Gently did the drops of rain fall from the dark rolling clouds above, into the fog below. The teardrops of the world pattered against the low, round trees that surrounded the small group as they advanced through the muck and mire of the violet swamp. Amongst the soft azure and emerald glows of morelulls as they slinked in the gloom, sickly flowers shaped like razor-point starfish and tall tan cattails caught the frail drizzle, as did other deathly plum-colored plants warped beyond rationality. They let the rainfall stream off their bladed petals and languid stems into pools of ash and soot below in the wayside.
Ash and soot black like apathy.
At the head of the group, a small petilil kept her head raised proudly, adamantly forging the way ahead along the raised wooden bridge they traveled on. Hanging lanterns only-just lit their creaking and winding path with lavender flames that flickered near death. Just behind her, a sopping vulpix shuddered, her head, ears, and many tails low as she begrudgingly moved forward with the group. By the fox's side, a riolu, whose head swiveled this way and that as he adjusted the crudely-fashioned poncho on himself, which kept him somewhat protected from the elements. He had assembled the garment the last night from a piece of old tarp, using a worn sewing kit and bent iron spike to make and mend holes as needed.
Looking behind herself, Petal took notice of the sorry state of Star and wandering gaze of Felix. "Argh, you guys," she grumbled, "what's with the looks? We're about to nab the big bad wolf today! Couldn't hurt to be excited, you two!" Petal rallied as she playfully spun around.
"I would have to ask for your forgiveness in this instance, I'm afraid. I find this weather to be-"
"Horrid, I know. You've only said it like four times this night alone," Petal interrupted. "Come on! I know you hate a little bit of rain, but you should be the one most excited out of any of us! We're taking down a big baddie! You practically live for this kind of thing!"
"Make no mistake: I am quite eager to apprehend Cobb. But surely the weather could be kinder to us? If it rained any harder, I am quite sure we would be surrounded very shortly."
"What, you worried about grimers? It's not that bad! Look at Blue! He's handling it like a real trooper."
Star shook her head, which let the curls of her bangs become frayed, much to her frustration. "Felix fashioned himself some form of cloak! He hardly counts in this regard."
"Hey! Not some cloak- a trashy cloak!" Petal corrected.
Felix shot her an unamused leer.
Petal spun away back towards him, returning a sly eye of her own. "Don't give me that look. What even is that getup you're wearing?" she asked as she leaned in closer to his garment, taking in the way the fabric loosely hung around his body from the base of his neck. "Like, I don't mean to be mean or anything, which is why I didn't ask when I saw you in this, but I've never seen something like that before. What is it? Some kind of blanket?"
"First of all: it's a poncho, not a blanket," Felix sighed. "And they're real good from where I came from. Easy to wear, comfortable, and handy in just about any weather." He raised his arms beneath the poncho and dropped them, letting the garment rise and fall to accentuate his point. "Even weather like this. Second of all: grimers?"
Petal's face twisted. "What, you don't know about grimers?"
"Can't say I do."
"You really don't know a lot around here, do you, Blue? Anyways, grimers? Muks? Big living pools of this mire stuff and filth that likes to come around whenever it rains hard in areas like this? Ring the bell?"
"No," he admitted. "I've seen and heard of plenty of strange and powerful monsters. Ones that create invisible walls out of nothing, some that cannot be matched in strength or speed, and many that command the elements. Can't say I've ever heard of a pile of mud and muck being a problem."
"Lucky. I haven't been around long, but even I know those things can be a real pain. Just hope we never have to meet one, Blue. You'll be prettier and healthier for it."
Star's eyes narrowed, glaring deep into something ahead. "There," she spoke, "I believe we have finally found them."
Just further ahead through the dense fog, a large shadow loomed behind the churning mist, passing beneath one of few dim ghastly lamp posts about. The shadows of a small framed deer-like creature and a bipedal dragon accompanied the moving mass along the raised walkway as its boards creaked and groaned beneath their weight.
The dragon raised an arm to its companions, halting them on the track. It took a step forward. "Who goes there!?" a low voice boomed through the mire.
Star's ears flicked; a sheen of familiarity shining in her eyes as those words reached her. "Jeral?" she responded. She cleared her throat. "Jeral?" she called out, "is that you?"
The figure dropped its arms to its side. The deer approached the dragon, getting its attention as the two exchanged words much too quiet to hear.
Focusing back to them, the deer called out through the fog. "Star? Is that you?"
Star's head quickly perked up. "Fawna?" Star quickly took off into the fog, darting across the boards.
"Star, where are you-" Felix blurted out as he raised a hand towards her, but it was too late.
"Well," Petal murmured by his side, "guess we know we found them."
Catching up behind her, they had finally cut through enough of the mist to see the shadows' true colors: it was indeed the caravan they had searched for. A large open-top wagon filled with a few crates and objects covered in tarps was being towed by a steadfast mudbray, who seemed to have hardly broken a sweat in spite of the large payload it had attached to its back with taut ropes.
From beneath one of the tarps rose a furry creature's small head, clearly having just awoken and still fighting off the remnants of sleep that still held its disheveled head. A linoone, and one whose striped fur was disheveled all over itself. It wore a lop-sided pair of thick goggles.
Star was beside the wagon with others Felix himself had come to recognize- the hakamo-o and orange deerling he had seen the day he escorted Riley. They seemed lost in conversation with one another, Star smiling fondly as she spoke to them.
The hakamo-o's gaze slid off Star, and onto Felix. "Hey now… are you that riolu we've seen before? The one that took that sylveon?"
"Sure am," Felix confirmed.
Star stepped between the two groups. "Felix, Petal, this is Jeral and Fawna!" she introduced. "I have known these two for some time when we lived back in the Undercast."
"Wait, Fawna?" Petal asked. "Is she the deerling you told me you were real sweet on?"
Felix looked between Star and Fawna, both of which were exchanging fond, nostalgic glances with one another. "What now?"
"That's in the past," Star spoke. "We are simply good friends now. So, as I was saying…" Star turned back to Jeral.
The linoone in the cart opened its mouth big and wide in a ferocious yawn, then snapping to attention once it saw Petal, its lazy eyes becoming sharp and focused in a second. "Petal?" she asked.
"Huh?" Petal looked up at the long rodent.
"Petal!" The linoone frantically scurried off the cart and jumped down beside them, then furiously shaking its coat to dispel any lingering drowsiness. "Oh, it's been two years now, hasn't it?"
Looking the linoone up and down, Petal's growing confusion was apparent. "Do I know you, lady?"
"Of course, silly! It was you that-" the excitement that illuminated the linoone's eyes began to fade as she stared at Petal, becoming overcast. "Oh…" the linoone mumbled, "it has been two years, hasn't it?"
Petal stood silent.
"You're not her, sorry. But you're still Petal, yes?"
"...Yeah."
"The thirteenth, I assume?"
"Yeah," Petal softly repeated, "Petal the thirteenth."
