The Starving Prophet
"It's pretty cloudy today, isn't it?" Di commented, her head tilted towards the sky.
"S'ppose so. I've got higher priorities," I mumbled, my eyes on the ground beneath me.
It was sorta damp. The kind'a wetness you'd expect right before rain. Not a pleasant type've soil t' spend so much time walkin' upon.
But we couldn't help it. Di and I had gotten lost again-- this time, of our own volition.
Diana'd heard some kind'a rumor. Somethin' to do with a whole treasury of loot... somewhere in this labyrinth.
To my surprise, Diana'd actually planned for this. She was the one carryin' my adventurin' bag, now stuffed full've orbs 'n berries of all types (for my usage, 'course, not hers), lookin' out for threats... when she wasn't cloudwatchin', of course.
The two've us passed by another useless row of buildin's. I had an inklin' they were for livin' in, but dismissed the notion. Trying to live someplace here would drive anyone mad. How would they find their way out?
"Look," Diana lowered her voice, "we're not alone."
Ahead of us, in the distance, was some kind'a white figure. It walked on all fours and had a single prominent horn, curved like a sickle, protrudin' from the top've it. Somethin' 'bout the sight of it sent a shiver down my spine.
The two of us gaped at the thing for a few minutes, lookin' 'bout as foolish as we felt, 'til the stranger eventually turned its head our way.
"Hail, strangers!" We heard it call from a while away, and it was soon boundin' towards us.
Diana readied herself t' fight, but lowered her guard once the thing tripped 'n fell in front've us. Once it pulled its black face outta the soil, it gave us a sheepish grin. "My condolences! I have become rather uncoordinated as of late."
The stranger sat up 'n shook its fur, throwin' dirt all over its sides, then gave us a toothy grin. "It has been a long time since I have seen another face around here. Have you any food?"
The question made me blink a few times, but I didn' say anythin'. I knew how this place operated. It was better t' look around and make sure nobody was pickin' our pockets than to answer.
Diana took over for me. "Uh, no. We haven't got anything for you. Scram."
Understandably, the stranger took offense. "Scram! To use such a word when denying my starving soul foodstuffs... you should be ashamed." The stranger grimaced. I heard it lookin' my way but didn't exchange the favor. "Have you any berries, strangely-colored fellow?"
The question seemed innocent enough. 'n I wanted to apologize for Diana. So, "Diana," I called t' her, "hand me the bag please."
"What for? We're not giving him anything. This is probably just another scam. Let's move on," the Deoxys frowned.
I took another look at the stranger. His body was rather thin, and he seemed, if not emaciated, somewhat malnourished. If you looked hard enough, you could see the outline of his ribs nearin' his stomach.
"I don' think it is. Give me an Oran or two," I said.
Diana looked at me with a mixture of confusion and disgust. "We've only got two. I'm not giving you, or that guy, anything."
I had to raise my voice a bit. "It's my bag 'n my things. Hand them over, please."
I could see the risin' hope on the stranger's face. That alone was enough t' warmed the cockles of my heart just a bit.
Diana didn't seem t' care. Her expression didn't change, but she shuffled her tentacles t' keep my bag further away from me. As she began speakin', she started forward and gave the stranger a cold shoulder. "You're getting naive. I'm sure there's plenty to eat around here if you root around in the bushes long enough. Let's get a move on."
The stranger 'n I watched her go, the former's face fallin' nearly as fast as my heart, neither of us willing t' just let her go.
I was just goin' t' yell, but the stranger decided t' go a bit further. "HEY! You have food, haven't you? I promise I mean nothing malicious-- please, just one berry."
He crawled over t' Diana, only to get a tentacle brushin' him away. "Begging doesn't make you seem any more innocent. Buzz off."
"Di, give him a berry--" I tried to raise my voice, but he'd already gone at her.
Diana shrieked, jumping back nearly three feet, just barely missin' what looked like a Night Slash.
That was a move neither've us could afford t' get hit by. I wasted no time 'n takin' off after Diana, never takin' my eyes off the now-hostile stranger. "Di, give me a berry! Any one, now!"
"No! Come on, we need to think of ourselves first! We've been here for hours and haven't found anything-- what if we run out?" A hint of alarm was seepin' into her voice.
"Then we can root in the bushes like you offered the stranger to!" I panicked, shovin' Diana forward as the stranger leapt at us once more.
"I cannot afford niceties anymore! I must apologize, sincerely!" The stranger barked, taking a moment to right itself before talkin' again. "Had you not been so unfathomably rude, I might have been able to hold off..."
Eugh, was he blinkin' baby eyes at me? Another shiver ran down my spine, this time for different reasons, and I scurried 'cross the dank road t' run into some run-down, one-story... house?
Diana flew in after me, stoppin' herself right before the door 'n slamming it shut with the force of a proper gust've wind. I hadn't seen her do that before, but the novelty slipped my mind. Somethin' else was catchin' my attention.
