SHK 17 - A Show of Bravery
Sin City
Crystal walked down a pitch-dark hallway, complete with illuminated doors. She does not know how she gets here every night when she sleeps or even where this place came from but every time she sleeps, she finds herself here.
*Crystal, I remember you...*
The eevee looked around, hearing that voice echoing from all directions. "Who is that?"
*Wake up soon...*
"Who are you?"
*Wake up soon and you may know.*
"Not falling for that one again."
*Heh, you do learn despite what you know.*
"Seriously, come out. I shouldn't have to make believe I am crazy... I know you are in there and you better reveal..."
Unfortunately, she woke up right after that dream in the middle of the day. She saw Matilda perching on their brain dead friend's head. "Dreaming of your Yinny again?"
---
The city of Mauville, the center of domestic trade and lasciviousness, where the legitimate clean businesses are nestled with brothels, casinos, and a few street sellers with thick coats, often with their pokemon emulating the very same actions. An aipom and his trainer gain five-fingered discounts off the drunken gamblers who have to explain to their wives why they blew away 2000 G on craps. There were a few human hookers in darker alleys, interestingly without getting much attention from the passersby.
"Ugh, I hate hookers in general... they smell dirty and unclean," muttered Matilda as they went by a skitty hooker in the process of giving head to a much taller pokemon hidden in the shadows, tall enough that she had to put her forepaws on her customer to reach up and suckle. Crystal didn't comment or rather didn't notice. However, it wasn't as if she hadn't heard the story of the crime that appears during the night when all family-friendly activities disappeared and the women of the night roused from their slumber. Most of her thoughts focused on getting to a place that sold smelling salts or something else that would allow her to get him to wake up. After a bit of walking, they rested in one alley in the northeastern section of the city where the lights were dimmer and areas that are more residential were in view.
Crystal was still dwelling on that strange occurrence back in the great swamps of Hoenn where Windslash fell victim to a nightmare soldier. Maddy could tell, however, they said little to each other during this leg of the journey. Whenever they did talk, it usually began benign enough and somehow descended into a cancerous madness that refused to disappear, the team falling apart before anything could be done.
"We have things that need to be done in this city, Maddy. First, we need to wake Windslash up from this stupor. Second..."
"Hold on!" shouted Maddy in protest. "Why would we wake him up? The Blissey said that he would wake up on his own. Do you want to hamper his recovery?"
"Oh shut up. You don't know anything. I am sure he has already healed, not that you care. You are the one that probably hurt him, you freak!" While they argued, they didn't notice the sandshrew friend they had been carrying slumped over on a cardboard box, staring vacantly at the sky.
"I'M THE FREAK??!?!?! What about you, weakling? Why the hell did you get a naming ceremony? You can't even hurt anyone with your weakling attacks and you talk to yourself. Yin owed you a favor or something because you are like dead weight."
"At least I have friends. You are only coming along so that there is less stress for the new recruits. You are a hazard to everyone and will never have friends. I mean, look what you did to him!" She gestured in his direction only to notice he had fallen. She ran over to sit him up against the wall so he wouldn't choke on his drool.
"What proof do you have? I was apparently in a catatonic state when they captured me and I was brought into the holding area. What fucking proof do you have?" Maddy was almost in tears though, something no one else had seen before. Crystal noticed this and stopped arguing. *Wow... didn't know she could cry... but really what proof do I have... why do I feel I know about this?*
Maddy quickly cleaned up her tears and promptly regained her nasty composure. "Shut the fuck up and help me carry him," she squawked, a sniffle in her voice. "I saw you invade his mind before to wake him up the day he changed hands." Matilda's head slowly turned towards the Eevee, her emotions at that moment a mix of indignation and something else that made Crystal shudder inside of her. "I was fucking waking him up... and you were not there." Crystal growled knowing the ill-mannered crow was right. *What is wrong with me... why did I think I was there?*
------
"I'm getting tired of carrying him. I'm barely able to keep this up now," said Crystal. Matilda pushes him onto her, causing to stumble trying to sit him against the wall. "Totally immature, Maddy." The murkrow said nothing, only sitting on a nearby box. "Just wanted a breath fresh of air from this stifling presence, sheesh." Crystal growled and thought to herself.
The alley they stopped in was full of cobwebs, many of them recently abandoned. It was strange to find such a decrepit looking area in uptown Mauville. Crystal thought of these things as she looked out into the small crowds of shoppers and Sunday strollers. She saw a human girl giggling as she ran in a white sweater and jeans with a neighborhood poochyena.
