Chapter Text
The faint afternoon light was slowly leaving the forest, as the sun began its departure below the treetops. Shadows of dusk were dancing around the woods, creating a wavering glare in the mist. All things considered, it should have been a peaceful autumn afternoon. The kind of day where various creatures finish up their daily preparations for the coming winter. The kind of day where residents of the nearby town playfully cut through the woods on the way home, despite their parents’ protests. Certainly not the kind of day for a violent attack on the forest, but the kind of people who would do such a thing hardly care about preserving the afternoon mood.
Footmen of the perpetrating group were spreading out across the woods, readying themselves for this mentioned attack. Being passably crafty, they had successfully ensured that the locals had not been made aware of this, and had let life go on as it should’ve on such a calm, autumn day. People were going about their business as they should have, a fact that was well accounted for by this hidden force. They didn’t plan on disturbing the nearby town too much, as any early alert would lead to them possibly getting stopped before they could get what they came for. They had researched the patterns of the civilians, and knew well that they would be left out of the way and able to evacuate.
Unfortunately, life is full of spontaneity, making it rather hard to plan on such a large scale. Things can fall through the cracks, diverge from what you expected. This was exactly the case with a student who made their way through the woods much later than normal, delayed by their friends who wanted them to officiate a battle or two. Leaving school just a few hours late, something that should not normally be too much of an issue.
This time however, it would put both the student and the organization on a direct route to their respective ends.
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River Dawn did not consider themself a fool, but they were quickly realizing that they should. Ms. Dawn was not a harsh woman, but she was known for the more chaotic moods she got into. A rather useful trait for her profession, but not so useful in keeping her cool when her kid might be in trouble. As much as River appreciated their mother's protectiveness, they knew very well the horrible lectures that it could fuel. Especially if they were to come home later than they should, without so much as a text. Or if they were to take their usual shortcut through the “dangerous” woods without their friends there to protect them with their pokemon. Or if they were to act up while their mother is stressing about packing for a regional move. Or if they were to—
Dangit.
Swiftly processing just how screwed they were, River started picking up their pace. They tried to soften the blow by sending a quick text to confirm their safety, only for it to fail to go through.
Crap, I forgot, these woods don’t have any service. Why do you stupid trees have to be weird right now? I mean, I get that you have a reputation to uphold, but could you cut the spookiness for a bit so I can save my butt without your B-list horror movie bullcrap?
Giving up on that method of salvation, River started to sprint through the mist, hoping to get home before their mother noticed. They knew that she had already realized and was probably five minutes away from organizing a search party, but a person can dream, can’t they?
Sprinting through the thick forest, River failed to keep track of the path in the dimming light. They didn’t notice at first, as a low, omnipresent fog coated the ground to about knee height, making it harder to see the trail. They continued making their way, running through the underbrush, until they inevitably tripped and fell. Hard.
“Ow… guess that’s what I get for running in the woods.”
Trying to collect themself, (despite still being on the ground) River took a look around. The trees were closely packed, and the plants looked like they hadn’t been disturbed in ages. It was deeper into the woods than they usually went; certainly much further than others commonly ventured.
The one rule that they always warn you about: Don’t go deep into the woods, you may never come back. It’s one of the few things you hear about this place, and of course, here I am, accidentally going against it. I’m going to hope that that’s just a superstition or else I’m—
“There, it’s finished. Go ahead and contact main.”
Interrupting that train of thought, a voice spoke out, catching River off guard. In the distance, they saw an odd duo in suits, with an equally odd machine sitting next to them. There seemed to be one man and one woman, both doing a horrible impression of secret agents. The suited man had a holocaster that, after an extended period of fumbling with it, started projecting an image of someone with horrendous fashion taste. Luckily for River, they hadn’t appeared to have seen them through the low fog.
“Lostlorn Subdivision XIV reporting in. We have successfully planted the device, and are ready for phase two.”
