Chapter Thirty Two – Monslaughter
In the Vien Forest, in the middle of the night, a group of Buneary, Shinx and Wartortle narrowly escaped a deathly blade of air that annihilated the bush the fleeing Pokémon broke through. A large bird-like silhouette chased the Pokémon, continually attempting to strike them down with varying manoeuvres; sometimes the silhouette attempted to strike with its wings, hard as steel and just as bright. At other times, it would attack with a devastating tornado attack. The young Pokémon refused to look back at their pursuer as they fled for their lives.
Oblivious to the midnight mayhem, meanwhile, Keith and Alexa were sound asleep, almost huddled up to one another. They and their Pokémon were content in their slumber.
The bird-like being slammed its target onto the ground with its incredibly sharp talons; the Wartortle lay lifeless, bleeding from all of its exposed body parts, with a talon poking into one of its open eyes. Cornered, the Shinx and the Buneary could only look at the disgusting site as the large bird Pokémon stood on top of its first victim. Neither the Buneary nor the Shinx had the courage to resist the terror of Wartortle's killer. The murderous Pokémon seemed to sparkle a little as it held out its wings, ready for flight.
"PIDGEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"
Keith's eyes opened abruptly. He turned onto his back and rubbed his still dreary eyes. He soon stretched his arms above his head.
"That was weird," he mumbled quietly to himself. He looked towards Alexa, only to find that she wasn't there. Keith would've panicked if he hadn't noticed a note addressed to him on her pillow. He noticed Ryder's absence as well as he took the note and opened it. Buizel hopped over to his partner as Keith began reading the note to himself.
"Keith,
I didn't want to disturb you, but Professor Hastings gave me a mission in the Oblivia region. We'll be there overnight, sadly. I'll miss you, but it's only for 24 hours, so don't miss me too much, okay? I'll call you later tonight.
Love you!
~ Alexa"
Alexa's voice seemed to resonate in Keith's mind as he read her curly, yet neat, handwriting. He smiled; she was courteous in leaving a note behind, and she was kind enough to not disturb his sleep. Even though, he thought, he'd rather that she had woken him up; he could've seen her off. He placed the note on the bedside table as he scrambled out of bed; he couldn't let Alexa's absence shirk his work.
After he got dressed, he and Buizel approached Professor Hastings, but the professor had spotted him first.
"Keith, I'm glad you're here," he said in a cheerless tone of voice. "I need you to be extra careful in patrolling today."
"How come?" Keith asked in puzzlement. His day just started and he was already being cautioned; whatever the matter was, it couldn't have been a very good one.
"We heard from Luana last night, dear," Erma explained. "Her Buneary was assaulted along with other Pokémon while in the Vien Forest."
"Assaulted? But I thought Kincaid was-"
"No, dear, it was a Pokémon that assaulted Luana's Buneary and the forest Pokémon," Erma said quickly.
"Is Buneary okay?" Keith asked with concern.
"She's hurt, but fine," Hastings said plainly. "But the same can't be said for a Wartortle that was found nearby."
"The Wartortle was found dead at the scene," Erma added.
"D-dead?!" Keith gulped; he knew Pokémon were powerful, but he had never heard of a Pokémon having killed another before.
"There was a Shinx along with Luana's Buneary," Erma continued. "Luana took the Shinx, along with her Buneary, to recover at the Vientown Ranger base." Keith was at an utter loss for words; he had a slight hunch that this problem wouldn't fall into his area of expertise.
"The attack happened in the early hours of this morning," Hastings said, snapping Keith out of his train of thought. "Whether or not future attacks will occur in just the night or at any time remains to be seen."
"Is there anything I can do, Professor?" Keith asked rather keenly. Professor Hastings heaved a sigh of regret.
"If I had known about this predicament sooner, I wouldn't have sent Alexa to the Oblivia region... For the moment, Keith, I would just like you to visit Barlow at the Vien Town Ranger base at some point today and get more details from Luana with regards to last night's assault."
"I don't want to sound rude, but why was Alex sent to Oblivia?" Keith asked.
"The region's Area Ranger asked us for assistance; he wanted us to send another Ranger to help him with a mission, so I thought Alexa would be a good choice."
"Are you sure you're not trying to keep us apart on purpose?" Keith asked rudely.
