The Children Are Hunted

Gerroff me!

If this had happened to him a couple years ago, Garet would've outright panicked. He almost panicked anyways as his mouth was encircled with water. Stay calm, stay calm. Then the Arcanine felt his leg be scorched by the Dragonbreath.

This has gone far enough. Garet jerked around a bit to get his head away from the water, then brought his forepaws down on the Dragonair's tail to keep it from moving. He then let loose another Flamethrower at her head. Unless he was interrupted now, Garet wouldn't stop the fire until he ran out of breath in several seconds.
 
Alyss stood up now, walking to the middle of the battlefield. He's coming... She closed her eyes as Arca landed on her shoulders. "I think..." she said softly. "I think... there is no difference between "us" and "them". I think that... the reason we fight... is because no one wants to see that there is no difference and they see one they think as there. So we fight back to prove that difference isn't there. No matter what is seen or heard or felt that seems different, everybody is the same: they all die."

"Is that what you really think Alyss?" cooed a dark voice. "Is that why there's fighting and darkness and pain? You really are naive! The reason that everything like that happens... is because the weak exist! And we fight so us strong... can become even stronger!"

Alyss paled and clenched her fists. "Zeph..." The aforementioned boy was perched in a tree, grinning at her coldly. Zanna began to bark and yowl. It was the traitor, it was his fault. He was the reason... the reason for everything! He leapt from the pine tree and launched himself in her direction like a missile. His hands were red with fire. Arca slapped him aside as Alyss leaped away.

Alyss kept dodging and moving from his flaming fists. "Running away?" He taunted, aiming for her head. "That wasn't like you. You attacked me remember... when I tried to kill-gah!" She had slammed her fist into his throat, cutting off his air supply for a moment.

"I don't want to fight you," she told him and Zeph laughed.

"Why? You don't want to fight your twin? The normal one? What about "rebellion against oppression"? You're too weak to even defend yourself you freak!"

Alyss lowered her head yet kept moving back. Then she looked up yet pushed forward with one hand, the wind blowing to send him flying backwards into the tree. "I said I don't want to," she told him sadly. "It doesn't mean I won't."
 
Thomas leapt to his feet. It had happened in the blink of an eye. Now, Alyss was blasting some kind of power at the strange boy. They were fighting and he had to help. He summoned up his light, and added his power to Alyss.
"You alright Alyss?" he asked her. He didn't have the control she seemed to, but she could use his power to defend herself. Thomas worried that if he tried to fight, he would have to use more and more power, and he couldn't control it at higher levels. So he gave it to her. It was no different than boosting Zoran's power.
 
Alyss sensed the boy sending his power to her and smiled brokenly at him and pushed it back to him. "Thank you," she said to him. "But I won't need it." She turned to see Zeph glaring at her.

"You won't need his help?" the male taunted. "Are you mocking me?"

Alyss shrugged. "I guess so." He snarled and leapt at her once more. She caught his wrist as she stepped to the side. "Give up Zeph," she told him. "It's over. And you're a traitor. You know what I have to do."

"You don't have to," the boy replied, reaching up with his other hand to burn her, only for it to be frozen. Arca whipped her tail at him as the boy screeched. "You vile, you-"

"Save it," Alyss whispered. "You lied and said you were my brother and you attacked one of the few people I have met in this world who cared for me and you betrayed every one of us."

"That doesn't mean kill me!" the boy screamed.

Alyss gave him a pitying stare. "Zeph... you're going to kill yourself."

"What are you-?" But his body was burning, parts of his body licked with fire already. Alyss removed her hand and he stood there a moment, confused and in pain. Alyss closed her eyes miserably. "This is why you were supposed to control yourself," she said miserably. "Bye Zeph." Unseen to most of them,she forced sharp feathers from her wings and they pierced through all of the vital points of his body. To the outside view, he had died from nothing at all. As he fell, Zeph's body burned up, leaving only a small puddle of blood.

the eight-year-old began to cry.
 