“Alright, good work. But will you please stop trying to speak out roman numerals? You sound like an idiot.”
“Hey, roman numerals are badass!”
“On paper Clint, on paper. I know they’re badass, why do you think all our paperwork uses them? Just don’t try to speak them for pete’s sake, you sound like an idiot.”
At this, the other one chimed in, presumably to help mess with… Clint?
“It does make it difficult to tell what you’re trying to say. How are we supposed to discern the difference between two and three?”
“Obviously you hold them for longer. Listen it makes sense if you just—”
“Stop. Just stop. Please. I have other divisions to check on, so just standby until we notify you. Is that clear?”
“Yeah, we get it Sydney.”
“What did you just call me?”
“Uh… nothing Division Commander!”
“That’s what I thought. Now leave me alone, and I’ll tell the lead scientist you're ready to go. I’ve got eight other subdivisions trying to report in right now, and I’d rather you didn’t waste my time.”
At that, they hung up. Rather confused about what they had just witnessed, River tried to slowly make his way over, to listen in better. So far they could only make out Clint grumbling about someone “getting a big head after their admin promotion”.
*SNAP*
Did I just break a branch? No, no way. I am not getting found out because of the stupidest cliche of all time. Maybe they didn’t hear it, it wasn’t that loud.
“What was that?!”
Crap.
“Relax, it’s probably just a Petilil or something.”
“It could be, but if it’s not we’ll get blamed. Just go check it out.”
“I swear, you’re way too paranoid. But fine, I’ll have Houndour search around.”
The suited man—Clint—promptly released said Houndour, which started searching the area. River ducked down a bit more, trying to hide themself a bit better in the fog, but judging by the noises, it was getting close.
The sounds began to trail off though, and eventually went quiet. It seemed as though the Houndour had either left or slowed, though River hoped it was the former.
This hope was proven unfounded, as a sharp pain gouged at their left leg. With a yelp of pain, River turned and saw the Houndour crunching down firmly, blood rushing out the open wound. Almost as if subconsciously realizing that the wound was deserving of more than a yelp, River began to scream out in pain. Their continued cries quickly caught the attention of the two suited figures, the woman turning with a grin.
“Told you there was something there. Honestly, I’m not surprised though, the intel division can never get their job right. ‘Don’t worry, no one’s supposed to be there. We can do our job!’ What a joke.”
Clint piped up at this, “At least it’s just a kid. Nothing to worry about! Though I suppose we’re expected to do something about this, right? I’d rather not have it reported.”
“Why not? It ain’t gonna be us who’ll get sacked!”
“Yeah, but you just know Sydney will lord it over us at every chance he gets…”
“And? Sydney’s chill. I don’t get your issue with them.”
The two start making their way over, though River hardly pays attention as the Houndour continues to tear into their leg. Sweat and tears are visibly soaking the dirt beneath them, and the blood is beginning to seep into the ground. They hardly notice when a hand violently pulls their head up. It’s the suited woman.
“Look at me, brat. I don’t really want to kill a kid, I’d like to be able to sleep tonight. But the Admin’s going to have my head if I let you go, so you're going to sit there,” She points to a spot next to the odd machine, “and you’re going to keep sitting there when this thing goes off. I’d rather not watch a kid die, so we’ll be gone when you do. Got that?”
River tries to nod, but winces as the Houndour bites down again, interrupting the motion. The woman sighs at this, and lets go of River’s head.
“Good enough. Houndour, pull them over to the device, then let them go. Try not to make too many more visible wounds, I can’t stand blood.”
“Don’t command my Houndour around like that. And on another note, you could be a bit nicer to them. They are just a kid…”
“What was that?”
“Nothing!”
Ignoring the argument, the Houndour did as instructed, with a sullen look on its face. Dragging River by their wounded leg, it pulled them to the machine across the rough ground. Finally, it lets them go, leaning them against the machine. Laying against the cold metal, River tries to calm down and ignore their wrecked arm, using the chilling steel to ground themselves. It’s hard to really focus with an open wound, but they manage.
