Last time, on Explorers of Prehistory...
Lily and Violet awoke in a vessel used by the Gardevoir Guild, who were on their way to face the pirates, only to find a destroyed Tiny Island awaiting them. Lily decided to join the Gardevoir Guild so she could find the reason why islands are sinking, and plans on asking Violet to join her. Meanwhile, Team Berserker and Co. have stopped on Moor Island, the scum infested habitat of all sorts of criminals. Laura the Lopunny refuses not to look for her daughter, believing her to still be alive, and sets out to find a ship she can use with Shadow the Umbreon. However, a mysterious Scyther stalks them from the shadows...
What will happen next? Find out now!
And today's special thanks goes to... csigamer1990 again! Thanks a ton for your awesome OCs!
"One thousand two fifty, no more, no less."
Breaker the Tyranitar gritted his teeth. It was already late in the night, and that was never a good time to be on Moor. Granted, it was never a good time to be on Moor, but night time was especially bad. He wanted to leave this place. But this little rat-faced thief was making it difficult for them.
Team Berserker stood inside the post office of Moor, and were currently in the middle of a fierce argument with the clerk, a very ugly and very greedy Raticate. Blade and Iron were struggling to negotiate for a decent price, but that rat wasn't making it easy.
"One thousand two fifty is insane," Blade said, trying to remain calm. "We'll pay you one thousand."
The Raticate shook his head. "Nah, nah," he said in his nasally voice. "Too low. One thousand two fifty."
Blade scowled. "This message is of the utmost importance," he explained. "People could die."
"Tell it to someone who cares!" the Raticate said. "The price stands."
Iron growled. "Listen..." he snarled.
Blade raised a claw, silencing the Garchomp. He sighed. "Fine. One thousand two fifty."
The Raticate gave a knowing grin. "How about-!"
Breaker lost it. With a roar of hatred, he wrapped a claw around the Raticate's neck and lifted him into the air. "How about I don't break your empty skull, you little freak!" he spat hatefully.
"Breaker!" said Iron and Blade in unison. They tried to push their friend back and make him release the Raticate.
Breaker ignored them shoving his face close to the terrified clerk. "You will take this message for one thousand Poke, the fair price to fly that far. If you don't, I'll break every bone in your body!"
"G-g-guards!" yelped the Raticate.
Two Beedrill burst out from the back room, their long spears covered in dripping poisons. Even the post office wasn't safe in this town, so bodyguards were always wanted, and there was always an ample supply.
However, the supply of good bodyguards was nowhere near as high. The Beedrill snarled as they leaped in an insanely predictable fashion towards Breaker. The Tyranitar barely batted an eye as he whirled about and with a strike from his powerful tail, sent both Bug-Types smashing into the wooden wall, landing in a pile of broken planks and splintered wood. Neither of them moved after that.
Breaker looked back to the now even more terrified Raticate. "One thousand," he growled.
"Of course!" said the rodent. "T-that's the fair price, after all!"
Breaker dropped the Raticate and shoved the envelope into the clerk's paws. "Do it," he ordered.
The Raticate scampered to the back room, yelling for his messenger to get ready for a long flight.
Blade looked at Breaker, folding his arms. "Was that really necessary?" he asked, unimpressed with his friend's outburst.
"Yes," Breaker said, lowly.
Iron groaned. Breaker had moved past the denial part of grief and onto the anger part. He was just grateful that he was taking out his anger on criminals and not his own team mates. "Look," he said. "We all feel horrible about Chris, but-..."
"But nothing," Breaker said with a glare. "We're getting our message sent. Let's... Let's just get ready to go."
The clerk popped out from the back room, and told them that their message was on the way. They paid him, and set off back to the ship. They passed only a few urchins on their way back. None of them looked up at them, or spoke to them. Team Berserker was well known on Moor, even though they had never been there.
They quickly made it back to their ship, and were relieved to find that no one had climbed aboard and began to tamper with it.
"So," said Iron to Blade, "what now?"
"We wait for Shadow and Laura to come back," Blade said.
