The Dreadmage v. The Beast, Round 2
(The Smaller One Tries To Teach Someone Bigger But Gosh Darnit He Just Won't Listen)
Featuring Vee, Cythera, Razathiel, and Rattles
After Vee talked it over with Able, Kilian and Alex, he approached the rest of the group again. "Looks like they're going to find Percival's crew. Try to help out on that end. Which leaves us. Where do you think we should go now? Back after Xander? Or maybe that Simisage."
Cythera sighed, annoyed that there was yet another choice to be made. "Personally I think we should take out Xander, if only because I hate knowing that he's still alive after everything we've been through to kill him. We already know Raz alone is capable of it, stupid fucking plants aside. The Simisage, on the other hand, is supposedly on par with Xander even without it, not to mention that he seems like a crafty sort, orchestrating this whole dealer mess. A bit unpredictable for my liking."
"In that case," the Dreadmage said aloofly, folding his arms. "I suppose I should place my vote for pursuing Alai, for the sake of impertinence!" Cythera made sure to shoot him a dirty look before turning to Vee for a decision.
Vee looked between the Dreadmage and Cythera and shook its head. The Victini then looked toward Rattles. "I don't suppose you have a preference here?"
Rattles thought for a moment before writing, "Alai is more interesting."
Cythera frowned, mumbling curses under her breath. "Rattles, I know he said preference, but we'll be killing whoever we go after. Ideally, at least. Wouldn't you want to observe that oh-so-interesting Simisage's actions just a bit longer, considering he hasn't even made his big move yet?"
After another bit of contemplation, Rattles nodded and wrote, "We should kill Xander first."
"You heard her, Vee," Cythera announced, sounding relieved. "Or, saw. Read. Whatever. To Xander."
"Yeah, whatever," Razathiel lazily agreed. "I need my staff back, anyway. Starting to get antsy without the bloody thing around."
Vee nodded. "Sounds like a plan, then. Gather around. I'll teleport us to the village by the mountain. I figure that's a good starting point to figure out where to go," The Victini closed its eyes, concentrating for a moment. Then, in a brilliant flash of light, the group vanished.
Vee and company reappeared to the familiar cold of the mountain. The town was covered by a haze of hail, snow and fog. Vee lit a small fire in its palms and tried to adjust its eyes to the sight. It took a few moments to clear up, but eventually Vee was greeted by the sight of the familiar village, with a few noticeable "alterations."
The town was ruined, with its already damaged buildings in even worse condition than before. Smoke rose from certain parts of the town, and the prominent inns that stood on opposite ends of the main street now both bore the same flag on the top: the mark of the brown Ursaring, Xander. Vee now observed the rest of the town, seeing a lot more 'mon wandering about. "Taken," Vee murmured and shook its head. "Looks like Xander's made it this far already. If not further."
"Let's not waste time, then," Raz said.
Vee nodded. "Want to move on, or gather some info here?" The Victini questioned.
Surprisingly, Rattles took the initiative, walking over to the first 'mon she saw to ask, "What happened to the other inn and everyone in it?" in her usual written fashion.
The 'mon, a Krabby, looked down at the words in the snow, and cocked an eyebrow at the Ferrothorn. "The f*ck?" He questioned.
"Just answer the question!" Vee snapped at the Krabby, who jumped a bit from the scream. "Eh... the Beast happened. Came through here a few days ago, his boys hold it all now. Killed anyone that supported the Emps still."
Razathiel let out a grunt of amusement, but didn't otherwise contribute.
Rattles thought on the answer for a bit before giving the Krabby a nod of acknowledgement.
"Done?" asked Cythera impatiently. "I believe we have a general idea of where he was headed, meaning there's nothing for us here. We should leave."
Vee nodded. "The question is, how far did they go? It's been some days. I can try teleporting us between certain markers I remember and going from there."
"If you think that's the fastest way to reach him, that's what we'll do," Cythera said before turning to Raz. "You haven't incorporated some way to track your staff, have you? That is, assuming the brute even still has it."
"You really think I'd have neglected mentioning it if I had?" Razathiel replied through gritted teeth.
