Never: Chapter 1
This chapter is somewhat darker than the prologue, but it's nothing too bad. Anyway, enjoy.
Never
Sarah had returned with lunch. Everybody was back in the bedroom with Nathan, casually dining on their berries as if everything were normal. Nathan could barely eat, though. His mind was too preoccupied with what Bane had told him. And on top of that, he didn't know what to do about it. Even if he left the house, Spark and Bane would go with him, meaning he'd still be endangering the lives of two Pokémon. He was also concerned about his own safety. After all, Dexx hadn't set out to simply beat him up. He was out to kill, and suddenly "kill" became all too serious of a word for Nathan.
Still, there was a plus side to all this. Ever since Bane mentioned Dexx the Venusaur, memories from the night before had been rushing back to his mind. He could now recall the entirety of last night almost perfectly. . .
Chapter 1: Mysterious Spark
It was about 2 AM. Nathan had just left the campsite, due to a strange noise he had been hearing and couldn't quite make out. He left Bane to his sleep, and Spark was gone on one of his usual late-night walks.
The Pikachu's ears guided him a quarter of a mile before finally pinpointing the source. However, just as they did, the noise stopped. Nathan was now standing in front of a very thick bush, with no way to see past it. He stayed still, waiting for the noise to resume. However, all that could be heard was the faint whistling of the cold wind. He would have gone back, but something was keeping him there. Somehow, he just knew the noise would start up again.
And it did. It took him a while to identify exactly what it was, but it soon became apparent. It was the sound of someone grunting. A quiet, chilling whimper could barely be heard over the vigorous grunts. It almost sounded like a Pokémon softly weeping. The noise continued for a few moments as Nathan was frozen in place. The grunting had built up to an unsettling cluster of half moans, half beastial cries of lust. The whimpering became pleading, still barely audible.
"Please. . ." Nathan thought he heard, his ears trying to block out that disturbing moaning. "You h. . . stop it. . . I b. . ." Was all he could make out the second time. Whoever was speaking, their words fell on deaf ears. The lustful sounds kept increasing, in both frequency and intensity. Lewd sounds, such as wet 'pop's started to accompany everything else going on.
He knew what was going on, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything. In a desperate attempt, he tried reasoning with himself. If he were in that Pokémon's situation, he would want to be saved as soon as possible, so there was no excuse for him to hesitate like this. Some poor Pokémon was being victimized by a truly awful, more powerful enemy. The thought alone made him shudder, but did nothing for his will to help. Suddenly, perhaps too suddenly, the sound of roaring brought him back from his thoughts.
The cry of the helpless, whimpering Pokémon was again drowned out by the more dominant of the two. Nathan didn't have to guess what had just happened. Whoever that roar belonged to, he was now done with his victim. The sound of heavy footsteps now met Nathan's ears. He was walking away from both him and the weeping Pokémon, it seemed.
For some reason, this was the thing that set him off. He didn't know why, but after hearing him simply walk away without saying anything. . . It made him angry. In a short burst of rage, Nathan jumped through the thick bush. Through the only thing hiding him from that heartless predator.
It was too late.
Nathan turned his head to find the victim, a Raichu, lying on the ground and covered with fluids. The sight was almost enough to make him fall over backwards, but he kept his footing. Slowly, he made his way over to the abused creature, only to realize he was unconscious. Whether from shock or fatigue, he didn't know. What he did know, however, was that he was going to get revenge for the Raichu. Somehow, some way, he was going to find the Pokémon that did this.
"Long time no see, Nathan." Came the same voice from before. Low, evil-sounding, almost like a growl. . . He should have recognized it before. Nathan turned around, very slowly, to see Dexx walking up to him. He was right. It had been a long time, but not nearly long enough. Dexx turned his gaze to the Raichu on the ground, looking proud of himself.
"I see you've met my new toy." He stated calmly, though still sending shivers through Nathan's spine. It sickened him to hear how he talked about Pokémon as if he owned them, to the point where he couldn't quite control himself. Tiny sparks flew from Nathan's cheeks, lighting up the dark forest around the two Pokémon.
