Episode 043: Brutal Ending
Author Note: This is the second story promised for the month of June. It is a little more violent that you'd probably expect based on the previous episodes, but I am sure it will give you a good understanding of where the plot might be heading... I hope you enjoy it, and enjoy your Fourth of July weekend. :)
Forgotten Instincts
Episode 043
"Brutal Ending"
By Darfix
Though Darfix' anger was peaked to the point of overcapacity, he does his best to keep it from controlling him. The worst thing he could do at this point, against a more powerful opponent who could also breathe fire, would be to charge in balls out and get his hide handed to him on a silver platter.
Almost as if their movements were made to be synced, both animals keep their bodies aimed at one another like the cannons on two battling galleons. Both embark in the direction of their left flanks, causing the two to begin circling one another, just waiting for the other to make their move. This gave the two ample time for the trash talking to begin.
"So, this girl here is your mate, then? I must say, you've got yourself a wonderful toy right there..." the male Vulpix comments, licking his lips in a taunting manner to his adversary.
"...as much as I fancy Konya, she is not my mateâ�"or my lover, but a dear friend. Your actions may as well have been dealt upon meâ�"for I will be sure you pay for your sinful deed..."
The Vulpix chuckles, "That would be a very impressive trick...I am almost twice your size, and breathe fireâ�"what can you do? Kick sand up in my eyes and run around in circles chasing your tail? Oh, the fear!"
"That would be one option..." Darfix snaps back quickly, deciding to break the vulture-like circling with a leap backwards, causing the Vulpix to stop and quirk a brow. The biggest mistake made here would be underestimating one's opponent. Siozu is surprised to see the vexed Eevee forming a vibrating cloud of purple in front of him. Immediately, the Vulpix' response is some kind of defensive attack. He had never engaged in battle with an Eevee before, but was told they weren't very strong.
As soon as the dark Shadow Ball was formed to a satisfying size, Darfix leaps up and swats it with his right paw, hurling the dark matter at Siozu at a speed that would put an electric train to shame.
The Vulpix' jaw drops and he hits the deck immediately, the ball of shadow energy disrupting the fur on his head, back, and tailsâ�"leaving the areas smoking just a little. The attack was a miss and the ball crashes into a large conifer, bursting into the bark and leaving a nice indent and scorch mark. The tree sways a little from the impact.
Slowly, Siozu lifts his paws from his eyes and has a look over his shoulder. "Whatâ�"the hell was that?!" he demands, rising to all fours and giving his foe an aggressive glare.
"Weren't expecting that, were you?" Darfix asks while boasting a significant grin. It would be fairly pusillanimous to attack the Vulpix now in his dazed state, thus instead of directly attacking, the Eevee turns tail and kicks hard with both hind legs, thrusting several ounces of dust into the Vulpix' face.
Siozu growls in frustration, violently pawing at his eyes, "ARG! You miserable fuck!" he shouts, unearthing a building flame from deep inside.
Perhaps blinding the Vulpix wasn't a swift moveâ�"Darfix can see this now as the Vulpix struggles to regain his vision while building up what appears to be a Flamethrower. He can feel a bit of a sweat drop form at the side of his head as Siozu begins showering Darfix' general area with scorching hot flame.
The Eevee has no choice but to leap out of the line of fire and take cover behind a small rock. His worry at this point was his friend, Konya. Fortunately, Siozu was between him and herâ�"so it was very unlikely that Siozu would accidentally burn her.
The heat can be felt even with the boulder blocking the attacks. Flames fly passed Darfix on both sides like rush hour traffic. The ordeal leaves the Eevee sweating rather significantly, panting lightly in response.
Silence engulfs the area, causing Siozu to assume victory for the moment. He again goes back to rubbing his eyes. "Blasted Eevee trickery..." he grumbles while pawing his eyes from a prone position.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, another Vulpix was in search of her lover, who she assumed was out in the woods at this time. Destiny calls out her mate's name several times, her voice becoming a little rough.
"Darfix?! Pleaseâ�"please tell me you're alright!" she calls out, but receives no answer. She is so worried about her lover that she does not seem to notice the dead still nature the forest had turned into.
Her head is on a swivel, checking all possible directions for any sign of the father of her developing kits. Everywhere she turned there was no sign of life...
"...please, please be alright, Darfixâ�"wherever you a..." Destiny's voice trails off as the sound of rustling can be heard on her left flank. Immediately she turns her head in a hopeful manner, "Darfix?!"
