Believe me, I never saw the ending of this Episode coming. And I'm the author. Ah well, two Episodes in a row isn't bad. Especially when they are standard length.

Comments as usual.

Episode Fourty-Three: Cause and Effect

By the time breakfast had arrived, I had doubled the depth of the hole and Alpha had managed to shift the massive dirt pile into one of the corners. I clambered out of the hole and collapsed in a heap.

"Yeesh, digging is more knackering than I thought."

"Well at least all you are doing is moving softer dirt, try chipping away at bricks of you want to know what knackering really is," Alpha laughed.

"I think I'll pass. How are your legs?"

"Better, I can put a little weight on them but walking is still a bit difficult. Why?"

"You're going to need to get down that hole somehow. Looks like I'll end up carrying you," I sighed.

"Whoo, less work for me."

After eating the berries that Pika had found, I told everyone in the tunnel outside of our cage to get clear.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Alpha asked. I thought for a couple of seconds, as I picked up the berries that formed the basis of the entire plan.

"Not a clue, lets find out!" I said, throwing the berry into the air and catching it in my mouth before swallowing it.

It took a few seconds for the spiciness to kick in, the dirt slowing the process down. But when it came, it came good. I barely had time to gasp for breath before the heat became unbearable and I had to let it out. The flame that I blasted forth was white hot, as expected, and right on target too. It shot down the hole and slammed into the rockface.

I could feel the air temperature rising, as I struggled to maintain the blast. But eventually I had to stop in order to catch my breath. Alpha peeked down the hole and laughed.

"The rock is glowing red! Keep going."

Dispite my taste buds wanting me not too continue, I swallowed a second berry and fired another burst of fire. The temperature continued to rise while I pelted the rock with everything I had. When I finally halted the second time, I felt a little ill but I continued.

This time, I downed two berries at once. The sudden internal heatwave threatened to kill me. Obviously, my insides are not fireproof. The resulting wave of fire wasn't white, it was a vivid blue instead. While it pounded the rockface, I was aware of small licks of flame shooting back out of the pit. One landed just before me, and melted the dirt instantly. I was also aware that my tail flame was burning brighter than it ever had before, trying to burn the excess heat from my body.

The flames finally stopped and I panted for oxygen, nearly passing out from the exercion I'd put on my body. The hot air, while refilling my lungs, burned the back of my through almost as much as the spicy aftertaste from the berries did. Suddenly, I heard a gasp from Alpha.

"The rocks are melting completely," he said, watching the molten rock pool from where he stood at the hole's edge.

Suddenly, the pool began to spit out small shots of ignited rock everywhere. Most of the offshoots hit the ceiling but plenty landed around us. I was just out of their range, but Alpha wasn't. Time seemed to slow down as I watched one arc through the air and collide with the back of his head.

The force of the impact knocked Alpha off of his feet. Unfortunatly, he was so close to the hole's edge that he began to slide in. His injured legs unable to stop his decent towards the bubbling rockpool below. I dived forwards, ducking under an offshoot, and managed to grab hold of his tails while trying to find a patch of solid ground.

Slowly, I was sliding towards the pool too, but I latched onto a large rock on the ground and came too a stop. I looked down at Alpha and saw his nose only just above the deadly molten mudbath.

"You okay?" I shouted above the crackling rockpool.

"Oh course I'm okay. My nose is just above certain doom, and my entire body weight is being help up by my tails," came the sarcastic reply from the wounded Vulpix.

I managed to dig in my heels and began to heave backwards. I knew it was hurting Alpha but there was no other way for me to be able to pull him to safer ground. Eventually, his legs managed to grip the floor and he was able to limp clear.

"That bloody hurt," he said, nursing his tails.

"Sorry, maybe next time I'll leave you to die."

I sat down beside him, exausted and still no closer to escaping. Then, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. The spot where Alpha had been struck with the rock offshoot was glowing slightly. The white glow intensified and rapidly spread untill his entire body was glowing.

I had to shield my eyes from the light, it was blinding now.

'What the hell is this?' I asked myself, backing away slightly.

Eventually the light began to fade, and I was able to look at Alpha again. My eyes widened at the sight before me.

"Alpha?" I stammered. He was now twice as big as he was only a minute ago and three more tails had appeared. What was more pectacular, however, was the pure white fur that now covered him.

"Wow, that was one heck of a shock to the system," the new, and hopefully improved, Alpha laughed.