Author Notes: Here's the last big chapter of Sparking Chaos. There is a really short epilogue coming next, but it's like 1/3 a normal chapter length, so it's hardly a chapter. For those who review, it would be nice if you took advantage of the fact there won't be that much to say about the epilogue to use the review of that "chapter" to tell me how you liked the story as a whole. It's in no way mandatory, but it would be nice. Oh well… don't forget to visit my blog for review responses and all the stuff. Enjoy your reading!
Chapter 19: Lethal Blow
As much the announcement of the beast imminent demise had spirited up the troops, the actual travel to the beast's den had calmed them down and brought collective nervousness. It was obvious that, despite the trust they all had in their elder, none of those chu wanted to be there. Their uneasiness could have made their previous assessment of confidence in their leader seem like a blatant lie, but, knowing that they were willingly heading into a death trap to defeat a creature they had never seen before in the name of the colony and their elder, it wasn't hard to understand why they still were a bit nervous. If that wasn't enough, they were led by a creature they hated with a burning passion. The small white and blue rodent-like creature inspired them nothing but disgust and disdain. Some might say that this was close-minded thinking, but the pikachu thought of it as preventive defense. Pachirisu took away their food, dominated the world over with their impressive climbing abilities and were just plain too weird when it came to discussing with one. All those facts taken into consideration, the pikachu couldn't help but fear that this was a dirty trick played on them. Their elder hadn't seen the beast, right? What if there was actually nothing in that cave? What if the pachirisu used this moment where the colony was mostly undefended to attack and pillage their food reserve? What if all this was a big joke? Those hypotheses, even though they were never formulated as such in their primitive minds, left a strong feeling that something was wrong about the mission.
Fortunately for the integrity of their group and the health of the squirrel, none of those worries evolved into an action to counter the potential threat. They were nervous and concerned, but the supreme authority Sparktail represented couldn't be defied unless they had a good reason to do so, a fact everyone agreed to. A feeling wasn't a physical proof that could be used to shoot down their leader, especially when one couldn't tell if the others felt the same about it. If they returned to the colony and that their food reserve had indeed been pillaged, only then would Sparktail's elder position be challenged. Until they faced the undeniable proof, nothing would be done. In that regard, Rick's humanity was often used to cover these holes left by such a passive animalistic behavior. While the others waited for disasters to strike them before fixing a problem, Rick thought ahead and eliminated the source of trouble before the damage was done. While others had feelings and would ignore them or flee, the former human analyzed them and deduced the best course of action to reduce the threat, even if it meant a bit of self-sacrifice.
Diving in the unknown like this was a perilous venture, but if Magic had said the truth, then no mouse would be killed in a few days or weeks by that same beast, shouldn't they neutralize it while they knew of its existence. Some rodents could potentially be injured or killed during the fight, but compared to all those whose death would be avoided, the sacrifices were worth it. This was the heart of Rick's philosophy as a leader. Before, each individual protected its own self and didn't care much if a neighbor was killed as long they were still alive and the colony still properly defended. It was an individualistic system that had been far from being efficient, but that had worked for creatures that were thinking more about the now than the future. However, to be able to grow into more civilized creatures like Rick wanted them to, individualism wouldn't suffice. His colony wouldn't be a group of selfish individuals, but a unified group heading toward one goal. In his system, no individual was worth more than any other, no one could claim to possess something over someone else if they hadn't deserved it. In such a system, every member was a cog of a larger mechanism, the colony. The health of the colony had to be the prime concern, not their life. If an action would kill you but save two individuals, you had to die. To sum it in a few words, it was a system where the good of the many was more important than the good of the few.
Obviously, if Rick had tried to explain that to the other rodents, they would have thought him crazy and banished him. Instead, he used missions like this one to subtly teach them the philosophy through examples. A pikachu wouldn't believe words and concepts, but would trust anything its eyes would see. The coming battle would be such an example. If some were injured, but the beast was killed, he would have a point to use to defend his action. In the unlikely case that most of them were killed and that the beast still lived… then his own philosophy would work against him, as he would be seen as the threat to the greater good. With any luck, this wouldn't happen.
