Three more days of trudging over rocks and mud passed. Compared to the past few days, it was uneventful. One smaller, muddier Mystery Dungeon dubbed ‘Mudslide Valley’ by Terez, evermore wretched communes, and a surprising lack of Soldier encounters. Sure, an awful amount of lights glistered in the dark when they tried to sleep, but thus far nothing had come of it..
They passed through tunnels nature had no hand in creating, and ruined villages that no soul had passed through in years. Dusty, crawling with bugs, nothing but a hollow echo of what once was. One village suspiciously reminded of Greenfield; a small stream snaked through the stony rubble and overgrown roads. George felt sad and weirded out by the ruins. It was like a flower in bloom that had been ripped from the ground.
The vegetation was growing thicker along the way. Rocks became covered in moss and ivy, the dirt grew less coarse and grassier, and the heat became just a smidge easier to manage, which George was thankful for, Blitzer hadn’t noticed, and Skal and Terez were indifferent to.
In the afternoon hours of the third day since they had entered the Kronn, they broke off the path into another dreary stretch. The grass and vegetation came to a sudden halt. Turns out the Kronn had one last barrier of plain dirt and rocks left. Terez directed everyone towards the dirt plains up ahead with a psychic impulse.
“It won’t be long now. We’re almost at the border of Drasal.”
George stood up on his toes. “All I see is more rocks,” he said. “Are you sure?”
The Gardevoir nodded. “Oh yes. The primeval forests are not far from here. We’ll find shelter there. Safety.” She turned her head towards George. ”And you, Othersider, will have much to discover.”
George raised an eye. “What do you mean, exactly?” ‘ She sounds incredibly aggressive over this whole safe haven. ’
Terez’ gaze turned stern. “The truth behind all this. Why you are on the run. What we are here for… why you were brought to this world to begin with. They’re all related.”
The Oshawott’s ears went flat against his head. “I never asked for this.”
“Indeed, you did not,” Terez replied. “But the gods asked for you. It is not wise to disobey them.”
“Aaaalright, ‘s lot of heavy crap outta nowhere, ya know?” Skal flicked his head backwards, his metal body rattling like knight’s armour. “C’mon, no need to get all negative about it. ‘Tis fun stuff, kiddo. Ya’ll see.”
Blitzer straightened himself out. “What kind of fun are we talking about?”
Skal grinned as if he’d been waiting for that question to get asked. “Training, kid! Ya got yer fire, Othersider’s got his lil weapon and water, gotta know how to use ‘em! How to beat the crap outta some Soldiers, for one.”
“Say no more,” Blitzer said with a smile and a clenched fist. “Getting revenge is fun enough! Anything else is a bonus!”
“Haha, ye got some energy, kid!” Skal pointed a claw at Blitzer’s flaring tail. “Ye should’ve been at base a year ago!”
“What he said,” Terez deadpanned. A few more wrinkles under her eyes and she’d pass out. George’s tongue went into his cheek.
‘I guess this is normal for her, isn’t it. Well, she’d hear it from Skal alone, now Blitzer’s doing it too. Can’t say I blame him, even though it’s a little scary. Poor guy’s been through too much.’
Onwards they went, over the dirt sea to Drasal. Versus the rest of the Kronn, it was nothing. The hills weren’t as steep, the crags not as deep, and the ferals fled before eye contact. Doubt crept up on George like a leak from a ceiling, however, dripping ice cold water into his fur. He brushed it off for now. Terez would surely raise the alarm if something was off, she had a knack for recognising danger.
Clouds went across the blue yonder, growing thicker in the distance before tapering off at the edge of the horizon. Behind those clouds stood a vast green mountain, parts dark and gloomy, others glowing with the sunlight. An unending sea of trees that was suddenly cut off by the emptiness of the Kronn. Green became brown, and vice versa, as if someone had taken a flamethrower to everything at the edge.
Further in the mist, the outline of other hills was visible. The Drasal Mountains, as Terez and Skal called them. They were just a splotch on the map of Eravate, isolated on the eastern edge of the continent. Civilisation had never come to the mountains; there were no towns, villages, roads or anything of the sort to be found.
Little was known about Drasal, other than a few rivers finding their origin there. This lack of knowledge and isolation hadn’t gone unnoticed by the Alliance. That’s why their base was here. Deep below the jungles of Drasal, beyond the gods’ sight, with no pesky soldiers getting in their way, as Skal would say.