"Or I can just teleport quickly myself through each marker, and then pick you guys up after when I find it," Vee suggested. "That saves me on some energy and time. Wait here, I'll figure this out soon."
"Egh," the wizard grunted. "Because waiting so aimlessly with the bloody healer was oh-so-entertaining the last time. Not that it lasted for any significant length of time."
"Talk to Rattles, then," Vee responded before vanishing in a flash of light.
Rattles looked at Raz expectantly while Cythera only huffed, opting to ignore the dreadmage and instead pull a pen and notebook from her bag to keep her busy.
"Doesn't Vee realise that's exactly the same-?" Razathiel began, before letting out a low growl of annoyance that eventually transitioned into a defeated sigh. "... Hello, Rattles."
Rattles waved in response.
"Any more highly inappropriate questions to, at least, stave off the monotony?"
Rattles rotated in serious thought for a good bit. Eventually she wrote, "What qualifies a question as inappropriate?"
"Oh, for the love of hell," the Ralts muttered, placing a hand to his forehead and neglecting to look at what Rattles had written for fear of what it might be. With a groan, he took a reluctant glance at the first line the Ferrothorn had imprinted in the snow. "What qualifies a-? Egh, remember the one you asked me before? Anything like that. Bloody hell. And for the record, my request was rhetorical - an indication of spite, you blasted thing."
This confused Rattles. She walked over to Cythera, who immediately knew what she wanted. Without even looking at her, she handed her a dictionary from her bag which Rattles delicately struggled to look through.
"Why do I put up with this...?" The villain wondered. "Did I do this to myself? No, it's Vee's fault. Or Rattles'. Or both. Probably Cythera's too. Everyone's but mine. Fucking bastards."
After a while, Vee reappeared in front of the three with a look of concern. "He's further than I thought," The Victini commented before grabbed the others and disappearing with them. The four reemerged behind a small hill covered in snow. There were signs of the Victini's body imprinted at the edge of the hill, likely as it was scouting previously. The temperature around was noticeably higher than their previous location, an indication that they had appeared quite a distance further than where they were. From behind the hill, the group could see a steady trail of smoke extending into the sky. Vee motioned for the others to crawl with him toward the top of the hill, where Vee looked over the other side.
There, what remained of a fairly sizable village burned steadily, with seemingly hundreds of Pokemon still around, causing mayhem to anyone who moved. "Xander's forces," Vee explained. "He's divided up portions of his armies to sack any village they come across that support the Emperor still. I've come across a few dozen others along the way already burned to the ground. Others weren't touched, but had Xander's flag on them. From what I understand, they're all supposed to converge onto the capital. They were talking about some kind of three-pronged attack there. With all of Xander's forces being only one of those prongs."
"Hmph, sounds about right," Raz murmured. "Think we can pull the 'walk straight in' buggery again? I've a feeling that particular window of opportunity closed when we first left."
"I think you're right there," Vee agreed with a nod of its head. "Just looking around, they don't have 'mon freely walking in like they do before. Plus, this doesn't look like any established camp. More like part of their army attacking. But Xander is close. Either here or around this force. I can feel it."
"Can you feel anything more specific?" Cythera questioned. "Because that isn't much to go off of. Or do we just start wandering around?"
"He's closer to the front of the fight," Vee answered while pointing closer to the center of town. "That's what I feel. Looks like he's in the middle of the action."
"Well if he's already in the middle of a fight, I guess we should just mosey on over and obliterate the bastard," Razathiel suggested.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Cythera asked, arms crossed.
"You guys just wanna go head on?" Vee asked with a raised eyebrow. "There's like... hundreds down there!" Vee shrugged. "Alright then."
"Well we should probably attack via the side that doesn't require us wading through the entirety of his bloody army just to get to him," the wizard said, rolling his eyes. "As fun as that option may be, we are somewhat pressed for efficiency at the moment."
"Agreed," Vee concluded. The Victini observed the surrounding area. There were plenty of 'mon around, so much so for it was difficult for even the Victini to get the exact spot of where Xander was. But it spotted a pair of damaged homes close to the side, and it seemed given the burning state of those homes, not as many 'mon were around them. The Victini grabbed hold of the group, and prepared to teleport. The Victini concentrated for a moment, but for some reason struggled to teleport as quickly. However, after a few more seconds, in a flash of light, they teleported just between the homes.
