fanfiction Left Behind Chapter 3: Finding Good Help

[ArdillaVerde93]

 

  *Chapter Three: Finding Good Help*

  Faced, sure enough, with a padlock, Artemis took a deep breath. She reached behind herself and gripped the twig nesting in her vermilion tail. As she unsheathed it, sparks ran down its length. Even as she was holding the fully removed twig, the tip was alight with crimson flames. Embers broke off from the fire, only to fizzle out upon hitting the wet grass. "Wait!" "Well, now's a fine time to be giving warnings," Artemis teased, turning to face Bellossom, who had called out to her. "Collateral damage," Bellossom said. "The embers on the ground reminded me. Hold on just a minute." The maid bent down, and, with a sharp tug, broke off several blades of grass. "We want the lock to still work when we're done with it; right?" There was a collective nod as she stuffed the keyhole with the grass. "There. Now, the actual lock is safe; it won't melt and deform from the heat of your wand." Artemis shrugged, carefully pointing the tip of the twig at the top of the lock. The flames died out along most of the "wand," concentrating on the tip. "Alright; stand clear!~"

  With Bellossom and Pesky both out of the way, Artemis thrust the twig forward. From the tip shot a whip-like ray of flames. Despite her trepidation, it was a figurative bullseye. The flames cut through the metal bar, leaving the lock intact and the bar split cleanly in 2. "Nice shot!" Pesky cheered as Artemis quelled the flame by bringing a paw down over it. "Hush!" Artemis shout-whispered. "Wait until we're in the forest." With the lock broken, the gate opened easily. Pesky and Bellossom hurried in, while Artemis quickly got to work at welding the metal bar back together. When she rejoined the group, she was nursing a paw, holding it close. "Are you alright?" Bellossom asked, advancing gently on her. "Lemme see your paw." Artemis held it forward to reveal a patch of charred fur.

  With a figure like Goodra's, it was only natural that she turned some heads as she walked through the Goldenrod Department Store. And she stepped lightly. That she was filled out in all of the decidedly best places to be carrying extra weight still meant that she carried extra weight. Seeing her walk with any sort of grace was, in many ways, as striking as it would be to see Wigglytuff carrying herself in such a manner. She had almost finished shopping, and was looking through the list she brought with her. Written on in beautiful cursive, the paper she held was stained with her slime. "Hmm... Yes; this should be enough meat to keep the carnivores happy for quite some time." As she double-checked the shopping list, she found the paper suddenly wet. She was crying. Softly but surely. It finally seemed to hit her that what she was buying, only she and the other residents would partake in. Her master was gone. If he wasn't, the list would likely include his favourite foods. Goodra loved to spoil him. Another tear fell, and she took a sharp, shuddering breath inward. "I should be over it by now, but... I can't forget about you, sweetie. You wouldn't wanna see me like this; I know." She vigorously shook her head, as though she were trying to shake her sadness away. With a smile on her face to mask her true feelings, Goodra trudged on.

  Sylveon still fussed with her hair as she and Ruri stood outside the Pokémon Centre. "Sylvie, for Arceus' sake, your hair is fine!" Ruri insisted. Sylveon scoffed. "Of course it is, honey! Or it damn well had better be; I spend so much time on it. But fine isn't enough.~" Ruri, exasperated, shut her eyes tightly, likely in an effort to calm down, so she wouldn't lash out at her friend. By the time her eyes saw the world again, the duo was already inside the Pokémon Centre. All around, trainers and their Pokémon waited to be tended to. Sylveon approached the front desk. Before she could strike a bell that would alert staff to somebody waiting to check in, a nurse was already in front of her. "Hello, miss! Do you have an appointment?" "I don't," Sylveon admitted. The nurse turned to look back into the office behind her, at which point Sylveon gave a thumbs up to Ruri. She began to sniffle. It was a talent that was often unused, for fear that it would ruin any trust for her, but Sylveon had a very convincing fake cry. "I... I d-didn't have time to... I..." Ruri was stunned, but understood the thumbs up as a sign to play along. "It's alright. I'm sorry, miss. My friend here, miss..." She paused to look at the lady's nametag. "...Nurse Joy. My friend, she's a maid. I'm sure you could tell by her outfit." "Yes, I could," Nurse Joy replied. "Is she hurt? Or is she here on behalf of somebody else?" She offered Sylveon a tissue, which was politely refused. "S-Somebody else," Sylveon answered her, and, by this time, some of the trainers in the waiting room had taken notice, and were watching the situation unfold. "M-My master; he... He was hurt in the storm. Please; I'm a terrible cook. C-Can you spare any food?"

  There were enough plants in the flower shop to make a house for a Chikorita! Wigglytuff actually raised a sticky paw to slap herself, but lowered it when she remembered she was in public. "Of course there's a buncha plants here, you big dummy! What did you exp- Oh! Hello, ma'am.~" The older of 2 sisters who ran the shop was in front of her. Brown hair swept her shoulders, and her appropriately floral print dress reached her knees. "Hello yourself, miss," she responded kindly. "We haven't had many customers since the storm. What can I help you with?~" The politeness of the shop owner got the portly bunnygirl to smile. "I'm looking for berries. See, our garden was drowned by that same storm, and we have a lot of herbivores to feed. Do you have any in stock?" With a slightly sorrowful, understanding nod, the florist pointed fowards a corner with several terra cotta flower pots full of plants. "Do you want the plants, or just the berries themselves, dearie?" Wigglytuff looked towards the indicated spot, and felt a pang of nervousness. She was certainly gluttonous, but what she wasn't was impolite. The only member of the household, to her knowledge, that could cultivate a berry plant was Bellossom, and not only was she out helping Artemis and Pesky, but it would be a slap to the face to give her a berry plant and ask her to do all of the work. "J-Just the berries, please. I'm not picky; anything edible will do." Nodding again, the lady led her to a counter. Used to immediately putting money on a counter when walking into a candy store or a bakery, Wigglytuff did the same here. She had a small amount of money. Mostly coins, as her paper money had by and large been exchanged for sweets already. "Can I get anything for this, ma'am?"

