Chapter 14: Dance of Despair

The group of Pokemon that Team Hope was leading to the Great Canyon is ambushed by a band of vicious outlaws connected to Polka and Farruca's past. An inevitable fight breaks out as the two females have to face the horrific nightmare they'd both hoped they'd never have to see again. To what ends will their battle go?

DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All writing, original characters, plot, and concept is copyright 2010-2011 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment.

WARNING: This chapter contains descriptions of sex between two Pokemon, descriptions of rape and abuse, and descriptions of violence and blood. If any of those are offensive to you, or if you are under 18 years of age (or whatever the age is in your locale), you should really turn back and go read something else.

"H... help... someone... please..."

The faint cries of an injured Buizel went unheard by all. She had gotten lost, having run away from her home after feeling consumed with guilt over the loss of her parents. She ran to the sheltered land, a land that was free of humans, a land where only Pokemon inhabited, one full of mystery and adventure.

But the promise of a better day had been misleading to the disenchanted Buizel as she was welcomed with nothing more than more pain and suffering, falling down a pit into a sunken cavern, only to find herself attacked and beaten by several aggressive Pokemon.

She had no food, she had no water, and she had no way to escape.

The next few hours passed for her, still stuck in the dungeon she had found herself in. Quietly weeping to herself, she already missed home and the life she used to know. Jazz... if only she had listened to her brother.

"You look lost," said a voice from the shadows. "I may be able to help you out of here... for a price." The figure revealed itself from the shadows, revealing to the Buizel a rather tough looking Luxio.

From behind him appeared a Sneasel and a Machop, one on each side of the Luxio. It was quite clear that the Luxio was their leader, but what wasn't clear was what their intentions were.

"What... what do you want...? P-please... I want to get out of here..." said the Buizel weakly. She crawled over closer to the Luxio and looked up at him with a sincere look on her face. "Please..."

"We'll discuss that later. For now, follow us, and we'll protect you until we get you out of here." He turned around, cocking his head back towards the Buizel to indicate she should follow him, and then walked along towards the direction he came from. "Come on."

"Yeah, heehee, we'll help you out, don't worry," said the Sneasel, lightly running his claws along the Buizel's cheek before following his leader.

Having no other choice, she followed the three Pokemon. It felt so nice that they were willing to help her rather than just attack her like every other Pokemon she'd run across had done. She thought those were the nice Pokemon she had heard stories of from the sheltered land, because she certainly hadn't run into any so far...

She was wrong.

As soon as the four Pokemon got out of the sunken cavern that the Buizel had fallen into, the three rescuers turned on her. The Machop gave a quick, forceful jab to her back, knocking her to the ground. He and the Sneasel then carried her along, following the Luxio, back to their home off on the outskirts of the sheltered land.

***

"Where... am I...?" she asked, finding herself in an unfamiliar room. It looked far different from the island she was used to, bearing wooden walls and various objects all over the place. There were a few chains sticking out from the side of the wall to her left, but nothing was attached to them.

As she became more aware of her surroundings, she realized that her feet had been shackled and was wearing a metal collar that was attached to a chain on the wall behind her. She looked around in a panic to see the Sneasel from earlier snoozing on a blanket.

"H-help..." she cried lightly. "Please... wake up, I'm trapped..." She didn't want to believe that he was the one that had done that to her. She didn't want to believe that she was betrayed. No, all she wanted was for it to be some sort of bad dream, or perhaps a misunderstanding.

"Mmmn..." The Sneasel rolled over onto his side, scratched his head with his claws, and then sat up. After shaking his head, he looked over to see the Buizel awake. "Heehee, looks like our new toy is ready." He walked over to the chained Buizel and extended his claw towards her. "You were going to die down there. We saved you. You should show a little gratitude." He ran the claw up her neck and right up to her lips before withdrawing it.

"What... what do you want...?"

The Sneasel brought his claw back to the Buizel, though pressed it against her chest instead of her face. He slid the claw down her creamy-colored front, running it down lower and lower, not stopping for anything.

He brought it far too close to the Buizel's girlhood for her to feel comfortable with, so she pushed the Sneasel back with her paws, knocking him down onto the ground.

"Why you! You're going to pay for that!" exclaimed the Sneasel, getting up and shaking his clawed fists at the Buizel. He slashed her across the chest, drawing a small amount of blood in the process.

"No, Shimmy," said a familiar voice. In walked the Luxio from earlier, walking in on all fours with a confident, dominating presence about him. "It is not the time for it." He walked in front of the Buizel and eyed her up, smirking afterwards. "You, Buizel, you have one purpose and one purpose alone here: your purpose is to satisfy us."

She was almost too afraid to ask. "Satis... fy...?"

"Yes. Fail to do so and you will be punished." He walked right up to the Buizel and looked right at her. The Luxio was taller than the Buizel, even while on all fours. "I, Cordax, am your new master."

Despite the fact that he was threatening her, the Cordax's appearance wasn't all that impressive. Luxios are not exactly the most fierce looking Pokemon. That was a misconception that the young Buizel was about to find out the hard way.

She lunged forward in a frenzy to strike the chest of her captor, hitting him and knocking him back an inch or two. "No! Let me out...!" she shouted, realizing the true extent of the trouble she was in.

That was a costly mistake for her, though. The angered Luxio regained his composure and then suddenly slashed the Buizel's front with his electric claws, inflicting far worse damage than the Sneasel's weaker swipe.

It was enough to cause her to grip her wound with her paws, kneeling on the ground while panting heavily. Her body felt increasingly numb as the residual electricity stunned her from the inside out.

The Luxio then walked around behind the chained up Buizel, then leaned in to bite her on the neck, right behind her flotation sac.

"Ahhhh!!" cried the Buizel, feeling another intense shock course through her body as a result of the electric Pokemon's fangs piercing the skin beneath her fur. That was just the start of the pain, though, as the female Buizel soon realized her immediate vulnerability.

While still tearing into the Buizel's scruff with his teeth, Cordax reached his forepaw over the Buizel's shoulders, then his hind leg over her rump.

That was when she felt it. That was when she felt something completely unfamiliar to her brush across her back. The piece of male flesh jabbed her rear and kept pushing against her until it slipped past her tail.

She felt it poke near her butt before reaching down just a bit lower. With one quick thrust, the Luxio entered the Buizel's virgin cunt, pushing just a fraction of himself inside of her tight opening, just enough to let her know his intentions.

It was an overwhelming amount of pain as her hymen tore and her vagina was invaded by the dominant male that she had once thought was her savior. She let out a painful wail against the ground, wishing that the pain she felt would end, but finding that it had only just begun.

The Luxio atop her slid his cock out of her before pushing it back in, this time farther than before. He continued thrusting in and out of the relatively dry hole, anxious to get it nice and moist so he could really get into her.

Before long, he was pushing his entire length inside of the Buizel's girlhood, filling her insides with an appendage that was unknown to her, but something that felt so terribly wrong and so, so terribly painful.

