Luna and Thief
The Orange Isle's Chapter Fourteen: Any Doubt

The flash he didn't see. The sound he didn't hear. The thoughts that didn't connect. A flush of grey static flooded over his eyes, the world a distorted and muddled place.
“Bro…? Hey, wake up… wake up, little one…" The voice called out to him. His words were no different than a tape recorder - it played in his skull on repeat. Those sunlit eyes had faded, the warm… intense color. He saw that about their eyes. This man had a skin more of ivory then caramel, hair light brown.

A Forty-Five caliber handgun had only really been accurate to thirty meters with a trained hand– even though it ranged to one hundred at max and used to be trained for shooting of distances that far away. From where Griffin had ended up to the bay door had been about fifteen. Outside there had been an incredible amount of restrictions to deal with for that Team Rocket Member. Inside, however, changed things. It had been easier to see a silhouette in brighter lighting compared to the darker interior – a bullet that grazed their leg meant nothing at that moment. The second stranger crossed the hill with a long gun… The Rocket Member with the USP had shot him clean in the bridge of the nose. A cross-shot, but the gang member had already been in a firing position and his target, past the crest of the boxes where Thief lay, had only been twenty meters away – unbeknownst of the danger of fighting obstructed of view.

A simple shot, Rocket cursed bitterly about it – that an amateur grazed him. The hum of all the noises flooded out as Thief simply lay crumpled there in the rain and light… a downpour from some unknown tragedy in Hoenn flooded his ears along with the crackles that ripped the air.
“It's time to wake up. We can play…" It played on for weeks that many memories in seconds – Thief felt it harder to breathe.
“… … …? Where's Am?" Her voice rose as Thief's pelt went on edge; all he could do was a whisper in his ear.
“I'll… I'll let you sleep in… again today…"

“I know that you've found Amalbert. He found a happy place for all of us. I promise you that… Nuri."

The names left his spinal column to crawl. The pain left his whole body in strain – tears ran down his face endlessly. Thief wanted to scream out the name, drag himself across the ground to Griffin. The injuries had been long too much. All he could do was lay in the mud to grovel. Even more so, regardless of the occasional spark that shot off - the second gunman had a much different attire. Their clothing hadn't been camouflaged at all. It eerily appeared like a man wearing a pinned-back long coat. His steel mask had the allure of a Gallade, but it had thinly slit eyes and painted with a redhead crest. On the small of their back had been a shorter blade of sorts. A quick draw? Or talented…? Thief hadn't a clue and hadn't cared. The rifle they held looked similar to the one the now deceased stranger had but subtly different. The Human-Gallade had been slowly loaded a rifle magazine, one brass round by one as though there hadn't been worry or panic in them. A casual, silent, and slow reload. Then Thief saw the blurry shadow dart past them like a shimmer over raindrops.
The Gallade, the Pokemon, rather than the trainer. It disrupted the sound around the building through a burst of footfalls; Mienshao had covered an opening as the Team Rocket member simply watched any line of sight to the outdoors without exposing himself. This eerie theory started to pull into Thief's head as the hot scent of gunpowder had.
The man only cared for Griffin. Kill the witnesses; they're fine.
The mask he wore looked like full-frontal iron; Thief wondered if the man had even taken shots at them or just let the one dumb enough to move too close to do so. It clearly showed that they were used as fodder…

But who would be there to witness that?

The Gallade took a moment rest from its distorted sound-filled running – the Team Rocket member stayed focused and quiet. His trainer had just finished loading a magazine with rounds. He ended the whole process of reloading the firearm. As for the Team Rocket member, that round had been sure to slow him.
He's sweating; my guess is during the move for cover… that man with the mask skimmed his thigh. Maybe they both were shooting…? Move…?
Please…? Even his own thoughts turned teary. All this bullshit about weakness, and it does nothing. Nothing to help. I can't. It's that simple… I can't. Thief had been conscious but entirely still frozen. Paranoia left him to shut down – the pain hadn't done anything to help that. They had a vest too, a heavy-looking one at that.

Then a blink shot Gallade's way, the shot missed by just under a quarter-inch – it moved in a flash of speed, its blades had slashed at the rebar filled box next to Thief. It parted like seamless water; the Gallade had launched the debris high enough to shield it from any other rounds and kicked the entire half box towards the blink downfield. The spear-like rebar swung and spun out of it as the wood turned into a snapshot of disruption and possible fragmentation. Any number of 'lackeys' in this sense hadn't meant much, especially if they moved in with the right firepower. The one man in his bulletproof faceplate took a few steps back, looked for an angle. Another row of shots rang out in response as they moved – Thief saw a tear ruptured and shake the Human-Gallade's chest plate. The man moved; a clearly audible grunt hit the air – the Team Rocket Member shot him center mass… but the vest was much too large for a single pistol round to handle.

They fell back, up the crest-line of the forest filled woods behind them – elevated as the Team Rocket member fell into the depths of the warehouse.
“Kirlia!" They called out in a quick voice; her nod and the Targe that blocked the man sparked once more. A round had struck out from the corner of the wall.
That stopped the round in the grip of unworldly power…  left Thief focused on the masked figure; he had been about ready to pull out another Pokemon. His belt came to view…

One Pokeball had that head crest and only one. The rest had been blank.

That masked stranger returned the shot with a quick volley of three semi-automatic rounds – elevated, distant…and hit the team rocket member in the left elbow. The man hit the floor like a sack, something that left Thief to spittle and stare hopelessly at.
Three louder shots rang out as a shockwave hit the air – it landed between both Thief and Gallade, punctured in the earth.
When the man hit the ground, he didn't seem to care – only reacted by adrenaline and muscle memory. The unexpected round and all - Thief wondered if something small tipped him off, a branch even.
Thief hadn't known how a faceplate like that could work. It looked uncomfortably heavy. There must've been padding underneath – the headache from hell after would've driven Thief nuts as he saw them literally push back and fall from the forty-five round that cracked a would-be cheek.