As they appeared, Vee lowered the flames around them with its hands so the group had a safe place to stand without worrying. Vee peeked out into the street, as a half dozen soldiers wearing Xander's emblem carried away a pair of helpless Jumpluff. Vee shook its head, waiting for the smaller group to pass. Vee turned to the group. "I think there might be a Network Point around. Not too close, but I could feel myself struggling to teleport," Vee explained. "If its heading here, then we really are pressed for time."
Vee ran across the street after the initial group of 'mon passed by. A Graveler was suddenly thrust into a nearby home on the other side of town, but the Victini continued past it without giving it much thought. On the other side of the street, dozens of Xander's 'mon were around, gathering up stragglers forcefully, and killing any of the Emperor's loyal 'mon. It was a bloodbath, and there was little room to maneuver. "Could use a distraction to get past these guys," Vee muttered from behind the building. The Victini suddenly got an idea and shot a fireball at a nearby larger building, causing it to break apart and collapse along the street. Most of the 'mon screamed and moved out of the way to avoid the collapsing building, allowing the group to proceed further into the town.
Vee concentrated for a moment. "He's close," Vee stated, gesturing forward, but as they proceeded further, it became harder to avoid more 'mon, now the Victini counting dozens, around them between buildings, maybe even hundreds. Vee hesitated for a moment, and looked between the two buildings. "There's a clearing up ahead, past this large group. Xander's there, I could feel it! But we need to get past this area somehow..." Vee closed its eyes again. "I'd rather not waste a teleport, it's harder to do now..." The Victini sighed, and pointed on the other side of the street, toward a plaza. "He's there, I'll meet up with you after!" The Victini cried. Then, it suddenly stepped out of the hiding spot and screamed. "Hey! Down with Xander!" The Victini yelled to the many 'mon around, before gathering a torrent of flames around its small form and charging in a blazing fury through the many 'mon around. Xander's followers quickly jumped at the sight of the Victini and pursued the Pokemon relentlessly.
"Well, I suppose that's our cue," the Dreadmage murmured, hopping toward the clearing. "Shouldn't be a problem - nothing I haven't done before, after all. Still, don't suppose you could keep any unwanted distractions from entering the fray, hmm?"
Rattles nodded.
"Very well," piped Cythera. "Let's get this over with quickly, shall we?"
"Agreed," said the Ralts, a determined scowl coming to his face as he scanned the plaza for signs of the Ursaring. The wizard hopped steadily forward, Psychic energy dancing at his extremities.
The plaza was fairly clear given the large amounts of 'mon in the town. Most seemed to have been caught up in Vee's distraction. A few remained, including a group close to the center who seem to have been discussing something. Included in there was a Houndoom, a Tyranitar, and a Charizard. The Charizard noticeably carried Raz's staff under its wing. But most importantly, Xander. Others remained on the sides, either wrangling up stragglers from the town or killing them. Xander scoffed at the Houndoom, who apparently had told him something, before the Ursaring looked over in the direction of Raz, Cythera, and Rattles. His eyes narrowed. A few other Pokemon around the plaza noticed their appearance as well. Some slowly turned in their direction and followed them as they moved forward, but didn't attack yet.
"Look who's back," The Beast stated toward the group. "I was wondering what was making the noise."
"Yes, yes, I imagine you do a lot of
wondering, now, don't you? Just not a lot of actually figuring anything out..." Razathiel retorted, sparing little more than a glance to the lackeys surrounding the Ursaring. Cythera and Rattles should deal with those, if they were to even become a problem of any sort. "I believe you have something that belongs to me."
"If you think your arrival is shocking or important, then you have another thing coming," Xander shot back. He motioned to the Charizard to hand over the staff, which the Ursaring grasped in his paw. "Kill the others, leave the small one for me," He ordered them. "If you want it, come and get it," He baited the Ralts, as he cracked his neck and twirled the staff in his hands. "I don't really like parting with my favorite toothpick."
