Gareda rested on her knees, arms crossed to try and regain her composure. Her tail laid over a gash torn into the earth from her fight with the enemy. The vast forests of Drasal stood in front of her. The redoubt of the Alliance, scourge of all civilization. She scowled at the thought of what those devils were up to now, forming unholy plans and bonds, and now infecting the mind of that boy.

She had him. She really had him. One good stomp and she’d have sent them plummeting into the jaws of death. The boy, the Othersider, he’d have the wool pulled from his eyes at last. But she failed.

“Grrrrhhgh!”

A growl shot out of Gareda’s throat as the injury on the back of her head flared up. The Oshawott had gotten her good with Ice. Her one major weakness. Had he been stronger, she’d have one hell of a problem on her hands.

“Grr!” The Garchomp lashed out at a tall patch of grass. Her fin went straight through, severing the blades and scattering them to the winds. Growling, she slashed and slashed, pretending to see a far more graphic scene in front of her.

‘Terez… you hag, you WITCH! I swear to lord Arceus almighty…! I’ll chop her hair off right to the scalp! Give her something to really cry about! Give the boy something to laugh at! If she hasn’t ripped that out of him already!’

Strike by strike, the blades of grass were chopped to bits. Gareda, unsatisfied and hurting, struck straight into the earth and yanked the roots of the grass out, then flung them across the area, before ravaging the earth the grass inhabited with all four limbs. It was pure carnage fueled by earth energy. By the end, it looked as if a meteorite had slammed into the earth. Not even a Tyranitar would go that far. Tyranitar had the decency to level the terrain around properly.

Gareda staggered back and fell back on her knees, the spikes on her legs digging into the ears as a result. Her sensors picked up two presences approaching from behind. Two familiar presences.

“S-sweet Arceus almighty! Gareda, what happened to you? Are you alright?!”

Footsteps that were unmistakably Luffy’s approached, accompanied by the soft rustle of her tail flame. Both were audible enough, but the Garchomp had a hard time hearing either. The ice had struck like a truck, and concentrating on sounds was hard because of it.. If not for her sensors being ever sharp, both Luffy and Vli would’ve snuck up on her.

“My Lord! You seem very injured!”

Gareda growled as she catched the saliva dribbling out of her mouth. ‘You don’t say…’ “How far out are the medics from here?”

“They should not be so far,”. Vli said. “As long as everyone has stuck to their orders, we should be in luck. I can scout ahead if that suits you, my lord.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Gareda squinted her eyes, then squeezed them shut altogether as Vli took off with heavy wing beats, his shrill, high pitched voice echoing through the air in search of a medic.

“...mmmrrrrmph!”

“Gareda? Gareda?? Stay strong, please, stay strong…” Luffy grasped onto one of Gareda’s arms with both claws. Her eyes were watering. “Please, don’t leave me now, please-”

“I’ll be alright, damn it!” Gareda shoved Luffy away, much to the Magmar’s surprise, who squeamed as she was knocked back.

Gareda had acted on instinct, her teeth unknowingly bared and prepared to take a chunk out of someone. The anger was short lived as she noticed Luffy’s now horrified face. Realising what she’d done, she shook her head in disappointment. “Egh, sorry about that.”

“Gareda, I-”

“It’s my fault,” the Garchomp replied, dusting off her arms while stalling for an excuse. ”You know Luffy, when someone puts a knife in your back while you were on the verge of dragging them out the gates of hell, do you know how much anger that creates in somebody?”

“A-a lot,” Luffy whispered. Gareda sighed.

“Enough to go over the edge as I just did. That’s a pathetic, worthless excuse, of course, and I’d have taken anyone who tried to use it against me down a peg or ten.” The Garchomp looked out over the plain. “But I was weak. That’s all there is to it.”

The dragon breathed in deep as she watched the dust sweep over the broken expanse in the distance. Evidently the battle had been grander than she had felt in the heat of it. Or rather, it was not the first here in recent memory. Given the Alliance’s presence in this area, it made sense. She exhaled, wincing from the cold pain in the back of her head.

‘They’re never giving up, are they? Just like wild Beedrill. Nothing short of death or glory, all for that wretched prince and his plans. Their plans.’

“U-um, Gareda.”

“Yes, Luffy?”

“Do you mind if I uh, if I held your arm again?”

It wasn’t until now that Gareda’s head turned to look Luffy in the eyes. “Why? Is that really necessary?”

