Ch.53: Fighting as One! Team Ravenfield's Combination Assault!
The second Calder gave permission for the first strike, Griffin wasted no time in taking up his offer, much to his team's dismay. The Grovyle channeled magic through his magic eating sword and swung it at Calder's left. "Exosus Release!" The blade connected and sent out a furious storm of energy that engulfed the Politoed in seconds.
Griffin scowled, waiting for a counterattack. As expected, his Exosus Release proved ineffective as tendrils of water shot from the residual energy and thrusted down on him, though he dodged before they could.
The rest of his team ran into battle, with the Flareon shouting, "What happened to teamwork?!" he scolded angrily.
Griffin merely glared and replied, "When I see an opportunity to strike, I take it."
"Hey hothead, he's a mage!" Tony reprimanded as he coursed electricity through his arms. "Don't be an idiot!"
The smoke of the first attack cleared away, revealing Calder wrapped around in a cloak of spiraling water with tendrils waving out. The Politoed, despite being on the receiving end of a hateful magic blast, smiled calmly through the water. "Hmm…that would have certainly hurt."
Tony smirked and increased his speed with Quick Step. He zipped around the toad to throw off his guard and find an opening. Coating himself in water against a Storm Magic specialist? I'll give him the shock of his lifetime! Tony sped under Calder and swung his electrically charged fist straight at his chin.
The fist grazed the surface of the water cloak, but didn't go through as he intended. Calder's eyes were focused on the Dewott calmly when frost swirled around his cloak and zoomed around Tony's arm. His fist against the water caused ice to travel across his arm suddenly.
Tony gasped and jumped back immediately before it reached his shoulder. This left him open to be grabbed by the ankle via water tendril and tossed into the air. His back slammed into the ceiling and stayed there as the tendrils shot up and coated him with ice.
Tony struggled in his frozen entrapment. "Hey!"
Calder closed his eyes and walked towards the others. Ella and Gwyn narrowed their eyes and made the next charge. Water tendrils slithered for them, but Ella used a psychic pulse to break them apart. Gwyn dashed through the water droplets scattered in the air and slashed at the water cloak with her whip.
The whip, however, was caught in the spinning force of the cloak and managed to throw her forward. A tendril caught her and slammed her into the floor, coating her in ice as well.
"O-O-Ow…" Gwyn stuttered.
Ella dodged a cluster of water tendrils aiming to grab her. "Yikes! I'll skip the deep-freezing treatment!" She wrapped herself in Psychic and floated into the air to get an aerial view of the situation. As far as she was concerned, Calder was playing offensive and defensive strategies against them.
Flint glared and clapped his paws together. "Griffin, don't go running into battle without warning us! I can help, you know!"
Griffin glared. "Just don't get in my way." He rushed back into the fight, throwing his shield first.
Calder commanded a tendril to slap the shield of the way, then strike the approaching Grovyle. The tendril, surprisingly, pierced through Griffin with ease, causing Calder to raise a brow before witnessing the Grovyle shattering before his eyes.
Griffin appeared above Calder and came down with Absolute Zero. He kept his movements silent, yet the mage picked up on his ambush and bounded his wrists and ankles together in a swift motion. Calder smiled over his shoulder. "Hmm…illusionary tricks? The Flareon's doing, I presume."
Griffin growled. "Exosus Release: Maelstrom!" His body charged with violent red magic and prepared to release it when…
"Optero Backsplash." When the magic burst was released, it ended up being soaked into the water cloak like a sponge. The energy spun around Calder with the speed of a turbine before releasing the soaked up magic in a wide range pulse, blasting Griffin into a wall.
Ella flinched at the counter. "Ooh, that's got to hurt." She glared down and focused her mind on the floor, dislodging rock from the floor and commanding it to rise and rain down on the Politoed. However, her attacks were far too simple against an expert mage like Calder and were merely sliced or deflected by his water tendrils.
One wrapped around her waist from out of nowhere and brought her back down to face Calder, much to her shock. Calder smiled gently. "My apologies, miss." He coiled her in the tendril before unraveling and flinging her into Flint unexpectedly, taking the Flareon to the floor with her.
Wes glared and sprinted forward. With his Star Amulet active, he used a Warp Pad to bounce around the room to confuse Calder. However, unlike Tony, Wes was planning to attack from long range.
"Lumios Storm!" Wes fired from behind Calder, but the results ended like Griffin's.
"Optero Backsplash!" His water cloak absorbed the light arrows and illuminated the cloak in light.
Wes narrowed his eyes. How does that spell work? I need to find out! "Terra Slash!" He traced a purple ring around him on the ground, then commanded the stone within the ring to fire at the mage. To his surprise, Calder made no attempt to absorb them and batted them away with tendrils. Hmm…I wonder. "Lumios Storm!" He flipped and fired a second round of light arrows.
He expected another absorption, but Calder instead performed the release part of his Optero Backsplash. The blast wave knocked the second Lumios Storm off their course and collided with Wes.
He spread his legs out and dragged against the ground before stopping. He panted lightly, then glared at the mage. He could absorb Lumios Storm, but not a second time. Can he only soak up one spell at a time? He raised his brow. I'm sure my Lumios Storm would have gave more of a punch, too. The energy must be spread out in the pulse.
Calder smiled at the analytical eyes Wes possessed. That boy has a sharp wit to him.
Tony eventually broke himself off the ceiling, but didn't jump down yet. "Lightning Shot: Lotus Bullet!" He fired the rapid-fire Lightning Shots.
"Optero Backsplash!" The water cloak harmlessly soaked into the magic of the Lightning Shots without any damage.
Wes' eyes widened. "Now!" He kicked off with a Warp Pad and slammed into the cloak with Mystic Burst. The impact pushed Calder back a couple feet, but not enough to stagger him. In fact, before Wes could attempt to flee, tendrils constricted around him and restricted his movements.
Calder prepared for the release of magic, until time stop for all but Flint. The Flareon leapt off the ground and summoned a Guardian arm over his left foreleg. The moment time resumed, he swiped Wes out of the tendrils at blinding speed and avoid the energy release. He used a Blockade Reflector to take the damage wave.
Wes picked himself up and glared. "Thanks, bro."
Calder narrowed his eyes and focused on Flint. The Flareon will be tricky to deal with. Calder clapped his hands together. "Bite of the Ocean!" Sprouting from his water cloak was a massive sea serpent, or a leviathan of sorts, made of water with razor sharp, ice teeth and ice spikes coated around it. It made an immediate charge for Wes and Flint.
Wes returned the save by pushing Flint and himself away from the constructs deadly maw. One bite into the floor left a hazardous gash. It made a sharp turn in the air and set its course back onto them.