No matter the outcome, it was too late to back away. After a few minutes of walking through one of the many comfortable paths around the valley used to facilitate the gathering of resources, then a rough trip into the savage wilderness with the white rodent as their only guide, they finally reached their destination. This destination could have been described using many words, but the "unwelcoming" would be an appropriate summary. Nestled into a deep depression in a nearby rocky cliff, the cave opening was four feet tall and three feet wide. The unusual rock formation making the entrance strangely looked like a huge mouth waiting to devour anyone who came too close. This concept was illustrated by the rough rocky floor randomly filled with many pointy rocks that may have looked like teeth if their positioning hadn't been more like a mine field than a perfectly straight row. If that wasn't enough to shake the rodents' fur, remains of bones, skulls and a strong stench of blood around the area didn't leave any doubt about what the former occupants used this cave for.
Such a devastating sight made most rodents stop a few feet from the entrance, unwilling to go any closer than that. None of them had ever seen this cave before, the horrific stench having discouraged any bold approaches before they could even had seen the cliff. Once again, Magic had proved to be like a splinter in their paw by forgetting to mention such an important detail as the state of the cave they were about to visit. Among all of them, Rick was probably the only one to understand why she hadn't mentioned it. For those a pokemon of the trees like the joyous little squirrel, the things on the ground could do little do affect them, since they couldn't touch them. What everyone had recognized as a death trap, Magic had pictured it as something nice to see, so long she was high up in a tree. Speaking of the squirrel's behavioral habits, as soon the warriors reached the cave, Magic did quickly run up the closest tree to watch the events unfold from a safe spot, obviously not wanting to be as close to the cave as she had suggested she would. As if a distress signal had been triggered by the retreat of the squirrel, every pikachu turned to face their leader, wanting an explanation and, more importantly, to be given a good reason as to why they should go into that dark cave when their guide didn't even want to set foot in it.
Feeling eight pairs of eyes staring at him as if he was the incarnation of the devil, the former human took a step back nervously, eying the cave with a gloomy feeling. Things weren't going as good as expected, but he couldn't just retreat like this, when he was so close to the goal. If nobody wanted to follow him into the cave, he would have to show them the meaning of courage. In this situation, courage wouldn't mean blindly running into trouble to prove his point, though some may have a different opinion on the matter. He would walk in there alone, but not without being backed up properly, should something bad happen. Looking back at his worried troops, Rick took a confident tone of voice, worthy of an acting award. He could talk as much he wanted to, but he wasn't really at ease with what he would do, even if it was his duty to look like he was. "Listen up everyone. Since I led you here, I will confront the beast myself and lure it out. Like with the huge purple monster, you will charge your cheeks and be ready to release it all on the black doggie as soon you will see it run out of the cave chasing me. If you hear me scream, don't run away. The beast will come out to get you and then you will be able to kill it. If you fail to do that, run as fast as possible back to the colony and defend it as much you can. Everyone understood?"
His orders might have sounded simple to the common soldier, but to those rodents, it was like if Sparktail had tried to describe a complex sequence of actions in a language they had never learned. As expected from such creatures, their glare of worries and anger turned to a look of confusion as they looked at each other in hope than someone else had understood something, but with no such luck. They had understood the beginning well enough, but when Sparktail began to ramble about the various outcomes, he lost them with his long sentences and his hypothesis. As the Alpha warrior, it was Strongclaw's role to speak up and to make Sparktail understand that they… well, that hadn't really understood a thing of what he had said. "Sparktail, do we have to attack or do we have to run? Why would you scream?" asked the powerful warrior, no less confused than the rest of his kin.
Those questions so innocently asked made Rick sigh in slight annoyance and disappointment. How would he have to explain it so they understood? By making drawings or acting the scene? If there was only one good thing in all this, it was that the pikachu seemed more confused than reluctant to follow his plan, which would play in his favor. As for the orders themselves, he supposed that simplifying them the most he could would do the trick. It shouldn't be harder than trying to implement some crude logic in computer code. "You are all going to stay here and charge your cheeks, no matter what you hear or see. When you see the beast, you shock it. If it doesn't die, you run away. Now, do you understand?" he asked them, frowning disapprovingly.