The linoone lowered her head to the walkway. "So very sorry, Petal. It's just that I was good friends with your mother. Name's Lyniar." She took the opportunity to adjust her goggles. "Say, do you know if your mother and I's get-together with another friend is still on? She hasn't penned me back."
Petal huffed. "I don't know. This is the first I'm hearing anything about it. Just ask the twelfth when you get there," she grumbled.
Lyniar frowned, but her gloom was quickly cast aside when her eyes latched onto Felix- in particular, the garment he wore. "Is that a poncho?" she enthusiastically asked. She darted straight across towards him, which made him reel back suddenly. "Nice fit! Obviously custom-made, but its silhouette is still recognizable," she remarked as she held a part of his cloth with her claws. "Oh, oh! Tell me: did you base your design off of southern Unovian cultures? Or was it Paldean? Oh! Or maybe central Hoenn? Hm, no, the skirt of the cloth is much too loose to be multicultural. Methinks you had this made for an impression of Paldean discernment- the unfastened cloak is a dead giveaway."
Felix snatched the corner of his poncho away from her. "Wha- I- what in god's name are you even saying? Are those even words coming out of your mouth?"
Lyniar hopped past the mudbray back into the rear of the cart. "Sorry, sorry! Just a bit of a xeno-cultural buff, that's all!"
"Is that right?" Jeral bluntly asked, his back towards her.
"I mean, you knew that already. Kinda am your client, you know," Lyniar chuckled.
Jeral turned back to face her. "Not you." He looked back at Star. "You're certain Cobb is going to ambush us shortly ahead?"
"I am. We have seen his plans ourselves. That is why we are here now."
Jeral rubbed his chin. He looked at Felix and Petal and frowned. "Some team you've found yourself. Where's the big guy? Wasn't he in charge of watching over you?"
"Willow is no longer in service to me. I hold full faith in the band I run with now," Star boasted.
"High praise from Miss Sunshine herself." Looking back, Jeral looked at one of the few crates that lay in the back of the cart, each one spacious enough to fit some odds and ends inside. "And you're sure this frankly simple plan will work? You don't become a gang leader who raised havoc in half of the Undercast and escaped into the plots of New Galar by falling for amateur tactics like this."
"He's never met amateurs like us!" Petal beamed.
Jeral stared emptily at Petal, holding the glare for a few moments before relenting with a sigh. "Well, if we really are walking in an ambush, suppose it couldn't hurt to have some more bodies to throw at him. One second." Jeral walked towards the back of the cart and hopped on, beginning to flip one of the crates and prying the top off easily with his robust arms.
As Jeral fidgeted with the wooden box, modest clops along the walkway quietly approached Star. A wet nose then poked at her side from Fawna, grabbing her attention. "I realize now is not the time to discuss this, but I do want to talk about it at some point," Fawna whispered.
Felix's ears focused on the quiet voices behind him.
"Hm? May I ask about what?" Star murmured in kind.
"That night. You know the one. I just… want to clear the air, and get a final answer."
"Oh…" Star looked around, seeing how many others were around them. Even in the thick of the murky fog and looming night, she felt no privacy here. "Well… how about tomorrow? I know of a little nook beneath the briar we could talk in."
Fawna leaned in closer to Star. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Fawna nodded, then walked away towards Jeral as he hopped back off the cart.
"Hey, you lot!" Jeral waved Felix and his team over. "Right- in you go, then." Jeral lifted a tarp covering one of the crates nearly teetering on the edge of the cart.
Beneath the tarp Jeral held up, it had become apparent that Jeral simply had torn off the cover of one of the crates and flipped it onto its side, judging by the tossed garments and writing instruments inside the cramped box. A few green bulbs of fruit rolled on the floor, each producing a faint emerald glow from in-between their yellow cage-like husks. Felix, Star, and Petal, exchanged weary glances with each other.
"Well… no time like the present." Felix clambered up the lip of the cart and into the crate, trying to find a comfortable position to sit amidst the mess.
Star kept a pensive look about her.
Petal nudged Star's side with her splay of leaves. "Come on, Star! All for taking down the big bad wolf!" With one mighty hop, Petal jumped into the box as well, stuffing herself into a corner beside Felix, much to his annoyance. "Stop holding up the ride, we're on a quest for fun!"
Star sighed, then crouched down and leapt inside the crate.
Jeral released the flap, encasing the team in a suffocating green glow.
As the caravan began moving once more, something scuttled beneath the cart.
—-
"See? Told ya, Blue! Knew you'd like it."
Even in the dim light inside the crate, Petal could see the stunned reaction Felix had from finally trying the salted meats she had made yesterday as something akin to joy, teetering on shock.
The food had been absurdly salted to the point where Felix felt he had to crunch through the layers of mineral to reach the meat- yet once he found that cooked cut beneath, he was enthralled by its simple yet powerful hold on him through the savory, tender meat.
In truth, the dish reminded him of the arrachera he knew and loved back home. Felix sniffed. He never knew how much something so simple could strike him so.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess it's good," he choked out, then cleared his throat. Peeking up from his lap that held the bag of meats, he noticed a small stream of drool leave Star's mouth as she intently focused on the food he had. He grabbed another small cube of the prepared meat and tossed it to Star's feet. "Here, come on, eat up. We traveled all day and night. You'll need it."
Star's eyes lit up. "Oh, I thank you!" In an instant, the cube of meat disappeared as Star snapped it up and swallowed it in one quick motion, much to Felix's astonishment.
"I swear. I know you're a fox and a critter and all, but at least try chewing next time."
Petal leaned her head back against the wall of the crate, letting out a chuckle. "Tell her all you want, Blue, but ain't nothing changing that girl like that."
Star wiped her jaw on the back of one of her paws, leering at Petal as she did so.
"What? Am I wrong?" Petal joked.
Star opened her mouth to speak, but closed her mouth and looked down shamefully.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Believe me, Blue: she's all posture and formality and all that fancy stuff, but all that high society comes crumbling down to earth when she senses salt."
"Salt?" Felix repeated. "Not meat?"
"Meat can be quite nice, too…" Star mumbled.
"Yeah, salt!" Petal rubbed in. "Everyone's favorite church girl just has a weakness for the stuff. Quite shameful for someone so prestigious, really," she teased.
"Oh, hush. But enough about me, what of you? Aren't you hungry, Petal?"
Felix shook his head. "Nah, she shouldn't be. There was plenty of sun on the way here, so she should be set." Both Star and Petal shot him baffled looks. Met with the bewildered stares, Felix looked around himself, thinking he may had missed something. "What?"
"Felix," Star calmly spoke, "Petal needs to eat, too."
"Huh?" He looked at the plant beside him, which was now boring into his soul with her eyes. "She's a plant! Plants don't eat!"
"'Oh-oh-oh plants don't eat,'" Petal mocked with a half-hearted imitation of his voice. "I'm a petilil, genius! Not a houseplant! Do you really think half-a-day of sunlight is enough to keep me going?"
