The Path of Destiny

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 31 - A New Danger Arises

Blazefang leaned back, ignoring the sharp rocks that pricked at his fur as Thunder’s scythe came closer, the sharp edge hovering dangerously close to his neck.

“Stop!” Blazefang cried. “You’re insane! Listen to the others, they said that-” The houndour gave a yelp and moved to the side as Thunder’s scythe came down, the movement slowed only by the deep cut in her arm.

Blazefang hurriedly backed away as Thunder dove at him again. However, something stopped her in her tracks. Redclaw now held tightly onto one of the scyther’s wings. Angrily, Thunder turned to face him.

“What are you doing?” she shouted. “Let me go…or I’ll make you!”

Redclaw didn’t want to obey her, but seeing the look in her eyes, he realized that if he didn’t, someone was surely going to get hurt. He knew that even with a type disadvantage and all her injuries, Thunder could rip him to shreds if she wanted to; she hadn’t been one of Master’s most favored pokémon for nothing. Reluctantly, he let her go.

Thunder dashed toward Blazefang again, and Redclaw felt an eerie feeling creep through his body as Blazefang’s eyes suddenly seemed overcast with yellow. However, before Thunder could strike, Nightshade had quickly darted in her path, blocking the deadly blade with his long horn.

As the two struggled against each other, Blazefang faced the other pokémon. “All I want is for you to listen to me!” he shouted, his eyes losing their yellowish glow.

Nightshade had managed to grab both of Thunder’s arms in his claws. “Stop this!” he cried, staring into her fierce eyes. “Let’s listen to him. Then he’ll leave!”

“No!” Thunder growled, fighting against Nightshade’s grip. The heracross held her arms firmly, ignoring the blows as she tried to kick him to get him to release his grip.

Stormblade glanced over to the two struggling pokémon as he painfully propped himself up with his scythes. “Stop!” he cried, and Thunder turned to stare at him angrily. “He might have something important to say, and either way, he’s not causing us any harm. Don’t…don’t…kill him…”

Somehow, this seemed to snap Thunder out of it, and she turned and pulled away from Nightshade and walked back toward the tree where she had been resting. “He’d better make it quick!” she growled, leaning against the tree and watching Blazefang as if she still wished to sink her blade into his throat.

Blazefang was still gasping for breath; Thunder’s attack had just made him more panicked and exhausted. “Learn to keep her under control!” he snarled under his breath. “I already have enough trouble with one psycho wanting to kill me!”

“What do you mean?” Rosie asked, her teeth bared in a snarl. “Did one of your houndour slaves finally show some sense and turn against you?”

“No,” Blazefang replied, shaking his head as he walked forward. Snowcrystal felt a small prickle of unease as she noticed that Blazefang hardly seemed to react to the insult. “There’s an army…of pokémon,” the houndour continued. “From what I could gather they force any able bodied pokémon they come across to join them…they even tortured some of them…” He remembered the vast groups of common species he had seen amongst the others in the army, and Solus's words about torturing pokémon in order to get them to join. “And their leader…” he continued uneasily, “is a vaporeon called Cyclone. He wants to use me in some war he’s waged against humans or else kill me so one of his followers will gain the Forbidden Attack.”

Everyone else glanced at each other, confused and alarmed at this statement. “Forbidden Attack…” Spark mumbled quietly.

Blazefang nodded. “He wants to track down more Forbidden Attacks and he’s got plenty of followers to help him. I don't know what he's promised or what he's threatened them with...but it’s clear that if he ran into you, he’d try to make all of you…or at least those who aren’t badly injured…join him. And he wouldn’t take no for an answer either.”

For a moment, silence fell upon the small group as they stared at the houndour in disbelief. “That doesn’t make sense!” Rosie snarled, breaking the silence. “How can one vaporeon do all this? He couldn’t have possibly forced so many pokémon to join him even if he did bribe some of his followers. I think-”

“I think we should find out for ourselves whether or not he’s telling the truth,” Nightshade interrupted. “Is the army nearby?” he asked Blazefang. “If so, I can fly overhead and see if this is really a threat or just a story.”

“Not far from here,” Blazefang replied, pointing with his snout in the direction that he had come from. “Go that way. The army lies beyond a large hill. You’ll see them there-”

Without waiting for him to finish, Nightshade took off, leaving Blazefang standing alone with the others, feeling weak and vulnerable in the presence of his enemies. For a while they sat in silence, and Blazefang tried to avert his eyes from the awful wounds covering Stormblade’s body, which were left exposed by the many large rips and tears in the tattered and filthy bandages.

After what seemed like a long while, the heracross returned, a grim look on his face. “The houndour was right,” he told the others reluctantly. “I saw a very large group of pokémon in the area where Blazefang told me to look. Some of them, an espeon and a scyther, were leading a group of what looked to be some pokémon who had escaped from the burning forest. One of them was fighting the whole way.” He shook his head sadly. “It seems they really are looking for new recruits, and will soon have flying pokémon looking around this way too. There were several flying types around, and I only narrowly avoided being seen.”

“See?” Blazefang told them. “I was telling the truth! They-”

“What are we supposed to do?” Snowcrystal asked worriedly. “If all this is true, they’ll force us to join that army and leave Stormblade and Rosie to fend for themselves.”

“I say we start moving again!” Spark answered. “Or at least find a safe place to hide until this…Cyclone, or whoever, passes by.”

“But if they’re after Blazefang, they’re sure to search this area more thoroughly,” Rosie said quietly. “We should get out while we can.”

“That’s right!” Spark agreed.

“But how can we?” Snowcrystal asked. “Stormblade’s still sick…”

“And he’s not getting any better,” Thunder muttered. “We should just go. It’ll make no difference for him how many days we wait.”

“That’s not true,” Redclaw replied with a disapproving glance at Thunder. “However, it is best that we leave this place. Is there anywhere we can hide for now, Nightshade?”

Blazefang listened intently, hardly noticing that the others seemed to have forgotten he was there. The heracross, the one called Nightshade, thought for a moment before replying.

“Based on what I’ve seen and the houndour’s word, Cyclone will be looking for any healthy pokémon to join him, regardless of species. Those who had homes in the forest no longer have any shelter, and that army will probably end up stumbling across some of them, if not many, I’m afraid. Apart from the forest, there aren’t many places to hide around these areas, other than the human town where I met Redclaw…which of course, isn’t safe. And the forest, as you know, has burned to the ground.”

Blazefang shifted uneasily at the last statement, but the heracross continued without acknowledging him.

“The only thing I can think of are the hills to the north of here…if we can get past that area, Cyclone’s pokémon might not venture that far.”

“Well, that seems easy enough,” Spark stated happily.

“Easy!” Blazefang exclaimed. “Cyclone’s probably going to track me down and what if he does chose to-”

“Who cares?” Rosie growled. “You’re certainly not coming with us!”

“Quiet!” Nightshade told them. “What matters is that we all get out of this army’s way. Though if Cyclone’s going to send out pokémon to search for Blazefang…they’ll probably be looking for other strong pokémon too. No one’s safe from them while we’re here.”

“I don’t know…” Wildflame whispered. “This…this just seems too strange. I still don’t see how all those pokémon are willing to join that vaporeon and force others to as well.”

“They must have no other choice,” Redclaw replied grimly.

“Well, I think it’s certain that we have to keep moving,” Snowcrystal told the others. “We need to leave now and get out of this army’s way. But…do you think you’ll be able to make it?” As she made the last statement, she turned to Stormblade, the only pokémon who hadn't taken part in the conversation so far.

The scyther didn’t answer, and merely stared silently at the ground.

“He doesn’t have a choice,” Rosie told Snowcrystal firmly.

“We could always go and hide him somewhere…then come back later after the army is gone,” Spark suggested.

Snowcrystal shot Spark a glare, obviously disapproving of the idea. “We can’t just-”

“Uh…I think you’re not realizing something,” Blazefang whispered timidly. “If pokémon are going to search, we’d be easily spotted trying to travel through a bunch of hills, no matter how fast we’re going. Is…is there are another way?” he asked the heracross, giving him a fearful glance.

“You’re right…” the heracross replied reluctantly. “The hills would take at least a day to travel through, but for a powerful flying pokémon it would take only a short time. The only other place I can think of is Stonedust City…” He paused, seeing several members of the group flinch visibly at the mention of the city, and then whispered, “Unless…”

“Unless…what?” Spark asked, while everyone gave Nightshade a look of mixed curiosity and dread, knowing that the suggestion he was about to make probably wasn’t a very pleasant option.

“There is…another way…through the hills,” Nightshade continued. “A cave that leads right under them and to various other areas...Cyclone’s pokémon won't follow us through there and flying pokémon can't see us, plus the cave is damp and rocky, so it's near impossible to follow a scent in there.”

“That’s perfect!” Spark cried happily, sounding relieved that the news hadn’t been as bad as he’d thought it would be.

Nightshade gave him a worried glance and sighed. “It's not a straight tunnel or a small group of caverns, Spark, but a massive cave system. It has many exits...the only trouble is finding those exits. It leads very deep underground, and from what I’ve heard from pokémon who have gone through it, it’s nothing short of a gigantic maze.”

A silence followed this statement, until Spark spoke up loudly. “I vote no cave!” the jolteon cried, giving Nightshade an irritated glance as if he was annoyed that he had suggested it.

“I’d be willing to risk it,” Wildflame told Nightshade. “It would be better than being forced into some army fighting for a cause that has nothing to do with me. Plus if these pokémon are willing to kill for Forbidden Attacks, or torture pokémon into obeying them, I don’t want to be anywhere near them.”

“It’s probably our best chance,” Redclaw agreed reluctantly. “If anything, we might be able to hide near the entrance until the army passes by…”

“You’d be waiting an awful long time,” Blazefang growled. “Tell me where the cave is. I’m going.”

Nightshade was about to reply when an earsplitting screech rent the air. The heads of all nine pokémon lifted toward the sky as a rather large and fierce looking noctowl swooped overhead, its talons coming nearly close enough to brush Redclaw’s thick mane. His eyes connected with Blazefang’s for a brief moment, and without saying a word, the noctowl flew off, heading in the direction that Blazefang had come.

“That was one of them!” Blazefang whispered, leaping to his feet with a look of alarm etched across his face. “He’s gone to tell the army…there won’t be a place to hide. Where is the cave?”

“Great!” Rosie growled. “Now the army’s going to come right to us thanks to you!” She gave Blazefang a glare and looked to Nightshade. “They won’t be able to follow us easily through that cave. If we cross through there I think we’ll be able to avoid them and then find somewhere else we can rest.”

Redclaw nodded. “I guess the only way to avoid this whole mess is to risk going through the cave,” he agreed. “I don’t know how dangerous this army really is, but avoiding it is certainly the best option. We’ll follow you, Nightshade.”

“We should leave immediately,” Nightshade told him with a nod. “I didn’t like the look of the pokémon in that army. Some were quite fearful and others were acting downright cruel to the newer recruits they were bringing in. Follow me; I know a quick route to the caves. Wildflame and Spark, you help Rosie keep up. As for Stormblade…can you carry him on your back, Redclaw?”

Neither Redclaw nor Stormblade looked pleased at this suggestion. It was clear from Redclaw’s expression that he didn’t fancy getting any bad cuts on his back while Stormblade just looked as if the very thought of it was humiliating enough on its own. However, seeing that there was no other way to travel quickly, Stormblade allowed Nightshade to assist him onto the reluctant arcanine’s back.

Redclaw stood up slowly, trying not to jostle Stormblade who now lay across his back, looking thoroughly embarrassed about it. “Just don’t cut off any of my fur,” Redclaw muttered under his breath.

“Just try not to run too fast,” Stormblade replied, gritting his teeth against the pain as Redclaw started to move forward after the others who had begun to follow Nightshade.

Blazefang began to trot after them, but stopped in his tracks as Rosie glared at him. “Don’t think you’re following us!” she spat. “They’re mostly after you. We’re not going to let you put us in any more danger!”

“I’m going to that cave!” Blazefang snarled back and continued to follow, and no one bothered to try and stop him again.

As quickly as they could manage while still keeping pace with the injured pokémon, the group followed Nightshade through the moonlit plain, heading for the tall grassy hills that could now be seen faintly against the darkened sky. The journey was very uncomfortable for both Redclaw and Stormblade; Stormblade’s scythes kept nicking Redclaw by accident, and nearly every movement Redclaw made caused Stormblade even more pain. Rosie was faring better, as she had become somewhat accustomed to using only three legs, and after eating some of the berries Nightshade had found, the pain wasn’t unbearable.

Blazefang trailed after the group, glad that his dark fur would make it difficult for most flying types to see him from above. A few bird pokémon passed over them through the air, and though Blazefang had heard Redclaw point out to Snowcrystal that they could be just solitary pokémon out hunting, he was still afraid.

Never pausing to rest, the group of pokémon followed Nightshade silently through the night, their paws hardly making a sound as they trotted quickly together, keeping their eyes on the shapes of the hills that loomed ever closer, and the heracross that guided them.

Just when Blazefang began to feel as if he would pass out if he had to run any longer, they had reached the foot of the hills, and Nightshade told them to rest. Under the cover of darkness and the shelter of the large stones at the base of the hills, the pokémon all huddled together, trying to catch their breath.

Redclaw lay down, while Stormblade slowly crawled off his back and onto the ground. “Never…again…” he whispered to the arcanine, thinking back on how painful and uncomfortable the swift ride had been. Had Redclaw been moving slower, however, he might not have minded as much. Rosie was curled up beside Redclaw, looking more exhausted than anyone, and Spark wasn’t much better off.

Blazefang looked warily to the group but kept his distance; he was too weary to look for the cave himself. Instead, he lay down against the cool stone, closing his eyes and trying not to think of the danger he was in.

After a few minutes, Nightshade told them to get up again. Now that they were close to the cave’s entrance and in the shelter of some tall rocks, Redclaw did not have to carry Stormblade, though the scyther still had to rely heavily on Wildflame to help him walk. As the houndoom followed the others to where Nightshade was leading them, she was forced to move at a slow pace so that Stormblade could keep up with her. She knew he was struggling just to walk even with her help, and every so often he would make small cries or whimpers of pain. Turning her head, she could see Blazefang trailing after them timidly, trying not to be noticed. Sighing, she turned and focused instead on following the others ahead of her.

She stopped and let Stormblade lean against her for support when Nightshade and the others halted in front of a gaping hole in the stony side of one of the hills, leading deep underground. Wildflame felt a warm breeze emitting from the cave, ruffling her fur.

“So, this is it?” Spark asked from up ahead. His voice was carried away by the breeze, making it harder for Wildflame and Stormblade, who stood further away, to hear him. “It looks rather…obvious, don’t you think?”

Rosie turned her head toward Blazefang, baring her teeth in a snarl. “It’s going to be pretty obvious if they run across it while tracking him!” she growled.

“I don’t think we have to worry,” Nightshade replied calmly. “I believe that if some of the pokémon in Cyclone’s army are from the forest, they will know of this cave, and most likely avoid it. And I doubt that even those who don’t know will bother searching through it for one pokémon. Even if they did, it’s unlikely that they would succeed in finding what they were searching for.”

“I say we drive Blazefang off before we do anything else,” Rosie growled, and Wildflame stiffened, shooting a warning glance at Blazefang, who hadn’t seemed to have heard.

Blazefang took the hint and slowly stood up, ready to run or fight as some of the other pokémon turned to look at him. However, there would be no time for a battle. Another loud screech sounded above them, and a pidgeot, followed by two noctowl, landed between Stormblade and Blazefang. Around the moonlit area, grass rustled and parted, revealing the forms of various other types of pokémon, all facing the travelers. “Stay where you are,” the pidgeot told them loudly. “I have a message from Cyclone.”

Blazefang took one look at them and bolted into the cave. The others stood up, and Redclaw, Nightshade, and Thunder walked forward, a dangerous gleam in their eyes.

“We’ve heard about Cyclone,” Redclaw growled. “And we want nothing to do with this. Leave!”

Snowcrystal noticed a few of the pokémon dart into the cave after Blazefang, while the rest of the strangers approached the group. Wildflame and Stormblade moved closer to the others as Redclaw and Nightshade stood in front, with Thunder coming to stand beside them. “Get in the cave!” Redclaw hissed at the others, and Snowcrystal, Spark, Rosie, and Wildflame, helping Stormblade, vanished into the cave, almost immediately becoming shrouded in darkness.

Snowcrystal could hear Redclaw’s voice echoing outside, and Wildflame led them down one of the many black tunnels until she crouched against the cave wall, Stormblade at her side. The others crouched down too, hoping to remain hidden until Redclaw and the others returned.

Wildflame turned toward Snowcrystal, an annoyed look in her eyes. “Hide that stone!” she growled, eying the glowing red crystal around the growlithe’s neck. Snowcrystal quickly obeyed, covering it with her paws. Suddenly the sound of frantic pawsteps in their direction caused Snowcrystal to look up.

“Redclaw…?” she called, standing upright.

“Get down!” Wildflame hissed, pulling Snowcrystal back against the wall and covering the crystal again. The dark shapes of two four-legged pokémon – who were too small to be Redclaw – darted around a corner in the tunnel they had come from and began to head right towards them.

Snowcrystal’s eyes widened in fear, the faintest traces of her crystal’s light from beneath her paws the only thing allowing her to distinguish the shapes of the pokémon from the darkness.

Suddenly the pokémon running in front gave a shriek of mortified terror, and Snowcrystal’s eyes widened as he vanished before her very eyes. The second pokémon froze, then quickly bolted back the way he had come, the quest to find Blazefang and any potential new recruits for Cyclone forgotten. Snowcrystal stood up and walked forward, wondering where the other pokémon had vanished to.

She soon found out.

Just ahead of her, filling nearly the whole cavern, was a massive black pit that reached deep into the depths of the cave, dark and forbidding. She heard a faint yet sickening crunch as the pokémon’s body landed far below. She shuddered, backing away, her eyes wide with fright.

Rosie peered forward, using the full light from Snowcrystal’s crystal to see the dark hole. “We would have fallen in there if we hadn’t kept so close to the wall,” she whispered, sounding horrified.

“That would not be fun,” Spark stated obviously as he stood up and headed back along the narrow ridge separating the wall from the pit. “Let’s move to a safer spot, all right?” he asked, his voice sounding shaky.

One by one the pokémon filed after him, Stormblade with the help of Wildflame. Once out of the cavern containing the pit and into another with safer ground, they stopped to rest again.

Snowcrystal was still catching her breath when the sound of footsteps came near. She whirled around, frightened, only to sigh in relief when she noticed Redclaw, Thunder, and Nightshade returning. Nightshade and Redclaw had no wounds, but Thunder was limping on one leg, and one of her eyes was tightly closed, blood seeping out of it.

“Thunder tried to fight them, but we managed to escape…I think they’re only after Blazefang right now,” Redclaw explained for the others.

“Good!” Rosie replied. “They can have Blazefang. Let’s go further into the cave…I’m not quite sure they’ve stopped searching for us for good.”

“We fire types can use ember to light the way ahead of us,” Snowcrystal suggested.

“Good idea,” Nightshade told her. “But we’re still rather close to the entrance. Let’s wait until we’re deeper in the cave, where the light won’t be seen by our enemies so easily.”

“We’re supposed to wander around in the dark?” Spark cried in dismay.

“I’ll lead the way,” Wildflame offered, “and don’t worry, I’ll make sure to test if the ground is safe before I walk on it.”

Thunder peered through the darkness doubtfully, not noticing as Stormblade approached her. “Thunder?” he asked, causing her to jump slightly. She turned away from him as he questioned her. “What happened? Is your eye badly hurt? Do you want me to-”

Without bothering to answer, Thunder lashed out with the back of her scythe, knocking Stormblade’s head sharply against the rock wall. “Okay,” she said to the others, no longer acknowledging him, “let’s get a move on already.”

As soon as Wildflame vanished into a large tunnel ahead, Thunder quickly followed her, and was followed by Nightshade, Spark, Rosie, and then Redclaw. “Do you want me to help you, Stormblade?” Redclaw asked, but received no answer. Snowcrystal walked over to Stormblade, who had sat up, still leaning against the wall with his head lowered as he stared at the ground.

“Come on, Stormblade!” the small pokémon cried, nudging his uninjured leg. “We have to leave! It isn’t safe!”

“Sure…fine…” Stormblade replied dully, not looking up.

“We need to leave as in NOW!” Redclaw called from up ahead, his ears pricked as the sound of pokémon approaching reached them.

Stormblade didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to try. When Snowcrystal tried to talk to him, he barely heard her.

“Redclaw’s going to help you walk,” the growlithe whispered.

“I don’t need any help,” Stormblade told her, looking up. “Tell the others to go on ahead. I’ll follow you.”

Snowcrystal was about to argue, but she stopped herself, realizing that Stormblade wasn’t going to listen. Instead, she just nodded, and followed Redclaw into the cave.

Up ahead, it was completely dark, and even the light from Snowcrystal’s red crystal wasn’t enough to see much of anything. “Can’t somebody use ember now?” Spark complained as he limped ahead of Rosie and Redclaw.

“Just a bit farther,” Wildflame replied from up ahead. “I can’t hear any of those pokémon following us, so they must have just gone after…Blazefang…but I want to be sure-” Her words were interrupted as she suddenly walked head first into a large boulder. With a growl she backed away, muttering a very vulgar swear word.

Spark gasped. “Wildflame!” he cried angrily. “That’s a BAD WORD!”

“Oh, shut up!” Wildflame muttered irritably. The houndoom turned to the boulder and sighed. “Guess I have no choice,” she told herself, and breathed out a small plume of flame.

The way in front of them was partially blocked by what Wildflame had thought was a boulder, but in reality was a tall pillar of stone, formed long ago when a massive stalactite and stalagmite joined together. The only way through the passage was through a narrow gap between the pillar and the opposite wall.

“We won’t all fit through there!” Rosie growled.

Snowcrystal was about to say something when Stormblade gave a gasp of pain from behind her and staggered against the wall, and another pokémon gave a surprised yelp and stumbled straight into her. Pushing herself away, Snowcrystal instantly recognized Blazefang’s black and red fur as Wildflame turned her head and the small ember flame toward them.

Wildflame let the flame go out in shock. “Where did you-” she began, but Blazefang was already scrambling past the others and toward the houndoom. Confused and angry, Stormblade stood shakily back up and watched as Redclaw used his fire attack to provide light for them again.

“Are you just going to stand here?” the panicked houndour asked Wildflame, before moving toward the opening leading further into the tunnel.

“Wait a minute,” Redclaw told him, blocking the way. “You can go through here…but we go through first.”

Blazefang bit back an angry reply and simply nodded reluctantly, seeing no other option. Redclaw moved aside and indicated that the smallest pokémon go first. Spark and then Rosie were the first two to push their way through, though with difficulty, and they waited on the other side as Snowcrystal easily passed through the opening. Redclaw turned to Wildflame, Nightshade, Thunder, and Stormblade, unsure if any of them would be able to fit through such a narrow space. “Wildflame,” he suggested, “you try.”

The houndoom walked forward, stepping into the opening and trying to force her shoulders through. Claws scraping against the ground, she tried to push forward, ignoring the pain as her fur scraped roughly against the cave’s uneven walls. She made it a tiny bit further before at last she had to give up and crawl painfully back out of the hole. “I can’t…” she muttered in frustration.

“Well…I don’t think the rest of us will be able to…” Redclaw began, but was quickly interrupted.

“I’ll try!” Thunder spoke up, and pushed past Wildflame until she stood in front of the narrow crevice. Turning so that she would be entering it sideways, she flattened her wings against her back and pressed her body against the wall, slowly edging her way into the slim opening. It was a struggle to make any progress. The rough rock scraped painfully against her open and bleeding wounds, and there wasn’t enough space for her to move backwards or forward, so there was no way of preventing that. As she edged sideways closer to the opposite side, the passage got narrower, to the point where she almost felt like she was being crushed when she tried to go further. Redclaw peered through the opening, noticing that her progress had gotten steadily slower until she stopped. He had heard of pokémon that had tried to enter narrow caves and gotten hopelessly trapped, and he couldn’t help growing a bit worried.

Yet for once Thunder was glad she was so thin. After a few more seconds of struggling to free herself, she made it to the other side where Rosie, Spark, and Snowcrystal waited.

Blazefang turned to look at Wildflame, Redclaw, Nightshade and Stormblade and rolled his eyes. “None of you guys are going to fit in there!” he muttered. “Let me go through…” He took a step toward the opening, but Redclaw blocked it again.

“Not until we find a way,” the arcanine growled. He looked up, studying the rock. “Do you think we could try breaking this pillar…at least enough to widen the gap a little?” he mused.

“We could try,” Nightshade replied. “We just have to be careful not to break it too quickly…I don’t want to cause any sort of collapse.”

“A collapse?” Spark repeated from the other side, sounding nervous. “This sounds a little too dangerous…”

Rosie just sighed and glanced around, her eyes darting to Thunder’s wounds. “Yikes, Thunder, you’re bleeding!” the ninetales exclaimed. “Couldn’t you have waited back there with the others?”

Luckily, Thunder didn’t get a chance to reply as a shout from Stormblade on the other side of the crevice distracted those waiting on the far side.

“What happened?” Snowcrystal called worriedly.

Out of view of the white growlithe and the other waiting pokémon, Redclaw turned around, seeing Stormblade lying on the ground and three pokémon standing behind him. They were a charmeleon, a rapidash, and another scyther, who stood with her foot on Stormblade’s neck. Blazefang gave a shriek and tried to run for the opening between the pillars, but Redclaw blocked him again. “It’s you they want,” the arcanine hissed from between clenched teeth. He turned to the three standing there. “Let Stormblade go,” he growled to the strange scyther. “I’m sure this Cyclone pokémon has no use for him.”

The strange scyther’s eyes widened a bit at the mention of the name Stormblade, and she glanced down at the pokémon she held to the ground, looking confused, but only for a moment, and she turned to Redclaw again. “It’s not him we want,” the scyther replied, and stepped in front of Stormblade, followed by the charmeleon, who approached Redclaw.

“Just let them take Blazefang already!” Rosie shouted from the other side of the stone pillar, listening intently to the conversation.

Redclaw hesitated; he’d heard of the things Blazefang had done, but did he really deserve to be forced to fight, and potentially kill, for these pokémon who were trying to make him join an army? Boldly, he stepped forward. “He doesn’t want to join you,” he stated firmly. “Look elsewhere for recruits.”

“He knows Shadowflare,” the scyther growled in reply. “We won’t find it anywhere else.”

Redclaw silently hoped that Blazefang would do something, that he’d threaten her with the Forbidden Attack and try to get them to leave…or anything, but the houndour remained silent.

“Enough of this!” the rapidash cried angrily, stamping his hoof down hard. “Either you three and the houndour come with us or we’ll report back to Cyclone and have him send more pokémon to hunt you down.”

“Let them try it,” Nightshade replied calmly with a small smile. He knew better than anyone that tracking was nearly impossible in the cave.

The three pokémon looked as if they were going to back away and retreat. “Fine,” snorted the charmeleon as he and the scyther began to turn away.

“I’ve got a better idea!” the rapidash snarled.

If Nightshade hadn’t happened to jerk backwards in surprise at that moment, he would have been gored by the rapidash’s horn as the fire pokémon lunged forward. Missing his target, the fire type slid into the big stone pillar, causing the cavern to shudder. Redclaw turned and sank his teeth into the pokémon’s hind leg, noticing that the scyther and charmeleon weren’t attacking, and seemed rather shocked themselves.

The rapidash kicked Redclaw in the muzzle with his free leg, while Nightshade ran to Stormblade, who seemed unable to get up. In the confusion, Blazefang bolted into the narrow space leading to the next cavern, pushing his way painfully through the small space until he made it through and lay panting near Snowcrystal and her three friends.

Not noticing that Blazefang had fled, Redclaw tackled the rapidash that had threatened them, sending him crashing into the opposite wall. Turning toward the pillar of stone, he slammed against it with a take down attack, hoping to cause it some damage so he and the remainder of the group could rejoin the others.

A resounding crack rent the air as the massive stone column shuddered. Several large cracks appeared in the rocky surface, but it didn’t move. Furious, the rapidash stood up, ready to charge at Redclaw again.

Making sure Stormblade was standing on his own, Nightshade left his side and ran toward the large pillar, slamming his horn into one of the cracks. There was a loud breaking, grinding sound, and a chunk of rock fell to the ground, widening the hole. “Get in!” he called to Stormblade and Wildflame, while Redclaw dodged a thrust from the rapidash’s horn. The scyther and charmeleon watching the battle stood warily, not wanting to get involved with the fight, especially now that Blazefang was gone.

After Wildflame had darted through the widened opening and Stormblade had managed to make it through, Nightshade rammed the pillar with his horn again, knowing that he needed to make the opening wider for Redclaw.

After a few tries, another section of the column broke off, and Nightshade jumped into the opening, calling to Redclaw, “hurry! This way!” Redclaw turned to look, and stopped a second too long.

He gave a cry of pain as the rapidash slammed into him, knocking him into the weakening pillar behind them. A loud rumble was heard.

“Uh…I think we should be getting out of here…” the charmeleon muttered anxiously, seeming to snap the rapidash out of his frenzied rage.

Abandoning Redclaw, the horse-like pokémon leaped up and ran after his two companions as they headed back the way they had come, while Redclaw bolted into the widened hole. He still had to struggle to get through it, but he made it to the other side quickly. And not a moment too soon. Redclaw ducked his head as the entire pillar collapsed, chunks of rock falling from the ceiling.

With a jolt of panic, the nine pokémon who had gone into the tunnel beyond the pillar realized that a large part of the ceiling above was collapsing. In their terror, some of the pokémon scattered; others tried to take shelter, or in Stormblade’s case, crouched down by the cave wall, unable to do anything else.

Snowcrystal had been running forward away from the collapsed stone column, when she forced herself to stop and turn to look for her friends. She gave a shriek of terror as the sound of many rocks hitting the cave floor and piling on top of each other reached her ears, and the ground shuddered, knocking her off balance.

In helpless terror, the growlithe tried to cover her ears with her paws to block out the horrible roaring noise as she lay on the ground, crying out in terror as small rocks pelted her huddled form.

Then suddenly, it stopped.

Snowcrystal coughed, freeing herself from the small chunks of stone that covered her. The cave was completely dark. The first pokémon she thought of was Stormblade. Lighting up the cavern with a small ember, she quickly spotted the scyther and ran over to him. “Are you okay?” she asked, nudging his shoulder carefully.

“Stormblade hasn’t been okay for weeks,” Rosie grumbled, standing up slowly near where Stormblade lay. To Snowcrystal’s relief, she didn’t seem hurt by the cave in.

Stormblade looked up, but didn’t look at Snowcrystal. “Sure. I’m fine. Not hurt worse…” he replied quietly.

Snowcrystal glanced around and saw Thunder get shakily to her feet, and turned to look for the others. There was no sign of them. She quickly noticed a huge wall of rock and debris from the collapse, blocking off the small area behind them. Realizing that the others must be trapped on the other side, she hastily climbed the rugged boulders, hoping to find a way she could slip through to reach her friends. Rosie, meanwhile, was studying the cavern they’d found themselves in, gazing into the dark tunnel that lay ahead of them, cool cave air ruffling her fur. The others, she realized, must still be back near where the stone column had fallen.

Snowcrystal pawed at the rocks, not seeing any place where she could possibly get through to the other side. She gave a small squeak of surprise as some of the smaller rocks near the top shifted. Using ember again, she saw Nightshade’s claws break through, then retreat.

“Nightshade!” she cried, running up to the hole. The heracross did not try to break through the rocks, but she heard his voice from the other side.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “Redclaw, Wildflame, and Spark are fine. So is that houndour, Blazefang.”

“I’m fine!” Snowcrystal answered. “Rosie and Stormblade aren’t hurt any worse…I don’t know about Thunder…but can you break through these rocks?”

Nightshade took a moment to reply. “There’s a very large rock near the top of this heap of boulders on this side,” he replied at last. “I can’t try to shift more than a few of these smaller rocks without causing it to fall over. I can move the rock itself, but it might make the whole tunnel collapse! There’s enough space for us to go back the way we came and find another route; Cyclone’s cronies are gone. I’m afraid we’ll have to go separate ways.”

“But-” Snowcrystal began.

“Just help the others,” Nightshade replied. “You’ll be fine if you stick together and make sure either you or Rosie provides light to see by. Be careful, and remember to mark the walls of the tunnels you pass by with your claws so you know you’ve been there and won’t end up going in circles.”