Thomas walked over to her, and after a second of trepidation, put his arm around her.
"It's ok," Thomas murmered, trying to comfort her. He had no idea what had just happened. All he cared about was that she was in pain. And that he had to ease it. Marcus got up, and Thomas motioned to him with one hand. He sat back down. Esper looked at the Zorua, not threatoningly, but with a calmness that showed he would not allow anything to happen to Thomas. Thomas, however, was still trying to comfort the frightened child. He had sensed the rush of power from her last attack, and could figure out what she had done. He knew she was dangerous if she had to be, but didn't want to hurt anyone. He did all he could, including using the light to try and comfort her. He felt his own power, and let it ingulf them in it's peacefulness.
 
Alyss knew he was trying to comfort her, she knew, but... Alyss flew back, almost literally, a trembling mess. Zanna hissed a warning at the Espeon. "She hates it when outsiders touch her," she told Esper, watching Alyss cry before stepping towards her and curling up in her arms.

"You did the right thing lass," Arca told her. "He was going to suffer. Traitor or not you didn't want that right?" Alyss nodded timidly. "There's a good girl, now let it all out." She placed a paw on the girl's trembling shoulders as she sobbed. "That's a good girl, that's it. It hurts I know. You don't want to do this. It won't stop hurting, but it will get better, that's right."

Alyss shook and whispered. "Sorry..."
 
Thomas stayed where he was, not getting angry or upset. He had expected such a reaction.
"Ok, I won't touch you. But I am here for you. Don't forget that. I'm not going away. You did what you had to, but that doesn't make it any easier. But it will get better. If you need me, I'll be over there," Thomas said softly. He walked back to the fire. His head was pounding in an all to familiar way, but there was nothing he could do for the reaction headache. And it seemed the best thing he could do for Alyss was give her some space, but let her know he was still here, if she needed him. He sat there watching her.
"It takes a good person to cry for someone that was just trying to kill them. Never forget that," Thomas said. He sat by the fire, and waited for her to calm down before speaking again.
 
Alyss stared sadly at him, shaking her head. She wouldn't believe his words; they were the words of someone who hurt her brother. She couldn't trust him at all... right? Arca swept her tail along the girl's head as she spoke to the Espeon. "Tell your human it has nothing to do with being good or bad. the fact that a life has to be ended at all that is making her cry. All beings must die in the end; what is the point of making it happen sooner?"
 
"You don't get it do you? That's what he was trying to say! He just doesn't know the words to make it fit right. He meant that she is a kind soul because she can and does cry because of taking a life. Not many people in this world are like that. But she is. That is what he meant," Esper said to the glaceon.
"I'm sorry, I've gone and said something stupid again," Thomas said with regret. He had just fouled things up, and he knew it. He was terrible at making people feel better. Maybe he should just give up. Esper comforted him, and reassured him that he was trying to do the right thing. He didn't know anymore.
 
The Glaceon looked guilty. "I'm sorry. I was not trying to offend you or your human; your words simply confused us both is all. She is a child and a child with trust issues. She won't believe you mean your words for a long time. That's how Alyss is. She'll feel better lad, don't you worry. It's not you; she is just trying to move forward from her problems. It's just taking time."

"You haven't," Alyss told him quietly. "You're just a bad speaker right now. It takes practice."
 
"Belive me, you have not offened either of us. I don't think it's even possible to offend Thomas. Anger him, yes, though that is very difficult. Now, Alyss should get some rest, as should you. I dislike Words, so it is time I stopped using them," Esper said to the glaceon. He lay down, purring at Thomas. Thomas himself lay back, deep in thought. Now that she seemed like she was going to be alright, well, as allright as she could be at any rate, his mind returned to another problem. What made him any different from those he had been fighting? Other than his powers, which seemed to be more and more common as time went on, what made him so special. The people he was fighting had reasons. They had things they were trying to protect. So why could he excuse himself from this and not them? He had no answers yet, and didn't know if there were any at all.
"Hm... You may be on to something there. But it's getting late. I'm going to bed. Sleep well," Thomas said. Another thing occured to him. She had called that boy a traitor. Whom had he betrayed, other than her, of course. She had ties to some group, he felt it. But he had no proof, and what's more, he found he didn't care. Someone had sent her after him, someone was using her. Playing on her fears probably, and that burned him up inside. Her interaction with that boy had revealed more about her than she would have let slip otherwise. Thomas didn't know who had hurt her so badly, and didn't care. He just wanted to protect her, now more than ever. Though he had said he was going to bed, he didn't actually sleep. He just lay there, staring at the stars. They held no answers for him.
 