Flint summoned both his Guardian's arms and used them to catch the water monster by the maw. He felt the mental strain pounding on him as it tried to shut its sharp teeth on him. "Could use…some help here!" he shouted.
Tony narrowed his eyes on the beast, then kicked off the ceiling. He dove into the leviathan and swam around its midsection before channeling magic between his hands. "Ventusphere!" While there was no air to manipulate, the rotating forces of his magic created a sphere of water instead. He pushed it gently through the monster, then jumped out as it expanded, blowing the monster into droplets.
Calder narrowed one eye, then bounced towards the Dewott while his back was turned. Gwyn, who was at his feet trapped in ice, sent magic through her whip and animated it into its dragon form to slice the ice off. It managed to get one arm loose, which was all she needed.
With no time to spare, she dug into her pocket and threw the first handful of seeds she grabbed. "Accelerated Growth!" The seeds, after hitting the ground, expanded out into a motley cluster of plants.
Calder wrapped water around his arm, which took the shape of a fist, and went for the hit against Tony. Wes and Flint tried to get a word of warning out with shocked expressions, while the Umbreon went for the move to push him out of the way, when Gwyn's plant swarm lassoed Calder from behind and held him in place.
Tony immediately jumped back when he felt the Politoed behind him. The water mage blinked, then chuckled calmly. The plants were merely holding onto his water cloak, resisting the spiraling force it emitted. "Good, good…you look after your friends in a crisis. Quick thinking, young lady."
Gwyn only then realized the water tendrils struck from his back and aimed for her. Her dragon whip broke the last of the ice off, allowing the green Mew to roll away from their piercing flurry. She got to her feet and bolted for cover as she dug through her bag.
Calder faced the other three, then avoided a close-range Lightning Shot from Tony. Water tendrils wrapped around his wrists, but Wes kicked the mage away before he could go any further. Calder struck the ground with the tendrils, suspending himself in the air. He has yet to take any actual damage from the team.
And yet, he continued to smile with such whimsy that it slowly became irritating. "Hmm…still need to work on execution. I take it you haven't been in too many fights fighting one person."
"They have experience!" Calder quickly raised his arm, but it proved pointless as a massive sword of unreal size struck him. Despite his water cloak's defensive capabilities, it didn't do much to stop him flying into a wall. Calder flinched from the launch, but still remained uninjured. He set his eyes on Griffin as he supported Cekvar's Might over his shoulder, sinking his feet into the ground a bit. His eyes glowed with red hot fury. "Let's see how much that little cloak can hold up." Even with the absurd weight pushing down on him, he rushed Calder at a decent burst.
Calder chuckled under his breath. "Hmm…kids these days are just amazing." His water cloak rippled, then produced bubbles from the surface. He held one in his water concealed hand. "With every great defense…comes a great offense. Impulsus Ictus." With a gentle tap of the bubble, it fired at insane speeds and impacted the Grovyle's skin.
How to describe the pain he felt. Similar to when one belly flops onto the surface of water. Stinging pain all over the body. Now imagine that pain condensed into a single point of the body. That's what hit Griffin's shoulder, only worse.
Griffin lost his grip on Cekvar's Might and dropped the massive sword with a loud boom, instinctively grabbing his shoulder to sooth the pain. "Shit!"
More bubbles floated in front of Calder. His friendly smile felt rather unsettling in this situation. "Care for more?" Quick and precise taps, he fired off a wave of the pressurized bubbles.
Griffin intercepted with Pride of Leones and shielded himself from their painful blows. He growled in annoyance. I've taken the flames of their fire mage! I'm actually protecting myself from damn bubbles?!
Calder darted his eyes left and right and spotted Tony and Gwyn coming at him from both sides. He used his tendrils to spring himself in the air, then fire the bubbles down on them. Tony tried to suppress his cries, but Gwyn made no attempt to hide the pain she was feeling.
Her pained cries alerted Flint. "Gwyn!" He ran into action, forgoing rational thought.
"Bro, what happened to planning things out?!" Wes shouted. He groaned and activated Mystic Burst. "Oh forget it! Attack!"
The five members of Team Ravenfield converged on the mage while the sixth, Ella, was taking an indirect approach. She wasn't well versed in the full potential of her psychic arsenal, nor was she as well trained in combat as the others. Sure, she could manage a sword just fine, but against a mage? Yeah, she wasn't taking her chances getting up close and personal.
Instead, she was clearing her mind to enhance her psychic power. If she wanted to match up to her friends' strength, she needed to maximize her current potential. Taking on pirates and shadows didn't prove much against well-versed mages.
Speaking of the pirates, they continued to stay back and observe the fight, with Arid staring the most intensely. The mage utilizes expert control over water. A defense to absorb damage and a critical offense to wear down opponents. Like the raging rapids against the earth.
Julius narrowed his eyes. "Captain, they don't seem to be hurtin' him."
Leigh nodded in agreement. "That cloak of his blocks their attacks. He has the speed and power to match it."
Arid glared. "He's a balanced fighter."
Griffin and Flint lunged at Calder with blade and Guardian fist together and struck the durable water cloak. It held up against the attacks before pushing them away with tendrils. They dodged the icy tips that chased them down, but Tony cut them off with his Razor Shell instead. The Dewott then dashed for the mage and aimed both fists at him.
"Impetus Pressure!"
Calder had to dodge that one given the nature of shockwaves through water. Thankfully, with his fluid mastery of water, his speed within the water cloak was increased because the water moved along with him at his own leisure. This allowed him to perform fast and tricky maneuvers, such as jumping up and off the ceiling and slamming his feet down on Tony.
The Dewott coughed out spit when his back nailed the floor, but composed him and tried to land a kick. Calder, however, caught it in a hand of water and threw the Dewott away.
Tony was caught in Ella's psychic grasp and set down. The Espeon finished enhancing her mind and stared down the Politoed with blazing psychic eyes. "Alright, I'm ready." She took a composed stance, then blasted psychic power through the floor and fired off rubble at high speeds.
Calder's tendrils matched the rubbles' speed and slashed them out of the way. Calder raised his brow, then gasped as Ella then fired a psychic beam his way. He sprung over it and watched it awe as it pierced through the room's wall.
"Hmm…she has quite the talent for combat," he commented to himself. He glanced at her as he freefell back to the ground. "She requires practice, though."
Ella panted lightly, exhausted from the beam. Tony stayed by her side and put his guard up as Calder flew down towards them. Even with his attention set on them, he sensed Wes and Gwyn dashing towards him with sharpened auras.
"Alright Gwyn, stick to the plan!" Wes yelled.
Gwyn nodded. "Right!" She threw down some seeds and sent an Accelerated Growth through them, growing them into full grown cacti. Cacti that was moving on their own. "Fire!" The cacti aimed and fired their needles at Calder.