Wherever we'd run to, it clearly had many different rooms. All the doorways were rectangular, like they were made for some kind'a Copperajah, if they were still intact. This place looked especially well-preserved: only one frame was broken, 'n the walls 'round it still held up.
"A perfect place to hide," I mumbled under my breath.
"Yeah, as long as we board up the windows! Help me out here, Apollo!"
SCRTCH SCRTCH
The poor stranger'd been trying t' knock down our shoddy fortifications for a while now. It was starting t' weigh on my heart. With every scratch, I could hear him losin' strength.
"You could've just fed him one've our berries," I grumbled.
"I've got a hard time believing he'd have stopped at one," Diana growled back.
I couldn't really argue with that. Every time we'd been in this situation, we'd been bled dry. There was def'nitely precedent... I just didn't like it.
"Besides, this has got to be one of the stashes they were talking about. Look at all this stuff!" Diana exclaimed, waving a giant iron rod around like a sword and pointing to various piles of things. The thing was covered'n rust, with two spikes on one end've it, and curved on the other end in a way that let Di's tendrils wrap 'round it exceptionally well. "I bet this thing would've been a great weapon."
I nodded agreement. "Fer sure. Ah bet half that rust's coverin' up bloodstains." It looked like some kind of primitive spear, and it was sat next to a bunch of spiked iron fences that surrounded a hole through the roof... that must've been some kind of porthole t' fend off invaders from above with.
Come to think of it... shoot.
I hopped over a worn-out medical mask, stickin' my head through the fence, 'n peered up through the hole.
There was... nobody there.
"He's not usin' this," I let Diana know.
Diana chuckled. "Good to know. I'm sure he'd look just as ridiculous as you do now if he had."
More time passed. The two of us were riflin' through whatever this house-- as we'd decided it was-- had in store. So far, we hadn't found much.
Diana managed a big stack of black bricks, but noted that they were too light to do much with. They had holes in 'em, too, so someone could jus' catch them outta the sky with their fingers if they wanted to.
She'd also found some stray blankets, all overgrown with mold or fallin' apart, and some cushions in a sim'lar state... but, fer reasons we both found obvious, neither of us could really call that 'treasure' or 'anything worth sellin'.
"Any better luck? I'm about ready to give up," Di shrugged. She was still rummagin' around as she said that, but I could tell she wasn't payin' as much attention t' what she found as she used to.
"...better, ah think," I called back.
I didn't look back at Diana while ah said it. I was too focused on what i'd found.
Some kind'a book... with plenty of faces in it.
"What'd you find?" Diana trundled over t' my side, her gait uneven as she trodded over piles'a garbage 'n rubble to meet me in my little corner.
"...don' think you'd be very interested," I mumbled. My eyes were still glued t' the book's pages. Each page had several little people in them. I'da thought they were all drawin's, but they were way too detailed.
Somethin' in the back of my brain told me that this kind of thing wasn't impossible. That you could capture someone's image, perfectly, in little frames like that.
Another nigglin' thing told me I'd seen some'a these faces before.
The only face I was seein' now, though, was Diana's. The Deoxys hung her head upside-down, in front've the book, starin' right at me with her glowin' yellow eyes. "Well, you're right. It doesn't look too valuable. Is it another one of those books with runes in 'em?"
"You'd be able t' see if you weren't blockin' the view with your giant wispy mug," I scoffed.
I tried not t' gag as Diana's head, and only her head, did a 180. I kept forgettin' she could do that kind of stunt. I s'ppose bein' dead would make that kind'a malleability a given, but ah still wasn't used to it.
"...what are these things?" Diana droned on.
I tried t' ignore the hint of restraint in her voice. She wouldn't know what these things were any better than ah would. If she was hidin' somethin', it probably had nothin' to do with these pictures. "I... don' really know. But they look familiar. Like i've known 'em before."
"Well--"
Diana was about t' say somethin' self-righteous, prob'ly, but never got the chance.
CRACK
CRRRRR-THUD
"FINALLY!"
My feathers stood on end. "Di, run."
Standin' in a half-broken doorway to our left was... the stranger.
His sickle-like horn was lookin' especially sharp, as was every other part've him. I coulda sworn I saw bones stickin' out've his elbows. "Now, I hate to do this... but you've left me no choice!"
I couldn't take his words seriously. The guy was foamin' at the mouth. I could see his pupils twitchin' as he honed in on me.
Diana wasted no time in runnin'. She grabbed my book, right outta my lap, an' Teleported who-knew-where.
"Oh, no thank you! I would rather you not do such a thing--"
The stranger flew across the room, dark energy surroundin' his paw, and somehow managed t' catch Diana outta the air right before she went.
"Ghrk--" Di couldn't say nothin'. She was pinned up against the wall, claws pressin' down on her neck.
