A Superior Land (Mega Adventure Tribute) - Wizarmonfan X Mandriel

The man's mouth split into a wide grin, revealing his yellowed teeth. A shudder passed down Ara's spine and he felt his palms grow slick with sweat. He forced himself to let go of Kayla's arm and stand on his own shaky legs. He watched, mesmerised by the morning light glinting across the blade. The image of it sinking into either his or Kayla's soft flesh spread through his mind like a bloodstain.

There had to be another way. Had there? They couldn't fight him. At least, Ara couldn't fight him, and he doubted Kayla would be able to hold her own against a real criminal. The man sure didn't look like the type to negotiate, either.

But Wyvern was of a rare species. Perhaps...

He didn't like it, but a naïve part of Ara's mind hoped that he might be able to bargain her in exchange for letting Kayla keep her own Pokémon. The moment he realised what he was thinking, he was flooded with disgust. How could he even consider sacrificing his own Pokémon to some creep? Even a thief like Kayla was virtuous enough that she wouldn't betray her team like that.

The man took a step toward them, twirling his knife in his gloved hands. "Are you just going to stand there? I don't have all day." his tone were light, but there was a menacing edge to his words.

Ara opened his mouth, "I-I-I..." he but his lip hard, adrenaline drowning out the sharp sting. His gaze darted over to where Kayla stood between the two of them and he sucked in a shaky breath, "I'm n-not..."

 

It didn't seem possible, but the man's grin stretched even wider at the sight of the ball. He stopped twirling the knife and held it clenched in one fist, holding his other hand out expectantly.

Ara stared at Kayla, his own shaky hand drifting slightly toward where Wyvern's ball was clipped to his belt. The man was focusing on Kayla and her Poké Ball; he wouldn't expect an attack from Ara. Maybe Wyvern would realise how dire the situation was and knock the knife out of the man's hand. Maybe. Possibly. Who knew?

Mouth dry, he shot a pleading look at Kayla, hoping for any kind of direction before the man noticed him.

 

Ara glanced down at Wyvern's ball and cast a panicked look at Kayla. He shuffled back a few steps and placed his Pokémon's ball into her hand. "Take care of her, okay?" he mumbled, though he wasn't certain who exactly he was addressing.

Taking a deep breath and bracing himself, he sprinted toward the man. The thief whirled to face him, expecting an attack. What the man didn't expect was for Ara to run on right past him.

There was too much adrenaline surging through him for him to notice the sharp stitch stabbing into his side. All he could think of was getting to Kagawa City and finding anyone or anything that could help.

 

The sight of the wheezing boy half running, half staggering through the gates of Kagawa City was enough to turn heads. Thank Arceus for that; by the time Ara stumbled into civilisation, he was too out of breath to string a coherent sentence together.

Finding the police station was much harder when his vision was blurred and his legs felt as if they were about to give in. He flung the doors open, causing the shocked receptionist to look up as he teetered over to the front desk.

"In the forest..." he gasped, flinging his arm in the direction he'd came, "Robber man... Steal... Help my friend..." he clung onto the table to keep him steady, "Please..."

 

Ara nodded, still winded from his run. Hoping he wasn't too late, he led the officer back the way he came, back through the dark forest path.

 

"Oh, I'm Arach. Arach Drago." Ara looked in the direction Demon disappeared, "Is your Pokémon going to be okay? I think the man is..." he hesitated, "Dangerous..."

 

"Oh, thank goodness." relief washed over Ara. If the man had been caught, it meant Kayla and their Pokémon were most likely still alright. His feelings of fear and guilt at the fact he'd left her alone with a creepy stranger were starting to ebb away as they drew closer to Demon.

 

Ara hurried over to her side. His stomach twisted at the smear of blood across her forehead, "K-Kayla!" A wave of nausea slammed against him. His fingers curled into fists, nails digging into his palms. "... Kayla?"

 

"R-right. She'll be fine." Are murmured, speaking more to himself that Dan. He could feel Kayla's heartbeat thudding beneath his fingers and gave a shaky sigh in relief.

His eyes trailed to the thief who was wrested to the ground by the snarling houndoom, a stream of curse words tumbling from his mouth.

"What's going to happen to the Pokémon he's stolen?" Ara asked, "Would you be able to find all their trainers?"

 

Ara went to nudge Kayla awake, but he hesitated, unsure if it was safe to do so. He didn't know the first thing about first aid, so he had no clue if it was a good idea to try and wake up someone who'd been knocked out. He awkwardly hovered his hand over her face for a moment, unsure what to do before dropping it to his side when he realised how weird he must have looked.

Dan took out his phone and called a number. Within a few minutes, a couple of paramedics and another police officer arrived. Someone handed him the ball containing his and Kayla's Pokémon. He stowed them in his bag and watched as the paramedics took her away, wishing he could do something to help.