Chapter 9- The assault
The rest of the day passed quickly, with Lyra winning her battle easily. With that out of the way, she were ready to rest and face their next opponents. She headed upstairs while Rowan prepared to head out again.
"Where are you going?"
Lyra asked him, seeing him leave. He hadn't told her about his meeting with Delphine, not knowing how she'd react to him helping someone she supposedly hated.
"I'm just going out to get something. That's all."
Lyra wasn't convinced. Her aura reading abilities revealed Rowan's surprise for getting caught as well as the slight anxiousness brought about by her questioning. Despite his dishonesty, Lyra didn't really care if he was going to talk to Zorren.
"If you want to go and talk to him, you can just tell me. it won't change anything."
She sighed in frustration.
"I still can't believe he found me."
Rowan looked back at his friend, seeing the pained look on her face.
"I don't think you know how hard he's trying to make it up to you."
Lyra's face soon turned to one of anger as she glared back up the Rowan.
"He left me to die so he could save his own skin. I have not one shred of sympathy or respect to him, and nobody will change my mind!"
She stormed upstairs, wanting to be alone. Rowan let her go without another word. He had learned when to keep his mouth shut around Lyra a long time ago.
As the sun began to set over the small town, the chilly evening breeze began to blow through the quiet streets. Delphine and Zorren were also headed to their arranged meeting place at the fountain, but when they got there, they quickly discovered a problem.
"What's going on here?"
Zorren said aloud as he observed the large group of Pokémon standing around the fountain, in front of a stage. The crowd numbered roughly one hundred to one hundred and fifty Pokémon, seemingly waiting for some kind of event to start.
"I haven't the faintest idea. I wasn't aware of anything special happening this evening..."
Delphine replied, not seeing anybody on the stage yet. The two tried to walk through the crowd, but even Zorren, who could see above some of the Pokémon, wasn't able to see Rowan. The Rhydon had also been surprised into the audience, unable to see the two Pokémon he arranged to meet. after a few minutes of futile searching, the crowd erupted in applause as a Pokémon walked up the stairs and atop the stage. Zorren, Delphine and Rowan all looked to see what all the noise was about, Noticing the Ampharos smiling down on the crowd. Once the applause had died down, the electric type began to speak.
"A warm welcome to you all, those from here and those who have come from all corners of the land!"
He paused while the crowd again burst out in applause.
"As the mayor of our humble town, it is a great honour to host the tournament that has brought so many to our settlement. I hope you have all been enjoying yourselves so far!"
Zorren could hardly believe it.
"You've gotta be kidding me. The one day we decide to talk to that Rhydon and the mayor hosts some huge speech at our meeting spot!"
Zorren cried, drowned out by the excited crowd.
"It is unfortunate timing indeed. I don't think we will be able to converse with him tonight."
Delphine replied.
"Perhaps we should return to our accommodation and get some rest?"
She suggested.
Zorren agreed, finding himself tired. They listened to the Ampharos talk as they left, along with the crowd's support for his words.
"We truly would like to thank everyone for making this exhilarating tournament possible. We're happy to have every single one of you!"
"Is that so?"
A voice from elsewhere called out. Delphine and Zorren stopped in their tracks as the crowd began to mutter in confusion. Rowan had also stopped his search as he heard the voice.
"Don't lie to us. You're so proud of your little tournament, you forgot all about us!"
After laughing deviously, a Machamp showed himself, standing on a building roof across the street from the stage. Some of the crowd sounded frightened while more joined to confusion.
"It's been a while, mayor."
He taunted, smiling with a smug look on his face.
"What are you doing here? We already gave you what you wanted!"
The Ampharos shakily replied, sounding afraid of the lone Pokémon.
"That was last month. You give us the same little concession every month to keep our attention away from your sweet little town. Your payment is late!"
He replied, sounding amused with his bold appearance in front of the mayor and crowd.
"We have been trying, but the arena has cost us a lot of time and money-"
The Machamp interrupted with a shout.
"So that's your excuse, is it? Well if you won't pay us, we'll just take what we want instead! You arena belongs to us now!"
