//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 // Story: Old Scars, New Chances // by Arcticbrony //------------------------------// Brawly's mind was in disarray. He had never been the type of person to think things through too thoroughly, always preferred to act on the spot instead. Things were more entertaining that way, and things usually worked out for the best in the end anyway. But this was not something that he could take so lightly. He had thought that he would be able to in the start, to just let things happen and act accordingly. But the more he had thought about what his friend had told him and about the possible outcomes, the more he realized that he needed to be a little more careful. His sexuality was not one of the problems that plagues his mind. Gender had never really been an issue to him, he never understood why it should be. He had several fan girls back on Earth, but he had more than a few cute fan boys too. But he had never actually been in an actual relationship before. And on top of that, he was not sure how he felt about Ethan. Ethan was his friend, his best friend even. There was just so many things that could go wrong. Thankfully Brawly was brought out of his thoughts by a loud sound. The roar that echoed through the forest was impossible to miss, even though it was some distance away from their position, the very force behind it shook the leaves on every tree and bush around them. Scylla was in her position, it seemed that he would not have any more time to think about his problems. Brawly looked to his side, watching his pony companions, all of their ears perked from the roar they had just heard, and without another second of sesitation they all set off. No pony had said anything, or given any order to charge, they just did it. Brawly had been the one to falter for a moment as all of the ponies sprung into action before he set off too, quickly catching up with them. The plan was simple, really, take out any hostile ponies and take the rest into custody. But with the Pokémon that had been spotted around the mine, there was almost guaranteed that there would be some fighting. That was the main reason that Brawly had been put with the group of ponies that was running around him. His group consisted of two unicorns and a single earth pony. He would engage any nearby Pokémon or at the very least do his best to keep them off any of the police ponies while they did their job, and they in turn would assist Brawly should he need it. “Okay, everypony get ready!” He heard the earth pony besides his say as they were closing in on the location. The area in front of them opened up, revealing the area in front of them. The mine entrance itself was set at the bottom of a small hill, though it did little to prevent any fliers to escape that way, it did prevent any unicorns or earth ponies as it was too steep to climb. And in front of the mine entrance was their resident Gyarados, Scylla, herself. Before Brawly had a chance to take more of the area in, a loud voice filled the air. “This is Protocol of the Neighagra Falls Sanctuary police force! We have you surrounded. Surrender now, and I promise you that we will treat you accordingly!” Looking off to his side, Brawly saw Protocol, whose horn had been growing brightly as he spoke. It seemed that their groups had arrived at nearly the same time, just like they had planned. The whole area fell quiet, if only for a moment after Protocol had made his announcement. Brawly could feel the tension as some of the ponies looked between each other. But things does not always go as you want, and as soon as the silence had come, it shattered as some of the ponies they were supposed to catch made a beeline for the forest, only to be taken down the moment they got within the range of some of Protocol's ponies. But not all of them gave in to panic so easily. Some of them wanted to put up a fight instead. “I got another one!” Brawly called out as he was kneeling down over a rather big and burly earth pony. His knee was held to the pony's neck so that he neither would nor could move. It did not take long before a unicorn hurried over to Brawly with a pair of hoof-cuffs at the ready. “Thank you,” Brawly thanked him as he let the unicorn take the earth pony. “I'll take him from here.” He got as a reply as the unicorn escorted the earth pony away to where they were gathering and keeping the ponies they were capturing. Brawly had to admit. He was impressed with Protocol's ponies. They had seemed like an alright bunch at the start, but now that he saw them in action, how efficient and well all of them worked together… it honestly made him miss his own team a little. But they were in a battle, it was not the time to be thinking of such things. Neither did he have the luxury of zoning out as he heard a voice speak up. “Hey, catch!” He looked to his side to see a Machoke who was holding a pegasus, one of their own, in one of his arms. And just as Brawly looked to him, the Machoke grinned and reared his arm back before throwing the pegasus straight at him. Brawly nearly did not have any time to react before the pegasus slammed into him. He had only brought up his arms