Chapter 13: The Alolan Altercation
Another original of mine.
Altercation (n) - a noisy argument or disagreement, especially in public.
Dimension Zero - the term used for the timeline that is best known as the real world.
Leapling (n) - Someone born on a leap day, the 29th of February.
Real-life problem that is addressed: Racism and bigotry
Nature is all about difference - it shows on the outside, but deep down, everyone and everything is the same.
But sometimes, there are creatures that take differences too far.
And not all of them are Vikings.
The afternoon sun was just starting the downward half of its daily journey across the northern sky when a sky-shattering screech rang out across the ocean, and a sleek, black figure streaked by.
Out here, there was nowhere to run or hide. But luckily, the large mass of dragons following the black streak had no intention of eating him.
Yep, it was just another field trip for Team Go-Getters.
"Tell me again," said Astrid, her hair flying in the wind. "Why are we all heading back to Unova when we only just got back to Berk from there?"
Hiccup looked over his shoulder and gazed at his wife sympathetically. "With our team growing in numbers, we're going to need to settle somewhere that has more space. Who better to help us with that than Fjord?"
Okay, he was definitely right about that. But that didn't mean Astrid was looking forward to it.
"Spend your honeymoon at the Giant Chasm," they said. "It'll be an adventure," they said.
The sound of Adhesive chuckling at a video he was watching on his phone raised her level of annoyance up to eleven. She was about to give him another one of those this-is-serious-so-stop-fooling-around lectures when Blaze stepped in. Figuratively, of course, since she was flying on the back of Wavern and had no intention of falling off.
"Would you stop goofing off, already? The situation around here is getting very serious, and we don't have time to deal with your little stunts!"
Adhesive gave the Blaziken a proud smile. "Not so little anymore," he said, holding up his phone. "Last week, my video scored 176 billion hits across the entire Multiverse! Except for Dimension Zero, of course. Any form of entry into that world is strictly forbidden!"
"You know," said Snivels, "This is one of those times where I wish I knew what you were talking about."
He wasn't the only one. It was hard for anyone on the team to have a proper conversation with Adhesive. Just when you'd think you'd gotten a hold on what he's talking about, the Poipole goes and pulls the rug out from under your feet with a reference to something you'd never even heard of before.
From his position at the front, Hiccup sighed. He had a feeling this was how the rest of the flight to Unova was going to go.
Fortunately, they'd already gone a great distance, and judging by the strong chills in the wind that kept getting colder and colder as they pressed on, they were almost there.
A minute later, the entrance to the familiar formation of frosty caverns came into view.
"Any chance we could stop and get some hot beverages while we're there?" asked a cautiously optimistic Brandyn.
Heather wasn't sure if he was saying that because of how cold it was, or if he was looking for an excuse to be alone with her, but the look on Adhesive's face told her that he hoped it was the latter. And if she was being honest with herself, she was also kinda hoping that, too.
Hiccup and Toothless had barely touched down at the entrance to the cave when they found themselves face-to-face with a certain Kyurem.
"Greetings, Team Go-Getters. I've been expecting you."
Hiccup felt himself jump a little in the saddle. How did he know we were coming? he thought to himself. Oh, yeah, foresight powers.
Fjord stepped to the side to allow more room for the group to head into the tunnel. "Please, come in. I'm sure we've a lot to discuss."
Other than Brandyn stopping to get himself and Heather a couple cups of hot chocolate, the entire team headed straight for the meeting room at the heart of the caverns.
While everyone was getting seated at the meeting table, Snivels went to speak with Fjord. "Before things get too serious, I wanted to personally thank you for the birthday gift you sent me." He gestured to Fearless, who had wrapped herself around the Servine's neck like a glowing feather boa. The Flightmare dragonet crooned as she nuzzled her caretaker.
"You're welcome," Fjord said, smiling. "I didn't need my foresight to tell me you'd love her."
"How does that power work, anyway?" Snivels asked suddenly. When Fjord gave him a look of mild surprise, he quickly added, "Just curious."
Fjord chuckled. "Funny thing about my species. While we normally have the power to control ice, and fuse with other Pokémon like Zekrom and Reshiram, there's also the chance we're born with the power of foresight. It's rare, but it can be inherited genetically. I believe my great-grandfather also had the power of foresight."
