08-08-2016, 01:49 PM
Somehow, in midair, the Sage managed to turn himself around. He landed painfully on a sharply-edged crate, bashing his head against the corner of one of the boxes as he fell. Struggling to his feet he forced himself to keep running. The falling crates had trapped the strange boulder creature, and were actually proving a decently effective barrier to the main body of the Pokémon that were pursuing him. As he ran he risked a glance behind him, and saw that four of the creatures had navigated the obstacle and were still hot on his heels.
The strange metal sphere was still floating after him, and its aerial pursuit was joined by a tiny pink creature that helicoptered along on leafy strands that protruded from its head like the stem of a turnip. Two more of the creatures followed him on the ground, a burly brown ovoid being with menacing eyes and lanky limbs was chasing him with unnaturally long legs. Beside it and slightly behind was a smaller creature, reminiscent of a cricket with antennae that could almost be described as a beard, and sharply knobbed limbs that the Sage did not fancy getting anywhere closer to than he needed. It dashed along after the long-limbed fellow, droning an eerie chitter as it charged after the Sage.
Somehow the temporary reduction in the pursuing force did nothing to comfort the Sage. He was in objectively less danger now. Granted, he still had four creatures he knew nothing about, which seemed to be out for his blood. But he still found himself running absolutely unable to focus. He needed to plan, to prepare. There were only four of them, if he could break away from this group he could find a hiding place, plan a solution. He had to clear his head.
He was only half noting his surroundings, but it seemed he was moving to a more industrial part of the city, the buildings growing larger and less inviting. That was good, it would be less populated in this area, perhaps his chances of escape were not as utterly pessimistic as he had initially believed. First he needed to deal with the four that were still following him.
The Sage darted between the alleys of the storage buildings, a wary eye behind him at every available opportunity to gauge his pursuers to determine what he could about their fighting styles. It would not help his case to kill any of them, but he doubted he could escape them entirely through his evasive maneuvers. The two flying creatures seemed relatively weak, though the metal ball was still pursuing him despite his early retaliation. As the airborne sphere chased him, sparks occasionally jumped off of the enraged thing, leaping to nearby metal doors and piping. The insect was annoyingly fast, and seemed likely to be skilled in dueling, if the Sage was any judge. It was all in the poise. By far however, the most dangerous of his pursuers would have to be the long-legged ovoid. It was moving far too fast and with too much precision to be anything less than a master at its art.
The Sage dashed around a large metal device that seemed designed for the movement of the equally large metal boxes that were stacked everywhere around this part of the city. The sounds of the shore were growing noticeably louder, perhaps he was nearing the coast? Cutting left abruptly, the Sage darted behind one of the metal boxes. Pulling to an abrupt stop he bent over, trying to steady his breathing as much as possible. He counted the passing time, waiting for the moment. They were not far behind, two heartbeats… five… nine heartbeats.
There.
Swiftly, the Sage dropped to one knee, sweeping his dueling cane out and around the corner he had just passed, into the legs of the first pursuer. The long-legged Pokémon found himself tumbling across the pavement. The Sage made to press his advantage, but with a droning screech, the cricket-like enemy rounded the corner, throwing itself at the Sage in a rapid flurry of blinding strokes. The Sage whirled, countering and blocking each attack. He was at a disadvantage, one weapon against his foe’s two blades. Disarming was also not an option, unless he decided to be distastefully literal about the matter. He had the advantage in skill he believed, but as the two flyers rounded the bend, and the first Pokémon recovered his footing, the Sage knew he didn’t have the time to work through the requisite series of strikes to press the weak points in the Pokémon’s defense.
Sufficing for a brute strength solution, the Sage caught both of the arm-blades on his dueling cane, then shoved. His reach and larger size sent the poor cricket skidding along the floor, its carapace scraping audibly as it went. An extremely temporary solution that. The Sage thought as he ducked a swoop from the pink vegetable-creature. He brought the cane in an overhead swipe at the creature as it whirled past, but the irritating thing had moved out of range.
A shock jumped down his spine, causing his whole body to vibrate sharply. He grunted, turning to face the annoyingly persistent metal sphere. It was charging up again, and its single unblinking eye stared at him with a blank expression. The Sage closed the distance and thrust his cane at the creature in a swift stabbing motion. The metal Pokémon evaded his thrust, spinning in the air around his cane, electric charge continuing to grow. The Sage continued to attack, and the third stab struck the metal ball in one of its U-shaped attachments, sending it reeling in the air.
The Sage turned in time to be kicked directly in the chest by the unnaturally long leg of the first Pokémon. The Sage felt his feet leave the ground as he slammed heavily into the metal casing behind him. The Sage grunted, rolling out of the way as another kick closed the distance, smacking the metal where he had just been, denting it slightly.