“I…I’m not sure I can-” she replied hesitantly, but Nightshade cut her off.

“Just lead the others,” he replied calmly. “The rest of us on this side need to get going. This place could still collapse.” Another rumble was heard, and the heracross’s voice sounded more anxious. “We need to go now. Get the others and move further along the tunnel. You should be safe once you’re away from here.”

“Okay…” Snowcrystal whispered uncertainly, and she heard Nightshade scramble back down the rocks on the other side. She then headed down the pile of boulders to the cave floor.

“Good luck, Snowcrystal!” she heard Redclaw call from behind the rocks as she and Rosie did what they could to help Stormblade get up, and along with Thunder, the four of them walked away from the scene of the collapse.

-ooo-

A short while later, Snowcrystal’s group stopped to rest, safely away from the danger of falling rocks. Rosie had curled up near the wall of the cave to try and get some sleep, and Thunder had soon done the same. Stormblade sat away from the others, refusing to talk to anyone.

Leaning against the smooth and wet cave wall, Snowcrystal’s thoughts constantly wandered back to the group of friends who were separated. Were they all right? Would they find a way to reach her again? Had Blazefang left, or was he still with them?

Sighing, she lay her head on her paws, listening to the soft sound of water dripping from somewhere further within the cave as she closed her eyes and willed sleep to come to her. If there was anything she needed now, it was to have as much strength as possible for the journey ahead.

To be continued…

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 32 - A Shadow in the Dark

When Snowcrystal woke, she was aware that she had only managed to doze off for a short while. Lifting her head, she glanced at the others. Rosie was still asleep. Thunder might have been as well, but Stormblade was wide awake.

Snowcrystal slowly stood up, hearing the faint sound of water dripping from somewhere deeper in the tunnels. She turned and walked toward Rosie, using the light of her crystal to see by. As she walked past Thunder, the scyther stirred and got to her feet. Snowcrystal noticed that she was using both legs to stand again, but she still looked unsteady on her feet.

Rosie slowly opened her eyes and looked up as Snowcrystal approached. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem very tired. “I guess we’re going now?” she asked, giving the growlithe a questioning look.

Snowcrystal nodded. “We’ve got to find a way out of here and meet up with the others as quickly as possible,” she replied. “We’ll be able to rest again later.”

Soon Snowcrystal was leading the way through the cave, using the light from her small fire attacks to see the way. Rosie helped at times, though not quite as much, as it still wasn’t easy for her to walk over the rocks. For them, the fact that they had to walk slowly for Stormblade wasn’t a problem. However, for Thunder, it was.

Thunder was in a bad mood to begin with. The deep cut on her arm was made worse by the shackle rubbing against it, and it had begun to show signs of infection. Some of her wounds were bleeding again, and it was hard to see in such a dark place, especially when she still could not open her injured eye. And to make matters worse, Stormblade was setting the pace for the whole group.

Angrily, she slashed a small stalagmite in half as she followed Snowcrystal, wishing she didn’t have to rely on the growlithe’s light to travel through the darkness. “Can’t we go any faster?” she growled. “There’s no food in this cave, so it’s not like we can just take as much time as we like!”

“I thought you didn’t mind going without food so much,” Rosie replied, turning to look at the thin scyther. “And it’s not like we’ll be here for weeks.”

“Why can’t we go on ahead and let Stormblade follow our scent?” Thunder muttered.

“It’s too hard to follow a scent in here,” Snowcrystal told her, letting the flame die out for a second. “We have to stick together.”

The others were silent for a moment, and then Rosie slowly nodded and Thunder sighed and looked away. “Fine…” the scyther muttered.

For a while longer, the small group of four traveled together in darkness through winding tunnels and past strange towering rock formations. Snowcrystal felt worried and afraid, wondering if the tunnels she was choosing to enter were the ones that would lead them out of the cave, or if she was really just getting her friends hopelessly lost.

Rosie had the task of helping Snowcrystal mark the cave walls with her claws. It was while she was doing this for what had to be at least the fifteenth time, Stormblade, who was still struggling to catch up, suddenly collapsed.

Snowcrystal rushed over to him, worried he might be hurt worse. It took her an instant to realize that he had simply passed out. Rosie turned away from the wall and approached Snowcrystal, using her ember attack to light up the area around them. After that, she could clearly see Stormblade lying motionless on his side, his limbs sprawled out in random directions. There was blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Rosie kept her fire attack up as Snowcrystal glanced around frantically. “Is there any water here?” she asked, looking back and forth from Rosie to Thunder.

“I don’t think water will do him much good,” Rosie replied worriedly, shaking her head.

“Well, we have to-” Snowcrystal began, facing Rosie, but a cough from Stormblade behind her made her turn around. Stormblade was stirring slowly, and lifted his head long enough to spit out a small bit of blood. Then he lay back down again, closing his eyes. Snowcrystal didn’t know if he had the strength to get up.

Rosie stepped closer to him, while Thunder watched from afar, a look of what was almost horror on her face, as if the scene before her had suddenly awakened some terrible memory. Snowcrystal sat beside Stormblade next to Rosie, and told the ninetales, “He can’t go on like this. We need to rest now.”

While Snowcrystal lay beside the half-conscious Stormblade, using her ember attacks to keep him warm, Rosie and Thunder kept watch. Rosie jumped at the slightest sound from within the cave, glancing constantly all around her, as if she expected some pokémon to jump out of the darkness at her from behind one of the many stone columns. Thunder was calmer, and not having any fire attacks to help her see by, she had to rely on sound and scent. However, neither of them could detect any potential danger.

“Snowcrystal…?” a weak voice mumbled, and the growlithe turned to see Stormblade, his eyes barely open, looking at her. Stormblade’s voice sounded weak and forced, and she could hardly hear what he was saying. “If the others are waiting…why don’t you keep going? You have to get out…you can leave me here…I’ll catch up. If the others are…”

“What?” Snowcrystal exclaimed, shocked. “We’re not leaving you here! You know you wouldn’t be able to catch up! We aren’t leaving anyone here. We came into this cave together, and we’ll leave it…together. All you need is some rest…then we can keep going,” she added more gently. ‘All you need is some rest…’ she thought. ‘If only that were true…’

Stormblade didn’t answer and merely closed his eyes again. Rosie stood up and limped over to the scyther and sat beside Snowcrystal once more. Both of them looked down at Stormblade, and from where she stood, Thunder could hear them whispering quietly to each other.

Thunder sighed and turned away. False hope, that's all it was. Those two were just prolonging the inevitable. They simply couldn’t accept the fact that Stormblade was going to die from his injuries. She had accepted it. In the long run, there was simply nothing these pokémon could do.

Yet at the same time, she could not help but feel distressed at the sight whenever she looked at Stormblade. Out of all the pokémon she traveled with, she felt as if he knew her best, not that that was saying much. Though she knew that she shouldn’t care about his pain or the pain of any of the others, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him because of the pain he was in; she had been there. Annoyed, she closed her good eye and slowly sat down, trying to push the troubling thoughts to the back of her mind. This was what she got for allowing herself to get close to these pokémon.

-ooo-

Confused, and completely lost, Blazefang had no choice but to trail after the group as Nightshade led Redclaw, Wildflame, and Spark through the winding passages of smooth wet stone. The others seemed too distracted with their own matters to pay much attention to him, and as long as he stayed far enough behind the group, they didn’t bother him much. He was glad he was a fire type and able to use his own fire attacks to provide light to see by, otherwise he would be stumbling after the others in the dark. He was a nocturnal pokémon, but a moonlit field or forest was one thing, and an underground cave was another.

Up ahead, Redclaw, the arcanine, was talking to Wildflame while the heracross paused momentarily to listen to them. Blazefang looked up hopefully, wondering if they were going to stop and rest, but they turned and kept going after a moment. The houndour sighed wearily and trudged after them.

While Wildflame used her ember attack to light the way, Spark, who was still limping, ran up to Redclaw with a grin on his face. “Hey Redclaw!” the jolteon cried, a bit too loudly for the arcanine’s liking. “Now that Stormblade’s with the others…I’m the injured pokémon around here. You guys all have to take care of me now! And I’m tired…so carry me…”

“You’ve got four legs. You can walk yourself!” Redclaw grumbled.

“Fine!” Spark muttered, acting offended. Redclaw rolled his eyes and was about to reply when Nightshade interrupted him.

“Looks like we’ve gone in circles…” the heracross sighed. “See these claw marks? One of us made them when we came by this way. We took the tunnel leading left…I guess we need to try the right path now.”

“Uggh…we’re never going to get out of here at this rate…” Wildflame muttered, peering around. “How long do you think we’ve been walking?”

“Eleventy hundred million days…give or take a few,” Spark replied with a grin.

Wildflame rounded on him. “Can you take this seriously even for just a little bit?” she growled.

“What? And end up all stressed and worried like you?” Spark replied.

“Look…if we don’t find a way out, we’ll be trapped here, got it?” Wildflame snapped. “If you’re not going to give me a real answer when I ask a question, don’t say anything at all!”

“Calm down, Wildflame,” Redclaw told the houndoom softly. “Spark’s right about one thing; worrying won’t do us much good. We’ll just have to keep looking for a way out, and most importantly, we need to stay calm.”

Wildflame felt her fur lie flat again, realizing that he was right. “I know…” she muttered quietly, lowering her head with a sigh.

As the group started to follow Nightshade into the right tunnel, Spark made an observation. “Hey, look,” he pointed out, “there’s claw marks on the side of this wall too.”

Nightshade looked up from where he was busy clawing the wall in another place to mark their path, and saw what Spark was looking at. There were claw marks in the wall, very similar, yet slightly different in shape to the ones he had just made. Carefully, he ran his claws over them. “These ones weren’t made by me, and they weren’t made by Wildflame either…and they’re too small to be Redclaw’s…” he mused, and then darted back to the other claw marks on the left tunnel’s wall, Wildflame at his side. After a moment of examining them closely, he sighed. “These look the same. Obviously someone else made these…and recently by the look of it. I think they may have made them to try and confuse us.”

Blazefang shifted uneasily on his paws, while Redclaw glanced around, worried. Wildflame decided to speak up. “Well, they’ll have to try harder than that,” she growled. “We now know we haven’t gone through either of these tunnels, and we’ll just have to have Redclaw mark the way. His claw marks are pretty recognizable.”

“Good idea!” Nightshade complimented her, and the group headed off down the left tunnel.

As they walked, they often saw other rooms and small spaces that led to bigger caverns, all with the same marks. Some of the places marked even led to spaces too small for Redclaw to fit through. However, just as a precaution, Nightshade checked every one closely to make sure that the marks really were the strange ones, and not their own.

“Whoever’s trying to confuse us isn’t thinking this through very well,” Spark remarked after a while.

“I’m not so sure they’re trying to confuse us anymore, Spark,” Nightshade told the jolteon. “I’m beginning to think that these marks might be a warning.”

“As long as we stick together, we should be fine,” Redclaw stated. “Let’s just keep going and make sure we aren’t going in circles.”

Nightshade nodded and he and Redclaw walked further over the slippery stone, Spark and Wildflame following just behind them. Blazefang followed them at a distance, feeling an eerie feeling creep along his spine. He wished the pack were here…or even that the heracross and his friends would allow him to travel with them. But neither of those things were going to happen. Trying to forget his worried thoughts, Blazefang sighed and took another step forward.

He was immediately met with a loud screech as something jumped down on him from above.

“TRESSPASSERS! We’ve found you!”

-ooo-

It was a while before Stormblade was ready to travel again. Even then, the going was painfully slow, and Stormblade would often stop, and each time he did so, it took longer for Snowcrystal and Rosie to help him get up and keep going again. Thunder didn’t try to offer any help, though she did make a few remarks to the others that forcing him to travel like this was only making things worse. Rosie had quickly gotten tired and ended up walking beside Stormblade, leaving Snowcrystal to light the way on her own.

The small growlithe wasn’t sure how much farther the group could go that day. They were all tired, hungry, and thirsty, yet there was no food to be seen, nor was there any source of water other than the scarce droplets falling from the ceiling and the occasional tiny puddles. She decided that they’d find a place to rest and try to sleep for a while.

As she walked ahead of the others through a narrow passage, she realized that up ahead, the tunnel opened up into a much larger cavern, with a high domed ceiling covered in long, pointed stalactites. Snowcrystal ran ahead, emerging from the tunnel and into the big cavern. The sight took her breath away.

She was standing on a stone ledge above an oddly smooth cave floor below her, looking out over a cavern bigger than any she’d ever seen, even in the vespiquen’s hive. Colorful and complex rock formations, ranging in hue from golden yellow and orange-brown to grayish purple, covered the cavern, forming strange and intricate patterns on the cave wall and the many pillars of stone. Parts of the cave were lit up by large clusters of crystals that glowed, much like the ones she had known back in her home. A feeling of homesickness washed over her, and she wondered what her friends back at the mountain were doing now.

Snowcrystal turned her head as Thunder came to stand beside her. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked the scyther.

“For one big, giant enclosed space? Sure,” Thunder replied. She turned her head as Rosie and Stormblade stood beside them.

“Wow…” Rosie gasped, “I’ve seen caves before…but none like this…it’s amazing! I never knew stone could be so…colorful.”

Snowcrystal wondered what Stormblade thought of it, but when he didn’t say anything, she realized that at the moment, pain must be a far more pressing issue for him than the beauty of a cave. She sighed. “At least I won’t have to use fire attacks for a while until we get through this part of the cave,” she said, indicating the crystals. “And the floor is smooth…it’ll be easy to walk over.” She directed this last statement at Stormblade, who didn’t respond. She wasn’t even sure he had heard her.

“Do you think we should walk through here before we rest?” Rosie asked Snowcrystal.

The growlithe nodded. “Yes, it’ll be easy. And if we need to, we can always rest somewhere in this cavern.” She stepped toward the edge of the rocky ledge, looking down at the smooth ground below. “Let’s go.”

She leaped down, but once she landed, she soon figured out why the stone floor was so smooth; it wasn’t stone at all. Her paws landed with a squelch in thick, gooey mud. Lifting one of her paws with a little difficulty, as the mud was sticky and reached halfway up her legs, she turned to the others, trying to shake the mud off her paw and flinching when a drop of water from above struck her nose. “It’s…uh…muddy…” she told them sheepishly.

Rosie peered down at the ground and then gingerly leapt to stand beside Snowcrystal on three legs, the mud only reaching a little bit above her paws. “It’s not so bad,” she told the two scyther, who were waiting. “And it shouldn’t be a problem for you two.”

“That mud is just an infection waiting to happen,” Thunder muttered grudgingly, but she too leaped down to stand beside Snowcrystal, ignoring the pain shooting up her injured leg. Being taller than the other two, the mud wasn’t much of a problem for Thunder to walk through, but Snowcrystal was worried that she would be right about the infection.

Stormblade, still on the ledge, leaned over to get a better view of the ground below. At any time before his injuries, he could have effortlessly made the jump. Now, it seemed impossible. He turned to peer at his wings, all four of them battered, burned and useless. He turned back to look at the other three pokémon on the ground. He knew the only way he’d ever get down without injuring himself further was to climb.

Snowcrystal watched as Stormblade turned away from the edge of the rock he was standing on, and limped over to the side, where the ledge sloped down a little to meet the ground below it. The scyther leaned forward, using the tips of his scythes to steady himself, and began to slowly, hesitantly, climb down.

Stormblade hadn’t gone far when his scythe slipped on the wet stone, causing him to trip and tumble down into the mud. He slowly tried to stand upright, looking down at the mud covering the thin but deep burns around his legs.

While Stormblade started to lick his wounds clean, Thunder began walking ahead, determined to get out of the cavern. “Wait up!” Snowcrystal called, running with difficulty through the mud to catch up to her. She stopped at Thunder’s side, panting. “We have to stick together…and wait for Rosie and Stormblade.”

To her surprise, Thunder didn’t object, and stayed where she was. Rosie reached the others first, though it was clear the ninetales found it a bit harder to walk through the mud on three legs. At last Stormblade reached them, no longer bothering to try and clean the mud from his wounds. Snowcrystal looked at him and sighed yet again. “Come on,” she told the others, knowing that Stormblade and Rosie wouldn’t be able to climb back onto the ledge anyway. “We might as well just keep going until we find a good spot to rest. Follow me…”

Snowcrystal began walking, heading toward a large group of stalagmites near the center of the cavern, the others trailing behind her. As she walked further, the mud she was walking through got deeper. The others, apart from Stormblade, didn’t seem to notice or care much, but Snowcrystal found that wading through the mud was becoming harder and harder. After a short while, the mud had gotten so deep it reached her belly fur, and it was so thick that she found it hard to force her way through it. Stopping, she turned to Thunder. “Maybe you should go first,” she suggested, realizing that Thunder could move through the mud without much trouble, and make the way easier for the rest of them.

Thunder moved to the front of the group, and Snowcrystal found it easier to walk through where the scyther had stepped, but further on, the mud was still getting deeper, and stickier. It wasn’t long before Thunder got fed up with fighting her way through the thick gooey mud, and decided to fly over it instead, despite the injuries to her wings. Snowcrystal watched the scyther fly over to another ledge on the far side of the cavern, where she stood waiting for them, though unable to see them clearly from that far across the stone room.

Snowcrystal was finding it increasingly more difficult to wade through the mud. Near the center of the cavern, it got much deeper, and her paws could no longer touch the bottom. Instead, she was forced to crawl over the mud’s surface, trying not to sink too far and get stuck. Behind her, Rosie was forced to do the same, only on three legs.

“I think the combee’s cave was nicer,” the ninetales remarked, trying to distract herself and the others while she struggled to keep her paws from sinking too deeply.

“Well at least there aren’t any angry pokémon chasing after us this time,” Snowcrystal remarked, realizing what Rosie was trying to do. “I’ll take this over being chased by a swarm of combee any day.”

“Heh, me too,” Rosie replied. “I can’t stand bug pokémon…well, most bugs anyway,” she added in a whispered apology to Stormblade. “Being chased by a swarm of combee was really…ugh…oh great…I think I’m stuck.”

Snowcrystal turned her head, seeing Rosie lying on the mud with her forepaws reaching out in front of her. Her back legs had sunk deeply into the ooze, and as she struggled to pull them free, the suction from the thick, sticky mud kept her from making much progress.

As Snowcrystal watched, she realized that her own paws were sinking. Quickly pulling away, she shouted a warning to Rosie. “Don’t stop!” she hissed warningly. “Keep moving forward or else you’ll just sink further.”

Rosie nodded and pulled herself forward, inch by inch, until her back legs were free enough to allow her to crawl over the surface of the mud again.

By this time, Stormblade was up to his waist in mud, and was making slower progress than the others, despite the fact that he could still touch the ground and didn’t have to worry about sinking. As he got further, Snowcrystal realized that the mud was deeper still further on, and was still so thick that Stormblade could hardly force his way through it.

Snowcrystal quickly found that it was easier to walk over the mud when she walked quickly, not allowing her paws much time to sink. Rosie caught on and followed Snowcrystal’s example, calling encouragement to Stormblade. Stormblade, however, couldn’t follow the example. Unlike them, he only had one good leg, and his scythes quickly and easily sank through the mud when he tried to put any weight on them. He was also heavier than the others; even an underweight scyther weighed more than a small ninetales or a growlithe.

Snowcrystal didn’t dare stop for fear that she would get stuck, but she was growing increasingly worried. She became even more so when they reached the group of stalagmites, which blocked out most of the light from the nearby crystals, eclipsing the group in darkness. Snowcrystal kept close to the stalagmites, in case she needed to use something to help her pull herself free of the mud. Here, the shadows from the stones made the ground even darker, and she had to rely on the light from her crystal to see. After a few more steps, she noticed a strange smell, but didn’t focus on it long, and continued to make her way past the rocks.

Suddenly she stumbled into something, causing her to fall onto her side in the mud. She quickly got up and backed away, trying to see what she had walked into by scraping some of the mud off her crystal with her claws. She soon realized what it was that she had stumbled into. What lay ahead of her was the skeleton of some canine pokémon, half submerged in the mud by the rocks. Letting out a squeak of surprise, Snowcrystal backed away.

Rosie looked up, stopping in her tracks at the sight of the long-dead pokémon. Snowcrystal edged around it, calling to Rosie to keep going. Snowcrystal found herself unable to look away from the still skeleton of whatever pokémon had tried to travel through the cavern. It was bigger than she was, but it looked horribly like a growlithe, and Snowcrystal got a sickening jolt when she realized that along with the churned up mud around the pokémon, there were claw marks on the stalagmite nearest to it.

“What an awful way to die,” Rosie remarked sadly, noticing the same thing she had. “Being trapped in the mud and slowly starving to death…” She shuddered.

“K-keep g-going…” Snowcrystal whispered quietly, turning away. However, the image of the growlithe’s skeleton and the desperate claw marks on the stone was forever branded into her mind. She kept her gaze focused ahead, not knowing if she could force herself to look back even if she wanted to. Rosie kept silent until they left the shadows of the stalagmites and emerged into the open again.

The ninetales breathed a sigh of relief. The ledge Thunder was waiting on wasn’t far away, and as they came into the light again, Thunder turned her head towards them, saying nothing. As Stormblade managed to make it past the stalagmites, Snowcrystal and Rosie, already far ahead, noticed with relief that the mud was shallower at the bottom of the ledge, and the two exhausted fire types climbed up the slope and reached Thunder.

Snowcrystal looked out over the mud again, calling to Stormblade. “Keep going, Stormblade! It’s not so deep further on!” However, she knew that he was in one of the deepest parts of the mud, and she realized with worry that he looked more exhausted than any of them.

Stormblade moved forward, ever so slowly, but got no more than a few paces before he stopped, feeling too weak to go on. “Don’t stop!” Rosie called to him. “Do you want to get trapped there?”

Reluctantly, Stormblade kept struggling to move toward the others, but this time he only got a small step further before he stopped again. Snowcrystal quickly edged her way down off the ledge and into the shallow mud, facing him. “It gets easier over here!” she told him. “You’re almost through the worst part…just keep going and it won’t be so hard!”

This time Stormblade looked up at her but didn’t move. “Keep going!” Snowcrystal shouted at him again.

But Stormblade’s strength had left him. As he tried to struggle forward, he found himself unable to move. Although he wasn’t in danger of sinking further as long as he was standing, the sticky mud made it impossible for him to move backwards or forwards in his weakened state. Snowcrystal watched as he struggled wearily for a few more moments before doing the worst possible thing he could have done, laying down on the surface of the thick mud.

“Stormblade! No, don’t-” Snowcrystal shouted, but Stormblade didn’t respond. Without hesitating, Snowcrystal raced across the surface of the mud toward him. Rosie stayed behind on the rock ledge, looking panicked. Snowcrystal reached Stormblade’s side quickly. “Get up!” she shouted urgently. “Don’t lay down…you have to keep going!”

“I-I…can’t…” Stormblade’s voice was hardly even a whisper.

Snowcrystal felt her paws sinking further, but at the moment she didn’t care. “You have to get up! Don’t give up Stormblade! You…you…can’t give up…”

“Stormblade, don’t just lay there!” Rosie’s panicked shout sounded across the cavern from the ledge she stood on, but to Snowcrystal, her cry seemed very far away.

Stormblade lifted his head painfully and tried to rise, but it was clear that he simply did not have the strength. He lay down again.

“Stormblade!” Snowcrystal cried, pulling her paws free of the mud and edging closer to him. She whined softly, nudging the side of his head. She knew she should get back on the ledge, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave his side when she had no idea if he would be able to make it or not.

Back on the ledge, Rosie paced back and forth anxiously. If it hadn’t been for her broken leg, she would have dashed into the mud to try to help Stormblade as well. Yet in reality, she realized, all they could do was try to encourage him. Snowcrystal was far too small to help Stormblade out, and she knew that she wouldn’t be of any help either. Thunder was the only one who remained calm, watching Snowcrystal and Stormblade impassively.

“Stormblade you have…to try…” Snowcrystal gasped, trying to push the scyther’s blade out of the mud. “You can’t just…give up…” Stormblade’s only response was to close his eyes.

“Snowcrystal, get out of there!” Rosie shouted in worry. The growlithe looked down to see herself submerged up to her shoulders. Fighting to free herself, she crawled forward out of the mud, turning to Rosie.

“What do you want me to do? Just leave him here?” she shouted back.

“You’re too small to be of any help to him!” Rosie called back, the fear for both her and Stormblade showing in the ninetales’s panicked gaze. “Get out or you’ll be stuck too! We’ll think of something! Just…let me think…”

Snowcrystal refused to listen. Rosie could hear the growlithe’s cries grow more and more panicked as Stormblade still didn’t move. “Oh no…” she whispered. “He’s giving up…oh no…”

Thunder could hear both Rosie’s panicked whispers and Snowcrystal’s desperate shouts echoing around the walls of the cave. She closed her eyes, trying to drown it all out.

“Snowcrystal you need to get back here!” Rosie cried. “It’s dangerous! There’s got to be another way…just…come back! Get back where it’s safe!”

“NO!” Snowcrystal shouted back, still trying in vain to push Stormblade out of the mud. She was simply too small…there was no way she could help him, but she was refusing to let herself believe it. In the back of her mind, she knew that if she stayed there she would soon become stuck too deeply in the mud to be able to get out, just as Stormblade now was, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Stormblade’s side.

“You’re no use to him trapped!” Rosie shouted, fighting back the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her.

Thunder opened her eyes. Her gaze slowly moved from Rosie to Snowcrystal and Stormblade. She stood still, the cries of the growlithe and ninetales echoing all around her. She sighed.

Rosie was nearly knocked off her feet as Thunder rushed by her, taking to the air and flying out over the mud. She blinked in surprise, hardly registering what had just happened. Snowcrystal looked up as Thunder landed roughly beside her, her feet skidding slightly in the mud. “Move aside,” Thunder told the stunned growlithe, who obeyed.

Stormblade’s eyes opened in surprise as he looked up at Thunder as if the mud and blood covered scyther was the last thing he expected to see. Without waiting for a response from him, Thunder leaned down and sank her unusually long fangs in the top of Stormblade’s wing.

Stormblade was too weak to even cry out in pain as Thunder pulled on his wing, backing up to keep herself from sinking into the deep mud. It was much harder to try and pull him out than she expected, and she didn’t seem to be making any progress. Instead, she was starting to sink herself. Despite this, she pulled harder, ignoring the acrid taste of Stormblade’s blood in her mouth.

Snowcrystal backed away from Thunder, making sure to stay constantly moving to keep her paws from sinking deeply. “Keep trying, Thunder!” she called, her hope beginning to be renewed.

After a few more moments, Stormblade felt himself being pulled ever so slightly out of the mud. Feeling a small bit of strength returning to him, he lifted his head again, trying to help Thunder by pushing against the ground with his good leg and attempting to crawl forward using his scythes.

Exhausted, Thunder let go of Stormblade’s wing, spitting out the blood. “Stupid deep mud…whose idea was it to come this way anyway?” she muttered, before grabbing his wing again and starting to pull.

Fighting against the sinking mud that felt like it was trying to pull him down again, and trying not to think about the possibility of his wing getting ripped out of his back, Stormblade, aided by Thunder, used what little strength he had left to crawl out of the deepest part of the mud. Even then, the worst part wasn’t over. Allowing Stormblade to lean against her, Thunder had to do most of the work fighting her way through the thick mud, knowing that flying was out of the question. Snowcrystal raced back and forth from the ledge to the two scyther, refusing to get to safety until they had managed to reach the rocky ledge where Rosie waited. When at last Thunder managed to help Stormblade pull himself up onto the ledge, both of them collapsed, exhausted.

Snowcrystal climbed up after them, feeling exhausted herself. For a while, there was nothing any of them could do but gasp for breath.

“Thunder…thank you…” Stormblade whispered, looking up at her. “I couldn’t have done that alone.”

Thunder stared back at him in surprise, a moment before Snowcrystal ran over to her, wagging her tail and happily licking her face. “You did it!” the growlithe cried. “You saved his life! You’re a hero!” Startled and confused, Thunder pulled away from her and stood up.

“That was…really brave of you,” Rosie told the scyther, her gaze filled with respect.

“Brave?” Thunder repeated. “Why should I be afraid of mud? I have usable wings.”

“Of course it was brave!” Snowcrystal cried, not seeming to have heard Thunder’s last statement. “You saved Stormblade’s life…” she added in a more serious tone. “I don’t think any of us can thank you enough.” Thunder didn’t reply; in fact she seemed completely clueless about how to respond.

While Stormblade lay down, too exhausted to get up, he watched Snowcrystal and Rosie talking to Thunder, and realized with confusion that it seemed to only be making Thunder look more miserable than before. And he certainly knew that it wasn’t because Thunder had any sort of problem with others seeing her doing a good deed.

As the two overjoyed small pokémon continued to praise Thunder, the scyther’s gaze darted from side to side. Then, without saying anything, she turned and darted into a tunnel veering off from the ledge they were standing on.

Rosie paused, looking confused. “Was it something I said?” she wondered aloud, glancing at the others.

Thunder had no intentions of leaving the group or going far. She simply wanted to be alone. Noticing a dark, small cavern to the left of her, she turned and walked into it, crouching down against the rough stone. Rosie and Snowcrystal’s voices reached her through the darkness. “Thunder?” Snowcrystal cried. “Where are you?”

“I’m over here!” Thunder yelled back, annoyed. “Don’t follow me. I just want a moment’s peace…and I’m obviously not going to get it with you three around!”

“Oh…okay,” Snowcrystal replied in a confused tone, and she and Rosie turned back and walked to Stormblade.

When she was sure the two of them had left, Thunder lay down, trying to ignore the tears that came to her eyes and dripped to the rock below her, looking exactly the same against the cold stone as the water dripping from the stalactites above her.

Back on the ledge by the large cavern, Snowcrystal lay curled up next to Stormblade with Rosie right beside her. They had decided to rest there and continue the journey when Stormblade was stronger. Snowcrystal was nearly asleep when Thunder finally reappeared, looking a bit worried about something. Looking up, Snowcrystal smiled at her. “Oh, hi Thunder…” she whispered sleepily.

“Look, if you guys want to talk about how happy you are that Stormblade’s here, save it for later, okay?” Thunder told her.

“Oh…all right,” Snowcrystal replied.

Rosie looked up and watched Thunder move to the other side of the ledge and lie down. “You can sleep here with us if you want to,” the ninetales told her.

“How about…no,” Thunder muttered, before laying her head down and closing her eyes.

Rosie just sighed and closed her eyes as well, hoping that traveling through the rest of the cave would be easier for all of them, and that they would have the strength to make it through.

-ooo-

Cyclone had long since realized that Blazefang was in no way going to cooperate with him. The houndour would probably have to be killed by a trusted fire type in his army. But the real question was…who to trust?

The vaporeon did not turn as Solus approached him from behind. Sunlight glinted off the red letter ‘R’ on the espeon’s collar as he came to stand beside Cyclone. “So…are we going after them?” he asked.

“Not through the cave,” Cyclone replied calmly, not even turning to look at Solus. “We can’t afford to lose our strong pokémon. Instead, I will send some of them to guard the tunnel entrance in the hills. The rest of us will simply find all exits to the cave system and wait there for the houndour to come out.”

“How are we going to find all the exits?” Solus asked.

“Some of the forest pokémon should know,” Cyclone replied calmly, and stood up, heading back to the main army. “Stay calm, Solus. The fire Forbidden Attack is not lost…everything’s merely been…delayed…”

To be continued…

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 33 - The Dark Maze

Redclaw, Nightshade, Wildflame, and Spark all jumped at the sound of the loud cry and Blazefang’s panicked yelp. They turned around to see the houndour wrestling with something small and covered in dark grayish fur. With a growl, Blazefang sent the pokémon flying with a kick from his back paws. He got to his feet again as the stranger landed nimbly on all fours and turned to face him.

Blazefang recognized the pokémon as a sneasel, a fellow dark type. Though the pokémon looked ferocious, she was much smaller than he was, and still quite a young pokémon by the look of her. The houndour took a step forward.

“Listen!” he barked. “We don’t want to be in your cave any more than you want us to! We’re tryin’ to find a way out! Know of one? If you do, tell us and we’ll leave faster!”

The sneasel’s fur bristled. “I know every rock and wall of this cave,” she spat back. “But I don’t help those who threaten us. Wander through the cave all you want, but leave this place! This cavern belongs to us!”

“Threaten? I’m not trying to threaten you! Are you blind?” Blazefang growled back furiously.

