Torchic

Lucario walked out of the darkness and sat down beside the fire once more. A haggard look of regret lingered on his face, as though he had just uttered a terrible truth that had only now settled into his mind. While Torchic felt a pang of sympathy for him, she couldn't help but feel partial mistrust as well. This was, after all, the Pokémon had had murdered Piplup's brother, and his appearance right after Froakie's demise wasn't helping things. Today, in effect, was not the best day to experience. The fact that it wasn't over yet sent chills down Torchic's spine.

What also chilled her—and did so more than any previously unknown enemy turned ally ever could—was the way she felt about Froakie's death. It was strange to say that she felt almost nothing, but that appeared to be the case. Perhaps it was the revelation that her father was alive, somewhere within Reaper captivity, that kept tears for Froakie from flowing. But even so, she thought she should feel at least a little bit of remorse for the terrible fate he had to suffer at the hands of a Reaper underling. There should have been at least even the smallest spark of mourning, even if it were buried deep within her soul. But instead she didn't feel anything, not even remorse at being unable to save him. The universe didn't feel balanced by his death either, nor was she happy about it, Arceus forbid. It simply didn't register with her that he was gone and that they would never see him again. It didn't feel real.

But for everyone else, it was more than a reality. It was a horrid truth none of them wanted to face, especially alone. Having comforted Chikorita for a few short minutes before angered shouts from the forest (Piplup's) interrupted them, Torchic had been able to tell that everyone was feeling the full weight of Froakie's death by now. Chikorita was sniffing back sobs and letting tears flow down her cheeks. Piplup had isolated himself from the group in the forest, unable to be comforted and now angry because of Lucario's attempts to grant him solace. And even though he didn't show it on his face, Torchic could tell from the sad look in his eyes that Charmander was suffering through the knowledge that Froakie was gone just like the other two.

So why was it that she didn't feel it like everyone else did? Maybe it was because she and Froakie had never talked much, that he had always kind of been in the background for her. Even so, she understood how important he'd been, the Piplup and Chikorita especially. Then why didn't she feel the same way they all did? Even Charmander, who wasn't particularly close with him, was afflicted by his demise. If that was the case, then surely she too should have felt something now that he was gone. But instead she experienced a hollow, unfeeling nothingness whenever her mind floated back to that moment in the Ground Nation Capitol Building where Toxicroak's hand made a hole in her friends' head. It was as if it were just another memory, another tragedy in a long line of events out of her control.

She sighed. Charmander, who had been sitting beside her this whole time, glanced over at her. He didn't say anything, however, and for that Torchic was grateful. She didn't feel as though she had the energy to explain her current mood, didn't believe there was enough of a truthful perspective she could offer up that culminated in understanding why she felt the way she did. At this point, all she could do was sit and stare at the fire, hoping that at least the rest of the night would remain unplagued by unfolding events.

Everyone had been silent around the fire the whole time while she thought. As her train of thought ended and she began focusing on the fire, Tranquill turned towards Lucario. "Why was he yelling?" he inquired.

Lucario glanced at him, a glint of guilt on his face. "I made a mistake. I…told him."

"Told him?" Tranquill echoed, confusion overcoming his own face. Then his eyes and beak widened with shock. "Wait a second, did you…ugh, Lucario!"

"I didn't want there to be any animosity between us! You know I don't believe in keeping the truth from others when they deserve to know."

"But that's secretive information we're not even a hundred percent sure about!" Tranquill objected. "Arceus above, why did you think that was a good idea after what just happened?"

Lucario shrugged. "The truth is important," he reasoned. "There's no reason to keep it from others unless you're sure they aren't supposed to hear it."

"What about being ready to hear it?" True rage was seeping into Tranquill's voice now, something that greatly contrasted the collected, calm demeanor he'd displayed throughout the majority of their day. "You can't just go around telling others the truth, especially that kind of truth, when you haven't yet taken into account the feelings of the ones you're informing."