The Machamp laughed, crossing his arms.
"How about it, boys? Take what you want. Our friendly mayor broke his promise, so let's teach him a lesson!"
From the shadows, a horde of Pokémon began swarming the quiet streets as the mayor fled and the crowd scattered. Pokémon almost fell over each other to get out of the way, with some being pushed, shoved and ran into during the chaotic scene, all while the Machamp above watched with amusement from above. The next few minutes were no better as the horde began to vandalise, loot and destroy various buildings with the town, stealing the valuables they could find.
Zorren and Delphine has luckily managed to avoid being harmed themselves, And Rowan's size and strength had spared him any serious injury. They had returned to their respected residences to flee the shocking scene currently unfolding as rogue Pokémon began running in all directions, paying no mind for any health or safety of others. They made off with anything from gold to priceless artefacts, taking them to the arena. The arena itself had been broken into, housing the horde as they ransacked it and took refuge inside. The Machamp joined his comrades inside, inspecting the items they had stolen with great interest.
From her bedroom window, Lyra could hear screams of terror and shouting from the streets below, seeing the rogue Pokémon smashing windows, stealing from houses and robbing those trying to flee. It was then she heard a loud thud, realising someone was trying to break in. She reached the top of the stairs, almost falling down them as the door began to give way. As she reached the bottom, it fell away, revealing a Machoke looking ready for a fight. Lyra summoned a bone rush as the assailant charged toward her. she swung her weapon as hard as she could into the Machoke's chest, winding the attacker. He grabbed onto the bone, stopping her from swinging it as he regained his composure. Lyra simply pushed forward as the Machoke was forced out of the house, a kick sending him tumbling down the stone staircase and out onto the street. Lyra looked back at the door; it was broken at the hinges. She wondered how she would fix it before feeling someone grip her neck and squeeze hard. She saw the Machoke choking her out, anger and excitement in his eyes. She tried to free herself as she struggled to breathe, starting to feel light headed as her attacker only tightened his grip. She held her bone in her left paw, doing the last thing she could think of. She slid it between the Machoke's feet and pulled it up as hard as she could. Surely enough, it worked as he let go of her and covered his new crotch as he looked down in pure agony. As Lyra took a deep breath, she rubbed her neck, wondering if it would leave a bruise. She recovered first, grabbing the Machoke and slamming his head into the stone wall of the house and knocking him unconscious. She wasn't clear yet, however. Some of the Machoke's comrades saw her victory, and they were more focused on avenging him than making off with any valuables. Lyra readied herself, descending the staircase in front of her home. she wanted to try and keep the fighting away from her house, sparing it the fate of the surrounding houses. A midnight Lycanroc approached her, a focused expression on his face. Lyra held her weapon tightly as she stared him down. Her heightened sensitivity to auras allowed her to predict and dodge her opponent's moves, and she used it well. She dodged the Lycanroc's first swipe, jabbing him with her bone. She continued to defend with her bone rush, blocking and deflecting the rock type's attacks. He hit Lyra's defence hard, again and again. Although it required a lot of energy to keep up the attack, it was effective as the bone began to break. Lyra knew that if she wanted to last, she had to switch to the offense against her assailant. She deflected his next punch, leaving his body exposed. She swung as hard as she could into the Lycanroc's stomach, winding his in a similar fashion to the Machoke before him. As he doubled over, Lyra brought her bone above her head and swung it downward with all her strength. The Lycanroc didn't even see the blow coming as he was forced into the dirt. He lay still, in too much pain to move. Lyra sensed another Pokémon approaching, dodging the punch of an angry looking Pangoro just in time. Lyra was beginning to tire from the non-stop fighting. Every time one intruder was defeated, another took their place. She knew she had to hold out until Rowan arrived in order to save their house. The much larger Pokémon in front of her would be harder to take down than her previous opponents. Conserving her energy, she continued to defend herself, only attacking when the chance arose. Even when such a chance did come, the large Pokémon barely moved. Lyra simply didn't have enough force to make the Pangoro stumble.
