Karma
~ Birth of the Sage Commander ~
By: The Sandwich
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Chapter 4 ~Silent City~
[March 10th, 9:46 AM, Chantai Tamer Academy...]
"Teams? What do you mean teams?!" Vikram stared at the class instructor in annoyance. A rousing snicker that ran through the class at Vikram's expense.
After the duel with Yzak, Vikram had only become even more separated from the class at large. Rumors of Vikram's dirty tricks had spread through the school like wildfire, and even though Yzak continued to claim the victory legitimate, the rest of the class treated him more and more like a threat than a fellow student. The first week grades did nothing to lessen that gap - predictably, Vikram had lead the class, though to his surprise both Yzak and Dearka had held on to places in the top five. Vikram had no interest in working with a group of people considered him an arrogant showoff - even if he, in a sense, was - and he suspected they had no such inclinations, either.
Unfortunately, the second week of the time at the Academy marked the beginning of the practical courses, and thus, the part that Vikram had dreaded the most.
"Exactly what it sounds like, Mr. Pramesh. You and the rest of the class will be - randomly - placed into teams of three. You will be send out into a segment of nearby wilderness and will learn the skills needed for survival. The area is clear of ferals, so you will not have to worry about losing your hides, though if you all think that means you're going to be getting it easy, you're direly mistaken."
One of the students in the back raised his hand. "Pardon me, but I thought that we were going into combat practice this week."
"Yeah! What the hell's up with that?" Another student complained.
"You are. I simply said there are no Ferals. Instead, you will all be competing against one another. For the rest of this week, you'll be learning survival skills from your assigned instructor. When the instructor is not present, you may train among yourselves as you wish. This will comprise the remainder of this week."
The teacher continued. "During the third week, from Sunday onwards until Thursday, normal classes will be over. Instead, every student in the campus will apply what they have learned for the remainder of the week in a free-for-all between your teams." Surprised voices rose across the room.
"Every time your Pokegirl is knocked out, you will lose a portion of your points. Every time you knock out a Pokegirl, you gain the same number of points. If your entire team gets knocked out, then you are disqualified from the competition." The teacher smiled. "That doesn't mean you won't be able to graduate, of course, as the real intent is to give you a taste of what will come during the two-month trial period, but there is a special bonus for the team that manages to survive with the least difficulties, so I suggest that you all try your hardest."
"Now, as for the reason you are in teams. Beyond the increased survival rate, we want to encourage teamwork and cooperation within your groups. As you know, it is common for Combat Tamers to work in squads in order to accomplish their goals, and you should strive to follow their image. If you're going to make it to the end, you're going to have to work together, because your opponents are going to be doing the same thing, and you won't have a chance without it." The teacher gave Vikram a sharp eye. "So deal with it."
Vikram suppressed a growl. It isn't that I don't want to work with others, you ass. My class is probably betting on who gets to mess with me.
"You have until noon to get whatever you want to bring packed with you. After you're ready, go to the assigned area listed on this sheet-" The teacher lifted up a long list. "-where you will meet up with your teammates and be sent to your starting area. Until then, class is dismissed. Go get yourselves ready."
Waiting for the class to disperse itself - it would do no good to join the rush of people trying to see their teams all at once - he finally stood up to go and check the sheet -
"Those jerks!!"
And it wasn't there. Taking a careful look around the room to confirm it's absence, and Vikram charged out the door-
And felt a pain in the back of his mind, the familiar sting that he had grown all too familiar with during the few weeks of training and his school years. The pain that alerted him to imminent danger.
Ducking out of desperation, he dodged out of the way of a large hand carrying the sheet in question, flying at high speed as if to knock him out. Vikram's eyes sparked against the student in front of him, holding the sheet of paper in his hand like a death warrant.
"Of all the people in the class, I have to be stuck with you. What the hell." The student's face was twisted into an annoyed grimace. Rough black hair fell down both sides of the man's face, and violet eyes stared into Vikram's own. Once again.
"Eshmael." It was Vikram's turn to grimace, memories of his early school days flooding his brain as he recognized the student with whom he had clashed all too many times back during Gyana. "Fate...really doesn't care for us, does it?"
"Feh. Shut the hell up, showoff." Eshmael chucked the paper towards Vikram, who caught it quickly, to Eshmael's continued annoyance. "I can't believe I have to put up with this shit!"
"I'm not particularly thrilled either." Vikram looked at the sheet, keeping an eye on the temperamental Eshmael. According to the sheet, both he and Eshmael were part of 'Team K'. The third student was from a different class. He shook his head.
"Well, then. What should we do?" Vikram asked, turning to the taller man. "Go get our things and meet up with our third member?"
