Incarnate.

Started by Tombi April 5th, 2009 10:55 AM
  • 1339 views
  • 12 replies
Age 29
Female
England.
Seen October 24th, 2010
Posted August 15th, 2010
49 posts
14.1 Years



Incarnate



'For when our teeth and ambitions are bared, be prepared..!'



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Incarnate is a fic based on a character of mine I've had for a long time. He's appeared in several roleplays and has been used by others in their own fanfics. I always wanted to write about him properly, so here it is. Expect lots of fighting. 8D

Incarnate is a fic that includes violence, blood, cursing and romance, so yeah.

Enjoy.

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Chapters


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Guest Characters

Slots Are Currently Full.

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Introduction

Lithe shapes slid silently through the dry grass, their eyes flashing malevolently. The moon overhead dusted the fields with silver, the thin clouds glowing yellow as they hung in the night sky. The stars twinkled and blinked anxiously as the band of creatures below slowly drew to a halt, their bodies pressed to the warm ground.

From the mountainous rocks at the end of the field, dark figures emerged. They spread out slowly down onto the field and formed a solid line, their bodies not quite touching, their eyes fixed on the enemies ahead, listening to the rustle of the foliage beneath their feet, waiting.
The Umbreon could feel the uncomfortable stiffness of the grass scratching his stomach through his fur as he pressed his belly still further into the ground. This heat-wave could not go on forever, yet it already seemed as though it had. He raised his head in frustration, his long pointed ears twitching, his sleek, powerful body rippling under a pelt of shiny black fur. His furious red eyes narrowed into slits.

Beside him, a horned creature of a dark purple colour shifted restlessly. It seemed to be a cross between a small rhinoceros and a rabbit, with sharp needles adorning its body and vicious fangs lining its jaw.

“Kyosan,” he rasped quietly, breaking the religious silence, “why do we linger so long?”

The Umbreon lowered its head and stared at the Nidorino. Around him, he could feel the other Pokémon start to stir. Did they all think he was waiting too long? Were they wondering the same thing?

“Because, Boreil,” he hissed menacingly, the yellow rings across his body glowing suddenly brighter as his anger rose, “in chess, pawns make the first move!”

The Nidorino flinched at the fox’s obvious anger. Behind them, the dark figures of the Pokémon looked over warily as the neon markings on Kyosan’s body started to shine.

However, they weren’t the only ones to notice this.

A Crawdaunt stood tall in the centre of the line that embraced the field in front of the rocks. His eyes passed slowly across the mass of dark colour that were his enemies, and to his amusement, he saw a sudden, unnatural glint of yellow.

“Kyosan, Kyosan,” he said softly, his crimson claws clicking beside his shelled body. “Your anger betrays you...”

A thud beside him accompanied by a harsh grunt told him that Voyuko had arrived from the top of the rocks. Tearing his eyes from the glowing rings, the crab looked instead to the elephant-like creature next to him. It was breathing heavily, two long and chipped tusks protruding from beneath the dark-grey armour that shielded its solid, stubby body.

“Memphis,” the Donphan snorted, still slightly dazed from his jump from the rocks. “When do we move in?”

The Crawdaunt raised his head back to where importance lay. Voyuko pawed the ground nervously, his eyes burning with impatience.

“Memphis?” he asked again, but the crab raised a huge claw to silence him.

“He is waiting for the pawns,” he murmured, his attention directed at the Umbreon who was so close to his grasp. “However as usual... he forgets that the pawns can move twice.”


Age 29
Female
England.
Seen October 24th, 2010
Posted August 15th, 2010
49 posts
14.1 Years
Chapter One: Poison and the Hero

A warning yowl from somewhere in his group of allies made Kyosan’s head snap around. Fury rose inside him like vomit as a thunder of paws and hooves hit his ears, and his scarlet eyes widened as he took in the sight.

A swarm of Pokémon were streaking across the fields from their right side. With a furious howl, the Umbreon threw himself ahead of his group, his paws pounding up dust and grass. Through the mass of bodies around him, Boreil made out the form of Memphis the Crawdaunt, leading his army forward towards them. They were outnumbered, and practically surrounded. The pawn moved twice.

“Kyosan!” he yelped, terrified, as his friends and allies around him pushed towards the oncoming Pokémon. “We’re done for!”

His words were drowned out as the field was suddenly alive with wrestling, writhing Pokémon. A Flareon seized him with her claws and threw him down, thrusting her fangs into his shoulder. As Kyosan pinned a Flaafy to the ground, raking his back claws down its flank, a Staravia seized his neck-fur and hauled him off, flinging him into a large knot of shrieking, scrambling fighters. Blinking blood from his eyes, trying to focus, Kyosan leapt on the nearest Pokémon and struggled for a grip in its matted orange fur. With a jolt of realisation, he realised the flame-coloured pelt belonged to a furious Growlithe, and it’s anguished howl brought a horde of creatures to its aid.

“Kyosan!”

Through the bodies that were tearing at his flesh, Kyosan heard a familiar, pitiful wail. His shoulders, stomach, back and face were stinging, he was blinded by pain and rage, and with an enormous heave, he threw himself out of his knot of attackers and staggered, looking around at the battlefield properly for the source of the cry.

It was mayhem. Boreil the Nidorino was pinned beneath a skinny Sneasel, and he recognised a floored Shiftry as Niall, another member of his army. A scarred Buisel Kyosan knew as Aruka was swiping single-handed at a Croconaw and a Vulpix. Everywhere he looked, the creatures he had grown to know were racked with pain; the creatures that perhaps he loved, deep down, but had never admitted it, and he knew that it was hopeless, these Pokémon that drowned the battlefield were his enemies, and they had numbers far more vast than his own. Screams and cries of terror split the night-air like gunfire, and the howls of his allies, his followers, his friends, went through his body like physical pain. Desperate, his tough exterior whittled down to nothing, he opened his jaws and cried out for her to call him again, to let him know where she was, if she was hurt, so he could help her, save her, kill whoever was hurting his warriors. He was staggering around blindly without knowing it, blood pouring from the wounds on his shoulders and flank, when he suddenly saw her.

Three Skorupi ahead of him had pinned the slender, pale pink Espeon to the floor and were nipping at her boldly, their pincers clicking as they tore fur from the wiry frame of their prisoner. She let out another desperate whimper, thrashing desperately as another Skorupi joined in. With a snarl of rage, Kyosan flung himself onto the team of bugs. The unfairness of everything exploded out of the long-legged fox as he grappled with the insects, seizing the tail of one in his jaws and, with a mighty wrench, tearing it clean off. As went to toss it aside, an acrid stench hit his nostrils. The Skorupi was screaming in agony, its body jerking and writhing erratically as a stinging liquid doused Kyosan’s muzzle. Eyes streaming, he batted another away and spat the tail on the ground.

“Get off of her!” he choked, unable to see, to think. The fluid from inside the Skorupi was burning him, stinging him like a thousand needles.

“You wanna play, pretty boy?”

The voice of the third Skorupi was hard to make out through the clicking of its pincers, but Kyosan caught it. His eyes narrowing viciously, he flexed the muscles in his long legs, his pointed tail swishing. The insect laughed hoarsely and scuttled further in front of the Espeon, its tail jabbing at thin air dangerously.

“Come get ‘er, foxy,” the Skorupi jeered. The last bug behind him pulled away from the Espeon and instead turned to face Kyosan, smirking.

“Yeah, c’mon. Or are you too chicken to do anything to save ‘er?”

Blood was pounding his ears, the sound of the battle deadened. His muzzle stung unbearably but he kept his eyes, now narrowed slits, fixed on the pair of scorpion Pokémon ahead of him. Behind them, the slight form of the Espeon lay motionless.

Around him, the battle raged. Nobody took the slightest notice of the Umbreon, standing there as if half dead but, in reality, far from it. He kneaded the grass beneath his paws and tensed, ready to spring.

“Kyosan.”

He froze in place, half crouched, his legs like rock. He didn’t blink.

He knew who was behind him.

The Skorupi stared impassively at the large scarlet lobster that was standing directly behind Kyosan. With a slight nod of the head, Memphis dismissed the two insects. They gave him a curt nod in return, and scurried back towards the bloodlust.