“You threaten us when you intrude upon our sacred haven,” the sneasel replied, meeting his stare evenly.

“Haven?” Blazefang scoffed. “You call this underground wasteland a haven? Just how do you get food here? It’s nothing but a damp, dark old cave.”

At that point, Nightshade decided to step in. “Look,” the heracross told the sneasel. “This houndour means no harm. We’re looking for a way out. Could you please-”

“Find a way out yourself!” the sneasel shouted boldly, leaping onto her hind paws and glaring at him. “If I told you the route, you’d be able to find your way back here and others would know of this place. Do you think I’m that stupid?”

Spark rolled his eyes. “This pokémon’s crazy,” he muttered. “There’s nothing here but rocks.”

The sneasel grinned. “That’s all you see, isn’t it?” she told him, her eyes glinting.

Feeling he’d had enough of this, Blazefang brushed past Nightshade, tackling the small sneasel roughly to the ground. “That’s it!” the houndour yelled. “Either tell us the way out, or I’ll make you tell!” Growling, he pressed his paw against the dark pokémon’s neck. “Tell!”

However, no answer came from the sneasel save for a long, eerie, drawn out wail of fear. Nightshade quickly moved forward in an attempt to stop Blazefang while Spark and Redclaw flattened their ears at the sound of the sneasel’s shrill scream. But before Nightshade could reach the houndour, they were swarmed by a massive group of zubat, golbat, and crobat coming from seemingly out of nowhere.

Chaos ensued. Blazefang found himself backing frantically away from the sneasel and toward the cave wall as he attempted to fend off the attackers, snapping his jaws at any that came too close. It was a futile effort; there were far too many of them, and he could feel more and more of their fangs sinking into his legs and shoulders, faster than he could retaliate. The other three were in similar situations, though Spark was fighting them off much easier than the others with the use of his long-ranged electric attacks.

Blazefang threw back his head and blasted a flamethrower into the mass of swirling bat pokémon above. By the light of the flame, he could see the pokémon quickly maneuvering out of the way and gathering together in massive swarms that seemed to fill the entire upper cavern. Blazefang stared in awe for a moment, and then as the flames from his attack died out he was ambushed by them again.

Through the mass of screeching bat pokémon, he could hear the others’ cries, and every few seconds a bright flash from Spark’s electric attacks illuminated the cave and showed him the dire situation they were in. No matter how strong any of their attacks were, they would run out of strength long before their enemies ran out of numbers. However, despite the hopelessness of the situation, Blazefang was determined that, if he had to go down, he would go down fighting.

With a snarl he leapt at his opponents, scratching and biting whichever pokémon were nearest. Though the urge to use Shadowflare welled up strongly within him, he resisted it. He would not fall victim to that urge again, whatever the cost. If he was to win the battle, he would win it on his own, without the help of the Forbidden Attack. Growling, he flung two golbat away from him with a kick of his hind paws. Whirling around, he opened his jaws to blast them with a searing flamethrower. But something stopped him.

A loud voice sounded through the confusion. Blazefang could hear the words clearly, even over the sound of the fighting.

“Stop! What is happening here?”

At once, all activity ceased. Blazefang could see the startled looks of Snowcrystal’s three friends as the bats moved away, still staring menacingly at them. The houndour looked up carefully, seeing the pokémon through the gloom by the light of the small jolts of bright electricity still flying off Spark’s fur. Standing clearly on a rock was a large weavile, who regarded them with neither fear nor loathing. Since most of the bat pokémon were staring at Blazefang, the houndour was glad when Redclaw decided to speak.

“Look, we-” the arcanine began, but a zubat interrupted him.

“We heard a shout,” the small winged pokémon explained. “That houndour…was attacking her…” he waved his wing toward the small sneasel, who was still staring at Blazefang with cold eyes.

The weavile’s expression did not change. “Was this attack provoked?” he asked calmly.

Before anyone else could speak, Nightshade stepped forward. “The young sneasel stopped us and told us we were trespassing,” the heracross explained. “We did not know it, though the claw marks we saw on the cave walls must have been there to try and lead us away from here. We should have heeded the warning, but we are strangers to this place. We tried to explain to the sneasel that we did not mean to intrude into anyone’s territory and it was purely an accident, but for whatever reason she did not want to help us find a way out. That houndour there, Blazefang, pushed her to the ground, and for that I apologize to you for him. It was uncalled for, though the sneasel attacked him first. We don’t want to fight anymore. We only want to get out of this cave safely, and to find our friends. We will leave this cavern immediately if that is your desire.”

As Nightshade finished, the weavile appeared much calmer. “Then I believe this has simply been a misunderstanding,” he replied. “You are free to go.”

Blazefang looked up in surprise, only to duck down again as several of the bats swooped low and vanished into the darkness. “Wait!” he called to the weavile, walking forward. “Can you help us find a way out?” The weavile seemed to look a bit hesitant and Blazefang quickly added in an attempt to persuade him, “I know something you might need to know. There could be an army of pokémon searching through this cave and you need to be warned about what they’re like. They’ve been chasing me because of the Forbidden Attack and I’ve been…”

He paused, for a hush had come over those still remaining in the cavern. Blazefang froze. He realized he’d just made a very bad mistake. Now they knew that he may be the reason an army could be coming. Yet when the weavile spoke, it was quite a different reaction to what Blazefang had expected.

“Did you say…Forbidden Attack?” the weavile asked him.

“Yes,” Blazefang replied. The thought to lie didn’t even enter his brain at the moment; he was just focused on being able to leave the cavern without being attacked again. “I…I know the Forbidden Attack Shadowflare,” he added, wondering if that would intimidate the pokémon a little.

The weavile’s expression changed to one of worry. “Then we need to talk,” he told Blazefang and the others. “Come with me…I believe this concerns every one of us.”

“But…but…Shade…” the small sneasel spoke in a worried voice, “we can’t trust them to keep this a secret! We can’t let them into our sacred cavern!”

“Star, this is much more important!” Shade replied, while Redclaw and Spark exchanged confused looks. “Besides,” the weavile continued, “they do not seem like the type to want to cause us harm in any way.”

“But must you speak with them there?” the little sneasel replied, looking horrified.

“I don’t know how safe we are here now,” the weavile replied. “And maybe entrusting them with our secret will convince them to keep theirs. Also I do not want to talk about such things in a place where any wandering cave pokémon could hear. I need to speak with them in private.”

Star made no response, and merely nodded, hoping Shade was right. With that, the weavile stood up, addressing the four traveling pokémon that stood before him. “Now,” he began, extending his claws toward them, “follow me.”

-ooo-

Snowcrystal hadn’t slept for long when she woke suddenly. Looking around, she saw that Thunder had vanished again, but Rosie was sleeping soundly beside her. Stormblade was lying with his eyes closed, but she could tell he was still wide awake. As she stood up, she realized that most of the mud covering her fur had hardened, and came off easily, though her white fur was still filthy. Carefully she walked over and prodded Rosie in the shoulder.

The ninetales stirred and looked up at her sleepily. “Are we leaving already?” she asked.

“Well, we have to soon,” Snowcrystal responded as Stormblade opened his eyes and looked at her. Snowcrystal turned to the tunnel Thunder had vanished to earlier and sighed. “I’m going to look for Thunder,” she told the others, and without waiting for a response, she dashed into the tunnel.

It didn’t take her long to find Thunder in a small cavern. The scyther was asleep, but as soon as Snowcrystal got near her, she woke up. “Uh…we’re going to leave soon,” Snowcrystal began hesitantly.

“Fine,” Thunder stated quickly, standing up and pushing past Snowcrystal to join the others still on the rock ledge. She turned away from Rosie and Stormblade, ready to ignore anything they might try to say to her. Snowcrystal sighed and sat down, letting the others rest.

After another short while, they got up and continued their tiresome journey through the maze of stone walls, ignoring fatigue and thirst as they sought a way to freedom from the dark underground prison. A maze of tunnels and caverns lay ahead of them, twisting and turning in random directions and often crossing paths with other tunnels.

Snowcrystal led the way soundly, keeping her gaze focused on the path ahead. After a while, something made her pause. “I think I can hear water up ahead…” she whispered, running forward toward the sound for a moment before remembering that the others couldn’t keep up, and slowing down. However, even at a slower pace, she still nearly stumbled into the water before she saw it.

The faint glow from her gem and the flickering firelight from her ember attack shone over the rocky ground in front of her which sloped gently down to a pool of crystal clear water. However, there was something hauntingly eerie about the place, something mysterious. The water was shallow near where Snowcrystal was standing, and the rock beneath the water was smooth, but from what she could see further on, the water got steadily deeper. As she softly blew a slightly bigger flame into the air, she realized that something under the water was glittering. Rosie noticed it immediately as well.

“Look!” the ninetales cried. “There are lots of little shiny stones under the water!”

“I think they’re crystals,” Snowcrystal replied. “Just really small ones.”

Rosie walked closer to the water, bending down to lap at its smooth surface. Snowcrystal and the others walked toward it and did the same. After a long while of traveling through the cave, the water tasted very cool and refreshing. Snowcrystal felt oddly comfortable in this cavern, and it wasn’t until she used another fire attack to light up the area and saw Stormblade shivering that she knew why; it was colder here. Glancing over her own muddy fur, Snowcrystal gently felt the water with her paw. It didn’t seem too cold despite the temperature of the cavern. “Well, I guess it would be nice to wash this mud off while we’re here,” Snowcrystal told the others before wading into the pool.

The growlithe felt a sudden rush of unease at the feeling of the water lapping gently at her fur, but she pushed the feeling to the back of her mind. Fire types usually found water uncomfortable, but a little swim was no hydro pump attack; it couldn’t hurt her. She waded a bit further before turning to look at the other three. All of them were still standing on the bank.

“What’s the matter with you guys?” Snowcrystal asked them, letting her fire attack die out so that she could speak.

“I’d rather be covered in mud than wet,” Rosie stated simply.

“It looks cold…” Stormblade whispered wearily.

Just out of pure curiosity, Rosie turned to Thunder. “So what’s your excuse?” she asked.

“I don’t want to get wet,” Thunder told the ninetales with a hint of annoyance.

“It’s not as cold as it looks,” Snowcrystal told the others, directing her statement particularly at Stormblade. She thought it might even help him; the scratches she had gotten from previous battles felt soothed by the water. “You three all need your wounds cleaned, and the water makes mine feel better. You should try it.”

“My wounds are fine filthy,” Rosie replied hurriedly. “They don’t need to be wet. They just…don’t.”

Snowcrystal rolled her eyes. “Then provide some light for us, okay?” she told her, and surprisingly, Rosie didn’t argue.

Though the thought of a cool pool of water was appealing, Stormblade still wasn’t sure he liked the idea of getting wet when he was already cold, but he needed to clean his wounds somehow. With slight hesitation, he hobbled closer to the water’s edge to stand in the shallowest part, still looking uncertain.

Thunder stayed put. “I’m not a water type,” she muttered. “I’m staying right here.”

Stormblade turned to look at her. It struck him as odd at first that she would refuse, but then it occurred to him that she might have never been in water her entire life. Wild scyther had a natural liking for water. It wasn’t uncommon for forest scyther to clean themselves in shallow ponds or streams, and there was usually plenty of prey around those areas too. He was sure that if Thunder had grown up in a forest and was used to it, or even just gave it a chance once, she would like it. “Why don’t you just try it?” he asked her. “You might-”

“No,” Thunder said firmly.

“It would at least clean your wounds a bit,” Stormblade replied.

Thunder looked indecisive for a moment, but after a few seconds of hesitation, she gave in and walked past Stormblade and toward Snowcrystal, ignoring the pain that flared up in her leg when the water first touched the wounds. Sighing, she walked closer to Snowcrystal, who had managed to wash the mud out of her fur and was pouncing on some of the larger crystals beneath the water. As Thunder walked past, Snowcrystal swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out, setting a crystal by the edge of the water and then jumping back in with a splash to find another.

“What are you doing that for?” Rosie asked when Snowcrystal surfaced again with another crystal in her mouth.

Snowcrystal set it down by the other one and just shrugged. “I don’t know,” she stated innocently. “I just like them. I wonder how many pokémon actually get to see this place. It doesn’t look like many have been here.”

Thunder, who had been listening, didn’t agree with Snowcrystal about liking the crystals. Some of the large crystals were sharp and scraped the wounds on her feet, further aggravating her. When she bent down to look at them, she didn’t think of them as fascinating or beautiful; they were just a nuisance that made wading in the water a lot less pleasant.

Stormblade hadn’t gone deep enough into the water to see the crystals, and instead lay down in the shallowest part of the pool, where the rock beneath was smooth. Seeing this, Snowcrystal brought one of the crystals over to show him.

Despite not wanting to get in the water, Rosie was glad for the chance to relax. Her leg was paining her, though after she lay down to rest for a while, she felt a little better, but was still very tired. Listening to Snowcrystal talk to Stormblade, even though he didn’t respond, the ninetales sighed and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts drift peacefully away into sleep…

She had nearly fallen asleep when something made her jolt awake. Somewhere from within the cave, there was a strange sound. It sounded like a calm, peaceful melody, which was at the same time haunting and eerie. “What’s that?” Rosie asked, sitting up quickly.

Snowcrystal, who had had her head under the water during the time, looked up, confused. “What’s what?”

“I heard it too,” Thunder said calmly, facing the darkness away from the others, where the pool of water got deeper.

Snowcrystal waded over to her and used a very small flame wheel to light up the area more. The water went on much farther than she had expected, deep into a maze of caverns. It was more like an underground lake than a pool. Her eyes widened in surprise; she couldn’t even see where the water ended, and in several places it vanished into dark tunnels.

“Don’t use fire attacks!” Rosie growled. “Do you want whatever made that noise coming here?”

“Sorry,” Snowcrystal muttered hastily, letting the flame die out. “Come on. I think we should get out of here in case whatever it is isn’t friendly.” She turned to leave and nudged Thunder’s leg, nearly getting kicked in response.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Rosie muttered, standing up and stepping back as Snowcrystal stepped ashore, shaking water from her fur. “Come on, Stormblade,” the ninetales called to the scyther.

At that point, Stormblade hardly cared whether or not there was an unfriendly pokémon lurking about; the water felt soothing on his aching wounds, and he didn’t want to move. However, knowing that he and his friends could possibly be in danger if they stayed in the area, he slowly got up and stumbled over to them.

After Thunder had reached them, Snowcrystal crept into a tunnel that led away from the water, the others following uncertainly behind her. After only a short walk they emerged into another cavern which bordered the lake on another side. There was no sign of the haunting melody, and the group carried on.

“Wonder what that sound was…” Snowcrystal mused to the others as she climbed over several slippery wet rocks, leaving the lake behind her.

“Do we really want to know?” Rosie muttered, trying to catch up with Snowcrystal, while Thunder waited at the topmost rock, her gaze fixed on a tunnel ahead that sloped downwards.

Snowcrystal lifted her muzzle and closed her eyes, pushing all her troubled thoughts out of her mind as she focused on trying to identify a single scent, even the smallest hint that an exit to the cave could be near. After a moment she sighed and opened her eyes. She had sensed nothing. “Come on,” she told the others, trying to look confident. “I think the air smells fresher through here.” None of the others argued or noticed her growing unease, and she walked into the sloping tunnel silently. She felt bad about leading them when she had no idea where she was going, but all she could do was choose a path and hope for the best. The others didn’t need to worry. It would only make things worse.

For a little while they kept walking, Snowcrystal often having to go back and encourage Stormblade while Rosie and Thunder waited. It was during one of the times when Stormblade had fallen far behind that, while waiting for him, Rosie noticed the faint sound of rushing water. The ninetales looked up at Thunder. “Do you hear that?” she asked.

“I’ve been hearing it for a while,” the scyther replied briskly, not even turning to look at Rosie. The ninetales said nothing, remembering how Thunder had reacted after saving Stormblade before. She obviously didn’t like being talked to much.

Rosie slowly lowered her head toward the ground, surprising a sigh while lightly scraping the smooth stone floor with her claws. She was a bit thirsty again, and the sound of the water nearby was making her want to get up and keep going.

The sound of approaching footsteps reached the ninetales’ ears. She looked up as Snowcrystal arrived, followed much more slowly by Stormblade. “Thunder and I heard water up ahead,” Rosie told her, getting to her feet again. “It’s probably nearby. I can lead the way.”

To her relief, Snowcrystal nodded, and Rosie limped briskly over the smooth boulders lining the floor of the cave while listening for the increasingly loud sound of rushing water.

Snowcrystal had been trotting beside Stormblade when she heard Rosie give a sudden shriek. For an instant she froze, then bounded forward until she reached the ninetales’ side, nearly falling victim to the same trap Rosie had just narrowly avoided.

The two fire types were standing on a rocky ledge which dropped steeply into a small, yet deep and swiftly flowing river. Rosie stood frozen, her eyes wide as she imagined what would have happened had she not managed to scramble away from the edge at the last instant.

“What are you standing there for?” Thunder snapped from behind the two. “Make your fire attacks brighter! I can hardly see.”

Snowcrystal backed further away from the water, motioning for Rosie to do the same. “All right Thunder,” she replied, lighting up the cavern and peering around. They had seemed to have reached a dead end, with the only way past the tunnel being the river. “Let’s turn back,” she whispered. “There’s nowhere else to go.”

“Turn back?” Stormblade rasped from behind the others, looking thoroughly horrified at the thought. “We can’t go back that far. There must be some other way…I don’t want to walk over all those rocks again.”

“Calm down!” Rosie growled at him impatiently, before walking carefully along the edge of the rock overhang above the river, peering at her surroundings. All at once she spotted something that both lifted her spirits and caused her to freeze to the spot in fear at the same time. “Look at this,” she told the others, motioning to a narrow ledge winding up the cave wall above the river, leading to what looked like another cavern above the one the swift-flowing water was vanishing into. “Looks like the only way to get any further is to climb up that ledge to those rocks up there.”

Snowcrystal looked doubtfully at Stormblade. With one leg rendered completely useless, the scyther would have a hard time balancing on such a narrow ledge, but Stormblade seemed to show no fear. She could clearly see a look of dread on his face, but despite that, he looked calm and ready. Snowcrystal noticed Rosie looking at her expectantly, and remembered that she was the one who had to make the decision. The ninetales looked afraid, but there was trust in her eyes. Snowcrystal thought it over for a moment before replying.

“Let’s go up to that cavern,” she told the others, walking over to the smooth stone and stepping onto the first part of the ledge. “Go carefully, but not too slowly. The sooner we reach those rocks up there, the sooner we’re safe.” Deciding it would be best to get the ordeal over with and not give the others too much time to dwell on the decision she had made, Snowcrystal began making her way along the ledge, feeling very at ease after having lived so long on perilous mountaintops.

Rosie, who followed after her, was not so calm. The ninetales’ body was pressed closely against the wall as she stared wide-eyed at the swirling waters churning below her paws, as if she expected some monster pokémon to leap out of the river and attack her. She made slow progress as she followed Snowcrystal one very shaky step at a time.

Thunder followed next, not seeming at all worried. She had decided to walk on the ledge instead of flying across; her injured wing throbbed horribly even after the small distance she had flown in the mud-filled cavern. The scyther felt dizzy and weak, but she pushed it to the back of her mind; she could handle it. Stormblade went last, moving slowly yet confidently behind Thunder.

It hadn’t taken Snowcrystal long to reach the top of the opposite wall and climb up into a small cavern with a low ceiling above where the river vanished into darkness. Seeing Snowcrystal sitting safely seemed to give Rosie hope, and the ninetales moved faster, eager to be out of danger and beside her friend.

She hadn’t gone five paces when her back paw struck a large, loose rock. It tilted downwards, causing Rosie’s hind legs to slide off the edge of the rock wall. Scrabbling furiously with both forepaws, the ninetales pushed her back paws against the rock and hoisted herself upwards, before darting toward Snowcrystal and the safe cavern above. Moving so fast her paws seemed to fly over the stones, and she did not stop until she had reached Snowcrystal’s side and sat in a shivering huddle beside her, her injured foreleg lifted off the ground.

Thunder was about to follow when she peered back at Stormblade. Despite his injuries, the male scyther didn’t seem to be having much of a problem following her, although his progress was slow. When she looked at him, what caught her eye was not the way he was traveling, but the way he had stopped and was looking at her.

“Thunder? Are you…all right?”

Confused, Thunder narrowed her eyes. “Of course I’m all right!” she shouted. “Why don’t you keep going instead of just standing there-” She paused suddenly, realizing that her entire body was shaking, badly, and she felt dizzy. Her vision was blurring, and she closed her eyes tightly, waiting until most of the dizziness passed. The last thing she wanted was to pass out right then and there. Once she thought she wasn’t about to faint, she opened her eyes and headed along the ledge again, despite how weak she felt.

She thought Stormblade shouted something, but she couldn’t hear him clearly, and she was certain the cry that Snowcrystal made sounded much farther away than it should have, and her vision was blurred. But none of that was important, as the next thing she knew, she had stepped on the loose rock that Rosie had stumbled over before. She froze, trying to climb back up to safety. However her strength had completely left her. Before she could try to fly, she felt herself plunging into the icy water. For a moment, she struggled and her head broke the surface, only to be thrust under again into a world of inky blackness. Suddenly wide awake with her vision clearer, she fought to reach the surface again, catching a brief glimpse of Snowcrystal and Rosie’s horrified expressions before she vanished into the dark tunnel and away from any light the previous cavern had provided.

Before she knew it, her head was underwater again, and this time she felt herself falling over a rock face with the water for several feet before slamming back into the river again and being swept even faster along with it. Fighting frantically to reach the surface, she realized very quickly that scythes certainly weren’t any good for swimming. Exerting what little remained of her strength, she at last managed to reach the surface again and gasp for air. Everything around her was shrouded in complete darkness; she could not tell where the river was taking her nor could she pinpoint the direction she had come from. Still struggling to keep her head above the water, she could feel herself losing strength fast, and the cold water was numbing her limbs. Frantically she wondered if there was some way she could fly out of the water to safety, not realizing in her dazed state that that was impossible in her current condition.

The scyther was caught by complete surprise as her shoulder was suddenly slammed into a pillar of stone, causing her to cry out in pain. An instant later, water rushed over her, forcing her under again into the swirling black chaos. But all along her right side she could feel smooth stone, and once she surfaced again she quickly realized that it was a ledge of some sort, leading up to the pillar she had crashed into. Before the dark water could pull her under again, she reached out with both scythes, jamming them into the grooves of the rock. She could feel the water pulling at her, making it difficult to hold fast to the slippery wet stone. She was afraid to move her scythes in case she lost her hold, but she knew that if she didn’t, she would lose her strength and the water would sweep her away.

Little by little, she moved her scythes further up the rock, while scraping her claws against it underwater in an attempt to find a foothold. Painfully she crawled onto the rock and away from the water, finding herself on a small rocky ledge near the cave wall. There didn’t seem to be anywhere to go other than back into the water, and she wasn’t about to do that.

Feeling exhausted, she lay down, deciding that when she felt stronger she would fly to a place where she could start looking for the others. As much as she hated to admit it, she would have to depend on them until her wounds started to heal. Then, she would be able to learn to be a better hunter. The problem that lay ahead of her now was finding her way through the darkness. No light shone in the cavern; it made no difference whether she opened or closed her eyes. Thunder only knew where she was by the sound of the underground river rushing by.

The lone scyther closed her eyes, listening to the river as she rested. After a short while, she felt something wet and sticky running down her back. Her first thought was that it was water, but she quickly realized from the smell that it was blood from the whip cuts on her back, which had obviously opened up again. Frustrated, Thunder stood up, slashing her scythes against the rock wall in agitation while muttering to herself. “Stupid cuts are never going to heal at this rate…now how am I supposed to get away from those other poké-”

Thunder froze as the same eerie melody she and the others had heard before returned, distant at first, but growing steadily closer. Thunder whirled around, unable to see anything in the darkness. “Where are you?” she yelled blindly in the direction of the river. “Come out and fight!”

At first, no sound met her cry. Even the eerie melody was gone. Thunder waited, staring into the inky darkness. Then all at once, something burst out of the water, taking Thunder by surprise. The scyther could see nothing, but sound and smell told her that something massive was looming in front of her. Her first thought was gyarados, but she quickly realized that this scent was very different, and she couldn’t recognize it.

Overcoming her shock quickly, she darted forward, stopping just at the edge of the rock ledge and swiping at the strange creature with her scythes. The whatever-it-was swerved out of the way, unharmed. Thunder stood completely still, unsure of where it was now. Then out of nowhere, something long and scaly crashed into her, pinning her against the wall and holding her there. She could hear a second creature come to the surface of the water and wondered how they managed to not get swept away. A small but bright light from somewhere further up the river appeared next, and through what little light it provided from such a distance, Thunder could see two pairs of eyes staring straight at her.

To be continued…

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 34 - Shade’s Warning

Nightshade and his friends, as well as Blazefang, were all thoroughly confused yet made no objections as Shade beckoned them to follow him. Spark, knowing that the weavile wanted to speak with Blazefang most, kept pushing the houndour roughly ahead of the others as all the bat pokémon still remaining in the cavern watched them suspiciously. Blazefang diverted his attention to the ground, feeling every one of their gazes boring into him. Their suspicion and mistrust hung over him like an ominous dark cloud.

Shade approached a group of odd-looking tall stalagmites, walking up to the rock formation from the side and seeming to vanish behind it. Redclaw and Nightshade exchanged perplexed glances and the group hesitantly followed.

Nightshade, who had approached the rock first, quickly realized that a wide tunnel was hidden behind the stalagmites, hidden almost perfectly from a distance. Motioning to the others to follow him, the heracross walked into the dark opening. The others followed, the bat pokémon leaving them and flying off into other tunnels.

At first it was pitch black, but no one dared use a fire or electric attack for light in case the weavile mistook it for a threat. There was no sign of the small sneasel, and Nightshade guessed that she had gone into another cavern. The heracross lowered his head when he felt his horn scrape against the roof of the tunnel, which was closer to the floor than it had been at the beginning of the rocky passageway, and he heard Redclaw mutter something in pain as his head struck against it.

Then all at once, the cavern got brighter. Nightshade noticed an opening to a big cavern up ahead, and the light coming from it seemed brighter than any he’d seen in the cave so far. When the group stepped into the cavern, their eyes widened in amazement.

Glittering gems of all sizes were embedded in the rock wall from floor to ceiling. Several of the luminous crystals also jutted from the ceiling itself, casting soft light on the shimmering stones and making them glisten like diamonds. Looking up, Nightshade saw several massive stalactites reaching down from the roof of the cave far above them like jagged fangs. He found it impossible to tell how big they really were from a distance, though they looked gigantic.

“This way,” Shade said calmly, and the heracross quickly turned to follow the weavile, his gaze passing over what looked like crude drawings made by pokémon claws on one of the cave walls. They were led into a winding tunnel, lit by soft multicolored light from numerous small crystals of various hues. In spite of the situation they were in, Nightshade had to admit that the sight was stunningly beautiful.

The group passed a few small entrances to other tunnels, though they didn’t have much time for a closer look at any of them. At last, Shade led them into a small cavern lit by crystals that glowed a soft white. Once he made sure that none of the other cave pokémon were around to eavesdrop, the weavile turned to the group of pokémon in front of him, concentrating especially on Blazefang. His first question to the houndour was direct and clear.

“Where did you find the stone that gave you Shadowflare?”

Blazefang was taken aback, but at a glare from Spark and Redclaw, he knew better than to do anything but tell the truth. “I found it by a bunch of rocks in the lands near my pack’s territory,” he answered. “It was by the large snow mountains. I…I didn’t know what it was at the time. There were a bunch of ghost pokémon who I guess were guarding it…” his voice trailed off and he fell silent.

“Ghost pokémon?” Shade repeated in confusion but decided to say nothing more on the matter. “Listen,” he told Blazefang sternly, looking the houndour fully in the eyes. “No matter what you think…no matter what urge possesses you…you must never use that attack under any circumstances, understand?”

“Look, I don’t want to use any more than you want me to!” Blazefang replied hastily, “I-”

“How many times have you used it?” Shade interrupted, fixing Blazefang with another piercing stare.

“Twice…” Blazefang muttered regretfully, still deciding to be truthful. “But I’ve resisted it since then. I realize that it’s dangerous…do you…do you know anything else about the For-”

“Once should have been enough to figure it out!” Shade shouted angrily. Blazefang recoiled in shock, and the weavile’s expression returned to one of calm. “I am sorry…” he muttered quietly. “But I don’t know how to express how important it is that you never use the attack again.”

Spark couldn’t resist the urge to speak up. He turned to Blazefang. “Yeah, Blazefang! So don’t roast any more scyther, all right?” He shot the houndour a glare.

Shade turned to look at the jolteon, curious. Without saying anything to him, he looked at Blazefang again. “Did any of your friends witness the Forbidden Attack?”

“Look,” Redclaw pointed out, “we are not his friends.”

Blazefang glared at the arcanine. “Of course not!” he growled. “But we’re not here to fight about that, are we? Shut up!”

Spark bared his fangs threateningly and his fur turned to pointed spines that sparked with bright electricity. “And you’re not here to boss us around!” the jolteon cried.

“Quiet!” Shade told Spark with another stern glance. “Blazefang…” He spoke in a quieter tone, looking into the houndour’s confused red eyes. “Do you know what will happen if you use your Forbidden Attack too many times?”

Blazefang thought for a moment, remembering what Wildflame had told him. “It…it gets stronger…” he stammered, hoping he was remembering right. “It gets…harder to control…”

Shade’s serious look did not change. “That’s not all,” he told the houndour. “Not only is this attack devastating to all it encounters, but use it one too many times…and you lose your mind.”

Blazefang stood frozen to the spot, trying to contemplate what exactly that would mean. He tried not to show it in his expression, but the thought absolutely mortified him.

Shade seemed satisfied at how easily he had gotten through to the houndour. When he spoke again, he addressed all five of the travelers. “I warn you of this because only a season ago, somewhere near this place, the Forbidden Attack Deathfreeze was used by an ice type pokémon. No one knows how the pokémon stumbled upon it but luckily he was stopped before he was able to do much damage. However, those who stopped him knew they couldn’t kill him…they had to keep him alive. Though they realized…the attack had changed him. He wasn’t sane. From what I heard, the pokémon who found him took him far away, having to use hypnosis or sleep powder any time he showed signs of using the attack. I am sure that is not what you want your fate to be,” he added with an almost sympathetic look at Blazefang.

Wildflame, who had been listening carefully along with the others, looked horrified. “So there’s someone out there who knows a Forbidden Attack and can’t control it?” she gasped. “Then it’s only a matter of time before-”

“When I last heard of this, the pokémon was being kept under constant watch,” Shade replied. “The attack seems to be triggered easiest by anger, fear, or pain…most likely by threat of physical attack. They are doing all they can to prevent it. And since no traveling flying types have reported some sort of huge natural disaster, I’m rather certain they are doing a good job, but there is no telling what would happen if another one of the attacks gets out of hand. Entire forests could be destroyed in minutes!” He then turned to Blazefang once again. “Don’t let just anyone know you have the Forbidden Attack Shadowflare,” he warned. “And I don’t think I need to tell you to stay out of the way of that army.”

“We need to get out of this cave fast,” Redclaw interrupted. “For all we know, there could be pokémon from the army that know of the exits. From what Blazefang said, their leader Cyclone is willing to do pretty much anything to get Blazefang on his side, or kill him and take Shadowflare for one of his own followers. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to ambush us.”

Blazefang, however, wasn’t listening. Two phrases that Shade had said stood out clearly in his mind. ‘Forbidden Attack Deathfreeze was used by an ice type pokémon…only a season ago…’ The houndour froze. ‘Only a season ago…’ That had been around the time when Articuno had left.

“There is an exit the army would not find it easy to get to, even from the outside,” Shade told Redclaw, not noticing Blazefang’s look of sudden panic. “Though you will need the help of one of the water types in this cave. Mystic might be able to carry you through the water, but it will be no easy task; even at her fastest speed you’d be holding your breath a long time…”

Blazefang wasn’t listening. He thought back to what Shade had said, his mind numb. The weavile had seemed like he had been avoiding mentioning what pokémon had used the attack…was that because he didn’t want them to know that a legendary had fallen victim to it? Blazefang mentally shook himself. ‘No…’ he thought. ‘It was just a coincidence. Articuno had to be smarter than to use that attack more than a few times if he ever found it.’

