Pokemon Gijinka: The Fallen God [IC / PG-16 / Complete]

[Chaos Sonic 442]

Randy's eyes went wide the moment Marie went and knocked on the door. "M-Marie!! What the he-" he started to say, until the door began to open. Even from where he stood, he could see the glint of the eyes staring out from the doorway. He started to make his way towards Marie's side, but...he couldn't exactly swoop in and save the day...especially with what was revealed coming from the other side of the door.

"U-um, hello? Er, who are you? I don't want any trouble so whatever you need I'll give it to you okay? Just don't beat me up, please."

The Incineroar stopped mid-stride, just blinking a few times at seeing this Flygon. It was a Dragon-type alright...but he seemed...extremely...non-threatening? Was that the word that he was looking for? It had to be. Randy knew, however, the last part of the Gijinka's statement was geared towards him, which caused him to sigh slightly. ...another one just assuming I'll beat the shit out of them...the curse of having your good looks, I suppose...huh dad? he thought, before shaking his head slightly. Waving his hand dismissively, before smiling lightly.

"Relax kid, we aren't here to hurt you." Randy said, trying to reassure the Dragon-type...now that was something he never thought he would ever have to do. Dragons were just about as proud as Incineroars were, least the way he saw it. "We actually just got to Trailsau, so we aren't too bad. I'm Randy, this is Marie, the laid-back guy is Keanu, and the mysterious one is Nani. We were...well...I guess Marie here, was curious on why this place was away from all that." He pointed his thumb towards the other buildings. "Buuuuuut, something tells me that we probably just found out the reason..."

[yui 571]

Location: Trailsau (Team Alola, day 27)
Inventory: Good Rod, Antidote, Kasib Berry

"U-um, hello? Er, who are you? I don't want any trouble so whatever you need I'll give it to you okay? Just don't beat me up, please."

A Flygon had answered the door when Marie knocked. A rather sheepish-loking one at that. This sudden group of guests seemed to be making him nervbous. Not that Nani entirely blamed him. He also seemed to be the of the idea that they might hurt him? Or at least, Randy in particular might. Rough looks must have had that effect on people. Books and covers and all.

"Relax kid, we aren't here to hurt you. We actually just got to Trailsau, so we aren't too bad. I'm Randy, this is Marie, the laid-back guy is Keanu, and the mysterious one is Nani. We were...well...I guess Marie here, was curious on why this place was away from all that. Buuuuuut, something tells me that we probably just found out the reason..."

"Randy," Nani quietly said, leaning over toward the Incineroar, one foot alight with pretty pink power. The Mimikyu delivered a light kick to his shin, coupled with a stern "Don't judge a book by its cover. You of all people should know that." Maybe this Flygon wasn't everything he seemed to be? It wasn't impossible that he in fact was, but Nani didn't like drawing up conclusions just based on somebody's appearance. More importantly, they weren't just here for sightseeing. Not that it looked like there would be many sights to see, bar the volcano she could make out in the back.

They were here to look for someone and check up on them.

"That's part of why we're here anyway," Nani added to Randy's assessment of their purpose here. "But while we're here, we're also looking for someone. A Tyranitar girl, about... yay big, long hair I think, very green. Is what I would say, but we're looking for her siblings; their old man wanted us to check if they're okay. Would you happen to know who I'm talking about?"

[Sethera 290]

What the woman said...about looking for a home. Ari wondered if that was really it. If it was, then maybe...he could come live in Pride Rock? No, no, the lion shook his head. Once he finds his brother, then...maybe that'll be his home?

Mac didn't seem too attached to the idea of a home. If he remembered, she came from Oasis, the place where everything started. Why? he wondered. Why doesn't she think of it as home? But she ended up answering that question for him, and the answer was something he should've expected. Of course if nothing exciting was happening, Mac wouldn't want to be there. She was just a trouble magnet.

It was then that Ari was finally set down. The nice lady didn't seem to believe what they were saying, but the Litleo couldn't blame her. Two kids, going against a Godslayer? That was...well, it was definitely shocking. If he hadn't experienced it himself, he wouldn't believe it. No, he still could barely believe it. But it happened.

"Yeah, I dunno if we beat them so much as they got tired of fighting. Or maybe that's the same thing," the fire type mused.

--

Easter made sure to milk this source of information for all it--he was worth. Still, it seemed like the information wasn't of much worth, aside from that tasty tidbit of keeping strong in case of...something from the surface. All that effort for nothing. How boring. "Oh, no, not boring at all," he shook his head vehemently. "You saved us, but we're just a few of the people you helped. That's so admirable." Thinking about it, it was, but Easter knew he could never do a job like that himself. Staying in one place, fighting only when it was called for. It all sounded so...restraining.

Meanwhile, Denku seemed to be having better luck than he was at fishing for information, with the man talking about how special Dora was. Special in what way, though? Special in the head?

Soon they began to approach the city, and as the soldiers straightened, Easter glanced around. There wasn't really much for him to do right now, but the place sure looked impressive for something built underwater. "Wow, that's a beautiful city," he gushed at the soldier he had been talking to earlier.

--

The others ignored Keanu's belly flop, which caused the Pikachu to just lie there uselessly until he realized he was being left behind. Groaning, the electric type staggered upright, and hobbled along behind the others. It wasn't fair. He just wanted to lie down, and now that the cannibals were dealt with, this place should be just fine. Still, he followed them, all the way to Trailsau. It wasn't much of a city, but there was a house, a little separated from the others, that the group headed toward. After knocking, while watching the door slowly creak open, Keanu felt a little nervous, but the person on the other side of the door was...rather timid-looking. He even started asking them to not beat him up.

Tilting his head to the side, Keanu said. "Huh, yer not what I expected. You all right there, brah? Why do you live here if you don't like to scrap?" Not that he could blame him. Fighting was tiresome. It was much better to take things local style, and laid-back.

Then Nani started talking about the Tyranitar girl they had fought before--well more like Randy fought her and Keanu tried to keep himself alive through all of that. The Pikachu looked at the Flygon in front of him a little skeptically. This guy doesn't look like he'll be much help. But any port in a storm, eh?

--

Veronica gritted her teeth as the legendary's attack hit home. "Oh, so you're going to enter the fray as well?" she chuckled breathlessly, turning her gaze to Isole and materializing the giant pair of fangs from before to attack her. Backing away soon afterward, she kept her distance from the group, eyeing them with a bit more wariness in her gaze than before. "Humph, ganging up on me. I should've expected such behavior from legend-lovers," she sneered. "I just never expected that you, who have seen the devastation that legends wreak, would be among them. I won't hold back then." The air around her began to roar once more.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Sethera

[Mr. Hyde 204]

 

Team Showdown - Southshore Forest

"Humph, ganging up on me. I should've expected such behavior from legend-lovers," she sneered. "I just never expected that you, who have seen the devastation that legends wreak, would be among them. I won't hold back then."

The wind around the Gijinka began to swell up once more.  These god slayers sure were a pain in the ass...how did they get so strong unnoticed?  It didn't matter, the power gap between them was incomprehensible.  However, they had numbers on their side....and a raging legendary earth dragon.  It probably balanced out.  Taiga gripped her side, as she let out a wheeze.  

