Past experience tells me that I'm pretty good at combat scenes. Hopefully, that's a talent that never gets rusty with me, no matter how long I take between chapters.

Vines & Briars

Chapter 19: The Ocean's Gauntlet

"So let me get this straight," Denzel started later as the three of them headed down the mountain, "There's a buncha different folks 'round town, losin' themselves and gettin' real aggressive with the rest. That right, Ricky?"

"It's just 'Rick'... and yes." Rick responded, a bit wearily as he had corrected Denzel for the third time now. Being called "Ricky" by Denzel was getting a bit annoying to the former human. He didn't like others using variations on his name. The fact that he was his only immediate ride anywhere off the island was the only reason Rick didn't completely snap at Denzel to call him his proper name, notwithstanding how useful he was to have around. Denzel, being a water-type, made their way out of the volcano considerably easier. Even injured as he was, Denzel was a competent fighter and his typing made it quite easy to travel through the catacombs Rick had chased him through.

"Heh. Wow, sounds crazy but then again, if what half you two said 'bout me is right, guess I got no room to argue with it. Not that I can remember any of it!" Denzel laughed as if he had just told a joke.

He seemed a lot more lucid before I beat the tar out of him... now he seems so random. Is this really the same Denzel?

"So you're willing to trust that you were going around beating up others and causing trouble? And that I beat you in a fight and nearly killed you?" Rick said, his tone a bit disbelieving, "And what's with you changing your mind about giving me a ride so suddenly anyways? Not that I mind since you did agree to give me one."

"What. Would you give a ride to a guy whose name ya don't even know?" Denzel said giving Rick a friendly grin, "Once ya introduced yerself, I was perfectly fine with it. You know where you wanna go, I know your name, and ya asked nice. That's all I wanted."

Rick just stared, a bit stunned yet again.

He says that like it's the most obvious thing ever.

"As for trustin' ya, I know Rio there wouldn't lie 'bout something like this." Denzel continued, seemingly oblivious to Rick's expression, "Guy's always been an honest kid. So if he says it true, I can take it as truth."

Rio glanced away, a slight flush tinging his cheeks. The Riolu had remained quiet most of the trip, only adding in details to the story that Rick had missed.

He called him "Kale's kid" earlier.

"Er, Denzel... you know Kale? You mentioned him earlier." Rick said. Denzel's response was a single bark-like laugh.

"Hah! You really aren't from around here. I could tell from just lookin' at ya before, but if you don't know 'bout Kale then you're definitely recent. Only a few 'round this island don't know about him." He said, still with a grin.

"Erm... could you tell me more about him?" Rick asked. Ever since he'd first heard of Kale from Roserade, he'd been a little curious. Now with the knowledge that Rio's father was so well-known locally, Rick wanted to know more.

"Dunno if it's my place to say more 'bout Rio's pops. 'Specially with Rio bein' right here. You wanna know more about him, ask Rio. He'll know more than anyone."

Rick looked over at Rio and any desire to ask about Kale withered in Rick's throat. Rio looked quite moody and uncomfortable with the conversation subject being on his father.

Maybe I'll ask another time when Rio's in a better mood. Seems like right now, if I ask, Rio's gonna get really upset and I don't want that again. But still... I am curious-

"He's gone." Rio cut-in on Rick's thoughts, "That's all there is to it."

"Uh... right-" Rick started, he knew this already thanks to Roserade.

"I know you want to ask. My dad's gone. That's all you need to know." Rio said, quite firmly.

Rick was utterly silenced by the finality of the statement. He wasn't sure what more he could say without trying to dig further into the matter, and Rio clearly wasn't going to talk about it more.

Denzel glanced back at Rio, still with a small grin, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes. He then gestured for Rick to move closer; he had something to say. Rick did move up, focused on Denzel and letting Rio just continue to follow behind them.

"I've never had much nerve to join the guild myself. Always been too much of a free spirit." Denzel said as Rick joined him up-front, "But I know a little 'bout Kale from when I was still a buizel. Got to know Rio through him. 'Case you couldn't tell... Kale meant a lot to him."

