Shadow Rays: Ch 7

Chapter 7: A Growing Light

     "Didn't think you'd see me again so soon, did you?" the familiar figure laughed.

     Ailfresi narrowed his eyes.  "Darkhash..."

     "I could've finished you and your friend last time, had Andy not come along and interrupt my fun."  Darkhash's grin grew wide.  "However, there's no one around to stop me, now!  I'll show you what happens when you rain on my parades!" he laughed in his usual maniacal way.  Another static electric build-up magnified the air around him, signaling yet another electric attack.

     Ailfresi gritted his teeth.  I can't keep relying on defense.  To get to those mountains, I'll have to not only defend well, but attack well, too.  Understanding the situation and realizing that his life was already on the line, he charged towards Gengar with lightning speed, leaving a small white trail in his wake from his Quick Attack.

     Darkhash laughed at the site of the furball charging him and unleashed his powerful electric attack, tearing the ground up as it ripped through the undergrowth of the forest before finding its target, forcing electrified screams from the victim as his body flailed helplessly from the current that wrenched him.  He dropped like a rock after the attack was finished.

     "Rookie battler, I see.  No wonder you love defense a lot.  You can't hurt a fly!" Darkhash taunted his opponent.

     Ailfresi slowly recovered from the hard hit.  He was barely able to stand, his legs shaking as he struggled to stay standing.

     Darkhash gave another wide grin.  "One bash and you're already barely hanging on?  Looks like this will be easier than I thought.  Let me put you out of your misery!"  He started laughing maniacally again.  "Then, once I'm through with you...  I'll move to take out your friend, too...  Yes...  She wasn't so tough, after all...  Like mother, like daughter..."

     Ailfresi felt a volcano erupt inside him.  He looked up at Darkhash with a dangerous look in his eyes, his fur standing on end from his rage.  "How DARE YOU threaten Soljeki, much less speak of her mother like that!"

     Darkhash giggled at the soft spot he invoked.  "And just what is a tiny bundle of fur like you going to do to stop me?"

     Ailfresi gathered all of his energy from his angry emotion and focused it into another charge toward Darkhash, mimicking he earlier motions, but to a far deadlier degree.  His body was running strictly on the full blaze of pure rage that burned deep inside his heart.

     Darkhash laughed again as he did before and prepared another electric attack, confidently.

     I will defend Soljeki with my life!  I refuse to let anyone, especially Darkhash, lay a finger on her! Ailfresi thought determinedly to himself as he got within striking distance of his opponent.  He leaped towards his opponent, who was still building energy for his attack.

     "What can I say, rookie battler makes rookie mistakes, and now you'll learn the hard way," Darkhash laughed, getting ready to launch his attack and not bothering to move a step away from Ailfresi’s attack.

     Right before impact, Ailfresi quickly flipped his body and redirected every ounce of energy in his body towards the strong muscles in his tail, making it glow brightly in the night and blinding Darkhash at this close range.  With no way to avoid the surprising move, Darkhash was bashed right between the eyes and was sent flying into the tree trunk behind him with a loud CRACK!, toppling the tree altogether.  While Darkhash tried recovering from the blow, he was hit hard by another powerful attack, exploding as it made contact.

     Taken by complete surprise of this Iron Tail and Shadow Ball combination, Darkhash struggled to get up, shakily and angrily uttering, "How dare you..."

     "Just because I'm young and inexperienced doesn't mean I'm a mere push over.  I'd say you just committed your own rookie mistake," Ailfresi spoke fiercely, his rage still coursing through his veins.

     Darkhash growled deeply from this remark.  When he recovered, his eyes started glowing a brighter red than usual, sending hypnotic waves through the air towards Ailfresi.

     Ailfresi collapsed to the ground, snoring and apparently visiting dreamland.

     Darkhash smiled at his own successful Hypnosis attack and walked towards Ailfresi confidently, his eyes glowing even brighter as he prepared his Dream Eater attack.  "Be grateful that you were finished by the one that killed your girlfriend's mother," he gloated as he executed his attack.  He attempted to draw energy from Ailfresi's dreams to feed on them, but as he tried, he was forced to stop.  "What the- What happened?" he asked as he looked down at the sleeping Eevee, noticing a glowing white tail.

     Ailfresi's eyes popped open, quickly spinning his body and fully extending his tail to connect with the Gengar's body for another surprisingly punishing blow, once again knocking Darkhash back into the same broken tree stump, uprooting the entire stump from the force of the impact.  "I wouldn't dare fall for that dirty stunt again," Ailfresi taunted Darkhash.

     "You little..." Darkhash struggled even more to get up.  "You faked it...  You tricked me!"

     Ailfresi wasn't listening, already building up massive energy in a dark sphere that was growing wider in diameter by the second from his mouth.  Darkhash summoned up what was left of his strength, the air around him becoming magnified once again from the electric build-up he was storing.  When his body glowed brightly from all the electricity that he could store, he unleashed it with incredible power.  At this same moment, Ailfresi launched his soccer ball sized Shadow Ball.

     The two attacks collided with explosive power, scattering thick dust within a quarter mile radius of the explosion and sending out powerful shock waves that carried Ailfresi off of his feet, slamming him into another tree, snapping it in half as if it were a twig.  The force of the impact sent Ailfresi helplessly into the black abyss...