The Dreadmage chuckled dryly. "I was actually referring to your mortal soul, but if I can retrieve the staff from your cold, dead hands as well, then so be it. Incidentally, we'll soon see just how
shocking and
important my arrival is when you lie crumpled at my feet, and I raise your severed head to the sky so that all in this plaza and beyond can see how much of a fucking moron you were for trying the patience of the world's most deadly psyker!"
Cythera wore a grim expression, less than enthused about how the matchup looked. She raised her arms, coating the battlefield in a lush Grassy Terrain and granting a protective barrier to Rattles, who lacked any discernible expression as usual. "Alright Rattles, just keep them busy until Xander is dead. And more importantly, keep them
away from me." With those words of encouragement, she hid herself with her camouflage, leaving Rattles on her own, surrounded by enemies.
Rattles nodded and scanned her opponents for the best way to accomplish the mission she'd been given. She took the initiative and dropped to her side, swiftly rolling toward the Tyranitar. When she'd made it within a few meters of it she leapt into the air, intensifying gravity as she slammed over it with her feelers in the same combination that felled the Nidoking in Daggen.
The Tyranitar gritted its teeth and braced for impact, catching the heavy Ferrothorn with is arms. The forced caused the 'mon to buckle and fall to the knee, but the 'mon was surprisingly sturdy and didn't immediately falter. The Charizard beside along with the Houndoom took this opportunity to try and fire a pair of embers at Rattles.
The flames did surprisingly little damage, leaving scorch marks and a slight warping of her shell that quickly faded away. With the Tyranitar underneath grabbing at her feeler, Rattles swung down and crashed into it with her main body. The Tyranitar yelled and collided to the ground, the spikes penetrating the 'mon thick skin. The Charizard and Houndoom meanwhile tried a stronger set of fire moves: flamethrower.
The intense flames struck before Rattles had a chance to Protect herself. The attacks collided, magnifying the heat drastically at the point of impact where she stood. Her metallic shell slowly began to melt, and her vines became dry and brittle. But in the next moment she was bathed in a flash of white light, and her body was restored as if nothing happened. Before she had to go through that again, Rattles spun, extending her feelers and whipping at both nearby foes.
Both opponents were surprised by the sudden healing effect on the Ferrothorn. Because of this, they didn't put up defenses fast enough to stop the attack from Rattles. The Charizard fell back and rolled, while the Houndoom fell back and crashed. The Charizard rolled back up and tried another flamethrower. The fight continued to ensue between Rattles, Cythera, and Xander's fighters, as it spilled over toward an alley and out of the main plaza.
Xander snorted. "Mortal," The Beast repeated. "You're talking about the Kyogre thing? You really don't know sh*t," He commented, and clenched his fists. Veins popped out around him as his first Bulk Up began to take effect on his body, the first of many.
Or so the Ursaring thought. With a swipe of his hand, Razathiel Disabled Xander's Bulk Up with a satisfied grunt.
"You
really are so silly to think yourself untouchable?" The wizard asked, incredulous. "What the fuck do you expect of me? Really, just because you manage to defeat a massive lump of rock, there's no reason to assume you can defeat
everyone who happens to be more intelligent than you are."
"Funny, that rock's killed more 'mon than you," The Beast shot back, as Amnesia began to take effect on his body. "Your Disable won't last forever."
"And
you will not last much longer than my Disable," spat Raz, flinging a crackling Psyshock at the Ursaring's chest as he swept to the side.
The Ursaring grunted for a moment and clutched his chest as he felt the effects of the Psyshock. "You really don't remember what happened last time," He snarled, letting out some sort of vibration as he did so. A force seemed to surround Xander for a moment, before the vibration was directed toward the Ralts. It didn't seem to do any damage outright to him, however, as it passed through.
The Dreadmage scoffed as another Psyshock left the tip of his staff, "Suppose for a moment that I don't, that you might die as stupid as you lived."
The Ursaring took the hit right in the center of the chest again, but brushed it off and moved closer to the Ralts. "You think damage is going to do it for you. You have no idea," The Ursaring broke into a run and fired up his fist, launching into the air and striking at the Ralts with a Power-Up Punch. The wizard flung himself backward on the recoil of yet another Psyshock, zipping away from the Ursaring and leaving behind a present in the form of a missile of malevolent energy. Razathiel smirked; the feeling of such an open space compared to his first encounter with the Beast was a welcome boon.