But if he hadn’t known what it was…

“I suppose that’s something we’ll have to risk,” Redclaw replied, interrupting the houndour’s thoughts. “If it’s the safest way out, I’d rather we go that way then have to risk the army finding us. But first…first we have to find our friends. Do you think…”

“I can ask some of the golbat here to search,” Shade replied. “But remember, the cave is very large; it could take a bit of time. You’re welcome to stay here while you wait.”

The weavile stood up and led them back through the tunnel and into the largest cavern, where they were told to stay until their friends were found. Blazefang, who had nowhere to go, chose to wait in the cavern as well, at the side opposite from the others. He was still thoroughly shocked at the thought of Articuno being a possible candidate for the owner of Deathfreeze. Eventually, he managed to shake the thought from his mind…or at least nearly.

‘Articuno wouldn’t have done that…he couldn’t have found a Forbidden Attack…right?’

-ooo-

As soon as he had seen Thunder vanish into the dark tunnel, it no longer occurred to him to try and move up to the small cavern where Snowcrystal and Rosie waited. It was only their shout that brought Stormblade to his senses again. Forcing himself to focus only on the task ahead, he made his way up to his two friends, almost forgetting the pain of his wounds. When he sat down in the safety of the cavern above, there was nothing more to distract his thoughts.

Thunder was gone.

For a moment he sat completely still, gazing into the dark water below as if he expected Thunder to somehow manage to swim back to them, then he turned to the others. “I need to go look for her,” he told them.

In that moment, Snowcrystal saw a bit of his old self returning to the look in his dark blue eyes. She remembered the strong scyther who had sought to protect her and the others, the scyther who was able to defend and to help. She had to remind herself that that Stormblade was long gone. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth to speak, but Rosie spoke up first.

“Are you crazy?” the ninetales cried. “You’d get yourself killed!”

That statement seemed to come as a shock to the scyther, and the fire in Stormblade’s eyes died down to be replaced with the same misery and helplessness the others were used to seeing. “Oh…” he mumbled, as if just realizing it, “you’re right…”

Snowcrystal stood still, looking from him to Rosie. She wanted to help him…she wanted to help them both. But there was nothing she could do for Stormblade. At that moment, she finally realized what it really meant for him to be injured by Blazefang’s Forbidden Attack. If what Spark had learned about them was true, it would never heal…not ever. Stormblade was a young scyther, and yet he would never again be able to fly or hunt or live as a normal pokémon. He would he never again have practice battles for fun with other scyther, even though battling meant so much to them. He would never again be able to help or protect those he cared about. He would feel like he was only hindering them. Even though she had known this all along, it seemed to her as if only now was she realizing what this truly meant. What did Stormblade really have to live for anymore?

She looked up to see Rosie peering over the edge of the rock and down into the swirling black water, looking both worried and terrified. Quietly, she walked over to the ninetales. “I’ll look for her,” she whispered quietly.

Rosie was the first to speak. “What?” she asked, looking at the growlithe with a shocked expression. “How would you-”

“I’m going to find Thunder,” Snowcrystal repeated, looking the ninetales sternly in the eye, making it clear that she would not be convinced otherwise. “I have my fire attacks and my crystal to light the way,” she explained. “I want you two to stay here. Don’t leave this place. I’ll find my way back.”

“How?” Rosie replied. “You’re not going…into the river are you?” she asked with a hint of panic.

“Not if I don’t have to,” Snowcrystal replied as she jumped onto the thin stone ledge leading down to the larger cavern by the river. “Stormblade,” she added, turning her head to look at him, “watch over Rosie. Make sure you both stay safe.” She then continued to make her way down the ledge. Rosie’s eyes narrowed, annoyed that Snowcrystal was telling Stormblade to watch over her, but she said nothing.

Snowcrystal was glad that Rosie didn’t reply; she had wanted to give Stormblade some sense of feeling important, though she was not sure if it had worked at all. When she reached the big cavern below, she turned and faced the swift dark river. Her eyes scanned the walls on either side, a small flame wheel lighting up the area. At first she saw nothing, but then a small narrow ledge half hidden by shadows and leading down toward the water caught her eye. Letting the fire die out, she let herself be guided by the light of her crystal, and stepped onto the ledge, beginning to walk steadily along it.

It was frighteningly narrow; even a pokémon of her small size would have trouble walking across it. Only her experiences scaling steep rocky mountain cliffs kept her calm and steady as she slowly walked across. She glanced up with a small hopeful smile at Rosie, who was peering down from above, then with a deep breath she walked along the ledge into the tunnel and plunged herself into darkness.

-ooo-

Thunder attempted to twist free, but with her arms pinned tightly against the rock by the creature holding her, she was unable to move her scythes. So, she did the next best thing, and sank all of her fangs into the pokémon’s scales. She could feel the larger creature flinch, but it did not move.

She was trying to think of anything else she could do to get it to release her when the second creature spoke up. “Wait…” the voice said. “This pokémon can’t fight us. It’s injured.” There was a pause and the same creature asked, “What do you think it is, Mystic?”

The largest of the pokémon slowly drew back from Thunder, who noticed that the light she had seen further upriver was coming closer. Instantly ready for any sort of surprise attack, Thunder staggered upright, watching the pokémon move closer and reveal itself to be a lanturn…an electric type. Her whole body tensed, eying the first two pokémon who had come across her. As the lanturn moved closer, the light from the glowing orbs on his long antennae illuminated the area. Thunder was staring straight at a large milotic and a lapras. The milotic was much bigger than Thunder had thought they should be; its massive serpentine form seemed to tower over her. The light from the lanturn reflected softly off of the graceful pokémon’s pearly white scales. To Thunder, it almost looked beautiful.

The scyther stood glaring while the three pokémon stared at her strangely, as if they didn’t know what she was. The lapras, who didn’t seem to have trouble staying still in the swiftly flowing river, looked at Thunder curiously, but kept her distance. The milotic turned to the other two pokémon.

“I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I’ve never seen it before. But it’s obviously no water type.” She then looked at Thunder. “Hello,” she stated calmly. “My name is Mystic. This is River,” she added as she motioned to the lapras. She then waved her tail toward the lanturn. “And this is-”

With lightning speed, Thunder darted forward, close enough to the edge of the stone ledge to swing both scythes at the milotic. Mystic narrowly avoided having her neck sliced open as she quickly jerked back.

“Not a very friendly pokémon, is she?” the lanturn muttered as the three drew back from Thunder, far enough to be out of range.

“Well, I don’t blame her!” River the lapras said with a glare at the lanturn. “Mystic did attack her and probably hurt her worse. Plus, she’s trapped here.” She turned to Thunder, trying to look friendly, and said, “I can take you to a safe place. You can ride on my back. It won’t take very long-”

“GO AWAY!” Thunder screamed, backing away from the edge of the rock and crouching down in the shadows away from the lanturn’s light.

The three water types looked at each other in either worry or confusion. Mystic sighed and turned away. “Let’s leave it alone then…” she said smoothly, “if that’s what it wants…”

The lapras turned to Thunder again quietly. “I really think you should let me take you to a safer place,” she said softly. “The others won’t hurt you…”

Thunder wanted nothing more than to show that lapras that she wasn’t the weak pokémon it seemed to think she was, but now that she thought about it, she needed to get away from the river to find a way out of the cave. And after all, if the lapras tried to trick her, she would be riding on her back, and Thunder was very capable of giving her a slash to the neck if she was threatened. “Fine!” the scyther spat reluctantly. “Take me to a place where I can leave the river and find my own way out!”

As the lapras moved closer, the milotic hissed a warning. “Careful, River,” she warned in a smooth but wary voice. “That pokémon is dangerous.”

“All she wants is to get out,” River told her. “I don’t think she belongs in this cave.” She then turned to Thunder again, trying to smile. “Well, come on!”

A few moments later and Thunder was crouched down on the lapras’s spiny gray shell as the large pokémon sped through the water, guided by the light of her lanturn friend from up ahead. Mystic swam gracefully behind them, and Thunder glanced warily back at her every few seconds. Her scythes were by her sides, but her whole body was tensed, ready to attack the lapras’s neck or head at any sign that these pokémon were about to try and harm her. Every so often River would ask her questions; “What is your name?...What are you doing here?...How did you get those wounds?”

She ignored all of them. She wanted to get away from these pokémon, and as soon as possible. The journey, though it felt like hours to the injured scyther, really only lasted a few minutes. Though when the water pokémon stopped, Thunder noticed the cavern she had ended up in was colder, and she could not help shivering. River swam calmly up to the riverbank.

“There. You’re safe here,” she told Thunder in what the scyther thought was a too-sweet voice.

Without hesitation, the scyther leaped off her back and onto the rocky ground, holding back a cry at the pain that surged up her leg. Instinctively she put her scythe to the ground to steady herself, but that only sent pain scorching through her newly injured shoulder.

Seeing this, River looked concerned. “You’re hurt bad, aren’t you?” the lapras asked, squinting through the semi-darkness.

“No!” Thunder growled. “Leave me alone…”

“She’s obviously not an inhabitant of this cave,” Mystic told River with a disapproving glance at the scyther, while her lanturn friend nodded.

“Do you remember the way out?” River asked the milotic. “Maybe you could help her!”

“I only know of one way out,” Mystic replied. “And it would not help her. One can only get there by swimming underwater, and she wouldn’t be able to hold her breath that long. Now, River and Whirlpool, come, the savage creature wants to be left alone.”

The milotic and lanturn swiftly turned and vanished, leaving the cave almost dark, the only lighting coming from some dimly glowing pale green and blue crystals. Thunder couldn’t tell if River was still there, and really, she didn’t care. When she finally chanced a glance back, there was no sign of the lapras. With a sigh, she lay down, telling herself that no random stranger pokémon would have a reason to help her without expecting anything in return. She had been right to tell them to leave.

Quietly she lay down, ignoring the pain from her wounds. She decided she would rest a while, then find her way out of the cave. She felt exhausted. Maybe, she thought, she’d even be able to sleep for a while…

Thunder’s attempts at sleep were suddenly interrupted by a large splash as River surfaced from the water again. The scyther stood up, watching the lapras set a dead goldeen by the edge of the river.

River looked at Thunder uncertainly, watching the scyther, who was staring at her angrily. The lapras had not known what species of pokémon Thunder was or what she ate, but judging by the fact that the stranger had two fangs jutting down from her mouth, the water type assumed she had to be a carnivore. “I brought you some food…” she told Thunder hesitantly. “I’ll just leave it here if you want it.” She quickly turned and left, not wanting to startle the scyther any longer.

Thunder did not move even after the lapras left. She waited for a long while, wondering if it was some sort of trap, before she couldn’t take her hunger anymore and warily limped to the edge of the river and picked up the prey, bringing it back to safety. It didn’t take her long to finish eating it, and after she was done, she stood up, looking for a tunnel to walk into. She felt surprisingly stronger. Without a backward glance, she turned and limped into the nearest tunnel, glad to leave the river behind. From a distance, the lapras watched her sadly, then turned and dove back into the water.

-ooo-

Snowcrystal couldn’t stop herself from shivering, though not from cold, but from fear. The tunnel was dark and damp, and the rocks below her feet were slicked wet with frigid water. Further along, she had found the going easier as there were several large boulders by the riverside to climb, but the further she went, the more worried she became. There was no sign of Thunder anywhere…no scent or any other indication that the injured scyther had made it out of the water. Though Snowcrystal wasn’t usually bothered by cold, she found the chilly rock tunnel threatening and oppressive. She didn’t know how well a thin, weak and hurt scyther could stand up to cold. Taking a deep breath, she kept going.

-ooo-

Thunder’s newfound strength hadn’t lasted long. She hadn’t gone far, and already she felt the exhaustion and dizziness she had experienced before returning. Nevertheless, she forced herself to take one shaky step after another, ignoring the drops of blood that fell to the ground from her shoulder and whichever of her other wounds happened to be bleeding at the time. She felt weakened, completely drained of energy as if she had just come out of one of Master’s arena battles. She wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest…

And why couldn’t she?

Somewhat unnerved at the fact that the realization that there wasn’t anyone to force her to keep going hadn’t come until now, she looked around quickly, spotting a sheltered corner in the small cavern she was standing in. With a lurching, painful stride she made her way over to it. By the time she reached the sheltered spot, her strength left her completely, and she crumpled in a senseless heap beside the still gray walls.

-ooo-

Snowcrystal stood peering over a steep ledge, watching the river flow swiftly downwards into another tunnel. Carefully she jumped down from the rock formations jutting from the cave wall and landed carefully on the stone riverside below. The space between the water and the cave wall was wider here, and she could see tunnels veering off to the sides. As she was about to follow the river, she faintly noticed a familiar scent. Thunder!

Turning around, she followed the scent carefully into one of the tunnels. It struck her as strange that she hadn’t noticed it by the river, but she realized that Thunder could have found a way out elsewhere and wandered through the tunnels for a while. With the scent getting stronger, Snowcrystal dashed forward, and almost stumbled upon the limp form of the scyther who now lay against the wall. Shocked, Snowcrystal approached her carefully, wondering if she had gotten hurt worse. She nudged the side of Thunder’s head, and when the scyther didn’t respond, the growlithe whined softly, curling up beside her and feeling both greatly relieved and deeply worried at the same time. She decided to stay there and wait until Thunder was strong enough to make the journey back to the others.

Snowcrystal hadn’t waited long when Thunder started to stir, her eyes opening slowly as she looked around. Upon seeing Snowcrystal the scyther jerked away from her. “What are you doing here?” was all Thunder could manage to say, though her voice sounded strained and weak.

Snowcrystal quickly stood up and backed away to give Thunder some space. “I went looking for you,” she told her calmly. “Rosie and Stormblade are waiting…do you think…do you think you could fly back to where we were once you’re feeling better?”

“I feel fine,” Thunder lied, getting unsteadily to her feet.

“I don’t think so,” Snowcrystal told her. “You need to rest.”

“We can rest when we get back to the others,” Thunder replied quickly.

“You’ll never make it in your condition!” Snowcrystal told her, annoyed. “Just rest for a little. Everyone needs to rest sometimes.”

“I know that!” Thunder shouted irritably, though surprisingly, she sat down without further argument. “But I won’t stay here for long,” she told Snowcrystal firmly.

Snowcrystal sighed in relief, glad that she’d gotten Thunder to listen to her at least for a little while. She only hoped that the scyther would be strong enough to fly back to the others; after all, she looked as if she could pass out again at any minute. It was no secret that Thunder’s wounds were severely weakening her, and the energy she used to hide that weakness was gradually failing.

Snowcrystal waited longer than she thought Thunder wanted to, but the scyther said nothing and Snowcrystal wondered if she was secretly glad of the chance to rest more. She noticed with unease that Thunder had injured her shoulder, the one that the bullet had struck. She began to wonder just how long they should wait after all.

However, her decision was made for her as Thunder suddenly stood up, spreading her tattered wings. “Okay, let’s go!” the scyther told Snowcrystal quickly, and then limped to the edge of the river and flew unsteadily above it, looking as if she could barely manage to keep from falling into the water.

Snowcrystal followed uncertainly, stepping on the wet stone ledges again as she followed Thunder, silently willing her not to lose strength and fall into the river again. Luckily, Thunder managed to make it to the rocky ledge near where they had first reached the river surprisingly quickly. Exhausted, the scyther turned to lick her injured wing.

“Thunder!”

Rosie’s excited shout made Thunder jump, and she turned her head to give the ninetales a loathing glance. Rosie however, didn’t notice. “Stormblade! It’s Thunder! Snowcrystal found her!” Rosie and Stormblade had appeared from another tunnel, one that led right down to where their friends were.

Snowcrystal jumped onto a rock closer to the river’s edge where Thunder was. Stormblade peered down from the rock he was standing on and looked at Thunder with first relief, then concern. “Thunder? You’re alive! What happen-”

He was interrupted as Rosie shoved him gently aside. “You don’t want her yelling at you again do you?” she asked him, looking annoyed. “You’re probably just making it worse.”

However, Stormblade barely noticed. After Thunder manage to stagger painfully along the rocks and into the small tunnel, Stormblade limped closer to her, only to be pushed aside roughly as she walked past.

Snowcrystal appeared next, watching the scyther with a worried expression. “Let’s all rest now,” she told to the others, hoping Thunder wouldn’t think she was deciding that just for her. “We can try to get some sleep, then we can keep going.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rosie yawned, lying down by the wall of the cave and curling her nine tails around her.

Without another glance at the others, Thunder lay down as well. She did not expect to fall asleep, though while she would never admit it, she felt as if she couldn’t take another step. Her wounds felt as painful as if she had just gotten them. Trying to push any thoughts of exhaustion to the back of her mind, she closed her eyes.

“You know, you don’t have to hide everything all the time. Hiding just makes things worse.”

Furious, Thunder opened her eyes to see Stormblade standing there, leaning on his scythes for support, like he usually did. “Leave me alone!” Thunder growled, her eyes narrowing.

Stormblade didn’t seem surprised at her reaction, but he didn’t leave. “I just want you to know that I will do whatever I can to help you…”

“Go away,” Thunder muttered angrily.

“Look, when we get out of this cave…” Stormblade began, “I…I might know of some herbs that could-”

“You’re not helping.”

“But I-”

“Will you just leave me alone?” Thunder shouted, making Snowcrystal and Rosie look up. “Right now, all you’re doing is preventing me from resting. And what could you do to help me anyways? You can’t even take care of yourself. You’re completely helpless…”

Stormblade looked down at the floor to avoid meeting Thunder’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” he told her, backing away. “I’ll leave you alone. But…remember, if you ever need any-”

“Just go away!” Thunder growled back, turning away from Stormblade as he hobbled back to the others. To her relief, no one tried to say anything to her. Good. She didn’t want to think about it anymore.

A while later, Thunder awoke feeling confused; she barely even realized that she had fallen asleep. Even though she still felt terribly weak, she didn’t feel quite so bad now. She turned her head, noticing Snowcrystal standing above her. “What it is it?” she muttered in annoyance, but she didn’t feel like yelling anymore.

Snowcrystal was smiling, which surprised Thunder. “Some golbat are here,” the growlithe told her happily. “They can take us to the others…and they know a way out!”

-ooo-

Outside the cave, the tall grass swayed with the night breeze. A group of pokémon walked by, their paws hardly making a sound as they warily glanced around them. One of them, a lucario, shivered as he stared at the dark, dank entrance to the massive cave.

“Still no sign of that Blazefang houndour,” he muttered irritably. “How long does Cyclone expect us to wait here?”

“As long as it takes,” another, a persian, replied. “Now shut up!”

“I say we leave this place,” the lucario muttered. “I’ve seen what Cyclone does to some of his followers. He’s not the type of pokémon I want to be serving under. No one’s around; let’s desert ‘im.”

“And run into one of the other groups?” a ponyta replied. “They’re all over the place waiting for that houndour to show himself! Do you want to be reported to Cyclone and be dealt with by Solus?”

The lucario muttered something incoherently and focused his gaze drowsily on the cave entrance again. “Well, I sure hope we don’t have to stay here much longer. When’s the other group going to take our place?”

“Morning,” the persian replied. “Now keep still and watch for any sign of movement. One of us will find the houndour…sooner or later.”

The three pokémon moved into the shelter of the bushes, lying in wait by the cave exit, just as the other groups were waiting by the many places where one of the cave’s tunnels reached the surface.

To be continued…

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 35 - The Crystal Abyss

It wasn’t long before Snowcrystal and her friends met up with Nightshade and the others in the large cavern. The golbat knew the entire cave by heart, and quickly showed them the shortest way to the place where their friends rested. The going had still been somewhat slow, but this time it hadn’t just been Stormblade who was slowing the group down. Thunder had been having difficulty keeping up as well, though she had tried to disguise that fact by acting as if she wanted the others to walk ahead with the strangers instead of near her.

Despite the journey being slow, everyone had made it without any danger. Now the group huddled in the cavern, listening to a few zubat who had explored the cave while looking for Snowcrystal’s group talking to Shade.

“We went by a few of the exits…there are strange pokémon everywhere…just waiting. One of them shot a flamethrower at us.”

“He’s right. They all seemed to be expecting something.”

“We know just what they’re waiting for,” Redclaw told them, his gaze dark and serious. “They want Blazefang’s Forbidden Attack…well, Cyclone wants it for one of his fire type cronies.”

In the short time the group had talked with Shade, Redclaw had explained everything they knew about Cyclone and his intentions, while Blazefang huddled sullenly in a corner of the cavern, his back pressed against the smooth rock as he listened to the conversation with dread.

“I think your only surely safe way out,” the weavile leader began, “is through the exit I told you about before. You can only get there by swimming through a vast underground lake, and the exit is in the middle of a large canyon, full of tall rocks and foliage and very difficult to climb down from the top. Flying pokémon will find it difficult to track you with all the cover the area provides, though you will have to be careful.”

“Underwater?” Rosie cried, her eyes widening. “Are you crazy? That’s-”

“There are water pokémon here that would be willing to help you if I asked them to,” Shade replied. “But like I mentioned to some of you earlier, it may be difficult to hold your breath for the length of time it takes a water pokémon to swim through that tunnel. But no, it certainly won’t kill you,” he added before Rosie could protest again. “It would be best to leave soon,” he added, “in case the army finds out from any local pokémon that there is a hidden exit they haven’t checked.”

Almost involuntarily, Snowcrystal glanced sideways at Stormblade. The scyther was still lying motionless, sprawled across the floor the same way he had since they had reached that cavern. The raw burns that covered his body looked sickly in the pale light. He gave no sign or any indication that he was listening to anyone.

“Well, I think it’s about time we got out of here,” Nightshade told Shade, startling Snowcrystal out of her thoughts. “From the sound of it, there’s plenty of food and water in this canyon, so I don’t see any reason for us to wait around here.”

Spark brightened up at the mention of food, and Wildflame looked eager to keep moving. However, Blazefang and Rosie both looked worried. Redclaw went to help Stormblade and the rest of the group gathered together.

“Follow me,” Shade told them, and began leading the way ahead.

“We barely got a chance to rest!” Rosie mumbled as she limped after the others, keeping close to Snowcrystal and Wildflame.

During the short journey, Snowcrystal couldn’t help feeling worried as they walked through strange passages and tunnels that twisted in every direction. She had no sense of where they were going or where they had come from anymore, but she reminded herself that Shade knew what he was doing.

Stormblade had decided to walk by himself, despite the fact that he was obviously weakening. Thunder had kept to the front of the group during the first part of the walk, but after another dizzy spell, she had been forced to walk at a slower pace, though she was still ahead of Stormblade.

Snowcrystal’s fur prickled uneasily as they once again reached the edge of a vast underground lake. She noticed Thunder growl and back away warily. Once near the water, Stormblade lay down and closed his eyes, too exhausted to move.

“So do we just have to wait?” Snowcrystal asked Shade.

The weavile was about to answer when Rosie suddenly shouted, “What is he doing here?”

Snowcrystal turned to see Blazefang stop in his tracks, a look of fear plastered across the houndour’s face. Snowcrystal had suspected that he would follow them, and it didn’t surprise her to see him there.

“Go find your own way out!” Rosie yelled to the houndour. “We’re not helping you.”

“Actually, Rosie,” Nightshade interrupted, “I think it would be wise to help him.”

Rosie rounded on the heracross. “Why?” she demanded.

Nightshade turned toward her, his yellow eyes serious. “Do you want Cyclone to get his claws on Shadowflare?” At this response, Rosie was silent.

“How are we going to ride some water pokémon under the water?” Snowcrystal asked Shade, who had been briefly distracted by Rosie’s outburst.

“Either Mystic or River can carry you. I know them well, and I’m sure they’d be willing to help. It won’t be an easy journey though,” Shade warned, “but it will get you out safe.”

“But Shade…” Wildflame spoke suddenly, walking toward him. “I’ve been thinking…there’s no way Stormblade could make it through that. He barely has enough strength as it is. And being carried…will probably be too painful because of his injuries.”

A silence hung over the group, and Snowcrystal was sure that if Stormblade were carried, it would only make his injuries worse. “There’s not much we can do about that,” she told the others regretfully. “He’ll have to do it.”

She was surprised when Stormblade suddenly spoke up. “No I won’t,” he told her, and added with bitter regret, “I’m not strong enough. I wouldn’t make it. If one of the cave pokémon can guide me to another exit and then to the rest of you, I could meet up with you later.”

“But what about the army?” Rosie asked.

“They won’t bother me,” Stormblade told her. “I can’t fight for them, so they won’t want anything from me. And if a zubat guides me, he or she could easily hide from them… Look,” he added, seeing their doubtful faces, “I’m not some helpless hatchling. I’m strong enough to do this.”

“You can barely walk,” Snowcrystal pointed out, realizing too late that it was probably the wrong thing to say.

“I can travel at my own pace,” Stormblade said simply. “Believe me, I don’t want to weaken myself more than I already am.”

“All right,” Snowcrystal told him. “Just…be careful. I’m sure whoever wants to guide you will help you if you need it.” She wasn’t sure what the pokémon guiding Stormblade would be able to do to help him, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. Maybe Stormblade was stronger than he seemed.

Snowcrystal jumped suddenly when a large pokémon’s long neck and head burst out of the water, confronting Shade with curiosity. It was a graceful pokémon, a large serpentine creature covered in pearly scales ranging in color from creamy white to bright red and blue.

“Shade?” the milotic asked, regarding the travelers with curiosity. “Who are these pokémon?”

“They’re travelers, Mystic,” Shade explained. “They need to get out of the cave in secret as quickly as possible. I don’t have much time to explain now, but I will certainly explain later. I need you to take these pokémon one by one through the underwater exit...and fast.”

Snowcrystal noticed the milotic’s eyes drifting toward Thunder and the large water type pokémon sneered slightly, but the scyther didn’t seem to notice. The milotic turned to the group and sighed. “Very well,” she told them, “but don’t think you’re going for a pleasant swim. All I ask is that you don’t pass out.”

At that statement, Rosie and Wildflame exchanged nervous glances. “You’ll be fine,” Stormblade told them gently. “I’ll meet up with you and the others later.”

“Thanks, Stormblade,” Rosie told him, smiling, though she still looked rather scared.

“So who’s going first?” Shade asked, and after a moment where no one said anything, Redclaw volunteered.

Snowcrystal watched with fascination as Mystic bent down and lifted the arcanine by the scruff of his neck, making him look like a small puppy hanging from its mother’s jaws. It looked almost comical. Mystic turned and carried the arcanine over the water, swimming to where the lake met the opposite wall of the cave. Then, while still holding Redclaw in her mouth, the colossal milotic dived under, creating a large splash that soon settled, leaving the water crystal clear and smooth again.

For what seemed like ages, but really couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, the group waited in silence. Snowcrystal kept leaning her head against Stormblade’s leg, watching the water worriedly.

Then all at once, Mystic’s graceful head reared out of the water, and she turned to face the rest of the group. Snowcrystal once again felt very small at the sight of the huge milotic towering over all of them.

“He made it safe,” she informed the others. “He’s recovering now. So who is going to go next?”

Wanting to seem brave in front of the others, Spark volunteered. Like Redclaw, he was picked up and carried under the water. This time, Snowcrystal was less worried, and when Mystic later surfaced and told them that Spark had made it safely as well, Wildflame, wanting to get it over with, went next.

This time, Mystic seemed to take longer, and when she returned, she explained that Wildflame had breathed in some water during the journey, but would soon be all right. Rosie refused to go next, and Nightshade, who had volunteered to go last, suggested that Thunder take the next turn.

At first Thunder had refused, not liking the thought of another pokémon touching her, but the others managed to convince her to let Mystic carry her by the wings, under the promise that she would be allowed to attack the milotic if she purposely tried to drown her. Obviously Mystic had no such intention, but the promise seemed to make Thunder more willing to be carried under the water.

Afterward, Blazefang volunteered, and then Rosie, although with hesitation. Snowcrystal waited for Mystic to return after taking Rosie through the tunnel, knowing that her turn was next.

“Are you scared?” Stormblade asked her, turning to look down at her.

“A little…” Snowcrystal admitted, still staring at the water.

“It’ll be all right,” Stormblade replied, following her gaze. “The others seemed to have made it through all right. You’ll be just fine.”

“I…I hope so…” Snowcrystal replied shakily, and looked back up at him. “Are you sure you’ll be all right traveling alone? I mean, I’m sure Mystic could…”

“There’s no way she’d be able to carry me with these injuries,” Stormblade replied, almost bitterly. “And I won’t be alone. One of the cave pokémon will be willing to guide me. So don’t worry. I might take a little while meeting up with you and the others, but I’ll be just fine. I promise.”

“Are you sure?” Snowcrystal asked him, uncertain.

“Positive.”

“Okay…” Snowcrystal said with a sigh, but quickly drove any doubts away from her mind. She was probably worrying too much.

A large splash caused her to look up, and Mystic looked at her. Slowly the growlithe stood up and walked over to the huge milotic, dozens of different thoughts running through her head at the same time. She had no idea what this experience was going to be like.

“Good luck!” Stormblade called to her, trying to smile.

Snowcrystal turned and smiled back at him as Mystic leaned down toward her.

“Remember,” the milotic said, “just before we reach the cave wall over there, take a deep breath.”

Snowcrystal felt teeth meet in her scruff as her body was lifted off the ground. Mystic lifted her head high above the water, and Snowcrystal was fascinated with how the vast cavern and its glimmering crystals looked like from above. Mystic slowly neared the wall, and once they were close, Snowcrystal took a deep breath and then the milotic plunged into the icy water.

Despite the fact that she was too used to cold to be bothered by it, the speed at which the milotic had dived and was carrying her through the black water came as a huge shock, and she had to fight the urge to instinctively struggle. Feeling like she would need a breath of air soon if she moved too much, Snowcrystal forced her body to relax and closed her eyes, trying to remain calm and to not use up any of her energy; that would only make her run out of air faster.

As the two of them seemed to glide through the water, Snowcrystal suddenly felt the urge to open her eyes. She did so, realizing with great surprise that she could see. While she had expected the underwater world to be completely dark, somewhere far deep down in the water’s depths were large and small specks of glowing light. They covered the entire floor of the tunnel far below, and up ahead, there were even more. She realized that these must be more glowing crystals. Further on, these crystals covered the entire floor of the large underwater tunnel Mystic was swimming through, which was narrow but very deep, like some sort of massive abyss.

Starting to feel dizzy, Snowcrystal focused her gaze on the way ahead, still too fascinated by the glowing crystals far down below to close her eyes. That was when she noticed it.

Up ahead, some of the lights seemed to be flickering out in large groups, yet a moment later those crystals would be bright again, and others would go dark. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t the crystals’ light going out, it was something huge swimming above them like a dark shadow.

The growlithe’s eyes widened, and just when she began to wonder if it was another milotic, Mystic swerved violently to the right, almost causing Snowcrystal to gasp in shock. Mystic turned again and then swam in a straight direction, but was clearly increasing speed, when before that hadn’t seemed possible. Snowcrystal fearfully wondered what was wrong; she had lost sight of the dark thing, and a moment later several things happened at once.

Snowcrystal heard a horrible sound, like some sort of deranged roar distorted by the water, and Mystic’s whole body violently shuddered as if something had crashed into her. And at the same instant, the milotic let go of Snowcrystal.

Though she made no sound, the weakening growlithe was screaming in her mind. Without thinking, she lashed out with all four paws, trying to swim back to Mystic. She quickly realized she was hopelessly wasting energy, growing weaker, and she held still, hoping that the milotic would be able to help her. She looked up, and her eyes met one of the eeriest sights she had ever seen. Mystic was entangled with a massive gyarados, which was trying to sink its teeth into her side.

She was distracted from the sight of the two thrashing serpents when she became aware that she was sinking, slowly but surely, toward the crystals below. There was a stabbing pain in her chest, steadily growing worse.

She could not hold her breath much longer.

She couldn’t tell where Mystic or the gyarados were anymore. She could hear them, but they sounded far away. Even the light of the crystals had dimmed. Everything around her was fading. The pain was growing worse. And then she could stand it no more, and inhaled.

Water instantly filled her mouth and throat, choking her and making her thrash about in shock as icy needles of pain shot through her chest and head. In a panic, she thrashed her paws, not knowing if the direction she was swimming was up or down. Terror filled her mind. She was a fire type, and the prospect of drowning suddenly seemed all the more frightening; she felt her body growing weaker, feeling as if the water was extinguishing her very life. The pain intensified for a few more agonizing moments, then it started to dull, and at the same time, so did everything around her…the sounds, the sights, the fear…then it all went black.