"'We'?! The fuck! How clueless can you be!? There is no 'WE'. *I*'m fucking screwed, Pramesh. After that stint with Yzak, there isn't a person in class that doesn't want to see you knocked off your high horse, myself included! Anyone and everyone is going to be gunning right for you, given half a chance, and you're going to drag me and the other guy right down into the gutter with you."
"Not unless you and your pokegirl turn into emus and hide your heads in the dirt, asshole." Vikram frowned, his heart pounding. He didn't doubt Eshmael's words - he had gone past bothering to lie long ago. "If our classmates appear, we will beat them into the dirt. If you and your girl haven't been spending your days eating donuts, we'll do fine, Eshmael."
Eshmael's face twisted up again. He pointed a heavy finger in Vikram's direction. "You and that attitude of yours. Someday, somebody's going to kill you for it. But don't worry your pretty little face on my account. I'm going to kick the ass of everybody that so much as looks at us." He turned to walk away.
"I'm going to get ready. You better show up, Pramesh, or teammate or not, I'll kick your ass." He started walking away, but then paused and turned back.
"....and just what the FUCK is an 'E-Myuu'?!" Vikram laughed and walked away.
* * *
"So the combat lessons are going to be a wilderness survival test combined with a free-for-all between all of the students?! Are the teachers here sane?"
"Unfortunately, I can't vouch for that, but it is what it is." Vikram shrugged, packing his possessions into his Pokepack. He had winced when his father had given it to him, considering the price involved, but had accepted it with a smile, swearing to pay him back twofold. Naturally, Aravandi had bonked him on the head at the idea.
"What is the purpose of my hard hours of work I can't get my son to accept a simple gift?"
And that was the end of that discussion.
"One of our group-mates is named Eshmael. You might remember him from Gyana. He was one of my biggest headaches there, and he will probably remain so now, so keep on your toes. We are going to have any number of groups gunning for us out there, and without at least the half-hearted support of our allies we are going to be annihilated."
Vikram hefted the pack over his shoulder. "You're darn lucky you have the bulb in back, you know? I have to do all of the carrying."
"Oh, suck it up." Lynn laughed, and Vikram merely smirked.
"It's what I do."
* * *
"Let's see...Team K...Team K...here we go." Vikram found Eshmael waiting outside of the building by the assigned point, a shorter, foreign-looking boy with ice-blue hair alongside him.
"About time you showed up." Eshmael said.
"There's a good twenty minutes before the time we're supposed to leave." Vikram shook his head and turned to the ice-haired boy. "Are you part of Team K as well?"
After a pronounced silence...the boy said nothing. He simply nodded once, and that was that.
"Ehhh..." Vikram sighed, shaking his head. "My name is Vikram Pramesh. What's yours?"
Still silence. Vikram tried not to let his annoyance show. "Alright then." He sat down on a nearby bench
"Ostrich." At last, a quiet voice sprung from the boy's silent lips.
Vikram blinked, turning to face the quiet boy. "Excuse me?"
"Emus don't hide their heads underground. That's an ostrich."
Vikram stared at the boy in disbelief, looked at Eshmael, who seemed on the verge of laughter, and groaned internally. Dammit! Idiot! I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake, and right in front of Eshmael, of all people. Never mind that he didn't know any better, either. What an donkey. Ass. Whatever!
"Who cares, it's just an animal, anyway!" Vikram grumbled. "It's not like we're going to be running into them in the wild anytime soon. Let's just get this show on the road." Frowing
"Yes, shall we?" The three students turned to face the new presence that had appeared right next to them with hardly a blink.
"Good afternoon, students." The black cat gave an enchanted smile towards the three, leaning over and resting her hands atop of her jeweled staff. "I am Olena, and I will be your instructor during the trip. I hope you have no difficulties listening to me, because my hearing is poor, and it tends to give out when people don't pay attention." The Mistoffeles gave an appraising look to each in turn. "Your names, please?"
"Vikram Pramesh."
"Eshmael Kajak."
"Ashton Kreig."
Of course, he tells her. Oh, well. At least I know it now. Ashton, huh...
With a satisfied nod, the cat marked off three names on a sheet of paper, before whisking the paper away and spinning her staff, a park ranger's outfit suddenly replacing her teacher's uniform. Vikram blinked at the bizzare sight. "Are you three all prepared? Yes? Good."
Hey, don't we get a chance to say 'no'?
"Everyone gather 'round," Olena said, as a glowing circle appeared around her feet and extended outward to encompass the group. "We're going on a little trip."
