Disclaimer: I own nothing here.

Peacekeepers

Chapter Seventeen - Mistake

Pale, overcast clouds blanketed the sky and hid the sun's exact location, but Steven guessed it was probably directly overhead. It had only been a couple hours since they had departed Kenshin's camp, which meant it was probably close to noon.

He frowned at the map in his hands, resisting the urge for the umpteenth time to reach for his phone that wasn't there, which was normally tucked into one of his vest pockets. Without a compass or even a Pokétch to check the time, it would be difficult to maintain a proper course until the sun's location became more obvious.

Sighing in resignation, he rolled up the map and looked over to Cynthia, who walked beside him but slightly ahead. She forged onward without much concern about direction, her dark ninja clothes swaying with the cold breeze while her still braided hair trailed down her back.

Steven still found himself somewhat puzzled by her sudden aloof behavior and he tried without much success to recall when exactly it had started. Ultimately he gave up contemplating the matter and assumed she was simply feeling uneasy without Aaron around to guide them.

He was grateful the Aura Guardian had insisted they take the overcoats as he resisted the urge to shiver when the wind tugged at his own dark ninja attire; the clothing was comfortable but the material was thin and not the best suited for cold weather. They had both opted to change out of their gifted formal wear before heading out, with their four Pokémon providing an effective mobile changing room.

Steven took a moment to glance around their surroundings. It seemed like in every direction, uninhabited plains stretched on for forever. The short, scrubby grasslands they had been traversing all morning however, suddenly gave way to a huge valley below with tall grass that probably reached their shoulders.

They had been hiking up a gradual incline for a long time, but Cynthia halted abruptly at the crest of the hill and gazed down at the valley with a careful scrutiny. Steven drew beside her and they both looked up when Skarmory and Togekiss called down a warning from their airborne surveillance.

Steven gave the valley a careful look as well, but nothing seemed strange to him; the tall grasses below merely swayed and glistened with the wind. "What do you suppose they're worried about?"

Cynthia shook her head with a frown, her one visible eye still scanning the field. Garchomp and Aggron stepped forward to inspect the situation as well, both growling with unease as they listened to their avian counterparts and sniffed the air with obvious suspicion.

Still, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Steven. After just consulting the map moments ago and guessing that they were still heading north, it was clear to him that they would need to cross the valley. He could see the hills on the other side, although it would probably take them about an hour to traverse the long, thick grasses.

He was momentarily surprised when Aggron and Garchomp seemed to consult each other in a civil conversation before apparently coming to an agreement. Garchomp gave her master a deliberate nudge and then tossed her broad head to the right, indicating they go around the valley instead.

Steven received a similar warning from Aggron, causing him to meet Cynthia's sidelong gaze. "They want us to go around...?"

Steven shook his head to disagree. "That would take three times longer. According to the map, there's a town by the lake landmark that we should be able to reach before nightfall, but only if we hurry."

Cynthia's visible eye widened slightly in response. "An actual town?" The idea of spending the night in proper civilization seemed to spur her into making a decision and she started forward again. "Right, into the scary grass, then."

Steven moved to follow while Garchomp and Aggron both growled their displeasure but nonetheless trailed behind cautiously. Skarmory and Togekiss remained above, circling and watchful.

Without a prompt from their masters, Garchomp automatically took point in order to break trail through the thick grass while Aggron brought up the rear. They both exuded alert, tense postures, causing their Munna passengers to tremble with fright.

Whatever had them on edge was clearly a silent, hidden threat, because Steven could neither see nor hear anything other than the swaying field and the rustle of the wind.

After a few silent moments of trudging through the dense grasses, he was beginning to think their Pokémon had been overreacting. But suddenly Garchomp stopped dead in her tracks and raised her head, sniffing the air suspiciously again. A low, long growl escaped her throat, which oddly enough, Aggron mimicked seconds later.