“Clint, you tie them up, I don’t want to deal with it.”
Clint sighed, and then grabbed some rope and did as told, making sure to be gentle about it while restraining their arms and legs. It was a kind effort, though not very meaningful as he was still tying River up.
In the meantime, River began to get lost in their own thoughts. They take quite a while to process what exactly has happened, but it’s hard to keep track. Focusing isn’t exactly easy for them on the best of days, and that’s not taking into account the considerably distracting mauling of their left leg. Still, they figured that it’s good to try and think through what it is that is occurring.
Alright, so these MIB knockoffs are trying to do… something. It involves a machine, and at least twelve other subdivisions, if I heard correctly. That implies regular divisions. Anyways, they don’t seem to be on the more moral side of the law, so I probably shouldn’t make them mad.
Wait.
Ridiculous outfits, lots of numbers, stereotypically “evil” looking Pokemon. Is there a new evil team in Unova? I thought we already dealt with two sets of these nutcases! Well one, technically. One-and-a-half? Nevermind, the point is, I don’t want to put up with another.
After several minutes of sitting in silence, Clint’s holocaster lights up again. Unlike earlier, this time a woman in an odd visor appears and starts speaking in a stern voice.
“Attention all units. All subdivisions have reported completion of phase one. Prepare to begin phase two, your signal will be the remote activation of the generators. Keep an eye out for the target, and notify me directly if anything comes up.”
This must be that scientist that kept getting brought up.
Before the call could end, Clint spoke up.
“Um, we do actually have something to bring to your attention.”
“Well, that was fast. What is it?”
“So… apparently the intel division messed up? Someone stumbled in on us”
“WHAT.”
“WAITWAitwaitwait wait. It’s just a kid! We already captured and restrained them. Nothing to worry about.”
“Did you make sure they weren’t being tracked? Was anyone with them? Did you take literally any precautions after taking them?”
“Well, no… But it was just a couple of minutes ago, we haven’t really had time to do anything!”
“Fine, just make sure. That still puts us on a timer though, if the kid’s missing for too long, someone’s going to go searching. We can’t risk that. Alright everyone, stand back. We’re going to have to hurry this up, so I’m triggering the field now. Stand back from the generators, and move on to phase three.”
The call ended abruptly, though it made sense considering the new timetable. After a moment, the machine that River was lying against began humming. Several moments went by with the device steadily getting louder, until finally it played a small jingle. This grabbed the attention of the suited duo, who looked surprised.
“I thought that would take longer. Well, I’m not complaining. You ready to go?”
“Hell yeah, I’m always ready for arson! Honestly, it’s half the reason I joined!”
“Clint, you know we’re only doing this to force the target out?”
“Oh c’mon, don’t act like you don’t enjoy it.”
“That’s… irrelevant. Regardless, we have an assignment. The generator’s about to cage this area in, let’s get going before it does. Don’t want to get stuck on the wrong side of the wall.”
“You know Emily, you should really stop detailing the plan in front of the kid. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?”
At this the female grunt, Emily apparently, gave a sharp look to the other one. Putting a head on her hand, she exasperatedly declared, “Of course I am. What’s the kid going to do about it you idiot. Let the kid know everything as far as I care, but don’t let it interrupt. We’ve got to go, so let’s go already.”
“Geez, alright. No need to be a jerk.”
“Just go.”
With a bit more grumbling, Clint began to leave River’s field of view, going further off into the misty woods with their Houndour. After watching them go, Emily looked back, giving a faint, unkind smile, as she pulled something out of their suit pocket, and set it down on the ground.
River was beginning to get concerned. He was hoping she would leave with Clint so that they could make their daring escape, but now she was doing something. They wished that it was Clint who stayed behind, he seemed more reasonable. Emily seemed like “the smart one”, like they said, but something was off.
While kneeling down to set up whatever it is, she began to speak to River.
