Cave of Embers

The best way to describe how I felt was a drenched candle. Yet somehow still burning. Tired, slow, laggy and ready to give out. Despite the relief I'd received from the tomato berry I still needed to recover.

"Tell me how you did that, you have to! Quilava to quilava!" Lyra urged, I grinned.

"Tell you what? How to limp?" I decided to play dumb, a glare from Lyra, however, was a good deterrent, "Breath fire?" I took my last chance to tease her.

"You, overheating, that should at least cut your power in half –it did nothing close!" she continued, I looked at Eyrie.

"Don't bother, he hasn't even told me that. The keepers starved and beat him for that secret, they didn't get it either," Eyrie told her, it sounded like an invitation for Lyra to try her luck at torturing me.

"Try starving me and I'll eat you," I growled at Lyra, she gave me an innocent look and raised her paws, which incidentally shrugged my arm from over her shoulder and made me collapse on the ground.

"You had to give her the idea, didn't you Eyrie?" I glared at Eyrie, trying to copy Lyra's glare, "Getting me hurt is getting to be a habit of yours."

"I was planning to do that anyway, I was thinking a long soak in the river, no food for a…" she trailed off in her rant and glanced down at me where I was struggling to my feet.

"You'll have to plan that later," a new voice cut in, I looked up at Mihail.

"How about you postpone it indefinitely," I suggested, well, demanded.

"Think you'll be fine tomorrow?" he asked.

"Fine for what?" Eyrie broke in, taking on the role my mother.

"A mission," Mihail replied.

"I will," I spoke, though mind you, not too much thought went into those words. I didn't feel like I could say no to Mihail, not out of fear, something else. Though I couldn't help but feel uneasy about the task I'd signed up for, whatever it may be.

"Tomorrow you'll be in bed and recovering," Eyrie stomped her paw, I heard Skarpy snicker, though Eyrie's gaze silenced him soon enough.

"There's something I want you to take a look at, there are a bunch of caves in the cliffs by the shore, the cliffs look like bumps on the horizon from here, an hour's walk," Mihail was cut off here.

"You might not need to walk, I've got something I was working on before… Boris… I finished it as the others were leaving," Skarpy began, "It's a board of sorts, it has four wheels and a little something I made; I call it a fire engine. It works whe-"

"We don't need the details on the mechanics, we won't understand the half of it anyway," Lyra cut in, though I myself was curious, I took her word for it. Skarpy seemed rather annoyed he was cut off judging by how he'd crossed his arms and was mumbling something I wasn't sure I wanted to hear.

"It's a transport vehicle, it'll get you there in no time," he explained in short.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Mihail asked, I went to say no.

"Yes," I blurted out, though everyone knew I didn't mean it, Eyrie knew I' stick to it. Mihail raised his eyebrows.

"I'll be fine by tomorrow, I'll be up and here in the morning," I told him, "Just let me sleep the rest of today."

"But its not even midday," Skarpy pointed out, I would have congratulated him on his keen observation but the looks he got from everyone said the same.

"Well, then, if I get to sleep now I might just get enough rest," I gave him a sidelong glance as I stepped away from the group and towards the boys' dorm.

Not that I planned to sleep, but I'd grown rather fond of spending time alone in the arena. After all, the only pokemon that didn't want to beat me black and blue was Eyrie; and one person's company can grow tedious, not that I ever told her that.

The trip was uneventful, only a few of the boys giving me odd and sometimes curious looks, I dispelled them with snorts of embers.

Once up at my tree hut I paused at the doorway and turned to face the view. It was as plain as expected, save for a few boulders around the perimeter of the guild's grounds. That reminded me, he said it was a cave; that meant rock types. And nothing I had would do a thing to them.

Well, I'd seen focus punch done a few times… I started to close my left paw slowly into a fist, as I did I felt a sting at my fingertips. I glanced down at the paw, a small blue sphere was growing in my palm, I turned towards the other paw and saw the same. I brought booth paws up in front of me, the two spheres jumped together as I did, coming together between my paws and growing to fill the space between them.

I'd heard of this move, but the name eluded me. I raised my paws at one of the boulders and locked my elbows to keep my aim true.

