//------------------------------// // She's been WHAT?!!! (Day 4) // Story: A New World, A New Conflict // by Evowizard25 //------------------------------// Felicia hummed as she strolled through the corridors of the capital building. It was nice, but she had been to way better ones during her travels with Vincent. Humans loved to be so extravagant and over the top with their castles and their wealth. She wondered if that was just human nature. Vincent could be over the top sometimes. ‘Of course, when he does it, it’s so sexy~’ She started drooling a little, remembering the man in such moments. ‘Such passion. Such conviction! TAKE ME NOW, VINCENT! TAKE ME INTO THOSE STRONG ARMS AND….’ “Ahem,” a voice broke her out of her reverie. Felicia looked to see two Sableyes wearing PLA uniforms guarding the door. “Can we help you?” “Yes you can, little guy.” Felicia smiled. “Can you get Lia? We’re going to go practice our cheer routine. I was thinking something with a little hip and swivel action, but she wants to more for the arm movements.” Yeah, Felicia and Lia had quickly taken to each other. The good natured Goodra couldn’t resist mentoring that adorable little Kirlia. They had gone shopping, cheerleading, and even to get ice-cream. Of course sadly, they couldn’t find any ice-cream in Cairo. That was a big bummer, but they still had a lot of fun. Felicia couldn’t help but see a lot of her in the little Kirlia. ‘And she just so huggable!’ “I’m sorry, ma’am,” the Sableye soldier spoke up. “Lia left. The king wanted to speak with her.” Felicia frowned, which wasn’t something she normally did. “The king? But I just got done talking with him. He didn’t say anything about meeting with Lia.” “Perhaps it was quick one,” the soldier offered. “General Lia could have gone to meet some of the other staff.” “But she promised,” Felicia said, getting a little scared. She had been on enough missions to know when something was wrong. “I even talked with her older brother. He thought she was here.” The soldier’s eyes widened. “The Commander doesn’t know?” “He always knows where she is,” the other piped in, fear etching its way into his voice. “If he doesn’t then…..” the first one gulped. “We’re so dead,” they said in unison. ‘No….no, no, NO, NO!’ Felicia shook in both fear and rage. Someone had taken her newest best friend forever and a kid no less. ‘I’ll thrash them!’ She quickly ran as fast as her stubby feet could take her. ________________________________________________________________________________ *Cairo’s capital building, kitchen* Milo couldn’t help but hum to himself as he looked through the local supplies. ‘I say, such dreadful tastes these zebras have. Absolutely no way to make a good tea and crumpets.’ Luckily, he had found enough to last him a while in the market place. He sighed. The zebra chefs had not taken his presence lightly. In fact, they had refused to help him do anything. They even went so far as to leave the kitchen solely because he was there. “Dreadful business this all is.” Milo wasn’t just referring to that. He, like many of the PLA, felt a little ‘cheated’ that they weren’t able to give their ultimate plan a go. It was all pointless now, seeing as the humans were pokemon now. I still didn’t know how to take that and I feared that some of my brothers and sisters in arms would know ‘exactly’ how to take it. ‘Especially Char.’ “Pilfering goods again?” A feminine voice chuckled. “Old habits die hard, I see.” ‘That voice.’ Milo quickly turned around, keeping an ‘ice beam’ at his beck and call. There, leaning against the doorway, was a rather attractive Flareon. “A bit slow in your reaction time,” the Flareon tittered. “I could have flamed that scaly hide of yours, Milo. I thought you were better than that.” Milo receded his attack. “And, pray tell, who are you?” ‘I think I know who she is, but I can’t put my tail on it.’ “Gym Leader Flannery,” she bowed. “At your service.” Milo’s eyes widened. “Flannery? I say, I am not sure whether I should be delighted or agitated you were able to make it here. Not shocked, mind you. I had no doubts you would.” Flannery chuckled. “And I thought the same for you. So, beside tea, what is my old adversary up to?” “Oh the usual,” Milo waved his tail across himself. “Dealing with my ol’ friend, the Commander and all his shenanigans. Honestly, I think this whole venture has tamed him somewhat. He’s not so outlandish as he normally is. Perhaps it’s the stress of it all.” Flannery nodded. “Stress can bring focus….so any grub? Tea time with the others is nice and all, but it’s all dainty snack and they don’t exactly taste that great. I need a real meal. Maybe some meat.” She walked right up to him and checked a few of the cupboards. “No meat, I’m afraid. Zebras seem to be herbivorous in nature.” Flannery frowned. “Well that sucks.” “Indeed,” Milo chuckled. The two of them were rather a strange pair. If you looked at it, they were the best of enemies. Back on earth, they had fought so many times over and over again that they couldn’t help but pick up on the other. Of course, Flannery couldn’t understand Milo, but she got the gist of what he meant most of the time. “This is funny actually,” Flannery spoke up while they both searched for some good food. “We used to fight all the time.” “Yes we did,” Milo nodded. “Quite astute, your memory.” “I almost had you a few times.” “Oh you thought so, didn’t you.” ___________________________________________________________________________________ *flashback, earth* “So,” Flannery stood several feet from the river, giving herself enough space to call out her pokemon and have a battle in safety. “Come back for another round, huh? I didn’t know you liked having your butt torched.” Milo rolled his eyes. His body was half submerged in the water, but still his head towered over the surface of the river. “Oh, like you’ve ever landed a hit.” Milo had often done battle with this trainer. His soldiers often had to clean up the mess of other generals or conduct a few raids for supplies. Flannery usually got in their way. Flannery snorted. “This time is going to be different.” With a quick flick of her wrist, she pulled off a pokeball from her belt and threw it. “Torkoal, I choose you.” With a flash of red, a Torkoal appeared. The pokemon glared at Milo. “Oh, it’s you again.” Milo smirked. “I take it our last battle didn’t rough you up as much as I thought. You’re still standing. Most impressive.” Torkoal snorted just like his master, except smoke billowed from his nose when he did it. “I’m tougher than I look. Proved that a couple fights ago, didn’t I?” Milo scowled. The cold water soothed some of the scales that still held the scorched bit of his attacks. “I hardly think you’ll have the chance. Your master is a bit slow.” “She’s my trainer and she’s faster than you,” Torkoal snarled. “Torkoal, use Lava Plume,” Flannery cut into the conversation, effectively starting the fight. Large boats of fire and smoke shot out from the holes on the Torkoal’s back. Milo watched in fascination as it grew to a rather impressive size. ‘He’s really been working out.’ Without delay, Torkoal fired the attack. Milo ‘meeped’ in a bit of panic and quickly dove into the waves. The attack cut through the air and the lake beneath, pushing aside the water from the top to bottom. Milo quickly shot out from the waves, having dodged the blast, and fired an Ice Beam. A beam of water shot from the Milotic’s mouth and struck his opponent. Instantly, the Torkoal’s body was thrown back, freezing over. However, he was a being of magma. The ice quickly melted and shattered upon contact. Torkoal shook himself and smirked. ‘Should have used a water type move,’ Milo mentally berated himself. He was just so used to ‘Ice Beam’ that it became his signature move, even when it wasn’t effective. ‘Still, I struck him first.’ “Use Flame Wheel,” Flannery shouted. Honestly, the Torkoal was faster than he looked. In no time, he was half way to his opponent with his body covered in fire. Milo acted instinctly and shot a ‘Hydro Pump’. Unlike the trainer’s pokemon, he didn’t have to have someone else tell him what to do, nor shout out the attack. “Rapid spin,” Flannery quickly shouted. Before his attack struck, Torkoal retreated into his shell. The rapid moving disk, still covered in fire, shot forward. All Milo’s attack did was put out the fire. Using his grace, he just nimbly dodged the attack. “Hyper Beam!” ‘Of course,’ Milo thought as, in midair and only a foot away from his face, Torkoal’s head shot out of his mouth. It was as time slowed to a halt as the attack charged up. Within seconds, and as if Torkoal slowed his body down, he fired point blank. The attack sent Milo crashing along the ground, until he smacked into a thick tree. The water serpent groaned in pain. “You’ve gotten smarter….good.” He chuckled as he attempted to get his shaky vision back into focus. “Alright,” Flannery cheered. “Way to go, Torkoal.” Torkoal beamed with pride. “Now, use Solar Beam. He’s as good as mine.” She fished out a pokeball. Milo was still shaking, but