EPISODE I – RISING STARS
CHAPTER VII – B-B-BATS!
The teeth and beat of wings was already beginning to intensify, and Rex was not going to take any chances. He spun back round towards the Zangoose, leaping up and grabbing hold of his arms. "W-HEY!" he cried out, eyes going wide as Rex pressed his feet against the wall. "WATCH THE-"
Leather snapped in his ears, and Rex suddenly found himself banging his back on the ground. A thump rang out next to him, followed by a sudden gasp. "Holy! When did air taste so good!?" shouted the Zangoose with a pant.
Grunting, Rex sprung back up to his feet. "Come on! Back up the ramp!"
Even as the normal-type was still coughing, Rex yanked the Zangoose back to his feet and swiftly charged back up the ramp towards the upper level, below him, the wingbeats were now turning into a painful drone. "Alain! Time to go!" he barked as they stepped back onto level ground.
"It's too late!" Alain shouted, swiping his sword out of it's sheath in a flash of silver light.
Rex almost missed the blue bat as it came buzzing past Alain's head with a little spray of blood. Screeching, the bat skidded across the mine floor. The Combusken spun around just in time to see eight more Zubat shoot out from the vertical tunnel, their teeth gnashing just as rapidly as their wingbeats.
Rex's claws beamed white as two of the bats dove for him, and with a swift smack, the two were sent flailing helplessly back down into the pit. A third dove in from higher up, only for a blue-white claw to strike it from the side. Rex blinked as the Zangoose slammed the little bat straight into the ground with a crackle of lightning, his canines bared.
As the feral went limp, the Zangoose backed away from the edge. "Rayquaza damn it! Didn't think there were many bats down here!"
"What were you expecting!?" Alain snapped, cutting down another Zubat just as ten more rose from the pit. Suddenly, with a flick of his arm, glowing green blades flew clear of his hand and straight into them, ripping the little things to shreds.
"I don't know! I was thinking more spiders!" shouted the Zangoose just as another ten came out to take the place of their fallen comrades. Another lunged for Rex, and hissing, he sent it flying back with another Slash across it's chest.
But more and more were shooting out of their lair below. "Rex!" Samiel bellowed in his ear, "We could really do with some of those Embers!"
And ignite any firedamp? I'd end up killing us all! Rex snapped back, starting to back away from the edge. "Come on! We need to get out of here!" he shouted. "Up the tunnel!"
"They'll cut us to ribbons if we retreat now!" Alain countered, his blade a blur as he swiped away more of the Zubats with it. "This is all we can do to keep the bats off us!"
Damn it! He's right! Rex growled as he cut down another bat. There are too many bats here and the Golbats won't be far behind! If they get up here, we've had it!
Suddenly, the Zangoose's pink eyes flashed bright, "Ha ha! I've got just the trick!"
He quickly started reaching into what remained of his satchel. "What ar-" Rex started shouting, only to hear the tell-tale whistle of a fresh attack. Instinctively, his snapped his body back as the cross-shaped attack cut through the air like a missile.
"Watch out for those Air Cutters!" Samiel shouted in his skull, and in that moment, Rex knew that they were nearly finished.
There, above the pit, a trio of Golbats had joined their smaller kin, their eyes glowing red. Rex struggled not to fling off a curse. Zubats they could deal with, having Golbats in the mix would be hell! Alain's teeth were gritted as he threw off another wave of Magical Leaves, catching one of the bigger bats across their side, but unable to shoot it down.
In that second, the Zangoose sprang forward, a brown… ball in hand. What the hell is he thinking!? Rex exclaimed.
"Maybe he is loopy!" Samiel replied.
With a grin on his face, the Zangoose snapped one arm back, "Sleep tight boys! Get back!"
Get back from the o-
Rex's eyes widened, "Alain! Away from the edge!"
Cursing, the Krilia leapt away just as the ball went flying, looking cloudy as it fell underneath the bats and into the pit.
Not even a second later, a loud crack boomed in Rex's ears just as a thick brown cloud came rushing out of the tunnel, engulfing the Golbats and many of the Zubats with them. Rex froze, claws still glowing for a fresh slash attack. W-What?
Just as quickly as it came, the smoke cleared, revealing the bats. The Combusken's heart sank… but not for long, as Rex quickly realised that the flapping of the bats seemed weaker, slower, and less precise. The bats weren't even hissing and gnashing their jaws anymore, instead, they were quietly whimpering and groaning. The Golbats' eyes in particular were flickering open and closed.
One of the Golbat's finally closed their eyes and fell limply back into the tunnel. Then, one after another, the other bats followed suit, all either falling back into the pit where they had come from, or slumping onto the cold stone floor, very lightly breathing.
Alain cast a wary over the bodies of the bats, tightly gripping his sword. "What did you do to them?" he panted.
Rex took a few breaths of his own, they weren't dead, not with the way they were breathing. Almost as if they were…
"Did you just put them to sleep?" Rex whispered, taken aback at the sight.
With a gigantic grin plastered across his face, the Zangoose pulled a mock bow towards the two mercenaries. "I knew that Slumber Orb was going to be useful for something!"
"Slumber Orb?" Alain asked bluntly.
"Eh… some new thing that's being brought out of the dungeons and made." The Zangoose replied, rubbing the back of his head. "At least, I think they're new anyway."