She cried out numerous times for him to stop, but he only picked up the pace, finding more and more enjoyment out of it. All she could do was accept it and cry out, just wishing that the pain would end and that she would somehow be freed.

Cordax kept it up for what felt like hours. After enough time, he was able to slide in and out of her at a rapid rate due to the increased amount of lubrication coating his cock and her walls. The pain she felt from the penetration dulled a little as well, but she was still hating every single minute of it and felt absolutely no pleasure by what he was doing.

Just a few minutes later, the Luxio let out a howl and came inside of the Buizel, filling her up with his seed. The sticky cum poured down her innards, slithering like tiny little snakes inside of her. Despite how creepy it felt to her, the good news was that after that, he dismounted her after withdrawing his shrinking member.

The poor Buizel shivered in a curled up ball on the floor as Cordax spoke with Shimmy after their experience, ignoring her altogether and treating her as if she was nothing more than just a mere toy... which is what she was to them, after all.

***

Polka's heart beat at a rapid pace as she could barely will herself to look at the fearsome figure of the Pokemon standing in front of her and the rest of the group that she was taking to see the Mystic, the one Pokemon haunted her past, the one Pokemon that scarred her beyond reparation, except he was now fully evolved and fully capable of doing far worse to not just her, but her friends as well.

Terrible memories poured through her mind as she stared into the frightening face of the vicious Luxray, appearing far more menacing than the Luxio she once knew him as. She had hoped that she would never have to see him again, ever. Regrettably, her hopes went unanswered.

She nervously looked to her side to see another familiar -- yet different -- face in Cordax's group. Along with the Weavile she had first seen, she noticed the burly Machamp, standing far taller and menacing than before with his four arms.

Cordax's trio had fully evolved. They didn't just go into hiding or break apart. They didn't become good-doers or try to repent for the terrible things they had done. No, they instead grew in their physical strength, which was a pretty strong indication that their days of victimizing Pokemon hadn't ended.

"What," said the Luxray as he began to circle the group, slowly. "Did you miss us?" Baring no sign of even a smirk, the Luxray continued circling along the group of six Pokemon. His two cohorts, the Weavile and Machamp, followed suit, circling Polka's group in an intimidating manner.

"Who are these guys, Polka?" asked Jazz, trying to keep his cool, but still finding himself worried. They seemed rather rough, but more importantly, they seemed like obvious enemies of Polka. What was the reason for that?

"Looks like you broughted some more Pokemons," said the Machamp with a deep voice, not sounding terribly intelligent. "Who are dey, Poka? Did you tink you could ruff us up?" With a laugh, the muscular fighting Pokemon smashed two of his fists together as he circled the group.

"N-no..." said Farruca, sounding incredibly scared herself. She went over to the much taller Typhlosion and hid behind him. "This can't be r-real..."

Blues then took the first action, jumping forward out of the circle she and the other five had been ensnared into. She stopped the Weavile in its tracks, puffing herself up and trying to look threatening herself. " 'ey, if 'ya gotta bone ta' pick, you'd better take 'ur biz'ness somewhere else! We got serious biz'ness ta' take care 'a!"

The Weavile smirked, placed one of its claws up near its head, and then seemed to vanish. Not more than a second later, the Weavile appeared behind the daring Azumarill, kneeling down and with both of its claws extended. It had slashed at Blues quicker than most of their eyes could see, knocking her down and slashing her side pretty badly!

"Blues!" exclaimed Jazz, running over to see if his mate was okay. He shook her body, cringing when he looked down to see her bleeding from the scratch she'd received. "Blues! Are you okay?"

"Uhn... yea' Jazzy, imma be alright... jus' watch 'at 'un, 'kay?" She sat up and held onto Jazz's paw, keeping the sea weasel close to her.

"Heehee, that was just a warning," said the Weavile as it stood up and glared right at the wounded Azumarill with a menacing look on its face. "Did that hostile act make Capoeira mad?" The Weavile turned to look at the Machamp, who had heard his name.

"Yah, haha! It's time for pain!" He crushed all four of his fists together, then charged forward and grabbed Polka suddenly, holding her in his grip. "Poka, I gonna make you hurt lots."

He began squeezing her tightly, causing the terrified Buizel to cry out in pain. It was her worst nightmare coming true...

"Stop!" roared Cordax, forcing Capoeira to immediately stop his assault on Polka, setting her down instead. The Luxray then walked past Waltz, Tango, and Farruca, right over to Polka, standing right in front of her. "This is between you and I." He stared right into the frightened Buizel's eyes, breaking her will down with every passing second. "Tell me, why are you here?"

She could barely find the willpower to speak. So badly she just wanted to find herself waking up, free from living with facing such despicable Pokemon again. She didn't want to answer him, but she also didn't want to remain silent, either. "It... it's not of your concern..."

The Luxray examined the Buizel, noting certain characteristics that confirmed something in his mind. "So you joined a Rescue Team after all. Does that mean that you are going to fight me?" He glared at the intimidated Buizel. "Does that mean that you are willing to die to stop me, a wanted and dangerous outlaw?"

Polka found herself completely unable to respond to that. As intimidating as he was as a Luxio, his new form made him all the more terrifying, especially knowing just how badly he had scarred her. She spent the first several months of her life in the sheltered land held captive by him and his goons, raped and abused on a daily basis.

"We're not even here to stop you, um, Cordex, was it?" said Waltz, while still carrying Tango in his arms. He wanted to be sure to protect her from the group of thugs that had appeared. "We just want to go through to see the Mystic."

"Aaaaah ha ha haa," laughed the Weavile in an annoying screech. "Why the hell would you want to see that coot?" He walked over to Waltz and Tango, glaring in a mischievous manner up at him. "All that thing does is stare at the sun all day!"

"Silence, Shimmy," said the Luxray, looking back over at the Weavile and Typhlosion. "If that is why they wish to be here, that is what they will die here for." He looked over at the Flaaffy hiding behind the Typhlosion. "It is, after all, your fault that we're outlaws. I intend to make you pay for that."

"Yah boss, hahaha! We gonna make you nuts pay!" The Machamp charged forward after that, shouting a loud war cry as he lunged straight towards the pink sheep Pokemon, grabbing her with two of his powerful hands just as he had done with Polka earlier.

"A-a-aahh!!" cried Farruca as she struggled to break free of the Machamp's grasp. She reactively used a Thundershock to zap Capoeira, though it appeared to have little effect on the brute other than irritating him further.

Polka immediately turned around in response to Farruca's cry. "Farruca!" she exclaimed. The worried Buizel brought forth a surge of water around her exterior and propelled herself towards the Machamp with an Aqua Jet attack, hitting the Machamp dead on, though failing to free her Flaaffy friend from the fiend's grip.

While that was going on, Waltz had sidestepped, holding Tango the whole time. He was quite familiar with fighting, though he wanted to make sure he could protect Tango as well. "Tango, go over by Jazz and Blues. I'll help Farruca." He set the Buizel down and directed her towards her brother, fearing for her safety for even just the few seconds it would take to run over there.