-ooo-

Mystic had not expected this gyarados to be here. He was a cave dweller, a strange gyarados who wanted nothing to do with the outside and in turn sought to protect the cave from intruders. Though he did not usually come to this part of the cave, she did not think he could have mistaken her for an intruder. She wondered if he’d caught the scent of all the strange pokémon she had been carrying through the tunnel and misunderstood her intentions, thinking that she was using the tunnel to bring pokémon to and from the cave.

Luckily, in a matter of seconds, Mystic had managed to twist free of the large gyarados, sending him flying backwards into the wall with a twister attack. Rushing forward, she slammed her tail into the side of his head, momentarily stunning him.

“Leave!” she cried, her harmonious voice sounding clearly even through the water. “I am helping them exit the cave!” Without waiting for a response, she turned and swam in wide circles, going deeper into the dark water, searching for the white growlithe who had been swallowed up by the cold blackness. Yet even with the light of the crystals from below, the water was too dark for her to see the small pokémon. It barely registered to her that the gyarados was no longer trying to attack. She was too frantic in her search. Quickly she swam in wider and wider circles, looking left and right for any sign of the small pokémon.

Then she saw a sign. Somewhere down below, just a tiny pinprick of light, was a small, glowing red dot…the growlithe’s crystal. Mystic rushed forward in a headlong dive toward the light, feeling the water grow colder the deeper she submerged. Her eyes were focused on the small dot of light, fearing she would lose sight of it if she looked away. Time seemed to stand still as the distance between herself and the light shrank ever so slowly…

Then she could see the growlithe. Swimming faster, she caught up to the quickly sinking pokémon. Gripping Snowcrystal’s scruff again, the milotic swam upwards, as fast as she was able to, hoping the tiny bundle she held in her mouth was still alive. Then, the water began turning from black to deep blue. There was light ahead; the calm river which flowed out of the cave was dappled with sunlight further ahead. Mystic swam faster, and the surface seemed to rush to meet her.

Mystic felt both joy and relief as her head broke through the surface and into open air. All around her, lush vegetation and the wide, calm river gave her a feeling of relief. But she knew there couldn’t be relief quite yet. Racing over to the bank, the milotic quickly set the small puppy pokémon onto the sand.

Snowcrystal lay unmoving.

“Snowcrystal!” Wildflame shouted from somewhere nearby, racing over to her. The houndoom still looked shaky and weak, but quite healthy compared to the growlithe lying on the shore. Some of the group got up and approached her, while others hung back, watching.

Redclaw gently pressed his muzzle to Snowcrystal’s side. The growlithe made no movement at first, but then stirred weakly, her eyes flickering open a second before closing again. Redclaw nudged her once more, seeing the small growlithe begin to move again.

“I’m going to go back for the last member of your group,” Mystic told them, seeing that Snowcrystal had started to recover and was beginning to cough up some of the water. She watched as Wildflame and Redclaw sat next to her, helping her in any way they could. “After that, I must leave. I don’t like swimming outside of the cave in plain sight, and I still have to look after River.” With that, she turned and dove back into the water, vanishing into the dark hole deep below the river’s surface which led into the cave.

Snowcrystal felt her senses slowly returning to her, and she paused to look around, her eyes widening in shock when she saw the way they had come from. A massive wall of stone reared up to great heights where the river began, flanked on either side by the massive cliffs that formed both walls of the canyon. Below the wall of stone, somewhere beneath the water, was the entrance to the cave. She turned to look at the canyon that stretched far into the distance, and up ahead she could see a small area where the sides of the cliffs were more like gently sloping hills, which led to a more flat area covered in trees and rocks halfway up the side of the canyon wall.

“There…” she whispered, lifting her head weakly. “That seems like the easiest way to travel along these cliffs…” she tried to get up and stumbled, and Redclaw stopped her fall with his foreleg.

“You need to rest for now,” the arcanine told her. “We will leave once Nightshade arrives and you have recovered.”

“I’m fine…” Snowcrystal whispered uncertainly, pulling away from him. However a few seconds later she felt a wave of dizziness and lay back down. Though she felt terribly weak, she considered herself lucky that Mystic had found a way to rescue her quickly and bring her to the surface.

After a short time, the milotic was back with Nightshade, who seemed to have fared far better than most of the others during the journey. Mystic informed them that nothing had gone wrong, and just when Snowcrystal was about to ask about the gyarados, she decided against it. Mystic would probably be able to reason with him later, considering that she had been a good enough fighter to keep him at bay long enough to rescue her, and mentioning the gyarados might cause the others unnecessary worry.

“Well, now that you’re here…you better get going,” Mystic warned. “That army won’t know there’s an exit over here, so flying pokémon might not be headed this way, but still…be careful.”

“We will,” Wildflame told her, and the milotic, looking uneasy about being in the open, vanished back underwater.

“We’re going to rest here for a while before we move on,” Redclaw told Nightshade. “Some of us need to.”

No one argued with the suggestion, and for a while the pokémon lay down in peace, though Redclaw kept glancing skyward quite often. Blazefang, who was lying away from the main group beneath the shelter of a few trees, shared the arcanine’s worry, though he did nothing to show it.

Once everyone had recovered enough, they set out at a slow pace up the easy-to-climb slope, heading to the flat ridge of stone and earth along the cliffs that Snowcrystal had pointed out. Blazefang trailed behind the group, at a loss for what else to do.

Nightshade and Redclaw found themselves acting as the leaders for the group, and once under the shelter of the trees along the wide ridge halfway up the cliffs, they allowed the group to stop and rest, as Stormblade still needed to catch up.

“Do you think Stormblade will make it here okay?” Snowcrystal asked Redclaw while everyone was either resting or hunting.

“We may have to wait a while, but we’ll travel slow and take plenty of breaks,” Redclaw replied. “I don’t want to stay in one place too long, but I do know it’ll be hard for Stormblade to catch up.” He sighed. “I really don’t know if he should have offered to make that journey alone.”

“At least he won’t be completely alone,” Snowcrystal replied. “And he knows that he needs to rest often…he told me he’d be fine…I’m just a little worried.”

“Well, Cyclone’s army won’t see any use for a badly injured pokémon,” Redclaw replied. “As for us, well…we’re going to have to be careful for a while, especially since there could be flying pokémon around.”

Snowcrystal stood up and walked over to the edge of the steep cliff leading down to the river. “I know…but this place looks so peaceful…and it seems like there will be plenty of food. It really feels safe here.”

“Compared to what we’ve been through, it probably is safe,” Redclaw replied, walking over to her. “We’ll be able to travel slower, sleep longer, and rest more often. But we still have to be careful, and keep looking to the skies…”

Snowcrystal paused to glance upward, but all she saw were a few pidgey fluttering by to land beside a nest in a tree further down below. Still, the thought that a pokémon from Cyclone’s army could soar overhead and recognize Blazefang made her afraid. If they saw any suspicious pokémon, Blazefang would have to hide as quickly as he could, for the sake of everyone. She nodded nervously, repeating Redclaw’s words in a whisper to herself.

“Keep looking to the skies…”

-ooo-

Stormblade had been shown the way to the nearest cave exit by a crobat who had volunteered to lead him after Shade had explained the situation to a group of the cave pokémon. By now, the scyther was so severely weakened by pain and hunger that it was sheer willpower alone that kept him going. The crobat, Echosong, watched him with concern as he stumbled yet again, leaning heavily on the wall of the cave to keep himself from falling.

“I think you should rest again,” she advised him.

“No…” Stormblade replied shakily. “I want to find the others. Let’s keep going.”

Echosong sighed. “All right…it’s not far now.”

Silently the two pokémon traveled through a narrow tunnel which led upwards, until finally, light shone up ahead.

“Careful, Stormblade,” Echosong warned him. “Those strange pokémon are probably lurking around out there. I’ll fly out quickly, and you just make it past those pokémon. Like you said, they’ll probably just ignore you, and I’ll meet up with you once you’re out of their sight. All right?”

“All right,” Stormblade replied, nodding shakily.

Echosong suddenly zoomed toward the cave opening, vanishing into the brightness. Stormblade waited a few moments before starting to follow her, slowly but surely nearing the light.

When he stumbled out into the brightness, the scent of strange pokémon was everywhere, but that didn’t surprise him. However, the moment he had stepped out of the cave, he was momentarily blinded by the strong sunlight. Closing his eyes in surprise, he started to hobble forward. He only got a few paces before something roughly grabbed him around the neck, digging its claws into the burn marks left by the metal collar Team Rocket had put around his neck back at the old building.

“Well who’s this?” a voice sneered. “Is he a friend of yours?” By this time, Stormblade’s eyes had adjusted to the light long enough to see that the pokémon holding him was a very large tyranitar.

“Eh, put ‘im down,” muttered another pokémon, an ursaring. “He’ll be carrion in a few days.”

“Fine,” the tyranitar muttered grudgingly, throwing the scyther roughly to the ground.

Stormblade lifted his head and slowly got to his feet. There were three pokémon there, the tyranitar, an ursaring and a scyther…the same scyther he had seen before in the cave. His eyes widened in shock as he noticed that the scyther was holding Echosong in her jaws. The crobat was dead, and there was a deep slash across her body.

The ursaring followed Stormblade’s gaze and looked at the other scyther. “That one looked healthy though!” he remarked.

“So?” she muttered, dropping the crobat to the ground. “There’s barely enough food to go around as it is. Cyclone will never know!”

Stormblade froze. He recognized her voice, and now that his eyes had completely adjusted to the light and he could see her clearly, he realized it wasn’t just her voice he recognized. He knew this scyther.

“What are you staring at?” the scyther spat, glaring at Stormblade. It became obvious to him that she didn’t recognize him, even though he remembered that she had heard someone call him by his name in the cave.

“Silverbreeze?” Stormblade asked slowly. “What…are you doing…away from the oth-”

Before he could register what had happened, the other scyther had slammed the dull side of her blade so hard into the side of his head that it knocked him over. “None of your business!” she spat. “And how do you know my name? Who are you?” Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and she seemed to recall something. “Wait…back in the cave…one of those other pokémon called you Stormblade. Is that your real name?”

Confused, Stormblade wondered why she would ask something like that. Surely she would know that Stormblade was his real name. He had to remind himself that with his injuries, he was completely unrecognizable. He decided not to answer.

However, after Silverbreeze took a closer look at him, she confirmed the answer for herself. Laughing, she stepped back to the others. “So this is what’s become of you?” she cried. “You’re certainly not so high and mighty now!”

“Silverbreeze…” the tyranitar began, “what other pokémon did you see in the cave? Was this scyther with the houndour?”

Silverbreeze stopped, turning back to Stormblade. “I couldn’t see the houndour in the cave,” she began, smiling a little. “But you’re right; they all went in as a big group. He was one of them.”

The tyranitar walked up to the cringing Stormblade and lifted him roughly by one of his wings. “Well then, you can tell us where the houndour is, can’t you?”

Stormblade hesitated. He didn’t know the exact location of Blazefang, but even if he had known, giving away the houndour’s location would also be putting his friends in danger. “I don’t know!” he growled.

“Uh-huh. Sure you don’t,” the tyranitar growled. “You were with them. Someone was leading you out of the cave, so obviously your ‘friends’ have the means to find their way out, but we haven’t found them! Where are they? Where are they planning to escape?” he bellowed loudly, shaking the scyther roughly.

When Stormblade didn’t answer, the ursaring sighed. “This isn’t working,” he muttered. “Bring him to Cyclone. He’ll deal with him…and Cyclone will probably be pleased with us too. And you know what that means…a reward!”

“He’s right,” Silverbreeze agreed. “Solus has ways of making pokémon talk. You stay here,” she told the ursaring. “Guard the cave entrance. We’ll tell Cyclone you helped too. Now let’s go!” She glanced at the tyranitar who had grabbed Stormblade’s arm above the blade. He began to drag him over to her as she led the way back to the army’s main camp.

To be continued…

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 36 - Into the Canyon

Cyclone had always hated humans.

Sure, he had once had a trainer for a period of time, but he had put up with it because the trainer could provide him with things he needed which he could not get anywhere else.

An evolution stone, to name one such thing.

Cyclone felt no guilt at abandoning his previous master in the desert with the rest of his pokémon. Humans as a species were cruel, and the fact that his trainer was a nice person did not change the fact that the majority of humans took pokémon away from their homes and thought nothing of it.

Apart from his trainer, Cyclone had not met any particularly nice humans. He had been born in a city where eevee had become incredibly common through breeding. As a result, many eevee, namely males, were left unwanted.

Cyclone grew up on the streets of the city, along with his parents who had been thrown out of their humans’ home because they had become too old to breed. He was their last child, yet no one had purchased him simply because he looked small and weak for an eevee his age, and many of the humans wanted females.

Though he lived a meager existence on the filthy streets of a crowded city, life did not seem bad to him because he knew no different. His parents had never been given the chance to evolve, but although they were still only eevee, they did their best to protect him. They strived to make his hard life happy, and despite living in such awful conditions, both of his parents discovered a new joy at finally being able to raise one of their pups themselves instead of having him taken away by the humans at a very young age.

At this stage of life, Cyclone felt that everything was one big adventure, and his parents helped him see it that way. Whether they were digging through garbage for scraps or finding somewhere to shelter from the rain, Cyclone’s mother and father always made it into a game for him. At many times it kept him calm even in the worst of situations. He was about as happy as a nameless stray eevee in the midst of a massive city could be.

One day when Cyclone and his parents were walking back to one of the many different places on the streets they called ‘home,’ the three eevee were unexpectedly chased by a growlithe, and in their panic, veered off into another street. It wasn’t long before the growlithe stopped chasing them, but the eevee were exhausted. Cyclone had complained about it being cold, so they started to head back. Cyclone hadn’t recognized anything around him, and it had been getting dark. He had been scared.

Cyclone’s father then suddenly let out a warning cry, and the three eevee bolted as a couple of teenage humans strode into view. The first human had spotted the eevee and ran forward, grabbing the tail of Cyclone’s father as he darted by. Frightened, the young eevee’s mother had told him to hide as she rushed to confront the humans holding her mate.

It was a futile effort; both of the humans had pokémon and easily defeated the small eevee. Though Cyclone had been young, he remembered distinctly from the humans’ words that both of them considered the now common eevee species ‘unwanted vermin’ and were tired of seeing endless amounts of eevee being adopted into trainers’ teams or being left to run freely through the city. Therefore, they decided to let their pokémon have a little fun with the ‘common vermin.’

The two trainers then turned to their pokémon, ordering them to attack the two older eevee, and from his hiding place, Cyclone watched as his parents were tortured and killed before his very eyes.

A little less than a day later, Cyclone was found by a trainer, a young boy who brought him to his house and cared for him. Cyclone hated and feared the human, but it was thanks to him that he survived. Having nowhere else to go and knowing that a trainer was his ticket away from the awful city where he had been raised, Cyclone reluctantly decided to join him.

In the years he stayed with his trainer, Cyclone made many attempts to escape after being given one of the things he wanted…evolution. All of these attempts failed and the boy’s other pokémon tried to convince him to stay. Cyclone agreed, though in his mind, he knew it would only be until he got stronger.

Secretly, he taught himself to hunt, as he knew that one day he would no longer rely on humans for food. He hated the silly nickname given to him by his trainer, and began to call himself Cyclone, in honor of his evolution.

Throughout the years, Cyclone had seen pokémon being pushed past their limits in battle, beaten, or even accidentally killed during a match. He was blind to the examples of kind trainers around him; he did not believe that humans could be kind. His trainer, he believed, was only using him to win battles and earn money.

Cyclone’s hatred of humans increased when one day he witnessed sections of a forest being cut down, and the homes of pokémon being destroyed. He was further enraged when the surviving pokémon were captured and brought back to the city.

His trainer hadn’t done anything to stop those humans.

It was only when they had gotten lost in a desert that Cyclone finally abandoned his trainer and the other pokémon, leaving them without water. He had needed it for himself more.

After a long while of walking, he had realized that he was lost. Soon he had collapsed, too dehydrated to use any water attacks, and that was when he had found the green stone. Out of curiosity and fascination, he had reached forward and touched it. The stone sent violent energy surging throughout his body. The energy was so raw and powerful that he had passed out from the shock.

When he had awoken, he had felt a new life flowing through his veins. No longer did he feel tired or weak, and the energy lasted him long enough to find food and water, allowing him to make his way out of the desert. At some point during this time, he had remembered a story his trainer had once told the pokémon, and realized with fascination what his newfound power could be. A Forbidden Attack.

The story had been vague, and his trainer had only been interested in describing each of the attacks and what they did. Cyclone had heard a voice whisper to him upon first touching the stone, and he had used the attack to see just what it was. The description in the story had matched almost perfectly. Acidstorm was his.

From then on, he began formulating a plan, which led him to quickly seek out someone knowledgeable about the legend of the Forbidden Attacks. He had soon found such a pokémon.

Now, with a vast army at his side, Cyclone sat atop a grassy hill, his sleek, short fur wet after a morning of hunting. He was waiting for any reports of the whereabouts of the houndour Blazefang, who possessed Shadowflare but had been unwilling to join the army. The vaporeon had decided that the attack needed to be taken by force.

Blazefang needed to die.

As Cyclone sat on the cool, damp grass, he picked up the sound of some of his followers approaching. He stood up and walked over to them, hoping for news of the houndour.

Instead, the tyranitar he had appointed to watch one of the cave’s exits threw a wounded scyther at his feet. Cyclone’s eyes widened. The scyther’s back and arms had been burned horribly, leaving flesh and muscle exposed in some places. The vaporeon stood staring, but he hid his disgust well, retaining his usual calm and emotionless expression.

“Why have you brought this scyther here?” he asked, his voice betraying the faintest hint of annoyance. “Scyther aren’t prey, and this one is no use to us as a fighter. Unless he has a good reason to be here, throw him into the canyon and tell me what you’ve found by the cave.”

“Oh he has a good reason to be here, all right!” the female scyther, a pokémon whom Cyclone already greatly trusted, and who was called Silverbreeze, told him with a smile on her face. “He was part of the group that the houndour went with into the cave. A pokémon led him out of the cave, so we know that the cave pokémon are helping them. He ought to know where the others, and Blazefang, have gone.”

“Hm…well then, good job,” Cyclone complimented, the faintest hint of a smile crossing his face. “But let me guess…he wouldn’t tell you anything, so you brought him here?”

“Yes, Cyclone,” Silverbreeze replied respectfully.

“Oh, but you’ll soon get him to talk, right?” the tyranitar asked, giving the motionless scyther a small kick. Stormblade groaned and tried to move away.

Cyclone regarded Stormblade as if he was some particularly dirty piece of filth. The vaporeon turned to Silverbreeze. “Get Solus,” he ordered. “And you,” he added to the tyranitar, “bring anyone from the army who isn’t on duty here as well.”

Not wanting to question him, Silverbreeze and the tyranitar ran off.

-ooo-

Cyclone watched as the army gathered below the hill. He turned toward Solus, who was grinning widely.

“Hey Cyclone,” the espeon asked, his eyes narrowing to mere slits, “do you really think this scyther knows where Blazefang is?”

“It’s possible,” Cyclone replied calmly. “Now remember, do whatever you want, just don’t kill him. I’m going to have a word with the army.” The vaporeon turned and walked to the hill, while the espeon darted excitedly beside him.

Stormblade could barely register what had happened, but at some point, he had been knocked out and dragged to the very top of the hill after coming face to face with the army’s leader, Cyclone. Now he lay in the wet grass beneath the slowly setting sun, some sort of tough vines tied around his arms just below the base of the scythes, and around his snout. He assumed from Cyclone and Solus’s actions that he was about to be made an example of. He had made up his mind to ignore his fear and remain defiant. After all, despite the fact that the espeon had tried to read his mind, Cyclone was still going to have him tortured, and would have even if Solus’s attempt had been successful; he had gathered the army there for a reason.

Stormblade did not know why Solus’s mind reading attempt did not work. From what he had heard from Cyclone himself, the espeon had perfected his mind reading ability to the point where he could read the minds of unevolved dark types, although he still couldn’t hurt them with actual attacks. However, when Solus had tried it on Stormblade, it hadn’t worked. Solus had discovered some of Stormblade’s other memories, like being locked out in the snow by Justin, teaching Spark how to hunt, lying on a bed in the pokémon center, his talk with Thunder…but no matter how deep into his mind the espeon had delved, he could not see any of the memories regarding Blazefang. Stormblade was not sure why this was so; he hadn’t been strong enough to resist it in any way, but he had deeply frustrated Solus and it had been easy to see that the former Rocket espeon had been both humiliated and furious. Now that his interrogation was about to start, however, Solus seemed to be in a much better mood. Solus had known that Stormblade was the scyther Blazefang had attacked; he had seen it in Blazefang’s memory. Stormblade had heard him telling Cyclone about it.

The scyther lay miserably on the ground as Cyclone called out to the pokémon assembled below, his words magnified into the minds of every pokémon present by Solus’s psychic abilities.

“Now I know you’re wondering why I told you to come here,” Cyclone began, his calm, level voice intensifying within Stormblade’s own head, “I know that some of you have witnessed what happens to traitors…but now I will show you all what happens to those who refuse to aid us in our quest to stop the humans.” He turned to Solus and nodded.

The espeon padded lightly over to Stormblade, removing the vine around his mouth by snapping it with his teeth. “Let’s hope for your sake that you’re one of the smart ones…the ones who say what Cyclone wants to know right from the start,” he muttered.

Stormblade ignored him. He knew that no matter what he did, Cyclone had brought the army here to see Solus torture someone, and that wasn’t going to change.

The espeon backed up, turning to look at Cyclone and the two pokémon who had come to stand by his side, the tyranitar and the scyther Silverbreeze. Solus smiled, revealing pointed fangs. “Well then, let’s begin.”

Stormblade jerked back as some sort of very intense white hot, pulsating pain filled his head, and he thrashed in agony, gouging the grass and earth with his scythes as he did so. It felt as if some powerful fire type was shoving long, red-hot claws deep into his head. As he struggled on the ground, he caught a fleeting glimpse of Solus standing rigidly as if in deep concentration, his eyes a fiercely glowing light blue.

All at once the pain stopped. Stormblade gasped for breath, looking up as Solus approached him. “So,” the espeon stated casually, his eyes returning to their normal black. “Where is that houndour?”

‘Lie…’ Stormblade thought frantically to himself, trying to think of something convincing. A wave of agonizing pain rushed through his head again, though this time it was gone almost as soon as it had started.

“No, lying wouldn’t be a good idea,” the espeon snarled. “Tell us the truth.”

Stormblade hesitated, and the memory of the others waiting at the side of the underground lake came involuntarily to the front of his mind. Solus made no move or response other than a frustrated growl; he couldn’t read the memory.

“I know I can’t read it!” Solus shrieked in response to Stormblade’s confused thoughts, his claws digging into the ground in rage. “But I know that you know it! Where is he?”

Several of the pokémon watching below exchanged confused glances with each other and shifted nervously, hoping the scyther would tell Solus. Some wanted the houndour to be a part of the army as much as Cyclone did, and others simply didn’t want to watch this anymore.

“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Solus told Stormblade angrily. “You’re afraid to tell because you don’t want your friends in danger, don’t want Cyclone to have the attack…well let me tell you…you don’t have a choice!”

Stormblade shrieked as the pain returned, twice as intense. “TELL US!” Solus roared, but the scyther could barely hear him over the pain that filled his head and mind, forcing away all other thoughts. He couldn’t hear Solus anymore. In fact, he could no longer tell if he was still screaming, or if he was really only screaming in his mind. Nothing he did lessened or worsened the agony. It was just one steady stream of constant pain.

Once again the pain suddenly stopped, and Stormblade was left lying shivering on the ground. Through his dazed vision, the scyther could see Solus’s lithe form approaching him.

“Well?” the espeon asked, looking at him through blazing violet eyes.

Stormblade did not move. No matter what happened to him, he simply couldn’t bring himself to put his friends in danger. And if he said nothing, there was no way these pokémon could find out where the others were.

The corners of Solus’s mouth twisted into a grin. “No one being tortured ever remains heroic and noble for long,” the espeon smirked, and Stormblade felt a strange sensation, and realized that he was being slowly lifted into the air by some sort of strange blue glow originating from Solus’s psychic attack.

Stormblade was completely unable to move, save for his eyes which darted from side to side in horror. He noticed that he was being moved through the air toward a large boulder nearby.

Solus tilted his head toward the side a bit, and Stormblade was suddenly slammed against the side of the boulder. Solus moved his head again and Stormblade moved away from it in the air, only to be sent crashing against it again. This time the espeon lowered his head slightly, watching as Stormblade, who had his back against the rock, was slowly dragged down its rough surface through the air. The scyther could make no sound, but Solus was sure that if he could, he might find that having his burn wounds ripped open by jagged rock enough of an incentive to give him the information he wanted. Solus released Stormblade from the psychic attack, allowing him to fall roughly to the ground. The rock beside him was flecked with scyther blood.

Some of the watching pokémon either looked away or looked down at the grass as Solus walked over to the cringing bug type. Stormblade could feel some blood running down his back, and he lay gritting his teeth together, trying not to make any sound.

“Are you ready to give us the answer?” Solus asked him.

“Yes…” Stormblade gasped. “They escaped back through the tunnel they entered the cave through…got past the guards…they’re headed-”

“YOU’RE LYING!” Solus snarled.

Stormblade felt himself lifting back up into the air only to be slammed back into the ground, but this time he was so dazed from the pain of the Shadowflare wounds that he hardly felt it. Solus’s psychic energy lifted him upright again, so that Stormblade was forced to stare into the espeon’s glowing eyes. Solus inclined his head slightly to the right, and Stormblade heard a snapping, tearing sound as one of his wings was bent backwards and then twisted by the psychic energy holding him in the air. A moment later he was sent crashing against the rock, and the psychic glow around him faded. Painfully the scyther tried to get to his feet, only to be knocked down by an iron tail attack from Solus.

“Where is he?” the espeon hissed, his glowing eyes narrowing to brightly blazing slits.

Stormblade didn’t respond, but closed his eyes and curled up on the ground, much to Solus’s annoyance.

The espeon’s eyes glowed brighter, almost white, but this time Stormblade felt no pain. Instead, images of his friends, his current traveling companions as well as friends in his past, flashed through his mind, each of them maimed horribly and dying in their own blood.

“You want this to happen to your friends when we find them?” Solus asked him, fixing his fierce stare on the scyther. “Because we can arrange that!”

The images in his mind vanished to give way to searing agony once again. It was at this point that Stormblade realized he had reached his limit. He found it nearly impossible to talk and endure the pain at the same time, but he finally managed to force the words out. “They…they whe-were at lake-”

The pain stopped, and Solus’s glowing eyes returned to their usual violet color. “Yes…?” he asked, in a mockingly sweet voice.

“An underground lake,” Stormblade gasped, “the cave pokémon said…he said…water p-pokémon…can swim underneath…into a canyon…the exit…h…hidden underwater…”

Cyclone calmly approached Solus, taking care not to step on any of the patches of grass that were flecked with blood. “Of course…” he whispered. “The canyon. I’ll admit I never would have thought the cave would have opened up in that area. Well, if that’s where they’re headed or have escaped to, that is where we’ll go.” He turned to some of the pokémon standing nearest to him. “Gather everyone who’s waiting by the cave entrances and bring them here,” Cyclone ordered them, and they nodded and walked off.

Silverbreeze, who had been standing near Cyclone the whole time, now looked shocked at the state Stormblade was in. Solus walked over to the motionless scyther, using his psychic powers to send another wave of pain shooting through his body. Stormblade cried out and then lay still. “Now I want to know something…” the espeon hissed dangerously as he approached Stormblade, knowing that most of the army would be preparing to leave now and were no longer forced to stay and watch. “How were you able to keep that secret hidden…from…me?” His last three words were a dangerous snarl, and the scyther at his feet cried out again.

Silverbreeze glanced sideways at Cyclone, who sat perfectly still, almost as if he were a vaporeon made of stone, facing Solus as the eevee evolution continued to torment the helpless scyther and seeming to pay no attention to the pokémon’s screams.

“Cyclone?” the female scyther asked slowly, but the vaporeon seemed lost deep in thought, his eyes fixed on the scene before him and the tortured scyther. Silverbreeze shuddered. As much as she didn’t like having Stormblade around, she did not like witnessing pure torture. “Cyclone…” Silverbreeze continued. “You’ve got the answer you want. There’s no need for this! Tell Solus to stop!”

Cyclone stood up in one fluid motion, staring at the scene once more before turning sharply around and heading in the opposite direction, Stormblade’s screams echoing in his ears. The vaporeon’s mouth twisted into a bitter snarl, as he replied to Silverbreeze in nothing more than a dark whisper.

“Why should I?”

-ooo-

By nightfall, Snowcrystal and her friends had stopped to rest. They had not traveled far, and had stopped early so as to get a lot of rest for the journey ahead. Snowcrystal curled up against Redclaw’s fluffy tail, looking at the arcanine with her blue eyes. “Do you think we’ll find Articuno soon?” she asked.

“Maybe so,” Redclaw told her calmly. “I’m sure that when we do find him, he will be more than willing to help you and your tribe.”

Snowcrystal smiled and lay down, feeling exhausted. It was so nice to be able to relax after all that had happened. And when Stormblade caught up, it would be easier for him too.

As the others were getting ready to sleep, Wildflame snuck away from the group, following Blazefang’s scent. She found the houndour easily. Blazefang was curled up beneath a clump of ferns, not noticing her presence. He looked small and afraid; he was no longer the ruthless leader he had started to become when he was in charge of the pack. “Blazefang…” Wildflame whispered, and the houndour sat up suddenly, startled.

“Uh…what is it?” he said quickly, glancing to see if the others were around.

Wildflame sighed. “What are we going to do now?” she asked. “We have no idea where-”

“Boneclaw and the rest of the pack joined Cyclone,” Blazefang interrupted. “I think he must have promised them help either finding Articuno or driving the growlithe away. I’m not sure. I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe Articuno will be strong enough to drive that army away,” Wildflame whispered back. “After all, he is a legendary. We can still help the tribe, Blazefang. We just need to stay with this group and try to-”

“Articuno can’t help us!” Blazefang growled suddenly, and Wildflame was taken aback.

“Why…why not?” she asked.

“He just can’t!” Blazefang growled, and Wildflame could tell that he didn’t want to say more on the matter.

“We don’t know if he can stop them for sure,” Wildflame went on, still very confused by Blazefang’s reaction. “But for now we must stay with the others if we’re going to make it through all this. If you want…I can try to convince them to…to really let you into their group.”

“They’d never trust me,” Blazefang muttered bitterly.

“We won’t get anywhere if we don’t work together,” Wildflame replied. “Maybe we ought to help the growlithe. We can work something out between both the tribes! Articuno doesn’t need to take sides.”

Blazefang sighed. “I suppose working something out would be best…but we can’t rely on Articuno…” he replied.

“I know we don’t know where he is,” Wildflame said quietly, thinking that she knew why he was doubting. “But we can at least try…Articuno can make it so that both tribes have enough territory and prey.” She paused, but Blazefang did not respond. “Look, everyone in this group has two things in common. One, they want peace in one way or another, and two, they don’t want the Forbidden Attacks to fall into Cyclone’s paws. Working together is our best option. I can try to convince them to give you another chance.”

Blazefang merely turned away from her, his eyes staring blankly ahead. “I don’t know…” he whispered slowly.

Wildflame could tell that he wanted to be left alone. Sighing, she turned and headed back to the others. “Okay, you can decide…but I’ll make sure that none of them try to bother you, especially that jolteon,” she added with a smile as she padded slowly away, leaving Blazefang to his own thoughts.

-ooo-

Morning sun shone brightly through the leafy canopy as Snowcrystal woke and stood up, stretching her forelegs and then glancing around sleepily. The sunlight shone through semi-transparent leaves, bathing everything around her in warm green light. They had certainly found themselves in a peaceful place.

Seeing that the others were not yet awake, Snowcrystal walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the river below, watching it sparkle in the sunlight. The way down looked steep in this area, much steeper than it had been before, but the natural stone pathway wound through the canyon for quite some way ahead; she couldn’t see where it ended. Behind her, the cliffs reared up high into the sky, grasses and flowers swaying gently in the breeze from small ledges and niches in the rock.

After a few moments of gazing at the canyon’s beauty, some footsteps sounding closer to her made her turn around. She saw that it was Nightshade.

“This place seems a lot more hospitable than those caves we wandered through, doesn’t it?” the heracross asked her with a smile.

Snowcrystal nodded. “Do you think we should rest here for the rest of the day to wait for Stormblade?” she asked.