“Kyosan, Kyosan, Kyosan...” Memphis murmured once the insects were out of sight. “Will you not turn and face me?”

Kyosan realised vaguely that his jaws were clamped shut. He was gritting his fangs so hard it was painful, and his muscles were starting to complain of their solid, tense positioning. Yet he didn’t move.

“Will you not turn and face me, Kyosan? I want to see you when I kill you... I want to see you die, Kyosan...”

Jeering laughter. The fur on Kyosan’s hackles started to rise against his will and he lowered his head, his shoulders hunched. His vision was blurred from blood and sweat, and all he could smell was poison.

Slowly he swung around to face the Crawdaunt.

Memphis stood there, tall and proud, the golden star on his forehead splattered with blood. His claws, muddy iron vices, shone in the dusty moonlight. The two feelers on his stomach pawed the air, and his eyes, shadowed by the holes in his armour in which they resided, staring unblinkingly into Kyosan’s face. Around him stood his closest warriors: Voyuko the Donphan, his stout legs caked in mud and dried blood, half of one of his tusks missing; Vinnie the Skarmory, his amber eyes glaring stupidly, one wing held awkwardly as if he was in pain; Hilde the Ambipom, her expression sulky as her mutated tails flicked behind her; Zen the Noctowl, his huge round eyes luminescent with a blue glow, casting his dark brown plumage into a ghostly light.

“You aren’t a coward, Kyosan,” Memphis said thoughtfully as Kyosan growled, his eyes darting from his enemy to the henchmen repeatedly. From a gesture of a crimson claw, Hilde moved forward, the hands that tipped her tail clenching and flexing. With a flurry of wings, Zen suddenly sent a burst of blue light towards Kyosan, who snapped his jaws and leapt backwards as if being stung. His body started to heat up and to his dismay, an azure light surrounded his frame completely and slowly lifted him into the air. As Zen fell back, Hilde thrust one of her purple tails forward, the beige hand wrapping firmly around the dark fox’s throat. Struggling against the impossible bond of Confusion, Kyosan tried desperately to haul air into his lungs, but it was hopeless, he couldn’t breathe, his head was pounding, his very brain was going to explode, the hand around his throat surely belonged to Death, his eyes were rolling-

“One of us will die tonight, Kyosan-“

“Then it’ll be you!” screamed a familiar voice. The Confusion energy disappeared. The hand around Kyosan’s throat slackened and he retched and shuddered, thrashing to free himself in time to see a purple blur charge towards Memphis.

“B-Borei-l!”

The Nidorino rammed his horn into Zen’s side; the Noctowl shrieked in fury and, in an explosion of feathers, started lashing out at every part of the Nidorino he could reach. Boreil dug his claws into the baked dirt beneath the grass and stood his ground.

“Fly away, bird-brain,” he advised darkly, opening his jaws and sending several needles of light towards the flying type. Zen let out a frenzied squawk as the pins pierced through his feathers, sending stinging poison throughout his body. With a roar of rage, Voyuko whacked the Noctowl from his path and leapt upwards with surprising agility, his body rolling into a wheel in midair. He crashed back to the ground and sped towards Boreil as a grey-and-black blur. Hilde threw Kyosan aside roughly and readied her tails as the Umbreon skidded across the harsh ground.

“Boreil!” he howled through a mouthful of dirt, but the Nidorino took no notice. His claws were dug so fiercely into the ground that they started to hurt, but he braced every scrap of energy and muscle in his body for the oncoming impact-

BANG.

With a nasty grinding noise, the rolling Donphan slammed into Boreil’s side. Earth was thrown in all directions as Voyuko’s spinning form dug deeper into the ground, unable to move from the purple creature blocking his path. Screwing up his eyes in determination and pain, Boreil went to push back against the force of the Donphan, but his feet suddenly gave up. With an explosion of dirt, Boreil’s claws were ripped from the ground and he went careering backwards through the air. Kyosan gave a cry of alarm, struggling desperately to his paws, but a harsh blow to the back of his head sent him spinning. Dazed, he looked back at the large metal bird that had struck him. Vinnie was grinning stupidly.

“Where you going, cloystercat?” the Skarmory asked, snapping his beak viciously. Snarling, Kyosan opened his mouth to reply when a howl of pain attracted his attention.

Hilde the Ambipom was holding Boreil up in the air using all of the hands on her tails. Memphis stood in front of them tauntingly, one crushing claw around the Nidorino’s throat. Voyuko stood beside his leader, his entire body splashed with mud from his previous roll-out.

“Your bravery could be valuable,” he said, his head tilted to one side. “Such a shame it was wasted on this pathetic losing side.”

With a lash of his tail, Kyosan sprang forward, but a sudden stabbing pain against his spine told him Vinnie was attacking. Instinctively his body twisted around and he snapped his jaws against the bird’s throat, but all they met was cold metal. His desire to save Boreil overcame him as Vinnie swept his wings together, which caused a blast of wind that almost knocked the Umbreon off balance.

“Will you join me, Nidorino? Or will you valiantly try to save your fox friend over there?”

“A fox friend that was a better leader for me than you could ever be,” the Nidorino rasped in reply. The horn on his forehead suddenly shone a bright purple, and with a thrash of his body, he rammed it into the soft underbelly of the Crawdaunt just as Zen unleashed a psychic blast.
Kyosan screwed up his eyes as a brilliant blue light engulfed the fighters. A cry behind him told him the Vinnie had been caught off guard.

“Boreil!”

The light suddenly gathered into a single ball around Hilde, Boreil and Memphis. Kyosan opened his eyes to squint, panic racking his body-

BOOM.

The explosion blasted him off his paws; he felt a harsh crack to his skull as he slammed into the Skarmory behind him. The two Pokémon crashed to the dirt several feet away, engulfed in dust and dirt. Struggling to free himself from the tangle of sharp metal feathers, Kyosan scrambled upright, waiting desperately for sight of Boreil. The battle around him was now meaningless. What did it matter, really? What did it matter that the Skarmory he had been fighting a few minutes ago was easily able to take him down whilst he was distracted? What did it matter, really, that all they had been fighting for now mattered on the outcome of this explosion? What did any of it matter?

The dust cleared. Kyosan’s ears pricked forward anxiously as he took a step closer.

“Boreil?”

He focused on the figures standing amongst the remnants of the blast, and a choke escaped his throat. Memphis lay on his side; half of his outer shell was blasted away and his eyes were blank and staring. Hilde the Ambipom was a few feet away, unconscious, her body scratched and bleeding, and beside her lay Voyuko, gasping for breath, his muscles jerking from the after-effects of the Psychic. But everything inside Kyosan fell away, his very breath left him, his very soul, as his eyes rested on the Pokémon that had saved his life.

Boreil lay there, his body twisted and broken, blood pouring from his open jaws. He gave a final shudder, and was still.


Age 29
Female
England.
Seen October 24th, 2010
Posted August 15th, 2010
49 posts
14.1 Years
Chapter Two: Written in Ink, Sealed in Blood

The death of Boreil shrouded the group of remaining warriors for days to come. When looking back, Kyosan didn’t know how he got away from the battlefield without passing out, or even how the battle ended. All he could remember was the mourning of his enemies as they slowly approached the destroyed body of their dead leader. He had a vague recollection of somebody nudging him away from the corpse of Boreil, leading him back to their safe hideaway behind a crashing waterfall deep in the forest surrounding the fields. They were there now, the survivors.

He lay there forlornly, his head on his paws, watching as his followers went about their duties slowly. The absence of Boreil made such a gaping, empty hole that at first Kyosan thought he wouldn’t be able to bear it. Eventually, everything went dull and crushed in his mind, and he did nothing but lay on the dirt limply, watching everybody as they tried to cope with the newest brutal loss.

He watched as Niall the Shiftry was nursed back to health by the soft-spoken Elana, a pale gold Ampharos with delicate stripes of black around her neck. A small Vulpix by the name of Roze was curled up against a Luxio named Grey. The small, dusty-red fox was sleeping, her stomach rising and falling steadily. Grey watched over her with a steely expression, one paw resting awkwardly due to a large gash across the pad.

“Kyosan?”

