“You seem to be a little confused.” ‘Jeff’ said, “I am here to help you.”
“Do we trust it?” Ems asked, poking the bald head.
“I am not an it, I am the Bezos AI, a sophisticated–”
“Shut up.” Felis said.
The Bezos AI sulked, but listened.
“What’s Amazon?” Ems asked shooting him a look.
“Oh!” Bezos lit up again, “Amazon was a multi-billion dollar corporation that facilitated trade across the entire earth! It also became the prime sponsor of the Divinity project, funding much of what you see here today!”
“Divinity project?”
“Correct! With the breaking of the old world, a new order would be established. This new era would be inhabited by immortals, with all the pleasures of life and beyond.”
“So what happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, where are they?”
Bezos blinked, its smile fading as digital eyes swept around the area. “Oh my.”
“What’s wrong?” Ems asked.
“Something is wrong. My memory banks seem to have holes in them. This is unprecedented. One moment, allow me to execute Protocol E-1.”
“What does that mea-”
The AI suddenly cried out, its smaller form dropping to the ground and violently shaking as…data? Flickering lights resembling tiny numbers seemed to spill from its frothing mouth, enveloping the AI and turning it to an undulating blue puddle.
“That…that scared me.” Emily said, breath shaking. “Is it ok? How does a program feel pain?”
Felis didn’t have an answer, silently watching the strange puddle as it reformed back into Bezos, with the same, artificial smile greeting them all again.
“Hi. My name is Jeffery Bezos. Well, not actually, but I’m an interactive AI model built to replicate him. How may I be of assistance?”
“Are you okay?” Emily asked, eyes wide, “That looked like it hurt.”
Jeffery blinked in confusion, tilting his head to one side, “What do you mean?”
“You…you tried to execute a protocol or something.”
“E-1” Hazel said.
“E-1? Oh my. It appears this is an E-1 situation. One moment.”
Before anyone could stop him, the AI was once again seizing on the floor, clutching at its head so tightly it seemed it would almost pop. Yet again numbers and liquid enveloped the AI, forcing it back into its cocoon.
“Okay.” Hazel sighed, “No more mentioning E-1.”
“Poor baby.” Emily said, “He looked so hurt.”
Felis snorted, earning himself another glare form the woman, “Woah woah!” He defended, raising his hands in surrender, “I’m just saying he’s supposed to be a CEO right? Multi-billion dollar company? You shouldn’t feel bad about it.”
“He's still a person, Felis. Have a heart.”
He found that incredibly funny. But wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. He wondered how others from Earth would think about this, he knew his friends would have continued mentioning E-1 over and over until they got bored of it, and he definitely wanted to do the same. But hey, they had a timeline and all that, couldn't mess around right now.
“That’s hurtful, Ems. Really, haven’t I done en-”
“Yello! My name is Jeff Bezos, CEO of Ama-”
“Shut up.”
“Aw.”
“See?”
“That doesn’t count.”
“Anyways.” Hazel said, interrupting their conversation. “Jeff. Um. First things first–statues. Why do the statues have machines?”
“Oh! You are referring to the Vulcan cannons equipped on all sentry defenders! These guns were installed for the use of driving away outside threats with the repel effect. As you can understand, our Divines faced extinction, and needed every weapon it could get.”
“Extinction? From who?”
“From…oh.” Bezos furrowed its eyebrows, “Hm. For some reason, there are holes in my memory banks. I cannot answer this question at this time.”
“Great.” Hazel muttered, “So they’re all off?”
“As of now the Repel effect is still on, however you don’t need to worry, they shouldn’t target any guests.”
“They killed 2 of my men out front!” Remi shouted, “What do you mean, shouldn’t target any guests?”
“Oh. Well that shouldn’t be a problem. Feel free to use Protocol X to bring them back.”
“That’s probably missing too.” Remi muttered.
Jeff blinked. “Oh…oh it is. This is an issue. I must activate protocol E-1.”