"Given how graciously you rejected me before, I'd love to go easy on you... but I feel you have slighted me far too much to bother with chivalry." There was acid drippin' from the guy's tone.
I was only thankful he didn't notice me sneakin' up on him. I readied my beak, watchin' him monologue to my only friend...
...before Slashin' at the guy with the same dark energy he used against Di, aimin' for the neck.
I missed, slightly-- ah slipped 'n hit his shoulder-blade instead. But it was enough t' get his attention on me.
"Ah, I see you've adopted a similar position! Two against one... how very considerate." The stranger growled.
"Let me get hit. I have a plan," Di's voice echoed in my head.
"What? Di, that was a dark-typed move. You can't take a single blow without crumblin' like wet tissue paper, and you want me t' put you up against yer greatest weakness without help?"
"Yes," Diana replied without hesitation, "just trust me."
I was hesitant to, for just a moment. If Diana was knocked out, we'd probably lose the bag...
...then again, it wasn't often that Di had any solid plans in battle. I was morbidly curious, 'n not especially concerned about the stranger given his only concern...
"...go fer it," I said. I stepped back, keepin' my eyes on the stranger--
--who didn't hesitate to leap at Diana, opening his tiny mouth wide t' bite at her! His fangs were dipped'n darkness, just as his claws had been. If Diana didn't have somethin' ridiculous, this would take her out...
Jus' before she got bit, I saw Di grab onto somethin' in the bag. She squeezed it tight, taking the bite on a tendril--
WH-THUMPH
--and flung the stranger into an opposin' wall.
"Jeez!" I couldn't help but exclaim. He'd made a dent in the shockingly sturdy thing-- one deep enough t' crick his neck as he slid down to the floor.
Next thing I knew, Di'd grabbed me--
--and we were outta there, in the bushes behind the house 'n safe and sound.
Di was sweating like a monster. It wasn't the kind'a sweat you'd see on a mammalian, of course-- it was an enormous amount of steam, or ectoplasm, or somethin' rollin' off her every surface. She was squinting real hard 'n leanin' on one leg. "...m-made it."
"What'd you do, you reckless idiot?" I gasped, both immensely confused and somewhat angry.
"C-counter," she mumbled, stoppin' fer a breath before continuin'. "Ebert, remember? A few... a few weeks ago. I thought I'd give it a shot..."
"Now, of all times?" I laughed, my confusion overtakin' my anger.
"Looked like a dark type. F-fighting move. Figured it'd work," she said between gasping breaths. "I-if you'll excuse me, I'd rather not talk for a bit."
I nodded and left her alone. Instead, I began lookin' for the book she'd pulled out with her.
Thankfully, I did find it-- much to my surprise 'n glee-- layin' in the dirt several feet away, face-down.
"Hey, you..." ...it wasn't worth it.
I took one last glance back at the house. Ah could hear thuds 'n muffled sounds from inside. The stranger hadn't noticed we'd left yet... good.
I ran over to the book 'n flipped it over. I tried to give the drawin's another look... only to find them ruined by mud.
"Diana... you destroyed this." I tried to hide the disappointment in my tone while I flipped over another page. Less ruined than the one before it, but... still dirty enough t' not make anythin' out.
"W-what d' you care? It was junk. Just like t-those pillows," she called back.
"Just junk?" I yelled--
"AH, THERE YOU ARE!"
Shoot. The stranger was peekin' out of a window.
"THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY, AH? WELL, I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW," he loudly proclaimed, "THAT YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE WHAT IS COMING. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THAT WHICH IS ILL-GOTTEN. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE YOURSELVES!"
He was... ramblin' like a madman. He went on like this for some time more, creepin' towards us but not makin' a move.
As he got close enough t' do somethin', he raised a claw... 'n collapsed in front've me.
Di didn't say a word. I didn't say anythin' neither.
My eyes drifted back t' the pages of the book. I turned the page one more time, expectin' more dirtied drawings...
...only to see a face I could'a sworn I'd seen before.
It stared at me, its eyes the only thing Poke-lookin' about it, a big smile on its discolored face 'n a strange pair'a colorful triangles nestled in its hairline. They reminded me of Ebert's shell, for a moment, but they were pink 'n green. Maybe some kind'a variant, like me...?
"...l-let's go." Di spoke up after a long while. She stumbled over to my side and wrapped a tentacle 'round my neck.
"I have the bag. There's not much else for us here," she paused to recover, "a-and that crazy guy is creeping me out. Let's just forget about all this and go find some s-shelter."
I looked up at Di. Then I looked back down at the book.
"I'm bringin' this with us," I decided.
"Ugh, ffine, whatever you say. If it gets that stupid Orbeetle to pay us, i-it'll have been worth it," Di wrapped her tentacle around me a little tighter.
As the two of us teleported away, I decided not to mention that I wasn't going to be selling this book to Di.
I'd seen that drawing before. A few times, even.
Never anyplace in real life, though.