Kyosan jumped out of his trance, his ears flicking as he looked in the direction of the voice. The Espeon he had saved from the Skorupi was watching him timidly, her ears flat and her eyes wide with anxiety. She took a cautious step forward.

“What do you want, Dusk?” Kyosan asked grumpily, his tail twitching against the cool stone floor on which he lay. Dusk tilted her head to one side, taking another small step forward.

“I was wondering how your wounds are,” she said softly, but she stopped speaking as Kyosan let out a low growl.

“They’re fine,” he snapped haughtily, looking away from her and gazing through the wall of water that poured down in front of the entrance to their cavern. “No thanks to you.”

Dusk flinched. Kyosan stared determinedly at the waterfall, his eyes slowly narrowing into dangerous slits.

“I’m sorry,” the Espeon murmured at last, dipping her head. “I didn’t mean-”

“Get away from me!” Kyosan spat loudly as he looked back at her, automatically trying to get to his paws but wincing as a dull pain shot through his shoulder. Over on the far corner of the cave, Roze stirred, disturbed by the velocity of the Umbreon’s cry. Grey scowled over in Kyosan’s direction, watching as Dusk skittered away.

“Grey..?”

The Luxio glanced down in surprise as Roze spoke. Her eyes were half-closed from sleep, but her tone was nervous. Grey gave her a small, reassuring smile and nudged his muzzle against hers.

“Go back to sleep.”

Across the cavern, Elana glanced up from where she was tending to a heavily bleeding wound in Niall’s shin. She watched with sorrowful blue eyes as Dusk crept through the wall of water away from the group, her pale pink tail between her legs.

“There you go, Niall,” she said distractedly as she briskly tightened the bundle of leaves around the Shiftry’s wound. Niall stretched his thin arms and thanked the Ampharos, scratching his head through his shaggy white hair with ragged, leafy fingers.

After everything we’ve been through, Kyosan thought as he gingerly got to his paws, ignoring the ache that pulled at his muscles, we’re lucky to even be here. Any of us.

It was true. The group of Pokémon that had gone against Memphis and his horrific regimes that plagued the forest was not only made up of the creatures that resided in this mountainside cavern. All across the woods and fields, small communities of Pokémon had risen against the onslaught, branding themselves fighters under his name, Kyosan’s name, and now they had finally won. All the months of training, the years of not knowing where the Crawdaunt and his armies were going to strike next, had finally built up into a final clash that resulted in not only the death of Memphis himself, but of Boreil the Nidorino, Aruka the Buisel, and hundreds of other members of their legion. Was it really worth it?

As Kyosan padded towards the waterfall, he glanced around at the remaining Pokémon. Roze the Vulpix had fallen asleep again, nestled warmly against the chest of the Luxio she loved. Grey kept guard, his paws wrapped around the small form of the fox, occasionally glancing down at her with a curious expression of affection and confusion. He had, Kyosan knew, fought alone on the battlefield, taking down more rival creatures than the others put together.

Then there was Elana, who was currently bustling around her medical supplies. She hadn’t fought, but had saved many lives that night. She looked around at Kyosan as he passed, and gave him a kindly smile.
Niall the Shiftry was lying back against a damp wall of the cavern, looking like an overgrown log with hair. He gave Kyosan a wicked grin despite the pain that plagued his body, but the Umbreon didn’t return it.

How many others had died in his name? When he thought back to when the entire legion was made up of the Pokémon that had resided in this cavern, a horrific jolt took place in his stomach. Over half of the creatures that had been there when it all first started were now dead. He brooded upon this miserable thought as he padded around a stalagmite that jutted out of the cavern floor, and ducked his head as he pushed through the pounding waterfall.

He emerged on the other side soaked, his coat shining from the water, droplets running down his muzzle and stinging his eyes. He shook his head lazily, dousing the hot stone beneath his paws. It was another scorching hot day; the heat-wave was clearly not over. His body complained of the harsh change from the cool cavern to the hot sunlight, but he hunched his shoulders and ducked his head, his scarlet eyes observing the forest and fields below.

It was a sea of green and yellow. The trees stretched up towards the blinding sun yet the fields shrivelled, the grass browned and dry from the intense heat. A lone Taillow glided past in the distance, probably seeking shade. Even from his high viewing point, Kyosan could see hardly any life.
“How long do you think it will last?”

Kyosan jumped. Scolding himself silently, he looked to his right to see Dusk the Espeon sitting beside him, staring down into the forests below. Her face was a mask of sadness, her slender figure completely still. Kyosan narrowed his eyes and followed her line of sight down into the lifeless trees.

“If you mean the heat-wave,” he muttered sullenly, “I don’t know. If you mean the peace between the Pokémon in this region... it will last however long it lasts.”

He went to get to his paws, but stopped as he felt something warm press against his side. He looked around in alarm to see Dusk nestling against him, her tail curled neatly around her paws. Her pelt felt like crushed velvet against his, and he could feel her heart beat steadily against his body. Completely at a loss, bewildered, he sat there with his shoulders hunched and his eyes huge in a mixture of complete shock and indignation.

Behind the crashing wall of water, Elana watched the two Pokémon as they sat there: Kyosan, leaning slightly to the left to discourage contact with Dusk, his expression sulky as he stared in the complete opposite direction to her; Dusk, her tail inching around his, apparently oblivious to Kyosan’s discomfort. The Ampharos smiled to herself, but this expression was quick to fade as she thought of Boreil, and Memphis, and the rebellion that was sure to come.

*

The evening arrived warm and muggy. Kyosan paced the cavern agitatedly, tracing the same path in a circle. Dusk watched him anxiously from her mossy nest in the corner, her lavender eyes large as she waited for him to say something.

“Calm down,” Elana advised good-naturedly, gathering up the leftover berries from dinner and pushing them into a neat pile. Kyosan did nothing but spit, changing direction so harshly that his claws felt tender and painful.

“Eat some food,” Niall suggested, holding up a Pecha berry heartily before shoving it into his mouth. Kyosan didn’t reply.

“Go to sleep,” Dusk put in helpfully, but this time, Kyosan chose to react. Stalking over to Dusk, he leant down and shoved his face aggressively into hers, his fangs bared.

“I don’t know about you,” he snarled, his eyes flashing, “But due to the fact that I had to save a certain somebody’s life yesterday, which resulting in putting my own in danger, I find it pretty hard to relax, let alone go to sleep!”

Dusk recoiled. “I only-“

“You only, you only! Boreil is dead!” Kyosan howled, straightening up and addressing everybody. “He is dead because he saved my life, and I wouldn’t have needed it saving if it wasn’t for her!”

Elana’s expression turned to one of shock. Niall gaped at Kyosan, which wasn’t pretty due to the fact that his mouth was full of half-chewed berries. Roze looked terrified, her pointed ears flattened, her six reddish-brown tails wrapped around her. Grey stared at Dusk accusingly, hooking one paw around the Vulpix and pulling her close.

“Kyosan,” Elana said eventually, “Boreil’s death was nobody’s fault.” She fixed him with a stern look to stop him from interrupting. “He died by a Psychic energy blast. I examined his body afterwards.”

For a moment it seemed like Kyosan was going to attack everybody in the room. His face was one of fury, all of the muscles in his powerful body tensed, but he suddenly opened his jaws and shot a bluish-white beam of ice at the cavern wall. Shards of sharp, frozen water shot in every direction from the impact, and ice steadily crept across the cavern wall, covering it in a thick, glittering layer. Breathing heavily, Kyosan glared at everybody in the room as if daring them to contradict his ice beam. Nobody said anything.

He couldn’t stand the way they were looking at him: with pity. His insides burned with humiliation and he dithered angrily on the spot, unable to look anybody in the eye. Just when he was about to break the silence due to it getting on his nerves, a voice from the cavern entrance made him jump backwards wildly.

“Excuse me... is this a bad time?”

All eyes fell on the creature standing in the moonlight. It was small and crimson, apart from its stomach and the lower part of the claws it wielded, which were cream. It stood on six legs, and three scarlet spikes stuck out from the top of its head. Its eyes were large, oval and nervous.
Once again, nobody said anything. The Corphish in the entrance stared warily at the ice-covered wall, and then at the tall Umbreon standing in the middle of the cavern. It looked alarmed to see that the black fox’s face was contorted with fury.

