Well, the title says it all. 'Nuth said.

Episode Fourty-Six: Shock to the System

As she stepped closer, I backed off. I was too busy fearing for my life that I completely neglected the fact that I could just fireball her and run like hell.

"Crap crap, crap!" I muttered to myself, over and over again as I was backing away.

However, soon I was backed up against one of the few trees that hadn't been blown up by the Hyper Beam or set on fire by a lightning bolt. I was trying to keep calm as Pika came closer and closer. Still muttering 'crap' under my breath, I was hoping that Mew'd come and save me like he did in the cave in.

No such luck though as Pika was only steps away from me by this time.

'Well, at least she hasn't fried me yet,' I thought to myself, in a futile atempt to stop the fear building up.

She stopped right infront of me, glaring me in the eye. I was actually shaking from fear by that point.

"Flame," she muttered, all emotion gone.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to press myself through the wood of the tree behind me and failing dismally.

I'll spare you the details of what she did to me, but it was one thing that neither my brain or my face would forget anytime soon.

"What just happened here?" I asked as she walked away, I was in shock that I was still alive.

"Would you like to see the recording of the event? Or would a detailed verbal description be enough?" Porygon asked.

"No, that won't be needed," I replied, scratching the back of my head.

Squirtle and Scyther stepped out of their hiding places, both visibaly shocked.

"I thought she was going to rip out your internal organs," Squirtle said as he walked up, "I'm upset now. I was looking foward to that and instead I get bugger all except a bit of mushy crap."

"Are all the females Flame knows this tepremental?" Scyther asked.

I didn't even need to think about that question. Both Pika and Nina were more than tempremental.

"Pretty much."

"Or just pretty?" Squirtle asked with a deadpan expression.

"What the hell are you on about?" I asked.

"Never mind."

"Wrong time, wrong dimension," I said, without thinking. I mentaly cursed myself, no one was supposed to know about Mew.

"Did Pika screw up your head too?" Alpha asked, from his place in the treetop.

"Very probably," I replied, trying to cover my tracks.

"You are a bad liar, Flame," came Porygon's reply, "what did you mean?"

"Fine, I had a couple of hallucinations that I'd rather not go into the details of," I said, turning away to avoid any further questions.

"Flame?" Squirtle said from behind me.

"What?"

"You can't keep staring at that tree forever."

"Oh you'd be suprised."

"No I won't. Pika's coming back."

My first instinct was to climb that tree as fast as possible. My second, and wiser, one was to climb it slightly slower so I wouldn't fall off or set it on fire accidentaly. I jumped up next to Alpha as Pika stopped just below me.

"Flame, there is something I don't get. Why did you go back into that cave? You could easily have escaped on your own, so why return?"

The question was a tough one, I wasn't sure of the answer myself.

"Because it seemed the right thing to do. After all, without Alpha and the other's help, I'd never have made it out of the cage I was stuck in."

"So it was returning the favour?" She asked, I could see where she was heading but I stuck to my tale.

"Pretty much."

"The honourable thing? Chivalry? It's something that the stupid Pidgey friend of yours would do. You're both morons!" She cried.

"Normally I'd attack you for insulted both mine and my friends honour, but I understand the stress you are under and will let it slide this time," Scout replied, landing on the branch beside me.

"Scout! How long have you been here?" I asked, glad to see him. Even if only to direct Pika's anger away from myself.

"I heard an explosion and headed over. I got here when Pika had you pinned down against this tree," came the reply. I'm sure he was grinning behind that beak.

"It's not my fault that I thought she was going to kill me," I said, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

"The look on your face after she kissed you, nearly killed me," came the Pidgey's reply.