Chapter 25
A Haunting Battle
A blast of energy erupted in the field, sending a startled buizel to fly back from its shockwave. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the soil to slow herself to a halt. Nixie and Mystic were currently in the training grounds of the castle to further progress Nixie's abilities.
"Now you give it a try," Mystic instructed. "Keep in mind that not actually being a psychic type hinders your ability to try attacks properly. Your best course of action is to try getting angry, though only mentally. Careful as to not let your anger cloud your judgment but irritated enough to manifest your mental emotions into a weapon."
"I...think I understand what you mean."
"I am sure you are capable of performing it. I just stress that you should not let your emotions overtake your intent for battle, else you could cause more damage than intended."
"Right..." Nixie said, trying o focus on something that irritated her.
She cleared her mind, and her vision flooded with past images of her home. Buizel and floatzel living in harmony for the most part. She tried focusing harder until she began remembering her escape from her tribe. Remembering the other buizel who were rude to her, those who treated her differently for being inbred and considering her heterochromia as a curse. The feeling made her feel defeated rather than angry. Try as she may, nothing seemed to bother her to the point of anger.
"Hesitation?" Mystic commented.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just don't have anything that upsets me."
"Really? You are not the slightest upset that the Drak Legion killed off your tribe, perhaps?"
"I mean, of course, I am. But... it just makes me sad. Confused why they targeted us. We were just a peaceful tribe."
"You do not have the slightest resentment towards them? No desire to avenge your family, kill those who killed your kind?"
"Creating an endless cycle of killing won't make a difference in this world. If I killed them, I'd see myself as no better than them. Once I'm proficient in these psychic abilities, I mainly want to use them to protect people. I don't even think I have it in me to kill anyone anyway."
"I understand pacifism and neutralism, but to just opt out of letting the killers continue killing is not just murder to more innocents but also murder to morality, no? There may come a time when killing may be your only option, especially if that is to protect someone you care most about. Let us take Rose for an example. Imagine the Dark Legion coming and murdering everyone. What would you do if you saw them murder Rose?"
"I-" Nixie froze, an image flickering into her mind. A dark figure loomed over the eevee, blood dripping from its gnarled maw. Nixie sat in a doorway in shock as the eevee's blood pooled its way to her feet.
"It is grim, I know. But that is the nature of those we face. They will not think twice about killing children, as I am sure you know. I ask again, what would you do?"
Multiple images flashed in Nixie's mind, all were different scenarios of people murdering Rose. The eevee's eyes reflecting the same ones as those who died in her home village. Nixie clenched her fists and eyes trying to block the images but they prevailed over her willpower. The buizel fell to her knees and put her paws to her temple, further trying to resist the dark imagery. Eventually, she heard a loud explosion. She opened her eyes to see the smoke clearing from a crater that had formed in front of her.
"Not too shabby," Mystic commented, taking a sip of her tea. "We shall continue working on this until you can muster one up on will. Afterward, we will train your accuracy in using it."
"I... I did that?" She asked in disbelief.
"You did. It is a shame, though, that these powers are reliant on trauma and anger, however. And after we nail the ability down, Starshine had made clear that she intends to train you as well."
"The Princess? She wishes to train me as well?" Mystic nodded her head. "I-I don't know what to say. I'm honored she wishes as much." A brief reminder passed through her thoughts. It had been nearly a month since their departure. "When exactly should they be back?"
Mystic's demeanor shifted slightly, though she tried to mask it. "Um... They should be back in about a week, I imagine." She trailed off a bit before snapping back. "Anyway, I've kept you longer than intended. You should probably be on your way to pick up Rose."
"Right...Right! Thank you again for the training Mystic," Nixie said with a bow before dismissing herself.
"And then you take this paw and place it here," Hocus told Rose while placing one of Rose's paint-dipped paws onto a canvas, "and move it wherever you see fit."
Rose shifted her eyes between Hocus and the canvas before dragging her paw down and curving it upward and around the previous strokes they had created. The two then stared at the mess of colors displayed across the canvas.
"So, what is this supposed to be?" Rose asked.
"Who knows?" Hocus responded truthfully. "All that matters is that we both made this, and that's surely worth something," he said with a smile while holding onto Rose's paw.
Rose smiled back at him and admired their 'masterpiece,' even if it was only one in their own eyes.
As she stared back at Hocus, her smile turned more into laughs. "You've got some paint on you."
"Wha-? Where?" He said, inspecting his body.
"Right there!" Rose said while painting a small portion of his body with some leftover paint on her paw.
The two then ran around the room laughing and covering each other in paint. Pocus sat on her bed, reading a book. She slowly grew annoyed with the two. It didn't help since she was at a climactic point in the story and the two were taking away from her immersion.
"Gah! Can you two be quiet?" She pouted.
Rose and Hocus looked at each other and grew deviant grins as they both knew what had to be done. The two tackled Pocus and began covering her in paint. All but one found the event amusing.
"Great! Now I gotta go clean up." The pink espurr stomped her way out of the room. "Screw you two."
The other two continued laughing while they lay on the floor.
"I'm sure she'll forget about it tomorrow," Hocus assured.
The two laid down next to each other while looking at the ceiling. Their laughter slowly died down.
"So..." Hocus started.
"Yeah?"
"About this relationship...or more so, about us. I feel we still need to understand what it means. Like, do you even know what it means to be in one?"
"I mean, I imagine it has something to do with us loving each other, right?"
"But do we really love love each other? Or are we just acting on impulse?"
"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts."
"No! Of course not. I just... I don't know. I feel we're rushing into something we don't understand all that well."
