Bisharp, Samurott, Gothitelle, and Audino
She was knocked to the ground, barely hanging on to awareness. Her opponent, another Bisharp, clenched his fist and pointed his claw-blade upward. Foolish. He thought it was victory, but she wasn't fully out yet. And if he kept being too quick on the call, then he was going to destroy the clan.
After shifting her position, she sprang back onto her feet, attacking him in the side as she did. The Pawniard that had been watching gave calls of shock and admiration. It seemed like she would faint, but the female Bisharp remained determined to continue. "There is danger hanging over us," she repeated, although it was painful to talk. "You're going to lead us all into ruin."
Angered, he slashed his hand blade at her, which she blocked with her own. Sparks flew from the impact. "You've been inciting panic for no reason," he said. "I am going to lead us to domination of the plains." He kicked her to knock her off-balance, then added, "But you will not be among us." Then he slashed at her head, fully defeating her.
The clan of Pawniard had previously followed the female, and most of them had liked her. But on seeing this victory, they quickly changed loyalty. Saluting, various members of the group called out, "Chief! Great victory, Chief. You're the strong one, Chief." They all hoped to be strong someday, and they would follow the strongest Bisharp around.
As the new Chief, he smirked at the young ones. He'd make sure they couldn't challenge his authority as he had done to his predecessor. "Right. Let's go; I have big plans for the clan."
And so they left the female Bisharp unconscious in the middle of the grassy plains. There were any number of scavengers out there who might try to kill her for food, but the clan didn't care. As she had lost, she was weak. Although, some remembered her last minute stand and wondered if she couldn't be strong even though she had lost.
Some distance from the location of the battle, a ripple in the taller grasses started. Another Pokémon was rushing towards her. "That was foolish," he said. "She was right about the danger."
On the northern edge of the grassy plains, there was a wide river that separated them from a forest. On the south bank, there was a meeting of various Pokémon of the plains. They were arguing. "It's not over the plains," a Zebstrika said. "It won't affect us."
"But it's not natural," a Sawsbuck argued. "It's a omen and a very bad one at that. We need to get ready."
"For what?"
"For whatever's going to come from it."
"It's just a light," a Unfezant said. "Why should we worry?"
"It feels like hatred towards the whole world," a Gothitelle spoke up, the first thing she'd said for the whole meeting. "It's a harbinger of doom. If we wait until the danger comes to us, it will already be too late."
"You lot are just trying to scare everybody!" a Whismicott said. "It's just a weird light in the sky, nothing more." A chorus of voices agreed, while others disagreed.
Sighing, the Gothitelle turned away, considered leaving before a fight broke out. The air was tense and anxious. No one was certain what it was, but it had appeared a few nights ago. Off to the northwest after the sun had gone down fully, a strange light would appear in the black night sky. It was an oval ring, something that might appear to be a circle when one was fully under it. It had first appeared as a kind of pink, but was slowly turning red. Sometimes, a shaft of light would appear under it to touch the ground somewhere far away. And it stayed until the light of dawn began to color the sky. No one was certain what it was, but she could feel its dark power even from here.
And then the whole area went quiet. Wondering what could defuse this crowd, she looked back and saw that he had come. Michael the Samurott lived in the river and was the undisputed boss of the water. Droplets remained on the bone sword over his head and the sharp-edged armor on his legs. While he had to shuffle across the land, he still intimidated the plains Pokémon who encountered him on the river shore.
Glaring around at the group, the Samurott effortlessly took control of the meeting. "Your arguing is disrupting us," he said with a slight hint of a growl. "What is all this fuss about?"
Everyone else stepped back, nervous about angering the river lord. The Gothitelle turned back and approached him. Someone had to do it. "Lord Michael, I apologize for them," she said. "This started out as a discussion of the strange red light that has appeared in the northwestern sky, what it means and what we should do about it. Some say that it is an omen and some say that it is not over us, so it will not affect us."
He snorted. "So what is it?" he asked.
"No one in the plains seems to know," she said. She watched how he moved, ready to run if he attacked. Sometimes he was reasonable, but if he was angered enough about the disruption of the river Pokémon, he could do anything.