“Who are you?” he snarled, his hackles rising. This Pokémon looked incredibly similar to a dangerous enemy that had almost killed Kyosan the previous day. His eyes narrowing in fury, Kyosan took a few threatening paces forward. “Tell me who you are, or leave!”

The Corphish clicked its claws together nervously and looked around at the other Pokémon. The Ampharos was staring at him, moving slightly closer to the Umbreon. A badly wounded Shiftry in the corner had got its feet unsteadily, but was brandishing its leafy fans with a dark expression on its evil face. The Vulpix was pressing into the Luxio in terror, and the electric dog Pokémon was slowly baring its teeth. Swallowing, the Corphish looked back at the Umbreon, and was startled to see that it had moved several more paces closer to him.

“Are you deaf?” Kyosan growled viciously, his body shaking with the effort to stop himself from leaping on the newcomer and ripping its stupid claws off. The Corphish shook his head wildly.

“N-no, sir,” it stammered, before clearing its throat and raising its head a little higher. “M-my name is Solomon, sir, S-Sol for short. I-I... I want to join your legion!”

The words were barely out of his mouth when Kyosan interrupted, “Why? Who are you?”

“I am Sol, sir,” the Corphish repeated a little more firmly. “I... came to warn you about something, and to join your legion of fighters.”

“Warn us?” Roze asked worriedly, peering out from behind her tails. “Warn us about what?”

“Well, miss, you see-“ Sol began, but he was cut off as Kyosan stalked in front of him, staring around at the Pokémon.

“This is a minion of Memphis’!” His tail lashed the air agitatedly. “Don’t you see the resemblance? This is a minion of Memphis’, come to take his revenge on us!”

“No!” Sol cried out loudly, scuttling around Kyosan and looking around desperately. “I am not a follower of Memphis, and I never truly was!”

“Then why,” Kyosan snapped, whirling around to face Sol, “do you carry the stink of Memphis, of our enemies?”

“Because,” Sol answered wearily, dropping his gaze. “... Memphis...”

He trailed off. Kyosan snorted. Dusk jumped to her paws and padded towards Sol, her head tilted in curiosity.

“Sol,” she said softly, settling down in front of him and wrapping her tail around her front paws. “What did you come to warn us about?”

Kyosan growled in exasperation and turned away, beginning to pace again. The ice on the wall had started to melt slowly.

“I came to warn you about Memphis’ old followers,” Sol answered nervously. At this, Niall, Roze, Grey and Elana leaned forward slightly, ears pricked. “They have appointed a new leader.”

“What?!” Niall exclaimed, outraged. “But Memphis has barely even been buried! How can they have a new leader?! It’s ridiculous!” He threw his arms into the air to express his fury and sent a powerful gust of wind through the cave.

“I know,” Sol replied, after regaining his balance. “But they have, and they’re already planning to take down your followers on the east side of the region.”

“How do you know this?” Elana asked. There was a hint of suspicion to her sweet, calm voice. Sol looked at her sadly, but Dusk quickly prevented him from answering.

“Then we must do something,” she told them all determinedly. Kyosan stopped pacing and stared at her, his eyes slits.

“Traitor,” he hissed, approaching the Espeon. “Stand up for a minion of Memphis, Dusk, and I swear to you that you will never cross the threshold of this land again.”

He stopped in front of her and looked around at everyone, before resting his eyes on the Corphish.

“And...” He pressed his paw against the largest stalagmite in the cavern, before scraping it downwards harshly. A stinging in his pad told him that he had done his job, and he raised his bloodied paw for everybody to see.
“I swear by blood... that if this creature ever returns to this cavern...” he ducked his head and crept out of the entrance to the cavern, his body low. “I will never enter this forest again.”


Age 29
Female
England.
Seen October 24th, 2010
Posted August 15th, 2010
49 posts
14.1 Years
Chapter Three: The Past, the Present and a Mystery

Sleep came badly for Kyosan that night. Because of the fact that he walked out on everybody, he stayed outside. Going back in to the accusing stares would be more than his pride could take.

It was taking him a long time to drift off. The night air was still warm and it clung to his fur infuriatingly as he lay sulkily on his stomach, waiting for his eyelids to droop. His efforts were not aided by the fact that the voices of Elana, Dusk and the idiotic Corphish floated through the rushing wall of water. They were discussing him, he knew it. Scowling, he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the stars.

When he was a young Eevee, naive, curious and unintelligent, he had listened with rapt attention to the old stories told to him by his grandfather, an ancient old Vaporeon with no teeth but many tales. The little Kyosan fawned over myths about heroes who died in some sort of valiant way and had their very soul imprinted in the stars. He sat, starry-eyed, as his grandfather told him about legendary battles fought in their forests: about the evil humans who stole their prey and the mystical warriors who drove them away; about the clash between the giants of the night and the sun. All of those stories are up there now, Kyosan thought silently, his scarlet eyes following the brilliant path of a shooting star as it blazed across the dark sky. He could feel his eyes sting slightly and he shook his head, rolling back onto his front with a grim, annoyed expression on his face, furious at himself for becoming sentimental.

Stupid.

He yawned widely, showing off flashing white fangs. The lack of the ability to sleep was irritating beyond belief and he stretched out his front legs with a grunt, pricking his ears as he heard raised voices from inside the cave.

“Whatever you may say, I don’t trust him.”

“That’s typical of you, Grey,” came Dusk’s angry voice. “You trust nobody who’s an outsider!”

“Exactly,” the Luxio replied calmly. “He’s an outsider, thus giving me reason not to trust him.”

“You only don’t like him because Roze doesn’t like him,” Dusk scoffed haughtily. Kyosan raised his eyebrows sceptically.

She’s pushing her luck... he thought lazily as he heard Grey’s low growls.

“Roze doesn’t want you to fight.” The frightened voice of the small Vulpix punctuated the threatening sounds from the Luxio’s throat. “Roze doesn’t like fighting.”

Kyosan tilted his head towards the waterfall. Grey’s growls had died down and everybody was silent. Rolling onto his side, staring up at the stars, Kyosan waited blankly for sleep to come.

*

“EEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”

Kyosan was awoken by a shrill scream of fear the next morning. He was on his paws before even realising he was awake; his heart was pounding harshly against his ribs, and his fur stood on end. Without wasting a second, he leapt through the splashing, sparkling waterfall to discover what was happening.

Elana stood there in the centre of the cavern, her eyes wide in terror and one tapered hand on her heart.

“Something brushed my shoulder!” she whispered, shaking. Roze whimpered quietly and buried herself in Grey’s paws.

“What do you mean?” Kyosan demanded immediately. He was relieved to know that nobody was hurt, but at the same time he felt irritated. If the reason for the scream had been an attack by the Corphish, there would’ve been plenty enough reason to attack him. Ah well.

“Something touched my shoulder!” Elana suddenly shrieked again and jumped like she’d been electrocuted. “It happened again! Something’s here, something’s touching me!”

Trying to ignore how strange that sounded, Kyosan cast a weary glare around the cavern.

“Nobody’s here, Elan-”

Then he felt it. Something brushed the fur against his ribs and he jolted violently, his crimson eyes large in disbelief.

“What the-”

His exclamation was cut off by a loud, unfamiliar giggle. Niall, who had been watching the antics with a bemused expression, suddenly felt a sharp tug on his long, shaggy white hair.

“Ow!”

“What?” Grey asked harshly, casting his yellow gaze around threateningly, his paws wrapped around the tiny form of Roze.

“Something pulled my hair!” the Shiftry yelled furiously. “When I find out wh-“

Another giggle. Dusk, her ears flat in apprehension, backed slowly into a corner. Niall gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing. Sol, who had hidden behind the Shiftry as soon as Kyosan had entered, peered around with large, confused eyes. Completely thrown, Kyosan took an uncertain pawstep backwards.

“Who’s there?” he asked, masking the nervousness he felt, but suddenly he felt his legs knocked out from under him. He hit the ground with a thud, feeling nothing but shock at the sudden change of scenery.

“What the-” he began again. A sudden loud shriek beside him told him that the same thing had happened to Elana, and she fell to the ground next to him with an uncomfortable ‘huhhffph’. Snarling, Grey leapt to his paws.

