//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: The Power of the Heart and Mind // by BurninSoul //------------------------------// Another Time lapse.... I am a horrible person to you, aren't I? It was week ago that happened, the day that, Sam confessed her love to me. I was astounded at the time and nearly beat myself up at being so stupid as to miss the signs. Her closeness, protective nature and her attitude all had something to do with it and I missed them all thinking them as nothing more then part of her species' nature. Now that it is in the open now, I almost feel elated, I feel more carefree, as though I had been stressed out for a long time. Right now I was out walking among the town when suddenly out of nowhere a manticore charges into the middle of town. I have never seen the creature before but I knew this was a bad situation and I look down to my belt to find my pokeball not at my waist and mentally slap myself for going out alone, so with all that happen I decided on the only thing I could do at this point. Hide. I slowly back away and around the side of a building, lucky for me that is because a second later the beast had looked in my direction, upon not seeing me it takes off to who knows where. I hear the screams of the frightened and every so often, the cries of the injured. This was getting out of hand and I knew it. I had to find the others but that statement was short lived when the manticore found me. My fault for not moving earlier. My back against a wall, I had nowhere else to go except for the sides but the beast had them covered and would get me before I could move, I was stuck. I didn't want to die but I could not figure out a way to escape without being mortally wounded again and I don't think I will survive this time. Running out of options, I did the only thing I could, scream and scream I did, It wasn't exactly a girlish scream but it wasn't the most manliest either but you couldn't blame me for the situation. My screams seemed to just enrage the beast in front of me and caused it to rarin my face and then I noticed the tail, how it was poised to strike me through the throat, I was literally screwed. I closed my eyes, mentally praying to Arceus and any other deity to save me but I was only met with the angry snarls of the monster before my eyes. "Someone help me!" On some other part of town, Sam was having a nap but was rudely awakened to the sounds of screaming and roars. She ignored it for a moment as a regular occurance in the town till she heard the first cry of pain. She jolted awake and threw on some clothes, not able to find her dress that came standard for all Gardevoir, she just made do with her masters clothes instead, once all dressed up in a pair of thick track suit pants and a t-shirt with a growlithe on the front she teleported outside to survey the damage. There was destruction everywhere. There were smashed carts, broken windows, shattered doors, scratch marks all over the walls and on the occasion, the barely conscious bodies of ponies trying to crawl to safety, these were the few things she noticed upon leaving the house and they weren't the last. Working quickly she used her psychic abilities to pick up the injured and then teleported to the hospital for them to be treated, the place was a frenzy of activity by the time she arrived with injured laying down on gurneys all over the place, she lay the injured down on the ground and then froze as she heard a very familiar scream, the scream of someone she loved, the scream of someone she loved that was in danger. As soon as the scream cut off, she teleported again this time in the direction of the scream but lost track of it half way. She spread out her mental influence in all directions so she may find him and picked him up not too far away but there was something there with him, something big. It must be the thing that caused all the damage. "I hope i'm not too late." and teleported again. It was over for me was what I thought as the paw of the beast come down to strike me, but the blow never came and I opened my eyes to see why and by Arceus was I happy to see what I did. Sam had made it and she had saved my life, again. She had the beast in her grasp with her psychic technique and held it in place as she glared at it with murderous intent in her eyes, I never saw it though but I did notice the manticore balk at the sight but it wasn't over, it was only the beginning of the monsters punishment for the damage of the town and nearly killing her master and boyfriend. In the space of a second she lost it, with her power, she flung the beast across the street and into the side of a house, all I could do is watch on as the one person I cherished more than my life beat the living snot out of the manticore. She stepped out onto the street after it and stood across the street from it with hands alight and eyes aglow. The beast furious now jumped out of the carnage and charged her but didn't any more than a few meters before she beast away again but followed it up with a shadow ball and fire punch straight at it's face. It hit the ground hard and did not get up again. It was over as far as I can tell and she visually calmed before looking toward me with a smile gracing her lips, it was beautiful. I stepped out of the cover of the house and towards her slowly, she gracefully stepped towards me and we met in the middle of the street. We stood there for what felt like hours but was no more than seconds. I reached out towards her and took her face in the palm of my hand, I leaned in........ The sickening sound of something puncturing flesh and a gasp of pain then met my ears and I looked down in horror as my beautiful, Sams belly was torn open as the tail of the manticore protruded through as part a final show of defiance before it too fell. Sam looked at me with a look of surprise and pain, I returned that look as she then collapsed into my arms, the stinger being pulled from her body as she did so. I looked down at her in horror as the girl I had spent so much time to know suddenly slipped away from me, all in the span of a few seconds. I sat there alone clutching the body of one I loved dearly and started to cry gut wrenching sobs just as the rain began to fall and the sounds of my other pokemon appeared on the scene too late and watched on in sadness and horror at the spectacle of the dead manticore, the destroyed buildings and the unmoving body of Sam cradled in my arms as I cried into her still body..... To be continued.