Instead of the Eevee she was hoping for, a large Houndoom emerges from the bushes, aiming its snout right at the fox and growling immensely.
"Heh, heh, heh, what have we here? A fine little quarry, indeed..."
Obviously, such words would be less than comforting to the young mother-to-be. She can feel her saliva slide down her tightening throat as fear takes over every muscle in her body. She still has the bravery to ask, "...have you seen myâ�"mateâ�"an Eevee around anywhere?"
The Houndoom has a bit of a laugh to himself, "You certainly are a gutsy little thing, I rather like that...perhaps we can wait a little bit before I call my master over here to fetch youâ�"but then again, you foxes are known to be crafty little things, aren't you?"
Destiny is not aware at first that her legs are shaking as the horror invades her body like a brigade of tanks rolling in on a peasant village. She soon loses her ability to talk.
"You are cornered, little honey...and by the look of things, far too frightened to put up much of a fight. If you desire to be able to walk just a little bit longer, how about you just let me pick you up by the scruff of your neck and let me carry you to my master?"
Such a stressful situation couldn't be healthy for the growing kits inside of her. Perhaps, her body's only way of responding to the turmoil was to enact a complete system shut downâ�"as the poor vixen collapses, fainting at the fore paws of the Houndoom.
A smirk forms on the dark dog's muzzle, "I haven't lost my touch..." he comments wickedly.
Elsewhere, Destiny's father, Taruno, was searching for his daughter, who had run out to find her mate. The Ninetales has a good idea that she bolted in search of the troublesome male.
"I swear on my hide, that Eevee is going to pay if she gets hurt on HIS account..." he grumbles to himself. "Sariku!? Where the hell are you!?" he shouts, his voice spreading through the forest like a wild fire.
Though his intentions were to cover as much of an area as possible, he was not putting enough consideration into the side effects of being so noisy. He can hear movement behind him, which gets his hopes up. Surely his daughter had heard him and was coming obediently to his voice.
"Ah, there you are, hon..." he responds with a smile, turning a complete one-eighty to face the approaching animal.
But like Destiny's fate, Taruno finds himself duped by false hopes. A Mightyena jumps out at him, immediately giving chase.
Though Taruno knew he could possibly hold his own against the beast, he couldn't tire himself to the point where he would be useless to his lost daughter. Like most foxes would do, he turns tails and runs! The setback causes the feeling of annoyance to flow through his veins, fueling his desire to put the Mightyena in his place...
The open window for that chance was closing. The Mightyena began to bay as he chased the Ninetales out into a more open area. Taruno would never know, that he was being lined up in the scope of a Mosin Nagant, wielded by a discharged soldier, turned poacher. The human at once grins as he does his best to gauge the speed of the running fox so as to make the first shot one to count. It is deeply unfortunate that some Pokémon were worth more on the black market as pelts, than as they were alive. This was true for Ninetales, as many of the rich folks around the world had a strong demand for the beautiful fur of a Ninetales. A thunderous burst of sound fills the forest air as the metal projectile is fired in Taruno's direction at a speed no living thing could dodge.
On top of that, the sudden loud sound would be enough to increase the heart rate of an already scared Pokémon, thus increasing blood flowing through the bodyâ�"making the clotting of blood take that much longer as well. The Mightyena witnesses the entire scene take place before him. Taruno's run is immediately brought to a stop, the bullet piercing a little high and a little to the right of his left side, negating the instant kill most hunters would prefer.
The excruciating pain rips through every inch of the Ninetales' body, inside and out. His running turned into a brief tumble at high speed before he comes to rest on his stomach, a huge, crimson hole in his back, blood quickly seeping down the fox's sides, for the bullet pierced all the way through.
Taruno instantly lets out a painful yelp, followed by a series of coughs. He barely is left the energy to lift his head, blood trickling down his lip.
The Mightyena approaches the dying mammal from behind. Taruno can hear the grass blades crushing beneath the dog's paws as it approaches. He is given only a second to raise his head, before the brutalâ�"though sympathetic Mightyena lunges for the Ninetales' neck, effectively ending his suffering at the blink of an eye with the sickening sound of bones snapping like twigs...
By now, Konya had managed to recover from most of her fearâ�"and though her maw was still dripping with the expelled seed of her attacker, she was breathing again after having cleared her throat with forced swallowing. She manages to bring her shaky legs to a standing position so as to watch and see her hero battle it out against the Vulpix. To her dismay, Darfix was nowhere in sight. "Darfix?" she calls softly, at barely a whimper.