“I must admit kid, you really caught us off guard! Be proud of yourself, you almost disrupted this whole thing we had going here. Months of planning, just for some schoolyard twerp to turn our schedule on its head. That’s a point of pride! Are you proud of yourself?”
River found themselves nervous at the way she was speaking. It came off as sporadic, incomplete, as if each moment a new thought were bursting out that she had to word. Emily was still focused on the device, but the small little of her face River could see they didn’t like. Her grin was steadily creeping up her face in a deeply unsettling way. They wanted to make her keep talking just to avoid looking at it.
“N-not really?”
“Good. Because let me be honest, and I do mean completely honest. You didn’t really accomplish anything. You pushed the schedule up, so now I don’t get lunch. So yeah, I guess you did accomplish something. You pissed me off.”
“Oh. I-I mean you’re kind of a te-terrorist or something? S-so I guess I-I’m a little proud n-now.”
The woman looks up at them, her sunglasses almost disguising her manic smile as genuine.
“Well that’s adorable! Let me just clarify darling that you’re proud of the fact that your death amounted to a missed lunch break. Is that what you’re proud of?”
“Well—” “Shut up. I’m the one talking here, so I’m the one who gets to decide when you talk. Or I guess when you don’t. Either or! Now, where was I? Oh right! You pissed me off, which was a very dumb thing to do on your part. I get it, you’re bleeding out, so let’s just do whatever, right? Things can’t be worse, right? Let’s just MOCK this lady with my stupid voice and lunch-break stealing attitude, right?”
“No…?”
“I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP. ANY-ways, no point in hiding it, I know people like you. Well guess what twerp? Things can get a lot worse for you. At any time. I mean statistically, of course, I really like statistics, they’re so perfectly unclear. Or maybe I’m just bad at them! Who can say?”
She began to stand up, done fiddling with the device on the ground. It was blinking now. They pause for a moment, that grin reappearing on their face as they began to move forward to the bleeding kid.
“You know, I was supposed to plant this further out in the woods, wreck more havoc away from the edge of the field and all that. But you know what? I can’t think of a better use for it than this.”
“W-what?”
Having moved closer up by now, the grunt kicks River in their injured leg, the stinging pain crawling across their senses.
“FOR THE LAST TIME DON’T INTERRUPT ME! You think you can just take a gal’s lunch break, huh? Get between her and her egg-salad-sandwich, huh?”
Another kick.
“Well guess what, twerp? Little brats who take my lunch break get to be my food for next one, so I hope you enjoy yourself. Or don’t. That’s not really my goal here.”
She went in for yet another kick, only for a chime to come from the machine, interrupting them as a kind of salvation.
“Oh. Guess I better get going. Don’t think this is over! Oh wait, yeah it is. Anyways, enjoy! Or like I said, don’t.”
With that, she began to depart, leaving River lying there, to be lost in their own thoughts. The rustling of the trees was steadily backing their thoughts, a kind of white noise to help them process what they were experiencing.
Finally, the machine River was previously lying on began its task, a low hum coming from it consistently. It began to generate a small bubble around itself, hazy and unclear. Not long after this was done, it began to flatten the bubble, expanding it out into a kind of two-layered force field. It kept on going out and around, and if River looked in the distance they could see it gently curving.
Eventually the shimmering wall disappeared off into the distance, presumably to meet up with the other fields from the other subdivision’s generators. River couldn’t tell what exactly what was going on, but they supposed this was to trap whatever it was they were trying to catch.
Several moments passed as the world quieted, the winds being stopped by the barrier. Eventually, the woods had grown almost entirely still, the rustling having been forcibly stopped. Everything had stopped, holding its breath for whatever may come next.
For several long minutes the forest seemed to stay frozen, the only change being the growing darkness of night. Finally, the end of the stasis broke, with an orange light visible in the distance. Faintly present, it seemed weak in its ability to break the haze. It would succeed however through sheer number, as a multitude of similar lights appeared all around, a distinct crackling gaining volume. They seemed to grow until they were unmistakable in their nature. Lostlorn forest was in flames.