"Okay," said Tango as she followed his instructions and successfully made it over to where Jazz and Blues were at.

Jazz stood in front of the two females, ready and willing to defend them if any of the attackers even took a step closer to them. However, he figured he'd stay out of the fighting for the time being.

Now that Waltz was fully capable of fighting, no longer carrying Tango's weight around, he charged up the flames on his back and then curled up in a ball, swirling around and letting the flames engulf him. The fireball of a Typhlosion then charged straight towards the Machamp, hitting him with a powerful Flame Wheel and successfully catching him off guard enough to lose his grip on Farruca.

"Tha-a-anks, Wa-altz!" said Farruca as she quickly ran over towards Polka, ready to help her fight since it looked very obvious that they were going to have to fight. She certainly didn't want to fight against the trio -- neither did Polka -- but both knew that there was no way out of it at this point. They were also used to fighting as a team.

While Polka and Farruca stood battle ready to take on Cordax, who stared at the two with a look of resentment on his face, the heat of the battle early on was being fought between Waltz and Capoeira.

The Typhlosion and Machamp -- both of which far taller than any of the other Pokemon present -- fought fiercely with each other. Shy and timid as Waltz may have seemed, he was actually a highly proficient battler and was Tommy's prized fighter. He blocked and evaded most of Capoeira's barrage of punches, firing back several bursts of fire against the Machamp's arms in an attempt to gradually weaken him.

Capoeira jumped back aways and then lifted up a chunk of rock from the side of the cliff that they were fighting on. He threw it towards the Typhlosion, though he quickly dodged the oncoming boulder. To Waltz's surprise, though, he was met with a charging fighting type after dodging, catching him off-guard and getting knocked back with a painful punch to the gut as a result.

"Yah haha, you not so tough, furry thing! I'm break you!" He relentlessly charged forward and threw a punch at the fallen Typhlosion, only to find the swift 'furry thing' dodging it effortlessly and firing back with a Fire Blast to the face.

The two Pokemon continued to go toe to toe with each other, keeping up perfectly and finding each other to be a good match. Waltz hadn't had a battle in awhile and Capoeira was certainly no slouch.

As those two duked it out, an even more important fight was just about to begin. There was a calm before the storm as Polka and Farruca stood ready to react to the fearsome Cordax's attacks at any given moment. He just stared the two Pokemon down with a hostile, intimidating look on his face. His seething red eyes pierced the will of the two females, breaking their confidence and reminding them of just what he had done to them.

"If I had killed you two back then rather than now, I could have spared myself a life of exile. If you hadn't told anyone, I wouldn't have to kill you today." He took a step forward, still appearing cold and emotionless. "I want to make you suffer. I want you to see your friends die in front of you after they have been stripped of their dignity. These lands are mine now because they're all I have left, thanks to you."

"Shut up!" exclaimed Farruca, growling at the Luxray and holding a firm battle stance. "Ba-a-ad Pokemon like you deserve to be locked up, not us!" Sparks of electricity formed at the angered Flaaffy's wool. "You locked us up a-a-nd did terrible things to us! You're the one tha-a-at deserves to die!"

Polka hadn't seen Farruca that upset before. Rarely did the mild sheep yell, even at her foes. She was always so much kinder and gentler than Polka was, which was quite amazing, given their similar fate. That gave Polka hope that perhaps, with the help of their friends, they would be able to get the revenge on Cordax that they had wished they could give him for such a long time.

"I did no disservice to the world by dominating those who were too weak to fight back. That is the way of things. I am entitled to whatever my strength and power grants me." His ice-cold arrogance was particularly alarming to Polka and Farruca. How he could see no problem in the horrible things that he and his goons did was a terrible, terrible thing...

"I hate you!" shouted Polka, losing her temper over the uncaring, unapologetic nature of the Luxray. Acting irrationally, transforming her fear into a reckless gamble, the Buizel charged towards the Luxray and swung her fist right at his face.

The nimble Luxray dodged her attack as if it were nothing and struck her with his mighty claws, scratching her back and knocking her down onto her stomach. He then jumped up and landed right on top of her, causing the Buizel to cry out in pain under the weight of the heavier Luxray slamming his body down on her.

"Polka-a-a-a!" baaed Farruca in a panic. She had to be particularly careful when using any of her electric attacks against Cordax, both because he was resistant to them and because she would probably be inflicting a lot more damage to her partner than to Cordax.

Instead, she opted to charge forward and ram her head against the Luxray in an attempt to knock him off of her comrade. She bashed into the Luxray and knocked him down onto his side, freeing Polka. The Flaaffy had just enough time to help Polka up before she was hit with Cordax's claws, scratching her arms, though not too bad.

Polka retaliated by jumping up onto Cordax's back and biting his neck as hard as she could, clamping on tightly as the Luxray shook his head violently in an attempt to get the biting Buizel off of his back. "Get off of me, whelp!" roared the Luxray, charging around to free the Buizel from his neck.

As Cordax was distracted by that, Farruca ran up to the Luxray and hit him as hard as she could with her body, slamming against his side. It didn't do a lot, but she was clearly at a disadvantage anyway that being able to do as much as possible would be important to their success.

Finally Cordax decided that enough was enough. He charged a considerable amount of electricity into his body, causing his fur to dazzle in a radiant yellow color. The electricity surged through his body and channeled right through Polka's teeth, electrically shocking her and causing her to lose her grip on the Luxray.

That was just the start of it, though. Cordax continued charging up his body with a significant amount of electricity. His body glowed more and more yellow, flashing back to its normal colors only periodically. With a loud roar, he released all of the electric energy in a powerful Discharge attack, striking both Farruca and Polka -- the Buizel suffering a lot more damage than the Flaaffy.

"Polka-a-a! Are you okay?" asked Farruca, running over to her weakened teammate. She shook the fallen Buizel to check her condition. "Come on, Polka-a-a...!"

Polka got up, though was feeling incredibly weakened from the attack. She was never a big fan of electricity or electric Pokemon -- except for her own fluffy pink sheep partner, that is. There was no doubt about it: it was going to be a very difficult fight.

While Polka and Farruca were readying themselves to take on Cordax again, another fight was just about to begin. Four curious onlookers had been watching the two pairs of fights intently.

"Heehee, Cordax really showed those two what happens when you mess with us!" exclaimed Shimmy, cackling afterwards. He turned to Jazz and stared the Floatzel down. "You know, I should probably fight, too. Otherwise they're just going to whine and say I didn't do anything." Shimmy walked up towards Jazz, raising one of his claws in the air in a threatening manner. "Come on, Floatzel, let's see what you've got!"

"Jazz, don't do it!" "Jazzy, knock 'im silly!" exclaimed the two girls at the same time, each saying just the opposite of what the other wanted to hear.