“Show yourself!” he yowled as Roze cowered between his legs. There was a moment of silence where both Elana and Kyosan scrambled to their feet, before something finally happened.

A small, dark purple Pokémon slowly flickered into view. It wore a necklace of dark beads around its neck, and its yellow-and-white eyes shone mischievously. It had appeared right in front of Roze, and it opened its small mouth to say one word:

“Boo.”

It was insane. Roze yelped in terror and jumped upwards, smacking Grey in the stomach and winding him. The Luxio fell sideways with an ‘oof’ sound and staggered, lunging forward for the Misdreavus without even pausing for breath. Roze took off for the entrance of the cavern: Dusk attempted to waylay her but missed. Paws scrambling, the Vulpix threw herself through the waterfall out of sight. With a roar of rage and fear, Grey pounded after her.

The ghost Pokémon was still giggling.

“...”

Kyosan’s eyes, which were so large beforehand, had now narrowed into dangerous slits. Elana moved further behind him as a look of indignation came over Dusk’s face.

“Who are you and what gives you the right to scare us like that?” she asked haughtily, her tail sticking straight up in the air. The Misdreavus gave her a cute smile and spun around once in midair.

“My name is Enar,” he said sweetly, blinking his large, innocent eyes at her. “And I was only having a joke.”

“Well don’t!” Kyosan snarled, his claws unsheathing and scratching the stone beneath his paws. “Why are you here?”

Enar looked surprised as his harsh tones. Quickly rearranging his face into a saddened expression, he spoke in a quiet, upset voice: “I wanted to join you and help you in the fight.”

“The fight is over,” Niall said briskly, stepping closer to the group gathered in the centre. He stared around at them all impressively, his eyes glaring either side of his long nose from under the mane of white hair. “Memphis is dead.”

“But,” the Misdreavus interrupted stubbornly, “they have a new leader!”

Sol made a sudden anxious movement. Dusk looked at him questioningly, but Kyosan didn’t notice.

“And you’ve come to spy on us for this new leader, have you?” he yowled accusingly, baring his fangs. Elana gave the Misdreavus an apologetic look. In light of the sweet expressions she seemed to have forgiven him for the scare. Enar, however, looked naively surprised at the Umbreon’s hostility.

“Of course not!” he exclaimed in a you’re-being-very-stupid voice. “My trainer released me into the forest and I wanted to get awa-”

But what he wanted to get away from they didn’t hear, because there was a sudden uproar at his words. Dusk and Elana had to fling themselves on top of Kyosan to stop him from ripping off the Misdreavus’ head. Niall took an intimidating step forward, his yellow eyes huge and bloodthirsty.

“You come from humans?” he asked harshly, his large teeth gritted. The Misdreavus gave a nod, his face stricken. Had he said something wrong?

“Traitor!” Kyosan howled, paws scrabbling in the dirt in his vain attempts to get out from under the combined weight of Elana and Dusk. “Spy! Freak!”

Niall gave a grave nod of approval at Kyosan’s words. He was staring at the small ghost Pokémon with an incredibly cruel expression on his face. “You don’t belong here.”

“Don’t say that!” Dusk yelped as she was tossed aside. Kyosan powered his way out from under them and stood there, his breathing heavy, his face twisted in an ugly expression of fury.

“Get out of here!” he hissed, before swinging his head round to glare at Sol. “And you, too! You’re both traitors!”

“I’m not-” Enar began loudly, but Sol cut him short. He had scuttled over to them, his claws clicking together anxiously.

“Kyosan,” he said clearly and calmly, although he blinked rapidly as he spoke. “I am not a traitor, nor do I intend to be. I...” he swallowed. “I only wish to be of assistance to you.”

“Cut the fancy words,” Kyosan snapped, “and get the hell out of my sight!”

“Kyosan-”

“And you!” Kyosan wheeled around to face Dusk. “You can leave, too! It’s your fault Boreil isn’t here!” He looked quite mad. “Get out of here and never come back!”

“Kyosan,” Elana said softly, her large eyes brimming with tears. “Kyosan, don’t...”

“If you side with them, you’re against me!” Kyosan yowled in reply. “You’re all traitors! All of you!”

Niall stared at him blankly. There was complete silence in the cave apart from Kyosan’s continued harsh breathing. Elana was crying silently. Dusk had turned her back on them, her head down, her tail still. Enar was the only creature moving. He was scanning the cave floor with interest.
“Whoa, that’s one weird rock.”

“GET OUT OF HERE!” Kyosan near screamed, and then, as totally accidental contradiction to his words, copied his actions of the night before and stalked right of the cavern.

*

It was a subdued group that gathered together that evening. Niall had gathered twigs and dried, dead leaves from the forest below and started a fire in the centre of the cave. Grey and Roze hadn’t yet returned.

“So,” Enar said impatiently into the silence. “Can somebody explain to me what’s going on here?”

Dusk was resting her head on her slender paws, staring into the fire. The dancing flames reflected golden in her sorrowful eyes.

“Anybody?”

Elana didn’t answer either. She was delicately sewing leaves together in the light of the fire using split grass and a pine needle. Her mind wandered elsewhere. Niall was sitting beside her, absently fanning the fire with his leafy hand, listening to the crackling and spitting of the flames. Sol sat there dejectedly, his claws limp and eyes miserable.

“Hey!” Enar spun around a few times. “Is anybody gonna tell me what the heck’s happening to this forest or not?”

Niall spat the twig he had been chewing on out of his mouth and let out a long sigh.

“It’s a long story,” he began, only to be interrupted by Enar.

“How long?”

“Long.”

“Very long?”

“Long enough.”

“I have time,” the Misdreavus told him fervently.

“I know.”

“Will you tell all of it?”

“Enar,” the Shiftry sighed, scratching his head. “I let you stay purely out of the goodness of my heart. Now shut up.”

“Okay.”

“It’s a long story,” Niall said again, and hurried along in fear of being interrupted once more. “And it begins a long, long time ago. Several humans invaded the forests around these parts: trainers, breeders, hunters and poachers. They all took, injured or stole the Pokémon in some way, and soon a rebellion rose.
“A large number of Pokémon wanted to kill the humans and take back what they stole. An equally large amount of Pokémon wanted not to kill, but to drive them away. The ones who wanted to defeat the humans in a bloodthirsty way decided that if the other Pokémon didn’t work in the same way, they were also their enemies.
“There were many battles, and a lot of humans and Pokémon were killed.” The Shiftry spat into the fire, before continuing. “The Pokémon that wanted to work peacefully were captured, tortured and slaughtered by the opposing side. What remained of the humans left the forests, and the rebels that had killed them and driven them out reigned over us.”

Enar floated above the fire silently, his eyes large with confusion.

“But why is everyone still fighting?” he asked curiously, his head tilted to one side. Niall sighed and leaned back against a stalagmite.

“Not too long ago, more humans entered the forest. They did the same as above; captured, injured, stole, killed. One of the descendants of the founder of the original rebellion decided to fight back in the same way as his ‘noble’ ancestors.” The Shifty scowled darkly. “Memphis went on a murderous rampage. He had a lot of followers too, until Kyosan came along.
“Nobody knows where he came from. He just appeared one day, at the edge of the forest. One of Memphis’ patrols saw him there, and decided to attack. They probably thought he was a spy, or maybe they just wanted some fun. Whatever. Anyway, Kyosan killed nearly every single one of them. The ones that escaped went to find Mr. Crawdaunt and of course, he came to see Kyosan for himself.
“He asked Kyosan to join him. Kyosan said no. Despite his hatred for humans, he wouldn’t join Memphis and kill in cold blood. Memphis didn’t like that at all.”

Dusk raised her eyes to rest on the Shiftry, her ears pricked. Elana continued to sew quietly, but she was listening.

“Kyosan’s exploits were hot news in the forest. People that were against Memphis but too scared to speak up came forward. I think Kyosan wanted revenge on the creatures that tried to kill him, so he started to rebel. Others followed him. Not just from around here, from everywhere. They flooded in flocks to help him defeat Memphis, and finally... with help... he did.”

Enar remained silent. Pleased with the effect he’d made, Niall stretched and yawned.