“NO!” They all shouted.
“...No?”
“No.” Emily said. “Why don’t you uh…why don’t you keep talking about Amazon?”
“Oh of course! Amazon was the old world’s most profitable company, with revenues excee-”
Felis tuned it out, instead focusing on any other signs he could see that could have possibly mentioned the old world. It felt…artificial. No doubt the place was awe-inspiring, but maybe it was with the context of knowing Amazon and maybe other corporations had built this place that put the golden halls and opulent decorations to shame. It felt as if the creators were desperately trying to hold onto the wealth and status of the old world, perhaps that’s why they moved it underground, to forget about the world above, that broken, ugly reminder of what was destroyed.
Felis stopped in his tracks, staring at Bezos. He…he was in the Pokémon world, right? This was supposed to be a world full of fantasy and mystery…but then…but then–
“Is our Pokémon fantasy adventure…sponsored by Amazon?”
“You say something?” Emily turned, as Sirius lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Na…it's nothing, just talking to myself.” He replied, pulling his brother to the side as the others asked questions. Sirius still had that faraway look to his eyes, but whatever…"Bezos" was, seemed to pull him back into reality just a little bit.
“You see this?” Felis whispered.
“Hard not to.” Sirius frowned, “What do we do with it though?”
“Follow I guess, seems like that’s the only thing we can do right now. But you know what this means right?”
“We weren’t isekai’d. But I saw you die, I felt myself die. So how?”
“Jeffery boy over there might have the answers to that.”
“I’m with you.”
Felis nodded, turning back to the group. It was a little funny, watching the AI get progressively more annoyed at their bewilderment, and desperately trying not to brush away Emily’s prodding finger on its tiny little head.
“It says it can lead us farther in.” Remi said as the two brothers slid back into the conversation.
“That is correct.” The AI smiled, “As Red Chain Protocol P is currently missing, it appears it will be a bit of a walk. I’d manifest a cart, but it appears Protocol N is missing as well.”
“Yea, want to give us a refresher on that, pal?” Hazel asked as the group began to walk forward, “What are those Protocols you keep mentioning?”
“Oh boy! I haven’t used this dialogue tree in a while!” Bezos cheered, clapping its hands as it floated forward, “The Red Chain Protocol is how our new Divine exerts and maintains control over Earth. Thanks to the Red Chain, Earth has avoided exactly 5,412,761,123 phenomena that would have resulted in the planet’s destruction.”
All of them paused at that, staring in shock at the AI. Over 5 billion world-ending events? How? What the hell was causing so many? Was it an alien invasion? Did the moon crash into earth? Meteors?
“And uh…now that it’s missing…?”
“Missing? Oh! Oh…they are missing. One moment please.” Bezos stood still, eyes far away as it did something, before coming back a second later, “I have attempted to execute the Mars Protocol, unfortunately, all Deos operating under the Mars wing no longer exist within the facility. Would you like me to execute the E-1?”
“No!” Ems said, “Why don’t you…tell us what that means! Now that Earth doesn’t have the protocols anymore.”
“Hm. Worst case scenario, the Protocols have abandoned the planet and have left it to rot. Considering how they have been missing for an exact 497,623 years however, it's likely they’ve taken a guardian role of their own free will.”
“Hold on, are they…people? Alive?”
“They are alive, yes.”
“Just um…just a quick question.” Felis said quietly, “What…what year did all this begin?”
“Oh of course! The project was completed during the cleansing of the old world, so that would have put it in the year–”
“Something’s coming!” Sirius interrupted, his eyes wide as he grabbed the side of his head. Instantly everyone was on high alert, backing into one another, both Pokémon and trainer alike scanning the area around them.
“Oh dear,” Jeff said, looking a tad bit concerned, “It appears the Repel effect “B” is still in effect–allow me to turn that off.” A moment later he looked at them with slightly more concern, “It appears I cannot turn it off.”