     "He WHAT?!" Andy yelled out horrifically as the sun made it traditional arrival on the horizon.

     "He said that ha sensed something.  Someone, rather... suffering," Soljeki tried explaining.

     Marlaina yawned as she tried waking up.  "What with all the commotion this morning?  Did someone eat a Tomato Berry by accident or something?"

     Andy glared at Marlaina, clearly disturbed.  "Marlaina, Ailfresi has gone missing!"

     Soljeki corrected the statement.  "He just went into the mountains to look for something and he said he'd be back by midday.  What's so wrong about that?" she asked, a little irritated that Andy wasn't trusting her.

     "What's wrong?  WHAT'S WRONG?!" Andy could've easily been mistaken for having rabies from his yelling and flailing about.  "What's wrong is that there are pokemon in those mountains that could hurt him!  No...  Not just hurt him...  KILL him!  You know how cruel those pokemon that live out there are!"

     Marlaina closed her eyes and spoke softly.  "Aren't you over-reacting a bit?  It's true that there are some fierce pokemon up there, but Ailfresi is trying to get to know this world, too.  Remember that Alakazam said that Ailfresi had no idea where or who he is.  Give him some time, and if he's not back by noon, then we can take action from there.  For now, trust that deadline and don't worry so much."

     Soljeki was greatly surprised by the support she was getting from Marlaina, and she wasn't about to complain.

     Andy was about to speak, but then stopped and sighed.  "If that's what you want, fine...  Just don't look at me when the worst happens."

     "Don't say that!" Soljeki burst out towards Andy.  "He knows what he's doing.  Remember that he saved my life from Darkhash."

     Andy had a big look of frustration on his face.

     "Andy, just take a chill pill, wait it out, and stop taking it out on Soljeki," Marlaina demanded in a serious tone.

     Andy turned away and walked outside without saying a word, still very frustrated and hot-tempered.

     A moment of silence followed before Soljeki spoke.  "Thanks for understanding me.  I didn't know if you were going to take it the way Andy did or not," Soljeki commended.

     "It's no big deal, hun," Marlaina replied friendly.  "I think Andy is just worried and being over-protective.  That's all."

     Soljeki nodded.  It was silent for a moment, then Soljeki quietly spoke.  "You know... Ailfresi reminds me a lot like my father..." she said slowly.

     Marlaina smiled.  "You're very fond of him, aren't you?" she inquired, already knowing the answer.

     Soljeki looked back at Marlaina and gave a slow nod.

     Marlaina smiled even wider.  "Mist was a great person.  Shy young lad.  Very caring and protective of those he loved."

     "You knew my father?"

     "Yes.  We were great friends.  We didn't see each other much, though, because Rayshana was about to become a mom," Marlaina explained, giving a brief look towards Soljeki.  "He was busy trying to prepare a comfy den to raise you in..." She paused before getting back on subject.  "Anyways, I still vividly remember that one time when we visited the edge of the forest.  His idea of fun blew me away, always wanting to find the tallest tree to climb, and then climb it," she laughed.  "He wouldn't stop trying until he succeeded in reaching the highest of limbs."

     Soljeki almost laughed, herself.  "That is crazy," she replied cheerfully.  "Did he ever hurt himself?"

     "Please, that guy could fall from a tree, land on his head, and still walk away unscathed," Marlaina laughed again.

     Soljeki smiled, then stopped and looked down, thinking about something.

     Marlaina smiled again.  "I'll never forget the one thing that he said the last time I saw him.  I asked him what he believed in the strongest just for kicks.  He just laughed and said, 'Never back down from a challenge.  If you fall down, keep charging forward until you achieve you goal.'"  She paused, looking at the rising sun, now fully visible above the mountains.  "I think that your friend lives by that same concept."

     "Yeah," Soljeki agreed quietly.

     "You should go help him," Marlaina suggested.

     Soljeki lowered her head.  "But... Ailfresi wanted me to stay here."

     "Why?"

     "He wanted me to let your guys know where he went so that if something went wrong, we'd know where to start searching," she solemnly replied.

     "But you've already done that.  There's nothing holding you back here, now."  Marlaina paused.  "If you love him, then go help him."

     Soljeki gave a small smile.  "Are you sure it's okay that I go?"

     Marlaina gave a wide smile.  "Even if I said no, would that stop you?"  She paused again.  "There's nothing worse in life than regret, hun.  I don't believe Rayshana would want her daughter to repeat her same mistakes."

     Soljeki looked down again and pondered to herself.  She then perked her head back up, determinedly.  She's right...  My mom made the mistake of not searching for my father until it was too late.  If I were to stay here and not worry about Ail until midday, I'd be repeating her same faults...  She narrowed her eyes at the mountains beyond the den entrance.  I don't want that to happen again, especially to someone I feel so strongly about.  I WILL find Ailfresi, then help him reach his destination... And not even Darkhash will stop me...  She looked at Marlaina for a good while, then spoke seriously.  "I'm going.  I gotta find Ailfresi and make sure he's okay."

     Marlaina nodded proudly.

     "Thanks, Marlaina, for you your help," she bowed to her before sprinting out of the den.  Don't worry, Ail, I'm coming! her thoughts cried out as she sprinted through the thick grassy fields towards the forest that held her loved one...