Cynder looked at the Charizard nervously. "Uh, we don't want any trouble..." She laughed, trying to stay as calm as possible. "Stupid girl, maybe YOU don't... But I do!" the Charizard roared and slashed at Cynder, who had foreseen the attack and jumped out of the way.
"Get away from them!" A voice yelled, and a jet of flames shot at the Charizard, causing him to fall backwards. "Agh!" He screamed, tumbling down into the bottomless fissure of twilight. Moonlight was still shocked by the fact that Twilit Pokemon existed. She snapped out of her trance as an Umbreon with firey markings appeared beside her. "Wah! Who're you?" She asked curiously, but nervously.
"The name's Amber," replied the Umbreon. "Oh and by the way... You're welcome," she added sarcastically, a scowl on her face. "Th-that was you?" Maya stuttered, surprised. "Well, then, thanks a lot!" She exclaimed gratefully, "You saved our sorry butts!"
Amber shrugged. "Eh, it was nothing... Now see ya." She turned and began to walk away without any further words. The other three watched her, speechless, until Maya blurted out, "No, wait! Stay with us!" At this, Amber looked behind her, then turned around. "What? Why?" She inquired, "Why do I have to stay? You guys don't need me."
"Yes we do!" Maya whined, "Please! We're gonna defeat Makoro!" Moonlight and Cynder, who had been silent for a while, looked at her, bewildered. "Okay, first of all," said Moonlight, "Who or what is Makoro?!"
Maya looked over at her sister. "That Weavile I told you about. That's his name," She replied matter-of-factly. Cynder raised an eyebrow and lookd at her. "Right... And just how to you suppose we're gonna defeat him?" She sat up on her hind legs and crossed her forelegs. "How will we get to him?"
"I believe I can help with that..." A female's quiet but serene voice interrupted. Maraya, the small Twilit Riolu, appeared out of the shadows. Maya jumped, nervously posing in a very silly-looking Kung Fu position. "No, I'm not going to hurt you," Maraya assured, and Maya relaxed.
Amber stood alert and ready for any attacks. "Who are you, what are you, and what do you want?!" She snarled at Maraya defensively, who was slightly taken aback. "My name is Maraya, and I'm a Twilit Riolu." She answered calmly. "I heard you were going after Makoro... I'd like to help you." Cynder looked at the Riolu. "But isn't he your master?" she asked, and Maraya shrugged in response. "I guess so... But I don't want him to be."
Moonlight stared at her, confused. She whipped her head around, seeing a pink and blue dot hovering above her nearby. "Hey! You! Get down here!" She called up to it. The dot heard her, and darted down, skidding to a stop right in front of Moonlight. "Hi! I'm Ruby!" It said, and it was revealed that the dot was a Mew.
Moonlight blinked. "Um... hi? I'm Moonlight, and that's Maya, Cynder, Amber, and Maraya." She pointed to everyone as she spoke their names. Maya waved at Ruby happily, then turned back to Maraya. "Can you really get is into the twilight realm?" She asked, and the Riolu nodded. "Yeah, but we should gather more allies first..." She replied. Maya understood, nodding. "Yeah... Okay!"
Ruby flew over to a dark cave, where she saw a Raichu sleeping. "Hey! This can be an ally!" She pulled on the Raichu's tail, causing it to jump up, darting out of the cave and crashing right into Maya. Cynder laughed at this before asking, "Who are you?"
The Raichu stood up. "I'm Layla," She said. Maya was overly excited. "Wanna come beat up Makoro with us?!" she blurted out. "Um... sure, why not? I KNOW TOXIC!" Layla smirked. Maya giggled and grinned goofily. "Yay! I'm Maya; that's Maraya, Moonlight, Ruby, Cynder, and Amber."
"Yeah, yeah, now that we've all been introduced, howsabout we get some sleep? I'm bushed," Amber yawned, heading into Layla's cave. The others shrugged and followed her post-haste. "We should go up that mountain. I saw really strong Pokemon up there," Ruby said sleepily. "Y'know, tomorrow..." She fell asleep shortly after. Maraya nodded, "Yeah..." She looked around. All of the others had fallen asleep. "Tomorrow..." She muttered, drifting off into a deep sleep.