"I thought we agreed to take it slow and, pretty much, learn together."
Rose then felt the espurr wrapping his arms around her, bringing her into his embrace.
"Yeah, I suppose we did. I mean, I wish they would have told us more than just what.. that adult stuff was. They didn't teach us anything in between. How are we supposed to know what we're supposed to be doing if we have no instructions?"
"Maybe we don't need training for it all. Maybe it just comes naturally. Would this relationship really be special if we were trained on how to act and reciprocate emotions? Plus," Rose said, now turning to face Hocus and embrace him too, "I'm enjoying being held by you," she cooed.
Hocus smiled and kissed Rose on the forehead. The two sat there cuddling one another and softly petting each other, letting their actions carry their conversation rather than their words.
Tesla and Kindle had stepped off the boat some time ago and now stood at the island that was their destination. Anoon was a tropical environment with a temperate climate and humidity that would make anyone groan in disgust. The two now sat at a checkpoint where they were to wait for their client. The two hadn't spoken to each other and neither was eager to break the silence. It was Tesla, however, that caved in.
"So, any idea as to who our client even is?" Kindle boredly sat across from him, resting her head on her paw. She made brief eye contact before looking away and remained silent. "Yeah, me either."
"They said they would meet us here," Kindle replied flatly.
'A response? That's progress.'
"That's all good and well, but how's that any help if we don't even know who they are? And how are they even supposed to know that we're the people they're looking for?"
Kindle looked around the room and then back towards Tesla. "Call it a hunch, but I'd say that the fact that we're the only two here clearly indicates that we're who they are looking for."
'Fair'
Silence befell the two once more, leaving each to their thoughts. Nightfang's words still resonated within Tesla's mind, and the constant awkwardness around each other began overstaying its welcome. Tesla sighed to himself. He knew the only way to move forward now was to find a middle ground with her. How he was going to do that, though, he was not too sure. Like most of his conversations, he decided on winging it, regardless of how important it was.
"Look, Kindle," he started, drawing her attention. "I know things... aren't the best between us, but..." He struggled to find his words. "I know you, pretty much, want nothing to do with me and to get this mission done with as soon as possible so we can part. But us constantly being distant from each other is going to do nothing more than impede our performance for the mission. I feel we should find common ground, if only just for this mission."
"Is this your way of trying to make amends?"
"I mean, that's kind of what I'm going for, more or less."
The fennekin shook her head. "Just say it."
Tesla was now confused. "Say what? That I'm sorry?" Her stare more than confirmed the answer. "I already told you I was sorry that night."
"No, actually, you still haven't apologized."
"Fine, I'm sorry. Does that make you happy?" Tesla seemed to have abandoned his previous plan of action as emotions fueled the growing anger behind his words.
Kindle sat up more to look towards Tesla. "Do you even know why you're sorry?
Tesla closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his head before giving a defeated shrug. "Uh, which is it this time? You seem to find a new reason to be mad every two seconds now. But something tells me that's not what I'm apologizing for. So I'm sorry I never banged you after all of those times you subtlety were opening your legs for me." Tesla could see Kindle failing to mask the hurt from the sentence. Maybe he had gone too far, but he was now past the point of caring. "When the fuck will I get my apology after you nearly tore off my entire tail?"
Kindle wanted nothing more than to lash back out at him, but instead, she collected herself, taking a breath before replying. "You were always so fucking selfish," she said in a calmer tone. For some reason, whether it was true or because she didn't humor the idea of shouting at each other, Tesla felt a little hurt by the statement.
Before much else could be said, the door in the wooden shack had swung open. Standing at the entrance was a lucario, wearing a welcoming smile.
"Greeting folks, hope I'm not interrupting anything important! Ah, who am I kidding? I can sense the negative air from your two's auras."
"Right..." Kindle said awkwardly. "Sorry about that. Are you our employer for the mission?"
"Oh, right! Where are my manners? Not here, that's for sure! Well, now they are. I'm Remmy, one of Anoon's representatives for foreign affairs. And who may I have the pleasure of working with?"
The Lucario brought about a certain energy that seemed to bring back the notorious aloof and cheerful nature of the fennekin. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kindle! No fancy title to accompany myself with."
"Tesla," the mareep said plainly.
"A pleasure to meet the two of you. If you'd both be so kind as to follow me out, I'll fill you in on the details."
The mareep and fennekin followed the luicario out of the building and walked down a neatly pathed pathway. Palm trees surrounded them from both sides as well as the gentle waves of the ocean. Off in the distance, a large stone fortification could be seen. As they walked, Remmy filled the two in with information.
"Anoon is home to what we call The Peace Guild, a safe haven for those who seek refuge away from the dangers of the surrounding territories involved in the war. We avoid conflict as much as possible and only believe in self-defense. But, again, we try and stay out of the conflict as much as possible. That's where mercenaries come in. Due to the nature of our cause, we're easy targets for the opposing forces, so we hire mercenaries as our first line of defense and also use their resources for the purpose of rescue missions. In return, we offer them coin or sanctuary within the guild."
"With such a means of operation," Tesla started, "how do you all have enough spending power to house these people and hire mercenaries?"
"We've managed to set up trade routes; we have plenty of luxury textiles that we export mainly to Mardol. In return, we receive a chunk of our expenditure. On top of this, the mercenaries who have chosen to reside here have opted to support our cause through donation efforts. Anoon mainly relies on a barter system in our marketplace; we mainly need the money for hiring outside mercenaries and other imports we would require."
"How many outsiders do you have living here that would support your need in putting out listings for more outsiders to help you all out here?" Kindle asked.