"Oh,
I have no idea?" Raz echoed with a sinister grin. "On the contrary, it is
you and your ilk who lack the ability to learn!"
The Psyshock seemed to have hits its mark on the Beast, but Xander appeared relentless, still shrugging off the damage and moving forward again. He cracked his neck, and once more allowed Amnesia to take affect on his body. "You can't kill me, boy," He commented.
"You really think so? Then perhaps it will be a shock to realise that you have been slowly dying at my hand from the very moment you first drew my ire," the Dreadmage scowled. For every step forward the Ursaring took, the wizard took a step back, a Psyshock fizzling through the air in his wake. "Do you not see it? The moment of your death, swiftly cresting the horizon? Or am I to assume that you will walk headstrong into your demise, stubborn and blind as ever - as stubborn and blind as your predecessors, your allies? I suppose it isn't a terrible tactic to make me sick in the face of such wilful ignorance..."
The Ursaring leaped to the side this time, avoiding the Psyshock intended for him. However, the move struck briefly across his shoulder, earning a small grunt from the Ursaring. He continued forward toward the Ralts. "You know, watching you beg for your life might just make my day, if it wasn't already made for me," Xander explained, as he once again snarled toward the Ralt's direction, sending a similar vibration as he did before, though no with no apparent physical damage.
"Oh, hell, I might actually be sick- can you at the very least make your shoddy excuse for banter the
slightest bit believable?" The Ralts' frustration was punctuated with yet another Psyshock.
The Ursaring kept his ground this time, with the Psyshock striking at his stomach and causing him to grunt again from the hit. However, it did not appear to damage him quite as much as it did earlier. The Beast cracked his neck and stepped forward again. "That it?" He asked, before once more sending out another snarl at the Ralts, which sent out vibrations.
The wizard simply said, "Egh," and flung yet another blast of Psychic energy at Xander.
The Beast pushed forward, sending out another loud roar at the Ralts while taking the hit from the energy. He grunted and paused for a moment, clutching his chest, before breaking into a furious run at the Ralts.
"Your growing anger will do nothing to save you, Beastie Boy," the wizard chuckled, hopping up and angling a Psyshock at the Ursaring's feet to launch himself into the air. "Though it is somewhat entertaining to watch."
"You think this is anger?" The Ursaring retorted, as he moved slightly out of the way to try and avoid the Psyshock. The psychic blast struck the Beast's knee, but Xander continued forward. He roared once more toward the Ralts, sending out vibrations with the roar.
"Oh, forgive me," the Dreadmage drawled, the recoil of another Psyshock bringing him to the lip of a nearby roof. "I should have known you were roaring as a show of relaxed complacency."
The Ursaring took the last hit from the Psyshock head on directly on his chest. It staggered him for a moment, or so it appeared, as he stopped his run, but he then looked down at his arms and clenched his paws. "You're running out of time," The Beast commented as he looked around the large plaza in the city. "Whose stupid idea was it for you to come 'fight' me, yours? And I use fight loosely," He declared, as he clenched his fists, allowing himself to take in the affect of Amnesia again.
Razathiel did not relent, firing another blast of energy from his perch. "Strong words from a 'mon mistaking his own hourglass for his opponent's," he spat. "You are the one who is failing to put up a fight here, not me."
The Ursaring backed away this time instead of heading forward, and the distance between the two was enough so that the Beast could roll out of the way without taking the hit. "Boy, you have no idea what situation you're in, do you? Only thing you're doing is getting me a bit hurt. But you still seem to think that you can kill me. Newsflash... you can't," The Ursaring clenched his fists again, allowing Amensia to once more affect his body. "And another newsflash. Last time, you challenged me to a fight. And I accepted. This time..." Before the Ursaring could finish his thought, a Shadow Ball targeted the Ralts from his side.
Razathiel's head spun to meet the path of the malefic missile, one eye glowing in outrage; the thought that an outsider would interlope on this battle of such great importance,
his battle, and that the bloody Florges and Ferrothorn hadn't bothered to keep the riff-raff off of him like he told them to - it didn't matter how out of the way he was, it was their fault! - it fueled his Psychic power like super-coal and set his mind reeling.