This time, his words appeared to be effective. Without useless words to hinder the core actions and with a sequence presented in almost a programmatically manner, the mysterious orders didn't seem so confusing anymore. They were still a bit weird, but the pikachu were used to those strange tactics that seemed illogical at first, but that brought them a lot of good later. If Sparktail had said it, it couldn't be bad for them. Without any further delay, the pikachu moved to make a half-circle formation surrounding the cave and began to charge their cheeks at a slow pace. Done too quickly, they wouldn't be able to contain it long enough for the beast to come out. An early release would leave the chu weakened and open to attack, which could be lethal.
His troops now ready to protect him, Rick slowly walked into the cave, where fate waited for him with a sword pending over his head. Inside that dark chamber, his protection outside would be worth nothing and he knew it. If the predator was to pounce on him, he wouldn't survive it. The beast would surely be killed after his death and if one chu had to die out of this mission, it might as well be him. He led everyone here and it was his duty to accept the consequences for his actions. He had known more than everyone the risks of coming here, but if he hadn't been willing to accept those terms, he wouldn't be throwing himself in the jaws of beasts, would he? He sure wouldn't be a man of word if he had backed away. Although, his own logic was a bit flawed there, since it wouldn't be good for the colony if the elder was killed instead of some worthless bait, but it wasn't the first time in human history (or so to speak) a general did a bold move.
Calmly, Rick crawled into the depth of the cave, lighting his way with sparks. This action alone was more risky than anything else, given his special ability. As he moved electrons around his body, the gateway to his mental abilities opened itself to allow any brainwave in range to be analyzed, identified and accumulated in a basket of emotions many times too small to contain them all. He suddenly felt the fear of his kin waiting outside, their nervousness and their worries. He could feel the sickening innocence of all the pachirisu up in the trees around and laughing at the funny scene under them. All those voices crushed the tiny limit he could tolerate, and yet, they paled in comparison to energy patterns coming from the creature inside the cave. It was stronger because of its proximity and the size of the creature's brain, and also strangely empowering. He had expected the obvious urges for hunger and killing so common to predators, but it wasn't so much what the voice was saying that bothered him, but how it was saying it. It was counter-intuitive to think that way about a soundless voice, but he could associate the pattern of waves to an individual like one could associate a pattern of sounds to a person's voice. Its shape could be molded around the templates of every creature he spent a lot of time with in the past, like Strongclaw, Shocky, Jen, or… even Kagai. Being the only enemy he had, the dark vixen was the last thing he wanted to see around here, but the closer he came from the creature, the more the energy pattern seemed to fit within his perception of what the Umbreon's mind had been. As his sparks flashed through the cave, he could see some parts of it, but it soon wasn't even needed. His sparks were producing some light, it wasn't the only contestant at this game of lighting anymore and this new source of light crushed his in every way. Deep into the cave, three yellow rings began to glow about a one foot above the ground, revealing around them the dark shapes of a large canine body at least twice his size and black as coal. It was comfortingly resting on the floor in a stance indicating that it was trying to take a nap.
Sparktail tried to keep his cheeks sparking, but he soon found himself unable to continue. His sparks… no… his whole body began to lose its energy. There was a presence in his mind, a ghostly soul feeding on his connection with his psychic powers to strengthen itself. This ghost had no form, no shape, but it was hungry and out of control. It was sucking out energy faster than he could produce it, threatening the integrity of his mind. For his health, he released his electricity, closing the pathway to his mind. No matter what had happened just there, he knew one thing, as he crouched to the ground to prevent his dazzled mind from making him faint: his light wasn't needed anyone. Slowly, a last ring lit the forehead of the beast, displaying the threatening head of the creature. The forehead ring's light was reflected into its opening eyes, making the two deadly eyes pronounced, their bloody red color and piercing glare fixating his body with their insatiable hunger for his flesh. Rick didn't need psychic abilities to know that this creature wanted him death and to be chilled to the bones by the gloomy stare given by the creature he knew to be an umbreon. He couldn't quite explain how the creature had been able to block his psychic ability and suck on it, but his weakened state didn't seem like any good for him.