Iron blinked. "Isn't Laura lookin' for a ship?" he asked. "To take her back to where Tiny Island was?"
"She is," said Blade, sadly, "but I don't think she'll find one. She needs to learn that the hard way."
Iron groaned. "So, sending her out to Moor is just her earning a lesson the hard way?" he asked, unhappily. "Jeez, Blade, you know how people are around here! She could get eaten alive - literally!"
"Shadow is with her," said Blade. "She'll be fine. He's proven himself again and again."
Breaker turned to face his team mates. "Blade, Iron," he said. "I want you two to go and find those two."
"What?" Iron said, surprised. "But-..."
"But nothing," Breaker snapped. "I want to get out of this place as soon as we can! Go find them and tell them either come back or find another ship."
Blade sighed. "We'll do it," he said.
"We will?" Iron said, surprised.
Breaker nodded and turned away, stomping over to his cabin. He opened the door and walked into the dirty room, alone.
Blade looked at Iron. "Let's go," he said. "We need to give him some space."
Iron looked at his friend incredulously. "You sure?"
Blade swiftly made his way down the gangplank. "I am," he said to the Garchomp, as the Dragon-Type followed. "Come on - I want to stretch my legs, anyway."
Iron looked at the gloomy city ahead of them. "Yeah," he said. "Great place to do it."
It was almost midnight in the center of the city, and Shadow didn't like it one bit. The city itself hadn't changed at all. It was still pitch black, except for the bright lights and colorful signs, but the mood was even darker. There were almost no Pokemon on the streets. Most had gone home. Some, however, had not. Even Laura could see malicious eyes in the alleyways, staring out at them as they passed by. Shadow kept his eyes on the glowing orbs, knowing full well that they were either muggers - or worse.
"We've been at it all night," Laura said. Her voice was laced with despair. They had. They had actually been inside those filthy buildings, and talked with whatever sailors they could find. They were all told no (in various, crude fashions), and Laura was running out of hope. Shadow knew this. He was hoping that they could go and get back on Team Berserker's ship and just sail to the mainland instead of staying here any longer. It would be a better idea to look for ships on the mainland, where things were much more safe - other than the Umbreon/Espeon war of course. But Laura wouldn't have to be involved with that. He might, though...
"Poooooooookeeeeeeeee?"
The Umbreon froze, leaping back and striking a defensive pose. A Grimer was sitting on the side of the dirty road, staring up at them. The sludge pool raised a slimy appendage, a tin cup in his hand. "Pooooooookeeeee?" he begged in a slow, greasy voice.
Shadow stared for a moment, then gave Laura a look. Laura looked pretrified - she had never seen a Grimer before, and having someone on the street just ask her for money was a new thing for her, especially on this street. Did she dare say no...?
Shadow sighed and tossed the Grimer a few coins. They landed neatly in his cup.
"Thaaaaaaaaaaaank yoooooooooou," the Grimer oozed. "Yooooooooou niiiiiiiicer thaaaaaaan frieeeeeends."
"I beg your pardon? !" snapped Laura, angrily.
"Nooooooooooot yoooooooou," the Grimer said, sliding backwards to avoid the Lopunny. "Ooooooother Uuuumbreeeeeeooooon."
Shadow's ears perked. "What other Umbreon?" he asmed quietly.
"Biiiiiiiiig grooooup oooooof Uuuumbreeeeeon," Grimer slurped, nervously. "Caaaaaaaaame byyyyy heeeeereeee eeeeaaaarlier. Loooooooked liiiiiike theeeeeey weeeereee iiiin ruuush. Noooo tiiiiiime fooor poooor meeee..."
Shadow blinked. A group of his own kind here. He wished he could feel happy about it, but all that filled his heart was dread and worry.
"What's wrong?" asked Laura, noting the Umbreon's worried expression.
"It's highly likely..." Shadow said, "...that they are soldiers from the Umbreon Empire."
"Oh, no..." Laura said. "Why would they be-?"
"Black market dealers thrive here," Shadow said, curtly. "The Empire is not above dealing with shadier types to get the advantage - and from what I've heard, the Espeon are not above it either."