Calder used two tendrils to catch himself in the air, then used the rest to knock away the needles. He suddenly sensed Wes' speedy movements from all around. He took note of a single Warp Pad within his field of vision before it faded. The Politoed quickly spun around and witness a kick delivered to his head. The water cloak held up as usual, but the impact sent him crashing through the floor.
Gwyn slammed her left hand down and sent out tree roots that wrapped around and piled over Calder. Buds popped from the surface of the roots and sprouted into her delicious blast berries. She raised her hand, shouted, "Explode!" and snapped her fingers.
The berries lit up and detonated on top of Calder. The team took the shock of the blast, pushed back only slightly. Flaming root flew off as well. A tower of smoke rose up from the explosion.
Gwyn stared in awe, then bounced on her feet in triumph. "Yay! I did it!"
Griffin snarled. "Don't celebrate!" Gwyn winced and whined under her breath. "He's not done yet."
Wes glared. "Don't let your guard down. Between the six of us, we can take him."
Flint, however, was naturally feeling nervous. "R-Right…"
They waited for a prompt counterattack as the smoke faded out. There was no point in tricking them into thinking he was downed. Five of them could sense his magic aura. It still held strong. They could practically see the spiraling water cloak laced with magic.
The cloak, through their aura sense, that was breaking apart.
"Spargo Shower: Steam Chamber!" Calder's water cloak blew apart, as did the smoke, and scattered out droplets of water all across the large chamber. The droplets didn't hurt compared to the Impulsus Ictus, but the droplets stung against their fur and skin before converting to steam. The pirates covered themselves as they, too, were hit with the droplets. The chamber quickly filled up with steam until it became foggy and opaque.
Wes leered through the steam, but couldn't make out much of his surroundings. With the closeness of his team, he could still make out their figures and color. He pulled on his collar and panted from the increase in heat. "Damn…it's hard to breathe in here…"
Ella wiped her brow with a cheeky smile. "Heh, I did get my trip to the sauna after all!"
Gwyn, who was wearing a sweater, immediately threw it off over her brown sash and stuffed it in her bag when she felt the sudden heat flashes over her. She wore a simple, hot pink shirt under it. "Too hot!"
Flint stayed close to her and summoned Guardian arms over him. "What are you up to?"
They heard Calder chuckle from various points in the chamber. He was walking around them. "Mastery over water means mastery over its other known forms. Steam and ice."
Tony took a step back, eying his surroundings, then dodged a jet of steam firing from his right. The pressure it gave off was no joke. "Everyone! He's firing through the steam!"
With his warning, the team dodged various steam blasts through the thick steam. Wes closed his eyes and, as he dodged the steam blasts, locked onto Calder's location and fired Mystic Beam. He sensed Calder leaping out of the way and retaliating with another steam blast, this time smashing up the ground and knocking the Umbreon off balance.
Flint spotted Calder and rushed towards him with his Guardian's arms. "Can't protect yourself without your cloak!" His Guardian unleashed its flurry punches.
Calder held his arms up and blocked against the punches. Without his cloak, he indeed lost his primary means of protection. But it was a small sacrifice for his next attack. "Perhaps, but I am a mage of many talents." He puffed out his cheeks, then nailed Flint with a blast of steam that sent him tumbling.
Gwyn ran to his side and helped him up. "Are you okay?"
Flint held his stinging face, but nodded. "Yeah…"
Griffin ran past them with his sword raised. "Don't lose sight of him!"
Calder leaned back and avoided a sword slash from Griffin, then bounced over to the far side of the chamber. He held his hands up. "Well Team Ravenfield, I think we've had enough fog for one day. Perhaps a little shower will cool you off." He clapped his hands.
"Spargo Shower: Heavy Rain!"
The steam lifted and covered the ceiling. Team Ravenfield stared at in anxiously, while Arid glared in anticipation. His gloved index finger twitched slightly, waiting to make his move. Rightfully so, as the steam converted into millions of glowing water droplets, suspended in the air without the effects of gravity. Calder stood in a space where the droplets did not cover the ceiling. He held his hand up, then snapped his fingers.
Like a wave of arrows, the droplets rained down on everyone in the chamber. While Calder remained dry, Team Ravenfield was furiously pelted with raindrops. Sounds silly, except the raindrops nailed at their skin with striking force. The team tried to guard themselves as they endured the onslaught of harmful water. It nicked at their skin hard enough to draw blood.
The Desert Beasts, just as the rainstorm started, immediately went to guard their heads when an unexpected shade appeared over them, along with the halting of the rain. They looked forward and saw their captain with his gauntlet raised, projecting a barrier of condensed sand to safeguard his crew. He remained as stoic as usual.
Back with Team Ravenfield, they repressed their cries of pain from the stinging wave of raindrops. Worst of all, the raindrops, after hitting their target, converted back to steam and rose up to the ceiling as fast as they fell, then the cycle repeated. They struggled to turn their heads and glare at the water mage as he remained as straight-faced as before.
"Hehe…Spargo Shower: Steam Chamber. As long as I keep a constant stream of magic going, this rain shower will eventually whittle you down until you can no longer stand."
Wes felt his right foreleg give out, forcing him to collapse on his stomach as the rain practically sliced at his skin. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep his resolve up. "Don't…Don't give up!"
Ella barely had any concentration to place a protective field over her body. "We're getting swamped!"
Gwyn clenched her eyes shut. "I-I-I think I have an idea! B-B-But I need time!"
Tony, who was fed up with the rainstorm, growled. "You want time? I'll make some! Light Speed!" He erupted with electricity and sped through the rain.
The droplets were must less resistant against him as he sped through the slow-moving shower, then he could feel the weight they carried with then as he ran through. He set his sights on Calder and sprinted at full speed. He flipped over the mage until he was directly above him, inside the safe zone.
He sent the electricity surrounding him into his finger, ending Light Speed. "Lightning Shot!" He fired a straight down beam for the Politoed.
Calder anticipated and dodged the shot, then blocked an axe kick from the speedy Dewott. "Hmm…you're persistent."
He went for an Impulsus Ictus, but Tony dodged the water bubble before it was thrown, then landed on his hands and sprung his extended leg into the toad's gut. Tony smiled with satisfaction as the toad wheezed from the blow. He finally got a solid hit off.
With the Politoed distracted, Gwyn braced her arm against the pelting rain shower and reached down her bag. She maneuvered through her collection of seeds, berries, and equipment before stumbling on the one she was looking for. She pulled out an oak patterned berry, shaped like an egg with a single bushy leaf on top.
"Please work, please work!" She shoved the whole thing into her mouth and munched aggressively before swallowing. She exhaled in exhaustion, hiccupped, then felt a massive spike in her magic aura. The pain against her skin dulled from the increase.