"Fufufu...you sure love to keep blabbing on and on, huh?  Just shut up and kick the bucket, would ya?!"  Taiga darted off towards the Bat with blistering speed.  Sticking her hand out, a torrent of water soon followed behind.  She wound up the pitch, combined with her incredible speed, and launched the spear of water towards the Crobat's torso.  

[Skaia 576]

A bit sad to see the trip end, Nine merely waved Quincy goodbye, thanking her for the ride once they had reached their destination. Just on the outskirts of the ghost's home town, Nine felt a bit unnerved. Though he wanted to leave no stone unturned on his chasing journey, this town had always given him the creeps. The sharp contrast between where they were and where they were going, Nine could only feel that they were moving into the land of death itself. All the same, Gwen had been keen on coming here, and there was something about this town and her that concerned him greatly. So, resolving himself to cross the line, he stepped forward with the rest of the group. Only to be immediately caught off guard as Gwen had suddenly passed out. 

"Gwen!" Moving to her side as she did so, the Houndoom waited by the girl's side until she woke back up. While she tried to assure him, the Houndoom's concern for her was still present. All the same, he gave a small smile to her saying, "yeah, I can't wait to see your home either." Making their way into the town, having help from the two ghosts to get over the fence, the unnerving feeling and offness of the rest of the area did not seem to wain. As they had made their way into the center of the town, they were soon assailed by a mob of friendly locals, who seemed very curious about both he and Kayla. Merely introducing himself, telling the locals he was fine and friends of the two ghosts. Looking over to the amidst the crowd, he asked both Gwen and Lok, "home sweet home?" 

While the others shared Marie's curiosity about the building in question, they seemed fine to just observe it. Curious about the building herself, the girl lead the charge in getting up to it. Knocking on the door, Marie simply stood idly by as she waited for someone to come to the door. As she did, she could feel an immeasurable presence, a being of untouchable power, as if the eye of the cosmos was looking from within the building out towards them all. Or it a case of anxiety and nervousness. One of those two. 

Marie was glad to see that it was the latter, though was a bit concerned that he was so jumpy at the sight of them. As the others asked their questions and assured him they weren't looking to beat him up, the Brionne realized something as she said, "oh, right. We should introduce ourselves. I'm Marie, and we're trying our best to not look for too much trouble. Um, so who are you?"

[reparoni 161]

Alpha Team Karaoke

After a few days, they had made it to their destination. Well, almost to their destination. They walked on the vivid green grasses, which contrasted with the ashy and grey wasteland that was his hometown. Everything was desolate and dead, save for a few lizards scampering about. This was his home, and it was just how he vaguely remembered it. It was strange that such a dreary landscape was uplifting his mood, but Lok felt a rush of joy. He was finally back home, ready to tell the others about his adventures! Eagerly, he floated next to Gwen, crossing the line between the scary outside world and the comfort of his home.

And then he felt his head suddenly aching in agony as memories and thoughts crashed into his brain at once. Lok clutched his head, leading out a loud scream as his vision got blurry. The world around him seemed to be engulfed in darkness, alone. However, he did not feel fear, nor did he feel confusion. While his head was still pounding, Lok felt at peace for once in what felt like in forever.

Everything made sense.

Lok's headache faded a bit before that Gwen had woken up from her sudden knock out. Lok turned to the unconscious girl, the others hovering around her. He knew who this girl was now, giving the girl a soft smile as she woke up. "Let's get moving." Lok said, his mood suddenly turning for the best. He helped the other two get past the fence around Alpha, Lok chuckling to himself about how trivial the fence was to him.

The group was soon swarmed by the locals not too long after they had gone towards the center. Lok recognized everyone at a glance, his grin growing to a wide smile. "Home sweet home!" Lok replied to Nine, waving at all the people around them.

 

---

 

Southshore Forest Team Showdown

"Humph, ganging up on me. I should've expected such behavior from legend-lovers," she sneered. "I just never expected that you, who have seen the devastation that legends wreak, would be among them. I won't hold back then." Scarlet brought her fists up to herself as the winds around the slayer intensified.

"Bring it! We will stop you maniacs no matter what!" Scarlet shouted, dashing right behind Taiga. Despite her quick dashes, her companion was faster than she was - by quite a bit, as Scarlet felt the sprinkling of the splashes coming from the torrent of water next to him. She could only hope that Taiga could potentially out pace Veronica. For now, though, she kept on dashing forwards, doing a rather quick Swords Dance as she moved on forward.

[Cheshire Toon 139]

---

Brooke couldn’t seem to tame her animosity toward the guards. She normally radiated heat, but the coals of anger had stoked her flame and upset her body’s homeostasis; the air around her was literally rippling, she was raising the temperature around her so much. “One… Two… Three…” she murmured, punctuating each word with a deep breath. The normal techniques to control herself weren’t working.  She hadn’t had so much trouble controlling herself since she had run with Sada. Back then, she would have just picked a fight with someone to work through her issues.

Not like that would work now. The source of her anger was no longer something she deal with fist-first, as much as she wished it was. Currently, said source was clumsily trying to clamber up onto her back. Brooke smiled in spite of herself and reached a hand back to boost Dora onto her back. “Hey there kiddo. Does it feel good to be home again?” she asked, looking out over the city.

The sight would have been breathtaking, if it wasn’t for their circumstances. And the fact that Brooke was a Fire-type who was a pinprick away from dying in such a city. 

---

 

[LordCowCow 839]

Team Alola, Day 27, Trailsau

The Flygon nervously watched as the crowd grew larger at his door. The big thuggish one, the creepy Pikachu, the normal Pikachu, and the little girl. They asked him a serious of questions, all in a row, and the boy was trying to decide how to answer them when the little one asked for his name. "T-Trevor." He responded. "I-I don't like to fight but this place is my h-home." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I try to k-keep to myself most of the time."

He gave Nani a somewhat startled look before answering her question. "Allie? S-she's not here. She left a while ago. Her sisters are uh. Somewhere else." He seemed to muster up some courage. Enough to be able to ask. "W-why are you looking for them? H-how do I know you're not b-bad guys." His eyes flicked over to Randy for a moment.

---

Team Mac, Day 22, Ogren

"That's...rather impressive." The Miltank said, sounding a bit distant as she spoke. "But it sounds so dangerous too. I don't know why you'd ever put yourself willingly in such danger."

Mac hooked a thumb towards herself and grinned. "Cause we're awesome that's why. Nothing's gonna stop us!"

Mia smiled. "Well, I'm sure you must be right." She started to back away. "I'm sure I'll see you around. If you decide you want to stay here I'm sure I could help you. Though maybe it's best you go if you're so intent on this adventure. Honestly unless you plan on staying here there's not much in this town."

After this advice, if it were advice, Mia left.

Mac wiped her face with the back of her arm and said to the other two. "I'd be okay leaving honestly. Looks like the people here are mostly nosy old ladies and brats anyway. Otherwise we probably should find a place to sleep."

---

Team Neo Not Dark, Day 33, Merm

The soldier that Easter spoke with seemed to swell even more with pride than before. "It's the most beautiful city in the world I'd say." Under his breath he muttered "Not that I've seen any of the others."

