Raven - Mechyena Saga

Okay, here's my bumpy little excuse for a fic. Yes, it is an OT. Yes, I started it nearly two years ago when I was thirteen. <<' No, don't run away. There's a proper plot in here, although it won't fully immerge for a while yet. This chapter and a few after this will seem fairly angsty too, but that won't continue forever 'cause I'm not an angst writer at heart.

A quick warning of violence, the odd swearword that escaped my swoop of destruction (asterixes annoy me) and spontaneous bursts of happiness and off we go.


Chapter One: Sticks and Stones

Concentrate.

I held my hands ready in fists, adjusting my stance by a fraction of an inch as my eyes never left the chest of my opponent.

All attacks make the torso move. Even the slightest twitch can give away an oncoming attack.

There. I caught sight of a ripple in the cloth covering the left breast. I threw myself into a hard roundhouse, knocking my enemy out of a potential attack.

Always push every advantage to its full.

I kept up a barrage of assault; kick after punch after uppercut after elbow slam. My opponent staggered and cursed, somehow escaping my offence long enough to pull back.

They always have another trick up their sleeve.

He sneered at me and wiped a droplet of blood from his lips.

Make sure you gain from it.

?You?re not so bad, for a girl.? He decided, ?But I can still win.?

If your concentration never wavers?

He leapt forward, attempting to use his larger body to slam me back into the dust.

?then nothing can stop you.

I flipped back to escape, letting him trip and stumble before dealing a swift uppercut to the jaw. There was a moment in which absolute fury reigned in his eyes and then he let rip the offence I had been expecting; the ?trick? he had apparently ?hidden? for most of the battle.

Every enemy has attacks?

I blocked a hard punch, trying to ignore the splitting pain that snaked its way up my arm from the elbow to the wrist. No time to recover, he was still on me.

Every enemy has strengths?

He managed to land a full hit in my gut, sending me staggering back in pain. But pain wasn?t enough to beat me, I?d felt enough of it already to last a decade.

But every enemy also has weaknesses?

Purposefully taking a glancing blow to the shoulder I slammed a high kick into his chin, sending his head cracking back with a force strong enough to shatter the trunk of a tree.

Exploit them and the battle is yours.

After the chin blow all he could do was block weakly as I pressed the attack once again, landing hit after hit after hit despite his desperate attempts to defend himself.

Take it while it?s hot?

I forced him to the edge of the cruel cement arena and then gave him a another roundhouse kick, sending his heavy-weighted body flying out into the empty bleachers.

?and you?ll see it?s not so hard.

?You alright, Jeza?? I called, leaping from the arena and landing lightly on one of the long benches.

?As fine as I can be after a fight with you.? The boy replied, grinning up at me through a sweat soaked mop of brown hair.

I hauled him to his feet with one hand, ignoring my own sweat that dripped down my face and stung my eyes. No matter how easy everything seemed while I was still in combat, the after-effects were always there, the menace just waiting to strike when my adrenaline level sank again.

We started to walk towards the changing rooms that were positioned side by side, picking our way over the hard silver bleachers to reach the main isle of dirty concrete steps. The harsh white lights bore down from brackets on the ceiling, leaving nothing in the small arena unlit.

Jeza rubbed one leather bound hand against his arm to relieve the pain gathering there, making the skin red and puffy.

?Don?t do that,? I scolded, flapping a hand at his arm, ?Get some ice on it instead.?

?Yes Miss Raven,? He replied in a droning teacher?s pet voice, ?You know I?ll do anything you ask Miss Raven.?

?Shurrup.? I ordered, giving him a light slap on the shoulder.

We had reached the twin doors to the changing rooms, the familiar stench of cold sweat and dirty clothing combined with bad sewers and a full bin reaching my senses. By now I could bare it without my eyes watering, but I couldn?t help but grimace as I stepped inside.

Unwashed fighter?s clothes lay strewn about the floor, accompanied by bottles filled with stale water and the mouldy remains of who-knows-what that hid in the darkest corner under a bench. The click and clack of my lock seemed multiplied when I was alone in this room, adding with the atrocious smell and attempting to overwhelm my senses. The first time that happened to me my five-yr-old self was sure I was coming down with a fever. Sometimes I still couldn?t shake that feeling today.

The locker door swung open and I grabbed my clothes and slammed it shut as fast as I could, trying not to breath in the old egg smell that had permeated this locker for as long as I could remember. I made the shower as quick as I could, standing tip-toe the whole time to keep the most of my feet off the slimy tile floor.

That done I leapt out of the shower room, the sandy floor cutting into my bare feet as I sprinted to my bag, stuffed my clean clothes on my soaking body and raced out of that reeking place. Outside the air was crisp and cold, the ground still wet from the light spring rain we?d had yesterday. The sun was out, but its light was weak and pale compared to the golden shine of summer.

In the lone tree outside the gym a flock of Tailow had taken residence, cheeping cheerily to each other and occasionally fluttering from branch to branch. I had a sudden urge to pick up a stone and take one of them out, but stopped myself. I might be as angry as I always was at my lame excuse for a father, but that was no reason to take it out on the Pok?mon? Even if they did wake me up every morning at four a.m. with their blasted morning chorus.

?You did crap, girl.? A deep voice decided from behind me, ?You coulda taken out that fool in no time if you?d trained betta.?

I turned to face him, keeping my anger under control so I wouldn?t give him the satisfaction of knowing how his words effected me.

?If you want a good fighter who trains all day all night to achieve your dream get yourself a Machamp. It might actually want to serve you, but why I couldn?t guess.? I spat.

?If it?s more loyal than you I?ll take it.? My father responded. He took a few steps towards me, aiming to put a hand on my shoulder for a more intimidating impression. ?You?ll make a good fighter one day, Raven. I?ll make sure of it.?

His voice was low and menacing, but I didn?t let it effect me.

?No.? I brushed off his hand and started to walk away, ?I don?t let wimps take control of my life.?

?If I?m a wimp then what are you?!? He shouted after me.