* * *
The group of four appeared on a large flat platform, overlooking a vast expanse of misty foliage. The air was cool and fresh, and nearly made up for the disorientation to Vikram's stomach caused by the mass teleport.
"Hey, this is a weird place." Eshmael said, looking around. "Where exactly are..." His voice trailed off, when he realized that, despite not a cloud in the sky...he could not see the sun. "You've got to be..."
"Oh my god..." Vikram stared at the enormous monolith that stood behind them, a giant pillar of concrete, steel and glass that shot up for hundreds of feet. Green vines and plants grew everywhere, the effects of hundreds of years of rain and decay turning it, and several others, and the entire land around them, into merely an echo of the distant past. As far as they could see, they saw the wreckage of a civilization lost... a quiet yet somber graveyard, now a cradle of new life stretched everywhere.
"A fallen...city..."
"We are fighting HERE?! In the Deadlands?!" Ashton's calm facade had suddenly and instantly collapsed. "Do you have any idea how many million people probably passed away in this place alone, and you expect us to DEFILE IT?!"
"You are not here to defile this land." Olena said with a booming voice, her black tuxedo returning. "You are here to remember. To learn that, even as you train here now to protect the future, you must always remember the past, and to take heed of their warnings...so that the disasters of the past do not once again repeat themselves upon this earth. That is why, inside this sacred, protected ground, you will begin your training here."
"I don't believe it...they actually made...all this...back then?" Eshmael seemed uncharacteristically disquieted.
I understand... This land...is a terrifying place. I don't know why - perhaps it is the thought of the sheer number of people lost here. Perhaps it is the atmosphere. Or perhaps...
Perhaps it is the sheer audacity of it all. Buildings that reach into the skies, as if to grasp them. Million lived in lands like these, living in a divided world. Vikram shuddered.
Sukebe. A tragedy to befall a tragic world. You created the Pokegirls, restored magic to the world, and engaged in a war of slaughter against all mankind. What, I wonder, drove you to such depths, that not even history remembers?
A few minutes later, after the three teenagers had gotten a fair view of the landscape, the Mistoffeles spoke up. "When you three are ready," she said, "We will begin."
***
"So..." Vikram said after Olena had left. "How do we go about winning this war?"
"'War'? You call this a war?"
"We stand upon a battlefield, and are competing in an free-for-all conflict to reach the end of this week successfully. If we underestimate it, then we will lose."
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Eshmael turned to Ashton, who, though he had managed to pull himself together somewhat from the shock of the location, still seemed unnerved. "What do you think, Ashton?"
"I do not like treading on this ground lightly." He frowned. "But...to go about this half-heartedly would be an offense to those resting here. We are indeed at war."
"Ehh. Well, might as well go for broke, then." Shrugging his shoulders, Eshmael gave a wide, disturbing grin. "It sickens me to work with you, Vikram, but I'll be damned if I lose because of you. Let's win this."
"Excellent. First things first - we need to know our abilities. Lynn, come." Lynn appeared in a flash of red light. "Lynn here is my sword. Who do you have?"
< We are currently determining our status. The test's area apparently taking place here, in this city.>
Lynn gave Vikram a look of surprise, but stayed quiet.
Eshmael tossed down his Pokeball, revealing a short but solid girl with brown skin and a tough grey outfit. She looked around, feeling the ground underneath her feet, and faced her master questioningly.
"This is Karie, my Dao. How about you, Ashton?"
A floating figure in cold, knight-like armor appeared, floating a few inches above the ground. She stared out towards the group blankly, black wavy hair unmoving in the wind, her entire body partially transparent. Vikram's eyes shot open in sudden comprehension. A ghost-type for a starter?! That, plus the way he acted when we arrived...he has an affinity for spirits! No wonder he's uncomfortable here!
"Good morning, Sei. We will be working with these people for this test. Treat them well."
Sei nodded, speaking in a dull but strong voice. "I will do my part."
"Sei is a Battle Angel, of the Ghost variety. You will not have any complaints about her abilities."
Looking at her aura, Vikram couldn't disagree. Where both Lyn and Eshmael's Dao still held misty white auras, Sei's aura was already a solid blue. This isn't your average starter, for sure. I must admit, I'm impressed.
"A Boobisaur, a Dao, and a Battle Angel. A strong force. Yes, yes, I believe we can win with this. Ladies, for the next 6 days we are going to be sparring amungst ourselves in preparation for the free-for all with the other student teams the following week. I suggest that you take a look around the area and try to get an idea of things - this city is immense, but as long as we have THESE-" Vikram pointed to the white bracelet on his wrist "- We will be able to find our way to our foes, and they will find our way to us."