Dora tilted her head to the side as she pondered Brooke's question as though that would let the answer fall into her brain through her ear. "I dunno." Dora said. "I have lots of homes now. It feels sorta weird. Squirmy. Yeah, squirmy. I feel squirmy." She decided with a sage-like nod.

---

They neared the bubble that surrounded the city and a group of soldiers descended upon them. When their escort explained the situation, and who they were transporting, they quickly let the group move on. The bubble they were rising touched the bubble around the city and seemed to mold with it. They were dragged into the bubble and, on the other side, the bubble they were traveling in slowly began to descend as they entered the city.

The Chinchou scattered and the two Lanturn soldiers were all that remained. They brought the group through the city streets. Passing by a multitude of colorful houses along the way. The people of the city all came out to see what was happening. Outsiders were incredibly rare here and the looks of wonder and concern alike surrounded them as they moved.

When people started to notice Dora, however, they grew more excited. People came out to greet the girl and she returned said greeting. Surprisingly she was able to name each person who came up to her and, after some time, Dora broke away from the group to run ahead and say hello to the people themselves. The soldiers didn't seem to be too concerned with this. If any of the group were to ask why they'd respond that "No one in this city would think about hurting her."

---

Team Showdown, Day 30, Southshore Forest

As Taiga released her attack forward, Isole floated around to the side. She wasn't nearly fast enough to keep up with this girl so she had to instead go for something more wide-spread. "You're going to mess up eventually. Why not give up now?" She asked, wanting this to be over, as she launched a wide cone of ice in a Blizzard attack towards Veronica.

Zygarde growled as she felt Veronica move after being struck by her strength. Though she was in an Outrage she, for now, had enough grasp on the situation to wait for the two attacks to end before surging forward. This time with the intention to grab onto the elusive Crobat and slam her to the ground.

---

Team Karaoke, Day 37, Near Alpha

The crowd around the group continued their friendly babble. Soon though the questioned turned towards the other two. "And who are these? Gwendoline's boyfriend maybe? And did Lok actually find himself a girl?"

"What are they doing here? Are they going to stay? Oh, that would be wonderful."

And so on so forth.

After a while more of this the crowd suddenly grew quieter. And they began to part. Making way for a tall, ominous, Gijinka. A silence swept over them all as the man slowly made his way to stand in front of the group. He didn't say anything for a while. Only scanning them over. His gaze landed on Nine.

"Er, this is the Enforcer." Gwen said. "He protects us."

The Bisharp looked at her. Then Lok. "You've returned at the right time." He then turned to Nine again. "What are you here for?"

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Randy, Don't judge a book by its cover. You of all people should know that."

Randy immediately moved his foot back and shook it off some after Nani kicked it. It felt like she used some Fairy power on it, thankfully he wasn't full Dark-Type...but still hurt. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "....I wasn't...much..."

"T-Trevor. I-I don't like to fight but this place is my h-home. I try to k-keep to myself most of the time."

He shrugged slightly. It made sense to him, somewhat. Then again, seeing a Dragon-Type like this not being involved in fighting...it boggled his mind somewhat. Regardless, this Trevor seemed like someone who would just rather stay out of a scrap than the type of gijinka to have your back in one. "...suppose that makes as much sense as anything else then. But yeah, what my friend here said is pretty much what we're here in Trailsau for. Do you happen to k-"

"Allie? S-she's not here. She left a while ago. Her sisters are uh. Somewhere else."

Randy heard the name and immediately sighed. "...yeah that doesn't surprise me. ...the old man won't be too happy about hearing that I was telling the truth." he shrugged, before hearing Trevor's next inquiry.

"W-why are you looking for them? H-how do I know you're not b-bad guys."

...of course... he thought, already getting quite the vein popping up on his forehead. "Listen...Trevor was it?" the Incineroar started in quite the calm manner. "...I ain't a bad guy. Trust me, the other three...well...Keanu and Marie can vouch for me, Nani's still new...but just cause I have my dad's rugged looks and am also Dark-Type, doesn't mean I'm bad. Believe me, I've already been accused of being a criminal and kidnapper by a Floatzel and a Magmar...I think they're names were Suzie and Spencer...? Eh either way, I ain't." he explained, surprisingly calm, though the vein on his forehead persisted. "...we just came from Mowloo and met up with the chief of the military there, old Tyranitar. The old guy wanted to make sure his daughters were alright...namely Allie, is all."

[Skaia 576]

Marie felt a bit bad for Trevor, as he certainly didn't seem very comfortable with a bunch of strangers at his door. As he turned his gaze towards Randy once more, asking if they were the bad guys, Marie gave a glance to him as well, readying her pinching fingers if need be. Thankfully, the Incineroar managed to keep his temper in check, and Marie seemed to be quite pleased with this. Trevor still didn't seem entirely as convinced, as he winced and ducked behind. "So you saw those two..." He looked over at Marie. Then back at Randy again. And purposefully stared at the floor.

Knowing those two as well, Marie looked curiously at the Flygon. "Do you know them, too?"

"They live here. Allie's friends. T-they went to look for her."

"Are they here now?" 

He shook his head. "Still gone. D-don't know when they'll be back. D-Did you need to find them too?"

Marie was a bit disappointed, hoping that the Tyranitar's friends would be able to help them find Allie, but there was nothing to be done about it. Shaking her head, she responded to Trevor, "we're just here to check up on Allie and her family." Thinking that Trevor was quite helpful, and that she still felt bad for him, Marie decided to try and help him feel less awkward around them. "But thanks for what you've told us so far Trevor, I know it must be a bit weird having people just come to your door and ask questions so here." Reaching into her pack, the young Brionne pulled out one of her sweet malasadas and gave it to him.

He inched closer and grabbed it curiously. "T-thank you." He says. "Um. Y-you don't intend to go into the city do you? T-they're pretty scary."

Thinking on it, while Allie wasn't here the Tyranitar was still concerned about all his girls. So, she looked to the others and then back to Trevor saying, "well, we still have to check up on the others right? So probably."

"W-well. A-about that." He looked uncomfortably at the others. "A-Allie left her sisters w-with me." 

 

Nine couldn't help but feel very out of place where he was. While he was glad to see that Lok was feeling better, there was also something a bit unnerving about it all. Were it just being home making him back to this peppy self that had long been gone, or if there was something haunting about Alpha, he couldn't quite tell. All the same, all the people seemed to be crowding around him, asking him questions, as well as asking the others about them. However someone different from all the others, both in appearance and demeanor, had made his way over to the Houndoom. With Gwen introducing him as "The Enforcer" Nine looked at the strong looking Bisharp curiously. With the man trying to find out why he was here, Nine merely smiled and said, "just visiting a friend's home is all."

"Is that all you want?"

He was blunt. Concise. And there was definitely a right and wrong answer to his questions. In some respects, Nine was reminded of Kushiel from this Bisharp, but held his ground all the same. Shrugging, he said, "I can't say for certain. After all," he cordially bowed and gestured towards Gwen, "I'm here on the whim of the Miss." 

With little room for nonsense to be had, the Enforcer leaned in closer towards Nine. "What do you know?"

Breaking his playful demeanor, now feeling both inquisitive and as if he were being threatened, Nine raised an eyebrow. "Is there something I should know."

"No." The blunt answer came from the Bisharp as he looked to Gwen. "There is not. I don't need anything else from you." 