I didn?t respond, why the Hell should I? It was bad enough that his voice and his instructions always got me through fights without having him enticing retorts out of me too. But now? I put my head back as I walked barefoot out of the cement compound, leaving the potted tree and its Tailow behind. I?d said that I don?t let wimps take control of my life, but, if that were true, would I still be wasting my time fighting to carry out my father?s dream?

As much as I always tried to deny it, that was what I did every day in that arena. I assured myself it was for my own strength, but this was different, far, far different. I got stronger, true, but as I did my father?s dream got nearer. I didn?t want that. To Hell with him, I wasn?t going to be the good little daddy?s girl that did everything for my old man. No, there was going to be something better for me than that.

Suddenly a wave of sound exploded from a nearby alleyway, sending my mind into instant alert. I felt my father?s intuition trying to slip sneakily into my head, but batted it away.

?I don?t need you.?

No matter that this city was filled with slashers and muggers and criminals of all kinds, I could take care of myself without his stupid pointers echoing in my head from when I was a little kid, from when mum was still alive?

I snapped my mind out of that train of thought before it could even take me anywhere. If there was a psycho killer down that alley the last place my mind needed to be was with the lingering thoughts of my mother. There would be another time and place for that reverie, but certainly not now.

I regained my sharp concentration and crept forward down the dark alleyway, keeping to the cold brick walls to stop myself from being to obvious. Thoughts of sharp objects sneaking across my throat and laying me open flickered across my mind but I barred them out. The fighter with the most concentration would win, no matter size or weight.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my heart beating fast in my chest. No. No way. I couldn?t have just thought that, could I?! My father?s words, but in my voice? He really was taking control of me, faster than I could even hope to comprehend. It snapped inside of me; I had to get away from this place. Far, far away, away from my sire and away from the memories. If I could get enough distance between us I might manage to escape this nightmare altogether?

Suddenly a flashing glint of silver shot towards me, only my heightened reactions saving me from a gory, slashed up death. The steel blade rammed into the wall right where my head had been, sending red dust and chips of the brick flying outwards from the heavy impact. I had been thinking too long. My concentration had broken and now I was the one under attack.

But suddenly I didn?t want to get in a fight. Feigning a fall I landed on my left hand and swiped my attacker?s legs out from under him. With a loud thud his heavy form slammed home, a groan of pain escaping his throat along with a putrid gush of alcohol breath and swearwords even I hadn?t picked up before. I made a mental note to remember those then turned and ran.

People in a normal city would have been surprised to see me, the red-tinted-black haired, amber eyed girl with her arms and fists bound in leather and her feet bare, running through their home, but Malmarsh city was different. They were used to me and my emotion-driven outbursts as much as they were to the Grimer inhabiting the drains.

Right now I was heading for the edge of the Metropolis, ignoring the jarring pain that jolted up my legs with every running step as I snaked around the people and bicycles that barred my way. Everything but myself seemed to be in slow motion, the few people and occasional bikes that cluttered the sidewalks moving at a Slugma?s pace as I raced along. Even the cars seemed slow, despite the fact that no-one around here ever did less than thirty-five even around the centre.

I sprinted along the ground, the cement slabs flying beneath my feet in a blur and the cool air pummelling my face and making my eyes water heavily. I felt as if I were trying to outrun the past, or perhaps the future, trying to escape what had happened and what was to come. I knew I couldn?t do it, but the sheer speed was clearing my head. I?m not the spiritual type, so I?ll blame it on the air and my heart beating the blood around my body faster than a Rapidash runs.

Finally I reached the edges of the wooded area, two miles from where I had started. I slid to a stop and did my best to stop myself from falling to the ground. I was exhausted. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I felt it would tear through me if it kept going and my head was spinning. The edges of my vision fizzed in and out of being as I sank back against a tree trunk, giving in to my body?s want for comfort.

After a good fifteen minutes I raised my head from my chest, still panting a little from my run, and gazed out at the hideous concrete mess before me. Smokestacks belched dark fumes into the sky, muddying the once crisp white clouds above and marring the horizon. The buildings were all red or grey, all rectangular, all bearing the same pyramid roofs above and the build up of pollution on the walls.

It was hideous. This place, my home, was absolutely disgusting. I couldn?t believe that I lived in this messed-up excuse for a city, breathing in those toxic fumes every day and walking around like another one of those pre-programmed robots that seemed to patrol every corner. The city was made even uglier when this beautiful forest was at my back. This forest, with its amazing array of greens, reds, pinks, blues and yellows, with its diverse wildlife and its wonderful clean air. Well, I looked back at the city, as clean as you could get when your neighbour was that stinking mass.

I threw my bag back at the city with all my might and turned away.

?This is the start of my life,? I told myself as I started to walk into the forest, smirking as I heard the clang of my bag landing in a rubbish bin, ?So I don?t need any of the old trash.?

With one hand I rooted about in my pocket in search of some money. I found a stick of gum (half chewed), a hair bobble (coated in mud after being used in a rubber band war), a ticket for the S.S. Tidal and about ?5,000. I winced, not much, but it would have to do. After all, what else did I have?

I smiled at that. I liked where this was heading. I had total freedom. Sure, I had no shoes, a pathetically small amount of money and practically zilch in the possession department, but there was nothing holding me back. There was nothing to lose? and everything to gain.

Well, this is one of the few fics that have come here from SPPf that I haven't read, so my comments shall be fresh out of the brain, unlike Rifts in Time and Lily's work. Anyways, to review:

The plot initially seems different - if not mysterious. It seems that most of Raven seems to be clouded in a veil of some sort, and that's always a good place to start. Mystery and suspense is much better than predictablility and general boringness (is that a word o_O). But... yeah... the plot certainly intrigues me so far. As does the general atmosphere. The description is good, as is the length. Well done ^_^

The one thing that let you down in my eyes is the use of diction. There were many instances where the words you used didn't really fit in with the tone of the fic. When Raven quickly moved out of the way from the "silver glint", that would have sounded better in two separate sentences, to heighten the mood. Although it may have been effective in creating the quick reaction, it didn't fit in. That's just an example, but I don't really want to go over them as I'm sure you're clever enough to figure them out. There were also grammar/spelling errors, but good ol' MS Word can fix those. XD

Well, this fic has intrigued be so far. It has me on the edge of my seat... not literally, but it still leaves me hanging for more. Keep up the good work. :D

Is that supposed to be a compliment? ;_; anywayz...