Clearly, Gallade got the message and retreated with its human counterpart, an inhumanely fast retreat. The Team Rocket member had been trained and well.
He made the environment work for him, beat an amateur with a Type Fifty-Six… and hit a well-trained stranger, geared for the task with an SKS, right in the head. The time didn't work for him, however.
Thief only saw the man take two crippling shots from the altercation. The padded clothes and armor didn't mean much when they shattered extremities.
“…" He looked white, panted – sweated, and twitched. His left arm clung like a clear fractured stick, held together by torn fabric. Frozen. Thief couldn't make out all the details through all the blinking – the blood flooding to his head as though his pressure had been too low for it. One second it was just them. The next, it was other members with firearms. He couldn't tell if Griffin were dead.
More than five or six minutes was a problem… The breathless expenditure left Thief worse off than before – his world a fringe of darkness. Those Team Rocket members, some had proper looking guns – others had restraint type tools based on the Pokeball software. Those stopped Pokemon.
The type had been one he'd never had seen before. It had been surprising how fast they worked – they appeared trained in some unique or strange way. All their equipment – custom. All their gear fitted.
Unlike a few rare Underworld members, Team Rocket, or at least the Elite here, had been given tools that had a lot of care put into their making. No expense had been spared in the thought of ANY of their instruments.

Team Rocket?

Thief didn't like the sound of it; he never did. Thief felt the sluggish pull against his nape. Something picked him up from the mud, dirt; it lifted him up into an air of frozen gunpowder.
A Persian had taken him gently by the scruff – in their jaws. The grip tightened for a moment.
“He's alive?"
“One KIA." The voice dared to trail off.
“Say again?" The vehicle returned with a gruff, business tone.
“He's dead, Sir. It… quick. The medic couldn't… Even with an operating theater, slim…" The more extended sigh ran past the vehicle window – Thief felt his worthless legs dangle in the air. The shots ran back in repeat.
I don't know, Griffin? Go… Move. It crawled up Thief's back and thoughts as the Persian tilted its eyes at him as he meekly squirmed. “That's… the Growlithe that's with the Teenager – one of ours is already helping." The one lackey had spoken to a full car window with careful words. “That thing can't evolve, Sir. It's tattered to be short and concise."
“I realize that." The voice replied to him in a cruel and empty way. Studious and mindful. “Ayumu went through a great deal helping this Growlithe. He did the same thing with another project which distracted him too." It continued to say, almost through a fine-tuned speaker. “Surprised, the boy has lasted at all. What happened to the teams with him? Refresh my memory."
“They got jumped at Cinnabar, Sir. Arrested…" The man replied hesitantly as the voice left a trail-line from the window of the vehicle.
“And our priority project? I doubt the lead will be happy that one of his is officially dead."
“Slow and resource-demanding. No casualties reported. No MIA. They do have new evidence; however, Sir, the rumor is they may head for Hoenn."
“This puts things ahead of schedule. Deoxy's?"
“Our team will double the work."
“It's all I can ask."
“Y – Yes, Sir."

“Oh… and make sure the Pokemon Underworld has taken are redirected to us accordingly; get all the 'grunts' to clean up and alleviate pressure on the emergency services - plains clothed. I have a project to pitch, considering the recent loss."

“Yes… Sir?" They replied, blinked… nodded and then began to walk away. All Thief could do as the Persian rested him to the glass was watch a single reflection. A screen from a shoulder camera or a hidden one. He saw Seo. That left him wide-eyed as a crack jolted his shoulder blades; another gunshot, but there hadn't been the adrenaline to make him move – submitted to sound, he only saw his road-rashed shoulder. He never hit his chest? It felt like it.
“Abra! Shoot!" A crackle rang out in the warehouse as the Persian sparked its paws to face one. The Pokemon had left Thief with a lousy bite into his shoulder as Persian tried to hold onto Thief from being ripped away. It left him teary all over again just as his world flashed from complete darkness… to darkness… to a place with very compressed air – enough that Thief thought he'd suffocate. The stifled scent of blood had filled the small room. Thief had put a paw against a frigid roof and desperately whined for Griffin… he had been nowhere. Thief knew that the strange sound of 'ditto' chirped somewhere during the altercation, but now he could barely put his paws out as though he were buried under a mountain of rock. Alive.

Thief had been nowhere until the world flickered into a place that only felt drenched in fluids, let alone the indescribable smell.

Seo:

The connect.

A rough slam had tagged her side – one that made her gaunt and ill; enough that she coughed blood at her opponents' round and usually cheery face. Their pink and white fluff, the disfigured, and shredded pouch around their stomach came to Seo's eyes. The Houndour behind her stayed utterly wide-eyed – buried the strange sparky 'corgi' that had now feebly rolled against the stone. Seviper bared a fang
“Seo!" His voice snapped and whipped no different than his tail – the Pokemon had been stupendously quick and accurate. She felt an urge to vomit, worse than she had before… a contrasted eye and the blue hue crossed her cheeks as Seo stared down the flesh that rolled around their arm.
It tagged her liver.
The impact forced her spine to curl along its utterly unstoppable slam; the pain shocked down the nerves in her back and ribs – the tail angled and whipped back up. It only folded rearward to dodge the precarious Estoc of a tail from splitting their skull in two. Already again, enraged – eyes contrast and blood-shot. Pink and red.
“Guard the cubs, Seviper." Absol mentioned back and raggedly put her hind leg into the rocky ground underneath her. That 'trainer' of hers just stood in the background; Clarke had held on the opposite side.
“Will you send out another?" Clarke simply shook his head no to the phone.
“One Pokemon, one battle." The suit and tie laden man replied to him. “You said the rules. I'll spectate from here." Clarke mentioned back with a narrow of his eyes; his suit adjusted neatly…

What confused her when the air became charged, and Abra dumped a silhouette onto the floor… Had to be the three colored beads that ran down the seam of his jacket. They had been a deep red to light red specifically.