"Come on Chyna, you can't catch me."
"Woof! (I bet you gals otherwise, heheh." The girl did not escape him as expected and they both tumbled in the grass laughing it up. "Oh Chyna. You are my best friend." She hugged it tight and carried her in her hands inside the warm home. The little scene made Crystal feel suddenly sad. Her trainer had been cruel, but here is this happy poochyena with someone who cared for her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustle behind her. She heard a muffled shout and ran back into the alley to see Maddy plastered on the wall, covered in Spider Web. She was trying to say something but web was strewn across her beak leaving her unable to speak. "I don't understand what you are saying, Maddy. Just let me get you down and..." Maddy started flailing madly, trying her best to strain her neck in another direction, her eyes steadily becoming wider as Crystal kept missing the visual cues.
"Did you say something Maddy? Jump?" The murkrow gave her a confused look then started flailing again. "ok, I'll jump" As soon as she jumped, a weird beam struck the ground she was standing on, knocking her away but barely damaging her. "What the hell?"
Once more, a strange voice called out to Crystal telling her to do something. "Am I going crazy? Let's just get out of this place now Maddy." She looked at Matilda and saw that her struggles had decreased. She took a harder look and saw a huge figure, overcastting the dim light of the alley. She watched it descend on a strand of a ropelike substance ejecting from its abdomen. "Two new whores, ariiiiii!" the spider creature screeched. Much to the horror of Crystal, their assailant was an Ariados.
"Net profit, two hookers minus 5 calories! Ariiiiiiiiiiii!" She began backing away from the creature, trembling and whimpering. "St...st...stay... away... and hand....over... Matilda!" She slipped on some garbage and fell on the dirty, musty ground, her, back partially covered in filth. "Signal Beam-ariii!" the spider screeched. A bright flash illuminated the alley followed by a colorful beam that hit the eevee tumbling closer to the dead end. She wobbled back onto her feet and jumped to the side just as it swung in for a bite, injecting his immobilizing venom inside of her, robbing her of a winning chance. She stumbled and flailed around like a dying person experiencing the last horrific hallucinations of death slowly creeping throughout the body that render the body useless.
Quickly, the Ariados wrapped the two girls up and strapped them to his abdomen. "That was too easy Ariii..." Just as he began his ascent to the rooftops, sand started kicking up, blinding his vision, the dust on the alleyway blowing into the streets and in the eyes of most pedestrians... most. When the sad dissipated, the arachnid found his load had lightened and gave a cry of anger. He looked towards the exit of the alley and spotted a small sandshrew carrying two silk cases. "You can't flee me, ARIIIIIII!!!!!!!!"
---
Chopping Block
Nothing ever seems to go right for Allie or her organization these days. She is fortunate to have dodged the brunt this recent bullet in which a prime student betrayed the Hoenn Intelligence Agency and with a known and yet unidentified suspect destroyed much of the central base. Much to the woe of Kudzco, he and his trainer Karen had to deal with unprecedented criticism not known since the failure of Interpol in Johto, almost a decade ago.
"I can't believe this crap!" shouted the angry Shiftry as he paced around the pokemon boardroom. He went on to tell them that they would be all tested for defection tendencies.
"Hey, is that even ethical?" shouted one of the older injured pokemon.
"Quiet, Elliot. Stop being dead weight for once and do your job, otherwise we wouldn't be in this predicament."
"Oh sure blame me. As if the fiasco back at the tournament wasn't enough. I was the referee then and the traitorous Teddiursa's partner. I mistook his nervousness for beginner chills." The typhlosion leaned back in his seat, adjusting his arm cast so that the sores wouldn't hurt as much. "You heard the new Inspector Celia. We will all be in trouble anyways, so finger pointing and testing is useless."
The shiftry felt anger welling up in him but the presence of his own trainer walking into the room, her face looking very tired, quelled it. He looked up at her. He knew her trouble is worse simply because the trouble is worse for her since she is the human of their duo. Karen looked at him and sighed. "After all of this destruction, we have no data left. Someone wiped it clean. And no one remembers the source of the information either." She left the stunned group of pokemon and left, carrying a stack of bills for repairs.