As Calder recovered from Tony's attack, he whipped his head around and saw the massive spike of neon green energy pouring out of the Mew's body. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Hmm…can't have any of that." He stamped his foot down and sent a wave of ice her way.
"Gwyn, look out!" Tony warned.
The ice was moments away from trapping the Mew, until the ground split open. Everyone held their ground as giant, light brown roots shot from the floor and crashed into the ceiling. The steam that was collecting and converting into the heavy rain was dispersed from the failing plants.
Calder stood baffled by the sudden rise of roots that disrupted his spell, then leapt away from Tony's Razor Shells as he glared at the obvious source of the matter.
Rising up and pumping her fists in triumph was Gwyn, who took on yet another transformation. Her long hair took on the appearance of a bunch of leaves while the rest of her body appeared like oak wood. The strangest part, however, was how flexible she suddenly became. This new metamorphosis has change her body structure to be bendable and stretchable, growing wood from her body at ridiculous speed, and even tougher from the looks of it.
"Informis Oak berries, another fine success!" She did a little dance to celebrate. "Go Gwyn, go Gwyn! Ooh, ooh!"
Flint, as he wiped blood off his cheeks and shook off the blistering pain over his body, smiled amusingly at his crush. "Gwyn, save the celebrating for when we get the key."
Their attention was brought back to Calder, who blasted Tony back towards them. Gwyn enlarged her hand and caught the Dewott, setting him down while he held his stomach. He took one of the Impulsus Ictus to the stomach. "Agh…not…letting my…breakfast come back up…"
Griffin glared. "Anyone have any ideas?"
Wes' eyes didn't understand the meaning of rest as they frantically scanned the chamber and their opponent before locking down on the latter. "Griffin, you and I will rush him. Gwyn, give us cover. Flint, Ella, give us support. Tony, hold your food down and keep his fire off us. Break!" The Umbreon sprinted before anyone could say otherwise, with Griffin soon following his lead.
Calder clapped his hands and brought up his water cloak once more. He narrowed his eyes on the Umbreon using Mystic Burst and the Grovyle wielding the Twin Storms. Calder threw his palm out and fired a spiraling cyclone of water at them. Gwyn performed her duty and struck the ground, stretching her roots through the ground, then struck into the water drill and broke it apart.
Griffin spun and crashed into the water cloak with the twister force of Twin Storms. Wes got behind Calder and fired an enhanced Infernius at his back, evaporating most of the water cloak off. Calder kept his ground and fired off more Impulsus Ictus, forcing the two to retreat from their assault.
Ella slammed her paws down and pushed up more ground. She gritted her teeth from the mental strain, holding a bit over her usual limit, before letting out a mighty cry and firing the rock at Calder.
Calder clapped his hands together. "Bite of the Ocean!" He summoned the leviathan and used it to block and destroy the debris before falling apart into regular water.
Flint clapped his paws together as Gwyn sent up a wave of roots for the water mage. Calder slammed his hands down and projected a field of ice that intended to stop the roots. However, the roots vanished into mist the moment both forces touched. The Politoed's eyes widened as the ground behind him broke apart, unable to react in time to the barrage of moldable wood slamming into him. They bound around his limbs and encased him in a cocoon of wood before driving him into the floor.
Flint panted tiredly from the recent illusion. It wasn't every day he had to make an illusion so big and complex. "That won't hold him for long."
Wes, Tony, and Griffin surround where Calder was held and aimed their attacks. "Mystic Beam/Impetus Pressure/Exosus Release!" The three heavy hitters of their team blasted at the trapped Politoed before he was given a chance to escape. The explosion destroyed the roots with its furious vibrations.
The team didn't put their guards down just yet, waiting for a counterattack. Flint let out a small sigh of relief to catch his breath, only to be snatch up by a water tendril from the holes Gwyn made in the ground. He cried out with panic before being slammed into the wall. The tendril wrapped around his neck, though didn't make any action to choke him.
"Flint!" Wes shouted.
More tendrils, with ice coated tips, shot from the ground and aimed for the rest of Team Ravenfield. Griffin used all Exiled Souls daggers and cut through the tendrils with moves similar to capoeira. Tony used his electrified Razor Shells to defend himself, with his speed to back him up. Ella kept herself protected within a psychic bubble. Gwyn extended out a series of roots from both arms and molded them into a barrier to push them back. Wes made a beeline for Flint, who continued to be shoved up against the wall.
Flint tried biting his way to freedom, but it was kind of hard to sever water with his teeth. He saw more tendrils rising up and aiming for Wes as he came to the Flareon's rescue. Wes remained focused on his brother and expertly ran through the tendrils. One got him by the ankle, but he blasted it off with Infernius. Using Mystic Burst, he slammed his foot into the tendril holding Flint up and dispersed it.
Flint collapsed on the ground and panted in relief. "Ugh…thanks…" He glared at the battle in front of him. "He's not giving us many options to attack."
Wes glared. Isn't this the first time we thought as a team before? We've fought multiple enemies together, but never a single opponent who was this strong. Teamwork isn't the issue. We're just not use to fighting like this. "Flint…we're going to need suggestions."
Flint stood up and leered. "Well…I might know a spell we can try."
"You've been studying spells, too?"
Flint closed his eyes and smirked proudly. "Come on, don't belittle me." He resumed glaring. "It's another support spell I've been learning about. Not much else, so…"
"Say no more! Just tell us when you're ready!" Wes rushed back into battle.
Calder bounced backwards as Griffin and Tony chased him down. He dodged their attacks with a focused stare, then caught their weapons. "You'll have to try faster than that, boys."
Tony suddenly sped around the Politoed faster than he could blink. "Never challenge me in speed, old timer!" Tony aimed his fists. "Impetus Pressure!"
Griffin leapt over the toad as he took a vicious shockwave to the back. Calder flinched from the waves rattling his insides. He stamped his foot down and shot up a wall of ice that blocked the waves long enough to escape. However, this left him open for a midair attack with the Infinity Breaker. Calder used his water tendrils to boost himself higher up avoiding the long extension of the polearm. He grabbed it and sent ice up the pole.
Griffin balanced on the end and pulled out Echo Chamber. He ran down Infinity Breaker's pole and banged the tuning fork like weapon five times against it, then slashed at the toad. Calder jumped away and avoided the sound waves. Griffin sent both weapons away and sprung after the water mage.
"Malignitas Force!" He rapidly punched the air, firing shock wave punches.
Calder jumped around the blasts with his calm demeanor unwavering. He stopped and changed directions when Gwyn sent a barrage of roots his way. Tony kept distance between them and used Lightning Shot: Lotus Bullet. His eyes moved around quickly as more of Team Ravenfield converged on him.