still managed to somewhat look at her. “What? But you’re a fire type trainer.” Flannery shrugged. “Hey, I know I’m a fire type lover, but we’ve fought so many times I might as well. Besides,” she put a hand on her hip, leaned over slightly and winked. “I think we all know the reason why you keep coming back.” Milo sputtered. A blush evident on his face. “That’s absurd.” “Up, up, up,” she waggled a finger. Her grip on her ball tightened. “You know I’m right…or if that’s a confession I just heard, than maybe I return it a bit.” She giggled. “Don’t you worry, I’ll take good care of your balls.” “……….Don’t you mean ball?” Milo sweat dropped. “Oh, and you’ve got to know what I meant,” Flannery smirked slyly. “Duuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Milo’s brain seemed to go off-line at that comment. “FIRE!” Flannery shouted at Torkoal. Not in a mean way, but just a spur of the moment kind of thing. ‘Damn it. She was distracting me.’ Unfortunately, it did a good job. The effective attack struck him in the chest. The tree bent backwards as he was pushed through it. He groaned in even deeper pain. ‘What the hell is wrong with me today, ol’ chap. You’re not in the game, as it were.’ Every part of him ached. He hated grass type moves for a reason. Now he was on the ground with barely any energy left. Oh yeah, he was a strong pokemon. He’d beaten this Torkoal multiple times before, but that attack had caught him unawares. Usually, it took Torkoal a little longer to charge Hyper Beam, but now he could do it like that ‘Unfair.’ “Alright, finish this Torkoal with Body Slam,” Flannery cheered, readying her throwing arm. Torkoal ran forward. Milo forced his eyes open. ‘So this is it? My last few moments of freedom before I become enslaved by that rather well-proportioned human? Huh, I thought I would feel a bit more anguished about this….maybe that’s because I’m not out of the game yet.’ He smirked and just as Torkoal was about to hit him, he swerved his serpentine body around him. A stream of spiraling water burst forth around his tail and he delivered a perfect ‘Aqua Tail’ to the back of Torkoal’s head. Given its effectiveness and the area of the strike, Torkoal was knocked unconscious. The fire type’s eyes spiraled around in his sockets. Milo huffed and looked over at Flannery with a smirk. “There, that wasn’t so hard.” Flannery glared at him. “You’ll pay for that.” He knew she was referring to hurting Torkoal. She was rather fond of her pokemon. She threw the empty pokeball she was carrying, but he swiftly smacked it aside.  She growled and released two Magicargos. “Meg, Mag, come on out.” “I think this is my cue to leave,” Milo used his agility to quickly escape into the river, avoiding the two flamethrowers that shot his way. Flannery raced over to the river and shook her fist in rage. “I’ll get you next time!” Milo shot out of the river and did something she wasn’t expecting: he kissed her on the nose. “Looking forward to it, my dear.” Flannery was still with a large blush on her face. Milo pulled back and bowed, taking off his hat to improve the gesture in a graceful sweep. “I dare say, that was a splendid match. Do take care now and tata.” He dove into the river and swam off. _____________________________________________________________________ *present day* “Good times,” they both chimed and laughed. “Though, how were you able to keep that top hat and monocle on during all that?” Flannery asked. “Trade secret,” Milo winked at her. “GUYS!” Felicia, the friendly Goodra came running in. “LIA’S BEEN KIDNAPPED!” “WHAT?!!” Milo yelled in shock and rage. He adored that little Kirlia. __________________________________________________________________________ “IS THAT ALL YOU’VE GOT?!!” Ag roared over the long line of zebrican royal guard, more specifically, Alice. They were all doing push-ups. “You aren’t ready to fight a Pidgey, let alone any real threat. I’m ashamed to be associated with every single last one of you.” “The feeling’s mutual,” Alice grumbled out through her pants. “What was that, Private?!!” Ag roared down at Alice. Even though she was saying all this, she saw a ton of potential in the zebras. They could fight and stand up to pokemon, but that was only after they were trained. Alice, having been made a Private since she was technically part of the army, was another story. “Nothing, sir.” Alice growled. “That’s more like it,” Ag growled back. She started pacing up and down the long line. “Listen up. We’re going to keep at this all day. You’re going to hurt. You’re