Arisen Anew- a Pokémon Fanfiction

Chapter 30 - The Battle of Beasts

"Team Doom! Team Doom! Team Doom!"

The ear-splitting chant bleeds in through my ears and out through my eyes. It's louder than the music, louder than the blood pushing and pulling at my skull, louder than the pounding of my heart. It's a cheer, a chant, a battle cry. It's the horn that blares to herald the beginnings of war, the skirmishes to come, the life, the death, and the inevitable victory.

A look out at the floor of the club reveals the mass of partygoers splitting down the middle, making way for their savior, the one and only Red. He appears to have received medical treatment since Cryptobar, his nose set and straightened. Even from here I can see the light glinting down upon a scar on his jaw. He wears a different cast on his arm, streamlined and black, free from the bulkiness of the original.

Close to him, almost uncomfortably so, is Musty, his tablet tucked under his armpit for the time being as he traverses the crowd. Arceus forbid someone knock it out of his hands and break it. I'm sure that would invoke more fury in Musty than even Red is capable of. He is sending shifty glances around the club, and once I think he catches sight of me in the backstage doorway, but the stage lights are far too bright for that to be the case. We are practically invisible here.

A cold grip on my elbow turns my head back in the direction of the rest of Team Doom. Diamond stands there, an imploring look on her face. "Silver," she says, and I understand immediately.

The invitation I extended to him at Cryptobar was more than a suggestion. It was a promise that I intend to make good on, whether Lilac comes with him or not. I know Diamond shares my intentions, and Green must as well. Silver was our friend, and my rival since childhood. I left Red, left Azura, left Alma, left Cryptobar. I can't leave him behind, too.

I won't.

Garnet's call of "Hey, wait!" falls on deaf ears as we slip out the door, careful to duck our heads as we descend the steps on the side of the stage. Though we go nowhere he cannot follow, I hope he doesn't attempt to do it anyway. The chanting has all but risen in its volume as we come out onto the dance floor, drinks sloshing and bodies pressing together in the hopes of getting a better look at their hero.

The bar is our best option if we want a chance at getting close to Silver. I assume he'd be the one Red would send for drinks, seeing as Gold follows his every move like an unfortunate shadow and Musty wouldn't know how to order a drink if the instruction manual fell from the ceiling and concussed him. Lilac will not stray far from Red, either, not with so many beautiful women around him tonight.

The seats of the bar are simple stools of hard, shiny plastic. Like a chair, they each have the tiniest slope for a back, just tall enough for your tailbone to press against the angle. The bartender is busy fielding orders left and right, and I have half a mind to get myself a water or lemonade or tea. I would if I weren't so afraid of being recognized. Like the rest of Team Rogue, I am always parched. Green does his best to keep our bellies full, but there's only so much he can do with the supplies he keeps on him. It's hard to get the thought of an ice cold beverage off my mind, but the mission at hand is serious still. We take two of the plastic seats, and I try not to look at the full glasses around us.

"What if he doesn't come?" Asks Diamond, always one to jump to the worst case scenario.

"We go find him," I respond, my voice measured. I hope he comes. We could take him backstage, and Red would be none the wiser, and he would be free. But deep down, I know that once Silver has set his mind to something, it's difficult for him to be swayed. If he truly loves Lilac, he will refuse to leave her, and I can't see Red taking the betrayal well.

I turn back to the throng of dancers, my eyes finding the commotion around Team Doom in an instant. Partygoers surround them, taking pictures, screaming, and the godawful chanting never stops.