"Oh, we have more than plenty living in our walls, but due to the nature of the job, we constantly need extra hired hands to help rescue pokemon from these hostile territories."
"What did you have in mind for us then?" Tesla then asked.
Remmy snapped his finger, leading it to point at the mareep. "Right! So over the past month, our avian scouts have been -as their title implies - scouting the southern shores of Zerith. We've made contact with a tribe of the goomy lineage. The Dark Legion has been lightly raiding them, mainly as a scare tactic to keep them in line while taking their young ones to raise them in their army eventually. From our acquired intel, they seem to come monthly, and we'll be waiting to ambush them, taking the remaining survivors under our wing of protection."
Tesla groaned. "Great, so we'll need to take another ship to get there. As if the one from Mardol hadn't taken long enough, it was nearly a month-long trip to get here."
Remmy snickered to himself. "Another ship, that's cute."
Tesla narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
"You'll see!" Flippantly replied the lucario.
Without much further explanation, Remmy continued leading the two to the fortress. The fortification expanded a large area in the forest, with walls surrounding it all. The main castle sat further back on a cliff by the seaside. Once they passed the main gates, they were greeted with a bustling city. Children laughed and played, chasing each other through the streets. Many pokemon were moving cargo boxes filled with food and supplies, carrying them to other buildings throughout the city. In a tavern, fellow mercenaries could be seen laughing and drinking. All in all, everyone seemed to be happy.
Kindle and Tesla were amazed by the sights causing Remmy to smile from their reaction. Further, into the city, they walked up a steady incline that led them to the main castle. A formidable fortress whose bricks had seashells embedded in its cement and an asymmetric geometry that was a persisting pattern that continued as its mighty towers tore into the sky. The three walked through the castle's entrance. Inside, pokemon were in a rush. Teams could be seen scurrying about the halls, checking the bulletin board for missions, and gathering supplies. Remmy put a paw up to stop Kindle and Tesla from walking much further. Shortly after, a team of six rushed past them, fully equipped with items to help them on whatever kinds of missions they were off to do. After they passed, Remmy relaxed his paw and proceeded to walk.
"Pardon the haste," The lucario began as he continued walking them through the main floor, "regardless, welcome to our home of operation." Remmy waved his paw across the air as if to guide their eyes toward the surrounding scenery. "Now, as much as I'd like to introduce you to everyone, it's most imperative I get you two to Zerith, so introductions will be brief."
Tesla was taken aback. "Already? I wasn't aware we would be doing this so soon, and if what we've heard about the Dark Legion is true, I don't think just the two of us are rightfully equipped to take on the task of fighting these kinds of people."
"Relax," Remmy said cooly. "The guild has you covered. We've gathered a couple more of our recent mercenaries who will be helping you two out on the field."
As the group continued rounding the corner they were met with a long room with nearly equally as long tables. Groups were formed at these tables to discuss plans. Along the length of the walls were niches with a weaving decoration of stone found within them. At the other end of the room was a stained glass view that overlooked the ocean. Remmy scouted the area before finding the group he had been looking for and heading to them. The group is comprised of a nidorina, spinda, butterfree, breloom, and an ursaring.
"Hey, hey gang," Remmy says as he approaches the group, electing them all to look up at his presence, some curiously making eye contact with Tesla and Kindle. "Got a couple of helping hands here who'll be accompanying you on the mission."
The ursaring slammed their fist unnecessarily on the table, "Dammit, Remmy! We have plenty of hands here."
The breloom put a hand on the ursaring's shoulder to calm them down, "It's quite alright, Azimuth," he says, then looking to Remmy bowing his hid, "I thank you for bringing them here, we'll take all of the help we can get." The bloom then directs his attention to the mareep and fennekin. "I'm glad you two are here to help, sadly, time is of the essence, so I'll make introductions brief. I'm the captain of our team, you may feel free to call me Barron."
Barron then pointed his hand at the ursaring, "This is our team's main muscle, Azimuth." The bear only grunted while making brief eye contact with the two. Barron then continued to the nidorina next to Azimuth, "Liz, here, is our strategist, she helps us pick and use our supplies effectively and helps us strategize our attacks." Liz gave the two a winking smile while holding out two claws. Next was the butterfree. "Our newest member, Emalra, is our scout. She surveys our areas and gathers reconnaissance information for us." The butterfree bowed her head at the group. "And lastly, Coila, she's our emotional support." Coil gave a bow of her own, nearly losing balance from her seat though she corrected it.
Kindle whistled, "Quite a team you have, I look forward to working alongside you all."
"Likewise, you two provide a good range of abilities that we didn't previously have."
"Don't get too comfortable," Azimuth spoke up, "It's only for one mission. You'd be wise not to be the weakest link on the field."
Tesla narrowed his eyes, "I assure you, we won't be. Hopefully, your ego doesn't cause you to be the weakest link," he shot back.
Before things could escalate, Liz stepped in, "Guys, I'm loving the hostile energy but please, save it for the enemy."
"A fine way of putting it," Remmy said. "Now, we have the numbers, and we have your drop location, follow me and I'll show you how you'll be getting in and out of Zerith."
And so they did. The whole team followed close behind the lucario as he lead them to one of the niches along the wall. Remmy formed a triangle with his hands and pressed it to his forehead, causing the woven stone to unwind as mystical energy filled the empty space in between. Soon, an image of a forest clearing could be seen.
"W... What is this?" Tesla asked, dumbfounded.
"Magic," Remmy said while wiggling his fingers. "These are gateways that can send and receive living things through them. It's imperative, however, that you enter one at a time. If you send two people, the ward gets a little confused, and... let's just say things get messy. Anyway! Who wants to go first?"