“Well, um, I wanted to do it for your sake. You… look like you could use a hug,” Luffy said, the flames on her head cautiously twirling around each other as she tapped her claws against one another.

That was a lie. Gareda could tell she was attempting to comfort herself, both the body language and her sensory organs told the whole story. Rather than brush it off, however, Gareda had but a soft sigh to give. Fixing what she had broken was basic decency.

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“Fine by me. Come over here.”

Luffy was cautious in her approach at first. After getting shoved aside, Gareda couldn’t blame her. The snide, awkward look Gareda was unwittingly giving didn’t help either, leaving her wondering what the hold up was. Luffy had asked for it, Gareda had said yes. Had things been broken that badly?

Halfway to her, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Luffy sped up, then dropped to her knees and slid the rest of the way over, getting a mild rise out of Gareda in the process. The surprise didn’t last long. Luffy looked like a lost child almost, her eyes pleading with the Garchomp for comfort, who leaned her head backwards a little.

Though she wasn’t fond of it, Gareda obliged and put out her arm. Two claws grabbed onto her. The sensation was off putting. As if chains were wrapped around her arms. For once she was the one under arrest. Except this was warm, and chains were cold. Gareda shifted her teeth.

‘Just stay put for a while, she’ll have had her fill soon enough. For today at least.’

Gareda shut her eyes. One minute at most was all she had to endure. Half of that minute went by without much action. Long enough for Gareda to let her guard down. It was like a bandage: Let it do its thing, then take it back off.

So Gareda’s train of thought went, until said plaster leaned right up against the side of her head with the top of her beak. In the blink of an eye, Gareda shifted further backwards, the air rushing out her lungs from her injuries reacting.

“Agh, Hey! Did I ever give you permission to get that close?!”

Luffy’s grip loosened a little as the Magmar also backed away. “S-sorry about that, Gareda. You’re very comforting to me, that’s all.”

“‘Comforting’?” Gareda’s mouth hung open, half confused, half disgusted. ‘Only baby Gible would tell a Garchomp that! And they wouldn’t even tell me!’

“Yes. You make me feel safe, somehow,” Luffy said. Gareda nervously eyed her from as large a distance as was possible. They were still sitting next to each other. In fact, Luffy’s tail was laid over Gareda’s, and not just the tip, either.

‘How did I not…? Why is she even… what? Only people who’d say that are blood related to me. Even the neighbours didn’t say that.’

“I uh, I didn’t say anything weird, did I?” Luffy asked in a pleading tone. Gareda grimaced.

“You very much did.”

“O-oh…” Luffy lowered her head. “I’ll stop then, if you-”

“No no no, don’t!” Gareda desperately gestured with her free arm. “Err, rather, hold onto me for longer if you want.”

“S-sure.”

She didn’t like to admit it, but Gareda felt at peace from Luffy’s grip. Something about her touch was right.. Her sensors had calmed too. If anything, they were comforting her as well, rather than keeping her on high alert. Nothing about this was rational. This was pure instinct talking. But why?

Gareda tilted her head up. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. She and Luffy had known each other for a while now. Partners in crime, sisters in war; the appropriate terminology escaped her, but she knew what it meant, especially with the rhythm of her heart having sped up. After so long, perhaps she and her had become friends. This is what friends did for each other. Comforting when times were bad. Didn’t friends do that?

“Are you feeling better?” Luffy asked.

“Somewhat. You have my thanks for that,” Gareda asked.

“That’s wonderful,” Luffy whispered. The wave of relief passing through her hadn’t escaped Gareda’s notice.

“Seems that it has helped you a lot as well.”

“Oh.” Luffy blushed. “It’s just, um, I enjoy your company. Deep down, under all that anger is someone I can trust. Someone who cares.”

Gareda looked away. Her eyes were half happy, half full of sadness. Not what a professional should be caught with. “Well, thank you. It’s appreciated.” ‘Am I really that angry? Stern, yes, that’s how it should be, but angry? No.’

“If you can be happy, then I can be happy. Alright? I, uh…”

Having broken the spell on her eyes, Gareda turned back to see Luffy rocking back and forth. She felt the claws on her arm jitter, too. This was a dead giveaway that a Pokemon was hiding something. Any Pokemon, regardless of species. All of them had this response. At first, Gareda wanted to hone in on it. Before she could, a jolt in the back of her head got her to reconsider. This wasn’t the time for it. She was trying to help. She was her friend. Friends give each other space when needed. Something of the sort.

‘What is she thinking?’