to catch her on a reflex. “Hey, are you alright?” He asked, but it was clear that she was really not alright. One of her wings was bend at a funny angle and a thin line of blood could be seen running down from her mouth. The Machoke really had done a number on her. “I… I'll manage.” She croaked out as she stirred. “P-put me down, I can manage to get out myself.” Brawly had half a mind to ignore what she had just said and make sure that she got out good, but he was needed there and with how she was struggling in his grasp he knew that she was in good enough shape to walk at least. “Okay, you get out of here.” Brawly told her as he put her down, her legs wobbling slightly before she corrected herself. “Hey! We got an injured over here.” He yelled out, hoping that somepony else would come and help her get to safety. But it seemed that the Machoke had decided to not just stand around and wait for Brawly to finish what he had been doing. Looking off to the side, Brawly could see the same Machoke, currently making leeway straight for his friend. “Ethan! Watch out!” He yelled, but it was too late. The Machoke reared its arm back and hit Ethan with a powerful Brick Break. The blow sending his friend flying. Brawly could feel a mixture of anger and despair as he watched his friend bounce off the ground before he came to a stop. He had to help Ethan, he was not like him and Jenny. He was not a fighter, this was exactly why they had told him not go alone, but as usual he did not listen. “Hold out, I'm coming for you man!” Brawly set off towards Ethan and the Machoke who was currently taking its time, walking towards his downed friend. Brawly heard some yells from behind him, coming from the ponies in his group. He knew that he was not supposed to leave them, but he could not care less. However, before he could even make it that far, he felt something and jumped back on reflex. His feeling seemed to have been right as the very same Granbull that he had seen fighting Scylla earlier came to a skidding stop right in front of him. Its jaws clamping down with a Bite on the spot that he had been just been standing. “Oh, you are not going anywhere, pretty boy!” It growled at him, and judging by its voice, he guessed that it was a female. She had definitely been roughed up by Scylla, judging from the various wounds that she had across her body. “I don’t have time for this, move!” Brawly moved quickly, ignoring the Granbull while trying to run around her. He had to get to Ethan as soon as possible. He could see his friend scrambling to get away with fear evident on his face. But once more, he was stopped, this time as he felt something clamp down on his arm, pain shooting through it. The Granbull had bitten down, hard, and was holding him back as he tried to continue to move. “As I told you.” She growled through her teeth as she continued to hold Brawly in place. With a sudden display of strength, she twisted her body and Brawly could feel his body being lifted up from the ground as the Granbull spun around and threw Brawly back, away from Ethan. “You are not getting away, pretty boy! You are stuck with me.” She smiled as she licked her lips. “Why are you even doing this?” Brawly exclaimed. “You know what they are doing to other Pokémon, right?” If there was any change in the Granbull's expression, then he did not see it. “Oh you try to change the subject.” She huffed as she dropped down onto all fours and slowly started to advance on Brawly who stood his ground. “Come on now, let’s play.” And with that she leaped at him with another Bite attack, her powerful jaws open and at the ready. Only this time, Brawly was ready for her and slipped out of the way. She was as easy to read as any of the majestic waves he used to conquer. Dodging the attack left her open for a moment as she landed, and Brawly did not hesitate to follow up with an attack of his own. His paws becoming a blur as he unleashed a barrage of Double Hits, all of which hit their mark. Brawly hoped that his hit had created enough time for him to get away from his current opponent and over to Ethan, whom he had just seen been thrown into the ground, and was just lying there unmoving. “I'm coming for you, buddy!” Brawly yelled, only for him to hear a laughter as the Granbull quickly moved to intercept him once more. “I'm beginning to think that you don’t like me.” She mocked him, as she kept moving in synch with Brawly, not letting him pass her. If she had been affected by his earlier hits, then she did not show it. She was a fairy type after all; she had the type advantage. Her smile faltered though, as she was caught off guard as Brawly was the one who started to laugh slightly. “It looks like I won't have to worry anymore.” He smiled as a familiar voice filled the air, a voice filled with such ferocity that that it made the Granbull slightly unnerved. “No one hurts my family!” Zoey roared. Brawly had to admit, he would not want to be in that Machoke's shoes right then. He was still worried about Ethan, but not nearly as much as he had been just a moment ago. With Zoey there, he knew that Ethan would be safe. “Worried about your friend?” Brawly teased as both of them had