"That's not good," Cynthia whispered to him and he nodded in turn. They waited, silent and still. Only a whimper or two from the Munna's broke the silence, followed by a strict growl from Garchomp to silence them.

As he had anticipated, the tallest blade of grass reached his shoulders, so Steven could easily look out over the field, which appeared more like a roving ocean of golden-white. Suddenly, a familiar looking blue "blade" appeared above the surface of the "ocean" some twenty feet away.

"Oh no..." Cynthia murmured with dread as she obviously recognized the blade-like fin before he did. "This was a mistake."

"Is that... what I think it is?" Steven hissed in question, noting her stiff nod in his peripheral as he didn't take his eyes off the blue fin. It was closing in, but slowly, almost as if it were waiting for something...

Eyes narrowed in strained concentration, he quickly picked out even more blue tips protruding the surface of the grasses all around, but they were much smaller and harder to see except for their much faster movements. When the fins ceased moving, it was a cold realization that they were suddenly surrounded by a pack of silent, deadly predators.

"Gar," Cynthia said and carefully untied her bound training sword from her waist, knowing any sudden movements would incite a premature attack. "You take the leader." Garchomp hissed her agreement, not taking her yellow eyes off that large, stationary fin.

Steven cautiously readied his own bokken, thinking they wouldn't do much against razor sharp teeth and claws, yet it was still better than blocking an assault with an arm or bare hands.

Wordlessly, Steven eased into a defensive pose and Cynthia did the same. Back to back, with Aggron and Garchomp on either side of them, all they could do was wait for the inevitable attack to come. Skarmory and Togekiss were still circling anxiously high above but were obediently waiting for a signal before taking action.

With an almost painful slowness, that one large fin shifted and a familiar hammer-shaped head emerged from the grassy surface, its golden eyes flashed with surprise and fascination as it zeroed in on Gar.

Gar in turn loosed an aggressive bark, causing the wild Garchomp to raise itself fully before replying with a bark to match. To Steven, it seemed like they were testing each other, but he really wasn't sure. He was much more concerned about the countless other unknown threats surrounding them.

"It has a notch," he heard Cynthia mutter with realization. "Gar, try to stall him and tell the Munnas to take cover between us."

Gar nodded sidelong and grumbled lightly to the Munnas clinging to her flank, not taking her eyes off the male Garchomp as he paced back and forth in front of her impatiently, his gleaming eyes fixated and calculating.

Whimpering and terrified, the three Munnas reluctantly detached from their respective transports and slowly hovered down to huddle together on the ground between the two humans.

Once her charges were out of the way, Gar focused on the male and loosed a sharp growl, as if demanding passage. The male raised his head arrogantly and replied with what seemed like a condescending grunt.

Whatever he said gave Gar pause, though Steven guessed she was still just buying time as Cynthia made slow gestures for Togekiss to land. He hoped Skarmory would follow suit without a direct order from him; they needed all hands on deck and he didn't want to risk drawing undue attention.

Unfortunately, something triggered Aggron's short temper and he suddenly released an indignant snarl at the wild Garchomp. "Aggron, no!" Steven hissed while Gar snapped crossly at the metal beast for butting in.

But the admonition was fruitless; the male Garchomp roared with irritation and tossed his head back and forth, signaling his pack.

A number of things suddenly happened all at once. Six Gabites leaped into view, stamping down the grass as they snapped and yowled viciously at their targets. They had intelligently paired up for each opponent, leaving Gar to their leader.

Togekiss landed with a powerful gust that forced the Gabites back briefly while Skarmory began screeching and circling low overhead, trying to distract their foes.

"Kiss," Cynthia ordered with a terse tone as she pointed to the Munnas. "Guard them until you can get them out of here safely." She readied her bokken as Togekiss moved to obey. If the white avian hadn't been a male he would have been the picture of a mother hen shielding her chicks with her wings.

Idly, Steven smirked despite the dire situation, admiring how very efficient and clear headed his fellow champion was. As soon as the Gabites recovered from the gust and the screeching they all attacked simultaneously, snarling and snapping wildly.

