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 Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 2:09 pm
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 9:59 am
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((News: I'm gonna be in Massachusetts til Monday. Holiday bizness. But I'm leaving with a big post so hopefully I don't keep things from moving. I didn't proofread this btw, so yeah. Bbl))
Glittering Cave – The Gorge
Jump couldn’t help but be impressed with Zack as the Unovan tamed the Aerodactyl mid flight. “Damn,” he said, letting out a whistle. “Now that’s style. He’d make a good coordinator, right Aaliyah?”
Thankfully Aaliyah was still paying attention to where she was going, so she didn’t see the spectacle. Nevertheless, she cooed with agreement. Jump narrowed his eyes down at Zack and felt his cheek, remembering the bruise and why they were down in the gorge in the first place. “Too bad…we coulda been friends…Featherdance, Aaliyah.”
With each flap of her wings, Aaliyah dropped cottony feathers that would cling to whatever they touched, limiting movement. Aerodactyl was the prime target. “Good fighting with you, Zack!” Jump called down. “I’d hate to save your life and kick your a** on the same day, so I’m gonna bounce! See ya!”
Aaliyah swerved sharply to her left and barreled down a tunnel so Jump could find his boss, Aliana the Scientist. He hoped that everything was taken care of and Diancie was captured so he could finally see that n** slip he was promised.
While Mega Hexum was the new King of the Dinosaurs, regular Hexum was not. As soon as the Lucario returned to normal form and was recalled, the dinosaurs that still had consciousness got up and became restless. They had not the energy they had before, but they still tried to climb up the gorge in a feeble attempt to give chase.
[The monarchy has failed! All is lost!] the Cradily wheezed deep in the gorge. Seconds later, he put his head down. [I’m going back to sleep…]
Camphrier Town
“Okay.” Matheson nodded and rubbed his chin. “Okay, good to know. I’ll look for her in the Chateau. Rhea, can you give him a drone?”
His Vespiquen nodded, and a fist sized Combee grub fluttered into existence from under her honeycomb dress. Math pointed at Metis, who dissolved the Fairy Lock. The magical caution tape retracted, as if it was being wound back into its source, and the Combee grub hovered to Levi’s side.
“Now you and I can communicate through Rhea and the drone. If I find her, I’ll have Rhea let you know, and vice versa” Matheson explained. He poked his head out the door and looked side to side. “I saw your Frogadier run off somewhere. I didn’t want to say anything cause I thought you were trying to be sneaky. Anyway, now you guys can meet up and look for her before she does something dumb…Kay, gotta go. Au revoir.”
And with a little wave, Matheson closed the door. If Levi tried to open it again, it would just lead into the warehouse.
Battle Chateau
Matheson’s guest room was not in the dormitory building where current students lived during their education. His was placed in the alumni suite, located in the chateau’s fancier area reserved by esteemed guests. If Salieri was posing as a student, she’d probably be better off wandering through the school area. With that in mind, Matheson tried to look there first.
“I’m excited, Rhea,” Math told his Pokémon while coasting down the hall. The nostalgia of his alma mater was wearing thinner with each visit, his attachment dwindling. An adventurous feeling now replace that, and the whole building felt fresh again with this new context. “I think I finally get to meet her. What am I even going to say?”
When he found students, he asked them if they’d seen any Devon Co. sponsorship trainers walking through lately. The school was large, seeing as it catered to all noble children in Kalos, and many people did not know each others names. After almost an hour, he found one person who saw a girl matching Salieri’s description. Of course, he couldn’t ask them if they’d seen Salieri. But he could ask them if they saw Jace.
“I saw her walking away from the PCs after they started acting weird,” one girl told him.
“Weird how?”
“They just got all static-y and loud, and they all said ‘shooting star’ in big red letters. Oh! And Jace got called up on the PA system! I heard someone talking about volunteering on Route 9.”
This led him to question what was happening on Route 9. The girl took him to the dormitory lounge, a place with comfortable seating, plenty of high class games and a large TV, all for recreational use. There were a gaggle of trainers gathered around the screen watching the news. Matheson edged his way to the front.
He wasn’t paying attention to the newscaster go on. The situation was pretty clear to him the moment he saw it. And on screen, riding a flying Torkoal, was Salieri.
Matheson stare at the screen, slackjawed as the camera tracked Salieri falling off the tortoise and climbing back on in midair. He gripped tightly onto his arm. Jace, I know I promised I’d punch her in the face for you…but how could I ever hit that face?
Metis clinked her keys in his ear and Rhea tapped him on the shoulder. Back to reality. “Right, thanks,” he told his Pokémon as he watched the news. In the background of the shot, he saw what he was looking for: a door with a keyhole. “That won’t be there much longer, let’s go.”
Math ran out into the hall, despite a hall monitor telling him it wasn’t allowed, and thrust his Magic Door Key into the nearest door he could find.
The Clash of Route 9
On the west side of Banksy’s Fire Spin wall, there were still wild Pokémon running amok through town, lashing out their frustrations on whatever was in front of them. A few tried to approach Banksy, but the sheer heat given off by the Torkoal caused the light around her to bend, warding the hoard away.
Matheson, Metis and Rhea emerged from the service door of a grocery store. As soon as they did, an angry Onix barreled at them, rotating quickly to smack them tail first. Rhea grabbed his trainer’s hand and pulled him up onto the roof. His Klefki hovered close behind just as Onix’s tail smashed into the side of the building, destroying their getaway. “That’d could’ve been us,” he mused.
****
On the east side of Banksy’s Fire Spin wall, a Mawile turned its back to Salieri to snap its jaw like horns across her midsection. Sal jumped back, whipped off the Devon Co. sponsorship jacket, and tossed it into the fangs. “Whoops,” she said with a smirk while she rolled away from a stray Cubone’s smashing club. Chew on that, connard. That takes care of the jacket.
She twirled around, jumped onto a Rhyhorn’s back, and aimed Veillantif, having the Horsea fire a stream of Bubblebeam at a wave of weaker looking Pokémon. The spray of bubbles burst forcefully in the faces of a Helioptile, Machop, Cubone and Woobat. All four were on their last legs now, slowed down by the sticky film on their bodies, but they still wanted a fight. Sal didn’t have time for that, so she just threw the rest of her empty Pokéballs their way. Four “DINGS!” signaled four successful captures.
Sal remembered to relish in her success later as two of the Pokéballs were warped back to Mia’s PC. She jumped off the Rhyhorn as it bucked her off, scooped up the other balls and kept moving, narrowly avoiding the crashing tail of an Onix. “They just keep coming,” she growled to her Horsea, who shook with excitement in her hand. Veillantif had never been to a party with this many Pokémon before!
On the other side of the hoard, Biz Marquis was twirling two Needle Swords in each hand, deflecting Rock Blasts from different wild Pokémon. A Hippopotas dove at him, huge mouth gaping open. Biz dropped his swords, ensnared the jaws shut with a Vine Whip growing from his arm, and spun on his heel. Hippopotas was pulled along for the ride, smacking away Pokémon in a circle around Biz like the end of a ball and chain. [This is badass, right? Right? Anybody?]
Durendal floated with Magnet Rise over one of the rock faces the hoard was trying to climb over to get past the Fire Wall. He fired off twin Thunder Waves at two Kangaskhan leading the pack, stopping them in their tracks. Their little purple babies jumped out of their mother’s pouches, poised to punch the Pawniard. Dune lifted a foot and pushed the joeys back at their moms, sending all the kangaroos tumbling down the rock face, bowling over the other climbing Pokémon. This was the first time Durendal had punted a baby. He was pretty indifferent about it.
After knocking out an Onix with a well placed Octazooka to the cranium, Salieri was given a few seconds to rest. She saw her Pawniard and Quilladin holding their own, using all she had taught them, and her heart swelled with pride. There were a few other domesticated Pokémon fighting back the mob as well. Sal could spot an Empoleon and a Breloom doing the same work as her own team, and there were a few other trainers in the thick of it as well. Nevertheless, she felt pride watching her boys go to town on a riot. Did the nobility really think a stampede could stop me? HA! I AM a stampede!
A shimmer like light refracting on glass coming from high atop the cliffs caught Salieri’s eyes, and not a moment later, a blob of ink shot down from that spot like a bullet straight at the Horsea in her hand. If a Rhyhorn hadn’t gotten in the way at the last second and inadvertently taken the blast, it would’ve been a direct hit. Everything went in slow motion for Salieri, mind racing at the new development while her feet pedaled backwards. “What the—“
Two more ink blobs were fired from that spot, but Salieri was already taking cover behind a boulder. She crouched low, gripping a little too tightly at Veillantif. Sal knew for a fact that only the Horsea and Remoraid lines could learn Octazooka, and she hadn’t seen any of those in the riot. Someone is shooting at me.
Slowly, she picked up a rock and threw it up over the boulder to test her theory. The instant is emerged out from behind her cover, it was shattered into pieces by an Octazooka coming from the same direction as the others.