going to ache. You’re going to wish you were never born. Well, that’s only natural for you rookies, but that’s not going to stop you. No, you’re going to endure. Some fights will rage for hours, days, even weeks. You need to be able to push through everything that stand between you and victory. You must crush your foes under your feet and smash their hopes and dreams. Don’t let them get back up, because then they’ll be tomorrow’s problem.” “ALICE!” Felicia came racing onto the field. “Soldier!” Ag shouted, but Felicia didn’t seem to hear her. “This is a training area for only authorized personal. I did not authorize you to be here.” “LIA’S BEEN KIDNAPPED!” Felicia screamed. Ag was silent for a moment. “SOLDIERS! PREPARE TO SEND THESE RETCHED COWARDS TO HELL!” “What’s hell?” One of the zebras asked. “I think it’s like the Underworld,” another answered. ____________________________________________________________________ Commander Sev was not a pokemon who could be easily intimidated. He had faced many dangerous and ludicrous situations. Many of which were of his own doing, but he wouldn’t admit that to anyone. He had stared down gods and smirked. Yet, now he felt fear. Not fear of death, but of rejection. It wasn’t the strongest he had ever felt. That would be for his soul mate. The one being who would always hold a place in his heart. He smiled as a beautiful Umbreon lay within his vision. She was the upmost portrait of beauty…. ‘But she is gone now. I must look to the future.’ So, he had taken interest in a ‘pegasus’ mare. Which ended with him wearing a suit, at a public restaurant, with his mother fixing up his tie. “Stop squirming,” Joy said, trying to fix her child’s outfit. “This would already be over and done with if you just sat still.” “But I can’t help it. I’m nervous I’ll somehow ‘not’ wow her with the greatness that is me. I mean, that is unlikely. I am a magnet for females. A very attractive magnet I might add, but there is always a margin of failure….It will probably be someone else’s fault, so I can be somewhat at ease.” Joy rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it will be, but please don’t go overboard.” She finally finished with his tie and cupped his cheek in her hands. “I want you to be happy….and I want grandkids!” “You will have many grandchildren,” Sev boasted. “But that is for later. Now, I must win my females….hopefully.” A little of the confidence he just had left him as he saw Lightning walk in. She wasn’t wearing anything, but her coat and mane had been done up and shined in the daylight. His mouth fell open. Joy chuckled. “Go get her.” She walked over to a nearby booth and took a seat. Lightning huffed and sat next to Sev. “Couldn’t find anything to wear. So, what’s for dinner?” Sev regained his voice. “Ummmm….” He looked down at the menu. He didn’t recognize a single dish, even with Gard’s psychic powers translating the language. “I believe a random choice is in order.” Lightning chuckled. “Random, eh? Just like the two of us?” “I like to think that it was fate that brought us together. A most gracious fate that one such as I deserves. For who better to be my companion than the most beautiful of creatures.” Lightning snorted. “Don’t you be getting all cheesy with me, snake. That won’t work.” Well, other than making her blush slightly through her glare. Sev chuckled. “I thought not.” “Ahem?” A zebrican waiter asked from their side. He didn’t seem particularly happy with his non-zebra clients, but he didn’t say anything out loud. “May I take your order.” “I’ll have some hayfries and some water,” Lightning said. “I’m not that hungry.” “I’ll have that too,” Sev quickly added. He thought it would be best to copy his date in some respects. He was a little rusty at this. “Very well,” the zebra waiter said quickly and trotted off. “Well that was rude,” Lightning glared at him. “He is so not getting a tip.” “Shall I vanquish the offender for you?” Sev flexed his tail. “Nah,” Lightning waved her hoof to dismiss the thought. “He’ll get used to having some non-zebras in here, else then you can kick his butt.” Sev nodded and the duo fell into a deathly silence. He hated it. He liked to talk, to hear his own voice. However, he had no idea of what he should say. He was, figuratively speaking, tongue tied. “So,” Lightning broke the proverbial ice. "Okay, look. Let’s not beat around the bush here. Are you going to take this seriously?” “I take everything seriously,” Sev proclaimed. “Except my enemies. I intend to not take them seriously and mock