Nothing Greater: Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Training and Plans
The next day passed by pretty uneventfully for Drek. Due to his injury, Seria had gone back to her usual routine of letting him sleep for a little longer. Given the circumstances, he didn't particularly mind this, and in fact, he actually preferred it. Because of what happened to Agro and Charc, they weren't as eager to go out and play outside the Valley like they were apt to.
It was probably good for them to stay inside for a day or two as they both recovered (Agro more so than Charc). When Drek did finally wake up, he had a slight headache, but other than that, he felt fine. He knew from when he was younger that being stuck inside at that age was not fun. After he had gone though his morning ritual of stretches to wake himself up, he found Charc sitting on the ground, using his claw to play with the dirt on the ground.
He looked so pathetic not running around like he did every day. Drek racked his brain trying to think of something that they could do together in the cave, but it had been so long since he had done stuff like that, that he couldn't think of anything. He thought about yesterday when they had first arrived at Zenith's place, and he saw what he was doing with Agro, and then he thought about the fighting class he would be starting the next day and he got an idea that would be fun and informative.
He asked him, "Whacha doin' Charc?"
He said without looking up, "Nothing."
"Well don't you wanna do something?"
"Yeah, but momm.... I mean Seria said that I should stay home today."
"She's probably right, but I've got an idea so that it's not so boring, and maybe we can go for a walk later so that we're not cooped up here all day."
He stopped his random pattern-making in the dirt and looked up with hopeful eyes. He said, "What are we gonna do?"
"Do you know how to use your fire breath?"
He had never even tried before. It wasn't something that ever came up whenever he played with Agro. He knew how to control his tail flame so that it was hot or not, and that had always worked for him. It would be something good to know because of what happened the day before. Agro used it against Thael, so he obviously knew how to use his. He started getting excited at the idea of learning it. At the time he was too scared to admire it, but when Agro and mister Zenith used it, it really was cool.
He shook his head and said, "Would you teach me?" His tail flame danced behind him as his entire tail literally wagged with excitement and anticipation.
He smiled at his eagerness and responded, "Sure thing. Let's go outside so that we don't leave any burn marks in here."
"But... she said not to leave..."
"Oh don't worry. We won't go very far, and you won't get in trouble as long as I'm with you."
He didn't need any more encouragement, and he quickly stood up and raced outside. Drek followed him, and soon they were both outside their home. Drek said, "Ok, do you have any idea on how to breathe fire?"
Charc shook his head, "Uh uh, I thought you just breathe deeply and then fire came out. I just thought I wasn't old enough to do it yet."
Drek hadn't thought about that. There was the chance that he wasn't old enough to even do it, but he thought that when he was Charc's age that he could do it. So he figured it was safe to assume that he could learn now.
He said to him, "Alright, the first thing you have to do is learn to control your throat muscle. I'll show you how I learned to control it, because it's not easy to just say and have you do it. Let me go grab something; hold on a second."
"Ok!"
Drek raced back inside and grabbed one of the containers that they normally took to go restock on water. He dipped it in their water supply and went back outside where Charc was waiting patiently. Drek handed him the water and he looked inside to see what was in it before looking back at him confused. Out of all the things to get him to figure out how to breathe fire, a container of water was the last thing that he would have thought he needed.
He asked, "What's this for?"
Drek said, "Ok, there's a certain way that you breathe where your throat muscles open up more, and when they're open all the way like that, then it's where it needs to be for you to access your fire breath. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to take a drink of the water, and after you swallow, take a breath through your mouth like you're catching your breath before drinking more water. After you do that, try to remember how it feels, and then see if you can duplicate that feeling without drinking the water."
He was skeptical, because he had never really paid attention to that when he drank water in the past, but he trusted him and did as he was instructed. He took a small sip of the water and concentrated on the feelings in his throat. Sure enough, he did feel something slightly different when he inhaled, and his eyes got wide with excitement.