The sounds of the stampede’s pounding became white noise in the back of Sal’s mind. A sweatdrop rolled own her forehead. This has to be the nobility’s trap. Someone is shooting at me…Oh god, it can’t be…I know who it is…
“The Sniper.”
Veil craned her head up to look at her trainer. Salieri’s paranoid anxiety had given way to a sinister, dark smile, one that got the Horsea a little scared. [Salieri?]
“The one that stole my brother’s Pokémon, Veil…that Sniper has finally come to hunt me down.” Her other hand rose up, and each of her fingers cracked as they curled into a fist. A shadow cast over her eyes under her bangs. “No, they won’t hunt me. I’ll hunt them!”
Scanning her surrounding, she saw most of the stampede running around in a frenzy. About half of them were retreating back to the cave while the other half still wanted to fight. Salieri only caught a glimpse of The Sniper’s position before hiding behind the boulder, but for her purposes that was enough. I’ll use the stampede as cover, change my position, and shoot back! The Sniper won’t even see me move!
A grey Hippowdon plodded across Spikes Passage, passing by the boulder. Salieri matched her timing to the Hippowdon’s and ran along its side low to the ground. No more shots had been fired. They still haven’t seen me. Perfect. I’ll shoot them from the side.
Sal sped up and slid under the Hippowdon’s belly, now on its other side and next to an upright Onix. The Onix was writhing with agitation, making it hard for Salieri to hide behind its frame, but she did her best to match her movements with the rock snake’s. Still, no shots had been fired since. It must have been working.
A group of Woobats were flying back to the cave. Salieri clambered over the Onix’s tail, slid down its side, then rushed through the swarm of bats. Now it was time to take the shot. As soon as she emerged, she’d jump on a big rock, aim Veillantif up and pull the trigger.
The Woobats passed. Salieri aimed up. An Octazooka was fired in an instant, coming down from the cliffside and knocking Veil out of her hand with one blow.
The world seemed to slow down as Sal watched Veil flip helplessly through the air. She screamed the Horsea’s name, reaching out to grab her. Veil fell into the stampede and was lost amidst the stream of bodies.
Five Bullet Seeds pelted down from The Sniper’s location. They each hit the top of Salieri’s chest and her neck. She gagged as the wind was knocked out of her lungs, the sheer force of the seeds breaking the skin and causing fresh blood to mist out. Merde, I can’t breathe… A Water Gun followed shortly after, hitting Sal’s forehead and causing her to stumble.
Her arms flopped uselessly as she leaned back, falling into the stampede with her vision fading. She was blacking out, but she could still see the glass shimmer coming from The Sniper’s location. Her fingers stretched out to grasp it. So…close…
****
Four strands of silk shot from four different Combee drones, catching Sal by her legs and shoulders. Her body dangled midair while the drones flew it back over towards Ambrette Town.
“Metis! The Horsea!” Matheson cried as he ran up under the drones. His Klefki weaved between the writhing bodies of wild Pokémon to retrieve Veillantif while Matheson caught Sal’s body in his arms, cradling it.
He stood frozen in place, looking at her face. Soft features that were hard as stone only a moment ago. Blood trickling down a vaguely star shaped wound on her chest. Math tenderly brushed some hair out of her face. “I just want to kiss her. Is that weird?” His face went bright pink. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud. You can’t hear me, right? Good.” He turned back to Rhea, who had an eyebrow raised and a tiny smile. “I mean, I’m not going to! Damnit!” he stammered. “Rhea, tell Levi we found her.”
Rhea would communicate to her drone in Camphrier Town that Sal had been found, and the drone would find some way to communicate that to Levi.
Metis came back dragged the Horsea’s body between two keys. Veil was out cold, battered and bruised from being trampled. Her breathing was a dull wheeze. Matheson took Veil out of the Klefki’s slipping grasp and placed her on top of her trainer’s stomach. “Let’s get them out of here.”
He turned around to leave, and was blocked by a very pissed off Quilladin and a silently furious Pawniard. “You’re her Pokémon, I take it?” he asked them. “I want to save her, but I can’t do it here. Will you come with me?”
Biz growled at the stranger, but Dune eased him with a palm on the shoulder. Salieri hated all nobles, but Dune didn’t have the same qualms. He felt their only choice, with the Pokémon Center being torn apart, was to trust the earnest sounding noble.
The Vespiquen created a platform out of interconnecting grub drone, fitting together in a honeycomb pattern. Math stepped on holding Sal and Veil, then Dune and Biz accompanied. Slowly the platform rose until it was over the Fire Spin wall, and the grubs dispersed to drop them off.
Banksy looked up from the Fire Spin wall to meet Matheson’s eyes. At the sight of him, her eyes became intense and a puff of smoke escaped her nostrils. “I can fix this, I promise,” Math looked down at Sal. “…I know you probably don’t like me...but will you trust me? Please?”
The Torkoal looked to Durendal for confirmation. Durendal nodded at her, so the Torkoal nodded at Matheson. A huge smile came across his face. “Great! I’ll patch them both up. Come on, let’s go!”
Banksy shook her head. Math looked back to the Fire Spin wall. “Oh, right. Duh. Okay then…do you know where Cyllage City is?” She nodded. “I’ll meet you there by the end of the day.”
Matheson walked away, carefully avoiding any Pokémon activity in his search of a new doorway. At last he found one: the door for café’s service entrance. He put the Magic Door Key in and turned. The door swung open into a cozy log cabin.
Biz and Durendal looked in, very confused. Matheson went inside first, followed by Rhea and Metis. “It’s safe, see?”
[What do you think?] Biz asked Durendal. Dune shrugged and walked inside. [Err, okay then.]
Biz followed, and Matheson shut the door behind them. The enchantment dispersed, and the door was ordinary once more.
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:59 pm
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((No worries, TK. Sometimes posting's easy, sometimes it ain't. Speaking of which, this one happens to be a few days late. ninja sweatdrop ))
Glittering Cave - The Gorge
Dust hung in a thick haze over the gorge's lower level, leaving the air heavy and suffocating. Hexum's final attack had carved new topography in the gorge's wall, loosening rocks that crumbled to the bottom in thick heaps. Serene coughed herself awake. Her skull felt mangled and caved in, consumed by a constant shriek of agony that left her half blind. She dared not touch it for fear that a gentle prod would be the end of her. Shakily, she scrambled from the wreckage of rock, wondering how she was where she was.
Distant roars echoed in the ink black gorge bottom, prehistoric pokémon scrambling madly to scale the steep, tall walls. Their voices became a confusion of noise, unintelligible, not that Serene cared for what they said. She knew all she needed to know from their tone; ravenous and enraged. The Kirlia staggered forward, then stumbled into a boulder, and had to set herself down to catch her breath. Her horns glowed with a faint red light, throbbing as they caught hold of psychic power, dimly lighting the nearby rocks. A pokémon growled, long and rattling, and something Serene had never heard in her short life.
The sudden jerk of her head sent stabbing pains down her back, but she let it off with a wince and continued to look around for the source of the noise. It occurred to her that with the glowing of her psychic horns, the growling pokémon could see her, while she couldn't see it. She pushed hard and forced herself to stand up, pain screaming from where her head felt partially collapsed.
[Who's there?] she croaked, the effort and the soiled air forcing her into a coughing fit. Serene dropped to her knees, covering her mouth, stifling the coughs into short squeaky bursts.
The growls came again, along with the soft padding crunch of rocks and dirt. Each sound was a footstep, and each step moved steadily around Serene. She scanned the darkness, easing her coughs, her breath now a series of tiny, rapid pants. The crunching stopped with a scrape, and the growling intensified. Serene's breath stopped entirely and the monster sprang from the darkness, its mad eyes and snarling maw lit up demon red by her horns.
It was a Tyrantrum. Smaller than the one that had fought Hexum, but still gargantuan compared to a Kirlia. It tore at her, mouth first. Its maw gaped, and it snapped up its prize without a fleck of resistance. Serene curled into a ball, Tyrantrum's fangs closing around her, the pain in her skull a maddening hot flame overtaking her senses, burning them away, leaving her only with white hot panic. The Tyrantrum's thick, slimy tongue thrashed at her, crushing her body against the roof of its mouth, trying to work her towards its gullet. Serene couldn't move, she couldn't think, couldn't breathe. She did the only thing she could do. She Teleported.
Glittering Cave - Diancie's Domain
Ratio said nothing when Helena gave her answer, instead nodding his head slightly to confirm her statement. The nobility were using Team Flare. He looked toward the tunnel mouth as distant howling echoed through the cave. Ferox padded around, walking in slow, steady circles, her paws utterly silent on the smooth stone cavern floor. Occasionally she glared at Helena with dark yellow eyes, little beads that glinted like pearls.
'Very good,' Ratio said, turning his attention back. 'You understand, Helena. You cannot trust the nobility. Learn one thing today, learn that they care for nothing but themselves.'
Now the howling was louder, closer. Ratio considered the sound carefully, gauging it, evaluating the threat. His eyes narrowed as he studied the tunnel mouth, and it screamed in frustration.