  "How'd you hurt yourself?" Bellossom asked, eyes darting across the forest floor. "I slipped," Artemis replied. "My paw hit the padlock." Pesky rolled his eyes. "Damn. I hate to use this analogy, but when it rains, it pours." "Very funny," Artemis scolded him. Bellossom stepped away slightly to pick a large cyan berry from a nearby tree. "Hold out your paw." Artemis did as instructed, but, rather than handing over the berry, Bellossom took a bite of it. Pesky gasped. "Are you serious?! You can't just eat wild berries; you'll get poisoned!" Bellossom dismissed his concern by waving a hand in his direction. Ever polite, she swallowed before speaking. "It's a Rawst Berry. Perfectly safe to eat, though a bit of an acquired taste." With that, she revealed the remains of the fruit. "Here, Artemis." Before the burnt vulpine could react, Bellossom rubbed an exposed end of the berry onto the blackened area of her outstretched paw. The colour didn't improve, but the pain was quickly dulled. The group didn't have access to bandages, so the application of the healing berry was all that could be done. Through thick foliage, the group pressed on in near complete darkness. Artemis had several times offered to light her wand tip to help, but Bellossom's response was always quick and to the point. Even with the plant life wet from rain, lighting a fire was still a bad idea. It wasn't until the third time Artemis made this offer that a voice besides that of Pesky or Bellossom answered her. "Are you trying to start a brushfire?!"

  Pachirisu sat in the living room of the Delphox's abode. On her lap, warm from near constant use, was her radio. It was a special radio, capable of picking up broadcasts beyond the range of a normal Pokégear; previously, it was a belonging of her master, who gave it to her when he had his Pokégear updated with similar functionality. Even so, the only advantage the upgraded Pokégear offered was portability, since the radio was a clunky machine. Normally, Pachirisu kept it on her bedside table, so it could provide background noise while she slept. Now, though, she was listening intently to every word spoken by the inhuman voice coming from it. "There are unconfirmed reports of rare Pokémon seen near Ilex Forest. These Pokémon are not to be confronted until conditions improve. Severe weather is expected within the next few minutes, which will endanger the lives of trainers and their Pokémon." Severe weather? "Oh, no!" Cassie and Dragonair had already returned from fishing by this point, and Goodra and Wigglytuff were likely close behind. But Artemis, Pesky, and Bellossom were completely exposed to the elements. "Mistress!" Pachirisu called out. "Mistress!" The sound of footfalls cushioned by fur soon followed as Kianna entered the room. "What's wrong, Pachi?" "I-I just heard that a storm is coming. Pesky and the girls are gonna get caught in it, and we don't have a way to contact them and call them back here!" Kianna stood, taking this information in for a short time. As a mother, she couldn't help her concern. "Poor dears. I hope they get back soon." Concerned as she was, though, she was unable to get Pachirisu's meaning. "No, mistress," Pachirisu corrected her gently. "I have to go after them!"

 

*Author's note*
 

  Yes, Pachirisu. Run outside, confident in the belief that a thunderstorm is coming. What could possibly go wrong? So, in this chapter, we learn a few things.

1. Goodra is still sad about her master.
2. Goodra and Wigglytuff are both A B S O L U T E U N I T S. In awe at the size of these lasses! Yeah; we already knew that. But I like reaffirming it. XD
3. Sylveon can cry on command.
4. Bellossom has decent survival skills.
5. The ones who went near the forest were spotted; the report of "rare Pokémon" was about them.
6. Pachirisu's radio is a hand-me-down.

So, do you think you can tolerate a fourth chapter? Special thanks again to @SMFoxy, for allowing me use of his characters.

[SMFoxy]

Okay, so just to point out a typo and an observation, in order:
1 - You fell back into calling her Kaianna; it's Kianna. xD
2 - I'm slightly surprised that, in a presumably/relatively well growing forest, there aren't any sort of long grasses and/or large leaves that Bellossom could use in lieu of bandages? It could never be a permanent solution, but even if she quickly braids together some blades of grass, it could cover the burn, and the damp grass would also go some way to soothing the burn too?

With that 'negativity' aside, once again a great chapter. Characters using/displaying their skills, and their natural charms, to their advantage works out really well. There's no insane amount of fast paced action, which makes it a pleasant read, but it's not so long as to be dull, either. Chapters of about the length you've been putting out definitely suit your writing style (at the moment/though I'm sure there's eventually some action to come). It's a good way to flesh out the characters and the situation they've found themselves in in the mean time, I think.

I certainly think you should keep it up; I truly enjoy reading this story, and I'm looking forward to part four, whether anyone else is or not. xD

Also, you're welcome to use the characters; you write them well, and I'm always happy to help out (and that you come to me for help) if there's anything you're not completely sure about how they'd react to.