Makoro's Rise to Power
Makoro's Rise to Power
(all characters are copyright to their original owners, who you can find on deviantart.com.)
Prologue
The palace where the Twilit Pokemon King, Makoro, lived, was seemingly empty... an ominous feeling lingered in the atmosphere, as if something was going to happen. Makoro was sitting in his throne room, staring down at a small Riolu, twilit like himself. "...A disgrace. You know that?" His words were spoken with true hate, and his eyes narrowed at the Riolu. "Yes, master, I understand." She was on her knees, bowing obediently. "Shall I..." She began. "Yes, Maraya. Do it however you please. As long as it's painful and gets the job done," Makoro added the last sentence after a small pause, sneering evilly. The Riolu nodded, "Yes, of course, whatever you say..." She walked away with her head lowered in shame at her command.
"T-058!" Maraya yelled at the top of her voice as soon as she exited the palace. A small twilit growlithe that appeared not to be much more than a puppy appeared almost immediately, teleporting from where it had been. "What?" It growled gruffly, baring its fangs at the Riolu. "The Master said you're a disgrace to all of us, so I'm going to have to end you... Sorry." Maraya's heart sank but she knew Makoro would find out if she let the Growlithe go. She closed her eyes, shadow-like vines creeping out from her paws. I really wish I didn't have this power... it makes me seem kinda evil... She thought to herself as she did so.
"Wait! C-Can't we work this out?!" The Growlithe whimpered, folding its ears back and backing away from Maraya slowly. "Why...?" Maraya opened her eyes in what appeared to be a sinister glare. "Sorry..." She muttered, and the vines shot out at the growlithe, strangling it. In just moments, the growlithe lost the ability to breathe, and the vines retracted, dropping it to the ground. Maraya turned away, ashamed at what she had done. "Makoro... one of these days..." She muttered to herself angrily.
The Riolu looked down suddenly as her bracelet was beginning to blink red. "Great... what does he want now...?" She teleported back to the palace throne room and faced Makoro. "Yes, m'lord?" She bowed obediently and waited for Makoro to speak. "The world outside ours... what's it like?" Makoro inquired thoughtfully. "Tell me!" He commanded. Maraya was taken aback, but answered nevertheless. "Well... um... I-It's..." She stuttered, "It's lighter than ours, and goes through both day and night... and it's much more colorful, and easier to live in--" "Perfect, simply perfect." She was cut off by Makoro's words.
"Er... Perfect? What do you mean? For what?" Maraya looked up at him confused, raising an eyebrow. Makoro laughed evilly. "Foolish girl. You will find out soon enough..."
Chapter 1
It had been a few weeks since the past events in the Twilight Realm had occurred. Now, two Umbreon were running around in a grassy meadow. It was close to midnight, and the shiny Umbreon was running after the other. The shiny one's purple scarf flowed behind her, as did her sister's red one.
"Maya!" The shiny Umbreon called. "Get back here with that!" Maya, the other Umbreon with a long, flowing ponytail, was running from her sister with some sort of pendant in her mouth. "No! It's mine, Moonlight," was her muffled reply. She skidded to a stop just short of a fissure that had opened in the middle of the meadow, nearly falling in.
Moonlight stopped right behind her sister. "Give me that," She snarled, snatching the pendant from Maya while the fissure occupied her, seeming mesmerized. "What... what is it?" Maya looked down into the fissure, her words barely escaping her mouth.
"It's called a fissure, what else do you think it is?" A female's voice made the two Umbreon jump up, startled, Maya falling into the fissure. She grabbed the edge of it and clung to it for dear life. Moonlight helped her sister up, rolling her eyes, and turned around, spotting a strangely colored Espeon, the yellow orb atop her head glowing in the darkness. "Who... who are you?" Moonlight murmured, puzzled by the Espeon's odd appearance.