heard the Machoke's cry of pain. And he could see uncertainty on her face. “N-no, of course not! He can take care of himself.” She said, but despite that, she couldn't help herself and looked behind her to see what was going on. But taking your eyes away from your opponent in a Pokémon match was something that you simply did not do. Brawly had devoted a lot of time to mastering his new body after they had showed up in Equestria. But where was one particular move that had just come natural to him. “Bulk Up!” The Granbull snapped her head back to Brawly, only to be met with another flurry of double hits, these ones hitting a good deal harder than the ones before, making her recoil and stagger back from the blow. “Come on then.” Brawly started, his muscles having tensed up from his earlier move. For the first time since the battle had started, he was focused on the battle itself and not on Ethan. “Let’s play!” Zoey had initially been really mad because Ethan had asked her to stay behind. He had not said this to her in person, rather he had used Jenny to convey this message. She had understood why he wanted to to stay behind. He was worried about her, and considering her past, that was not too surprising to her. But that did not mean that she had agreed with his choice to leave her behind. No, she was her own Pokémon and she was not just going to stay behind when he would go out there like that, at least since he did not have Vernus with him. Now, it was not that she did not trust Jenny or Brawly, but neither of them were original Pokémon. So with that in mind, she had decided to follow after the group. It had not been that difficult. They had been more preoccupied with what was ahead of them to take notice or even consider the fact that something, or some Zangoose would be following after them. She had been expecting a lot of things when she reached the area around the mine where all the commotion was going on, and at first she had seemed a bit hesitant. She had been told to stay back home after all, and she guessed that Ethan would be mad at her or rather disappointed. He never really got truly angry, she could tell. But that was when she had seen it. Ethan on the ground with a Machoke standing above him, and that is when she had simply lost it. She cared little for the restraint that Ethan had been teaching her over the past few years. Her instinct from her earlier fighting days flooding back into her system. The next few seconds were kind of a blur for her. Before she knew it, she was standing hunched over Ethan with fresh blood dripping down her claws. “No one hurts my family!” She roared with more ferocity than she was aware that she had. Only one thing was on her mind. That Machoke had hurt Ethan. It had hurt someone she cared about. It was going to regret ever being born. “Z-Zoey?” She heard Ethan's voice as she stood over him in a protective manner. While she usually walked on two legs, when she fought she always dropped down on all fours. “Protective of your mate, eh?” Both of them heard the Machoke as he had recovered again. “Like it will matter, just like he was, you are at a type disadvant-” that was all the Machoke was allowed to say before Zoey launched herself at him. She covered the ground between them in a flash, her paws at the ready and a look of pure rage on her face. Both of her claws then started glowing brightly as she unleashed a devastating Crush Claw with both of her paws. The claws tearing into the Machoke who had not tried to dodge at all. The pain was evident on his face, but the moment after the attack both of his powerful arms shot out and grabbed Zoey's front paws, holding her in place as she struggled to get free. “This is more like it!” The Machoke laughed as he was holding her in place, it seemed like he was actually enjoying it. “This is more like a proper battle!” Zoey felt herself being lifted off the ground as the Machoke did the same to her like it did to Ethan before. Zoey was slammed into the ground from the Seismic Throw, the ground cracking underneath her from the impact. Zoey was furious, and the anger was fueling her strength. But this was not the fighting style that she was used to. Ethan had made her promise to never use that on herself again, but as she got back up, feeling the pain from the fighting move coursing through her body, she found it really hard to resist. Switching into a Quick Attack the moment she got back up, Zoey rushed straight into the Machoke again, ramming into it. The blow itself was not as powerful though, and the Machoke wasted not a single second with retaliating, its fist already bearing down towards its target. Zoey then did something that she had picked up in the underground fighting ring. A trick she had used when fighting multiple opponents. She used Quick Attack, forcing her body to move much faster than normal, she retreated. Using the Quick Attack to move outside the Machoke's range in the blink of an eye, whose attack simply hit air. As effective as it was, Zoey did not particularly like using Quick Attack in that manner. The move normally took a small running start, and to use it with full speed straight from the start took a serious