Ice opened his eyes, blinking to get the haze out of his vision. He found himself lying on a comfortable bed, staring at the ceiling of this room. Slowly, he sat up, feeling a sharp pain up his back, nearly causing him to go back down, but he persisted, eventually sitting up straight. He forced his gaze around, identifying the location as a hospital of sorts. The Chimera glanced around more, until his gaze fell onto another occupant in the room.
Sarpal lay in the chair, slumped over, sleeping peacefully. Ice smiled at her innocent pose, curious if she stayed watching him for the entire night. He tried to slide out of the bed, but the sharp pain returned, forcing him to wince and groan, before dropping back down, staring at the ceiling. He remembered faintly hearing Sarpal's order for Ignite to take care of him, the last thing he could remember.
He closed his eyes tightly, a migraine sweeping over him. He groaned in pain again, curling his hands into fists tightly. He recalled the fall from the altitude, nearly killing him if it weren't for the combined efforts of Sarpal and Jewel. It still hurt like hell, especially his legs, though he was glad he survived that.
The male Chimera opened his eyes again, finding Sarpal watching over him with a look of concern on her face. She smiled lightly, obviously glad that Ice was awake again. She brushed some of her falling blue hair away from her face, leaning down and whispering in Ice's ear.
"Don't worry us like that again," she spoke softly, pulling back and watching the male Chimera gain.
"How…long was I out for?" Ice asked, lightly touching his head feeling the pulsating pounding against his mind, and it hurt. He looked up at Sarpal for some consolidation, but she was helpless in helping him.
"About two days now," Sarpal answered, slowly placing herself on the bed as not to disturb Ice. "Everyone else has recovered but you, and most of them are anxious for your recovery."
"Where…are they now?" Ice asked, closing his eyes and trying to push away the pain in his head.
"In the waiting room, as it is against policy to allow open Pokémon into the hospital, afraid of a disturbance," Sarpal whispered, but despite that, her voice seemed closer. Ice opened his eyes, find Sarpal only a mere inch away from his face. They stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment, before the female Chimera recoiled backwards, blushing. "I-I'm sorry…" she apologized quickly, before turning away to hide herself. Ice was about to protest, but was hit by another pound against his head. He winced in pain, deciding not to pursue the subject.
"I'll let you rest now…" she spoke rapidly, not turning her gaze anymore. She departed from the room before Ice had a chance to say anything.
"Thank you," the male Chimera spoke aloud after a moment, knowing Sarpal was watching him over the last two days. He sighed softly, wondering how long until his condition would improve. They needed to hit the Trilands soon, and all he was doing in lying there was impeding their travel. Once more, he sighed, before closing his eyes.
"I don't believe he surprised me," Skymin repeated for the hundredth time now, pacing around the chamber quickly. Even if the event was two days ago, it was still clear in his mind what had happened, and how he could not have prevented it.
"It was a Legendary Dragon, you really wouldn't have stood much of a chance by yourself," Vapour remarked, trying to calm the Flying type down. The Pidgeot muttered something incomprehensible.
"I still feel like I've been hit by an 18-wheeler fully loaded with TNT," the Pidgeot muttered next, more comprehensible.
"Well, he did hit you with a Dragon Breath followed by an Aero Blast," Jolt re-informed the Pidgeot, who informed them about what Arist did to the Pidgeot out in a matter of seconds in the sky.
"Besides, that is nothing," Jewel chipped in. "Vapour and I were destroyed by the Solar Beam he fired at us. Completely unexpected, and the attack was directed towards us, but the explosion still knocked us around like nothing. One attack…" she spoke softly, still feeling a bit of pain in her Starmie body from that attack.
"Hey, here comes Sarpal!" Ignite exclaimed, remaining silent for the whole of the previous conversation, watching the hallway for the female Chimera they travelled with. She glanced up towards them, smiling at the enthusiastic Pokémon when they huddled around the entrance/exit into the waiting room.
"How is he?!" both Ignite and Skymin exclaimed, both equally as worried about their trainer. Skymin was so worried he forgot about all his previous complaints about being bested by a stealthy Arist. She brushed past the group, taking a seat in one of the many places around the room, sighing softly and looking towards the ceiling.