"Right. What happened to him then?" Rick said, keeping his voice down. Denzel shook his head though.

"Already told ya... not my place. But I can tell ya... no one's seen Kale for years since he went into the volcano."

Rick swallowed, his throat feeling dry as the implications quickly sank in.

The very volcano we just left? Rio's dad died in there?

Denzel faced forward again as they continued onward, letting Rick absorb that information.

-o-

They passed by Denwood on their way back to the village, picking up Zoe. As Rio had predicted, Rick's appearance wasn't so dramatically different that Zoe didn't recognize him... but she did look a bit awed and asked Rick if it was really him, apparently just wanting to be sure he was the same Rick. The former human couldn't hold back an amused look as he confirmed he was the same Rick he'd always been.

It wasn't long after they arrived at the cross-roads between the village and the guild. Rick looked at Rio.

"Alright. This is where we part ways Rio. You've got guild-work and I'm not welcome in there anymore. You'll have to pardon me for taking away the bounty here but I need Denzel's help." Rick said, keeping his tone level. Denzel still looked mildly amused when Rick mentioned the bounty.

Rio at this point was looking a little bitter, though not particularly angry. Rick could tell the riolu could potentially come out saying any of a number of things. None of them promised to be kind words.

After a minute of wrestling with what to say, Rio finally spoke:

"Just... don't get yourself killed out there." Rio said tensely. His expression showed the conflict of emotions boiling under the surface.

Rick just nodded mutely and motioned lightly with his head for Rio to head back to the guild. Rio looked at each of them in-turn for a moment... then he finally started up the path to the guild and he didn't look back.

Rick then turned to Denzel.

"Alright. Let's get to the coast and head out. I trust you know exactly where I was talking about and how to get there?"

Denzel nodded.

"Aye. I know the place. Should be able to take ya straight there." Denzel said, his tone brimming with confidence, "Let's hit the road then."

Rick nodded in agreement and they headed down the road towards the Village, heading for the coast from there.

-o-

Once they had arrived at the coast, Denzel had jumped into the water and the yellow tube-like part that lined him inflated. Looking at Denzel in the water, there was a vaguely boat-like shape about him. Like a raft of sorts.

Rick and Zoe jumped on at his prompting. Denzel told them to hold on and his two passengers barely got around to it: he took off across the water almost immediately, going at an intense speed. If Rick hadn't gotten a firm hold on Denzel, he would've been knocked right off his back by the inertia.

Once he had kept himself on-board Denzel through that initial take-off, Rick could feel the wind whipping by him and they were headed across the water at high-speeds. Zoe looked exhilarated and as he looked around himself, the sea-breeze feeling comfortably cool, Rick had a feeling the same expression was spread across his own face. There was a certain rush about going so fast and the ocean before them seemed endless in its expanse.

It was after a few minutes though that Denzel slowed a bit and Rick noticed.

"Why are you slowing down Denzel?" Rick asked, looking around warily.

"Don't get your vines in a twist, Ricky. Just got some buddies of mine up ahead. Gonna make a quick stop with them. Just say hello, introduce ya and let 'em know where I'm goin' with ya." Denzel said simply as he continued towards the open ocean.

Rick grit his teeth, feeling annoyed again with Denzel's insistence on calling him "Ricky". He was about to speak up about it again when Denzel came to a stop. Rick was about to ask why when he saw the floatzel's expression. He didn't look like he was about to meet with some friends.

"What's wrong, Denzel?" Rick asked instead.

"They're coming at us. It's their formation. I'd know it anywhere. Rick, you better get yourself ready to fight. I can't do much of anything so long as I'm carrying you. I'll try to avoid getting you in a tight spot but you're gonna have to fight 'em off yourself." Denzel said, his tone dead-serious for the first time Rick had ever heard. Zoe quickly caught on herself and just tried to huddle low so she would be out of the way as much as possible.

He said my name properly too...