"No, dear, but given her last quest, we mutually agreed that it'd be beneficial for Alexa to spend some time away from Almia," Erma said reassuringly.
"Oh yeah. Her last quest didn't go so well," Keith said sternly as he subtly eyed the nervous Operators, Rhythmi and Linda.
"Precisely. Regardless, take caution wherever you go," Hastings warned. "Whilst there have been no further reports of such assaults as of yet, it doesn't exclude the possibility of the assaults happening in broad daylight."
"I get it," Keith nodded. He ran out of the room, with Buizel in hot pursuit. Rhythmi, after Keith left, looked towards Professor Hastings.
"Do you know if Alexa's forgiven us for that?" she asked nervously.
"Don't involve me in the aftermath of your juvenile antics, Rhythmi," Hastings said sternly.
Buizel stayed close to Keith, anxious about the possibility of an abrupt assault at any given moment. Keith looked down at his petrified partner as he walked.
"Hey, don't get so worked up, buddy," he said gently. "I don't think the Pokémon that killed that Wartortle's gonna come back right now."
"Bui...!" Buizel whimpered.
"It's okay..." Keith tried to reassure his comrade, but he himself was shaken up at the news he had heard from Professor Hastings. Nobody was even sure if the murderous Pokémon had a trainer or not.
The pair soon arrived at Vientown's Ranger base. Keith spotted Luana's Buneary and the wild Shinx on the nearby table, with bandages covering most of their bodies; they almost resembled little Pokémon mummies. Their injuries must have been really severe, Keith thought to himself. Crawford's Budew emitted a sweet aroma from the vines on its head, in an attempt to relax the two terrified Pokémon. Barlow, Luana and Crawford spotted Keith upon his arrival.
"Hi, Keith," Crawford greeted.
"I heard from the professor," Keith said blandly, getting straight to the point.
"I didn't see what had attacked them," Luana said worriedly. "I kept calling out for Buneary and I found her and the Shinx badly wounded...a-and the Wartortle...dead..!"
"It's all right, Luana, you did the right thing coming straight back here," Barlow said comfortingly.
"Did Buneary say anything about the attack?" Keith asked worriedly.
"If she did, I couldn't understand much of what she was saying," Luana stressed. "She was panicky, the poor thing..."
"Who can blame her? She saw a Pokémon being killed right before her very eyes, for crying out loud!"
"Thanks for the reminder, Crawford," Barlow sighed.
"Has there been any other cases like this?" Keith asked.
"Not that I know of," Barlow shrugged. "This is the first one we've heard of."
"You mean this has literally just started?"
"Well I saw a dead Kricketune a couple of days ago," Crawford pondered. "It was weird; poor bloke didn't die of natural causes."
"It had injuries?"
"Yep. But...nothing like Wartortle's."
"Better or worse?"
"Different types," Crawford stated. "Kricketune didn't die because of a bird Pokémon having attacked it. I reported that its cause of death was strangulation."
"Did something constrict it or something?" Keith asked.
"No, the markings on Kricketune's neck looked more like something had clamped its neck," Crawford explained. "It sort of looked like a Gligar's claws, but...it wasn't quite like that."
"So there's more than one murderous Pokémon out there?! And nobody's doing anything about it?!" Keith fumed.
"We would be if we knew where they were coming from," Barlow said remorsefully. "I mean, we don't even know if these Pokémon have a trainer or not. And even if we knew that, we don't know what he, or she, looks like!"
"What a time for Alex to be sent to Oblivia," Keith complained. "If she were here, this would be a piece of cake to solve."
"I agree, but there's nothing we can do about it now," Barlow sighed. "But I'll tell the Professor you stopped by. We'll do whatever we can to solve this problem."
"Okay," Keith nodded.
"There's not really much else that can be done for the moment. I suggest going back to the union and be on standby."
"Thanks, Barlow."
"Oh, and give Alex a bell about this," Crawford added. "She should be in the know."
"Well, yeah, but I'm sure she's busy as it is in Oblivia. I'll wait for her to call me tonight; she said she would in a note she left me."
"Good idea."
"Take care of yourself, Keith. And let us know if you need a hand," Barlow said.
"Will do, thanks," Keith said as he and Buizel made their leave. Budew's beautiful aroma continued to gradually fill the room.
