ToT: Missing in Action: Part 1

Penelope sat against a tree and braced herself. To her left sat Birch, along with Rue and Chili- they had insisted on coming when they heard about the fight. To her right sat Aveline, the Buizel Samara had unceremoniously dragged into the team within seconds of first meeting. Samara herself sat with Kenneth in the tree, with a large tub of popcorn. She was tossing bits of popcorn down to Birch, Rue and Chili, who were trying to catch them in their mouths.

And in the clearing, David and Lin Lin stared each other down, and from that Penelope’s worry stemmed. The last time they had sparred, they had been mere recruits, skilled martial artists but only able to tire each other out. Now, they had both evolved. They were much stronger, capable of seriously hurting each other, and categorically incapable of holding back in even a practice fight.

Samara hurled a handful of popcorn into the arena. “FIGHT!”

Lin Lin ran forward and swung her arm over and down. David neatly sprang back, and the hammer arm left a crater in the ground. David leaped onto her arm, using it as a springboard, and kicked her in the face.

Lin Lin staggered backward, and David pressed the attack with a flurry of punches. Lin Lin weathered it for a second, and then swung her arm. This time, her blow caught David squarely in the chest. He landed several feet away. The Pangoro grinned, and then grimaced, grasping the hand she’d just used; her punch had hit the large bone spike now sticking out of David’s chest.

Lin Lin advanced on David and swung another hammer arm. He rolled out of the way. When her fist hit the ground, he grabbed it, and her arm was suddenly frozen in place. Before Lin Lin could react, David grabbed her other arm, and froze it to the ground as well. David backed up, clasped his fists together, and swung upward toward Lin Lin’s face.

The Pangoro caught his arm in her teeth, and tossed her head. David flew over her head, landing on his back. He followed the momentum and rolled back onto his feet. Lin Lin clenched her muscles and yanked her fists out of the ice.

“I didn’t know she could throw people with her teeth” said Chili, completely entranced.

Kenneth yawned. “Oh, please. I could do that in my sleep. Anyway, it probably doesn’t taste very- oof!” He was suddenly hit in the face with a bright red ball of light. It blew him back several feet, which generally is not something someone sitting in a tree wants to have happen. Kenneth landed right next to Aveline. Penelope looked back at the fight; David had started firing Aura spheres.

Lin Lin didn’t really have an answer for that. She managed to swat a few aside, but David kept launching more.

“Wǒ tóuxiáng!” she called, after a moment. “Wǒ tóuxiáng. You win. I have no counter for this technique, David.”

“Find one” said David, easing up. “I wasn’t expecting the bit with the teeth, though.”

Lin Lin touched her teeth gingerly. “Actually, that one may have been a mistake on my part. Biting your arm was like trying to chew on an iron bar.”

“Don’t worry Lin!” said Rue. “You’ll beat him next time!”

“Maybe you can learn to shoot red light like that!” said Chili, enthusiastically. “You’ll be way better than him at it!”

“Please don’t” Kenneth said weakly.

“Didn’t I teach you to fight in the first place?” said David.

“Yeah” said Chili. “But Lin showed me how to fight with HONOR!”

“To answer your question, no, I cannot learn how to use aura” said Lin Lin.

“Oh.” Chili seemed disappointed. “But… if you could learn it, you’d be way better at it!”

“You sound like Kenneth” said David.

Chili looked outraged. “You take that back.”

Kenneth grinned. “Yeah, take it back. I brag way better than she does.”

“Bragging about bragging… that may be the saddest thing I’ve heard all day” said Samara, dumping the last of the popcorn on Rue and Birch. She jumped down from the tree.

“Quiet, Samara!” said Chili. “You’re still in trouble for yesterday!”

“For… what?” said Penelope.

“Mom had to go lie down for, like, an hour because of her!”

“Oh, that” said Samara. “Yeah, I had Curry read my fortune yesterday. Apparently, my evolution will involve explosions, and it gave her a migraine.”

“And until you pay me back for her chores that I had to do because she needed to rest, you’re in time out.” Chili jutted her chin out. “Got it?”

“Guess you didn’t learn that honor very well” said David.

“Who has time to learn?”

“Maybe there are a bunch of inside jokes I’m not getting here” said Aveline. “But I’m really lost.”

“Don’t worry, I can’t follow this conversation either” said Penelope. “Kenneth, take the girls home.”

“Ooh! Kenneth!” said Rue. “Can we go to Philip’s stand and watch him try to sell you something?”

Kenneth patted her on the head. “Sure.”

“Yay!” said Rue and Chili.

As they left, an Absol walked into the area. David stopped smirking. “Prier.”

Prier nodded. “David. I find myself in need of a favor. Considering you already owe me one, you seemed the logical source of help.”

