Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Let's Slaughter An Anime/Game/Whatever Beyond All Recognition! Yay! ❯ Chapter 2

Cord threw his head back, soaked hair slinging water in harsh, beaded patterns over the locker room mirror as he raised his face from the sink. His cheeks were flushed, eyes bright from the exhilaration of a good workout. The water still slipping from his mane skittered down along his bare back in branching rivulets, cooling his skin pleasantly and setting azure skin to shimmering. A few dutiful scrubs of the towel behind wing-like ears, and he began to walk towards the door.

"Aaah, don't tell me you're leaving already!"

Cord paused and turned, blinking…quite unsure if he was the one being addressed. Certainly he had to be, for the apparent speaker was looking right at him. Pointed ears interrupted a wild blonde mane that spilled into a cheerful face. A pair of small sunglasses were perched dangerously close to the end of his nose, and he wore a brightly colored pair of shorts and a loose vest. A young Jolteon, it would appear. The loudly dressed boy approached, pulling off his shades as he spoke. Cord was pretty sure he'd seen the boy before, practicing moves on a punching bag.

"Name's Serike, how are ya?" he piped merrily, offering a hand. A bewildered Cord took it, blinking.

"Cord…Alright, I suppose," he replied cautiously, "What do you want?"

"Heh, not one for subtlety, hmm? Alright then, Cord, I've been watching you."

"There's a disturbing thought," he replied drily.

"Eh heh…I mean, I've been watching you practice your moves in the gym and in the VR cam. You're pretty good!"

"Thank you," Cord muttered, one brow raising, "But is that all you're bothering me about? To congratulate me?"

"Jeez, you really do get to the point…alright then, so will I. I want to challenge you."

Cord stared a moment at the Jolteon. The little blonde barely met Cord's chest, and had to be a fraction of his weight. He gave a short, derisive laugh and turned back to the door, shaking his head.

"No way," he chuckled, "I'd break you in half, Shorty. Go find someone in your own size and weight division to spar with. Hnn…!" He broke off with a startled sound, finding the Jolteon suddenly in front of him. Fast little thing, this one, and his eyes were flashing with none of the joviality of before.

"Don't discount me just because I'm little," he stood straight, crossing his arms over his chest. "Back down now and I'll spread the word that you were too scared to take me up on a challenge!" Cord sighed. He quite frankly didn't give a damn what other people thought of him…it wasn't the threat, but more Serike's spirit and confidence that had him considering a change of heart.

"Alright, fine," Cord sighed, pulling the towel from his shoulders and tossing it in the bin. "But don't say I didn't warn you, and I'm not going to be liable for anything, Serike."

"Eh, just call me Ri!" he beamed, all sunshine again, bounding off towards the VR room.

Cord led the way into the Virtual Reality room, turning the program on as he did so. The room was set up to simulate the more powerful attacks their kind had mastered, whether for an individual or for a group who wanted to do some sparring. While the pain was real enough, there was almost no risk of injury. Cord had been in here with increasing frequency lately, as he'd felt himself on the verge of learning a new technique. This was foolish, of course, as there were no more techniques Dragonair could learn...Dragon Rage had been the last. Still, he'd been putting in the hours. It would be interesting to see if they would pay off here.

For his part, Ri was bouncing lightly on his toes, ready for the signal to start. He was pretty intimidated by the larger boy, but he'd taken down big guys before, this wouldn't be any different. When the signal went off, he moved in with a Quick Attack, connecting with a roundhouse kick to the ribs, using his momentum to complete the turn and deliver a back kick to the sternum. Cord was ready for the speed of his opponent, but the power behind the strikes was surprising. Deciding to try and end things quickly, he gathered multicolored energy in his hands and thrust it forth, with a cry of "Hyper Beam!" Ri was too close to fully evade the blast, and was sent sprawling halfway across the room. He got back up quickly, though, grinning, as Cord cursed under his breath. They both knew that a recharge period was required after a Hyper Beam; they both knew that the pain was going to be strictly one-way in the short term.

Again Ri rushed in to deliver close-range attacks, and all Cord could do was cover up to try and minimize the damage. Too drained by his attack to strike back, he was all but a punching bag for the faster boy. Ri grinned as he lifted his right leg...and delivered a surprise roundhouse to Cord's left knee. Cord dropped slightly before he could stabilize on his right leg, giving Ri the chance to leap up and deliver a rising kick to the bottom of Cord's jaw. He stumbled back, then spun, whipping his tail around. The balls on the end of his tail contacted squarely with the side of Ri's face, but he hopped back quickly before Cord could grab him.

Ri shook his head a little...Cord had recovered faster than he'd thought he would, and he couldn't risk taking too many direct hits like that. Instead, he gathered up his electricity and fired a bolt of Lightning at his opponent. He knew Dragons were resistant to electricity, but he hoped his most powerful attack would have some effect. To his dismay, Cord didn't even try to dodge it, instead charging up a distance attack of his own. Shortly after the Lightning struck, blue flame erupted from Cord's mouth as he let forth a Dragon Rage. Ri tried evading this, too, but as he was nicked by it, he discovered the property that made Dragon Rage such a powerful attack: no matter who it hits, no matter how squarely it hits, it always does the full amount of damage. He'd been on the receiving end of techniques that hurt more, but there was no way he could win a distance game in this situation.