It caught her eye in a haze of adrenaline as she stared down the love-pink balloon ahead. It's near split dread-lock tendrils had flattened against their skull; the smaller stubby arms left her stomach ill. The feet were elongated – the tail looked much the same as them. The move charged and crackled in their stubbier paw. A Pokemon with bravery - ferocity beyond any other. One that always had a smile and brought a smile to all others. The crackle touched their paws again as Seo narrowed her blood-shot eyes. The Absol had still been set for Water and Psychic. She hardly wanted to admit that Golem and his Steamroller chipped away at her energy – the fight took more out of her then she expected.

A bruised Liver and poison that had still flooded her veins? It was hard to even hold onto her thoughts – let alone her meditative state. Her eye twitched for even a moment, a murky world of purple and black.
Focus. The accurate blow to her side left her snarled. Whatever this bitch can do. I can do tenfold. They're quick but lack close-range agility. Seo rotated her tail and readjusted her positioning.
“Seo!?" Her ear twitched and just as they had – Chancey shot at her. The tail whipped – half-masted to buffer the double kick.
Chancey had used the one kick to snap at Seo's tail – the blow pushed Seo's fore-legs back.

The second kick snapped down at her shoulder and faulted her front leg – it put her on the ground.

Hell, her jaw hit the floor; it made her sides limp.
They tagged left to right. I've lost my freaking balance. The poison isn't burning away fast enough for Bind to recharge me, “Aim for the feet Seviper!" The Absol yelled at the Snake; he instinctively curled around both the pups as Seo coughed idly. She stared at the Chancey bolt for him in her mind's eye. It looked like little dust clouds – silhouettes on a chalky flip-book.
“Seo…" The familiar grunt touched her ear. The pained sound and this drag across the high floor.

Luckily, Seviper could see through her little game; he had been more adequate to fight. Seo couldn't strain her eyes and kept her mind on a faded scent of ocean-spray. She let it fill her, aside from the dust and dirt at her nose. “Seo!"
“Thief?" She finally muttered back. The Growlithe began to whine wild non-sensible things. Babbled like a distraught infant until the scent of smokey gunpowder touched her nose.
“Where's Griffin?" There had been more non-sensible noises, but one she knew that he said more then any other had been.

“I don't know."

She forced herself to move.
My body is too heavy. Hold your own Seviper. Fight filthy.

Fight in whatever offensive matter you choose; get the hell out alive.

Seo knew her thoughts of encouragement had been a lie. Her only concern had been Thief and the two others in the room with them. She tried to push and dig her paws, but there had been nothing she could do. Seviper tauntingly held his tail, wrapped his skin around the pups to constrict and shield his would-be 'prey.' The acidic knife slashed across the air – splattered an ooze of sickly yellow-green. The paste would dissolve the ground and stone. It began to look as though massive hot rods sank into the soil.
“Fire" Thief continued to break down and babble. “Pay attention to me if you want Bandit alive. If you want Griffin Alive." Damn it. The gunpowder, there's no way they would – but I know them. I know they did, and I know if it had been like back home, there'd be a lot more dead. “Heat the hell up, past any point you have before. You want fear? That's easy – everyone is fucking scared." Seo snapped at him and attempted to lift her jaw. “But you wanna win? Get angry. Get really, angry." “Stand the hell up and fight."
“The med-"
“Screw your medicine, FIGHT!" She yelled at him as Thief painfully panted and tried to push up much the same as she did. “I'm poisoned, and my liver is screwed. I need a minute."
“I can't learn Bind." Thief muttered back, “I've been trying; I don't know why I'm conscious" He trembled – Seo could 'see' that. The whole flurry of dust and clouds in that meadow fluttered spasmodically. Her head felt as though lead slowly filled it – grain by grain. “I got hit… I'm going to throw up, but I can't." Her back rippled in a moment. “I can't… warm." His voice became a season of panic. Seo put her paw into the soil. It sent a tinge of extra-sensory feeling through them as her nerves slowly swelled under her skin.
“You want Luna? Stand up. Two broken ribs mean SHIT." Thief only took in a breath, a frantic little breath as Seviper sprayed another layer of toxins into the air – the Chancey fell back while Seviper tightened his body around the precious 'cargo.'
The fumes? Are you telling me…? It made her grin. “All you need is an Ember Thief. Aim for Chancey. Get Seviper the opening." Seo continued to push herself. Damn it, don't bloody lock on me. Move. Move.

Get angry. About anything, get bloody angry.

The thoughts played on repeat as Seo felt her shoulder acutely burn, her paw pads on fire. She didn't want to even think of her hip, but she knew she wouldn't be walking for a week after the fact. If she had been able to walk at all after. Her hatred focused on anything, even Thief. A name dared to interrupt that thought of intense rightful anger. Until she realized there hadn't been a sign that luck faded from her. Even with the Growlithe before her carnivorous eyes – how she narrowed down on Chancey… she couldn't care about the karma she lost.

There had still been an all too familiar mark to find.

The mechanical beasts. The false copies of herself had once surrounded her on all sides. They even flooded the room with them. They couldn't kill her, but that hadn't been from rage.

Rage had to be learned.

Her eyes slowly became crystalline – the usual wicked witch began to push her paws into the earth. A beat of sound touched her ear as she paused to catch her breath. A sound of retching reached her – Thief had been concussed to all sin. Stand the hell up. Because the little cub can't… nothing like them.