The two that attacked Aggron latched onto his shoulder spikes with their powerful jaws, but his armor was so thick that he didn't seem pained in the least. He grabbed them one at a time and tossed them away like toys.

One of the foes on Cynthia's side kept getting knocked back by Aura Spheres from Togekiss, who was able to assist his master while remaining stationary over the babies. Similarly, Skarmory was dive bombing one on Steven's side with Wing Attacks.

Fending off the one attacking her, Cynthia aimed and struck a blow to its throat, an obvious weak point to any breathing creature. It instantly fell back into the long grass, choking and yelping. Steven quickly noticed the tactic and copied her after parrying a ruthless slash; these ancient, wild ones were not playing around!

Once the initial attack had been rebuffed and the Gabites all momentarily retreated to regroup, Cynthia quickly motioned at her avian. "Go now!"

After quickly gathering the Munnas onto his back, Togekiss shot into the air, leaving a spiraling twister in his wake. Meanwhile, both Garchomps were roaring at each other, posturing as far as Steven could tell.

When the Gabites regrouped for another attack, only four of the six were accounted for; the two with throat injuries were probably still reeling. Steven scowled when he realized their clever strategy. While one distracted Skarmory and another teased Aggron with its superior agility, the other two focused on Cynthia.

One on one, she probably would have been fine, but having two to contend with simultaneously was just unreasonable. Although Steven didn't like the idea of breaking formation and exposing his back to a potential surprise assault, seeing Cynthia get knocked back by a tail was enough to spur him into a split second decision.

Thankfully she hadn't been hit with a tooth or a claw, but the blow staggered her enough that she was vulnerable to the second Gabite's ruthless slash. Steven moved to intercept but misjudged the small dragon's speed. Instead of deflecting the deadly claw with his sword, he took the hit, wincing as he felt his left arm flare with a white hot pain.

"Steven!" Cynthia yelled, sounding frantic at seeing him wounded, yet there had been nothing she could do as everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Steven managed to strike back with a sweeping, horizontal slash of his own, nicking both dragons and causing them to yelp and retreat again. The seconds ticked by and he could feel the blood soaking his sleeve as the dizziness began to set in. "Ngh... Well that's not good." Dropping to one knee, he leaned on his bokken, idly wondering when the next attack would come or how bad his wound was, since it was impossible to see through his two layers of clothing.

Cynthia cringed and hissed when she quickly knelt beside him to try and inspect the damage. "I can't see how bad it is, but you've already lost a lot of blood..." Glancing around grimly and hearing the Gabite yip at each other in preparation for the next attack, she seemed to formulate a new plan in seconds. "Gar, give us some cover!"

As Gar whipped up a sandstorm, Aggron seemed to finally notice his master's condition and fell into a frenzied rage. After erupting into thunderous roaring, his speed and intensity maximized. He slammed into the Gabite that had been taunting him and knocked it out instantly, then he turned on the others, causing them all to scatter in terror.

Steven could do little more than watch in a bewildered daze. The chaos of the churning sand and Aggron's rampage, however, worked to their advantage. "Come on, time to go," Cynthia said as she moved to help him stand. "Can you hold onto Gar's fin? She can get us out of here."

Steven nodded reluctantly as the woman looped his good arm over her shoulders and helped him stagger to Gar. He glanced back at Aggron; the steel biped was tearing up grass and debris and small dragons all at once. "But what about-"

"He'll catch up," Cynthia cut him off, having anticipated his concern. "He's a tank, he'll be fine." She helped him onto Gar's back atop the supply packs, but when he didn't seem capable of holding onto the fin without teetering, Cynthia bit back a curse and loaded up behind him.

Steven was not in any frame of mind to enjoy the feeling of her body pressed against his back, nor her arms braced on either side of his waist in order to keep him secured on Gar's back. His arm throbbed terribly and his vision swam to the point of delirium.