“I don’t think so,” Nightshade replied. “I think we should at least get to a place where we could all adequately hide if we were spotted by one of Cyclone’s followers before we decide to stop in one place. But once we do, I could always go back to search for Stormblade and help him the rest of the way here. I can fly after all.”

“But that’s dangerous!” Snowcrystal told him. “What if they see you?”

“Regardless of any type disadvantages, I’m sure I could handle a flying pokémon or two,” Nightshade said calmly. “It would be a good idea to travel until we find such a place today, then I can go back and help Stormblade.”

“All right,” Snowcrystal said, smiling back at him. She was glad to see that Nightshade was confident, yet at the same time knew what he was doing. And regardless of the danger Nightshade could face, Stormblade was probably struggling and needed help. And after all, a flying type from Cyclone’s army might not want to focus on attacking Nightshade when they were looking for Blazefang.

“We’ll leave as soon as the others wake up,” Nightshade told her. “You should rest now.”

“Okay,” Snowcrystal replied, nodding.

-ooo-

It was still morning by the time the group began traveling again. For a while, their path had gotten steadily rockier, and there were places where they had to clamber over rough boulders or climb a little ways up or down the cliffs to stay on the wide ledge path. Spark and Rosie had difficulty climbing some of the rocks and had to receive help from the others. Snowcrystal and Nightshade were always ahead; Snowcrystal was used to climbing rocks and Nightshade possessed wings.

“Can you slow down?” Rosie called from down below as Snowcrystal reached the top of a particularly difficult to climb rock pile. “Not all of us have four good legs you know!”

While the others continued to struggle in their climb, Thunder leaned against the rocks at the very bottom, taking deep gasping breaths as she closed her eyes and tried to fight the dizziness that was threatening to make her collapse. Her whole body was weak and she couldn’t stop shaking, but she refused to stop moving for long, lest she draw attention to herself from the others. Taking another rasping breath, she stepped shakily away from the rocks for a moment and then began to climb.

Nightshade was completely aware of Thunder’s situation, but he said nothing and acted as if he didn’t notice. The last thing Thunder needed was more anger and stress, which she would certainly get if she knew that someone was worried about her. All the same, he allowed the group to take breaks often, claiming that everyone needed to rest, and Thunder never made any objections.

It was during one of these resting times that Snowcrystal decided to go ahead. She walked a little further and soon noticed with dismay that they would all have to climb up the rocks forming the side of the cliff face that stretched far above them for a while in order to carry on. When she came back and reported the news, the only pokémon eager to keep going were Wildflame and Nightshade.

Spark and Rosie felt discouraged, and Blazefang, who was still exhausted, muttered something angrily under his breath from where he sat a good distance away from the others. Yet despite this, they soon agreed to keep going, as everyone was looking forward to better shelter and a real chance to rest.

The climb was tougher than any of them had expected. Thick foliage often blocked their path and made the going difficult, and it was hard to see how much farther they had to go because the trees blocked their view. Wildflame, Nightshade, and Redclaw often had to help Spark or Rosie, and a few times Nightshade even risked asking Thunder if she needed help, but she rejected all of his offers.

“It can’t be far now,” Snowcrystal called to the others from up ahead. “I can see where the foliage thins out further on. We’ll be able to see where we can climb back down to the path!”

“Let’s hope so,” Spark muttered irritably as he limped after Snowcrystal, who was walking further ahead, hoping to see how much farther they had to go.

The growlithe walked farther ahead, quickly reaching the area where there were no trees around her to block her view and where she could see the canyon below.

She was met by a very strange and somehow mysterious sight. Directly below her, there was a place where the smoothly flowing river formed a large round pool right beside the tall cliffs. There the water was still, yet startlingly crystal clear. What intrigued Snowcrystal most was that in the center of the pool, a large misshapen chunk of gray rock reached from the depths of the water to a short way above the surface, and placed on the rock were several small statues of pokémon.

Most of the statues couldn’t have been taller than Snowcrystal’s foreleg, but there were about thirty all together, spread out over the surface of the rock, looking peaceful and undisturbed. They were of various pokémon; Snowcrystal spotted a remoraid, a vaporeon, a clefable, a rapidash, a mightyena, and several others. For a moment her gaze wandered away from the rock and the small statues to the crystal clear water. Her eyes widened when she noticed a much bigger statue of a regal looking arcanine lying completely submerged at the water’s depths, its mouth open in a silent snarl of defiance. The pool was not very deep, but all the same it surprised Snowcrystal how clearly she could see the statue through the water. She couldn’t tell exactly, but it looked at least four times as big as she was, not quite as big as a real arcanine, but still very intricate and beautiful. The submerged statue did not look very old, but it didn’t look as if it had been put there recently either.

Snowcrystal was so mystified by the strange sight, which looked so calm and peaceful, that she did not notice Redclaw standing beside her on the overhanging rock that towered above the still pool. “I guess we found what we were looking for,” the arcanine spoke up, startling her. “Look over there, there’s an easy way back onto that path on the cliffs we were following.” He angled his head toward the easy climb as the others started to catch up.

“Redclaw…” Snowcrystal began. “How do you think those statues got there?”

“Maybe humans put them there,” Redclaw began. “Who knows…maybe this was meant to be a special place to honor pokémon. It doesn’t seem like any of the local pokémon here have even tried to disturb them.”

Rosie, who along with the others had made it to where Snowcrystal and Redclaw were, had forgotten her exhaustion as she stared down at the pool in awe. It wasn’t just the statues that intrigued her. The whole area was startlingly beautiful, and there didn’t seem to be any pokémon in or around the pool at the moment.

“This must be a very special place to the pokémon here,” Nightshade told the others as he looked down from the cliff. “We should probably leave it alone.”

Snapping out of her trance, Snowcrystal nodded. The others seemed to have regained both a bit of strength and hope from seeing a place so peaceful after all the danger they had been through, and they needed to keep going. “Redclaw found an easy way down,” the growlithe told them. “Follow me!”

Snowcrystal led the others single file over the rough stone as they slowly descended, passing around the statue rock and the clear pool. It wasn’t long before they were back on another wide ledge covered in foliage where the going was much easier. Snowcrystal paused to look back at the silent statues one more time, seeing the sunlight hit the water and illuminating the beautiful arcanine statue. The fangs in its open mouth seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, and she could see the entire statue clearly now. She lifted her gaze to the small statues standing so peacefully and undisturbed, sheltered from storms by the cliffs that surrounded them, and then she turned and carried on, leaving the tranquil sight behind.

-ooo-

They hadn’t been walking for long when Nightshade realized that something was wrong. He had a strong feeling that he and the others were being watched, and not by particularly friendly pokémon either. The heracross kept his suspicions quiet, for he did not want the unseen strangers to realize that he had noticed anything before he could find out more about them.

His eyes darted from side to side as he walked, noticing almost every faint rustle of leaves or bushes. Blazefang noticed his odd behavior and watched him, confused.

“What are you doing?” the houndour sneered at Nightshade, giving the bug pokémon a glare.

“Worry about yourself and leave the rest of us alone, unless you have something important to say,” Nightshade replied calmly, turning away from him.

“Blazefang has a right to be curious,” Wildflame spoke up. “I’ve been noticing you acting strange too. What is it?”

Nightshade sighed. “We’re being watched,” he told her, barely above a whisper.

Snowcrystal and Redclaw heard it too, and paused to look at Nightshade in confusion. Thunder had heard as well, but unlike the others, she didn’t seem shocked or surprised. Snowcrystal opened her mouth to question either her or Nightshade, but several fierce cries that seemed to come from everywhere around them at once stopped her from saying anything.

Out of the bushes and trees and up from the river area, several pokémon suddenly appeared, circling the group and hemming them in against the cliffs. There were about twelve of the strangers, and they were all of various species, types, strengths, and sizes, but they were all predator pokémon and seemed to belong to a tribe of some sort.

Thunder’s eyes blazed, and she took a step forward as if about to attack, but Redclaw stood in her way, looking at her pleadingly. For a moment she looked ready to attack him, but then paused and lowered her scythes. She simply did not have the energy.

Knowing that he was making a bold move, Nightshade stepped forward to face the closest two pokémon, a zangoose and a salamence. Both of them eyed him warily.

“Look,” Nightshade began, “I know we’re in your territory, but we don’t mean to be a threat. We’re looking for a place we can rest before carrying on.”

The salamence and zangoose looked unsure of how to respond, when a voice sounded from somewhere nearby. “Oh, leave them alone! They aren’t any threat to us.”

Nightshade and his friends turned to see a linoone jump gracefully from a tall tree growing near the top of the cliff and land beside the rest of the strangers. “I don’t see what the problem is,” the linoone continued, staring at her stunned tribe-mates, “it’s not like there’s any food shortage or anything. And they’ve been traveling for a while from the looks of it.”

The zangoose stepped past Nightshade to face the linoone. “Our leader wants us to make sure any strangers are harmless before they go on through our canyon,” he growled.

“Oh sure,” the linoone replied. “Clearly a bunch of injured and tired pokémon are a real threat to our great leader. Just look at them! If anything, they need help. And at least the heracross knows how to be polite, unlike you.”

Taken aback, the zangoose faced the travelers again. He looked uncertain. “But-”

“Our leader has allowed us to help others in the past,” the linoone continued. “And I thought that was one of the duties of our tribe, to help those in need.”

“That was one of the old duties!” the zangoose growled, but seeing that some of his companions were agreeing with the linoone, he relented. “Fine,” he muttered. “We’ll take them to the tribe. But don’t get mad at me if our leader rejects them.”

“If he wants to stay leader, he won’t,” the linoone replied sharply. “It is a leader’s duty to allow the tribe to help others and to help as well!”

“Maybe so,” the zangoose replied, “but the leader only helps when he sees fit. And I don’t see what this little group of travelers could do for us. And as for him staying leader, well…he certainly won’t be giving up the position anytime soon. And there are many who support his ways, as I do.”

The linoone’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe not, but if he wants the respect of half the tribe, he’ll help them.” She turned to the travelers who all looked either confused, worried, or both. “Follow me,” she told them. “We’ll take you to a place where you can rest.”

Following the linoone gratefully, Snowcrystal and her friends joined the native pokémon as they all climbed down toward the river.

-ooo-

In the early morning light, the place where Cyclone’s army had been resting earlier lay desolate after the vaporeon had gathered his pokémon together and began undertaking the journey. It was not far, but rounding up everyone had taken time, and Cyclone still needed to find the hidden entrance’s specific location. However, once the army had left the area, the local pokémon lucky enough to have avoided them could breathe a sigh of relief.

But the army had left one pokémon behind. Lying half submerged in thick mud at the bottom of a shallow ditch in the ground was Stormblade. Having no further need for him, Solus had simply tossed him there using his psychic powers after the scyther had finally passed out from pain. Now Stormblade was completely alone, apart from two inquisitive poochyena who approached the ditch curiously, then left when they discovered that he was a half-starved scyther and not some plump prey pokémon. All throughout this time, Stormblade lay senseless.

It was a while before he woke up. When he finally did awaken, he was so dazed that he was hardly aware of anything around him. His wounds were covered thickly with dry or drying blood, and one of his wings lay limp and broken at his side. For a while, he could do nothing but lay there alone in the mud. But the memory of himself giving away his friends’ plans of escape was burned into his mind. He had helped put them all in danger, and though his situation seemed hopeless, he had to warn them.

Stormblade’s first few attempts to stand up failed, and instead he was forced to crawl slowly through the mud and up and out of the shallow ditch. Several times the pain made him stop or suddenly scream in agony, but he forced himself to keep going until he made it out and onto the grass at the edge of the ditch. Once he felt the grass beneath him he collapsed, lying still for a long time.

However, he knew that he could not just lie there. Pushing himself painfully upright, Stormblade lurched forward, nearly stumbling to the ground and stopping his fall by digging his scythes into the soft earth. Even though every instinct within him was screaming for him to lie down and not move, he forced himself to keep going, hobbling painfully and awkwardly on all fours, following the traces of Cyclone’s army which would lead him to the canyon. Several times he stumbled, or became so overcome by exhaustion that he could not move, but every time he got back up again. He needed to find his friends before Cyclone did, and he knew he had to keep going, no matter how slim his chances of getting to the others were. In his confused state, he had no way of telling how far ahead Cyclone’s army would be by now. He only knew one thing.

He was going to find his friends and warn them, or die trying.

To be continued…

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 37 - The Shelter Caves

Snowcrystal and her small group walked among the canyon-native pokémon as the linoone led them down to the river and along the bank, going slowly enough to allow the injured members to keep up. Snowcrystal watched as the linoone walked up to the tall rock face of the cliff nearest to them, pushing aside a large mass of bushes and tangled vines to reveal a big stone passageway.

“Oh no…not more caves…” Spark groaned.

“It’s perfectly safe,” the linoone reassured him. “There’s been some food brought in here today, and there’s a small stream running through part of the cave if you want fresh water. You won’t have to go outside to get it.”

“Food?” Spark repeated, suddenly seeming perfectly fine with the idea of venturing into the cave.

“Yes,” the linoone repeated. “Come with me.”

As all the pokémon followed, Redclaw caught up with the linoone. “I may not be the best hunter,” he told her, “but if you want…I could also go and collect some food while the others rest.”

The linoone shook her head. “Not now you won’t,” she told him. “Now, you all need to rest. There will be time for you to hunt later. You can bring food for us then.”

The further they walked from the sunlit entrance, the darker the cave became. However, the linoone walked swiftly and confidently, as if she was so used to traveling through the tunnel that she didn’t even need the light to see by. Snowcrystal glanced at the well-worn floor, seeing by the light of her crystal the shallow claw marks made from countless years of pokémon passing through the cave.

Suddenly, it began to get lighter. The linoone emerged into a huge cavern, followed closely by the travelers and the native pokémon. Snowcrystal looked around in awe; unlike the cave they had wandered through before reaching the canyon, there were few stalactites. In the ceiling were several small holes through which sunlight flickered through, illuminating the cavern. Whenever small clouds drifted above the cave, some of the lights would dim and then become suddenly bright again, giving Snowcrystal the impression of sparkling stars. All around the cavern were small tunnels and hollows, and standing, sitting, or resting in them were many pokémon of various species.

As the group of pokémon who had confronted them on the cliffs separated and walked into the tunnels, some of the ones who had been resting in the cave turned to look curiously at the travelers. The linoone paid them no heed and led the group to the far end of the vast room, where a short tunnel leading to a medium sized cavern was visible.

“This is our healer’s room,” she told the others. “Anyone who has injuries should follow me. The rest of you, stay here.”

Rosie, followed more reluctantly by Spark and then Redclaw, who still had a half-healed gash on his leg, followed the linoone inside. Snowcrystal glanced at Thunder, wondering if she was going to follow too.

“What are you looking at?” the scyther growled, but Snowcrystal noticed that her voice sounded faint and weak. The growlithe decided not to say anything.

The linoone emerged from the healer’s cavern, along with a tall gardevoir. Most of the pokémon in Snowcrystal’s group seemed surprised that such a pokémon would live in a cave, but it made sense for a gardevoir to want to stay in such a beautiful canyon. “This is Streamrose,” the linoone told them. “And, well, I realize that I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Rockclaw.”

Upon seeing Thunder, Streamrose looked shocked. “Don’t you think you should-” the gardevoir began, but Thunder didn’t let her finish.

“I’m not going in there if that’s what you’re asking,” the scyther replied. “I know better than to trust strangers.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Streamrose replied, making Thunder narrow her eyes and growl at the healer. “It’s my duty to help those who are injured and ill. You don’t want those wounds to become infected do you? And…you also shouldn’t be traveling or walking around the cave while you’re sick.”

Thunder looked at her, surprised. “I’m not sick,” she told the gardevoir.

“Oh, sure you’re not!” Spark shouted from the entrance to the healer’s cavern.

Streamrose ignored him. “Er…I’m afraid you are. It’s not that hard to tell,” she told the scyther, trying not to let her eyes wander to Thunder’s scars or collar too much.

“You’re wrong,” Thunder growled. “I’m not sick.”

“Oh, really?” Wildflame muttered, giving Thunder an annoyed look. “Then what was that I heard about you getting dizzy spells and fainting in the middle of that big cave? And you’ve been getting a lot weaker lately, and I see you shivering all the time. If that doesn’t fit your definition of sick, what does?”

“I’m just tired,” Thunder insisted, “not sick.”

“You’re a bad liar,” Blazefang pointed out, rolling his eyes at the scyther.

Rockclaw prevented further argument by stepping between Thunder and Streamrose. “Look,” she told Thunder. “There are plenty of smaller caverns leading off from the healer’s den if you want to rest there. You’ll be alone except for when Streamrose treats your wounds.”

Thunder thought about it for a moment and turned to look at Streamrose. “No,” she muttered. “I’ll go with the others. I don’t trust you. And I don’t need to rest now.”

“Rude, aren’t you?” Spark muttered. He looked at the healer. “So…uh, do we get food brought to us here?”

“Later,” Rockclaw told him. “First I must talk to our leader. The others can come with me. We can bring you some food when we get back.”

“Are you sure you want to do all this for us?” Nightshade asked, seeming surprised that Rockclaw and Streamrose seemed willing to do so much for them. Thunder didn’t seem impressed, and walked off to explore the cave while waiting for the others.

The linoone nodded. “We do not struggle to survive here,” she told him. “There is more than enough to go around and finding food is easy. There are many berry bushes here, so plenty of prey, and a river full of fish of course. And we also have these cave tunnels for shelter in case of bad storms. And if any creature that could be a threat to us comes here, such as humans, the entrances are well hidden.”

“Well, that’s nice of you and all,” Blazefang began, earning several glares from the others, “but I find it a bit odd that you let that ‘Thunder’ scyther in here. I’m sure you don’t want your entire tribe getting her sickness, do you?”

“I don’t think we have to worry,” Streamrose replied, giving the houndour a small smile. “We have plenty of herbs to treat illnesses, and that scyther’s body is weak; she is more prone to sickness than the rest of us are.”

Blazefang said nothing and merely looked away. In his tribe, bringing in a foreign pokémon who was ill would be completely unacceptable. It meant danger to the tribe. “So…where’s this…leader of yours?” he asked Rockclaw as Streamrose walked into the smaller cavern.

“I’m going to take you to him,” Rockclaw replied. “Just be aware that he doesn’t like strangers. Don’t say anything that might offend him, or he might send you away…or worse,” she added in a quiet whisper. She turned and led them across the large cavern, passing Thunder, who rejoined the group reluctantly. The others said nothing as they followed her into a large tunnel veering away from the main room into darkness.

-ooo-

Cyclone had found the underwater entrance to the cavern. Being a vaporeon, it hadn’t been difficult. But the question was whether or not the fleeing pokémon had left the cave yet. It seemed plausible that they would have, considering that they had found the scyther as he was leaving. But Cyclone wasn’t sure after several of his flying pokémon had searched the canyon from the skies, but hadn’t spotted them. The ragtag group couldn’t have gotten too far. They had to still be in the cave…

Unless they were hiding, of course.

There was always that possibility, but despite the recent trouble they’d had with tracking the houndour, Cyclone didn’t let himself grow worried yet. He would have the army wait near the canyon, watching the entrance at all times. If they didn’t appear within a day’s time, Cyclone would leave some of his pokémon to watch the underwater tunnel just in case, and the rest of the army would storm the canyon. But he preferred that it didn’t come to that.

From what he’d seen, the tunnel seemed to go for a long ways underwater, and he did not know how a group mainly consisting of fire types was planning to get through it, but he also knew from interrogating the scyther that they had no other choice.

The vaporeon’s gaze passed over the serene canyon, but the beauty was lost on him. He only saw it as one thing, the possible hiding place of the fire type Forbidden Attack. If it wasn’t there now, it soon would be.

-ooo-

“So this leader of yours…doesn’t like helping strangers?” Wildflame asked as they walked through the dark tunnel.

“Well, not really,” Rockclaw replied quietly. “But…he doesn’t like a lot of things.”

“Is he a bad leader?” Snowcrystal asked, giving the linoone a curious glance.

“Well, in the opinion of some pokémon, he is,” she muttered, and then fell silent.

“Then why is he the leader?” Snowcrystal asked Rockclaw, who sighed.

“It’s because of the way leaders here are chosen,” the linoone replied. “The previous leader chose him, out of all the potential leaders, to take his place after he grew too old to lead. So Scytheclaw was chosen, and he has quite a lot of followers.”

“Scytheclaw…” Snowcrystal repeated. “Is he a scyther?”

“He was once,” Rockclaw answered. “Now he’s a scizor…well, he came here as a scizor. He was a trainer’s pokémon before, you see. Ever since he became leader, a lot of the old ways have changed, and we aren’t encouraged to help other pokémon anymore…in fact, we’re often discouraged, since Scytheclaw is so focused on making the tribe better for us. Digging new tunnels, disguising our homes, broadening our territory…all good things, but we simply don’t need them much right now. Maybe in the future, but right now there is plenty for us. We should be sharing with others. However, a lot of pokémon here think the change is good.”

“I don’t understand…” Snowcrystal told Rockclaw. “Scytheclaw may be focused on getting more for the tribe, but that hardly makes him a bad leader. He-”

“That’s not all of it,” Rockclaw replied grimly. “He wants to take over the territory of other tribes, make the entire canyon our own…by driving them out or getting them to join us. The other tribes want to keep to their own ways, but Scytheclaw thinks it will be better for all the pokémon in the canyon to be ruled by one tribe. I don’t think forcing other tribes to change their ways is right. And neither are his…punishments…for those who openly challenge him or don’t follow our new rules.”

“Sounds a bit like Firedash on her bad days,” Blazefang muttered, following the group through the chilling tunnel. “You know, I find it rather stupid that this leader of yours, Scytheclaw, kept that name after evolving. It doesn’t exactly fit anymore, does it?”

Rockclaw smiled grimly at the houndour. “There’s a reason he kept his name after evolving,” she told him. “Scytheclaw’s not your ordinary scizor. The insides of his pincers are as sharp as blades…so when he clamps them shut on a pokémon…well, you get the picture. Scytheclaw spends a lot of time practicing his techniques in duels, and after having been trained by a human, he’s an excellent battler, I’ll give him that much.”

Rockclaw suddenly halted in front of a cavern entrance covered partially by many dry vines hanging from above the entranceway. Pushing past them, the linoone, followed by Snowcrystal and then the others, stepped into a large circular cavern.

Snowcrystal noticed that there was a light source here as well, from a single large hole near the ceiling on one side of the room. The room itself was decorated with colorful river rocks placed in niches in the cave wall, and several berries and herbs whose purposes were unknown were resting on small stone ledges near the ceiling. She could smell the remains of some sort of prey pokémon and could see patches of fur and feathers scattered on one side of the room.

At first, Snowcrystal couldn’t see anyone there, but after the group had only walked a few feet into the cavern, a large pokémon leaped down at them from the dark. He stood in front of them with a confused and possibly angry expression on his face.

Snowcrystal had never seen a scizor before, but some of the others, like Spark, Redclaw, and Nightshade, had. Scytheclaw looked more formidable than any scizor the three had ever come across. He was a darker red than other scizor, and the spikes on his head looked both longer and sharper. His pincers looked normal at first, but there seemed to be an unnatural-looking sharp edge along the insides, though in the dimly lit cavern, it was hard to see it properly. While Snowcrystal felt intimidated by the scizor’s appearance, it was his eyes that unnerved her most. There was something about the look of his calm gaze that gave her the impression that he could be very dangerous if he wanted to be.

“Scytheclaw, these are some travelers we found near the river,” Rockclaw told him. “Some of them are injured and sick. I thought it would be best to bring them here. There are three more in Streamrose’s den.”

Scytheclaw gave each of the visitors a curious and somewhat disapproving glare. He stopped when he noticed Thunder, who was licking an infected cut on her arm and not paying any attention to him. He regarded her curiously; it had been a long time since he had seen another scyther or scizor. “Well…” he began, turning to look back at Rockclaw, “at least this time there isn’t a lot of them. They may stay for a few days, but only if those who are healthy will hunt for us.”

“I’m sure they will,” Rockclaw told him gratefully, relieved that she had caught him in a good mood.

Snowcrystal suddenly noticed that Nightshade seemed uneasy. “What is it?” she asked him.

“I don’t know,” he whispered back. “I just have this feeling…I think maybe I should go back and try to find Stormblade soon. He’ll probably need to rest for a while after walking for so long.”

“He knows not to tire himself out too much,” Snowcrystal replied. “Don’t worry. If you can go out to look for him once we all get a chance to rest, it’ll be fine.”

Nightshade paused for a moment and sighed. “I guess you’re right,” he replied.

“Are you paying attention?” Scytheclaw snapped, and both Snowcrystal and Nightshade turned toward him.

“Uh…sorry,” Snowcrystal hastily apologized, hoping she hadn’t missed anything. “What did you say?”

“I said that you are to stay in one of the empty caves near the main cavern,” Scytheclaw repeated in an annoyed tone. “Rockclaw will show you which ones they are. As soon as you’ve rested a bit, make sure you hunt. You aren’t here so we can be your slaves.” With that, he turned away, walking slowly to the other side of the room. Rockclaw beckoned for them to leave.

“This way,” she told them, heading back into the dark tunnel.

All the way back through the narrow passage to the large cavern, Snowcrystal kept glancing at Nightshade, who still looked to be at unease. She could tell something was bothering him, but she didn’t know what.

“What’s the matter?” she asked him.

Nightshade looked at her in sudden surprise, as if he had just been jolted out of deep thought. “What? Oh…I don’t know…I’m just wondering how Stormblade’s going to get into the canyon. It would be very difficult for him to climb down the rocks. I’m going to go back for him soon and help him the rest of the way.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Snowcrystal replied, realizing that Nightshade was right. “I’m sure he’s had enough of doing things himself by now. He’ll probably welcome the help.”

Nightshade smiled at her. “I’m sure he will,” he replied.

-ooo-

The group met up with Rosie and Spark in the medium sized cavern Scytheclaw had told them they could sleep in. It wasn’t the best place, as there was very little light and the floor wasn’t smooth, but after gathering some moss and leaves and coating the floor with them, it was much more comfortable.

Spark was in a good mood. “See guys?” the jolteon told them excitedly. “I can walk without limping now. It barely even hurts at all too! I wish you would have known about those herbs, Nightshade.”

Nightshade didn’t reply, and was starting to look deep in thought again.

“Oh sure, ignore me!” Spark muttered. “You’re still not much of a healer.”

“Nightshade,” Snowcrystal asked. “Are you going to look for Stormblade soon?”

“Yes,” Nightshade replied. “I’ll go at night, when the army is less likely to see me if I run across any of them. I doubt they’d make much of an effort to stop me if they did, since they’re so busy searching for Blazefang, but I’d rather be safe.”

“Okay,” Snowcrystal replied. “Let’s just hope Stormblade’s all right…”

-ooo-

By sunset, the members of Snowcrystal’s group who were able to hunt had brought back prey. During this time, Nightshade decided to venture out of the cave and search for Stormblade. While the others were eating, he stepped out into the cool evening air of the canyon before spreading his wings and flying back toward the hills and the large cave.

As he flew on in silence, he could soon see the wall of rock at the end of the canyon, underneath which was the secret tunnel leading into the cave. However, at the top of this rock, there were pokémon moving. Curious, Nightshade flew closer, still keeping enough distance between himself and the strange pokémon. It didn’t take him long to realize that there were more than just a few, a lot more. With a jolt of shock, he realized that this was the army. He quickly veered away from the large group, flying in a wide circle around them and trying to keep panicked thoughts from his mind. After all, the army wasn’t traveling now; first he had to find Stormblade, then he could warn the others.

It was getting darker as Nightshade flew onward, looking for any sign of Stormblade. After a while of searching fruitlessly through the ever-growing darkness, Nightshade was contemplating heading back. He thought he might have a better chance of finding Stormblade when it was daylight, and the scyther had probably taken shelter somewhere; it would be near impossible to find him now. He also knew it would probably be best to warn the others of the army right away and not waste any more time. Reluctantly, he headed back.

As he was flying back over the grassy hills, something caught his eye. Near a small group of thin trees was a pokémon. Uncertain of whether or not it was Stormblade or some stranger, Nightshade flew closer.

It didn’t take him long to realize that the pokémon was, indeed, a scyther.

Alarm took hold of Nightshade. Stormblade was lying down unmoving, and it didn’t look like he was asleep. He was lying in the open, not even beneath the trees, on ground that was rocky and hardly suitable for resting on. Nightshade landed at Stormblade’s side quickly, looking over his friend in concern.

To say that Stormblade was worse off than before would be an understatement. He was coated from head to claw in mud and in some places, drying blood. Due to this, Nightshade could not see exactly how severe his injuries had become, but it was obvious that he had gained some new ones, and the heracross had a strong feeling that this was no accident. “Stormblade…” Nightshade whispered urgently, nudging his friend’s shoulder. As he waited for a response, Nightshade realized that Stormblade was lying down in such a way that his shoulder was being pressed against the sharp edge of one of his blades. He obviously hadn’t tried to lay down this way; he must have fallen. Nightshade quickly moved the blade away from Stormblade’s shoulder, walking closer to him. “Stormblade, wake up,” he whispered, nudging him again.

This time, Stormblade started to stir. All of a sudden he opened his eyes, staring straight in Nightshade’s direction. However, it seemed as if he was looking through the heracross as if he didn’t exist. Nightshade didn’t think that Stormblade was aware that he was standing there.

Stormblade moved his head so that he was no longer staring past Nightshade. He made odd movements like he was trying to lift his arms in an attempt to stand, but after a moment he lay still. Nightshade tried speaking to him again.

“Stormblade, can you hear me?” the heracross asked quietly, nudging Stormblade’s shoulder again.

Stormblade gave no indication that he had heard or felt Nightshade nudging his shoulder. He lifted his head, staring straight ahead as if gazing at something Nightshade couldn’t see. Nightshade quickly moved in front of him so that he was in Stormblade’s line of sight.

“Stormblade…it’s me, Nightshade.” the heracross whispered, looking more alarmed.

Stormblade gazed blankly through him, leaving Nightshade unsure as to whether he was fully conscious or not, before the scyther opened his mouth slowly to talk. “I…I an…I ne…to t…” He got no further than that, for a moment later he began coughing, and a bit of blood dripped from his mouth. Nightshade froze in shock.

“Don’t try to talk…I’m going to bring you back to the others,” he told Stormblade, carefully lifting him, knowing that now was not the time to worry about touching his wounds. As soon as he picked him up, Stormblade went limp in his arms. The heracross quickly made sure that he was only unconscious, before turning and flying back in the direction he had come, hoping no one from Cyclone’s army would see him.

To be continued...

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 38 - Plans for Battle

Snowcrystal wasn’t feeling tired. Worried about Nightshade and Stormblade, she had stayed up by the cave’s entrance, waiting for the heracross’s return.

The growlithe was still pacing back and forth anxiously when the sound of rapidly beating wings reached her ears. Excited, she ran out of the cave and skidded to a halt on the grass outside at the same time Nightshade landed. Snowcrystal could barely see through the darkness, but the silhouette of Nightshade carrying what had to be Stormblade could be clearly seen. The heracross staggered forward, seeming very exhausted.

“Nightshade!” Snowcrystal called, making the heracross look up at her with his gleaming yellow eyes, which were wide with alarm. “You…you found Stormblade,” the growlithe began hesitantly, suddenly wondering why the scyther was so still and unmoving while being carried. “Is he all r-”

“Get…help!” Nightshade gasped as he staggered forward, his whole body shaking. He looked as if he was about to collapse. Snowcrystal realized that he had to have flown very far and very fast to be in this sort of state. “Go!” Nightshade cried, pausing to catch his breath.

Snowcrystal turned and ran, confusion preventing her from knowing whether to be worried or relieved that Stormblade was now here. She knew she should be going to find Streamrose, but she found her paws taking her to her friend’s resting cavern first instead.

“Everyone!” she yelled once reaching it, waking the sleeping pokémon up. “Nightshade found Stormblade!”

Spark yawned and stretched his front paws. “See?” he muttered. “I told you Stormblade would need help to get here.”

Rosie flicked the jolteon with one of her tails. “Stormblade is tired, and it’s better for him not to aggravate his wounds further.”

“Well…I couldn’t see through the dark but…Nightshade told me to get help, so I’m going to find Streamrose,” Snowcrystal replied. She turned around and the group followed her, curious and excited, out of the cavern.