"Then a group should go out there and find out what it is," he pointed out. "But you land dwellers would rather argue about it endlessly, right? Who among you would dare leave the plains to find out about this light in the sky?"
"I would go," the Gothitelle decided. "I have felt a strong emotion that I think is connected, but I should go confirm it. It is like nothing else I have felt, save for hate."
"Good for you," he said gruffly, like he hadn't expected it. "And the rest of you?"
She looked to the rest there, but it was quiet. Not that it surprised her. Most of them were only concerned about what happened in the plains and keeping up with the political game of power. As they bickered with each other so much, it was surprising that no outsider group had come in and conquered them all to start towns and civilizations, like in other areas.
The Samurott lowered his head, putting his sword closer to the rest of them. "I didn't think so. On the other hand, I need to determine if this thing is a sign of danger to my river. So I am going to the northwest too. You there, girl, come with me. We may as well travel together."
"Thank you, Lord Michael," she said. She really was grateful. While confident in her powers, the strong hate that she felt from the light might affect her as she got closer to its source. Traveling with another would be safer.
When they were out of the crowd enough, the Samurott replied, "You're welcome, but I would prefer to travel with the river as long as we can. There's a branch stream that heads in the right direction, I believe. What's your name?"
"Irene, sir. I shall be fine walking by the waters."
Night had fallen by the time she awoke. The Bisharp felt some aches in her muscles, but surprisingly, that was it. With as badly as she had been beaten, she should still be in pain from the deeper wounds. And they would have abandoned her, so she was lucky to even be alive. Instead of feeling terrible, she felt refreshed and full of energy.
She sat up, wondering what had happened. When she looked to the northeast, she saw it again, that ring of red light. That was something one saw in nightmares and it seemed to get worse every night. And in her dreams since she'd seen it… in her nightmares… it heralded the appearance of powerful demons that would raze the plains, the river, the forest, the mountains, eventually the whole world. The time to take them out would be now, when their powers were weak.
By the rustling of the grass and pattering of feet, she could tell that a bipedal Pokémon was hurrying her way. The Bisharp brought her right arm up. While she could take on a fight now, her blades needed sharpening sometime tonight. From the sound of the paws, it wasn't one of her clan. A foe or friend?
A pink furred Pokémon emerged from the thick grass, curly hairs bouncing along. A damp pouch was in its forepaws. Smiling, he bowed to show that he meant no harm. "Great, you're awake! I went to go fetch some water for you. Here." He passed over the pouch.
For a moment, she looked into his face. He seemed to mean well, so she nodded and took it. "Thank you, stranger. Did you heal me?"
He nodded. "Of course; it is the way of the Audino. I am Colin. Sorry, but I'm not sure of what the plains Pokémon are; I'm just traveling through."
After finishing off the water pouch, she handed it back. "I am one of the Bisharp, Dagger. I am grateful for your help, but I must be going." She started off through the grass.
Colin followed after her. "Are you going to find out what's under the red light in the sky?"
Stopping, she turned and nearly ran into him. Fortunately, he stopped before he collided into her bladed body. "How do you know that?"
He tapped his ears, which were surrounded by the long curly hair. "I overheard you and the other Bisharp in battle. And, I agree. That light means danger for all of us." His expression saddened. "On the winds from the north, I could hear the cries of things not of this world. The closer I get, the better I can hear them, although even from here, it is but a faint sound. But it is the sound of a song of destruction."
"So you agree," Dagger said, touching one hand to her chest. "The light of it gives me nightmares. My clan may have abandoned me, but I will not abandon them. I go to keep this land safe for them."
"May I come with you?" the Audino asked. "I had to see this for myself, but if I get much closer to where I can hear it clearer, it may effect my concentration in battle. But, I can heal, and that would be valuable to you, right?"
"It would." She shifted her right hand blades to a less threatening position, then offered it. "Then we shall go together."
Colin smiled and they shook on it. "Right. We'll find out what we can do."
