Not yet...not yet... The nerves suffocate Mana as she tries, unsuccessfully, to calm down. Her joints tremble and her breath comes out shallow as she watches Kabuto stare down at her. Mana doesn't have to see to know that Riolu is shaking. He's always been terrified, but so has she. The only difference is she can hide it well, this familiar sensation of locking away fear...like she's done it before. She refuses to give in to her fear as she, too, stares back at the criminal. Even though she wanted to help more pokemon, going up against evil like this intimidates her. How could she even believe that her plan would work? It only sounds good when it's not actually put in action, but thinking about it now is beginning to take a toll on the cyndaquil.
Riolu squirms, his eyes moving back and forth from Mana and Kabuto. He tries to keep a brave face on, but in the situation they're in, it's proving difficult for him. He jumps when Kabuto says something and he focuses on the Shellos hidden in the middle of the horde. I have to make sure Shellos is in range, I have to time this perfectly. It's up to him to make sure everyone gets out safely, but it's also up to Riolu and Mana to pull it off as quickly as possible.
"I wouldn't have minded talking with you a bit more, but I am a tad bit busy. I'll let my dear friends finish you off," Kabuto says, ready to move back. Riolu stiffens, noticing the change. Mana picks up on something and her eyes narrow into slits. Something's not right. Forgetting what she was supposed to do, Mana charges forward and throws the X-eye seed underneath Kabuto. When he looks down in shock, she uses ember and follows it up by tackling him to the ground. Confusion and anger run through the other pokemon, but Mana ignores it, keeping up with her attack.
Not knowing what's going on, Riolu freezes. He watches Mana attack Kabuto over and over, switching from tackling him to blasting him with a ball of fire. The orb is still in Riolu's paw, wavering and shaking as he attempts to regain movement. He notices a few of the pokemon looking over at him and he begins to feel their rage as they step around Mana and their leader. Some stay behind, not knowing exactly what they should be doing. As they step away, Riolu senses a shellos and hones in on that location. The one they were supposed to be rescuing is being dragged off away from the chaos and the reason why Riolu froze was because Shellos was unconscious.
Mana hurls another ball of fire, aiming in front of her, but Kabuto's claw pushes her cheek away. The fire hits another pokemon and they cry out before fainting. Kabuto struggles to break free from the cyndaquil but her continuous attacks prevent him from moving. He didn't have to resort to such tactics, but having to fight a rookie and then to be on the verge of losing? No, he was too proud to be beaten by a mere child.
His claw drives Mana further away, digging deeper into her until she flinches from the pain. He uses that second to focus on strengthening his body. Oh no, he's using harden! Mana hurls another ball of fire, but the claw pushes her away again and another pokemon goes down. Kabuto laughs, using harden again, not wasting these precious seconds that have been offered to him.
In the midst of their struggle, something flies over them. It lights up and everyone pauses to stare at the ball, Kabuto included. His eyes widen and he shouts, "NOOO." Mana glances back at Riolu, who is staring off somewhere. The flash blinds everyone in the room and then the orb disappears. Looking down at the kabuto, Mana smiles triumphantly at the now terrified criminal.
"Riolu, we've only got a few minutes before everyone is back to normal. Both Shellos are safe right now away from the chaos, but we need to hurry or else we'll have the same problem again," Mana says, looking at the wandering Kabuto. Against better judgment, she decides to take out the rest of the pokemon and Riolu assists her. They hunt down and attack everyone while they cower and after all that, they manage to reunite the shellos in a corner away from the outlaw who is the only one standing. Both rookies separate, attacking Kabuto from each side. In that small opening, Riolu notices a change in Kabuto and his body pauses for a brief moment. It takes some time for Mana to understand what happened, but her ability to stop is dulled when Kabuto opens his mouth. Suddenly, it's like she can hear everything she is doing; breathing, blinking, swallowing, and even falling. The force of the water sends her back and her body becomes weakened.