Coming out of the roll, the Sage dropped into a wary stance. The Cricket-Pokémon was getting back to his feet, and the Turnip-Pokémon was also readying for another swoop. The Kicking-Pokémon was bouncing, ready to strike, but out of range of the Sage’s counters. His foe was stalling, the Sage knew it, but he couldn’t afford to avert focus away from the threat to deal with the others that were approaching. He sufficed for backing up as fast as he could, at least if all of his attackers were coming from a single direction they would not be able to keep flanking him. His back touched metal, and he stopped, taking a stance he had learned from his time with the wood elves. The four Pokémon arrayed themselves in a semicircle, surrounding him and cutting off his routes of escape.
Well, there would be no more running. Now he would fight, or he would fall. He had no idea what the four intended, but they seemed to believe him one of the trainers that enslaved their kind. Whether they would simply apprehend him, or if they intended something more violent, was difficult to gauge from their inhuman faces.
“I just want you all to know.” The Sage said, as he eyed the four of them, waiting for the first attack, “That you are making a very unfortunate mistake.” He remained in a ready crouch, eyeing his foes for any weaknesses he could use in the coming battle. The metal sphere was listing slightly to one side, and one of the wings was visible on the cricket warrior, likely bent out of place by its impact with the concrete. The other two seemed largely uninjured, and all four looked unswayed by his attempts at parlay.
The Sage twisted left, dodging another kick as the oblong Pokémon stretched its leg in a lightning-fast snap kick. It smacked the metal with an audible clang, and the Sage swiftly brought his cane down on the exposed limb. It connected solidly, as the Pokémon attempted to retract the leg, and the Sage saw his foe’s face (such as it was) contort in pain as the leg returned.
The Sage registered the next attack, as the turnip and the cricket attacked together, the first swooping in while the other attacked from the ground. Almost before he knew his response, the Sage leapt, twisting in the air, diving directly into the sweet-spot between the two attacks. He didn’t quite pull it off, and the blade-arm of the cricket Pokémon raked across his back, cutting a tear into the Zora tunic as he passed overhead, but he caught the pink flying Pokémon by complete surprise, his dueling cane intercepting the creature mid-swoop, sending it directly down, to impact harshly with the ground below. The creature let out on almost pitiful "ploom." as it collided with the hard concrete, then lay still. That’s one, though the least dangerous it would seem. The Sage thought with little pleasure.
He landed on his feet, and whirled, bending backwards to evade another stretch-enhanced kick. There was a soft booming sound, and the Sage felt his dueling cane tug at his fingers, then slip away entirely. The Sage glanced in surprise, as he saw the metal Pokémon attempting to fly away as swiftly as possible with his cane, the metal tip stuck to its body. His foes wasted no time, the large Pokémon delivering a vicious snapping kick to the side of the Sage’s head, sending him down to the ground hard. He grunted, and immediately rolled back to his feet, narrowly evading the stab of one of the cricket’s blade-arms.
The metal sphere was fleeing, but the Sage sprinted after it, and with a leap managed to grab hold of the end of his dueling cane. The metal sphere made an almost pitiful ringing sound, as the added weight brought the Sage back to ground, the sphere holding on to his dueling cane’s metal. Before the creature had the presence to let go, the Sage whirled back around, swinging the metal sphere into the side of the Cricket-Pokémon’s head. The metal sphere released its magnetic grip, and both Pokémon went tumbling to sprawl on the concrete floor. There’s two and three, The Sage thought as he spit a glob of blood onto the concrete. His ears were still ringing from the kick he had received and he wasn't sure how much more he could take, only one more enemy to go. Just a little further.
The Sage turned back in time to barely parry a flying kick from the last Pokémon. “Hit…” the thing growled, resonating the sound from some unseen region, since it didn’t appear to have a discernable mouth. it landed smoothly, launching kick after kick with an aggressive fury that the Sage hadn’t been expecting. Has it been holding back this whole time? The Sage wondered? “mon…” it continued to groan as it pressed the Sage, who found himself backpedaling rapidly under the flurry of kicking strikes. Somehow the thing managed to stay well footed, shifting at just the right moments to keep the Sage backing up without giving any openings for a counter-attack. The Sage would have to do something quick or else he was in trouble.
Suddenly, his retreating foot struck something. It was light, and slid away from him as his foot connected with it. A small prone pink form rolled into view. The Turnip-Pokémon had been so light, but the Sage still felt himself overbalancing. This isn’t good he thought as his guard dropped ever so slightly. “LEEEEEE!” his opponent bellowed, leaping into the air, and shooting a limb down through his hasty block directly into the Sage’s face. His neck snapped backwards and he fell over suddenly, his head striking hard concrete. The Pokémon stood over him with a stern gaze as his vision grew clouded. That’s what you get for trying not to kill anyone… he thought, as he stared up at the bright blue blur that he could only assume was the sky. People never appreciate it as much as you might think they should.