Keith and Buizel felt even more uneasy as they walked through the forest. The news they received from Professor Hastings seemed to be more sinister than they thought. Neither one of them said a word; they just wanted to return to the Ranger Union as soon as they could. The duo suddenly stopped and turned around when they heard the bushes rustling behind them.
"B-bui...!"
"It's okay, i-it's nothing to worry about," Keith said nervously. He cleared his throat. "Let's just keep going."
"Bui...!"
THWAK!
"AAGH!" A red blur rapidly blew across Keith and Buizel, striking them without warning. Keith was hit, but Buizel, being as short as he was, evaded the attack effortlessly. Buizel sighed with relief to see that his partner didn't have a scratch on him; the blur only knocked Keith down and nothing more.
"What was that?!" Keith asked angrily as he stood up. "Urgh, let's just get out of here."
"Bui!" Buizel nodded.
"Hold it," demanded a low and emotionless, yet firm, male voice. Keith and Buizel spotted a young Caucasian male with long black hair, which also covered his right eye, brown eyes, dressed in an overcoat and blue trousers. Buizel spotted a Poké Ball hanging from the boy's neck, but Keith noticed the stranger was shirtless underneath his overcoat, which confused him.
"Who're you?!"
"Who's asking?" the stranger asked.
"Uh...me!" Keith sighed.
"You're one of those Rangers, aren't you?" the stranger asked again, noticing Keith's attire.
"Hey, I'm asking the questions here! Who are you?!"
"If you must know, the name's Cain," Cain sighed. "And you'd better not get in my way."
"Wow, that totally wasn't cliché of you," Keith huffed. "Listen, I've dealt with guys like you before, so, if anything, you had better not get in my way!"
"I doubt that," Cain said arrogantly, despite his emotionless tone.
"You wanna try me?!" Cain ignored him, noticing Buizel standing by Keith's leg.
"Is that yours?" Cain asked.
"What...? Buizel? Yeah, he's my partner, but don't get any ideas! He doesn't battle!" Keith fumed. Cain smirked.
"Doesn't matter; it just makes it more entertaining."
"What're you-"
GRAB!
"G'aah!" A large Seviper quickly, and somewhat tightly, wrapped its body around Keith, restricting his movement. Cain took the Poké Ball from his neck.
"BUI!" Buizel panicked upon seeing his bound partner and raced to help him.
THUMP!
"BUI!" Buizel yelped in pain as he felt a large talon slamming down on his back. Buizel managed to look up up the Pokémon that slammed him to the ground; a large one-eyed gold and brown Pidgeot with a fair amount of old battle scars on its body.
"Buizel!" Keith cried. "Leave him alone!"
"Once Pidgeot has his eye on his target...he won't let go until he's seen enough blood," Cain said heartlessly.
"W-what..?! Y-you mean...?!"
"Heard about the Wartortle then?" Cain asked jokingly.
"That was you?!" Keith asked with complete and utter fury. "What kind of a monster are you?! You heartless bast—AAAAGH!" Seviper tightened his grip on Keith, preventing him from spewing such profanity.
"I don't know how many of you there are here, and I don't care. You won't get in my way because my Pokémon won't hesitate to fight any Ranger's partner Pokémon that gets in their path." Keith glared at Cain.
"If my partner were here, she'd give your Pokémon a run for their money..!" he threatened breathlessly.
"You have a girlfriend? You don't look like the type to fall for the opposite sex," Cain scoffed.
"Like you can talk..!"
"I've no interest in girls, to be honest. Speaking of which, if she gets in my way, I'll do to her Pokémon what my Pidgeot will do to your Buizel."
"I doubt that...!"
"Is that what you think? Pidgeot?"
"Pidgeot...!" Pidgeot spread his wings as he subtly tightened his grip on Buizel's body.
FWOO!
Buizel cried out in distress as Pidgeot soared into the air. Cain and Keith watched as the golden bird tossed Buizel out of his grasp and continuously struck the helpless weasel. Pidgeot's attacks were so fast, Pidgeot could barely be seen at all.
"BUIZEL!" Keith cried. Blood could be seen with almost every strike; Buizel was getting hurt critically. Keith faced Cain in utter horror. "You don't even care about what you're allowing your Pokémon to do?!"
"If a Pokémon can't fight back, it's weak," Cain said simply. "And that Pokémon in question deserves to die." No matter how much Keith struggled in his scaly binds, he wasn't going to break free any time soon, much to his dismay.