"Hey, hey, hey. What do you think you're doing, giving out orders?" Eshmael glared. "I sure ain't taking any from you."
Vikram held back the urge to make a cutting remark. "Consider it a suggestion, then."
"From you?"
"Enough." Ashton said quietly, though his word held a serious edge. "This squabbling is meaningless."
"Truer words were never spoken. Considering the situation, I suggest that Ashton take command." The quiet boy looked at Vikram in surprise.
"Me? Why?"
"Eshmael won't take orders from me, and I doubt I could easily trust orders from him. You're the natural choice. Besides, if we can get the blessing of those spirits living here, all the better, and that's something I would not be able to do as leader. Correct?"
"Spirits? What the hell are you talking about?" Eshmael asked, looking at Vikram and then Ashton, whose expression looked almost bewildered at the unexpected comment.
"I..." Ashton looked over the group, suddenly looking a bit nervous. "If you word it that way, I don't have much choice, do I? Is that alright with you, Eshmael?"
"Eh, why not." The gruff boy said. "Let's get this on with."
"For once, we agree." Vikram said with a grin.
* * *
The classes passed without great incident. Olena, and sometimes one of the teachers, would appear, pointing out to them tips and general advice, such as which berries to pick and when, and to what effect they held. It was mostly boring again, but at least the change of scenery was nice. Having a third of his class upgraded to Eshmael-level annoyance wasn't fun, but he managed. Lynn trouncing his Dao at every turn didn't hurt that, either, though Ashton's Battle Angel, like Ashton had claimed, had nothing Vikram could complain about, as she regularly fought Lynn and the Dao to a standstill.
Eventually the week wound to an end, and the three sat around the campfire with their 'girls, munching on some rations, when Eshmael made a surprisingly astute observation.
"Wait, wait. Ashton, why do you have two pokeballs? I don't recall you having two before."
The blue-haired boy frowned. "The girl in the other ball is not for fighting."
"Wait, what?! You actually have two Pokegirls?! Release her, release her!" Eshmael grinned. "With an extra girl on our team, we'll have the natural advantage."
"I told you she's not for combat."
"Oh, come on!"
Ashton sighed. "Get out here, you."
The girl that appeared looked around in confusion - and then flinched, looking for all the world like she was willing herself to disappear. She was petite but lavish, long black hair running smoothly down to her mid-back, and had a soft, angelic face - or would have, if it weren't currently distorted with nervousness and fear.
She wore an outfit that seemed to be more leather straps and steel rings linking them together than actual clothing, barely covering anything - and nothing important at that. Strangely, the ensemble looked horribly out of place on her, Vikram thought to himself, like something that belonged on a Domina, not...
"This is my Damsel. Like I said, she is not for combat. We'll get no use out of her here, unless you want to use her as target practice."
"Whaaat? You got me all excited over *this*?!" Grumbling, Eshmael shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "So much for having an extra girl."
"Surely she can't be THAT useless." Vikram commented, looking at the damsel, who turned to look at Vikram in hopeful surprise - just before the red beam caught her and she vanished into Ashton's grasp.
"She stays where she belongs." Ashton said, frowning, and that seemed to be the end of that. Vikram shrugged.
"Hey. You don't suppose we are the only group with an extra girl, do you?"
"Only group? Certainly not. The only one I know of is also a non-combatant, but it would be best if we don't let down our guards."
Eshmael scowled.
"For the night, let us look around the area for the forest areas and try to find a place where we can rest with some semblance of cover. If any groups have girls skilled at scouting, we want to avoid them. Vikram's Boobisaur should help give us some sort of warning, so long as we're in a heavily vegetated area."
"If she can't fight, why not have your Damsel act as a lookout while we -?"
Ashton's angry glare cut Vikram off. "I already told you. Toys like her aren't fit for battle. She's staying inside the pokeball, where she should be."
"Fine, fine." Vikram shrugged, bristling inwardly. Toy, eh? What is with him and that Damsel?
The three groups dispersed for the night, spreading out a ways into the woods to give the three tamers privacy.
"Are you sure about this? Leaving someone else in charge?"
"I don't know...but at this point, I don't think there's much of a choice." Vikram shrugged. "According to the watch -" he pointed to the soft-white watch which each student had been temporarily granted. Instead of telling time, however, there were dozens of lines shooting out in many directions, some of them brighter than others. The watches also held two other useful purposes - alerting the others on the same team to danger, and an emergency distress beacon should the teams need to call in for help and forfeit the challenge. The brightest of the glowing lines on the watchface pointed in the direction of the woods - reacting to the relative vicinity of another set of watches, and towards Eshmael and Ashton's own watches. It was a technology that would have been impossible, were it not for the League's technological prowess or satellite network.
