Valencia III
"What did you have in mind exactly...?" River asked. Rhett sat on the squishy floor closing his eyes. "I've tried everything I could think of... crawling back out, inducing vomiting, attacking her from the inside, and I've even thought of taking the back way out... but I'd really rather not." "Same here." River replied. "I think we might be able to get out if we work together, pushing our way up and out." River sat, thinking it over. "What if we DO get out? What then?" Rhett opened his eyes again. "We'll run... or fight if it comes to it." River leaned against his shoulder. "What if we can't get out..." Rhett stroked the back of her head lovingly. "At least we'll have each other."
Valencia was lounging around the base of a huge tree, basking in the sunlight the mid-day sun provided. She had a satisfied grin on her face, her head drooped over the lump in her stomach. She could feel that the two strange new Pokémon we're still alive, as they moved around inside her. She laughed to herself. " Such interesting prey." she thought . She felt them shift. They we're trying to climb out again. She laughed aloud. She let them get about halfway up her throat before sending a wave of muscle their way. Her eyes shot wide. It hadn't worked. They were still in the same spot. She swallowed heavier. Nothing. Rhett had expanded his inflation sac, stretching her throat wide enough so that her efforts would not affect them. River was ahead of him. "Now?" she asked, looking down at him. "Y-yeah." he said, struggling against the snake's powerful muscles.
River began to climb upward against the slimy tunnel as Rhett inched along behind her, trying his best to keep his inflation sac as large as possible. It was tremendously difficult, as every time Valenica took another gulp, it pushed River against him, causing him to loose focus. "We... we gotta switch out now." he said hoarsely. "Okay." River said, slipping underneath him. Now it was her turn. She expanded her ring as Rhett deflated his, slumping against her. "Come on Rhett... we don't have that much further." she said comfortingly. He managed a weak smile. "Right..." He doggedly pushed on, the swallowing becoming more and more frequent as they neared her head.
Valencia was infuriated. There was no way she was letting her prey escape. She threw herself against the ground violently, smashing her throat against the forest floor. This actually aided in the Buizels' ascent, forcing Rhett into the back of her throat. She reeled back, mouth shut tight as he pushed up into it. Rhett managed to pull River up to where her upper half was in the snake's mouth. Realizing what they were doing, Valencia quickly opened her mouth and flicked her head, throwing Rhett out and to the ground. He watched in horror as her mouth snapped shut, a muffled scream coming from River. Valenica lifted her head high and took a mighty gulp. Rhett's eyes filled with tears as he watched the bulge travel down to her stomach.
Enraged, Rhett fired off a powerful Aqua Jet, catching the snake in the jaw, stunning her. He grabbed a hold of her head, latching onto it with his teeth and he lashed out at her with clenched paws. Valencia threw him off, hissing savagely. He landed with a wet thud, regaining his composure. She raised her head high, readying a powerful strike. Rhett stood firm, glaring at her. Her strike was lightning-fast, but Rhett's reflexes were faster. He used Swift, catching her in the side of the head, knocking her out. The massive snake crumpled to the ground, completely unconscious. Rhett rushed to her mouth, prying it open and shouting. "River! Are you okay?!" There was a muffled reply. "She's out cold, you should be able to climb out!" he shouted down the snake's now open throat.
It took River a fraction of the original time to crawl up and out. Rhett took her paw and helped her out as she reached the mouth. "Thanks." she said, slinging a thick coat of saliva from her fur. "This won't ever come off..." he voice trailed off. She instantly latched on to Rhett, squeezing him in a tight embrace. "We made it." she said softly. Rhett wiped saliva from her head. "We should probably get gone before she wakes up." "Yeah... come on, our stuff's not to far from here." They took off, running as fast as they could. They found their bags, and once they made sure they still had all of their belongings, they ran even more. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours. It was near nightfall when they reached a river. They both threw down their bags and dove in headfirst.
Both were overjoyed to be free of their thick saliva coating as they climbed out of the river minutes later. They played and rolled with each other in the grass, laughing aloud and licking each others' cheeks frequently. They came to rest laying on their backs, looking up at the night sky. They lit a small fire near the riverbank to dry off. River snuggled up against Rhett, and was soon dozing off. There was a noise behind them. They both snapped upright, turning. Rhett breathed a sigh of relief. It was a Floatzel. "I guess we're back in our own region now." River commented. Rhett waved at the Floatzel, smiling warmly. It returned the smile and approached their fire.
The Floatzel decided to join them after hearing their story, and sat with them around the fire. Rhett found the Floatzel to be quite strange. He was much larger than any Floatzel he had seen before, and had a tuft of fur on his head that resembled hair. The way he spoke was also curious, it sounded almost like a human. When Rhett asked him where he was from, he simply replied, "A small town." River was soon asleep in his lap. "Asleep already... what a shame." the Floatzel said. "Why's that?" Rhett asked. The Floatzel laughed, a devilish grin spreading across his features. "Because dinner is just about to start..." he said, licking his lips.