(no subject)
We traveled in silence. It was a bit unusual for Aycee to be very untalkative, but this was kind of a big deal, wasn't it? Father Hough could have been in danger, and it was up to us to bring him back safely. Aycee had been right about the snow wiping out any tracks Father Hough might have left; for all we knew, we were headed the wrong way entirely. All we could do was keep going, and keep our eyes peeled for some sort of sign. Even that was hard. The moon shone full and bright, but the pines around us kept most of the light out. Not everyone had the benefit of dark-type night vision, after all; more than once I hear Aycee swear under her breath as she stubbed her foot on an unseen root or stone. Behind me, Enoki was having trouble too, but for different reasons. I could tell he wasn't used to the cold, and being a grass-type meant he was especially vulnerable. He was a real trooper, though; he just kept on hopping away without a word of complaint.
"Mewtwo's asshole--!" And there was Aycee again. This time, she almost faceplanted into the snow. I reached out on instinct and grabbed her arm. She managed to avoid a fall, and shot a smile at me over her shoulder. "Thanks, Thierry. Just watch the claws next time, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Look... maybe I should lead. I can see in the dark better. Besides, Enoki's not used to your vocabulary. I think you're gonna scar his ears with your creative cursing."
"Naw, it's cool. I get a kick out of picturing a legendary Pokemon's posterior." Enoki drew up next to me and chuckled.
Aycee turned around and frowned at the two of us. "Y'know what, Thierry? Screw you. I'm leading. It's not my fault this stupid path is a neglected sack of crap." And that was that. Aycee turned on her heel and marched forward, though her point was somewhat blunted by the fact that she didn't even make it five steps away before she stumbled again. "The hell is this? The whole point of a road is to make it so there's nothing to slow you down! Ugh... Thierry, Enoki, not a word, got it?"
The two of us exchanged amused glances, but shrugged and followed behind her. I knew Aycee well; I wasn't dumb enough to try and stop her.
The rest of the walk up the mountain path was uneventful. Aycee swore, Enoki shivered, I strolled. I was beginning to wonder why I'd been so nervous about this mission--so far, it was proving pretty boring. We hadn't seen a single soul. Where were the untold perils and scores of foes that were supposed to hinder rescue teams? There was no glory at all in taking a moonlit walk up some disused path to an abandoned mine. I wasn't exactly the most fearsome brute out there, but I was itching to prove myself in a real, honest-to-goodness battle!
Man, irony's a bitch. We had just made it out of the pines and the mine entrance was in sight when Aycee drew to a halt and dropped to the ground. Enoki followed suit, no questions asked, so I figured I'd better do the same. Aycee shifted so she was facing us and whispered. "There's people at the mine entrance. Thierry, your eyes are better than mine. See if you can see who they are. And be careful not to get spotted!"
What, like I was gonna start banging cymbals and waving a flag around or something? I raised myself up carefully and squinted into the moonlight. Sure enough, I could see three Pokemon hanging around the entrance to the mine. I dropped back down again and made my report. "Mew in heaven. It's Schist, Casey, and Kanei." Aycee groaned, but Enoki just looked puzzled. "A Graveler, Lucario, and Linoone. They've got a reputation around town for being a bunch of thugs, and it's well-deserved. Why the Mayor hasn't ordered them to be locked up yet's entirely beyond me. So my question is now what? If we want to look in the mine, then we'll have to get past them, and we all know they'll take any excuse to fight."
"I wouldn't be too surprised if those jerks had something to do with Father Hough's disappearance," Aycee growled. "We can take 'em. Guys like that are all talk and no action."
"I dunno, Aycee. They're pretty tough." I frowned, glancing over to the three figures gathered around the mine entrance. "Just charging in seems like an invitation to get our tails handed to us."
"Who said anything about charging in?" Enoki spoke up, another of his slow, easygoing smiles creeping onto his face. "These guys don't know me yet, so they probably won't expect anything if I come up alone. I'll draw their attention, and you guys will circle around. Use the rocks as cover and ambush them. There's three of them and three of us, so it'll work out perfect."
"Good idea, Enoki. I'll take Kanei. No offense, but you guys would be too slow for him." Aycee nodded, her teeth bared in anticipation of the bloodshed about to come. Leave it to her to get all worked up over this.