However, Alyss did not rest. She got up a few moments later, eyes dry and dark. She walked away, disappearing into the trees. Her backlash was coming, she had been holding it back, knowing it would be worse with her emotions at that high. Reaching a distance she believed was far enough away, she released her control. That was when the cuts slashed across her body, like knives had curled around her skin. Blood dripped to the ground and Alyss fell to her knees, biting her bottom lip tight to keep from screaming.

"It's all right Alyss." The girl paused. Zaria patted her head with her ghostly hand. "It's almost over Alyss. Be strong."

"Why are you here Zari?" Alyss whispered. "Did he-"

"That man has already forgotten," the ghost replied, floating as the pain ebbed. "Brother sent me. He was worried about you. And it looks like that was for a good reason."

"I killed Zeph."

Zaria's face fell. "I'm sorry Alyss."

"It'll be okay," she said, her heart not believing it. Zaria gave her a sweet, sorry smile.

"Brother wishes you well," she said as she began to disappear.

"Wait," Alyss begged, ignoring the pure joy welling up in her chest. "Can't you stay?"

Zaria shook her head miserably. "I'll be noticed. I'm sorry Alyss. I'll come by again." She was gone. Alyss let out a soft cry of sorrow and went back to camp. She plopped down a distance away again as Zanna came back with bandages she had stolen from Thomas and the others, allowing her to patch herself up. She had a feeling that Pokemon would sense Zaria and there was nothing she could do about that. It didn't matter. They would know anyway.
 
Esper did sense Zaria, and sent his greetings to her before she left. He also spotted the Zorua rummaging through the bag for something. He then felt Alyss's pain, and could guess what Zanna was looking for. Esper, his eye's twinkling mischievously, got up and walked over to Zanna. He pushed her out of the bag to get her attention, then walked over to the right bag. He opened it with his psychic, and tossed a bottle of antibiotics at the surprised Zorua. He gave her a slow and deliberate wink, before returning to his spot, and letting the Zorua get anything else needed from the right bag.
"I don't understand what your human is going through. But she can trust Thomas and me, though I know you won't believe Words on that account. But I will do everything in my power to help. Do you know why? Because Zaria is my second favorite person in the world, and she cares deeply for your human. And your human cares deeply for her. That is enough for me. I will protect you. Never doubt that. Even from Thomas's own inquisitive mind. He will have more questions tomorrow. Whatever your secret is, it does not matter. My friends are my friends. Oh, and tell her her wings are beautiful," Esper said mentally to the Zorua with a chuckle, then made himself comfortable. If Thomas tried to push to hard to get answers, even though he wouldn't mean to, Esper would stop him. Esper would not tell Thomas what happened after he fell asleep. He tried to convey this to the Zorua. Then he went back to sleep, knowing she would tell her human, and make of it what she would.

(OOC: My my! Esper is quite devious!)
 
(Very XD)

Zanna listened solemnly and bowed her head. She would trust the Espeon... for now. Returning to Alyss, she tore the bandages with her teeth as Arca cooled the wounds. They were experts at this: backlash was terrible. As they worked, Alyss listened to Zanna repeat the Espeon's words. She had known what it was saying: it was best to keep that quiet.

"He called my wings beautiful," Alyss mumbled, absently stroking her feathers. A small blush rested on her face, one of embarrassed joy. That was the second one to call them that. After the wounds were fixed, she laid down again. The wind didn't take much out of her; the backlash did. It was annoying. She closed her eyes and Zanna replaced the extra supplies in the bag. Arca managed a smile as she nuzzled her human's head. She wondered if that Pokemon realized that that had helped her heart more than understanding her sorrow at killing. To be called something other than a freak was something like a dream for her from a stranger. Her joy was great. The other two settled down as well.
 
Anything for Them.

Clair watched as the Arcanine stepped down on Dragonair's tail. She knew what would come next, a giant Flamethrower would go her way. She looked as Dragonair roared in pain. How could she help her? Mark was too scared to act. That was his problem, he really needed to gain confidence. Then again, after a harsh life with Regis, how should he have confidence?