With no other choice, he rushed in again to make the fight close range. He'd gotten careless and had taken a hit from the tail, but he was confident that he could use his speed to evade enough of his opponent's blows to come out ahead. He delivered a double-hand palm strike to his opponent's stomach that had him reeling, and made to follow up with a roundhouse to the ribs when everything fell apart. Cord had been waiting for a roundhouse, and hooked his left arm under his attacker's right leg, holding him in place. As Ri's eyes widened, Cord again gathered up the required energy in his right hand, and let forth a Hyper Beam point blank, sending the Jolteon across the room before skidding to a stop, unconscious. Cord limped his way over and picked him up easily. He set him over his shoulder as he carried him out, and lay him on one of the benches in the weight room. He paused for a few seconds before speaking.

"You're tougher than you look." He then casually made his way out.

Cord was just about to head down the metallically gleaming hall when something caught his eye. A very small, copper skinned child was huddled against a wall, his large, dark eyes shimmering with a sadness that tugged at Cord's heart. Those soulful pools watched each person carefully as they passed, as though searching…and with each soul that walked by him, he seemed to give a little twinge of despair. The Dragonair sighed, running a hand back through chin length, snowy white locks. He knew it was none of his business, but against his better judgment…he changed direction.

The little Eevee peeked up from between wild caramel forelocks at the looming shape, impossibly long, softly furred ears laying back along his shoulders. Those utterly enormous eyes showed absolute trust, however, and a tentative smile was offered.

"H…hi…"

"Hey kid," Cord said softly, crouching down, elbows on his knees, to level himself with the kid. The little creature sniffled and drew a sleeve across his face. Cord noted idly that the child's clothes were far too big, and his hands were lost somewhere in the folds of cloth. "Why the tears, hmm?"

"M' not crying!" the child protested innocently, despite continuing to scrub at chubby cheeks. "M' waiting for my Papa."

"Waiting, eh?" Cord glanced down at the handful of candy wrappers scattered around the boy's nearly hidden sneakers. "Waiting for how long?"

"Nnn…" the child made an unhappy little sound, sucking on his lower lip for a moment as he looked away, mumbling so softly Cord could barely hear him. "I dunno." He didn't want to say it. His Papa was coming for him. He promised, when he put him on the transport, that he'd be on the next one out…but despite all his faithful waiting…his father had never come. "Few weeks, I guess…"

"Weeks!" Cord exclaimed, perhaps a bit louder than he meant to…the child flinched and shrank back, eyes wide. Cord was careful to speak more softly, leaning forward slightly. "Surely you're with someone here?"

"Nu uh," the boy sniffled, snuggling into the sleeves of his oversized shirt, "m' alone."

Alone. For weeks. And with probably no food save that bit of candy. What sort of father was this? Cord sighed inwardly. He generally preferred to keep to himself and valued his privacy…but he knew that if he walked away, he'd never forgive himself. He extended one azure hued hand and gave the kid what he hoped was a friendly looking smile.

"I'm Cord," he introduced himself brightly, "What's your name?"

"M…Matrix…" the little one replied quietly, peering at the offered hand in baffled confusion. Cord blinked and let it fall. Maybe he was too young to know what a handshake was.

"Well then, Matrix, why don't we go wait for your Papa somewhere else? We'll keep checking at the desk to see if he's arrived, and in the meantime, you can sleep in a bed and have real food."

"But…" Matrix was reluctant…he wasn't supposed to go anywhere with strangers, and he wanted so badly to be here the moment his father walked out from that silvery hall. But he was so very tired, and so very hungry…and the man certainly looked nice enough. His stomach growled loudly, and he found himself nodding slowly. A look of subtle relief crossed Cord's face and he stood, taking the child's hand…or sleeve, in this case, his hand proper was difficult to locate in those folds…and the two would make their way towards home.

Cord's parents, of course, would be all too delighted to take the abandoned Eevee in, and Cord found himself with a new roommate. The Dragonair rather quickly learned that the curious child liked to get into everything, poking into places even his parents didn't (which meant his "special" magazines had to be relocated) and utterly wrecking the already shabbily kept room. It was hard to get mad at him, however…one mournful look of those fluid, dark eyes and Cord would just sigh, quietly picking up whatever mess happened to be the current issue. Matrix had a more disturbing habit than ruining Cord's carefully alphabetized music collection, however…Matrix liked to wander. Cord suspected he was really looking for his father, but while crime on the ship was next to nil, he still didn't feel comfortable letting the small child roam alone, especially after the ship settled into its "night" cycle.