"Oh, don't like that, do you?" The Venusaur teased, extending a vine from his back. "Well that's fine. I don't like you, either." His tone suddenly became much darker and dangerous as he said that last line. His vine rushed toward the Pikachu, with a clear intent to kill. Thinking fast, Nathan used Iron Tail to deflect it, though he was soon caught by another vine. It rapidly wrapped around his ankle, nearly cutting off the circulation. After a few blasts of Thunder Shock, it was clear none of his Electric attacks would have much effect. In fact, it only seemed to be energizing the Venusaur.
With barely any effort, the vine tossed Nathan on the ground with insane strength, creating a loud thud and knocking the wind out of him. As he turned on his back, gasping for air, Dexx stood over him. It became difficult to focus on his attacker due to his now watering eyes, but it was all he could do. He didn't have any moves that affected Dexx, at least not very much. The only attack that could do any notable damage was Iron Tail, and even that would only leave a few red marks on him.
Not one to give up, the Pikachu quickly slid across the ground, ending up just beneath the Venusuar's belly. With all the strength he could muster, Nathan turned over and whipped Dexx's underside with his glowing tail.
The blow was enough to flip the Venusaur on his back, but not much else. With a red tail imprint now fresh on his body, and a severely angered expression on his face, Dexx sent out two more vines.
Even Quick Attack proved to be useless to Nathan when the speed that came with it couldn't outlast the plant life chasing him. The vines caught hold of two of his limbs, and he was soon bound by four. Even if he had attacked with Quick Attack, it would have done little to no damage. In a last-ditch effort to cause the Venusaur some pain, Nathan unleashed the biggest Thunder Shock he could. It was exhausting to use so much energy at once, but he was sure it was doing at least something. After a full minute of using the attack and feeling it grow steadily weaker over time, the Thunder Shock finally died out completely.
The vines were steaming and looked fairly charred, but Dexx looked fine, albeit a little singed. In fact, he was actually smiling. He probably knew that Nathan had just wasted all of his energy, and it looked like he couldn't wait to test that theory out. With a familiar sense of panic, Nathan was sent flying into the nearest tree. A sharp cry of pain filled the forest as his body practically pierced the bark, only to instead land painfully on the ground.
It seemed like he had been laying there for just a second, and yet Dexx was already right on top of him. Without any hesitation, he slammed his hind paw onto the Pikachu's back. Multiple cracking sounds could be heard as the paw pressed against his spine with unbearable pressure. He spent a bit of time rubbing his foot in Nathan's back, before stamping on it again. Another yell filled the area as his spine did its best not to snap. Dexx's foot slowly raised off the smaller Pokémon's back, and with a careless kick to the ribs, the Pikachu was sent rolling across the ground.
"You know, you don't look so good." Said the Venusaur smugly, walking toward Nathan with a grin on his face. "Allow me to make you look worse." In an instant, Nathan found himself wrapped in vines again, and with a sadistic smile, Dexx turned the beaten Pokémon upside down.
The sound of pounding repeated itself over and over, as Nathan's head was smashed repeatedly into the ground. A cruel laugh filled his ears, along with harsh winds and the surreal noises of his own head colliding with the hard dirt. It almost didn't feel real, but the immense pain kept reminding him it was. The ability to think coherently was fading away extremely fast, and his mind was now forming nonsensical thoughts that only served to distract from the pain.
After a few minutes of blank memory, he remembered running away. He didn't know how, but he had gotten away from Dexx. Maybe someone helped him escape, or maybe he freed himself. Nathan couldn't recall. The next scene in his memory was just him running. At the time, he didn't know why he was running, but he knew his life depended on it. Every so often he would look back to see if anything was following him, but there was never anyone there. He had no idea what might be chasing him, but he didn't care. His brain was telling him not to stop no matter what, and he listened to it.
Eventually, though, he started to run out of stamina. His legs and arms were about to give out, and his panting had become so severe that it was blocking out every other noise. With a few more feeble steps, Nathan finally fell to the ground. His mind still wanted him to run, but his body didn't respond. All he could do was look at the night sky.