"I did take his feeling into account!" Lucario argued. "I knew that there would be no way for us to be proper allies if I didn't tell him everything I knew about his brother. If I didn't at least try and be honest with him. He wasn't ready, you're right, I'll admit fault for not being as tactful as you. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have the right to the truth. That doesn't mean what I did was fundamentally wrong!"

"Look, I get where you're coming from, and I get why you did it. Maybe I would have done it if I were in a similar situation as you, who knows. But as it stands, right here, and right now…that was a stupid thing to do. A dumb decision to make, especially without my consent."

Lucario shook his head. "'My consent,' he says." He huffed out a disbelieving breath of air and shook his head. "I don't need your consent to tell someone the truth."

Tranquill opened his beak to respond, but then closed it. Lucario gave him a confused glance, about to open his own mouth in order to ask what was wrong. Torchic heard it just as everyone else did. She glanced behind her, hoping that it was just her imagination. But, as Lucario's own gaze reverted back to where she and Charmander sat, watching beyond them with wide, observant eyes, she understood what was about to happen. The day wasn't over yet, and whatever compelled the world wasn't yet done throwing terrible things their way.

The rustling started out behind her, but as Torchic trained her ears on the sounds of the surrounding forest, she realized whatever was in there wasn't alone. She could hear it to her left and right as well as in front of her, an amalgamation of snapping twigs and wavering bushes coercing her into a horrid understanding: They had been found.

Lucario began to back away from the fire. For one terrible instant, Torchic convinced herself that he was a traitor, that he was going to slink into the bushes alongside whatever was now getting ready to attack them, and would lead this foul, unknown enemy to victory by slaughtering them all. The next assumption she made was that he was going to run, abandon them and leave them to face an enemy they couldn't handle on their own, doing so only to selfishly save his own skin. But then the realization of truth washed over her, and while it was relieving, she was still more than a little nervous about handling the enemy without Lucario at their side.

Fading into the shadows like a ghost, Lucario began to traverse the woods between them and where Piplup and Chikorita were probably comforting each other at that moment. Lucario's blue fur was at first visible against the darkness of the forest beyond. Then, as he began to traverse deeper into the shadows, nothing but an outline remained. The rustling sounds were still playing in Torchic's ears, unflinching and unmoved by Lucario's own movement, when the Warden disappeared into the shadows.

Tranquill stood from the fire, although he didn't do so with as much quiet as Lucario had. While he too was silent, his shifting from the ground to his feet was accompanied by small sounds that Lucario had somehow managed to control as he stood. Tranquill's talons were also not as quiet as he stared around, his light gray feathers reflecting the rays of the firelight as though he were a dull angel. None of that appeared to matter, however. The rustling was still occurring, conspiring in the shadows against the three remaining Pokémon wrapped around their fire.

Torchic tried to calm her heart but was failing at doing so. It beat against her chest like a hammer, continual and determined to underscore the panic she felt deep within at having to deal with this situation now on this day. Flashbacks to the battle for the Red Desert started to play in her head. A battle so long ago that it felt like much more than a month had passed, yet all the same, it truly had only been that slim an amount of time. She could already feel shakes starting to encapsulate her body. She knew she would have to fight, wanted to fight, even, but that didn't stop her body from indicating a "fight or flight" response she understood she had no control over. Even so, she would steer her body in the right direction for the time being. She dug her claws into the ground, planting herself with firm resolve on the forest floor, waiting for the incessant rustling to stop. The enemy had to reveal itself so she could stop feeling like this. The only way she would achieve calm was if she fought like hell to protect it.

The rustling in front of her ceased. While this was a bit of a relief, it did not quell all of her worries, for the noises within the forest to her right and left were still audible from the fire. Paying attention to her surroundings, she watched out of the corner of her eye as Charmander began to step forward. Her heartbeat quickened at his firm resolve, an unrelenting gaze staring out into the dark foliage ahead. Even though he looked ready to protect and fight against whatever lay beyond in the darkness, Torchic couldn't help but grip the ground ever tighter with worry. Not him too, she thought. It was the last thing that passed through her mind before the black beyond parted.