"Er- I- How should I know?" Felix stuttered. "You're the first plant-thing I ever knew! Plants need sunlight and water, simple as that. And last I've checked, you don't even have a mouth!" Hearing his own words, his haze became unfocused as he reflected on what he said, occasionally glancing back at Petal's featureless face. "How in the… how do you even speak?" he quietly muttered to himself.
Petal sighed, dropping her head down to the ground. "Oh, Blue, you're so hopeless." She then nudged his legs with her leaves, tapping them a few times. "Here, give me the apple I gave you. I'm going to show you something cool."
Felix was stumped on what she could mean by that, but obliged and fetched the apple from his satchel, then placed the brilliant red fruit in front of her. "Alright then: impress me."
"Felix, have you never seen how plant-like persons eat?" Star asked.
"No. Why?"
A sly smile crept on Star's face. "Then you will not want to miss this."
"Yeah, Blue. Check it!" Petal grabbed the apple with her stubby arms. In a moment, the green surface on her small arms began to slightly quiver.
Felix's eyes grew as he saw tiny roots like tendrils emerge from the tips of her hands and implant themselves into the apple. The fruit's red sheen began to dull and wither as its vitality was drained by Petal's roots, soon becoming a gray husk that she dropped to the floor.
Petal looked at Felix with beaming eyes. "Pretty cool, right?" As she proudly held up her spindly roots from her sides, the one on her right side seemed to be black at its tip, holding a certain sheen against the light.
Felix had already moved himself to a corner of the crate away from her, a hand clutching at his chest as he stared at Petal with a mix of fear and astonishment. "Y-yeah," he stuttered, "that's a neat trick." As Felix leaned back off the floor, something rattled.
Something akin to what sounded like many tinks, rattling away like small pieces of hail rapping against a window on a cruel winter's night, began to quietly stir inside a small red velvet case beside him, softly revealed to him by the glow of the green plant bulbs.
Petal retracted her roots back into herself, going back to her usual, non-appalling form. "Don't act like it's not freaky both ways, Blue. Imagine how I feel looking at meat bags like you two," Petal continued. "Like, you guys have these weird flesh holes called mouths? And they're filled with weird stuff like teeth?" She shuddered at her own words. "Usually, you want bones to be inside you and not seen, Blue."
The rattling continued. His interest piqued, Felix reached over and grabbed the case, dragging it closer to himself. On the top of the box, it bore an insignia: two black sharp horns adorned up an angular head, with sunken eye sockets, affixed with a prideful black mane with red and blue marks. A tauros. A simple lock consisting of a hook around a thin metal slot kept the container sealed.
"Hey Blue, still snooping? Whatcha pull there?" she asked as she drew closer to him, eyeing the case curiously herself.
"Petal, no," Star ordered with a stern mien. "Felix, I must ask that you refrain from prying into others' property. We owe them that basic courtesy at the least for agreeing to work with us."
"I'll respect others' privacy later," he replied. The tinks and patters from the box had grown louder. "Just… I know this symbol. Just curious, is all." He planted his hand on the latch and undid the simple hook that locked the case shut.
"The symbol?" Star got up and looked at the insignia herself, crowding around him alongside Petal in the already uncomfortable position he had put himself into a moment ago. "Ah, I see. This is Paldean, yes? I recognize the emblem from an old text Caelum reviewed with me."
"So you know why I'm going ahead with this, right?"
Star grumbled and rolled her tails up. "Hmph. I suppose so."
"Come on, Blue," Petal prodded him, "open it already! Anything that makes sounds like that is just begging to be looked at!"
Flipping open the case, a soft glow of a myriad of colors came to rest on their curious faces, like light refracting from a prism. A clear orb of glass rested halfway into a raised black velvet platform inside the case, with a silver cast wrapped around its circumference, letters long since faded etched into the metal band. Inside the bauble, many splinters of shards, each different in their vibrant colors that shined like a rainbow, danced and pinged against the walls of the orb.
"What is that?" Petal leaned in closer to the device. "What's this gizmo do?"
"Wait a second…" Felix murmured to himself. He stared deeply into the orb, his distorted reflection staring back. Behind the glow of the swirling shards, he saw the metallic shavings that produced the brilliant lights. His pupils grew. "She shouldn't have this."
Star broke her trance off the light show, shaking her head briefly as she recounted what he had said. "Pardon?"
"Petal, she said she's going to your place, right?"
"I mean, yeah. Why? What's it to you?" Petal replied.
"These shards," he continued, "I know them! They're-"
The crate they sat in rocked violently in a sudden burst of movement as an explosion rang outside, throwing the three of them and the bulbs and bauble around the crate like toys as they cried out in surprise, as well as some shouts from coming from the outside. The force from the blast pierced Felix's body and rocked him to his core with its resounding shockwave.
The crate settled. Outside, they heard as shards of wood and muck rained back down and pelted the box feebly.
Star groaned as she picked herself back off the floor, looking towards Felix and Petal as they recovered as well. "Are you two well?"
As Felix opened his mouth to answer, another explosion rang out further away and rocked the crate once more, but with less force than the last time, sending the fruits and the now loose glass orb rolling along the floor. Felix instinctively dove back to the ground, not before wrapping his arms around both Star and Petal and taking them down with them as he clenched his eyes shut. Some more debris fell on the roof.
Through it all, the mysterious bauble still had not ceased producing tinks.
"Jeral!" A muffled cry from Fawna rang outside. "Jeral! Get up!"
A low groan pierced the wooden walls. "I'm moving, I'm moving." A piece of wood creaked as a weight pushed itself off the board.
After a moment of silence, Felix's eyes crept back open. Star wore a steadfast grimace as her eyes remained locked forward towards the flap in front of them. Petal had her eyes clenched shut.
Taking his arms off them, he crawled forward and lifted the flap just enough to peek outside.
The fog of the night had made it difficult to see what had happened, but he was able to notice how the platforms behind the caravan had been utterly destroyed. The planks of wood were nothing more than splinters and spindles shot across the area, and began sinking into the bubbling purple mire below.
Before he slinked back into their cover, he noticed an odd image.
Hidden behind the veil of the fog, its form barely illuminated by the flicker of the nearby violet lampposts, a ball rolled. It was moderately big, just his size he figured. Caked in layers upon layers of muck and grime from the swamp, it had somehow managed to roll seemingly effortlessly through the mud, away into the fog, disappearing. Before it had vanished from sight, Felix swore he saw the texture of the ball peek through its accumulated filth: something like smoothed stone.
"Come on out, lads!" a deep voice boomed.
Felix retreated within the crate, dropping the flap.
In an instant, he heard tree branches snap and shake as numerous footsteps of various weights jumped down onto the flimsy boards.
Small scratching sounds hastily dug into the wooden panels outside their crate, pulling some creature up from its interrupted sleep. "Wha- What's going on!?" Lyniar asked. "Are we being attacked already?"
"Lyniar! Keep your head down!" Jeral ordered.