Although the male Garchomp didn't seem particularly bothered by the sandstorm, the low visibility along with Aggron's rampage distracted him enough that he was unable to intercept when Gar launched off the ground like an explosive rocket.

Souring over the huge expanse of the field in a matter of seconds that would have taken them an hour to trek, Gar landed with a skidding thud on a grassy hilltop, just above the border of the dangerous tall grass.

Unfortunately, even though the male Garchomp had been unable to stop their escape, he followed relentlessly and landed near the border, growling darkly with displeasure.

Cynthia quickly dismounted and had to catch Steven when he tried to follow suit but staggered from blood loss. He couldn't even offer a proper apology, as all his energy was focused on staying conscious.

The wild dragon started pacing again, glaring at Gar and barking what sounded like rude insults. "Ok, Gar," Cynthia said as she eased Steven to sit on the ground and then released the supplies from the dragon's back. "It's one on one now." Her own gray glare was dark and brutal. "Go get him."

The far off sounds of Aggron's rampage were suddenly drowned out as Gar snarled and lunged for her opponent. Steven watched the fierce battle ensue through a dull, wavering gaze as Cynthia turned towards him and knelt to tend to his arm.

"That was reckless of you," she chided him and he had to bite back a hiss of pain as she helped him remove his overcoat; every little movement causing a fresh wave of discomfort to shoot through his arm. "But I appreciate the assist."

He nodded slightly in response, not in any mood to engage in an argument or otherwise. He grit his teeth, expecting more pain when Cynthia was forced to rip the sleeve of his new tunic, but she was careful not to bump his injury.

After gently rolling up the remainder of his sleeve she made a troubled noise and he looked to see her grim expression as she inspected his wound. He glanced to see that the gash was roughly a three inch long, horizontal line from bicep to tricep and was still bleeding steadily despite the pressure he had tried to keep on it.

"We don't have enough water to clean this proper- wait," Cynthia started with a frown but then seemed to catch an idea as Togekiss landed nearby with the Munnas on his back. "Kiss! Come here and use Life Dew."

Chirping with concern, the white avian hopped over to obey. With a determined cry, Togekiss caused a shining, emerald teardrop shape of water to materialize in the air before it gracefully fell onto Steven's arm, sending a wondrous soothing feeling throughout his entire body.

Seconds later, not only had the pain subsided, but he looked to see that the bleeding had mostly stopped. His head had also cleared and he no longer felt on the verge of passing out.

"Thank you, Kiss," Cynthia said as she started ripping the clean segments of his torn off sleeve into strips. "Now I can wrap this without it getting infected... hopefully."

As she worked, Steven's attention shifted back to the two feuding Garchomps. The wild one seemed on the defensive with Dragon Breaths, as if he were trying to put some distance between them, but Gar wasn't having it; she kept him backpedaling with repetitive Dragon Claws.

While the two continued to fight, an unusual rumbling started to shake the ground, followed by a furious roar that split the air. Both humans looked on in astonishment as Aggron burst forth from the long grass and barreled straight into the wild Garchomp, surprising everyone, including Gar, who narrowly managed to leap out of the way.

"How did-?" Cynthia's mouth hung open with amazement, unable to finish her question.

"He can move pretty fast when he's angry," Steven explained with a frown. "He'll be practically worthless after this though..."

After his initial charging slam, Aggron continued his unhinged assault; he had apparently routed the entire Gabite pack earlier, since none had followed to help their leader. Not letting the wild Garchomp recover, he grabbed the dragon's tail and threw him over his shoulder and straight into the ground, then slammed him again with his deadly horns.

"Aggron..." Steven sighed dismally, noting how his highly trained Pokémon wasn't even using proper moves anymore but was just mindlessly thrashing his opponent in a mad rage.