"What could they be buying?" asked Laura, feeling nervous.
"Eevee, perhaps," said Shadow. "They buy their own kind and force them to evolve and fight for them, if they have to, or sometimes they'll buy other races. They could also be buying blast seeds for ammunition, oran berries, heal seeds, whatever they could need." He looked over Laura for a second. "Keep your eyes open - I don't want you getting caught and sold."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Laura said. "Who would send me into battle?"
"It's not battle I'm worried about," Shadow said. "Umbreon are a race that values honor - but there are dishonorable Umbreon as well. Far too many nowadays. Many would have no qualms about... Ahem... Taking advantage of you."
"Too much information," Laura grumbled, shuddering.
Shadow looked down to the Grimer again. "Where were the Umbreon going?" he asked.
"Waaaaaaaaaareeeeeehouuuuse," answered the Grimer nervously.
"Which. Warehouse?" Shadow said, glaring at the Poison-Type.
"Caaaaaaaaaaan't teeeeeeeell! Can't teeeeeeeeeeeell!" the Grimer shouted. "Sheeeeee fiiiiiiiiiind ouuuuuuuuuuuuut!"
Shadow sighed. Word could get around quick here. He didn't know what this Grimer had done to end up here, but so far he hadn't done anything to them, and had in fact been very informative. He didn't want to get the Poison-Type killed.
"Where are most warehouses in town?" asked Shadow. "I'd like to avoid them."
The Grimer nodded... sort of, it was hard to tell when your body is liquid. "Waaaaaaaaarehoooooousesss dooooown iiiiin fiiiiiinaaaaanciaaaal dissssstrict!" He pointed a sludgy arm down to the south of the island. "Doooooooooon't eeeeeeeever gooooooo dooooooown theeeeeeeeeere. Essssspecially wiiiiiiiith laaaaaaaaaaady."
Shadow tossed another handful of coins into the cup for the Grimer. The Poison-Type looked delighted. "Thaaaaaaaaanks, niiiiiiice guuuuuy," he slurped, oozing away from the Umbreon and Lopunny.
"We go this way," Shadow said, turning around.
"Good plan..." Laura said, looking over her shoulder. The financial district looked quite unfriendly. "We'll look for a crew somewhere else."
"Yes," Shadow said. "Like the mainland. It's far too dangerous here."
"But... But..." Laura said. "That will take too long! Bessie, she might..."
"I know," Shadow said. "But finding a crew here... an honest crew... is impossible. You need to speak to the Gardevoir Guild for something like this." After a long silence, he added. "I'm sorry."
Laura nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "I... I guess we should head back to the ship then."
Shadow nodded. "Let's go," he said, quietly.
The duo began their long and quiet trek back to the ship. However, they were not as alone as they would have liked. As they walked down the streets, a silent figure rounded the corner, watching them intently as they went off.
Scowling and cursing his timing, the Scyther followed.
"What should we do?"
Iron's question pulled Blade out of his silence. "Hmm?"
"What should we do?" repeated the Garchomp. "About Breaker, I mean. He's been kinda... out of it."
"He is 'out of it'," Blade said. "He's depressed. He just lost someone he liked - we all did. It's just hitting him a bit harder than us."
Iron sighed. "Yeah... I miss Chris," he said. "He was... He was a good guy, y'know? Always lookin' out for the kids, always tryin' to stay optimistic..."
"Honorable traits, in this day and age," Blade said with a nod.
"Yeah..." Iron said quietly. "Do you-?"
CRASH! CRUNCH!
The sounds of struggle erupted from a nearby ally. Blade heard someone grunt in pain, and faintly heard someone say "Hold him down!"
"Hold that thought," Blade said, his blades extending. Iron nodded. He was in a foul mood, and looked foward to taking it out on some unlucky muggers.
The swiftly reached the entrance of the alleyway. The sounds of struggle echoed throughout the streets as the two reached their destination, keeping silent and moving without a sound.
"Death from above?" asked Iron.