The beginning- awesome. You truly captured my attention with the italicized words and the format you made of it. It's the way you wrote it, step by step, in order, and rather nicely written. You showed a good perspective of Raven, what she does, and how she feels about her father. Another thing I must compliment on, the atmosphere. Your descriptions of comparing to one another was excellent I tell you. This really did make the chapter more suspenseful.

Dictions for the majority were okay, but MCD pointed that out already. ;_; Your usage of them did however make the story more appealing. The other background stuff...grammar, length, details etc etc...all good. :P My favorite thing about it was how you just used your way to describe the surroundings...I loved reading it. ^o^

Yay, t'was not hated. ^^

I've had lots of comments on how to change the first chapter, from the italic bit being corny to it seeming a bit jerky when Raven's randomly attacked, but I've never had diction mentioned before... I see what you mean though, the "silver glint" you mentioned in particular.

*scribbles even MORE things into her "what to work on in the rewrite" notepad*

I won't change it now 'cause I dislike doing a half job on something, but all is noted... :P Thanks to you two for your reviews! It's nice to have more than a few words as a response. XD

On a final note, I really don't like this chapter for some reason. I've read through just a few recently, but this one I failed to read through. It's cut into two parts here, but still...

Chapter two: Gingerbread

By Obsidian Blade

I trudged along through the forest, the mud coating my legs all the way up to mid-thigh. My burst of optimism from yesterday was dying off pretty quick now, a few remaining embers all that remained. I was getting sick of these woods. Yesterday they had represented my newfound freedom, but today, with the memories of a rainy, Weedle infested night still fresh in my mind, it represented mud, mud, more mud and then even more mud on the side. Gaahhh, how I wished I?d thought to bring shoes, spare clothes, more money and some proper FOOD.

At that thought my stomach growled as loud as a Mightyena in complaint. Gawd, what I wouldn?t do for a bacon butty? Hot from the grill, greasy, ketchup yummmmm?

?YAHHHHIEEE!!!? I shrieked, my feet sliding out from under me as my bacon butty fantasy sent me sliding down a muddy bank toward a bubbling bog. ?Oh shoot.? I mumbled, there was NO WAY landing in that would be nice.

I grabbed at the bank I was sliding down but all I grabbed were handfuls of slimy greenish brown sludge. But there! As fast as I could I grabbed a tree root sticking out of the bank, ignoring the way the wood dug into my palm and trying to imagine the maggots seething around me away. Why oh why was it me who slid down the maggot infested[ bank leading to some sort of toxic marsh?

A held on tighter, gritting my teeth and trying to expel some of the grit and muddy grime I had in my maw. I seemed to be doing okay now, my grip on the root staying true. But wait? Suddenly my mind clicked.

?Maggots? root? EATING??

?Oh shoot.? I repeated, just as the root gave way under my weight, sending me slipping and sliding down the mud, now accompanied by numerous maggots and other grubs.

Sticks, plants and stones that lined the bank ripped at my skin and clothing, leaving harsh red lines down my arms, legs and stomach. I gagged and choked on mud as I scratched uselessly at the slope in an attempt to save myself. Too late.

SPLASH! I landed in the bog, mud that smelled worse than the changing rooms at my father?s gym swirling over my head and slimy skinned somethings brushing my body as I pushed frantically up toward the surface. Just when I thought my lungs would burst I exploded from the bog, my mouth gaping open for air but getting more watery mud than anything else.

I shook my head ferociously, my hair sending more mud splattering everywhere. After wiping my mouth on the back of my sludgy hand I struck out fervently for what I could see was solid land.

More easily said then done, I tells ya.

The mud churned around me at my frantic splashing, filling my mouth and nose and eyes and only adding to my panic. My father?s voice was drowned out in my head by the frantic warning bleeps as I sank momentarily below the surface but I was too busy spluttering and gasping for air as I came up again to celebrate.

I swapped movements to the crawl, dragging myself through the thick murky mud with powerful strokes of my arms. My feet kicked out behind me, making contact with something sharp that I somehow ignored. I had to ignore it, just as I had to pretend that the grit coating my body and irritating my skin wasn?t bothering me. If I let myself try to scratch or panic it?d be bye-bye Raven as I sank into the stinking mess.

Finally the tips of my fingers hit the hard land of the shore and I hauled my exhausted body up with much difficulty, letting myself collapse choking and gasping to the dank ground. Its earthy scent barely penetrated my mud-coated nostrils, but it was enough to comfort me a tiny bit. My arms felt like rubber as they lay motionless by my side, the grit that clung to my every pore itching and scratching as I finally sat up.

I managed to remove the worst of the slime from my arms and body with the palms of my hands, but my fingers wouldn?t move with the cold. In fact, my entire body was either shivering or frozen in place, leaving me pretty defenceless. I had to get a fire started, no matter how, I just had to. I had to warm up, my life most probably depended on it.

Pulling every ounce of determination from my being I pulled my legs up underneath me, straightening them oh-so-slowly as I stood. I looked around. I smiled. I kept standing. But then suddenly the world was shaking around me, my pale legs, dirty brown with mud, shivering in uncontrollable spasms.

?Please no?? I begged my limbs, trying to will them to stay up.

No luck. One ankle gave way, sending me falling sideways, arms flailing for something, anything, to grab onto. No hope. I hit the ground hip-first, a sharp pain shooting through my lower thigh followed by a warm trickle. I looked down.

?D@mn this!?

My leg was impaled on a root, the dark wood buried deep in my flesh. A crimson stream ran swiftly from the wound, dripping onto the soft earth were it was instantly sucked up.