"There's about 1-2 groups in the general direction of these woods, and none beyond them. We'll probably end up running into at least one, possibly both tomorrow as they move towards the rest of the groups. That would be our best interest, anyway. Best to keep people off our backs as much as possible."
"And if Ashton doesn't act as you predict?"
"Then we will act from there. Assuming I understand him correctly, he will avoid entering the city more than he absolutely has to, so we'll take care of all the enemies here on the rim that we can. The rest, seeing us as a lone isolated group, will come to us, letting us choose the battlegrounds of our choice." A wide smile grew across Vikram's face, a smile filled with a contagious excitement.
This would be an interesting week indeed!
* * *
Ironically, it didn't turn out as interesting as Vikram had hoped. After quickly taking down one group of fools that didn't seem to know their left foot from right, the number of people in their vicinity dropped to nil. This wouldn't have bugged Vikram so much, except nobody seemed interested in heading out to greet them, and Ashton seemed dead focused on staying as far away from the city as he could, much to Vikram's annoyance. This naturally meant way too much time with only Lynn and Eshmael for company (as Ashton was far from talkative), and Eshmael was far from Vikram's prime choice for conversation. Thus, by the time Thursday came around, Vikram spent a lot of time wandering away from the group, exploring what little he could of the ruined city. He sat on the side of an rusted, overturned vehicle - a 'semi', he thought they had been called in those days - staring at the twisted, cracked freeways that made up the nearby landscape.
Jumping off of the truck and sliding down a crumbled section of freeway, knocking a few worn pieces of road away as he did so, he started to head back to the group when he heard an indignant snort from underneath the tented segment of road, a sound not unlike a rather disgruntled creature being woken up by chunks of crumbling concrete bouncing off it's head.
Eyes widening in disbelief, Vikram burst into a full-out run, desperate to put as much distance between him and the rapidly awakening creature as he could.
He had almost gotten out of sight, when a tremendous roar ripped through the air, echoing off of the landscape. The creature crouched down on it's powerful legs...sighting it's prey...
And jumped.
* * *
"What the hell was that?" Eshmael wondered, looking over in the direction of the city. "Some sort of roar?" He glanced at the watch. "No team out that way close enough to be a problem. What's going on?"
He blinked as the watch started a series of high-pitched alerts, the sign that one of the watch's danger signal had been triggered.
"Vikram's sending a distress call." Ashton commented, releasing Sei.
"Vikram is?"
"Yes, it's coming from closer to the city -"
< INCOMING!>
Both of them were nearly stunned witless when Vikram came charging through the trees towards them as if his feet were aflame.
"Hey, Vikram, what the hell's all this about?!" Eshmael growled, before he expression turned to one of incredulous disbelief as a giant shape leapt above the trees towards them.
The blue-furred blur landed with a heavy thud in the center of the clearing, electricity crackling over it's body. A pair of twisted horns rose from her head, and a black, bony crest appeared along the creature's back, electricity running through it like a flood. Any citizen of the white Lotus, bar none, knew of the Beshemoths, powerful girls who came into being in the league's many mountaintops, guardians of Sukebe's mountain retreats during the war. One of the most powerful pokegirls in the league and one of the most dangerous types of ferals the White Lotus had to deal with with any regularity.
The Beshemoth, surprised when her single quarry had suddenly multiplied, stood up to it's monstrous ten-foot height, looking over the other pests that had appeared before her, and howled with enough force to nearly knock the entirety of Team K off their feet. She glared at Eshmael, electricity charging within her horns.
"I THOUGHT THEY SAID THERE WERE NO FERALS! VIKRAM, YOU ARE A DEADMAN!"
"OH, SURE, BLAME ME!" Vikram yelled back, heaving terribly from the exertion.
Karie slammed a boot heavily into the ground, forcing a wall of earth out of the ground just in time to intercept the Beshemoth's thunderbolt, before charging in, stone shield forward and her head held low.
Lynn's Pokeball hit the ground, releasing her in a flash. She stared up at the blue-furred behemoth in front of her that stood nearly twice her height and recoiled.
"DWAH!? OMGWTF!?"
< Lynn, get a grip! Or at least use a real language.>
"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!"
The Beshemoth roared again, striking the charging Dao's shield with a punch containing the sheer fury of a thunderstorm, cracking it.
"Sei! Keep her pinned down!" Ashton ordered, and the translucent knight charged forward, her form suddenly solid, a thin spear appearing in her hands as she charged. Sei flickered around the massive feral in a blur of movement, slashing away at it with wide sweeping motions that flickered away into ghost-form again whenever the Beshemoth struck out with one of her claws or an angry sweep of it's tail, the attacks simply sliding through her incorporeal form like it were air.
