It would be a fool's errand to assume that only our heroes were focused on getting stronger. After finding out that Gardevoir managed to mega evolve, Druddigon immediately took the cult and began a custom training regime just for them. Focusing on what caused them to lose their fights. For example, Umbreon's lack of physical strength led to her defeat, so she was given a lot of strength training. Strength training that Umbreon would rather avoid.
She struggled to lift the weights that she needed to, not helped by the fact that she was a quadruped. Her lack of enthusiasm for this whole cult business was evident. After all, it's natural that constant loss would wear on someone, but there was more to it than that. Druddigon noticed the dark type's lack of effort and approached her. She sat down next to the dark type,
"What's up?" he asked. Umbreon glanced over the Druddigon and sighed,
"I…I don't know what's wrong." The dragon type grew concerned,
"What do you mean? Surely, something must be upsetting you," he said. Umbreon looked him dead in the eyes. Sure, he probably had her best interests in mind, but Bisharp was already livid after Malamar failed. It took Druddigon physically restraining him to keep him from killing Malamar. If he knew that Umbreon was as distressed as she was, the grass would be fertilized with her blood.
"I…I'm not sure if I am cut out to be fighting." she stated, very careful with what she said in case someone was listening, "I've never been someone who can fight, so... maybe it's better if I work behind the scenes." Hearing this, Druddigon was baffled, but initial shock faded into concern.
"I see, but you know Bisharp isn't gonna make this easy for you, right?' he asked.
"I know, I know, but…there's got to be things I can be more helpful with. I'm a hypnotist, just like Malamar but more…personable. Perhaps I could be a recruiter? We've been on the run since we had the gem and the closest we had to new members were hired guns. Even if we get stronger, they'll still outnumber us five to nine," she explained. It was a good cover story. Maybe it would give her a chance to get away, at least until she could get her head straight.
"Well, I'll talk to Bisharp, but I can't promise anything. Still, it pays to have some basic combat training. It's just a useful thing to have, you know," said Druddigon. Umbreon nodded, grateful and watched as Druddigon moved on to check on the others. Umbreon began to think to herself. It was nice to be able to get that break, but now she had a commitment. Sure, she could get away for a while, but when…if she returned, she was going to have to bring in a new group of people. If? Why did she think about "it"? She had to return, right? This was her family, however…troubled it may be. More importantly than that.
This was all she had.
She was a drifter. Not by choice but by design. Her parents died when she was very little so she had to grow up on her own. Of course, she could've gone to an orphanage but…she didn't. She didn't want to. SHe didn't want that constant reminder of what she had lost. Instead, she wanted to keep moving forward. Find a new family that would take her in. Kid her thought that this would take just a few weeks. I mean, a week is an eternity for a kid. If that was the case,
Then she was in purgatory.
The twenty-odd years she spent alone weren't hell, or were they heaven. No, hell at least had the courtesy of honesty. To most, she was just Umbreon. Not even worthy of her name. To be honest, she no longer remembered her name. All she knew herself by was her species. She spent that two decade stretch working odd jobs, mostly as a courier. Taking packages from one place to another. No questions asked. It was a tiring job, taking subways, riding buses, and being teleported across the country. However, most times she was forced to walk. Too many clients had packages that wouldn't be able to make it past security. So, for dozens of kilometers, she had to walk.
It gave her a lot of time for her to think. For twenty years, she had been alone. There were people that gave her jobs, but the only reason they care is because she carries their shit. There were jobs were they didn't even speak to her, only leaving behind messages telling her where to go. It was that isolation that began to sting. After over twenty years, after working with dozens of people, she was just as lonely as she was the day her parents died. There was this old human story about a man named Sisyphus. That was what she felt like. Sisyphus pushed the boulder up the cliff, repeating the same task over and over again, and yet no progress was made.
It made her frustrated. Who wouldn't be? Years of effort all for nothing. No one cared about her. She could drop dead tomorrow and people would trample her body. To her, this was worse than being assaulted. At least if someone stopped to mug her, they'd acknowledge her as a person, not just some tool to hide illegal goods. Neglect is just a slow and insidious killer.
But be careful what you wish for.
(A/N): The newest Pyrophant chapter has been completed. It's a little shorter than I would've wanted thanks to school stuff, but that shouldn't be an issue anymore since school's wrapping up
I did say I had some big news for April and, while progress has slowed down considerably due to a radical change in plans, I am a man of my word, so I'll just say it.
I'm writing a book.
Like an actual book that I can publish for money.
It's an original project I have been working on alongside Pyrophant since the summer of 2022. I'm in the editing stage now and I don't want to spoil too much about it since it isn't ready yet. However, it is a work I am very proud of. if you are a fan to Pyrophant, you're going to enjoy it. If you hate Pyrophant, give this original idea a shot. I know that a fanfic writer creating a book doesn't sound the most appealing, but if this 68-chapter fanfiction is proof of anything, I am nothing if not determined. I want my book to be better than Pyrophant, better than anything I have ever written previously. I want my book to make people smile.
I'll see you guys next week.