Who will win? Cruel sadism or nurturing love? The epic fight between the Life Stealer gang and Adrianna, Barn, and Elf – and another piece of this massive jigsaw I call a plot.
Megadracosaurus: At first I thought you were talking about Clawface. Now that's a match made in hell if you ask me. XD
-.-.-.-.-.
Owls versus Life Stealers – it was a long shot, but definitely possible. It was two Flying-types against three Dark-types, and because said Flying-types mostly knew Psychic moves, some wit would have said it was more of a misfire. But they could win. They had to.
The other fight taking place was a fair one-on-one. But one, Clawface, could fly, was intensely brutal, and was more mobile. Adrianna, on the other hand, was permanently grounded, took time to make sure none of her attacks caused fatal damage, and was carrying a sleeping baby Ralts in one arm. …Yeah, not exactly the greatest of odds.
But the Gardevoir was a superb fighter. In fact, she used to be on a rescue team before she retired in order to raise her two children. Her husband, Lancelot of Team Knights, was still in action though, and whenever Adrianna was forced to fight, she thought of him to give her renewed strength.
"Aerial Ace!" Clawface screamed, streaking right towards her. "Psychic!" she replied, using her telekinetic powers to slow his progress down to a Slugma's pace. She stepped elegantly out of the way, then released her hold on the Fearow. He shot forward again, unable to stop and thus plowed into a large rock.
"Take that, murderer," she spat. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to fight girls?" Clawface shook away the motes of light winking on the edges of his vision and gave her a lopsided grin. "She didn't teach me much, really. But at least she told me to kill efficiently and painlessly – it's only polite, you see."
He suddenly streaked forward again with a cry of "Drill Peck!" Adrianna narrowly dodged it and shifted Topaz's weight in her arm. Battling a Fearow with a two-month-old child in your arms – don't try it.
-.-.-.-.-.
While Clawface and Adrianna sparred, Barn, Elf, Rudy, Sylvester, and Shadepelt were in a fierce duel of their own. Barn and Elf's wings gave them a clear advantage, but their attacks were limited. Shadepelt was already taken out of the fight, having gotten too careless and subsequently hit in the face by Barn's Hypnosis. The other two were as fierce as ever.
"Night Slash!" called Sylvester, leaping into the air with claws glowing an ominous purple color. Barn dodged easily and responded with "Take Down!" The blow hit the cat-like Pokemon in the stomach, winding him and taking him momentarily down.
Rudy howled in rage and leapt forward with a Brick Break attack while Barn was still recovering from his Take Down's recoil. The Fighting-type attack wasn't very effective, but it did damage nonetheless. Barn hit the ground, and the Krokorok moved to take advantage.
"No you don't! Peck attack!" cried Elf, and flew to perch on Rudy's long snout, pecking him several times on the forehead. "OWOWOWOWOW! Get offa me!" Rudy roared. Sylvester got up just then and attempted a Slash attack, which ended up clawing across Rudy's face instead. "Stupid cat!" Rudy yelled, wincing (the claws had raked at his bad eye, so at least he wasn't blind now). "Brick Break!"
The attack took the form of a roundhouse punch, smashing into Sylvester and then curving around to hit Elf as well. Both hit the ground in a daze. "Let's finish you off, runt! Crunch!" Elf wiggled futilely as Rudy came closer, jaws open wide and ready to bite down.
Meanwhile, Barn had gotten to his talons and saw Elf's plight. With a stroke of his wings, he was up in the air, already preparing a Hypnosis attack on Rudy. But with a yowl, something slammed into him, forcing him to the ground.
Shadepelt pinned both of his wings, stopping him from escaping. His heart filled with terror as the Purrloin grinned hungrily down at him. "Surprise," she hissed, before reaching with her jaws to rip out his throat.
-.-.-.-.-.
Lancelot had never expected to wake up. When him and the others of Team Knights had been overwhelmed by the Abyssal Raiders on Deepdark Island, home of the almost extinct Ocean Faction, the Gallade had thought that they were dead for sure.
How had it happened? Well, Team Knights had been recruited to save one of the Desert Faction, a Growlithe named Cliff. According to the Guardians, he had one of the legendary Shards in his possession, and thus was of utmost importance when it came to stopping the natural disasters and saving the world.
It had gone wrong almost from the start. The Bravery had reached DeepdarkIsland, only to capsize itself when it hit one of the sharp rocks projecting out of the turbulent waters surrounding it. Him, Fireclaw, and Arthur had managed to swim to shore, and were almost instantly ambushed by members of the Abyssal Raiders gang.