toll, and she could feel her body aching already. But, it was still better than getting hit with another fighting move. The fight very quickly turned into a blur after that. Zoey kept zooming in and out of the Machoke's range, either hitting it with just a normal Quick Attack or Crush Claw before retreating again, using the same method as earlier. She had only been grazed a few times, but against a fighting type, one good hit was all that it could possibly take to bring her down. Infuriated by Zoey's hit and run tactic, the Machoke had started swinging wildly and randomly each time Zoey had entered its range. The ground around them became more and more bloody as the fight went on, Zoey drawing blood every time she entered the Machoke's range. But even so, none of Zoey's hits had enough power behind them to put the fight to an end, and the Machoke not being able to land a proper hit at all. Despite all of this, though Zoey found herself having fun. Her opponent had hurt her Ethan, no this was not a fight anymore, it was a slaughter and she was enjoying herself immensely for every grunt or look of pain on the Machoke as she struck him. “Zoey!” She could hear Ethan call out to her in the background, and because of that call she hesitated. It was only for a moment, but in a battle, one moment can cost you a lot and the Machoke did not let that opportunity go to waste. It screamed as it lashed out with a brutal Brick Break. Zoey could feel the bones in her body protesting as she was sent sliding backwards, her claws digging into the ground to help stop. “That hurt…” She sneered in a low tone as she looked back up, only to blink in surprise as the Machoke was not where it had previously been. Quickly scanning the area she found her opponent… retreating. Blood was dripping from the numerous wounds that she had inflicted on it and she could see it looking back at her with a look of fear on its face before it continued scrambling away. “Zoey! Stop, it’s-” She heard Ethan’s voice once more, but she ignored it. Her opponent was getting away, the fight was not over yet. How dare he turn his back on her when the fight was not finished? “Oh no you don't.” Zoey ignored the pain she was feeling from the previous blow and sat off after the Machoke. “Pursuit!” And in a flash she was on the Machoke's back, her claws digging deeply into her opponent. She had to give him credit for his tenacity as he tried to take another step, only to topple over and fall face first onto the ground. No opponent was getting away from her. She pulled her claws out from his back as she stood up on her back legs. She could still hear a few groans coming from the Machoke underneath her, it seemed like she would have to finish the job. She raised her paw and positioned it directly above her opponent's neck. One quick strike, and the job would be complete. “NO!” Zoey heard light childlike voice call out just before a yellow flash filled her vision, and something struck her. She almost fell back as her body spasmed, it did not hurt too much, but it was not difficult for her to recognize the feeling of a Thunder Wave. After a few seconds she regained control of her body and turned around with anger in her eyes, ready to engage her next opponent, the one that had stopped her from finishing the Machoke. Only for that anger to dissipate completely as she saw who it was. Just a little distance in front of where Ethan sat, was an extremely upset looking Chii. Her fur was still sparkling slightly with electricity from the attack and tears could clearly be seen running down her cheeks, wetting her fur. “Y-you stop right now!” Chii yelled, her voice cracking slightly. It was obvious that she was scared, but she stood her ground nonetheless. Not only did she do that, she ran up to Zoey and grabbed hold of her leg fur with her mouth and tried to pull her away from the Machoke. “P-please stop.” She spoke through gritted teeth. “It’s over, Zoey. No reason to go any further.” Zoey looked up from Chii to see Ethan looking at her with a disappointed expression. “You understand?” He had not gotten up, she was not sure if he was able to just yet. But the tone he spoke in was firm and commanding. “... Y-yes.” Zoey spoke as she stepped off the Machoke’s back. She retracted her bloody claws before she leaned down to pick up Chii who was still pulling on her leg. “Thank you for snapping me out of that.” Now that the battle high had wore off, she felt just how much of a burden that had put on her body. Every movement was painful. “I had to, you stupid meanie!” Chii huffed as she crawled out of Zoey's arms and up to her shoulder. “Yeah, good job, Chii.” Ethan complimented her from where he sat. “Although neither of you are supposed to be here.” Both Chii and Zoey suddenly looked ashamed. Chii for having snuck along and Zoey for what she had just done. “But I am glad that you are. And Zoey-” Ethan forced himself to stand. “We will talk more about this later, understood?” Zoey nodded as she refused to meet Ethan's look. It had been years since he had used that tone with her, but she knew that she deserved it. She had gone overboard… again. “Yes…” She spoke in a quiet voice. “Good… now