There was no map of Drasal, and no roads through. Anyone hiding from the Soldiers would find refuge here, provided they found a way to survive these primeval forests. Blitzer asked many questions about this, to which he was only told to be patient. The answer would come soon enough.
Halfway across the plain, the doubt dripping on George’s fur intensified to a trickle. The cold and nerves reached his neck and were spreading through his body. The idea that all wasn’t rosy was growing in his head. Something wasn’t right. Whether either black scarf would accept that though, he wasn’t sure. Both were adamant about everything they had told. He sucked in a breath through gritted teeth.
“Is it really that safe? You said there’s no food and ferals everywhere.”
To this, Skal only laughed. “Never said anythin’ about no trahble, kiddo. Ferals always suck, but we’re mean bastards! Hardened enuff to swat ‘em all like bugs! Food? Heh, got that all figured out too. Been there for a loooong time now, kid. We know what we’re doin’.”
George sighed. “Alright, then. I’d love to see all of this, actually. How you’re keeping a huge base afloat when there’s no easy food around, I don’t get.”
“Yeah, it’s really interesting! I want to see more myself!” Blitzer said right after, his tail sparking with excitement.
Skal instantly put his claws up upon seeing flame. “Whoa, easy now, kid. Don’t want to start a fire with that right there!”
Blitzer blushed. “Oh. Sorry, it’s just, heheh…”
“Hah, Drasal don’t burn that easily,” Skal chortled back.
Spirits were high as they continued to cross the final stretch, and it seemed like a day with nary a worry on the horizon. That’s what the eye saw. That’s what the nose smelled, what the ears heard and the tongue tasted.
But what George was feeling flew in the face of all The trickling from the gutter intensified from drizzle to downpour. Something in the air was prickling him in all the wrong ways. What exactly wasn’t clear, but it felt domineering. Crushing. As if a giant was standing in front of George wielding a massive club, ready to smash him into the mud. He felt so, so very small.
Drasal was getting closer all the while. George forced himself to endure. It couldn’t mean anything in particular, could it?. Terez hadn’t spotted anything yet. She would know if anything was off, but she hadn’t said a word. All she was busying herself with was the clouds, ignoring the Aggron right next to her.
‘Come on George, it’s just nothing. You don’t have a sixth sense, that’s ridiculous. You’re not special, you never were special, you never will be special…’
In spite of his own thoughts, George squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. The feeling stirred and boiled. He gritted harder, pinched himself, pressed a toe against a pebble, yanked a few hairs out his fur. That was real pain, not this nondescript nonsense he felt. Nothing was wrong. Right?
No. Everything always had a reason for happening, hard as it was to understand. Even that which couldn’t be explained. He never knew why the headmistress hated him so, why the others ganged up on him, why his parents never returned, but there had to be a reason why. There had to be a reason.
Two minutes removed from the forests, George looked at Terez once more. She’d have noticed what was off with him now, wouldn’t she? Maybe he had gotten sick, maybe it was stress, maybe the stink of spices had finally cracked him like an egg, either way she would have figured it out by now. She’d be looking at him, not merely passing a glance like she just did. Her eyes were fixated on the sky. Just like George’s were.
And would be again. For the downpour of doubt intensified into a waterfall crashing down. He felt it everywhere now. His eyes flew skywards once more. A voice inside of him was screaming out loud that danger was approaching fast. It was no ordinary instinct, but George couldn’t deny it. He believed it fully now.
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“Someone’s coming, I can feel someone’s coming!”
Blitzer turned his head. “Huh? What do you-”
Terez’ eyes took on a blue glow as her hands filled with psychic energy. “He’s right, get ready! This is not a drill!”
In the time it took to stomp, Skal traced where George and Terez were looking and prepared accordingly. He crushed a rock with a foot as he got ahead of the rest, ready from head to toe to tail to smash whatever was coming into bits. Terez held her energy steady. George’s water simmered. Blitzer grimaced, hissed, then got just in front of George to shield him, just as something burst from the clouds in the distance.
That something was rushing towards them like lightning. It was a Pokemon blazing through the air like a jet, its dark blue scales blocking light. Two fins sliced through the air in their path, another rose from the creature’s back. It grew and grew, red appeared on its belly, and front and center rested a face whose gaze George knew far, far too well. The last face he wanted to see.