?D@mn it ALL!? I screamed to the canopy of trees above me.

A flock of Spearow exploded from the trees and into the sky, squawking their complaints as they retreated away.

With a final scream of anger and defeat I let my head hit the ground, not even caring as something squirmed out from under me and writhed its way off into the dark dead bracken. Why did it matter? If I died, here, now, I would at least be with my mother?

Thoughts of her smiling face, blue eyes sparkling with happiness and love and body shaking with playful laughter jumped into my head. I couldn?t even raise the strength to bat them away. As images rose unbidden into my minds eye, myself on her shoulders as a tiny child, burying my face in her silky blue hair, her running across a field as her Growlithe leapt along beside, nipping playfully at her ankles, I let myself do something I never did. I cried.

Cried and cried and cried. Cried soundlessly, tears slipping across my dirty face and leaving salty trails of skin in their wake. I cried until my eyes ached as much as my heart and the sides of my vision started to sink into fizzing darkness.
I don?t know for how long I was out, but it was long enough. I woke with a splitting headache and limbs that felt like lead. It was dark again, but I could see my breath hanging in the air in front of me by the silvery light of the moon that slunk through the guarding trees and splashed softly upon the ground.

It was a clear night, the moon and stars shining like silver beacons through the blanket of midnight blue. It was also, very, very cold. If I was in a bad way before, I was practically dead now. Numbly I rubbed at my senseless arms and legs, blinking the strange tiredness from my eyes as I worked hard to heighten my body heat. It wasn?t working. Fear crept up from the pit of my stomach like a venomous snake, ripping at my insides and leaving me cold and empty, yet heavy and coiled at the same time. Was I going to? die? Here? From something so trivial as a slip down a slope?

Those thoughts fresh in my mind, I rubbed harder and with renewed determination. I wouldn?t die here, it would be like proving my father right; I was a weakling. I scrubbed at my skin until it was red, raw and shining in the light, scraps of mud torn from my skin by my fervent actions and then rubbed into the stinging wounds. And it still wasn?t working!

I pressed harder and rubbed faster, a lump rising in my throat. I bit it back, I?d had my annual crying session earlier today and there was no way I was going to reduce my pride any further by repeating it. The cold set in further, biting my flesh and coiling around me in a grip of freezing death. My movements started to slow as my toes lost all feeling and my lips found themselves almost incapable of moving.

I was about to give up again, like I had earlier only for a much longer time, when a warm nose stabbed me viciously in the arm. I looked down, my head quivering and my eyes barely able to focus on the creature in front of me. It was a? some sort of Pok?mon. I think? A Rattata. Yeah, that?s it. Rattata.

It squeaked something incomprehensible and rubbed the side of its warm furred face against my arm. Its fur was soft and purple on top, slightly tougher and tan coloured on the bottom. I was too tired to see the colour of its eyes. Too tired?

My head rolled over on my neck, most of its weight resting on one freezing shoulder. Rattata squeaked again, more urgently this time as if it were trying to call me back. I couldn?t? just couldn?t.

?WeeEEEP!? The little creature squealed, rubbing its whole body against my side.

It struck me as to how this Pok?mon would help me, a human, without question when our own ?intelligently advanced? society wouldn?t do as much as to hold out a hand to help a blind man cross the road. The thought of a fool, maybe. For that to be one of my last thoughts I had to be.

I leant my back gently against the hard bark of a tree as Rattata kept up its relentless quest to keep me awake. I started to doze fitfully, the wound on my inner thigh seeming to inflate and itch as I dipped in and out of the waters of unconsciousness like a nervous child first learning to swim. I felt myself prepare to dive off the deep end when a sharp pain shot through my hand and an added weight forced its way into my lap.

I forced my eyes open again to see the little faces of about ten Rattata in my lap and a Hoothoot perched on my hand. Then pain had been courtesy of its sharp talons and I had to say I was thankful. As the ten Rattata went about warming me up, Hoothoot perched on my shoulder, whispering sounds of encouragement into my ear. To my disbelief I was starting to feel better, the light-headedness starting to flee my mind and the movement returning to my hands and feet. Even the death lock the cold had around my chest started to relax, letting me breath without pain.

After maybe two hours of pampering from Rattata and Hoothoot I could stand again, walk even. Eleven pairs of sparkling eyes stared up at me as I walked my first lap of a set of three trees, rotten wood and dead plants crackling under my bare feet. I returned to my little saviours and hugged them each, unable to really show my gratitude.

Strangely, they seemed to sense it anyway, but how I could tell I don?t know. I tilted my head back and gazed at the twinkling cosmos above me, a smile gracing my thin lips.

?Thank you.? I said to the Pok?mon, but when I looked down they were gone.

?Strange?? I murmured, setting off through the forest once again.

I hadn?t got far when men?s voices reached my ears, their tone venomous as I picked out a few swearwords in their dialogue. Flashlight beams pierced the darkness, flooding over the vegetation as they swung around through the air. It looked as if the holders were trying to cover everyplace at once?

I covered a smile with my hand, whoever these people were, they were cowards if they were afraid of being in this forest. Why were they even out here at this hour if they were scare--- Then it hit me with the force of a thousand stones: They were out here for me.

Suddenly I saw the whole scene in a different light. These people weren?t blundering cowards cussing their way through a forest. They were hunters, the beams of their flashlights silver tendrils reaching out for me through the darkness, swatting at my body and weakly grasping at my clothes.

Without another breath I turned and ran, blundering noisily away on still shaken legs. If I?d been in perfect health none of that would have happened; I would have crept slowly and quietly away and hidden where they couldn?t find me. As it was, I was fearful after the bog incident and any little thing could send me leaping like a terrified deer.

I heard a few shouts from behind me and suddenly I was bathed in revealing light. The wind blew into my face as I rushed headlong through the undergrowth, narrowly avoiding trees and plants and other obstacles as I sped off. They were still hot on my trail, even though the silvery spectres of their flashlight beams had lost their grip on my form.

?Hey! Get back here!? One of them yelled, slurring his words together like a drunkard. I assume he was.

