Chapter 21: Red

Chapter 21: Red

Mathew stumbled, tripping over everything in the dark corridor of the cavern. Each time he did, the aching in his feet became all he could think about. Mathew tilted his head upward, the image of that hulking gurdurr spurring him forward. He put the brunt of his fists, clutching his bone club and the satchel, against the walls to get his bearings and kept climbing.

In retrospect, he wasn’t sure why he thought going after the gurdurr alone was a good idea. He wasn’t experienced and frankly he wasn’t that great of a fighter either. But he couldn’t just stand there and watch as Jermy and Demurke were carried away. These OCEAN soldiers had come here to kill his friends. Mathew would never let that happen.

Never again.

Slowly, the pitch-black of the cavern brightened. When Mathew made one more turn, the source of the glow revealed itself, pouring in. He was close. He could feel it. He could hear it.

“…really think I’d be stupid enough to not figure out what’s going on here?” In faded the heavy, breathy voice of the gurdurr as Mathew walked out. They were standing on a large and wide platform overlooking the lower floor of the cavern where the river passed by, given light by a hole in the surface above. He was standing at the edge, a weapon Mathew couldn’t discern from so far away laid at his side. Jermy, clutched in his right arm, was held in front of the ledge. If his grip came undone now, Jermy would fall into a bed of stalagmites. Held out of danger in the other arm was Demurke. To so tightly grip both was an incredible feat, but Mathew could swear that the gurdurr’s breaths were heavier, and his stance more slouched than when he caught a glance of him earlier.

“B-Big Timmy!” Demurke cried. “You’ve g-gotta stop this!”

Big Timmy, huh? Demurke knew this person by name… Mathew slowed his pace to a careful tiptoe and hid himself behind a rock. He needed an opportune moment to fight back or ‘Big Timmy’ might drop Jermy before he could act. In the meantime, he wanted to hear this.

“And let you traitors run all willy-nilly? Not a chance, bird.”

“Traitors? We haven’t d-done anything wrong! The plan just went—”

“You know what? No.” Despite being trapped, Jermy’s wide-mouthed snap made him look more loose than Mathew was used to. “I’m sick of not being able to speak my mind. Yeah, I’m the one who messed with your plans! Sorry that I got tired of saying nothing while the company’s gone around killing people left and right. Consider this my official resignation from OCEAN!”

So that was what this was all about… No wonder Jermy was resistant from the moment Dit introduced the plan. Mathew really wished Jermy had just come out and said all this, though.

Big Timmy scoffed. “Resignation from life, more like it. Look where you are! Those spiky rocks down there would do a number on anybody, short-stuff.”

“Better than living the rest of my life knowing I have blood on my hands!”

“Aww, now I feel bad for poor David over in the science division. Has he always had to rope in such crazy talk?” Big Timmy held Jermy out even further. “You’re going right down the same path as that lousy sister of yours. Too bad you don’t have nearly the voice she did.” The grin Mathew could see on that gurdurr’s face made the cubone want to stomp out of his hiding spot then and there. “Who’s gonna be leading your fight when they see your tombstone?”

“I…I would!” Demurke exclaimed. “I’m sorry, Jermy! I d-didn’t want them to die, either! I just…I didn’t know what to do.” There were tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry…” she repeated softly. Jermy’s ears sank, the passion he showed before mellowing out.

“Oh, so you admit it!” Big Timmy brought both arms together, holding them both over. “Honestly, you two have no sense of loyalty. Especially you,” he said to Demurke. “It’s kind of sad. I wonder how your mom and dad will feel if I told them what you’ve been doing?”

Suddenly, Demurke was struggling intensely in his grip. “No, no no no no, please don’t…!” she cried.

“Well, I can’t just toss a bird off a cliff, can I? Have to see to your punishment too somehow.”

Mathew had been the one to mistakenly put Demurke in danger — now he would get her out of it. The cubone sprung from the rock, charging in for a surprise attack…but his footsteps were too loud. Big Timmy turned his attention to Mathew, surprised and a bit curious.

“Eh? Now who do we have here…?”

As he skidded to a stop, Mathew pulled the Whirlwind Wand out of his satchel, then pointed both it and his club at the gurdurr. “And here I thought OCEAN had some fucking standards.”

Big Timmy shook his head at him, disappointed. “So you heard all that, huh? Looks like the jig’s up.” He turned towards Mathew, bringing his hands away from the cliff’s edge as he stared him down with his mismatched eyes. “Name’s Timothy, if you didn’t catch that. They used to call me Little Timmy, but, well, then I got bi—gah!”