“What the hell are you even good for!” Felis shouted, as Unown began to coalesce in the air behind them, swirling together in the air like a flight of sterling's.
“I have a number of functions, the primary ones being–”
“SHUT UP!” The whole group roared
“Understood.”
There was a massive thooom! as the ground quaked from two heavy impacts. Their shapes were near unrecognisable, made of grey and black liquid-like matter as more and more Unown poured into the shapes. All 5 trainers commanded a full attack, their dutiful Pokémon unleashing biting cold winds, bullet seeds, poison jabs and anything and everything that could hurt. It worked, for a time, as some of the Unown were sent scattered away, but they could not stop whatever was happening fast enough…and eventually, whatever the Unown had created roared.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
They looked as if they were cut from rock, with skin that was jagged and sharp from all angles, thin–insect like limbs stood tall–well over 7 feet towering over all of them, with two wicked axes so sharp it reflected the artificial light. Its hawk-like face stared at them, eyes glowing red with primal energy.
Felis knew what this was–he’d seen his brother play Legends Arceus before.
It was Kleavor, the first guardian of the Obsidian fieldlands.
And there were two of them.
“Fuck you, Amazon.” Felis whispered.
The Pokémon roared in response.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Run!” Sirius barked, shoving his brother forward as the Kleavor bellowed out, its thunderous cry shook the hallway, and he knew immediately this was not something they could battle normally.
The group sprinted forward, past rows and rows of faceless statues and empty rooms. Bezos was with them the whole way, glancing back worriedly as the two behemoths charged after them, their axes smashing into the ground as they pressed onward.
It was strange, Sirius could feel the panic and the terror within him, but it all felt…muted, like it was being suppressed under the weight of whatever the Unowns carried with them. Still, his duty to his brother always came first, and his mind raced to find a solution.
“Bezos!” He shouted, still not completely over the fact he had to deal with a replica of the Amazon CEO, “Details on the Repel effect–now!”
“Of course; the Repel effect–as the name suggests–was established to keep intruders–mainly those who exist outside the Pantheon, away from the sacred grounds.”
“Why the fuck are they trying to kill us!” Remi howled, narrowly avoiding an axe that crashed down beside him.
“Well–you aren’t part of the Pantheon, in fact only–” A look from Felis and Sirius had Bezos pause, before he said again, “two being dispatched means this is a lighter response.”
“Lighter response!?”
“Correct.”
“What about the guns?” Sirius asked, “Can you get the guns to start working again?”
“Are you trying to get us killed!?” Remi cried out.
“Leave it.” Pran gasped, “He’s got an idea.”
“One moment.” Bezos closed its eyes, before giving a nod, “It appears I still have access.”
“Activate them! Turn them on the Kleavor!”
“By your will, divine one.”
At once, dozens of faceless statues whirred to life, arms extending to rotary guns, unleashing hell onto the massive beasts that chased them. They roared in equal mix of pain and fury, using their massive axe-appendages to guard their faces and bodies, though being unable to guard against the hundreds of others that pinged against their rocky hides.
Enraged, the two Kleavor leapt for the different statues, their axes smashing the machinery to bits. Their anger did nothing to the unfeeling machines, who continued their onslaught without any hesitation. It wouldn’t last, the Kleavor would eventually destroy every statue in the vicinity, but it bought them time.
“Are there any safe spots?” Sirius asked the AI, rushing through an open walkway.
“There are a number of security wings scattered throughout Spatium, the Repel Effect should have no authority there.”
“You certain?”
“I cannot say.” Bezos said with a hint of frustration “My memory banks and access codes are all…different now.”
“We don’t have any other choice–take us there!”
“This way please.”
They raced through once dead halls of opulence and wealth, the tranquility broken from rapid machine-gun fire and the roar of two Kleavor. Where they went, destruction followed as gold and marble was smashed to bits, each broken statue buying them just a little more time.