"Nathan, are you okay?" Asked a familiar voice. It was Sarah, who had just taken notice to Nathan's blank expression. Finally snapping out of his daze, the injured Pikachu looked around to see everyone looking at him with concern. "Do you want to lie down? I can save your berries for later." Sarah offered, glancing at the untouched food Nathan had resting on his lap.
"N-no, I'm fine. . . I think I just need time alone to. . . think. . ." He said, sliding underneath the covers slowly. Now wasn't the time to eat. He needed to reflect on things and decide what to do, before Dexx showed up. Come to think of it, why weren't Spark and Bane worried? Were they simply hiding their concern, or did they honestly believe that Dexx wasn't too big a threat?
Sarah, confused and concerned by Nathan's behavior, looked to his friends for support. Spark met her gaze with a more serious one of his own, and simply gave a slow nod, implying that they all should leave Nathan alone as he wanted.
"Umm. . . well, I guess we'll leave, then." Said Sarah hesitantly, turning to follow the two outside the room. "We'll be outside if you need any. . ." Her voice trailed off as she noticed her words weren't reaching Nathan at all. What could have gotten him to be so distant all of a sudden? Did he get like this often?
Hoping that Spark could answer these questions, Sarah closed the door behind them and continued following her other two guests to the living area. Although very large and spacious, the room was rather barren, which seemed to be a common theme with the house. Outside of a broken TV and a few sofas scattered throughout, there wasn't much to look at. Still, it was more than enough for Pokémon.
"Do you recall the conversation we had before lunch?" Asked the Charmeleon suddenly in his usual deep voice, before Sarah could even attempt any small talk. Apparently he wasn't going to beat around the bush. Sarah opened her mouth to reply, but was once again interrupted before she could start. "I apologize for coming across as. . . impatient. However, I feel you need to know this as soon as possible. I've told you earlier that Nathan's attacker was a Venusaur named Dexx, but for the sake of a peaceful meal, I dropped the subject before I had the chance to explain the entirety of our situation."
There was brief pause in Spark's speech before he continued.
"All three of us are targets of Dexx's. And I fear if Nathan is not able to travel with Bane and me by the time he finds us again, then you will be targeted as well."
Both Bane and Spark looked unnervingly serious, which was especially jarring in Bane's case since he seemed like such a chipper Squirtle before. Sarah gulped, unsure of how to feel.
"'I. . . I thought Dexx would stop after what he did to Nathan. . . By 'targeted', you don't mean to say he wants. . . to kill us, do you?"
"Yes. Yes, I do." Said the Charmeleon firmly, sounding as if he were trying to swallow the news himself. Well, at least he was being honest. But why was this Dexx guy after them, anyway? What did they do to warrant all this trouble? Hopefully it wasn't too serious. . .
"A Raichu told us what happened last night. According to him, Dexx attacked Nathan for discovering what he had done." Spark said, folding his arms and shifting his piercing gaze to the ground. Silence filled the room as the Charmeleon seemed to refuse to speak any further.
"What. . . what did Dexx do?" Asked Sarah hesitantly, part of her not wanting to hear the answer. Spark remained silent. She opened her mouth to ask again, morbid curiosity overtaking her mind. However, just as she was about to, Bane stepped forward and replied in Spark's stead.
"Rape." He said flatly. "Dexx raped that Raichu. He knew what happened to Nathan because he was lying on the ground beside them, pretending to be unconscious. According to him, he helped Nathan escape a little after the beating began." Explained the Squirtle, his happy-go-lucky attitude from earlier completely gone. Sarah took a step back, repulsed by what she heard. How could a Pokémon be so loathsome? So. . . foul? Did he have nothing better to do than ruin lives? Considering everything Sarah had heard about Dexx, it wouldn't surprise her if there were more victims like that Raichu.
"That's terrible. . ." Sarah murmured, beginning to regret asking. She didn't know how to respond to such a grim event, especially since it all felt so out of the blue.