"So any children you have may also have that power," Snivels reasoned out. "Just like how any offspring I have might have dominant Shiny genes."
"Exactly," said Fjord. "Like one of our branch chiefs has."
Hiccup visibly flinched at the word "chief." Still had to deal with his father's expectations.
Fjord noticed and gave the young hero a sympathetic smile. "Branch chiefs aren't the same as real chiefs. To put it plainly, they're in charge of an extension of an organization, or branch, if you will. Like how Kuro is in charge of the Ultra Guardians."
Yeah, okay, that really helps.
No-one else spoke as Fjord switched back to his "serious mode," as Adhesive put it. "Our Shiny branch chief has been having trouble dealing with his assigned branch. The Pokémon he works with consist of the same species, but they're of different types and are constantly arguing about who's better than who. We're thinking that perhaps he could use the assistance of Team Go-Getters." He tapped an area on the map that had been placed on the table with his claw. "It's quite a ways from Berk, but it's a short flight from Unova. Once you get there, ask to speak to the branch chief, he responds to the name of Axel."
"Are there any branch chiefs for the Resistance that aren't Pokémon?" Hiccup commented in wonder, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.
"One, other than you," was Fjord's reply. "Though it'll be a while before you finally cross paths with her."
Brandyn, Kickin' Hawk, Buddy and Adhesive were the only ones who were able to understand the implications of Fjord's answer.
A short flight it was. But that didn't mean the team couldn't take the time to entertain themselves.
Snivels, Verne, Blaze, Wavern, Ninjark, Kickin' Hawk, Ra, Camazotz, and Adhesive were the only Pokémon attending the mission. All the others were at the Giant Chasm conversing with Fjord over their situation regarding the diminishing elbow room back home.
Anyway, the Pokémon were attempting to entertain themselves with a simple game.
"Dragon," Blaze uttered.
Adhesive shook his head. "You said that already."
"Rock?" Ninjark tried.
Again, Adhesive shook his head. "Nope."
"Hiccstrid," Snivels guessed, small hints of a smug grin lifting the corners of his mouth.
Adhesive was not amused. "It's got to be something I can actually see. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called I Spy, it would be called I Can Randomly Think Of Something."
It was around that time when Hiccup noticed a bit of land on the horizon. "That must be it," he muttered to himself.
Indeed it was. And the Pokémon there were causing complete and utter chaos. The first thing Hiccup noticed as he directed Toothless into a landing position was that the Pokémon fighting were the same species, but they looked quite different from each other. A Raticate that was tawny and fast like the ones found on Berk was tangling with a chubbier version of itself that had black fur. A golden-white Ninetales was spewing fire while its opponent, who was a pale blue and looked way prettier, breathed frosty breath. And while it was not an odd sight to see two Marowak duking it out on each other, usually both of them were brown.
Standing way off to the side, to avoid all the fighting, was a large black Pokémon with huge scythe-like tusks and piercing red eyes. It took Hiccup a minute to realize it was a Haxorus, for he had never seen one colored black before.
"Excuse me!" the one-legged hero called, jumping down from the saddle. "We need to speak to someone named Axel!"
The black Haxorus gave him a sad-looking smile. "You're looking at him, kid."
Even Snivels was surprised. "You're Axel? The Shiny branch chief for the Resistance?"
"Yes, I am," confirmed Axel.
"Just when you think you've seen it all," Heather muttered under her breath.
Astrid just stared at the black Haxorus, her expression stating that she wasn't all that impressed. "I expected a bit more when they said he was a Shiny Pokémon."
The next thing she knew, Axel was right up in her face with a look that could kill. "You watch your mouth, little lady. These tusks of mine can easily sever your tongue, and I'm pretty sure you don't want that."
Normally, this was where Astrid would talk back and intimidate, but this time she came up empty.
Blaze chuckled to herself. "I haven't seen anyone talk to Astrid like that besides her parents and Stoick."
Astrid tried to make a simple remark, but again she was too stunned speechless.
"You asked for us to come here," Brandyn said, trying to get the group back on track.
Axel looked at the Aetherson boy and nodded. "I did. As you can plainly see, my trainees aren't as cooperative as I was hoping they'd be." He gazed at the fighting Pokémon with a sad, doubtful look. "Some of the species that live on other islands in different locations have changed and grown to be better adapted to their environments. The Sandshrew, Vulpix and evolutions that live in the northern islands are Ice-types so that they are more resistant to the cold temperatures. It can easily get below freezing up there, after all."