Knowing that he was definitely hiding something from him, Nine's playful smirk emerged once more as he said, "well, then a pleasure speaking you with Enforcer. Name's Nine by the way. I hope we can continue to get along." 

"Tch." 

What a refreshing breath of hostility. 

[Sethera 290]

Ari frowned when Mia left. Mac didn't seem to have noticed anything, but Ari felt like the woman didn't really approve of what they were doing. Thinking about it, people all over seemed to have mixed feeling on Chasers, but it still stung whenever he met somebody that didn't like them. Chasers. That was what he was. What they were. And maybe heroes too. Or would-be heroes? What they were doing...it was a good thing, right?

I keep having doubts, he thought. I never know if what I'm doing is really what I should be doing. But, perhaps that was part of making a decision. You had to accept the bad parts of it too. And to be a Chaser, he had to accept that he would get into danger, that he might not be able to save everybody, and that people might not like what he did. But that was true for everything, right?

The Litleo shook his head. He had always thought he'd be a "man of action," the one that led the way for the others, but it seemed like, more and more, he'd been hesitating, holding back, and thinking things over. Was that good or bad? Either way, that wasn't important right now. What was important was figuring out what they were going to do now.

Mac wiped her face with the back of her arm and said to the other two. "I'd be okay leaving honestly. Looks like the people here are mostly nosy old ladies and brats anyway. Otherwise we probably should find a place to sleep."

Nosy old lady? Was she talking about Mia? She didn't look that old, did she? Leaving that aside, Ari thought a bit before replying. "Well, I wanna stay for the wedding at least, but after that, I guess it's fine." Still, there was one problem. "But where are we gonna go next?"

--

The soldier that Easter spoke with seemed to swell even more with pride than before. "It's the most beautiful city in the world I'd say." Under his breath he muttered "Not that I've seen any of the others."

Easter giggled. "Well, I've seen many others, and I have to say, this is definitely the prettiest," while that might have been a bit of an exaggeration, the city was still one of the most beautiful he had seen. As they entered the city proper and could actually stand again, Easter glanced at Brooke. "You all right?" he whispered under his breath, low enough that only she and Denku could hear it. "You look...nervous." Which, thinking about it, was kind of a stupid question to ask, considering their location. "Don't worry. If anything happens, you won't be the only one in trouble." Denku was a rock type, after all, which was also weak to water. Or maybe that wasn't so reassuring.

Dora started to run ahead, and while Easter was ready to stop her, the soldier's words reassured him, though he still kept an eye on her. "This is some place," he muttered. "Who'd have thought that Dora was a princess of an underwater kingdom? Not I, that's for sure."

--

Keanu listened to the conversations while keeping to the back. Looks like they had reached a dead end here. Which kind of sucked, but he wasn't surprised. His luck--or their luck--had been on a downward slope for a while now, since the invasion of Alola. At least Marie had had better luck talking to the bro than Randy had, which also wasn't surprising. "Heh," he snickered at the dark type. "Looks like yer face isn't doin' ya no favors again." He reached up to pat the Tyranitar on the shoulder lightly. "No worries, brah, you've got at least three people that know the truth," his tone darkened at the last word. "That Marie's the scariest of us all." He paused solemnly before turning back to the Flygon. "Wait, so yer sayin' the kids are with you? Well isn't that convenient," he finished lightly. "Least we no need to go traipsin' over the whole town, then."

--

"Fufufu...you sure love to keep blabbing on and on, huh?  Just shut up and kick the bucket, would ya?!"

"Bring it! We will stop you maniacs no matter what!"

Veronica laughed mirthlessly, shaking her head at the gijinka in front of her. "Poor, benighted fools," she murmured. "What a pity it is, when the protected turn against the protector...to ally with the enemy!" she shot a glare filled with venom at Zygarde. "Fight it if you must, but I will not be silenced, not until I make you understand!" she roared out, soaring into the air, fast enough that Taiga's attack did not strike her torso, though it did hit her legs. Wincing, the Crobat continued her ascent, barely missing Zygarde's grapple in the process. It seemed she was far more maneuverable in the air, as she managed to avoid most of Isole's Blizzard, though not all of it.

The Crobat hovered momentarily as she thought over her next move, before diving down to slam into Taiga. Her eyes blazed with determination as she shouted out, "I will end this!" However, at the last second, she swerved, aiming for Scarlet instead.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Sethera

[yui 571]

Location: Trailsau (Team Alola, day 27)
Inventory: Good Rod, Antidote, Kasib Berry

"Wait, so yer sayin' the kids are with you? Well isn't that convenient."

It sure was! Just as Keanu had said, it meant that they could do what they came here fore without going all over town and probably getting into a fight along the way. The group had been getting caught up in a lot of those lately, and Nani recalled the Tyranitar back in Mowloo saying something like "it doesn't matter who you are in Trailsau as long as you can fight", which while she certainly could, Nani preferred not to.

"Can we come in to check up on them, then?" Checking up on a Tyranitar's kids... was it just her imagination, or were there an awful lot of dark-types lately?

[Mr. Hyde 204]

Team Showdown - Southshore Forest

Her attack had missed it's mark, but had grazed the girl's leg.  Her incredible speed had let the Crobat slip almost out of harm's way entirely.  Taiga couldn't help but bite her lip in frustration.  These god slayers sure were something else.  There had to be a way for them to land a decisive blow...but with the girl's speed it didn't seem possible.  That's when she heard a booming voice from the sky.

"I will end this!"

Diving straight down towards her, Taiga's forehead became a little moist.  

"W-w-what?!  Coming to end me, huh?!  B-b-bring it!"  Taiga readied her stance, as her legs almost buckled.  The sheer pressure of the sight was almost enough for her to lose composure.  "You got some nerve!  Fufufu-"  Her laugh was interrupted by a violent coughing fit.  As soon as she had lifted her head to meet the Crobat's, she noticed the gijinka taking an explosive turn to instead go after Scarlet.  Looking to her friend for a split second, she only had a moment to react.  As the Crobat's body darted past her, Taiga's instincts boiled over, as she reached towards the bat with her own jaws, attempting to clamp down on an ankle, or foot, or something!  

But if one thing could help her now, it was that she was faster.  

[Saikazo 241]

"That's...rather impressive." The Miltank said, Kazo noticing she really didn't seem all here at the moment. "But it sounds so dangerous too. I don't know why you'd ever put yourself willingly in such danger."

"Cause we're awesome that's why. Nothing's gonna stop us!"

"There's also the fact that it seems like no matter what we do, danger finds us anyways," Kazo muttered.

"Well, I'm sure you must be right." She started to back away. "I'm sure I'll see you around. If you decide you want to stay here I'm sure I could help you. Though maybe it's best you go if you're so intent on this adventure. Honestly unless you plan on staying here there's not much in this town." Mia left after that, which struck Kazo as odd. Was being a chaser that bad of a thing around here?

"I'd be okay leaving honestly. Looks like the people here are mostly nosy old ladies and brats anyway. Otherwise we probably should find a place to sleep."

"Well, I wanna stay for the wedding at least, but after that, I guess it's fine, but where are we gonna go next?"