But it wouldn’t be enough.
“Faster Felis!” Sirius ordered, giving his brother another push. Felis’s face was already stained with sweat, his atrophied state causing him to gas out much earlier than everyone else. He’d been eating better now–a lot better, but two weeks of good food couldn’t fill the void of years of malnutrition.
Fear pinged off from Valor. Danger!
Sirius felt the whoosh of an axe as it descended, and he rolled out of the way, crashing into a statue that came to life, unloading another onslaught of bullets to a very annoyed Kleavor.
“Sirius!” His brother shouted, worried.
“Keep moving!” He snarled back. He pinged Valor, sending a feeling of anticipation, Can you fight?
Fear. I cannot, I will fail you.
Assurance. If you give your all, you won’t ever fail me.
Reluctance. I will try.
“Start the Growth process.” He commanded, and Valor nodded from within his breast pocket, glowing slightly with green energy. In the meantime he’d slowed himself, letting the two Kleavor gun for him so the others could run farther away.
“[Icy Wind!]” Hazel shouted, and a wave of cold wind pushed past him, coalescing and slamming into both behemoths, causing them to crash to the ground. It did fuck all in terms of damage, but the sudden amounts of ice locking their joints together meant they were a lot slower.
“You couldn’t do that before!?” Felis shouted from up in front.
“I am panicking.” Hazel shouted back.
“Oh excellent use of Icy Wind.” Bezos commented, clapping his hands, “The slow effect will work wonders for guest Pr-Felis’s weak constitution.”
“Hey!”
“Please note that you are nearing a set of stairs.” The AI continued, ignoring his brother, “I will activate all automata, but I also believe the Repel Protocol will begin administering more…harsher treatment as you get closer and closer to the lab and dream wings.”
“Just get us to the security wings!”
“Of course. This way please!”
One final door and they were out, leading to a massive room, with large steps leading upwards that split off into two separate halls. Along the walls were a dozen statues each, their guns already primed as they watched on silently. It appeared the room housed an aquarium of sorts, though now the glass containers were empty, stale and empty water being the only thing Sirius could spot upon entry.
Oh, there were also the Unowns.
“They’re doing something again!” Felis shouted as they raced up the steps.
“Get ready for a fight!” He howled back.
The Unowns thankfully avoided meshing into larger shapes, choosing to instead form up into about 20 or so smaller shapes that splashed into the ground in front of them.
“Get rid of them!” Remi cried out, as his Croagunk dashed forward, stabbing into one with a glowing purple fist. It splattered into hundreds of smaller droplets, before slowly dissipating. The others wasted no time, both Pokémon and trainer attacking the moulds before they could take shape.
“I would advise backing away.” Bezos chimed in, “Repel [Lesser Fire] forms in 5…4…3…”
Sirius leapt away, as did the others as the grey matter suddenly formed into 8 Growlithe. A ping of fear from Valor as the small dogs gnashed their fangs together, fire sparking across their ivory teeth.
“They’re blocking our fucking exit! Aken–[Shadow Sneak!]”
Shadows danced around the room, wriggling with anticipation as Aken sneered, skewering the first through the heart as it rushed forward. The Growlithe stumbled, but continued its mad dash to Felis, who had to leap to the side in order to avoid being ripped in two.
A roar sounded from behind them, and the gates were smashed open, the two Kleavor bellowing in challenge as all Statues unleashed a hail of bullets towards them.
“Concentrate on one side!” Sirius ordered, “One single point, then we keep running!”
“You don’t have anything stronger, Bezos?” Hazel said.
“I do not know if I have access to higher weaponry.” The AI replied, “I could definitely check.”
“Arceus! Why the fuck didn’t you do that before!?”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Oh my fu-Snowrunt [Double Team!] Get some distance! Bezos get those weapons!”
“As you will.”