“G-g-g-Garchomp!! It’s that Garchomp-”
George winced as the Pokemon slammed into the ground, then sliced its way through the dust thrown up from the landing. He took his arms away from his face, and was left speechless. The Garchomp stood ready to strike, not a scratch to be seen, glaring straight through Skal and Terez. Blitzer backed off to George’s side, grimacing all the while.
A deathlike silence haunted the air. No one dared break it. The Garchomp spat at the ground. Skal growled. Terez anxiously waited. The only constant was the rapid rhythm of Blitzer’s breath. Time had slowed to a crawl.
It wasn’t until the wind blew through everyone’s scarves that someone broke the silence. It was the attacker.
“I will give you one chance. Either you let that boy go and come with me, or I’ll have to pry him from your hands myself.”
The voice was unmistakably feminine. Without a shadow of a doubt, the same voice that spoke in the village. The same beast that ripped through the store. It was her. And she was here for him. She was the reason they were on the run.
His blood ran cold at the thought of what this monster wanted to do to him. It had been worth destroying Greenfield over, worth hurting Blitzer and his parents over, and so much else he wished he could forget. Dread overtook him. Dread of those teeth, those talons, those fins, every part of her screamed apex predator. She’d prey on him as a human, let alone now at snack size.
Energy circled through the air around Terez. “Gareda Ironhide. Only you could be so bold.”
The Garchomp spat beside herself. “Hmph. Call me whatever you want, show whatever emotions you have. I don’t care. You’re giving me the boy. Now.”
Skal stomped one fist into an open palm. “Not a chance, ya wretch. We know what your game is.”
“And I know what yours is. Take the human and indoctrinate him. Steal his soul-”
Terez’s arm shot forward. “You got a lot of nerve calling us soul stealers, you heartless, half feral mongrel. You’ve torn through everyone not on your side with no mercy.. Now you wish to add children to that list.”
“Is that the best insult you’ve got to say?” The Garchomp scoffed. “Nothing I haven’t heard before.”
“Monster, monster!!” Blitzer suddenly roared. “We’re not goiing anywhere, but you are! You’re going down!”
Gareda shot a glare at him. “Quiet, Char. Grown ups are talking here. Not that Chars ever grow up.”
“We’re done talking here,” Terez said. “One warning. Back off, right this second, or else.”
Skal growled out a chuckle. “Been waitin’ for this day for way too long. I’ll have a lotta fun snappin’ yer bones, chompie!” He once again slammed his fist into an open palm. Gareda’s eyes sharpened to a knife’s edge in response.
“So be it then.”
Without warning, the Garchomp slammed her talon in the ground. The earth cried out in pain, quaking spreading like wildfire from impact to Skal’s feet. The ground under him cracking open, the iron giant was thrown off of his battle stance and brought onto his knees. He sparsely had the time to recover before the Garchomp rushed at him, her talons glowing like molten earth.
The quaking had caught Blitzer off guard as well; he’d fallen over. George managed to keep himself steady, but feared the worst if he moved. Terez had managed to avoid getting caught in the quake, her legs having left the ground as she launched a ball of pinkish energy at the charging Garchomp. It glittered as it flew, headed straight for its target. The Garchomp grounded to a halt, threw a fin up and struck out at the dirt with the other.
Just as Skal got off the ground, the earth in front of him burst like a bubble. Chunks of dirt spattered across his face, searing into his metal like magma. Skal doubled over backwards, roaring out in pain. George cried out in horror. She had flicked the iron titan away like a speck of dust.
“S-Skal?!” ‘Wh-what just happened?!’
Gareda’s onslaught wasn’t about to end there. Terez was flicking energy at her left and right, blast after blast of glittery, lunar energy, then shadows. She reached out with her hand, squeezing it at the Garchomp while putting space between her. The Garchomp reeled from the blasts coming her way, her fins jittering from the constant pressure. She growled, then roared so loud as to shake the trees nearby. George shielded his ears and grimaced; Blitzer followed him with a scream..
“Wh-what is she… aaah!”