I didn?t reply, didn?t stop either. That would be a very, very stupid thing to do and I knew better. I was running full tilt, sharp ended sticks embedding themselves in the soles of my feet as I leapt through the bracken.
?We?ll get you, you little bugg-GLOFF!?

A smile twitched my lips as I realised that one of the fools following me had met the same muddy fate as I had done earlier. Serves him right! They should never have tried to catch me in the first place. And still I ran on, the harsh wind buffeting my face and ripping at my loose t-shirt. I leapt over fallen trees and logs like a champion show jumping Rapidash, forced my way through prickly bushes with the stubbornness of a Rhyhorn and occasionally swung from vines to get over more bogs and Pok?mon holes that littered my path.

But I was still tired, and the men were gaining on me. The chemicals pumping through my veins made my muscles burn as I hauled myself on, my breath wearing away at the inside of my throat like sandpaper. I started to slow down a little, the blood beating in my ears like a slack drum and forcing my concentration to waver. There was a large tree up ahead, its branches extending far into the sky and its roots twisting and turning on the ground.

I decided to jump over the roots to avoid spraining, or even breaking, my ankle and prepared myself as I came closer. I was ten feet from the tree, six feet five feet four feet three feet two feet one foot? I bunched my legs beneath me and sprang, waiting for that familiar burst of speed and power I expected. It never came. My legs were too tired. Instead of shooting over the roots and landing gracefully on the other side my feet slammed into two gaps between roots causing me to fall forward onto my face.

The precious time and distance I was loosing haunting my head like a curse I tried to pull myself free and run on, but my feet remained firmly stuck. I rolled over as best as I could and grabbed my thigh with my hands, yanking with all my strength. Not fast enough? I pulled harder, tried the other leg, went into a pulling frenzy, but I was stuck firm.

I looked up to see where my pursuers had got to, but they had disappeared. I blinked and looked harder; they couldn?t simply have not been there. My amber eyes scanned the surrounding forest, my hackles rising as I realised what a bad position I was on.

?Gotcha!? A loud voice bellowed from behind me, heavy hands slamming down onto my shoulders and knocking me back into the harsh cradle of roots.

I couldn?t help it, my lips parted and I let out an ear splitting screech. The man covered his ears with one hand, and growled at me before his allies came and lifted me from my wooden prison. Now free, I knew exactly what I had to do. As much as I wanted to leave my father and his dream behind in the dust, this had to be done.

?Kiiyaaa!?

The sound issued from the centre of my being and I landed a swift kick to the head of on of my captors, sending his head cracking back on his skinny neck. As quickly as I could I flipped, punched or kicked all of my opponents away and prepared to run? But one got back up.

?Well well Raven, it looks like I was right after all, you are a real fighter.? That all-familiar deep voice decided as the man, as my father, hauled himself up.

Before I could so much as sneer he took up an offensive posture I was vaguely familiar with and struck out to my solar plexus. I caught his heavy booted foot in my hands, my over-used muscles straining to keep my father?s attacks at bay.

He let out a well-rehearsed stream of furious kicks and punches that I could barely keep up with, but I did. He did a flying kick but I ducked beneath him and rammed both elbows on either side of his spine, coaxing a pained grunt from the man. It was an unorthodox move, but why the Hell should I care? Right now all I wanted to do was run. So I did. While my enemy was down in the dirt I gathered the tiny reserve of energy I hadn?t depleted to nothing and sprinted away into the wild.

By the time father was back up, I was gone.

EDIT: *sweatdrops at her own stupidity*

Mr Cat Dog said:

There were also grammar/spelling errors, but good ol' MS Word can fix those. XD

Click to expand...

You mean it HASN'T?!

Oh dear. The whole fic's been run through Microsoft Work's spellchecker about twenty times (twice a chapter, normally), meaning that chapter one has been through that every single time, and I've proof read it a few times too...

*sweatdrops*

I'll look again. :dead:

MSWord sometimes misses out words that aren't used properly in the sentence...yeah...

anyway...FANFIC OF THE WEEK!

*struggles not to faint*

Fic of the week already... and a review from frosty... and inspiration to go back and edit that start of chapter two...

Well, I'll post the last part of c2 now while I work on the other part.

Chapter II: Gingerbread - Part II

Three hours later found me trudging along once again, the addition of scraped knees and skinned palms making me even more careful not to fall. Which in turn slowed me down, but it did keep me from falling into craftily hidden bogs. It was getting really dark now due to the blanket of clouds that had appeared from nowhere, cold too, and I could barely see what was around me even after having ages for my eyes to adjust. My warm breath rose high into the night sky, a plume of white against the rich black.

I looked up and scowled; where was the moon when you needed it? At that point I could easily be persuaded into believing that everything was out to stop my escape. What had I done to deserve this? With a groan of desperation and temporary defeat I slid down the trunk of a huge, smooth barked tree and deposited my arse on the ground. That was when I heard it.

Night in a forest is not quiet, just so you know. People in cities tend to be drawn into believing that because there are no cars, nightclubs and brightly lit signs among the trees there is no nocturnal night. WRONG! Plenty of the natural Pok?mon species stay up way past your average human?s bedtime, letting their voices carry eerily out to any traveller, accompanied by the rustle of movement and the swish of wing. Me, I wasn?t afraid. If you have nothing really to lose I guess that means you?ve nothing really to fear. And after the incident with the Rattata and Hoothoot I was pretty sure I wasn?t going to be attacked? not by the native Pok?mon , anyhow.

But there was this one noise that stood out like a sore thumb against the coarse mumblings of the other creatures in the forest. It was the cry of a Pok?mon, long and wailing. It gave me the impression of silk, for all that that representation sounds bizarre, while all the others were cotton. But that?s when I realised why: it was the call of a daytime Pok?mon .

So that got my immediate attention. I hauled myself from the dirt, rubbing my eyes and forcing my legs to carry me forward again. If my thigh muscles had mouths, they would have been complaining particularly loudly about how unfair this was, tricking them into believing I was going to let them have a rest. I?ve got to say that I?m happy muscles can?t talk.