Tesla and Kindle grew a little hesitant. Coila, on the other hand, was eager. "Oh, oh. I'll go!" As she made her way through her dizzy steps, she tripped over one of her feet and tumbled recklessly into the portal. The image rippled as she passed through it, before slowly forming back into a still image again.
Barron, Emalra, and Liz followed soon after. Before Azimuth entered, he slapped Tesla a little harder than necessary as he made his way through the portal, "Not getting cold feet now, are you?"
Tesla growled to himself. "Like hell I am." The mareep then lept his way into the portal, leaving only Remmy and Kindle.
Remmy noticed the hesitation in Kindle, getting on a knee to lower himself to her level. "You have nothing to worry about, it seems daunting at first but you eventually learn to love it." He said with a smile.
Kindle smiled back, taking a breath to calm her nerves. She reared her legs and lept into the portal. She felt a strange texture overwhelm her body like she had dived into a pool of spider webs, slowly tugging against her as her body tried pushing forward. She saw the distorted landscape as if it were a reflection on a water's surface. As the sensation died down, the image became more clear before she could eventually feel a gentle breeze brushing along the fur of her back. She blinked a couple of times, now seeing the surrounding teammates.
"That was surreal," She blurted out.
Liz laughed, "I always love seeing people's first-time reactions. Plus, you two didn't hurl, so that's a good sign."
"Focus," Barron interjected. "We're in hostile territory now, so we'll need to be cautious." He pointed to the butterfree. "Emalra, we'll have you scout the area first before we make our approach."
"Right," She nodded before flapping her wings and taking to the sky.
Barron continued, "Azimuth and I are good with close combat, so we'll stay in the front of the group. Tesla and Kindle, you two are great for ranged combat, so you'll watch our backs for now. Coila and Liz, you two will stay in the center of our formation and provide the usual support."
After a few moments, Emalra returned. "Everything looks clear. No sign of Dark Legion troops for the next few miles either. So we have some time to talk with the locals about what's going on and set up our ambush."
"Perfect. We'll have you stick to the skies as we make our way to the town. Inform us if you ever get sight of them approaching."
She nodded again as she made her way back into the sky. The remaining six then made their way into the small village. The land was pretty slippery and filled with pockets of puddles. Gray clouds hung overhead, potentially a sign of another storm to claim the land. The village was rather lively for how small it was while goomy, sliggoo, and goodra made their way about town. Houses were predominantly cylindrical in design, being larger at the base before narrowing some at the top. The slanted designs were intended for withstanding the constant downpour.
As they entered the village, they were first spotted by a couple of goomy, becoming frightened at first as they slid their way to hide behind the legs of a goodra. The goodra looked down at them with surprise before looking up to see the approaching team. They ushered for their children to head into the home while they made their way to meet with the team.
"M-May I help you?" She nervously said,
Barron held out his fist to signal for everyone to stop. "We bare no ill intention." He assured. "The Peace Guild sent us on account that the Dark Legion had some influence over your small village."
The goodra stiffened up a bit, nervously shifting side-to-side. "I... I-I don't know what you're talking about. Everything's fine here!" She said, trying to sound reassuring though deceit dripped from her tongue. "I apologize but you must have the wrong village." She then went to shake Barrons hand, clasping it in both of her hands.
The breloom blinked for a moment before nodding his head. "I understand. Sorry for the confusion," He says with a bow, "Alright, guys, let's head back home."
The other five exchanged confused glances with one another. The ursaring stepped up, "Have you lost your mind? We didn't mess up. This is the vill-"
Barron put his hand on Azimuth's should and sternly said, "We're leaving." Without another word, Barron made his way past the others and began heading the way they came. Shortly followed by the others, Enalra shortly coming back down to meet up with them.
After they got deeper into the forest, Barron suddenly stopped. "Change of plans," He said as he turned to face his team. He opened his hand, a small note held within it reading, 'They're watching.'
The group froze for a bit after reading it themselves. "That's impossible," Emalra started, "I checked the surroundings, the trees, everything. I didn't see a thing."
"Possibly some advanced cloaking enchantments," Liz suggested.
"Sooo, what's the new plan?" Asked Coila
"We'll have to split up and set up our ambush now. Azimuth, you'll take Coila and Tesla; Kindle and Liz, you two will be with me. Emalra, do what you do best."
The seven then split into their respective groups as Barron led his to the north through the foliage, while Azimuth led his through the southern foliage. Tesla was on edge as his group crept through the bushes, an uneasy feeling forming in his stomach. It probably wasn't best for him to already be taking such missions with his tail injury. The group cautiously made their way through the thicket of the forest, staying alert should their ambush be spotted. Eventually, they made their way to a vantage point, a quaintly concealed gnoll that gave them a good view of the village.
"When do we know to attack?" Tesla whispered.
"Looks like we're waiting for them to make the first move," Coila answered.
For a while, nothing happened. The villagers continued their daily routines. Eventually, something caught Azimuth's eyes. He nudged the two next to him and discreetly guided their gaze to what he saw in the distance. It was hard to notice, but sure enough, a distortion in the scenery could be seen making its way into the village. As it approached its destination, the distortion shimmered until it shaped into the form of various ghost-type pokemon. Standing in the group was a haunter, two drifloon, and a trevenant. Azimuth growled to himself before charging out of the bushes, readying his fist as he made his way toward the ghosts.
"Wait," Coila shouted, "Barron hasn't given us the signal!"
"Fuck the signal! I'm taking the overgrown weed down!"