"It is. That's why Nathan was lost in thought earlier." Spark said, returning his gaze to Sarah. "Dexx is dangerous, and I fear Nathan will go to drastic measures to ensure we're out of harm's way."
This all felt so. . . unreal. Just last night, Sarah was relaxing in her home. Then she takes an injured Pikachu inside and suddenly everything changes; her world is flipped upside down. Not only is she in very real danger, but so is every other Pokémon she has met in the past 12 hours. As much as she liked these three, she was almost wishing she hadn't taken that injured Pikachu in. It was a selfish, horrible thought, but she couldn't help herself. Nobody wants a murderous, rapist Venusaur chasing them, after all.
She couldn't respond. She tried talking, but it was all just too much. All that came out was incomprehensible mumbles and stammers. Bane and Spark shared a look before deciding to give her time to take everything in.
A moment or two later, her voice found its way back. She still didn't know exactly what to say, so she simply asked the first thing that popped to mind. "When you say 'drastic measures', how drastic are we talking?"
Spark unfolded his arms and pondered for a moment before responding. "I don't doubt he would leave this house right now and confront Dexx on his own."
Sarah turned her head to look at the room Nathan was staying in, as did Bane.
"Eehh. . ." Groaned the Squirtle, tilting his head and putting an arm behind it. "I think I'll go make sure he isn't doing that now." He said casually, his chipper attitude seeming to slowly resurface as he walked toward the room, leaving Spark and Sarah alone. The grim atmosphere created by their conversation slowly faded away, and was instead replaced with awkward silence.
Although, Sarah had the looming feeling it only felt awkward for her. While she was fidgety and unsure of what to do, Spark seemed completely composed and willing to speak at any second. Simply being near him made her feel clumsy and insignificant. If this was a battle of the auras, then Spark's was most definitely winning. However, despite his humbling presence, he still had a very inviting demeanor. No matter how hard she tried avoiding them, she couldn't help but look up into his eyes once or twice. Or three times.
He seemed to notice each time she did so, but didn't appear to mind at all. After a few more glances, the Charmeleon chuckled softly, erasing what small amount of doom and gloom was left in the air and sat down, nearly halving his height and bringing himself to her level. Almost. No longer towering over the anxious Pikachu, Spark started off a casual conversation. "I realize I'm not the most comfortable Pokémon to be around." He said with a light smile, poking fun at himself. "But I hope that will change, if and when we all get to know each other."
His smile broadened a bit more, and he was a little easier to look at directly Although friendly, his gaze was still far too piercing for her to look into his eyes. It almost felt like he was reading her mind.
"Y-yeah. . ." She replied bashfully, resuming her staring contest with the floor. She could have sworn she was blushing, but she wasn't about to ask if she actually was. Instead she kept standing, quietly trying to fix her awkward body language to no avail.
Spark seemed to pick up on what she was feeling, changing the subject quite quickly after the brief moment of silence. "Seems an awfully empty place." He pointed out, his eyes wandering around the room. "What do you do for entertainment here?"
"Oh, well. . . I don't actually live here." Sarah mumbled, raising her gaze from the floor to Spark's feet. She still felt a little flustered, but this was a much easier topic to discuss. "I live in the forest around this house, but I come here every other day to make sure nobody has damaged it or anything. This was. . ." Her voice suddenly cut off, and she closed her eyes for a moment. After a brief pause and a sigh, she continued. ". . . This was my trainer's house, so I want to take good care of it." She explained, her expression losing some emotion near the end.
"I see." Spark responded, nodding in understanding.
Not so suddenly, Sarah was gently pulled in for a hug. The blush returned to her face, stronger than ever, as a single arm pressed against her back. She wanted to protest, but nothing came from her mouth. "Umm. . ." She finally managed to stammer, her eyes a mere half inch from the Charmeleon. It took a while, but she returned the hug slowly and rested her head against Spark's chest. Even though it should have been embarrassing for Sarah to be hugging him like this, she felt strangely relaxed.