As always, my ears guided me true and I soon reached a small clearing in the woods. Ears pricked and senses on alert I crept forward, my eyes flicking over everything for trace of a flash of the lighter colour daytime Pok?mon normally were. On first look I didn?t see anything, but second?

?Wow?? I whispered, my amber eyes glued to the little mound of blue huddled beneath a tree root.

On closer inspection I saw that it was a little bird-like creature, with silky sky-blue down covering its slightly chubby body. It looked to be about three feet tall and was shaped a little like a Swablu, but actually possessing a neck and head rather than a head/body combination. Its tail was fanned out on the ground behind it, curving and dipping over the ground like, well, silk. Perhaps my representation wasn?t quite so off?

?W-who are you?? A tiny voice asked.

I looked around for the owner of the voice, but saw no-one else. But wait? was that the Pok?mon speaking?

?Do you talk?? I inquired, moving out of the bushes so the bird could see me completely.

?I ate some tasty berries,? It, no, she, certainly she, responded, ?And now I can make human sounds.?

?Oh right.?

From the sound of her voice and the words she was using I was pretty sure the Pok?mon was a baby. But what would a vulnerable child be doing out in the open during the night?

?Are you alright there?? I couldn?t help but feel a little strange talking to a blue bird. A blue baby bird. What sort of phrasing are you supposed to use there?

She shook her head, ?I left mummy yesterday, but then I got stuck. I think a Linoone or Houndour might eat me if I stay here any longer!?

Houndour. So there were stronger Pok?mon around? I guessed that if there were an ounce of good in my body I had to play hero now and save this little creature before she was gobbled up.

?I?ll help you out.? I assured her, stepping closer.

She looked wary at first, but didn?t do anything to resist. Why would she? If she stayed there she?d be dead by morning so there was nothing for her to lose.

?Just like me?? My mind chuckled.

The rest of me failed to see what was so funny.

My life so far had practically defined the word ?crap?. The first five years were good, filled with memories of my mother?s smiling face and my father?s lunchtime training sessions. But then, the day after I turned six, my mother was murdered by a lunatic with a knife. After that my father seemed to draw into himself. I never saw him smile and he spent all his time training in his gym. I used to watch him from behind one of the bleachers, but he eventually caught me. After that, he decided to train me too. From that day forth my life was made up of sleeping, training, going to school and eating. I used to daydream in class about what I could be doing if I weren?t stuck with my father and from those thoughts grew my rebellious spirit. **** you father, look what you did.

I reached the tiny bird, pushing away thoughts of my not-so-nice past, and crouched down beside her. She looked up at me with fearful black eyes as I examined her, looking for what part was trapped.

?My left wing.? She whispered with a nod.

?Okay, um???

"Polienix.? She responded, ?The ice/psychic bird Pok?mon .?

I felt the breath catch in my throat and for a moment I froze, caught in the trap of memory.

?So, which Pok?mon is that?? My mother asked me, holding my hand with hers and pointing with the other.

?Charmander!? I laughed, pointing at the book too, ?And that?s Squirtle and Oddish and Lapras and Sentret and Skurskit!?

?Right!?

My mother?s smile took up all of my vision. It was like the air was happy in her presence, like we were always bathed in a sunny yellow glow. Even when it rained, I was always happy around my mother. Father was stood in the corner, smiling to himself while he watched us. He never joined in, but that was because he preferred his own physical strength to that of the amazing creatures people caught in Pok?balls.

?Now,? brushing a loose strand of her brown hair out of her face mum turned the page, ?Which is that??

My five-yr-old eyes gleamed in excitement as I gazed lovingly at my favourite page. The background was dark blue and sparkling, a huge majestic bird spread across its width. The Pok?mon?s feathers were a shimmering cross between sky blue and lilac, little thunderbolts of violet streaking across its body. It had a long tail and an impressive wingspan, its head held regally on a long swanlike neck. Its wings curved perfectly around the tiny bird before it; Polienix, and it was Articairion, the ice/psychic bird Pok?mon .

?Articairion!? Little kid me laughed, bouncing in my mother?s lap and giggling, ?When I grow up I?m gonna be the Pok?mon league champion and Articairion?s gonna be the strongest Pok?mon ever ?cause I trained her!?

?Of course she will.? My mum agreed, that same smile still wrinkling the corners of her almond shaped eyes.

?If our Raven chooses to become a Pok?mon trainer.? Dad?s deep voice added.

?Of course I will daddy. To train Pok?mon is the bestest thing in the whoooole wiiiide world!?

?Polienix?? I murmured.

?Huh?? Polienix looked up at me, ?What??

?Ah,? I shook myself, ?Nothing much.?

The psychic/ice chick gave me a sceptical look as I reached for her wing, but let me lay my hands on her soft downy feathers. They felt just as I had imagined them, smooth, yet soft and icy cold. A little shiver vibrated down the wing as I did my best to remove it from its jammed position in between two gnarled roots so I stopped.

?Does that hurt?? I gave another slight pull.

?Yu huh.? Polienix responded, tears of pain pooling in her brave eyes, ?I kept pulling all day and now it hurts a lot??

I nodded, ?Okay, I?ll just have to move the roots instead.? My eyes were already scanning the base of the tree for a place that might be a weak spot, hungrily searching for a place to aim my kick.

?You can do that??

?My father trained me??

?That?s nice of him!? She interrupted.

??Against my will.? I continued, glaring at her.

A little ?oh? was all she said in reply. Preparing myself I advised her to cover her face from splinters before aiming a slamming kick at the roots.

?Hoooyii!!? I yelled, letting rip like I normally did in the arena.

SMASH! The left root came free in a shower of splinters, bathing myself and the freed Polienix in sawdust. The little bird sneezed and hopped back a bit, her wing trailing in the dark dirt.

?Sorry.? I apologised to the tree, ?But what must be done, must be done.?

?It?s good of you to respect the forest,? Polienix decided, apparently not understanding sarcasm, ?So many other humans happily massacre us Pok?mon and ravage our beautiful home. Oo!?

