A Dragon's Tail
Tail 2: Zetarus' Tail – Ambivalence
Tail 2-2: Dustorm Empire
Out of all seven nations, Dustorm Empire, the nation inhabited by ground type and flying type Pokemon, was the biggest nation on the continent of Symmetria. It was a nation located in the western area of Symmetria and spanned to the middle area of Symmetria. It connected to Fireview Kingdom to the north, Republic of Civilight to the northeast, Principality of Leafburg to the east and Theocracy of Venturnome to the south.
Most area of Dustorm Empire was the scorching Dustorm Desert while the western area of this nation was a sand dune called Sandstorm Dune, which was the location of Dustorm City, the capital of Dustorm Empire. Dustorm Empire's eastern area bordered to Republic of Civilight and was also the center point of Symmetria, was a deep valley inhabited by no Pokemon. And the southwestern area of Dustorm Empire was a plateau of the wind, Windsky Plateau.
Dustorm Empire was famous for its fossil fuel and gemstones as there were many sources of valuable gemstones and fossil fuels under the desert. This nation was also famous for its military as it had the biggest army on Symmetria, making it a very stable and powerful nation…
At the Dustorm City, Desert Palace.
"Prince Terrus!"
A Sandshrew in a suit of armor ran up hastily as a Garchomp in a royal armor walked into the main hall of the palace. The Garchomp then stopped and looked at the Sandshrew with strong but also soft eyes.
"What is it, soldier?" The Garchomp asked.
"A…A prisoner has escaped from the Desert Prison!" Sandshrew reported with a shaking voice. "He killed the guards and destroyed the prison!"
"What?!" The Garchomp mumbled. "The Desert Prison has the best security system among the prisons on Symmetria… How could that have happened? And… Not only did he escape, but he also destroyed the prison…"
Terrus looked at the Sandshrew. "…What kind of Pokemon is that prisoner?"
"I…I don't know." The Sandshrew answered. "I…I was in the middle of coming here to report when I saw several beams of green light glowing from beneath Desert Prison, and then the ground crumbled and the prison was destroyed!"
"…Several beams of green light…" The Garchomp mumbled.
"W…What should we do, sir?" Sandshrew asked.
"First, send the soldiers to Desert Prison to check the casualties." Garchomp ordered. "If you find anyone alive, be a guard or a prisoner, try your best to treat their wounds before bringing them back to the Dustorm City. You have no need to chain the prisoners when you bring them here. Also, bring the corpses of all guards back to Dustorm City too. For the corpses of prisoners, gives them a proper burial as you see fit. Also, don't forget to find the Prisoner Roster and check it with the other prisoners at Desert Prison, dead or alive. Now go."
"Understood." Sandshrew bowed at the Garchomp before he left the hall.
"…" The Garchomp became silent as the guard left the hall. Then…
"As expected from Prince Terrus Quakersand the Garchomp! The orders you gave were clear and comprehensive!"
Terrus the Garchomp turned back to the owner of the voice and saw a prehistoric bird-like Pokemon who had just entered the hall. "Oh, it's you, Soryl Hurricloud the Aerodactyl."
"Hi, Prince Terrus." Soryl the Aerodactyl spoke as he approached Terrus. "Still working in a day like this? Why don't you take some rest?"
"I am the prince." Terrus spoke up. "It's the duty of a prince to take care of this empire. I couldn't rest when I still know that the Pokemon of Dustorm Empire are still suffering."
"That's just like you…" Soryl commented. "But don't forget that your Succession Ceremony will be for the next month. You must be ready for this."
"…I wouldn't dare being called the true prince of Dustorm Empire if I couldn't protect my people." Terrus gave a same answer. "No one is safe when there is a prisoner roaming the desert of Dustorm, especially the caravans."
"Hey…" Soryl seemed to remember something. "Speaks of that, aren't your sister and your brother with a caravan from Shadowlost Territory? Aren't you afraid of their…safety?"
"…" Terrus became silent for a bit before speaking up. "Natasha and Largo are strong. They won't get killed easily. I believe in them."
"If you say so…" Soryl said. "But now I am hungry! Prince Terrus, let's go and find something to eat!"
"…If I say no, you would say 'If you don't eat, your body will collapse from lack of energy.', right?" Terrus spoke.
"Right!" Soryl said with a smile on his face.
"Then, let's go." Terrus spoke up and left the hall along with Soryl. "Anyway, Soryl, what should we eat for lunch? How about the usual?"
"WHAT?!" Soryl said. "Come on, Terrus! This world has better things to eat than that!"
"Haha!" Terrus laughed. "I was just kidding!"
"Geez…" Soryl crossed his arms. "That's just like you… You can be serious and joyful at a proper moment… You are really a perfect prince, Terrus."