Once the wild Garchomp finally managed to get up, he immediately retreated back into the tall grass, limping badly. Aggron didn't pursue but instead started thrashing around aimlessly, aiming Hyper Beams at the sky with his residual rage. "There's just no stopping him when he gets like this..."

Having lost interest in the mindless brawl, Cynthia turned back to focus on wrapping his arm and threw a casual, "Gar, take care of it," over her shoulder.

Gar in turn replied with an incredulous whine, as if to ask, Do I have to do everything? Before promptly moving to obey.

"But he might seriously hurt- Ow!" Steven moved to protest but Cynthia prodded a pressure point in his back, causing him to freeze in a partial kneeling position in response to the temporary pain but also surprise that she would treat a patient so brusquely.

"She'll be fine, now hold still, I'm not done."

"But-" Steven tried to protest again but Cynthia's no-nonsense tone gave him pause.

"Sit. Down." She had been in the middle of fixing a strap and cinched it a little too tight to make her point that he shouldn't have moved.

"Ah- Yes ma'am." Wincing slightly, he sat back down.

He suddenly found himself captivated by her focused expression as she continued to bandage his arm. Something had definitely changed with her overnight. He wondered what the odds were of her answering the question directly... "Cynthia, did I... do something to offend you? I know this whole ordeal was especially trying, but you seem unusually... tense today."

Her visible eye flitted up to to his briefly before returning to her work. She seemed reluctant to reply but eventually offered a simple, entirely unsatisfactory answer. "It's nothing you did, no."

He waited patiently, hoping she would elaborate further, but she never did and he was not one to pry incessantly. "I... see."

"There, done." Cynthia finished cinching the final strap and stood up hastily, as if she couldn't move away from him fast enough. What he would give to know why she was acting so distant all of a sudden... "I think you'll be ok if we keep having Kiss give you Life Dew treatments periodically."

Steven nodded and gingerly donned his tattered overcoat before standing as well.

They were both distracted by loud, explosive-like sounds as Gar sent single, focused Scale Shots at Aggron to both get his attention and knock him down. To Steven's surprise, it worked. After his hind legs buckled out from under him and his chin slammed onto the ground, Aggron let out an exhausted, pained whine as he blinked at his surroundings, utterly bewildered.

"Wow," Steven commented, genuinely impressed. "Gar really did stop him."

"Anger has no place on the battlefield," Cynthia repeated soberly. "Aggron defeated the wild Garchomp so easily because it was caught off guard and was also... distracted by a pretty girl," Cynthia said, giving Gar a mischievous look. "I suspect that he wanted to add Gar to his pack."

Gar in turn whined and moved to sheepishly bury her head in her master's torso before suddenly remembering her small charges. The dragon looked over to Togekiss expectantly, appearing visibly relieved until she apparently did a head count. Her sudden cry of panic made both champions turn to see that only two of the three Munnas were attached to the avian's back.

Togekiss made a startled noise, as if to say, I had all three a minute ago, I swear!

Not bothering to cast blame around, Gar raised her head and started emitting an odd chirp-bark, to which the other two Munnas responded instantly and floated over to latch onto her. If the third was in the area then it would surely respond as well...

"Maybe it's the one that likes Aggron?" Steven ventured as they all started looking around. "I hope it didn't try to approach him while he was raging..."

The notion made Gar even more worried and she pinned Aggron with a pointed glare and a snarl. The metal beast raised his head in response, having not moved an inch from where he had collapsed a good distance away, and glanced around with genuine concern himself.

Wanting to confirm his suspicions, Steven crossed over to his biped Pokémon, noting idly that Skarmory was perched in a tree nearby, seeming completely uninterested in things now that the fighting was over with.

The steel bird also seemed to be pecking distractedly at something blue in his talons; Steven told himself to check on that later, since his particular Skarmory was known for finding random trinkets now and then.

Still laying on his stomach, Aggron hung his head and rumbled out what sounded like an apology, clearly ashamed of himself for losing his temper. Steven simply gave him a reassuring pat. "It's alright, bud. You took care of that entire pack on your own. Without you, things might have gone much worse."