"Quiet!" the deep voice commanded. Something was grabbed, then slammed into the wooden planks.
"Jeral!" Fawna cried out.
Star's lips curled, revealing her fangs as her brows furrowed. She was tense; ready to spring out of the crate in a moment. Felix stuck his arm out in front of her, then gave her a slow shake of his head. Understanding, she snorted.
"Whose the little ferret?" Cobb growled.
"Linoone, not furret! Do all you rock types have nothing but stones rolling in your heads?" Lyniar corrected.
"Wait a second," a new, lighter voice chimed in. "Linoone? As in that egghead? Boss, do you think that's her?"
"Well, is she? Talk to me, boy."
"I'm not telling you… nothing!" Jeral choked out.
A loud smash rang out as more planks shattered as Jeral cried out. "I always get what I want, boy. Lads, keep an eye on the deer, the donkey, and the ferret. Tyson, check the cart and see what we've got. I need a word with our little dragon friend here."
"Aye, boss!" the younger voice replied.
Something clambered up the side of the cart and began carelessly shifting around items beside the crate the team laid in, haplessly tossing them off to the side after a moment of inspection.
"Keep your grubby hands off my things!" Lyniar ordered.
"Seems like a bunch of stuff an egghead would have, boss! Look, there's a bunch of papers here with nothing but words on them! No pictures at all! She's got to be the nerd!"
Cobb cackled, sounding like stones grinding together as his breath wheezed. "Is that right?"
The glowing orb beside them in the crate shone even brighter now, and rumbled furiously as the shards within it seemed to rage, creating an even louder racket than it had before. Petal grabbed the orb, and despite it nearly being as big as she was, clung to it in a vain attempt to get it to quiet down.
"Huh? Hey boss! I think there's some thingy or another in here! It's making some kind of noise!"
"Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Looking for permission? Go and get it! And Hariet! Get on up there and keep a lookout! I don't want any surprises!"
Some beating of wings passed overhead. Someone jumped over the side of the cart, landing on the planks below, then taking agonizing footstep after footstep closer to the rear, a process the team heard and dreaded as he drew closer.
Then the orb grew dull. Its light vanished, leaving the space they were in back in a humble green hue from the fruits, and it became silent. A loud crack like thunder pealed through the air, sounding so close to where they were. A bright light briefly flashed outside, easily seen past the thin veil of tarp that covered them.
Silence.
"Well, would you look at that?" Cobb finally spoke. "What are the odds of that happening here, boys? We'll check it out right after this. I've got a feeling this is going to be a very good day!"
Some murmuring continued between unrecognizable voices as the band of thieves remarked about something with one another.
Then the light footsteps continued.
Felix waved Star and Petal over to him, near to the exit of the crate. The footsteps finally reached directly outside where they had been lying. Jumping up, a small figure had leapt onto the back of the cart, and reached down, grabbing the hanging tarp with its small purple fingers. Lifting the tarp, a tyrogue bent down and entered the crate, its eyes fixated on something glowing outside as it did so, before returning to focus on his objective once he was fully inside.
Turning around, the tyrogue's complacent face soon turned to surprise as he saw a riolu, vulpix, and petilil, all staring him down angrily.
Before he could shout, a hand shot out and covered his mouth. A few thwacks and tussling passed in a moment as the crate shook, and soon, the team now had an unconscious tyrogue lying inside with them.
"Tyson! What's keeping you?" Cobb shouted. The three readied themselves, crouching down near the covered opening. Petal's splay curled, building within them fine yellow spores within her grasp.
Sturdy stomps began approaching, racketing the bridge with each footstep. "Tyson! Answer me, boy! I swear, if you're trying to hide away some trinkets again, I will-" a white, gnarled paw reached below the tarp.
"Got something for that fur coat of yours, brickhead!" Petal jumped out of the cart into the rain and threw a cloud of stunning spores forward. Cobb quickly ducked away, but was not quick enough, catching a scant amount of the powder on his nose. He slinked away back around the cart, hacking and coughing.
Star jumped out right after her. In one quick breath, fire flew from Star's jaw and struck a very surprised bombirdier off the lamppost she had been perched on, knocking the bird down to the planks with one wicked burst of flame. Whipping her head around, Star tensed herself as she saw a dark rattata leap at her back with buck teeth bared.
Before it could reach her, a sudden metallic thwack from a broken shovel had slapped the rattata out of the air and into the muck with a splat.
Felix brushed some dust off the shovel, smirking at a relieved Star. "Got your back."
"Lucky me. I shall count my blessings," she quipped back. Dropping her brief smile, she snapped back to a disciplined focus. "We can banter later! First, Cobb!"
Cobb's nose had wrinkled. That small dose of spores had been enough to cause spurts in his movement, though he wrested control as best he could. Cobb sucked in deep breaths where he could through his pointed nose. His ruby eyes began to glow.
"Hey, stones-for-brains! Try reading a book!" Lyniar shouted. Cobb irritably stared up at her as she ducked back into the cart, then popped back up with a thick volume in paw. "I hear it's good for your headstate!" She lobbed the novel at his head. Try as he might to move or intercept it, Cobb freezed in place as his muscles seized, taking the book head on with a painful smack.
"How's this for some talk?" a bruised Jeral shouted as he lunged at Cobb alongside Fawna, fist coated in a white glow.
"You bully! How's this for treating others?" Fawna planted her front hoofs into the floor before Cobb, spinning around and extending her rear legs in a double kick.
Cobb raised his arms up defiantly into a cross as they began to glow white, letting their attacks slam to a stop against his limbs. A sneer formed. "You shouldn't have done that." In one motion, Cobb threw his arms out and released a blast of stored energy in one swift counter, sending them flying through the air as they screamed, landing a ways away in the muck and mire. The lycanroc scoffed to himself, but that confidence ebbed away when he turned around to see Felix, Star, and Petal waiting for him.
Lyniar let out a quiet 'eep' and ducked back within the cart.
"You are through, Cobb!" Star barked. Her fur on the back of her neck seemed to stand on end, and thin wisps of embers seemed to seep out the corner of her mouth.
"Surrender nice and easy, wolf, and we'll all head back nice and quiet," Felix remarked, waving the shovel in front of himself to accentuate his point. Felix's own confident smile faltered once he glanced behind Cobb. Through the looming fog and silhouettes of trees, past the lines of faint blue glows and shroud of rain, a large, violet dome seemed to bloom in the distance like the sun through clouds.
"What's the big idea, fox? And don't think I don't know you're slinking in the shadows, Willow!" Cobb howled as he backed away from the cart. "We've stayed well-away from that village! We've never had problems before! Why now!?" His lamentations were cut short as his legs buckled from his paralysis, forcing him to his knees as he struggled for control once more.
"Why now?" Petal repeated. "Why, because now you've got a team the likes of us coming to take you down!"
Cobb pulled his lips back and snarled. "And just who do you think you are to challenge me?"