Meanwhile… In the Dustorm Desert…
In the middle of a scorching Dustorm Desert, a Pokemon in a prisoner garb was walking there alone. He was a Pokemon that looked like a cross between a dragon and a hammerhead shark. His bipedal body was primary dark purple-blue with a red underbelly from its jaw to his middle abdomen. The tip of his snout and lower his red underbelly was yellow. His head seemed like a hammerhead shark with razor-sharp teeth. He had eight spikes on his body; two on both of his arms and two on both of his legs. He had three white talons on his feet while his arms only had a single claw for each. He also had two triangle-shaped fins below both of his arms. He had a dorsal fin with a groove on his back and a tail that looked like a shark tail fin. His pupil were red. Overall, he was a Garchomp.
'Where are you going right now, Zetarus?' Zygarde spoke via the Ring of Balance.
"Shut the fxxk up." Zetarus the Garchomp gave Zygarde a rude answer, making the order Pokemon stopped speaking afterward.
Zetarus then resumed his journey across a desert. Normally, crossing a desert during daytime was difficult and have a high risk of heatstroke, but it was not much problem for Zetarus as he was a ground type Pokemon.
"PHANTTTTT!"
Zetarus stopped as he heard a noise from somewhere around here. It was not long until he found a wild Donphan roaring at him and started attacking him with Rollout!
"…" Zetarus easily dodged the attack. He then countered the Donphan's attack by shooting several bullets from his Raider Pistol at him, but none of his bullets could pierce Donphan's thick armor!
"Damn it!" Zetarus cursed as the Donphan stopped using Rollout and now it was rushing up to him, trying to attack him with its tusk!
"The hell I would let you! GRRRRR!" Zetarus used his paw to grab Donphan's tusks as it came near him. Using his increased strength, he then flipped Donphan's body. This made it fall down on the ground and became vulnerable!
"…Another soul for you, Zygarde." Zetarus mumbled before finishing the battle with a Dragon Claw at Donphan's belly.
Two hours later…
The spot where the Donphan was killed was now left with a pile of bones and a pool of blood as Zetarus resumed his journey.
'Just when I think that you couldn't be more disgusting, mortal.' Zygarde spoke up as Zetarus continued his journey.
"I was a prisoner since the day I was born, what do you think?" Zetarus said and licked his lip. "Too bad I couldn't keep its tasty blood with me…"
'You psychopathic mortal…' Zygarde mumbled.
"Say what you want, Zygarde. I don't understand your words anyway." Zetarus said.
Several Hours later…
Zetarus had walked for several miles already, but his destination was still nowhere to be found. The sun now started to descent from the sky, turning the sky orange.
"…Zygarde, what is that?" Zetarus pointed his claw at a place not too far from where he was. That place seemed like a small forest with abundant trees and a lake!
'That's an oasis. That place was like a paradise for a desert traveler as it was one of a very few places in a desert that has water.' Zygarde answered. 'You should rest there tonight as travelling through a desert during night time is pretty difficult.'
"Stupid." Zetarus spoke up. "I am not afraid of night time… But… Well… Fine."
Zetarus walked up and entered the abundant forest of the oasis. He then walked up to a lake and drank water from it.
'…So, this is what good water tastes like… But blood is better.' Zetarus thought before leaving the lake to find a nice place for sleeping.
When…
"Ah… So refreshing…"
Zetarus turned back and saw another Pokemon swimming in the lake. He quickly hid behind the neartest bushes and continued looking at that Pokemon. It took him not long to realize that the Pokemon that was swimming in the lake was a female Dragalge.
The Dragalge continued swimming for a while before she got out of water, and then another Pokemon appeared, a Zoroark.
"Finished already, Princess Natasha Venomist the Dragalge?" The Zoroark asked with a snide voice.
"Fenrir!" Natasha the Dragalge spoke with a surprised voice as she saw the Zoroark. "I already told you not to call me by my full name!"
"Haha… Why must you be so serious?" Zoroark spoke up. "A while ago you were so carefree... Swimming in that lake…"
"W…WHAT?!" Natasha blushed. "Y…You have been watching me?!"
"Haha! Do you really believe that?" Zoroark laughed. "I was just kidding!"
"That's just like you, Fenrir." Natasha commented. "Let's go. Largo must be tired of waiting for us already…"
"Right…" Zoroark said. "I don't want him to whack my head when he's angry."
Zetarus watched carefully as the Dragalge and the Zoroark left the lake and got to the other side of the oasis. Normally, for an escaping prisoner, Zetarus should avoid other Pokemon especially since he was still in a prisoner garb, but…
"…Princess?" Zetarus mumbled and carefully followed them.