Mathew’s emergence was just the distraction the others needed. Jermy fired a surprise bolt at Big Timmy’s face. He dropped the mouse and lost his grip on the bird. Both of them made a break for the tunnel leading to their friends.

“The garchomp caved in the exit! It’s just the three of us now!” Mathew passed the pair before they could turn around, swinging his Wand at Big Timmy.

Big Timmy’s eyes widened as he narrowly avoided the gust from Mathew’s weapon, leaving it to peter out high over the rocks. He gave a little “Heh” that seemed to relax his tensed shoulders, then nodded to himself and grinned. “Garchomp’d do that, wouldn’t he…” Suddenly, Big Timmy reached for the weapon on the floor. “He knows who can handle things on his own!”

Before Mathew could react, a gust of wind from Demurke pushed him and Jermy toward another stalagmite. The cubone put his arms out, his large toe-claws raking against the ground as he skidded against it. Both of them managed to land and take cover just before a stream of rock pellets shot through the air.

“It’s a real shame,” Gurdurr shouted over the rat-tat-tat of the mock-rifle in his arms, slowly walking towards them. The pellets bounced off of the pair’s cover, some landing in front of them. “Dit put in a good word ‘bout you, Mathew — showed me a kind of gun you made that’s way more creative than this one. Too bad you won’t be puttin’ that knowledge to good use.”

Mathew peeked over the side of the stalagmite. Demurke was circling Big Timmy, occasionally passing tense looks Mathew’s way. She needed an opening — and, as the only person here with near-limitless long-distance attacks, Mathew knew who’d be the one to make it. He lowered his mask and hands and eyed Jermy expectantly.

“Huh? Oh!” Jermy got the picture, using Mathew as a makeshift stepstool. The two of them together were just tall enough for Jermy’s head to clear their cover. Before Big Timmy could knock Jermy’s teeth out with rocks, he zapped the gurdurr quickly and lightly, making him jolt.

The only confirmation Mathew was given that their tactic worked was the swish of Demurke’s wings through the air, and the grunt of the gurdurr taking a blast of wind. It was quickly punctuated by the murkrow tumbling to the ground, stricken by pellets — and the furious panting of Big Timmy as he stormed their hiding spot.

“Gotcha!”

When the gurdurr turned towards them, Mathew had no escape. Jermy could leap off of his shoulders, out of the way of the weapon, but all the cubone could do was face it head-on. A stream of pellets rapidly battered the cubone’s mask, making his whole head shake. It was better his mask take it then his body, though. It left him the strength to swing the Whirlwind Wand. Just as Mathew had a second ago, Big Timmy was pushed away, skidding along the cavern floor. He winced and grimaced in pain as his back slammed into a stalagmite.

Moving faster than he could think, Mathew put the Wand away and took out his own mock-firearm. The easiest way they could end this fight is by getting leverage to get Big Timmy to do what they wanted. He’d planned to do this to Meowth, but Mathew didn’t mind pulling it off against—

Big Timmy recovered a bit faster than Mathew had expected. Before Mathew could blink, the gun’s barrel had been ruined by rock pellets. When it landed on the ground, it was broken in parts, exposing the type stone within. “Shit…!”

“There we go!” Big Timmy spoke between breaths. “Third time’s the charm.” The gurdurr lunged at Mathew, shoving him away with a kick to the chest. Jermy went in for a metallic tail smack, but Big Timmy punted him with his free hand, too. That left only one of the three rushing him down. He held the rifle at his side and prepared for a close-quarters brawl.

Mathew watched as Demurke evaded fist after fist like they were nothing. From up close, the cubone could see something that his long-range weapon had hid from them. His loosened stance, his weak punches, his effortless shuffles of steps… Big Timmy looked exhausted. And yet he kept pushing, putting pressure on the murkrow. A low kick at the ground. A hammer arm through the air. He kept refocusing his energy as he held strong.

Demurke seemed unfazed. She took her time, holding back, leaping from the ground to the air as she sought the right moment. Big Timmy stepped back, aimed, and shot more pellets at her as she flapped idly in the air. This time she was ready, gliding out of his line of fire. Deep purple energy gleaned off of the tips of her wing, shading them like the night. Big Timmy tried to block her approach, but he was too slow. She came up to him and—

Slash!