Daaaaamn. Vikram resisted the urge to whistle. That girl is no novice to combat, no matter how you look at it. Come to think of it... Vikram's eyes shifted to golden yellow as he scanned the Beshemoth....
"DWAH!? OMGWTF!?" Vikram recoiled. What the hell kind of feral is that?!
"And you yelled at ME for that?!" Lynn griped, sending another set of razor leaves at the Beshemoth as it swung angrily at the two pokegirls that harassed it up close, before sending out another set of vine whips. Despite the constant stream of hits they seemed to be landing, the Beshemoth simply took them and fought on, and, though they were doing MUCH better at avoiding hits than Vikram could bring himself to believe, he still knew it was only a matter of time.
Skilled as she was, each time Sei landed a hit against the hulking feral, a surge of electricity ran through the spear and into her, wearing her away with every successful blow she landed, doing seemingly more damage to her than to the feral. Karie, though the best protected from the Beshemoth's electrical abilities, would stand no chance in a straight fight, and Lynn's only effective attack did hardly any damage at all to the hulking pokegirl. If one of those lightning bolts - or even one of those charged punches - hit Sei or Lynn directly, instead of being dodged or blocked by Karie's stone barriers, then the whole group would be done for.
Vikram swallowed. It would take ages to wear down a Beshemoth, much less one so impossibly strong. They needed a decisive weapon. ANY sort of tactical advantage...
"Aren't they monitoring this?! Dammit!" Eshmael held out his arm, and reached to press the emergency rescue trigger on his watch-
Then suddenly, it clicked.
< Wait!> Eshmael looked at Vikram incredulously. < We can beat this!>
It was as if Vikram were standing over the battlefield and he and everyone on the field were simply pieces in a game. Their enemy was powerful, but Vikram was no longer afraid. As long as they were careful, defeat was impossible. It was as though all sense of fear had been stripped from him, replacing it with an inner serenity that disturbed Vikram even as it comforted him. What was there to fear?
He made the first move.
< Not here, not here! We don't want to fight here!> Vikram yelled out. < Follow me, hurry!> Even though his lungs were screaming and his body pounding from the effort, he took off running again - back towards the freeway.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
< Saving our skins and keeping us in the game, but I can't do it if you and Karie don't get your asses moving! Trust me, I have an plan! GO!>
Eshmael scowled even as he and Karie broke into a dead run, the three Pokegirls forming a protective line behind the not-quite-yet tamers as they ran. The Beshemoth, desperately frustrated at the antics of the little people in front of her, charged after them. "If this doesn't work I'm going to kill you, Vikram! You hear me?!"
Situation normal, all fucked up.
There, not a few hundred feet away, was a segment of freeway that had been overtaken by the woods. It still stood tall, but the concrete was still mostly intact despite the weathering of the years.
< Sei! The second we near that freeway, I need an illusion. Karie, get ready to jump. Lynn, keep pissing her off! Everyone else, follow me!>
The Beshemoth growled following the fleeing humans and their pesky guardians. Those tiny leaves and stones they kept tossing at her *stung*, dammit! The group ran underneath the freeway desperately and the Beshemoth followed suit, her head only a few feet from the raised road when the group she had been chasing completely vanished. She blinked in surprise, looking around for them, when she heard a crumbling roar.
"Eat concrete!" Karie, who stood in the center of the freeway, right above the Beshemoth's head, yelled. Stomping down with all her might onto the concrete of the freeway and sending a violent shockwave down it, the support pillars that held the massive road aloft and over the Beshemoth's head snapped. The Beshemoth tried to move, but her legs were suddenly hindered by several stupid vines. They were nothing to the Beshemoth's superior strength, mere threads that snapped easily to her efforts, but she had already delayed to long!
With a heavy crash, the freeway collapsed down on the raging, 10ft tall monstrosity, burying her beneath several tons of steel and rubble.
"YEAAAH!" Eshmael whooped. "That's my girl! Drop the city on the damn thing! Yeah!"
"Don't celebrate yet!" Vikram called. "It's not dead yet, you know! Let's get the hell out of here and put some distance between us and that thing before it decides it just wants to blast itself free!"
"It's STILL alive?!" Lynn gaped.
"Yes. Let's MOVE!" Vikram said, and the six of them began to run, intent on putting as much distance - and hopefully a river or two, to counter their scent - between them and the Beshemoth as possible.