'…What?!'
Zetarus thought as he saw many Pokemon camping on the other side of the oasis. He quickly hid behind bushes again to avoid letting them see him.
"Ah! Sis! Fenrir Jr.!"
Zetarus turned his attention to the one who spoke and saw a Marowak running up to the Dragalge and the Zoroark. This Marowak, however, was different from the one he had seen, as this one had black skin, a black mark on its' skull and the ends of its' bone club had green flames dancing around it..
"Hi there, Largo." Natasha greeted.
"Geez…" Zoroark crossed his arms. "Stop calling me Jr, will you, Prince Largo Boneskull the Alolan Marowak?"
"That won't be possible." Largo the Alolan Marowak spoke up.
"…Just because I have the same name with my mother doesn't mean you should call me Fenrir Illunight Jr. the Zoroark…" Fenrir Jr. the Zoroark crossed his arms and grumbled.
"And yet you keep calling me and sis 'Prince' and 'Princess'." Largo spoke. "Don't forget that you are also the 'prince' of Shadowlost Territory too!"
"…Just because Lord Noctis Shadisas the Absol, the ruler of Shadowlost Territory, doesn't have any descendants doesn't mean that I, the first son of the Heroine of Legend who holds the power of Dark type, will be the next ruler…" Fenrir Jr. said.
"And yet Lord Noctis already announced that you will be the next lord of Shadowlost Territory, and you also came here with us as a representative of Shadowlost Territory for Terrus' Succession Ceremony." Largo said.
"Well…" Fenrir Jr. was about to say something when Natasha spoke up. "Now, now… Both of you have no need to quarrel with each other…"
'Fxxk' Zetarus thought as he heard so many words that he didn't understand.
"Fine." Fenrir Jr. and Largo said. Then another Pokemon appeared and walked up to them. That Pokemon was a Diggersby that was dressed like a merchant.
"Ah! Good evening! Prince Fenrir, Princess Natasha and Prince Largo!" The Diggersby started speaking up. Zetarus could notice that Fenrir Jr. and Largo had a bored face for a second before they changed back to their usual face while Natasha still stayed calm.
"Good evening, Sir." Natasha greeted with a calm voice. "How can we help you?"
"I just came here to thank you for this." The Diggersby said and showed something to all of them. It was two inviting cards. "I thank you for not only giving me an invitation to Prince Terrus' Succession Ceremony, but you also gave me another for my wife back home!"
"It is us who must thank you for letting us come with your caravan." Natasha said.
"That's not a problem!" Diggersby said. "Travelling through a desert is dangerous, especially for a caravan like us! If it wasn't for Prince Terrus, we would have been ambushed by many groups of bandits by now! Long live the Quakersand family!"
'WHAT?!' Zetarus became shocked as he heard the word 'Quakersand'.
"Right…" Natasha said.
"Now I must take my leave. Farewell, milords and milady!" Diggersby said before he left the trio and went back to his tent, which was quite far from the rest of the camp.
"Geezz…" Fenrir Jr. mumbled after the Diggersby left. "I hate really hate that greedy bustard."
"Me too." Largo crossed his arms. "He only took us with him because we ARE royals. 'Just came here to thank you'? More like coming here to flatter us by praising Terrus."
"Nah…" Natasha said. "Both of you don't have to say something like that…"
"Did you see what happened in the last town we passed?" Fenrir Jr. continued speaking. "He treated his underlings like slaves!"
"And… Another invitation card for his wife? More like a MOUNTAIN of gold he would earn from selling that card… As I remember, that bustard doesn't have any wife…" Largo said.
"And the reason his tent is far from the rest of this caravan is because he doesn't want to stay with others he thought was 'lowly'! I wouldn't be surprised if I find that he is actually from Theocracy of Venturnome…" Fenrir said.
"Fenrir… Largo…" Natasha said. "Look, the sun already departed from the sky…"
Natasha was right. Right now the twilight already passed and the night already came. Zetarus could see other Pokemon in this camp started to make a campfire.
"Too bad…" Fenrir Jr. mumbled. "I prefer the time of twilight more than this…"
"We already have seen plenty twilight during our stay in Shadowlost Territory." Largo said. "Wasn't that enough for you?"
"P…Please…" Natasha said as she saw Fenrir Jr. and Largo about to start another quarrel. "L…Let's go and have dinner."
"Fine." Fenrir and Largo said. Then the trio walked up to join another Pokemon at the campfire for dinner.
"…" Zetarus said nothing and silently continued watching everyone have dinner.
After dinner, several Pokemon at the camp, include Fenrir Jr., Natasha and Largo, went back into their tents to get rest. There were still a few Pokemon left outside the camp for the watch. Zetarus then silently walked up to the Diggersby's camp, which was quite far from the rest of the camp. He then saw that there are no guards at the Diggersby's camp!