Blitzer’s panic exploded as Gareda ran forward slashing. The blue beast shrugged off the pain coming her way, slashing the energy to pieces with swift strikes from her scythe like arms. Terez rapid fired shadow after shadow, beam after beam, even a burst of electricty crackled from her hand. Gareda’s pupils shrank like those of a killer. Step by step, strike by strike, energy faltered, she advanced.
Terez’ eyes froze. Gareda took off, sprinting at her with a lethal purple glow coming off her talons. “TEREZ! Watch out!!” George shouted. That’s all he could do, stand and shout. But Terez remained where she was, as Gareda was about to bring all her might down upon her neck. George’s eyes squeezed themselves shut.
‘Oh god… oh god!!!’
“HEY! Get off, get off you little bastard, GET OFF!”
George creaked an eye open. Terez was nowhere to be seen. Instead, right where she once was stood Gareda, beating and shoving the Charmeleon clamped down on her shoulder.
“b-Blitzer!” George ran a few steps forwards before stopping dead in his tracks. Blitzer put up a good struggle, clawing and biting at the beast as best he could. George’s eyes beamed. For a brief moment, he had just a sliver of hope that Blitzer would manage. That he’d be saved. That he wouldn’t have to look death in the eye.
Eventually, Gareda elbowed Blitzer square in the chest. The air shot out his lungs, making his grip falter. Gareda took him and threw him away like garbage with a wild sway of her tail Blitzer screamed just as he hit the ground. He bounced, hit several rocks, then rolled to a stop, coughing all the while.
In a panic, George’s eyes went back and forth over the area. No one was around, but himself and the bloodthirsty Garchomp frowning at him. She started walking towards him, fins lowered. George panted. She was gaining ground. This wasn’t happening. No no no, this wasn’t happening. Something hard pressed against his back. A rock. He glanced backwards. The rock was too tall to climb over. He wasn’t moving anymore. He couldn’t feel himself breathing anymore, despite gasping for air. Horror took over at the sight of his impending doom. His demise. To think it would end this way. Not peaceful, but torn apart by a beast from his worst nightmares. She was only a few strides away when-
“NGH!”
A steel fist hooked around Gareda and slammed straight into her side. “I don’t die so easily!” Skal growled, then charged after Gareda as she stumbled back, body slamming straight into her. She roared and fell, Skal going down with her. He’d wrapped his arms around the monster.
But as fate would have it, one of his shoulder spikes got wedged in between a crack in the rocks. Try as he might, he couldn’t get himself loose.
And Gareda, much to George’s fear, had no such problems. She got up without a hassle, reeled her head back. Her throat expanded as flames burst out from her jaws, searing through the air straight towards Skal’s head.
As the flames ran out, Skal growled in an ominous tone. His arms had caught the brunt of the flames. He lashed out at the ground between himself and Gareda, smashing a crater into the dirt from which a quake spread. Gareda scowled as she struggled to keep balance. George waited with bated breath. Light at the end of the tunnel. This might’ve been it, it looked like she was about to fall over.
But no. She jumped like she’d been standing on a spring the whole time, and soared over Skal and George like a raptor swooping down. Her talons were spread; she landed a stone’s throw removed from George, the dirt faltering and cracking where she’d stood. George stumbled away, tripped over another rock. Some water spilled from his mouth, and left a cold, very cold taste behind.
George rolled onto his back. For a split second, he mistook his scalchop pressing into his skin for something much worse, but there was no Gareda looming overhead. No, she had rushed away over a wide crack in the ground, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. He jumped to his feet. In the distance, the Garchomp was slashing away at Terez with both talons, one talon purple, the other brimming with an evil, ghostly energy. Terez forcefully shifted away from each slash, a blue trail left in her wake.
The Oshawott shook his head and ran through the dust. They were losing badly. He had to do something.
‘Where’s Blitzer? Did she… no, she couldn’t have. She can’t have-’
Energy splashed into the ground all around as George came back out the cloud, coughing a mouthful up. Right before him, Terez strafed the blue beast with her telekinetic powers, dodging her attacks while returning fire. The atmosphere had been enchanted by a force from ages long past. George felt the rocks being lifted from the ground, then pushed with dazzling speeds towards the Garchomp.
Even these she slashed her way through, but she wasn’t hitting back. Flames like a blowtorch struck into her other arm from a source unknown. George splashed his hands with water before climbing on top of a nearby rock. To his elation, a Charmeleon was at the other end, struggling to keep an eye open, but still standing.