Rick couldn't help noting that in a corner of his mind. But he quickly focused himself on what lay ahead. He couldn't actually see anything in the water, but it was evident that Denzel knew what to look for far more than him.

"Just keep your focus. You beat me in a straight fight so these guys ought to be a piece o' cake for you." Denzel said encouragingly as he proceeded forward again.

They continued forward several more yards, Rick scanning the water, looking for signs of buizel incoming. The anticipation of the incoming wave of opponents already had his blood pumping and his muscles tense, ready for the fight.

"Watch it!" Denzel yelled and then veered to the side. A second later, the first of Rick's opponent's burst from the water and attempted to strike at Rick.

Rick however, was caught off-guard by what he saw. It wasn't a buizel. He was certain of that.

His opponent appeared to be a different sort of otter. He had blue fur covering his body and white fur over his head with small blue ears and a flat tail. He was brandishing a shell like it was a sword.

Instinct saved Rick from getting his throat slashed open and he automatically leaned far back as the blue otter swung the shell at him in a hard, horizontal swipe. Had Rick been a different species, he likely would've fallen over onto his back; as it was, he had the body strength to keep himself on his feet. The weapon barely grazed the tip of Rick's nose, shaving the surface.

The attacker went over Denzel's back as the Floatzel continued forward and the shell-wielding otter ker-plunked back into the water. Rick barely had time to straighten-up from evading that first attack before two more of the blue otters burst from the water and attempted to slash the grass-type with twin diagonal strikes from each side.

Having gotten over his initial surprise at the species of his opponents, Rick swept his vines out in a circle around himself and he swatted both of his attackers out of the air, knocking both of them back into the water before they could get off their attacks. Yet three more burst from the water a second later, all three holding their shells high over their heads, ready to swing them down on Rick's head. Denzel turned away to jet out of the way of the triple-strike. Rick, still acting more or less on reflex and instinct and not having his vines in a position to defend him, turned with Denzel's veering turn and swept his tail around, slamming it hard into one and carrying it into the other two. All three were interrupted mid-attack and were knocked tumbling back into the water, only managing grazing strikes on Rick's tail at best.

Rick saw the next two attacks coming before they arrived as he could see the shadows coming up in the water. Another jumped from the water just behind and to the side of Denzel and attempted to slash Rick again. He didn't get a chance as Rick lashed out with a vine, grabbing the hapless otter. Rick then swung the small otter around and hurled him right into his ally who was just coming out of the water up ahead.

"Auuugh-!" "Ooof!" Both tumbled right back into the water.

Just how many enemies am I contending with here?!

Two more burst from the water a second later from each side and tried to cut Rick in two with horizontal swings. Rick ducked at the last second, narrowly avoiding the attacks again and he quickly caught both before they went back into the water, using his vines. He then promptly swung them around and bashed their heads together. Having knocked them senseless like this, Rick tossed them behind, leaving them to fall back into the ocean.

While he was doing this, yet another jumped from the water and attempted to get in a diagonal strike on Rick while he was occupied.

"Rick! Watch out!" Zoe yelled, a bit panicked and she pounced up at the attacking otter. They collided in-air, interrupting the attack aimed at Rick. The former human barely managed to catch Zoe before she fell in the water with her opponent.

"Zoe, watch yourself while you're at it too." Rick commented. He didn't get any time to pull Zoe back onto Denzel's back as another blue otter jumped at him from the other side. Still holding Zoe just over the water with his vine, Rick swung his tail around and up at his opponent. The leaf blade overpowered the shell and the attacking otter was knocked away, his shell also knocked free of his paws.

Then a completely different Pokemon exploded from the water in front of Denzel.

This one was closer to Rick's size and was brandishing two shells, one in each paw. His body was predominately a light blue, no white fur. His paws, feet, tail, and ears all were black with a coat of dark blue fur over his waist. He had a couple whiskers on each cheek and a fringe of fur sticking straight up on the back of his head.

