What's the word count on "Destined Explorers of Legend", you ask? Well, I'll tell you…
IT'S OVER 90,000!
And yes, you're reading the title right – an arena battle! What will its effects be on our favorite group of heroes-turned-prisoners?
TriMaplenut: Yeah, I'm actually working on a map of the continent and its surrounding areas. It's coming along well and I will post it on Deviantart or something when I have everything all figured out.
-.-.-.-.-.
Cenric woke up with a start. There were loud noises going on outside his cell, which was unusual – ever since his move from Team Knights' cell to Sam and Blanca's, things had been very quiet in this dungeon. Very quiet, that is, and very boring. To be honest, Cenric felt quite relieved that there seemed to be something interesting going on now.
"Sam? Blanca?" he cautioned. "What's going on? It sounds like some kind of commotion." The Ninetales and Absol both shook their heads wearily, looking deflated. They suddenly seemed upset about something.
"It's not a commotion," Sam said, even as the sound of cell doors opening and being slammed shut again pierced the otherwise silent dungeon. "It's something El Nino does every few weeks. Whenever we get enough prisoners, he throws them in the Abyssal Arena for the amusement of himself and the Raiders."
The Buizel's eyes widened with horror. "An arena?" he repeated, freaked out. "You mean they have Pokemon fight for sport here?"
Blanca sadly replied, "I'm afraid so. They've got nothing else to use the prisoners for, so why not have them battle? Anyway, we've never been sent into the arena ourselves – if we die, then the Raiders lose their hold on Madeleine. But we've heard from other prisoners that it's awful." She shivered and sat down on the cavern floor.
"I'll bet," Cenric murmured. He was about to say something else when a sudden creaking sound made him whip around. The cell door was opening, and a Crawdaunt guard was already reaching in with his pincer.
Before Cenric could even blink, he was being seized painfully by the scruff of his neck and hauled out of the cell. Instantly, he realized what was going on as he observed Sam and Blanca and the frightened look in their eyes.
"Whatever you do, stay alive!" Sam called, and that was the last he heard from them. His captor swung him around so that he was dangling in front of the guard, and then carried him off down a path that led deeper into the dungeon.
Oh no, Cenric thought. I just hope the Pokemon I have to fight isn't one of my friends… He gulped and tried not to think about it as the Crawdaunt hauled him helplessly toward a fate unknown.
-.-.-.-.-.
Cenric was so glad to see his friends again that he almost forgot his intense worry. The Crawdaunt guard dropped him in a small stone chamber with a door on opposite ends, and then retreated back through the door they had come through and shut it with a bang. In front of the Buizel stood Fireclaw, Lancelot, and Wyvern.
"Good to see you're still hanging on, squirt," the Charmeleon said with a curt nod. "We don't have to fight each other, do we?" Cenric instantly blurted, looking from one Pokemon to the next frightfully. He was somewhat relieved when Wyvern shook his head uncertainly.
"No, I don't believe so," the Archeops said. "I'm thinkin' that we have to work together if we're to survive our real opponents." He paused, and then added hastily, "But don't quote me on that."
Way to soothe my nerves, Cenric thought grimly, shuddering in fear. The thought of fighting one of these powerful Pokemon filled him with guilt and sadness. And quite a bit of terror, he noted as he observed Lancelot's blades, Wyvern's teeth and claws, and Fireclaw's torch of a tail.
Suddenly, the door opposite the one the Buizel had entered through opened, and in slipped two unpleasant Water-types – none other than the murderous mistress and her husband themselves, Sapphire and Neptune.
"Hello, dearies!" Sapphire trilled, clapping her tentacles together cheerfully. "Everything's almost ready for you in the arena. I hope you're willing to fight your hardest, because it would be a shame for you to be mercilessly killed, wouldn't it?" She sighed with what seemed like regret, but everyone could tell it was an act.
It was then that Neptune spoke up. They had all met the blue Frillish already, and Cenric personally thought he wasn't so bad when compared to the other Abyssal Raiders. And compared to his wife, he was positively charming.
"The arena is just through here," he was saying. "A lot of Raiders are hoping you'll die horribly, to tell you the truth. But a surprising number of them are actually rooting for you. After all, we've all heard how much of a fight Team Knights can put up." He smirked at Lancelot and Fireclaw, who didn't give any indication that they had noticed.
"Just between you and me," Neptune continued, leaning in conspiratorially, "Sapphire and I are hoping you'll win as well." At this, Wyvern and Lancelot's eyes both shot up in surprise. "Really? Why would that be?" the Gallade asked skeptically.
Lady Sapphire beamed at him as she replied brightly, "Because if you live, then I'll get to kill you!" She gave him her most winning smile as Wyvern snorted, "And we definitely wouldn't want to disappoint you."