----
Mari laughed as she tallied her total of recruited pokemon. "I beat you out by three. Me, the so -called Aqua Purga; me from the clan of the pikachu the sea threw out. Not only that, I got the Smeargle too." Jose grumbled and looked at his list of slightly fewer recruits. "I'll beat you someday..."
The two were enjoying their free time in Lilycove, but it was to end upon a phone call. Mari picked up the cell phone she stashed in an unknown place on herself and answered. "Hello?"
Allie: *cough* hello Mari. You are doing a great job.
Mari: Good Afternoon, Dr. Allie. Are you feeling well?
Allie: I think I got the flu from my little Abra.
Mari: Oh... well I hope you get better
Allie: Anyway, you and Jose must get to Mauville now. The recruitment drive is over...there is a real problem brewing.
Mari: What?
Allie: I will fill you in on the details when you get there.
Mari: But...
She heard a click and Allie was off again. *Man she has been short lately. I haven't seen her like this ever.* She looked at Jose and sighed. "Let's go to Mauville. Our task has been compromised now." The cacnea shrugged and got up. "I guess safety isn't in numbers."
---
A Measure of Loyalty
Windslash was fully awake and very panicky as he rushed as fast as he could from the pursuer he couldn't see. "Maddy! Crystal! Stay Awake! Don't fall asleep on me!" he shouted as he maneuvered around the sea of people, headed in any direction, away from the alley. Some humans gasped when they saw him dash by, surprised that a sandshrew could go that fast, but none noticing his need for help. A couple of pokemon also watched him run by, and like the humans, did nothing. "Help! Help! Where is the nearest Pokemon center?" He paused momentarily in his running to see if anyone was willing to help, but the emerging feeling of being trailed spurred him to change directions, turning right into another alley, but this time a dead end.
Windslash whimpered at the sight of the brick wall that ended his hopes for a quick escape. Soon he heard a whistling in the air and the breath of the spider on his neck. "Gah!" shouted Wind. He tossed his friends off his back and rolled away from his bite. "You want to battle me, spider?" He jumped back and threw more sand up to blind him. The ariados swung to the side and unleashed a devastating nightshade at Windslash, sending him rolling backwards. As windslash tried to get up, he heard a crunching sound... he broke his arm. Without the use of his arm, he couldn't use some of his better techniques for he would be left wide open for attack duiring the moments of imbalance. "Ariiiii hahahahaha!" jeered the ariados. "Did I break something, ari?"
"I'll break you yet, bug. I'll crush you somehow!"
"Arrriiiiiii!!! You will make for a spicy meal! Then your little friends, ari, will be a tasty object of desire for my customers, ari."
As the oversized arachnid dashed towards him, Wind met him head on, temporarily trapping him in a mass of rocks. The ariados had been entombed in a casing of rock, giving the sandshrew a chance to regroup. Windslash thought of some techniques that did not require his arms. *Can't tuck in my body because I won't be able to keep myself type... can't use earthquake without completely hurting myself... I got it!* He saw the Ariados chucking the rocks off its back. "Take this, bug!" His claws turned grey and cut through the spider. "Arrrriiiiiii!!!"
He jumped back after attacking the Spider with his Shadow Claw. "Least amount of damage I could deal myself was with a non solid attack..." It seemed that he had finally beaten the bug. *Maybe... is it...* The spider he had killed started twitching, then burst. "A substitute?" he swiveled his head around, just catching a brief break as the lightning fast spider lunged out from the shadows, grasping at the sandshrew with his legs. "Missed me, ariii..."
Windslash had to beat him. Trap him again. He unleashed his strongest Rock tomb ever, trapping the spider just like last time. This time he was sure of it, but as a precautionary move, he launched another Sandstorm technique to shroud himself from a counter attack. His body wasn't going to give more as the pain started to flow through his body with increasing fervor. "Damn, gotta use it after all... I have to develop better technique soon or I am done next time."
He waits for a moment then turns to his friends who are still wrapped up. "I finally did something right... conquered a fear and saved you two." He took two steps forward and suddenly the ground opened up, with the ariados grabbing him and throwing him hard against a wall. "Arrii, you weakling! I don't even know if you are worthy of being my meal!"