"M-Mana, hang on!" Riolu's shouts reach the young cyndaquil's ears, but they do not reach her heart. What was she thinking in accepting three jobs? Did she think that just because she defeated a wanted criminal and some bullies, Mana was now tough enough to take on the criminal world? Why didn't she listen to Riolu? Why did she have to push her feelings and beliefs onto her friend? Beliefs...they're nothing more than shallow thoughts. Thinking I could do anything without any regard for others was selfish of me, not to mention stupid. How could I even think I could get my memories back? Why? Why am I so weak?
"Hahahahahaha!" Kabuto laughs, his head tilting slightly towards Mana, his eyes now watching Riolu. "You are fools to think you could ever defeat me! As always, this has been very entertaining and seeing your friend down like that makes me even more excited. Tell me, are you going to continue to fight me or are you going to give up and leave her to die?" For the first time, Riolu is trembling with rage. His fear and doubts have surrendered to this powerful feeling called anger, something that is unknown to Riolu. Sure he has felt slight irritation and being angry, but this type of anger is much different than those minor feelings. This one strengthens Riolu and it gives him the ability to fight Kabuto head on. Never is he going to allow anyone to place harm on his most precious friend, never is he going to allow anyone-especially Kabuto-to tempt him into leaving his friend behind.
"That look you have...I like it. Those are the eyes of a pokemon who has discovered the root of evil. I understand; you're upset because I injured your friend, but what are you going to do with that anger? Are you going to stand there and fume or are you going to act on it and let it take over?" Kabuto watches Riolu carefully, taking note of any small movement he makes as he edges slightly closer towards Mana. "I was once like you. I had a friend who I traveled with and explored together with, but then I realized something when we ran into trouble." Another towards Mana and Kabuto begins to prepare himself.
"You see, my friend was terribly weak and we were always running away from danger. The first and only time, I decided to stand up to a strong pokemon when he defeated my friend. Do you what happened then?" Kabuto chuckles and his eyes narrow, remembering that particular memory. "I was weakened by this pokemon, but I wanted to avenge my friend. Instead, my friend deserted me and left me by myself with that pokemon. He defeated me easily and my so called friend was able to get all the treasure. Why? Because he used me to get past the pokemon." Another step in the cyndaquil's direction and this time, Riolu catches it. He uses quick attack to close the distance between him and Kabuto, his legs taking him far across the room. Kabuto uses water gun just as Riolu slams into him.
He didn't understand what was going on. This feeling was getting stronger and stronger, growing more and more powerful as he thought about what happened to his friend. Mana being blasted by water...her body being sent back with great force...Mana hitting the hard floor...the lack of movement coming from her. Bits and pieces swirl in front of Riolu as he tackles Kabuto to the ground. His paws grow warm, reacting to his anger. He hits Kabuto, but the shell bounces his paws off. Again, Riolu's paws begin to feel warm and again, he hits the pokemon. This time, he doesn't stop and Kabuto only laughs, cackling at this little rookie's behavior. It's no use to the rookie; Kabuto was already prepared for this as soon as the cyndaquil attacked him. He knew that they were after him, he knew they were planning on stopping him in some way, and he knew that the cyndaquil was much stronger than the riolu. He was surprised by the Foe-Fear Orb, but it didn't matter because they decided that he was not as important to defeat as the horde of pokemon. Had they used that chance to go after me, I may not have been here right now. Kabuto's laugh stops when he feels something aching. He stares at Riolu, who is still hitting his shell, but there is no change in him. Why...? Why is he aching?
Why did he have to stop when he sensed something before? Why can't Riolu be the one lying on the floor instead of Mana? Why...why...WHY? As Kabuto laughs, Riolu's anger grows and his palms hit harder and harder. Something flashes when his palm comes in contact with the shell and Kabuto begins to feel a slight numbness. He looks at the pokemon just as his palm aims for him. Another flash, this time more powerful than the other breaks the kabuto's defense and all that hardening and toughening up he did when battling the cyndaquil becomes useless. Now Kabuto begins to feel the effects of this new move.
It is quiet except for this painful sound that echoes. At first, Mana could hear laughter, but that had stopped when something began pounding away. It was weird, Mana never heard a sound like it; something hitting or punching a hard object. It's a complicated sound, even as Mana began to open her eyes. The water gun had done a huge amount of damage to her; the flames on her back had gone out.