Dark pokemon were a mystery for the scientific community. It was known that they had a lot of advantages over many kind of pokemon and that they were able to crush psychic pokemon, though they weren't really psychics themselves. One thing neither Rick nor the umbreon knew had been at work here. Psychic pokemon and gifted individuals like Rick were living forms able to connect with the universe to various levels and manipulate the world around them as if they were part of it. To a psychic, there was no difference between an apple and a thought. Both were something part of the universe and that could be controlled. On the other side of the spectrum were dark pokemon. Those creatures didn't connect to the universe, but rather untied those around it from it. They then fed on the gap of energy released from the rift and used it to sustain their mind and their body with it. If one dark pokemon could get enough energy that way, it would almost be allowed to go days, weeks or months without food and water and still be in top shape. What just had happened to Rick was a testament to that ability to steal vital energy from others. By using his electricity, his mind had gripped itself one layer closer the universe and left open a large quantity of energy for the umbreon to take, weakening him to the point he had to stop. The black canine had no idea that she had done anything to the pikachu, but she knew that she felt more awake and that the pikachu was weaker and hers to take. That should be enough to launch an attack on the rodent immediately, right?
Not quite. A few minutes ago, the vixen had been awakened by the voices of the rodents outside. She had felt quite happy when one of them said it would enter alone, but much less when she heard the name of the rodent. Sparktail. Surely, there could be a lot of Sparktail in the forest, but she wanted to make sure to know which one he was before attacking him. Identifying him was a simple matter of recognizing his smell and trying to associate it to something she knew, which to her great pleasure, it did. This Sparktail happened to be the same one she had lived with before… the same one who hadn't liked her much. Feeling an urge of repressed anger, the vixen pounced and landed right over the rodent just as he had opened himself to attack by putting one paw to the ground. Her dark and threatening muzzle loomed over him in satisfaction, savoring his delicious scent. "How good it is to see you again, Sparktail. You didn't miss me much, I hope. I didn't miss you at all. In fact… I think would rather have you dead. Pikachu bodies are such a fun thing to prey on." She stated matter-of-factly with a slight grin on her muzzle.
The pikachu gulped nervously. Out of every umbreon he could have met, this one had to be Kagai. This posed an interesting dilemma his plan didn't take into account. While the umbreon seemed to want him dead, Rick knew better than to believe her and to lead her to her death outside. Kagai had, many times in the past, played with his mind to take revenge on him for having been a smartass. There was one major difference between then and now, though: Jen wasn't with her to calm down her feral instincts. Jen wasn't… where was she, anyway?
Shaken by this crucial question, the pikachu remembered that Kagai had been taken away by those men, at the same time as Jen. The memory felt like a dream, so far and cloudy in his mind that he had barely remembered it, up until now. It had suddenly returned from its lost little corner to strike back with its many questions. How did Kagai escape? Where was Jen? Why did the umbreon seem stronger all of a sudden? How the heck did she get so close from his colony? Where was Jen?
So many questions, but so many he doubted the umbreon would be willing to answer, or even able to answer. No matter what she did choose to do, the rodent had more than just those questions to think about. Unless Kagai said otherwise, he was still in a situation where Kagai could pounce on him and shred him down to guts and meat. The dark pokemon was looking down at him and occupying all his field of view. There was no way he could escape if he wanted to (though he could call on his troops as a sacrifice call), he was trapped like the mouse he was. It was kind of ironic. After he had done all those efforts to be as human as possible and make those around him like that, he could still easily go back at the bottom of the food chain without warning. Ironic… but not enough to stop him from trying his luck. "Kagai…" he whispered as he sat up to get a better view of her muzzle. Two weeks had passed, but the umbreon was still as deadly as ever. Those rows of teeth, those scary eyes… "…I… you wouldn't… I mean… I am your friend… maybe not the best friend there is, but… I became a bit better while around here. I'm… err… nicer. Beside, how many pikachu did you really hunt? No offense, but I thought you were like… young and kind of inexperienced… but… err… you seem to be looking look and in top shape today… so maybe you trained. That would… certainly be a good thing… for you" the pikachu said, sounding more like is he was rambling more than anything else. He had tried to sound like he had improved and to praise the umbreon in hopes to soften her. It was a cheap tactic, but it wasn't like he didn't think what he said. Kagai did look a lot stronger than before and she did do that strange thing to his mind.