* * *
"Ugh...way too much excitement for one day." Vikram's body shook from the constant exertion of running for his life, his lungs on fire. Whatever confidence had flowed into him during the Beshemoth encounter was long gone now, replaced with a feeling of emptiness.
And, of course, the pains of his body.
"I'll say!" Eshmael grumbled. "Oh, just you wait until I get my hands on whomever said this place was feral-free. They're going to SO regret it."
The six of them had finally come to a stop a short ways into the city, on the far shore of a great river that cut through the entire city complex. They had technically ball'd their girls a while back and re-released them, saving them the extra exertion from the run in case they needed their strength later. It had taken some time to find a place where they could cross, eventually using a fallen tree at a relatively shallow point to wade across.
"Vikram, I'd like to apologize to you. That was one hell of a pinch you got us out of." Eshmael turned to Vikram, who blinked in surprise. "I...uh.."
"However..." Eshmael's expression turned to one of extreme annoyance. "It would have been FAR better if you hadn't gotten us INTO the damn pinch into the first place!" A shockwave rippled from the ground at Karie's feet, coming up underneath Vikram as he suddenly flew backwards and into the air, heaven and earth suddenly reversed as he fell. The twinge of imminent danger appeared in the back of his mind, far too late to help him avoid it, when he crashed into the deep center of the river with a sputter.
* * *
"Oi, Dearka. A question."
The tan-skinned blonde turned to face his sharp-eyed partner, a look of subdued thought on his face. "Sure, shoot."
"My apologies if this is too forward, but, why doesn't Vikram bother you?"
"Why are you asking? Self-proclaimed rival or not, don't tell me you're fishing for information, because if you're looking for something to use against him, you're out of luck."
Yzak's face twisted at the thought. "Don't insult me. I simply had a natural question, is all. You're the only person I've met who doesn't seem to have any sort of adverse reaction to him. I admit, that isn't many people, but..." He frowned.
Dearka laughed. "You kidding? He disturbs me to all hell sometimes. Probably just as much as he does you." Yzak looked surprised. "I just grew used to it, I suppose. It's not really his fault things are that way, so I can't go blaming him for it, now can I?"
Yzak didn't answer, his expression one of sharp contemplation.
"Anyway, we should probably go and meet up with Albert. First that road, then there's that group not too far ahead and I'd rather not be caught off-"
< GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!>
"-guard?"
A mental scream ripped through the air, plunging deep within the thoughts of the two teammates and cutting their line of thought to an abrupt end.
"Was that voice-"
"Vikram?!" Dearka lept to his feet before calling for his trusty camera. "Milly!"
"Here!" The Cameragirl appeared in a flash of light.
"Vikram's nearby. He's in trouble. Search for a river or something like that. Find him."
"Aye!" With another flash, she was gone.
"What are you doing?!" Yzak frowned. "What about the competition? Why are you searching for a river?"
"If Vikram's close enough that we can hear him when he's in trouble, then I'm gone." Dearka glared. "That is NOT a normal scream, and it has NOTHING to do with the competition. Care to come along and make something useful of this scenario, or does this become a problem for us?"
"Tch! You know this goes against my instincts." Yzak scowled. "I'll get chase down Albert. Don't do anything stupid before we catch up." He motioned to his guardian, who fell in step behind him. "Shiho! Let's go!"
Chapter 4: Silent City - End
Notes: The chapter that nearly wasn't. Thanks to Vulpes Corsac for the inspiration.
Important Pokegirls:
BESHEMOTH, the Mountain Ruler Pokégirl
Type: Near Human Anthropomorphic (Ungulate)
Element: Rock/Electric
Frequency: Very Rare (mountainous regions)
Diet: Stone, fruits and vegetables
Role: Guardian, heavy assault force, Mountain combat
Libido: Low
Strong Vs: Electric, Flying, Bug, Fire, Ice, Poison, Rock
Weak Vs: Dragon, Plant, Rock, Fighting, Ground
Attacks: Harden, Unmoveable, Quake, MegaWave, Shock Spike, Rage Shock, No Sell, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Spark, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Punch, Lightning Kick, Luminaire, Thunderclap
Enhancements: Enhanced Strength (x7), Enhanced Balance (x5), Enhanced Durability (x17), Enhanced Leaping (x10), Enhanced Olfactory Senses, Electrical affinity, Rock affinity
Evolves: None
Evolves From: Billie (struck by lightning while at 2500 feet or higher above sea level, charged Thunder Stone, other evolutionary methods currently being researched)
Beshemoths are a rare type of mountain-dwelling Pokégirl. So rare are they, that it's presumed they existed long before, but simply were not discovered until recently. Still, it is considered a sign of bad fortune to see a Beshemoth while travelling a mountain. For that means you have entered the territory of a very powerful, very hard-to-hurt Pokégirl.
