War of the Monsters

For years, everybody prepared for this very day. No-one, however, actually thought it would ever happen. This was the day when monsters went to war. There occurred a horrific war that pitted monsters against monsters. The war resulted in the harm, and even death, of innocent little creatures and humans. Why did it start? How did it start? Nobody really knows for sure. One side was made up of fierce monsters called Pokemon. Such monsters weren’t always bad; they carry out only their master’s orders. One particular battle field shows how evil can exist in even the most innocent of creatures. This is the tale of the other side…

“We shall send the pathetic little slime out as bait, just as planned.” The commanding officer looked down at the cowering raindrop slime.

“B-b-b-but… I had Oliver since he was just an egg sir…”

“Are you disobeying my orders? SEND THE DAMN THING OUT!!” commanded the broad shouldered leader.

“But what if he…”

“That’s a chance we’ll have to take. It’s way too weak to fight. That’s why we must use it as a decoy.”

A tear dropped from the very scared owner’s face, “O…Okay sir.” He looked at the shivering slime with his coffee brown eyes, and then turned his head swiftly away. “Oliver, we’ve been through a lot together…..” he tried not cry, “… but I’m afraid we must say our good byes…”

The poor defenceless slime frowned, “I understand.” he replied. The slime stared the back of its scrawny master’s auburn-haired head, shaking even more than him. “Take good care of the others.” The slime smiled, nervously- before hopping into the center of the empty field. He stood there for a little while. Nothing was happening. He shook in anticipation, waiting for his hopefully quick and painless death. Still, nothing happened.

“Those idiots!” whispered the commanding officer, “Why won’t they attack?” The tension was building after every second; the waiting was the worst part.

Suddenly, a big, orange dragon swooped down from the air and grabbed the lonely slime in sharp talons. The tail of the beast appeared to be ablaze. It fluttered its large wings continuously. It immediately flew away without delay.

The owner of the loyal slime burst into tears. It all happened so fast. It was even hard to get a good look at the beast. He tried to memorize as much as he could. He didn’t know why.

The officer clenched his fists, “Damn! The attack was too quick. We didn’t have time to return the favor.” The young teenage man wiped as many tears from his face as he could.

“Screw you all! You don’t seem to care that my precious Oliver risked his life for nothing! I’m going out there you bastards!!” The man began to run- hoping to join his little friend. “Don’t worry Oliver; it won’t be long ‘til I see you again!”

There was someone yelling out to him from behind- a female’s voice: “Wait Joseph! You don’t have to do this!” He did not turn around. Not even for a second.

“Come on already, I want to see Oliver again!”

The same voice called out to him again, “Joseph, no! It’s me, Katie!”

“Katie?” Joseph turned his head, “What are you doing here? It’s not safe!” Joseph had known Katie since they were both only two. He had forgotten how beautiful she had become. Katie still had those two cute chocolate-brown ponytails hanging down the sides of her head, gently floating in the air as the wind blew into her face. She had eyes as blue as the calm seas- and a cute little button nose. Katie was lovely in every way. Joseph couldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Don’t worry, my monsters will protect Me.” comforted Katie. Another tear drop ran down Joseph’s face. “Oh, sorry,” stated Katie, “I almost forgot.”

Joseph tried to hide his tears, “It is okay…” Joseph responded “soon I will be meeting him.” Katie walked up closer to him and Joseph grew a rather small smile. As Katie got up to him… she slapped him in the face.

“OW! What was that for?” he asked.

“Stop saying that!” Katie snapped.

“Why? I must see Oliver again!”

“You will get to see him when it is time!”

“But…”

“No. I’m afraid you’re gonna have to wait!”

“But he’s my best friend! I only came here to earn enough cash for fresh Sirloin to give him, among other things. But now…” Joseph looked down at his dirty brown shoes, “but now I can’t even give him that!” Joseph started to cry some more, with no intentions in stopping.

“Don’t you dare say that, Joseph! For all we know, your monster could still be alive. I mean, we only saw him get dragged away.”

Joseph stared into her beautiful eyes, “H-hey, you’re right. Then that means… we can still find h-”

“LOOK OUT!!” Somebody screamed. Joseph looked back behind him. It was some sort of giant blue serpent. There was a white glow in its mouth.

“JUMP!” screamed Joseph, grabbing hold of Katie, before diving out of the way. An enormous beam shot out of the impossibly large beast’s mouth. The beam missed Joseph and Katie, but vaporized countless other humans and monsters.

“I can’t believe it…” said the commanding officer, “They waited for us to let our guard down- and we did. I didn’t think we’d have to do this.” Many a person stared at him worryingly.

“Do what, sir?” asked one of the men.

“Send out all the Orligons and Gigadracos we have. NOW!” ordered the leader.

“Um, yes sir.” The man turned to the remaining troops, “You heard him; send out your most powerful dragon monsters. Pronto!” A number of immensely large dragons emerged from behind them. One set of them were Gigadracos. These are big, bulky, green dragons that take out anything in its path. Even bigger, however, are the other set of dragons. The Orligons are large, mountain-like dragons.

“Orligons, I order you to use Beserker!” screamed the men on Joseph’s side, simultaneously. Others yelled “Gigadracos, attack with FireAir!” So the Orligons started by dashing relentlessly towards the colossal blue serpent and a lot of the humans- killing them; whilst the Gigadracos burnt a great deal to death with a stream of flames that gushed from their mouths- as ordered.

Several opposing men fled from the battle area- Taking their monsters with them.

“They appear to be retreating,” reassured the officer, “for now.”

Another lad advanced up to him “Sir, we have discovered some kind of enemy territory. Should we send someone in to infiltrate it?”