"How interesting! The sight...defeated by me...how you must've felt knowing..." The words are garbled and incoherent and the steady pounding increases its pace. Mana is finally able to open her eyes, but everything is blurred. A few feet away are two pokemon, one on top of the other... Are they fighting? Recognition hits and the cyndaquil immediately struggles to get up. That's right, I was knocked out but what happened after that? She looks around as much as her eyes will allow her and the blurred pokemon come into focus. Mana's eyes widen and the damage that she had sustained no longer matters as she calls out to her friend, her legs shaking from exhaustion. Tears fall from her eyes and the last of her energy is pushed out when she half runs half limps towards Riolu.
Kabuto's words had angered Riolu even more and at some point, something in him just snapped. His hits became more powerful and much harder, his anger reaching past boiling point. All Riolu wanted to do was to completely destroy this criminal. After all, he's probably killed so many others before Mana so if Riolu killed him, then he could finally avenge his friend. Another hit and Kabuto feels this sensation again, only this time, he is worried. Does this child really think he could beat me? Does he really think I'll let him? Kabuto strikes with his claw, aiming for the riolu's face, but the force of Riolu's palm stops his attack. He is growing weaker and more tired as this thing drags out. He tries to speak to the rookie, but his words come out unrecognizable. He closes his eyes, his pride broken from losing to this angered little pokemon. Yes, he was once like that too. He had killed his friend after being abandoned and soon, Riolu will understand the feeling of taking another's life. Soon, he will become like Kabuto; evil and full of hate. It will consume him like it had consumed Kabuto and even if his friend woke up, there would be nothing she could do.
Riolu pounds away, not noticing the kabuto's eyes closing or his breathing slowing. He doesn't see anything around him except the memory of his friend not moving flashing over and over every time he blinks. There were tears flowing at one point, but they shriveled up awhile ago. He only thinks of this criminal's death and so he keeps up his attacks.
"Please, DON'T KILL HIM!" Riolu looks up to see a pokemon. The sight of Mana's expression is blurry, but something in him pauses. He stops hitting the unconscious kabuto, his paws aching. He gets off of the outlaw and stands there, not knowing what to do next.
"Don't be like him or like Drowzee, or like Zubat, or Koffing, or anyone who hurts others. Please...please stop it." Riolu looks at his paws and droplets of tears begin to fall. He gasps, his anger already gone. His friend's pleading voice breaks Riolu from this spell and he cannot hep but look at her. She cries, begging him not to change, not to become something he's not. Riolu glances in the direction of the two Shellos, who are watching him with worry and something else...something unfamiliar. Calming down, he gives them a small nod, as if to say that he is all right and there is nothing to worry about. He tucks away that unfamiliar look and stays with Mana until she too, calms down.
"I...I guess we should apologize about what happened. If we had known that Kabuto had captured you, Riolu and I would've come more prepared," Mana says apologetically. Riolu looks over at Kabuto, who is being escorted by Magnezone and his magnemite. Mana had given him one of their oran berries, but he was still paralyzed from Riolu's attack. Force Palm. I learned a new move, but if Mana had never gotten up, what would a new move accomplish? To be honest, a part of Riolu was disappointed that Mana healed the outlaw. He had hoped that the pokemon would never get up, but Riolu shakes that thought away. He is still too horrified that a scaredy-cat like him had wanted another pokemon dead. No pokemon deserves death, not even Kabuto.
"...you then. And thank you so much for saving my friend!" Shellos and her friend smile and head out, leaving Mana and Riolu to themselves. They look at one another, the uncomfortable silence thickening. Mana breaks the ice, not looking at Riolu.
"We still have one more mission and then we can rest. If you want, we can rest now and then finish later..." She lets her words hang in the air, hoping Riolu will say something. "W-well anyway, I think we should look for the other shellos. The description read that he was a blue shellos and was hiding in a room on the fourth floor." Without waiting for Riolu, Mana stumbles forward. She still has not recovered from her earlier battle, but getting away from this weird atmosphere seems to be Mana's main focus at the moment.