Drek said after seeing him, "You felt it didn't you?"
He nodded and put the container on the ground. Drek continued, "Ok, now try to simulate the same breathing you just did, but this time without the water."
He tried to do what he was told, but without the aid of the water, he found it a little harder. Nevertheless, he kept trying, and after a few minutes, he thought he had it down pretty well. He said when he was confident he could do it on command, "Ok, I think I've got it."
"Good. Now for the hard part. While your throat is open like that, you have to control your muscles in your chest where the fire is stored. Once you can control those, then you'll be able to breathe fire on command."
"Cool. So how do I do that?"
"This is harder because there's not really anything that I can do to show you like I could with the water. What you have to do is just do it over and over and eventually it'll just click. What I want you to do is to breathe in as deeply as you can with your throat open, and then I want you to hold your breath while tensing up your stomach and chest, and then when you don't think you can hold your breath anymore, then let it out through that same open throat. You might not feel anything the first few times, but you'll get it soon. Try it."
He really wanted fire to come out of his mouth on the first try. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel when he did this, but he was going to try his hardest to feel something different. He inhaled as much as he could and tensed his muscles as long as he could before his breath couldn't hold out any longer. Sadly, when he exhaled, nothing came out. He was frustrated, but he trusted that it would happen soon.
He repeated the same thing a few more times with no result, and then on his next attempt, smoke came out of his mouth when he breathed out. He was so startled by it that he closed off his breath and choked on the smoke. Drek laughed at him and said, "There ya go. That's the first step. When you're first learning, your body hasn't needed to use that part of your body before, so it hasn't been producing fire. The more you keep doing it, the stronger those parts of your body will get and the easier it'll be. And eventually," Drek opened his mouth and shot a line of fire into the air with ease before continuing, "you'll be able to do it as quickly as that."
Charc had finally recovered from his coughing spell, and his eyes lit up at the possibilities he saw for himself. Drek said before he could try again, "Come on, let's go for a walk and you can keep working at it on the way. Just let me put the water back inside and we can go."
He nodded and immediately went back to holding his breath as he watched Drek pick up the container and disappear back into the cave. When he got back, he had released another small puff of smoke, but no fire yet. Drek realized as they were about to leave that it might be a good idea to let Seria know where they were so that she wouldn't worry. He tried to think of a way to let her know, but he was saved from having to come up with a solution because she showed up carrying an armful of fruit with Darius doing the same.
When she got within speaking distance of them, she inquired, "What are you guys doing?"
Charc said as smoke seeped out of the sides of his mouth, "Dadd... I mean Drek is teaching me how to breathe fire!"
She smiled and said, "Is that so? Well good luck; I know you'll learn very fast because you're very smart." She then turned to Drek and said, "So shall we eat?"
He had forgotten about that. If she hadn't shown up, they would have just gone off without a care in the world. He said to Charc, "Alright, let's eat and then we'll go for our walk and you can keep practicing."
"Ok."
The three of them went back inside and ate their brunch, and their conversation ranged from how Drek's and Charc's injuries were doing, to how Seria's stroll with Darius was, and even to Charc's plans for when he learned to use his fire. They tried to stay away from the topic of Thael altogether and just enjoy their time together. They were completely oblivious to the horrible night that Thael had and where he was at the moment. Not that they cared to know at the moment, but it probably would have dampened their jovial spirits to know that he had gotten help.
* * *
Thael could hear a cluster of voices, but he couldn't make anything out. He was immediately aware of his throbbing wing, and then he smelled the scent of food. He hadn't eaten anything in almost a full day because of everything that had happened. He cracked his eyes open to see a pile of berries in front of him. He moved his head slightly and he heard the words, "He's coming to."
He was still groggy, but he managed to open his eyes fully and lift his head off the ground, and in doing so, he saw a large group of Pokemon surrounding him. He heard one of them say, "Bring him some food." and almost instantly, some fruit was brought up to his mouth. He ate it in one bite without question, and before he could swallow it, another piece was put in front of his maw. After eating this bit, he summoned up the strength to push himself up so that he could sit back on his haunches.