That bitch is alive; I know another one that is because of that fact. Her tail whipped as Seo desperately panted and put her hind paws down – rolled her shoulder to pop it back in. It rattled her whole body from front to back. The pressure on her chest cavity left Seo to wince sharply – her heart had been filled with that sickly grain. That weight-filled sand of lead. Thief precariously stumbled and retched again – a horrible dry retch. His eyes had been blood-shot and strung wide open, no different than the hospital. She kept her eyes shut tight, stayed in that so-called 'happy place' of transience.

All fours.

It only took longer than she wanted to spend – in just the few moments alone, Seviper had already hissed in a blood-curdling way. The painful shock touched the air, his tail couldn't hold out forever. Her legs went to move before she realized it would crumple her.
There'd be no doubt she'd end up on the floor again. The weight in her chest stung idly, slammed her without anything held back. It left tears in her eyes, but she hadn't felt emotional.

It had been a stark and utterly clear opposite of what she felt.

The Chansey flashed a beam of dazzling and confusing lights – one that would've bogged even Seo's eye had they been pre-emptively open. She could see the whole fight like fair ink on paper. The world erupted in three flairs of solid white from Chansey's paws. Tri-attack. As the name proclaimed it, a trio of spears pelted at Seviper. The Snake had followed, unexpectedly, by ripping open its mouth and spewing out a current of blackly sick mist.

With Absol, her haze had been a literal one – a beat of her tail to sharply deflect Golem's earlier blows. Sevipers, on the other paw, had been the move Haze. It made her snarl with a newfound ferocity.

The kind she'd give whenever she knew a human would stand behind a one-way mirror.

Removing status ailments? That smoke is going to trim down the poison that'll fail my liver. I get why you couldn't earlier. Seo sharply inhaled as the burn in her body slowly tapered off; he definitely used the move – the unexpected chill of black ice slipped down her throat no different than drowning in the Artic.
Except she hadn't drowned.
In fact, it felt like the best damn air she'd had in a while – an authentic chilly mountain air. Her tail whipped and cracked against the air to catch Chansey's attention. Thief only fluttered into his now usual bubbling shock. It hadn't looked like the usual Nurse Joy Chansey at all. Her legs tediously dug into the ground – even with the poison knocked back, there hadn't been any guarantee she'd stay standing. That could be ten minutes…

Or ten seconds.

Her head pounded against her skull with the fright of dehydration creeping up her throat – the poison absolutely screwed with her insides. It left her tail to spark a shimmer of bright pink-purple.

Psycho Cut.

Without any water or the energy to make it effectively, her little 'jet cutter' wouldn't have any use. Yet she still used Psychic as her base and Bind to keep her standing. Her horn sparked much the same as she took up a posture that resembled nothing but a Cougar about ready to tear apart anything in their way. The Chansey flashed Dazzling Gleam again, but there had been no effect – Seo fought unconsciously. That had been the plausibility of Pokemon.

The breath escaped her as her tail curled – swayed and bent. Angled to the Chansey that charged her with Double-Kick. This time, Seo simply focused her Psycho Cut to the finer point – aimed it head-on. A game of chicken?

She held the upper paw with her tail if it decided to jump again. Chansey shot by her, and as it did, Seo added unnecessary flair to her own momentum. It left her tail to sway and crack the air as she avoided the attacker, the first kick – then the second which shot down for her skull… she barely had time to jump back.
Again she played her tail, air-practicing her parry and riposte respectfully. A taunt to her opponent, one that disguised her real plan.

Her only plan, considering how her headache stabbed into the rounds of her eyes. Aside from the extra-sensory pain, the surreal desire to drop dead on the spot, Seo whipped out a classic and violent roar at Chansey. That bipedal egg spent no time regarding words or even stilling itself. The whole thing had been no different than a psychotic episode.

Stage one.

Her muscles started to contract and bulge, focused on just skimming past her opponent's vicious rotation on Brick Break and Double Kick respectfully. Seo continued to bounce past her opponents' range, although the strain on her legs dared her to topple over. Chansey hadn't refused to give Seo a chance to breathe, let alone charge.

Psych up and Swords Dance.

A flicker of muscle memory left Seo to hop again, twirl around her opponent like that Houndoom had – hers was tight-knit. Executed to perfection.
Trained, driven, and utterly broken in that way.
The gravity slowly began to weigh in; the force of the earth below her – head still spun like a crackle of colored static before her face.

She hadn't realized it, as she screamed at Seviper, that the Snake did what she wanted and whipped her back hind leg with his tail.
The weak layer of acid burning and bubbling up the flesh around her ankle had been ample – the blow shot by her cheek. Chansey's quick shot paw.
Lunge after lunge. Direct. Simple.

It began to sadden her that after all those years of learning life to relearn reality, that not a single Pokemon there – even in her age – could compete. She really had been a number.

One of twenty-six.

Her feet staggered as the Chancey unexpectedly shot both paws forward for another Brick Break. It slammed against her tail and pushed her back – coughing.
Blood?
The sicky taste of copper touched her lips and jawline, a risky move to protect the hinges that held the bone to her skull. The sword bashed her there; her own tail betrayed her.
But Chansey had been beyond the line of frenzied, and it left Seo's eyes to burn of crystal intent. The flail of a streamlined comet.
“Confused!?" She roared out at Chansey. “Look the hell around! This isn't a laboratory." Her voice had crackled past the point her throat could usually handle. If Bandit could hear it – she'd be damn proud at how loud the Absol could. “Terrified!?" The impact snapped her tail rearward; she had responded with a lead-in beat. The shatter of Psychic against Chansey's paws had been sure to shatter them.
If not cut through them entirely.
Seo found her grin back and spat, spat right in the Chansey's face – eyes. A splurt of red had been sure to disrupt their vision.
It sprayed across their muzzle as she repositioned her blade; the spearhead of her scythe faced them dead on.