David crossed his arms. “Explain.”

“My father is expecting me to visit him tonight; I can’t be there. I’m going to be out of town for a few days. I need you to cover for me.”

David tilted his head. “This some sort of guild business?”

“…yes.”

“What, exactly?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it is none of your business, quite frankly.”

“I want to know what I’m helping you do” said David.

“That knowledge would not change anything” said Prier. “You owe me the favor nonetheless.”

“…sure” said David. “Whatever.”

“Good” said Prier, walking away.

There was an awkward silence.

“Anyone else think he’s lying?” asked Samara. Everyone nodded. “Alright then. Penny, I’ll need your nose.”

“You’ll- what?”

“We’re following him” said Samara, grabbing Penelope by the scarf. “David wants to know what he’s up to. So do I.”

"Are you serious?" protested Penelope. "We should be minding our own business!"

"He's with the guild. It is our business."

“But we don’t even know where he’s going!” said Penelope as Samara dragged her along.

“We’re going anyway!”

They were out of sight a few seconds later.

Lin Lin stared after them. “Samara does not think about these things at all, does she?”

“No, she doesn’t” said Aveline. “You should have seen her trying to improvise when she realized the apartment didn’t have space for a third bed.” She looked at David. “Are you going to cover for Prier like he asked?”

“Sure” said David. “But I just want to check one thing first…”

__________________

“Prier?” said Gemma. “Uh, nope. He doesn’t have an out-of-town job that I know of.”

“That’s what I thought” said David. “He’s a terrible liar. What’s he up to?”

“Your guess is as good as ours” said Sela, tapping a claw on the floor. “I’m sure Samara and Penelope will have more information for us when they return.”

“How did you know?” said Lin Lin.

“Because I am old and therefore wise and experienced” said Sela, with just a hint of a grin. “And because, for all her guile, Samara’s recklessness makes her very predictable sometimes.”

David snorted. “You’re not wrong, ma’am.”

Birch floated nervously. “Prier’s not doing anything d-dangerous… is he?”

Sela smiled. “Don’t worry, child. Prier is impatient, but he is no fool. I am certain that whatever he is doing is entirely innocuous.”

________________

Samara perched next to the upper window of Morgan’s hut in Darkhowl Woods, a place she had genuinely hoped never to see again.

Ponyta ankles? Spirits. Samara caught Penelope’s eye. Penny nodded; she’d heard it too. Prier was offering himself up as Morgan’s apprentice, just because he wanted to learn what magic was? How was that a hard question to answer? His workplace featured the biggest library on the continent, for goodness sake!

Prier seemed to hesitate at the mention of Ponyta ankles. He said something about needing to think it through. Morgan started to protest, but then calmed down and handed him a talisman. Prier left the hut and started back towards the entrance to the forest. Samara’s mind raced. The guild had to know about this, and fast. Samara and Penelope could probably beat Prier back to Tabira on foot…

Suddenly, Morgan strode out of her hut, glanced around, and launched a fireball into the bush where Penelope was hiding. Penelope bolted out of the bush and ran for the trail. She didn’t get ten paces before being caught in a snare.

Morgan walked over and looked the Houndour up and down. The witch snarled. “You again? I put all the traps back up. How’d you get past them?” Penelope snapped at Morgan’s leg. “Not interested in telling, huh?” Morgan grinned. “That’s fine. You won’t be going back that way.” She pulled out a Forest Curse potion and uncorked it.

Samara dropped down behind her, snatched the potion away, and splashed it in the witch’s face. “Penny!”

Penelope breathed a jet of flame at Morgan’s head. Morgan was completely unfazed. “Not bad, kid. Thing is, fire can’t hurt me.”

An exploding firebolt leapt from her hands at Samara. Samara dodged and responded with a barrage of Ice Shards. Penelope yanked at the snare, which broke free. She tackled the witch from behind. Morgan went down with her and dug away. Before Penelope’s head cleared enough to tell Samara to run, Morgan burst up beside her and broke another potion vial on Penelope’s back. Seconds later, Penelope was lying several feet away, with half of her body feeling like it was on fire. Everything had gone red.

Samara was still locked in combat with Morgan. The Sneasel was making tactical blows against the witch, trying to throw her off-balance. It was a trick that had worked time and again against bigger, stronger opponents- but Morgan wasn’t bigger or stronger. She was just more powerful.

Suddenly, Samara’s body began to glow. An ice shard dissolved in her hand as she started screaming. Five seconds later, a Weavile was unconscious on the ground.

Morgan stared at the prone body for a couple of seconds. She snorted, and started walking towards it. Gathering her strength, Penelope got up, and ran at Morgan, aiming for her throat. Morgan turned around and lifted her hand. There was one last fireball.

And then everything went black.