"He's alright, a bit shaken and tired, but he'll be fine," she spoke, still gazing towards the ceiling. Everyone sighed in relief, spreading out, taking the good news in different manners, but with a consensus of relief. Sarpal, on the other hand, was thinking on a different line altogether, slowly brushing her cheek with the back of her hand, wondering.
The cold wind blew into the city of Cianwood, though it didn't affect Sarpal all that much. She was a Lapras Chimera after all, very few cold temperatures could affect her like a 'normal' Human would. By her side stood Vapour, who insisted on escorting her. Everyone else remained at the hospital, as Sarpal ordered, though she just couldn't persuade Vapour to stay. Something was on his mind, and he didn't want to leave Sarpal alone at all.
The air strangely seemed to 'die', stopping, though it didn't even seem possible. Sarpal shivered softly, not to the cold, but an odd chill that something was wrong. She wondered if it was Arist, but knew it wouldn't be the Legendary Wind Dragon.
The wind picked up again, comforting the Chimera, as she thought she was just paranoid. She turned her back to the sea of Cianwood, knowing they would be departing soon towards the Trilands, as soon as Ice was all ready and well for travel.
Or would be departing, if the whole ground didn't decide to start rumbling uncontrollably, followed by the screeching and tearing of earth below them.
The Vulpix was allowed to visit the small room that belonged to Ice, thanks to some persuasion from Sarpal to one of the nurses. However, Skymin couldn't come because of his size, and of which, Ignite wasn't allowed to leave the room once entering it.
"How do you feel?" Ignite asked, leaping onto the bed, tilting his head to the side while watching.
"I still feel like I've been hit by an 18-wheeler fully loaded with TNT," Ice responded softly, pressing both his hands to his face. Ignite chuckled a little, seeing something of Skymin in Ice, or perhaps it was a bit of Ice in Skymin. Either way, it was funny to hear those words again from a different person. The male Chimera looked up at the Vulpix, wondering what was so funny.
"Nothing," Ignite responded quickly, trying to regain his composure. He couldn't help it though, laughing more. Ice sighed, shaking his head.
"Where are we?" he asked the Fire Type, remembering her forgot to ask Sarpal this question. Ignite stopped laughing, coughing to get the rest out, before facing Ice on his bed.
"Cianwood City, remember here?" Ignite asked, recalling a previous battle around with a certain Pokémon known as Angel. That battle was painful, and Ignite wondered if Skymin still felt the pain from those attacks, even from so long ago. Ice raked his memory for it, recalling it quickly.
"Yes, with Carter, Ripper, and Psy, I remember clearly," the male Chimera responded, clasping his hands together now, staring towards the ceiling. "We split up here, and now we're back again. I wonder where Alex is now…?" the Ice Angel thought, remembering the Psychic Angel companion he traveled with. He left alone, and Void went with Carter. Lin departed, going to find her original trainer. "Lin…I hope you're okay…" Ice muttered, remembering how she found herself and her love, and then lost that love only a moment afterwards. His mind wandered more, following up to this moment, with Melody, Ignite, and Skymin as his companions.
"Oh, the memories…" Ignite spoke softly, recalling them as well. He lay down on the bed, curling up into a ball, thinking about those times. Ice silently nodded, closing his eyes.
Sarpal was toppled off her feet as she cried in surprise. Vapour crouched down to get a better balance, but effectively pinning them. The magnitude of the quake only seemed to effect Sarpal, as other bystanders and onlookers quickly departed, screaming in panic and fear. They heard the quake, and felt the ground, but it didn't seem enough to throw them off their feet.
The crowd cleared up, followed by an explosion as sand shot up from in front of Sarpal, getting another cry from her. The sand fell back onto the ground due to gravity, as before them stood a rather large lizard like form. She had a dorsal fin down her back, with short and slithery legs. Her skin was dark brown, similar to Gyzem, though Sarpal assumed it wouldn't be as hard.
"Ground/Dragon?" Sarpal wondered, quickly crouching down, preparing for an attack from the next Dragon on the list of Legendaries. The Dragon may be a large lizard, but her size paled in comparison to the others met thus far.
The lizard quickly leaped forward, with almost speed matching that of Arist. Sarpal raised her arm instinctively to block the blow, getting jagged teeth dug into her flesh.