"... Probably best to find somewhere to sleep, yeah...," Kazo muttered. "I dunno, something kinda feels off around here... Maybe it would be best if we moved on...," Then again... "W-well, maybe not now...," He was too afraid to go looking, but... he also really wanted to see if he could find his mom and brother here... damn... why was he being so indecisive now of all times?

---

Denku was in a bit of silent awe of the city. It was indeed the most beautiful one he had ever seen... granted, he was comparing to a swamp and a completely flat piece of land, so maybe it wasn't the fairest comparison. Still, it was beautiful, for sure. He watched as Dora ran ahead to greet everyone. She knew them all by name, but also remembered all of them? She needed more credit than he gave her....

"This is some place," he muttered. "Who'd have thought that Dora was a princess of an underwater kingdom? Not I, that's for sure."

"It explains so much and yet so little," Denku commented. "But yeah, this was out of left field for me to,"

---

OOC

Spoiler

Yeah, I changed Kaz's color. It was too similar to Mac's.

 

[reparoni 161]

Alpha Team Karaoke

Lok waved at the crowd, slightly blushing at the comments about him getting a girlfriend. It was good to be home, Lok thought to himself, as they eventually met face to face with the Enforcer. He was as imposing as ever; out of all the details he had forgotten before coming here, this was one he did not forget. "You've returned at the right time." Lok grinned widely, giving the Bisharp a thumbs-up as he turned to Nine. The Enforcer was giving Nine a hard time, as he was prone to doing with outsiders - heck, it wasn't too crazy to see him do this with some of the locals. Lok simply chuckled.

"Now, now! Play nice you two." He commented, turning back to the Bisharp. He didn't seem amused, which was not surprising. Lok coughed a bit awkwardly. "Don't worry about him, though. He's saved us on more than a few occasions." Lok smiled a bit, rubbing the back of his head. "Aaanyways, I feel like there are more pressing matters." He gave the Enforcer an expecting glance.

 

---

 

Southshore Forest Team Showdown

Veronica was insanely fast, Scarlet thought to herself, as she watched the air roar around her. The Crobat had squeezed past Zygarde's grapple as Scarlet crouched a bit, preparing to make her move. She saw the direction that the slayer was going towards; she was going to hit Taiga, and Scarlet was ready to intercept this. Her wings fluttered as she began darting forwards, ready to Bullet Punch Veronica as she got closer to Taiga.

And, before she knew it, Veronica had made a turn on her. Scarlet didn't have enough time to bring up her fist, she had barely cocked her fist back for her attack. Scarlet was struck by the attack right in the chest, causing the girl to let out a gasp as she was sent tumbling back. "How... how is she so fast...!" Scarlet thought to herself as she slid across the ground, cuts and bruises forming on the exposed parts of her skin. She was still able to get back up, although shakily. She brought her fists up, her eyes intensely locked onto the Crobat. She started walking towards the girl, fists in front of her and ready to strike.

[LordCowCow 839]

Team Alola, Day 27, Trailsau

"Can we come in to check up on them, then?"

Trevor shivered as the girl asked him that. "I-Inside?" He closed the door slightly, leaving it open no more than a sliver. "I-I'll just go get them." The door closed and there was some noises from the other end. Noises that got increasingly frantic as time went on.

Then the door opened slightly again. "Erm they....they aren't here. I think they snuck out....again." He seemed abashed by this. "T-They do that a lot. Um." He glanced away from them. "E-ever since Allie left they, um, they...well." He looked over towards the volcano. "Have been...trying to go fight Heatran....up there. I s-should go get them...again." He said the last bit with some reluctance.

---

Team Karaoke, Day 37, Alpha

"Yeah, no worries Nine, he's...just that way." Gwen laughed a bit awkwardly. Then, when Lok mentioned having something important to do her eyes lit up. "Oh, that's right. Enforcer, you'll have to excuse us for a while. We haven't seen our families in a while. I hope you understand. You'll know where we are if you need us. You always do." She laughed again before beckoning for the others.

"Lok, you wanted to see your family first right? Why don't you lead the way. I remember they lived over...er, where was it they lived?" She stopped herself from spilling the fact she suddenly remembered more in front of Nine.

Something Kayla picked up on. And, as they group moved along, she sidled up next to Nine and whispered. "Something is weird. They're acting different. And that man. He could see me so easily. I don't like this."

---

Team Mac, Day 23, Ogren

The day ended without much a decision on anyone's part. It seemed they weren't sure what they were going to do after this wedding. Well, most of them that is. Mac was certain that she wanted to continue on. They had to find the next Legend after all. Wherever it could possibly be.

So she, being the one with a goal in mind, was the first one up the next day. And the first thing she did was wake up Kazo. "Hey. Hey...You mentioned having important people here. You wanna go check that out? Before that, you know, wedding crap?"

Mac left it to Kazo if he wanted to get Ari up but she went downstairs to get some food and brought it back up to their room. Heaps of toast and some kind of fried fish. She wasn't sure what kind of fish but it looked strangely shaped. If questioned she would shrug and say "Something not poison. Probably. They said it's best to eat them in one mouthful though. Whatever that means."

The group would have some time before the wedding but if they went to the designated wedding hall they'd find an open area with many arches. While it was open there were frilly white drapes over these arches so the inside wasn't easy to see. All they could make out was silhouettes of people moving things around. And Elsa's voice barking out orders. "No, no, not there. THERE. Tilted 70 degrees not 75 I made that very clear!"

---

Team Neo Not Dark, Day 33, Darling It's Better Down Where It's Wetter

Making her way downtown, walking fast, faces pass and Dora was home bound. She seemed to be getting more excited the more people she saw and the group had to rush to keep up with her. The soldiers, even the grumpy one, seemed to be getting in a better mood and, in fact, as they traveled they noticed even the buildings seemed more colorful and lively. Lights sparkling off of them and shining with multiple colors.

Dora began to hum and, as she did, people on the streets started to join in. It wasn't long before they were surrounded entirely by people singing and dancing in the streets. Even the soldiers they passed would hum or tap out a beat.

When they got to their destination the singing slowed down, though there was still a humming in the background, and Dora stared up at the giant pearl spires before them.

The guards were a pair of massive Carracosta who, without much hesitation, opened the gates by simply pulling the giant doors open by a rope.

As soon as they stepped inside the doors closed behind them and, if anyone tried, they'd find it was far too heavy for them to open easily.

They had been deposited directly into a long hallway which, halfway across, began to rise in a spiraling staircase. At the top of which stood a tall throne and, standing in front of it, a man.

Red armor-like plates along his shoulders and legs. One massive claw for one hand, the other holding a scepter with a conch shell atop of it, was a Kingler. "Hi papa!" Dora said, waving nervously.

"Dora, my daughter. You have returned." He rumbled. Then his eyes turned to the others. "And you have brought strangers into my land. You know how we feel about outsiders, Dora." The man started down the stairs and the room came to life.

Waterfalls along the sides of the room started pouring down into drainage holes in the ground. These waterfalls were sparkling and splashing. Behind said waterfalls vague shapes, Gijinka, could be seen watching the king as he made his way down towards the group.

"You have brought my daughter back and for that I thank you. But I must admit I suspect that is not why you came here. I can see it in your eyes. There's something you want. Is it a reward you seek?"

Meanwhile Dora was waving at the figures behind the waterfalls. Calling them each out by name as she spotted them.