She squeaked as an attempt to move her wounded wing sent jolts of pain through her body. I was down there in an instant, seeking any open wounds or obvious breaks. Sure, I?m not good with people, but I can spew my guts around Pok?mon without knowing that they were analysing my every move. There were no ?Oh, what sad taste in fashion she has? or ?She?s got the worst figure I ever did see and the attitude to match? in the Pok?mon world. Here was my home? Just like I always dreamed as a kid.

?Is it bad?? Polienix questioned nervously, her black eyes darting from my face to the wing and back again.

It was swelling quickly, forcing the feathers to stick out at odd angles, but I couldn?t see any sign of a break. Still, just to be careful? I stood up and glanced around me. The moon had come out sometime during my memory burst a few minutes ago so now I could see relatively well.

?Let?s see, I left Malmarsh three days ago, running some of the way but also lying half dead for nearly eighteen hours. I?d say I was??

I looked up from the bit of dirt my eyes had been boring into while I thought.

?About half a mile from Route 39. That means the Pok?mon centre in Olivine?? I said out loud.
?Pok?mon centre? That?s where the kind people heal us, isn?t it?? Polienix inquired, a hopeful look shining in her eyes.

?Yup. If I take you there Nurse Joy can heal you and then you?re free to go, alright??

Polienix looked overjoyed, her plump bird face practically glowing with gratitude. Without much delay I lifted her from the ground and placed her in my arms, being extra careful not to injure her wing any further. I would have run all the way if I weren?t afraid of hurting my precious burden, so instead I walked, a little more careful on my feet than I was before since I no-longer had a free hand to catch me if I fell.

? a mile wasn?t really far, not to my trained body, but suddenly the weight of the day was heavy on my shoulders and I felt my feet start to drag. But I held my head high and blinked away the sleepiness that was clouding my vision and skewing my perception. I never said there weren?t good sides to my unnatural stubbornness?

After maybe fifteen minutes of walking I saw the first sign of human inhabitation: a flicker of light through the dense shielding of the trees. I quickened my pace and a sleepy Polienix shifted slightly in my arms.

?Are we nearly there yet?? She wondered, blinking droopy lids.

?Almost.? I replied.

As if on cue the forest started to thin out and eventually we were on a tame grass field that smelled strangely of cows. In fact, as I headed toward the field gate I found myself having to pick my way carefully so as to avoid stepping in a Miltank pat.

?Eww, what?s that?? Polienix wanted to know, titling her head to aim an eye at one of the dark splodges on the ground.

?Something that should be in a toilet, if Miltank were potty trained.? I responded disgustedly, opening the gate with a loud creak. I flinched, someone had to have heard that from the house, but when I looked no old farmer with a rifle was headed my way and, hey, I wasn?t complaining.

Now we were on the hard packed earth of a well used path and I couldn?t help but smile at leaving that forest and its bogs behind. Sure, I was so tired I probably looked like some sort of zombie, but a Nurse Joy couldn?t possibly refuse an injured Pok?mon, even if she chased me out with a broom shortly afterwards. Somehow, I couldn?t see one of those kind hearted women doing that to anyone, even me.

?I?m tired, Raven. I?m going to sleep.? Polienix informed me just before her head flopped against my arm.

I would have asked how she knew my name before I told her, but she was obviously worn and, besides, it was fairly obvious anyway. She was part psychic, after all. I only wished I could sleep right now too?






And now...

*dies*

XP

Chapter III Part I

Ah hah, you thought I was dead, but nay! I neva die! Buwahahahahaha! ><

Raven: Emerald Fist
Mechyena Saga

Chapter III: Sugoi!

I lay on my back, sprawled across the wrinkled sheets of one of the Pok?mon centre?s beds as I stared at the pale plaster of the ceiling. It was pristine white without a single chip, something I?m sure was due to the Chanseys and Blisseys running about the place. The wound a root had gored into my leg had been bound with gauze to stop the bleeding and I had taken a shower to remove the mud from my tired body. My clothes were in the wash so I was stuck wearing an oversized t-shirt and a pair of black spandex shorts Nurse Joy found somewhere around the centre but it didn?t bother me much. As long as Polienix was safe and I wasn?t being hunted through the muddy forest I was perfectly OK with the whole thing. It was, after all, a major upgrade.

But I couldn?t sleep. My body was almost immobile with fatigue and my brain begged release from the hellish prison of consciousness, but there was something bothering me, something about the way Nurse Joy had looked at Polienix.

?Look Raven, forget it. Polienix is fine. Now SLEEP **** it! She?s in the best of hands and you need to be in fighting condition unless your father appears here tomorrow looking for y-?

I shut that stupid little voice out of my mind and slid my protesting legs out of bed. How dumb am I, rejecting sleep after all that. Rubbing my eyes numbly on the back of my hands I shuffled out of the room and into the tiny corridor beyond the door. From here there were four different branches:

- Door to behind the desk and the visitor area of the centre
- Door to the staff (Pok?mon included) dorms
- Door to the Pok?mon healing area
- Door leading outside and to the outside stairs leading to the rest of the guest dorms

I went through the third door, into the Pok?mon healing room. A wave of the smell of antiseptic, bandages and medicine wafted over me as I stepped inside, making my eyes water a little. It was a small room, with the same immaculate neatness of the guest quarters I was staying in. The walls were lined with trolley beds for the smaller Pok?mon, getting larger towards the far end. Most were empty, but I could make out a Growlithe in the bed nearest to me, a Sentret across the room, a Manectric sprawled over two beds near the window and Polienix on her own in the far corner.

Keeping my steps light I padded over to Polienix?s bed, stifling a yawn with one hand and trying to avoid bumping any of the fragile looking trolley beds. She was spread face down on the starched linen, her stubby blue wings open across the cot and her little head turned to the side. Her cheeks were a little flushed beneath her sapphire down and her yellow beak was open as she breathed.