"AHH!!" she screamed out as the Dragon released her grip, leaping backwards. Sarpal fell backwards, clutching the bleeding arm tightly. Vapour was by her side quickly, also checking the wound, before turning his attention to the Dragon, prepared to defend his trainer.
The lizard 'smirked', though hard to detect, it was there. She faded from existence for a brief moment, as Vapour watched in awe. The next moment, a full force was smacked into his body, causing him to fly backwards a few feet and landing on his side. The Dragon reappeared, back turned, her long tail wagging mockingly towards Vapour. The Faint Attack concluded as she quickly turned back in a more serious pose to continue battle. Vapour, not one to back down so easily, recovered quickly, preparing for his own assault.
The Vaporeon opened up with a Hydro Pump attack. The ball of water launched forward, though the Dragon didn't seem concerned. Vapour expected a dodge, but instead of a dodge, the Dragon went through the water, using a Head Butt attack and taking Vapour completely by surprise. Once more, the Water Type sailed backwards, but landed on his feet this time, stretching his legs out to break, before retaliating with his own Head Butt attack. His head did contact with the solid skin of the lizard, though it was clear it did more damage to his head then the Dragon.
In turn, the Dragon retaliated, raising one of her front paws and slamming it into Vapour as a brutal Slash attack. Vapour was fortunate enough to get an Acid Armour up, or else that Slash attack may just as well disembowelled him, but instead hit a 'solid' skin that dazed the Vaporeon with the force of the blow. To break the Acid Armour, the Dragon reeled back, before throwing herself forward onto the ground, causing tremendous quakes as Vapour was thrown off balance, his Armour dissipating.
The lizard leaped upon Vapour, or would've until a Hydro Pump threw her away, impacting against her side. The source came from Sarpal, right arm raised, the bleeding left arm hanging, as though Sarpal just couldn't feel it anymore. She smirked, before almost collapsing forward from lose of blood. The Chimera quickly regained her balance, staggering around like a drunken yet sober person.
Only to see the Dragon lunge at her, obviously annoyed at the attack Sarpal launched. The Chimera stepped back, nearly tripping over as the lizard leaped for her, teeth going for the Chimera's throat. She raised her right hand, palm facing towards the Dragon.
An energy beam of rotating colours of green and blue ripped towards the Dragon, nearly impacting at point blank range. The explosion from the Solar Beam engulfed Sarpal, though only the outer rim of it hitting her. The rest encircled the Dragon, knocking her back, rolling backwards, in pain, unlike the previous attacks. The lizard slowly regained her strength, weakly getting up, the attacks beginning to take their toll, though it was clear she was far from going down. Instead, she seemed more angry then before.
"Vapour…" Sarpal hissed, falling to a knee, clutching the wounded arm again. Still, she was determined to end this battle, and Vapour was going to help her do so. She felt something from the Vaporeon, similar to her Jolteon, but dismissed it before. Now, she wasn't quite sure. The Chimera grasped the pendant around her neck, closing her eyes. "Ice Storm." Vapour howled in defiance, his eyes narrowing, gazing towards the Dragon. The Water type smirked, even if it was 'Ice Storm' and out of his type, it would hurt, considering the Ground/Dragon element. He raised his head towards the sky, firing an Ice Beam up, though it stopped a few feet in the air, collecting into a mass of ice. It grew quickly, before shattering into million of ice shrapnel, raining down towards the Dragon like a snowstorm of hail. Despite her small size in comparison to the other Dragons, most hit the mark, annoying her with the tiny pelts that added up in the brief time the attack went on for.
The Dragon collapsed onto the ground, not unconscious, but just tired from the exercise of power. Slowly, she got back up to her feet, though made no attempt at a charge this time, only shook her head, admitting defeat.
"The Ice Dragon has unlocked part of her Grass potential," the Dragon commented, glancing away, though she held no resentment. "And her Vaporeon has been touched by the dead," she continued, obviously referring to the Pokément in the form of a pendant. She chuckled softly, finding some strange humour in those facts. "I am Jintai, a Legendary Dragon of Ground element. I am glad to have this battle with you. It was rather invigorating." Sarpal smiled at the comment, tilting her head down, closing her eyes. In the next moment, she fell over, knocked out by the blood lose.