"
"I've got it here."
observe the scene
"Toady, is that blood?"
"Not his. He… went a bit feral on an Elekid."
"But he's a Cubone, Sobek. Everyone knows there are no feral Cubone."
"I mean figuratively, come on!"
When in emergencies, the single greatest and most important resource available to you is yourself. You all hear me?
David? David are you here?
"…I don't think just putting it back on his head will magically work—whoa! Hey, we're trying not to give him a concussion, yeah?"
observe the scene
"S….s…safe."
David? David are you here?
Each and every single one of you is trained to handle when tragedy strikes!
check for consciousness
"I think it is a bit late for that."
"Well, what do we do?"
"I do not know. David clearly is the medical expert here. …Sobek, never have I even heard of a Cubone doctor. Where is David from?"
"…he doesn't know. He has amnesia."
David, are you okay?
Are you okay?
David, answer me! Please!
So. You take in your surroundings. If you were on-site, you ensure your own safety, you ensure your own well-being. If you're healthy, you help the effort. If you can't do jack, you don't go headlong into it! You get out! You get out and you don't stop until you're safe!
"He… has amnesia?"
There is no response
have someone call for [1374]
Help! I need some help here!
there is no response
Someone help me!
there is no response
Someone! Anyone!
there is no response
"…that makes no sense. None at all."
check for consciousness
David! Wake up! Wake up David! Please!
Each and every single one of you can make decisions that the ordinary citizen can't handle. The hard decisions.
check for consciousness
David! David!
We're done here. Dismissed.
"Come on, David, wake up! David! Come on! Say no! Are you okay? David! David!"
Are you okay?
Are you okay?
there is no response
Wait, hold it, hold it, HOLD IT! QUIET! Sit down! Each and every one of you sit back down! Pokémon back in the ball, you all know you cannot have them out in this room and this is the last time I'm warning you missy!
…I have your attention? Good! It seems someone forgot to tell me that this page is double-sided—since when do we save paper around here?! Since when are we the ones being "environmentally friendly?!" Now there's a laugh!
…well now, it's from the guy in the Spinny Chair upstairs. And Spinny Chair says to report to Garage B for deployment at 0500 tomorrow. You will be briefed en route to your assigned areas. Well, it seems like they're doing a bit of field trip and didn't tell the chaperones about it. I repeat: Garage B at 0500 tomorrow. Every single one of you is to be there on time. Bring your Sunday best and that Christmas sweater your grandma got you, your A-game, your B-game, and get someone to take care of your cat for the next few weeks; they don't pull the rug from under us like this unless it's big.
…one more thing! I don't want to see any empty seats when you lot get back here. Now don't get me wrong, I despise each and every single one of you, but you know what I hate even more? These chairs! They are the ugliest seating apparatus I have ever seen! I hated them when I was sitting in them, and I hate them when I stand here now, so don't let me see a single disgusting chair the next time I stand up here, you hear me? To say it one more time, your bright and shining hideous faces, yes. Cold, dead, uncomfortable, poorly cushioned steel chair, no.
Garage B at 0500 tomorrow.
….good luck, Medics. My personal advice? Sleep when you can, and hope your dreams are pleasant enough. Sometimes they're all we have out there.
Dismissed.