It was this villainous team that had captured young Cliff. Apparently, the Raiders were allied with the Life Stealers, the gang of criminals that populated the Dunedust Desert, where Team Knights was originally from. But the Raiders, consisting entirely of Water-types, had demolished them in their exhausted state.
But now, Lancelot's senses seemed to be coming back to him. He seemed to be lying down on dried seaweed, beneath which was hard rock. It was cold and damp, with the faint stench of rotten kelp. He groaned softly and shifted slightly, opening his glued-together eyes with a crack.
"They're wakin' up," a harsh voice growled. "I can see that, thank you," said a voice with an odd accent and an air of authority. "I am not estupido, you know."
The voices didn't bode well for the Gallade, who forced himself to wake up and see what he was up against. He opened his eyes fully – and wished he hadn't.
He was in a dark, dank, and very large cell. His teammates, Fireclaw and Arthur, were sprawled out beside him on similar seaweed beds. The Charmeleon and Escavalier were both looking worse for wear, but were alive and stirring. A Growlithe was sitting in the far corner, presumably Cliff, the one they had been charged with saving. And now we need saving… from them, Lancelot thought grimly.
Facing them, with their backs to the cell door, was a trio of Water-types that would have given a Haunter nightmares. The largest was a Gyarados with a multitude of silver rings wrapped around his whiskers. Then there was a battle-scarred Sharpedo, balancing on his bottom fin and glaring daggers at the rescue team. Finally, there was a Frillish wearing a frilly pink shawl around her neck. Although she was admittedly pretty, madness danced in her eyes.
"Ooh, he's even more handsome when he's awake," the Frillish cooed, giggling girlishly and winking at him. Lancelot shivered uncomfortably and turned to the Gyarados. "What do you want?" he asked his captor.
"'What do you want'?" the Gyarados rumbled. "Is that really the way to treat us, when we were the ones who spared your indigno lives? The indecente thing to do would be to end them."
The Sharpedo growled deeply under his breath. "Something you should have let my Carvanha Squad do," he rasped, teeth clicking together with each syllable.
"Silencio, General," the Gyarados cautioned. "They are prisoners, they are just as dead." The Sharpedo growled again and reluctantly said nothing. That must be General Fang, thought Lancelot. He's wanted by the Guardians as badly as the infamous Fearow Clawface.
By now, Arthur and Fireclaw were awake and listening to the words of the Abyssal Raiders before them. "What is it you want with us, scoundrels?" Arthur declared, holding up his lances. "It is of great dishonor to ambush and then imprison a knight! Release us at once, Abyssal Raider scum!"
The Gyarados laughed. "I'm sure, O Great Knight," he said mockingly. "But as you can see, we Raiders Abisales will gladly do it if we find it necessary!" The other two joined in with their own laugher – guttural rasps and high-pitched giggles.
"Now, as you are now my prisoners, it would do for me to make the necesario introductions!" the massive sea serpent continued. "I am El Nino, leader of the Abyssal Raiders. Mi aliados are General Fang and Lady Sapphire." He gestured to them with a flourish of his tail.
General Fang nodded curtly. Sapphire giggled again and waved daintily.
El Nino turned to leave, opening the cell door with his tail. "I have nothing more I wish to say for now, so I request for you to sit and wait like good prisoners while we figure out what to do with you, comprende?" He then slithered out of the cell and down the corridor, leaving his allies to follow. The Sharpedo slowly hopped after him, turning around at the entrance to wait for Sapphire.
Smirking, the lovely Frillish floated over to Lancelot and whispered suggestively, "Maybe when I kill you, I'll keep your head and mount it on my wall. Then I'll have something to look at from time to time…"
Lancelot recoiled in disgust, the Growlithe Cliff retreated farther into the corner, and Arthur looked outraged. Sapphire burst into a giggling fit – the laugh was hysterical and had more than a hint of madness within. With one last wink, she floated out the door and out of sight, the sound of her giggles echoing ominously back down the hall.
After General Fang shut the door with a clang and followed, Fireclaw spat contemptuously, "Necrophile." The Charmeleon's flame blazed brighter, allowing his team to see more clearly in the darkness.
"Vile strumpet!" Arthur growled, hefting a lance in front of him. "I would never dare strike a lady, yet that wastrel is not such! She is a demon!" Lancelot gestured for the Escavalier to calm down. It wouldn't pay for him to vent his anger out when there was no escape.
All the Gallade could think about was his family. Where are Gaby and Topaz now? Are they safe? Lancelot wondered. And dearest Adrianna, how is she faring?
