//------------------------------// // Poisoned // Story: Celestia's Rocket Adventures // by Snake Staff //------------------------------// “You were right, they’ve abandoned their nest,” a Fearow told Luna, some hours later. “Nothing left there but grey ash and broken machines. The forest makes it hard to tell for sure, but I think they’re heading back to the big stone thingie where they live.” For her part, the alicorn princess was lying high on a secluded tree branch, protected from the rising sun by green leaves. Out of sight of almost all of her allies, she was free to slump over and moan in pain all she liked. Between the fire and acid, there were numerous patches of dark skin showing through where fur had been scoured away. And even though the barbs themselves were gone, the burning venom continued to eat away at her insides. Damn this place and its lack of healing magicks! “Houndoom is saying we should be harassing them as they go,” Fearow went on. “And a bunch of the others agree with him. Take more revenge for what’s happened. Hit them while they’re weak.” “They are not…” Luna had to pause a moment against a spasm. “Weak. Tell them that the enemy will concentrate… forces. All Pokémon will be… out and alert.” She took a deep breath. “Looking for a fight… their firepower is…” she winced, “formidable. We require more time… to build forces. Send them out to their own kind… tell them of our victory… tell them the invaders can be… defeated.” Wheezing wracked her body from the effort of speaking, frequently forcing her to pause for breath mid-sentence. It was why she could not be giving orders in person, in full sight of all her allies. While a bravely-wounded leader was an inspirational figure, a sickly one who could barely talk through it did not command much respect. There were still too many Pokémon, in Luna’s estimation, who would see a clearly debilitated commander as an opportunity to rise by finishing the job. Better not to give them too many ideas. Even speaking to Fearow was a calculated risk. She had been with the flock the longest and had done what she could to inspire at least respect but had never been so weak in front of any of them. If one of their number harbored aspirations to challenge her, now was clearly the time. Still, she had to give some commands lest others take the initiative, and the birds were amongst the few capable of physically reaching her. “…Yes,” Fearow replied, just a moment later. “Of course. Is there anything else?” Luna thought about it, then shook her throbbing head. “No,” she wheezed, wincing at the sound of her own voice. Fearow gave her an odd look, and then flapped away. “Ooooh…” Nidoking groaned softly. “My head… my back…” The purple Pokemon managed to force his eyes open a fraction, only to immediately slam them shut again against the cruel, blinding glare of the sun. Everything hurt, what wasn’t throbbing was stiff and sore. His stomach was empty and ravenous, his throat bone dry and utterly parched. Together, the primal need for sustenance outweighed the pain and exhaustion he felt. “Where… am I?” he managed, slowly prying his heavy eyelids open once again. The world around him swam with impossibly brilliant and blurry colors. “Wha happened?” “Shhh… it’s alright,” a voice said, “you’re safe now. You’re free now.” “Huh?” Nidoking mumbled. “What?” Slowly, over the course of a good few seconds, the swirling maelstrom of vivid color began to resolve itself into something more coherent. As his eyes began to focus, Nidoking slowly realized that there was something purple bending down over him. He forced his throbbing head to tilt up a few degrees and found himself looking into the strange face of a species he had never seen before. “It’s alright,” she repeated softly in that same voice. “You’re going to be alright. You’re with friends here.” “Hey, what’s da big idea a droppin’ dat all over me?!” screeched another voice from somewhere. “Get back here an’ taste Fury Swipes!” “You don’t have to chew on my head every time, you know?!” wailed a third voice from a completely different direction. “Get off! Get off! Get oooofffff!” “Well,” the purple creature shrugged, “mostly.” “Tell me,” said Lysandre in a dangerously calm tone. “Am I the only competent member of this entire organization?” Behind him, Celosia flinched but said nothing. The scientist stood stock still at attention, while her leader had his back to her. Deep underground, he stared out a window at the deceptively beautiful crystalline bud with hands behind his back. Team Flare agents and lesser scientists continued to work in the ultimate weapon’s chamber, testing and retesting, calibrating energy levels and calculating output. Thick red and black cords ran from the sides of the rainbow-tinted crystal, disappearing down onto a still lower floor where the power source was to be kept. “First, Aliana is made a fool of and our entire central data repository is plundered by criminal vermin under her watch,” Lysandre went on. “Following that, Mable leaves on an important mission and goes out of contact for days. And now you come crawling back to me with your tail between your legs to inform me that your camp and