The trevenant's eyes shifted to meet with the now charging ursaring. It lifted its claws, slashing toward the bear as an insidious energy shot from its claws toward its target. Azimuth was caught off guard as the dark energy raked across his chest, causing the ursaring to grunt in pain. The trevenant gave a quick signal to its own team and the scene unfolded from there. Coila was quick to exit the foilage as well to aid Azimuth. Rested in another gnoll was Barron's team, he had cursed to himself before charging out with Kindle and Liz by his side. Seeing the now unfolding battle, Emalra swooped down from above as she dusted a purple powder from her wings as she flew over the four ghosts. The villagers all retreated to the safety of their homes as the unfolding event of the battle occurred.
As she retreated up into the sky, a drifloon chased her into the clouds, while being assaulted by the downpour of poisonous powder. Seeing the approaching comrades, Coila decided to flank the remaining drifloon and haunter. Liz decided on the same tactic, flanking the two from the opposite side. Barron and Kindle slid to a halt next to Azimuth as they stared down the trevenant. Tesla sat back in the bushes, observing. His legs began to shake, and his body refused to move, despite wanting to. The haunter observed its surrounding before its incorporeal form melted into a shadow on the ground and snuck its way into the foilage, reemerging just behind Tesla.
"Three against one," Barron said to the trevenant, "are those odds worth facing against?"
"You know," she spoke, "throughout my years of combat, the largest leading cause of an early death on the battlefield is underestimating the capabilities of your opponent."
Without warning, she slammed her hands into the ground as roots began unfolding from the soil and entangling the three. Kindle was quick to react as she spat out a stream of flames to free the three of them before they could be crushed within their confines.
The trevenant watched in amusement. "I suppose you wouldn't mind me evening the odds a little, now would you?" She asked while keeping an intent stare on Kindle.
Back in the skies, Emalra struggled to escape the drifloon. They were a lot quicker than their looks made it appear. She tried many advanced flight tactics to try and shake free of the ghost, but whatever she tried, they were quick to recover and be on her heels once more. She made one last attempt as she headed toward a nearby cloud, using it for concealment as she flew around its murky atmosphere. She cautiously scouted the cloud, expecting to find the drifloon, but the cloud appeared completely empty. Hesitantly, she waited before flying straight down once more. As she made her way closer to the ground, she began to feel something crawling around her body. As she investigated the strange feeling, she saw the threads of the balloon slowly entangling her, restricting her movement and slowly making their way to entangle her wings.
Emalra panicked, trying to shake free from their grip. "The more you struggle," he said, "the easier the constriction spreads."
"So what's you're end goal here? Have me plummet to my death? If I go down, your going down this burning ship with me."
"I can just let go and fly at a reasonable speed at the last second," he said, nonchalantly.
Emalra froze a bit as she watched almost helplessly as she gazed at the approaching ground.
Tesla began to slowly back up until he felt his back bump into something, the wool on his neck beginning to stand up. He slowly turned around to face the haunter.
"Enjoying the show out there?" He asked. "Odd that you aren't out there helping your friends out. I'm not too worried, I prefer one-on-one battles anyway. Let's-" he stopped in his tracks as he looked at Tesla, noticing how pale he was and his shaky legs. "Oh my god, don't tell me," he said while stifling his laughter, "you're not actually afraid of ghosts, are you?" The silence only confirmed his suspicions. The haunter dropped his composer as he began laughing at the mareep.
The remaining drifloon was on guard, anticipating an attack from either Liz or Coila. A bead of sweat dripped from the drifloon's eyebrow as the three stood in their standoff. Coila was the first to strike, as she charged headstrong toward the haunted balloon.
They snapped their attention toward the spinda, "What a fruitless effort," she said, "let me show you how ghosts and normal types properly fight!"
She whipped her tendrils toward the spinda, sending a gust of wind in her direction. Coila skidded with one foot on the ground while her clumsy movements narrowly dodged the blades of wind dancing through the air. She finished closing the gap with a charged energy in her hand as she uppercut the drifloon with a sucker punch. The momentum of the blow arched the drifloon through the air toward Liz. The nidorina got on all fours before launching herself in the air toward the disoriented opponent. As she made contact, her fangs sank deep into the drifloon as it popped and faded away in an echoing scream.
"Good work, Coila," Liz said with a thumbs up toward the spinda, "now let's take care of this trevenant."
Kindle stood back while Azimuth and Barron made a wall between her and the trevenant. Kindle prepared a ball of fire in her mouth while Barron and Azimuth charged in for close-quarter combat. The trevenant prepared a ball of green energy in her hand before crushing it, casing a green aura to envelope everyone on the battlefield. Azimuth was first to swing, his basic punch phasing through the ghostly tree. The trevenant grabbed him by the scruff of his neck as he was running by. Barron flung his fist with an electrical aura around his fist, smashing it right into the trunk of the trevenant. Seeing an opening, Kindle shot her ball of flame. In a brief second, the tree guarded herself using Azimuth as cover.
The flames splashed across his back, causing severe pain to shoot throughout his body and electing a pained shout from him. In the brief time he had, Barron grabbed hold of Azimuth and retreated a fair bit to tend to his wounds. As he retreated, the trevenant began flinging a few seeds throughout the battlefield.
"I don't have shit to fight this thing," Azimuth protested.
"It's fine, we can figure something out," replied Barron, keeping his eyes on the calm trevenant.
Liz and Coila stood cautiously from the rear flank of the tree, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
"Oh, is that it?" spoke the trevenant. It was clear she was taunting them with feigned surprise. "I suppose it's my turn to strike."