“So there you have it. The humans may have left but everybody who followed Memphis are out to get us, mainly Kyosan. Memphis was a popular leader, and, even though I hate to say it, he was pretty good, too. Made everything he did sound for the best, though of course there were those who saw right through him.”

“Like me!” Enar declared seriously, his expression haughty. “I always knew he was mean!”

“You never knew him,” Elana said in surprise, looking up from the blanket of leaves she had created.

“I know,” Enar replied sweetly. “But I would’ve known he was mean.”

Niall cast his gaze over to Sol. The Corphish was still staring into the fire, his expression hard to read. Dusk, however, was gazing out through the waterfall. Her stomach jolted when, through the water, she saw a lithe dark shape adorned with angry yellow rings.


Age 29
Female
England.
Seen October 24th, 2010
Posted August 15th, 2010
49 posts
14.1 Years
Chapter Four: Faded Flowers

Deep in the heart of the forest, it was cool and the light was dim. It was away from the scorching sun and the heat-wave. It seemed like a totally different world.

“Roze?”

Grey’s voice came out as a low, anxious growl. He was creeping along quietly, his body low, paws making muffled crunches on the leaves that carpeted the ground. He cast worried glances around with amber eyes.

“Roze?” he repeated softly, listening out for her voice amongst the faint birdsong. The light that filtered through the canopy of leaves above his head made a dappled pattern on his coat. There was no sign of life.

However, something made him uneasy, and the fur on the back of his neck prickled uncomfortably. It looked peaceful and serene, a mass of plants and flowers and forest life. He didn’t like it.

“Roze?” he hissed again. A twig snapped.

SMACK.

Something suddenly cannoned into his side with the force of a Tauros. Blinded by shock and pain, Grey flew sideways into a nearby tree and hit the trunk heavily. Winded, the breath knocked out of him, he shook his head to clear away the stars and staggered to his feet, snarling loudly.
A Mankey was leaping up and down a few metres away, laughing at him. It didn’t stay still for even half a second. Its legs and arms never ceasing, it hopped insanely on the spot, the nostrils on its pig-like nose flaring as it stared at him.

“Did I scare you? Huh? Huh? Did I? Were you scared? Did I scare you? Huh?”

Quickly getting over his initial shock from seeing an extremely eccentric monkey scream at him, Grey’s hackles rose and he showed his teeth, ready to spring forward.

“I guess you’re not answering, well, that’s fine I guess I mean I can’t expect you to answer as quick as I can but anyway I need to go scare someone else because you’re boring me. Hey, did I tell I scared a little Vulpix a while back, she was real easy to scare, I mean real easy I mean I didn’t even try to be honest, I didn’t even mean to scare her, I was just walking along and she appeared and I yelled and she yelled and scarpered and hid somewhere, well anyway I really need to get going, motor-mouth, jeez, some people never stop talking.”

And he turned and wandered away. Grey stared after him incredulously. He didn’t even notice he wasn’t in a fighting stance anymore. As the beige tail of the Mankey disappeared into the bushes, Grey shook his head and continued padding across the leaves, his eyes peeled for any signs of the dusty red fox he was searching for... the one that had dominated his mind and memory for as long as he could remember.

He was skulking through the trees in the darkness, the silvery light of the moon providing hardly any light on his path. The dried leaves crackled under his paws and the stench of enemies was in the air. He drew back his upper lip to deaden the obvious stink, his fur bristling along his spine.
“Intruders,” he muttered, his claws scraping the rough surface of the leaves as he quickened his pace, but he suddenly stopped dead and stiffened. Another scent was on the air. It wasn’t one of the scouts from Memphis’ territory, nor was it was one of their own allies. He drew the scent deeper into his nose, trying to decipher it, when he heard it.

A thin pitiful wail sounded from a nearby fern bush. Grey’s head whipped towards the noise, feeling a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. What was distracting him from his mission?

There it was again. Ears pricked, he slowly padded towards the fern, head slightly tilted. As he reached it, he stretched out his muzzle curiously, and to his utter shock, a nose touched his own.

He was staring at a pair of dark liquid eyes that peered nervously into his own. The face was elegant, the muzzle short, the ears pointed and fluffy. A Vulpix. Her head was poking out from the fanning leaves, slightly curious, wary, scared.

“...”


Grey shook his head and frowned. He needed to concentrate on finding Roze.

The sunlight was trying desperately to flood this lower region of the forest but the ceiling of leaves held it back. Grey was relieved; he had seen and felt enough of the sun to last a lifetime.

“Roze?” he asked again into the silence. Rustling noises above told him he had disturbed a Pidgey or two, but he didn’t look up. Panic was starting to consume him now: raw, ruthless panic. He quickened his pace, his cries becoming more urgent.

“Roze?!” he yowled, trying not to think of how Roze would look if he found her. What if something terrible had happened?

Grey blinked, and she blinked. They both blinked. The Luxio was quickly getting over his feelings of surprise and he pulled his head away harshly; the Vulpix squeaked and buried back down amongst the ferns.

“Who are you?” Grey asked angrily, tearing at the bush with his front paws. The Vulpix whimpered in terror, trembling as she backed away from his claws, her six tails pressing into the branches of the bush. “Answer me!”

She didn’t answer. Wanting to see who was refusing him, Grey backed away a few steps, and then rammed his shoulder into the foliage. The Vulpix squealed in fright and bolted from the bush, running madly across the forest floor. Grey gave chase.


His paws pounded heavily as he fled through the trees, looking around wildly for a smudge of red amongst the green. His breath came in pants, his eyes stretched wide in fear.

“Roze!” he howled again, skidding to halt and looking around again, turning in frantic circles, his tail held stiff with fright. “ROZE!”

He stopped and blinked, gasping for breath, as his eyes took in the sight of a tiny fox-like creature that was sniffing the ground several yards ahead. He could tell, even from this distance that it was her; the way she placed her delicate paws, the dainty way she nuzzled the ground with her small nose, the way she wiggled her tails delightfully as she found something interesting. Grey’s shoulder’s relaxed and he started to lope towards her, filled with a mixture of inexplicable relief and heated fury.

A strange pink object was sticking out of a pile of leaves beside a rotting log. Roze nudged it curiously, her dark eyes round with curiosity. It was like a small fork with only two prongs, sticking upright, and she pushed her nose against it more insistently, her tails flicking behind her.

It moved.

With a squeak of surprise, Roze fell backwards as a small green caterpillar-like creature emerged from the leaves. It peered at her curiously, the pink prong adorning its forehead; its many tiny yellow feet wiggling.

It greeted her.

It was terrifying.

With a yowl of fright, Roze took off, running aimlessly, madly, skittering in a winding path. Grey watched her flee and, with a groan, raced after her.

“Get back here!” he snarled, fur bristling as he raced after his foe. The Vulpix was incredibly fast, but seemed to have a hopeless sense of direction. Within minutes, she had cornered herself in a small alcove of trees. Grey slowed down, growling loudly.

“Who are you?” he repeated, his claws scratching the dry ground urgently. The Vulpix cowered, shaking, her fur dusty and smudged with dirt, her eyes huge and tearful as she stared at the hostile creature bearing down her.

“R-Roze,” she stammered, her soft voice flooded with anxiety.

“And what are you doing in this forest?”

“Roze... Roze was trying to find somebody.”

Grey halted, confused. There was something weird about the way this Pokémon spoke.

“What?”

“Roze was trying to find somebody,” the Vulpix repeated in a quivering voice, her head low and tails between her legs.

“You talk weird,” Grey replied bluntly. The Vulpix flinched, and he suddenly felt a prickle of guilt. He cleared his throat and sat down. Roze blinked in surprise.

“Who are you trying to find?” Grey asked in a bored voice, when in reality he was strangely curious to find out about this tiny creature.

“Roze... Roze was told that there is somebody who doesn’t like the bad Pokémon,” she replied uncertainly. “Roze was trying to find him.”
A thrill of realisation.


“ROZE!” Grey yelled after the retreating figure of the Vulpix. Roze didn’t react, but kept running, terrified. First a Mankey, then a weird green thing with a pink fork stuck on its head, and now somebody who knew her name was chasing after her. Now what, a horde of murderers?

“You mean Kyosan..?” Grey answered, raising his eyebrows. The Vulpix looked up, her ears pricking.