"Now all I need to -" I didn't have time to finish, the sphere launched a beam of light at my target. The recoil from the blast travelled up my arm, my elbows locked up and were alight with pain, unable to buckle and take the recoil. My shoulders were thrown back and I stumbled back into the hut to lessen the load on my arms.

"Ouch…" I mumbled as I regained my footing, my paws instantly went to nurture my elbows. My head tilted up to check the sphere, I last saw it out of the corner of my eye, before it disappeared in a blinding and explosive flash.

I was blinded before I could focus on the now gone sphere, my paws lifted from the ground and I was carried back, my shoulders taking the brunt of the impact as I was forced against the wall.

"Not focus punch…" I mumbled as I slid down onto my tail.

"Close; focus blast," a voice corrected me, the last thing I felt like someone doing.

"Thanks for the lesson," I replied blindly, my eyelids were still shut tightly and I couldn't focus myself on the voice, my ears were ringing from when my head whipped against the wall.

"One that went horribly wrong, you shouldn't step away from it, keep a solid hold on it, keep it under control," the voice continued. I would have blown an ember to get it quiet, but I had no aim and the tree hut was prime, dry and charred tinder.

"I could tell as much," I sighed.

"It's Mihail. Open your eyes, Ayr," he told me, my eyelids retreated slowly, faster as they realised the light had faded.

"You're quick," I replied as I confirmed for myself it was Mihail.

"Reputation stays true there," he grinned, even the hint of a chuckle.

"Re..?"

"Never mind mine, you'll have you own to tend to soon enough," he reached out and ruffled the fur between my ears. I had to say I wanted him to keep going after he stopped, a taste of the cub hood I was torn away from.

"As much as you're grown beyond your years, you are still well behind them," he commented, I was about to sing out 'hypocrit' but changed my mind, it would probably just serve to prove his second point.

"So I'm stuck between them?"

"Not at all."

"Mind if I get another tree hut…?" I added on a shyer note.

"Not like they have any other use," he grunted. I paused; feeling a slight guilt for his sourer mood.

"What should I do about the whole 'motivation' plan?" I asked in a clumsy attempt to change the topic.

"You've done enough for today, tomorrow's mission will take us another step forwards. But one thing to bear in mind, tell the whole story of what happens, don't spare certain details," he grinned, I raised my eyebrows with a rather dumbstruck look on my face. He seemed to know more about what would happen to me than I did, then again, I never had much of a clue; someone else always turned my wheel –Eyrie, namely.

"Not exactly the alpha boy, are you?" he asked with what was either uncanny timing or mind reading of the same sort. What less could I expect? He had a reputation.

"Well, depends on what you call…"

"Call the shots, lead the way, that sort of thing," he grinned, now a more casual conversationalist, dead set on catching me out on this.

"I'm more of the other one," I admitted, "Eyrie is my shoulder to lean on and I'm her obligation, I put that down to how we met, I was a mess."

"Don't undermine yourself, you have more than a few tricks behind your ears, none I've seen before; that's saying something," he said with an oddly strict tone, not quite what I'd expect from a pep talk.

"In a world where I was dirt, they're my mark. They singled me out, they made me something more," I mumbled, strange what a simple attack can mean to you when others treat you as a disposable. It gave me an identity, you could say, it made –makes- me unique.

"You are something more, maybe because of those tricks, maybe they are a result," the pearly claws on his hands reach out to the space between my ears once more, I savoured the few seconds they ruffled the fur.

"A stroll around the town, spending some time with pokemon your own age would be good for you," he commented, I agreed silently, leaving out the detail of them potentially hating me. I wasn't looking forward to it, but he wanted me to, so would Eyrie; and she'd take a step into making me do it.

"Well, I think I've made enough explosions for now; I'll get to sleep," I yawned.

He smiled and headed out without a sound, I sighed and lay down against the remnants of the hay, now mainly ashes and charred stalks, felt like home, the arena. Maybe I'd stick with this tree hut, it was familiar in that way.

I hadn't expected to fall asleep then, but I did, I wish I hadn't.

..-..

"You dare come here?" the phoenix roared, the one it was talking to gave what could be called a smirk, hard to tell, the only window of emotion was it's one eye.