"Mana..." "We'll talk about it later, I promise. But right now-" Mana sighs. "Right now, we can't leave Shellos waiting." Mana heads for the stairs and Riolu follows behind, his shoulders slumped. They get to the fourth floor without any trouble and search for Shellos. Riolu and Mana remained silent, even after rescuing the pokemon and returning back to the guild. Unsure of what to say or even how to say what she is thinking, Mana avoids her friend. The rewards and money they earned are given to them in gratitude and both rookies set off to deposit their goods into storage. Kangaskhan smiles warmly at the two.
"Ah, the young exploration team. It is so wonderful to see you again. Did your job go as smoothly as you had hoped?" When the two pokemon don't answer, she continues. "You know, I have watched many go out and have wished them luck. Some of them don't return, while others come back changed, like you two have. I may not be involved in the kind of work you do, but I do understand the hardships and the obstacles you all face when you leave your home." Without another word, Kangaskhan takes in the items and cautiously puts them away. Mana wastes no time in leaving, but Riolu hesitates, looking down at his paws.
"Do you think I've changed since the last time you saw me?" Riolu looks up at the pokemon, his mind pleading that he is the same, begging that there is no change in him and that he could continue on with his work. If there was a change in him than he wishes to be rid of it. Mana was crying...I don't know why, but I don't want to see her sad anymore. Kangaskhan looks down at the little pokemon, her motherly instincts kicking in.
"You are a sweet child. I do sense a change in you, but even if you are different from yesterday when I saw you, embrace it. You are still you no matter what you see or what you experience on your journeys-" "But today, Mana got hurt really bad by this evil pokemon! I-I don't what happened to me, but I felt really angry and I hated him because Mana wasn't moving. Then I kept hitting him and then my paws started glowing..." Riolu clenches his paws, the memory of that raw and unfamiliar emotion still fresh in his mind. "If Mana hadn't stopped me, I would've probably...I would've... I think I'm turning bad Kangaskhan. I might end up hurting my friend like I did to Kabuto." Since exiting the cave, Riolu's built up feelings emerge from their cages and flow without restraint. His knees hit the earth and the young pokemon cries.
"There is no reason for you to shed tears. You have learned a wonderful move called 'force palm'. I understand why you are frightened; witnessing your precious friend falling right in front of your eyes unleashes a certain feeling in you. It must have been an unknown feeling because you are still too young, but every pokemon experiences it and they, too, are afraid that it will change them in the future. I cannot try to understand your feeling, but this rage coming from you will never bring any physical harm to your friend, but only emotional."
"Please, do not cry. You must embrace that feeling and explore it in order to fully begin to understand it. Where did it come from? Who was it directed towards and why? These are questions you must ask yourself so you may learn from that experience. Go, your friend seems very worried," Kangaskhan says, nodding to her left and to Riolu's right. The riolu turns and sees a cyndaquil fidgeting, glancing around her and trying unsuccessfully to catch Riolu's eye. He looks back at the big kangaskhan and sniffles, rubbing the tears away from him.
"All it takes is for you to let her know that you are okay and she will understand as well. It was good to see you again Riolu, always a pleasure." With that, the pokemon turns away from Riolu and heads into her tent, letting the drapes close behind her. Riolu gets up slowly and looks again in Mana's direction, smiling a little. He was afraid she was terrified of him or hated him because of what happened during their mission, but seeing Mana wait for Riolu brings a much happier feeling closer to him; a nice, warm and soothing feeling, the kind that he had when Mana had gone into the cave after Zubat and Koffing to take back Riolu's treasure. It was that feeling that would always stay with him, but it vanished when he saw Kabuto send her flying. Then it turned into a really hurtful feeling.
Riolu walks over to Mana and they look at each other, waiting for the other to speak. I don't need to understand that feeling because I already know what it is. Losing Mana would mean losing the only friend who gave me hope, who made me realize that I had to make my own dreams come true. She is the first real friend I've ever made and I don't ever want to lose that friendship. Riolu's mouth opens, the words already forming without his mind's permission.
"I'm sorry for making you cry. I'm fine now Mana, I promise."