He landed in the middle of their gang up and slammed his hands down, rising to the top of a pillar of ice. The team stopped and looked up with fierce glares while the water mage stood tall and proud. "You show great promise, Team Ravenfield. Slowly, but surely, you're understanding the strengths of your allies." He glared. "But are you prepared to take on the challenges that lay out there to defeat you?"
Wes smirked. "I think we can handle it!"
Calder didn't seem convinced. "'I think,' you say?" He shook his head and sighed. "Truly, no words have given off greater false confidence than those." He narrowed his eyes. "It shouldn't be 'I think.' Those words imply possibility. Chance for victory…and failure."
Griffin snarled. "Oh, shut up. You're lucky that's the answer you got. We weren't exactly thrilled to learn we were destined to save the world and OUR actions depended on it."
"And you're not wrong. This is a difficult burden to carry." Calder stared them down. "But knowing that, why the hesitation if you think there's a chance you'll fail? That's not how heroes respond to the call of duty." He closed his eyes. "Randolph and Seraphina spoke highly of your skills in their domains. You have the potential. But your current skill level doesn't attest that." He tilted his head. "It's either you know you'll win or you know you'll fail."
Flint glared and spoke reluctantly, "W-We're trying our best here! We'll get stronger!"
Gwyn nodded. "Yeah! We didn't come this far to give up! We've been through too much to back down! We're not scared!" She looked down with a guilty look and tapped her fingers together. "…well, I'm scared."
Ella shook her head. "A normal feeling, Green." She raised her brow at Calder. "Courage is just tricking the fear inside you."
Calder opened his eyes and glared seriously. "Do you accept your fates?"
Tony smirked. "No, we don't!" Calder looked confused. "Fate says we might die! Well, all I have to say to Fate is 'Get your facts straight! Who do you think we are?!'"
Wes shrugged with an innocent smirk. "Heh…what can we say? We're running into danger. We're crazy."
Arid narrowed his eyes. He's testing their resolve, it seems like. Against this…threat they keep mentioning. He wants to see how far they're willing to go to achieve their goals, even if their lives are at stake.
Ambrosine stared at them with bafflement, her attention wavering towards Flint mostly. Why go so far?
Calder stared them down on top of his pillar with a stoic gaze, silently analyzing their words. His eyes were cold and calculating, before shifting back to their usual, jovial glee. "Hahaha! You six are quite an amusing bunch!"
The team stared at him with blank, perplexed expressions. He's taking this pretty casually.
Calder folded his arms behind his back and sighed. "Oh, how I love me a spot of adventure. Reminds me of the good ol' days." He flashed an adventurous smirk and raised his arms. "Hmm…alright, I guess there's no reason to hold back! What's say we get to the show stopper?! Tell me if this spell rings any familiar tunes!"
He clapped his hands together and, much to their shock, a massive magic circle appeared on the ceiling. The particular arrangement of magic felt similar to what Wes and Griffin faced once in their respective matches.
The Rite of Earth…
The Rite of Fire…
"And now…" they both mouthed.
Calder grinned gleefully and snapped his fingers. "Rite of Water: Domain of Poseidon!" The magic circle poured a ton of water that quickly filled up the chamber, giving Team Ravenfield no time to evade.
The water collided with the Desert Beasts, but Arid quickly compiled all the loose ground around them and trapped himself and his crew in a dome of water, which forced the water out as it formed.
They collapsed in the damp dome and coughed up the little water than inhaled. Indigo stood up and glared. "Isn't that a little much?!"
Arid growled. Rites…the power these magic spells carry is nothing to sneeze at. If unprepared, they will turn lethal. Just how powerful are these mages?
The chamber filled with glowing water. Team Ravenfield wasn't given time to hold their breaths, with Tony as the main exception, and panicked at the prospect of drowning. However, they soon realized they were breathing normally. They looked at each other in confusion.
"Do not worry, friends," Calder's voice echoed through the water, hitting their ears from all angles. "In the Domain of Poseidon, the threat of drowning is nonexistent. That said, you're not safe. You're in my world now. Let's have some fun with that, shall we?"
The team readied themselves and searched for the water mage. They narrowed their eyes cautiously, holding their breaths in anticipation for his next move. They could hear the slight disturbances made through the water. His magic aura was being masked in the water. They couldn't see him or his physical form. What was going on?
Flint swam forward gingerly, keeping a Guardian arm on standby for any surprise attacks. His guard faltered for just a second, leaving him vulnerable to a jet of pressurized water slamming into his gut. Flint coughed out blood that mixed in with the water. He used the Guardian arm to retaliate, but nothing was in front of him.
Gwyn and Tony floated back to back with their guards up, but they were completely blindsided by an invisible force of pressure. Gwyn snarled and whipped her elongated, wooden arm at the attacker, but struck nothing. Tony fired off random Impetus Pressures to catch the invisible attacker off guard, but he couldn't seem to find or hit anything. Suddenly, both felt their heads being grabbed, then slammed into each other, leaving them dazed and vulnerable to a pressurized blast that slammed them into the floor.
Griffin activated Twin Infernos Buster, which steamed from the magical water around him, and torpedoed through the water with the snakehead constructs eating away at the magic in the water. He punched the air around him, leaving no spot untouched. Where is he? Is he blending in with the water? Griffin felt something similar to a tendril wrap around his leg and drag him to the chamber floor. It pushed him down and restrained his movements before he could use his magic tearing spell.
Wes and Ella floated back and tried to assess the situation quickly. He's completely invisible to us. Can't see him or his magic aura. This water's making him an untraceable target. We're sitting ducks out here!
The water mage's movements through the water could still be heard, but they were too muffled and distorted through the water to be properly identified. They were blind to his attacks
Wes spun in the water and fired off Lumios Storm in multiple directions. He adjusted the trajectory before fire to make sure none of his allies were hit, but none seem to be hitting the water mage. Wes stopped spinning for a moment and tried to think of something else, until something wrapped around his neck and dragged him away from Ella.
The Espeon gasped bubbles. Wes! She watched as the Umbreon was pressed against a wall and held in place as he tried to struggle out. Ella swam back while trying to keep her cool. Leaving me for last? That's so uncool!
"Time is ticking, young one," the water mage's voice echoed. "Strike or be captured. You're not getting that key from me so easily. All of you need to operate like a team. Not in pairs or teams of three. You're all a team of six. Six individuals striving for the same end goal. Utilize each other's strengths and you can defeat the enemy!"
Ella clenched her teeth. Oh yeah, because you're making this REAL easy for us! Ella looked around for anyway to spot or subdue Calder. Ugh, this water is driving me nuts! If we could get rid of it, then…or maybe something else.
Ella glared at the surrounding water. Magically laced or not, it was still water.