Jazz looked at the two batches of fights going on. They each looked very close and intense. Jazz wasn't exactly a formidable fighter, but he also knew that Waltz, Polka, and Farruca would all be worn out if they were victorious, giving the Weavile an edge. He figured that he might as well try weaken the Weavile as much as possible, though wasn't exactly keen on the idea of leaving his sister and his mate slightly more vulnerable.

However, he did want to get that sharp-clawed brat back for hurting Blues. "You're on," said Jazz, stepping up and readying a defensive pose, calling the Weavile's bet.

"Right then, hee." The Weavile jumped forward and swiftly swiped his claw towards Jazz, who readily dodged the agile Pokemon's assault. "Not too bad, but how about this!" He continued swiping at Jazz, who kept up dodging the attacks, getting cut only a little bit in the process.

The Floatzel then jumped up against the wall and charged forward at the Weavile, smashing into him with his head and tackling him to the ground. He was actually surprised that his tactic worked as well as it did! He didn't want to give the Weavile an edge, though, so he quickly got up and threw a punch at his face, hitting him smack dab in the middle of it.

"Ahhhhh!!" cried Shimmy as his nose bled as a result of the Floatzel's fist smashing into his face. Despite his dangerous appearance, Shimmy was actually a lot more of a manipulator than he was a fighter; rarely could he take much of a beating himself and instead relied on his sharp claws and malicious look to intimidate his foes.

Those claws of his were sharp, however, as he quickly reminded Jazz. He jabbed his claws up towards the Floatzel's chest, striking through his fur and scratching his skin before knocking the sea weasel back.

Jazz didn't particularly like the fact that he was bleeding and those claws were sharp, but he wasn't about to sit by idly and do nothing. He knew that these three must have been some really terrible Pokemon if Polka was so afraid of them.

The two remained evenly matched as they exchanged blows, each emphasizing more on dodging and evasion than brute strength.

Just as Jazz and Shimmy kept up at an even pace, Waltz and the burly Machamp, Capoeira, were also pretty well matched for each other. Their fight had raged on longer than any of the others, but it was becoming clear that Waltz had the upper hand. He was weakening the Machamp far more than he could keep up with, no matter how many appendages the muscular Pokemon may have had.

"You not too bad, ha... ha..."

"You're the bad one," said Waltz in a much more composed manner. "If you had a Trainer, maybe you wouldn't be such a lawless ruffian."

"Trainer?! Hahaha! No Trainer on the sheltered land!" He laughed loudly, placing one set of his arms on his hips. "I'm show you just what pain was like!"

Waltz couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor, uneducated Machamp. He clearly was missing a certain something in his sentences, such as grammar of any kind, but it wasn't really the time to criticize him on such a comparatively small detail.

No, Waltz wanted to win against that Machamp physically, not just grammatically, so he could narrow down the field of enemies. He worried for Polka and Farruca, who he had seen struggling whenever he glanced over at them in corner of his eyes.

As Waltz picked up the pace against Capoeira, Polka and Farruca found themselves fully outmatched against the powerful Luxray they were going up against.

"You were foolish to fight back. You were just as foolish today as you were all of those times in the past." He took an intimidating step closer to the two weakened females. "I will make sure that you are punished just as much -- no, more."

"Polka-a-a... I don't know... wha-a-at can we do?" asked Farruca in a quiet tone to the Buizel next to her. She was running out of ideas.

Polka looked behind her to see everyone else fighting, except for Tango and Blues -- which figured, since neither of them were capable. No one could even come close to helping them out, and even then, she wouldn't accept it anyway. It was a fight between them and Cordax, for everything he had done to them.

The Luxray didn't allow her an opportunity to devise a plan. He instead charged towards the weakened Buizel, claws extended and ready to strike. He then swiped his claws at Polka, slashing her across the face and sending her flying back a few feet.

"Polka-a-a!" exclaimed Farruca as she saw her partner suddenly struck by the powerful Pokemon. She used that opportunity to run right at the Luxray herself, gathering electricity in her wool and slamming into the fearsome Pokemon. He, however, was only knocked back just a few inches.

"Foolish." He pinned the Flaaffy down on her stomach with his heavy paws, crushing the lighter Flaaffy under the pressure he was applying to her.

Farruca was a lightweight compared to Polka. She didn't have a lot of weight behind her body at all, giving her very little resistance to fight back with from under the Luxray's crushing grip. She tried conducting as much electricity as possible from her body to send it surging through the Luxray's, but he only shrugged it off and continued pressing his paw down onto her.

"H-help!!" she exclaimed, realizing that she desperately needed help.

Polka recovered from her rough hit, blood and sweat trailing down her face, and ran over to assist the Flaaffy. As she ran closer to the Flaaffy in distress, Cordax saw her approaching -- as he expected -- and unleashed another round of his Discharge, repelling the Buizel back and severely shocking the Flaaffy, despite her higher resistance to electricity.

"Farru... ca...!" exclaimed Polka in a weak cry, getting up despite her injuries and once again running towards the Luxray and Flaaffy.

"It is your fault I am a wanted Pokemon," said Cordax, glaring over at the Buizel running back towards him with menacing eyes. "You should have kept silent. Had you, we would not be here today. Had you, I would not be the wanted Pokemon that I am."

The Buizel charged towards Cordax, ignoring his speech -- which she could barely hear anyway -- and instead focusing only on saving the Pokemon that meant more to her than any other in the world. Her heart raced as it sunk in just how hopeless the situation was, that she may have led all of her friends into a life that she had to live... or worse.

It didn't matter. It was too late for it to matter. All that remained was holding onto that hope, that faint chance of victory. That was what won Team Hope several fights in its day. That strength to help those in need, to fight on against the impossible, that was what kept Polka and Farruca going every day.

"I no longer want to live to be merely wanted. I want to live to be feared." The Luxray smashed his paw down on the Flaaffy's back, causing her to cry out louder than she had before. "SO FEAR ME!!" he roared loudly, unleashing another strong Discharge attack out of nowhere, frying the Flaaffy beneath him as well as the Buizel that had gotten to a mere foot away from him.

The pain was practically unbearable for either of the two to take. They were clearly defeated.

Both Waltz and Jazz saw just how bad the fight was going over there and each knew that those two needed help. Waltz blasted Capoeira in the face with a strong Fire Blast and then ran over towards Polka, who was struggling to get up.

Jazz was about to run over to help Polka and Farruca, seeing the two in peril and at the verge of losing their life. It was a mistake on his part to lose his focus on the ones he was trying to protect.

"Hey fish face!" Jazz quickly turned around, reacting to the call of the Weavile's taunt -- regardless of how fishy his face may have actually been -- and saw the creature holding his sister, Tango, and claw point. "Might not want to interfere." He smirked, baring a malicious set of teeth.

That had Jazz incredibly torn. The Weavile had Tango and quite possibly Blues in danger. If he acted, they could get seriously hurt -- those claws were sharp after all. But on the other hand, Polka was already getting seriously hurt, as was Farruca.