Siozu turns his head to the sound of Konya's voice, "Hehe, yeahâ�"I roasted him good! Did you enjoy the show?" he questions, still partly blind. Though Konya had given away her position, without knowing it, her demeanor and tone of voice, lead Siozu to believe the male Eevee had perished. She sounded like she was about to cry, after all.
With his head turned to Konya, he was left unguarded on his side, again. Konya does begin to cry at the thought of Darfix dying on her accountâ�"and the thought that no one would save her from this monster...
"But I guess now that means you have me, and only me..." Siozu speaks, smirking in a satisfied manner. "Don't worry, I will take great care of you, if you listen..." he speaks, moving to approach the young Eevee.
Konya winces and begins to back away, knowing resisting would be futile, but instincts forced her to attempt it. She is far from able to speak, breaking out in soft sobs...
"There, there, hush little Eevee, don't you cryâ�""
Before Siozu can finish his nursery rhyme, his enemy emerges into battle again. Using Quick Attack, Darfix successfully closes the distance between him and the perverted Vulpix in a split second. He quickly changes gears from Quick Attack to Bite when he has the velocity he desires. Just before Siozu can lay another paw on Konya, several small, vulpine teeth pierce the skin of his neck. Darfix had not intended on killing the Vulpix, only to subdue him enough to get Konya away. Just the same, his tongue is greeted by the taste of warm blood...
Siozu screams in agony, utilizing all of his strength to try to buck the Eevee off, but he only succeeds in increasing the diameter of his wounds.
Finally, after a bit of a struggle, both males collapse and Darfix quickly leaps off the panting Vulpix. A slight bit of blood begins to stain the grass where the Vulpix now is lying, but he would not die from such a moderate wound.
The Eevee remains focused on the Vulpix until he knows he's down for the count. However, he is not given much time to make sure, as Konya suddenly bolts over to cling tightly to her savior.
"Darfix! Ohâ�"that is the second time you saved me from a terrible fate! Iâ�"I don't know how to thank you!"
However, the celebtration is short lived. Darfix is not given the time to do anything but blush a little and continue panting, as another gun shot rings passed their ears.
With a heavy sigh, he sits up, nosing Konya into a sitting position as well, "...now is not the time to cheer, Konyaâ�"we've got to find our friends..." he speaks in a soft tone, which was his way of concealing his immense fear that someone dear to him had just fallen by that horrible sound...
To Be Continued...
Episode 043
"Brutal Ending"
By Darfix
Though Darfix' anger was peaked to the point of overcapacity, he does his best to keep it from controlling him. The worst thing he could do at this point, against a more powerful opponent who could also breathe fire, would be to charge in balls out and get his hide handed to him on a silver platter.
Almost as if their movements were made to be synced, both animals keep their bodies aimed at one another like the cannons on two battling galleons. Both embark in the direction of their left flanks, causing the two to begin circling one another, just waiting for the other to make their move. This gave the two ample time for the trash talking to begin.
"So, this girl here is your mate, then? I must say, you've got yourself a wonderful toy right there..." the male Vulpix comments, licking his lips in a taunting manner to his adversary.
"...as much as I fancy Konya, she is not my mateâ�"or my lover, but a dear friend. Your actions may as well have been dealt upon meâ�"for I will be sure you pay for your sinful deed..."
The Vulpix chuckles, "That would be a very impressive trick...I am almost twice your size, and breathe fireâ�"what can you do? Kick sand up in my eyes and run around in circles chasing your tail? Oh, the fear!"
"That would be one option..." Darfix snaps back quickly, deciding to break the vulture-like circling with a leap backwards, causing the Vulpix to stop and quirk a brow. The biggest mistake made here would be underestimating one's opponent. Siozu is surprised to see the vexed Eevee forming a vibrating cloud of purple in front of him. Immediately, the Vulpix' response is some kind of defensive attack. He had never engaged in battle with an Eevee before, but was told they weren't very strong.
As soon as the dark Shadow Ball was formed to a satisfying size, Darfix leaps up and swats it with his right paw, hurling the dark matter at Siozu at a speed that would put an electric train to shame.
The Vulpix' jaw drops and he hits the deck immediately, the ball of shadow energy disrupting the fur on his head, back, and tailsâ�"leaving the areas smoking just a little. The attack was a miss and the ball crashes into a large conifer, bursting into the bark and leaving a nice indent and scorch mark. The tree sways a little from the impact.
