Chapter 15

For a few seconds Lane was completely overwhelmed. The field of strange-smelling grass might not be tall, but it was tall enough to curl around her and make her coat itch terribly where it rubbed against her skin. She whimpered, then took off into the air, hovering high enough that she wasn't surrounded by dirt and grass.

"Hello, Korina? It's okay, you can stop now! Whatever you want me to think, I agree with you!" Please don't leave me alone. But her kidnapper didn't appear. She waited in place, half expecting the mew to reappear in the sky above her. She could probably fly back up there if she wanted. She might not know how to navigate the branches and spines of the trees, but that couldn't be too hard. Maybe Korina would applaud her initiative.

She floated up a few inches—then hesitated. Maybe that was what Korina wanted her to do. Running might be what triggered the attack.

She spun around, inspecting her surroundings now that she was off the ground. She should at least make sure she was safe before she wandered off.

Her nose told her she wasn't safe. There was something big nearby, a few powerful somethings. It smelled a little like sulfur and rage, though there was no telling what part of that was just her imagination. She hadn't been born to these new powers, and what they told her didn't always make sense.

Off on one side a cave was nestled into the side of a hill, maybe five meters tall. The scent there was the strongest, and Lane floated back by reflex—but then she heard the voices.

There were several of them. Young, maybe her own age. Except I don't even know what that is anymore. Am I a kid for a mew? Am I still really an adult because I think I'm one? But adults probably didn't sleep curled up with cats twice her size, and feel relaxed when they licked her clean.

Just by thinking about them, Lane drifted towards the voices, ears straining to hear more clearly.

"I bet I'll fly first!" proclaimed a voice. "You sissies will never jump! You'll be stuck on the ground your whole lives, while I'm flying proud just like mom does. I'll burn anything I want, hunt anything I want… you'll see!"

As she flew closer, her ears twitched towards the sound, pointing her towards the peak of the hill. There were a few figures there, perched on the edge, as high as some of the shorter trees. They were blue-gray Pokémon, with bony white patches on their heads, though she couldn't get a very good look from so low. They didn't seem that big, much smaller than a human. But still way bigger than she was.

"Oh yeah? I've jumped how many times, bonehead? You're just making fun of me because you aren't gonna go today. You're just waiting for us to look away, so you can slide back down the mountain how you usually do. I'm gonna grow my wings in today, watch."

The speaker jumped. Lane gasped, mewling in terror as the little shape tumbled off the edge, its head soon facing straight down. If that had been a human falling, she would've known instantly that they wouldn't survive the impact. That distance, with that little body—

She didn't stop to think, just focused all her might on the air in front of her. She needed something soft right now, or someone would die!

Her head began to pound with the effort. But though she drooped in her flight, her powers responded. A bright pink bubble appeared in the air in front of her, directly in the Pokémon's path. She smacked into it, sinking down a whole-body length before popping back out, and flopping onto her back.

Lane landed on the edge of the bubble, watching nervously. "Are you alright? That felt like it was ten meters, maybe twenty… Arceus, please still be breathing."

Up close, the Pokémon's predatory look was more obvious. Wide, sharp fangs poked from her mouth on either side, and her little arms ended in sharp claws. She wiggled them through the air in front of her, reaching vaguely towards Lane.

From up above came loud, raucous laughter. Lane could make out at least four little figures up there. Most looked like the Pokémon she'd just saved, except for one. That one was bigger, with bones wrapping around it like a shell. "You brought a kitty to save you?" someone said. "You were that scared, sis?"

"Was not!" The lizard hissed at Lane, scratching vaguely at her with one claw. "Stupid espeon! You really think it's okay to be here? Ruining our flying practice…"

"I'm not an espeon!" Lane squeaked. She lifted back up into the air, floating away from the edge of the bubble. It couldn't take the strain—the edges warped, then it popped, in a flash of light and sound. The lizard tumbled back through the air again, smacking painfully into the ground.

There was more laughter from overhead, and a second later the Pokémon was on her paws, glowering up at Lane. "You're too little to be worth mom eating… but that doesn't mean I won't!" She leapt up into the air, aiming the top of her head straight at Lane.

Lane rolled, dodging easily away. The lizard kept flying in a wide arc, before sliding along the ground away from her. Lane whimpered, lifting higher than a lizard could jump. Or so she hoped. She'd never seen these Pokémon before.

"I was just trying to help!" she shouted, though the stress and pressure on her powers was already making her head ache. Korina was right about one thing: she needed practice.

She turned, just in time to see the other lizard jump right off the hill. This time she didn't stop them, watching fearfully. Obviously, she was in over her head with whatever they were doing, and the smartest choice was just to watch.

They landed with painful thumps one after another, smacking headfirst into the soil. But then they got up, rising and shaking off the dirt. They didn't seem even slightly disoriented from the impact.