The strange metal sphere was still floating after him, and its aerial pursuit was joined by a tiny pink creature that helicoptered along on leafy strands that protruded from its head like the stem of a turnip. Two more of the creatures followed him on the ground, a burly brown ovoid being with menacing eyes and lanky limbs was chasing him with unnaturally long legs. Beside it and slightly behind was a smaller creature, reminiscent of a cricket with antennae that could almost be described as a beard, and sharply knobbed limbs that the Sage did not fancy getting anywhere closer to than he needed. It dashed along after the long-limbed fellow, droning an eerie chitter as it charged after the Sage.
Somehow the temporary reduction in the pursuing force did nothing to comfort the Sage. He was in objectively less danger now. Granted, he still had four creatures he knew nothing about, which seemed to be out for his blood. But he still found himself running absolutely unable to focus. He needed to plan, to prepare. There were only four of them, if he could break away from this group he could find a hiding place, plan a solution. He had to clear his head.
He was only half noting his surroundings, but it seemed he was moving to a more industrial part of the city, the buildings growing larger and less inviting. That was good, it would be less populated in this area, perhaps his chances of escape were not as utterly pessimistic as he had initially believed. First he needed to deal with the four that were still following him.
The Sage darted between the alleys of the storage buildings, a wary eye behind him at every available opportunity to gauge his pursuers to determine what he could about their fighting styles. It would not help his case to kill any of them, but he doubted he could escape them entirely through his evasive maneuvers. The two flying creatures seemed relatively weak, though the metal ball was still pursuing him despite his early retaliation. As the airborne sphere chased him, sparks occasionally jumped off of the enraged thing, leaping to nearby metal doors and piping. The insect was annoyingly fast, and seemed likely to be skilled in dueling, if the Sage was any judge. It was all in the poise. By far however, the most dangerous of his pursuers would have to be the long-legged ovoid. It was moving far too fast and with too much precision to be anything less than a master at its art.
The Sage dashed around a large metal device that seemed designed for the movement of the equally large metal boxes that were stacked everywhere around this part of the city. The sounds of the shore were growing noticeably louder, perhaps he was nearing the coast? Cutting left abruptly, the Sage darted behind one of the metal boxes. Pulling to an abrupt stop he bent over, trying to steady his breathing as much as possible. He counted the passing time, waiting for the moment. They were not far behind, two heartbeats… five… nine heartbeats.
There.
Swiftly, the Sage dropped to one knee, sweeping his dueling cane out and around the corner he had just passed, into the legs of the first pursuer. The long-legged Pokémon found himself tumbling across the pavement. The Sage made to press his advantage, but with a droning screech, the cricket-like enemy rounded the corner, throwing itself at the Sage in a rapid flurry of blinding strokes. The Sage whirled, countering and blocking each attack. He was at a disadvantage, one weapon against his foe’s two blades. Disarming was also not an option, unless he decided to be distastefully literal about the matter. He had the advantage in skill he believed, but as the two flyers rounded the bend, and the first Pokémon recovered his footing, the Sage knew he didn’t have the time to work through the requisite series of strikes to press the weak points in the Pokémon’s defense.
Sufficing for a brute strength solution, the Sage caught both of the arm-blades on his dueling cane, then shoved. His reach and larger size sent the poor cricket skidding along the floor, its carapace scraping audibly as it went. An extremely temporary solution that. The Sage thought as he ducked a swoop from the pink vegetable-creature. He brought the cane in an overhead swipe at the creature as it whirled past, but the irritating thing had moved out of range.
A shock jumped down his spine, causing his whole body to vibrate sharply. He grunted, turning to face the annoyingly persistent metal sphere. It was charging up again, and its single unblinking eye stared at him with a blank expression. The Sage closed the distance and thrust his cane at the creature in a swift stabbing motion. The metal Pokémon evaded his thrust, spinning in the air around his cane, electric charge continuing to grow. The Sage continued to attack, and the third stab struck the metal ball in one of its U-shaped attachments, sending it reeling in the air.
The Sage turned in time to be kicked directly in the chest by the unnaturally long leg of the first Pokémon. The Sage felt his feet leave the ground as he slammed heavily into the metal casing behind him. The Sage grunted, rolling out of the way as another kick closed the distance, smacking the metal where he had just been, denting it slightly.