A solid wind blasted Ratio's tattered robes back, revealing his armour of black leather sections and contouring strips of dark metal. The soft glow of gems and Team Flare's orange light markers made the bodies into imperfect silhouettes, drawing nearer, darting and thrashing around. Serene panted as she ran, stumbling under wild snaps of Tyrantrum's jaws, evading the dinosaur by hairs' breadths. Tyrantrum was disorientated and wild, smashing into rocks it could have run around, making them crumble to sharp chunks, swinging its head and colliding with the wall without noticing, all its attention focused on its prey.
'Which pokémon is your most powerful?' Ratio slid his mask back into place with a click and started towards the tunnel, Ferox at his side. His voice regained its broken radio crackle, 'I suggest you use it.'
Glittering Cave - The Ascent
'Get back here!' Zack shouted through the wide open gorge, amplified by his own echo. Aerodactyl recognised its moment and thrashed mid-flight, hoping to swing Zack from its back. The trainer grit his teeth, squeezing hard with his arm around the wild pokémon's throat, and blasted its backside with another burst of water. The dinosaur rushed higher, arcing around the soft-falling Feather Dance, which fell like a cloud of snow. Wind assaulted Zack's face, rippling his clothes and hair as he directed Aerodactyl towards the mine cart tracks, hoping to follow them to the exit now that Jump had escaped.
They ascended the gorge, almost crashing into the gem-ridden roof. Aerodactyl flung its wings aside, and halted itself. Zack stayed in place, strengthening his grip at the right time. He looked about, trying to recognise which way was which, but the tracks were a maze, lacking in landmarks. He supposed some tunnels might have signs, but before he could look again, Aerodactyl flapped hard, soaring back-first towards the cave roof. It had given up trying to buck him; it was going to scrape him off. Zack grit his teeth, judged the distance to the nearest mine track. It was too far, but what choice did he have? Aerodactyl smashed into the cavern roof as Zack hurled himself into space.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:56 am
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Glittering Cave - Diancie's Domain
Helena was even more motionless than Ratio when the man decided to speak. Her own statements had earned a slight nod, his own earned nothing. It wasn't that she wouldn't, it was that she couldn't. Even if she could speak to the monster, doing anything terrified her.
The Arcanine and the monster - the man himself - were both intimidating figures. One wrong word, one wrong move, and Helena could feel herself dying. The feeling felt like a psychic vision - even though Helena was no such thing.
The howling of the cave caught her in the tenseness of it. Her first reaction was to blame it on Ratio, but his eyes moved. He looked toward it and she felt herself grow more tense. Not because she was afraid of something coming, rather she was scared of what this man would do to it. She was afraid of having to watch, to see the horror.
Helena could barely stand sitting in the graveyard this place had become, a mass grave would be far too much.
Her vision was suddenly obscured by the darkness of her hair whipping into her face. It was blasted forward by the wind and all of this announced the arrival of the Tyrantrum and -
"Selene!" Helena shouted. She had managed to pull herself away from Ratio, from staring at him, with the arrival of the wind. Her right hand brushed the hair from her face as her left retrieved Feather's pokeball.
Helena released the Flabebe and turned fully to face the approaching dinosaur.
If I can keep Selence safe, I can find you, Zack. Her priorities fell back on track, but nothing she could do would stop the terrifying feeling in her back like a scythe was ready to dig into it.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 2:39 pm
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It took Salieri a few seconds to realize she was staring at the ceiling of a log cabin when she came to, and a few more seconds to crane her neck sideways through all the pain. Her chest felt like it was aflame, her forehead just as sore. The headache was as bad as the hangover from a rough night at Gotengo. “Mmm…” This isn’t a hospital.
Gingerly, she looked to her right and saw a nightstand where her bandanna and the items from her Pokébelt rested. Amongst those items was an unfamiliar bottle of pills with a prescription label. As she regained feeling in her fingers, she felt that her hand was curled around something small, a cold piece of polished steel.
The quiet metal clanging of Durendal’s footsteps was a familiar sound. Salieri propped herself up on her elbows as Durendal approached, and took in her surroundings. She was in a bedroom in some kind of log cabin. Generic artwork of flowers and warm scenery lined the walls. The shades were drawn on the windows. There was nothing indicative of where she was, not a clue.
The last thing she remembered was Veillantif being shot out of her hand by The Sniper, and suddenly she became much more alive. “Dune!” she shouted. Her bandaged bruises on her chest flared up in pain and she winced. The Pawniard walked in and gently tried to push her back to lying down. “Dune, where-“
She rose up her hand and saw the form of the piece of steel she held: a purple key. “Finally, you’re awake.”
Standing in the doorway was a tall teenager with broad shoulders and a warm smile. Judging from the faint outline of his abs and biceps in his red button up shirt, he had the constitution of a Unovan football player. The short, messy hair atop his head was so blond it seemed to draw the light in the room towards it, and his blue eyes were gentle when looking her over. He took one hand out of his black trouser pockets and pointed to her. “Try not to move too fast, or the bandages will come off. I’m not very good at putting them on. How do you feel?”
At the word ‘bandages’, Salieri looked down. Gauze was wrapped all the way across the upper part of her chest. In the center near her neckline she could feel a constant soreness, and she recalled getting shot five times by The Sniper. She reached up to touch her forehead, where the same type of gauze was wrapped around. “You put these on me?”
“Yeah. Well, uh, I kinda had to take off your shirt to get your chest.” Blondie’s cheeks went bright pink as he stammered, scratching the back of his head. Despite his imposing stature, it made him appear childish. “Wait, that came out wrong! I didn’t want to, you know, uh...I blindfolded myself with your bandanna and your Pokémon helped me.” He buried his face in his hands, and with muffled words he addressed himself. “Wow, how about stop talking, Math? Geez.”
“So…you saved me,” she said matter-of-factly. Sal wasn’t fazed by Matheson’s awkward oral stumbling. It was a actually kind of flattering.
He nodded and removed his hands from his face. “I guess I did, yeah. Right place at the right time.”
Salieri mustered up a tiny grin. Despite everything else that had happened in the past few hours (she wondered how many hours it had been now), at least a handsome stranger had been nice to her. “I owe you one…where am I, anyway? Who are you?”
Blondie’s pep seemed to drop at her last question, like he expected a different answer. “…you don’t know who I am?”
“Should I?”
He nodded again and turned away, pacing into another room. “Merde, that’s embarrassing…My name is Matheson.” Salieri reached out to the pill bottle on the nightstand and read the name on its label as he said it out loud. “Matheson Leroux. Of house Leroux. Uh, that’s obvious right?”
He wandered into the living room, which consisted of a big couch, two wooden stools, a fireplace and a TV. Coverage of the Route 9 stampede was playing on the news. “I’ve been planning what to say to you when you woke up, but I’m really bad at plans. Can’t keep ‘em. I can’t even keep my thoughts straight right now. Aaaand now I’m rambling. You said you wanted to know where we are?”
The sound of wood splintering caused him to spin around. Salieri was standing behind him, balancing lightly on her feet with a broken off leg of one of the stools in her hand and a furious expression. Math blinked at her. “…is this about the shirt thing? I didn’t see anything. Not that I didn’t want to. Wow, why am I still talking-“
“Shut up,” she growled. Durendal emerged from the bedroom and Sal pushed him away with her foot. She held the key up. “Why do I have this? Why am I here?”
“That’s my Magic Door Key. You have it because I want you to trust me-“
“I don’t.” Slowly she backed away towards a door with the welcome mat. She assumed it was the exit. “Watch him, Durendal.”
“Don’t go out there. Not without a jacket. You can use my jacket if you want.”
Sal ignored him and stepped out the door. Cold wind rushed past her ears and did not slow down. Tiny white specks flew past her. Snow? The hell is this? Salieri spun around to see where she was.
Dendemille Town - Outskirts
High on top of a hill, the countryside was white with fresh snowfall. Frost covered trees dotted the landscape, and an icy river lined the bottom of the hill. In the distance Salieri could barely make out what seemed like a town. I have no idea where I am.
She closed the door and walked inside, eyes back on Matheson and the pointy end of the stool leg directed towards his face. “Start talking. Tell me what’s going on.”
Matheson looked back at Durendal, who seemed slightly embarrassed. “Can you lower the stick first?” he asked with a big smile on his face, cheeks still pink. “I can’t focus that well as it is.”
“Not until I know what’s going on.” His casual attitude was disarming, and it was pissing her off. “Why are you smiling?”
“Because you make me nervous and I don’t know what to do.”
What’s this kid’s deal? “…because I’m threatening you?”
“Because you’re talking to me, and that’s awesome. I can’t believe I just said that out loud. Forget I said that and ask me whatever you want.”
More confused than before, Salieri lowered the stick. “Where am I?”
“Just north of Dendemille Town. This is my friend’s cabin, but it’s okay that we’re here.”
Salieri had heard of Dendemille Town before. A remote place at the northern edge of Kalos, where the snow was perpetual and sometimes fierce. “Why did you take me here?”