The flutter of wind and dust shot down Seo's sides – it felt as though a rapid shot pounded down her sides. The unexpected flurry, the sharp snap movements.
It left her breath to falter from the collection of rapid blows – Psychic flailed and streaked past the air down to her.
The fist had blocked her single counter – redirected her in a flash of bright Dazzling Gleam.

She still had her eyes closed, forcing the air down her abdomen, powerhouse her core muscles. Seo tackled into the Chansey; it tried to redirect her line.

But the Absol dug in her feet and pushed back with a vicious, temperamental grin. “I get it." She said with a malignant laugh and slammed Chansey again. “I finally get it… All of you rejects are Project Cerberus." Seo felt their paw snap against their Sternum, and she reacted with a rapid twist of her skull – the horn slammed through Chansey's paw; this time, the edge had been tempered. Focused.

Clear minded and painless. “I'll let you in about us numbers. The hundreds you pigs hurt." Seo felt the energy from her abdomen push into her throat, the curl of energy foamed around her fur.

Seo used Super Power in response to Chansey's constant fighting type moves. Blow to blow, but Seo only had that move, but it pushed the mind-broken Chansey back. “We simply got lucky." Seo felt the Chansey dart by her.

This time, she passed her tail through the Chansey.

It left her to catch her breath as she staggered and coughed.

More blood. Seo couldn't tell if that were from her liver, lungs – or the blow to her face; she knew, however, that Chansey had been dead. Decapitated. “We got lucky because we didn't go through the same hell you did." It passed by her lips as she'd pant. The Growlithe hadn't taken his eyes away, continued to babble incoherently – panicked. Horrified… That Growlithe would weigh Seo down. It shocked her when she found that her paw hesitated on passing him.
“Have you forgotten what I said?" She remarked as the Growlithe, on all fours, adapted a stance, one of flight.
Seo's back trembled when she whipped her tail around – still sparked with the plasma-like aura around it. That deranged Chansey had stood, the gore had all been unnecessary, but she knew that its head clung on. The shock hit her like a paralysis…

Thief jumped in front of her for no given cause or reason. Then she realized Chansey had struck him back with Endeavor. It was intended for her.

“Thief!" Seo roared out; even under the stress of her throat, she watched the Growlithe gutter and stagger. She stayed that way, her usual way as Thief growled in response. It nearly made her laugh. The little shit couldn't figure out Bind, but he sure as hell had Endure down pact. That had been a move she desired to know for a very long time.

Endure not only let an opponent from surviving a blow in a tournament… it also held the potential to prevent death. Bind couldn't do that, but Endure…?
Even if the blow had been mimicked between them… Thief had not been physically slashed in; the move would leave him comatose at worst when used in Chansey's state.

Endure helped fight that.

Even if the Growlithe had thrown up after, he pre-emptively jumped in – Justified ensured he could know the lethality and blow like instinct. Seo should've known, but with all the poison and her weakened pace of thought – it swung over her. A sharp snarl passed her lips.
“Show Bandit that." Thief glared up at her. “Let's find her." The Growlithe only nodded, dry-heaved, and coughed before he pushed to his feet. Shaken all over, it looked as though the Growlithe were walking on cold stones.

She remembered one that had to do that – the skin on his paws…

Then she realized it when she looked up at the half-headless Chansey.

The fight hadn't ended.

“Thief, get red hot and quick."
“W – Why?"
“It's healing itself." Seo muttered breathlessly. There had always been a reason why – even Sandslash had commented about it. Her tail flickered with Psychotic black-white flames; the grin came back. “No wonder why it's manic."
“What is? Why say Laboratory?" Thief swallowed nervously and coughed with a sharp shock through him. “I can't…
“You learned something much, much better." Seo replied, “Keep the hell at it. Stay awake." The Absol stretched her neck and grinned deviously, her eyes narrowed on the Chansey.
It swayed in this disturbing manner and shot right for them.

Luna:

She couldn't call it much of a 'den' or much of anything. They dug into the first mound they could muster in the cold snow – Luna found herself softly edging snow to let ice take over. Granbull had shot out to grab whatever sticks he could find as Luna tended to the tiny – ice-cold hovel.
He went to get wood and anything else they could use – the air itself had been a curse.
“Who the… hell would want… to live out here?" It utterly bugged her.

Her throat all cracked up like it was – from time to time, she'd make little red spittles into the snow, terrified of what it could do to her insides. She had to work though
Survive.
Gritty… anything.

It's all Bandit wanted to teach her, after all. She chased her memories in tow, wondering of the cavern walls she once explored. Being punished for that damned mirror in the deadwood. She remembered something, one that Thief had wandered into…
The stone had looked carved down, the dry scent of old smoldered wood. A stale scent. She began to dig down until she hit the soil. That left her in a flurry of rough pants – bits of blood passed her lips until she swallowed.
It hadn't passed down her lungs; her fright got the better of her – something that made her face flush red.
Anger, and a lot of it. Her vision got blurry – but she shook her head and focused. Focused. Every sound.

The snow…?

Her back went into a layer of fright and frost. The snow? Snow… Her eyes began to well up at the sight of it clearly now.

She had been back where she started; Granbull wasn't coming back.

He was right here. He had to be… because of the sound of snow.