"The name's Cynder," The Espeon replied, swishing her tail behind her. "And... you're Moonlight, and the odd one behind you is Maya." Moonlight blinked. "How’d you--" She began, but Maya interrupted her, "She's an Espeon. HELLOOOOOOO? Psychic powers!" Moonlight looked over at Maya, who was now standing next to her. "Oh, right," She muttered. "Why're you here, anyway, Cynder?" Maya asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Eh, just sorta wandering around," Cynder replied. "I also heard that a lot of weird fissures were appearing... and that the bottom of them isn't normal, it's got all these sort of weird... markings at the bottom." She walked over and peered down into the fissure. "Yup, just as I thought... They've been appearing for about a week now. It’s really weird."
"D'you think the Twilit Pokemon have anything to do with it? Those look like their markings." Maya was standing next to Cynder now, looking down at the markings as well. Moonlight scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Maya, stop talking about them... They're only figments of your imagination, nothing else." Maya looked up and glared at Moonlight, "They are not! They're real! I've seen some of them!" She objected, but she knew Moonlight would never listen to her.
"Twilit Pokemon...?" Cynder inquired curiously. "What are they?" Moonlight looked over at her, flailing her arms frantically. "No, don’t get her sta--" But it was too late. Maya had already begun to speak rapidly. "Twilit Pokemon are like us, normal Pokemon, but they're all black and have weird red markings all over them, like the ones at the bottom of that fissure. Their leader is a Weavile, and he wears a full-body cloak with Twili markings ALL OVER it." She paused for a moment. Cynder looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Are they evil? If they are, are all of them?" She asked.
"Actually, they all are, since their Weavile leader is evil. Although I think that one of them isn't really evil, that she was once normal but was turned Twilit by that Weavile King. She just pretends to be one of them, I think." Maya finished her description of Twilit Pokemon. Moonlight sighed. "Cynder, don’t listen to her... She's insane. Twilit Pokemon can't POSSIBLY exist." She gave her sister a glare and shook her head in disappointment.
"BUT THEY DO!" Maya screamed loudly. Cynder covered her ears, flinching. After a moment, she spoke again, "Well, you said they have the same markings as the bottom of these fissures, right?" Maya nodded. "And the markings are red... Maya, I think you might have some sort of a logical theory here." She looked down at the fissure again, studying the markings carefully. "I wonder... Do they really exist?"
"They do, my dear Espeon. They do." Yet another voice was heard, and Cynder flipped around to find herself face-to-face with a black Charizard, with a white stomach and white wings. Across his arms were the markings of the Twili. "You're... you're..." Cynder stammered. "IMPOSSIBLE!" Moonlight exclaimed in disbelief. "It can't be!"
"It is..." Maya was the only one that seemed somewhat calm as she spoke. Her voice was quiet and small, barely audible. "It... it's a twilit Pokemon."
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
The next day, Ruby was the first to awaken. Dawn was breaking, and the little Mew couldn't help but be excited about the group's later trek to the mountain. She headed outside for some fresh air, the covering of dew on the grass sparkling in the morning sunlight.
Suddenly, she heard two voices, a male's and a female's. Ruby curiously but sneakily flew up to the cliff overlooking the cave. "Where could she be? I know she's with them, but..." A Vulpix, currently speaking, was the owner of the female voice, and the male was a Sandshrew. Ruby gasped -- both were Twilit Pokemon. She hid below the cliff's edge and listened carefully.
"Makoro'll kill us if we don't find her... She'd better turn up soon," the Sandshrew moaned. "Oh, quit your whining," growled the Vulpix. "I know Maraya will turn up soon. She's nearby... I can sense it."
"Maraya..." Ruby muttered, her eyes widening. She darted back down to the cave frantically. She flew over to Moonlight, who was now awake. "Moonlight! I saw Twilit Pokemon! They're looking for Maraya," the Mew said hurriedly. "We... We gotta go!" She flew over to Cynder and tugged on the sleeping Espeon's ear. "Wake up! Up, up, up!" she screamed.