A few minutes after first encountering the Pangoro, Rowan finally arrived, much to Lyra's relief.
"What took you so long?"
She asked, dodging another punch.
"There are a few more Pokémon on the street than usual."
The Rhydon replied, coming to Lyra's aid. He used hammer arm to boost his power, and when his punch connected, the Pangoro fell to the ground. Lyra was impressed, seeing the Pangoro get up and brush himself off. As Rowan readied himself for another attack, a Charizard grabbed him from behind, pulling him away from the fight.
"How many of these guys are there?"
Rowan asked in an exasperated tone, breaking free of the fire type's grasp.
"I don't care. None of them are getting through us."
Lyra replied. Still with her bone in her paw, she stood against the Pangoro alone once more. She went on the offensive this time, trying to wear down the Pangoro's guard, to little avail. She thrust her bone forward, but the Pangoro saw it coming. He caught the bone, pulling Lyra toward him. She dropped the bone as he grabbed her neck, the weapon simply dissipating once it hit the ground. The Pangoro lifted her into the air and threw her back down to the ground. Lyra gasped as she the wind was knocked out of her. She saw the large Pokémon raise his fist, rolling out of the way to dodge it despite her being unable to breathe. She got to her knees, taking a deep breath. She saw the Pangoro struggling to free his first from the dirt floor, seemingly stuck. Once Lyra was back on her feet, the Pangoro managed to free himself. Lyra, still beaten from her hard impact from the ground, began breathing heavier as the toll of her constant fighting and the pain from those battles began to take effect. The Pangoro approached her as she readied herself, trying her best to shake off her weariness. The resulting fight was shorter as Lyra's defence finally caved. She blocked on last hit before taking a hard punch right to the face. The blow knocked her off her feet as she lay still, unable to get up. She had pushed her body to her limit, and felt as though she had nothing more to go on with. Pangoro, satisfied with her defeat, began to join his Charizard ally in attacking Rowan. The Rhydon was faring better against the fire type, landing some hard punches. Once Pangoro joined, however, the joint effort was too much, even for the sturdy Rhydon. Rowan looked over to see his battered and tired friend laying on the dirt, trying to get up very slowly.
"Lyra!"
He called out, both as a cry for help and to show his concern for her. The Lucario saw her friend in danger, and the resulting feeling of duty to protect him and the desire for revenge helped Lyra get to her feet and charge at the Pangoro that had defeated her another bone in hand. Brute fore wouldn't work, so she had another idea. As the Pangoro held Rowan's arms, the Charizard took advantage of his inability to block, hitting him repeatedly. Lyra jumped into the air, landing on the Pangoro's back, putting her bone across his neck and pulling back as hard as she could. The Pangoro let go of Rowan's arms, gripping the bone with both paws. He tried to pull it away to allow him to breathe, but to no avail. Lyra's grip was like iron, made stronger by her resolve to drive the intruders away from her home. The struggle was intense, both Pokémon using great amounts of strength. Unable to free himself, Pangoro got another idea. He saw a large tree behind him, throwing himself backward into it as hard as he could. The idea worked as Lyra felt the rough bark cut deep into her back. She fell from the Pangoro's back, standing on shaky legs as her back began to bleed. The larger bear Pokémon threw a punch, missing Lyra as she dodged, but hitting the tree, denting the trunk and sending it tumbling toward him. He held his paw, hurt by the impact with the wood, not realising the toppling giant until it was too late. He tried to avoid it, but it was in vain as he became trapped under the hulking tree trunk.
Satisfied that he wasn't going anywhere, Lyra was able to help Rowan overcome the Charizard he was engaged with, and the two looked around to see no other Pokémon coming their way.
"I think that's the last of them."
Rowan commented, getting Lyra to nod.
"We better go inside before anyone else shows up."
Lyra replied, her tone weary. She was evidently tired as small streaks of blood turned her fur a mixture of blue, red and purple. Rowan carried her inside, seeing her unable to walk.
"You did really well to last as long as you did. You really are a fighter."