"Me? I'm Petal! And you'll remember that name! I'll douse that ragged coat of your with my spores as long as it takes for you to realize a little nobody like me took you down! So long as me and my buds here are together, we're coming out on top!"
"Willow has been far too lenient for the likes of you!" Star interrupted. "The people shall know security in traveling these roads once more!" Star began creeping towards the weakened wolf, eyes locked on him.
Straightening his back, Cobb snorted great and long before finally spitting out a gob of mucus that seemed to glow yellow with spores. He stood back up, shaking out his rocky mane and sticking out the many jagged rocks that seemed to spike out from it. "Pretty speech, fox. But I'm not going with anyone." Cobb covered his eyes with crooked hands. "Everyone, scatter!"
"Now just what do you think you're-" Felix was interrupted when the rocks covering Cobb's mane suddenly began to glow white and then exploded into a flash of light that blinded him and the others. He threw his arms out and began to grapple at his own face, waving his other arm in front of himself as he swung his body around for any sense of orientation. "Argh, I can't see a thing!" His eyes were open, but the only image in front of him was that of a black afterimage that seemed to warble and warp.
"Neither can I! Just watch where you're- Gah!" Star shouted as Felix tripped over her, making the two collapse to the ground.
"Guys, I can't see! I can't see!" Petal shouted, then shrieked as something light sounded like it tripped off the walkway into some puddle below.
As Felix rubbed his eyes and his vision slowly returned to him, he heard just enough to recognize the beat of wings and the faint scampering of small feet to know that they were fleeing. After a moment or two of fiercely blinking, he could see once more, albeit with a small receding blob of darkness at the center of his view no matter where he looked. Frantically scan the area as he may, he could not see Cobb or his lackeys.
"Blast it!" Felix stomped the floor beneath him, then quickly turning around. "He's getting away! Anyone seen where he went?"
Some hollow rumbling came from behind them. Inside the cart, a small box popped up from the carrier and landed back inside as Lyniar's head once more poked out. "Seen where he went? Sure, the guy went towards the Distortion! Saw him right as he turned tail and ran after a flash went off over my little hidey-hole."
Star was still hazily swerving her head around, her eyelids flickering open and closed as she fended off the rain from her wandering vision. "Of course! The Distortion!" She got off the ground quickly, shaking her head and refocusing. "He thinks he can lose us in there? We pursue! He will answer for all he has done! Who shall we leave to protect the caravan?"
"Oh, we still going for him?" Petal cut-in as she rolled back onto the walkway from the purple and brown muck. She stood back up, and was covered with the filth all over her small body. "Sure! I'm still game! Let's go!"
"Wait-wait-wait! You guys are still going after him?" Lyniar asked.
"We are, miss," Star replied, head held high. "We shall apprehend him!"
A holler came from their sides in the wet brush. Looking over to the racket, everyone saw Jeral waving to them as he and Fawna trudged through the sludge towards them, their heads hanging low and wincing. "That Cobb fellow sure does smart," Jeral remarked as he shook off the grime.
"That hurt a lot, way more than I thought it would," Fawna agreed as she did the same. Both their bodies seemed well-bruised from the counter, being blemished and beaten.
Lyniar's ears pulled back. "See here? We're hardly in a good shape to defend ourselves! You can't just leave us! What if one of them comes back?"
"Well, that is…" Star trailed off.
"What's this about leaving?" Jeral asked.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I'm sure nothing will happen to you or the others," Felix assured. "We'll be off to pursue that wolf. The longer we're talking, the more ground he covers!" He waved his hand towards Star and Petal. "Now, come on, we need to move now!"
Star did not move. "We?" she repeated. "As in everyone? Felix, are you certain this is the correct action to take, given the circumstances?"
"Yeah," Jeral chimed, "we're not in good shape."
Felix scoffed. "They'll be fine on their own, now come on! We've wasted enough time. We're going after him, and consider this a direct order from your team leader."
Star glared at him. Once more, she made no attempt to move.
"I mean… sure. You heard the boss man! Let's go!" Petal exclaimed. As she went towards Felix, her small body was nudged by Star's nose. "What?"
Leaning in close, Star's mouth quietly murmured something to Petal as she listened intently. Once Star finished, Petal shot her an inquisitive look.
"Wait, really? You think you can manage that?"
Star nodded. Her eyes were lit once more with a steadfast determination.
"Alright… take the lead, boss man!"
"We move at once. Lead us, Felix." Star finally broke from the group and joined him.
Felix turned his back to the caravan and began sprinting towards the distortion, Star striding by his side with an equal swiftness. "About time! Let's move out!"
A third joined them. Scampering faintly below the boards.
Together, they darted across the slick and creaking boards towards that looming dome, passing underneath lantern after lantern and through the brush until the Distortion was well in sight, clear from fog and no longer dimmed by distance. Coming closer to that dome that hummed, Felix slowed from a sprint to a trot, and from a trot to a crawl. Only now was he getting a good look at this thing up close. Its violet surface hummed and churned with magenta hues that swirled with an underlying vigor. Bolts of shock seemed to ripple across the surface, writhing like pests that crawled along its imposing surface. Not to mention the sheer scale of the wonder. It was far larger than anything he had ever known; far larger than even the ships he had seen from the Paldean Empire. Larger than anything that could exist. And here it was, right in front of him, resting at the side of the walkway in the muck and mire.
Star came to his side, also in a trance at the sight, albeit one of contemplative respect rather than awe. "Quite the sight. And these cursed spheres seem to be spawning more and more…" She calmly advanced towards the Distortion, not taking her eyes off it for a single moment. "No use standing on ceremony. Shall we?"
"Right," he murmured to himself. "No hesitation." He leapt into the wall.
His fur seemed to stand on end as he passed through the crackling surface, feeling like he was breaking through water's surface as he crashed into sandy ground below him. Picking himself up, he felt the warm grains of sand dig themselves into the spaces between his fingers, as well as the particles of the grains falling from his face as he stood once more. Wiping his eyes with his arm, he was stunned.
Inside the dome, hot winds brewed over rising dunes of sand, howling in a heated fury. Tall, thin trees had filled the area as well, like a mix of desert and woodland, laden in layers and layers of sagging vines and shrubbery. No matter where he looked, sand washed over the jungle like a flood, burying all that was not tall in the churning sandstorm. A thunderous roar like an eruption cracked and reverberated through the air, a ways away through the woodwork in front of him.
Star landed softly beside him, avoiding the tumble he had taken as she nimbly stuck the landing on the loose surface.
"Nice weather, huh?" While the sandstorm was churning with hot winds and wisps of sand that battered against him, Felix found he did not mind the desert storm so much; the grains could only harmlessly pelt against his fashioned poncho. "Kind of reminds me of home."
"It certainly is somewhat an improvement compared to out there." Star shook something fierce to dispel any accumulated water she had on her red coat. "This is quite the locale. I do not think I have ever heard of a jungle blighted by sand. What caused all this?"