The glee of the suited grunts was clear in the passion of the destruction, escalating from the simple crackling of the fire to resounding booms as various bombs were set off in the distance. River could hear the cheers and whoops of the grunts, but it was beginning to be drowned out by the cries of various Pokemon as they fled. River could hardly tell which sound weighed harder on them, however the battle of noises was slowly being won over by the wood’s natural residents as they seemed to grow closer. Through the nearby bush several small pokemon ran, Venipede and Cottonee racing to get away from the flames. They came out in droves, piling up against the barrier. Swadloon were crying out, the air full of Tranquill failing to live up to their name.
The massive push ran over River as they tried to force their way out. Larger Pokemon were coming in now. Audino, Lilligant, Whirlipede, all pouring out of the deeper woods to get away, shoving River aside.
Luckily they seem too caught up in the panic to attack me.
Through the cacophony of cries, a beeping was heard from the device that Emily had planted, now much further away after all the trampling Pokemon pushed both River and the device. Realization struck River at the last possible moment, as it lit up faster and faster, until reaching a steady shine. Nearby pokemon realized at the same time, changing the direction they were fleeing from. It was too late though, as the device burst, and everything went white.
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Much later, River started to stir, ears still ringing from the blast. They pushed a Venipede off of them, hoping that it was only unconscious. Finding they were unable to stand, their leg in an even worse state than earlier, they chose to lie there for the time being. Things seemed to have died down in the area, but in the far distance, thrashing could be heard. Green lights were rushing around with crimson beams responding, but it was too far away to see anything clearly. The signature Lostlorn fog had long since mixed with the smoke of the flames, and with nowhere to go, it was filling up the sectioned-off portion of the woods. The important part of that situation to River wasn’t the visibility being somehow worse, but rather the barrier’s status.
If that’s still up, then whatever’s going on is still happening. That thing is probably two-way, so rescue isn’t going to happen for a while either. I’d ask if this could get any worse, but I don’t want tempt fate.
*GGRRRR*
Great, fate is a mind reader. Fuck it, mom was right, if I get the chance I’m never cutting through Lostlorn again.
While River was pondering this, the source of the noise began to come through the haze. It was hard to make out details, but the one thing that was rather clear is that the silhouette wasn’t too large. Roughly the size of a child at best. It was obviously heading towards River, but they couldn’t figure out why for the life of them. All they had were a few ideas, none of them good. Everything pointed towards it either holding a grudge for the grunt’s attack, or needing a snack. If they were still in good enough condition, they might be able to fight it off, but with them incapacitated, there wasn’t much hope.
As the approaching figure became more visible, what little hope there was was lost. The haze was still covering some of its figure, with the dim light obstructing it further, but it had become abundantly clear that whatever this thing was, it was strong. While it initially seemed small, it was now clear that it was only hunched over, dragging itself along. Still, even in this state, it was more than enough to easily deal with the crippled teen.
A thousand thoughts racing through their head, ranging from escape plans to pleas, River could only stare. The figure simply proceeded forward, the last remnants of the fog finally shedding off of its figure to reveal a limping Zoroark. It was common knowledge that there was a colony of the rare Pokemon in this forest, but it was another thing to see one. Especially one in such a sorry state.
As it got within a few feet of River, more details were made clear. It has several burns on its leg, presumably from the various firebombs that had been set off. It was a testament to the creature that it was still going after being so close to the blasts. Still, it was clear that it was succumbing to its wounds, if its movements were anything to go by. Its strained approach was steady, but obviously pained. The dedication to its approach implied some form of purpose, as nothing would be moving while so wounded without reason. Mulling this over, River asked the question that was on the tip of their tongue.
“W-why are you trying so hard to get to me?”