“Yes... Roze thinks so,” she replied, looking more hopeful. “Roze thinks that was the name.”


She’s obviously a crackpot, Grey thought sullenly as he studied her. Roze looked back at him, backing away a little anxiously.

“Does... does Wolfy know where to find Kyosan?” Roze asked timidly. Grey’s eyes widened slightly.


Wolfy? He thought indignantly. “Yeah, I do...”

“Could Wolfy show Roze?” the Vulpix said quickly, her face suddenly shining with the possibility of reaching her goal. Grey sighed resignedly. She didn’t seem like a spy, and she was certainly no danger. She seemed more like a lost, confused little creature with the lack of the ability to run away successfully or find any means of escape.

“Alright.”


“ROZE!” Grey screamed furiously. He was catching up and Roze was slowing. She was obviously tired. “ROZE, IT’S ME! IT’S GREY!”

The Vulpix screeched to a halt. Grey let out a yelp of shock but it was too late: he cannoned into her, both of them sprawling across the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of leaves and dirt.

“Why... did you run..?” Grey panted, shaking his head to clear it and sitting up. Roze was lying on her back, bewildered.

“Roze thought Grey was scary.”

“Me, scary?” Grey answered haughtily, hauling himself over to her and touching her stomach with his nose. She squealed with laughter and rolled onto her stomach, her sides heaving from the chase.

“Grey can be scary,” she replied innocently. “Grey was scary when he first met Roze.”

The journey back to the waterfall cavern was slow. It wasn’t that the Vulpix was a cautious traveller; it was just that she had the tedious habit of exploring everything she saw.

“Ooooh,” she said interestedly, batting a large plump leaf hanging from a strange plant that happened to be a Victreebel. After another mad chase, Grey decided to carry her in his mouth the rest of the way back. It may hinder his speed, but at least she wouldn’t freak out anymore.

“Roze is sorry she annoyed Wolfy.”

“Listen, you. Roze. My name isn’t Wolfy, it’s Grey. So don’t call me Wolfy.”

“Roze is sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry,” Grey replied, irritated, as he picked her up by the scruff of the neck. She dangled there, swaying, from his jaws. She soon invented a new game, which was seeing how fast she could swing from side to side. After an impatient shake from Grey, however, she soon stopped and hung limply, scared of annoying him further.


“That was because I didn’t know you,” Grey told her, as the Vulpix got to her paws and toddled over to press against his side. “But now I do know you. And I’m very glad I do.”

Roze beamed up at him with shining eyes, eyes that radiated happiness, adoration. Grey gave her grin and nudged the fur on her head softly.

“How come you took off in the first place, hmn..?”

“The thing scared Roze,” she replied seriously, her head tilted as she looked up at him. “Roze didn’t mean to run. Roze did it automatically.”

“Hmnph.” Grey felt he knew all too well how automatically she ran. He dismissed this, however, and nudged her to her paws. “Come on, let’s get back.”

The Vulpix nodded in agreement, but suddenly froze. Grey halted also, his muscles tensing painfully. He saw it too.

The shadow of an enormous creature was situated between two trees a little way away. In the dim, dusky light, it was hard to make out entirely what it was. Its huge body was low slung, and four massive arms tipped with steely claws held it above the ground. It seemed to be made of metal, and some sort of cross was visible on its face. Two crimson eyes glared at them unblinkingly from out of the darkness.

Roze was pressing into Grey’s side, her heart pounding hard beneath her fluffy chest, soft squeaks of terror escaping from her throat. Grey backed away several paces, his eyes never leaving the gargantuan form of the creature that was staring at them from the shadows. He could feel Roze shaking.

“... Run.”

The Vulpix didn’t need telling twice. At Grey’s order she threw herself backwards, running as fast as her short legs could carry her in the vague direction of the cavern. Grey leapt after her, not knowing whether the creature was following or not. Roze was fleeing in the wrong direction so he pounded after her, screwing up the rest of his strength to seize her by the scruff of her neck and to thunder off towards safety.


Age 30
Female
Seen June 24th, 2011
Posted May 8th, 2011
792 posts
14.2 Years
Good. n _n

So yeah, I currently have writers block. I'll try to get it up ASAP, but it'll probably be later than I speculated.

Oh well. :3

*prances off to Photoshop*
Well, drat :/ Still, I'll be looking forward to the next installment :D
Arcanine #059

"Its proud and regal appearance has captured the hearts of people since long ago. "
Age 29
Female
England.
Seen October 24th, 2010
Posted August 15th, 2010
49 posts
14.1 Years
Chapter Five: The Message

“What do you mean, you saw a monster?”

“It was a monster, Roze saw a monster! Grey saw it too!”

The subdued group that had resided in the cavern was no more. After the return of Roze and Grey every inhabitant was now captured in interest, and in one, a totally sceptic attitude.

“Let me get this straight,” Niall said slowly, sitting down against a stalagmite and splaying his fanned fingers as his slanted yellow eyes moved across Grey and Roze. “You were in the forest, and you saw a monster.”

“Yes!” Roze squeaked, her eyes huge in her face. She seemed quite beside herself. “A monster, a big scary metal monster and it looked at Roze and Roze looked back and-” she gave a shudder of terror- “Grey told Roze to run!

Niall gave Grey a long, I-think-you’re-being-incredibly-stupid look.

“So you saw it too,” he said disbelievingly. Grey nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly at Niall’s tone and expression.

“Yes, I did.” And he added challengingly, “I know what I saw, Niall.”

“You act like I don’t believe you,” Niall answered, standing up and gritting his teeth as he loomed over Grey. The Luxio started to snarl.

“Stop it,” Elana said anxiously, hovering beside Roze. “We don’t need more fighting.”

“You don’t fight anyway,” Niall shot at her, folding his arms and turning away from Grey.


“I do sometimes,” Elana answered feebly, looking over at Dusk for support. “Dusk?”

The Espeon was curled depressively besides the bundle of black sticks that had been the fire. She watched the thin wisps of curling smoke that remained, her head on her paws and her tail wrapped around her.

“Dusk?” Roze imitated timidly, taking a few small steps towards her.

“Leave her.” There was a snarl from the entrance. Everybody looked round to see Kyosan, standing underneath the waterfall, water running in streams down his legs and muzzle. He blinked drops from his eyes and walked forward, not pausing to shake himself dry. His pelt was plastered to his slender body. Dusk looked up, her ears pricking hopefully.

“Kyosan!” Roze squealed joyfully, throwing herself across the cavern towards him, but Grey seized her and pulled her back. Kyosan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You saw a monster,” he said flatly. There was silence apart from the steady drip of water from his fur to the dusty floor. “... A monster.”

I think they’re telling the truth,” Enar suddenly said, a bold expression on his face. “I don’t think they’re lying.”

“I never said they were lying!” Kyosan’s soaked fur bristled dangerously along his spine as he spat at the Misdreavus.

“You look like you do,” Enar replied, metaphorical nose in the air. Kyosan growled, and Niall turned back to the group.

“All of you stop it.” He cast his gaze around at everybody in the cavern – the shaking Roze; the furious Grey; the indignant Enar; the saddened Dusk; the worried Elana; the silent Sol; the drenched Kyosan. They all stood and stared at him.

“What did this monster look like?” Niall went on calmly, looking at Roze and Grey. Roze quaked.

“It... was big,” Grey started, but was cut off by a loud snort from Kyosan.

“It was big,” he imitated poisonously, starting to pace circles around the group, his body low and shoulders hunched. Grey edged closer to Roze protectively. “A baby could’ve told us that much.”

“Kyosan-“

“Shut up and let him speak,” Kyosan snapped, unaware of how much of a hypocrite he sounded. Niall cleared his throat.

“Could you be any more specific?” he asked Grey. The Luxio threw a dirty look at Kyosan and continued.

“It... was made of metal, I think. I could see four legs, but it may have been more. It didn’t seem to have any proper features apart from eyes.”

“Once again,” Kyosan interrupted, “anybody with a brain could’ve told us that much.” Grey flared. “Even Roze, and she hasn’t got any brains to speak o-”

Grey snapped. There was an exclamation from everybody in the cavern as the Luxio hurled himself at Kyosan. They collided in a frenzy of fangs, claws and fur, snarling and howling and spitting as they wrestled with each other.