"Don't really know, don't really care. Where do you suppose he might be in all this?" Felix scanned the area, cupping his hands around his eyes to avoid the flying grains. In the distance, he saw a tower of fire shoot out from a cluster of the trees into the air, then dissipating into flickering embers.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Sure does." Taking a step forward, he let himself slide down the sandy slope towards the buried jungle. "Plan still sticks: Petal, you try to nail him with those spores, and me and Star will mop up. Understood?"
No response.
"Petal, did you hear me?" He turned around. Up the slope, only Star stood before him. He swept his head side to side in a growing vain to spot her. He could not. "Hey, where in the- Where's Petal?"
"I had asked her to stay behind," Star promptly replied.
Felix's mouth parted open and stared at her in disbelief. "I'm sorry, you what?"
"I had asked her to remain with the caravan to offer assistance or protection should they need any. Lyniar was correct: they are hardly in a position to defend themselves should any of Cobb's gang return."
"I- what- Just what do you think you're doing?" Felix exclaimed. "Forget them! What about us? We're the ones who need her! Cobb and his cronies are in a full-blown retreat! None of them are coming back! We need Petal's spores!"
Star slid down the slope as well. Lifting her head up, she looked at him seriously. "We have the guise of Willow's protection, they do not. And I would not trust any of those crooks to not try their luck and return on their own accord."
Felix blew out a long exhale through his nose. "You shouldn't go against your leader's orders."
Star leered. "You should if it's not what's right."
The two leaned in closer to one another, exchanging glares. As much as Felix leered, Star would mirror the glare. "Fine." Felix broke off. "We hurry and nab him. But don't disobey orders going forward."
Star nodded.
Giving her one final glance, the two proceeded. The sand shifted little under their unimpressive weight, which made running across the loose ground far more achievable than Felix initially thought as the two entered a cluster of tall trees closer to the swathed woodwork. Mounds of sand rose and fell like great waves within the desertified jungle. Past buried trunk after trunk, through dangling vine after vine. They were protected from the sandstorm by the same trees they slipped by. Curiously, the glitter of the odd colorful stone could be glanced on occasion as they ran.
Ahead, a bright light flared through the cluster of trees. Felix grinned. "He has to be there! Let's move!" Ducking past a final stretch of woodwork, they entered a small opening of protruding, jagged, tan rocks that had risen against the sands, producing a divet in the landscape that held grass and flowers amidst the sea of sand. In the center stood Cobb, and a two-headed, red and green lizard that wore both a sneer and viscous grin: a scovillain.
Cobb had not yet noticed them. With a snarl, Cobb raised his fist above his head and plunged it into the shortgrass below, breaking the crust of the ground in a viscous smack. In an instant, the ground tremored as a line of bulging rock piles thrusted out from beneath the wolf towards the scovillain, steadily gaining speed with each beat they shot out before reaching beneath the plant monster and exploding out a large stone's edge into the beast's chest like a tectonic punch, launching it backwards into the tan rock wall as it roared out in pain, then quieting down as dust shrouded it. Cobb sneered in delight.
He turned to leave, and that is when he spotted Felix and Star, both looking down on him from the rising slope. "Oh, you've got to be bloody joking!" Cobb cried out.
Wisps of flame escaped the corners of Star's mouth. "Your crimes end tonight, Cobb!" She bolted down the slope, opening her jaw wide as the fireball inside grew larger.
"Not tonight, or any day after!" Cobb ruffled his coat, displaying the rugged rocks in his mane once more as he shut his eyes.
Felix raised his poncho to his face. Once he heard a distinctive burst of the flash out of Cobb's mane, he dropped the cloth to see Star wincing and dazed by the flash, then tripping and tumbling down the rest of the slope to the grass, releasing the ember she held in a pathetic ball of smoke she breathed out.
Looking ahead, Felix saw as Cobb frantically climbed up a sanded slope the opposite way of himself, eventually able to claw his way out as the sand slipped and fought against him every step of the wolf's way because of his weight.
"Up!" Felix commanded as he slid down the slope to Star's side, wrapping his arm around her side and helping her up as she refocused out of her daze.
"Where has he gone?" she asked as she shakingly stood. "If we can intercept him, we can whittle him down in a two-on-one fight!"
Felix pointed up the slope, towards the cluster of protruding treetops. "Just that way. Come on, let's go."
As they turned to pursue, a low hum quickly grew in intensity behind them. Looking behind, a green sphere of energy barreled towards them from the dusty rock outcrops, whizzing over their heads and crashing into the rising sands in an explosion of debris and dust as they ducked down. Stepping out from settling dust of the outcrops, stood the scovillain, hissing and cackling from both heads. A large gash was in its crumpled chest.
"We'll catch up to him in a minute, the sand will slow him down!" Felix barked. He grabbed his broken shovel from his pouch. "Sort out this thing!"
"Gladly!"
The scovillain lunged at them with flaring red fangs from the red head in a terrifying charge, just grazing past Felix's arm as he threw himself back. Behind the two-headed beast, Star shot a ball of fire at its back which bursted its exposed flank. The heads hollered and swiveled towards her.
Felix took the opportunity to slam the flat of the shovel against the creature's back, earning another howl, but also the green head's ire as it swung around and flung out thick-shelled cores of seeds from its mouth to his feet, that exploded on contact with the ground and sent him flying back and yelling from the shockwave. He could only shakingly push himself from the dirt to his knees as pain seized him.
"Felix!" Star shouted. As she darted around the beast's side, its red head launched out and grabbed her with its pointed teeth, making her yelp as it then lifted her up and slammed her back into the ground. Lifting her head, Star saw the scovillain's red head building a bright ball of flame within its mouth, swirling and swirling as it grew in volume.
"Star, get out of there!" Felix desperately shouted.
She only looked up at the growing attack, staring at it without emotion.
Reeling its red head back, the scovillain lurched forward and unleashed a torrent of flame onto Star, lighting the area in a bright orange glow. Even a fair distance away, Felix felt the intense heat engulf him. She could not be seen under the intense plume of fire.
"Star!" Felix cried out. He scrambled to his feet, pushing through the pain in his side to rush towards them. His breath staggered as he looked towards the tower of flame. Nothing he knew could endure such an attack. A cold, empty feeling swallowed him whole.
The scovillain closed its mouths, ceasing the flamethrower and admired its work. A thick cloud of smoke had concealed the very spot it had scorched, and the earth directly below it had been charred black. Only a faint orange glow could be observed within the volume of fume.
The green head of the scovillain swung around to face Felix, gathering up more of seed bombs within its jaw as the red head turned to join its twin, gathering more flame itself.
Felix scowled. He knew he could not avoid the coming attack, and tensed.
As the heads both reared back in preparation for their final blow, a growing intensity of light appeared behind them like the sun. In an instant, an explosion rang out like an eruption, enwrapping the area once more in a blaze of heat and blasting the scovillain across the ground and into a slope of sand that collapsed upon it, burying the monster save for its legs.
It lay still.