4 of the dozen Growlithe suddenly burst into flames, the aura of heat coalescing into distinct circular shapes before they rushed forward with sudden speed.
“[Mud Bomb!] Both Emily and Remi shouted. Emily’s Grimer began pulling piles of sludge from its body, while Croagunk’s cheeks ballooned with fluid, both of them firing viscous muddy liquid onto the ones closest to them. The bombs landed, breaking the momentum of the first two, and causing the second two to immediately change their trajectory. There was no time for a breather however, as the four from behind immediately let loose a torrent of fiery embers, the flecks bursting against the two poison Pokémon who cried out in pain.
“We can’t hold them all back!” Emily snarled, “Get some heat off of us!”
“You heard the woman!” Felis said, “Let loose Aken! [Night Shade!]”
“Snowrun stay back! Keep Double team up and pepper with [Icy Wind!]”
Ice and fire danced in the air in a melody of chaos, flecks of red and blue whirling around one another as if they were partners in a drug-fueled gala. Throughout it all, wraiths of pure darkness tore themselves away from Aken, hurtling through the air to get to the Growlithes, whose fangs sparked and flash as they dodged the shades, unleashing a torrent of fiery bullets.
“Valor, [Bullet Seed!]”
Instead of following the command however, Sirius instead felt a surge of dread rush over him. He glanced down at his pocket, to find his friend was frozen solid, eyes wide with visceral terror as he watched the flames roil and burn off the Growlithes.
Worry. Are you okay?
Fear. It will burn.
Concern. Valor! What’s wrong?
Fear. It all turns to ash.
Distress. Valor!
FEAR. THEY ALL BURN
Sirius let out a gasp, collapsing to his knees as the pressure in his mind gave way to a new tyrant, this one coming from Valor of all people. It was akin to the presence he felt back at headquarters, but instead of the raging, burning anger he felt before, now came a tidal wave of fear. As if he stood at the foot of a mountain born to destroy him, an utter sense of helplessness clawed its way through his mind. Images of a fire, of lost friends, of lost homes etched themselves into his mind. In his muddied state, he didn’t see the Growlithe rushing towards him, nor the hand that reached out to defend him.
“Argh!” A scream went up, and as Arun fell to the side, his blood went cold.
Felis–Pranav had pushed him out of the way, tackling the brunt of a Growlithe’s flame wheel. The impact sent them both rolling onto the floor in a mess of teeth and limbs, Pranav twisting his body as the Pokémon was flung off to the side, but the damage had been done. Galactic uniforms were built to withstand elemental attacks, but where the fangs had pierced the fire burned, ugly scorch marks marring Pran’s bronze skin.
“NO!” Arun howled, dashing to him.
Pran was writhing on the ground as he got to him, clutching at his wounds with a stream of curses flying from his mouth. Aken was by his side immediately, but the sudden loss of his night shade attacks forced Emily to retreat to Hazel, the two throwing out a pair of Zubats to give themselves more cover.
“Use the Burn heal!” Remi said, as both him and Croagunk stepped towards them. The frog Pokémon was a blur of limbs, hurtling Mud Bomb after Mud Bomb as the Growlithes approached, any that got too close were immediately confronted by quick Poison Jabs.
Arun wasted no time throwing his messenger bag to the ground and shifting through its pockets. He grabbed the green bottle, pressing down and being generous with its dosage as it sprayed over Pranav’s wounds. The effect was almost instant, charred skin turning almost pink as it was suddenly given life once again. His brother let out a sigh of relief, but that only lasted for a moment as they realized they were still trapped.
Worse, they were split up.
“Grimer, [Mudbomb], Zubat stay back and keep using [Supersonic!]” Emily ordered, backing up slowly as her Grimer ripped more and more pieces of itself to keep the Growlithe at bay. Hazel was by her side, directing Snowrunt to stop them from getting any good hits in, with his own Zubat flying back and forth with poison stings and supersonics.
“Help them.” Pranav managed to grit out.