"You're the last, you and you're aquatic sister," the shadow replied, much calmer.

"The last? They've fallen?" the phoenix's eyes went wide, the smirk grew.

"You're next."

Two appendages sprouted from the pitch black torso, both coming out in front of it and came to rest with the ends somewhat apart, between them grew a collection of rings, spinning on various axis to shape the illusion of a sphere.

"You wouldn't dare, my power is beyond yours," the phoenix hissed.

"Was," was the only word the shadow spoke back, level headed as ever as it thrust out it's sphere. The rings were launched as if sliding along a beam, tilting back and forth as they raced towards their target.

The bird brought it's wings together, each feather trailing an ember at it's tip, weaving a thin cloak of fire. The pulse hit the flames, ripping apart the fragile cloak, missing it's former inhabitant.

"Where…?" the shadow's impervious mask finally broke, the phoenix had evaded him once again. It was time to give him an… incentive, to stay.

"Stay in the shadows," the phoenix roared, a blazing twister burned into existence behind the shadow, the phoenix spread it's wings, tearing through the twister. But it didn't fade, the flames grew and wove around the wings.

The fiery silhouette clapped it's wings as the shadow turned to face it. There was no cry.

Another dark pulse could be seen as it made its way from the wings to the heart of the fiery silhouette, slowed slightly by the inferno it bore through. The fiery bird burnt out with embers trailing aimlessly towards the sky as the pulse reached it's mark. From within the fading wings the smirk returned, only to fade as the flames cleared. The phoenix was gone, and it wouldn't be a played a fool twice. The water bird would fall first, then.

..-..

I woke up the same way as before, exhausted but with my fire sac burning as it should.

"Three, two, one, and…" I counted down, Eyrie would come in soon enough.

"Ayr?"

"Alive and awake," I assured her, a look around the tree hut prompted a warning, "You better keep out, it looks like it's going to crumble."

"You get out, too, then," she replied as a half hearted order, she didn't sound like she'd slept.

"Bad night's rest?" it was a typical night in the arena, but here was different, at least for me.

"Not so much rest," she sighed as I stepped out from the doorway, now a charred circle.

We made our way down to the main room, on the way Eyrie told me the tree lit up halfway through the night, it didn't keep her up though, something else did.

"If you're having troubles with your fire, and having trouble with whatever happened when you went to your tree hut,"

"Focus blast gone wrong," I explained, she raised an eyebrow, "He said cave, rocks don't think much of fire."

"Fair point," she agreed.

"So, what'll you be doing while I'm away?" I asked.

"Some training of the guild members, albeit the guys don't like the idea," she grinned, there was a sheepish and rather proud air about her, she'd enjoy the job.

"Where?"

"Dojo in the tunnel by the kangaskahn storage, a little past Argentine's clinic," she explained, "And Lyra wants to know-"

"I know, and its not gonna happen," I gave her a sidelong glance, Eyrie knew more than anyone that how I did it was a jealously guarded secret. Eyrie shrugged back.

"Your problem, not mine," she replied.

"Hey, good luck coming back," Boris' trademark smirk was clear from the sound of his voice, "Even with a basic advantage I couldn't beat them, you don't stand a chance,"

"Even with a basic advantage you couldn't beat me," I pointed out as I turned around to face Boris, he had a slight limp aside from the odd bandage on his body to show for our fight yesterday. I pretended to know who 'they' were, I wanted to find out before I left.

"Stroke of luck," he sneered.

"Call it what you want," I replied evenly, the peachy tinge to his face was victory enough for now.

"You better get going, this isn't a casual exploration now, it's a rescue," Mihail's growl split the argument, "Ayr, get going; Boris, head to the dojo, treat your new tutor nicely," he gestured at Eyrie, a grin seemed to curl at the edge of his lip as Boris scowled.

"Rescue who?" I flexed my shoulders before the red spots above them sputtered with a series of embers before one took hold.