Ella took a deep breath, then clapped her paws together. This is going to put serious strain on my mind, but I can't float around doing nothing. Her eyes and gem erupted in a blinding teal energy, focusing every ounce of her psychic power into the water.
The team felt their bindings tightened around their limbs, until the invisible tendrils gave out and released them. Before they could sigh in relief, the water started rising up, dropping them on the damp floor. They looked up in confusion, then gasped as the water started condensing around Ella into a massive sphere. More of her psychic energy widened the size of the chamber forcibly to give her more room for the condensed water bubble.
"You're putting a great strain on yourself, miss." Ella gasped out as a powerful strike nailed her side. She nearly lost focus on the water, but she forced herself to keep going. More strikes were delivered in an attempt to falter her concentration. "If you don't stop, you'll seriously hurt yourself!"
Ella clenched her teeth as she further pushed her mind. Her voice echoed through the water via telepathy, though it was rather difficult to pull off. Quit…standing around, you…idiots! Help…me!
Her team was in utter shock by how much she was pushing herself. The keen observers of their team were quick to point out the blood seeping from her nose. She was going beyond her normal capacity just to keep the bubble suspended and to resist Calder's attacks.
Wes glared sharply, then turned to his team. "Alright, that's enough! No more fooling around!" He pointed at Griffin. "Freeze the bubble!" He pointed at Tony. "Get Ella out of there!" He pointed at Flint and Gwyn. "You two, come with me, now!" They followed the Umbreon without utterly a word about his plan.
Griffin and Tony exchanged a nod before the Dewott dove through the bubble and rocketed himself to Ella. Griffin summoned Absolute Zero and stabbed the bubble. A wave of cold energy washed over the surface before converting the water into ice.
Ella felt she was about to faint with the repeated blows to her body. One more hit and she might not be able to hold the bubble up longer. She waited for the expected punch…but it never came. She opened one eye and saw Tony holding his stomach with a fist impression planted against it. He had his hands wrapped around something.
Tony smirked irritably. "Took a bit of a gamble, but I figured out your pattern for attacking, old man!" He clenched tighter on what was presumably Calder's wrist, then threw him towards the icy energy traveling up and freezing the water's surface. He snatched Ella by the waist and dragged her out of the bubble just in time before the ice closed in around them. Ella ceased her psychic hold and drop the massive ice sphere.
Griffin pulled Absolute Zero out, sheathed it, then ran over to Wes, Flint, and Gwyn as they readied themselves. Flint placed a paw on Wes, with a brief glow illuminating under it. "Let's see if this spell works! Do it, bro!"
Wes smirked and, with a Warp Pad, rocketed through the ice, which Griffin quickly sealed off with Absolute Zero. He couldn't see the water mage, so he'll make him come to him. When push comes to shove, we'll stop at nothing to win!
He felt Calder's presence and took a punch to the cheek. "Your friend really hurt herself."
Wes glared. Yeah, she did. She's taking this seriously like the rest of us! He grappled his legs around the Politoed's invisible body.
Calder didn't seem fazed. "Hmm…attempting to hold me still?" While it wasn't known to Wes, the water mage raised a confused brow as the Umbreon smirked at him. "What's with the cheeky smile?"
Flint placed his paw on Tony's back and glowed. "Verto!"
Calder's eyes widened, feeling an odd sensation across his body before appearing outside the frozen sphere of water. He forced Wes' legs off him and dodged the sword swipe from Griffin. "A swapping spell?!"
Flint swapped Wes' position, including Calder's, with Tony's. The Dewott floated suspended in the orb of water and rubbed his hands together. Sparks generated between his hands as he laughed. "Light 'em up!" Without holding back, he sent a massive surge of electricity into the water.
Calder bounced away and formed his water cloak over his body. What are they up to?
Wes and Griffin chased after him, but the Umbreon looked much more confident. "Your fighting style is about keeping distance and using defense! Close quarters combat isn't your specialty without the proper defense, is it?!"
Calder smirked at his intuitive deduction. "Not bad…"
Griffin narrowed his eyes. "Meaning we can't allow you to get any distance."
Calder's eyes widened as the ground behind him burst open. He turned and saw a wooden wall forming and blocking his path, causing him to crash into it. He quickly recovered and avoided Wes and Griffin's attacks. Calder formed a bubble in his hand. "Impulsus Ictus!"
Griffin glared over his shoulder, then faced the incoming attack. "Clades Cutter!" The energy blade around his hands slashed through the attack. Impulsus Ictus impacted him, but the damage was significantly reduced. He kept one Clades Cutter active on his left hand and sprinted at Calder with Endless Regret in his right.
Calder fired off icicles from his water cloak, with water spiraling like a drill around them. Griffin slashed furiously through them, breaking them apart or cutting the damage into nothing. He knelt down and allowed Wes to run up his back and lunge at the water mage.
Calder went for another attack on him, but a large wooden hand sprung from the ground and grabbed tightly on his water cloak, resisting the spiraling force. He took a kick to the head from Wes' Mystic Burst.
The water mage increased the torque on his cloak and shredded the wooden hand off before jumping away. He clapped his hands together. "Bite of the Ocean: Hydra Dance!" The leviathan of water sprung from his cloak, this time with multiple heads. Each head lunged for a member of the team.
Flint, who was tending to Ella while she lay on the ground, fully summoned his Guardian. It stood tall and proud with a sharp glare. "HIYA!" Flint shouted, energizing his Guardian to furiously punch against the water serpent. The force of each punch kept the monster back and completely halted its momentum. The insane speed of each punch broke the monster's head into a puddle.
Gwyn ran around avoiding the serpent's bites, then threw her arm into its open mouth. She expanded the arm until it encompassed the inside and broke it to pieces. She then aimed her moldable arm for the rest of the creature's heads and grabbed them all by the neck. She rooted the mass of wood into the ground before pulling her arm out. "I locked it down!"
One serpent went for the ice sphere and broke it open. Calder took a look, then his eyes widened in shock to see there was no more water inside of it. "Where did all of my rite's water go?"
He felt movement behind him before being grabbed by the nape. "Ventusphere!" shouted the Dewott as he slammed the spiraling wind orb into his back, disrupting the water cloak, and pushing him through the ground. The rocky floor blasted into bit from the pressure.
Tony smirked confidently, then gasped as the rest of his Ventusphere got sucked in before being released out through Optero Backsplash. The shockwave was weak, but it threw Tony in the air.
Before Tony could do anything else, water tendrils grasped his neck and held him up. Calder stood up and wiped his lip with an amused smirk. "What…did you do?"
Tony grabbed at the tendril with one hand while the other sat snugly in his pocket. He smirked cunningly. "Heh…you shouldn't have taken your eyes off me." He pulled something out of his pocket: Wes' Vortex Amulet. "Right before we made the switch, Wes handed this to me. No words had to be spoken afterwards."