It stopped at the question, to look at River. They hadn’t realized that it was looking somewhere else, the change in their gaze being miniscule. The Zoroark’s eyes widened slightly as they paused. A claw is raised slowly, and pointed to their back.
“You want my bag? I guess you can have it, but I don’t really see the point.”
It leapt onto River in an instant, quickly tearing the bag open and searching for something. “Wait! Calm down, you don’t need to pull me around!” River cried out. After a moment it obliged their request, but continued their search in a slightly less frantic manner. Finally, it seemed to have found what it was looking for, yanking it out and holding it close.
“A… potion bottle? I didn’t think I still had one left after that battle I refereed earlier. Wait, why do you want that?
A dry look was quickly shot at River, before it gestured vaguely at its various wounds, as if to remind them. After this was done, an examination of the item was swiftly performed, trying its best to figure out how exactly to operate the healing spray. The Zoroark had been putting on a rather goofy display of this, shaking it around and squeezing the bottle every which way. Eventually it tired of these ineffectual methods, and shoved the bottle in its mouth, hoping to bite the fluid out. It continued shaking it vigorously in its jaw, hoping to murder the medicine out of it no doubt. Attacking its prey with all the ferocity of a teething puppy, the Zoroark was truly merciless in its assault. Unable to contain themselves any longer, River let out a sudden burst of laughter. A stern glare was thrown at River for this, but had the opposite of the intended effect, making them laugh more at the chaotic scene before them.
“Wait, wait, try shaking it more, I think you’ve got it! C’mon, give it a good thrashing! It doesn't stand a chanc—”
It swiftly shoved a paw over River’s mouth and gave them another irritated look. Yeah, I guess that’s earned. Eventually they removed their paw, tossing River the bottle as they stood back. While they were still restrained, and therefore unable to catch it, River realised the issue as soon as the bottle hit them, being much lighter than it should’ve been. They hadn’t had an extra potion after all, and they made this known.
“Listen, I’m sorry, but that bottle is empty. It got used up earlier to help my friend’s partner after they got injured in a battle. There’s not any left for you to use.”
At this, it got a glum expression, with their ears drooping a bit to match.
“B–But hey! Don’t get sad about it, I mean, it wasn’t a really strong potion or anything. It wouldn’t’ve done much for you anyways– oh wait that’s not very encouraging. Just, uh, it doesn’t look that bad! I’m sure it’ll heal nicely, and hey, you might get some cool scars!”
That prompted some laughter from it, though concernedly followed by the shaking of its head.
“Wait, do you not think it’ll get any better? I mean it is pretty bad, but I’ve seen people bounce back from worse. I’m sure you’ll be fine after a couple of weeks!”
Another head shake. Frowning, they point out something along the edges of their burns. There was some strange, purplish substance around its leg, implying something else.
Wait… are those acid burns? I thought it was from the fire, but it must’ve happened when all the pokemon were fleeing. That’s a lot worse. Acid often means either a bug or poison type, often the later, sometimes both. If it is a poison attack… well it’s better not to dwell on that.
While River was lost in this thought, the Zoroark gently tapped their shoulder to get their attention, ginned, and pointed to their own biggest wound, in a similar place. So much else was going on that River had forgotten about their leg. Well, not anymore, now that it was back in their attention, they were able to fully comprehend how fucking much it hurt holy hell.
“Rrright, that. Well, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t exactly have anything on hand that can help me either. I can appreciate the humor of us having similar injuries, but we should address them before we both bleed out. I’m not exactly sure how though…”
It raised an eyebrow in response.
“Okay, fine, I don’t know much about first aid. Don’t give me that look, I’d like to see you do better!”
It continued to look unimpressed, but did start to move. With a swift jerk of their claws, they helped get River free from the ropes. Pausing for a moment to process how absurdly sharp those things were, River began to stretch out their arms a bit. After adjusting, they used the opportunity to start taking off their jacket. They may not know much, but they do know how to help stop bleeding. With an approving nod, the Zoroark took the jacket and started wrapping up River’s bleeding leg. It was a shoddy job, but the blood had slowed, though not stopped.