"No time to explain. Just go!" Mihail urged, I saved myself the lift of an eyebrow and turned to Eyrie, giving her a goodbye glance before darting towards the exit. On the way I plucked a wooden board from Skarpy's paws where he was working on it in his place by the archway. He did say it would get me there faster. A quartet of wheels marked each of the four corners, between the hind two was a metal box, sticking out was an iron knob.

"Hey!" Skarpy exclaimed, I heard the ghost of a sigh as the distance between us grew, "breath a few embers on the knob!" I heard him shout as I threw the board on the ground ahead of me. My paws lifted off the ground to land atop the board, I turned my head and launched a flamethrower at the rough knob at my heels. There was the hiss from within the box, a click, and chink of gears as the wheels took on drive of their own.

…

"No time?" Eyrie didn't save her raise of the eyebrow, "It's only a name."

"Best he stays confident," Mihail sighd, "He'll need it, and I can't let him back down."

"Need it?" she squeaked, "Who is it he's rescuing, and from who!" it wasn't a question.

"Get yourself ready, Lyra and Skarpy too, Ayr can get his hostage away, but he'll need a rescue of his own."

"Why did you send him then? Alone on top of everything!" Eyrie growled.

"It's someone very important, and you will need to catch the captor off guard to save him, no use if you try to win through numbers."

…

The bluffs soon dropped their guise as they drew closer, the grey stone tell tale of cliffs was now in sight past the green. I blew another set of embers at the knob to take me to the cliffs.

The board slowed to a halt a few meters ahead of the cliff where I stepped onto the stone. I took in a deep breath before peering over the cliff, immediately below me was gaping hole in the stone, a good a place as any to start. I threw my body over the cliff, with one forepaw with an iron grip on the ledge I swung back towards the cliff and into the cliff, making a somewhat rough landing in the mouth of the cave.

"Ok, let's see what this cave will throw my way," I said to myself as I stood up, my eyes were met with a surprise as the embers on my back cast a light over the walls, advancing over a number of scorch marks telling of a fire type. Odd…

I set a steady pace for myself as I stepped into the cave, it was empty contrary to my expectations, then again, who would want to be fending off ferals while waiting for a ransom?

"You won't win!" a defiant cry broke the silence of the cave.

"You echo the words of those who fell," a second voice responded, this one seemed to emanate from around me, though from just beyond the light.

"Not all of them have," the first voice replied with an obvious note of cheek.

"Ohh, but he will fall, he will run no longer if you are in my hold," there was an obvious grin in the way he spoke, a cackle with a mild attempt to be suppressed.

That was my cue. The flame at my back went out as I dropped on all fours and ran towards the voiced, behind me was a white aura barely visible in the nonexistent light. A light, likely from where the voiced had spoken, lit a corner ahead of me. I doubled my pace as my paws stepped over the light, making a sudden turn as I entered the chamber.

The chamber was empty, yet lit perfectly as if by firelight.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," a voice piped up, I glanced up to the wall opposite me, perched up, or rather bound, was a mew half encased in stone.

"Yes, we were wondering when you'd show up," the second voice spoke up. I felt a gentle gust at my back, there shouldn't have been one. I rolled forwards, shielding a small sphere of fire between my teeth, behind me a large, dark sphere which seemed big enough to swallow me whole dissipated as it hit the ground. I finished my roll with my muzzle aimed at the space where I had gouged my attacker's location.

I was close enough, a little to the left of my mark was a figure draped in a black, could have been the shadows, cloak. I didn't hesitate before launching my fireball, for a moment my vision changed, becoming clearer with each object seeming to glow from within, as if it harboured a fire like mine. The vision disappeared as my fireball grew to match his attack, in size at least, and obscure my view, when it got far enough to allow a view, the glows were gone. There was a satisfying firework as the attack met it's target, I let myself a premature grin just before his retaliation broke the flames; a dark sphere, it's core a black abyss, around it the dim light paled as daylight.

The new attack was bigger than it's predecessor, worse yet; faster, barely giving me time to drop my jaw before it struck. The air turned thick as the sphere hit me, I could feel my limbs fall slowly to my sides as all strength left me. I don't even remember hitting the ground.