As the ariados talked, Windslash started shaking violently, one of his fist clenched. I'll.... I'll... destroy you if you keep talking..." But even now, the fear he was skillfully keeping back started getting to him. *What if I can't stop him... then it's all over for us... I can't..." He looked up and saw the spider swinging at him with poison dripping from his fangs. Luckily, the string was too short and it barely missed him. However, the sandshrew looked up to see a huge spider web grab him like a trap. "Dinner is served Arriiii!!!" Windslash felt the horrific stinging bite. He managed to slash is way out of the net, but the poison was slowly circulating in his blood, much slower than it did in his two female companions who were now unconscious in a pseudo-comatose state. He was not able to do much attacking any more as the bite sent pain coursing through the left half of his body. There was no way he could avoid the next attack. He had his eyes closed, not wanting to see death coming. He waited... *clang* no death.
His eyes opened to the sight of a female mawile the same height as him holding off the big spider's attack. "Hi there. I could see you needed some help there with this ugly guy," she said in an accent best described as southern belle. Her miniscule proportions made what she was doing even more extraordinary. Windslash watched her repel the ariados. "Now run along with your two friends there to my place. It is about three blocks after you turn right out of the alley. Here will be an Electabuzz girl that will take care of them. Now go!" Windslash wasted no time taking his encased friends and dashing off to his savior's place.
After he left, the Mawile walked over to the downed spider just as it sprang back up the wall. "Ansa, that was the last straw for you," she said to him, her horns strangely salivating. The ariados cackled and swung of the other side of the wall. "I am ready for you Joanna. I will kill you, ARRRRIIIII!!!!" He launched a nightshade attack, but she dodged and followed up with a crunch attack, grabbing him by the abdomen. She could hear his heart beating rapidly. "ARRIII!!! Let me go!"
A few minutes later, she walked out, a green liquid in her footsteps, on her jaw and her true maw. Her electabuzz girl ran down towards her after noticing that the people on the streets knew what she did. "Mistress... th... th... they are in beds now. I took care of their... poison..."
"Is something wrong?"
The electabuzz chilled within her at that strangely sweet-sounding voice. It wasn't the first time her mistress had gone overboard, but she couldn't shake the eeriness of the casualty in her voice. It seemed to happen this way every time as if she didn't remember what she just did. She knew better than to question her, but she was afraid that certain displays like this could lead to trouble. "Leela," said the Mawile to her girl, "prep a bath for me. I do not feel hungry, and whatever is covering me needs to come off." Leela bowed and rushed off.
Crystal walked down a pitch-dark hallway, complete with illuminated doors. She does not know how she gets here every night when she sleeps or even where this place came from but every time she sleeps, she finds herself here.
*Crystal, I remember you...*
The eevee looked around, hearing that voice echoing from all directions. "Who is that?"
*Wake up soon...*
"Who are you?"
*Wake up soon and you may know.*
"Not falling for that one again."
*Heh, you do learn despite what you know.*
"Seriously, come out. I shouldn't have to make believe I am crazy... I know you are in there and you better reveal..."
Unfortunately, she woke up right after that dream in the middle of the day. She saw Matilda perching on their brain dead friend's head. "Dreaming of your Yinny again?"
---
The city of Mauville, the center of domestic trade and lasciviousness, where the legitimate clean businesses are nestled with brothels, casinos, and a few street sellers with thick coats, often with their pokemon emulating the very same actions. An aipom and his trainer gain five-fingered discounts off the drunken gamblers who have to explain to their wives why they blew away 2000 G on craps. There were a few human hookers in darker alleys, interestingly without getting much attention from the passersby.
"Ugh, I hate hookers in general... they smell dirty and unclean," muttered Matilda as they went by a skitty hooker in the process of giving head to a much taller pokemon hidden in the shadows, tall enough that she had to put her forepaws on her customer to reach up and suckle. Crystal didn't comment or rather didn't notice. However, it wasn't as if she hadn't heard the story of the crime that appears during the night when all family-friendly activities disappeared and the women of the night roused from their slumber. Most of her thoughts focused on getting to a place that sold smelling salts or something else that would allow her to get him to wake up. After a bit of walking, they rested in one alley in the northeastern section of the city where the lights were dimmer and areas that are more residential were in view.
Crystal was still dwelling on that strange occurrence back in the great swamps of Hoenn where Windslash fell victim to a nightmare soldier. Maddy could tell, however, they said little to each other during this leg of the journey. Whenever they did talk, it usually began benign enough and somehow descended into a cancerous madness that refused to disappear, the team falling apart before anything could be done.
"We have things that need to be done in this city, Maddy. First, we need to wake Windslash up from this stupor. Second..."