“Hmm…” He pointed at Joseph and Katie “You could send those two bozos out. They are of no help to us anyway.”

“But sir, they…”

“Do it! If they don’t turn up in an hour then we could just send someone else to investigate.”

“Yes sir. I will give them the order right away, sir.”

“Good. That should rid me of their stupid babbling.”

The man bowed his head and went off to Joseph and Katie. “I have an important job for you kids.”

“Hey! We’re not kids! I am nineteen and-”

“Listen kid. Contradicting yourself isn’t humorous. Nor is it smart! Now here’s your assignment; there is some building we want you to search around in. Find out what they are planning and tell us. Got it?”

“Can’t you see that Jo-“

“Hold it Katie.” Joseph hid half of his face with his hand, “Perhaps we could find Oliver in there.”

“Joseph, I only have three monsters with me. They alone can’t …”

“Trust me Katie, if Oliver really is alive, then there could only be one place he can be. He has to be with the enemy!”

The man’s patience wore thin. “Well? Get going!”

“Uh… Yes sir.”

***

The sun was disappearing into the horizon. Katie’s eyes glistened at the wonderful sight. At last, they were away from the grim deaths of the battle field.

“Ah, just look at the sunset.” Katie drew attention to, “It’s amazing!”

“It’s probably the most beautiful thing we will see in a while.” Joseph agreed. He was lying, though. To him, the most beautiful thing in the whole entire world was the wonderful young woman standing right next to him. He just had to tell her. How else was he to know if she felt the same way? “Um…. Katie?”

She looked back at him, “Yes?”

Joseph froze. How could he tell her? He just couldn’t. He had to say something, though.

“Do you really think Oliver could be alright?” Katie looked into Joseph’s dark brown eyes. “What if we just came here for nothing?”

“What do you think?”

“Huh?”

“He’s your monster. You know if he’s alright or not. No matter how far apart you may be, you will always be together. You should be able to tell how he is. It’s like one of those feelings. So, is he? What do you think?”

“Umm…” Joseph closed his eyes and thought. “I…” He thought some more. He couldn’t hear the war in the background. None of that mattered to him anymore. All he cared about now was Oliver. “I… I… I…” Katie waited patiently for a reply. “I… I……” Joseph opened his eyes, “I don’t know! This will never work! It’s…” Katie covered Joseph’s mouth with one of her delicate hands.

“Just concentrate, Joseph. I know you can do it.”

“Well, okay. But this is the last time!” He closed his eyes again. “I… I….”

Joseph’s voice was interrupted by another, “Joseph.” Joseph opened up his eyes again.

“Who said that?”

Katie looked at him strangely, “Who said what?”

“You know. My name….”

Katie chuckled, “Nobody did; you must’ve heard Oliver’s voice.” Joseph closed his eyes one more time.

“Joseph. Help me!” Joseph’s eyes sprung open this time.

“It IS his voice! HE’S ALIVE!”

“That’s wonderful! Now we can look for your cute little monster.”

Joseph’s smile lowered a little, “It’s not just a monster. It’s my friend!”

“Oh… sorry. Your friend.”

Joseph smiled some more, “That’s alright. He sounded as if he was in trouble!”

“Don’t worry. We’ll find him.” Katie positioned a hand on Joseph’s shoulder.

“I hope so.” He looked up at the façade of the building. “This is where they are keeping Oliver. I just know it!” Joseph ran towards the entrance.

“Hey, wait!” called Katie, “Don’t forget about the security!” Joseph stopped promptly.

“Oh yeah, you’re right. How are we going to get inside?”

“Don’t worry; I’ve got just the solution.” Katie reached into her pocket, and pulled something out.

“A cane? How will that help us?”

“Not just any cane.”

“What are you talking about?” Joseph was confused.

“Allow me to demonstrate.” Katie held up the cane, and it began to glow. Soon afterwards, she started to glow as well.

“Whoa! What is happening?”

She was shrinking. She shrank until she was the shape of a little raindrop. When the glowing stopped- it was obvious what had happened…

“You... You look just like Oliver!”

Katie- In her new form- looked up to Joseph, “That is correct.” A tear fell from Joseph eye. “Relax. He’s alright. Right?”

Joseph closed his eyes so to stop any more tears from coming out.

“Joseph…”

He opened his eyes, “Damn you! Damn you bastards! It is them; they’re playing with my mind. My emotions. I am a toy!”

Katie frowned, “That’s not true. You’re not a toy to anyone. Hurry- pick up the cane. Hold it so that you can change.”

“Umm… Okay.” Joseph knelt down for the cane. “Here goes nothing…”

Katie laughed herself into tears. “Aww.”

“Hey! What are you so amused about?”

Katie tried to calm herself down. “You’re…” She continued laughing.

“Yes?”

“You… you’re a Facer!” Katie slowly settled down.

“Hey, this is no laughing matter!”

“Okay, okay. Simmer down.” She noticed the serious face of the colorful mask. “What has gotten into you lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have gotten a lot tougher recently. You used to be so wimpy.”

“HEY!”

“What? It’s true isn’t it? Remember when we were kids, and it was one of the snowiest days our lives? You know, we all got the old sled- me, you, Daryl and the rest of the gang- and we were just about to slide down. You were at the back, of course. As soon as the sled went down a couple of inches, you dived off. And you never touched a single sled again.”

“Well, this time my best friend’s life may be at stake. I can’t show the slightest bit of fear.” He looked at Katie. “Not even if I wanted to.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet.”

If Joseph was still a human, his face would’ve glimmered bright red. “I know.”

“Hey Joseph…”

“Yes?”

“Would you do the same thing if it were me?”

“What?”

“You know, if it was me instead of Oliver?”