However, the tender moment was interrupted by the front door swinging open. It was Bane who stood behind the door frame, hands on his knees and panting heavily. Both Spark and Sarah broke the hug at the same time, the latter taking a few steps back to avoid any awkward questions from Bane. "Didn't you just. . . ?" She began to ask, pointing toward Nathan's room, but trailed off after seeing Bane was ready to speak.
"Nathan's gone." He gasped, standing upright and catching his breath. "He must've gone out through the window. I circled around the house but couldn't find him, which means he's already in the forest."
All three of the Pokémon exchanged looks with one another, before Sarah and Bane made to run after him. Spark, however, simply stood up and extended an arm. "Stop!" He shouted firmly. His voice had no anger in it, but it was enough for the two to stop dead in their tracks and slowly turn around.
"Let's not panic." He said in a much calmer tone as he walked toward them. "If he exited through the window, then it is likely he went in a straight path. We will follow that path and look for him, together, once inside the forest."
Both Sarah and Bane nodded their heads in agreement, although Sarah's heart rate hadn't calmed down from the earlier command. She knew Spark could be intimidating, but that was something else. With a sigh of relief from Sarah, the three of them set off to find Nathan.
As Spark said, they turned right and ran straight from then on. Sarah had never really run much before, as she had little reason to do so. But when she began heading to the forest, she suddenly remembered how stamina-draining it was. What should have been a simple minute and a half run was instead an agonizing fifty minute sprint, according to her lungs. Bane wasn't much better off, but he at least could keep a steady pace, while Sarah fell slightly behind. She almost wanted to stop and catch her breath, but their destination was coming too close too fast.
After a few more seconds of running, the trio finally slowed down as they entered the forest. Sarah clutched her side and rested against a nearby tree, making a mental note to exercise more. Bane kept standing, although his panting was loud enough to drown out every other sound within the forest.
Spark, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine. His breathing hadn't increased at all, nor did he sit down to rest. "I apologize, but we don't have time to stop. We can walk for now, but you must keep up." He said, waiting for Bane and Sarah to stand up again before continuing onward. Sarah's legs were almost too sore to take another step, but she forced herself to follow.
"Sarah. . ." Bane gasped, stepping over a tree root as the group pressed on. "I probably should've asked this before we left, but. . . you barely know Nathan. So why are you coming with us?" The Squirtle questioned, looking back at her. At first she thought he was being rude, but she soon realized that wasn't the case. A brief pause in their conversation occurred. That was a good question, and she didn't really have an answer.
"Actually, I'm not sure." She replied simply, looking up at the sky. Or what little she could see of it, anyway. "But I can tell Nathan is a good Pokémon, and I know he's your friend. I think that's reason enough." Sarah said with a smile, meeting Bane's eyes with her own.
Bane didn't really react, and instead just turned his head to look forward again. Did he not feel like responding, or did she say something wrong? She preferred to think the former was true, but was soon taken from her thoughts when both Spark and Bane stopped. The sound of sniffing made Sarah's ears twitch, and it wasn't until a few seconds later that she realized the noise was coming from Spark.
"This way." The Charmeleon said, pointing left. The two followed close behind, happy to have their first lead.
"You can smell him, Spark?" Asked Sarah, having to jog to get beside him. "I didn't know Charmeleons were good with their noses."
"They usually aren't." He replied in a hurried voice, walking even faster than before. Although far from angry or unfriendly, his tone did seem to suggest he wasn't in the mood for talking. Deciding not to test his patience further, she slowed her pace down and instead walked beside Bane.
The three of them continued looking for what seemed like hours, though they all knew it had only been a couple of minutes. Every so often Spark would lead them in a new direction after having sniffed the area, but all it led to was more trees and grass. Sarah held out hope that Spark was actually on Nathan's trail and not just bluffing, but as the minutes waned on, that seemed less and less likely.
Before she knew it, the three of them had begun running again. The eerily similar trees zoomed by, as the limits to Bane and Sarah's stamina seemed to disappear completely. The turns were much more difficult to make while going at such a high speed, but they weren't about to give up.