Calder was well familiar with the Vortex Amulet. He heard about it being reclaimed from whatever part of the world housed it. He knew exactly what it could do. Which meant… "Hmm…clever move."
Tony aimed the amulet. "Electrified water, waiting to be fired in your face." He saw a tendril forming from the Politoed's side, waiting to snatch it. Tony smirked, then threw the amulet over his shoulder. "Whoops!"
Flint's Guardian snatched the amulet before flying towards Calder. He released Tony and caught the Guardian's arms. He went for the amulet, only for it to be swapped by a piece of debris. "What…?"
The amulet appeared in Flint's paw. He placed a mark on the amulet before swapping Tony with Wes. He aimed it and opened the portal through it, releasing the electrified water towards Calder. He tried to flee, but the Guardian grappled him and lunged itself into the electrified water. Calder gritted his teeth as he felt everything succumb to an agonizing electric shock.
Gwyn smashed her roots through the floor to displace the water into the lower levels of the temple, while putting up a barrier to make the water pour out into the next floor. Her bright, cheery red eyes glowed with excitement. "Now are we winning?!"
Griffin spun his sword and ran. "Not quite yet! Give it everything you got!"
Calder finally worked up the willpower to force himself out of the water and jump into the air. "Spargo Shower: Steam Chamber and Heavy Rain!" His water cloak dispersed and sent down the energetic rains.
"Not this time!" Tony used Ventusphere and threw it up. It created a sucking force that brought all the water into the center of the wind spell. It wasn't perfect, but it provided them a larger space to work with.
Griffin rocketed up, breaking the ground beneath his feet, and shot through the Heavy Rain as it fell and flew into the Ventusphere. He grabbed Calder by the neck before pulling his sword back. "Exosus Release!"
Hmm…this is going to hurt. Calder was blasted straight down with the erratic, blood red magic beam. He bared his teeth while blocking against the attack, but it burned like nothing else he's ever encountered.
Just as the beam ended, it wasn't over. Flint's Guardian and Wes appeared over him and delivered swift strikes to his gut before he could recover. Calder reconstituted his water cloak and grabbed both with his water tendrils.
However, much to his shock, Wes was swapped out for Gwyn in his grasp, who had her finger pressed and aimed at him. "Detonation Wave!" She snapped them and exploded the ground, covering them in a cloud of ash and smog.
Calder was the first to jump out, with his arms burned from the blast. It destroyed his cloak in a near instant. They aren't giving him time to fully reform it. He had to act faster than they could fight.
"Impulsus Ictus!" He fired the flurry of striking bubbles all around.
Flint's Guardian punched through the bubbles with Griffin and Tony running behind. Endless Regret and electrified Razor Shell armed and ready, they sprinted in and slammed their weapons against him.
"Optero Backsplash!" He got a water cloak up in time to repel the magic back at them. This time, Griffin stood his ground and anchored himself down while holding down Tony.
"Blast him!" Griffin growled.
Tony slammed his fists against Calder with a devious grin. "Boom! Impetus Pressure!" The shockwave fired through Calder, forcing blood from his wheezing cough.
Griffin pulled his fist back and threw it against the Politoed. "Malignitas Force!" He furthered the shockwave assault and blasted the toad back.
Calder dragged his fingers into the ground and tried to reactivate his cloak. Faster, faster!
He sensed movement and turned, with Wes appearing with Gwyn in his forelegs. "Inferius!" He fired the white fireball while Gwyn fired spears of wood through it, coating them in the flames.
Calder slammed his hand down and pulled up a thick ice wall to stop them, but Wes used Warp Pad by himself to get around it, then slammed against the toad with Mystic Burst. A giant wooden fist meant the impact and sandwiched him between the attacks.
Ice erupted out and pushed the two away, trapping them partially inside it. He jumped, collected the moisture around him, and fired icicle spears at them. Wes used Magi Effingo and had the clone take the hit while Gwyn sprouted wood from her shoulders to block. They both focused their auras and shattered the ice off, then lunged for the mage.
Calder attempted to blast them with Impulsus Ictus, but Tony appeared behind him with Light Speed and slammed his leg into the toad neck, staggering him midair. Wes and Gwyn threw their punches into the mage's stomach and sent him flying. While falling back to the ground, Gwyn reached for one of her Naturae Fruits.
Calder landed ungracefully, feeling a sharp pain in his legs from all the attacks he had to take. It only grew worse for him as four of Flint's Guardian appeared around him, likely an illusion. They came in for the attack, but Calder blocked them off with a barrier of ice. He leapt out the opening above just before the real Guardian punched its way through.
I knew I was setting myself up for failure like this. Six on one at once rarely goes well.
Calder landed and felt himself out of breath. He went for the water cloak, this time getting it up, but was caught off guard by the vines growing out of the ground. Not just any vines, though. Toxic Hunters. And they seeped through his water cloak before he fully activated it.
He looked around and saw he was surround by the active members of Team Ravenfield, with Ella still laying on the ground recovering from her overload. He narrowed his eyes as they readied their attacks.
Wes, who charged a Mystic Beam in front of him, smirked. "I say our teamwork will get us far."
Gwyn, who was in her Toxic Hunter form, absorbed one of her Blast Berries. "You're really strong, Mr. Calder! Don't think I could've taken you on my own!"
Tony smirked as he shot an orb of lightning up and conjured a storm cloud. "Don't sell yourself short, Green. We're just that strong."
Flint narrowed his eyes while his Guardian cracked its knuckles. "We intend to take the Key of Water from you now."
Griffin pulled Endless Regret back and charged magic through hit. "Let's end this for good!"
Calder knew he was in trouble. With the vines trapping him and the surrounding Pokémon ready to finish him off, he was low on attack options. He could use Optero Backsplash to absorb and release their attacks, but Flint's Guardian might interfere with that plan. However, as Calder watched the team charge their spells, he relaxed his body and smiled warmly.
Heh…if they fight like this, as a team that trusts each other's judgments and skills, I think we have nothing to worry about.
"Mystic Beam!"
"Detonation Wave!"
"Thunder God's Wrath!"
"Exosus Release!"
The four long range spells were fired while Flint's Guardian lunged forward with its fist pulled back. Calder watched with a tranquil smile as the attacks came at him, then closed his eyes to accept them wholeheartedly.
Hmm…I have a good feeling about this team.
The spells collided and exploded into a mix of colors that blew everyone back. After landing its strong punch, Flint's Guardian dispersed into particles. The Desert Beasts felt a brief shockwave hit them, which could have knocked them down if they were paying attention.
"Whoa! That's some blast!" Julius shouted.