hundreds of thousands in equipment has been burned to ash for no discernable gain. The alicorn remains at large, and it appears that she has made progress in recruiting further Pokémon to her cause. The threat grows, and you have totally failed to contain it.” Team Flare’s leader finally took a half-step around, looking sideways at Celosia with his hard, blue eyes. “Given all of that, I’ll be generous and give you an opportunity to convince me of why I shouldn’t reduce your rank to floor-scrubber immediately.” “Sir, please give me one more chance!” Celosia said immediately. “I know that I may have messed up-” “You cost us substantial assets for no gain,” he interrupted. “We’re tantalizingly close to the point where financial viability is of no concern, but all the same I have never tolerated wastefulness.” “My plan failed to eliminate the princess, it’s true, but I have the seeds of another one!” Celosia hurriedly extracted a Dark Ball from her belt. “I captured one of the alicorn’s followers when they attacked our camp. We can use it to track them back to their source! With enough men and Pokémon, I can put an end to whatever she’s planning!” “And what will you do if she’s moved her camp?” Lysandre asked. “She has already proven more tactically astute than you had anticipated.” “We have Houndour, and there’s no better tracker than my Manectric! We know that she has ground-bound allies, she can’t just flutter away without leaving a trail anymore!” “And if she separates herself from them?” “Then we’ll hunt them down and eliminate every Pokémon we can find!” Celosia vowed. “But she won’t get far on her own, sir! I saw it myself last night, she was burned, electrocuted, coated in toxic sludge, and riddled with venomous barbs while creating her distraction. There’s no way she could shake off that kind of injury in just a few hours. If you allow me to collect a new force right away, I promise we can hunt her down and eliminate her as a threat before she can even recover enough to put up a fight!” “A bold claim,” her leader noted, “considering your track record.” “I swear if you’ll give me one more chance I won’t let you down, sir!” Celosia stood stock straight, sweat trickling down her face. “I’ll stake my existence in the new world on it!” For the first time, Lysandre’s eyes widened. “You don’t understand what you’re saying,” he shook his head a few moments later, expression returning to normal. “But I understand the spirit in which your words are offered.” He smiled sardonically. “Very well, I’ll grant you one final chance to prove your competence. Take your forces, take fresh supplies from storage and more vehicles from the fleet, and hunt down this Luna. Crush her and eliminate the threat she poses to our future, and I’ll forget this ever happened. Don’t fail me again.” “Yes sir!” Celosia saluted crisply. “You may go,” he nodded, turning his back on her. “Good hunting.” The scientist turned on her heels at once and spun around, walking briskly towards the room’s exit. Before she was even halfway there, the door slid open to reveal a man dressed in a white admin’s uniform. He saluted Lysandre, seemingly ignoring the purple-haired woman. “Yes?” Team Flare’s leader said, not facing him. “What is it?” “Malva, sir,” the admin said as Celosia walked past him. “She’s arrived, as you ordered.” “Excellent. Instruct her to take whatever rest and refreshment she requires and be ready to leave again before noon.” Lysandre’s voice grew more distant as Celosia strode quickly down the hallway. “She is to accompany me on one last mission, before the world is reborn.” Luna stirred from a vague, half-conscious morass of dreamlike pain at the sound of leaves rustling. She raised her head, blinking her bleary eyes, as a large Fearow forced its way through the branches. The princess tried to rise, but another jolt of pain from the lingering venom coursed through her veins. Fearow said nothing as it ambled closer, though its razor-sharp beak was slightly opened. The alicorn felt a tinge of fear, as she realized just how alone and how weak she truly was at that moment. At the very nadir of her power, her neck lying bare mere feet from the brown Pokémon, there was no way it could miss. One strike, one quick jab of its pointed beak and it would all be- Fearow bent over and spat something out of its mouth. Luna blinked, blue eyes looking wearily down at the wet little object now poised rather precariously on the tree branch. It was some kind of fruit, two bright green leaves along its stem. A dark pink color predominated the flesh closest to the stem, transitioning into lighter and lighter shades of pink the further away it got. Spots of a pink so light it was nearly white were speckled here and there. The alicorn stared. The breeze picked up, and Fearow had to catch the fruit with its beak to prevent it falling off. “Well don’t just look at it,” Fearow mumbled, still holding on. “Eat it before the wind does!” “What… is it?” Luna managed. “Pecha Berry,” Fearow said. “Great cure for poison. Works every time.” Luna blinked again. “Come on, we need you fighting fit. Eat it already!” “I…” for a moment, Luna didn’t know what to say. “Thank you.”