Cynder frowned, tiredly opening her eyes. "Mmff..." she muttered sleepily. Amber and Maya, who had been outside finding a decent route to the mountain, heard Ruby and ran back to the cave. "What's wrong?" Amber asked. "Yeah, we heard you screaming," added Maya.
"Twilit... Pokemon..." panted Ruby. "What about them? Ruby, relax and tell us," Layla, who had been listening from her spot in the corner, said, but Ruby was out of breath. By this time, however, Moonlight had managed to wake Maraya. "Here, I'll just tell you..." she sighed, "Ruby overheard a couple of Twilit Pokemon talking, and they're looking for Maraya."
"Uh-oh..." Maraya muttered. She looked at the others. "We should leave, like, now!" She bolted toward the mountain at a high speed. "I guess we'd better follow her," yawned Cynder before taking off after Maraya. The other five shortly caught up with the two and ran together with them as a group.
"Halt," commanded a deep, powerful voice as they approached the mountain. "What business have you at this mountain?" A black and red Lugia fluttered down from above and landed in front of the group, blocking their path. "Eep!" Ruby yelped and hid behind Amber, who was glaring fiercely at the Lugia. "Hey! Let us pass," she growled.
"And just why should I do that? I am Tiberious, and this is my mountain!" the Lugia roared and flapped his wings. "It's 'kay, Tibby, they mean well. Let 'em pass." A Grumpig jumped down from a small ledge and landed beside Cynder. "Name's Helen, and you are...?" She prodded on.
Tiberious was glaring at Helen. "I told you not to call me that! And fine," he said, "You seven may pass." Maya was smiling as she spoke, "Yay! Thanks for helping us, Helen. I'm Maya, and that's Cynder, Moonlight, Amber, Ruby, Layla, and Maraya."
"Nice names," Helen commented. She cocked her head to the side with a paw on her hip. "So what're you doing here, anyway?" Maya took the liberty to answer, "We're recruiting allies to defeat the evil King Makoro!"
Helen raised an eyebrow. She seemed interested. "King Makoro, eh? Word around this mountain is that he's the leader of those Twilit thingamabobbers that keep popping up, and he's causing those fissures. Yup, like the one you saw down in that valley," She said. After a little bit of thought, she added, "I'll come with you." She smiled.
Maya nearly jumped for joy. "Woo! Yay!" It was at that moment that she noticed the others had started climbing the mountain already. "Hey, are you coming, Maya?" Layla called. "Yeah, hold on a sec!" Maya returned, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Helen, d'you think you can get Tiberious to come? He'd be a nice ally," She pleaded.
Helen nodded, "Yeah, I'll try." She motioned for Tiberious to come over to her, and he did. "Hey, come with us," She ordered. "I'm not taking orders from you!" Tiberious said, slightly insulted by the fact that Helen was trying to order him around. "Yes you are, you're coming!" Helen jumped up on the Lugia's back and sat on him as if he was a horse.
"Ugh! Fine!" Tiberious reluctantly agreed. "Just get off of me. I'll carry all of you if you need it later, though..." He spread his wings after Helen got off of his back and flew to the top of the mountain, calling, "I'll meet you guys up there!"
Maya and Helen quickly jumped up to meet the others and continued climbing. Maya looked over her shoulder. She could've sworn she saw something... Little did she know what she saw was a Glaceon bearing pink jewelry all over. The Glaceon gave chase to the group and headed up the mountain with them without any of them knowing.
Suddenly, she heard two voices, a male's and a female's. Ruby curiously but sneakily flew up to the cliff overlooking the cave. "Where could she be? I know she's with them, but..." A Vulpix, currently speaking, was the owner of the female voice, and the male was a Sandshrew. Ruby gasped -- both were Twilit Pokemon. She hid below the cliff's edge and listened carefully.