“I…”

Katie giggled, “Heh, got you thinking didn’t I?”

“Huh? Hey, that’s not funny!”

“Don’t worry. I know you would rescue me if you had to.”

“…”

“I think I know why you turned into a Facer…”

“Really? How is that?

“Because you are so mysterious.”

Joseph smiled. A roar of thunder broke the silence. It started to rain on the two of them. He shuffled into the building without another word.

***

Inside, he heard voices. Not of humans- but monsters. They sounded like they were being tortured. There were screams. They were screams of pains. He looked at Katie. He knew she could hear them too. Neither of them knew where the screams were coming from. They sounded like they were everywhere. They even sounded like they were in that very room. It was hard to see anything. Musty smells polluted the air- they could taste every bit of it.

Joseph could see the fear in Katie’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Katie. Just call your monsters in.”

“Uh, okay…” She turned back to the entrance, “Come on guys.” In walked a big, shiny, golden dragon followed by a fairly large bird. There was also a outsized slime- bearing some sort of a crown. “You four can protect me.”

“Four?”

“Yes, you too. Is there a problem with that?” Katie smirked.

“Um… no, not at all. You know, just…”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Katie chuckled again. “You sure are a man of few words.”

Joseph proceeded on to the next room- and Katie followed. The screams were getting louder now. Sweat crawled down Joseph’s face. One scream sounded familiar; but it wasn’t Oliver. The room they were in now was extensive. The last room was so dark that they could hardly see anything. This room, however, was filled with a blue light. The horrible smell and taste deteriorated.

The walls were covered in framed portraits of mysterious monsters, and there were a few statues standing up high. “Wow! This looks like some sort of posh waiting room.” Katie observed. Katie immediately recognised one of the portraits. She thought to herself ‘That must be the thing that snatched Oliver on the battle field.’ She thought to herself. She didn’t say anything about it- not wanting to upset Joseph. There was the sound of footsteps in the corridor. “Someone’s coming. Hide!”

Katie bounced around one of the statues decorating the eerie room. Joseph, on the other hand, leaned up against a wall- hoping to be mistaken as just a regular mask. The other three monsters rushed out of the building. “We’ll come back for you soon” one whispered. Katie peered around the statue to them, wondering what the big hurry was about. Two tall men walked into the room, not stopping. Joseph held his breath as they carried on to the entrance. Katie appeared to be in pain. Joseph tried not to ask her what was wrong.

“Joseph! Save me!” Joseph let out his breath of air and the two men heard his pant. When they turned their heads they spotted Joseph.

“Hey Max…” One of the men walked a bit closer towards Joseph, “when did we get that ugly thing?” The other man squinted with his eyes. Joseph resisted shaking, but he was scared.

The two men looked pretty tough. One of them had short brown hair and wore sunglasses. The other had long blue hair carpeted down his head and dark green eyes. The latter wore a golden ring through his right eyebrow. Both had very broad shoulders and fairly buff arms. They almost reminded him of his commanding officer in the war.

“Hey…” The other guy relaxed his eyes, “I don’t recall seeing that. Perhaps the boss ordered it. He is a pretty strange guy.” Both men approached Joseph. “Let’s just hang it up for him anyway, eh?” They reached out for Joseph, who was frozen with fright. Joseph’s heart raced.

“AAAHHHHH!” cried out Katie. The men turned to see a young female.

“HEY! You’re not supposed to be here!” The men walked up to Katie.

“Joseph, RUN!” Katie was wise enough not to look at anything but the inside of her eyelids. She didn’t want them to catch her best friend too. So Joseph ran as fast as a deformed mask could. He didn’t go unnoticed.

“HOLD IT!” One dived for Joseph and failed as the mask formed man jumped out of his grasp. The man got up and worked his hand into one of his pockets. He soon found a red and white ball. “Come on out Charizard!” He pitched the ball and an orange beast was released from it.

“AH! That’s it. That’s the monster that took Oliver!” Joseph heard her. Although, he still didn’t stop. Not for a second. He just kept running.

“Ember!” screamed one of the men. The monster spewed rows of fire at Joseph. Each shot missed him. Nothing seemed to hit him now. He was too determined to find his friend. The other man was watching the girl.

“Please, let him go!” Katie begged. “We never did anything wrong!”

“Sorry kid, bosses orders.” The man grinned.

Joseph froze. He then turned around. “How about this…”

“Joseph?”

“If you promise to let her go, then I will give myself in.”

“JOSEPH, NO!”

The blue-haired man smirked and held up his hand with the ball in it. “Charizard… return.” Charizard vanished into the ball as a string of light.

“You keep the poor things trapped up in some kind of a prison?” It wasn’t hard to see the combination of disgust and anger in Katie’s face. “Monsters should be allowed to roam free and play in the-”

The brown-haired man interrupted with a slap in Katie’s face. “Only speak when spoken to.” He lowered his eyebrows. “In fact, don’t speak at all!”

“HEY! Leave her! This is just between me and him.”

The blue-haired one lowered his arm. “Okay, follow us.”

“But I must warn you, I’m-”

“Shut up and do what I say!”

Joseph followed the men, whilst Katie was dragged by both arms. “Get off of me! I can walk you know. It’s not like I’m going anywhere else.” She was slapped again. Blood dripped from one of her nostrils. Joseph frowned. He knew he couldn’t do anything about it.

***

In the next room, they were greeted with even more screams. With every room they entered, the screams were more horrific and painful. “Don’t worry about those.” Joseph looked up into the blue-haired man’s eyes. “You’ll soon get used to them.”

Katie struggled. “Ugh. You’re the real monsters!”

The brown-haired man slapped her in the face again. “When will you learn, bitch?”