Rex couldn't help but think that he had somehow heard the term 'Orb' before somewhere, but he wasn't entirely sure of when. It had to be new enough for him to struggle remembering the details. The Combusken let his claws depower, keeping his eyes on the Zangoose, "We can talk about it later." He said, stepping away from the pit. "We better get out of here, before they wake up."
The Zangoose waved an arm dismissively, "Eh, they'll be out cold for a while. Besides, I need to go down and pick up that Orb from the pit."
He started strolling forward, only for Alain's sword to snap up and block the path towards the downward ramp. "That'd be foolish."
Rex halted in his tracks, standing closer to Alain with his back to the pit. He frowned as he glanced between the pair, "Yeah… I'm leaning towards pony-tail here." Samiel declared, "The effects of Orbs aren't permanent, they'll wake up sooner rather than later.
Subconsciously nodding to both Samiel and Alain's words, Rex focused his attention on the Normal type. "I agree." He said, "You can get another Orb later, we can't get our lives back that easily."
"It won't take long!" groaned the normal type, rubbing his face for a second. "I'll be up and down before… you know it…"
Rex stiffened as the Zangoose pulled his hand away, only to reveal his pink eyes going slowly wider. Then the shivering. Then the quiet, yet clear quadruple whump over his shoulder. Then he caught the brief blue flash in Alain's eye, sensing the danger.
Slowly, the fire type turned round to find a single, gigantic purple bat flying directly behind them, a pair of glowing red eyes not managing to draw his gaze away from the horrific fangs in it's mouth.
"Oh come the fuck on…" Samiel breathed.
The massive bat roared, the Combusken recoiling as he felt himself physically pushed back by the sound. "I take it back!" shouted the Zangoose, "I can live without it! Run!"
"Gladly!" Alain bellowed.
Rex spun on his heel and sprinted after the pair, running up the uphill exit tunnel, making sure to snatch the still burning lantern in the process. The darkness still seemed absolute, but they couldn't take their time, as the wing beats grew louder and more rapid, that creature shrieking as it somehow kept pace. The Combusken didn't even look back, panting as his feet slipped and slid as he ran, trying to not lose the errant Zangoose and Alain in the darkness. To look back now would have been a death sentence.
They rounded a corner, Rex's heart pumping far faster than the wingbeats to find a bright white light at the end of the tunnel. "There's the exit!" he cried out, "Keep going!"
As if empowered by a surge of energy, Rex dashed forward, and his two companions did the same, racing for the light and bursting out into the open air. A new forest beckoned to them, but Rex didn't look towards the trees, tossing the lantern aside and skidding to a halt to face the tunnel entrance. Deep down, he could make out the blood red eyes of the creature as it came flying towards them.
Alain had also turned to face their foe, his bloodied sword aimed for the entrance. "Any more of your 'Orbs' you can spare!?" he spat, his eye gleaming.
Over Rex's shoulder, the Zangoose had already started searching his ruined satchel again in a mad panic, panting with every flick of his paws. "Nothing helpful – ah ha!"
He pulled out a brown, scaled seed from the satchel, topped with bronze leaves. It looked almost like a miniature Pinap Berry and yet-
Rex snapped an arm out, "Wait! The fired-"
In a swift motion, the Zangoose had already chucked the seed into his mouth, an sharp crunch piercing the air, only to be beaten by the screech as the giant bat appeared at the entrance at the tunnel, it's fangs fully bared.
"Use Ember!" Samiel stressed, "Firedamp or not, you won't get as much of the blast!"
That's insane! We'll cause an explosion-
But as the bat emerged into the light, Rex knew he had no choice. Rearing himself up, he willed his insides to ignite and spat out the fire attack. The fireball blinked across the gap and struck the monster just below one of its eyes. Crying out, it flinched backwards and shook itself.
And that bought the Zangoose all the time he needed.
He leapt forward, his face looking red hot, almost ready to explode. Rex didn't see the Zangoose breathe out, instead with a flash of light, flame burst from his mouth and shot across the clearing.
The bat screamed as it was engulfed in the fire, desperately trying to beat away the blast with it's wings, only to fuel the flames. Rex hissed, suddenly feeling sorry for the panicking feral. Can't back up now!
Rex spat out another Ember, and he could see the green leaves from Alain's own attack move to join it, adding only fuel to the fire. With a final agonised shriek, the massive bat turned and dove back into the cave, the flames starting to flutter out.
"Hha-hack-ha! Get out of here!" The Zangoose wheezed, managing to pull out a grin despite his red face.
The Combusken however could not stop himself from backing away from the tunnel entrance, bracing himself for what was to come. "I wouldn't get too close to that tunnel…"
"Come on!" the normal type managed to cough, leaning back. "It's not like he's going to blow-"
A dull thump rumbled from the tunnel. Together, the three Pokemon's heads spun towards it just as a puff of air rushed through the entrance. Even from where he was standing, Rex could feel his feathers ruffle as it blew past him.
"up…" quietly finished the Zangoose.
With a heavy sigh, Rex rubbed his forehead hard. "Like I said…" he uttered, "Firedamp."
Author's Note:Well, I was going to leave Mercenaries of Dawn for a while, but in the wake of shorter chapters and constantly being bothered with Chapter VII, I've elected to go ahead and complete this one. I hope it's enjoyable for you all. It'll still likely post slower than GoB, but I do have parts of another chapter for MoD taking shape.