"Makoro'll kill us if we don't find her... She'd better turn up soon," the Sandshrew moaned. "Oh, quit your whining," growled the Vulpix. "I know Maraya will turn up soon. She's nearby... I can sense it."
"Maraya..." Ruby muttered, her eyes widening. She darted back down to the cave frantically. She flew over to Moonlight, who was now awake. "Moonlight! I saw Twilit Pokemon! They're looking for Maraya," the Mew said hurriedly. "We... We gotta go!" She flew over to Cynder and tugged on the sleeping Espeon's ear. "Wake up! Up, up, up!" she screamed.
Cynder frowned, tiredly opening her eyes. "Mmff..." she muttered sleepily. Amber and Maya, who had been outside finding a decent route to the mountain, heard Ruby and ran back to the cave. "What's wrong?" Amber asked. "Yeah, we heard you screaming," added Maya.
"Twilit... Pokemon..." panted Ruby. "What about them? Ruby, relax and tell us," Layla, who had been listening from her spot in the corner, said, but Ruby was out of breath. By this time, however, Moonlight had managed to wake Maraya. "Here, I'll just tell you..." she sighed, "Ruby overheard a couple of Twilit Pokemon talking, and they're looking for Maraya."
"Uh-oh..." Maraya muttered. She looked at the others. "We should leave, like, now!" She bolted toward the mountain at a high speed. "I guess we'd better follow her," yawned Cynder before taking off after Maraya. The other five shortly caught up with the two and ran together with them as a group.
"Halt," commanded a deep, powerful voice as they approached the mountain. "What business have you at this mountain?" A black and red Lugia fluttered down from above and landed in front of the group, blocking their path. "Eep!" Ruby yelped and hid behind Amber, who was glaring fiercely at the Lugia. "Hey! Let us pass," she growled.
"And just why should I do that? I am Tiberious, and this is my mountain!" the Lugia roared and flapped his wings. "It's 'kay, Tibby, they mean well. Let 'em pass." A Grumpig jumped down from a small ledge and landed beside Cynder. "Name's Helen, and you are...?" She prodded on.
Tiberious was glaring at Helen. "I told you not to call me that! And fine," he said, "You seven may pass." Maya was smiling as she spoke, "Yay! Thanks for helping us, Helen. I'm Maya, and that's Cynder, Moonlight, Amber, Ruby, Layla, and Maraya."
"Nice names," Helen commented. She cocked her head to the side with a paw on her hip. "So what're you doing here, anyway?" Maya took the liberty to answer, "We're recruiting allies to defeat the evil King Makoro!"
Helen raised an eyebrow. She seemed interested. "King Makoro, eh? Word around this mountain is that he's the leader of those Twilit thingamabobbers that keep popping up, and he's causing those fissures. Yup, like the one you saw down in that valley," She said. After a little bit of thought, she added, "I'll come with you." She smiled.
Maya nearly jumped for joy. "Woo! Yay!" It was at that moment that she noticed the others had started climbing the mountain already. "Hey, are you coming, Maya?" Layla called. "Yeah, hold on a sec!" Maya returned, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Helen, d'you think you can get Tiberious to come? He'd be a nice ally," She pleaded.
Helen nodded, "Yeah, I'll try." She motioned for Tiberious to come over to her, and he did. "Hey, come with us," She ordered. "I'm not taking orders from you!" Tiberious said, slightly insulted by the fact that Helen was trying to order him around. "Yes you are, you're coming!" Helen jumped up on the Lugia's back and sat on him as if he was a horse.
"Ugh! Fine!" Tiberious reluctantly agreed. "Just get off of me. I'll carry all of you if you need it later, though..." He spread his wings after Helen got off of his back and flew to the top of the mountain, calling, "I'll meet you guys up there!"
Maya and Helen quickly jumped up to meet the others and continued climbing. Maya looked over her shoulder. She could've sworn she saw something... Little did she know what she saw was a Glaceon bearing pink jewelry all over. The Glaceon gave chase to the group and headed up the mountain with them without any of them knowing.