"Hold on!" shouted Maddy in protest. "Why would we wake him up? The Blissey said that he would wake up on his own. Do you want to hamper his recovery?"
"Oh shut up. You don't know anything. I am sure he has already healed, not that you care. You are the one that probably hurt him, you freak!" While they argued, they didn't notice the sandshrew friend they had been carrying slumped over on a cardboard box, staring vacantly at the sky.
"I'M THE FREAK??!?!?! What about you, weakling? Why the hell did you get a naming ceremony? You can't even hurt anyone with your weakling attacks and you talk to yourself. Yin owed you a favor or something because you are like dead weight."
"At least I have friends. You are only coming along so that there is less stress for the new recruits. You are a hazard to everyone and will never have friends. I mean, look what you did to him!" She gestured in his direction only to notice he had fallen. She ran over to sit him up against the wall so he wouldn't choke on his drool.
"What proof do you have? I was apparently in a catatonic state when they captured me and I was brought into the holding area. What fucking proof do you have?" Maddy was almost in tears though, something no one else had seen before. Crystal noticed this and stopped arguing. *Wow... didn't know she could cry... but really what proof do I have... why do I feel I know about this?*
Maddy quickly cleaned up her tears and promptly regained her nasty composure. "Shut the fuck up and help me carry him," she squawked, a sniffle in her voice. "I saw you invade his mind before to wake him up the day he changed hands." Matilda's head slowly turned towards the Eevee, her emotions at that moment a mix of indignation and something else that made Crystal shudder inside of her. "I was fucking waking him up... and you were not there." Crystal growled knowing the ill-mannered crow was right. *What is wrong with me... why did I think I was there?*
------
"I'm getting tired of carrying him. I'm barely able to keep this up now," said Crystal. Matilda pushes him onto her, causing to stumble trying to sit him against the wall. "Totally immature, Maddy." The murkrow said nothing, only sitting on a nearby box. "Just wanted a breath fresh of air from this stifling presence, sheesh." Crystal growled and thought to herself.
The alley they stopped in was full of cobwebs, many of them recently abandoned. It was strange to find such a decrepit looking area in uptown Mauville. Crystal thought of these things as she looked out into the small crowds of shoppers and Sunday strollers. She saw a human girl giggling as she ran in a white sweater and jeans with a neighborhood poochyena.
"Come on Chyna, you can't catch me."
"Woof! (I bet you gals otherwise, heheh." The girl did not escape him as expected and they both tumbled in the grass laughing it up. "Oh Chyna. You are my best friend." She hugged it tight and carried her in her hands inside the warm home. The little scene made Crystal feel suddenly sad. Her trainer had been cruel, but here is this happy poochyena with someone who cared for her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustle behind her. She heard a muffled shout and ran back into the alley to see Maddy plastered on the wall, covered in Spider Web. She was trying to say something but web was strewn across her beak leaving her unable to speak. "I don't understand what you are saying, Maddy. Just let me get you down and..." Maddy started flailing madly, trying her best to strain her neck in another direction, her eyes steadily becoming wider as Crystal kept missing the visual cues.
"Did you say something Maddy? Jump?" The murkrow gave her a confused look then started flailing again. "ok, I'll jump" As soon as she jumped, a weird beam struck the ground she was standing on, knocking her away but barely damaging her. "What the hell?"
Once more, a strange voice called out to Crystal telling her to do something. "Am I going crazy? Let's just get out of this place now Maddy." She looked at Matilda and saw that her struggles had decreased. She took a harder look and saw a huge figure, overcastting the dim light of the alley. She watched it descend on a strand of a ropelike substance ejecting from its abdomen. "Two new whores, ariiiiii!" the spider creature screeched. Much to the horror of Crystal, their assailant was an Ariados.
"Net profit, two hookers minus 5 calories! Ariiiiiiiiiiii!" She began backing away from the creature, trembling and whimpering. "St...st...stay... away... and hand....over... Matilda!" She slipped on some garbage and fell on the dirty, musty ground, her, back partially covered in filth. "Signal Beam-ariii!" the spider screeched. A bright flash illuminated the alley followed by a colorful beam that hit the eevee tumbling closer to the dead end. She wobbled back onto her feet and jumped to the side just as it swung in for a bite, injecting his immobilizing venom inside of her, robbing her of a winning chance. She stumbled and flailed around like a dying person experiencing the last horrific hallucinations of death slowly creeping throughout the body that render the body useless.