Big Timmy groaned, almost doubling over. Demurke landed, looked back, and…she gasped in shock, beak gaping open as she studied her own handiwork with wide eyes.

Blood was oozing from the wound.

The gurdurr stared at his own chest. For a second, all of them did. Mathew could feel the air in the cave change — and it wasn’t just the introduction of a metal scent. Past their own adrenaline, a new tension seeped into the room, all of them now intensely aware of a possibility nobody had been willing to acknowledge.

Big Timmy was the first to come to his senses, slamming his body into Demurke and sending her bounding across the rocks. The murkrow’s usual stoic composure in battle completely vanished — when she rose, her talons trembled, and she made no attempt to get out of the way as she was pelted with rock pellets. Mathew and Jermy moved to intervene, but faster than they could react, Big Timmy picked her up and slammed her back against the edge of a stone.

It’d been a long time since a scream had caused the cubone to even wince—

A yell filled the house as her back was pressed against the hard-wood floor of their kitchen. “Shit! Hey, hey put that thing down! Mathew—”

—but Demurke’s cry was enough to make Mathew lurch.

“Demurke, just get out of here for a bit!” Jermy called out. An electric shock surged between her and Big Timmy, separating them. “We’ll take care of the rest!”

Demurke wordlessly obeyed, and with a burst of wind, she flew through the hole casting light into the cave, out of all of their reach. Big Timmy growled in anger. “You buncha wimps!” he yelled. “Can’t even take what you dish out!” With a sudden burst of speed, the bleeding gurdurr was upon them, coming down from a leap into the air. “Lemme teach you a lesson…”

Jermy was too slow to avoid getting kicked by the large pokemon, splaying him out on the ground back first. Big Timmy looked down on the pikachu, then made his move. He pulled his front end of his weapon back

and for a second, everything was still. Mathew realized, too late, what was about to happen. He tried to call out Jermy’s name, but nothing came out.

Big Timmy swung the barrel of his railgun

right into her head.

She hit the kitchen floor hard, motionless. The bandit stared down at his own handiwork, clutching the nail-covered bat.

In the blink of an eye, Mathew’s world came rising up — memories, feelings, dreams — and crashed down. His own screams, distant to him now, echoed through the house.

“OH MY GOD! LAURA!”

The next thing he knew, the bandit was disarmed, trembling underneath the gaze of his firearm.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! GET OUUUUUT!”

Mathew didn’t know why he didn’t take the coward’s life then.

He should have.

But Laura… Mathew needed to tend to Laura. Surely she was still alive, wasn’t she? He needed to call somebody for her, anyone.

He passed by her, making for a phone

but curiosity and concern got to the best of him, and

Oh god

Oh god

Why did he look down

Why did he look down

Why did he look down

Why did he look down

Why

 

Mathew fell to his knees. His arms were shaking, barely able to keep himself from collapsing. His heart was beating out of his chest.

He didn’t know at what point Big Timmy’s battle-worn body began casting a shadow over him. “The heck’s wrong with you?” he asked, poking Mathew’s back with his weapon. “Come on…I put my neck on the line for this fight and you’re cheapin’ out on me? You — pant, pant — could at least pretend like you’ve got some fight in you left.”

Mathew mustered the energy to look ahead. Jermy was splayed out on the floor, but aside from some bruises, he wasn’t any more hurt than that. He would be okay.

…But that didn’t change this tension in his chest…

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the club in arm’s length. As he reached for it, the trembling faded. Everything he felt that day rippled on the surface of his mind — and now, all of it fueled a deep, burning desire.

“Hey, there we go! I knew you still had it in you! Keep gettin’ up and we can—gyaaah!” Big Timmy was cut off by the sharp end of Mathew’s club tearing through his leg. It was the second wound he had that was coated in crimson. It wouldn’t be his last.

Mathew flipped his club around and bashed in his kneecap. The gurdurr, panicked, shifted his weight to the other foot and swung with his giant fist. Mathew scuttled aside, the punch grazing his muzzle. He went in for another cut at his side and slashed though. Who knew how easily a pokemon gave way after the first piercing strike?

Big Timmy drove his foot into the cubone, at once kicking him over and pinning him to the ground. The club rolled away, just barely out of his reach. “You think you’re freakin’ tough, huh?! Messin’ me up like this…” It sounded like a threat, but all Mathew could hear was the fear in his voice.