"And I'll take the Lucario... Casey, was it? Sorry, Thierry, but with your fighting weakness, he'd cream you for sure." Enoki remained as placid as ever, but beneath the shady brim of his mushroom cap his eyes were bright and alert.
"Guess that leaves me with Schist, then," I muttered. Go figure I'd get the heavy one.
"Sounds like a plan. Okay, Aycee, you go right, and Thierry, you circle to the left. I'll give you a little head start, then I'll go." Enoki lifted his hands to tighten the red bandana around his neck, then waved one hand impatiently. The two of us nodded, the crept off in our respective directions. Now more than ever, I was glad to be a Sneasel. Those predator instincts really helped out, and the pale blue coloration of all northern Sneasels certainly didn't hurt, either. I ducked behind a rock and risked a peek. I could see Enoki approaching the mine entrance, though there was a goofy swagger to his walk and he seemed to be having trouble finding his footing. For a moment, I was confused, but then I remembered the little display he'd put on when we'd first met.
Casey wasn't going to have any idea what had hit him. I ducked my head and kept going. As I drew closer, I could hear voices.
"Whoa, buddy, where do you think you're going? This mine's closed off."
"Clo--... wha? The hell d'ya mean s'closed off?" That slur had to be Enoki. He really went the whole nine yards on this Drunken Fist thing, huh?
"Yeah. It's real dangerous in there. Could collapse at any moment."
"Huh, well... that's... that's what your mom said." Enoki again, this time with a boozy snicker.
"Okay, buddy. Why don't you just turn around and head back where you came from? Sounds like you've had quite a night so far, and we'd hate to sour it on you."
By that time, I was in position. I cautiously lifted my head and waved to Enoki, who was looking like a stiff breeze would tip him over. A swift glance to my side told me Aycee was waiting to pounce, too. I shifted my attention back to the scene in front, waiting for Enoki to make his move.
"Naw, you guys got it all backwards." Enoki pressed one hand to his face and stumbled forward awkwardly. Suddenly all the tipsiness had drained from his voice. "We're the ones that're gonna sour your night." I could see Casey glance over to Kanei in confusion and grinned. He was leaving himself wide open. Sure enough, Enoki teetered back, one leg rising into the air. He stayed like that for a precarious second, then his wobbling transformed into a swift crescent kick. If Casey had been looking at Enoki, it would have struck him in the jaw, but since his head was turned, it connected just under the back of his ear.
Casey hit the ground like a sack of bricks, and that was right about when Aycee and I decided to make our presence known.
"Mewtwo's asshole--!" And there was Aycee again. This time, she almost faceplanted into the snow. I reached out on instinct and grabbed her arm. She managed to avoid a fall, and shot a smile at me over her shoulder. "Thanks, Thierry. Just watch the claws next time, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Look... maybe I should lead. I can see in the dark better. Besides, Enoki's not used to your vocabulary. I think you're gonna scar his ears with your creative cursing."
"Naw, it's cool. I get a kick out of picturing a legendary Pokemon's posterior." Enoki drew up next to me and chuckled.
Aycee turned around and frowned at the two of us. "Y'know what, Thierry? Screw you. I'm leading. It's not my fault this stupid path is a neglected sack of crap." And that was that. Aycee turned on her heel and marched forward, though her point was somewhat blunted by the fact that she didn't even make it five steps away before she stumbled again. "The hell is this? The whole point of a road is to make it so there's nothing to slow you down! Ugh... Thierry, Enoki, not a word, got it?"
The two of us exchanged amused glances, but shrugged and followed behind her. I knew Aycee well; I wasn't dumb enough to try and stop her.
The rest of the walk up the mountain path was uneventful. Aycee swore, Enoki shivered, I strolled. I was beginning to wonder why I'd been so nervous about this mission--so far, it was proving pretty boring. We hadn't seen a single soul. Where were the untold perils and scores of foes that were supposed to hinder rescue teams? There was no glory at all in taking a moonlit walk up some disused path to an abandoned mine. I wasn't exactly the most fearsome brute out there, but I was itching to prove myself in a real, honest-to-goodness battle!