"Tango!" exclaimed Waltz, who also stopped his charge towards Cordax, not wanting to see any harm come to either Tango or Blues.

"Checkmate," said Cordax coldly. He continued pressing his paw down at the battered Flaaffy beneath him, digging his claws into her back and drawing blood in the process.

Farruca found herself nearly breathless. She couldn't break free of his grasp. All she could do was look at Polka, her love, with desperate eyes... begging her to help, but also wishing that the Buizel would save herself.

Memories of her time in the clutches of Cordax's torture flowed through her mind like water running down a stream, ignorant of the waterfall just up ahead...

***

"It's not so ba-a-a-ad," said the pink sheep Pokemon, still somewhat new to being held captive.

"How could it be worse...?" asked the gloomy Buizel. She had many bruises on her body and found herself lying down on the ground, shackled at her feet with a restraining collar around her neck that was chained to the wall. "It doesn't get any better... it never will..."

"Well... ma-a-ting wasn't quite what I thought it'd be." The pink Flaaffy walked over to the Buizel. She, too, was bound by chains and shackles -- another prisoner of the crazed Luxio. "Deep down ma-a-aybe I wanted to be domina-a-ated like tha-at."

"How can you even say that..." The Buizel just rolled onto her side, turning away from the Flaaffy newcomer.

"It hurt! Don't get me wrong! And tha-a-t Luxio is a jerk! But-"

"No," said the Buizel, interrupting her new 'cellmate.' "There are no buts... You haven't been here as long as I have... you don't know how terrible it is having those... those... monsters inside of you for what feels like every waking moment."

"I'm sorry..." She walked over to the Buizel, though found that she was unable to reach her due to the chains restricting her movement. "What's your na-a-ame? I'm Fa-a-arucca."

"Polka."

"Polka-a-a, got it! We'll get through this, Polka-a-a. I've been training to join a Rescue Team, so I think it's good to know what ha-a-appens in situations like this."

"Rescue Team...?" Polka remembered hearing about those from her parents and older brother, Jazz. Pokemon would band together to help rescue other Pokemon that were in danger, guide them safely to the other side of the sheltered land, and do a variety of other good deeds, often times getting paid for their troubles.

"Hey, ma-a-aybe when we get out of this, we can start a Rescue Team together?"

"We're never going to get out of this..."

The Flaaffy sent a very weak zap of electricity towards the Buizel, shocking her lightly. "Hey! Tha-a-t's not the right a-a-attitude!" She stood up and took a confident stance. "Listen, Polka-a-a, we're going to get out of this someday! I'll help you! You ca-a-n be the first Pokemon I rescue, even!"

"Yeah right..."

"I promise you! We'll get out of this and then you ca-a-n go home or join a Rescue Team with me."

"Home... I... ..."

***

"Farruca!" cried Polka. She wasn't usually the type to get emotional, but worry for her lover's life forced her to uncontrollably lose her emotions and shed a few tears preemptively.

Recklessly, the Buizel ran forward, charging towards the Luxray as quickly as she could. Just as before, though, he countered with a painful Discharge, electrocuting the electric-weak Buizel and repelling her back several feet.

"Pol... ka..."

"Let her go!" exclaimed Waltz, stepping right beside Polka and glaring at the fierce Luxray.

As he did so, he heard another cry from behind him -- it was Tango! Shimmy had slashed the Buizel's chest in reaction to the Typhlosion's advances towards his leader. "Not so fast or that next cut is going to be a lot more... painful, heehee."

"I'm done. I would much rather prove my point." The Luxray released his paw from the Flaaffy, who lay nearly motionless on the ground in front of him. He turned his gaze from Farruca over to Polka, staring at her with a look of anticipation, as if he was waiting for her to make a move.

Polka wasn't sure what to do. She was so glad that her friend was freed, but unsure of just what Cordax was planning. She wasn't sure whether she should see if her friend was alright or go directly for attacking Cordax.

She worried for Farruca far too much to choose attacking Cordax over seeing if she was alright. The Buizel ran over towards the fallen Flaaffy, not moving as quickly as she would have liked to due to the extent of her wounds.

Just as she was a few feet away from the Luxray and Flaaffy, Cordax reached his head down to Farruca and bit her on the neck, clamping on with his mighty jaw.

Farruca cried out in agony as more pain surged through her body. He didn't just gnaw at her wool, no, he was digging into her scruff with his bare teeth, dangling the Flaaffy from his mouth by her rubbery skin.

"Polk-a-a-a-a!" cried Farruca, crying as she flailed around in an attempt to break free, though finding that doing so only made the pain worse.

"Put her down!" exclaimed Polka as she stopped in her tracks. "Farruca!"

Cordax nodded his head, paused for a moment, and then hurled the Flaaffy up into the air, releasing her from his grip. "As you wish," he said, looking back at Polka before returning his sight to the airborne Flaaffy.

Suddenly, the Luxray roared, jumping up into the air and swiping his front claw at the falling Flaaffy, striking her hard and sending her flying over the side of the nearby cliff.

Panic swept through Polka's body as she faced the horrors of seeing her best friend, her partner, her mate hurled off the edge. It seemed almost surreal, like a terrible nightmare. She quickly ran over to the side of the cliff and watched as Farruca fell down the ravine several hundred feet.

"Farrucaaaa!!" cried Polka, realizing the true extent of what had just happened. She wanted to jump down there with her, to save her, to rescue her, to somehow prevent the inevitable from happening. There had to be some way. There had to be something she could do.

"Polk... a..." said the Flaaffy, looking up towards the sky, seeing her mate and partner crying out for her up at the edge of the cliff. It was the last sight the Flaaffy saw before her body crashed into the ground below, smashing into the barren rocky landscape at the base of the canyon.

As the dust settled, Polka saw Farruca down on the ground, lying completely motionless. She couldn't see if she was breathing or not, but she feared the worst. Nothing mattered to her anymore. She couldn't bear to think of what her life would be like without the cheerful pink sheep pulling her through each and every day.

"No..." she muttered, turning around and facing the Luxray that had already done so much to ruin both of their lives. She looked directly into his eyes with more hatred than she could ever express with words. "NO!!" cried Polka as she charged towards Cordax, pulling her fist back to punch the Luxray right in the face if she could get that close to him.

As expected, Cordax merely released another Discharge attack to electrocute the charging Buizel and send her flying back, nearly falling off the cliff herself. "Pitiful." He turned his head to look at her friends and family. They had been standing frozen, each in total disbelief of what had just happened. "Who else is dear to you?"

"Huh huh, I tink we should trow da other Buizel down too!" said Capoeira as he eyed up Tango, who was still held at clawpoint by Shimmy.

"No! Tango!" exclaimed Waltz as he looked back at Tango along with the Machamp. "Don't you dare harm her!" he shouted, though was unable to do anything to back up his demands. He could see a trace of blood staining the Buizel's fur from the Weavile's claws, so he didn't doubt that Shimmy would actually do far worse to her if he provoked him. It was a stalemate.