Both River and the Zoroark laid there for a while, unsure of what to do. They had used all but the last of their energy, and were only able to sit back and observe the strange lightshow in the distance. The same battle of green and scarlet had been going on for quite some time, and had finally slowed. As the minutes passed, the duo decided to point out parts of the display as it went by. The roars that had been going on for its duration were slowly muffling, and eventually, with a burst of green light, it stopped.
Just as River was about to point it out, something much more immediately relevant occurred that made them all but forget what had just transpired. The field generator began to shut down.
Startled up by this occurrence, River and the Zoroark began to move excitedly at their spot on the ground.
“They must be leaving, let’s see if we can’t find some help!”
It’s at this point they finally remembered a vital little detail.
“Oh right, neither one of us can move.”
The Zoroark glared rather harshly at this comment, as if to say “Well OBVIOUSLY”. Another sigh from River accompanied this helpful little bit of input, and they turned away. It had begun to dawn on them how few options they had left to them.
“Listen, I know things are bleak, but we have to try something. Is there anyone who might come looking for you?” They shook their head. “No? Well, someone will come looking for me. My mom cares way too much to not call the authorities if I’ve been gone for half as long as I think I’ve been. So we just have to wait it out, I’m sure it won’t be much longer.”
All that was returned was a somber look.
“And besides, even if she forgets, people are bound to come investigate after what just happened! So that’s like, two separate groups of people who will be coming to look for us! That’s pretty great, right?”
The same look was given as a response, this time with a shake of their head.
“Really? No go? Care to share why you’re being so nihilistic about this?!”
No response is given this time, just a lowering of its head.
“Fine, be that way.”
…
Hours went by, River still waiting for any group to come save them. It had been quite a while, but surely, soon, someone would show. It had been a while, sure, but it wasn’t too far fetched to assume it would happen eventually. Organizing those types of searches takes a while, and with all that had happened the search groups were probably overwhelmed.
River looked over to their Zoroark companion, who was twitching slightly in its sleep. It had stopped responding a while ago, instead choosing to sleep through the pain. Its chest was barely going up and down, but it was still breathing. It was much more reassuring to River than it probably should have been.
Sinking back down onto the ground, River decided to wait longer. It was getting hard to stay conscious, but it was necessary to catch the attention of anyone who might be out. The last thing that they wanted was for any group looking for them to pass over them nearby. So they stayed awake as the night went on, trying as best they could to avoid passing out.
It was much later into the night that it happened, but eventually, they saw a light in the distance. For the first time that night, it seemed like the good type of light. Not the orange glow of the long-gone fires, or the clashing crimson and green lights visible earlier in the distance, but the yellow-tinted white of artificial light. Seeing what could only be a search party, River began to shake the sleeping Zoroark awake. As it began to stir, River started to call out to it, while continuing to shake their companion.
“Over here! Help! We need help! Over here!”
The light seemed to respond, turning to them and growing closer. No response was made however, as it approached.
“Help! We’re both injured, please!”
The Zoroark had fully woken up, and seemed to have caught on to what was happening. It had started crying out as well, joining River in their pleas.
“Over here!”
“ZORRRR”
“Please!”
“GRAA”
The light was coming much closer, taking a zig-zag pattern through the trees. It started to dim as it approached, stopping just beyond the small clearing they were in. The Zoroark had stopped by now, but if River was dissuaded, they did not show it.
“Hello? Please, we need help!”
“Emol?”
Standing at the edge of the clearing, glowing faintly in the night from its stored electricity, was a small Emolga. It gave a confused look to River, tilting its head in concern, pausing before it turned and left.
“O-oh.”
River looked at the tiny Pokemon, and then looked back to the Zoroark. It put a paw on their shoulder, then gently shook its head. Any hopes River had for rescue at that moment were dashed, as they saw what they had been so excited for was nothing more than a small electric type.