“You were hurt. I promised your Torkoal I would fix you.”
“Why not a hospital?”
Matheson backed up and sat down on the couch, half expecting Sal to swing at him. She didn’t. “You were being shot at. I didn’t want to leave you in a hospital…here I could watch your back or something.”
Now Salieri recalled her encounter with The Sniper in full detail. Their fight hardly lasted a whole minute. It couldn’t even be called a fight. After all this time, all this anticipation of meeting one of the people that ruined her brother, she had been soundly defeated. It was embarrassing. It was scary. “Do you know anything about that Sniper?”
He sighed and leaned back, fingers rapidly tapping on his lap. “I think their name is Faust Nostrad. Uh, graduated from the Chateau with a math major. He was pretty quiet, sort of creepy. I didn’t really talk to him that much when I went there, but I heard he became a darkhorse hunter…that’s what they call a sponsored trainer that tries to take ordinary trainers out of the running for the Kalos League.”
“You don’t have to explain your friend’s job to me,” she said bitterly. “I know all about it-“
“DON’T call him my friend,” he interrupted with intensity. As soon as his anger came, it subsided to something that seemed like shame. “He’s not my friend.”
Salieri took a deep breath. She had a name now, but that was it. Names didn’t get her very far, as she found out with Ivan’s hacking program. Remembering the state of her Pokédex the last time she checked it, Sal opened it again. The loading bar hadn’t gone anywhere. “Salieri, do you still have Jace’s key card?”
Durendal stood to attention. Salieri snapped her dex closed and met Matheson’s earnest eyes with caution. “What’d you just say?”
“I asked you about Jace’s card key-“
“You said my name. I never told you my name.” Once again, she raised the stick to his face. “How do you know? What’s your deal, anyway?”
Math gulped. It didn’t seem like he felt threatened, but that he had something he didn’t want to tell her. Nevertheless, he spoke. “Jace is a friend of mine. He didn’t want to call the police after you assaulted him. I mean, not assaulted,” he assured, trying his best not to make her mad. “I mean…actually, yeah, assaulted is the right term. Nothing personal, by the way. Anyway, he asked me to help, cause I’m a tracker, so I tracked you-oh GOD!”
He buried his face in his hands. Sal lowered her guard. Matheson was a motormouth that didn’t know how to hold a personal though, but there’s was nothing malevolent about him. Between how he fixed her up and how he was acting now, Salieri, despite everything, was finding it hard to hate him. She lowered the stick. “What?”
“I just remembered a promise I made to Jace,” he told her through muffled words. Math looked up at her apologetically. “Sorry in advance. Anyway, he asked me to get back his stuff. Do you still have his stuff?”
“…the jacket got ruined, but I still have the card key.”
Math stood up and held out his hand. “Can I have it please?”
She stared at it hesitantly. “…I don’t think so.”
“Uh…hmm. Okay. What? Why?”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Why?”
“You’re a noble.”
He recalled what Levi said to him in Camphrier Town, about how Salieri held a huge grudge against all nobility. She’d be a tough egg to crack. “Why do you want to keep it?”
“I don’t. But I don’t want that other connard to have it.”
“That’s super petty of you.”
“Shut up! He was insulting my brother!”
“So you KO’ed him?”
Salieri stepped away. “How am I supposed to know you're not lying to me? Or that this isn't some crazy Pokémon illusion or dream or whatever? How do I know you didn’t just bandage me up so you could kill me?”
“Okay, that is insane. Sorry! I don’t mean you’re insane, but come on. I do a lot of stupid things cause of OID, and even I think that’s nuts.”
“OID?”
Now Math seemed embarrassed again. “Obsessive Impulsive Disorder. I, uh, have trouble controlling my impulses. I’m medicated for it…but I don’t really have dangerous impulses! You don’t have to be scared around me.”
“I’m not scared,” she snapped defiantly. Sal recalled the pill bottle on her nightstand. Those weren’t for her after all. “I never heard of Obsessive Impulsive Disorder…that’s actually a thing?”
Math frowned. “Sometimes I wonder myself.”
Slowly, Salieri lowered the stick to the ground. She ran her fingers along the key in her hand. Math said it was a token of trust. “What does this do?”
“That’s my Magic Door Key. With my Klefki around, it can make any door with a keyhole open to another door. So like, I opened a door in Ambrette Town and it led to this cabin. Does that make sense? I let you hold it because without it, we’re both stranded here. I wanted you to know…” He hesitated, and for the first time Salieri saw him trying to plan his words. “I wanted you to know I wouldn’t abandon you in the cold.”
Salieri wasn’t sure what it was, but something about what he said caused her heart to warm up a couple of degrees. She looked away, feeling awkward just looking at him, and blindly handed the key back. He took it. “Where’s my Horsea?”
Matheson led her into another bedroom in the cabin, where Math’s Vespiquen was hovering next to the bed over a sleeping Veillantif. The Horsea also had bandages on, in more or less the same spots that Sal had hers. They were matching. Biz Marquis was waddling underneath Metis the Klefki, who jingled her keys just out of the Quilladin’s stubby reach. [Son of a…damnit!]
“The stampede really did a number on her,” Math explained in a somber tone as Salieri kneeled down, gently rubbing a hand on the Horsea’s stomach. “I had to use all my potions to get her back to health, but she should be fine.”
She nodded at what he was saying, but she wasn’t listening closely. Veillantif wouldn’t have been so hurt if it wasn’t for her recklessness. The Sniper was calculating, and she had rushed in guns drawn. “Veil, I’ll make it up to you,” she whispered to her Horsea.
Math cleared his throat. “Your Torkoal was busy keeping the stampede at bay, but I told her we’d meet at Cyllage Town. It’s just north of Ambrette Town…Salieri, you have a way to store Pokémon, right?”
“Yeah.” Briefly she flashed back to the four random Pokémon she captured on Route 9.
“Good…You have to send your Horsea home.”
Salieri looked back at him, hoping that he would be smiling or working his way to the end of a joke. He wasn’t. “Faust tries to take out a darkhorse’s Pokémon, to discourage them from competing in the league. If he knows you still have your Horsea, he’ll hunt it down. He’s a perfectionist that way.”
Her throat ran dry. “I told her she’d get to see all of Kalos…she’s going to hate me.” Sal hung her head low and shook it. “…this is ******** know. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s…” Salieri realized a moment too late what she was about to say. Something she never thought she’d say to a noble of any kind. But Matheson wasn’t like any noble she’d ever seen before. “It’s not your fault…it’s mine.”
She turned back to Veil and pressed her forehead to the Horsea’s belly. Veil giggled in her sleep, tickled. Matheson lifted up a hand, almost placing it on Sal’s shoulder to comfort her, but quickly grabbed his arm back and decided against it. He was doing his best not to be impulsive with her, and it was hard. “I’ll leave you alone with her now. Whenever you want to go to Cyllage Town, let me know and I’ll take you there.”
He backed out into the hall. “Matheson.”
“You can call me Math.”
“Okay, Math.” Salieri stood up and faced him, looking down at her feet. “I meant what I said before. I owe you one, for everything you’ve done for me.”
A huge smile came across his face. “Really?”
She became apprehensive at his response. “Yes? Don’t press your luck.”
“Okay, okay.” He bounced on his heels, excited. “Okay, then can you do me a favor? Don’t take this the wrong way.”
“Take what the wrong-“
POW! Matheson punched her in the face. Rhea, Metis and Quilladin stared in shock while Salieri reeled back. As someone who had taken several punches to the face in her lifetime, she could safely assess that he could throw a mean hook.
Math covered his mouth with his hands, just as shocked as everyone else. “Sorry! Sorry!”
“The ********!?” she growled, clutching her cheek.
“Sorry! Jace made me promise to punch you in the face, and I have to keep my promises, and I really didn’t want to-“
POW! Salieri punched him in the face. He groaned, clutching his cheek as well. “…you punched me in the face!”
“You punched me in the face!”
“Merde, you’re really strong!”
“There’s more where that came from, connard!”
“So everything’s cool now, right?” He held out a hand for a truce. Sal slapped it away.
He sighed, looking to Rhea and Metis for guidance. They shrugged. “…okay, we’ll be in the living room whenever you want to go. Rhea, Metis, c’mon.”
They trudged out of the room, Math hissing at his injury, and closed the door behind them. Salieri stared at the doorway. Her cheeks felt hot, and she wasn’t sure if it was just the new bruise or the whole situation that made them that way.
[Well,] Biz said while shaking his head, [None of that was very badass at all.]
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:18 pm
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Glittering Cave - Above the Gorge
Gems crumbled like rain in a cloud of dust. The few seconds stretched on for hours; Zack suspended above the gorge, diving away from Aerodactyl, a lot of nothing in every direction. The mine cart scaffolding edged towards his outstretched hand, slowing as his momentum fell. In a second, he'd lose it entirely and fall straight down, never reaching his target. The dinosaur screeched as it freed itself from the cavern roof, the shrill sound making every inch of Zack's skin prickle. He pointed Clauncher's muzzle from underneath his armpit, and the pokémon's claw began to rattle and whine. With a high pitch whistle, the claw built up the remainder of its water and blasted the lot in a single mighty shot. It struck Aerodactyl squarely on the chest, and Clauncher clamped the release-valves at the back end of its claw, giving the pressure nowhere to go. Zack braced himself, squeezing against Clauncher with his elbow and curling his shoulder towards the scaffold as Clauncher's water gun sent them crashing into it.