"Spark?" Panted Bane, struggling to keep up with the Charmeleon. He didn't continue, but it was pretty obvious what he wanted to ask. Spark simply responded with another sudden turn, making the two of them practically trip over themselves. It was only after a few more seconds passed that Spark gave a vocal response.
"He's running from us. He knows we're following him." Explained the Fire type, sniffing the air again.
"But. . . how?" Sarah asked through deep breaths, clutching her side. It didn't make sense, she thought. Nathan was injured. He shouldn't have been able to get so far ahead, let alone run all this way. Again, Spark didn't reply until later.
"You would be surprised by what a little adrenaline can do for you, Sarah. Up you go."
Sarah was confused by what "up you go" was supposed to mean, but soon figured out after both she and Bane were lifted onto Spark's shoulders effortlessly. As if the two of them weighed nothing, Spark took off again at full speed. It was awe-inspiring to see how fit he was, but she couldn't help but wonder how he came to be that way. She knew Charmeleons were tough, but this was sort of pushing it.
The wind blew against Sarah as the two of them were carried, making it a little difficult to keep a good grip on Spark's shoulder. It was almost like riding a train, although considerably slower and more uncomfortable. Another turn was made, and then another. Spark still didn't seem even remotely shy of breath, even with his constant sniffing.
Bane and Sarah were carried through what seemed to be half the forest before Spark finally began slowing down. She assumed he was finally running out of stamina, but that wasn't the case. Spark came to a halt near a relatively tree-free part of the forest, his eyes scanning the area thoroughly. He had stopped sniffing, which could have meant only one thing.
"Nathan!" He shouted, still carrying Sarah and Bane on his shoulders. It almost seemed like he didn't notice they were still hanging onto him. The two dropped off as smoothly as they could, landing with a quiet rustle on the grass.
"Nathan!" Spark repeated, this time coming dangerously close to an angry tone. It wasn't like the firm voice he used against Sarah and Bane, or even his last shout. It took a while, but the injured Pikachu finally showed himself by walking out from behind a tree. It was relieving to see he was safe, but it wasn't relieving to think about what Spark had to say. Sarah imagined that was doubly true for Nathan.
"Come here, please." The Charmeleon said firmly. Even with the addition of "please", it still sounded far more intimidating than it should have. As Nathan walked closer to Spark, the determination in his eyes cowered away into a mixture of fear and apprehension.
"I know what you're feeling, Nathan. But you are not facing Dexx alone."
The expression on Spark's face seemed to diffuse an argument Nathan was getting ready to put forth, as he instead silently closed his opened mouth and looked away. The sound of sniffling filled the area, and it became obvious Nathan was trying to hide his tears. Spark's expression immediately softened up, and he got down on one knee to gingerly tilt the Pikachu's head forward.
"Like I said. I know what you're feeling." He said quietly, brushing a claw over one of Nathan's tears. "But we're not doing this alone. None of us are." The Charmeleon gave his friend a smile, but Nathan remained silent. There was still something bothering him, and after looking at Spark's questioning gaze, he couldn't keep it in.
"He's gotten worse. . ." Mumbled the Pikachu. Even if his voice was barely audible, it was obviously shaking with fear. "Before, a-all he wanted to do was rough us up, you know. . . but. . ."
"Nathan." Interrupted Spark, placing his paws on either of the yellow Pokémons shoulders. "None of us are happy with what Dexx has become, but fear will not help us. We have to embrace what's happening and deal with it the best we can. It's all we can do." After one more brush against the Pikachu's cheek, Nathan finally returned the smile, albeit a little weakly. "Come on." Spark said encouragingly, gently leading Nathan back to the group.
Sarah would have welcomed him back along with Bane, but she was too wide-eyed by the time the two finished their talk. Spark couldn't be more than just a few years older than Nathan, and yet he was a better father figure than most actual fathers. Clearing her head, she gave the injured Pikachu a supportive smile. She would have liked to stay in the moment, but her thoughts were focused on something else. Suddenly, her desire to get to know Spark had increased ten-fold. . .