The tears didn't stop falling, and she jumped when sticks tumbled to the ground. There had even been shrubs that the Granbull had torn up from the ground.
“D – Don't do that, stupid!" She got loud before her voice went dead silent. “Never freaking do that." The Granbull delicately shrugged in return. A mixture of “Who freaking cares" and “Oh wait, I don't." The look and gesture left her tails to flare.
“Find anything?"
“Sticks." He shrugged, “I found a few shrubs – but there's nothing. Not a berry of any kind but those weird frosty ones…"
“Yeah, I know; they taste like sugar paste but dehydrate the hell out of us," Luna remarked and held back the urge to bite him.
Bite him really freaking hard. It made Luna's paw tremble. “Whatever, get the sticks in the hole," Luna commented and glared up. “I can't make it that big, or we'll melt everything around us; then, we find our way home." The Granbull jolted.
“You're kidding?" he said too loudly for her taste, “This weather? It is better to ride it out all night."
“Then, we do that and leave in the morning, but keep your voice low." She rebutted and glared at the little entrance to the hovel. That strange building rested in the distance, odd in the sense that something hadn't felt right about the terrain. Something hadn't jived with her whenever she stared at the ground become… flat.

Man-made flat, like a paved road.

A basement…? Maybe? Luna jolted when something in the wind swirled through the hovel's door. A whisper of voices crossed her ears. “Shh… human." Luna muttered and pushed snow against the hole. It blocked them both in total darkness.

“A freaking Abra on the loose, again? Christ removes part, and it becomes retarded." The voice remarked, “The stupid camera guy must be high as hell too; he keeps saying he saw a dude on the camera when the Abra shot in." A scent touched her nose… gun oil?
She hated that scent, absolutely hated that scent. “You think it's those idiot Rescuers or whatever?" Luna twitched an ear at the stall in her head; the pain fluttered into her skull.
“I don't got a clue." The human voice replied, “If it is, we shoot another one. Stop here, dude."
“What…? Why?" The other voice became gruff.
“Because our patrol has gone on for two freaking hours. Give me a minute to catch my breath; fuck me." The sound cut in like a sharp breath. Silence.
“Nah. You're right, stressed – you heard of that crap overseas?"
“Which one?" A laugh came up.
“Anything recent?"
“Nothing, last I heard something in Kalos, that was…" They trailed off. “I don't know. The Japan crap – that must be hell, glad I'm here." Then the sickly scent of smoke touched her nose; Granbull had rested behind her – he looked… warm. Luna just glanced at him and tilted her head – they needed that fire and quickly.
“Five minutes, Granbull, please. I know it's cold, but try to move and shiver." Luna quietly muttered.
“You know that smoking…"
“If I get shot, it's the same thing." The voice replied, “Anyways, aside from one fat paycheque for this shit, I'm happy." They commented.
“The free stuff is good too." There had been a laugh. “Remember that one chick?"
“Christ, this again? You want her so bad – travel. I'm sure you'll find whoever the hell she got sold to." Luna's back stiffened and crawled.

Sold…? A human…?

The thought had never crossed her mind, not once. “Looking for her kid," He mocked. “Can't find my little girl!" The voice continued; Luna wanted to shut her ears closed. It sickened her, left her fangs bared. “If she knew anything, when she saw the gun – you'd think she'd drop and hide."
“Didn't you find that kid?" They chuckled
“Figured it was a log in the snow – nearly tripped over." They replied.
“It sucks." There was a grunt between one of them. “There'd be more money if we sold them too." He commented, and Luna noticed the gleam of silver. A barrel? Her heart dropped until she saw that the strange apparatus of a weapon pointed skyward. The mix of plastic and steel boggled her head. “Whatever, the last load of Pokemon we sold."
“Kept them happy?"
“Naturally – the IV checks are proper too. But this Abra shit? 'Build supply routes and bunkers anywhere.' Idea. Great, sure – but screw that." He mentioned, “Check out this; I found it on a security video. Remember that one idiot? Kept muttering about his mother – said they fired him?" There had been a moment of silence as Luna felt her eyes widen. Her heartfelt stiff and bulky.

“Friend?" The voice had said, clearly an Abra. “Must kill friend." Luna felt her eyes teary. The one guy made a softer wince – hands on the barrel of his gun.
“Jesus fucking H Christ. That thing…?"
“Ragdolled him around the mechanical room for twenty-five solid minutes – he was dead after two."
“Minutes?"
“Seconds! The first freaking blow cracked his head – it slammed him against the cast iron radiator." They mentioned. “Look at this – not like that bank camera shit you see online. Full Four K recording. POS broke the camera after." They forwarded ahead. “Look at the crap they had to clean, though." He partially giggled back at him.

The man… giggled? Luna dryly swallowed; her stomach felt rocky as she glared at them both. Her nose continued to sniff the air.
Why does gunpowder get smoky? Hot and… smoky? I can smell the trail.
Luna blinked a little and stared at the strange tube of plastic and steel. “Guess what I'm trying to say is, shoot the fucking thing when you see it." He mentioned and lowered a funny plastic berry that had been filled with yellow-gold ones. “I'd like to have my paycheque in my warm hands, not cold." There was a rich chuckle.
“Never liked that guy, constantly wondered about the Pokemon that would bring his mother back." They recoiled – Luna tilted to Granbull at that moment; then, this sizzle touched her ear. They put the cigarette out. “I bet he stayed like that when the seizures kicked in, and he was busy shitting himself; fucking mental health case."
“More money."
“Yeah, thankfully, it was the annoying one." They commented again, checked their firearms.

All Luna could hear had been footprints in the snow.