Leaping out of the darkness, she saw the large, azure figure hurtling towards them with a toothy snarl. Its teeth gnashed as it leapt into the air, attempting to come down on top of them as quick as its body would allow so as to disorient its prey. At the same time that the Gabite launched itself out in front of them, two others burst out of the forest on either side. Instead of free-falling through the air like the one ahead, these two ran. Torchic was surprised to see just how fast such soldiers could move themselves despite the stub-like legs carrying their bodies. Nonetheless, they moved with swift precision, closing in on her and Charmander in particular. She knew they weren't sent here to kill them, not if they were important enough to have survived their last encounter with the Reapers. But she also didn't know just how much harm they could do to her and Charmander, how much they could truly get away with. And, despite how shaky she felt and the unsurety passing through her mind, she didn't intend to find out how deep their claws could sink.

Before either of them could move, Tranquill launched himself up from behind. Torchic only paid attention to him for a few seconds, but she did so just long enough to see him flap his wings once in the air as he came hurtling towards the Gabite in front of them. As if he had done something like this before all his life, Tranquill sunk his talons into the Gabite's throat. She heard a faint slashing sound, a faint huk of surprise as the goon's throat opened, coating Tranquill's chest feathers in its crimson blood. She knew it was already over as she turned away, as determined and ready as she would ever be, facing the Gabite now charging her from her right.

Like a latch unhinging from itself, her claws lifted from the dirt and grass below. Glinting in the rays of nearby firelight, her talons lifted alongside the rest of her body, just below, aiming in careful readiness towards the enemy soldier down below. Even so it charged, an animal enticed by fresh prey, bent on getting what it wanted no matter the strings, wills, and ways in which it would feed on her flesh. The look of genuine hunger in its gaze gave Torchic pause. It was momentary, and thankfully not vital, but even so, she couldn't help but to process the stare now in front of her. What can drive a Pokémon with such liveliness? she wondered. Though she didn't have long to wonder; her body pelted back to the ground below, this time her claws raised and ready to draw second blood.

With a crunch and a fleshy splattering, her talons came down on the Gabite's skull. As if he were a hapless grunt whose presence was met with little care by both Reapers and Wardens alike, he did not wear a helmet to protect his cranium. Torchic's claws were easily able to sink into the top of his head, piercing his brain in a single hard push. She could feel the fleshiness of his wound even though her foot never sank into the creature's head. It was like falling into meat. That was the only way her mind could register it without throwing up at the fact that, much like Toxicroak, she too was a murderer. This may not have been her first kill, but after Froakie, it was the only one that mattered. Pulling her claws out of the Gabite's head, she realized that maybe part of her did miss their fifth companion. That it had been a part locked away until now, a part that had simply stayed put out of fear of having to notify itself of the gruesome way in which death traced their every move.

This strange, pseudo-philosophical musing left her head as soon as the Gabite dropped to the ground. It may have lain dead there at the moment, but that wasn't important right now. What mattered was that there would be more of them, and given how much her body was now involuntarily shaking because of what she'd just done and just realized, she didn't know if she had the moral strength to kill others to preserve herself. It wasn't until she saw Charmander, jaws wrapped around his own Gabite's throat, push himself off the soldier's chest with a chunk of flesh still in his mouth that she understood. They had committed animalistic acts at the same moment as one another, that much was true. But they had not done it as these Gabite did, out of malicious malpractice and for the fortitude of a belief system. They did it because they wanted to live. They weren't protecting themselves for the sake of anything except for their lives.

Arceus, she was so tired. Was any of this even making sense?