Quickly, the Ariados wrapped the two girls up and strapped them to his abdomen. "That was too easy Ariii..." Just as he began his ascent to the rooftops, sand started kicking up, blinding his vision, the dust on the alleyway blowing into the streets and in the eyes of most pedestrians... most. When the sad dissipated, the arachnid found his load had lightened and gave a cry of anger. He looked towards the exit of the alley and spotted a small sandshrew carrying two silk cases. "You can't flee me, ARIIIIIII!!!!!!!!"
---
Chopping Block
Nothing ever seems to go right for Allie or her organization these days. She is fortunate to have dodged the brunt this recent bullet in which a prime student betrayed the Hoenn Intelligence Agency and with a known and yet unidentified suspect destroyed much of the central base. Much to the woe of Kudzco, he and his trainer Karen had to deal with unprecedented criticism not known since the failure of Interpol in Johto, almost a decade ago.
"I can't believe this crap!" shouted the angry Shiftry as he paced around the pokemon boardroom. He went on to tell them that they would be all tested for defection tendencies.
"Hey, is that even ethical?" shouted one of the older injured pokemon.
"Quiet, Elliot. Stop being dead weight for once and do your job, otherwise we wouldn't be in this predicament."
"Oh sure blame me. As if the fiasco back at the tournament wasn't enough. I was the referee then and the traitorous Teddiursa's partner. I mistook his nervousness for beginner chills." The typhlosion leaned back in his seat, adjusting his arm cast so that the sores wouldn't hurt as much. "You heard the new Inspector Celia. We will all be in trouble anyways, so finger pointing and testing is useless."
The shiftry felt anger welling up in him but the presence of his own trainer walking into the room, her face looking very tired, quelled it. He looked up at her. He knew her trouble is worse simply because the trouble is worse for her since she is the human of their duo. Karen looked at him and sighed. "After all of this destruction, we have no data left. Someone wiped it clean. And no one remembers the source of the information either." She left the stunned group of pokemon and left, carrying a stack of bills for repairs.
----
Mari laughed as she tallied her total of recruited pokemon. "I beat you out by three. Me, the so -called Aqua Purga; me from the clan of the pikachu the sea threw out. Not only that, I got the Smeargle too." Jose grumbled and looked at his list of slightly fewer recruits. "I'll beat you someday..."
The two were enjoying their free time in Lilycove, but it was to end upon a phone call. Mari picked up the cell phone she stashed in an unknown place on herself and answered. "Hello?"
Allie: *cough* hello Mari. You are doing a great job.
Mari: Good Afternoon, Dr. Allie. Are you feeling well?
Allie: I think I got the flu from my little Abra.
Mari: Oh... well I hope you get better
Allie: Anyway, you and Jose must get to Mauville now. The recruitment drive is over...there is a real problem brewing.
Mari: What?
Allie: I will fill you in on the details when you get there.
Mari: But...
She heard a click and Allie was off again. *Man she has been short lately. I haven't seen her like this ever.* She looked at Jose and sighed. "Let's go to Mauville. Our task has been compromised now." The cacnea shrugged and got up. "I guess safety isn't in numbers."
---
A Measure of Loyalty
Windslash was fully awake and very panicky as he rushed as fast as he could from the pursuer he couldn't see. "Maddy! Crystal! Stay Awake! Don't fall asleep on me!" he shouted as he maneuvered around the sea of people, headed in any direction, away from the alley. Some humans gasped when they saw him dash by, surprised that a sandshrew could go that fast, but none noticing his need for help. A couple of pokemon also watched him run by, and like the humans, did nothing. "Help! Help! Where is the nearest Pokemon center?" He paused momentarily in his running to see if anyone was willing to help, but the emerging feeling of being trailed spurred him to change directions, turning right into another alley, but this time a dead end.
Windslash whimpered at the sight of the brick wall that ended his hopes for a quick escape. Soon he heard a whistling in the air and the breath of the spider on his neck. "Gah!" shouted Wind. He tossed his friends off his back and rolled away from his bite. "You want to battle me, spider?" He jumped back and threw more sand up to blind him. The ariados swung to the side and unleashed a devastating nightshade at Windslash, sending him rolling backwards. As windslash tried to get up, he heard a crunching sound... he broke his arm. Without the use of his arm, he couldn't use some of his better techniques for he would be left wide open for attack duiring the moments of imbalance. "Ariiiii hahahahaha!" jeered the ariados. "Did I break something, ari?"