Even as Big Timmy put the muzzle of his railgun right to his face, Mathew would not relent. He wriggled under Big Timmy’s foot, putting his hand into the satchel ever at his side. Deeper, deeper, deeper…there! Mathew flicked the Whirlwind Wand forward, and wind blasted past the gurdurr’s shoulder and loosed the railgun from his hands. It tumbled through the air and slammed into the cavern ceiling above — as it descended, a sharp dent in the barrel was obvious.

“Wha—!” Big Timmy gawked, staring upwards. His lost attention was all Mathew needed — with a lurch, he grabbed the bone and jammed it between the digits of his foot.

Big Timmy cried out, taking his foot off of Mathew’s head as he rubbed it. The cubone scrambled away, staring the gurdurr down as he regained his composure, the sea of stalagmites at the bottom of the cliff backdropping his bloodied self. Mathew brandished his club and his Wand — Big Timmy brandished his fists. Gritting their teeth, both of them leapt at one another.

Big Timmy’s punch collided with Mathew’s Whirlwind Wand. An explosion of strange-colored dust burst all over Mathew’s face, getting into his mouth, as a rush of wind roared through the cavern and launched both of them back.

Mathew hit the ground mask-first.

There was a scream.

And then there was silence.

---

At this stage of the fight, Joey wasn’t sure what to do next.

Liepard, the bandit he and the couple had been fighting earlier, was no slouch. Even now, she was handily taking on Politoed, Poliwrath, and Chip all at once without much effort. Her claws blocked fist after fist, then slashed upward to pop the bubbles and keep the bird away. Joey wanted to help, but the claw marks on his maw reminded him that it wouldn’t end well.

The other two bandits, on the other hand, were losing their lusters. The longer the fight went on, the more Breloom, Meowth, and Minichino’s attacks landed. The crocodile imagined it wasn’t easy to respond to a tail slap to the face when it was followed by coughing up a storm.

Joey was left to pick between joining a fight he stood no chance in and joining a fight that was all but handled already. Neither option inspired confidence in him, especially after his helplessness in trying to get to Jermy and Demurke. So, he decided the best thing he could do was take a moment to breathe and watch these mysterious foes from afar.

Even from a distance, the totodile could feel the change in atmosphere. Although Mathew and the others were away with Big Timmy, the seven of them could easily defeat the worn-down trio of bandits. It was only a matter of time at this point — and he could tell that their strongest had taken notice. Between attacks, Liepard’s eyes sweeped around the cave, her mind churning. Then… “Garchomp! Crawde!” She suddenly pivoted and broke into a sprint towards the crocodile. “We’re done here.”

“What?! After all this effort…hrrk! you wanna retreat?” Despite the fervor in Garchomp’s voice, he still looked like he could hardly hold himself up.

“They haven’t given us much of a choice,” Liepard remarked. She lunged forward with her sharp claws, forcing Joey to leap out of the way. He braced himself for the follow-up, but it never came. Instead, she went past him, making a beeline for the unconscious plant pokémon nearby.

“But what about Big Timmy…?!” the crab asked. With how much he was faltering, he seemed like neither iron nor a wall. Big Timmy… Was that the gurdurr’s name? Joey could only assume.

“He can find his way back on his own! If any of us could do that, it’s him. Let’s move!” Liepard picked up her unconscious ally with her mouth. Quickly, the bandits pulled away from their fights, making a hobbling, stumbling break for the exit. The cat pushed the two poisoned pokémon along, practically carrying the entire group herself.

“They’re getting away!” Chip exclaimed, soaring over the others. “Sire, let’s move!” He glided towards them, giving chase.

“Sure that’s a good idea?” Politoed asked, bending over. “Both of you look tired, and that liepard handled three of us at once already.”

“Takin’ care of guys like these is what we do!” Poliwrath had already taken off. “If y’all don’t wanna come, then be mah guest, Toed!” With that, the pair split off from them.

Politoed could only sigh, disappointed. “Off he goes again… Didn’t even stop to heal up.” He gestured to Meowth to pass him an Oran Berry. Meowth seemed a bit disgruntled, but tossed him one anyway.

Again? “Do y’all know him?” Joey asked.

“Can explain that later, Joey,” he said, shrugging it off as he downed the berry. He looked to the collapsed tunnel entrance. “Gotta help them first.”

“Minichino had a Tunnel Wand with her when we split up. If she still has it, we could use that to get through the rubble.” Meowth looked expectantly at Minichino, who was crawling around on the floor of the cave.