‘Yes, yes!!’
They had her, they almost had her. Just a little more! Stomping sounds came past George. Right away he knew who it was. Skal had broken free. George pumped his fist. All the tension was out his system, this was-
“Grr!”
The Garchomp’s head turned and locked with George’s eyes. With blazing speed, the arm keeping Blitzer’s flames at bay went to the ground. The force was quick and calculated; Gareda flew backwards towards George, escaping a battering ram of a punch from Skal in the process. The air in front of George was slashed apart, the dust scattering to the winds. A talon was held steady right before his face.
“Little boy, I’m getting you out of here. Forget these fools.”
Gareda shot a glance towards George. It was full of repressed venom. The three others approached. The Garchomp struck beside herself with both arms.
“OI! Don’t ya dare!!”
“Back off, puppets. You’ve already lost.”
“GEORGE! NO!”
Blitzer tried charging ahead; Terez held him back. A terrified, shivering George watched on as the Charmeleon clawed against the psychic forces holding him in place, crying and screaming the same name again and again. Neither black scarf budged. They were held in place by the hawkish stare coming their way, courtesy of Gareda.
The green scarfed Garchomp had her talons ready for any attacks coming her way. The hits she’d taken hadn’t left a scratch. Not a scale on her body was out of place. Skal and Terez both looked exhausted, Skal wobbling like a strong wind could knock him out. And she had her eyes on all three combatants, prepared and well for anything they might try.
“We’re leaving. This world has no need for filth like you. Consider yourselves lucky I won’t be killing you today.”
George was struck deep as those words reached his ears. She was taking him. And as far as he was concerned, she was going to kill him too. Not today, no, only after horrors unimaginable to the human mind had been inflicted upon him. His eyes lit up. Blitzer’s eyes lit up at the same time.
But Blitzer was being held back. Tears were welling up in his eyes. Tears of bitter loss. The same tears he’d shed for his parents. George felt his sorrow. That same horror, which would only grow and crush his soul in the end. But George’s own sorrow wasn’t long for this world. It quickly morphed into rage. A cold, bitter rage at what this monster was about to inflict upon this world. Upon Blitzer. Upon him.
As if a sword had been plunged into its gut, the fear in George vanished. He pulled on the watery energy in his body, but something changed. The energy wasn’t just coming out his stomach, the chill in his back was feeding into it. No, his entire body was transforming the energy into something cold, bitter.
But George didn’t stop. He opened his mouth, and in a split second, a crystalline blue trail shot from his mouth like a bullet.
“GraaAAAAAAAGH!!!”
The beast was hit in the back of her head. She fell straight down towards the dirt, panting, then growling. A psychic pressure suddenly took the air surrounding her and George in its grasp. Neither managed to move on their own will. George kicked his legs around as he found himself floating. Confused, he looked ahead. Terez was there, eyes glowing blue, one hand reaching out to him. A wave of relief came over him as the Gardevoir put him down at her feet.
Gareda growled, slamming her talons into the dirt with the same rock technique she’d used to get up earlier. This time, her efforts were bearing no fruit. She fought and struggled, yet Terez held her pinned in place, much to Blitzer’s elation. All the fear had drained from the Charmeleon’s face. He looked like a cocky onlooker at a boxing match, cheering away as his guy was beating the other to a pulp.
Not to be outdone, Skal stomped on the ground, sending another crack spreading across the broken landscape left behind in the fight. A gash was torn in between Gareda and the others. George looked over his shoulder; the path to Drasal was open. Before George or Blitzer could mention it, Terez took charge.
“Enough time wasted here, time to get moving!”
With a wave, the Gardevoir conjured the image of a rock where they were standing, before turning to run. The others had already taken off into the woods. Skal was at the front, panting heavily. Blitzer was right after him, continuously looking over his shoulder to George. Finally, Terez floated her way backwards, trying to hold Gareda in place for as long as she could. But her grip was weakening, and Gareda was catching on. She slashed at the air keeping her bound.
“I’ll tear you apart once I get my claws on you! My BARE CLAWS!”
The moment Terez let go, she conjured a tangled grove in between herself and the edge of the Kronn. She wasted no time in catching up. George looked back over his shoulder. A confident smile greeted him.
“Don’t worry. We won’t be seeing her again for a while.”