-.-.-.-.-.
She was faring terribly.
Adrianna narrowly ducked a thrust of Clawface's deadly beak. Her grip on Topaz momentarily slipped, and she hastily brought her other arm up in time to catch him and hold him tightly against her chest. How much longer can I fight like this?
The Fearow screamed "Aerial Ace!" once more, and shot toward her like a feathered spear. "Thunderbolt!" Adrianna said desperately, raising an arm and shooting a massive bolt of lightning from her fingertips. The blast sent hundreds of volts jittering through Clawface's body, and he collapsed on the ground in a smoking pile of feathers.
Thunder rumbled across the sky as storm clouds moved in from the southwest. Adrianna allowed herself a moment of rest as she witnessed Barn and Elf's danger. The Purrloin, Shadepelt, was standing over the much larger Noctowl, about to tear at him.
"Thunderbolt!" she screamed again, hitting Shadepelt in the back of the head. She wailed as the lightning zapped her, then collapsed as well. Rudy and Sylvester hung back with wary scowls on their faces as Barn picked himself up, and Elf frantically backed away from the two criminals, thankful to be out of her earlier situation.
"We have to go!" Elf called. "A storm is coming, and I'm getting a bad feeling about it!" Barn nodded and turned to Adrianna with a question in his eyes.
She read it easily and answered, "I know this place better than you two do. There's a cave dug into the mountains just a kilometer past the housing district. We'll shelter there."
But then Sylvester leapt onto the attack, startling Rudy – direct confrontations were his thing. "Sand-Attack!" he snarled, lashing his tail and sending sand flying into Adrianna's face. She cried out, startled and blinded. The little Ralts fell from her grasp and tumbled to the ground.
The Gardevoir cleared the sand out of her eyes and instantly saw him lying helplessly there just a few meters away. "Topaz!" she screamed, instantly reaching out for him. But a talon plunged down from out of nowhere and grabbed the Ralts tightly, halting her in her tracks.
"No, no, no," Clawface snarled, feathers scorched and blackened as he stood over the baby, now fully awake and too frightened to make any sound. Barn and Elf spread their wings to attack, but the Fearow's talons tightened their grip, prompting a strangled cry from Topaz. They reluctantly lowered their wings.
"That's much better," Sylvester smirked. "Now, just tell us where you can find your daughter and her Shard, and we'll let the little one go."
Adrianna bit her lip, not liking her choices – tell them where Gaby was, or refuse and have Topaz perish. She sighed, and opened her mouth to speak.
"Fine," she said wearily. "Gaby and the fossil Pokemon went to Diamond Island."
Clawface let a slow, satisfied smile cross his beak. "See, was that so hard?" he asked innocently. But his talons tightened ever tighter on Topaz's little body, this time with murderous intent.
"No!" Elf cried. The Fearow just grinned as Topaz choked out a wail. Barn glanced fearfully at Adrianna, expecting to see her stricken and helpless. But no, she didn't look anything like that – instead, her already red eyes were blazing.
"Psychic!" she cried, letting loose with all the power within her. Clawface looked at her with confusion, and then rapidly growing panic as his body was lifted up and off the ground. He yelled in fear and flailed around uselessly as Adrianna suspended him there.
To add to the comedy of the situation, Topaz suddenly laughed and clapped his little hands at the display. Rudy bit back a chuckle, despite himself.
And then he was forced to bite back a cry of pain as Adrianna flung Clawface into him and Sylvester. The three of them were all left unconscious from the impact.
The Gardevoir picked up her child and snuggled him in her arms. Topaz snuggled his mother back and fell asleep once more. "Come on!" Adrianna said as the first drops of rain began to speckle the ground. "I'll lead you two to the cave, and we can wait out the storm."
The four Pokemon dashed off, not willing to be caught in the storm that, unbeknownst to Adrianna, had already caught her daughter.
-.-.-.-.-.
Fireclaw belongs to Megadracosaurus. Cliff belongs to TriMaplenut. El Nino, Lancelot, Arthur, Sapphire, and General Fang all belong to me.
I am really, really looking forward to writing more of Lady Sapphire. She's probably the best villain I've ever come up with in my life. My inspiration stems from The Gentleman Xerneas' "Unovan Pokemon Guide", which states that female Frillish are sadistic and cruel, but also romantic at heart. For some reason, I like the idea of a torturer with a soft spot – and I'm also kind of partial to Frillish, I might add.
Plus, who doesn't love a cruel, sly, flirty villain? XD
Characters and reviews please, and see ya soon!