"Arrrrr! Botha ya watch it!" Denzel roared, rearing up out of the water just as this new opponent attempted to catch Rick in a cross-slash strike. Denzel planted a hard punch straight in the dual-wielding otter's chest and Denzel fell back into the water, driving his opponent back into the water with him. Rick barely held on as Denzel did this, Zoe still trailing behind them and bouncing across the surface of the water.

There was a few seconds lull in the assault and Rick used that time to pull Zoe back onto Denzel and set her down. Zoe was drenched and looked pretty shaken. She promptly huddled back down, looking terrified.

Then the attack resumed, three of the smaller, single-shell otters burst from the water, one after another and attempted to strike at Rick with their shells.

"I've had enough!" Rick yelled, becoming enraged with their persistence and with the fact they had left Zoe in such a state. He lashed his now-free vine around the first one, then swiftly hurled him at the water. The otter hit the water, bounced off the surface once and plunked under. Rick swung his other vine at the next otter, bringing it down on his head and swatting him straight down. The shell didn't get to strike Rick himself, but it did graze Rick's vine and Rick retracted it, wincing as the cut hurt quite a bit with the salty seawater in the air all around them.

The third otter, Rick shifted to the side, evading his attempted swing at him and then Rick caught the otter from the side in his mouth.

"Ack!" The little otter yelped and squirmed.

Knowing he had at least one more opponent to contend with out there, Rick decided to refresh himself a little and drained the water-type, finding it quite easy to do against it. Having done that, and resisting any other urges that came with draining his opponent, Rick discarded the otter to the side, dropping him back in the water. The pain in his vine lessened as his body processed the new energy and Rick focused himself once more, ready for what seemed to be the leader.

Sure enough, the larger otter with two-shells burst from the water behind them and attempted to catch Rick in another attempted cross-slash.

"Not happenin'!" Rick yelled and swept his tail around, swiping his own leafy blade at his opponent.

He grunted as Rick's tail cut him across the chest, but he absorbed the blow and continued his swing at Rick.

"Gaaaaaah!" Rick's back was slashed open by the cross-cut, the pain immediate and intense.

Ugh. Never thought I'd know what's like to get cut by a sword. And this guy isn't even using one.

The opposing water-type fell into the water again and fell back. Denzel slowed and lifted his head from the water to speak.

"You alright back there, Rick?"

"Y-yeah... I'll be alright. Just need a second." Rick groaned, his jaw clenched as he tried to just endure the initial wave of pain.

"You've got two before Eric there catches up and tries taking your head off again." Denzel said, his tone as serious as ever.

"Eric, huh? Well... I'll handle him." Rick growled.

Seconds later, the otter jumped from the water yet again and attempted to bring both shells down on Rick's head.

Rick struck back, swinging his tail hard, not at Eric, but at his shells. The unconventional blades met... and Rick's proved superior, knocking both of Eric's shells out of his paws.

Rick's opponent attempted to fall back into the water to regroup and get them back, but Rick caught him with his vines and pulled him close.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rick snarled as he entwined his vines around Eric more, squeezing him hard. The otter tried to resist, but he was far too entangled already to offer any meaningful struggles. Before long he was starting to yell from the pain as the vines crushed him slowly.

"Rick..." Zoe voice brought Rick back to his senses. He could hear the fear in her tone, and it wasn't from her recent experience dangling over the water.

Rick shook his head as he realized what he was doing and he quickly let up on the pressure, though he kept Eric wrapped and restrained.

After taking a minute to collect himself, Rick looked up at his captive opponent.

Well, only way to wake someone up if they're this deep under the effect it seems, is to knock them over the head. Or knock them out at any rate.

That in-mind, Rick swung his tail around and whacked Eric across the temple with it. The captive otter slumped loosely in Rick's vines. Looking around at the water around them, Rick saw that the attack seemed to have come to an end.

"If ya don't mind, I'd like to make sure you didn't rough any of my little buddies up too much, Ricky." Denzel said, his tone back to its friendly casualness.

"It's just 'Rick', Denzel." He groaned, too exhausted to get irritated or argue.