The pink Frillish looked over at him. "Oh, aren't you sweet?" she gushed at him, either ignoring his sarcasm or missing it entirely. She suddenly stopped smiling and cocked her head toward the door she had come through.
"Sounds like everything's just about ready, from the crowd's cheering," Neptune remarked. "Good luck out there, you four. Come, Sapphire dear," he added, floating his way back to the door. She followed him after a second, during which she gave Lancelot a seductive smile and whispered, "Stay strong, handsome."
The two slipped through the door and shut it behind them, leaving a very uncomfortable group behind them.
"Who thinks we should sacrifice ourselves willingly just to get away from that witch?" Wyvern offered, raising a hand. Fireclaw shook his head and replied, "Sounds like a plan. Lancelot, you should join in – you're probably the worst off out of all of us if she gets her filthy tentacles on you."
He looked at the Gallade knowingly, and the Psychic-and-Fighting type shuddered.
"In all seriousness," Lancelot spoke up, the tone of his voice causing everyone to pay attention, "we really should try our best to stay alive. I think I have a plan incubating at the moment. A plan for escape."
But before he could elaborate, a pair of Crawdaunt guards entered through the door and forced everyone through the other one. Nothing but a bare, downwards-sloping staircase lay ahead. And at the end, another door.
A door with the faint sounds of a chanting crowd emanating from behind.
Those sounds grew louder as the group of prisoners marched forward, the sound of their footsteps slowly being muted against the increasing noise. Then finally, they reached the door, and the Crawdaunt shoved them through without a word.
The arena was bigger than any of them had imagined. It was an immense, bowl-shaped cavern with multiple ledges running around the circumference. The ledges were stacked one after the other, starting about halfway up the cavern's walls and ending a few feet from the ceiling. They were also packed with Water-type Pokemon of all shapes and sizes, all chanting and cheering. Although Cenric was a Water-type himself, he didn't find anything comforting in the familiar.
And he wasn't the only one. "This place is making me sick," Wyvern said, tensing up with anticipation and anger, with a bit of nervousness thrown in. "How do you think I feel?" the Fire-type Fireclaw asked softly.
When the group of four stopped in the center of the arena, they noticed the huge, projecting ledge in front of and above them. The ledge was about two-thirds up toward the ceiling, and was also boxed in with short "walls" ringing the edges. Peering down from said ledge were El Nino, General Fang, Neptune, and Lady Sapphire – a quartet of crooks.
Far below the ledge was another door, possibly leading towards another part of the dungeon. But on the flat ceiling, a hole took up over half of it. Beyond the hole, the four prisoners could see the moonlit sky, casting a beam of pearly light upon the ground, which was situated under a layer of thigh-deep water.
It had been so long for the prisoners when they had last seen the sky… Wyvern, as a Flying-type, looked up wistfully, silently wishing to be a part of that wide world again.
"Greetings, and mucho great hellos!" El Nino boomed, laughing. "Welcome, mis amigos, to the Abyssal Arena!" The four Pokemon glared up at the Gyarados heatedly. If looks could kill, he'd be dead four times over.
"And now, time to meet your opponents!" El Nino said with a flourish, ignoring their hostility. A Tentacool also in the boxed-off ledge yanked a lever, and the stone door on the other end of the arena creaked open. And then four powerful-looking Pokemon stepped out, emitting low growls from deep in their throats.
Wyvern, Lancelot, and Fireclaw could instantly recognize the quartet as wild Pokemon. Their scowls, the killer look in their eyes, and the feral aura around them clearly identified them as such. There was a Stunfisk, Seismitoad, Kingdra, and Omastar, stomping through the shallow water, all looking ready to fight to the death against their new adversaries.
"Looks like we're going to have to split up in order to take down all four of them," Cenric growled, trying to hide his intimidation of the strong-looking Pokemon. "Agreed," Fireclaw said, put off by all but the Stunfisk. He continued, "Alright, here's the plan. Wyvern, you battle Kingdra. I'll go for Stunfisk, and Cenric will fight Omastar. Lancelot, that leaves Seismitoad for you."
Lancelot nodded and slowly extended his arm blades. "If one of us finishes his opponent, we'll go assist someone else," he advised, earning a thumbs-up from each of his comrades.
And then the four wild Pokemon charged, impatient to get the fight started. As planned, Lancelot, Wyvern, Fireclaw, and Cenric each went after individual foes. The crowd of Abyssal Raiders looked down with excitement as the brawl began to heat up.
Cenric the Buizel squared off against Omastar. The squid-like fossil Pokemon avoided his Razor Wind by retreating into its shell and then retaliated with a ferocious Spike Cannon. Cenric just barely dodged out of the way of the incoming missiles before firing up an Aqua Jet. Even as Omastar oozed out of its shell again, Cenric hit it right in its soft body, causing it to shriek in pain.