Luffy’s mouth made an audible smacking sound. “Uhm, how is the pain?”

Gareda exhaled. “Manageable enough. I’ve gone through worse.”

“But you were hit pretty bad, you said.”

“That’s a point blank ice beam for you, Luffy,” Gareda said with a shrug. “Draconic, groundling, back to the head… You can imagine the rest yourself. But this pain was inevitable. We’re after that boy for a reason.” A growl came out of her throat. “Unfortunately, we weren’t fast enough. Now the Alliance is filling his mind with all the lies and horrors they’ve crafted over the years. They’ve already filled him up enough to attack me.”

The Garchomp shook her head. “Granted, we- no, I. I went too far ordering that raid. All because I wanted to make sure we secured him.”

“Don’t say that. You’re only a Pokemon.” Luffy tugged on her arm. Gareda stared at the flame patterns on her chest.

‘Only a Pokemon. Indeed…’ “That is not an excuse when everything goes to hell,” Gareda mumbled.

“You have to forgive yourself even when you make awful mistakes though,” Luffy replied. “That’s what we say back in the Ruby Province. Chin up.”

Gareda grimaced towards the groves up ahead. The dust from the earlier quakes was settling, revealing a path of footsteps and torn foliage. She wanted to get up; neither her tail nor legs moved. The comfort of the ground was too alluring to give up.

“Mark my words. If we do not rescue the Othersider anytime soon, and we let those disgusting traitors run wild with him, Eravate is in deep trouble. We can’t let them. We can’t.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Luffy said. “The Queen came with this story, didn’t she? It wouldn’t be the first time she’s exaggerated something.”

“Believe me. It will be.” Gareda's tail agitatedly swayed back and forth. ‘And not just because Patrina said so. I know what will happen. I know what she is capable of. I know what that beast is capable of…’

The distant howling of the wind faltered all of sudden, clearing the way for a steady wingbeat. Gareda jolted up, and Luffy went up with her.

‘Wait, he can’t have-’

“Lord Gareda, help is on the way, they should be- eh?!”

“Ah!!”

The Garchomp and Magmar separated as if lightning had struck between them. Luffy threw herself backwards and crawled off with the intensity of a mountain climber, her claws digging into the dirt as she pulled her body across the broken landscape.

“V-Vli! Uh, thanks!”

“Err, Lord Gareda, what were you and miss Luffy-”

“Quiet, bird brain. None of your business,” Gareda growled as she shot a snide look at the Toucannon flapping around behind her back, his wings almost touching her backfin’s tip. “All you need to know is that she had a slight fever. Nothing more.”

“Ah, my apologies,” Vli said, beating his wings in place instead of landing. “Though she never told me any-”

Gareda slammed a talon into the ground. “I said enough’s enough, bird brain. Shut it and get to the point.”

“I-I see,” Vli stuttered out. The sharpness of the fin on Gareda’s arm had captivated him. “All I have to report is, uh, the help is on its way. We can get you teleported back to civilization shortly.”

“Hmph, Good.” Gareda grunted as she pulled back her arm. ‘Hopefully he can find someone else to bother. Nosy little islander… what did I even expect with a beak his size.’

Much to her chagrin, Vli instead flew over the wide crack in the ground, and motioned for Gareda and Luffy to follow his lead.

“They’ve taken the Othersider into Drasal, haven’t they? If we hurry, we may be able to catch up with them!”

Gareda decided that she was done kneeling, and stood straight back up, wincing a little from what’s left of the headache, but otherwise standing proud and tall as ever.

“Don’t be stupid. We have no idea where their base is. And they know that hellhole of a jungle like you know each feather on your wings, bird brain. Unless you enjoy being killed, forget it.”

“But the Other-”

“Forget it,” said Gareda with a growl. Vli shrank back, knocking a few feathers off his wings in the process.

“o-Okay then… err, my lord? What would you have us do now?”

The Garchomp turned her back on the Toucannon. “Build a base here. We’ll see about that when I can think properly. Now you, bird brain, and you, duck face.” She lashed out in Luffy’s direction with a scythe-like motion. “Let’s get out of this sandpit. Sooner we’re out of here, the better. And help me think of something to report to Patrina. I am not losing my head over this.” ‘Literally. Nor my soul.’

“Sure,” Luffy said with a hint of doubt in her voice as she came to Gareda’s side. “But uh, what are you calling me duck face for?”

Gareda shrugged. “Force of habit. Don’t take it personally.”