'…Good.' Zetarus thought and entered the Diggersby's camp…
Several minutes later…
"Do you hear something?" Natasha spoke up as she was about to fall asleep.
"Hm… I think I heard something…" Fenrir Jr. said. He was still awake too.
"ZZZZZZZZZZ" Largo snored.
"Oh…" Fenrir Jr. mumbled. "It must be Largo's snore. I didn't know he already learned the move 'Snore'."
"Then… Good night, Fenrir." Natasha said.
"Good night." Fenrir Jr. said. Then both of them fell asleep.
Meanwhile…
Zetarus silently left Diggersby's tent with a bag in his arms. He then quickly got away from the caravan to the other side of the oasis.
'Let's see…' Zetarus took out the things in the bag. There was a fissure-patterned sleeping bag, a large amount of ration, several bullets, three bottles, a cloth, a black cloak, a silencer, several bags full with PokeCoin, some travelling gadgets which Zetarus didn't know what they are, and, of course, two invitation cards for Prince Terrus' Succession Ceremony.
'You disgusting mortal…' Zygarde spoke up. 'The thing you did in that tent….'
"Come on, Zygarde. Do not forget that I was a prisoner!" Zetarus said and picked one of the travelling gadgets. "Do you know what is this?"
'It's a compass.' Zygarde answered.
"Kom-bass?" Zetarus said.
'…Forget it.' Zygarde said as he saw Zetarus put everything back into the bag. 'I am surprised to see that you know nothing about a pencil and a compass, yet you know about a sleeping bag and a pistol…'
"I sometimes saw a guard sleeping in a sleeping bag back there at Desert Prison." Zetarus answered. "And I always saw those guards carrying a pistol with them too."
'Anyway, you should leave this oasis before they find you…' Zygarde suggested.
"Oh, don't worry about that." Zetarus said. "I know what to do."
The Next Morning…
Zetarus rose up from the ground. He had been sleeping beneath the surface of the earth for a whole night to avoid letting anyone see him. He then walked up to where the caravan was and saw that they were already gone…
'…As I thought…' Zetarus thought. 'When they found the corpse of that Diggersby, they would flee from this oasis as soon as possible because the one who killed that Diggersby may be around here somewhere…'
Zetarus then walked up to the lake and took off his prisoner garb before jumping into the lake. He then enjoyed swimming in the lake for a while before climbing up from the lake. This time, he didn't put his prisoner garb back on his body. Instead, he put on a cloth he mugged from the Diggersby last night. It was a navy vest, a long khaki jacket, a black trousers. He also wore a cowboy hat on head hammerhead too. Despite being the cloth Zetarus mugged from a Diggersby, they all fit him. It seemed like they were the cloth for selling, not the cloth that Diggersby himself wore.
"That's much better…" Zetarus commented on his new look. Then he equipped a silencer to his Raider Pistol and put on a black cloak. After that, he picked 'his' bag and continued his journey…
The Next Day…
In the afternoon of the next day, Zetarus had arrived at a small town in the middle of Dustorm Desert. This will be the first time he got into a settlement…
As Zetarus entered this town, he noticed that no one was suspicious of him despite him being an escaped prisoner. He then got into a store to buy some things for his journey such as bullets for his pistol with the PokeCoin he mugged from the Diggersby.
As he left the store, the twilight already came. Zetarus then went to this town's tavern to get something to drink.
After ordering a low-quality spirit, Zetarus noticed that several Pokemon who dressed like mercenaries were standing near a board with many posters. He then walked up to the board and saw that those were posters of outlawed Pokemon.
Zetarus carefully looked at the posters. Once he saw that there's no poster with his face, he went back and sat down at the counter. The bartender then served Zetarus the drink he ordered. Zetarus then picked a glass of spirit and started drinking it.
And then…
"Hey! Aren't you a wanted criminal who have just escaped from a prison?!"
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: So many characters made an appear in this tail. We have Terrus the Garchomp, Soryl the Aerodactyl, Natasha the Dragalge, Fenrir Jr. the Zoroark and Largo the Alolan Marowak. Terrus is a prince of Dustorm Empire and Soryl is his friend. Natasha is a princess of Dustorm Empire and Largo is also a prince of Dustorm Empire too. Fenrir Jr., on the other hand, seemed like he is a prince of Shadowlost Territory.
Zetarus did so many disgusting things in this tail… But at least we finally learned that he is, like Terrus, a Garchomp.
And at the end of this tail… It seemed like the next tail will be started with a brawl.
A special thanks to Ridin Valon for helping me with the error correction.