They passed through the room and entered a room with many doors. The men lead the two to a door with a strange circle at shoulder’s height. A red and white ball was lined up with the circle in the hand of the blue-haired man. The door opened. “This is some of Team Sprockets finest technology. There are specific ID codes embedded in certain Pokeballs. These are required to get to the boss’ room.”

“Team Sprocket? Pokeballs?” A sharp and immediate pain struck Joseph. He didn’t make a sound. Although, it would’ve just been drowned out by the many screams surrounding the room.

The open door revealed a secret elevator. They all walked in. When the door closed, the man at the front typed in some kind of code. The others just watched patiently. Katie saw Joseph in pain and used up what was left of her strength to laugh. Joseph didn’t notice. He just tried to keep his eyes on the leading man.

The door opened up again. This time introducing a room of gold. Everything appeared to be made of gold- from the portrait frames to the very floors they were stepping on.

“WOW!” Joseph and Katie had never seen anything like it. “A whole room made out of gold. I wouldn’t mind living here.” This was among one of the biggest rooms in the building. The room housed many vases and statues. It was all very unbelievable. There were no screams of pain. Beyond them was a large door plated with gold, naturally.

“On we go.” The brown-haired man dropped to the floor, head first. “WHAT?”

Strings hung from wooden arms and wooden legs. The whole of the man’s body was now made of wood. He was smaller now. Lying on the cold hard floor.

“A Puppetor?”

“He was merely a puppet to his master.” Katie wiped some blood off her face. “It was as if he had no free will of his own…”

Joseph grasped the cane tightly in his human hands above the puppet monster.

“He was weak.” Katie twisted her bruised head towards Joseph and smiled. “The Change cane reveals a person’s true nature; in monster form.” She turned the rest of her body to Joseph. “That’s why I was an adorable little slime!”

Joseph walked up to her. As if they were going to wrap their arms around each other and kiss- but they didn’t. “I am glad to have my body back.”

“Yeah, yeah. Save the body reunion for later. We still have two more rooms to go through yet.” The man walked up to the big door. He then turned his head to them lazily. “Oh, and don’t think that hocus-pocus of yours will work on me as well. I’m way too strong to change into one of those weak little blighters!”

“Joseph. I know you will find me…”

“Huh?” Joseph looked around the room. “Is this a trick?”

“No trick. You can try it if you want. It still won’t work.”

“What won’t?”

“That magic. Now come on runt!”

“Katie…” Joseph knew Oliver was in pain. He could feel Oliver’s pain. Katie held Joseph’s free hand. The cane rested in the other. “I can hear him again.”

“I know. I can see it in your eyes.”

***

The two of them followed through the door. Behind it were two more men, standing on each side of another large door.

“Max? Who are those kids?”

“KIDS?!?”

“Joseph, please, cool off will ya’? Don’t forget, we’re still monsterless.”

“Yeah, where did yours go? They definitely seemed like they were in a rush...”

“Silence!” ordered the leading man, Max. “Don’t worry; I am taking them to the boss.”

“Joseph, look…” Katie whispered, “…They have some of those pokeball things, too. We must be careful.”

Approaching the next room, Joseph noticed a familiar face…

“Oliver!” Joseph ran up to his pal and hugged him.

“Told you we’d find him, didn’t I?”

“Get away from that thing!”

“Why?” Katie walked up to join Joseph. “We were looking for him. Now that we found him, we don’t care what you do to us.”

“No, you don’t understand you fools!”

“Wait!” Joseph stood up, “This isn’t Oliver.”

“What?” Katie pulled a strange face at Joseph.

“This isn’t Oliver.”

The three of them watched as the blue slime began to glow a blinding white color. It changed shape during this glow. When the glowing stopped, it had become a pink jelly-like monster. It hopped towards and into a crack in a wall. Pokeballs fell from the ceiling. These ones were different. They had eyes.

“Damn! You idiot, these are Voltorbs!” Max ran up to the door, avoiding the Voltorbs.

They didn’t ask. They just ran. Max punched in a code on the wall. The door opened. They all ran through without a word.

“Voltorb!”

VOLTORB!”

“VOOOOOOOOOOLTOOOOORB!!

The things repeated only that. When they stopped, loud explosions could be heard from the rooms next to it. The ground and walls shook.

“Voltorbs are highly dangerous monsters. They can blow themselves and anything around them to smithereens!”

“W…Why is the door still there?”

“Those doors are bomb proof. We own the toughest trained Voltorbs in the world. So we prepared them to use Selfdestruct on any intruders. That’s why you shouldn’t touch Ditto.”

“Ditto? That was the pink thing?”

“That is correct.”

“It appears we’re not the only ones that can change our form, Joseph.”

A chair rose from behind a desk. There was someone on it. It was another man.

Max knelt down to the man, dragging the other two with him. “It is an honor to see you, boss.”

“Is this an all man team?” Katie frowned.

Max pinched Katie’s neck and held it tightly.

“OW, Hey!”

“Max, what is it you want?”

“I found these two trespassers loitering in our Head Quarters.”

“How is that any of my business?”

“Well, these brats seem to know some sort of magic. They possess a small cane that can turn humans into the very monsters we are currently fighting against.”

The man in the chair cupped his hands together. “You say these rats can perform magic? I am intrigued… Show me!”

“No! What have you done with my friend?”

“Do what he says you little-”

“Enough!” Max’s boss reached his hand over a red button on his desk. “You will show me; if you don’t want to join the other unwanted guests.”

“I’ll show you after you tell me where my friend is!”

“Very well then…” The man pushed the button summarily. The floor below Joseph and Katie opened like a trap door. The two of them plunged further down into the building.