Felix breathed hard, glancing towards where the scovillain lay, then towards where the great fireball had come from. The smoke had dissipated, and the orange glow became clearer: it had been Star. There she stood, brows furrowed and equally panting for breath in worry. Her body radiated like a glowing drop of the sun.
"You're…" Felix struggled to say. He raised his arm towards her, eyes focused solely on his friend. Dropping his arm, he raced towards her, much to Star's surprise, then wrapping his arms around her in a hug before pulling back at the sudden burn he felt from her still glowing-hot body. "You're actually alive!" he exclaimed, then blowing on his arms. Even being this close to her, he could feel the scorched air flaring at him.
Star fondly smiled. "Aw, so you do care!" She noticed his confusion buried beneath his joy. "Yes, I am fine. Do not worry about attacks from fire on myself; my kind are among a lucky few to become strengthened by the lick of flame! It does us no harm."
"Well, that would have been good to know before I thought you were a pile of ash." He turned around, pointing towards the earlier slope. "Now let's go!"
Racing up the dune, the two darted past the exposed and low treetops across the sand, towards a break ahead. No matter how quick they ran, nor how sharp they turned, the desert did not slip from underneath their small forms.
Breaking past the overgrowth into the open desert air, they were once more battered with the blight of sandstorm, reaffirming Felix's fondness for his new wear that shielded him from the slicing winds. Taking a moment to stand upon a rising dune, he cupped his hands around his eyes and scanned the area for the wolf through the pummeling storm.
Star kept buckling at his side, still flinching from every peck of sand sailing through the air. "Do you see him?" Her glow had diminished quickly over their jaunt, returning to her usual red self.
"No, not yet," Felix replied. "He can't have gone far. Monsters like him are far too large for this kind of terrain. The sand will give under him and slow him down."
As he scoured the turbulent desert, a guttural roar thundered through the air, echoing across the area and forcing himself and Star to tense from the sudden cry. The earth shook, and layers of sand on the dune peeled away as the ground trembled. After a moment of relative silence against the howling desert storm, Felix and Star warily looked at each other.
"That was quite the roar! Just what exactly was that?" Star asked.
Felix grunted, a lingering dread running through him. He knew very well what it could be. But the mission was more important. "Nothing we should worry about." As he spoke to her, he noticed a faint figure stumbling through the dunes in the distance behind her. "Wait a minute, that's him there!"
Star craned her head around, spotting Cobb further off as well. Together, they bolted across rising and falling banks and drift towards the wolf, quickly gaining on him as he fought against the failing ground beneath him. "Cease at once!" Star shouted.
Cobb whipped around, spotting them. He began shouting something in anger, a crooked frown frantically cursing, but nothing could be heard through the sandstorm. He refocused forward, redoubling his futile efforts to slog across the desert.
"We've got him now," Felix cheered as they got even nearer. "Star, hit him with a-" a plume of fire crashed in front of them, forcing them to stumble to a stop. Ahead, Cobb himself seemed to halt as explosions from green glowing seeds detonated themselves in sequence after flying through the air at him.
From the shroud of the storm to both their sides, the scovillain staggered into view from the dunes. Its body and lower portions of its neck were now tinged ash black, but the new grave wounds had not slowed it down in its hunt. Rearing its heads back, it roared, shooting pillars of fire and beams of energy into the air in a display of defiance.
"Again!? We don't have time for this!" Felix shouted. He reached into his satchel, digging for any useful items. "Star, first we need to-"
The dunes quaked once more, fiercer than any time before. As the sand beneath their feet rolled away into the waysides around them, a monstrous roar pierced everyone's ears with its intensity and command. Felix, Star, and Cobb had all cowered down and covered their ears, whilst the scovillain seemed to flinch. The ground trembled in terror as a giant dune rose to the opposite side of them all.
The sand upon the hill tumbled away, revealing thick, brown and black skin. Many holes were dotted across its massive body, each pouring out torrents of sand into the air. Its jaw was enormous: larger enough to swallow any of them whole with room to spare. Its snout was wide, its eyes blood-red.
A hippowdon. One that was as large as a house. And with none of the intrinsic welcome or invitation that might be offered.
Felix stumbled back and fell to the ground in shock at the beast. Star stood her ground, not budging an inch. Around them, Cobb seemed to take a step away whilst keeping an eye on the gigantic threat. Only the scovillain seemed to take a foolhardy step closer, fangs bared.
"What the-?! That's a titan!" Felix yelled as he got back to his feet.
The scovillain pulled its heads back and fired a tower of flame and a solar beam at the titan hippowdon, striking the beast's thick hide in a ferocious explosion of the elements, scattering sand into the air.
From the blinding shroud, the hippowdon walked forward, unscathed by the attack.
It roared once again, branding its many crushing teeth. At the beast's beckoning, many of the sunken dunes began sifting, slowly churning in many circles around the group, then turning faster and faster until whirlpools of the desert had formed, threatening to swallow any of them whole in their pull. Not content, the hippowdon shifted its monstrous body into the sand, shaking until it had buried itself wholly, receding below the desert's surface until no trace of it could be seen.
Felix's heart beated faster. As he swung his head around, he could only see the many sand tombs, Cobb, and the scovillain around himself. Nowhere to retreat. Everywhere to risk his life. "Forget Cobb! We need to leave!" He dug back into the satchel, searching desperately for something big, smooth, and round.
Star nodded. Turning her attention away from him, her eyes shot open. "Felix! Watch out!" She thrusted her head into his stomach, knocking them both to the ground as a luminescent energy ball flew over their heads and crashed into the sea of sand.
Felix let out a tense breath as he watched the plume of sand fall back to the earth, thankful to have been spared the blow. "Good instinct," he remarked. Feeling the cold sphere, he pulled out the escape orb Willow had given him some nights ago. "Alright," he began, "get us out here!" His command elicited no response from the silver device. He began furiously shaking the orb. "Come on, work!"
"An escape orb?" Star asked. "A marvelous idea perhaps, but not so much here! We are in no dungeon! It will not work here! These baubles are wholly different from a dungeon!"
"What?" Felix shouted back. "I don't care about the rest! This thing won't work here?"
"I am afraid so!" A bright flash of light briefly shone on Star's face, causing her to wince fiercely.
Back behind Felix, the scovillain's red head wailed with its eyes shut, having looked at Cobb as he flashed. as the green head swung focused intently on the both of them. Cobb who had backed away towards a dead end of sand tombs swirling behind him.
The green head snarled and began charging towards Felix and Star with the red head still flailing behind. Felix reached for the handle of his broken shovel, pushing himself off the sand alongside Star, who began creating an ember within her mouth. The ground beneath them began quaking vigorously, forcing all to stumble to their knees. Rising from the sea, the hippowdon's red eyes peered out towards them, drawling closer as it swam through the dunes with ease.
In a sudden burst of speed, the alpha lunged at Cobb with its jaw in full span, closing the fair distance between the two in seconds. Not sparing a moment, Cobb had once more covered his eyes and flashed his mane in brilliant light, stunning the creature as it bellowed in surprise as Cobb quickly hid behind a mound of sand.