"N-no..." Polka got up, brushed herself off from her injuries, and stood as upright as she could to face the Luxray once again. There was nothing that she could do to best Cordax in battle. She had no options left...

Thoughts ran though the Buizel's mind, planning, plotting, realizing that she couldn't even come close to attacking him as long as he could use Discharge. She had to disarm him. She had leave Cordax vulnerable somehow. She would make any sacrifice to get revenge on him for everything he'd done. Any.

Polka knew what she had to do. There was a chance it might not even work, but it was her only opportunity. She walked over to the side of the Luxray, the side opposite where everyone else was at, eying him up the whole time.

She then walked around so she was behind Cordax, though he had turned to face her directly, not wanting to give her the upper hand. "Nooo!!" shouted Polka, raising her arms up in the air as a sphere of water formed around her, swirling around violently.

"Foolish." Cordax watched the Buizel in anticipation of her action, predicting that she was going to be using Aqua Jet to knock him off the cliff. He knew exactly what he was going to do against that.

As expected, Polka charged at him at full force, gliding through the air in a stream of rushing water. Right before she made contact with the Luxray, he used Discharge right on the water, electrifying it and severely damaging the Buizel inside.

It was an unbelievable amount of pain that Polka had to endure, but unlike her previous attempts to hit the Luxray, the force of the water charging at Cordax was too great for the burst of Discharge to dissipate; the swirling sphere of electrocuted water slammed against Cordax.

He was pushed back by the onslaught of rushing water, pushing him closer and closer to the edge. He endured as much of the Aqua Jet as he could, finding the electricity to be rather painful even to him. The Luxray stopped the attack from pushing him back any further.

However, despite the excruciating pain Polka was in, she couldn't let it end there. She knew what she had to do. She was willing to make any sacrifice necessary in order to get the revenge on him she had always wished for. He took Farruca away from her, perhaps for good -- she didn't even know for sure.

All she did know was that she had the opportunity to make him pay for everything he had done. The water surrounding her increased dramatically in size, swelling and swirling, forming into a vicious whirlpool.

The whirlpool swirled around, encompassing both Polka and Cordax into it. He found himself trapped by the vicious vortex, shocking him and preventing him from dodging or escaping.

In one final act, Polka did the one thing that she knew would seal both of their fates. She spun the whirlpool containing both her and Cordax and brought it over to the edge of the cliff.

"Polka!!" "Polka!" "No!" "Boss!" everyone shouted, watching the swirling mass teeter at the edge of the cliff.

It was too late. The whirlpool spun off the side of the cliff, breaking apart and causing both Polka and Cordax to fall out of it along with the pool of water, falling down towards the very ravine that Cordax had just hurled Farruca down into.

In a last ditch effort, Polka used the small amount of energy she had left to use Aqua Jet to guide her back up to the cliff. The Buizel was taken by surprise when Cordax bit her tail while trying to escape, forcing her to fall down several hundred feet down to the ground along with him.

There was nothing more she could do. It didn't matter. It didn't matter if she died in the process. She defeated Cordax. She avenged her friend, she took revenge for herself, and she spared who-knows-how-many innocent Pokemon from suffering the same twisted fate she had to endure.

As she looked down at the Luxray clamping down on her tail, falling to the ground with her, she saw Farruca lying on the ground. She stared at the fallen, lifeless sheep on the ground, and in an instant, every single moment that they spent together flashed through her head.

All of the times, both the good and the bad, all of the rescues they had done, all of the pain they endured together while under Cordax's possession, all of the friends they had made in Leafbloom Town. It all ran through her mind as she drew closer to landing.

***

"Run, Farruca!" exclaimed Polka, pinned down and bitten on the neck by the aggressive Luxio.

The two had managed to break free from the chains binding them on the wall by pulling as hard as they could against it, weakening not the chains or the collar, but the bolt socketed into the wall. They secretly worked on freeing themselves from the shackles while their three captors were away.

Several weeks had passed since Farruca had gotten captured by Cordax, but she already was an inspiration to Polka. Rather than living with the same old doom and gloom she was used to, the Flaaffy talked to her after they were both abused together. She comforted her and kept reassuring her that one day they would escape.

It was even her doing that they found a way to break free from the chains. Farruca promised her that they'd get through that nightmare and start a Rescue Team together, no matter what.

The fated day came when they made a break for it, only to find that Cordax, Shimmy, and Capoeira were just returning. As Polka and Farruca escaped, Cordax grabbed hold of Polka's tails, forcing her to trip and fall onto the ground. He then pinned her down and bit her while his two cohorts approached from behind to help.

"I can't just leave you, Polka-a-a!" exclaimed Farruca, stopping and staring her fallen friend. After they had worked so hard to break free from that prison, she wasn't just about to escape without Polka.

"Please... at least you can be free..."

"That's right. Run, sheep, run," said the Luxio, breaking free from his biting for just a moment. "Your friend will be the one picking up the slack without you."

"Polka-a-a..." She turned her worry into confidence, realizing that she had to stay true to her promise and rescue Polka. It would be her first real rescue, but without a doubt her most significant one. "I'll save you!"

The pink sheep ran back over towards Cordax and Polka, headbutting Cordax and successfully knocking him off of her. She helped Polka up and then used a mild Thundershock to strike Cordax, Shimmy, and Capoeira.

"Come on!" She held Polka's paw firmly as she ran forward, pulling the weakened Buizel along with her. The two ran out of the Luxio's building together, seeing the outside world for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

They had to keep running, though; Cordax and his gang were making rapid chase, catching up to the two rather quickly.

"You saved me..." said Polka, amazed that Farruca risked her own life and freedom to save her. "I..."

"They're coming, Polka-a-a! You can tha-a-ank me later, but we need to run now!" The Flaaffy looked around, trying to find any means of escaping from the oncoming trio of Pokemon. She ran alongside a raging river, running down and along its edge with Polka following close behind.

"You'll never escape!" The two Pokemon were caught off-guard by a zippy Sneasel, dashing far ahead of the two Pokemon and cutting them off. "Heehee, nice try, ladies!"

Behind them, both Cordax and Capoeira caught up to them, trapping the two escaped Pokemon between a raging river and three very angry males.

"You've lost. Admit defeat or die here. No one will miss your existence." The Luxio took a step closer to the two females, staring them down, ready to strike at any moment.

Farruca looked at Polka with a desperate look on her face. Despite her own desires to be free, saving Polka meant more than anything to her. It was her promise, her solemn duty to protect her and rescue her from all of the hell she'd been put through.

As Polka opened up to her over the course of their captivity together, the Flaaffy realized just how rough of a life the poor Buizel had, only to have things a million times worse by getting raped and abused every day. She deserved better.

"I hope you're as good of a-a-a swimmer as you look..." said Farruca, holding onto Polka tightly. While hugging the Buizel as firmly as she could manage, she jumped along with Polka into the crashing current of water, hoping that they would both live through the rapids so they could be free.