Granbull softly growled to himself as Luna started to spark partially wet wood. There hadn't been much of a way to dry it.
These humans talk weirdly, nothing like Griffin or Natasha or… anyone. I don't think I've heard the accent before. Even their words are hard to catch onto. She stared at the hovel's hole before a small enough fire sparked in the frozen makeshift home. Luna covered anything she could with snow – letting just hints of light inside. “O – Okay…"
“There's a reason why I ran away from this crap." Granbull stuttered out – his teeth chattered. That left Luna with a relief breath that shot through her. “All humans are disgusting. At least the ones I know."
“That, Abra…" Granbull twitched an ear.
“Abra? There's no way he'd fin-“
“He tried to kill Yuny and me." The Granbull went quiet in return. “He almost killed Yuny and me, Thief and Akamaru too." Luna felt her fur rile; her chest had been warm yet sickly. She'd spittle again – that one hurt her neck. “I think Pokemon can be just as terrible. Nothing is… is perfect, Granbull."
“I already know that." He replied, parted a snarl which left her to silently bare fangs. “… Bandit."
“You le-“
“She's not alive; you would've stayed in there making all that noise. Then what?" Granbull retorted, “You're my best chance to live through this." He'd say, curled up near the weak, insignificant, and smoky fire. “I never thought I'd be anywhere like this again, but that kid…"
“Who is he?"
“Hell if I know, doesn't even talk. Ever." Granbull replied gruffly, “Just… inhuman maybe? Feeds us, but they've never taken off their outfit. I can't even tell their gender." The Granbull continued through his shivers, “All of their Pokemon, except for Kommo-o… They're all Cerberus." Luna twitched her ear

“What is that?" Granbull chillingly exhaled.
“The numbers that couldn't cut it snapped or just worthless. Only a tiny pocket out of hundreds became numbers." He'd mutter, “Abra is… is absolutely broken." He'd swallow. “They have to put him down." Luna stared at the snow below her – smoke lightly filled the frozen den. It found small air pockets and flooded the chilly night with a fair, faint plume of white. “He's just one of the dozens of Abra just like him." Granbull poked the fire curiously with a stick he held, a thin one. “I don't want to talk about it, but let's just say that one bite Bandit gave me on Cinnabar? I've had that happen before. A lot."

Luna idly coughed into her paws – the hot breath made that snow clumped fur feel… better. They stung from the cold – a strange burning sensation in the frosty landscape. It left her breathing ragged; another spit passed her lip.
It feels like my nose is bleeding, but it's my throat. She had half a mind to rub it on her paws… but they touched that floor. That disgusting, filthy floor. Luna ended up burrowing her legs in the snow with the imagination that she hadn't – that the storm would clean them.
“I don't…"
“They force Pokemon to mate. Train them – fight them… disfigure them." Granbull commented back. “I still remember the 'breeding rooms,' He'd mutter. “Just… cages and then a table with restraints – they'd stick needles in you." Then she heard him spit-up or retch. “It's… It's…" Her back crawled more – any further, and she swore she'd writhe on the floor. The Granbull let off a gruff grunt, sniffled, yet she couldn't tell if it was the frost or emotion. “They just don't care; they're human." He'd say. “Some of the doctors are kind. Or… it feels like that – like they genuinely care, but it's all just false hope." Luna had a moment growled.
“Shush… shut up. Stop." Granbull went a little quiet to Luna's cold temperament.
“I'm just"
“I don't care about your honesty; the last thing I want to think Bandit went through was anything like that. I don't want that." The Vulpix muttered and fought back the urge to sniffle. “Shut up. I don't care anymore." She'd say, “Just focus on getting warmer, then we make our way… anywhere and never look back."
“We don't even know where we are. This certainly isn't Japan; it never gets THIS cold." Granbull shot back and sighed, bitterly – angrily. She didn't know. “But you're right… You're completely right. It's pointless to talk about it." Luna nodded back and gingerly blew at the fire regardless of the pain in her throat. The wind began to batter and howl outside – snow fluttered inside until she couldn't see that building if she tried.

Seo:

The blood that trickled down her jaw weighed her slate fur down to the ground; another double kick – this time, she pulled her crescent horn to block the blow. Chansey hadn't given up her assault, entirely spasmodic, ferocious, and all-around dangerous. The kick flashed by her – one… Seo knew the second would go for her jaw again. Anticipation hadn't gotten the better of Seo, however. She needed a clear mind even as the kick slammed down at her skull, aside from aim at the hinge of her jaw bone.
She dodged rather then ducked as the ragged pant ran through her blazed lungs; Chansey kept on her tail with unexpected ferocious bloodlust.
Even with Pressure, this blasted Chansey continues to push. Seo flicked and moved again; it once more followed up with Brick Break. It's repeating moves. It knows Absol's are weak to fighting moves. Seo took another step back. This time, her range of motion had faltered – nothing to do with her legs trying to twist themselves.

It was getting much too difficult to lift her hind legs, let alone move them. A pant touched her face; another vicious spit passed her lips. Tail angled in it's the devious and fear-inducing pendulum it became.
I fight dirty whore. Come at me; I'll keep slamming my tail through your skull until you can't heal yourself. The thought ripped through her head. Her tail curled – another two-step maneuver to guard and counter Chansey's wildly accurate Brick Break. Deflecting isn't working; I need to gather her – control her movements and slam my tail down like a Damned Skorupi. Another spit crossed by Seo's muzzle as the Chansey shot in her fists. She aimed that spray of red for Chansey's eyes again

Use what you need to; it's what Absol thought.

Mai and Seo could quickly agree with that.

“Seviper!" She yelled out as the Snake reluctantly shot from his curled position – the cubs set free. “Thief! Cover the young!" The Growlithe went wide-eyed before a growl unexpectedly rose from his chest; he moved then – staggered when Seviper shot under his paws to pass to look behind him. The flash of her blade grew with a static of psychotic purple. Yet there hadn't been a lick of rage in the mix. A glorious sword of royal colors sparked until it flickered unstably behind her.
She lit it like anyone could an acetylene torch to find that better tip. The spray of acid struck against her with a shudder of burning flesh – it made her grit her teeth. The snake daringly sprayed Chansey down the back with it – the rest skated Seo's pelt and meat. Streaks of burn mark down her sides. The skin bubbled and cracked from reaction alone; Chansey dared to turn around before Seo roared at her.