them…and then post posters with hastily drawn moustaches around town to demoralize them.” Lightning sighed. “Seriously Sev, if this is going to work, you are going to have to commit to this. I’m not a girl you can just have a ‘fling’ with.” “Why would I throw you?” Sev asked. “Is this some sort of pegasi custom?” Lightning face-hooved. “No, I mean you’ve got to be in this relationship to make it work. Idiot.” “Why do you keep calling me an idiot? I am the opposite of idiocy, for I am me, Commander Sev! Idiocy is afraid of the intellect I possess. DO YOU HEAR THAT?!! AFRAID!!!!” A bunch of the other customers stopped to look at Sev curiously. “IGNORE ME!” He shouted at them. “I wish I could,” Lightning grumbled. Noticing her frown, Sev lifted her chin up to meet his eyes with the flat end of his tail. “Do not cast a frown upon the face of perfection. I rather prefer a smile to adorn it.” Lightning blushed heavily and pushed away his tail. “N-no touching.” She crossed her forelegs. “This isn’t a joke, Sev.” “I never joke,” Sev smiled warmly at her. “Only the truth sprouts from my lips. A truth that is approved by Arceus himself.” “…..I’m not perfect.” “And that is where we disagree.” Sev chuckled as Lightning grew even more red. “I-i-idiot,” she scowled. “Don’t make me hit you.” “I’m trembling in my scales,” Sev mockingly retorted. Before Lightning could lunge at the impertinent snake, a PLA Swellow flew through the door and smashed into the table. “What is the meaning of this?!!” Sev hollered in rage. “Sir,” the Swellow righted herself and saluted. “Sergeant Swell regretting to inform you of some grave news.” “The humans have returned to their natural state, built a rocket ship, destroyed the moon and put up a holographic likeness, all to destroy whatever supply of potato chips we have in hopes to starve us out into the open, so they can use their rocket ship to slam into the very heart of our army?” Sev asked. Everyone stared at him for a moment. Except his soldier, who was used to this sort of thing. “No sir. It’s your sister. She’s been kidnapped.” Sev was paralyzed. “Ki….kidnapped? My sweet little sister?” The Swellow nodded. “WHAT?!!!” Joy ran over and grabbed the Swellow. She shook her about. “My baby’s been what?!!!” “Kidnapped,” the Swellow named Swell said as she was jostled about. “We can’t find her anywhere.” “Someone took my baby,” Joy let go of Swell. “SOMEONE TOOK MY BABY!!!!” Her eyes blazed with an anger only a mother could bring forth. Sev shook in silent rage. “Yveltal will be very busy soon.” He narrowed his eyes. “Extremely busy.” _______________________________________________________________________ Lu softly kicked the dirt as he chewed his bottom lip. He was nervous and he hated it. His parents were some of the most outgoing pokemon you could ever meet. His big brothers and sisters would demolish whole streets for the heck of it. He was a mighty warrior. So why couldn’t he by some roses for his crush? ‘Ugh, this crush is stupid,’ he grumbled inwardly to himself. He and Lia had always been the best of friends. They had hatched on the same day, they played the same games, and they loved the same food. They practically were inseparable. Well, except for the last few days. They unfortunately had been ‘friendless’. That and…recently he had been thinking of Lia in different ways. He got all fuzzy when he talked to her. His cheeks would warm up and he’d fidget about. He didn’t know what to do, but he tried his best to keep being her best friend even with these knew strange feelings. He wanted to tell her. Lu knew it would be so easy to just confess and be done with it. He’d just have to give her some flowers and tell her his feelings. Of course, he was never good with talking about his feelings and he was afraid if he failed. ‘What if she doesn’t like me the same way? What if she freaks out? She’ll never want to see me anymore and we won’t be friends.’ It scared him. It scared him like no other. “General Lia has been kidnapped,” a mental thought projected itself into his mind. All PLA members had a sort of link to one another set up for easy communication during conflicts. “All soldiers are to report to battle stations. I repeat, General Lia has been kidnapped. All soldiers are to report to battle stations.” ‘Lia’s been kidnapped?’ Lu’s eyes shot out wide. ‘But…She can’t be. I haven’t…She’s too….’ His little fists shook in rage. “They. Will. Pay.” He raced to the rest of the army. The flowers could wait. He had a best friend, possible future girlfriend, to save.