“Grey!” Roze cried, terrified. Dusk leapt to her paws and yowled Kyosan’s name in horror.

“STOP IT!” Niall bellowed, but to no avail. Grey seized Kyosan’s neck in his fangs and tried to bite down, but couldn’t get a grip on the wet fur. Kyosan snarled furiously and rolled over, crushing Grey beneath his weight.

“Get off him!” Elana squealed, her paws over her mouth. Grey raked his back claws down the Umbreon’s side and Kyosan leapt off, spitting, before throwing himself back onto the Luxio before he’d barely gotten off the floor.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Enar chanted joyfully. Niall gave a bellow of exasperation.

“Give it up, you bastard!” Kyosan howled, as both Pokémon rose onto their hind legs and lashed at each other. Roze ran and hid beneath Elana’s tail, her entire body shaking in fear.

“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!” Dusk shrieked as Grey raked his claws across Kyosan’s cheek, leaving four red scratches. Kyosan fell back to all fours, blood pounding in his ears, and threw himself back at the Luxio, both of them flying across the cavern.

“Fight! Fight Fi-”

Niall seized Enar and forcefully threw him at the fighting Pokémon. The Ghost-type caught Kyosan on the side of the head and he looked around, confused, one paw at Grey’s throat to hold him down. Before he could react properly, however, Niall had sent a powerful blast of wind at both of them. Kyosan lost his balance and fell over, skidding several feet. Grey smashed into the wall from the force of it, and before either of them could register what just happened, Niall had lifted them both into the air.

“Will you stop fighting?” he roared, giving them both a harsh shake. Kyosan struggled viciously, lashing his paws at Grey.

“LET GO OF ME!” he howled, the indignity of it all hitting him almost as harshly as Grey’s blow had. Niall obeyed, and with a grunt, hurled them both far across the cavern. Elana squealed.

“Niall!” she yelped accusingly, but the Shiftry was already bearing down on the two fighters. They were lying by the cavern wall, dazed, their bodies covered in dust and blood.

“Will... you... stop... FIGHTING?!” Niall bellowed again. No reaction. Roze peered out of her hiding spot and gazed worriedly at Grey, tears streaming down her face. Niall took another few steps forward.

“I SAID-”

“We heard you,” Grey muttered, not moving. Roze gave a squeak of relief and hurtled across the cavern, tiny paws flying, tails wiggling.

“Grey? Grey, are you okay?” she asked, nudging her muzzle against his gently.

“I’ve... been better,” Grey replied quietly. One of his hind legs twitched and he moved his eyes up to look at Roze, trying to give her a reassuring smile but failing. “I’ll... be... okay.”

Kyosan stirred slightly, his head pounding. He couldn’t feel anything in his body at all. Everything was numb. His vision swam before him and he blinked slowly, deadened, and then all at once, the feeling rushed back. The back of his head screamed in agony and all of the muscles in his legs were aching. His spine jolted painfully as he twitched and he let out a grunt.

“Kyosan,” Dusk breathed, quickly crossing the cavern to get to his side. “Are you okay?”

“Do I... look okay..?” he didn’t raise his eyes to meet hers. Niall stared down at them all, breathing heavily, his shaggy white hair half-covering his eyes.

“... Thank you.”


*


The return of Kyosan wasn’t exactly the remedy for happiness that night. The other Pokémon noticed how grumpy he had become since the fight with Grey, and the Umbreon and Luxio now refused to go anywhere near each other. This broke Roze’s heart, but she took up the idea of nursing them back to health whole-heartedly. Elana gave both wounded Pokémon equal attention, much to Grey’s gratitude and Kyosan’s disgust. Niall was his usual calm self, sitting in his normal spot against a stalagmite, his elbows resting on his knees and a thin stick in his mouth.

“Why did you throw me?” Enar asked later, a very sulky expression on his face. Niall took the stick from his mouth slowly and fixed him with a flat stare.

“You weren’t helping matters,” he replied. “Next time there is a fight, you say nothing. By provoking them like that- Kyosan especially – you’re lucky you didn’t get attacked yourself.”

Enar looked stunned. Niall replaced the stick back in his mouth and closed his eyes.

“You should be fine,” Elana said softly to Kyosan as she bustled around him, checking the flexibility of his spine and cleaning the four scratches on his cheek. Roze followed her happily, doing unnecessary things like smoothing Kyosan’s fur and licking his ears.

“I’d be finer if that Shiftry didn’t interfere,” Kyosan snapped, but winced as another pang of pain shot up his spine. “Uurghn.”

“Shush,” Elana soothed, before hurrying across to the other side of the cavern to tend to Grey again. Roze gave Kyosan a nuzzle before running after her.

“Stupid,” Kyosan muttered tiredly, although what was stupid he didn’t really know.

“Hey.”

Oh no... Kyosan raised his eyes to the Espeon. She was hovering a few feet away, smiling sadly, waiting for the ‘get lost’ signals. But for some reason, at the moment, he couldn’t be bothered to give them.

“Hey,” he replied sullenly, suddenly becoming aware of his ridiculous position of being on the floor. Dusk didn’t seem to care, however, and she approached him slowly.

“How... how are you feeling?” she asked softly, her ears flattened. Kyosan didn’t hear her. He was staring at the other Pokémon in the cavern. For some reason, they had all completely frozen, apart from Grey. He was very slowly moving himself up into a sitting position, his eyes huge, staring through the waterfall. Elana had backed up against the cavern wall. Niall was still sitting in the centre, his face impassive, not moving a muscle. Sol and Enar were together closest to the entrance, their expressions terrified, and Roze was lying at Grey’s feet, her body quaking.

“Oh...”

Dusk let out a barely audible gasp. Kyosan moved his gaze to the waterfall, and felt a violent jolt in the pit of his stomach.

A huge, low slung body, four mechanical arms tipped with huge claws, two scarlet eyes. Its body was made of dark turquoise metal and large black cross dominated most of its face. But was it face? It was also its body, combined into one. It blinked.

There was complete, deathly silence. Dusk started to shake as one of the massive metal legs stepped through the waterfall, followed by another. The body followed, water running in rivulets down the smooth surface. The last two legs followed and it stood there, gargantuan, its blank eyes sliding from one Pokémon to another.

“Metagross,” Kyosan breathed softly. Dusk backed away behind him as he pushed himself to his paws, his pain forgotten in this sudden, terrible feeling of fear.

“...”

The Metagross didn’t speak. It stared at all of them, its claws scratching the surface of the stone, the moonlight outside casting silver highlights across its huge form. Niall slowly removed the stick from his mouth and gradually stood up.

“... Who are you?” he asked clearly, his voice ringing through the silence. The Metagross’ eyes cast themselves upon Niall’s face, and still it didn’t speak.

“Who are you?” Enar repeated interestedly, floating a little closer to the Metagross. “Are you a new recruit? Because if you are,” he said seriously, “you better be careful because there’s a lot of rules and stuff, and if you’re not careful Niall will throw you at somebody and it really hurts.”

Silence. Kyosan made a mental note to tear Enar’s head off his shoulders later. The Pokémon stared silently at the Metagross, before it finally spoke.

“My name is Brink.” His voice was very low, very deep, and made the very floor tremble. “I am here to deliver a message.”

“A message?” Niall repeated, controlling his fear and not removing his gaze from the Metagross. “Who from?”

“From our newly appointed leader,” Brink replied. “He wishes me to tell you one thing.”

“And what is this one thing?” Kyosan said suddenly, all of his senses alert, his crimson eyes narrowed.

“It is this.” The Metagross took a couple of heavy, booming steps forward. “Get out of this cavern now, or I’ll kill you.”


Seen November 18th, 2012
Posted June 18th, 2012
1,167 posts
14.5 Years
This story is awesome! I didn't see many mistakes, either. Just one thing: sometimes, you try to fit too many ideas into one sentence, and that makes it wordy and awkward to read. Also, I've noticed that you tend to re-use and repeat words and phrases a lot. But overall, this is great. You have good description, and the fights are really realistic. I was totally into it. I also really like the personality you gave Roze. It fits her well.

I can't wait for the next chapter!