---

Team Showdown, Day 30, Southshore Forest

Isole was annoyed. This woman was getting on her nerves. She aimed towards Scarlet as the woman made her attack on the Scizor. Hoping that Scarlet would be able to attack from the other end and keep her occupied she shot off a Thunderbolt towards Veronica's back.

And as this happened Zygarde, turning around with some difficulty, stormed towards the Crobat. There was a haze of confusion forming in her head but she still managed to slam two hands down onto the ground. As she did this a large arrow of ground shot up and towards Veronica's back as well.

[Skaia 576]

"What?" That small, blunt statement, was all  that Marie could blurt out upon the revelation of the kids being here. Thinking it was pretty convenient, the girl's mood was pretty bright as Trevor made his way into the house and began looking around. This turned into a frown as the Flygon came back, however, revealing that they had gone off to the dangerous looking mountain in the distance. Looking back to the Flygon, then to the volcano, then back to the Flygon Marie let out yet another, "what?" Shaking her head from this stunning revelation, Marie asked, "isn't a mountain like that super dangerous?"

"I-It's only dangerous if H-Heatran gets t-too worked up. I-If he doesn't fight anyone." Trevor ruffled a hand nervously through his hair. "T-though no one has in a while." 

"But they want to fight this Heatran person, right?"

"They....they're ambitious."

Pouting at Trevor, in the show of an extreme lack of responsibility, Marie began waving her finger at the boy. "Well, you're in charge of them right? So you should do a better job of keeping them away from dangerous places like that."

"Y-yes, I s-should." He agreed, looking ashamed.

Nodding, let out a small, "hmph," the girl simply said, "as long as you understand." Now was not the time to berate him on his lack of watchfulness of the troublemakers, especially since he agreed with her. Besides, she had a sinking feeling that the troublemakers themselves were in a good need of an ear pinching. A determined look on her face, the girl pointed towards the city and volcano saying, "lead the way Trevor!" 

The Flygon stared towards her and the city, letting out a bit of a whimper, as he finally decided to open the door further and leave the safety of his home. Though the Flygon seemed to be taller than Marie had expected, no longer obscured by the door, this image was still betrayed by the young male hunching over and flinching at every noise. 

[Chaos Sonic 442]



"I-Inside? I-I'll just go get them. Erm they....they aren't here. I think they snuck out....again. T-They do that a lot. Um. E-ever since Allie left they, um, they...well. Have been...trying to go fight Heatran....up there. I s-should go get them...again."

Randy sighed greatly, shaking his head. Yeah...probably taking after their sister...jeez... he thought, seeing Marie already getting Trevor to get them led towards the volcano where they most likely would be. Then again...there was something was bugging him with Trevor mentioning what the kids were going for.

"Oi, Trevor." he finally spoke up, looking at the Flygon and motioning his head towards the volcano. "The volcano...who lives there? You mentioned the name, but I wanna know about it."

He watched the Flygon jumped when the Incineroar spoke. "H-Heatran? You...d-don't know about him?"

"Can't say I do." Randy shook his head. "Given the name, he sounds Fire-type. But since we're not necessarily from this region, I gotta ask."

"H-he's a Legend. H-he made the v-volcano. Fights e-everyone who asks. S-Sometimes he erupts when he h-hasn't fought anyone in a while."

"A Legend?" he asked, starting to get a grin on his face as he even started to roll his shoulders. "Thank you Solgaleo...looks like I found myself a match. Sounds like he's at least a nice guy when it comes to accepting challenges."

Trevor only could give a choked laugh. "N-nice. O-okay."

Randy glanced at Marie for a moment, before sighing. "I'm gonna do this, Marie. I already made mention to Yveltal that I'm doing this Chaser thing...I'm going to fight the Legendaries and get stronger in the process." he said, doing his best to explain his reasoning. "Plus, I don't want things to end up badly for the militia leader's kids if anything does happen. So don't be surprised if I don't jump into the fray."

[yui 571]

Location: Trailsau (Team Alola, day 27)
Inventory: Good Rod, Antidote, Kasib Berry

"Erm they....they aren't here. I think they snuck out....again. T-They do that a lot. Um. E-ever since Allie left they, um, they...well. Have been...trying to go fight Heatran....up there. I s-should go get them...again."

To only a mild degree of surprise, Marie had scolded Trevor for not keeping a better eye on the kids, and then to even less surprise, followed it up with an offer to help him get them. He was jittery. Nervous. If Nani were able to smell fear, she'd probably know this guy from a mile away. But she couldn't do that, and besides, he knew how to get to where the group was trying to go. Randy had asked some questions about Heatran as well. The bottom line was he liked to fight, and based on Trevor's little laugh in the middle of the exchange, maybe wasn't a nice guy after all.

Which made sense. Who erupts a volcano just because they're getting antsy? What's next, burning down a city over a card game?

...actually, I'm pretty sure legends that aren't from Alola just aren't good people. That seems to have been it ever since we got here.

"And the kids we're looking for?" Nani asked. "What are they like?"

[reparoni 161]

Alpha Team Karaoke

"Lok, you wanted to see your family first right? Why don't you lead the way. I remember they lived over... er, where was it they lived?" Lok gave the girl a glance, chuckling a bit before nodding.

"Yeah, let's go! Follow me guys!" Lok said, gesturing everyone to follow him. He moved swiftly across the town, floating left and right in seemingly erratic ways, until they eventually made it to what looked like an abandoned home. Lok turned back around to the rest of the group. "We're here!" Lok said excitedly, knocking on the door. At first, nothing could be heard from the inside. Lok frowned a bit, and was about to knock again, when a voice came from the other side.

"Come in~!" A young, cheerful girl's voice called from the other side. The click of a lock coming undone came after, Lok grinning. Lok opened the door, but didn't walk in. As the door swung open, a bucket seemed to fall out of nowhere, landing right in front of Lok and spilling cold water all over the floor. A Pumkaboo seemingly faded into view out of nowhere, pouting at the ghost boy. "Aww, you're no fun, Lok!" She pouted, clenching her fists.

Lok simply shrugged, chuckling as he made his way towards the girl. "I missed you too." Lok said softly, hugging the girl. The small pumpkin girl let out a sigh, returning the hug. Her expression shifted quickly from its pout to a wide smile. Lok turned to his friends, gesturing them to follow them in.

The girl looked curiously at the others, and was about to say something, when she was cut off by the voice of a women. "Madeline!" The voice was quiet, yet stern, as the Pumpkaboo let out an eek as she hid behind Lok. A Trevenant came out of one of the rooms, her face covered by a veil. Still, the daggers she was staring at the girl could be felt by just about anyone. "That's no way to greet your brother!" She said, turning her glance over to Lok. The women's voice became less stern as she address Lok, who had already ran up and hug the women. "Oh, Lok, thank goodness you're safe!"

"I missed you so much!" Lok said as he held his mother in his arms.

"So did we, Lok. So did we."

Without saying a word, another figure entered from the room slowly. A huge, imposing Dusknoir walked up to the pair of ghosts, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Welcome home, son." He said, extending his other arm out as Lok went from hugging his mother to hugging his father.

"Dad! It's so good to see you again!" Lok said, before letting go of the man. "It feels good to be home again!"

The Dusknoir turned to Gwen, nodded towards her in acknowledgement.