"And those guys are all fighting with each other because...?" Ninjark prompted.
At Axel's sides, his claws curled tightly into fists, but he didn't make any movement aside from that.
"I'm sure Fjord has informed you by now," said the Shiny Haxorus. "They're all caught up in a classic argument of who's better than who. The Kantonians, if you will, have never seen anything like the Alolans, and the Alolans have never seen anything like the Kantonians. Neither of them are sure which version came first, so now they've engaged in this foolishness befitting for a tribe of Vikings."
A look of disgust on his face, Snivels grumbled, "Tell me about it."
"How long have they been going at each other?" Blaze asked, genuine concern in her eyes. Just because she was a strong battler didn't mean she was a fan of fighting. In fact, she usually did her best to avoid a fight, if she could. Nothing like Astrid had been before that fateful flight on Toothless.
Axel shook his head, his eyes downcast. "Far too long."
"Then we need to sort this out now," Hiccup decided.
Astrid gained enough of her voice back to say, "Tell me you're not just going to waltz out there and hope for the best."
Hiccup looked back at her with a concerned look on his face. "We can't just stand back and watch," he said. He started forward, but a black, clawed hand clutched the back of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks.
"Hold your dragons there, Leapling," said Axel, "Little Miss Sassy Mouth has a point. I couldn't get their attention with anything, and I doubt you'll have any more luck than I did."
Adhesive didn't look so sure about that. "No offense, but they're, I mean, we're kinda famous throughout these islands, so there's a good chance they'll listen to us."
Axel hesitated, then raised a claw to point at the two Persian that were engaged in a literal catfight. "The tan one is Percy, and the grey one is Felicity. They each consider themselves to be the leader of their respective groups. If you want to speak to any of the other Pokémon, you'll have to go through them first."
Given how the two Classy Cat Pokémon were one step away from going at each other's throats, that was definitely not going to be an easy task.
Hiccup wasn't the only one who was thinking that.
"That certainly won't be easy," Kickin' Hawk said, his eyes locked on the two Persian. "Especially when there's a chance Dark Matter might have something to do with all this."
I hadn't thought of that, the bigwings of Team Go-Getters admitted to himself. Whatever it was, Dark Matter sounded like a force to be reckoned with, especially since it had tried to get to Hiccup not too long ago. Perhaps it was doing something to make those Pokémon fight?
Hiccup was at a complete loss for ideas. "Okay, so, what are we going to do?"
Being a mother was not always easy. Ebony was learning that the hard way.
"Daddy! Daddy!" squealed her dragonets. "Wanna go with Daddy!"
Ebony shook her head. "My little sweetstars, Daddy is working. He'll be right back, I promise."
"Tell story" Starflight requested. "Daddy being hero! Tell story!"
"Alright, baby," Ebony sighed, sitting down. "What story do you want to hear this time?"
Immediately, the dragonets all jumped in with their favorite requests.
"Evil queen!"
"Snowy time!"
"Old cranky!"
"Big bad man!"
"Hooded meanie!"
Ebony spread her wings to silence them. "One at a time, please." She then spoke to the first dragonet that caught her eye. "Alba, which story do you want to hear?"
Obsidian moaned, "How come she get to go first?"
"Because she doesn't complain when it's not her turn," Ebony said sternly. She then asked more gently, "Alba, sweetie, which story would you like Mommy to tell?"
Alba averted her mother's big green eyes, shy and silent as ever. "I want...I want..." It took her a few tries to say what she wanted. "I want Daddy to tell story this time."
And there they went right back to square one. "Sweetstar, you're gonna have to wait for Daddy to get back, he's busy right now."
But the dragonets had a trick to get what it was they wanted. They'd all look their mother, or father, in the eye and dilate their pupils as wide as they would go while giving them the saddest look they could. Hiccup appropriately called this "the Sad Eyes Trick."
Ebony did her best to avoid the gaze of her children. She'd fallen for this trick too many times before, and she had no intention of letting that happen again. "Don't look at me like that, sweetstars, you know you have to be patient. Daddy will be back before you know it."
The dragonets were not budging up even a little bit. They just continued to give their mother the Sad Eyes Trick.