Averting its attention away from the lycanroc, the hippowdon leered down the scovillain, as well as Felix and Star. Propping its impossibly large maw open once more, it charged at them while shouting a terrible roar.
"It's coming right for us!" Felix shouted as he hurried off the ground. "Scatter! Get out of the way!" Heeding his command, Star had gotten up and quickly dashed away from the hippowdon's charge as it snapped at the scovillain in front of them, but missed, instead continuing onward towards Felix as he ran.
"Felix! Don't stop running! It's after you!" Star followed her warning with several shots of fire against the beast's hide, which ineffectively smoldered against its thick protection, not staggering its progress in the slightest.
The titan pried its mouth back open, revealing the black abyss that threatened to swallow Felix whole as it tore through the sand after him, quickly gaining on him. In one final effort to save himself, he thrusted his hand into his satchel and pulled out one of the smoke bombs he had fashioned last night, and hurled it at Star's feet as she watched the scene in alarm. The small pouch's loosely-tied neck burst open as it made contact with the ground, throwing up a fine cloud of smoke around Star, completely hiding her within the shroud. Running towards the veil, Felix threw himself inside and covered his head with his hands as he lay prone on the ground, feeling the earth tremble like an earthquake as the roaring beast only just missed them.
As he laid there, eyes shut tight amidst the cloud, he heard the alpha roar once more, followed by the defiant cry of the scovillain against it. A massive, bone-crunching snap popped in the air, then the sounds of a great force plunging back into the earth, churning the sands until it was quiet once more.
After a few moments, Felix opened his eyes. He could see Star laying down in front of him, her eyes shut as well, though her ears remained perked and alert. The cloud of smoke around them had somewhat vanished, allowing him just enough sight to see that the dunes had returned to rest once more, yielding in their swirl. The sandstorm was almost calming, thick as it may be.
The scovillain could not be seen anywhere.
Felix reached out to Star's shoulder, tapping it twice. "Hey," he whispered. "I think it's gone."
Star pried open her eyes, peering towards him. "So we are safe?"
Before Felix could respond, a great force slammed into his back and pinned him to the ground. No matter how much he wriggled to free himself, he could not get himself loose. In the same moment, Star had been startled and began to thrust herself up, but a claw with red fur lurched forward from beyond his vision, clasping around Star's jaw and forcing it shut as she too was then pinned to the ground.
He turned his head to look over his shoulder. Standing over him, with their foot pressed on his back, was Cobb. The lycanroc's face was furious, a wicked grimace displaying white fangs pointed at them. Looking around, he saw his shovel close by. Reaching for it, his arm came up short by an inch, and he could not muster the last bit of stretch he needed to grab its broken handle. Star was still pinned to the sand, wisps of smoke pouring from the corners of her held mouth as she squirmed to free herself.
"What are you doing here?!" Felix shouted. "You trying to get Willow to snap you in half?!"
The claws on Cobb's foot dug into Felix's back, making his flinch. "Shut it!" Cobb barked. Cobb raised his head, looking around the sandstorm and desert. "Willow!" he cried out. "You've never let things get this close with the cur here before!" He raised Star's head and slammed it back into the ground, earning muffled yelp peeped from Star. "I couldn't get within fifty feet of her before without you showing up! But now, you let her nearly become fodder for the desert!? Show yourself, coward! Show me you're still here!"
A moment passed as Cobb waited, and the two squirmed to free themselves from under him. Nothing moved through the storm.
Cobb gently lowered his head down, staring at Felix and Star as they leered back. His expression was plain. But once more precious seconds passed, his many fangs were beginning to be shown one-by-one, outlined in a growing grin.
They struggled harder than before to free themselves, both failing.
With a sneer, Cobb turned his hand on Star's smoking mouth up, forcing her to expose her throat as she writhed to free herself. He raised a claw into the air.
From the sandstorm, a small, silver bug lunged out and clasped itself onto Cobb's low face as it began emitting green wisps that whipped at the lycanroc, making him howl in surprise. Cobb's grip and footing failed, and in an instant, Felix reached out and grabbed his shovel, twisting his body to throw the spade into Cobb's gut as Star shot a powerful burst of flame in the same vein, exploding against him.
Wimpod released his grip and landed beside Felix and Star as they stood back up, eyeing down Cobb as he stumbled back with a vicious sneer. Cobb's gut was scorched black, and a cut had made itself apparent as some blood began trickling out in a line where Felix had thrown his shovel. Using his hand, Cobb softly traced his wounds with a finger, picking up some of his blood on the tip of his claw as he held it before himself. Looking back to Felix and Star, his frown once again crept into a smile. "Not today, but soon." With one last chuckle, he covered his eyes and flashed the stones in his mane once more, blinding the party as a loud crunch rose from the earth.
Blinking out the dark afterimage, all that they could see in front of themselves were several jagged stone's edges, blocking them from where Cobb was like a wall.
Felix ran around one side, picking up his shovel as he passed, while Star went around the other way. Cobb was not there on the opposite side. All that could be seen were his footprints, trekking out further into the ferocious sandstorm of the desert, which were already quickly being covered up by the storm.
Felix was breathing hard as he stared at the trail, which had nearly vanished by now. At his side, Star slowly walked near him, equally exhausted, with a similar forlorn look.
"This is not good…" she muttered.
"Star! Other guy!" a voice called out behind them. Turning around, they saw Jeral and Fawna running through the dunes towards them, both wincing as they fought to keep the winded sand out of their eyes. "Miss Sunshine! Her partner!" Jeral exclaimed happily as he reached them. "Glad to see you two are still kickin'! Where's this big bad wolf?"
Star looked at him feebly, then dropped her gaze to the floor somberly.
"He's out of the picture for now," Felix replied in Star's stead. "What are you two doing here?"
"A wimpod had hurried to us, and told us we needed to come as quickly as we could to help you two," Fawna explained. "We left your friend at the caravan. The wimpod said the situation was urgent, and so we hurried here as fast as we could."
"A wimpod?" Felix repeated. He raised his hand and pointed. "What? You mean this guy?" He looked at where he had been pointing, where Wimpod had been.
Had.
He was not there, and no matter how much he swiveled his head, Felix could not find him.
"Likely the same, if he were here. We followed him here, but he seems to be a few paces quicker than us. Sorry if we were later than you would've liked." Fawna poked her nose into Jeral's side. "We should leave now. I'd hate to think of what might lurk in this desert."
Jeral nodded. "Come on, little guy, Miss Sunshine. We need to leave."
Accepting the invitation, Felix walked beside Jeral as he turned to leave. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Star remaining in place as her gaze remained locked on the ground. Noticing as well, Fawna came to Star's side, whispered some words in her low ears, and nudged her cheek with her nose. Soon, Star raised her head up as Fawna led her out behind Felix and Jeral.
A small, silver bug following in tow.