Since he had managed the feat earlier, it wasn't as difficult to right himself this time. Once he was seated, he got a better look at the group of Pokemon. They were all identical and there had to be forty of them if not more. They were skinny and had what appeared to be scythes for arms. All of them were a little shorter than he was, and they all sported a brown coloration. One of the Pokemon close to him asked, "What happened master Thael?"
He gritted his teeth as he thought about the day before. His wing would heal (at least he hoped it would), but the psychological and emotional scarring at being so easily defeated would last until he got his revenge. He responded to all of them, "My friends, I was brought down by a merciless foe. He ambushed me and injured my wing, and even though I pleaded for mercy, he continued to cause further harm and damage to me until I was literally too weak to protest anymore. He left me to die in the little cave that I had found just the other day and was just starting to call my home. However, my determination and strength wouldn't let that happen.
"Through much pain and labor, I managed to overcome my injuries and get where I am now. That mountain," he gestured with his good wing toward the top of it, "is where it all happened. I saw you coming in the distance and got down through much misery and torture specifically to meet up with you. And now that you're here, you can help me get my revenge on the Pokemon who did all of this to me without any cause other than to go out of his way and do me harm."
The group was stunned at his story, and most of them were left speechless until one of them said, "We'll stand by you master Thael until death if we have to." The rest of them shouted out in agreement, and Thael smiled at their support.
He said, "Thank you my friends. Now if you would be so kind as to help me get back up to my home. There I can recover, and you'll notice that this mountain is littered with homes for all of you as well." They moved to help carry him and some others grabbed the remaining food that had gone uneaten, and through their collaborative efforts, they started the long trek up the mountainside.
Thael thought back on how he acquired such a loyal group of basically minions. They would do anything he asked them to... even die for him if they had to. It all happened about a year ago. They had all been preserved in rocks deep underground for only Arceus knows how long. They would have stayed that way too, but some humans discovered them, and through some bizarre machines, they were able to bring them out of their preservation.
Thael would be forever grateful to the humans for doing that, but then they got power hungry. Instead of just letting them go back into the world and be free, the humans sought to keep them captive almost like pets. They all longed for life back in the wild, but the humans would have none of it. They kept making them do things they didn't want to just so that they could watch them for who knows what purpose. They hooked them up to strange things and gave them strange orbs that made them learn new things, but all within the safety of their containment units.
Thael was the one who rose up for their freedom. He literally fought his way out of his imprisonment, and in his frustration, he brought down the entire place where the humans were. In doing so, he freed all of the other captives, and because he saved them, they swore loyalty to him for the rest of their lives. At the time, he didn't want any of it. Since he could fly and the others couldn't, his travels were significantly slowed by having to wait on them. But as the months went by, he grew to like the company, and things that he would normally have to do for himself (like foraging for food for example), they did for him.
He knew with them at his every beck and call, he would be able to exact his revenge. He would be able to recover faster without having to move around much, and with his lofty position, he would be able to keep an eye on the Valley. He would see exactly when everyone did what, where they went and where they didn't, how many of them there were, basically anything useful that he could gather from them.
It took them a few hours to climb the stone surface, but they eventually made it up to the top with Thael's direction. They carried him back into his large chamber, and gently let him climb down from their backs before settling down on the ground. When he was comfortable, he said to the ones carrying the food still, "Thank you friends. Just leave the food there and you will be free to do as you wish. I would suggest all of you find your own homes on this mountain and then stock up on food yourselves before the day is over. I'll be fine in here by myself.
"Be careful though. The Pokemon who did this to me and all of his family and friends are in the Valley just east of here. They mustn't know that any of you are here, so be discreet and don't be seen. Other than that, all that I ask is if you could keep bringing me food and water every day so that I don't further injure myself trying to get it myself."