Irene and Michael moved east by the river. Sometimes other Pokmeon mistook the Gothitelle for being a lone traveler. If her powers didn't scare them off, then Michael's quick strikes with his sword, nearly always knocking out one enemy, would. The whole time, the strange red ring of light was in the sky, sometimes reaching down to the ground, but most times not.
At one time while one group was fleeing, another group of Pokémon came in. But they were different; Irene could tell because they emitted feelings of wanting to speak with them, not fight. She held a hand up to keep the Samurott from attacking the pair that emerged from the grasses. An Audino and a Bisharp. "You seem to be looking for us," the Gothitelle said.
The Bisharp looked wary, but the Audino just waved. "Yes, that's it," he said. "I overheard you a little bit ago."
"He does that a lot," the Bisharp said. She seemed to be uncertain of how. "We were so far away, though."
"You were going to check out the red light in the night sky, like us," the Audino said. "We may as well form a larger group instead of partners, then."
"Good to know not everyone is ignorant," Michael said, in his usual gruff way. "But we'd better not lose time."
It took until the next night, but the four travelers found the site where the ring of light was situation. It hung ominously in the sky, blocking out the stars and casting a hellish aura around the countryside. Now that they were close, they could see that the ring was constantly changing. Symbols inside it shifted and moved in ways that none of them could translate.
The Gothitelle stood in a clear spot under the sky ring, clasping her hands together in front of her neck. The black cones of her body shifted as she swayed, focusing her mind on understanding the mystery. All around Irene, black mists with twinkling star-like dots held in strange patterns. It was like a scrap of the night sky, but not as they knew it.
Nearby, the Audino was concentrating too. His ears twitched often; his body occasionally trembled. While she used her mind, he used his sensitive ears to listen to the spirits of the area. Even before they had starting searching out the truth, Colin had said that this place sounded like both tormentor and tormented. He was clearly stretching his courage to remain under the ring.
While they studied, the other two Pokemon watched for interruptions or enemies. The Bisharp and the Samurott had initially been leery of each other. Michael had seen the Pawniard and Bisharp clan as troublemakers who disrupted the river waters often. Dagger had seen the Samurott as being too territorial, attacking her kin even when they were only near the river. However, both felt that the potential for danger here was too great. They would have to cooperate.
"This is a place where demons were called," Colin said, moving closer to Michael. "It does not sound like the one who called them is here right now, nor are the demons. But power is still being channeled through the ring."
"Seventeen demons of the elements were called," Irene added, sounding worn out as the black mists around her faded. "They will overtake the lands and corrupt them so that their master can rule over all. At the moment, the demons are not fully powered; that is why the ring remains. Now would be the time to defeat them, but we may be the only ones who realize what this danger is."
"We ought to do something about it, then," Colin said. "The three of you will, right? It's the right thing to do. I may not be able to do it on my own, but I will do what's right."
"I would agree if we keep working as a group," Irene said. "We seem to work together well."
On hearing that, the Samurott and Bisharp looked at each other. True, there hadn't been trouble so far. But... Dagger put her right hand on her chest and bowed her head. "I was abandoned by my clan, but I will not abandon them to this danger. Michael, I know our groups have fought before; I am willing to try working with you now."
He looked at her sharply for a while longer, then nodded. "Fine. You've not caused trouble, and these demons would cause far more trouble than any of your kin have caused me. Can we tell where those demons went?"
And thus began the great legend of the Warriors of Light, seeking to destroy the demons which would destroy the world.
…
Samurott Black entry: One swing of the sword incorporated in its armor can fell an opponent. A simple glare from one of them quiets everyone.
Bisharp Black entry: It leads a group of Pawniard. It battles to become the boss, but will be driven from the group if it loses.
Audino White entry: Its auditory sense is astounding. It has a radarlike ability to understand its surroundings through slight sounds.
Gothitelle Black entry: Starry skies thousands of light-years away are visible in the space distorted by their intense psychic power.
Guess what? This is the third year anniversary of the POS project! And to celebrate, I mixed in a bit of Final Fantasy. And here's to another three years (which I kind of need to finish it!).