"You don't deserve to call yourself a trainer!"
"And you'd know about Pokémon Trainers?" Cain questioned.
"A-a little; my partner is one! W-well, was...s-she doesn't battle anymore, but still has her Pokémon, so I-I guess that kinda makes her a trainer still...technically..."
"Hah; you don't even know! Pathetic. And she sounds pathetic by the sound of it."
"Don't you DARE talk about Alexa like that!" Keith bellowed angrily. As soon as he finished talking, he was startled; not only had he addressed Alexa by her proper name, which he hadn't done since the day they first met, but he gave her away to Cain, which he felt he shouldn't have done.
"Alexa, huh? That's her name?" Cain pondered. Keith glared at Cain.
"Whatever you're thinking, don't you dare! I won't let you hurt her!"
"Please; you're not even in the position to help yourself," Cain said nastily. Keith growled under his breath as he looked at the Seviper's long body wrapped around his own; as much as he hated to admit it, Cain had a point. He couldn't reach his styler to call Barlow for help, he couldn't do anything to stop Cain's Pidgeot from swatting Buizel around like a toy; he was utterly helpless, thanks to Seviper.
"W-what would you gain from attacking Almia's Pokémon?!" Keith demanded.
"It's not me that gains anything; it's my Pokémon that gain the satisfaction of an entertaining battle."
"You're letting your Pokémon go all out on the wild Pokémon because they can't defeat other trainers' Pokémon!" Keith shouted accusingly.
"Oh, you'd be surprised at how many Pokémon mine have crippled as a result of a 'fair' battle," Cain said casually.
"BUI!" Buizel finally fell to the ground, on his back. Pidgeot slowly descended to the ground and stood over his victim. Buizel was bleeding all over and was barely alive. Keith was devastated at the sight.
"BUIZEL!"
"B-bui...!" Buizel coughed. Buizel's spat out more blood as he coughed; he was dangerously close to death.
"If you get in my way, you'll be planning this Buizel's replacement," Cain threatened. Keith glared at Cain with teary eyes.
"You wouldn't dare!" he exclaimed.
"You wanna bet?" Cain asked. Pidgeot carefully placed his talons on Buizel's neck; firm enough to prevent Buizel from moving, if it were possible, but not enough to choke the already wounded Pokémon.
"No!" Keith cried. "J-just leave him alone! You've made your point!" Keith couldn't fathom why he was giving into Cain; he had no heart, letting his Pokémon kill other Pokémon.
BAM!
"PIDGEOOOT!" A large male Luxray tackled into Pidgeot, which knocked him off of Buizel. Luxray stood over Buizel protectively as he growled at Pidgeot.
"You're the cause, huh?" Sven asked. Keith and Cain looked over at Sven; Keith was surprised, but Cain wasn't bothered.
"Sven!"
"Let him go," Sven demanded simply. "I don't want to make Luxray hurt your Pidgeot." Cain simply looked at Sven, showing no signs of emotion whatsoever. "Well?" Cain took two Poké Balls from his pockets; one recalled his Pidgeot, the other recalled his Seviper. He pocketed the Seviper's Poké Ball, but replaced Pidgeot's Poké Ball on his neck. Freed, Keith instantly ran over to his critically wounded partner and scooped him up in his arms. Cain looked at Keith, showing no concern for Keith's feelings.
"Stay out of my way," he warned once more as he left in a hurry. Sven would've pursued after Cain if he weren't more concerned about Buizel.
"Buizel! Speak to me!" Keith cried sorrowfully. Buizel looked up at Keith weakly; he was so weak he couldn't give his partner one of his usual smiles.
"B-bui..."
"The nearest Ranger base is in Puel Town; we can get Buizel there for immediate medical aid if we leave now!" Sven said quickly. Without hesitation, Keith ran off towards said destination, with Sven and Luxray following close behind.
Keith sat at a table in the Ranger base, both hands on his head and elbows on the table; he could not believe what had happened. Both to him and to Buizel; Buizel could've died because of Pidgeot, he gave away Alexa's identity to another threatening figure...the fact that he addressed her by her proper name, as surprising as it was to him, was the last thing on his mind. Sven carefully approached the distraught Top Ranger.
"Buizel's going to be fine," he said softly as he sat in front of Keith. "I told the Professor what happened; he's trying to work something out with Rand to get Alexa back here." Keith looked at Sven in confusion, with tears in his eyes.