A collective, "Yes master Thael." echoed throughout the cave, and he smiled back at them. They set the food down, and they did as he instructed, and left him alone. The rest of the day for them was spent claiming their own homes, and once they had done so, they went searching for food in the opposite direction of the Valley so as not to be noticed. It was getting dark when they had all returned to their caves, and they ate their fill while preparing to settle down for the night.
Thael had spent the day racking his brain, trying to plan out some sort of attack strategy for when he finally did recover. As much as he hates to admit it, he would probably lose another fight with that Charizard if he fought him in close combat again. However, he was pretty confident in his aerial mobility and speed, so if he took the battle to the air, he might have an advantage. His wing would have to heal first for that to happen though, and even when it did, he wasn't sure how much of his maneuverability would be there. That would all come one step at a time though, and the first step was to concentrate on trying to recover, then flying to regain his aerial movements, and then specific strategies to take care of that Charizard once and for all.
* * *
It took practically the whole day, but Zenith had made it to the last home of his rallying session, and after talking with the family there, he convinced his last Charizard to meet at the lava pool the next day. There weren't as many who were willing as he would have hoped. A lot of them said they valued their family time too much to give it up every day for they weren't sure how long. Some of them just didn't see the threat since he had come out of the skirmish virtually unscathed. A few couldn't come up with an excuse other than they didn't want to.
All in all, Zenith had gathered about twenty Charizards to meet him. He was completely unaware how many friends Thael had or if they were even going to show up at all, but he would make do with what he had, and hopefully if the time ever came for them to prove themselves in battle, they would be ready. As he headed back to his own cave, he happened to catch a glimpse of Drek and Charc walking back to their home.
He called out to them and went to share with Drek the news of his expedition. As he approached them, he couldn't even open his mouth before Charc excitedly said, "Look what I can do mister Zenith." He inhaled and let the smallest little bit of fire come out of his mouth before he closed his mouth and said, "Did ya see it!?"
He smiled and said, "Yes I did. That's a very good job. Keep practicing it and you'll get to do it even better."
He said back, "Oh, I will! I can't wait to get it really good!"
"I bet you will get it to be big and strong." He turned his attention to Drek and said, "Mind if I share with you the result of my visits?"
Drek said, "Oh, sure thing." He said to Charc, "Why don't you run on home and tell Seria that I'll be back shortly."
"Ok. Bye mister Zenith."
Zenith waved good-bye to him and when he was out of earshot, he said to Drek, "Sadly I didn't get as many as I would have liked. Without seeing what we're up against for themselves, a lot of them just don't see the need. The ones who did join were mostly the ones who didn't have mates and a few that thought it was a good idea. As I said, I wish there were more, but we'll make do with what we have, and we'll prepare as best we can."
Drek said, "Ah, that's unfortunate that we won't have bigger numbers, but maybe since it'll be a little more individualized, we'll learn things faster and better."
"That's a good way of looking at it, and I'll stay hopeful. Only time will tell though. On a lighter note, when did you teach Charc how to use his fire?"
"I actually started teaching him this morning. It's amazing how quickly he picked it up. I remember working at it for days if not a whole week before I managed to produce even a spark."
"Yeah, I was gonna mention that myself. I think we waited a little longer to teach Agro, and he took a few days to get anything to happen too. It's remarkable that he was able to pick it up so quickly. We may have to get him in the class too."
Drek laughed at the obvious joke, and he realized that the light was starting to fade. He said, "I don't know about that, but I might teach him a few things that I learn in the sessions if he's eager and I'm not too tired. Speaking of tired though, I think I'm gonna head back home and get some shut eye before the big day tomorrow."
"I think I'll do the same. Take care, and I'll see you tomorrow."
They went their separate ways, and after they got back to their homes, they both went through their nightly familial rituals, and as the waning moon peaked over the horizon, they were all fast asleep.