The Arcanine breathed in for a strong Flamethrower. Dragonair shot out another Dragonbreath which was easily being beat out by the fire. Clair wouldn't let Dragonair be hurt any more. With a deep breath, she prepared to run. She jumped in front of the attack just when Dragonair was about to be hit. She pulled her cape over her and Dragonair's body. At the Blackthorn base, there was intense heat so this cape was heat-resistant. But, a small hole began burning near the bottom. Clair felt a light burn, and it would only get larger. At least Dragonair would be safe.

*******************************************

Mark saw Clair dive in front of Dragonair. She was out of her mind and she had gone insane. But, the strange thing was, he would have done the same thing. He looked at Volcan who had the same intention and motivation as Mark. They charged in, Mark holding Volcan straight at the fire. The fire began to burn but then lightened. The fire began to swirl around Volcan's body. He was absorbing the fire! The four waited out the fire, not knowing what would happen next.
 
Thomas woke up the next morning. He sat up and blinked. His vision still hadn't returned yet, but it was getting better. Instead of just a flat endless field of white, he could see vague and fuzzy shapes. He looked down at Esper, and saw a vague catlike shape lying next to him. Esper got up and stretched out, though Thomas felt it just before he saw it. That could be a problem. He heard someone walk back to camp. He looked over at them. The shape was to big to be Alyss.
"Marcus?" Thomas asked. The blurry blob moved in reaction to what he said, and Thomas assumed it was him. He was right.
"Yeah? Are you alright?" Marcus asked.
"Never better! I'm starting to see again!" Thomas said with joy.
"Really? That's great!" Marcus said. TGP and Vulpix sat up straight away.
"Ah... Pokeboy! That is wonderful news! Soon, you shall be ready to strike out at the minions of darkness with your full potential!" TGP said with gusto. He seemed to have learned that Thomas didn't like it when he began ranting, and wisely shut up after that.
"That's awesome, Pokeboy," Vulpix said with a laugh. Thomas shook his head at the fox. He was in too good of a mood to let either of them get on his nerves. Marcus glanced over at Alyss.
"Oh dear god! What happened?! Are you alright!?" Marcus said, sounding very startled. Esper sent him an image of what she looked like. She was a mess, all covered in bandages and cuts.
"Marcus, calm down before you scare the living daylights out of her! Esper says it's not as bad as it looks... He says it's a reaction to using so much power last night," Thomas said. Esper hadn't told him anymore than that.
"I'm sorry I jumped like that. But that's odd. I've never seen a reaction like that before," Marcus said.
"Other myself, Ash, and Zoran, who's reactions have you seen? Our powers are all very different, and they effect us in different ways. My power takes it's toll on my senses, Zoran's on his mind, and as for Ash, well, I've never actually seen a second stage reaction for her," Thomas said.
"A what now?" Vulpix asked.
"I've decided my own little way of ranking the reactions we get from our powers. A first stage reaction seems to be a splitting headache. Seems like that is the case for everyone with powers. Second stage seems to be different depending on the power. Zor, for instance, would hear what his own deepest fears and insecurities are. Alyss seems to get hurt by her own wind. With me so far?" Thomas said.
"I guess so," Marcus said, scratching his head.
"Third is very serious. For me, it's left me blinded. Though that gets better with time, I hope. I've seen Zor's third stage as well. It traps him inside himself, and assaults his mind. And that bot from last night? I suppose it burned away at him inside. It seems that we need some kind of outside help if we can't control our powers if we ever get a third stage reaction," Thomas said. He knew that wasn't the case for the boy, but it was as good an explaination as any to give to Marcus. He didn't need to know all that went on last night.
"Like when I got you out of that base? Ash and Esper did something to help you!" Marcus said.
"Exactly! If course, that's just what I've seen. I could be wrong on that count. But those are what seems to be the case," Thomas said. It felt good, teaching him about powers. Then it hit him. TGP might have powers! He always seemed to know when danger was coming! Twice he had warned them even before Esper did. Thomas thought back. He did seem a little subdued after both times. What if TGP did have a power, and was using it without even realizing it! If that was the case, things just got a lot more complicated.
 