"Naturally," Blade whispered back, leaping into the air and onto the top of the building.
Iron leaned against the wall and slowly and silently leaned out his head into view of the alley.
There were four Umbreon inside - and three of them were beating on one. Two were holding him against the wall, while the third savagely struck him with an Iron Tail attack across the face. For a second, Iron thought that the Umbreon was Shadow, but he knew it couldn't be - Shadow's rings were a much lighter yellow, almost white, while this one's were pure topaz. He also looked younger, friskier, and very, very bloody right about now. Blood was oozing from his mouth, and his left eye was swollen.
The leader of the group of Umbreon, a male with a nasty expression his face, finished beating their prisoner - for now. "Alright," he growled, "now, are you gonna be reasonable, or do I have to mess up your face some more?"
"Oh, what?" the Umbreon asked, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "I can't seem to remember what you were asking me. Must be the blunt force trauma to the head, eh?" He gave the leader a cocky grin.
Another Iron Tail wiped the smile away. "I don't think you understand the position you're in, you mangy traitor," the leader snarled. "You either give me the answer now - or I bring you to my commander, and we'll see how he deals with you. So, I'm going to ask you again: where is the resistance base located?"
"The what? I dunno what you're talking about, sir," the Umbreon said.
"You little mutt-!" snarled the Umbreon, raising his tail again.
He never got a chance to swing it. Iron burst out from the corner and unleashed a Dragon Pulse. The blue energy blast struck the Umbreon, sending him flying as cerulean sparks and flames erupted from the blast. The leader was sent flying into the wall at the other end, plaster and brick dust flying through the air as he felt to the ground, out cold.
"What the-?" began the second Umbreon in a female voice. Before she could finished, Blade dropped down like a green blurr of lightning.
"X-Scissor!"
The female Umbreon didn't even have time to scream. She gave a surprised gasp before falling down, out cold.
The other Umbreon gaped. "What the-?"
Their prisoner, posessing a surprising amount of speed and strength for one who was so beaten, kicked him back, charging a black energy ball.
"Shadow Ball!" he shouted, shooting the other Umbreon in the face, kncoking him out.
It was all over in seconds. The three standing Pokemon eyed one another for a second. The Umbreon, finally, gave a grin. "Hey," he said, breathlessly, "thank. Not that I couldn't have handled it myself."
"Of course," Blade said. "Why were they after you?"
"Oh, no reason, really," the Umbreon said. "So, how'd you take out the other ones?"
Iron blinked. "Other ones?"
A Shadow Ball wizzed by Blade's head. The trio whirled around to see another dozen Umbreon perched on the building above, staring down with glowing red eyes.
"Never worry about the Umbreon you can see..." muttered the Umbreon next to them.
"Yeah..." Iron said. "Any ideas?"
"Just one..." Blade said. "Do it."
Iron gaped. "'It'?" he asked. "You mean-?"
"Yes, do it!" Blade said.
"But we're too close to do that!" Iron argued. "We could get knocked out, or worse!"
"Fire!" shouted the Umbreon captain. Volleys of Shadow Balls began to rain down at their foes, forcing them to duck and dodge.
"If you guys don't have a plan, I do!" the Umbreon said. "RUN!" He shot out of the alley in a flash.
"Good idea," Iron said, swiftly following the Umbreon.
Blade sighed, deciding to follow. No need to fight twelve enemies all at once, not to mention solo.
"After them!" the Umbreon captain shouted, he and his followers taking chase. Six took to the streets, but the other six stayed on the roof. They were fast, but somehow Blade, Iron and the lone Umbreon managed to move faster - probably out of fear.
"Any... more... bright ideas?" asked Iron with a grunt.
"Don't worry...!" panted the Umbreon. "I've got a friend somewhere around here! We just need to... Oh, hey!"
Saanding on the road in front of them was a Glaceon - a very angry looking Glaceon, glaring down at them. "Friend of yours?" asked Blade, glancing down at the Umbreon.
"Ice Beam!" shouted the Glaceon firing off a powerful burst of pure cold - and Blade and Iron. The two bounty hunters were both struck, surprised, and swiftly were frozen solid.