“I’ll get Streamrose, Snowcrystal,” Redclaw volunteered. “The rest of you go see what Nightshade needs help with. Stormblade might have worsened his wounds with all that traveling.”

The pokémon left the cavern together, and even Blazefang followed out of sheer curiosity. Redclaw headed off toward the healer’s cavern as soon as they reached the main chamber of the cave. Snowcrystal paused to look around and noticed Thunder standing uncertainly at the entrance to the cavern they’d been resting in. The scyther looked very unsteady on her feet.

Wildflame noticed her as well. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” the houndoom told her. Thunder just looked at her with a blank expression. “Get some rest,” Wildflame told her in a calm tone. “We might not be back in a while since we all want to talk to Nightshade and Stormblade, so you’ll be alone in the quiet.”

Thunder didn’t bother to reply, but she silently agreed and walked back into the cavern. Wildflame caught up with the others quickly as they headed briskly through the large cavern.

“I think Thunder is getting worse,” the houndoom sighed as she walked. “I kept trying to help her earlier, but she just wouldn’t respond to me, not even to growl or anything. She’s been getting thinner too…”

“Is that even possible?” Spark asked, rolling his eyes.

“Good question,” Blazefang muttered. Spark shot him a seething glare and the houndour withered under his gaze.

Snowcrystal barely heard the others’ conversations as they made their way to the cave entrance. Snowcrystal darted ahead of everyone else as she saw that Nightshade had made it into the big cavern from the tunnel leading outside.

The others quieted and followed, gathering around the tunnel entrance as Wildflame used her ember attack to light up the area around her. Luckily, most of the cave pokémon were asleep in other tunnels, so they were not bothered by the sudden bright light. Nightshade looked up at her gratefully as he staggered into view, carrying the limp form of Stormblade with him.

Snowcrystal gasped when she saw him clearly. Stormblade’s entire body was coated in sticky mud, and many of his wounds – both new and old – were bleeding after the frantic flight he had endured. Blood was also dripping from his half-open mouth. The scyther looked like a mess, and one of his wings was bent at an awkward angle. Nightshade carefully set Stormblade down before half-collapsing himself in exhaustion.

Everyone seemed alarmed; Wildflame looked as if she couldn’t tell if Stormblade was alive or dead, and the look on her face made Snowcrystal believe that she thought he could die any second if something wasn’t done. Blazefang looked absolutely disgusted by the sight, Spark seemed frozen in complete shock, and Rosie had suddenly gone very pale, looking as if she was about to pass out.

Blazefang was the first to overcome the shock and break the silence. “So…is he dead, or…going to be?” he asked.

“Neither!” Wildflame told him, and Blazefang looked at her in surprise. Wildflame quickly looked away and turned back to Stormblade. Blazefang’s expression had read, ‘Do you actually care about this scyther?’

Suddenly Snowcrystal felt Redclaw’s thick fur brush against hers as he and Streamrose arrived. They approached Stormblade and Nightshade. The heracross was still too exhausted to stand. Streamrose stifled a gasp as she looked at the bloodied scyther lying on the cave floor.

“What happened?” the gardevoir asked, looking around at the group.

“I don’t know,” Nightshade said weakly, getting shakily to his feet. “He was hurt very bad before…but not this bad. Something happened to him recently. I don’t know what.”

Streamrose bent down to examine the wounds quickly. Nightshade looked at them too, and though he couldn’t tell for sure, the newer injuries looked at least a day old. An alarmed thought entered his mind. How long had Stormblade tried to drag himself across those hills and fields in this condition?

“Help me get him in the healer’s cavern,” Streamrose said to Nightshade, and despite his exhaustion, the heracross nodded. The two of them carefully lifted Stormblade and headed toward the rocky opening. By this time, a few curious pokémon had entered the large cavern to see what was going on, whispering quietly to each other as they got a glimpse of Stormblade. Streamrose and Nightshade paid them no heed. Snowcrystal saw Stormblade’s scythe dragging limply across the ground as Nightshade and Streamrose brought him inside the cavern.

Snowcrystal tried to follow, but Wildflame stopped her. “Better let Streamrose handle this,” she told the growlithe. “We’d probably just get in the way.”

A few moments later, Nightshade emerged and rejoined the group. “I think we may have to wait a while…” he told them tiredly. “I don’t know when Stormblade will wake up. And there’s something I need to tell the leader here. For now though, those who want to can go back to our cavern and rest.”

The others didn’t say anything, though it was easy to tell that none of them felt like resting. Wildflame sighed. “Guess we’re all staying here then,” she whispered. “At least it’ll give Thunder a bit of peace.”

Blazefang, who had been debating on whether or not to go back and sleep, despite how unnerved he was, immediately dismissed the idea at the thought of being alone in a room with the scyther who had tried to kill him before. Unfortunately, he realized, he was stuck here for now.

Nightshade looked worriedly at the group. “I need to speak to Scytheclaw,” he told them. “If any of you want to come, follow me. It’s…it’s about Cyclone’s army. They’ve reached the canyon.”

The entire group of pokémon looked alarmed, Blazefang in particular, but no one said anything. It was as if the shock of seeing Stormblade in such horrible condition hadn’t yet worn off enough for them to be very surprised about anything else.

“I’ll go,” Snowcrystal told the heracross, and Wildflame, Rosie, and Redclaw agreed to go with Nightshade as well.

“Oh great, I have to stay here alone with him?” Spark growled, looking at Blazefang.

“Believe me, I’m not happy about it either,” the houndour retorted.

Snowcrystal ignored the two and followed Nightshade as the heracross rushed into the tunnel leading to Scytheclaw’s cavern. The growlithe leapt back in shock as Nightshade was suddenly pushed roughly aside by Scytheclaw when the scizor strode into the large cavern, obviously annoyed by the commotion.

“What’s going on?” the leader shouted, and Nightshade quickly moved in front of him.

“I’ve just brought our friend back here,” the heracross explained quickly, “but there is something important I need to tell you…”

Scytheclaw stiffened, staring at Nightshade in shock. “Is that…blood? What is going on?”

Nightshade simply stared back at Scytheclaw in confusion, until he realized that his arms and chest were stained with blood. “It’s…it’s Stormblade’s blood,” he explained. “He was the friend I brought back. He’s hurt and-”

“I don’t care!” Scytheclaw hissed, walking past him and toward the group of pokémon who had been watching.

Stubbornly, Nightshade ran in front of him. “I have to warn you,” he told him. “An army of pokémon has found this canyon and they’re getting ready to travel through it! You have to stay here and hide.” He didn’t mention that the reason the army would be traveling was because they were after Blazefang; he didn’t want the pokémon in the canyon to turn against them. And even though Blazefang was Cyclone’s main target, these native pokémon would likely be forced to join the vaporeon’s army if they got in its way.

Scytheclaw could hear the worried murmurs among the steadily growing crowd of pokémon in the cavern. “Well…” the scizor said slowly, “then I will send someone to see for themselves in the morning.” Nightshade’s eyes blazed as he realized that Scytheclaw didn’t trust him, but the leader went on without giving him so much as a glance. “But if there is such a threat, we will not hide. We are not cowards, and our tribe is not small in numbers. We-”

“You can’t fight!” Nightshade cried, knowing that a battle would be catastrophic even if the army did not have another one of the Forbidden Attacks. He stood right up to Scytheclaw, staring into the tall scizor’s eyes. “You have no idea what you’d be going up against. You don’t know anything about them. You can’t just-”

In a burst of furious hostility, Scytheclaw lashed out at Nightshade with one of his open pincers with such force that it not only cut a small gash above his right eye, but it knocked him to the ground completely. “You don’t give the orders around here!” the scizor snarled, standing threateningly over the heracross.

Looking dazed, Nightshade got to his feet. He briefly held his claws up to the cut, looking shocked when he pulled them away and saw blood. A heracross’s armored shell wasn’t supposed to be cut so easily. Looking up at Scytheclaw, he said, “Believe me, it would be better to hide and let them pass. Cyclone’s army is far stronger-”

He stopped abruptly as the scizor knocked him down again. “What would you know about strength?” Scytheclaw sneered. “My tribe is powerful and strong, and just because you consider us weak does not mean we should hide like cowards.” The leader strode past him again, moving toward the members of his tribe who were grouped together.

“I’m telling you…” Nightshade said quietly, standing up again. “You’re making a mistake.”

Scytheclaw responded without even looking at him. “I would not be making a mistake by protecting our home from something as destructive as an army of pokémon,” he said icily.

“Wait!” a pokémon in the growing crowd called out. “Are you sure this is a good idea? What if-”

Scytheclaw rounded on him. The speaker, a leafeon, took a few steps back.

“No, Scytheclaw is right,” a silver-furred mightyena replied. “That army could destroy...or at least greatly damage our home.”

“Not to mention steal our prey,” a pidgeot cried. “I’d be willing to fight to keep that scum off our land!”

A few other pokémon murmured in agreement, but the rest looked uncertain. Then, another speaker stepped forward. It was a sleek, black-furred, almost cat-like pokémon with yellow ring markings on its legs, tail, ears, and forehead. Nightshade recognized it as an umbreon. The umbreon looked around the cave at all the pokémon gathered there. “Are you mad?” he cried. “We don’t know anything about this army, and already you’re willing to try and fight it? And even if our tribe could defeat them, a group of pokémon that large would kill and injure many, and then what would we do? There wouldn’t be enough of us to find food or defend ourselves from other intruders!”

“Moonlight is right,” a glameow called. “Even if we end up having to search outside the canyon for food, it’s better than risking injury and death.”

Several of the pokémon bristled and glared at the two, and most of the hostility was directed at the umbreon. The majority, however, moved toward Moonlight and the glameow and looked back at Scytheclaw almost fearfully.

“We don’t want to fight,” a flareon told the leader timidly.

Scytheclaw’s pincers clenched together tightly as he gave the group facing him a seething glare. Snowcrystal wondered what would happen and if Scytheclaw would order them to fight anyway.

Scytheclaw looked ready to do just that, when the zangoose Snowcrystal had seen earlier whispered to him. “Scytheclaw…” he told the leader, “outright ordering them to do this could cause problems. Problems we don’t want to deal with. We-”

Scytheclaw silenced him, understanding what he meant. If most of his tribe was siding with Moonlight and the heracross, presenting it as an order could lead to a refusal to fight. But there was another way, a part of the tribe’s ancient laws and traditions the pokémon would have to respect and obey.

Snowcrystal watched as Scytheclaw approached Moonlight. She hadn’t heard what the zangoose had whispered to him, but she sensed that something in the leader’s attitude had changed.

The scizor reached the group of pokémon, who all nervously turned their eyes on him. “It seems as if most of you here don’t want to try defending our territory,” Scytheclaw announced in a deceptively calm voice. “But there are several of us who do.” He paused to look at those who had moved to the other side of the cave, showing their support for him as leader. “It seems as if the best way to make this decision…would be the traditional way.”

Snowcrystal looked around nervously, spotting Rockclaw nearby and moving over toward her. “Rockclaw…what’s the…traditional way?”

Before the linoone could answer, Scytheclaw himself explained to the pokémon in the cave, glaring at Nightshade in particular. “The traditional way,” he began, “as you all know, apart for you…newcomers…is that when a large number among the tribe supports one decision, and another large number the other, a battle decides the outcome.”

“And a pokémon from the side opposing the leader’s choice…must fight the leader,” the zangoose added.

“And the winner makes the decision,” Moonlight finished. “We know. That method hasn’t been used in years. But if it’s what you want, then I accept. Let’s see what they think.”

Moonlight turned to the group of pokémon who had supported him, who all looked uncertain for a moment. However, each of them knew that they had little choice. It was either accept Scytheclaw’s terms and send someone to fight for a chance at avoiding a large-scale battle, or be forced to fight by the scizor and his many followers. One by one, they all reluctantly murmured their agreement.

“We should hold the battle now,” Moonlight growled, staring into Scytheclaw’s eyes without a hint of fear. “If no one else is willing, I will volunteer to be-”

“No!” Scytheclaw said quickly, leaving Moonlight looking confused. “One of them must do it.” He waved his claw toward Snowcrystal and her companions. “It was one of them that started this. The battle will be held tomorrow morning.”

“What?” Moonlight cried. “They’re not part of the tribe. This has nothing to do with them!”

“If they don’t have anything to do with us, then why don’t we throw them out?” Scytheclaw snapped. “Leave them to fend for themselves and perhaps slow down that army-”

“No!” Snowcrystal shouted, and everyone turned to look at her. She backed up a little, wishing she could disappear, but knowing she had to continue. “We’ll do it…” she said quietly. “If we can stay here, one of us will battle.” She immediately turned her gaze to the cave floor as the pokémon continued to stare. She could not tell if her decision had been a good one or not. Yet, even if one of her friends was injured in the fight, it would be better than all of them having to face Cyclone’s army without anywhere to hide, and leaving Stormblade without care. None of her friends said anything, but Snowcrystal was sure that they had realized the same thing. They didn’t have much of a choice.

“Very well…” Scytheclaw told her, and turned swiftly back to the tunnel leading to his cavern. “It’s settled then. The battle tomorrow will determine what we shall do. Any tribe members who can fly, find out what you can about the army when daylight comes. One of you can inform the newcomers of where the battle will take place, because I expect the one who will fight to be there by sunrise.”

Scytheclaw disappeared into the tunnel, leaving the pokémon who had supported Nightshade worried and Moonlight fuming. Angrily, the umbreon turned away and stalked into another tunnel. The large group of pokémon gradually dispersed, whispering anxiously among themselves. Rockclaw approached Snowcrystal and the small group clustered around her, and quietly led them into another small empty cavern.

Once they were there, Nightshade faced Rockclaw with a serious look on his face. “I’ll be the one to fight,” he told her. “I was the one to speak out against him. This is more between me and him than any of you.”

“Don’t be silly, Nightshade,” Wildflame told him. “Let one of us fire types do it!”

“That’s not a good idea,” Rockclaw told them quietly, and everyone looked at her in surprise. She sighed and explained to them, “The battle arena is outside this cavern. It’s protected by a wall of rock on all sides, and the rocks and trees overhead make it difficult to spot from above, so you don’t have to worry too much if that army decides to attack then. But…there’s foliage everywhere, and fire attacks would not only burn it, but the flames would spread all throughout the canyon…which is why no pokémon is allowed to use fire attacks in the arena.”

“Who else thinks he planned it that way?” Spark muttered darkly.

“Well, what else hurts bug or steel types?” Wildflame asked.

“Fire’s his only real weakness…” Rockclaw told her.

Blazefang, who wanted the fight to be won so that they could hide in safety as much as everyone else did, decided to speak up. “I think I have an idea-” he began.

“If you’re thinking of using Shadowflare, forget it!” Rosie snarled.

“No! I wasn’t thinking that!” Blazefang growled, casting an anxious glance at the confused Rockclaw. “I had another idea. Why not set Thunder loose in the arena and let her rip that scizor to shreds like she tries to do with everything else!”

“Thunder is ill,” Nightshade told him. “She could probably still put up a good fight if she was provoked, but she would be injured severely.”

“And is that a problem?” Blazefang asked.

Nightshade ignored him. “Like I said, I’m willing to do it,” he told the small group again. “I’ve had experience in battles and I have not been traveling as long as the rest of you, so I’m not nearly as tired.”

“I don’t know,” Blazefang replied. “You don’t look like you could take down a scizor. I’m still going with the Thunder idea. I mean, come on, she’d get some exercise and get to kill someone at the same time. She’d love it!”

“Forget it,” Redclaw told him. “Thunder is wounded enough. And I suppose Nightshade is right. He is the healthiest and will stand the best chance in a fight if none of us fire types can use our best attacks.”

Everyone finally agreed, and wearily they headed back to the cavern they had been resting in. Thunder glanced up at them as they approached, but said nothing. Before trying to rest, Snowcrystal walked over to Nightshade. “Nightshade…” she whispered. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Now get some rest. And try not to worry about me.”

Snowcrystal walked back to where she had been resting, knowing that she would get no sleep that night. She was far too worried about the army, about Stormblade, and about Nightshade to have any hope of falling asleep.

-ooo-

Scytheclaw wasn’t sure what to think about the reactions of Moonlight and many of his tribe members. Yet at least they had agreed to let a battle see who would decide whether the tribe should fight the army. In his chamber, he waited until the zangoose from before had brought him prey. Afterwards, the two had talked about the approaching army, and then, the upcoming fight.

“Which one of them do you think is going to fight?” the zangoose asked, looking at Scytheclaw. “It’ll probably be one of the fire types if no one’s told them about the arena’s rules.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Scytheclaw told him simply. “All that matters is that they are defeated quickly. That umbreon worried me…I know there are several pokémon who would leave the tribe if it weren’t for the shelter we have, and would fight against us if they weren’t so against taking part in large battles.”

“Maybe…after the battle, you can get them to see it your way,” The zangoose suggested.

“Some of them simply won’t listen,” Scytheclaw replied. “A better idea would be to remind them what they are up against if they ever decide to rebel.”

“You mean the battle?” the zangoose replied. “I don’t really think that’ll do much. These pokémon have seen the battles before.”

“This battle will be a little different…” Scytheclaw said quietly.

“Different?” the zangoose repeated. “What do you mean? What sort of battle is it going to be?”

Scytheclaw smiled. “A battle to the death.”

To be continued...

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 39 - The Battle

Snowcrystal left her friends’ cavern in the early morning. She was tired of waiting for sunrise. She thought of going to check on Stormblade, and quickly made her way back to the cavern her friends were still resting in to see if any of them wanted to come with her.

Upon entering the cavern, she wasn’t surprised to find everyone still awake; no one had slept the entire night. Nightshade, however, wasn’t there. Unsure of where he had gone, she asked the others if any of them wanted to see Stormblade, but to her surprise, all but Rosie refused. Snowcrystal wasn’t sure she could blame them, and it surprised her that Rosie had been willing to come; the ninetales had looked the most shocked and horrified upon seeing Stormblade’s condition the previous night.

They headed toward the healer’s cavern together, and when they reached it, they were surprised to find that the healer was gone. Snowcrystal supposed that Streamrose must be caring for some other pokémon somewhere else, but she found herself feeling a bit angry that she had left Stormblade alone.

As she walked inside, it didn’t take the growlithe long to find Stormblade in one of the small caverns further back, near a small pool where water had collected from somewhere else in the cave. He was lying on a large patch of moss next to the water, and though Snowcrystal could see that he was no longer covered in mud, that actually made looking at him worse. Now that the mud was gone, she could see how badly hurt he was. On his back were long vertical cuts that made Snowcrystal wonder what on earth could have torn wounds so deeply in an armored pokémon. There were other cuts as well, but luckily they were not as severe. As she approached Stormblade, the scyther didn’t give any indication that he was awake.

She walked closer, nudging Stormblade’s head with her muzzle. This time, the scyther’s eyes slowly flickered open and turned to look at her. His blue eyes seemed dull and lifeless, in a way that she had never seen them before. It startled her.

“Snowcrystal?” he asked in a barely audible voice, and as he opened his mouth, Snowcrystal could see that there was blood covering most of his white teeth. “I thought you were dead.”

“Dead?” Snowcrystal repeated. “But why would I-”

“Where are the others?” Stormblade asked. “Are they dead?”

Snowcrystal rapidly shook her head, and Rosie stepped forward, to show Stormblade that she was there as well. She wondered why the scyther hadn’t smelled her. “We’re all fine,” Snowcrystal told him. “Well, Thunder’s sick, but…” Her voice trailed off as she realized that she probably shouldn’t have told him that.

“You’re all here?” Stormblade whispered, sounding more hopeful than she had heard him sound so far. Looking at him, she nodded. Stormblade seemed both relieved and confused. His eyes moved away from Snowcrystal and to the wall of the cave. After a moment he continued. “I think I understand now,” he continued in his wavering voice. “That night…when I was traveling alone, I saw Solus kill all of you. I realize now it must have been a dream, or I was hallucinating…but when I was with Cyclone’s army, Solus told me he would do it…showed me he could with his psychic powers, so I thought that what I saw was real, and I gave up after that.”

Snowcrystal was at a loss for what to say, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, Rosie spoke instead. “Well, we’re not dead!” she cried. “That pokémon was lying to you!”

Stormblade didn’t reply. He lay still for a moment, his eyes flickering closed. Then he spoke to Snowcrystal. “Is Thunder all right?”

“Thunder!?” Rosie shouted, interrupting Snowcrystal before she could reply. “Thunder’s the last pokémon you should be concerned about! She’s just fine, now stop worrying about her!”

Snowcrystal was startled by Rosie’s outburst, but she said nothing, not wanting to spark an argument while they were around Stormblade. Instead, she glanced around the cavern and saw a dead taillow near where Stormblade was lying down. Realizing that someone must have brought it in for Stormblade earlier, she walked over to it, seeing how thin Stormblade looked. When she reached it, she could see that it was completely untouched, and when she brought it over to Stormblade, he made no move to even acknowledge it. He looked for all the world like he had just given up.

She was trying to think of something she could do to help when Streamrose returned. Snowcrystal and Rosie both looked up in surprise as the healer entered, and they could tell she didn’t look pleased.

“Who let you in here?” she asked crossly. “Get out and leave him alone until I say you can come here!”

Startled, Snowcrystal and Rosie hastily left without a reply. “Why did she sound so angry?” Rosie asked, looking back at the tunnel entrance in confusion.

“I don’t know…” Snowcrystal replied. “Maybe she’s overwhelmed by having to take care of a lot of pokémon…” Her voice trailed off. Truthfully, she wasn’t worried about why the healer had yelled at them. She was worried about Stormblade.

Both fire types looked up as Nightshade approached. “She didn’t let you see Stormblade?” he asked, and Snowcrystal shook her head, though she didn’t tell him that she had gone to see him anyway. Nightshade was silent, and for a moment he looked away from them and toward the pokémon who were gathering in the large cavern nervously.

Nightshade knew that he had to find Rockclaw, who would show him where the battle arena was so he could be there in time for his battle with Scytheclaw. Turning to Rosie and Snowcrystal, he told them, “I’m going to find Rockclaw soon. I’m not sure if other pokémon are allowed to watch, but…if you want, you can come with me.”

Snowcrystal looked up at the heracross, and somehow she felt that Nightshade wanted one of them to be there when he battled. Slowly, she nodded.

“I’d…rather not,” Rosie admitted. “Not after just seeing Stormblade…like that…” she shuddered.

“I understand,” Nightshade replied, a bit disappointed. “You can go back to the others if you want. Come on, Snowcrystal.”

Snowcrystal watched as Rosie limped away and then she followed Nightshade as he looked around for the linoone. It didn’t take him long to find her, and she quickly led them into yet another tunnel.

“Will Snowcrystal be able to watch?” Nightshade asked her.

Rockclaw nodded. “There are often large numbers of pokémon watching,” she told Nightshade. “She and her friends may come.”

“Should I ask if any of them want to?” Snowcrystal asked.

Rockclaw and Nightshade nodded, and Snowcrystal ran off. She soon returned with Wildflame, Redclaw, and Spark. The rest had chosen to stay in the cavern. Wordlessly, they all followed Rockclaw as the tunnel they were walking through opened up into a large circular space surrounded by tall rocks and foliage on all sides, and lit by the pale light of the early morning sun.

There weren’t many pokémon in the area, but those that were there were gathered on the ground or on rock ledges, waiting. Snowcrystal recognized Moonlight the umbreon watching from the top of a tall boulder. “I suppose we just wait?” she asked Rockclaw.

“Yes,” the linoone replied with a nod. “I’m not staying here. I don’t see the point of watching such a gruesome…‘sport.’” She stood up and walked carefully back through the cavern, leaving Snowcrystal feeling confused.

“Gruesome?” she repeated. “I thought it was just a battle to decide who would-”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it did get gruesome,” Redclaw replied. “But if Nightshade can win fast, he can end the battle before Scytheclaw has a chance to fight dirty.”

“That’s what I plan to do,” Nightshade replied.

Gradually, more and more pokémon gathered together in the small area, until the edges of it were rather crowded. All of the pokémon kept well away from the center of the clearing, and Snowcrystal wondered if there were usually this many, or if everyone was simply too anxious to see the outcome of the fight.

It wasn’t long before Snowcrystal was led away from Nightshade’s side by some of the canyon pokémon and told to sit on one of the ledges. She looked worriedly at her friend, but to her surprise, Nightshade still looked calm and confident. ‘Maybe,’ she thought, ‘Nightshade really is a great battler. He must know what he’s doing…’

Snowcrystal found herself anxiously glancing up at the sky, as if expecting one of Cyclone’s army pokémon to fly over the arena and notice them. Thankfully, she found that Rockclaw was right; there was so much dense foliage up above them that a flying type could easily soar right over the clearing without noticing anyone.

A sudden silence fell over the arena and Snowcrystal turned to see Scytheclaw striding into the clearing, while Nightshade watched him carefully. The scizor gave the heracross a cold glare, and Nightshade returned it. The pokémon who had accompanied their leader into the clearing quickly scurried to the rock ledges as everyone waited to see what Scytheclaw would say.

To Snowcrystal’s surprise, Scytheclaw didn’t stop to say anything. Instead, he darted toward Nightshade with a speed that shocked Snowcrystal completely. ‘What!?’ she thought. ‘I thought only scyther could move that fast!’

Nightshade was also unprepared for the sudden onslaught, and though he tried to dodge, he was far too slow. Scytheclaw’s razor sharp pincer slashed him across the chest. Nightshade stumbled backward, but Snowcrystal could see that he had moved back enough that it had not done any serious damage. However, Snowcrystal didn’t feel any less worried. She could see a few drops of blood dripping from the wound. If Scytheclaw could cut through the heracross’s thick armor that easily, Nightshade was in trouble.

Nightshade, however, didn’t seem worried or bothered by the injury, though he looked at Scytheclaw with more wariness as he anticipated another attack. A red blur moved across the clearing and came to a halt at the other side, revealing Scytheclaw.

“Surprised?” the scizor hissed at the other bug type. “I never wanted to evolve, so after I was forced into it, I trained myself to be able to move nearly as fast as my previous form…and to fly as well.”

“I thought we were here to battle, not talk,” Nightshade said coldly, but Snowcrystal could see that he was beginning to look worried, as if he wasn’t sure what Scytheclaw was planning.

“Of course,” Scytheclaw replied with a smile, and without any further warning, he darted straight across the clearing toward Nightshade.

This time, Nightshade saw him coming, and with a shock he realized that the scizor was aiming right for his eyes. The heracross dodged – though not quickly enough – and instead of getting his eyes gouged out by the blade-like pincer, he found it clamped around his arm. Nightshade swung around, attempting to strike Scytheclaw with his horn, but the scizor moved too quickly. However, this motion allowed Nightshade to dislodge Scytheclaw’s pincer before it could cut deeply. The heracross then charged toward the scizor, who retaliated by darting to the left and cutting deeply into Nightshade’s side with his pincers.

Snowcrystal watched as small flecks of blood littered the trampled grass, shocked that an attack so vicious would be allowed in this sort of battle. She began to wonder if this really wasn’t a sparring match, but instead deadly combat. Snowcrystal remembered that she had been the one to agree with Scytheclaw that someone from her group would fight, and she wondered with frightening horror if she had unknowingly sent Nightshade to his death.

In the middle of the clearing, Nightshade lurched forward, his eyes half closed as he gripped a tree with his claws to keep from falling over. Snowcrystal could see that Scytheclaw had wounded him badly. The scizor bolted toward the heracross again and, gritting his teeth, Nightshade spun around, ramming into Scytheclaw with his horn.

Snowcrystal’s eyes lit up with hope as Scytheclaw was thrown backwards, landing roughly on the rocky ground. However to her dismay, he quickly stood up, looking unharmed. The scizor rammed into Nightshade, ripping at him savagely with both claws. For a series of seconds the battle went on, Scytheclaw attacking and Nightshade trying to defend, and then the two pokémon stopped to catch their breath.

As she watched the two pokémon, Snowcrystal became even more afraid. Nightshade had many wounds, but Scytheclaw was completely unscathed. He was just too tough…too fast…

Once again, Scytheclaw was the first to attack. This time, however, Nightshade succeeded in blocking the attack with his horn…well, almost succeeded. The scizor quickly locked his claws around the heracross’ horn, before slamming the weakened pokémon into the ground. Scytheclaw aimed to slash at his eyes again, and in a frantic attempt to shield himself, Nightshade blocked the attack with his arm, and the pincer clamped around it, crushing down with surprising force.

With a cry of rage and pain, Nightshade leaped to his feet and slammed into Scytheclaw in one fluid motion, knocking the scizor forcefully into the ground. This time, Scytheclaw actually looked winded. “What are you trying to do, kill me?” Nightshade shouted, glaring at Scytheclaw through eyes narrowed to slits. Blood was dripping slowly from his wounds, mostly from his arm and the wound in his side.

“I thought we were here to battle instead of talk…” Scytheclaw hissed as he stood up.

Snowcrystal’s eyes then widened in horror as, faster than her eyes could track, Scytheclaw dashed toward Nightshade and slashed him with one of his pincers along his injured side, and blood welled out from the further opened wound. The growlithe found herself unable to watch any longer. Turning from the battle, she bounded along the side of the rocks, looking for a familiar face. With a sickening jolt, she remembered that Rockclaw had left the arena, and the path to where her friends were huddled was blocked by the group of pokémon sitting between them. However, no sooner had she started to panic than she noticed Moonlight the umbreon watching from a boulder nearby. As quickly as she could, she made her way over to the dark type.

“Moonlight!” she cried. “What’s going on? I thought the battles weren’t supposed to be-”

The umbreon regarded her with a hint of surprise, but quickly answered before Snowcrystal could finish. “These battles usually last until one of the pokémon gives up,” he told her, and she could easily sense the nervousness in his voice.

“Usually?” Snowcrystal replied, but was cut short by another cry from Nightshade.

Snowcrystal frantically turned around, and she quickly realized that Nightshade was trying to block a metal claw attack from Scytheclaw. Startled, she wondered why the heracross seemed barely able to hold the scizor’s pincer back. Was his arm injured that badly? It looked for a moment like Nightshade was going to collapse; Scytheclaw clearly had the upper claw, and Snowcrystal had no idea what sort of damage those blade-sharp pincers were truly capable of.

Then suddenly, everything changed at once.

With a cry of both effort and pain, Nightshade gripped tighter around Scytheclaw’s arm, lifting him up so quickly that the scizor’s foot claws were ripped from the earth before he could even register what was happening. Using all his remaining strength, Nightshade slammed Scytheclaw bodily to the ground, knocking the wind from him.

Snowcrystal expected Nightshade to continue the attack while his enemy was weak, but the heracross seemed to need the moment to recover as well. It was Scytheclaw who got up first. With a bellow of rage, he raced toward the heracross, aiming to slice through his armor and into his flesh with his razor sharp claws. The heracross dodged, and instead Scytheclaw found his pincers once again locked around Nightshade’s horn. Not wasting his chance, Nightshade flicked his horn upward in one violent movement, tossing Scytheclaw into the air and sending him crashing to the ground again. The heracross then ran toward him, thrusting his horn against the scizor’s side and slamming him against a rock. Snowcrystal felt a flicker of hope. Nightshade was winning…

Almost as soon as she thought it, the tide of the battle changed again, this time for the worse. Getting up and pushing off from the rock in a huge leap, Scytheclaw spread his wings and moved toward Nightshade like lightning, opening his pincer wide and slashing Nightshade again in his wounded side. Another small spray of blood littered the grass, and this time Nightshade sank to his knees. Scytheclaw paused, catching his breath as he waited to see if the heracross would make a move.

Shaking from head to foot, Nightshade sank to all fours, looking at Scytheclaw through eyes half closed with pain. Scytheclaw grinned, watching his own pincer begin to glow with bright light, a metal claw attack. Rushing forward with a speed that nearly matched a scyther’s, Scytheclaw swung the glowing pincer down at the heracross.

In the same moment, Nightshade’s eyes opened fully. With his horn still pointing at an angle toward his foe as he stood on all fours, he lunged toward Scytheclaw, exerting every bit of strength left in his body. It wouldn’t have been much, but he was a heracross, one of the strongest pokémon alive. A sickening crack was heard as Nightshade’s horn rammed into Scytheclaw’s stomach, sending the scizor flying backward against the rock wall with a force that stunned all watching, even Nightshade himself. Scytheclaw slammed into the rock and fell limply to the ground, where he lay still.