Emalra began thinking of many things to do but nothing seemed too plausible in her situation. She hung her head in defeat while dusting a few more particles of dust from her wing.
"You know, your poison powder isn't going to save you in time from this."
"I know," she admitted. "Just wanted to feel somewhat more comfortable in my last moment."
"Ah, so you've accepted fate by now?"
Not entirely. Emalra still had one more trick up her sleeve, a last result and one she wasn't too fond of. "She meekly looked up at her captor. Listen, I... I didn't know what I was getting into. I'm just following orders. I'm a helpless little butterfree. I'm familiar with the ideas of the Legion, but maybe... maybe just this once, you could let someone live. No one even has to know," she said while batting her eyelashes, a noticeable shimmer coming from her eyes. A side effect of her using captivate.
"Ma'am, I kill people for a living. I've seen all of the tricks in the book." She mentally cursed herself in the futile attempt to free herself. "But damn, you have some gorgeous eyes."
And there it was, the slight opening she needed to work captivate a little longer. "Oh, really?" She said while faking a blush and looking away, "No one has ever told me that before..."
"I mean, maybe because you're a bug and bugs are fucking disgusting...but," he pondered for a moment, "yeah, I'd totally hit it." It wasn't the most flattering thing to hear, but she would take it for now. "I'm Nimbus, by the way."
"Emalra." The two stared at each other in silence, for a moment, as they continued falling.
"You doing anything after this?"
Emalra giggled before looking back at him, "No... unless you have something in mind?"
"I was thinking- wait," he then realized that he was unable to move any part of his body.
"Is something wrong? Hopefully you didn't catch some of my stun spores from earlier. It was really bugging my wings."
Nimbus's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "You son of a-" Emalra broke free from the confines and flew above him as his body plummeted into the trees, tearing him up from his falling speed. Emalra felt a little bad for her tactics, but better to be alive than wind up in the same situation she figured.
The haunter continued laughing at Tesla, who was steadily recovering from his paralyzed state of fear. He grit his teeth and charged his tail with a lethal flow of electricity before swinging it around and smashing it against the cackling spirit. A loud bang sounded from the foilage, grabbing the attention of everyone on the battlefield. The trevenant used this window of opportunity to charge toward Kindle, swinging her hefty, wooden arm against her. Kindle just as the attack was coming but had no time to react. The wind was knocked from her as she was hurled off her feet and sent slamming back-first into a building.
"Coila," spoke Liz, "distract her so I can get an opening."
Nodding in understatement, the tipsy spinda moved into a battle stance and focused a psychic beam to launch at the haunting tree. She tanked the attack and observed her remaining opponents, figuring Kindle and Liz were her main priority. The nidorina had charged her foe from an adjacent angle, her tail beginning to drip with purple energy as she went in for her attack. The trevenant stepped back to dodge the worrisome blow, catching Liz by her tail. The nidoran's eyes widened as she was lifted into the air and slammed face-first into the soil below. Her body fell still as the trevenant looked over her shoulder, ready to attack kindle.
Azimuth gritted his teeth as he pushed himself back to his feet, ready to fight, though the searing pain in his back begged him not to. Barron ran over to Kindle to provide some protection.
"Kindle, can you still fight?" He asked. She picked herself up from the rubble, breathing heavily and whipping a fresh station of blood pouring from her maw. She nodded but wasn't so sure herself. "We'll need to be careful. Most of us don't have any means of causing real damage to her. She's also planted some leech seeds, so we need something heavy hitting if we want to deal with her."
Kindle understood the assignment, preparing some more flames in her mouth, ready for whatever attack would come next. The trevenant rush towards her again, but Azimath was ready to intercept her pursuit as his fangs chopped down on the side of her trunk. The trevenant groaned in moderate pain as she drove her elbow against the ursaring's head, forcing him off of her. Just as she closed in on the fennekin a bolt of lightning struck her back, causing her to lock up and fall to her knees. Having the perfect opportunity, Kindle launched a ball of fire at the ghost's face, lighting it ablaze. She screamed in pain as the flames quickly spread, clawing at her face to try to cull their spread. Barron finally charged her with a fist filled with electrical energy, slamming it against her face, causing the trevenant to fall onto her back.
"Looks like you're the one who underestimated your foes," Barron spat.
The group took a second to collect themselves. Coila tended to Liz, Azimuth sat alone tending to his wounds, and Tesla sheepishly walked out of the foilage, feeling ashamed that his fears held him back in the battle. Emalra eventually returned, perching herself atop a building. Kindle stayed on guard while Barron circled the trevenant.
"So, which of the officers do you directly work for," Barron asked the ghost.
By now, her flames had subsided, and she sat encircled by the conscious mercenaries. "Please, like you have any leverage to get answers from me."
"Considering you're life is on the line, I'd say we have all of the leverage we need."
"You assume poorly. Our lives are a necessary sacrifice for Tenebris's end goal."
"And what exactly is his end goal? Why do you constantly feed off violence against defenseless people in your own nation?"
"I could humor you with answers, but it's hardly worth my time, as you wouldn't truly understand."
"Perhaps you'd enjoy a few more minutes being engulfed in flames?"
"Threats of torture from people working in the Peace Guild. Ironic, as usual. But suit yourself. The few minutes I'll spend under flame is nothing in comparison to the flames that will one day consume your guild whole."
"It's useless, Barron," spoke Azimuth, "we won't get anything from her, best we off her now."
The trevenant began stretching her arms upward, "Yeah, go ahead, end me now. Also, thanks for giving me a moment to rest and leech some more."