Coming out of the roll, the Sage dropped into a wary stance. The Cricket-Pokémon was getting back to his feet, and the Turnip-Pokémon was also readying for another swoop. The Kicking-Pokémon was bouncing, ready to strike, but out of range of the Sage’s counters. His foe was stalling, the Sage knew it, but he couldn’t afford to avert focus away from the threat to deal with the others that were approaching. He sufficed for backing up as fast as he could, at least if all of his attackers were coming from a single direction they would not be able to keep flanking him. His back touched metal, and he stopped, taking a stance he had learned from his time with the wood elves. The four Pokémon arrayed themselves in a semicircle, surrounding him and cutting off his routes of escape.
Well, there would be no more running. Now he would fight, or he would fall. He had no idea what the four intended, but they seemed to believe him one of the trainers that enslaved their kind. Whether they would simply apprehend him, or if they intended something more violent, was difficult to gauge from their inhuman faces.
“I just want you all to know.” The Sage said, as he eyed the four of them, waiting for the first attack, “That you are making a very unfortunate mistake.” He remained in a ready crouch, eyeing his foes for any weaknesses he could use in the coming battle. The metal sphere was listing slightly to one side, and one of the wings was visible on the cricket warrior, likely bent out of place by its impact with the concrete. The other two seemed largely uninjured, and all four looked unswayed by his attempts at parlay.
The Sage twisted left, dodging another kick as the oblong Pokémon stretched its leg in a lightning-fast snap kick. It smacked the metal with an audible clang, and the Sage swiftly brought his cane down on the exposed limb. It connected solidly, as the Pokémon attempted to retract the leg, and the Sage saw his foe’s face (such as it was) contort in pain as the leg returned.
The Sage registered the next attack, as the turnip and the cricket attacked together, the first swooping in while the other attacked from the ground. Almost before he knew his response, the Sage leapt, twisting in the air, diving directly into the sweet-spot between the two attacks. He didn’t quite pull it off, and the blade-arm of the cricket Pokémon raked across his back, cutting a tear into the Zora tunic as he passed overhead, but he caught the pink flying Pokémon by complete surprise, his dueling cane intercepting the creature mid-swoop, sending it directly down, to impact harshly with the ground below. The creature let out on almost pitiful "ploom." as it collided with the hard concrete, then lay still. That’s one, though the least dangerous it would seem. The Sage thought with little pleasure.
He landed on his feet, and whirled, bending backwards to evade another stretch-enhanced kick. There was a soft booming sound, and the Sage felt his dueling cane tug at his fingers, then slip away entirely. The Sage glanced in surprise, as he saw the metal Pokémon attempting to fly away as swiftly as possible with his cane, the metal tip stuck to its body. His foes wasted no time, the large Pokémon delivering a vicious snapping kick to the side of the Sage’s head, sending him down to the ground hard. He grunted, and immediately rolled back to his feet, narrowly evading the stab of one of the cricket’s blade-arms.
The metal sphere was fleeing, but the Sage sprinted after it, and with a leap managed to grab hold of the end of his dueling cane. The metal sphere made an almost pitiful ringing sound, as the added weight brought the Sage back to ground, the sphere holding on to his dueling cane’s metal. Before the creature had the presence to let go, the Sage whirled back around, swinging the metal sphere into the side of the Cricket-Pokémon’s head. The metal sphere released its magnetic grip, and both Pokémon went tumbling to sprawl on the concrete floor. There’s two and three, The Sage thought as he spit a glob of blood onto the concrete. His ears were still ringing from the kick he had received and he wasn't sure how much more he could take, only one more enemy to go. Just a little further.
The Sage turned back in time to barely parry a flying kick from the last Pokémon. “Hit…” the thing growled, resonating the sound from some unseen region, since it didn’t appear to have a discernable mouth. it landed smoothly, launching kick after kick with an aggressive fury that the Sage hadn’t been expecting. Has it been holding back this whole time? The Sage wondered? “mon…” it continued to groan as it pressed the Sage, who found himself backpedaling rapidly under the flurry of kicking strikes. Somehow the thing managed to stay well footed, shifting at just the right moments to keep the Sage backing up without giving any openings for a counter-attack. The Sage would have to do something quick or else he was in trouble.
Suddenly, his retreating foot struck something. It was light, and slid away from him as his foot connected with it. A small prone pink form rolled into view. The Turnip-Pokémon had been so light, but the Sage still felt himself overbalancing. This isn’t good he thought as his guard dropped ever so slightly. “LEEEEEE!” his opponent bellowed, leaping into the air, and shooting a limb down through his hasty block directly into the Sage’s face. His neck snapped backwards and he fell over suddenly, his head striking hard concrete. The Pokémon stood over him with a stern gaze as his vision grew clouded. That’s what you get for trying not to kill anyone… he thought, as he stared up at the bright blue blur that he could only assume was the sky. People never appreciate it as much as you might think they should.
Quote:2,037 words according to MS Word.
12,140 words total
If history is to become legend, it first must be recorded.