“Right when we started fighting, I dropped it somewhere! C’mon, c’mon…where did it go…?” Minichino scurried around, eyes held to the floor like a sunflower to its namesake.

“Looking for this? You’re lucky it didn’t explode into dust.”

Minichino looked to her side and gasped. Next to her was ORB, clutching the Tunnel Wand in his claw. “ORB! Dude! You’re my hero!” She pried the Wand from his claw and gave the metal robot a hug.

“You should focus on saving Jermy,” the robot suggested, using his claw to force the hug apart. “If he couldn’t remember to use Quick Attack when somebody was gunning straight for him, he probably doesn’t remember now. That’s a bad sign.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan!” Minichino waved the Wand towards the collapsed tunnel entrance. A gray light soared through the air. When it phased into the rubble, the stones broke down to dust and settled, exposing the entrance. “Let’s get going, guys!”

Without another word, everybody charged ahead. There was no telling how well or poorly Mathew and the others were faring, so they needed to be prepared for one last effort. Joey was the last one into the pitch-black tunnel. Luckily for him, Meowth was kind enough to slow down and guide him through without bumping into the walls or tripping on the rocks.

The first thing that Joey noticed when the group arrived at the platform was the stillness of the scene before them. Whatever fight had transpired here was all but over. The second thing he noticed was the absence of one of its participants. Where had the gurdurr gone?

Joey wasn’t given much time to question it. “Oh shoot, Jermy!” cried Minichino. Some paces away, the pikachu was laying down, unconscious. Meowth was already coming to his rescue, a reviver seed in hand. It was only when the group approached the pikachu that Joey finally saw them.

The two were at the edge of the cliff, looking out over the long bed of stalagmites below. Neither of them looked like their usual selves. Demurke’s wings and talons were trembling, and Mathew was completely still.

The ends of Mathew’s club were coated red.

“Mathew…?” Joey called out.

That seemed to throw them out of the moment, whipping their heads towards the crocodile. Even from afar, he could see Demurke’s heavy, erratic breathing. Behind his skull mask, Mathew’s expression was concealed.

“Hey,” Mathew told the group around Jermy, excluding him, “keep the kids from coming close to the edge. They…shouldn’t.”

“What, you think we’re gonna fall off?” Minichino’s retort echoed, answerless. Her grin slowly faded.

A look of disbelief swept over Politoed’s face. “You didn’t…” He slowly approached the pair.

Breloom, not waiting for a response, rushed up to the edge — and gasped. “Holy crap, you three,” she muttered, eyeing them.

Joey watched as Demurke buried her face in her hat and stepped away, making room at the cliff’s edge for the couple. She refused to look any of them in the eyes.

“Waaah!” Meanwhile, Jermy had just awoken, launching into a sitting position in front of Meowth. “Guys? Did we win…?”

“One way to say it.” Politoed grimaced. “Guess he made it him or you, huh?”

Mathew nodded. “That’s about what it came down to. Uh…” He seemed at a loss for more words.

“It’s self-defense then. Unfortunate, but not a crime.” He took Mathew’s club and, with a gentle Water Gun, cleaned the red off of the weapon before handing it back. “Still…” he glanced at the pit below, taking a breath. “What happens next is going to be ugly.”

It was around this point Joey decided that he would be much better if he chose not to take a single step closer to the edge. The uneasy atmosphere, the worried looks, and the horrible stench of iron in the air was enough for him. Not to mention…

Why did Mathew seem so…calm?

Breloom was the one to break the tension. “We don’t have time to waste,” she said, already pacing back the way they came. “All of us are about to have trouble nipping at our tails if we don’t get out of here now.”

“She’s right,” Meowth said, next to follow suit. Joey couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t looking at Breloom when he said that, but Mathew. Had he noticed his calmness, too?

As the group began to file out of the cave, the pair watched as Mathew walked over and picked two things up from the ground: the poison gun, broken, and another busted weapon. With some work and some banging on a nearby rock, the cubone pried both type stones from the weapons. “Do we have to un-imbue these?” he asked.

It took a second for Joey to realize he was talking to him. “Oh, uh…I think David said the imbue stops if they get split up.”

Mathew nodded, seeming to remember that advice now. “Right. Thanks.” He was still wearing those dark goggles. It was hard to see at a distance, but they were coated in something Joey couldn’t recognize.

How could he even see like this…?