Hot confusion rocked Zack's brain on impact, his side splitting with pain when it collided with a scaffold beam. He found himself hanging on by his forearm, legs dangling free and Clauncher in his other hand looking spent. He glanced up with just enough time to react, every muscle in his chest tensing to swing him against the metal struts. He planted his feet, giving himself enough balance to duck away from Aerodactyl's swoop. Its two massive feet snapped their claws at thin air, and Aerodactyl bolted back cautiously. Zack was belted with a hard shove of wind that threatened to fling him from his perch. He fought through it, digging his fingers into the metal beams until it hurt. With Clauncher dangling from his belt, he climbed up the scaffolding to the track twenty feet above.
Aerodactyl dived back in, sawtooth jaw-first. Zack heard its screech and guessed at the timing. In one fast movement, he threw himself sideways, dangling on one arm and narrowly avoiding getting chomped. His back collided with the metal, and he regained his footing in time to swing again as Aerodactyl snapped for a second time. Zack's chest hit the scaffolding and he jumped higher, grabbing a beam and letting Aerodactyl snap its jaws closed on where he'd been a moment earlier. His heel kicked out, cracking the dinosaur in its eyeball again, almost making it drop from the sky in pain.
As the Aerodactyl flapped away, Zack completed his climb, dragging himself to the relative safety of the tracks. His chest heaved, and he realised he was out of breath, ears pulsing with blood. He stood opposite the giant dinosaur pokémon as it spread its wings wide, and for the first time Zack could see how truly massive the thing was. He'd seen Aerodactyl skeletons in museums before, but they couldn't compare to this thing. It was easily three times the size, every inch of its flesh packed with muscle and scales. Its eyes were bloodshot from where he'd assaulted them, trained on him in the utmost anger. He unclipped the empty Clauncher from his belt, and a smile crept to his lips. A moment later, Aerodactyl charged.
Glittering Cave - Diancie's Domain
Ferox broke forward, but halted at a slight twitch of Ratio's hand. The Tyrantrum's roar thundered about the cave, flecks of raw saliva spraying from its unhinged jaw, its tongue arched, tense meat. The Arcanine's gaze slowly went from the opponent to its master, yellow beads of eyes rolling about their sockets. Ratio was looking at Helena as she went into battle, his voice distorted to a crackle by the mask.
'Now,' he said quietly to himself, 'Let's see you in action.'
---
Serene dropped out of sight as she tripped, but Tyrantrum carried forward, everything crimson, fixated on the fresh meat ahead. The chase had it in a blood frenzy. Denied its kill and forced to chase it through the tunnels, the dinosaur was just about ready to rip apart anything that happened across its way. Its clawed feet stomped the earth and cracked it with each step, smashing through jagged crops of rock without so much as a flinch. The creature and its Arcanine were stationary, less interesting than the human girl and the Flabébé that had come forward to meet it.
The instant it crossed the threshold into Diancie's domain, Tyrantrum launched itself skyward. Using the spherical nature of the cavern to its advantage, it aimed to fly up, then crash down on top of Feather. Both feet's claws glowed dark purple with the power of Dragon Claw. With its overwhelming power advantage, Tyrantrum aimed to turn Feather into green and white paste, each claw rending a body part from the whole, dismembering the grass type in one blow. After landing, Tyrantrum would turn its head sideways by 90 degrees, then snatch toward Helena, aiming for its Crunch to consume her from the knees up. Ratio wouldn't be helping.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:02 pm
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Ambrette Town
It was supposed to be the easiest thing in the world. Really, there were a bajillion other people showing up to deal with things, and Benedict had found himself thinking I won't even have to do anything really. There were cameras everywhere, news people, and a really good chance for him to get it on television. Have proof for later down the line that he was, in fact, one of the heroes that had shown up to save the day from stampeding pokemon.
The youth groaned as he slowly pushed himself up. The rubble that had seemed to be in a pile over him moved easily enough, and revealed that there was very little of it actually there. Chance had had him ducking away, and chance had let it fall at the right angle that he wasn't horribly crushed. Chance, and a good look at how many things there were to fall. None of them were super heavy, but they were bulky, and had stacked on one-another before ever hitting him. Anything that had gotten through was relatively small and only bruising at worst.
Benedict moved away from the damaged building at a careful-but-still-pretty-fast pace, after all that place was in danger of falling the rest of the way. Things sounded more calm now. Fewer terrified screams and outraged pokemon, but they were definitely still there. His pokemon were safe enough, Sir Ricard was the only one not pretty much completely worn out from the battle. But again, that was because Benedict was afraid the thing would just try flying away again.
The battle had gotten him a new pokemon: Rhyhorn. Of course, the pokemon hadn't been trusted immediately, what with it having been just about to run some girl through before he'd caught it. I should have stuck around a little longer after that. Might have seen her later. And she would have known it was him. But he'd been in a rush and only stayed long enough to pick up the pokemon.
The youth began dusting himself off as he walked, and moved as stealthily as he could through the rubble that was the town. There were still wild pokemon about, though things had become more calm at last. From what he could tell, there was still fighting, trainers against pokemon, but it felt less... Destructive? Was that the right word? Either way, he focused on hunting for the pokemon center, and held to hope that, maybe, the place was still standing. It had to be a safe haven.
((And there's the failpost that lets me put Benedict back into the things.
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 7:28 am
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Diancie's Domain
Facing the Tyrantrum was far more dangerous than the creature behind her, Helena knew this rationally. However, she felt calmer facing the beast than the monster. As she jumped back, she took note of the enemies' movements.
Its outline was lit up by fragments of light that touched its body, the crystal cavern turning Tyrantrum's descent into a colorful show. The screen of her pokedex lit up as she called for Feather to "move to me!"
Flabebe obeyed, pushing herself away on a Fairy Wind, covering the distance to avoid being crushed under Tyrantrum's weight. A move neither of them knew would have been useless to the Pokemon until they had moved out of range.
The beast crashed into the ground as Helena caught sight of Tyrantrum's pokedex entry, seeing the only piece of information that mattered.
He's part dragon.
"Fairy Wind!" Helena commanded as Feather tensed up. Tyrantrum's Crunch was coming for them. Open mouthed, the creature moved and so did Feather. She launched everything she could into the Fairy Wind, pushing her tiny form backward into Helena and, with all of her might, she'd try to both push the dinosaur one way while she pushed herself and her trainer the other way.
With any luck, and type advantage, the force of it would be just enough to save their lives from Tyrantrum's Strong Jaw.
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:37 pm
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((Awesome, more Benedict))
Glittering Cave - Diancie's Domain
Super effective the Fairy Wind may be, it accounted for little when one considered the gulf of power between the two opponents. Fortunately for Feather and Helena, that little was enough, and when Fairy Wind assaulted the inside of Tyrantrum's mouth, the small amount of force managed to delay its Crunch by a split second, allowing them time to push back to safety.
That meant that while Feather and Helena were thrown backwards in a heap, Tyrantrum could keep charging through, its raw power allowing it to absorb Feather's best attacks, its hunger blinding it to any pain. After its Crunch, Tyrantrum stepped back for a half second to right its head, then rumbled forwards, pointing its skull at the human and Flabébé, trying to smear them with a Head Smash. While Helena still had room to dodge, if she kept going backwards, her back would soon be up against the wall. leaving her between a rock pokémon and a hard place
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:32 pm
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Glittering Cave - The Tracks
Zack sprinted with his legs on fire, ducking out of the way as Aerodactyl rammed into the tracks. It smashed a heavy metal cart in a shower of sparks, sending it flying overhead. Zack ran some fast calculations, figuring out his attack power. It wasn't much. Serene was lost to the gorge, and Hazard could still be fighting in the dark below, Clauncher was out of water but still had a Swords Dance to its name, and Fatass was untrained. Two useless pokémon against a seriously pissed off giant dinosaur that can fly. Great.
'Guess I wouldn't want it to be too easy,' Zack grunted, glancing over his shoulder and jumping forward when Aerodactyl swung its wing through the tracks. Metal split and warped, wood exploded. Zack rolled as he landed, found his feet and carried on sprinting. The cart battle with Jump had been disorientating to say the least, but he noticed the tunnels in this direction were higher than the ones in the other. He had to hope that they weren't as winding as they felt, and the higher tunnel mouth lead up to the surface. His footsteps thundered down the track, heading for the tunnel, which was marked by a thick cluster of glowing gems. With any luck, it'd be too narrow for Aerodactyl to give chase, and this nightmare would be over.