Man, irony's a bitch. We had just made it out of the pines and the mine entrance was in sight when Aycee drew to a halt and dropped to the ground. Enoki followed suit, no questions asked, so I figured I'd better do the same. Aycee shifted so she was facing us and whispered. "There's people at the mine entrance. Thierry, your eyes are better than mine. See if you can see who they are. And be careful not to get spotted!"
What, like I was gonna start banging cymbals and waving a flag around or something? I raised myself up carefully and squinted into the moonlight. Sure enough, I could see three Pokemon hanging around the entrance to the mine. I dropped back down again and made my report. "Mew in heaven. It's Schist, Casey, and Kanei." Aycee groaned, but Enoki just looked puzzled. "A Graveler, Lucario, and Linoone. They've got a reputation around town for being a bunch of thugs, and it's well-deserved. Why the Mayor hasn't ordered them to be locked up yet's entirely beyond me. So my question is now what? If we want to look in the mine, then we'll have to get past them, and we all know they'll take any excuse to fight."
"I wouldn't be too surprised if those jerks had something to do with Father Hough's disappearance," Aycee growled. "We can take 'em. Guys like that are all talk and no action."
"I dunno, Aycee. They're pretty tough." I frowned, glancing over to the three figures gathered around the mine entrance. "Just charging in seems like an invitation to get our tails handed to us."
"Who said anything about charging in?" Enoki spoke up, another of his slow, easygoing smiles creeping onto his face. "These guys don't know me yet, so they probably won't expect anything if I come up alone. I'll draw their attention, and you guys will circle around. Use the rocks as cover and ambush them. There's three of them and three of us, so it'll work out perfect."
"Good idea, Enoki. I'll take Kanei. No offense, but you guys would be too slow for him." Aycee nodded, her teeth bared in anticipation of the bloodshed about to come. Leave it to her to get all worked up over this.
"And I'll take the Lucario... Casey, was it? Sorry, Thierry, but with your fighting weakness, he'd cream you for sure." Enoki remained as placid as ever, but beneath the shady brim of his mushroom cap his eyes were bright and alert.
"Guess that leaves me with Schist, then," I muttered. Go figure I'd get the heavy one.
"Sounds like a plan. Okay, Aycee, you go right, and Thierry, you circle to the left. I'll give you a little head start, then I'll go." Enoki lifted his hands to tighten the red bandana around his neck, then waved one hand impatiently. The two of us nodded, the crept off in our respective directions. Now more than ever, I was glad to be a Sneasel. Those predator instincts really helped out, and the pale blue coloration of all northern Sneasels certainly didn't hurt, either. I ducked behind a rock and risked a peek. I could see Enoki approaching the mine entrance, though there was a goofy swagger to his walk and he seemed to be having trouble finding his footing. For a moment, I was confused, but then I remembered the little display he'd put on when we'd first met.
Casey wasn't going to have any idea what had hit him. I ducked my head and kept going. As I drew closer, I could hear voices.
"Whoa, buddy, where do you think you're going? This mine's closed off."
"Clo--... wha? The hell d'ya mean s'closed off?" That slur had to be Enoki. He really went the whole nine yards on this Drunken Fist thing, huh?
"Yeah. It's real dangerous in there. Could collapse at any moment."
"Huh, well... that's... that's what your mom said." Enoki again, this time with a boozy snicker.
"Okay, buddy. Why don't you just turn around and head back where you came from? Sounds like you've had quite a night so far, and we'd hate to sour it on you."
By that time, I was in position. I cautiously lifted my head and waved to Enoki, who was looking like a stiff breeze would tip him over. A swift glance to my side told me Aycee was waiting to pounce, too. I shifted my attention back to the scene in front, waiting for Enoki to make his move.
"Naw, you guys got it all backwards." Enoki pressed one hand to his face and stumbled forward awkwardly. Suddenly all the tipsiness had drained from his voice. "We're the ones that're gonna sour your night." I could see Casey glance over to Kanei in confusion and grinned. He was leaving himself wide open. Sure enough, Enoki teetered back, one leg rising into the air. He stayed like that for a precarious second, then his wobbling transformed into a swift crescent kick. If Casey had been looking at Enoki, it would have struck him in the jaw, but since his head was turned, it connected just under the back of his ear.
Casey hit the ground like a sack of bricks, and that was right about when Aycee and I decided to make our presence known.