They could hear more screams. They were louder with every second. Light was disappearing. It all became dark. It was as dark as a starless night. Joseph tried to look at Katie, but he couldn’t see her. He heard her scream. He knew she was in there.

Both of them fell out of a big tube and landed on a pile of tattered pillows. Of which they were hauled off by some man with a hood over his head. They were forced up onto a platform and tied up to a wooden pole each. One person tore Joseph’s shirt off. The man with the hood covering his head carried a long whip- Preparing to smack Joseph’s bear back.

Behind Katie was someone with a pokeball in their hand. “Go Raichu!” Out of the ball came a burst of light that developed into an orange, rabbit-like creature with yellow cheeks and a long tail with a tip that resembled a bolt of lightning. “We are going to make sure that the both of you get to see each other suffer.”

The hooded person pulled back the whip and slammed it straight into Joseph’s back. The sound of a clap echoed through the underground room as the whip crashed into Joseph’s vulnerable back. Joseph let off a scream. Just like the ones he heard earlier.

The man stood behind Katie laughed, while she cried at Joseph’s pain. “What are you so upset about? We didn’t do anything to you yet.” He ensured that the metal chains were fastened around her properly. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you because you’re cute. Alright Raichu, give her an electric shock!” Raichu’s cheeks sparked with electricity. The large rodent then released it all on the girl. She joined in on the chorus of screams.

A young boy with blue hair and glasses was being tugged along by some giant green insect. As he went by Katie instantly recognised him. “Daryl?” The boy turned his sorrowful face to Katie and kept walking.

Joseph saw him too. Daryl was an old friend of Joseph and Katie. There were others that moved away to an unknown location. They did everything together. They even had a secret hideout place that they used to go to when they were bored or depressed. There, they discussed what they were going to do for fun. Most of the time the gang did big things; like going go-carting around town.

Many more volts of electricity flowed down Katie’s spine. The whip struck Joseph’s back again.

“H… Hey! Let… him go! He’s… only a kid…” Joseph failed to get any more words out of his mouth. Katie watched in disbelief. She wondered how someone, especially a human, could be so ruthless.

There was a loud sound around a corner. It sounded like something had smashed the wall down. The torturing stopped. The persecutors left the suffering victims to see what was going on. The hooded person lifted off the hood and long wavy brunette hair swayed from side to side. Black eye shadow surrounded the eyes of the woman.

“Finally…” Katie strained to say. “There is a female member.”

“That…That’s no… That’s no… g-good thing…” Joseph managed.

The woman checked around the corner wall with the others. A number of men went flying back into Joseph and Katie’s view. The woman followed.

“…”

A shadow blanketed some of the unconscious foes.

The little electric monster known as Raichu scurried around the corner to see what was going on. Electricity lit up the dark room. Spider webs and dust were fully visible. The light soon went away as Raichu flew out next to the humans on the floor. Another shadow created part of the room’s floor.

“Those aren’t human… shadows.”

Another shadow appeared. They were monster shadows. Around the corner came a large, gilded dragon foot. It shimmered and reflected into Katie’s eyes. The rest of the magnificent reptile’s body surfaced.

“Drake?”

A big condor swooped around after Katie’s enigmatic monster companion. Feathers trailed magically off of it. Each feather was utterly beautiful from when it drifted off the bird to when it touched the ground.

“Connor…”

A strange squishy sound recurred. A big blue blob bounced into sight. It was very endearing. On its head there was a big cute crown with a few small jewels, sparkling like stars. Its eyes were like little buttons.

“King!”

“Katie?”

“What happened here?”

Drake, the gold-coated dragon, stepped up onto the platform- ignoring the other terrified victims. “Stand still!” He raised his left hand and opened his claws. His left hand swung at the chains and broke Katie free.

The bird monster, Connor, yanked at the ropes that held Joseph to the pole. Eventually they snapped. Joseph collapsed onto the floor; breathing heavily.

“We must hurry! Many ally monsters are attacking this building while we speak.”

“H… How did you get here? Are… Aren’t we u…under…”

“Underground? Yes. We came across a black hole on the ground outside. It took us to the underground floor.”

Joseph tried to get up, but he couldn’t. Instead, he used his hands and arms to support him. He coughed above Drake’s voice.

“Connor…could you heal us please?”

The condor smiled as best as it could with its beak. “Sure thing, Katie.” Light shone from its body and sunk into the other four.

Joseph shot up from the floor. “Whoa! That was cool!”

“Well I do have some pretty cool monsters.” Katie smiled.

“Quick! There’s no time for that now! We have to get out of here!”

Katie glanced at the unconscious bodies on the floor. “What about them?”

“They’ll be alright. Now come on!”

Joseph and Katie chased the monsters through the gap that was left in the wall.

The crowned slime looked around. “What happened to the black hole?”

“It must have disappeared when we went through it.”

“Hey guys,” Connor was in the building, “come check this out!”

***

“It’s some kind of strange door.”

There was a door with a circle on it. Just like before.

“I’ve got an idea.” Joseph went up to one of the knocked out bodies knelt down to it.

“What is he doing?”

Katie knew exactly what Joseph was about to do. “Good thinking Jo!”

Joseph walked back up to the door with a Pokeball. He held the ball up and the door to an elevator opened shortly after.

“We can’t all fit in there!”

Joseph scratched his head. There were many lifeless innocent people tied up in the room. The only other exit was the room next to this one. However, people were still being tortured in that room. The noise must not have been heard over the unfortunate victims’ screams.

“Wait! Hey Katie, what about the way we came from?”

“What about, the others?”

“You can fly up there with Connor. Drake, you go free the others.”

“No! We cannot save them yet.”

“What? Why not? Quit being stubborn, monster!”