Chapter 4
By the time Maya and Helen reached the summit, they found that all of the others had been way ahead of them, especially Tiberious and the rest of the flying Pokemon. Maraya also had scaled it with ease due to her extremely powerful strength in her legs. "Looks like they beat us..." Maya muttered to Helen sheepishly. "No, really?" Helen gave Maya a look that said "duh, Sherlock" to her. Maya folded her ears back and rejoined the group alongside Helen. "So... where to now?" Ruby sat atop a rock, resting. The air on the summit was awfully tight, making it hard for them all to breathe, with the exception of Tiberious. He was used to it. Maya glanced around. "I dunno..." she sniffed the air curiously. She felt a sudden chill and shivered. "Is it just me or did it just get a lot colder?" She wondered aloud. "Yes, although the mountain's summit is supposed to be cold, it's a lot colder than it should be." Tiberious was the one to speak now, raising his head to the sky. "And technically, it's not the right season to snow yet..." He reached out with his wing and caught a snowflake on its tip, studying it carefully before it melted away. "So why did it begin to snow?" Moonlight looked up, and a snowflake fell right on her snout. She wrinkled her nose and shook off the drop of water that formed when it melted. "Snow? How's that possi—" "What’s that?" She was interrupted by Layla's curious call. The Raichu was staring intently at a mysterious silhouette that had appeared not far from the group's position. "Who are you?" Amber called out to it bravely. "Show your face!" The silhouette nodded and walked out of the shadows so the group could see it. It was the mysterious Glaceon that had followed them up the mountainside! "My name is Glitta. Sorry about the snow," The Glaceon spoke with a quiet but serene voice. "I heard you were looking for allies to defeat the evil that lingers in the atmosphere of this world... May I join you?" The group was taken aback by Glitta’s request. "Join us? Why?" Amber asked, raising an eyebrow. "I want to help you!" Glitta answered, slightly annoyed that she wasn’t already accepted. "Look, I'm sorry I snuck up on you but I want to help you defeat that evil king! And besides," She smirked, "You need all the help you can get, don't you?" Maraya nodded. "She's right, we need to gather as many allies as possible before we can even think of facing Makoro." The Riolu crossed her arms. "What do you say, guys? I think we should let her come with us." "Fine," Amber agreed. She knew the others had already decided Glitta could join them anyway. "Welcome to the team." Helen spoke now, and she grinned at Glitta. "Team? What team?" Maya cocked her head to the side, confused. "Pfft, just ignore her... Don't question her, please, she'll get into a big discussion that'll last all day." Tiberious whispered to her, rolling his eyes. "Ooh... good point," Maya replied, also whispering. "Hey, has anyone seen Ruby?" Amber looked over at the rock Ruby had been sitting on only to find that the little Mew was no longer there. "Um... no, I haven't seen her," Maya replied. "Where'd she go?" "Hey guys! Look who I found!" Ruby came virtually out of nowhere with Cynder tagging along behind. "Cynder?" Maraya looked. "I was wondering where she was." "Sorry guys, I was looking for more allies—Who's that?" She pointed at Glitta. "Oh that's Glitta, she's with us now." Maraya replied. "But more importantly... who's that?" She was pointing at a small furry, but spiky creature that was behind Cynder. "Oh!" Cynder laughed. "I forgot, I found this little guy and he said he'd help us. And look! He even came with a buddy." She pointed at a white Eevee hiding timidly behind them. "That Eevee there is named Marrow, and the Zigzagoon—that’s the little spiky ball of awesomeness—is Creamsaver. They both want to help." "Well then, you two, welcome to the—" Helen began, but was stopped as Layla stuffed her tail in her mouth. "Don't start," She hissed a warning to her. Helen yanked Layla’s tail out of her mouth and spat, "Fine! I won't." "So, do you guys know anything about the Twilit Pokemon?" Maya inquired curiously. Marrow looked up as she mentioned them. "Uh... Well I know your friend there is one, and I know most of