"You gonna let a little cat make fun of you like that, sis?" one of them called. "She's so small! And flying right in front of us, that's not fair. I wouldn't let her."

"I won't!" The little lizard got its claws under it again, floating just under Lane. Then she pounced, leaping up with incredible strength. No human could've jumped so high—but she wasn't around humans anymore.

Lane reacted instantly, curling up into a tight pink bubble. Force surrounded her, a sphere she felt pressing all around her like a shield—but only for a second.

It popped, and the sudden shock to her mind was enough to drop her right out of the air. She squealed in panic, trying to pull up and catch herself.

There just wasn't enough time, and she smacked down anyway. She rolled painfully along the grass, before slowing to a stop about two meters from the group of young lizards.

"I don't… want any trouble…" she said, struggling to her paws. They closed in around her, half a dozen blue bodies with rigid bony heads. "Please don't hurt me! I was just trying to help, honest! I don’t even really belong here."

"You're right, you don't." The one Lane had angered wasn't the biggest, but she hadn't looked away from Lane even for a second. She was committed.

"You're barely worth eating. Little scrap of fur… your mom should've taught you to stay away from Pokémon stronger than you."

My 'mom' is the reason I'm down here in the first place! She took off into a low, unsteady hover, floating away from her. But she couldn't go very far without bumping into more of the powerful lizards.

"And now look. Flying again, just to show off. I'll enjoy this." The dragon braced both legs on the ground, then leapt forward at Lane.

She'd seen the strength of that attack at a distance, and it had still popped the shield. These dragons could land on their heads from a terrifying fall and not blink. What was Lane supposed to do?

"NO!" she squealed, her voice booming through the clearing. She held out one paw, between her tiny body and the attacking dragon. "Get away!"

She gestured violently back, and her attacker went flying.

A second later she smashed into the cave wall, sending bits of broken stone in all directions. She flopped to the ground, moaning with pain.

Lane didn't have even a second to catch her breath. All at once, the others descended on her in attacks of their own. They weren't terribly clever, or maybe they just didn't know any other attacks. They all tried to charge her, or bite her with those admittedly sharp teeth.

Lane flew straight up, pushing down on them with all her might. There was a flash and a shockwave from around her, tearing up the grass and smashing the young dragons into the soft soil. She caught herself maybe three meters up, bobbing unsteadily up and down.

Below her, the dragons clawed themselves out of the ground one at a time, or crawled away from her. A few of them had even started to cry. I guess it's not fun anymore when your food fights back.

A terrifying roar shook the clearing, far louder than Lane's brief psionic outburst. Lane's ears pressed flat, and her little tail curled around her paws.

She had never heard that Pokémon's specific cry before, but she didn't need to know that she was completely out of her depth. Oh shit.

The little dragons cheered, climbing to their feet. One of them even called, "You'll get it now, cat! Mom will turn you into kindling!"

Lane turned and fled, away into the trees. It didn't matter that she'd just used most of her strength, and that flying took a ton of energy. She needed to be somewhere, anywhere else.

The ground shook behind her as the mother dragon stomped out. She glanced once over her shoulder, and this time she recognized it. That was a salamence, and these little ones must be its unevolved children. Despite Lane's size, its eyes focused on her instantly.

Then it spread its wings, wide enough to block out the cave behind it.

Lane flew faster, her heart racing in her chest. A thick pulse of flame passed overhead, turning the trees behind her to ash and setting several others nearby ablaze.

"Korina? Korina, now might be the time! I don't think I can fight that!"

She glanced up at the canopy, and its many poison spines. There was no chance she'd make it up there before the dragon did. With her thick scales, the salamence was flying straight at her, ignoring all the dangers of the jungle.

"I thought you did pretty well," Korina said from just beside her. There was a brief flash of light, and suddenly Lane was high above the trees.

Dragonfire raged below her, scorching another swathe of trees away.

"Coward!" shouted the dragon, this time completely intelligible. "You torment my children, then flee? Face me!"

"We could let her keep going on like this," Korina said, her voice entirely unmoved by the salamence's rage. "But it sounds like she forgot whose jungle this is. You're right, I spent too long on Starfall. Stay here, I'll teach her."

Korina turned, arcing down towards the jungle with no regard for the plants in her way. She tucked in both arms, and Lane caught a brief glimpse of something forming between her limbs. A shard of ice, wider than her whole body—but then she vanished into the trees, out of sight.

Lane was more than happy to find a perch somewhere to watch. She didn't see much of the battle, but she could hear it. This entire fight is pointless.

Korina is the reason I annoyed those dragons, and I was only defending myself after that. Pokémon trainers are never so pointlessly cruel.

She was too exhausted to want to argue about it now. When Korina finally returned, looking smug and unhurt, she greeted her with a silent hug and nothing more.

"Come on, kitten. I know somewhere safe we can rest."