it looks like Brawly could use some help.” Brawly's group had seemed to have taken care of all the nearby ponies around them but they were still struggling with the Granbull. Brawly who was locked in combat with it while getting some support from the ponies around him. “Awww, do we have to help him?” Chii complained. “Well… why don't you take this as a chance to show him how much better than him you are?” Ethan suggested with a small smile as he saw a new fire light in Chii's eyes. Zoey looked at Ethan and received a nod before she dropped to all fours and started charging towards Brawly. “Chaarge!” Chii yelled from the top of her lungs. It was a somber mood, but she managed to lift it slightly with her newfound spirit. Back at the Machoke, Ethan fell back to the ground into a sitting position once again. He was not doing any more fighting that was for sure. “What the-” A loud roar along with a crash could be heard from the mine entrance, and Ethan just barely had enough time to see Scylla disappearing into the forest to the side. “Arceus dammit." Ethan cursed to himself. But it seemed that Protocol's ponies had most of the situation under control at that point, so maybe Scylla was not needed anymore. At least so he hoped. Scylla sped through the forest. Her long, thin, snake like body propelling her across the ground with incredible speeds. It was finally time for her to get some action. Ethan had asked her to join him and the others on the mission, using the favor that she owed him. And while she was glad to repay the debt that she owed him, she would have been happy to come along anyway. She was too tired of doing nothing all day. Sure, her wounds had healed some time ago, and he had found some small things to alleviate her boredom. She had become rather good friends with Zoey for instance. But even so, it was just not the same. She was used to a lot more action when she was with Checkmate. She was a part of Queen, she was one of the strongest, one of the best. They would do anything and everything, and when they were not on any missions she could spar and have fun with some of the other members. Sure some of them were a pain, and really annoying… but they were her comrades. But that was all in the past. She was on her own now, or at least she had thought that she was initially. That Ethan person was annoying, but she knew that he meant well. And she really liked Zoey, she could tell that she was strong and she could respect that. Those had been some of the thoughts that had roamed around in Scylla's head, before the assault began. However, these thoughts had been pushed back into her mind the moment that she had begun her charge. She had her mission, and although she had a few annoying restrictions she would complete said mission, she always did. That was something that she prided herself on. She bursted out from the trees into the small clearing in front of the mine entrance. Grinning to herself as nearby ponies threw themselves out of her way, there were quite a lot of them, but that mattered little to her. She came to a sliding stop as she almost slammed into the entrance to the mine. The dust from her sudden entrance quickly settled, all the eyes were on her, just like she wanted. The ponies were already yelling to each other and a few of the Pokémon that had been there were gathering around her as Scylla took a deep breath, and unleashed an earth-shaking roar. A nearby pegasus who was hovering in the air nearby her was thrown back from the force alone. Now she just had to hold out until the others could get there. But that did not mean that she could not have some fun of her own in the meantime. “Stay still, you little shit!” Scylla roared as she slammed a brutal Aqua Tail down onto the ground where the Arbok had just been standing. “Oh, I think not. Why don’t you come over here and make me?” The Arbok teased her as it kept its distance. It infuriated Scylla to no end. She had taken care of the Granbull easily enough, a single Hydro Pump, taking it out of commission. At least, she had not seen any more of it after that. But that Arbok was fighting her in such a cowardly way. It had managed to poison her early on and after that it had just kept on stalling and teasing her. It alone would not have been so bad, no she could take care of it no problem if just- “Vine Whip!” The monotone voice of the Tangrowth could be heard as a number of slender vines shot out from its body and hit Scylla, making her roar in frustration. Every time she would try to attack the Arbok the Tangrowth would hit her and the Arbok would do the same when she engaged the Tangrowth. Now, unlike the Arbok she had dished out several good hits on the Tangrowth they had been trading hits for a while, she had even bitten off its arms and part of its side, but the thing just refused to go down no matter what she did. If she could just get a better position on them both, she was way too much of a target where she stood. And although it had lessened since Ethan and all the other ponies had shown up, she was still hit with magical attacks from the enemy unicorns from time to time, even the flying pegasi dared to throw rocks at her. Their