The Trevenant, meanwhile, turned to look at the others. "Oh, I see my little Lok has been making friends!" She said softly, walking over to the group. "Oh, where are my manners!" She stopped, placing her hand on her chest. "My name is Paradia. I must thank you personally for keeping my darling safe on his journey." She bowed, pinching the sides of her dress as she did.

The Dusknoir then stepped up, bowing alongside his wife. "My name is Grimm." He said simply, his eye staring right into the group, almost as if he was staring at their souls. "Tell me, who are you all."

Meanwhile, Madeline pulled onto Lok's arm, a small blush on her face. Lok leaned over to listen to the girl. "W-Who's he?" She said quietly, pointing at Nine.

"Why don't you ask him yourself" He said teasingly, causing the girl to blush a bit more.

"M-Maybe in a bit." She said, her eyes locked onto the Houndoom.

 

---

 

Southshore Forest Team Showdown

 

Scarlet made her way towards the Crobat, before dashing forward as quickly as she could. "We will end this, once and for all!" Scarlet shouted, a Bullet Punch aimed at the Crobat as Scarlet darted forward. Things weren't looking great, but they had a numbers advantage. Isole had just fired off an attack, and Taiga was going for an icy strike herself. Zygarde was also making her move. Scarlet knew that, with Veronica's speed, not all of these attacks would hit. Hopefully, however, they could overwhelm her with the amount of attacks being launched at her. The Scizor aimed to hit the girl right in the chest.

Edited February 26, 2019 by rep

[Skaia 576]

In spite of the two ghosts trying to reassure him that there was nothing to worry about with the Enforcer, Nine couldn't help but feel the opposite way. As Gwen mentioned Lok going to see his family, the Accelgor besides him had moved over to talk about the situation with him. He couldn't help but nod, thinking the whole area was completely suspicious himself, as well. "Even before coming here," he whispered back to her, "there was something weird about her whenever I mentioned this place. And the Enforcer is...definitely different." Though he felt on edge since they had come here, Nine had felt it wouldn't do good to look that way, and thus tried to keep a positive expression on his face after he finished speaking with Kayla. 

It didn't take long for them to get to Lok's place of residence. Once there, it seemed that Lok was greeted with some kind of prank from his sibling, and both of his parents had come to the door as well. Looking between the three of Lok's family, Nine introduced himself saying, "I'm Nine, a pleasure to meet you." He gave a small smile towards Pumkaboo as Lok teased her, then looking back to his parents. "I've been accompanying these two," he gestured to Lok and Gwen, "for quite some time now." With a bit of joking smile on his face he said, "he can be a bit of a handful sometimes, but I'll say you've both raised a fine boy here." 

[Sethera 290]

Ari tossed and turned for a while before he finally went to bed. It was getting easier to sleep, but he still felt restless sometimes, and tonight was one of these nights. He finally managed to nod off, and his sleep was filled wth dreams of lions and tigers and bears. "Oh my," he mumbled in his sleep. "I gotta save them...hrrngh...zzz..."

--

"It explains so much and yet so little," Denku commented. "But yeah, this was out of left field for me too."

Easter shook his head as they continued through the city. At least, with Dora being a princess and all, there shouldn't be too many places she couldn't go. And if Phione was in one of those places, well...so much the better. Still, whether the rulers would be cooperative or not...that was still up in the air. He'd like to think that they would be, but he hadn't gotten where he was through mere hope.

When they got to their destination the singing slowed down, though there was still a humming in the background. A pair of massive Carracosta opened the gates by simply pulling the giant doors open by a rope, but they closed behind them as soon as they stepped inside. Which was a long hallway that began to rise in a spiraling staircase halfway across, leading to a tall throne with a man standing in front of it.

He appeared to be a majestic-looking Kingler gijinka holding a scepter with a conch shell atop of it.

Even Dora looked a little nervous, her greeting not quite as bright as it could be. He answered in a rumble before turning to the rest of the group. "And you have brought strangers into my land. You know how we feel about outsiders, Dora." The man started down the stairs and the room came to life with waterfalls, behind which stood vaguely gijinka-shaped silhouettes.

"You have brought my daughter back and for that I thank you. But I must admit I suspect that is not why you came here. I can see it in your eyes. There's something you want. Is it a reward you seek?"

Easter glanced at the others in the group before taking a single step forward. "Your Majesty," he started, hoping that this was the correct term. He had to admit, it was a little different standing in front of a king of all people. With all due luck his personality wouldn't be like the emperor's. "You are correct that bringing your daughter back is not the only reason we came here." In fact, we didn't mean to return her to begin with. "There is, in fact, another reason. That is, we are looking for somebody." He saw no reason to hold back their true reason for coming here. Perhaps the king could even help them find Phione.

--

Keanu rolled his eyes at being ignored yet again by his traveling companions. Sure, they were trying to find the kids, but it wouldn't hurt to add a bit of levity to things now, would it? Regardless, things weren't looking too good what with the kids being gone and all. And now it seemed like they were trying to find a legendary, and now they had to follow them? The Pikachu had a sinking feeling he knew how things were going to go, and that was "not well." Especially after hearing what Randy said about fighting. Sighing, he filed in line behind the others. "Well, don't go getting in over your head, ya hear? You jump in too far, then we gon' have to fish you out," he grinned.

"And the kids we're looking for?" Nani asked. "What are they like?"

"Well, I'll take a guess that they're just like their father," he groaned. "Stubborn and bullheaded."

--

She was going to do this. She was going to end this fight once and for all. This had gone on long enough. The shiny Crobat sped toward the red-headed bug type, the one who had had so much potential for greatness...all of them did, but they squandered themselves serving the legendaries. She felt sharp teeth clamp down on her foot, but her momentum was too fast, and she still hit the Scizor in the chest. Ready to attack her again, she stopped dead, body freezing as electricity locked her muscles in place. It was then that an arrow slammed itself into her back, and soon after, the gijinka she was going to attack shot forward, Bullet Punch aiming directly for her front.

Veronica let out a shout as all the attacks hit, one after another. Groaning, she hunched over, holding a hand to her chest, coughing out blood. "You were lucky...Zygarde," she hissed. "You had some...pawns to help you out. Be happy...that they are far more short-sighted than I," she sneered, before suddenly the air around her started to roll like a whirlwind, forcing everybody to back away. The bat's scarf snapped out like wings as she rose into the air, spinning slightly in the process. She looked at the group, shaking her head sadly. "Fools...perhaps one day you will realize your ignorance. Zygarde...you may keep your life today, but...you cannot run from justice forever." With that, the woman climbed higher and higher before soaring away on the wind.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Sethera

[Mr. Hyde 204]

Team Showdown - Southshore Forest

Taiga watched as the Crobat sped right past her, her teeth barely grazing the Gijinka as she collided with Scarlet.  However, closing the distance between them probably wasn't the smartest of moves, as a multitude of attacks all converged on the worn out God Slayer.  With a roar of pain coming from her, Taiga could only grin.  Served 'em right for being so obnoxious.  Taiga got back to her feet, seeing that the attacks hadn't finished her off.  She put up her fists for one more scrap, but the Crobat left with a long-winded farewell, and a gust of wind.  The wind was strong enough to push the already weak Sharpedo off of her feet and onto the ground.  