Aerodactyl crashed onto the track behind Zack, its roars making his ears ring. It flapped its wings, throwing him forward with a heavy gust of air. Zack almost toppled, landing on his tip toes and running maladroitly, staying upright, staying alive. The gust died, signalling a new tact. Zack glanced back, then threw himself to the deck as Aerodactyl belted another mine cart at him. It flew past the trainer, smashing once on the track before falling into the dark gorge noiselessly. He landed on his hand, and pushed off the floor, running with a bow. All it took was one more blast of air to send him flying off his feet, and this time the gust came from Aerodactyl landing right behind him.
Zack hit the deck, the back of his neck tingling like crazy, losing track of his limbs and unable to move. He could feel Aerodactyl's hot breath wash over him like summer heat, almost sense the sheer weight of the pokémon that was not two feet away. It roared in triumph while Zack found his hands, and wormed his way onto his elbows. He grit his teeth, spinning onto his back. Aerodactyl swung its head down to feast, but found a Clauncher pointed at its face, and Zack wearing a grin. Aerodactyl's eyes opened wide. It stumbled backwards in fright, waving its wings to fend off a spray of water that never came. By the time it realised, lowering its wings and peering over the top, Zack was already back up and running.
The gems sparkled before him like a finishing line. Zack's feet pounded the track's wooden slats with a hollow echo, his heart ready to explode. Aerodactyl took off behind him with a roar streaming behind it, flying low to the track, its mouth wide open in a final effort to claim its meal. Zack threw himself into the tunnel, slamming against the gem-lined wall where the track took a sharp bend. A heartbeat later, debris exploded from the tunnel mouth; sparkling gems spraying amidst good old fashioned rocks and dirt. Zack stood with his back to the wall, mouth hanging open as he panted heavy breaths. Less than a foot away, Aerodactyl's snout thrashed about, its saw-like teeth and bloodshot eyes not far behind. It was locked in the tunnel mouth at the shoulder, its hind legs kicking and ripping the track to shreds as it willed itself forward, but it wasn't going anywhere.
Zack's breathing settled. Aerodactyl snarled, swinging its head uselessly, and the trainer cracked a tired grin. It was over. Without really thinking about it, he reached up and slapped Aerodactyl a couple of times on the snout. The pokémon screeched in galvanised rage, and Zack pulled his hand away, then realised that the pokémon really was stuck. He looked it in its beet red eye, smiling.
'Take it easy for a while,' Zack said, giving it a final pat on the nose and starting the hike up the track's steep incline. He glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. 'Maybe you can try again in another thousand years.'
His voice trailed off when he saw what Aerodactyl was doing. Rather than getting beat by the narrow tunnel entrance, it was opting for a change of tactic. Thrashing its head side to side, Aerodactyl ground out huge chunks of the tunnel entrance, making it crumble in fist-sized lumps. It then swung its shoulder forward, crashing through the side of the tunnel mouth, dragging its body forward and getting to work on the other side.
'Oh god dammit.' Zack's smile dropped. He decided he'd seen enough, and ran up the track, harder now that it was uphill, taking the slats two at a time in big, loping strides. 'God freakin' dammit.' Aerodactyl hauled its other side into the tunnel, its wings pinned to its side, effectively turning itself into a mouth and a pair of legs. Zack sprinted. Aerodactyl charged after him, maw hung open and wet with saliva. 'God DAMMIT!'
The Clash of Route 9 - The End
Ledian slumped against Carracosta's big blue shell in the middle of the destroyed Route 9. Where the area was once famous for its rich mess of crags and sharp, spiky boulders, the stampede had crushed it flat. Now all that was left was thin-lined ground and a lot of dusty wind. The red bug man lolled his head, exhausted from battle, while Carracosta snored peacefully, his head bowed into his chest. The rampaging pokémon had been beaten back. A few battles still went on in town, but like tiny patches of flame after a blaze, they were insignificant and would soon be stamped out. Ledian lifted his head as Dexio hurried over, sliding to a halt with his chest puffed out.
'Great job, Defenders,' he said, flicking the two pokémon a thumbs up, though only the one was awake enough to see it. 'Thanks to your bravery, Ambrette Town has been saved.'
[Hooraaay...] Ledian sighed, dropping his face into the dirt.
'Well, more like mostly saved anyway,' Sina said, 'Or not mostly. Like, 90% destroyed, actually. But a few walls are still standing. That's got to count for something, right?'
'Of course!' Dexio flashed a heroic grin. 'Without us, those few walls would be nothing but rubble beneath our feet.'
Something rumbled further along the coast. Dexio and Sina quietened their celebration, looking towards Glittering Cave anxiously. Ledian managed to peer around Carracosta's shell in time to see it happen. High atop a wide open plateau, the cave mouth tore apart with a flap of gigantic bat wings, showering boulders as something huge soared out. A trainer spilled from the cave, hitting the dirt with a roll, dodging the falling rock and spinning to face the flying giant.
'Is that...?' Sina started, meeting Dexio's eye.
'Trouble,' he replied, and they nodded together. Ledian groaned as he was coaxed into flying, and Carracosta awoke with a start. Together, the Defenders of Kalos raced towards the battle.
---
'I gotta say, you're even uglier in the daylight,' Zack shouted up at Aerodactyl as it winced, screaming and flapping in place. The pokémon twisted its head this way and that, its eyes clenched tight. Thousands of years in a cave with only gemlight to see by, and the day's sunlight must have been excruciating. Zack was egging it on, but he was running on empty. He doubted he had enough left to keep avoiding Aerodactyl's attacks the way he had been doing. Sooner or later, he'd be that half second too slow, and that would be all the difference Aerodactyl needed.
'Need to get it down,' Zack muttered to himself, looking around. The pokémon Kiedis had beaten up had managed to wake up and crawl away during the fighting. All he had left were the boulders broken off the cave mouth when Aerodactyl charged through, scattered around the plateau like gravestones. Aerodactyl's flapping became less frantic. It was testing its eyes, opening them a crack. Zack imagined its vision to be blurry and blacked out, but steadily getting into focus. He didn't have much time. Grabbing a ball at his belt, he called on Fatass. The Snorlax make the earth shake when he landed in the battlefield. He was the weakest pokémon Zack had by level, and barely knew any moves. Still, Zack thought, how hard could it be?
'Okay, Fatass,' Zack said, 'You better be a fast learner. I want you to grab a rock and bring that thing back down to earth.'
The Snorlax grunted, then looked at where Zack was pointing. His dull expression never left his face, but his mouth did hang open slightly. Fatass shook his head, throwing himself into action. He picked up a medium sized rock, turning it over in both hands. Smack Down wasn't the strongest move in the world, but it would cripple Aerodactyl's flying. It was Zack's bad luck that Fatass had no idea how to perform it. The slovenly pokémon span half a revolution and let the rock fly. It was sharp, its sides hard and flat, perfect really. It hit the side of Glittering Cave with a burst of dust, missing Aerodactyl by miles.
'Quick, grab another one!' Zack shouted. Fatass waddled quickly to another rock, this one a little heavier, and hurled it. Aerodactyl was shaking its head, testing whether it could open its eyes all the way or not. The rock careened past its head and smashed into the ground, way off target. Fatass looked about for another rock, while Zack started thinking up a Plan B. He looked left and right, then back to left, squinting when he saw what he thought he saw. Two people in white suits wearing red and blue masks were rushing towards him with a Ledian and some kind of giant blue turtle. 'Wha...?'
Aerodactyl screeched, bursting into motion. Fire shot up Zack's insides and he turned, the enormous dinosaur swooping over Fatass, ignoring it, speeding directly towards Zack. He gripped Clauncher in his fist, aiming it directly at Aerodactyl's face. The feint didn't work a second time. Aerodactyl kept coming, and Zack threw himself to the side to get out of the way. Pain shattered his ribs. Aerodactyl caught him at the shoulder, driving him backwards as it soared low to the ground. The cliffs were coming up quick. Zack grit his teeth, air pressure keeping him pinned, his side screaming with agony. Aerodactyl soared past the cliffs and let Zack fall.
Waves crashed into the rocks below, kicking up foam. They pointed skyward like a thousand swords, glinting in the sunlight. Aerodactyl flew out to sea and started to arc around, coming back to claim its prize from the rocks. Zack dangled with nothing below him but death. Clauncher clung tight to the cliff face, keeping his trainer from falling and not for the first time. Zack grabbed the rock, sparing only a second to see Aerodactyl speeding towards him once again. If it wasn't a messy death at the bottom of a cliff, it would be one at the side of it. Aerodactyl could just as easily smash into him now and finish him off. He climbed, hoisting himself up, not looking back for a moment longer than he had to. Zack crested the top of the cliff and pushed to his feet, turning to face the oncoming monster. He didn't even have enough time to stand up fully. Aerodactyl was already before him, maw opened wide, wings far wider, its body curling around its target, a prehistoric bird of prey.