"H-hey!" the Umbreon said, surprised. "Celeste! What the-?"
"Don't go whining at me!" the Glaceon growled in a female voice. "You idiot! You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"No, not that!" the Umbreon said. "Those guys saved me!" He gestured to the frozen Iron and Blade. "You just froze two alright guys!"
Celeste rolled her eyes as the Umbreon began to approach. "It's not our problem! Let's get out of here! Use Dig!"
"We can't just leave them!" said Umbreon.
"Tracen, don't be an idiot!" Celeste said. "We have our mission! That's all that matters!"
The Umbreon, Tracen, turned around, his eyes flashing angrily as the other Umbreon drew closer and closer. "No."
"That's an order!" Celeste shouted.
Tracen's tail glowed with a silvery aura. "Iron Tail!" he shouted, striking the ice that surrounded Iron before the Glaceon could stop him.
CRACK went the ice, shattering completely. Iron roared in anger and surprise as he was freed from the ice. Being an Dragon/Ice type, he was insanely weak to Ice moves. "Wha-? ! What happened? !" he demanded.
"Not important!" Tracen said, before Celeste could even comprehend what her sibling had done. "Help me break your pal out! We gotta take out these guys!"
Iron whirled to see the Umbreon approaching. The Umbreon on the rooftop leaped down behind them, cutting off their escape that way. The others charged them, getting closer. They were within twenty feet now.
Iron gritted his teeth. "Alright, that's close enough!" he shouted. "Back off!"
If most Umbreon weren't so shady and mysterious, they would've burst out laughing. They glared back at him with ruby eyes glowing brightly.
"Alright, you had yer chance!" said Iron, charing up a cerulean sphere in his mouth. "Fine, have it your way!"
The Umbreon shot foward again. The Umbreon at the back shot foward as well, intending to take them out fast.
"Tracen..." growled Celeste.
"I think he has a plan, sis," Trance said nervously. "I think he's got this one..."
Just as the Umbreon were about halfway there, Iron's mouth opened and he released a small ball of blue energy straight for the Umbreon. "DRACO METEOR!"
The ball landed right in front of the Umbreon, who looked down at it in confusion.
KA-BOOM.
A massive explosion ripped through the air, sending the Umbreon through the air, blue sparks and flames roaring underneath them. The explosion faded away as out cold Umbreon fell to the ground, out cold and beaten badly, far worse off than Tracen was.
"Wowza," Tracen said. Celeste just stared, silently.
Iron whirled about to face the Umbreon who were coming from behind. "Alright, you shmucks!" he snarled angrily, gnashing his shark-like teeth. "WHO WANTS SOME? !"
The Umbreon slowly backed away, their red eyes glowing brightly. Their faces betrayed little emotion, but Iron could see some fear on their features. After a second, they all bolted away, vanishing into the darkness.
Iron collapsed to the ground, weakened by the Ice Beam and the energy it had taken to launch the Draco Meteor.
Celeste growled as she raised her head. "Mist!" she shouted, breathing out a thick cloud of mist that swiftly covered them up. Then, she grabbed her brother by the ear with her mouth, growling as she dragged him away.
"Owowow!" Tracen shouted as he and his sister began to fade into the fog. "Sis! Leggo!"
Iron sighed as the two began to fade away. Curious to who they were, and what they were up to, he decided to follow. Besides, he didn't want to be alone if the Umbreon came back.
He looked to the side and caught sight of the frozen Blade. He sighed. "Come on, pal," he said, picking up his frozen friend. "Don't just stand there, ya stiff."
Author's Note:
ZOMYGOSH I UPDATED ON TIME!
Wowza, I did it! I beat the clock! Oh, happy day!
So, we got to meet two new OCs! Tracen and Celeste, a brother/sister team, and proud members of a very interesting organization, that I'm sure you'd like to see. Meanwhile, Shadow and Laura are on their way back to the ship - but they're still being followed by the mysterious Scyther!
What will happen next time? Tune in to find out!