A circle of fire erupted around me , though I might as well have been a paras. I edged away from the flames, though for every I took away, I took one closer. The flames were unsettling despite having been my mark, my haven, all my life. Slowly the flames settled to reveal a scene behind them; I could see Eyrie surrounded by shapes I couldn't make out, nor did I want to, all I knew was they were hurting her. I attempted to launch an overheat, but there was no warmth to tickle my tongue, no fire at my back, not even in my fire sac. The flames returned, more violently than before, now closer and oddly claustrophobic.

As quickly as it came; the nightmare vanished and I was left in a hypnotic sleep. I found myself waking up in the cave, it seemed somewhat brighter now. I looked around, it was empty now, the cloaked figure and the mew were gone.

"Huh, never thought the one to drive us out was a quilava," a new voice spoke up, as of yet unfamiliar. I perked my ears and looked towards the speaker, a small red fox with a curious excess of tails, six in total to be precise, and cute little hairdo of curls an a short fringe above her hazel eyes.

"Us? Drive out?" I felt like an idiot stammering those questions, I probably should have learned this far in life I wouldn't get the answer I wanted.

"A quilava boy," the vulpix corrected herself, or any answer at all for that matter. And she seemed observant, I thought to myself sarcastically.

"I just came here… one knock out ago, some cloaked thing hit me with an attack, a mew was being held prisoner, it wasn't fazed by my fireball," I managed to best my previous stammer with another, not that the vulpix seemed impressed.

"From the guild are you? Just like that punk Boris, thinks he's tough and that he can bowl over anything, ha! We sent him crying," she grinned, "You're next."

I refrained from asking who 'we' was, the answer was around the corner from experience. 'We' took their cue and rounded the bend; an assortment of brown rabbits clothed in cotton, an odd quilava, and a scatter of some more vulpix.

"Let me set it straight; I'm no friend of Boris', I know I'm tough, and I didn't 'drive you out'. But I will roast you," I shouted back, my quills were well alight now, and I struggled to keep my voice normal as a fireball grew on my tongue.

The small gang began to circle around me, ordinarily I'd have tried to keep them in front of me, but right now I had to probe a few things. I launched a jet of fire at each vulpix in rapid succession, all showed sign of taking damage, except the leader of this little gang, that is, not much at least. The more fire orientated of the group retaliated, I stepped to the side, ducking and weaving around the streams of fire. They were harmless to me, of course, but I couldn't let them know that… yet.

"Eat paw!" the makeshift battle cry came from above, I threw up a paw to meet the buneary's foot, stepping out of it's way and guiding the paw well clear of it's intended target. There was the sound of a tumble from somewhere beside me as the buneary stuck her landing, I was a bit busy, stuck in paw to paw combat with another quilava. The other quilava made constant attempts to sweep my footing, each time my hind paws sent slack as her's touched mine, flopping over the sweeping paw and finding their footing behind it. I followed my method as with the buneary, meeting their attacks with my paws and guiding them clear.

A single note sang out, it was well sung I had to admit, there was a slow change as it went higher. My assailants paused and backed away, each with grin on her face. Slowly the note began to change, words took shape within the single sound, a happy song, a lullaby, something a mother would sing. I felt my muscles begin to relax – no; weaken. The fire types in the group unleashed a simultaneous breath of fire my way, I shook myself the fight the growing weakness which spread throughout my body. The fiery tide found it's mark, it's furious onslaught though faded as it touched my hairs, the tongues of the savage beast were leashed and it's spirit drained away as the last of the embers drained towards my muzzle, drawn to the globe of fire at my nose.

"My flame will always glow brighter," I muttered the words, I didn't feel I could afford to expend much more as I spat the globe of fire towards the ground where it burst, I spread my arms in a gesture to include the entirety of the chamber, the flames took the command and spilled out, flooding out in every direction as a rolling cloud of fire, the ground behind it burned red, that ahead wasn't very far off. "Overheat!"

The note faded, with it the remainder of my strength, the song was over. I fell to my knees, doing whatever I could in my last moment of consciousness to break the impending fall.

...

So sorry for the huge delay, it's been hectic with school and all. I'm starting that all important year and my life have been a bomb site since late last year, everything i've done has decreased in quality and everything, sorry for the shoddy chapter but i needed to post something to get myself back into this stuff