This was it. Zack had enough time to bite his teeth, but not enough to move, to get out of Aerodactyl's way, to do much of anything else. He closed his eyes. Something shattered. It sounded like a bag of gravel bursting open, and Zack winced as a razor sharp thing sliced his cheek. Zack looked in time to see Aerodactyl smashed backwards by an enormous boulder, which was shattered across its chest. Its wings went limp and it fell away from the cliffside, plummeting towards the sea. Zack paused, then peered over the edge. Aerodactyl hit the rocks, bounced, then fell into the water with a massive, foamy splash. The trainer looked absently to his side, and saw Fatass a short distance away, pumping both fists in success, an 'I did it' grin on his face.
'Third time lucky,' Zack muttered, smiling weakly. He went sick to his stomach when he heard that all too familiar screeching. Back at the bottom of the cliffs, Aerodactyl, its wings useless after Smack Down, was climbing by slamming its claws into the rock. 'Oh, come on!' Zack moaned, dropping his hands with indignation. The pokémon screeched again as it climbed closer, surprisingly quickly, but then the cliff was little for such a massive pokémon. Zack glared, and Aerodactyl came closer, stabbing its way up the cliff. It was ten feet away from cresting. Five. Zack took a ball from his belt. 'Alright!' The dinosaur dragged itself over the cliff, howling at the trainer. 'You wanna eat something? Eat this!'
Aerodactyl threw itself at Zack just as Zack lobbed his pokéball. The ball struck Aerodactyl at the back of its throat, then popped. Aerodactyl dissolved into red light, which washed over Zack, whipping into the open ball that then clattered to the ground behind the trainer. He turned, staring at the ball and breathing out hard through his nose. The dinosaur stopped struggling, and the ball went silent. Zack collapsed.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:27 pm
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:53 am
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((I hope you guys are paying attention, because I've been trying to teach you that dinosaurs do nothing but charge, roar and scream. And they do that because they're hungry, pissed off or both pirate ))
Glittering Cave - Diancie's Domain
Ratio watched the battle in silence, his arms crossed at the chest. Ferox stood beside him on all fours, its fur bristled, immobile until its master commanded otherwise. It hadn't taken Helena long to judge the power difference, but now she had to put that knowledge to use. A pokémon as unwieldy as Tyrantrum had plenty of momentum, but little agility in close quarters. A smart battler would be able to predict Tyrantrum's movements and keep one step ahead, for Tyrantrum only needed to land a single blow to earn its dinner. Helena matched his Aura, but a fight like this may be too soon for her. Ratio's eyes narrowed behind his mask. He stayed still.
Tyrantrum charged past where Helena had been and slid to a stop, thrashing its head about in frustration. It turned, lifting its head, only to be assaulted by a barrage of Razor Leaf. The first few leaves struck Tyrantrum's snout, and it instinctively scrunched its eyes up, keeping them safe from damage. If Helena thought this meant the pokémon would become helpless. she had another thing coming. Keeping its eyes scrunched up, it Roared, screaming out a wide cone of enraged shockwaves that would likely crash into whichever pokémon Helena had summoned, forcing it back into its ball and her off her feet.
After the Roar, the dinosaur would open its eyes again and charged hungrily with another Head Smash. If it missed this time, it would smash into the cave wall near Helena and dislodge a rain of heavy rubble and giant gemstones. If this happened, the shower wouldn't do much harm to Tyrantrum, but it would be more than enough to crush the girl.
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:27 am
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Glittering Cave - Diancie's Domain
It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. Helena was sure that she wasn't going to get a better shot at Tyrantrum. Feather returned to her ball and Helena threw Loki's ball as far as she could. As Tyrantrum charged, Loki would appear next to it.
"Take him as high as you can!" Helena shouted and Loki complied, moving to grab Tyrantrum and teleport him to the top of the cavern.
If it worked, Helena would release Feather again, directly below the dinosaur with the order to "Fairy Wind, don't stop!" The blasts of wind would move to assail Tyrantrum as he fell, and if nothing stopped it, this would continue until Tyrantrum was just about to hit the ground, at which point Helena would return Feather and send her back out at a safer distance.
All the while, Helena made sure to climb back up to her feet, ready to move on a moments notice. Loki, meanwhile, teleported back to his trainers side, the Kadabra waiting for his next command.
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:09 am
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Glittering Cave - Diancie's Domain
At level 15, Feather simply wouldn't have enough strength to make an impact on 600lbs of descending dragon. Loki's Teleport went through, disorientating Tyrantrum for a brief moment, and it span as it fell, letting the futile Fairy Wind wash over it. Tyrantrum twisted once in the air, then crashed down with both feet, generating what was effectively an Earthquake attack that resonated through the chamber. The earth rocked, breaking the walls into splinters, freeing gemstones while the cave collapsed, rumbling.
Ratio took a casual step forward, and a bullet-shaped boulder larger than he was stabbed into the spot where he'd been standing. Tyrantrum was at the centre of the cave in, glaring around for Helena, apparently unaware of the destruction it had caused, even as rocks and gems spilled from the roof and shattered on its hide. Helena and Loki wouldn't be quite so impervious, and they would have to find their own way to survive the continuing shower of rock. It didn't simply fall in a single wave, but as constant streams of rocks, heavy and small, the air flooding with dust. At any moment, the cavern threatened to reach its limit and fall apart completely, crushing all within.
This was something the assassin foresaw. After avoiding another rock, this time by sidestepping and walking forward, he removed the steel-shaded pokéball from his cloak. With a swipe of his armoured hand, Ratio summoned Diancie in a flash of sparks. The Legendary pokémon hit the deck weakly, almost falling on its face. It took a glance around the room, then cast its hands to the sides, expelling the remainder of its drained power.
Diancie generated a wave of swirling purple shaped like a dome, which expanded, drenching every inch of the chamber in its light. At the touch of Diancie's power, rocks transformed into pink and blue crystals, becoming thicker as if crusted over. Any rocks that were falling stopped, hanging in the air as translucent crystalline shards, revolving gently. The rumbling ceased, and even Tyrantrum stopped snarling, leaving the cavern in deathly silence.
After some moments of quiet, Tyrantrum began to growl, trapped in a shell of thick, misshapen crystal that had formed over its rocky hide. It tugged and tried to thrash, snapping and cracking bits of its shell, impeded for now. The cave mouth was still open, and further down Serene lay unconscious, partly encased in the same kind of crystal that trapped Tyrantrum. Everyone else remained untouched by the Legendary's power. As Diancie fainted, Ratio recalled it, hiding the pokéball back inside his ragged cloak. Ferox stood at his side, unharmed, glaring silently at the struggling dinosaur in the centre of the cave.
'And so,' Ratio said, assuming Helena and Loki had avoided getting hurt in the cave in, 'You survived.'
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:10 pm
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((Ain't no party like a Benedict party cause a Benedict party don't stop))
Dendemille Town - Outskirts
Twenty minutes had passed since Matheson had retreated into the cabin’s living room to give Salieri some space, and ten minutes had passed since Durendal and Biz Marquis followed suit so their trainer could be alone with Veillantif. Sal had been waiting anxiously for Veil to awaken. She thought about using the Pokéflute to wake her up, but this was a necessary sleep. Now, the Horsea was finally beginning to stir from her recovery nap.
“Veil,” Sal whispered, gently prodding at the back of the Horsea’s neck. Veil yawned and stretched her tiny form on the much larger bed, then rolled over to see Salieri. Upon looking at her trainer, her face fell, weary and somber. “How are you feeling?”
Veil avoided Sal’s eyes. “That Sniper really did a number on us, but somebody fixed our wounds. We got lucky.” Lucky may not have been the right word, considering that Matheson was still a noble despite his seemingly good intentions, but Sal opted to leave that part out. There was still bad news to come. “…I’ve been told that The Sniper won’t stop til they’re sure I have no Pokémon left to challenge the league with, to break my morale. If he knows you’re with me, he’ll speed up his progress.”
The thought made Veil shudder, and she curled up tightly into a ball. Sal furrowed her brow. Veillantif, an adventurous soul by nature, had never backed down from anything before. “It’s been suggested that I send you home. I think…” Sal gripped tightly at the side of her pants, teeth clenched together. “I think that’s a load of crap. The Sniper is coming after me anyway. It’s what I wanted. So I’m going to face him head on. You’re still with me, right?”
Veil rolled away from Sal, staring out at the window. A light snow flurry dusted the countryside, sprinkling over a land Veil had never seen before. She wanted to explore everything Kalos had to offer. At least, she did before she knew the darkness that lurked in the region.
Sal reached over and put a hand on Veil’s fin. The Horsea’s change of attitude was unnerving. “…Veil? Are you still with me?”
Veil looked back at Sal just for a second, eyes shining with shame, before turning away and shaking her head. They didn’t share the same language, but Salieri knew full well what it meant. No, Sal. I want to go home.
**************************
Salieri emerged from the bedroom with her head hung low and Veil’s Pokéball back on her belt. The unmistakable aroma of home cooked food filled her nostrils, distracting her from Veil’s refusal of the call as she wandered into where the kitchen and living room connected.