Before anyone could react, the trevenant slammed her arms into the ground, sending another wave of roots from the ground that began entangling the team. Just as before, Kindle went to burn the roots from everyone, but the trevenant made sure to close the gap between them. She violently snatched the fennekin, holding her body in the palm of her hand. In a panic, Kindle tried shooting a fireball but felt a sharp pain in her lungs as the trevenant's hand tightened around her, causing Kindle to scream in pain.
"Kindle!" Tesla shouted in fear. He hunkered down and began sending out streams of electricity to try and free himself from the entangling prison. It was a futile attempt.
Azimuth and Barron were quick to free themselves, though their movements were sluggish. Emalra focused on the ghost and sent a gust of razor-sharp wind her way. Seeing the oncoming attacks, the trevenant squeezed even hard, until eventually a cracking sound could be heard and red streams began flowing between her hands. Kindle's scream eventually tapered off into a raspy breath. Her head fell back and the trevenant dropped her onto the ground.
Tesla could finally see the aftermath, his body freezing at the sight. Kindle's bones had been torn from their joints and bruises lined her body. A familiar crimson fluid poured from her mouth as her eyes shakily stared into the horizon. As if the imagery wasn't enough to through Tesla off guard, what really stood out to him was what he was able to perceive. Her torso had an unsteady rhythm as it would lift before falling harshly. She was still alive, she was still conscious. Every second she lay there, she could still feel every pain now shooting through her body. Her silent forming tears being the only thing confirming that to him.
The trevenant was hit by the gust of wind, almost bringing her to her knees. She then glared at the butterfree as she was the last major threat to take care of. The two engaged in their own standoff while Barron freed Coila and the unconscious Liz from their entanglements while Azimuth freed Tesla from his. Tesla felt rage coursing through his body as he went to charge in to fight the trevenant until he was stopped by the Azimith grabbing his shoulder.
It wasn't his usual face of anger. Instead, it was a face of seriousness. "Let Emalra hold her off for now. Acting on emotion isn't going to solve anything. Last thing we need is another fallen comrade."
Tesla was barely able to calm himself down but he took a deep breath before instead making his way to Kindle. Now that he was closer, the grim image was worse than he could imagine. He could see the contorted shape of her bones pushing out underneath her muscle. He could smell the nauseating stench of blood. Worse was he could hear Kindle nearly choking on her own blood as she took raspy breaths.
"Kindle, can you hear me," He asked with a shakey voice.
It was slow, but he could see her pupils move his way. The color in her eyes was dulling by the minute.
"Everything's gonna be fine Kindle," he said with uncertainty. In all honesty, he wasn't even sure what he could say at such a moment. He threw down their bag and began rummaging through it, looking for anything. To his dismay, they didn't seem to have any berries. He heard Kindle make some sort of sound, she was cut off as she coughed harshly.
"T...Tesla..." She managed to get out. He silently replied, stopping his actions and looking at her with concern. "I... I think this... is it..." She finished weakly.
"No, don't say that!" He protested. For the first time in a long time, he could feel tears of his own forming. He began choking over his words. "We'll get through this. There's- There's still so much for you to experience in life. Don't give up on me now."
She didn't reply. Her eyelids began closing, and her breathing slowed down. Frantically Tesla continued searching through the bag. Nothing of value could be found. He felt a hand touch his shoulder. It was Coila, a concerned look on her face. Barron and Azimuth continued to assist Emalra in fighting the trevenant.
"I-I'm sorry, Tesla. But, this... this is the nature of our job. We come and go through mercenaries on a regular. It's a dangerous job with dangerous consequences. I'm sure she was a great friend, but we need to let her rest-"
"No!" Tesla interjected. "I'm not giving up on her. Not when we came so far."
Tesla continued everything he could, but the denial eventually caught up to him. All he could do was look down at Kindle. Her breaths had slowed significantly, but she was probably unconscious by now. The only reasonable thing now running through his head was to put her out of her pain. Suddenly, he remembered a rumor he had heard. Something he wasn't so sure of was true and didn't know if he wanted to risk it. He dug around, once more, through their bag, finding a container filled with a strange purple candy. A specific substance Tesla had been saving for when he was done training himself. All he could do was pray as he unsealed the container and withdrew one of the mystical candies. He had to use both paws to put it in Kindle's mouth and force her to eat and swallow it. Moments passed excruciatingly slowly. Kindle's face seemed to wince as the food went down but nothing more seemed to happen.
Tesla's head hung low. Perhaps rumors were best left as just rumors.
Suddenly, Kindle's body began to glow. The bright aura swallowed her body as the silhouette of a fennekin began morphing and contorting into many shapes until it eventually dissipated. A braixen now lay in the grass, her bones correctly intact, her fur free of blemishes, and her anatomy now more bipedal. Kindle was barely able to open her eyes as she lifted her hand to look at it. Her body was still very shakey and weak, but Tesla didn't care as he charged into her and hugged her tightly.
"I... I thought I almost lost you" He said in reluctance.
"Tesla, please..." Kindle winced, "...it still hurts..."
The mareep quickly jumped back with an apology. The two made eye contact with each other before sharing a smile.
The trevenant had been fighting an uphill battle this whole time and was at her wit's end. She panted heavily, many deep cuts lining her bark.
"Just make it easy on yourself," Azimuth said in annoyance, having tired from the battle a long while ago.
The trevenant looked past them seeing the somewhat recuperated Kindle. She smiled to herself in thought.
"Are you all much interested in a game of sorts?"
"Not really," Emalra said while sending another gust of wind to finish off the trevenant.