"Get back here!" exclaimed Cordax as he chased the two down the river, running alongside it, but losing the race against the quickly moving water. "If you say a word of this to anyone," shouted the Luxio, "I'll kill you both! I refuse to be marked as an outlaw!"

It was over for the Luxio and his gang.

Polka woke up to find Farruca unconscious, barely breathing, and with cuts, gashes, and bruises all over her body. There was a lot of blood on the poor pink sheep and Polka worried that she wouldn't make it. "Farruca! Farruca! Wake up!"

The Buizel shook the wounded Flaaffy repeatedly, finally garnering success and waking her from her unconsciousness. "P- Polk-a-a... you're free..."

"No," said Polka, staring right into the Flaaffy's eyes. "We're free. We're free... it's because of you..."

"I... I don't think I-" Farruca interrupted her sentence with a raspy cough. "I'm g-gonna..." She coughed again. "I just... I want to see you smile..."

"Stop!" cried Polka, tearing up at her eyes. She'd been responsible for too much death in her life. It was her fault that her parents were killed... it was her fault that her siblings would have to live without them for the rest of their lives. She couldn't let Farruca die protecting her, too... "You c-can't die... I'll- I'll save you... somehow..."

"I... P- Polka-a-a..." The Flaaffy let out another raspy cough, this one sounding worse than the other two. "I'm a-actually ha-a-appy tha-a-t we were caught..."

"How can you s-say that?!" Polka stared right into her eyes, holding the Flaaffy's head up with one of her arms and gently touching her chest with the other.

"Because I got to know wha-at love wa-a-s like..." She coughed once again, though smiled up at the Buizel.

Polka closed her eyes and bore an angry expression on her face. "That wasn't love! That was sick, cruel torture!"

"No..." said Farruca. "I... mean you..." She reached up and pulled the shocked Buizel in towards her head, gently kissing the fellow female's lips with her own.

It caught Polka completely off-guard, because she had certainly never been kissed by anyone outside of her captors, much less another female. Love wasn't a concept that she even understood... all she saw of it was with her parents, but even they weren't very affectionate.

She didn't have the faintest clue why Farruca would ever love her. There was nothing to love. But just hearing those words... feeling those lips... it brought tears to the Buizel's eyes.

After their kiss, Polka cried into Farruca chest for a few minutes, holding onto her tightly. "I'll save y-you...!" she said, gathering her courage and willpower to do so. "Whatever it t-takes... I'll save y-you..."

***

As the ground rapidly approached, Polka had realized that this time she wasn't able to save her one true love. She had failed to protect her. Just as it was her fault that her parents died, it was her fault that she led the group to the Great Canyon.

It was her fault that she didn't listen to her gut feelings and wait, or take more precaution, or save Farruca from falling, or rescue her when she was trapped beneath Cordax, or fight better, or any reason imaginable. It was her fault. She had ruined yet another life. "I'm... s-sorry... F- Farruca..."

The two falling Pokemon crashed into the ground at the bottom of the ravine, creating a cloud of dust as a result.

All of the Pokemon, including Shimmy and Capoeira, ran over to the cliff's edge. The fight didn't matter to them anymore as they saw friend and foe alike fall down to their doom.

"Polka!!" exclaimed Jazz. It hit him the hardest, striking immediately as he saw the sight of his sister lying flat on the ground, right beside Farruca. Cordax still had her tail in his jaw. "Polka...!!" The normally collected Floatzel broke down into tears immediately, unable to stop the overwhelming feeling of sadness sweep through his body.

"Polka..." said Tango as she looked down the cliff to see the same sight. "I was just starting to know her..."

"Ey, uhh, Shimmy, dey isn't movin'..." said Capoeira in that dumb manner he usually spoke in.

The Weavile slashed the Machamp for his ignorance. "You idiot! That's our boss down there! We need to see if he's okay!" Shimmy ran through the crowd of Pokemon, back towards the direction Polka's group came from in the first place. He knew that there was a slope leading down to the base of the canyon down there. Before he got too far, though, he turned around and faced the other Pokemon, hanging his head low. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"What do you mean 'you're sorry'!?" exclaimed Waltz as he ran over to the Weavile. The fire on his shoulder was burning wildly. "After everything you've done, after hurting Tango and Blues, after doing NOTHING while your boss killed our friend in front of us all, that's all you can say?!"

"I know, it's a bad time for it... I didn't think it would actually go this far." He looked up at the Typhlosion. "I'll turn myself in... I don't want to do this anymore. I just want to see if Cordax is okay..." Shimmy walked forward and motioned over for everyone to follow him. "Come on, I know the way down. We'll settle this later."

Waltz looked over to the rest of the group. Without Polka and Farruca, they had no one that could lead them through the Great Canyon. For better or worse, Shimmy was right, they could settle it later. He was certain that the Weavile had changed his opinion drastically after seeing those two fall off the cliff. He was sincere in his words.

The group of Pokemon followed Shimmy along the ledge, down the slope, and then through the valley basin. They traveled as quickly as they could over to where Polka, Farruca, and Cordax had landed.

When they arrived, Shimmy and Capoeira ran over to Cordax while Jazz, Blues, and Tango ran over towards Polka and Farruca.

"Boss!" "Boss!" exclaimed both Shimmy and Capoeira. The two shook the body of the Luxray to find him still breathing.

"Damn... idiots..." said Cordax, lying on his side and looking up at his two comrades. "Finish the job... then get me out of here. I can't move any of my legs..."

Waltz, wanting to make sure that those three actually weren't going to cause any more trouble, walked over towards them. "You bastard," said Waltz to Cordax. "You should be ashamed of yourself for what you did."

"No," answered the Luxray. "I take no shame in it. They deserved to die for marking me as an outlaw. I can never go back."

"Shut your trap, boss!" exclaimed Shimmy, of all Pokemon. "Just give it up! It's OUR fault! You can blame everyone else all you want, but I told you we should never have done that to them in the first place!"

"You dare speak to me like that? You had your way with both of them your fair share of times. You showed no restraint in cutting them when they misbehaved." Cordax let out a weak cough. "If you wish to feign innocence after the fact, you are the one that should be filled with shame."

"But they're dead now! We're murderers! I didn't sign up for that!"

"Yet you had no hesitation raping either of them without remorse."

"W-what...?" asked Waltz, starting to piece together the pieces. "What did you do to them?" The things they had said were adding up as well.

"I'm sorry, okay," said Shimmy, facing Waltz. "I didn't know what else to do, hee... mating just felt so good that I couldn't get enough of it."

"You... you really did lock them up... and force them against their will...?" Waltz growled, getting more and more enraged at the sick group of Pokemon that he was just fighting. He had thought they were just enemies of Polka and Farruca, but didn't know to exactly what extent. "You're terrible! Both of you!"

"Capoeira, take me out of here," commanded the Luxray. "I may not live long, but I do not want to die in the company of such filth."