Matheson was attending to a fully occupied stovetop, with many boiling pots and sizzling pans filled with meats and vegetables. Salieri didn’t quite understand what was being made, but it smelled spicy. Beyond the kitchen sat many Pokémon on the chairs, couches and floor, all eating what Math was cooking. Durendal and Biz sat with the Vespiquen and Klefki Sal saw before.
There were four more Pokémon Sal hadn’t met that made up the rest of Matheson’s party. The two biggest ones, a male Hippowdon and a female Milotic, took up most of the space in the living room. The Milotic was coiled up in an effort to take up less room. The Hippowdon was so pleased with the food that he couldn’t help releasing tiny streams of sand from his huge pores, at least until a Hitmonchan bonked him on the nose for it with a chuckle, causing Biz Marquis to laugh as well.
The Pokémon that drew the most of Salieri’s attention was a big, muscular Houndoom sitting by himself near the doorway, eyes out the window as he ate. Around the hound’s neck was a steel collar with a round, rusty orange jewel embedded in its center. The Houndoom must have noticed Salieri staring at it, because he sent a quick glare over to deter her from looking further. It worked.
“Hungry?” Math asked while washing his hands, snapping Sal out of her brief reverie. “It’s almost dinnertime. I was getting hungry, so I started making food. Then I figured you’d want food. And then I figured everyone would want food, but I didn’t know what you liked, so I kind of made everything.” He pointed to the various items on the stove. “Yeah, I started all of those at different times, cause I kept adding things, so, it’s kind of a mess. You like pancakes?”
An apprehensive “Yeah” was all Sal could muster in response. With perfect timing, Matheson flipped some pancakes onto a plate and gestured for Sal to sit at the crowded table. She stared at the steaming breakfast food, poking it with a fork.
“How do I know you didn’t poison this?”
Durendal froze up right before putting a bite of some kind of steak into his mouth. Biz noted his hesitance, shrugged, and snatched the steak away from Dune.
With a sigh, Math took a pancake off Sal’s plate and stuffed half of it into his mouth. “Shee?” he said, mouth muffled with pancake. “Othink oo fear.” He held out the other half to Sal, who took it slowly before sitting down.
Seconds later Math came over to put a piece of broccoli, half a carrot, part of a steak, and cheesy pasta onto her plate. He wasn’t kidding when he said he made everything. Math sat down next to her and started to eat. A grumble in her stomach was a sign that she had to swallow her pride to swallow the food, so she did. Now Sal remembered that it felt like ages since she had eaten anything. The day’s events had taken control, and now that she had time to reflect she realized she skipped lunch.
Math looked up from his plate, watching Sal eat ravenously. “…Sal, I still need Jace’s card key.”
She paused, pasta in mouth, to meet Math’s eyes. “Whatever problem you have with Faust Nostrad isn’t my business, but it isn’t Jace’s either.” He spoke in a hushed tone, like a parent that didn’t want his kids overhearing the conversation. “You can hate the nobles if you want, and I wish you didn’t, but you can’t hurt nobles that have nothing to do with you.”
“Hmph.” Sal finished her bite and put her fork down. Up until today, all nobles she had ever met were eyesores to her. Cretins that needed to be punished for flaunting their money in the face of the normal. “What would you do if I said no?”
Math looked around the room. “I mean, my team kind of outclasses yours, so-“
“Does not,” she said defiantly, although secretly she agreed.
“Does too.”
“Does not.”
“We could do this all day –does too- but the point is that I won’t let you. I can’t let you. It’d be really disappointing if you just turned out to be another bully.”
Bully? “I’m not a bully.”
“You punched a stranger in the face and stole their swag. What do you call that?”
“…retribution.”
“It’s bullying, Sal.”
Sal opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Muttering incoherently to herself, she took the card key out of her pocket and handed it to Math. “Thanks for the after school special, Professor Buzzkill.”
“You’re doing the right thing,” he assured her as he took it back. They ate in silence for a moment, until Sal had a question.
“So, Math, you have no problem with me fighting Faust?”
“Well I don’t like him, so no. I mean, wait, I mean, if it’s self defense-“
“I want him to kiss my dirty shoes, with his head poking out of the sand and his body buried underneath it.”
“That’s, uh…” He rose his eyebrows and stuffed food into his mouth, stalling so he could form a proper response. One bite later, and he had, “That’s pretty morbid.”
“It’s about what’s right. Why does everyone keep saying morbid? Helena said morbid…”
“Look, if he’s one of the nobles that screwed you over, and you need closure, that’s another story. Just make sure you’re getting justice, and not revenge, okay? Revenge cycles are sick business.”
The statement perplexed Salieri. She rolled it over in her head, trying to make sense of it. “What’s the difference?”
Matheson shook his head. “You’re kind of scary, Salieri.”
“Dude, you made pancakes with broccoli. That’s kind of scary.”
“It’s not scary, it’s delicious.”
“It’s weird.”
Matheson narrowed his eyes and nodded at her plate. “So, you’re not gonna eat that?” She met his eyes, challenging his statement, before blindly putting the broccoli into her mouth. He grinned. “Bon appétit.”
Cyllage Town – Pokémon Center
The sky glowed a pink orange as the sun got closer and closer to setting across the ocean's horizon. Refugees from Ambrette Town filled up the hotels and spare rooms of the Pokémon Center in the wake of the stampede. Even with the best Pokémon construction crews, it’d be days before anyone could return home. Families huddled together, trying to comfort their children amongst the confusion and fear. The nurses were having a hard time trying to organize the influx in occupants. It was a madhouse.
Salieri, Matheson and Metis emerged from a closet door using the Magic Door Key. Math disenchanted the lock, handed the key back to Metis and returned the Klefki while surveying the scene. “Geez, it’s worse than I thought…”
All Sal could do was nod. She knew she had to call Mia as soon as possible, since Faust could be anywhere looking for her, but she couldn’t help think about the clash on Route 9. Ambrette Town was in ruins by the time she had arrived. Could she have done more to save it? If Faust wasn’t there to snipe at her, would there be more families with roofs over their heads?
Banksy waddled through the crowd, spotting Sal from afar. A Rocky Helmet hung on the Torkoal’s head, a token of appreciation from one of the engineers at the Route 9 gate for helping with the job. Sal crouched down and looked over the Torkoal’s body. No wounds. “Did you miss me?”
Banksy snorted a plume of smoke. That meant “No”. Sal rolled her eyes and recalled the Torkoal. “Stupid turtle.”
Math nodded at the PCs. There were several lined up in a row, but they were all occupied by people trying to assure distant relatives or friends that they were okay. “Looks like you’ll have to wait on line.”
Sal took out Veil’s Pokéball and stared at it in her hand. “…yeah…”
Math scratched the back of his head. “I should, uh, probably go.” He put his hands in his pockets, kicking shyly at the floor. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to keep talking to her, but he knew it wasn’t the time. “Sal, do you hate me?”
“Hate you?” Sal rose an eyebrow at Math, and saw the sincerity behind his eyes. Not once since meeting him did she believe he was lying to her. It was rare for her to find someone she could trust. Rarer still to find a noble she didn’t hate. “No. No, you’re alright. You saved my a**, so…”
He sighed with all too obvious relief. “Fantastique! I mean, uh, cool, that’s cool. So, I’ll see you around, right?”
Sal considered the possibility that the nobles knew more about her than she did about them. Her role as the hunter could be usurped at any time. Right now, she was the prey. She needed an advantage, and one was placed very conveniently in front of her. To help matters, Sal was starting to think Matheson was attracted to her. Yeah, I could honeypot this guy. What a sucker.
“Maybe we could swap numbers,” she suggested with a coy smile, taking out her Pokégear. “Just in case.”
He blinked a few times in disbelief. “Uh, of course. Definitely.”
She put her number in his Holocaster, he puts his in her Pokégear. They swapped devices back and there was another awkward silence. She breached it by holding out her hand. “I still owe you one.”
He shook it. “It’s okay. Next time maybe don’t punch me in the face.”
“You punched me in the face!”
“Oh, yeah…alright, I promise I’ll never hurt you again.”
Sal looked down at their hands. “We’re already shaking on this.”
“Yep, I know.”
He let go after holding on for too long and begun to walk away. “Math,” she called out over the din of the Pokémon Center, “Why did you help me? You could’ve just taken the card key while I was unconscious.”
Math took a deep breath. He recalled what Levi said about Sal. How much she loathed those with blue blood. “All that hate doesn’t suit you. For all I know, you could be beautiful underneath it.”
She had been prepared to be flirtatious, so she could have him in the palm of her hand. She hadn’t been prepared to be called beautiful. Her throat ran a little dry as she tried to keep her tough composure with a little smirk. “That’s the OID speaking, right?”
“Nah. I meant what I said. I think you’re super hot…that last part, that was the OID. I’m gonna go now.” He waved meekly as he hurried away, red faced.
Sal giggled. Not for his sake, since he was out of ear shot. Maybe it was a stress release reaction. Maybe it was just because.
Then she looked at the PCs, and remembered what she came her to do. Her heart sank in her chest as she sent Mia a text.
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