Focus. Focus on the reality of the situation and where the attacks are coming from. The only way she knew she could make it out of this was if she paid attention and didn't let anything else distract her. Doing this allowed her to hear the heavy footsteps behind her, giving her pause and permitting a quick moment to turn around. The Gabite was nearly on top of her when she leapt straight up into the sky, hovering just above its running figure for a single, solitary moment. It tried to stop itself, to skid onto the ground and turn so it could curl itself around and, jaws outstretched, snap her out of the air. This, however, proved a futile attempt. As it tried to slow itself, its legs began to buckle beneath it. Even if it hadn't fallen, however, Torchic still would have driven her talons through its head. They slashed through the side of its skull, making their way through bone in ways only a sword could. The Gabite, for its part, wore a final look of shock on its face before the head lolled to the side, the body going limp while the eyes stayed open.

It took a bit more effort to pull her claws out of this one, but nonetheless, she managed to do so. Her mind was racing now as she looked around, realizing that there were more Gabite approaching them. Charmander was doing just as well as she was, two Gabite bodies by his side, a third one about to be made by one charging from what had been the front. Well, it would have been Charmander's third kill if Tranquill hadn't stepped in. The Flying type came rocketing out of seemingly thin air. A single slash of its claws across the approaching Gabite's throat was all it took. It stopped mid-run and, as if realizing something terrible had happened, reached up to its throat. Making a few final choking sounds as blood ran through its claws, the Gabite collapsed to the forest floor, knees first, then its whole body falling to the ground.

Looking back, Torchic was taken a bit off-guard at the four bodies spread about behind her. In just looking back to check Charmander's progress, Tranquill had managed to slay four other attackers. It took her a moment to notice the fifth one, standing in utter shock. It looked to be uninjured, but its eyes were clearly wide enough that it understood where its end would come from. And, like a dark angel taking its final victim, Tranquill rushed in from above, swooping in such a way that his talons ripped the back of the Gabite's neck apart with ease. It took a moment to realize it was dead before dropping just as its comrades had done moments prior.

Tranquill landed just between Torchic and Charmander. He, however, was not the first to speak. "Come on," Charmander said. "We have to find Piplup and Chikorita."

He started to walk forward, but Tranquill put his wing out. Charmander, confused, looked up. He was about to speak when Tranquill raised a wing to his mouth. At first Torchic didn't know what the gesture meant. Then she heard the additional, faint rustling coming from her left, and realized Tranquill wanted them both to remain quiet. They weren't off the hook just yet. Enemies were still lurking nearby.

Slow, Tranquill lowered his wing from his beak. He spoke in a barely audible whisper, just quiet enough that nothing around them in the forest would be able to hear what he said. "Lucario will take them to home base. The rest is up to us now."

Charmander opened his mouth to protest. Torchic did the same. Tranquill glanced between the two of them. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "But we have to be careful now. We'll meet up with them. We have to."

This last sentence sounded like grave desperation to Torchic. She knew that there was a real possibility the rest of them had been captured. That Piplup and Chikorita were now in the hands of the Reapers, being prepared for whatever experimental bullshit they were supposed to contribute to. Torchic didn't want to think about it right now, but how couldn't she when there was such a real possibly of such a thing transpiring? In that moment, all she wanted to do was shake the day away. To make it so there wasn't any more pain, make it so they all weren't separated from one another as they were now. Because just like that, in the blink of an eye, the group that had been together for so long had fallen apart. And all it had taken was one bad day.

Tranquill eyed the dark of the forest. The rustling sounds were still all around them, signals of approaching enemies they would have to deal with eventually. But for now, Tranquill pointed toward the darkness ahead. Torchic eyes it with cautious hesitation. If they moved forward now, there was no telling if they would even see Piplup and Chikorita again. The possibility that their group would go back to the way it was felt nigh impossible now. They had been dragged into something bigger, and while all their lives hung in the balance, it didn't mean they were going to be balancing on the same slick rope.

Torchic wanted to sink into the ground and never come back up.

Marching forward, the trio commenced their nighttime journey. Soon they were in the darkness of the forest, the smoldering fire long behind them. But Torchic still thought she could hear the click of its embers.