Slowly, Siozu lifts his paws from his eyes and has a look over his shoulder. "Whatâ�"the hell was that?!" he demands, rising to all fours and giving his foe an aggressive glare.
"Weren't expecting that, were you?" Darfix asks while boasting a significant grin. It would be fairly pusillanimous to attack the Vulpix now in his dazed state, thus instead of directly attacking, the Eevee turns tail and kicks hard with both hind legs, thrusting several ounces of dust into the Vulpix' face.
Siozu growls in frustration, violently pawing at his eyes, "ARG! You miserable fuck!" he shouts, unearthing a building flame from deep inside.
Perhaps blinding the Vulpix wasn't a swift moveâ�"Darfix can see this now as the Vulpix struggles to regain his vision while building up what appears to be a Flamethrower. He can feel a bit of a sweat drop form at the side of his head as Siozu begins showering Darfix' general area with scorching hot flame.
The Eevee has no choice but to leap out of the line of fire and take cover behind a small rock. His worry at this point was his friend, Konya. Fortunately, Siozu was between him and herâ�"so it was very unlikely that Siozu would accidentally burn her.
The heat can be felt even with the boulder blocking the attacks. Flames fly passed Darfix on both sides like rush hour traffic. The ordeal leaves the Eevee sweating rather significantly, panting lightly in response.
Silence engulfs the area, causing Siozu to assume victory for the moment. He again goes back to rubbing his eyes. "Blasted Eevee trickery..." he grumbles while pawing his eyes from a prone position.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, another Vulpix was in search of her lover, who she assumed was out in the woods at this time. Destiny calls out her mate's name several times, her voice becoming a little rough.
"Darfix?! Pleaseâ�"please tell me you're alright!" she calls out, but receives no answer. She is so worried about her lover that she does not seem to notice the dead still nature the forest had turned into.
Her head is on a swivel, checking all possible directions for any sign of the father of her developing kits. Everywhere she turned there was no sign of life...
"...please, please be alright, Darfixâ�"wherever you a..." Destiny's voice trails off as the sound of rustling can be heard on her left flank. Immediately she turns her head in a hopeful manner, "Darfix?!"
Instead of the Eevee she was hoping for, a large Houndoom emerges from the bushes, aiming its snout right at the fox and growling immensely.
"Heh, heh, heh, what have we here? A fine little quarry, indeed..."
Obviously, such words would be less than comforting to the young mother-to-be. She can feel her saliva slide down her tightening throat as fear takes over every muscle in her body. She still has the bravery to ask, "...have you seen myâ�"mateâ�"an Eevee around anywhere?"
The Houndoom has a bit of a laugh to himself, "You certainly are a gutsy little thing, I rather like that...perhaps we can wait a little bit before I call my master over here to fetch youâ�"but then again, you foxes are known to be crafty little things, aren't you?"
Destiny is not aware at first that her legs are shaking as the horror invades her body like a brigade of tanks rolling in on a peasant village. She soon loses her ability to talk.
"You are cornered, little honey...and by the look of things, far too frightened to put up much of a fight. If you desire to be able to walk just a little bit longer, how about you just let me pick you up by the scruff of your neck and let me carry you to my master?"
Such a stressful situation couldn't be healthy for the growing kits inside of her. Perhaps, her body's only way of responding to the turmoil was to enact a complete system shut downâ�"as the poor vixen collapses, fainting at the fore paws of the Houndoom.
A smirk forms on the dark dog's muzzle, "I haven't lost my touch..." he comments wickedly.
Elsewhere, Destiny's father, Taruno, was searching for his daughter, who had run out to find her mate. The Ninetales has a good idea that she bolted in search of the troublesome male.
"I swear on my hide, that Eevee is going to pay if she gets hurt on HIS account..." he grumbles to himself. "Sariku!? Where the hell are you!?" he shouts, his voice spreading through the forest like a wild fire.
Though his intentions were to cover as much of an area as possible, he was not putting enough consideration into the side effects of being so noisy. He can hear movement behind him, which gets his hopes up. Surely his daughter had heard him and was coming obediently to his voice.
"Ah, there you are, hon..." he responds with a smile, turning a complete one-eighty to face the approaching animal.
But like Destiny's fate, Taruno finds himself duped by false hopes. A Mightyena jumps out at him, immediately giving chase.
Though Taruno knew he could possibly hold his own against the beast, he couldn't tire himself to the point where he would be useless to his lost daughter. Like most foxes would do, he turns tails and runs! The setback causes the feeling of annoyance to flow through his veins, fueling his desire to put the Mightyena in his place...