Aggron whined and gave his master an affectionate nudge, careful not to bump the injured arm. "Now let's find this lost Munna, ok?"

Replying with an affirmative noise, the Iron Armor Pokémon forced himself up onto all fours with great, shaky effort. Being unable to support himself upright on his hind legs was a testament to just how weak and drained he was.

Before they could even start looking, an unusually stiff, warm breeze filled the air, followed by a resounding, booming roar. An imposing shadow passed over them, heralding the appearance of a large, brown quadruped as it landed lightly directly in front of Steven and Aggron, causing the latter to growl protectively.

Steven blinked in surprise as he immediately recognized the legendary Pokémon. "An Entei?" His wonderment was short lived, as he quickly realized it had segregated him from Cynthia. Should it prove hostile...

His suspicions were swiftly dashed as the Entei turned its head and released a gentle purr. Seconds later, the lost Munna emerged from the beast's long, flowing, smoky mane. Apparently the baby had fallen off of Togekiss' back at some point, then Entei had found it and kept it safe until all the chaos had died down.

As the tiny Munna hovered over to Garchomp and its siblings, Entei turned its gaze to Steven with an intent, yet gentle stare. Just like with Suicune formerly, its red eyes gleamed with intelligence as it studied him, seeming both curious and perplexed at once.

For some reason, Aggron relaxed beside him and before Steven could move or say anything, the lion-like beast moved like a blur to stand only a few feet away, his red eyes shifting to the man's bandaged arm.

Steven suddenly understood Cynthia's reaction to Suicune, feeling his breath hitch in awe along with an inexplicable urge to place his hand on the great beast's head, heedless to any danger there might be.

Entei in turn, somehow knowing the man's thoughts, closed its eyes and bowed its head slightly. Upon touching the beast's yellow headcrest with his uninjured hand, for a few short seconds, Steven felt his entire reality flash into a strange, inverted void. It was a place without words, where instead, thoughts and feelings flowed into him like a rushing stream.

Entei ended the brief exchange and stepped back, nodding its head as if they had come to some mysterious understanding. It turned abruptly and peered over at Cynthia for a moment before leaping away and disappearing into a cloud of smoke, similarly to how Suicune had departed.

"Well it looks like Entei acknowledged you this time," Cynthia remarked as she crossed over to him. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Something about sacrifice," Steven replied. "But it was like your encounter with Suicune. His thoughts were more like a feeling, than actual words. I think he just respects selfless actions."

"About that," Cynthia said, eyeing his injured arm. "What did we learn today?"

"Steer clear of the tall grass?" He was still a little dazed from his encounter with Entei and his awareness of the woman's sour mood was... lacking, to say the least.

"No." Cynthia gave him a flat look and deadpanned, "Don't use your arms to block deadly attacks."

"I was tasked by Lady Aya to look after you," Steven bantered back. "Therefore I will use whatever means necessary."

Cynthia huffed and stalked away, clearly annoyed at being coddled.

Steven merely watched her go with a smirk. It wasn't like he needed anyone to tell him to protect her in the first place, and he planned to continue doing so regardless of her ire.

AN: If it wasn't painfully obvious, this chapter was highly inspired by Jurassic Park's "long grass" scene. XD Once the idea took root in my head, I could not let it go for anything.

/o/o/o/ Bonus Scene:

Togekiss: (hangs head) Sorry I lost the kid, Gar...

Garchomp: They're all ok, so it's fine.

Aggron: (snoring in a coma)

Togekiss: Still, I wonder when it fell off?

Skarmory: (preening indifferently) Oh, the kid wandered off on its own to help Aggron fight the bad guys.

Gar and Kiss: (outraged) You knew all along!?

Skarmory: (shrug) It's just a Munna...

Garchomp: (looms menacingly) And you're just a highly flammable, metal bird!