attacks was weak, so they did not hurt her, but they were so distracting so she could never engage either one of her opponents properly. Needless to say it infuriated her to no end, and her rage had been growing ever since the battle had started. “I am Scylla! A bunch of vines like you is nothing to me!” She yelled as she lunged forward with a Crunch and sunk her teeth into the Tangrowth. But as usual the thing did not move. It had planted its roots deep early in the battle and held its position no matter what she did. Tearing her head back, she pulled a mouthful of vines along with her, which she spat out. They tasted horrible, but she could already see more vines growing back to replace the ones that she had torn out. “Is that it? That was rather pathetic. I am beginning to think that you are just all talk with nothing to show for it. You are just a fish on land, go back to where you belong!” Scylla could feel her rage burning inside of her as the Arbok continued teasing her. She did not care anymore, she was going to destroy that Arbok no matter what. “You. Are. Dead.” Scylla spoke in a low tone as she tensed the muscles in her long body. “Outrage!” She stormed at the Tangrowth, since the Arbok was hiding behind its comrade, that just meant that she had to go through it first. As she collided with the Tangrowth, she felt a little resistance, just like she had done all the times that she had attacked earlier, it had rooted itself to the ground after all. But she was Scylla, and there was no way that something like a Tangrowth would stop her. “Uh-oh…” The Arbok started to slowly fall back as snapping sounds could be heard. The roots that had held the Tangrowth in place being broken by force as Scylla continued to trash against her opponent. The Tangrowth was putting up a fight, it was doing its best, wrapping its wines around Scylla in an attempt to hold her off… But it was in vain. With a final burst of strength and a roar that shook through the battlefield, Scylla tore the Tangrowth up from the ground and continued to push forward after the Arbok. It quickly fled into the forest, but there were no places that it could hide from her now. With victory in mind, she pushed after the Arbok, using the Tangrowth that she was pushing in front of her as a battering ram to crush the trees before her. “What the?” Jenny had just taken down a pegasus and was currently holding her down while a pony from Protocol's group was restraining her. However she and everypony else looked up as a roar shook the air just to see Scylla who were quickly disappearing into the forest to the side, leaving the mine entrance completely open. They had already taken care of the Loudred and apprehended most of the ponies, but there were still a few who were putting up a fight. However, the moment that Scylla roared and abandoned her post, Jenny noticed something. It was a small group of just three ponies, who had just taken down one of Protocol's ponies. And the moment that Scylla had disappeared, they made a leeway straight for the mine entrance. They were trying to escape. But what Jenny was most focused on, was one particular unicorn of that group. It was a unicorn that she had seen before and one that she had hoped that she would have the opportunity to take down for a long time. “Shady!” She had dreamed of the moment that she would meet him again. She had failed to take him down once, she would not fail again. “They are escaping!” Jenny yelled as she looked around. However, it seemed that almost everypony else had their hooves full. Protocol and his group was currently engaging a small group of pegasi who simply refused to go down, Brawly and his group along with… Zoey? They were fighting with a Granbull. And her most of her own group was doing their best to restrain the Loudred who had just woken up again and was doing his best to be to make as much trouble as possible. . But she was not going to let that scum of a unicorn get away again. Not if she could do anything to help it. “You, come with me! We are going to pursue them.”Jenny told the earth pony who had just finished helping her restrain the enemy pegasus. “What? Just the two of us? No we have to-” She protested but Jenny quickly cut her off. “They are getting away, just shut up and follow me!” Jenny knew that she had no right in ordering one of Protocol's ponies around, but they simply could not afford to let them escape. She could not afford to let Shady escape again. So without wasting another second, Jenny set off after them, sprinting towards the mine as fast as her small legs would carry her. However, in her haste, she had failed to notice that the earth pony was not following after her. “Stop, you bastards!” Jenny called out just Shady and his little group reached the mine. Jenny could see that Shady had turned his head towards her as she called out, and she felt infuriated as she noticed the big grin on his face before he and the two others disappeared into the mine. “Shady!” She was not letting him get away. She had failed once and she was not going to do so again. So Jenny did not hesitate for a moment as she followed after them, descending into the darkness of the mine.