Surprise replaced the worry in Arun’s gut. There was concern in his brother’s eyes, concern directed at Hazel, Emily, and hell, even Remi. Arun took his Pokeball out, glancing down at the Pokémon in his pocket. He sent forward a wave of warmth and comfort to the little thing, knocking him out of his cycle of fear. Valor’s eyes were wide, looking at him with surprise, Arun simply returned his look with a nod of understanding. He returned his Pokémon, his friend. Fear was a shackle most did not even know held them back, he would never force Valor to fight a battle he didn’t have to.
No. A fight for survival was his game.
Time slowed as Arun took in everything around him. Croagunk was being overrun, two of the Growlithe had bitten into his arms, holding them down as a third charged into him, burning with an aura of fire. A fourth prowled the outskirts, flames dancing along its maw as it waited for an opening. Remi was barking commands, but even then he appeared concerned about his partner being overrun, glancing around for any sort of solution. Emily and Hazel were being pushed back, but they held, they were safe at the moment.
He burst into action, muscles exploding as he went from standing to a dead sprint. He reached Croagunk first, kicking the flame-wheeled Growlithe before it could reach the frog Pokémon. Fire splashed harmlessly against the Galactic uniform as it was sent sprawling across the ground, knocked out of its attack.
Arun didn’t waste any time, reaching the downed Pokémon before it could reorient itself. One hand grabbed the back of its head, the other by its scruff as he hefted it into the air, before repeatedly smashing its jaw into the rails, the opulent gold being stained by the vibrant red of its blood.
“[Revenge!]”
Croagunk snarled, bronze energy forming from where the two Growlithe held him down. With supernatural strength he hefted them both up, before smashing them into the ground, punching downwards repeatedly. The fourth–seeing it’s opening readied itself to release an Ember attack.
“[Confuse Ray!]”
The embers exploded in the Growlithe’s mouth, the Pokémon hacking and coughing in pain as all of a sudden Aken was there, dancing around with shadows and wraiths.
Arun in the meantime, had abandoned his Growlithe, tossing it into where the Kleavor fought, letting bullets rip it to pieces before rushing to Hazel and Emily. There was no strategy, no plan, that was Pran’s game. To Arun, there was only violence. Violence beaten into him through years of fending for himself, tempered by the instinct that came with it.
Body slamming a Supersonic’d Growlithe, he pressed a knee into its throat before it could do anything else, his fists rained down with rhythmic succession. To his annoyance it didn’t do much in terms of damage, the Pokémon being too resilient for normal attacks.
It did give Hazel and Emily some space to move however.
With it suddenly being a 3 v 4, two Zubats harried the farthest of the two Growlithe, their confused states causing them to deal more damage to each other than anyone else. Grimer–ecstatic that it only had one to deal with–lunged forward. The Growlithe opened it’s jaws to let loose a torrent of fire, but that was a mistake. Before it could release the attack, the sludge Pokémon shoved it’s whole arm into it’s enemies open maw, pushing more and more of it’s fluid down the Growlithe’s throat.
Instinct caused the fire Pokémon to bite down, ripping Grimer’s arm from its body, but the damage was done. The Growlithe hacked and coughed, flecks of purple and red blood corrupting the pristine floors. With one final, dying cry, it collapsed, before dissipating into dying Unowns.
THOOOM!
Two impacts shook the ground, and with horror, Arun realized they’d taken too long. The Kleavor were here, and worse, they’d split him from his brother. Remi and Pranav were on the west wing, while Hazel, Emily, and him were on the East.
What should he do? How did he get to Pran? He had to save him, to protect him. He promised. He swore–
“RUN!” Hazel shouted, grabbing him by his shoulder and dragging him towards the next hall.
“No! My brother–!”
“Won’t fucking see you if you’re dead! Let’s move!”