"No!" exclaimed Waltz. He stood in front of the Machamp that was about to lift the fallen Luxray up. "You're never going to hurt another Pokemon again!"

Enraged, the fiery Typhlosion shot a burning Fire Blast directly at the weakened Luxray. Never had he wanted to actually kill another Pokemon until now. There wasn't any reason to keep such a wicked Pokemon alive or allow him to escape.

The Typhlosion kept spewing as much flame as he could muster at Cordax. Capoeira tried to stop him by holding him back, but Shimmy slashed at the Machamp to protect Waltz and let him finish the job.

Shimmy could never actually kill a Pokemon -- only make threats -- but he knew that his boss, Cordax, had reached the end of his lifeline. If Waltz was willing to off him, it was because he deserved it, unlike Polka and Farruca. Instead he just held off the Machamp.

Before long, all of the Luxray's fur had been burned to cinders and his body was charred black. The sight alone was enough to make the Typhlosion question whether or not what he did was right -- never in a million years did he think he would kill another Pokemon. He was just too kindhearted. However, after knowing the evils of that fiend's actions, he knew that it would avenge Polka and Farruca.

"Boss!" cried Capoeira as he went over to the charred body and picked it up. "I take you home, boss!" With that, the clueless Machamp took the roasted Luxray's carcass and carried it down the base of the valley. Without his boss, the stupid oaf of a Machamp was no threat to anyone.

Waltz looked at Shimmy with a mixture of disdain and appreciation, recognizing that, in the end, he did the right thing -- or at least allowed the right thing to happen. The two Pokemon walked over to Jazz, Blues, and Tango to pay their respects to Polka and Farruca.

No one was paying any attention to Farruca, though. Instead, the three were huddled around Polka, pressing against her chest. Jazz was even kissing her from the looks of it.

"I'm sorry about your sister, Tango..." said Waltz as he knelt down beside Tango.

"Waltz... Polka... she..." said Tango, looking back at Jazz with a desperately hopeful look on her face.

"Come on, sis... breathe... just a little bit more..." Jazz appeared to be kissing Polka, though what he was actually doing was a human trick that he had learned about called CPR, in an attempt to revive the Buizel.

"She's... alive..." Tango was so worried for the sake of her sister. She held onto whatever glimmer of hope she could muster, wishing that she had never gotten so selfish as to ask to go to such a dangerous place.

Waltz picked Tango up and held her close. "I know you don't want to let go... but..."

"Waltzy, yer not gettin' it!" exclaimed Blues, hopping over to the Typhlosion. "Polka's breathin'! Jus' barely, an' 'er 'eart isn' all 'at fast, but she's alive!"

"Really...? What about Farruca?" He turned his sights to the fallen sheep, seeing for himself her lifeless body resting peacefully on the ground.

"She... she didn't make it..." said Tango, hopping down from Waltz's grasp and walking back over to her sister, who was hanging on by a thread.

"Farruca..." Though Waltz barely knew her, she seemed like a really nice Pokemon and a really loyal teammate to Polka. No one in the group had any idea of just how much she meant to Polka, though...

"Come on, Polka... please..." said Jazz, trying to revive his little sister. She appeared to be breathing more regularly, though still had a weak pulse and a faint breath.

As the four Pokemon gathered around the nearly lifeless Buizel, Shimmy watched and saw just how much they all cared for her. All he knew was just the opposite of that. The group he was in was more of a brotherhood than actual friends... none of them would care for him like that if he died. The only thing that mattered to them was their own pleasure.

What a selfish Pokemon he had been for such a long time. If only he had friends or a family like that, he thought to himself, then perhaps he wouldn't have gotten wrapped up with his buddy Cordax in the first place. Maybe he would have been a part of a real rescue team.

It was too late for him to change his reputation, though; all he could do was merely change his ways. "Maybe the Mystic can bring your friends back..." said the Weavile.

He walked over to the lifeless Flaaffy, looked down at her, and felt overwhelmed with guilt realizing all of the terrible things he had done to her over her lifetime. Shimmy lifted her up and carried the cold sheep in his arms. "Can one of you take Polka? Typhlosion, maybe you should do it -- she's sort of heavy."

"Why should we trust you, you wretch?!" shouted Jazz in a teary fervor. "It's you and your gang's fault she's like this!"

"We need to see the Mystic, Jazz..." said Waltz, standing up for the Weavile, not to mention their own cause. "That was the reason we came here in the first place. No one else will take us there. And maybe the Mystic can help..."

"He's probably just leading us into a trap."

"No, I've already done the whole trap thing, heehee..." said Shimmy, walking over towards the Floatzel, though keeping enough distance to avoid getting hit. "Listen, I know it doesn't mean a lot coming from me -- I did a lot of terrible things to your sister-"

Jazz jumped up and tackled the Weavile to the ground, placing his paws around the Weavile's neck. "You did what?!" He had never been so violent or aggressive before, but at the same time, he had never been in a situation that would warrant such aggression.

"Wai-t... let me jus-t..."

The Floatzel released enough of his grip to let Shimmy talk.

"Thanks... You see, what I meant to say was that, you're right... it's my fault she's nearly dead. But I don't have anything left, either. I at least want to make what I can right before they haul my ass off to jail."

"Oh, sure, now you want to play the hero," said Tango, walking over to the Weavile that her brother was pinning down and kicking his head. "You just want to save your own hide!"

"I don't have any reason to go to the Mystic!" exclaimed Shimmy. "You need someone to take you, I'm not any threat -- I'll be carrying a dead sheep for Mew's sake! I'll be leading! It's not like I'm going to attack you or anything. Besides, the Mystic is right in the area!"

"We need him, guys..." said Waltz. "I'll make sure he's true to his word. Let me carry Polka... alright? I'll keep her warm."

Jazz looked up at Waltz, bore a rather discontented expression, and then got off of the Weavile. "Fine. Take Farruca and lead the way."

Shimmy got up, brushed himself off, and then went over to pick up Farruca. She wasn't all that heavy, despite her size, so he managed to carry her in his arms without too much difficulty. He then turned back towards the slope that they had already been up and down once each way over the course of the day. "Back up there. I'll show you the way."

While the Weavile walked forward carrying Farruca in his arms, Waltz looked down at Polka. Her family was right -- he could see her breathing still. Faintly, but still breathing. The poor Buizel... she'd been put through so much. He had no idea... Not only that, but he had no idea what more she'd have to go through when -- and if -- she woke up.

He lifted her up into his arms and cradled her like a baby, holding her gently and keeping a careful eye on her condition.

"You'd better be right about him, Waltz," said Jazz as he walked over to Blues, held her paw, and then walked ahead of the fiery Typhlosion and Tango.

As the sun started to set, the group of Pokemon followed the Weavile through the Great Canyon. Their mission had changed from searching for a psychic Pokemon to communicate with Tommy to seeking out the Mystic to awaken Tommy to hopefully saving Polka and Farruca's lives... But they had come so far that there was no turning back now.

End of Chapter 14