"I'll break you yet, bug. I'll crush you somehow!"
"Arrriiiiiii!!! You will make for a spicy meal! Then your little friends, ari, will be a tasty object of desire for my customers, ari."
As the oversized arachnid dashed towards him, Wind met him head on, temporarily trapping him in a mass of rocks. The ariados had been entombed in a casing of rock, giving the sandshrew a chance to regroup. Windslash thought of some techniques that did not require his arms. *Can't tuck in my body because I won't be able to keep myself type... can't use earthquake without completely hurting myself... I got it!* He saw the Ariados chucking the rocks off its back. "Take this, bug!" His claws turned grey and cut through the spider. "Arrrriiiiiii!!!"
He jumped back after attacking the Spider with his Shadow Claw. "Least amount of damage I could deal myself was with a non solid attack..." It seemed that he had finally beaten the bug. *Maybe... is it...* The spider he had killed started twitching, then burst. "A substitute?" he swiveled his head around, just catching a brief break as the lightning fast spider lunged out from the shadows, grasping at the sandshrew with his legs. "Missed me, ariii..."
Windslash had to beat him. Trap him again. He unleashed his strongest Rock tomb ever, trapping the spider just like last time. This time he was sure of it, but as a precautionary move, he launched another Sandstorm technique to shroud himself from a counter attack. His body wasn't going to give more as the pain started to flow through his body with increasing fervor. "Damn, gotta use it after all... I have to develop better technique soon or I am done next time."
He waits for a moment then turns to his friends who are still wrapped up. "I finally did something right... conquered a fear and saved you two." He took two steps forward and suddenly the ground opened up, with the ariados grabbing him and throwing him hard against a wall. "Arrii, you weakling! I don't even know if you are worthy of being my meal!"
As the ariados talked, Windslash started shaking violently, one of his fist clenched. I'll.... I'll... destroy you if you keep talking..." But even now, the fear he was skillfully keeping back started getting to him. *What if I can't stop him... then it's all over for us... I can't..." He looked up and saw the spider swinging at him with poison dripping from his fangs. Luckily, the string was too short and it barely missed him. However, the sandshrew looked up to see a huge spider web grab him like a trap. "Dinner is served Arriiii!!!" Windslash felt the horrific stinging bite. He managed to slash is way out of the net, but the poison was slowly circulating in his blood, much slower than it did in his two female companions who were now unconscious in a pseudo-comatose state. He was not able to do much attacking any more as the bite sent pain coursing through the left half of his body. There was no way he could avoid the next attack. He had his eyes closed, not wanting to see death coming. He waited... *clang* no death.
His eyes opened to the sight of a female mawile the same height as him holding off the big spider's attack. "Hi there. I could see you needed some help there with this ugly guy," she said in an accent best described as southern belle. Her miniscule proportions made what she was doing even more extraordinary. Windslash watched her repel the ariados. "Now run along with your two friends there to my place. It is about three blocks after you turn right out of the alley. Here will be an Electabuzz girl that will take care of them. Now go!" Windslash wasted no time taking his encased friends and dashing off to his savior's place.
After he left, the Mawile walked over to the downed spider just as it sprang back up the wall. "Ansa, that was the last straw for you," she said to him, her horns strangely salivating. The ariados cackled and swung of the other side of the wall. "I am ready for you Joanna. I will kill you, ARRRRIIIII!!!!" He launched a nightshade attack, but she dodged and followed up with a crunch attack, grabbing him by the abdomen. She could hear his heart beating rapidly. "ARRIII!!! Let me go!"
A few minutes later, she walked out, a green liquid in her footsteps, on her jaw and her true maw. Her electabuzz girl ran down towards her after noticing that the people on the streets knew what she did. "Mistress... th... th... they are in beds now. I took care of their... poison..."
"Is something wrong?"
The electabuzz chilled within her at that strangely sweet-sounding voice. It wasn't the first time her mistress had gone overboard, but she couldn't shake the eeriness of the casualty in her voice. It seemed to happen this way every time as if she didn't remember what she just did. She knew better than to question her, but she was afraid that certain displays like this could lead to trouble. "Leela," said the Mawile to her girl, "prep a bath for me. I do not feel hungry, and whatever is covering me needs to come off." Leela bowed and rushed off.