them are evil. That's about it though," He answered sadly. "Sorry I'm not much help..." Maya smiled. "Oh that's okay! Just the fact that you're aware of them is good. What about you, Creamsaver? Creamsaver?" She looked around, but the Zigzagoon had disappeared. "Uh oh..." Moonlight muttered. “Where'd he go?" Maya panicked. "I dunno! Everyone split up in groups and look for him, he could be in danger!" To be continued... Chapter 5 At Maya's orders, the group split up in search of Creamsaver. Ruby, Layla, Glitta and Moonlight set off in an Eastern direction, and Helen, Maraya, Marrow and Tiberious went to the West. That left Maya, Cynder and Amber to head in a straight path to the North. "Where d'you think he went?" Maya inquired. "I dunno, he was right behind me a little while ago..." Cynder replied, folding her ears back. "Maybe he went in there?" Amber suggested, pointing at a strange cave embedded in the side of a rock. "I dunno, it's... kinda creepy," Maya said. Cynder stared into the mouth of the cave intently. "...I think we should check in there," she said after a moment's thought. "I'm pretty sure... he's in there..." She muttered. Her eyes were fixed on the darkness of the cave. "What?! But it's so scary!" Maya whined, but Cynder's serious expression made her cave. "...Fine," she muttered. The three made their way into the cave. After a few moments passed, the three noticed an eerie red glow. "Uh... Maya, what is that?" Cynder asked nervously. "I don't like the looks of it..." Maya, however, did not hear her. She was hypnotized by the glow and was walking toward it. "Twilight..." the Umbreon muttered. "Woah, Maya! W-wait!" Amber called. She leapt in front of Maya, blocking her path. "No... Move..." Maya muttered, almost mindlessly. She pushed past Amber and walked ever closer to the red glow. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, an evil laugh, and both Cynder and Amber were immobilized where they stood. "Wh-what?!" Amber stuttered. "I.. can't move!" Cynder exclaimed. Maya, however, still edged nearer to the strange glow. "Heh-heh-heh!" A voice that seemed to be in front of her cackled. "Good choice..." A male Lucario walked out of the shadows. Maya was obviously completely oblivious because of the glow, as she did not acknowledge him. "Good, T-448... You've captured the so-called smart one." A second voice was heard as yet another Pokemon walked out of the shadows. This time, it was a female Ivysaur. Both were Twilit Pokemon. "Thank you, T-002... But your solarbeam was a really big help, what with it giving off that glow and all." The Lucario replied. Smirking, he swiftly wrapped Maya in ropes before she had a chance to escape. "Maya!!" Cynder yelled. "Let her go, you crooks!" She tried to get her body to move but failed. She gave up, frowning in disappointment. "Yeah, and if it's only two of you, a Lucario and Ivysaur... Neither of you can learn immobilizing moves as far as I know, so..." Amber wondered aloud, "How'd you two paralyze us like this?!" Her voice echoed across the cave walls. "Oh, that wasn't us..." the Ivysaur chuckled. "It was those sneaky Ekans' glare attacks." She aimed her solarbeam light at the cave's floor where Cynder and Amber stood. As the Ivysaur had said, there were several Ekans surrounding them. "Eek! It's true!" Amber shrieked. She managed to burn one of them with her flamethrower. "Flamethrower?!" the two Twilit Pokemon exclaimed in unison. "You'd better do this quick, T-448! That could mean trouble for us!" the Ivysaur hissed. She and her partner both knew they were weak against fire. The Ivysaur being a grass-type, and Lucario being part steel-type, fire-type attacks could do them a great deal of damage. "Right," the Lucario nodded. He raised his arms so the spikes on his wrists could strike. "This'll teach you to open your mouth about us!" He screamed at Maya, whose eyes now widened with fear, but could not speak. She wanted to blow an ice beam at her attackers, but they had muzzled her. "No! Maya!" Amber yelled, struggling to recover from paralysis. But her struggles were useless as were Cynder's, the Ekans were obviously very strong. There was a loud scream--muffled, but still loud--as the Lucario plunged one of his spikes into Maya's side. |