Drake threatened Joseph with his claws. “There are more important things right now!”

“Like what?”

“There is a much greater evil in this very building. That’s why our ally monsters are attacking it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never you mind, Joseph. Tell me, do you still have the cane of Change?”

Joseph and Katie searched their pockets. There was no cane. It was nowhere to be seen in the room either.

“Oh no, I think we lost it!”

“You lost it?”

Katie pointed to her King Slime. “King, go with Joseph! Drake and Connor, I’ll show you where we came from. You two fly me up!”

“You sure can get pretty demanding.”

“My grandmother gave me that cane before she died. I have to get it back!” Katie jumped up on Connor’s back. “Let’s fly!”

Drake smashed through the one way tube to assure easy access. Connor followed on through, carrying Katie.

Joseph went into the elevator with King close behind. Joseph stood in front of the control pad. “I saw what was typed in earlier.” Joseph typed in a code. The elevator slowly trembled.

When the door opened, the king slime was the first to get out. “WOW! This here is a place fit for a king!” Joseph caught up with King in the room of gold.

Something hit a wall. The result was a large dent in the once beautiful wall.

“Is that an ally monster?”

King was hidden behind a golden statue of an unknown monster. “Y-y-yes. I do believe so. S-shall we go on?”

Joseph returned to the room where the two men were. This time it was empty beside Joseph and King.

“Where are they?”

“Where are who, young Joseph?”

“I guess I shouldn’t complain.”

“What ever are you talking about?”

Joseph continued to the next room without answer. It was the room with the slime impostor. Said criminal slept in a small child’s arms.

“Daryl?”

“Huh? Joseph!”

Joseph scampered up to Daryl. “What are you doing here? Are you ok?”

“Don’t worry Joseph, I’m fine. My older brother works here.”

“Max? He’s your brother?”

“What? No. Who’s Max? You know my brother. You have met him before.”

“Yeah well, it’s been so long since I’ve seen him.”

“I know. He spends most of his life here. That’s why I come here occasionally. What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Um… I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Oh… OK.”

“Hey, what was that green thing tormenting you earlier? Did it hurt you or anything?”

“Of course not, he’s mine.”

“He is? Then why did you look so miserable?”

“You would too if you had to witness inoffensive bystanders get beaten.”

“Don’t cry Daryl. I was on the receiving end, remember? I’m still alive aren’t I?”

“You were lucky, yes. What about everyone else, though?”

“We’ll save them. I’ve got a King slime with me, and Katie has monsters with her too!”

“You’re confident over three monsters?”

“They got us this far didn’t they? We absconded from the under ground floor didn’t we?”

“Soon you’ll be outnumbered.”

The pink morphing menace woke with a yawn.

“That is such a malicious thing! What on earth is it with you for?”

“Hey! This is my best friend! What has it ever done to you?”

“Other than impersonate Oliver?”

“For your information, changing into a monster it sees is a hobby of his!”

“… Monsters it sees? Are you saying Oliver is close?”

“Have you been in this room before? What happened to Oliver?

“Just leave it if you don’t want to help. Ok?”

“Is Oliver in trouble? I didn’t know, sorry.”

“Could I count on you to help me find him?”

“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?

***

Joseph identified Katie on the floor of Team Sprocket’s boss’ room.

“Katie? Katie!” he darted across the room to Katie.

“It’s no use. The girl is but a corpse.”

“What!?” Joseph brought his view to Daryl, Max, his stunned boss and three of the four monsters. Connor lay on the floor next to Katie.

“She had it coming to her. She tried to take what was rightfully mine.” The cane was lifted up in Max’s hands. “Now, behold my rebirth!”

Max changed shape just like the others. He didn’t shrink. He grew in width, somewhat. Horns emerged from his head. The cane changed with him- growing into a large, wobbly, dragon head-tipped staff.

Coming into focus, the most terrifying monster Joseph ever saw had taken Max’s place. An evil grin spread across its shady dark face. Laughter escaped from its body.

Drake escalated in anger. “When will you learn, Dracolord? You do not belong here!”

“Such a shame it is, Drake. Still won’t join me?”

“I am going to avenge Katie. You can never prevail! You should have accepted that from all those years you have foundered.”

The dark figure’s smile weakened. “Well this time I have an advantage.” he retorted. Two more dragons faded in at the raise of the new staff. One of which being the frequently seen monster known as Charizard. Among closer inspection Joseph distinguished two large bumps on the back of its head.

“Drake, King, FIGHT!”

Drake’s claws ignited with flame- afterwards being lunged towards the center of attention himself. King dived at the ominous presence.

“Dragonite, I order you to protect us!”

A luminous shield surrounded the three once opposing monsters and the sinister fiend. The offending attacks rebounded and sent the pure-hearted monsters to the ground.

“…King, don’t forget your ability to revive dead monsters. Bring Connor back.”

“What about Katie?”

“Leave her. She cannot fight. She will only be wiped out again!”

“Ok, I’m on it Drake.”

“Hey… kid!”

Daryl realized Drake was speaking to him. “I know what you are going to say.” He shook the pink substance to wake it from its gentle nap. “Alright Ditto, it’s time for a battle. Are you up for it?”

Ditto gleefully jumped out of Daryl’s crossed arms. “Ditto!”

“Go Scyther, Growlithe and Croconaw!”

Ditto took the form of the big, cute, pale-orange dragon. “Ditto, Ditto.”

“What happened? What’s going on? And what is that!?”

Drake smiled faintly. “Good to have you back with us, Connor. Could you do us a favor?”

“Huh? Oh, right!”

Connor gleamed with light, preparing to recover Drake and King.

“That’s better, now we can fight!”