As they sparred, Wyvern engaged in a duel of speed and strength with Kingdra. Both were fast, and Wyvern was much stronger, but if Kingdra landed a hit on him, then his Defeatist ability would activate and he would lose for certain. "Dragon Tail!" Wyvern cried even as Kingdra blasted him with Dragon Pulse. His glowing tail smashed the glowing projectile right back into Kingdra's face, sending it to the ground with a splash. The Archeops took the opportunity and sprang forward, already readying another Dragon Tail.
On the other side of the arena, Fireclaw traded blows with the Stunfisk. The flat Ground-and-Electric-type fired a barrage of Mud Bombs, which the Charmeleon deflected with Iron Tail. Although he was at a disadvantage, Fireclaw knew he stood a much better chance against Stunfisk than any of the Water-types. "Fire Spin!" he roared, spraying out a jet of flame that curled around like a ribbon. Stunfisk gurgled as he was burned by the whirling fire, but leapt right back into battle.
Heedless of his allies' troubles, Lancelot sparred violently with Seismitoad, the most powerful of the bunch. As usual, he had been sent to deal with the most difficult of the four. But in this case, he could see Fireclaw's reasoning. A couple of Leaf Blades and the big toad would be down in less time than it took to blink. But as Lancelot lunged again and again with his glowing green blades, Seismitoad made things difficult by blocking each one with Poison Jab. The Gallade gritted his teeth as the Water-and-Ground-type threw its fist out from nowhere and socked him in the gut with Drain Punch.
Wincing as his energy was sapped by the powerful attack, Lancelot suddenly realized that he should be being smarter about this. Leaping elegantly back from another Poison Jab, he cried, "Swords Dance!" As he said this, he was suddenly surrounded by ghostly swords that spun and clashed around him. Lancelot could feel the ritual increasing his power dramatically.
Just as the swords faded away, Seismitoad expanded its throat sac and let out a gurgling roar that swept toward him. Undeterred, Lancelot extended one of his blades and spun around, releasing a curved blade of energy right at the advancing Hyper Voice. His Psycho Cut sliced right through the sound, rendering it harmless, and slashed the Seismitoad's spirit – as a Psychic-type move, it wouldn't do physical damage. But right now, Seismitoad was shaking as it fell to its knees and tried to rise.
"Leaf Blade!" shouted Lancelot, running forward and ready to deal the final blow.
-.-.-.-.-.
Wyvern distantly heard Fireclaw's cry of pain and Seismitoad's agonized roar, but the sounds were faint in his ears. His entire focus was on defeating Kingdra, who dashed around through the water, trying to outflank him. The Archeops gasped silently as he avoided a powerful Hydro Pump by the skin of his teeth. That was way too close, he thought.
"Rock Slide!" he yelled, and the ground shook as huge boulders slid down from invisible portals to crash into the earth. Kingdra blanched and gurgled fearfully as it dashed around in a circle, avoiding each boulder. Wyvern had one shot at defeating the distracted Kingdra, and you'd better believe he was going to take it.
The Archeops dove under one of the last of the falling rocks and sprinted forward, loudly splashing through the shallow water. "Dragon Tail!" he shouted, with his tail beginning to take on a lavender glow. When he was nearly on top of the distracted Kingdra, he spun forcefully and whipped his deadly tail into the side of Kingdra's head.
The force sent the aquatic dragon flying into the air and skidding across the ground when it landed. It hadn't even slowed down when its head crashed into a boulder, and its eyes rolled back into its head as its consciousness slipped away. Wyvern stopped, breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and dashed off to help Cenric against his foe.
The Buizel wasn't faring well, as Omastar's shell blocked every single one of his attacks, allowing the fossil Pokemon to retaliate with Spike Cannon or Water Gun. Wyvern reached the fight just in time to see Cenric fall with a grunt to a close-range Water Gun after failing his Aqua Jet attack. But seeing the Rock-and-Flying-type rushing to his aid gave him strength, and thus Cenric fought on.
But Fireclaw… he wasn't faring too well. A surprise Scald attack from Stunfisk had been mostly avoided, but it had badly burned his left leg, and he now moved with a limp. It was getting harder to dodge his adversary's attacks and effectively execute a counterattack.
"F… Fire… Fire Spin," he grunted as the pain flared up, and released the flaming twister from his mouth. But Stunfisk had seen it coming and was already on the move, retaliating with a Thundershock attack that left Fireclaw trembling. How… how much longer can I hold out against this guy? the Charmeleon seethed.
He looked up at the hole in the ceiling with the moonlight pouring down through. It wasn't much light, but it would have to do. Fireclaw willed his tail flame to absorb the light, and it began to glow faintly and sparkle around the edges as it did just that.