The open window for that chance was closing. The Mightyena began to bay as he chased the Ninetales out into a more open area. Taruno would never know, that he was being lined up in the scope of a Mosin Nagant, wielded by a discharged soldier, turned poacher. The human at once grins as he does his best to gauge the speed of the running fox so as to make the first shot one to count. It is deeply unfortunate that some Pokémon were worth more on the black market as pelts, than as they were alive. This was true for Ninetales, as many of the rich folks around the world had a strong demand for the beautiful fur of a Ninetales. A thunderous burst of sound fills the forest air as the metal projectile is fired in Taruno's direction at a speed no living thing could dodge.
On top of that, the sudden loud sound would be enough to increase the heart rate of an already scared Pokémon, thus increasing blood flowing through the bodyâ�"making the clotting of blood take that much longer as well. The Mightyena witnesses the entire scene take place before him. Taruno's run is immediately brought to a stop, the bullet piercing a little high and a little to the right of his left side, negating the instant kill most hunters would prefer.
The excruciating pain rips through every inch of the Ninetales' body, inside and out. His running turned into a brief tumble at high speed before he comes to rest on his stomach, a huge, crimson hole in his back, blood quickly seeping down the fox's sides, for the bullet pierced all the way through.
Taruno instantly lets out a painful yelp, followed by a series of coughs. He barely is left the energy to lift his head, blood trickling down his lip.
The Mightyena approaches the dying mammal from behind. Taruno can hear the grass blades crushing beneath the dog's paws as it approaches. He is given only a second to raise his head, before the brutalâ�"though sympathetic Mightyena lunges for the Ninetales' neck, effectively ending his suffering at the blink of an eye with the sickening sound of bones snapping like twigs...
By now, Konya had managed to recover from most of her fearâ�"and though her maw was still dripping with the expelled seed of her attacker, she was breathing again after having cleared her throat with forced swallowing. She manages to bring her shaky legs to a standing position so as to watch and see her hero battle it out against the Vulpix. To her dismay, Darfix was nowhere in sight. "Darfix?" she calls softly, at barely a whimper.
Siozu turns his head to the sound of Konya's voice, "Hehe, yeahâ�"I roasted him good! Did you enjoy the show?" he questions, still partly blind. Though Konya had given away her position, without knowing it, her demeanor and tone of voice, lead Siozu to believe the male Eevee had perished. She sounded like she was about to cry, after all.
With his head turned to Konya, he was left unguarded on his side, again. Konya does begin to cry at the thought of Darfix dying on her accountâ�"and the thought that no one would save her from this monster...
"But I guess now that means you have me, and only me..." Siozu speaks, smirking in a satisfied manner. "Don't worry, I will take great care of you, if you listen..." he speaks, moving to approach the young Eevee.
Konya winces and begins to back away, knowing resisting would be futile, but instincts forced her to attempt it. She is far from able to speak, breaking out in soft sobs...
"There, there, hush little Eevee, don't you cryâ�""
Before Siozu can finish his nursery rhyme, his enemy emerges into battle again. Using Quick Attack, Darfix successfully closes the distance between him and the perverted Vulpix in a split second. He quickly changes gears from Quick Attack to Bite when he has the velocity he desires. Just before Siozu can lay another paw on Konya, several small, vulpine teeth pierce the skin of his neck. Darfix had not intended on killing the Vulpix, only to subdue him enough to get Konya away. Just the same, his tongue is greeted by the taste of warm blood...
Siozu screams in agony, utilizing all of his strength to try to buck the Eevee off, but he only succeeds in increasing the diameter of his wounds.
Finally, after a bit of a struggle, both males collapse and Darfix quickly leaps off the panting Vulpix. A slight bit of blood begins to stain the grass where the Vulpix now is lying, but he would not die from such a moderate wound.
The Eevee remains focused on the Vulpix until he knows he's down for the count. However, he is not given much time to make sure, as Konya suddenly bolts over to cling tightly to her savior.
"Darfix! Ohâ�"that is the second time you saved me from a terrible fate! Iâ�"I don't know how to thank you!"
However, the celebtration is short lived. Darfix is not given the time to do anything but blush a little and continue panting, as another gun shot rings passed their ears.
With a heavy sigh, he sits up, nosing Konya into a sitting position as well, "...now is not the time to cheer, Konyaâ�"we've got to find our friends..." he speaks in a soft tone, which was his way of concealing his immense fear that someone dear to him had just fallen by that horrible sound...
To Be Continued...