Chapter 6

Latias began to get tired that evening.

It had been flying for two days now, and the swarm showed little sign of stopping. Some of them had landed to rest, but many more continued to chase them. They would have to land soon, and when they did things would get dirty. Kim was tired of flying. She hadn't been asleep since yesterday morning, and her exhaustion was showing.

Kim looked below, impervious to the chase now, looking for somewhere to hide. She would have to find a place soon. She estimated they were no longer in Canada, and probably a hundred miles or more into the US now. There were fields mainly below them, but in the distance a city began to show. It was large, a lot like Toronto, but she wasn't sure what city it was, nor how far they had actually flown. Latias was fast, that was obvious, but she had never really been in a situation like this, so she really couldn't tell.

"Latias, take us down into the city. There has to be somebody there." Kim commanded.

Latias replied and began to dive into the city. Perhaps they could find somewhere in there to lose them. Perhaps there would be help. She didn't care what happened; she just had to find somewhere to rest both her and Latias. Beaunary was tired as well. Though not directly involved, he could not sleep so high in the air, so he was fighting to keep his own consciousness as well.

They breached the city building tops and dove down between the buildings, flying over the streets. The birds behind them still. Some of them had flown off, but a large group of Fearows were still following, probably fifty or sixty. If it were only a few of them, even a dozen, Kim would turn and fight. She was confident her Latias could take them. But this many, they could swarm her and Latias wouldn't stand a chance.

"There!" Kim pointed out a small alleyway for Latias to fly into. Latias listened and dove even further, this time into the dark alley instructed. They landed, and Kim jumped off Latias immediately. The Fearow would have a harder time getting in here. Perhaps Latias could fend them off here one at a time, or they would give up eventually and leave. She knew she wasn't the best trainer, but she felt she was strong and smart enough to outsmart her enemy.

"Latias, when they enter the alley, unleash everything you've got at them, ok?" Kim said. Latias roared in agreement and jumped up in a ready position. They waited anxiously, the birds slowly coming closer. Some cries sounded as if they flew over, but Kim knew they watched them fly in.

The first Fearow entered the alley. Latias didn't even hesitate. It fired, without warning, a large beam of energy at the Fearow, knocking it out of the sky faster than a meteor fell from space. Kim smiled for the first time all day. Perhaps they did stand a chance! Two, three, four flew in, and each time, Latias scolded them out of the sky, roaring in victory after each one.

The battle continued over five more minutes. Endless amounts of Fearow flew into the alley, and Latias continued to battle them off. The Fearow slowly made it closer each time, and Kim could see Latias growing tired. Latias wouldn't last much longer. It was growing tired fast.

Then the entire alley was swarmed. Dozens of Fearow flew in from all sides, seeking to take out Latias once and for all. They knew how powerful the legendary bird could be, and they wanted to take no more risks. This would be the end of them, Kim thought. Latias couldn't stand another assault, especially one this big.

Latias looked back at Kim with a resounding look in its eye. Kim knew there was something wrong. "Latias?" she said.

Latias took off out of the Alley. The Fearow followed it immediately. Kim watched as the bird flew away, taking all of the troubles away with it.

She fell to her knees then. Had Latias sacrificed itself to save her? Why would it? Kim had no idea what to do now.

"Beaunary?" she heard from her folded arms below. She looked down at the bunny. "Why?" she asked. "Latias….didn't have to do that..."

But Kim had no time to stand still. A cry wailed from above her. She looked up fast; the tears flew from her eyes onto the broken concrete below. Another Fearow had stayed behind, no fooled by Latias' attempt to save its master, and came after Kim now. She had no idea what to do now. All she could do was run.

Kim turned and ran out of the alley before the Fearow could get close enough. She did not look back, but apparently, the Fearow could not stop fast enough, and it flew into the trash barrels in the alley. She knew that wouldn't stop it though. It would blast out of that alley any second and come after her, and she could not escape.

She looked around. She was in a part of the city where the buildings were large and tall, and streets were filled with cars. Most of the doors she saw were barred shut, nailed shut, or there were no doors, so the cover would be miniscule. Maybe she could hide in a car? She stopped at a taxi and looked around. Most of the cars around here had the windows broken out. Apparently this city had been ravaged. Security must not have been as tight here as it was in Toronto. It looks like hiding in a car was a no go, as well.

The Fearow broke out of the alley now and turned down the street toward Kim. She turned around to face it. Beaunary then jumped out of her arms and landed on top of the taxi beside her.

"What are you doing!?" She asked desperately. "You can't beat it!"

Beaunary looked back and Kim. A smile was on his face.

Regret filled her eyes. She hadn't been able to save her parents. She hadn't been able to save Latias, and now, even Beaunary was standing between her and this Fearow, regardless of the chances to beat the bird. Why was everybody left to her sacrificing their selves to save her? She would much rather them be safe than her. Why did they all keep doing this?!

Fearow dove in for the kill at last.

Only to be crushed by a large block of concrete.

Kim's eyes were wide. What had just happened? Again, on the verge of death, she had been saved.

"Good shot buddy!" Kim heard from behind her.

"Suuudoooo!" came a reply.

"Dad, every time I see him, he seems even strong than before!" It was the voice of a small girl.

"Yea, I know, right? I sure am awesome!" came another voice.

Kim was still too much in shock to turn around. She just stood there, legs shaking, body frozen. Why was she still alive?

"Swaaampert!" came a low, grumbling roar.

"You can't celebrate! You didn't do any work." The girl's voice replied to the roar.

"You can turn around now!! Heyyyy!" We don't bite!" the second voice said.

Kim finally managed to turn around after another few seconds and the sound of approaching footsteps. When she turned around, the scariest Swampert stood behind her. This was possibly the scariest thing Kim had ever seen. She was too afraid to jump backwards or run. A girl sat on top of its head as the Swampert stared Kim down.

"You don't have to be afraid! He's nice!" the little girl said.

Kim stepped forward. Swampert turned around and began walking back to where it came from. Kim followed the beat silently. Beaunary saw that Kim was leaving, so turned and hopped beside her. Kim saw a pile of cars, trucks, and taxis in the middle of the street. Atop the pile sat a man, though she could not tell much about it. How did she miss the man before? Had they just showed up? Kim was getting tired these lucky breaks. Why couldn't things just be easy?

They finally arrived at the pile. The man on top jumped down. He was dressed in rags with a backpack. He was bald. Well, almost. He had a Mohawk, but the rest of his head was bald. He wore glasses, and carried a staff.

"You looked like you were in trouble. We heard the battle, so thought we would come by and say hello!" he said.

The girl jumped off of Swampert's back and took a place by the man. The man rubbed the girl's hair. "Good job, princess." Then he turned back towards Kim.

"The way that pokemon follows you, and the Latias that flew out of that alley, I'd say you've formed a bond with the pokemon as well. At least the ones that were supposed to be yours. So what is your name?"

"I'm Kim." She finally managed to spit out.

"Nooo. Not that name. I mean your tppc name. It's pretty obvious what caused all of this, well, aside from fact that pokemon are rampaging the world and the virtual have became real, but by this point in time that seems to be a minor detail!" The man caught himself. "Sorry, I'm rambling. So, what's your name on tppc?"

"I'm bunny on the website." She answered. She had no idea why she answered, or why she didn't question him, but she did. She really didn't care anymore.

"Ah, yes. I remember a bunny on there!" The man put out his hand. "This pretty girl here is my daughter. You might know her as Princess Blackfire. My real name is unimportant, so you can just call me Lawnbuddha!"