“But Drake, how can we penetrate their shield?”

“I believe I can answer that!” Daryl whispered. “Lay into it! Ditto, use dragon rage!”

The new version of the critter had its disguise surrounded in green. Its eyes concealed in fury. It opened its mouth. A large green beam forced its way out. The shield appeared to shatter as it was assaulted.

“…Dragon Rage?”

“Protect doesn’t stay up for long.”

King pounced again at the horrible thing. He just got pushed aside at the swing of the dragon-headed stick. King slick cheek collided into the ground with brute force. Seconds after thudding to the ground, it swelled up.

“Your foolish distractions are useless. I have already taken care of the outside monsters and the two mortals guarding these last rooms. We dragons were always destined to rule all. Humans should serve us. We are slaves to no-one.”

Charizard paced its way to King and crouched down in front of the wounded casualty. Both its eyes and mouth widened as if with sympathy. It felt the warmth of the injured body using a hand. It then rapidly shifted its head forward and sunk its teeth into King’s meaty flesh- ignoring his scream of agony.

“NOW USE WATER GUN!”

Charizard fell to the ground. It was weak. Smoke rose from its tail. Joseph had a flashback of Oliver’s kidnapping. He thought of Charizard’s tail. It was blazing with a large flame at the tip.

“The fire… is that it’s weakness?”

“You are correct. Its main weakness anyway” Daryl drew near Joseph, “They say that if any of Charmanders three forms lose the fire on their tail then they will die.”

“Charmander? That thing has two more forms?”

“Yes. Though they have already passed, there are two other forms of it.”

“Wait a minute. You tried to kill it?”

“No. That’s why I made Croconaw use a weak attack. It cannot fight in its condition.” Daryl directed his head to the green mantis and plush-like tiger who had both taken very painful positions.

“Never turn your back to the adversary. You especially shouldn’t when failure is inevitable.” With the staff, a gesture was made to the vigorous dragon on his side.

“The only thing that is inevitable is your defeat!” Drake confronted the big dopey dragon with stubby wings.

“My, aren’t you the optimistic one?” The eyes of the dragon-headed staff started to glow. Dragonite stepped up to take on Drake and Connor’s challenge. It was as if the funny-looking giant had been put into a trance. It imitated the previous green camouflage; prior to sending Connor into the back wall. The odd-looking dragon was tackled out of Drake’s path by the phoney.

Upon approaching the robed cold-blooded silhouette- Drake could feel the air getting warm and arid. His mouth was desiccated. The smell of the sweat soaking his face was inescapable. He could see the terror in the face of Team Sprocket’s boss. All sound was replaced by his footsteps and pounding heart to him now. Nevertheless, he didn’t think twice.

Joseph couldn’t endure the sight for any longer. It was all like a very dismal theatrical production. He had regrets about enlisting in the war from the beginning. He didn’t think anything would get this bad. He had a flashback of his early youth. He promised his treasured slime that they would win the war and be able to earn some more money for all the food they can eat. No more left-over ribs from family feasts. No more bowls of pork chop and mashed potatoes. He never effaced the cheerful expression on his little buddy’s visage. His flashback faded away.

Drake hurled another set of fiery claws at the now undefended villain- Leaving red marks across its unadorned face. “I am afraid I cannot let you carry on this pointless attempt of yours. Nobody should be a slave. Not even humans.”

The next swipe of Drake’s was blocked by the staff. “Your efforts are pitiful.” The stick lowered. “You should have joined me when you had the chance. Your idiocy will now cost you your ungrateful life!”

The staff hit the floor. Joseph wanted to confiscate it, but it was too close to the monster. “What’s happening to him?”

It’s face was sheltered by its arms. A large force surrounded it. Wings sprouted out of it’s back. It increased in height.

“Dracolord is changing. He is growing in strength. There is no way to prevent this while he is in the transformation stage.”

“It’s getting stronger? You guys couldn’t beat its’ other form!”

Its’ face stretched. It gave out sounds of pain. A wide smile still covered his gruesome purple face.

“H-he’s turning into a dragon!”

“Joseph… Get out of here!” Drake lifted the staff off the floor and passed it to Joseph.

“What?”

“Get out of here now! You must take that boy with you too.” Drake didn’t overlook the company’s boss, “And this guy.”

The speechless man finally came to his senses. “No, I’m staying! I believe I can be of some assistance. You kids are in for a treat. It’s not often people see my most powerful pokemon.” Tossed into the air was a pokeball. “Alright, here we go! It’s time for another sweet victory, pal!”

“Whoa! How did you... When did you get that?” Daryl mindlessly gaped.

Dracolord was now substituted by a big, purple, stubby-legged dragon. The alteration had stopped. It snarled at Drake.

“Daryl, can’t you do this later?”

“It’s not everyday you get to see something like this is person.”

“So I’ve heard. Now come on or you won’t be seeing anything!”

The new dragon dashed towards the two young mortals. Fortunately he was stopped dead in his tracks. A rounded, metal monster put all its weight into its arms to push the dragon forward.

***

“What was that thing?” Joseph sped through the room

***

“That pokemon is called Registeel. It is extremely rare! I still can’t believe it is tamed. There is only one of its kind around.”

As the two made their way outside, into the moist breeze, they heard an appalling cry. It was followed by the sound of glass smashing. The two looked up at it while they were running. Dracolord’s dragon form had spotted them.

The voice of Oliver filled Joseph’s ears, “Fight Joseph! Fight!”

Joseph quit fleeing. “Huh? I… I can’t…” He raised the staff up to his eyes. It had become the change cane again. He knew what Oliver wanted him to do. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to himself.

“Joseph! Why’d you stop? Come on!”