Alyss thought to herself. She knew what actually happened with Zora: his was constantly activated and attacking his mind, requiring constant focus and suppression of extreme emotions. It just got worse the more power he used. The boy was on a tightrope of sanity and if it weren't for a few precious people, he'd be a blank mess. God knew what Theo could use that for. But she couldn't say that aloud, so she passed it silently on to Esper before speaking softly. "I-I'm fine... and um... I met an Aura user once and they said their whole bodies lost control and their energy drained out I think. They said they would sleep for days and sometime it would be like a coma. And my wind... my wind is strange, it only does this if I hurt someone. I can use it one me and nothing happens." She looked at the annoying boy again. Both that boy Marcus, and this one, felt off to her, but she wouldn't say it. It was best they found out on their own.

She stood up shakily and tried to walk, only to hit the ground again. The wounds on her legs were bleeding, forcing her still. She winced and bit her lip to keep was screaming. It was just pain, you had to surpass it, you had to ignore it. it was all right. Her wings were shifting with her agony, making little breezes.
 
One on Four?

The fire was obscuring part of his vision, so Garet didn't see much of what was happening until he cut off the Flamethrower in order to breathe. Seeing Clair and the boy, who was holding the Cyndaquil, between him and the Dragonair startled the Arcanine enough to make him back away a few steps. They should've been burned up!

Wait. Clair was holding up a cape that only had a hole near the bottom, and the boy had been holding up the Cyndaquil. They'd blocked the fire? This was definitely not the sort of thing that Garet often saw. In battles against AAPM members, he'd often seen the humans be mad at the Pokemon under their command whenever they failed. They wouldn't have blocked attacks like this.

Thinking about it, there was something of a contradiction now. Clair was an AAPM member (or something like that), and the boy was the son of the AAPM leader.

Garet growled, somewhat frustrated. All this was starting to get confusing. In any case, he hadn't defeated the Dragonair with that Flamethrower, thanks to the humans and the Cyndaquil. And his left fore-leg was hurting from the Dragonbreath that had been directed at it, which meant that he wouldn't be at top performance for a while.

This much trouble from two humans (one of whom might have a fire-resistant cape), a Cyndaquil, and a Dragonair. Garet was determined to get something out of this.

The Arcanine darted forward with ExtremeSpeed, knocking anyone else out of the way and grabbing Clair's cape with his teeth. Shaking it until the bottom part of the cape tore off in his mouth, Garet turned and ran as best he could (a little faster than the average human runner) to the west, towards the forest.
Outright battle wouldn't be the best idea now, what with his leg. If Clair followed, then there'd be a place to ambush from. If not, well...peninsulas have land on only one side, after all.
 
Esper sent what he had been told to Thomas, who took it in silence. She didn't want Marcus to know, and Thomas wasn't about to ignore her warnings. He was, however, worried about her.
"You're trying to do too much after that. You need more time to recover. We don't have to go anywhere, I can see the Stonehenge gym from here. So we can wait antil you've gotten your strength back," Thomas said gently. He rifled through the first aid bag and found some bandages. He held them up.
"Also, you'll need to rebandage those cuts on your legs. You want me to do it, or can you manage by yourself?" Thomas asked.
"This remind you of a certain young man not to long ago?" Vulpix asked.
"Oh, totally! Ash had to practicly tie Thomas to the ground to keep him from moving!" Marcus said, and the two burst out laughing. TGP looked up.
"Even heroes need their rest! Except for me, the greatest of all heroes! The Great Pokemaster!" he said. Thomas rolled his eyes.
"Hey, keep it down, will ya? And you two! You're as bad as he is! Though, slightly less obnoxious," Thomas said.
 
Alyss shook her head. "No... I can do it.. I can walk- ah!" She tried to stand and dropped again. "No..."

Zanna let out a whine. "Oh Alyss stop... they said they can wait so let's wait."

"No... we can't wait. We can't. I can't lose to this... it's just pain. I can do it..." Tears were at the corners of her eyes as she managed to stand up again. "No... I don't want to be a burden now..."

"Alyss..." The girl fell over and Arca sighed. "Well good, she's unconscious." She glanced at Esper and motioned for him to let Thomas bandage her. "She's overdoing it too much these days. I'm sorry."
 
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