"You dare-?!" With a yell, Raz launched himself at the Haunter who had imposed, corkscrewing so close to the ground that the bricks nicked at his chest - though the Shadow Ball, curse his lacking height, was still aimed low enough as to scrape along his back. The damage caused was barely an afterthought, but the pain borne of it was like a focus - a point to hone in on and drain energy from. The wizard came in close and brought his hands to bear, trembling with Psychic fury, and in a myriad of sinister purple flashes the Haunter's being was torn apart, ghostly and arcane confetti mingling in the sickly aftermath. "You would dare
try me?" Razathiel shrieked at the Ghost's dissipating form, uncaring of the 'mon's inability to hear him. "You would
willingly test my patience
knowing that the consequence is death? Am I not clear?" With a growl he scanned the site for Xander, deciding to change his attention to the 'mon who still lived. "What is it that you fail to grasp from my words? What is keeping you from the Ghost's understanding?"
The Ursaring used the opportunity from the Haunter to actually close the distance, appearing relatively nearby the Ralts. He used a last-second jump to enclosed more distance, attempting a Power-Up punch at the Ralts from mid-air. "The fact that I don't need to beat you," The Ursaring explained through the air. "I only need to wait."
Raz grit his teeth and slammed his palms into the roof below him, Psychic energy ripping the loose brick from the mortar and opening a hole beneath him. With a grunt, the wizard flung himself around the edge of the breach, remaining at the height of the ceiling. The Ursaring meanwhile kept going and crashed through the top of the roof and into the home. He collided onto the ground harshly, practically breaking apart the living room level he had landed in. The impact sent Razathiel momentarily off-balance, but with Psychic grip the wizard stabilized his levitation and pulled from the wreckage of the ceiling. Pieces of rubble coated in malevolent energy were torn from above and hurled down at the Beast, and the Ralts grinned manically in spite of his outrage.
"These supposed facts you speak of are nought but the veil that blinds you," Raz hissed. "An Iron Maiden, mistaken for armour by a stubborn fool."
The Beast lifted his arms to block the impact from the rubble. The pieces fell upon his arm and shoulders and he grunted from the impact, taking all the damage he could. When they subsided, Xander hurled himself up to try and connect with another Power-Up Punch. As the Ursaring ascended to meet him Razathiel flipped back through the hole he had made to the other side, where he jumped up and sent a blast of flame at the weakened ceiling. The Ursaring struck at the ceiling, which caused him to break it apart. Xander grabbed hold of the loosened parts after he missed his target, but the flames of the Ralts caused the rest of the ceiling to begin to collapse, which caused him to fall back to the floor again. Xander tried to get in an Amnesia as he fell down. The Dreadmage watched as the Beast slipped, willing his Hidden Power into a ball of flame above his hovering person.
As Xander toppled down to the ground, he snarled and brought himself to his feet. His eyes scanned for the Ralts once more, and once he found his target, he bent down, and proceeded to leap toward the smaller 'mon with as much force as he could, an Aerial Ace coming for him. The blade of air on the Ursaring's claws ploughed into the wizard's small form, sending the Ralts rocketing away from his fiery creation just as he stopped pouring energy into it. With Razathiel flung away into the open air, his focus on the orb was lost along with the forces keeping it in place; it exploded where it hovered, just above the rooftop, sending a shockwave of force and heat in all directions. Xander's eyes widened as he saw the large form of energy in front of him explode in his face. The immense force and power sent the Ursaring pummeling into the ground. The entire house soon collapsed around the energy and exploded, sending shards of rubble everywhere.
Clanking and scraping his way over crushed brick came the diminutive form of Raz, battered but now clad in Tollenian plate. He cursed as he staggered over rubble, his vision marred by smoke, dust and rage and the support of his staff absent. The wizard's eyes glowed with Psychic power as they scanned the wreckage for any signs of Xander; he couldn't afford to pass up an opportunity to catch the Ursaring off-guard while regenerating.