Unfortunately, the umbreon didn't quite bite to his bait, but she did open herself to joking a bit. It was a greater satisfaction to see her enemy crushed at her paws and pleading for his life in unusual ways than just ending his life. She would let him live longer, but only for him to hear the little tale she had to narrate. "I'm not sure that you are really a friend, only Jen and… Sunny… were…" she started saying, her voice taking a sad tone on her last words. Thinking about her only successful pikachu hunt forced her to remember the cruel fate that fell on her friends, horrors that she would rather have wanted to forget about. The umbreon shook her head as if to chase the memories away and refocus on her tale. "Speaking of Jen and pikachu hunting, I met this strange female pikachu saying she was Jen. Crazy little thing. I wanted to hunt her, but she was trapped in some kind of hard clear thing and I couldn't reach her. Someone must have liked me a lot, because I found myself free in the forest and with the same pikachu tied up with… this…"
As she talked, she moved a few steps back to grab something on the floor where she had previously been laying down and dropped it in front of Sparktail. The object, mostly white, looked like some kind of plastic cord broken in a few places. It was only mostly white, but only because it was partly stained with blood and clearly burnt in some spots. "...when I was about to kill the pikachu, she broke the thing over her muzzle with her light and then talked to me. She said all those crazy things about Jen again, but she let me kill her, because she was a gift from Jen to make me strong again. So I clawed into her fur and savored that red liquid. Then I bit into her—"
Rick's eyes went wide in horror and his ears lowered. Kagai was explaining in a lot of details how she had killed and eaten that pikachu, but he wasn't listening anymore. Her sadistic words were harsh, but compared to what she had just said moments before… they were soft. Rick couldn't believe what she had just said, he couldn't fathom how this could have happened. He was baffled with how innocent and stupid this umbreon was. Hadn't she any idea of what she had done? Couldn't she even… even grasp the concept of transformation? He didn't go around telling he was human because he was crazy! If that… that female pikachu had claimed to be Jen… and then… then…
Glancing at the heavily damaged and dirty binding cord, the pikachu shivered and whimpered at the thought of what had happened. Pikachu didn't cry often, as it wasn't a bodily function they really needed, but the emotional shock was just too much for him to keep inside. "You…" he muttered as he crawled away from the predator, his eyes wetting up and tears soon rolling down his cheeks. He didn't care about his safety anymore. He would rather die than bow down to a murderer, no matter how naïve she was. "You don't get it, do you? You… you will never see Jen again… she… you… how could… no…no… Jen!"
Angered, the pikachu released a low energy bolt on the plastic band, adding another black burn to it, though meeker than the ones Jen had originally made in her attempt to free herself. The sudden light made Kagai jerk back in surprise and Sparktail's crying and shouting removed that smug smirk from her muzzle and replaced it by a worried look. Scaring him was one thing, but making him sad and moreover about Jen hadn't been what she had wanted. She was barely recovering from the fact Jen wasn't around to help her and it was still obviously a sensible matter for her. Jen was like her second mother and she needed her around to feel safe. She had survived by hunting rattata since she had been released, but nothing would be quite like having Jen around to feed her and take care of her. She didn't connect to Sparktail's pain as a human would, but she could try to make him feel better, in her primitive and naïve way. "Sparktail… I think you are being stupid. We will Jen again one day. If I was released, Jen will too and she will find us. I know she will. That's what a nice mother like her would do. Now stop being stupid and shocking my toy, or I will have to hunt you for real."