“You go ahead without me! I’ll catch up!”

“What! Are you crazy? You’ll get killed!”

The last Daryl saw of Joseph at that moment was when he was surrounded by flames. The air contained in the halo of inferno was less humid.

“It’s time to get this over with.” Joseph sighed

“JOSEPH!”

The dragon foe drifted into the great ring of fire. “Now I see where that slime got his stupidity from.”

“Oliver? What have you done to him?”

“Give me the cane!”

Oliver’s voice screamed into Joseph’s head again, “Fight him Joseph!”

Joseph knew exactly what he had to do. He squeezed the cane tightly in his hands. He began to glow with it. His body grew. His mind was clouded with rage. Gone was his mysterious nature. No longer was he afraid. He felt nothing but anger and hatred. Joseph had lost everything that has ever mattered to him. He sought revenge.

Bringing the light show to a halt, a tall, human-shaped monster with a large cape became perceptible.Horns were attached onto his head. The cane this time changed into what looked like a large black bolt of lightning,

“You’ll have to fight me for it Dracolord.” His voice changed.

Dracolord aimed fire in Joseph’s direction that was easily evaded with just a tilt of Joseph’s head. A bolt of lightning turned up from nothing in Joseph’s other hand. Hundreds of electric currents ran out and encased Dracolord’s paralysed body.

“No… please…”

“Tell me. You started the war, didn’t you?”

“Yes. D…dragons should rule all. It is our… destiny. Humans treat them as pets. Or at most, slaves. Humans are… w…worthless. They deserve to d… die!” Dracolord stopped with a cough.

“No. Monsters only obey humans voluntarily. No-one made them. Humans don’t treat monsters as slave. Not all of them anyway. You kill innocent people because they befriend them, don’t you?”

“Monsters shouldn’t be friends with humans! Monsters… should… rule! Monsters… are… supreme! Humans… are… inferior!”

Joseph held up another bolt of lightning. “Monsters and humans are both equal!” Joseph let go and watched as the suspended bolt crashed into Dracolord’s flesh

Dracolord slumped to the ground in anguish. All he could get out was a hiss.

With a risen hand, palm up, Joseph extinguished the imprisonment of fire. Plummeting to the dirt, the bolt staff took on its original contour.

“Joseph! Joseph, are you ok?” Daryl accelerated up to the victor.

“I…I don’t know.” Joseph checked his human body.

“What happened in there?”

Oliver’s voice: “Joseph, I’m inside.”

“Oliver! He says he’s in the building!”

“Huh? Did that thing hit you in the head or…”

Daryl noticed Dracolord on the ground.

“Wow! Did you do that?”

Joseph scratched his head. “I’m going back into the building.”

“Hey! I’m coming with you!”

***

Joseph followed his instincts back inside the massive building and went up to the top floor, using the pokeball he nabbed earlier. He tore through each of the rooms. Daryl endeavoured to keep up with Joseph, up to their intended destination.

“Drake!” Joseph went over to Drake- who was holding Katie’s dead hand. “Drake, I know where Oliver is. Can’t you revive Katie like you did Connor? Where’s King?”

Drake placed Katie’s hand gently back on the floor- a tear drop trickled after it. “I’m afraid he was executed by Charizard. There is nothing we can do now.”

Joseph stamped his feet like a child. “What!? Where are those creeps?”

Drake tried to suck up all the serenity he could, “They made their departure. They said they were repentant about how they acted.”

“Oh yeah, I bet they were. Why didn’t you finish them off?” Joseph scolded.

“They are treacherous murderers!”

“They can’t be. Monsters are generally loyal to their masters. As Dracolord controlled them, they couldn’t refuse.”

“Well, I guess I do see your point.”

The team leader stood at the corner of Joseph’s eye. “I’ve heard about your monster situation, kid.” He handed a polished gold-plated pokeball. “Here! This is the key to a secret room on the other side of the golden room.”

“Thanks!” The indoor light reflected onto the orb. “But why do you want to help me?”

“I’m in a good mood- Now that the strange mishap is out of the picture. Just get out of here before I change my mind!”

“Oh... well thanks again, sir.” Joseph paused in his tracks to the exit

“By the way, what is your name?”

“Well that would be telling now, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, see you later guys!” Joseph signalled a wave.

“It’ll be too soon kid.”

Daryl helped Ditto’s true self up off the floor and shook Joseph’s hand. “I’ll catch you in there later buddy.”

Drake patted Joseph on the back, “Don’t worry, Joseph. We will look for a way to revive her. For now, she will always be with us.” He put a hand onto where his heart would be. “Never forget that, Joseph.”

Joseph placed his hand on his chest and nodded. His head drooped down as he pressed on towards the door

***

In the very back of the golden room there was a door that Joseph had overlooked earlier. The golden ball gleamed with every stride he made. He had another flashback. He made a promise to his crew that they would never leave each other. Oliver was around that day too. Days later came the announcement that two of his friends were moving away. When the flashback faded away he found himself motionless in front of the door.

The pokeball ascended with his hand. The door opened with the aligned object. He knew Oliver was inside. He had no doubts. He couldn’t be more confident. For some reason, he was certain that he had accompanied Oliver the whole time.

Sure enough, Joseph’s little glossy comrade gazed out of a large window within the small room in silence. “I knew you would obliterate Dracolord.” It turned to Joseph, “The main existence of the terrible ongoing war.”

The air was moist and cold. Joseph embraced his silky partner in his arms- not a solitary word was spoken from then. He stared mournfully through the pane of glass at the destruction of everything in miles. Stripped trees were peaked with petite flames. Craters were dug up in the vast fields. Not a word was said.

All That Glitters Is Cold 2 Fanfic Competition


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