"Gak!"  She grunted, as she took a slide into the grass and dirt.  Her breathing was getting wheezy, and heavy, as she looked for the rest of her team.  She saw the big shadow of Zygarde as well, giving them a peace sign.  "Please...don't kill us...fu...fu...fuuuu..."  Taiga laughed weakly, before closing her eyes.  The poison had gotten the best of her.  

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Brooke had been overwhelmed when they arrived. An underwater city was rough for a Fire-type; the idea of losing Dora was even worse, something she had feared was coming since Fawkes had abandoned her; the straw that broke the Camerupt’s back was the reveal of Dora’s lineage. Something was wrong with it. Dora had been sent away--she knew that much, had been told as much by the little Wooper on the first day she had taken over caring for her. Why? What reason did royalty have to flee from a city where none of the citizens would dare to harm her? 

Easter caught her eye. “You all right?" He whispered, the sugary-sweet scent of the last candy the Sylveon had consumed still lingering on his breath. “You look...nervous.” An astute observation. “Don’t worry. If anything happens, you won’t be the only one in trouble.”

Brooke wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be reassuring, but it somehow was. She wasn’t alone. No one was abandoning her. She reached up to adjust her hat, not because it was out of place, but just because it brought with it a familiar comfort. She told everyone that a friend had given her the hat as a gift, but in reality, she had bought it for herself after Sada and Phineas had left her behind. It symbolized a new life; one where she was a strong, independent woman who relied on no one else. “Thanks, Easter.” 

She kept close to Dora for the rest of the trip to the palace. Everyone was friendly to the child, overly so, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Even as they entered the palace and they addressed the King, a regal Kingler in resplendent armor, Brooke kept Dora by her side. She tried to identify the figures obscured by the waterfall by scent, but she couldn’t. She was nose-blind thanks to the water that surrounded them, making her even more vulnerable. 

The Kingler asked why they had returned Dora. Easter explained they were searching for someone, but Brooke had bigger concerns. “Excuse me,” she addressed the king. “Sir, your highness. I don’t know the proper etiquette for your kingdom; until a week ago, I thought it was make believe. I’ve been Dora’s caretaker for awhile now. I rescued her from some less than kind folks, but her former caretaker was killed in the fight. She didn’t remember much at the time, so I took her in and did my best to raise her. Understandably, I’ve become rather attached to her, so I hope you don’t mind me asking,” She tilted the brim of her hat up so that the king could see her face. Her expression was intense, though not aggressive. “What happened? Was she kidnapped? Because she seemed fond of her guardian when I met her.”
 

Edited March 3, 2019 by Cheshire Toon

[Saikazo 241]

Kazo laid in bed full of doubts. What was he going to do while he was in this town? Common sense told him not to miss out on this one chance, but fear told him to not even try to connect. They separated so many years ago, after all...

"Oh my," Kazo turned to his head to see Ari sleeptalking. "I gotta save them...hrrngh...zzz..." With a small smile, he reached out and patted the young cub's head before curling up and trying to sleep himself. He'd figure this out in the morning.

It didn't feel like an hour had passed before he felt himself being shaken awake. "Hey. Hey...You mentioned having important people here. You wanna go check that out? Before that, you know, wedding crap?" Kazo sighed and opened an eye, looking at Mac. She wasn't wrong... but...

"Alright, alright, I'm up...," Kazo muttered as he stood up, groaning and stretching. "But if I gotta get up," He walked over to Ari, shaking him a little. "C'mon buddy, we gotta get some food," With a sleepy yawn, Kazo sat at the table and quietly ate his meal. With a full stomach, he had made up his mind. Today was the day he'd do it. He couldn't avoid this and have regrets. After he finished eating, he stood up and waved goodbye as he walked out. "Good luck you two. I'll be lookin' around town if you need me,"

The town itself was pretty small, and honestly, Kazo wasn't sure how he was going to find his mom and brother. He wasn't going to just knocking on doors until he found them. That was just asking to get kicked out. What could he do though...? He had wandered around for about fifteen minutes before he sighed to himself, rubbing his forehead. What was he even doing? There was no way this could end well...

His thoughts were interrupted when he ran into a body. "S-sorry...," He muttered, before looking at the person he actually ran into. It was an older woman, not too elderly, but obviously not a spring chicken either. She was slightly taller than he was, which was a bit of a feat, and not something Kazo was used to. Taking a quick look, he could tell she was a... wait... a Tyranitar... no, no... that was too much of a coincidence, wasn't it? There was no way...

"'Ey, don't worry about it, I was lost in my own thoughts to, kiddo," The voice... it felt too familiar... but no, it was over 10 years since he saw her. He could just be remembering her voice wrong in a desperate attempt to think he found them. He then noticed that the woman was looking at him, scanning him with her green eyes. "Say kiddo, you remind me of someone I used to know," What a strange thing to say to someone you just bumped into, right? "What's your name?"

"Um... i-it's Kazo...," The Gabite muttered as he turned his head to look away. This was so weird and yet he didn't... really want to run? He just felt awkward for some reason. He felt a finger suddenly touch his cheek and force him to turn his head to look back at the Tyranitar.

"Kazo? You're not fookin' with me, are you kid?" She asked. "Your name is Kazo? You from Juyu, have a mom named Carmilla?" Kazo saw the most serious look on the Tyranitar's face.

"A-actually, her name is K-Kiara...," Kazo managed to say, slightly intimidated by this woman. A large grin spread across her face and the Tyranitar suddenly pulled Kazo into a hug. It was such a warm hug... it reminded him too much of his childhood...

"I can't believe you're here...," she whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry, Kaz... I'm sorry we left all those years ago," Her embrace became tighter as Kazo stood there limply.

"M-mom...?" he managed to get out before his vision started to blur a bit. Ah... he was crying... he wrapped his arms around her, clinging on for dear life. "I've missed you so much Mom...," the words managed to slip past his lips as he held on tightly.

He found her....

 

---

 

Denku was starting to dislike the places royalty lived. It was pretty and awe inspiring and stuff, but it just all felt too big. He couldn't imagine a child growing up in a place like this.

"And you have brought strangers into my land. You know how we feel about outsiders, Dora." 

Especially not with a father like that.

"You have brought my daughter back and for that I thank you. But I must admit I suspect that is not why you came here. I can see it in your eyes. There's something you want. Is it a reward you seek?"

"Your Majesty," Easter spoke first. "You are correct that bringing your daughter back is not the only reason we came here. There is, in fact, another reason. That is, we are looking for somebody." A good start, good indeed.

“Excuse me,” Brooke was up next. “Sir, your highness. I don’t know the proper etiquette for your kingdom; until a week ago, I thought it was make believe. I’ve been Dora’s caretaker for awhile now. I rescued her from some less than kind folks, but her former caretaker was killed in the fight. She didn’t remember much at the time, so I took her in and did my best to raise her. Understandably, I’ve become rather attached to her, so I hope you don’t mind me asking. What happened? Was she kidnapped? Because she seemed fond of her guardian when I met her.”

That was an important question, one they needed answered.... Denku didn't have anything to add, not really, so he kept his eyes on the surroundings. He still didn't trust people, and his last run in with royalty wasn't the most pleasant.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Saiku