Her voice, serious, but yet destroying her act of the cruel predator who didn't think of Sparktail as anything more than food to satisfy her hunger, had fallen short to calm Rick down. He was relieved that she was getting her senses back and considering not killing him, as it would open the path to some negotiations about how they would share the same territory, but… that talk wouldn't be today. He didn't feel like saying anything to that dumb umbreon and he wouldn't until he was done with mourning Jen sadistic murder.
Taking advantage of the defensive stance the umbreon had taken, the mouse turned around and moved back toward the entrance, where the light shined and no mindless murderers lived, away from his burning desire to kill the umbreon for her action and to judge her unfairly for something he couldn't call her guilty. Kagai was only a predator, a killing machine that had done her job without asking any question. He could only be glad that she was nice enough to let him live. Whether it was because she considered him a friend or as simple respect for Jen was still to determine, but he was thankful for it anyway. "Don't you dare… approach the colony of pikachu nearby until I return... if you try anything, I won't hesitate to have you killed, like the last predator that lived in this cave before you. Hunt something else, like those rattata. We can still be friends, though. That's what… what Jen would have wanted… but you will have to… to be nice until I find something to help with your… food needs… Bye… for now…" he told her, each word harder to say with each step he took toward the exit and his growing fear that Kagai might still kill him for leaving so suddenly. Luckily, the dark beast didn't prevent him from leaving and went back to biting on her white toy. This discussion with Sparktail hadn't left her in the best of state either. Hopefully, he would be right about finding her food, because the last thing she wanted was to make Jen mad by killing the rodent the girl had forbidden her from eating. For Rick however…
Disheartened, the pikachu made his way out of the cave, where his troops were waiting impatiently for a new order or news about what had happened. On that, Rick didn't disappoint them, but he didn't have the enthusiasm or the confidence he had went he first went into the cave. It was rather hard to force himself to be happy and it just didn't seem worth it with those pikachu. They wouldn't care for anything else than his words, anyway. "The predator won't attack us if we leave her alone. We will be safe. I don't want to see anyone near this cave ever again! Everyone back to the colony, NOW! I won't repeat it!" he screamed at them in rage, his cheeks sparking uncontrollably. For anyone who knew Sparktail, seeing him using any form of threat and violence at his own kin was unseen. Something was wrong with him, but as before, crazy would be the one to try to reason the elder. Not unhappy to leave this place anyway, the mice nodded and ran away from the cave, leaving only Sparktail and Strongclaw, who had waited for him. A glance was all the Alpha Warrior received as a thank you for staying as Rick walked pass him on four paws, heading toward the dirt path at a slow and unmotivated pace. "Go away, Strongclaw. I need some time alone. We will celebrate this victory around a few apples later, ok?"
Strongclaw looked at Sparktail, half confused by his behavior and half saddened by his own inability to make him feel good again. Muttering a quiet yes, he ran ahead of his friend to join the rest of the warriors. At long last, Rick was alone. No more troops, no more predator, no more friends, no more responsibility; no one to get in the way of his sorrow and his loss. Jen had been human like him and deserved to be recognized as such, even past death. He might as well be the only to know; though he had almost wished he didn't. How could someone so young, so gentle, so beautiful be killed like that? It made no sense, but then again, what did in that world? His best friend was a pikachu, his son was a pichu, his rival was an umbreon. The only girl her he had liked, maybe had a crush on, had been of a different species than his and now that she was the same species, she was dead. Trainers were kidnapped for random reasons to be turned into pokemon, transformation was a possible thing, his cheeks were a weapon of massive headache. No… nothing made sense in the world he was and yet, everything had a meaning. What was the meaning of her death? He didn't know and probably never would. But he did know one thing he would never forget: fate had given him a path, a tortuous one, but from his path, a network of roads would be created. No matter how things went, no matter how bad or good, he would try his best to make sure those that were still alive would reach their full potential. As for the dead… they would get what they deserved…