Beshemoths are towering Pokégirls. Nine feet in height, they are also heavily muscled, to the point where they can make an Amachamp look as slender as an Acrobabe. They retain the goatlike faces of Billies, but there is a fiercer look to them, their incisors becoming thick fangs. They gain a large, fin-like crest on their backs which is flexible enough to bend up against their backs when they lay down. The crest acts as a lightning rod of sorts, allowing them to send charges of electricity to their horns, tails, or fists. Their tails become thicker, the end swelling up and growing spikes. They are brutal Pokégirls in battle, using headbutts and lashing out with their horns, using their electricity like a bludgeon to defeat their opponents. They are very territorial, and don't like it when someone is in home. They will assault anyone they perceive as an intruder until they leave or are killed. Whichever comes first.
Beshemoths were a mystery for years after their discovery. No one knew where they came from, people just knew that they were dangerous. They would attack travelling parties and drive them down the mountains, chasing them away from the peak. Aerial surveys were attempted to see what Beshemoths were protecting so ferociously, and after several attempts, a lone Pidgey was able to slip through and get past the Beshemoth she and her harem sisters were fighting to the top of the mountains.
What was discovered was counted among the greatest post-Sukebe discoveries of all time: several mountaintop fortresses apparently used by Sukebe himself during the Revenge War. Several of the Beshemoths guarding the fortresses were captured and Tamed, making them more willing to cooperate with the Tamers wanting to investigate the fortresses. Especially after they were given fruits and vegetables, which Beshemoths apparently adore and consider the finest of treats. A Beshemoth named Edwina, in the harem of famous female tamer Nina Valerosa, was known for her love of anything with potatoes in it.
Inside the labs were several teleporters, the technology being reverse engineered to create the earliest known transporters. In addition to this, there were detailed reports of the actions of several early breeds of Pokégirls during the Revenge War, including the Beshemoths. The ancestors of the Beshemoths that had been Tamed were created by Sukebe to guard the mountainside fortresses. During this expedition, the pre-evolutionary form of the Beshemoth was discovered when a storm on the mountain produced a lot of lightning, two of the Billies being used as guides getting struck and evolving. Since then, other methods of evolving Billies into Beshemoths are being researched. The electrical surge of a lightning bolt serves to galvanize and harden their bodies, creating the change from ground-type to rock-type, so after some testing, a Thunder Stone super-charged with electricity was found to evolve a Billie into a Beshemoth as well. Other possible methods are being researched.
Beshemoths are ferocious fighters, especially when feral. They are hard to control when infuriated or protecting something they have been assigned to guard. But amazingly, when Tamed, they are surprisingly gentle, quiet Pokégirls outside of battle. So gentle are they when not fighting, that even Pokékits feel relaxed around them. When they start growling and sparking, however, it's best to clear the area and just let the Beshemoth fight. Beshemoths and Hounds have a great respect for each other and will cooperate in protecting shared territory. Other mountain based Pokégirls, such as Mountain Cats, brown Chocobos, and Pumaras, get along well with Beshemoths as well. In some cases, packs of Feral Hounds or other mountain-based Pokégirls have been seen working with a Beshemoth when attacking mountain travellers.
The only real exception to the rule of mountain-based Pokégirls working well with Beshemoths is the Giantess. The two breeds have an intense rivalry, and will fight any time they see one another. So intense are their battles that they sometimes cause avalanches. Because of the threat Giantesses pose, most Tamers in mountainous areas actively seek out the protection of a Beshemoth. Ferals, surprisingly, can be bargained with for Taming & protection by being given large amounts of fruits and vegetables, enough for a full meal. Beshemoths do not retain their previous form's need to wear climbing gear, as they are strong enough now to simply dig their fingers into the side of a mountain to climb up it.
In terms of Taming , Beshemoth's retain a Billie's love of bondage. Because of their strength, it's also a practical necessity. They enjoy Tamers who can dominate them without the use of a Domina-type, and have great respect for Tamers who can Tame them with as little use of toys as possible.
So far, no cases of Thresholding into a Beshemoth have been recorded. People are actually rather grateful for this, as Beshemoths, while powerful additions to any harem, are rather difficult to bring down due to their astonishingly high endurance. Very few people actually want more of them, and some mountainside travel agencies have placed high rewards for anyone who can flush out and drive a Beshemoth from the area. It's assumed that with their strong connection to mountains, Thresholding into a Beshemoth might happen in mountainous regions, but it has not happened yet.