The tree had turned around so the attack would whip her from behind. In the meantime, she prepared an incantation, whispering unknown words as a ball of dark energy formed in her hand. She snapped her fingers and pointed at Kindle. The ball hurled across the field at pelted the braixen, who gasped as the spectral energy entered her.
"There, I give myself willingly," spoke the trevenant as she opened her arms. "Strike me down now or I'll do it myself," she said while bringing her own claws to her neck.
Barron seemed to pick up on what was going on. "Azimuth, bind her, now!"
The ursaring was confused at first but did as he was instructed. He tackled the trevenant and pinned her down so she couldn't use her arms.
"What's going on, Barron?" Emalra asked.
"The damned ghost is filled with dirty tricks..."
the trevenant only laughed. "I'm almost surprised you caught on so quickly. Most find out the hard way."
Emalra and Azimuth were still confused. "Barron," the butterfree sternly asked again, "what is going on?"
There was silence before he replied. "Destiny Bond. She just gained leverage."
The team settled on taking the trevenant as a prisoner. They made their way back to the shore and were able to contact the guild to have another portal opened. They cautiously got everyone in one by one, setting up a guard parameter on the receiving end for the trevenant. She had been escorted to a holding cell while Kindle, Liz, and Azimuth were rushed to the medical wing of the guild. Tesla and Barron had been waiting outside for updates on the three while Emalra and Coila had retired for the night.
"So, a fear of ghosts, huh?" Barron chuckled.
"Yeah," Tesla laughed back, "been a fear of mine since I was a child. They just creep me the hell out."
"Hey, at least you can actually attack them. Azimuth, Coila, and I were mostly useless in that fight. Were it not for Emalra and Kindle, who knows how much worse it could have ended up."
"Yeah..." Tesla replied while remembering seeing how Kindle had almost died.
"Hey man, don't beat yourself up. We all made it out alive in the end. It may not be what you want to hear, but that's the culture 'round here. We party hard into the night, for our time could come at any moment. And should you have an untimely death, your name will be remembered by those you fought with."
"Right..." It didn't cheer him up much, but he was still relieved everyone was alive.
Eventually, a nurse came out, letting them know they were free to visit the wounded.
"I'll, uh... I'll give you time to chat with Kindle so I can check on the rest of my team."
Tesla nodded as he made his way to Kindle's room. He knocked on the door, there was no response but he decided to peek inside. He and Kindle made eye contact as his head entered.
"May I come in?" he asked awkwardly.
"Of course!" she said, though her voice was a bit strained.
Tesla made his way inside and sat on a chair next to Kindle's bed.
"How... are you feeling?"
"Horrible, honestly. My body feels like I survived a stampede of tauros. But, I'm alive... thank you for that..."
Tesla could feel a lump in his throat. "I... I didn't know this would happen... I-I... I didn't know what to do. I thought... I thought I was actually going to lose you."
"You shouldn't beat yourself up. Neither of us knew what to expect. Heck, maybe we were both a little in over our heads too. But that's all in the past now." She paused for a moment. "You know, just as I was losing consciousness, I was still able to hear everything around me... thank you for not giving up. I know I haven't been the best person to be around since we left Whitestone. I've been harsh and rude to you. But at that moment, right before I thought I was going to die, I couldn't help but think about how our last conversation ended on a sour note. I don't want that to reflect as the last thing you would have remembered me by."
Tesla cut her off before she could continue, "No, if anyone should be sorry, it's probably me. I started all of this anyway and I constantly escalate the arguments. I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you Kindle..."
Kindle laughed a bit, "It's not a competition. I just want our friendship to be how it used to be. I want us to laugh and talk with each other again. Anyone of us could die at any moment." The two shared a comforting smile. Kindle's eyes lowered to look at Tesla's tail. "I'm also sorry about that. That's not how friends treat each other, regardless of what's going on in their life. I shouldn't have hurt you like that."
"It's fine, Kindle, it'll heal. I'm glad you're okay."
Kindle shook her head to Tesla's confusion. She then retrieved the same container from earlier. The one containing the rare candies. "I want you to take one; so your tail properly heals."
Tesla froze for a moment. "I couldn't. I've been saving them for when I was truly ready to evolve. When I finally felt comfortable with my abilities and fighting techniques."
"And when is the right time? You can't live life in uncertainty. You'll never be ready by your own standards. I've seen you actually fight and the only thing really holding you back is the lack of evolution."
Kindle gave him no time to protest as she held one out in her hand in front of him. He knew there was no arguing her point and perhaps he had been overdue for an evolution of his in. Reluctantly, he grabbed the candy and ate it. He experience a wave of energy overpowering his body as he felt his anatomy reconfigure itself until he was standing on two legs. The new flaaffy form turned to look at his tail. It was freshly heald with a brilliant blue orb at its end.
"Let us have a fresh start," Kindle said with a smile as she reached her hand out. Tesla smiled and reached his out to hers as they met and shook it.
Somewhere beneath the guild was a dungeon, barely lit and intentionally built like a maze. A cage sat in a dark dead end holding a trevenant. The bars of the cage were formed with dark energy to prevent the ghost from phasing through them. She sat in a meditational pose, whispering to herself. Eventually, her eyes opened and she was able to talk through psychic communications.
"Magnus, I've made my way into the base. I've begun using my roots to map out the layout. I'll send all that I can though my time is short as I came into contact with a poisonous powder."
"Excellent news, Firth. Your efforts will prove useful for the Legion. We'll begin our assault after Tenebris gives the orders."
"Love to hear it, sir. They'll never know what hit them. I'll be sure to take some down with me as well."
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. 26 should be out this weekend. I've also added a chapter status section to my bio that gets updated almost monthly if you're ever curious about future chapters