He gave one last glance at his brother, who was shouting something at Bezos, before turning to nod at him, dashing the other way with Remi pushing him along. Another tug at his arm and he was following Hazel, cursing the Kleavor that thundered after them.
“Hello!” Bezos said cheerily. “It appears you’ve been split up.”
“What about the others?” Emily said, returning Grimer and Zubat to their balls.
“Pr-Felis has ordered me to split into two instances, I am Bezos-B, leading you to the Security Wing on the East side.”
Nobody had any other questions, or perhaps they couldn’t think of any with the angry Kleavor chasing after them. The guns had done their work, with the guardian’s skin looking chipped and jagged from all sides. Arun could smell the heavy scent of blood in the air, and glancing back he could see more than a dozen bullets had managed to actually pierce its rocky exterior, revealing the pulsing, bleeding flesh within.
That didn’t make it any less dangerous.
An axe whooshed so close to his neck he could feel the wind cut slightly into his hair. He pushed his legs even harder, forcing himself to go into overdrive as more and more speed was added into their sprint. They passed by more and more halls, gardens with strange fruit growing from them, altars dedicated to foreign pantheons, massive canvases that appeared to move as they did, as if almost alive. But they had no time to admire the scenery, not with what stood in front of them.
“Bezos open that fucking door!” Hazel ordered, pointing wildly at the one door that was labelled “MARS: SECURITY WING D-E”
“One moment.” Bezos said, before his eyes went wide, “I can’t open it!”
“WHAT!?”
“I…something’s wrong. This doesn't make sense. Why is everything so broken? What–” His head spazzed out, glitching and breaking, a multitude of voices screaming out loud. “Wh-where am I? Why can’t I feel any–oh…oh god they did it. No, no nononononono-”
“Bezos!” Hazel shouted, “Door!”
“NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! LET ME DIE! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME, YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME BEH-NO! NOT AGAI-”
Violet light exploded out of Bezos’s head, and Bezos-B shattered into a thousand particles of purple light, disappearing completely.
“No!” Hazel cursed, “Get your Pokémon out! We have to break that door down!”
Ems let loose her mons, screaming at them to do everything to break the door down as Hazel followed suit. Arun spun in place, sprinting forwards into the Kleavor. He had to buy time, if they failed here he wouldn’t see Pran again, and he couldn’t let that happen.
The beast swung a massive axe towards him, and Arun ducked, sliding underneath its feet and retaliating by planting a foot into its back. It did nothing but annoy the creature, but that got it focused on him. Great, now he just had to hold out.
No...he could do better than that.
“I could kill it.” He thought to himself, dancing backwards and away from the wild swings, “It’s slower than before, it has exposed flesh. I can reach Pran, what if his path is also blocked? I need to kill it. Do it Arun, help him.”
There was one spot, just above its right eye where carapace was peeled away, revealing oozing and bleeding skin. He could do it, he could hit it there, daze it and blind it, then go for the kill after it was downed.
Arun exploded forward once more, intent on destroying one of the creature’s eyes. Obsidian axes flew with astonishing speed, and he barely managed to dodge, one managing to shave off skin on his left shoulder. He grunted through the pain, leaping onto its knee, and using the leverage to jump even higher, until he was hovering over the Kleavor.
“You’re mine!” He thought viciously, readying a punch. He got no chance to finish it off however, as all of a sudden the Pokémon brought its head forward, smashing it into Arun’s face. He fell backwards, crashing into the ground.
“Kh-ack!” He wheezed, as a leg kicked out, cracking into his chest. He was sent flying backwards, feeling the snap as his rib bones shattered on impact, leaving him sprawling on the floor. Pain overtook his senses as his vision went blurry. Distantly, he could hear Hazel or Emily calling his names, but all he could see was the large form of Kleavor slowly approaching his downed form.
“Shit…no not yet…” Arun whispered, struggling to stand, “Get up…get up you can do it.”
He didn't know whether he should have been grateful or worried that he blacked out before the axe descended.