Cord sighed, pulling on his dark coat as he realized his room was once more Matrix-less. His little roommate had gone out wandering in the dark again. His pattern was inconvenient, as Matrix tended to be further and further from home with each trip.

Feeling there was no sense in waking his parents for something that, over the weeks they'd taken custody of Matrix, had become so common, Cord headed out alone. The roof of the district had been fitted with a simulator, and currently it was churning out the illusion of a clear, moonlit night, complete with twinkling stars that looked every bit as real as the true stars they were, in fact, drifting through. Its beauty was somewhat lost on Cord, who had his head down to better search for the child. Sometimes Matrix was simply wandering the streets…sometimes he could be found in an alley or, should he take his venture during the day, a shop or hotel. The searching process was, therefore, something that had to be done very thoroughly…exhausting work, this. Cord began to feel the tiredness settling in when a glowing café sign caught his eye.

"Inne Somnia"

….Cute, he thought with a roll of his eyes, pushing the door open. So long as it had some coffee to perk him up so that he could continue his search, however, he didn't care what the place was called.

Inside, it was cozy, softly lit and comfortably cluttered, armchairs and couches sprinkled in with the expected tables and stools. To one side was a bar tended by some bored looking woman with dyed green hair and enough piercings to qualify as her own hardware store. Behind her were glass sliding cases filled with donuts and modest, ready-made meals. The strong, earthy, sweet scent of coffee hung thick in the air. Well then, he'd come to the right place, hadn't he…? He'd order himself a steaming cup of something strong enough to keep him going and settle into a chair with a comfortable sigh.

"You're in my seat," came a growl from behind Cord. He jumped, barely keeping hold of the hot liquid in his grasp. He turned slightly to gaze over his shoulder sourly.

"I'm sorry, I….Astra?" he blinked. That rather unique looking creature from before was hard to forget, after all.

"Do I know you?" she grumbled bluntly, angular eyes narrowing as she drew her hands from her coat pockets. "Oh wait…you're the idiot who got run over in the hallway…Cord."

"Yeah," Cord grinned, putting his coffee on the small table in front of him and rubbing the back of his head. Despite her harsh words, there was a calm tone there that took away the acid in her comments…if he didn't know any better, he'd have to say this WAS her way of being nice. "Um…where's your friend?"

"Sorcha?" she replied, moving over to sink onto a couch nearby, slinging her arms lazily over the back, that black coat swirling and billowing briefly before quieting. "She usually doesn't stay up this late. Something about beauty sleep or whatever. Serike's usually the one who sticks around, but not tonight, it seems."

"Serike!" Cord exclaimed, "You KNOW that idiot?"

"Jolteon, big mouth, loud clothes?" Cord nodded. "Yeah, also a friend of mine."

"I see," he nodded, smirking. "Do you want your chair back?"

"I'm comfortable for now, thanks," she sighed, amethyst forelocks fluttering gently.

"You um…you don't seem the type who would get along with such people…I mean, they're nice but…I don't know, kind of…well…not the sort I would expect you to hang out with…you don't look like their kind of person…"

"Sorcha's a decent person, if you can peel away the superficiality she surrounds herself with. It's not really her fault. Her father is a wealthy businessman and has been spoiling her rotten since birth. She actually has a sharp mind and a deep thought now and again, she just doesn't like to admit it. Serike's an idiot but he's loyal, which is more than I can say about most people in my life. Mind what you say about them, Dragon…I don't take lightly those who insult the few friends I have."

"I didn't say anything bad about her!" he protested, flinching away from the chilling gaze she'd fixed him with. Time for a change of subject! "Um…so, do you come here often?" Ouch. Talk about a tired old line. She glared at him for it, too, then just shrugged slightly.

"I guess. It's open late, and I sleep little," she said before tilting her head at him slightly with an unsettling, studious expression. "You're looking for someone, aren't you…" Cord blinked, his tail curling nervously about the leg of his chair.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," she replied, deadpan. Then her lips quirked into a smirk. "Actually, it's just floating on top of your mind. Easy to pick out."

"You're…psychic?" Cord asked, eyes widening slightly. They certainly weren't unheard of, but were rare by anyone's standards. Then it struck him…the odd horns, the purplish skin, the height…she was a Mewtwo!

"Only one on the station, too, as far as I can tell," she said. Cord grimaced…that was just creepy.

"Please don't do that," he asked.

"As you wish," she chuckled, seeming to find some kind of amusement in this. "In truth it's quite an effort to it from over here, even though we're relatively close. Tactile bonds are much easier. But I'm surprised you haven't run off screaming. Not everyone can handle this."

"Do you want me to leave you alone, Astra?" he offered softly. Is this what she did…tried to frighten people away? He had to wonder why…and even as those thoughts crossed his mind, he regretted them…but…Astra seemed to have withdrawn from his psyche…she didn't so much as twitch.

"Up to you, I guess," she shrugged noncommittally. "I don't really care."

"Well then," Cord smiled, picking up his coffee and blowing gently on it before taking a sip. "Let's talk…Astraphobia…"