Dared Chansey hit her with all she had behind her. The curses had no place there, even with the Human crowd in a mix of silent awe and shock. They never thought a Pokemon could hold a move like Psycho-Cut and use a basic one like Slash to attack with. It had been no different then Bandit's particular Incinerate. A cheat, Seo thought of that when she dodged the first double kick and pushed in on the Brick Break. It popped, or broken, a single rib.
You've long crippled your move, a curse.

It's how we Pokemon fight lethally. All this fun and games only come because we need to relearn our fighting, style, and moves to fight again.

Seo had taken the blow with a lot more years of experience then Bandit had on her; even then, she still had that dreadful age and poison to deal with. Her world became that familiar haze of pain, swirled, and swallowed. Seo's eyes twitched with the blow, but she knew there couldn't be any hesitation. She took it, but by the core.

Seo forced the weight on her hind legs to grapple Chansey – dug her claws clean into the Chansey's backside for grip.

Then Seo just went for it – snapped her jaws and teeth between the Pink oval's eyes. There hadn't been a lick of fear in them. Seo bit down to rip it apart like Griffin's home cooking. The Absol had her certainty, even though she wished for any better way.

She always did, as a hell beyond her, surely waited with open arms.

Seo didn't stop stabbing Chansey – aiming for the skull and spine until she knew it had been nothing but riddled mincemeat. She refused to stop, as Chansey, with any thought of healing, would surely win. Yet the end result had been clear when Seo's eyes got blurry. It had been them.
All of them.
Lycanroc hadn't lied to her; there had been no need. She, for any moment, wanted to imagine it had been over and done with long before this. For the first time in a long time, when she cursed herself. She had tears in her eyes.
A Chansey had been a Pokemon that had nearly been impossible to break. Fracture…
A Chansey was the kind of Pokemon that would jump in and fight a Chesshira with little regard to themselves. Those humans had found a way to break one. Her only regret had been the inability to get there sooner. Less she had a certified, immediate, deathwish. Those paws dug against the ground, shivered… but she stayed standing. Standing on the pile, she left below her. Seviper held a shocked hiss in return. Absol made a sound similar that left him rigid.
“A…" Seviper immediately went silent as Absol tilted her skull at him.
“Do I bloody look, okay?" Seo huffed out. “I can't believe it healed itself that much. It used Endeavor once. Why hadn't it used it more than once?" Seviper hissed and spat, wriggling in pain.
“Who knows? Unless it hit Thief with it. He knows Endure?"
“Does now, idiot tries to learn Bind and learns something entirely different." Seo bitterly muttered, she knew Thief had been too glossy and scared to notice it or think twice. The Absol lightly staggered as that grotesque roar filled the arena around them. This time the panels had been black – a one-way mirror?
She couldn't see herself, a trick of materials – the very thought of all those dreadful humans made her tail dare to spark again.

Yet there hadn't been any weight behind it.

I'm out of energy for Water and Psychic? Seo bitterly growled and limped her way back towards Thief; the Growlithe only stared at her in return. He couldn't muster a word; Seo preferred it that way. “Are you going to sit and glare? We're not done yet." Seo commented sharply. “They aren't done yet." Thief hadn't a clue of what to do or say; he only stayed dead silent – stared. His eyes had been an unblinking mess even as Seo snarled his way. He's giving that look which Griffin made? Why question it? You're a Pokemon…

In these fights or any like it, it's kill or be.

A swallow touched her lips as the air grew hot and discharged – an Abra? Seo sharpened on the haze in her mind when an all too familiar thing gnarled her insides and pulled them out.
That's what a quick, half guessed teleport felt like – the next thing she could figure had been the vomit pouring from her muzzle.
Night, Dawn? All she could do had been the focus on the scent that lingered.
Or more accurately, the scents that hadn't now; the soft pillow pushed against her paws as she spat out a mix of blood and other fluids. Woods? Where the hell did he…? Her nose vaguely touched the air, frost.

Nothing but it. A dozen idea's belted Seo's skull as she hazily opened her eyes. Snow? That hadn't needed to come around for the next few months; the trees had been Pine, Aspen, Willow, and even Ash. The size told her that the forest had been much, much older then she thought. Or she was neck-deep in it – a frozen wonderland of easily negative five, but the wind chill felt more like ten, twelve. A cold and bitter thing… until she finally heard a vague, murky sound. Hyperventilating.
“Thief?"
“Seo!?"
She couldn't tell if it were relief or disappointment that ran pass her nose on the exhale. Thief's little paws pushed into the ground – out of the snow. She hadn't felt too bad
The Growlithe lost his lunch too.
“Where are we?" He had asked in a dry spell of swallows and the peculiar look of a cat with a hairball. It left her to glare around the woods intensely – her bloodshot vision had been a blur, riveted her peripherals. A sense stung deep inside her as the cold nipped mercilessly. She didn't say a word, but she knew they had been lost.
Out of all the places she had been, there hadn't been much of a familiar scent there. Not one, even the trees seemed alien in comparison.
“Follow me. I don't think out fight is done yet – put your nose to use Kit." The panicked Growlithe wearily tossed his head back to sniff. His paw partly covered it.
“What?" Seo recoiled, but the Growlithe swallowed and continued to smell the air. She knew it had to be the blood – the poor thing looked sick from smell alone.
“I don't know." Thief breathlessly muttered and shook his head – a wince shot by him. “I don't… I don't…" The Growlithe teetered.
“Thief?" Seo commented, but he just had tears running down his face, crying hysterically but clearly.

There wasn't any doubt.

“They shot us."