Stunfisk grew tired of waiting for Fireclaw to attack and fired a Mud Bomb over his head, trying to get him to react. But the Charmeleon didn't budge, being content to rest a moment and stare the flat fish down. His tail flame glowed even brighter, signaling the absorption of more energy. Any second now…
Suddenly, a flurry of Mud Bombs was shot straight at Fireclaw, and he snapped back to attention. Just barely, he managed to duck and dive past every single one. He felt the energy reach its peak – it was now or never.
"SOLARBEAM!" he roared loud enough for the whole arena to hear as he exhaled the powerful, white-hot beam of pure solar power. Stunfisk didn't have any time to react as the scorching energy slammed into it and propelled it into the far wall. Hitting the wall at such a speed broke every bone in its body, and the Solarbeam burnt it to a crisp. It gently peeled off the wall and flopped to the ground.
Fireclaw was in no condition to move on, and yet he had to. Glancing around the battlefield, he could see that only the Omastar remained of the four original foes, and Lancelot was already running to help Cenric and Wyvern. He grunted and slowly splashed forward to help as well, wincing every time he used his bad leg. The cold water he waded through soothed the burn somewhat, but it was still excruciating.
Wyvern and Cenric launched a Rock Slide and Razor Wind attack. Both attacks hit the rigid shell of the Omastar – the Razor Wind deflected harmlessly off of it, and the Rock Slide pummeled it without damaging it in the slightest. The moment it was free, Omastar sprang out from its hiding place and fired a Water Gun that doused both of them.
But then, Lancelot was there. With his earlier Swords Dance still in effect, he gave a battle cry and readied a Leaf Blade. He extended his sword, and brought it down onto Omastar's shell. It hit with such force that it cracked the shell and damaged the soft Pokemon inside. Omastar hissed with pain and backed away, suddenly timid. Trickles of blood ran down its face from inside of its shell. It tried to retreat, but it instantly recoiled with pain and exposed itself once more.
It was the perfect moment to strike. Cenric became surrounded with water even as he gave a gurgling yell. "Aqua Jet!" he spoke through his mouthful of liquid, and blasted forward at their helpless foe.
He hit Omastar with incredible force, prompting an agonized cry from the wild Pokemon. It slid backwards a fair distance, and then slumped to the ground, unconscious. The last foe had been defeated.
The crowd of Raiders cheered and clapped for the victors (although there were a lot of groans and curses as well), glad to have seen such an action-packed battle. From the boxed-off ledge, El Nino thumped the ground with his tail ecstatically, grinning widely and beaming down at the four friends. General Fang looked reluctantly impressed, and Sapphire and Neptune clapped their tentacles and cheered along with the rest of them.
If they had been sick when they first entered the arena, then the foursome was definitely nauseous now. The cheering and chanting disgusted them, and they were more then happy to see the Crawdaunt guards that came to take them back to their cell.
The burly Water-and-Dark-types closed the door behind them as they forced the prisoners into the tunnel, cutting off the sound of the crowd's cheering abruptly. The Crawdaunt marched them up the staircase and back into the dungeon's corridors without a word.
Wyvern was relieved that it was over, Lancelot was lost in the eerie silence, Cenric was stoic, and Fireclaw was hurt. The four must not have looked a pretty sight as they trudged down the corridor and back to their cells.
As they turned the corner, a trio of shadowy figures watched them leave. The largest one whispered in a raspy voice, "So, ya think they stand a chance, maties?"
The smallest scoffed and shuffled her multiple legs. "Please," she said. "They barely handled that scrumble. Ya think they can defeat the Carvanha Squad next? Or Kraken?"
Only the last of the trio remained silent, remembering every detail of the exhausted group of prisoners that had just passed. "We shouldn't underestimate them, Boomer," he said cautiously. "They might just be strong enough…"
The leader nodded. "Well said, Chet," he rasped. "Now, we must be off ourselves. I be thinkin' its close ta chow time."
Without another word, the trio scuttled off down the corridor and toward the mess hall, eager to get some food to fill their aching bellies.
-.-.-.-.-.
I'm so sorry that this chapter wasn't up earlier. Between reading awesome fanfics, driving practice, and watching Pokemon BW episodes on the official website, I haven't been able to get this done as quickly. Again, I apologize.
Speaking of fanfics, I realize now that I could have picked a much less obvious name for Lancelot. But it's too late now, and anyway, Lancelot was my Gallade in Pokemon Platinum, right down to the moveset.
So, how will our heroes survive this new challenge? Will the weaker ones, such as Terra and Cliff, be up for such a life-threatening event? And what of the mysterious villains watching from the shadows?
General Fang: "Review! That's an order!"
Chapter Question #19: You're stuck in a broken elevator with one of the three "main" Abyssal Raiders. If you had to pick between El Nino, General Fang, and Lady Sapphire, who would you least prefer?