Drake narrowed his eyes. "The mage didn't look like he put up any resistance…"
Arid narrowed his eyes seriously as the explosion died down. Ravenfield…
Team Ravenfield stood before the explosion as it calmed, leaving only a tower of smoke in its place. Their bodies were still tense, though. They kept a watchful eye on the smoke, waiting for Calder to counterattack or release their magic back at them. They needed to see him down with their own eyes.
And once the smoke cleared, they were given their satisfaction.
Calder lay in a smoking crater on his stomach. His face was scrunched up, still conscious but too injured to stand. He took too many attacks to continue on. He lay there, defeated.
With this revelation upon them, Team Ravenfield was given permission to collapse to the ground in awe, relief, or exhaustion. Wes, however, turned his attention on Ella and ran over to her. He sat by her side and lifted her up in his forelegs.
"Ella?" he whispered.
The Espeon flinched, then opened her eyes gently. "Huh…?" Her eyes resumed focus and were greeted by the worried ruby eyes of her ex. She smiled lightly with her usual sass added in. "Well…that thunderous explosion means we one, right?"
Wes grinned with a wave of relief going over him. "Yeah…" He then frowned. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard."
Ella smirked weakly. "I'm not letting a bunch of magically gifted treasure hunters upstage me." She ran her foreleg across her nose, then gagged at the blood smear in her fur. "Ugh! My fuuurrrr!" she whined. "I really did overdo it…" She sighed, then smiled brazenly. "Oh well, now I definitely need to go to the spa!"
Wes snickered through his teeth, glad to see she was in her usual spirits. He helped her up, slung her foreleg around his neck, then guided her to the others as they surrounded Calder. In typical Griffin fashion, the Grovyle cautiously had his sword aimed for the downed Politoed with Exosus Release channeled through the magical negating blade.
"Is that really necessary?" Flint asked while rubbing his shoulder blade.
Griffin narrowed his eyes. "Down or not, I want him to say it himself."
Gwyn faced Ella as she and Wes came over. She smiled at her bestie while her form reverted to normal. "Hanging in there, Ella?"
Ella smirked. "Right as rain, I guess. Head's a little iffy." Her gem glowed faintly, making her groan suddenly. "Ugh…okay, not feeling so hot…"
Wes nudged her slightly. "We'll get you some help back on the surface."
They heard Calder shuffling and faced him, with Griffin inching the blade closer. The Politoed slowly sat himself up and let out a deep sigh while massaging his shoulder. "Fighting multiple opponents is nothing new to me. Guess I should have taken the battle more seriously." He chuckled with that same warmth he carried. "You sure gave this old toad a run for his money."
Gwyn tilted her head. "You don't look that old."
"Hmm…you're a sweet girl, young Mew." Calder tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling. "Guess I still have a thing or two to learn myself."
Tony crouched down, resting his arms on his knees. "Look, not to sound disrespectful, but you owe us a little something for our win."
Calder took no offense to his brashness and chuckled in agreement. "I do, don't I?" He scratched his head for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I do." He held his hand out, then snapped his fingers.
Water seeped from the cracks of the floor and swirled around his hand. An above water whirlpool spiraling and dancing in his hand before evaporating, leaving behind the object of their attention: a glass-like, blue key that floated in the toad's hand.
"The Key of Water. You've earned it." He handed it off to Wes, who took in between his paws. The others looked over his shoulder in awe at the blue key. It shined like the ocean when the sun was at its highest.
Wes felt the corners of his mouth stretch into an excited grin. "The third key…another step closer."
Gwyn squealed gleefully. "We did it, we did it! Our first key earned as a team! Group hug!" She tried as best she could to wrap her arms around all five of them. It…proved ineffective after a moment of trying, so she settled for hugging Flint instead, just to bury her head in his fluffy mane.
Wes admired the key for a little longer before pulling the key bag out and dropping it in. "Seven more to go," he mumbled under his breath.
"Hey, uh, guys? Not to be that guy, but we still have a little problem," Tony pointed out as he faced the Desert Beasts, who were slowly approaching.
Griffin stepped forward and aimed his sword. "I'll dispose of them promptly."
"No need," the gruff voice of Arid stated. His gaze locked with Wes' for a mere second, yet the Umbreon could feel the confusion, disdain, and competitiveness burning in them. These were exchanges fairly normal to the Umbreon, but now they were for a new challenge he didn't want them involved it. Arid turned his attention to Calder. "It would be easy to take advantage of their weakness and take that key for myself."
Calder raised his brow with a curious smile. "Hmm…would, you say? You don't intend to fight?"
Arid closed his eyes, then nodded. "Yes, exactly. Our business here had nothing to do with the key until now." He glared at Wes. "But mark my words, Ravenfield, I won't be so merciful the next time our paths cross. I intend to take that idol for myself. For the glory of the Desert Beasts. Bask in your victory now, but know that I'll be hunting you and the rest of those keys down. I will have them for myself."
Given that Gwyn, Tony, and Griffin weren't as familiar with the pirate captain, they weren't sure how to take his declaration of war. For the Eeveelutions, it was standard business between the two sides. For Wes…it was a challenge of the life time, against a long time, treasure hunting rival he sought to upstage.
The Umbreon felt his heart pumping in excitement while his lips stretched out into a wide, bold smirk. "Don't get full of yourself, Arid. I have the advantage over you."
Arid narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps, but I suggest not getting cocky. Slip up too many times…and I'll pull the rug out from under you. Don't expect me to fall behind like all the other times. The stakes are much higher now. No riches, no treasure. An idol that can turn the wielder into a god."
Team Ravenfield narrowed their eyes as his crew took a step up by their captain's side. To describe their expressions, they resembled predators waiting for the time to kill. A thick, hostile tension coursed between both side now. Wes didn't normally see them as threats with the number of times he has beaten them.
Things were different now. The ultimate treasure hunt. This time, they'll fight back harder than before until they take those keys for themselves. Who will succeed in gathering the keys? The treasure hunters, the shadows…or their newest challenger, the pirates?
Even so, Wes continued to smile bold and proud. He didn't feel threatened. He felt ecstatic. He wanted to see the Desert Beasts match him. He wanted the challenge. The perfect opportunity to see who was the better treasure hunter.
"You'll regret declaring war on me, Arid, but I accept your challenge." He held his paw out. "But don't feel too bummed when I kick your ass and win."
Arid stared at his paw with a calm, yet fierce stare. It was that irritating smile of his that got his blood boiling. The energy pumping through his heart that stimulated his lust for battle. That was the drive and motivation that kept him going. The drive that brought that trademark, Darmanitan grin up to full form.
He clutched the paw with his gloved hand and stated, "Maybe then…but now I intend to rewrite history."