"Who?"
"Rand's the only Ranger in the Oblivia region," Sven explained. "Oblivia is a very peaceful region, so the demand for Pokémon Rangers is very low, which is why Rand's the only one there. Look, Keith, Buizel's going to be fine, try not to worry."
"How can I not?! If you hadn't shown up, he would've died! Like Wartortle and Kricketune!" Keith cried. "Buizel's not cut out for battling like Ryder is..!"
"And if this guy finds Alexa and Ryder once they're back, Ryder won't have any problems putting those Pokémon in their place! I may have only seen a taste of Ryder's power, but, hey, I'm sure Ryder can face them and win!"
"It's not that he can't; I'd rather he didn't have to!" Keith wept.
"Look, why don't we go back to the union once Buizel's rested enough? We can discuss what to do next with Professor Hastings," Sven suggested. Keith wiped his eyes.
"At least we know who he is now...he said his name was Cain..."
"That's a start," Sven smiled.
"...thanks, Sven."
"Don't worry about it; us Rangers look out for one another," Sven said cheerfully. "Then again, you know that already."
"Huh?" Keith looked up at Sven again.
"I noticed how you were prepared to protect Alex when the two of you were on your first mission with me," he said casually. "While it wasn't needed after all, you must've known that Rangers look out for one another."
"That reminds me, when I told Cain about Alex, I...I called her by her real name."
"So?"
"I haven't called her Alexa since we became friends at Ranger school!" Keith exclaimed.
"It's not a big deal," Sven shrugged. "Personally I call her Alexa because I feel like it. Just call her whatever you're comfortable with."
"Uh..."
"Come on, let's get back to the Union. I think Professor Hastings is wondering where we are," Sven chuckled as he stood up from the table.
Later...
"Oh my word...!" Erma gasped as Sven finished explaining everything Keith had told him about what transpired between him and Cain.
"Good news is Buizel's going to be fine; he just needs to rest for the remainder of the day and overnight and he should be good as new," Sven said calmly.
"That is good news," Hastings agreed.
"Any luck in getting Alexa back here?" Sven asked.
"I had Marcus contact her, given Rhytmi and Linda's antics from yesterday. Fortunately, Alexa had finished her mission and will be back with us tomorrow."
"Why not now?" Sven asked.
"Rand insisted that she gets a good night's sleep before she returns," Erma answered. "While Alexa is physically unharmed, the mission was a tiring one for the both of them, and Rand didn't want Alexa to travel back to Almia so soon after an exhausting mission."
"Makes sense," Sven agreed. "Does she know about what happened last night?"
"Alexa told us she'd phone Keith later tonight, so she'll find out from him," Hastings answered. "We told her about last night's events in short terms, but she told us she'll find out from Keith, seeing as we told him what we know. No doubt she'll find out about Buizel's state."
Keith sat on his bed with Buizel fast asleep nearby; Buizel was almost covered in bandages, which covered and protected his wounds from Pidgeot's onslaught. Keith glanced at his sleeping partner with a small green phone held to his ear.
"Y-yeah...he's going to be fine," he said in a sigh. "But, Alex, I-I wish I-... Y-yeah, I guess you're right...but I shouldn't have given you away to him!" Buizel opened one eye and looked at Keith with concern. "Are you sure? I'd rather you didn't have to-... I-I guess that's true... Okay...okay, I'll make sure of that. ...What? ...Thanks, Kitten. Alex? ...I love you. ...Okay, see you tomorrow. ..G'night, Kitten..."
Keith removed the phone from his ear and ended his call. He placed his phone on the bedside table, next to his note from Alexa. He picked up the note again and looked at Alexa's pretty handwriting.
"...Alexa..." he whispered to himself. "..Alex..." He placed the note back down as Buizel went back to sleep. Keith pulled the plush duvet over his body and lay his head on his pillow, near Alexa's pillow, and fell asleep.
Cain looked up at the Chroma Highlands and spotted the sleeping Pokémon; most of the Pokémon were the Carnivine that'd try to attack anyone for the heck of it. Cain's Pidgeot and Seviper stood beside their master, anxiosuly awaiting to taste Carnivine blood. Cain looked at the horizon; it was almost dawn. He smirked.
"Sick 'em."
To be continued...