Ebony could tell that she was starting to cave in. It was hard for even the most stern and disciplined mothers in the Multiverse to say "no" to such adorable little faces.
Seeing their mother falter a little, the dragonets bunched up closer together to increase the intensity of their cuteness. And increase, it did. Such big, adorable eyes and little dragonet faces in such close proximity to each other would made a stone-cold heart melt into goo, and then some.
Finally, Ebony gave up. "Fine, I'll take you to Daddy."
Immediately, the dragonets all dropped the cute-as-all-heck act and started jumping up and down in excitement.
"YAY!"
"But," Ebony added sternly, "We're coming right back here when we're done!"
Now it was Eclipse's turn to groan. "But Mommy!"
"No buts," said their mother. "I already told you, Daddy has to work, so we'll make it quick and fly right back to these caves, understand?"
The dragonets all nodded collectively.
Ebony couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as she led her children to the cave mouth.
What are the consequences of what I've just done?
Although he was quite determined to stop the Pokémon fighting, Hiccup had little to no idea on how to do that. He was sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking the island, the fighting had stopped for now, as the Pokémon had all gone to lick their wounds, most likely. That left an opening where he could think over the situation and decide the best possible course of action.
He had a plan, of course. It was a simple one - show the Pokémon that they aren't so different after all, that there is no "cut above the rest," and all creatures need to be treated equally, no matter how they look or act.
Hopefully.
It had been a long day. Tomorrow was shaping up to be the same - he'd have to face two Persian, a type of Pokémon that was very fickle and temperamental, and get them to listen to reason about the whole situation.
Footsteps sounded just then, coming up from behind him. It turned out to be Astrid.
"Hey," the former Hofferson greeted him, waving.
"Oh, hi Astrid," he replied, scooting over so she could sit next to him. "Something the matter?"
She sat down, looking slightly uncomfortable. She grabbed her arm self-consciously and refused to meet his eyes for a minute, as if she was internally struggling with something. Hiccup stared at her, confused and worried about her strange insecurity.
"N-No, not really, just...wanted to apologize," she finally sighed, and looked up so that they could see eye-to-eye. "Ever since that encounter we had with the Flightmare, I've realized that I...I wouldn't be where I am without you. And I'm sorry for how I acted, not just on that night, but...every day before then."
He smiled. Was that really what this was all about?
"It's fine, Astrid," he told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Really."
She seemed doubtful, but smiled at him anyway. "Okay, if you're sure..." she conceded, but then frowned again. "But there's something else I need to talk to you about. I'm worried about our parents."
Cocking his head, Hiccup asked, "How so?"
The blonde seemed to consider how she was going to word her next statement. "Well..." she started, "We got married at the Giant Chasm because we didn't want to attract too much attention from everyone in the village, and our parents think we're just together as boyfriend and girlfriend, so -"
He held up a hand before she could clarify further. "Yeah, I know, I get it. I mean, it's nice that we have more time to ourselves, but you're right, we can't hide this from our parents forever."
"If I'm honest, I hope we're lucky enough that our parents never find out," Astrid shrugged. "I mean, there's a chance they might have us get married again, and this time in the way Vikings do!"
Hiccup shuddered. Yes, he recalled, the Viking way involved the newlyweds "putting on a show," so to speak, to ensure that any future offspring that came along were indeed those of the chief, or the chief's son in some cases.
"For that, I'm glad we didn't get married on Berk," he nodded to her. Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood a little, he added, "I'd never hear the end of it for the rest of my natural life."
She laughed a little, in a rather un-Astrid fashion. "Yeah, me neither."
Before he could reply, she touched his cheek and leaned in to give him a long kiss on the lips. When she pulled away, he was almost too shocked to say anything. But he did manage to utter, "You know, I think this is the first time we've gotten through a conversation without you punching me."
Smiling devilishly, Astrid raised a fist. "Do you want me to?"
Hiccup couldn't tell if she was teasing or being serious. And he didn't get the chance to answer before a Night Fury's shriek rang through the evening sky.
"That's Toothless!" Hiccup shouted, leaping to his feet (foot and a half) and taking off running in the direction of the dragon's roar.
A certain father Night Fury was struggling to free himself from the large block of ice the Alolan Ninetales had trapped him and Ebony in. He was practically wiggling with everything he had as he watched the Alolan Marowak carry a confused and scared Alba away from her parents and siblings. The little Night Fury dragonets were frantically running in circles around their parents and their ice block prison.