I frowned, and reached out a tentative hand. Polienix?s forehead was hot and damp, her breathing much less regular than I had thought now that I took a closer look. She moaned a bit at my touch and drew her wings inward protectively, the feathers along her back rising to make her look bigger than she was. My frown deepened as I realised how swollen the once-trapped wing was; hadn?t Nurse Joy mended it properly? As far as I knew, the red haired women that ran the Pok?mon centres world-wide were the best healers anywhere. She couldn?t possibly miss something as obvious as this, could she?

Polienix complained quietly again and I stroked her soft feathers with the back of my hand.

?It?ll be okay.? I assured her, before turning and running back out of the room.

Within seconds I had burst out into the warm brightness of the main Pok?mon centre, calling out for Nurse Joy or Chansey or Blissey or anyone. No reply. Well, not from the carers of injured Pok?mon, that is.

?Hey! You! My Totodile needs healing right now!? A man practically screamed, his sweaty red face thrust right in mine and spittle flying from his mouth splattering my front.

I wiped the foamy droplets away and pushed him back a ways, earning myself another earful and free shower. Doing my best to ignore him, I looked around at the seething mass of people occupying the waiting area of the centre. They were everywhere, sitting on the few seats while they nursed their sick Pok?mon, standing about in corners looking sullen, banging their fists on the desk and ringing the bell repeatedly and? ugh. Behind the counter was not a good place to be.

?And my Vulpix!?

?Help Clefable!?

?Politoed is really sick!?

?What?s wrong with this place?!?

?Machoke needs assistance immediately!!!!?

As if to prove their point people were waving Pok?balls in the air, releasing Pok?mon left right and centre. The yelps of people as they were crushed into the walls and furniture by wounded creatures only added to the din. How I had avoided hearing them earlier was a plain miracle. And where was Nurse Joy anyway? She was supposed to take care of messes like this one!

?People!? I cried, but there was no way that was going to get attention.

In a sudden burst of inspiration I yanked the megaphone Joy used on big events and clambered up onto the front desk, carefully avoiding people?s hands as I did so.

?PEOPLE!? I yelled, then covered my mouth.

So the megaphone amplified my voice a little more than I expected?

?We need to calm down.? I continued in a lesser voice, ?The Pok?mon with worse injuries need to be taken into the back IN AN ORDERLY FASHION,? I glared at three young men trying to shove their way to the back at once, ?And others are going to have to wait.?

What was I doing? Even if I could get them all to do as I said, I didn?t know a thing about medical help and I was too tired to think up something on short notice. Stupid Joy, stupid people, stupid Pok?mon, stupid? 2:30 a.m.? What the??

I shifted my gaze from the squirming mass of people (currently trying to decide whose Pok?mon were in worse condition) to the neon green digital clock on the wall, its sharp glow impossible to mistake. Normal clocks are kind; they can be wrong to a certain number of minutes if you look at them from side on and give you a few needed minutes. Digital clocks, however, with their blaring green displays, perfect to the last second and impossible to ?accidentally misread?, show no mercy. This one was no exception; it was definitely half past two in the morning. No ifs, ands, or buts. But? ahem? why were so many people up this early with their Pok?mon???

Okay, all that did was make my head buzz even heavier and my eyelids droop further towards the ground. I needed sleep?.

?You need to take care of this mess first.?

It wasn?t even my fault in the first place! I didn?t run the Pok?mon centre, it wasn?t my problem?

?They expect you to. Polienix needs you too.?

After all that, I didn?t even start to worry about the fact that I was arguing with the voice in my head. And suddenly I wasn?t really all that tired, I mean, I?d stayed up ?till 2:30 before, no sweat! My veins seemed to be throbbing with enthusiasm, a steady beat that infused me with strength and stamina. It was like someone had given me a shot of pure sugar right in the head.

Raising the megaphone to my mouth I started belting out orders as I leapt down from the desk into the crowd. My vocal cords must have been running wild, because I never would have done that.

?Okay! Sort yourselves out people! That Sandshrew you?ve got there sir, take him right on though. Hmm, that Blastoise looks like she?s in a bad way, but there?s no room out back? Keep her in here and remember you?ve got priority!? There were some things I hardly had to say twice, really?

As I rang out command after command after command, the title ?Lieutenant Commander? creeping into my head, I walked back and forth among the people and their Pok?mon, getting a good look at each. Some were in okay condition, some bad, but what really stood out was a bite mark I picked out on each. It was large and probably coming from a dog Pok?mon if the thick canines proved anything. Was it possible that this many people were attacked by one creature?

I shook my head, I could think about all of this later, right now I had to calm down all these people and get their Pok?mon in safer places. Switching my full attention to carrying out that mission, I continued to walk. Finally I reached the back wall of the centre and was about to start back when something, more someone, caught my attention.

It was a little girl, maybe five or six, dressed all in deep purple with her thick black hair trailing over her shoulders and swaying in the air beneath her bowed head. She had something in her lap that was holding her attention completely, but what it was I really couldn?t see. Suddenly she looked up, eyes locking on me. A wave of horror hit me as I saw those eyes, swirling orbs of blue and black that seemed to penetrate every boundary and seep into the depths of my soul.

?Raven,? She said softly, ?Come here.?

Her voice was high and sweet, too sweet to be anything natural, but I found my feet walking on their own.

?Mummy told me to give you these.?

She held out what she had been holding and I saw it was a sort of pendant. The chain was mad of black steel, flashes of silver glinting through in the light, and connected to a lump of the same material moulded into a pentagon. In the centre a black gem had been laid, the light shining through it and reflecting weirdly on the inside facets. Later I?d wonder if it were possible to have inside facets, but right now all I could do was hold out my hand.

The girl giggled and upended the pendant into my hand. It was cold and smooth in my palm, soothing my frayed senses and sharpening my vision.

?Wow,? I thought to myself, ?What is this thing??

?Wear it.? The little girl ordered, tilting her head slightly to the side, ?And take this.?

She handed me something small and round before getting up and running out of the Pok?mon centre into the night, a trail of echoy giggles following her out.