Rowan complimented with a smile. Lyra simply nodded, uttering something about defending her home as she lay is his arms. She felt relieved to be finally able to rest.
As Lyra reached her room, she saw a sableye walking toward her with her glass orb in its hands, presumably attempting to leave. Her face twisted in fury as she saw the sableye drop the orb in surprise, cracking it. He tried to scurry past her, but Lyra wasn't going to let him get away. She sent him right through the window, crashing down to the ground among a torrent of glass.
She picked up the ball in her paws, examining the crack. It wasn't too large, but definitely noticeable. She placed it back in its holder with the crack facing downward and headed downstairs, too angry to relax now.
"I'll fix that window and door when it's safe to go out there again."
Rowan told her, not getting an answer. She sat down on the couch, trying not to think about it too much.
*The one thing I care about most in this dumb world...*
She thought to herself. The rest of their house was untouched, which was more than could be said about the others nearby, mostly inhabited by peaceful Pokémon looking for a quiet life.
"You were really brave to defend our home like that. I'm sorry I didn't come to relieve you sooner."
Rowan told her. Lyra simply grunted in reply.
"I need to go and was this blood out of my fur."
She left to go wash off, trying to take her mind off the events of the day.
As night fell, the horde retreated to the arena to rest and plan their next move. Even the Pangoro stuck under the tree was rescued to join them. Zorren and Delphine had also needed to fight off attackers with help from the other Pokémon staying at their building, sparing it from being pillaged. Roaming Pokémon would leave the arena to go and scare any passers by and try to salvage anything left from building in groups of two or three. As Lyra, Rowan, Zorren and Delphine slept, the town was far from finished with the destruction it had endured. The tournament was to be cancelled until the attackers were dealt with, and a new force of Pokémon was required to stop them from doing more damage that they had already. The first day was over, but there would be more destruction and pillaging if something wasn't done, but lucky for the townsfolk, there were a certain few Pokémon who were willing to fight back.
The damage was more evident the next morning. Lyra wasn't able to get as much sleep as Rowan, her sensitive hearing constantly being alerted to another cry of terror, sinister laugh or broken window. She stood in the still broken doorway of her home, seeing broken glass litter the street, as well as splintered wood, chunks of stone and rotting trash. The smell of burning wood made her shudder as it reminded her of a day she tried hard to forget. Smoke was visible in the sky as the townsfolk rose to repair what had been damaged.
Lyra was infuriated, not only by the damage caused by the horde, but also at the mayor and his cowardice.
"This is all his fault."
She growled, eating her breakfast as aggressively as possible.
"I'm sure he meant well."
Rowan told her.
"He's a coward! I, and a lot of other Pokémon for that matter, would've gladly formed a security force for less money than he's paying these thieves and vandals."
Lyra sighed, feeling helpless. She knew she'd need help to reclaim her town.
"I'm going to make these idiots sorry they ever set foot in this town. I'm going to need help, as much as I hate to admit it."
Rowan perked up, eager to do his part.
"I feel obligated to join you. I'll back you up, no matter what."
Lyra smiled at him, standing with him.
"Very well. Who else?"
She asked, walking outside to examine the damage with her partner.
"We only need to ask around. You and I can get a group together, I'm sure."
With that, it was agreed. Lyra and Rowan set out to form a new group to punish the attackers for assaulting their home. Lyra above all was prepared to show the group that she and many others were prepared to fight back, even if their mayor wasn't. They would learn such a lesson in a very painful manner. Lyra would make sure of it.
Wow, 3200 words! This has to be the longest chapter I've ever written, and you all deserve it, after being so patient. Again, thank you all for following this story, I truly appreciate every single one of you that take the time out of your day to read my stories, and drop a comment or a vote. You all make it worth it for me!
I have more ideas about where this story is going to go now, so I'll be sure to work on a new part immediately after this one is uploaded. You won't be waiting for another two months, I swear!
Thank you all for your continued support, and I can't wait to advance the story further. See you all in the next chapter, and as always, stay awesome!
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