Snivels didn't get the chance to do anything, as he quickly found himself up to his waist in Alolan Dugtrio's Sand Tomb, which was working like quicksand. The same happened to Blaze, Ninjark, Kickin' Hawk, Heather and Brandyn when they also arrived. Adhesive was easily able to avoid it, but ended up completely paralyzed by Alolan Raichu's Thunder Wave.
Stormfly, Verne and Wavern started forward to try and help, only to suddenly be buried under a large pile of rocks from the Alolan Golem's Rock Slide.
Windshear and Buck also tried to help, but the Psychic attack of the long-necked Alolan Exeggutor kept them from moving even an inch.
Alba wriggled around until she maneuvered herself into a position where she was looking over the Alolan Marowak's shoulder. Her pretty blue eyes found her parents half-frozen in a block of ice, and she called out to them desperately. "Mommy! Daddy! HELP!"
The situation did not look good when Hiccup arrived. "What's going on?" His eyes widened at the sight of his dragon partially encased in ice. "Toothless!"
The Night Fury struggled more at the sound of his friend's voice. He fired a plasma blast at his frosty prison, the resulting explosion sending dirt and ice bits flying into his and Ebony's eyes, blinding them.
About to rush forward to help, Hiccup found himself taking steps backwards when he noticed Felicity stalking nearby, her eyes glaring holes into his skull. The Alolan Persian was not going to let anyone interfere with their objective. They'd all seen, plain as day, that there was a white dragonet with the pitch-black Night Furies, and they were so intent on their resolve to keep creatures that looked different away from each other that they were taking poor Alba away from the only parents she ever had.
When Hiccup saw Alba, he felt a pang of concern. The white dragonet was really devastated as she watched the image of her parents get smaller and smaller. If dragons could cry, she'd most likely be wailing like the poor little baby she was.
Snivels strained to pull himself up out of the Sand Tomb. "Leave her alone!"
"You're scaring her!" Brandyn shouted as loud as he could.
Heather joined in the protests. "You can't take her away!"
They all had reason to protest, not just for Alba's sake, but for Toothless and Ebony's sake as well. Alba might not have looked like their other children, but she was still their daughter, and they needed her as much as she needed them.
"She doesn't belong with them," Felicity snarled. "She's not a Night Fury, and if she's not a Night Fury, she can't be with them! That's the way things are, the way things have always been and always will be!"
"You're wrong!" Snivels yelled, his eyes twitching with unmeasurable anger. "Look at us! We're not the same species, and we all stick together no matter what! Why can't you guys all just get along with one another?!"
"Certainly," said Felicity, "As soon as those savages admit that our types are better than theirs!"
"There is no best type!" Blaze shouted back.
"All Pokémon are the same!" cried Ninjark.
Kickin' Hawk made no effort to protest. "It's no use," he said, mostly to himself. "Persian are too haughty and disdainful. We won't get her or Percy to listen this way."
And he was right, as Felicity had no intention of letting anyone get by to stop the Alolan Marowak from carrying Alba away from her family. The little white dragonet continued to cry out, begging her parents to come and save her. To stop the scary Pokémon from taking her away. To take her home, where she could be warm and safe. To tell her a story and sing her a dragon's lullaby to get her to sleep, so she could wake up from this horrible nightmare.
But all they, or anyone, could do was watch helplessly as Alba and the Alolan Marowak disappeared into the forest and out of sight. Satisfied, Felicity called off her followers, and she pranced off into the woods with the other Alolan Pokémon hot on her heels.
With the Alolan Pokémon gone, Snivels and the others were easily able to free themselves of the different elemental traps that had been used to keep them at bay. Astrid finally arrived, with Axel close behind, but all too late. They could both tell from the expressions on their friends' faces that something terrible had just happened.
Hiccup stared off in the direction Alba had been taken. "We need to stop this feud," he said. "Now!"
First, Pokémon Sword and Shield is announced on Pokémon Day. Then, my family and I went to go see The Hidden World last weekend. I won't say anything more for those of you who have not seen the movie! But I can tell you I liked it more than the second film!
And because I absolutely hate having Alba taken away from her family, I'll be hoping to get the next chapter up soon!
Reviews are appreciated.