“Is no one coming?”
The Zoroark didn’t imply that it agreed, but it did lay back down, facing River this time. A dull mood filled the air. River sat there for a while, looking at the ground, before they decided to lie down again, tears in their eyes. After a while longer, they drifted off to sleep.
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Later into the night, or perhaps morning at this point, River was woken up violently by their companion, which had been shaking them rather vigorously. Slowly opening their eyes, River saw themselves face to face with the Zoroark, who looked immensely concerned. They seemed to calm down upon seeing them wake up, but they still seemed worried.
“Whas, what’s wrong?”
River found themselves slightly surprised at how slurred their words were. The question didn’t seem to calm the Zoroark down though, instead making it more concerned. It pointed down to near where River’s leg had been, River turning to get a view. They were startled to see a large red puddle soaking the ground, coming through the jacket. Finding themselves woozier than normal River tried to reassure the Zoroark.
“Hey, I’ll be alright. I appreci-appreciate the concern, but I’m sure I can hold out for longer. Let’s just calm down, and go back to sleep, we can take care of that in the morn—”
Abruptly, River was interrupted by the Zoroark smacking them, hard, against the head.
“Why’d you do that?! That seriously hurt!”
Not giving any more of a response than a glare, the Zoroark shook its head, and signaled that River would not be going back to sleep. River decided to concede, realizing that it was just trying to keep them conscious. It was getting hard though, but every time they started to pass out, the Zoroark would just smack them again. This went on for a while, with their companion getting more and more worried as time went by. Still, there wasn’t much either of them could do about it.
While the Zoroark wouldn’t let them lay back down, it was trying to make things comfortable for them. The Zoroark had moved a bit closer, draping their mane over them, like some sort of blanket. River appreciated it, but both of them knew it wouldn’t help much.
It was beginning to settle in what state they were actually in, the blood loss seeming more and more real each time they had to jolted awake. This wasn’t the kind of thing that people can stave off, and they were beginning to feel foolish for pretending such. Though River supposed that no one was perfectly rational when their blood was pooling in the dirt.
River was smart enough to realize where this was going, finally acknowledging what the Zoroark had realized a while back. Finally, they decided to speak up.
“Hey Zoroark?”
"Gra?"
“We both know that I’m not going to make it to the morning.”
It was noticeably tense at this declaration. It had wanted to ease River into this realization, but it seemed they had figured it out before the Zoroark could.
“It’s just, I’m either going to slowly bleed out, starve, or worse, and I’d rather not… go out like that.”
The Zoroark didn’t affirm this like they had with previous statements, as it had already realized where River was going with this. It was visibly shaking at this point. River tried not to pay attention to it.
“I guess, I’m asking if… I mean your claws are as sharp as I saw earlier… could you make it quick?”
There’s a long moment of silence. Then, after an eternity, it gave a nod. It was a small thing, courteous and gentle, conveying everything it needed to, despite not being in view of their face.
It turned to them, and carefully took the bead out of its mane. River didn’t question the action, caught up in their farewell.
“I–I just want to thank you. You’ve been reasonable this whole time, and really helped cheer me up. Thank you. I guess I’m saying that I’m glad I got to meet you.”
River had begun to cry, the Zoroark returning the favor, though lacking the passion of the dying teen. They sat like that for a short while, before action was eventually taken.
It gave them a small smile, before jutting its claws into their chest. It was a swift motion, almost no resistance was given, as though River’s body itself was accepting it. It was hardly painful, the swift stabbing being clean enough to lack the same agony that their leg had caused.
River had to black out, but before they could they witnessed a strange sight in their body’s final moments. The Zoroark was doing something to the hair bead, and whatever it was had caused the bead to emit a soft, teal glow. River could hardly question what it was doing before the Zoroark shoved the bead into their chest, promptly collapsing afterwards. As River began to react to this, their vision went out with glow teal light.