Through the rubble, the Beast stirred. He was wounded and his breathing was labored. Parts of the rubble stuck to his body, and blood seeped. But the Ursaring pulled these out, and soon, the wounds on his body seemed to react in a low light, as they had before. The Ursaring managed a low chuckle. "I told you, boy. You can't kill me."
Razathiel returned the laughter - a high-pitched, manic, wheezing clamour that bared no joy. "Even now... in spite of the destruction I have wrought, of my reputation for slaying your allies without mercy..." the Ralts spat, taking another strained step up one of the many inclines of rubble that sent a loose brick tumbling beside him. "Still, your ignorance remains stubborn, and you neglect what should be
obvious about the Dreadmage."
"What's obvious?" The Urasring asked with a scoff, as his body continued to heal. "That I'm about to kill you? And then your allies?"
"That I am not a 'boy', I am a
demon!" The wizard cried. "That I will not be killed, that I will not be curbed, will not be controlled, will not be contested! That I am spite for the living made manifest, and that as much as you would hope to deny its relevance, the catastrophe that is my very being will force the reality of its existence into your pathetic mind as an edict of undeniable certainty!"
From behind his back, the Dreadmage pulled a plant, a deep purple flower with petals arranged like a star, wreathed in Psychic energy. And as his rage reached a boiling point and Xander's lips parted in surprise at the sight of Groudon's Farewell, Razathiel flung the poisonous plant and the Psychic blast with it directly into the Ursaring's mouth.
The Ursaring tried to removed the plant once it had popped inside his mouth, but the effect's of Groudon's Farewell couldn't be denied once they made contact with their source. In an almost instantaneous reaction, the Beast began to roar out loud in pain. He rolled over to his knees and elbows and pounded his fists into the ground. A deep purple material flowed from his pores, from his mouth, to his eyes, and across his body. His veins, which previously popped out due to his own abilities, soon showed the signs of the venomous plant. Xander continued to yell in pain, pounding helplessly on the ground. He turned over again and tried to direct a Hyper Beam toward Raz, only to see it falter and implode toward his own face, making his predicament even worse. Xander fell onto his back, his breathing heavily labored and his eyes, nose and mouth now spewing his own blood. His veins were fully visible across his arms and chest. The Beast looked helplessly above himself. "F*ck..." He managed to murmur out.
"
Now," rasped the Ralts, the word raking across his vocal chords. "Now you understand...
this is the truth you were blinded from for so long. When all other methods fail, a lesson can always be taught with death, I suppose... Now where is my staff? Oh, there it is..." Raz coughed, shambling over to where his staff lay in the rubble, keeping an eye on the Ursaring as he did. Partly for safety's sake, and partly so that he could watch the supposedly invincible Beast's life fade away.
The Beast continued to lay there, his breathing slowing with each one he took. "F*ck..." He repeated again. Then he suddenly he chuckled lowly, drawing a few coughed a bit as he did so.
"Is that all you have to say for yourself?" The wizard continued, ignoring Xander's chuckling and grunting as he wrenched the staff free from the debris. He used it to steady himself as he walked back, trying to push the thought of the Ursaring calling it a toothpick to the back of his mind. "This is a momentous occasion! A supposedly immovable object, met by an unstoppable force that shatters its illusion of immovability..." Raz paused and faced the Beast, lifting one arm toward him to let his Psychic grasp fall upon his adversary's chest. "I suppose I shouldn't expect much; you were hardly the eloquent type."
"Hnngh!" The Beast called out as the Psychic grasp contacted with his chest. "This changes nothing for you in the long run, boy..." He managed to blurt out through the coughing and blood. "None of it matters... not in the end..."
"While your words are technically correct, your tone betrays the idiocy of their intended meaning," the Dreadmage hissed, raising his disembodied influence to the Ursaring's throat. "You would fail my teaching even as I stand before you, watching as your life ebbs unto nothing? You lie here, facing the most
helpless, agonising death that a 'mon of this world can suffer, and with your last breaths you would make it known that you
deserve worse?"
Xander snorted, letting out a bit more blood as he did. "Maybe... I do," He muttered. "For my part with Gabriel..." He silently stated, before he closed his eyes. His breathing labored once or twice more, before he exhaled, agonizingly, into his last breath.