Snowcrystal watched, still stunned by the surprising attack, as a pokémon ran to Scytheclaw’s side, confirming that he was only unconscious. The zangoose who had supported Scytheclaw jumped to the ground from a rock ledge, a look of worry on his face. “Get the healer!” he cried, kneeling next to Scytheclaw’s limp form. A sneasel ran off to do his bidding.

Snowcrystal ran over to Nightshade, who was now lying face-forward on the grass. She examined the wound in his side, which looked like the worst one. It looked deep, but thanks to the heracross’s thick armor, the attack had not caused any lethal damage. Nightshade let the growlithe nudge him to his feet, and slowly he made his way toward the cave, stopping for breath every few paces. Snowcrystal looked toward the cave entrance, and just as Scytheclaw was being carried inside, a small persian darted out, looking worried.

“They’re here…” the cat like pokémon called. “That huge group of pokémon...the army! It’s coming this way.”

“Get inside, everyone!” Moonlight cried, leaping down from his perch on the boulder and running into the cave, followed by the other onlookers.

As they rushed past, Nightshade lost his balance and fell sprawling to the ground. As Snowcrystal leaned down toward him, she saw a shadow flicker over the ground. Looking up, she saw a huge bird fly by, possibly a pidgeot or staraptor. Alarm gripped her as she remembered the threat of Cyclone’s flying pokémon. Luckily, though, it hadn’t seemed to have seen the pokémon through the foliage above. Looking back at Nightshade again, Snowcrystal tried to nudge the weakening pokémon to his feet.

“Snowcrystal!” a voice shouted, and the growlithe quickly recognized it as Spark’s. The jolteon reached her side before she could even look up, helping Nightshade to his feet. Redclaw and Wildflame stood by the cave entrance, looking startled by the blood and Nightshade’s condition, but as they walked inside, Wildflame led them carefully back to Streamrose’s small cavern.

-ooo-

Within the cave, there was silence. Nearly every pokémon was straining to listen for sounds of the approaching army, too scared to leave the main chamber. The silence was almost frightening. Snowcrystal and some of the others sat near Nightshade in the healer’s cavern, and although the heracross insisted that he would start feeling better after a while of rest, she had sensed worry in his voice. And by the way he had worded it, she believed that he expected to ignore the wounds and travel as soon as he got some of his strength back. She wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

Snowcrystal was near the entrance to the small cavern, and as she glanced at the other tunnels, she wished she could see where Stormblade was. According to the healer, he was not doing well. It worried her, because at the moment she was busy treating Scytheclaw’s injuries in the leader’s room. She had told Snowcrystal and her friends once again to leave Stormblade alone.

After a while of waiting, Snowcrystal heard a commotion from the big cavern. Nightshade sat up, staring in the direction of the healer cave’s exit. “Go and see what’s happening,” he said to Snowcrystal.

Snowcrystal padded out of the small cavern and into the large one, where several pokémon had also gathered. It looked much more crowded now that no one was outside, and even though Snowcrystal was used to being in a large tribe, the amount of pokémon in the cave made her uncomfortable.

It was Moonlight who had entered the cavern in a rush from outside, and he looked wide-eyed and scared, his black fur sticking up all over his body. “I saw them a little ways down the canyon,” he was saying. “There were at least twice as many pokémon as there are living here now. They were coming fast, and I blocked up the entrance we use to get inside, but they could still find our scent.”

“Why not put strong-smelling herbs near the entrances?” a furret suggested. “That would disguise the scent.”

Everyone quickly rushed to get herbs from the battlefield outside, taking great care not to cause too much movement which might be spotted from above. Snowcrystal helped them and placed her herbs by the main entranceway. Just as she was turning to leave, she heard the sound of footsteps outside. Quietly, and taking great care, she backed away, the others watching her falling quickly into silence. Once out of the tunnel and into the main cavern, she, Moonlight, and several others watched the hidden entrance with bated breath. The footsteps quickly faded away, but there was no time to be relieved. That was only the first pokémon.

The army had arrived.

To be continued...

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 40 - To the Forest

Snowcrystal watched the entrance to the cave, knowing that at any moment another pokémon from Cyclone’s army could be walking by. A mightyena brushed past her, carefully laying more strong herbs by the entrance. Snowcrystal wanted to tell him that too much might make the area seem suspicious, but at that very moment she heard the sound of more pokémon approaching, and quieted down, waiting and watching.

-ooo-

Silverbreeze and a luxray named Skyfang had both paused near the hidden entrance. The rest of the army was either moving quickly or scouring the rocks for signs of Blazefang, the houndour who possessed Shadowflare’s power. The scyther and the electric type had been chosen to search this area of the canyon, and neither of them were pleased, knowing that the houndour could be anywhere.

Skyfang wrinkled his nose in disgust, glaring at the scenery around him. “Somethin’ stinks over here,” he growled. “It smells like some of those nasty plants we found!”

“Shut up and keep searching!” Silverbreeze snapped. “I can smell it myself and I don’t need you complaining.”

Skyfang shot the scyther a glare when her back was turned, and lumbered off to search somewhere that smelled less pungent. He was getting tired of Silverbreeze ordering him around, but because she was one of Cyclone’s elite pokémon, there was nothing the luxray could do about it.

Now alone, Silverbreeze focused her attention on what she had noticed before Skyfang’s interruption. There had been scyther blood spilled here recently. The thick smell of the strongly scented plants made it hard to notice, but Silverbreeze could still detect it. And beneath that, very faintly, was Stormblade’s scent.

Silverbreeze had no idea how Stormblade would have gotten this far, unless he had died and some powerful scavenger had dragged him into the canyon. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about this realization. She did not like Stormblade, but after seeing him tortured, she was beginning to think that maybe Cyclone was the one she should be disliking. His intentions were good but he had made her witness something she would never forget, as much as she wanted to. Of course, she kept all these thoughts to herself. There was no point in trying to persuade Cyclone and risk losing her high rank in the army. And that was in the past now. At least the leader who overthrew her mate was dead now.

The scyther began to realize that the strong scents seemed to be coming from the same place. Curious, she walked toward it, noticing that the scent of the plants made it difficult for her to smell anything else the closer she got.

“Silverbreeze!” Skyfang shouted from somewhere further along the rocky ridge. “I see canine footprints here! They look a bit big to be a houndour’s…but I dunno, why don’t you come and see?”

The scyther sighed and walked over to him, leaving the area where the air was filled with strong-smelling herbs behind.

-ooo-

Knowing that the army was now swarming through the canyon, the pokémon inside the cave still kept very quiet. Most were speaking to one another in hushed whispers or hiding in their caverns. Snowcrystal had finally been allowed to go into the place where Stormblade was resting, and, not wanting to bother him much, she lay down beside him.

She knew that Redclaw was helping some of the cave pokémon guard the entrance in case of any intrusion, and some of the smaller, stealthier pokémon were venturing outside by a different way to hide in the grass and alert the others to any danger, or to see when the army left.

Blazefang had seemed more frightened than any of the other pokémon, and hid himself deep within the cave tunnels. Wildflame was waiting with him, and everyone else in the cave was also longing for the moment when the army would leave.

Snowcrystal wasn’t sure how long she waited in the dim cave, listening to the worried sounds of the pokémon moving through the main cavern. She knew that a long time had passed, but she had no way of knowing just how long.

She was still in the healer’s cavern when she heard one of the pokémon scurry by the entrance. Curious, she stepped out into the main cave, where a poochyena was addressing the group loudly.

“Most of the army pokémon have moved on,” he explained. “I think it will be safe soon.”

“Are you sure?” someone asked. “They left so soon?”

Snowcrystal couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed; the time she had spent waiting had seemed anything but short. The poochyena went on to tell them that it seemed as if the army had just been passing through.

Rosie turned to Redclaw, looking worried. “If they don’t find Blazefang,” she whispered to him, “will they come back?”

“I don’t know,” Redclaw replied. “For now, let’s just stay here where it’s safe.”

Rosie sighed and turned away, and Snowcrystal couldn’t blame her for being worried. She too was wondering just how safe the cave really was.

-ooo-

Cyclone was in a bad mood. The vaporeon did not show it, but the rest of his followers could feel it ebbing from him as the water type walked past them. The army leader couldn’t understand how a simple houndour could seemingly vanish. His pokémon had searched through the entire canyon, and the flying types had scanned the area around it. He wondered if Blazefang was still in the giant, maze-like caves after all. If so, it wouldn’t be worth losing a large number of pokémon in there to go searching for him. The army was still small, and Cyclone knew he did not have nearly enough strong pokémon for a bigger search; the majority of the army pokémon were weak and untrained. For now, although he hated to admit it, the fire type Forbidden Attack Shadowflare had slipped from his paws.

Calling two of his most trusted pokémon aside, the vaporeon led them away from the main army. He turned toward Silverbreeze, the first of the two. “Take thirty pokémon and watch this area for any sign of him,” he ordered. “You’ll be in charge of them. If there’s no sign of Blazefang in one week, follow our tracks and find us.” He turned to look at the other pokémon, a charmeleon. “And you,” he began in his same calm tone, “tell the rest of the army that we will be moving on. There are more Forbidden Attacks in the world.”

The two pokémon nodded and went off to do his bidding, leaving Cyclone alone with his thoughts.

-ooo-

A young eevee hidden among the grass at the top of a cliff watched the army move off into the distance. He stayed still as the last of Cyclone’s pokémon climbed out of the canyon and headed toward the plains that bordered the edge of a forest. The army kept well away from the forest, heading past it and traveling further across the plains. It made sense that such a large group of pokémon would not want to travel through a forest, but the small eevee wondered where it was that they were going. Quietly he slipped back to pass the news to the others in the cave, Silverbreeze’s group escaping his notice.

-ooo-

As the news that the army had left the canyon spread through the caves, pokémon gradually dared to venture out and bring back food. They did not go too far, and the remainder of the day passed without any trouble from strange pokémon.

Even after several more days, most of the pokémon stayed close to the cave, worried that the massive group of pokémon would return. Every time Snowcrystal saw one of the canyon dwellers fearfully darting back into the cave, she couldn’t help but think she and her friends were responsible for leading the army there. After all, they had agreed to let Blazefang come with them in order to keep Cyclone away from the fire Forbidden Attack.

Though Nightshade’s wounds had started to heal, Stormblade didn’t seem much better off. Streamrose’s herbs had stopped his infection from spreading…for now…but the scyther looked just as weak as ever, and would barely eat. Snowcrystal wasn’t sure about Thunder’s condition; she never saw the scyther except for when she ventured out of her small cavern to nibble at the food the others had left for her and then leave again. Snowcrystal wondered if this was a good time to try and get her to trust them more, since she seemed more willing to accept help. Yet she had been told by the others that it was probably best to leave her alone; no one wanted to make her angry when she was so weak.

Her thoughts kept drifting back to her friends no matter where she went, but as she walked by the healer’s cavern for the sixth time that morning, Snowcrystal wanted to try and distract herself. Spotting Wildflame and Redclaw nearby, she walked over to them nervously.

“Do you think we should go bring back some food for the others?” she asked. “I…I could use some practice hunting in the grass and trees,” she added in embarrassment.

“All right,” Redclaw replied, seeming to sense why she wanted to be out of the cave. “Let’s just be careful and not go too far.”

Wildflame stood up as well, nodding to Snowcrystal to show her that she was willing to go. Snowcrystal smiled back at the two and led the way out of the cave.

-ooo-

That afternoon, when Snowcrystal was coming back with Redclaw and Wildflame, something unexpected occurred. The young growlithe had not caught any prey; her white fur was still too noticeable in a grassy landscape. Redclaw and Wildflame, however, had both caught something and were bringing it back to the others when the zangoose they had seen at Nightshade’s battle confronted them.

“What are you doing here?” Wildflame growled, dropping her prey. During their stay, the houndoom’s dislike for the zangoose had grown.

“I’m here on Scytheclaw’s orders,” he replied hastily, ignoring Wildflame’s hostility. “He has told me to tell you that you must be gone from this place, from this cave and from this canyon, by tomorrow morning. You have brought nothing but trouble upon us.”

‘WHAT?’ Snowcrystal wanted to yell, but she kept her mouth shut. She exchanged glances with Wildflame, wondering if Scytheclaw had found out about why Cyclone had entered the valley. She decided to speak. “Three of our friends aren’t ready to travel,” she told him, though she already knew that the zangoose was well aware of Stormblade, Nightshade, and Thunder’s condition.

“Doesn’t matter,” the zangoose snapped. “If you’re still here by morning, we have Scytheclaw’s orders to attack you.” His eyes gleamed threateningly as he turned around and stalked away. “And that includes your scyther friend! Not like he isn’t half dead already,” he called over his shoulder. Several of the other cave pokémon glanced at Snowcrystal apologetically as the zangoose walked away, as if they weren’t pleased with the order either.

Wildflame growled, the fur on her neck and shoulders rising. “That lowlife scizor just wants to get rid of us because of the battle!” she spat.

“I know,” Redclaw replied, seeming strangely calm. “But we can’t stay here and pick a fight with them…I think we should talk to Streamrose and Moonlight. They might know somewhere safe we can go.”

“How are we supposed to get there?” Snowcrystal asked. “With Stormblade-” She stopped mid-sentence, for the other two had already gone off angrily in search of Moonlight. Sighing, Snowcrystal began dragging their prey back to the others.

-ooo-

Night had fallen, and all but Stormblade now knew of Scytheclaw’s hasty decision to force them to leave. Streamrose had given them some of her herbs to take with them, but no one was sure how long they would last. Moonlight had told them that the safest resting place had to be the forest, which Cyclone’s army had avoided. At least, Snowcrystal thought, there would probably be an abundance of prey there. She was still so shocked about leaving so suddenly that she had hardly thought about where they were going.

“I don’t see what you’re all so worried about,” Rosie muttered, breaking the silence that hung over the small cavern where most of her friends were resting. “I’ll be glad to get away from all these strange pokémon and their awful leader. Resting in a forest sounds nice after waiting in these caves for so long.”

“It hasn’t been long at all,” Wildflame muttered. “And the problem with the forest is getting there.”

“Moonlight showed us an easy way to climb out of the canyon,” Rosie responded. “Maybe Redclaw can carry Stormblade. Carefully, of course.”

Spark, who had been licking the half-healed wounds on his leg from the poacher trap, paused and looked up. “I agree with Rosie,” he stated. “It’s pretty obvious we aren’t welcome here.”

“But this place was safe,” Wildflame growled.

“What’s the point in fighting?” Nightshade said calmly, limping between them. “It’s not like we have a choice, and the forest will be safe from Cyclone’s pokémon. At least we would no longer have to hide.”

Snowcrystal nodded in silent agreement, though she could sense unease in all the pokémon around her, even from Blazefang. She wondered what the houndour would do now that Cyclone and his army had given up chasing him.

-ooo-

It was still dark when the group silently made their way out of the cave, shivering miserably in the early morning cold. Redclaw carried the herbs that Streamrose had given them in his mouth. For the second time, he had to carry Stormblade on his back, but this time the scyther was too weak to protest. Most of the pokémon looked much better rested than when they had arrived, but the same wasn’t true for Nightshade, Stormblade, and Thunder.

Rosie and Spark, however, now seemed much healthier despite their injuries, thanks to the healer’s help. Though Snowcrystal knew that Nightshade wasn’t ready to travel, most of his wounds weren’t serious enough to be much of a problem as long as they had the herbs. However, the one in his side still worried her. And Stormblade…well, she knew that there was no way Stormblade should be traveling. The sooner they got to the forest and rested, the better.

Thunder stumbled and nearly fell as she walked out of the cave, and immediately stood up again and started licking one of her wounds, trying to act as if nothing had happened, though Snowcrystal could see her shaking. Over the past few days, it seemed that the infection in some of her wounds had gotten worse, the cuts in her back in particular. During her stay at the caves, Thunder had mostly kept away from the healer and Snowcrystal’s group, and Snowcrystal suspected that she simply didn’t trust Streamrose and had wanted to be left alone. At some point during that time, however, she had grown weak enough to finally accept medicine from Nightshade, but it hadn’t seemed to do much to help the oozing, bleeding wounds.

Snowcrystal glanced at her group of friends, feeling worried for what lay in store for them. In a way, she felt partially responsible for their hardships; after all, her search for Articuno had taken them to these far-off places.

“Snowcrystal?” a voice whispered.

The white growlithe looked up to see Rosie staring at her worriedly. “Er…what is it?” Snowcrystal asked, trying not to sound too distracted.

“You know,” Rosie began, trying to sound optimistic, “I’m sure things will be better in the forest. Those places are full of prey pokémon!”

“But what about the pokémon who are injured?” Snowcrystal asked the ninetales.

“We can only do our best,” Wildflame whispered to her as she passed by, walking on ahead into the bushes. “Moonlight told us that the easy way to get out of the canyon was along here.”

Snowcrystal glanced up at Stormblade, wondering how the scyther was even conscious. One thing was for sure, she couldn’t let the power that had caused his wounds fall into Cyclone’s paws. With any luck, the vaporeon’s followers would eventually desert him. What did he have to threaten them all with anyway? He was just one pokémon.

Snowcrystal looked up sadly as Wildflame took the lead, letting the others follow slowly after her. Spark nudged her shoulder, and she followed Wildflame reluctantly, glancing worriedly at Stormblade.

“It’s not far,” Wildflame told the group quietly. “I know how to get there…follow me.”

Sadly, Snowcrystal trailed after her, wondering just how much longer Stormblade would be able to last.

-ooo-

Silverbreeze and the thirty pokémon under her command had waited in the canyon for days. It hadn’t been an entirely unpleasant experience, as there was plenty of prey there, but Silverbreeze knew that an exhausting journey trying to catch up with Cyclone was waiting for her after two more days. The scyther had not expected to see any sign of Blazefang anywhere, but she was surprised when, in the dark of night, she was roused by one of the nocturnal army pokémon. He was telling her that he’d spotted an arcanine and some other pokémon from a distance.

Instantly alert, Silverbreeze leapt up and crept through the bushes in the darkness, following the noctowl who had spoken to her. Emerging from the foliage at the top of a rugged cliff, the scyther could see a large arcanine’s flame-colored pelt moving through the trees a little ways away. There were other pokémon with him, and they were slowly making their way up a shallow slope. Silverbreeze could not see all of them in the dark, but she could see the white fur of a snow colored growlithe, standing out in the black of night.

“That’s them,” Silverbreeze told the noctowl. “I wonder if the houndour’s still with them.” She hoped that the bird pokémon wouldn’t notice the unease in her voice. Truthfully, she hoped they wouldn’t find him. As much as she supported Cyclone’s plans to keep the humans away from the pokémon habitats, the idea of using Forbidden Attacks to do so unnerved her greatly.

“I didn’t get close enough to see if he was,” the noctowl replied, turning his head to preen his feathers. “Go get the others.”

-ooo-

“It’s not far now,” Rosie whispered from up ahead, peering at the top of the canyon. The ninetales had begun using her injured leg again, but was still limping. Nevertheless, she had been determined to prove herself and climbed ahead of the others to examine the path they would take. “It looks easy to climb up this way,” she added, pointing with one of her tails.

Blazefang scrabbled up beside her, his black fur prickling with unease. Even though he felt strong and awake in the moonlight, every flickering shadow unnerved him. What if there were still enemy pokémon from Cyclone’s army lurking about?

Rosie growled as Blazefang shoved her aside and moved further up the slope. Snowcrystal and Spark appeared beside her, both looking worried. “What is it?” she whispered to the two pokémon.

“Nightshade thinks we’re being watched,” Snowcrystal replied.

“He thought that right before the canyon pokémon found us, too,” Spark added.

“Then it’s probably one of them, making sure we leave,” Rosie replied. She turned to see Blazefang darting down the slope past her, coming to a halt in between Wildflame and Redclaw.

“I’m staying in the middle of the group!” he muttered determinedly, digging his claws in the pebbly soil.

“Fine,” Rosie muttered. “Be a coward. I-”

“Look…” Spark whispered, and Rosie could feel his fur beginning to sharpen into spines where his side was brushing against her. She darted a few steps away quickly.

Lifting her head, Rosie could now see dark shapes slinking through the trees and rocks on the slope opposite to them. Glancing down into the canyon, her heart sank when she realized that the river was calm there; these pokémon would have no trouble at all crossing it. Looking closely at the nearest pokémon, Rosie could make out the sleek shape of the scyther she had seen before, the one from Cyclone’s army. Growling, she pawed at the ground, longing to give her a taste of her strongest ember attack.

“Keep going!” Redclaw whispered. “Don’t let them know we’ve spotted them.”

Rosie turned and plodded up the slope, worry filling her mind. She didn’t like turning her back on a dangerous enemy.

“What do we do about them?” she heard Wildflame whisper from behind.

“If we make it out of the canyon,” Redclaw replied quietly, “it’ll be easier to fight them off.”

“We can’t attack that many!” Wildflame gasped.

“We can launch our attacks and run for it once we’re on high ground,” Redclaw whispered back. “It’s better than trying to fight here, and it’s probably the best chance we’ve got.”

“Run for it with Stormblade?” Snowcrystal sounded disbelieving.

Rosie felt a wave of anger rush over her. Why had that selfish leader driven them out? What harm were they causing the canyon pokémon? She remembered with a twinge of guilt that they had been the ones to unknowingly lead Cyclone to the canyon pokémon’s home, yet at least no one had gotten hurt. But a lot of their prey would be gone after the army passed through…

Rosie heard a growl of annoyance from behind and turned to see that Nightshade had stopped. Spark was glaring at him; the heracross was staring right at their enemies.

“What are you doing?” the jolteon hissed. “Come on, keep going!”

“I’ll be back,” Nightshade replied simply before flying off into the night.

Rosie’s eyes widened in shock; he was heading toward the other side of the canyon, where that scyther and her followers were. “Come back here, you idiot!” she growled after him, but Nightshade had already vanished.

-ooo-

Nightshade took great care to make sure that he would not be noticed by the pokémon who were making their way down the slope, closing the gap between themselves and his friends. He carefully landed at the top of the cliff directly above the scyther. He could see that she only had about thirty pokémon with her, though he knew that was a number far too great for the others to fight. He had to hope that his plan would work.

There were several large boulders along the cliff side, and Nightshade scanned the area until his gaze rested on a single one. It was larger than most, and rested on a wide ledge a little ways down the cliff. Nightshade quietly flew down behind it, peering around to watch Cyclone’s pokémon slipping quietly toward the river.

Looking at the large stone, Nightshade was fairly certain he could move it. Knowing he didn’t have much time, the heracross ignored the pain lancing across his side and began pushing against the boulder.

-ooo-

Silverbreeze glanced worriedly at the group of pokémon on the slope across from them. She had half-hoped they’d noticed her and the others and run off. She just wanted to get back to the army and leave the Forbidden Attack behind. Yet the group still climbed at the same pace. Irritated, she continued the march down to the river. It was much more likely they’d be spotted once they entered the water.

A deafening crash sounded from the cliffs above, making Silverbreeze whirl around in surprise. In the darkness, she could see the massive shape of a boulder hurtling down the side of the canyon, bringing several other rocks with it. She watched in awe as the cascading mass of boulders brought more and more stones hurtling down toward them.

Without wasting any more time, Silverbreeze spread her wings and launched herself into the air. She wasn’t alone; the noctowl and the other flying type in the group – a swellow – did the same. Silverbreeze could only watch as her followers scattered in panic, filling the air with cries of fear and pain as the rocks and dirt struck them, launching them into the river or sending them rolling down the slope. A few lucky pokémon managed to scramble out of the way of the danger and flee into the night. Silverbreeze didn’t expect to see them again. They were probably taking this opportunity to free themselves from Cyclone’s army, as many had joined unwillingly.

The shower of rocks went on for several more terrifying seconds, and then all was still, save for a few last rocks rolling down toward the river. Silverbreeze watched as many terrified pokémon broke the surface of the water, paddling toward shore in a panic and rushing away. A few unlucky members of the army lay floating in the river, half crushed and obviously dead. Silverbreeze quickly flew to the highest point of the nearby cliff, hearing the startled cries of pokémon as they fled into the darkness.

“Silverbreeze, should we bring them back?” the noctowl asked her, getting no response. “Silverbreeze?”

“They’ll have scattered,” the scyther responded, her voice as cold as ice. “Bring back those you can, but leave them if they try to run. We don’t want a fight.” She knew that the pokémon, most of them at least, would want to get away and not have to be sent into danger again by Cyclone. She couldn’t blame them. Even though Cyclone trusted her, seeing him let Solus torture a pokémon for amusement had drastically changed her opinions of the vaporeon. ‘At least he’s fighting to teach humans a lesson,’ she thought to herself, ‘that’s something to fight for after they cut down our territory.’

“What should we do about the houndour?” the swellow asked her.

“Nothing,” Silverbreeze snapped. “We go back to Cyclone and tell him there’s no sign of him.”

“You mean…lie?” the bird pokémon responded. “But what if Solus-”

“Cyclone trusts me!” Silverbreeze growled. “As long as you keep quiet about it, he won’t question me. There are too many pokémon in the houndour’s group. They’d overpower us if we tried to capture him now…but we can’t exactly tell Cyclone we saw him but didn’t manage to bring him back, can we?”

The swellow looked uncertain. “But…but what about the others in our group who-”

“Accidents happen,” Silverbreeze replied, turning away from the cliff edge. “We can start following Cyclone now. We’ll be able to travel less and rest more, since he won’t be expecting us to catch up until a little later.”

The swellow muttered his agreement, but Silverbreeze paid him no attention. She was thinking about the army. Though she didn’t agree with Cyclone’s methods, the vaporeon was right. It was all for the greater good.

-ooo-

Snowcrystal watched as a panic-stricken mightyena pulled itself out of the river and dashed away through the foliage. ‘They just separated…like they’re running away from something…something other than the rockslide…’ Snowcrystal remembered what Blazefang had said about Cyclone forcing pokémon to join him, and wondered what they were afraid of. Surely they were free now, and they didn’t have to worry?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Nightshade landed beside the group, looking dazed. Snowcrystal wondered if pushing the big rock down had made any of his wounds worse.

“You’d better thank him,” Rosie growled at Blazefang. “It was you they were after!”

Nightshade wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were on the bodies of the two dead pokémon as they floated down the river. “I…I didn’t want to kill them…” he whispered sadly.

“But it was necessary!” Rosie cried. “And they deserved it for joining Cyclone.”

‘They didn’t have a choice!’ Snowcrystal thought fiercely, digging her claws into the dirt.

“It was either them or Stormblade…” Wildflame told Nightshade, “and the rest of us forced to serve that lunatic.”

“I know,” Nightshade replied quietly, but Snowcrystal could sense the sadness in his voice. She knew he was trying to hide what he really felt. “Come on,” he told the others, “let’s keep going. The forest isn’t far.”

Snowcrystal followed after him, not saying a word as she climbed until they reached the top of the canyon. Seeing the leafy trees of the forest not far away, she tried to feel a bit more hopeful. There they could rest some more…but what would they do after that?

“I hope there’s someone in that forest who can help us,” she whispered, seeing Spark walk up beside her.

“With any luck, there will be,” he replied. “At least it’s free from Cyclone’s pokémon.”

Snowcrystal nodded in agreement, but she didn’t feel any better. What would they do about Stormblade? And Articuno? And would Cyclone cause even more damage elsewhere? The young growlithe sighed, knowing that none of these questions could be answered.

-ooo-

Blazefang found the trek over to the forest to be easier than he expected. He felt light and almost happy, knowing that one of his biggest problems had vanished; Cyclone really had left, and those whom he’d sent to track him down had all scattered. Of course, several problems still remained. His pack was still with Cyclone, his tribe still waiting for him, and of course…Shadowflare. Yet even those problems seemed small now that he no longer had to fear for his life. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do now; he figured that the best thing to do would be to return to the mountain, back to Firedash and the tribe.

‘Maybe…’ he thought, ‘maybe with Shadowflare I can overthrow her… NO!’ He fiercely shook the thought from his mind. He didn’t need to be a leader, and he didn’t need Shadowflare!

Sighing, he walked after the others, knowing that he was still too exhausted to make such a long journey back to the mountain now. He would rest with this group of pokémon in the forest, then he and Wildflame would leave.

As the group reached the outer fringes of the forest, Blazefang paused to give the air a quick sniff. It smelled damp and full of the scents of many pokémon, some he didn’t recognize. It seemed like there would be plenty of prey, although Blazefang wasn’t used to hunting in a forest.

He followed the other pokémon a little ways further until they came to a wide clearing. Redclaw helped Stormblade get on the ground and set about making nests out of moss and ferns.

“I’ll go hunt!” Spark volunteered, his eyes bright with anticipation. Blazefang casually remembered overhearing someone say that the scyther, Stormblade, had first taught Spark to hunt in a forest.

“I’ll go with you,” Snowcrystal said quickly, following Spark out into the trees.

“Idiot…” Blazefang mumbled under his breath. “You won’t catch anything with white fur like that!”

The houndour jumped up as Thunder stumbled into the clearing. Growling, he backed away, well out of range of the scyther in case she attacked. She had been the last one to arrive, as the others had wisely let her trail behind them at her own pace. He was disappointed that she hadn’t collapsed.

Thunder didn’t seem to have noticed him at all, and simply lay down near a clump of berry bushes without bothering to make a nest or even clear away any sticks or dry leaves. He could scent a very strong, sickly smell coming from her, and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Walking away from Thunder, Blazefang cleared a place on the forest floor next to a tall oak tree. He was glad that none of the other pokémon had tried to chase him off yet; they knew as well as he did that he could be on his own now, but he wanted rest and protection first.

“Any sign of dangerous pokémon around here?” Redclaw was whispering to Rosie, who had been exploring a bit of the forest nearby. “I know there aren’t any near this clearing, but I want to find more of these herbs that Streamrose gave me. Did you smell anything that could be dangerous?”

“No,” Rosie replied, shaking her head. “Just prey and forest.”

Blazefang sighed, letting their conversation fade into the background. He had more important things to think of; he didn’t need to listen to a pair of silly pokémon who’d dragged themselves into the growlithe’s search for Articuno for no reason at all. He failed to see why they would be interested in helping a tribe they would never see, let alone know.

It wasn’t long, however, before another one of the pokémon distracted him. Nightshade, still looking shocked, headed into the forest alone without attracting the attention of the others. Blazefang knew he’d be back, but he couldn’t help wondering if he was still thinking about the dead pokémon in the river. ‘They had to die because we had no other choice,’ he thought to himself in annoyance. ‘Why can’t the stupid heracross accept that?’

Blazefang rolled his eyes at the worried whispers still being exchanged between Rosie and Redclaw. With all these pokémon around, he wondered how he’d get any rest at all. At least they’d been quieter in the cave!

The houndour looked up as Snowcrystal appeared from the bushes with Spark, who had a taillow in his mouth. The jolteon passed the dead bird pokémon to Snowcrystal, who walked with it over to Stormblade.

Blazefang let out a low growl. "Why don't you eat that yourself?" he asked the white fire type.

Snowcrystal looked at him with wide eyes and set the taillow down. "I want to give it to Stormblade," she explained. Her tone sounded firm, but he could tell that she was uneasy with the way he was staring at her.

"He doesn't need it!" Blazefang snarled. "Give it to those who can use the energy!"

"Relax, Blazefang," Redclaw told him from where he was sitting beside Rosie. "We're only trying to help Stormblade."

Blazefang flattened his ears against his head. "I just don't find killing a perfectly healthy pokémon to feed a dying scyther morally right!" he growled, stalking away from the main group.

"They're prey pokémon!" Spark called after him. "They'd kill us if they could! Survival of the fittest!"

"Then why is Stormblade still alive?" Blazefang yelled over his shoulder. Grumbling to himself, he turned his back on the others another time and loped away into the trees.

Once out of sight, he slowed down and let the scents of the forest wash over him. Even though he was alone in a strange place, he didn’t feel like he wanted to go back to the group that night.

However, now that he was by himself, he couldn’t help but remember that his problems really were far from over. He would never see Boneclaw again, and he had journeyed so far for nothing. Or was it for nothing? Blazefang still felt half tempted to use Shadowflare to overthrow Firedash, but he quickly drove the thought from his mind. He would never use Shadowflare again. Not after what he’d seen it do.

Shaking, Blazefang lay down and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to overcome him. Would the urge to use Shadowflare ever leave him? ‘No…’ he thought, ‘not unless the Forbidden Attack is passed on to someone else.’ With a jolt of horror, it dawned on him fully what a horrible mistake his journey had been. He should never have taken the stone, never found it in the first place, but now that he had, he would never be rid of the Forbidden Attack’s dark power.

He was cursed until the day he died.

To be continued...